Chapter 59: The Prelude Alone Set Everything Ablaze
After finishing his conversation with Liu Yali, Lu Zhou went off on his own in search of something to eat. The birthday party was lively; after the cake-cutting, there were many interactive games and everyone seemed to be having a great time. But for Lu Zhou, the excitement was a little dull—after all, there was no one here with whom he felt close enough to engage in a deep, enjoyable conversation.
He found a quieter corner, sat down, and started scrolling through his phone, planning to stay another twenty minutes or so before saying his goodbyes to Nan Qiao.
Not far from him, a man and a woman were chatting. Lu Zhou didn’t pay attention to who they were, but snippets of their conversation drifted over. Most of it was reminiscing, but eventually they moved on to talking about their current work.
“Has Director Chen invited you to join his new variety show?”
“Which new variety show?”
“Star Movement 1+1. He sent me an invitation. I’m still hesitating—something about the show’s concept feels odd. But if you’re joining, maybe I’ll go for the fun of it.”
“Oh, that one. I’ve heard about it, but I haven’t received an invitation. Last time, I was on Director Chen’s music show, but it couldn’t attract enough sponsors in the end. The market response was poor, and it turned into a lot of running in circles for little effect.”
“I see.”
“Music variety shows have all felt the same these last couple of years—just endlessly recycling nostalgia. The market’s shrinking, and unless there’s something truly fresh, even the sponsors aren’t interested anymore.”
“That’s true. Maybe I’ll just turn him down. Director Chen hasn’t really had any successful variety shows, and this Star Movement 1+1 doesn’t seem that promising either.”
…
Lu Zhou listened absently as he ate. The first time he heard the show’s name, he thought he’d misheard. But then, when it came up again at the end, his chewing suddenly stopped.
Star Movement 1+1?
He had come across this phrase as a fragment in his dream the night before.
What was going on?
He had never encountered anything called “Star Movement 1+1” before, but in his dream, he had seen it clearly.
He was certain—because the images from that dream were still carved in his mind, vivid and unmistakable: a live recording of Star Movement 1+1 on a date different from today, headlines dominated by the show, heated debates among netizens…
All these fragments from his dream last night were fresh in his memory.
Listening to those two, the show was still in the planning stages, the casting not even finalized. So how had he dreamed of future developments for the program?
It was strange.
Lost in thought, Lu Zhou glanced at the two people who had been talking, only to find they had already gotten up and left.
As he was still dazed, a soft, melodious female voice suddenly sounded beside him.
“Hey there, handsome. Why are you sitting here all alone? Isn’t it boring?”
A pretty woman he didn’t recognize stood before him, holding a wine glass and smiling charmingly.
…
Lu Zhou snapped back to reality, immediately recognizing this as a standard pick-up line. Not wanting to be drawn in, he shook his phone and said, “Just need a bit of personal space to deal with some work stuff.”
Seeing his polite refusal, she tactfully left.
His time was almost up anyway, so Lu Zhou made his way over to Nan Qiao to let her know he had something to take care of and would be leaving early.
On his way home from the party, Lu Zhou kept pondering the matter of Star Movement 1+1.
Who exactly was this Director Chen who was always producing variety shows?
He searched online and asked around in the industry, soon learning that the “Director Chen” they’d mentioned was Chen Xiangxin.
Lu Zhou decided to give it a shot—perhaps the dream had been some kind of signal.
…
Today, the second season of the major dating reality show “Shall We Swap? Exes” officially released its pilot episode as a preview for tomorrow night’s broadcast at seven o’clock, with the main episodes to be grandly aired on Orange Light TV. Stay tuned!
Not long after the pilot dropped, the trending topics exploded.
[What the heck? Am I seeing things? Guest star Ye Fangfei?!!!]
[Shocking! What happened?! When did Ye Fangfei even date someone? And not only did she date, she broke up and is now going on “Shall We Swap? Exes” with her former lover? I need oxygen!]
[Disaster scene—my heart goes out to Ye Fangfei’s fans for a moment.]
[I don’t understand Ye Fangfei’s wild decisions.]
[Hahaha, even Ye Fangfei is willing to humble herself for such an absurd show? Isn’t the “Little Diva” supposed to have her pick of roles? Aren’t her fans always bragging about her endless resources? And now this?]
[When did my wife cheat on me—I’m devastated.]
[This show is getting crazier—how did they manage to get Ye Fangfei? They must have made a fortune on the last season!]
[Ye Fangfei’s team needs to be replaced, letting her go on a show like this.]
[Faybaby, I know you’ve always liked to do unconventional things, but this…I just don’t get it.]
[Faybaby, if your company is forcing you, blink twice.]
#YeFangfeiOnExesRealityShow#
#YeFangfeiScandal#
#WhoIsYeFangfei’sEx#
…
After the pilot was released, almost every headline was dominated by topics related to Ye Fangfei.
The comments section under these hot topics was a frenzy: boyfriend-fans lamented their heartbreak, rivals took the chance to mock, bystanders were stunned, and diehard fans fought desperately to defend her…
Some gambling addicts even started betting, guessing which male contestant was Ye Fangfei’s ex.
Because the pilot revealed almost nothing, people could only judge by appearances, and the most heavily bet-on “Ye Fangfei’s ex-boyfriend” turned out to be Lu Zhou.
[We can only match by looks—Ye Fangfei is definitely into handsome guys. I bet the best-looking one is her ex.]
The hype was overwhelming.
And among the trending program guests, another name stood out: Chu Yao.
As one of the hottest influencers of the moment, her sudden appearance on this exes’ dating show naturally piqued a wave of curiosity online.
[The female guests for “Shall We Swap? Exes” season two are just amazing! The main episodes haven’t even aired and I’m already dying to watch!]
[Why are all the women so prominent, but I don’t recognize any of the male guests?]
[Maybe all the men are behind-the-scenes big shots.]
The production team spent the least money but bagged the most trending topics; the traffic was pouring in like a river, and Director Lin Jiale could hardly stop grinning.
Though filming had been frustrating, with investors always meddling, just seeing this level of attention at the show’s launch was enough to make it a crowning moment in his career!
Has any other director in the reality dating show industry ever managed to kick off with this kind of hype? Unprecedented!
Ye Fangfei was truly one of a kind—with her star power propping up the show, all the slights from the investors were worth it!
While Director Lin Jiale was basking in his success, Ye Fangfei’s PR team was working around the clock, barely able to catch their breath.
“Well, this is just great. Thanks to this ridiculous variety show, the competition has found new ammunition—they’re going all out attacking her!”
“First, calm the fans down and get the diehards to control the comment section.”
“Redirect the focus, steer the hype toward betting on ‘who is the ex’ instead.”
…