Chapter 226
A zombie with too many questions finally found a direction, although not necessarily the right one, at least she was moving forward.
Cheng Tingyan quickly packed, called a car, and started sending messages.
First to Liu Ming, briefly explaining her decision to join the show, asking her to send some clothes to Shi Hongxiao.
Then to Shen Zilin, she hadn’t appeared as an artist under their company for a long time, she had to inform her major shareholder.
Shen Zilin, still at the celebratory dinner after the premiere, was secretly mixing cola into his wine in a corner outside the private room. Startled by Cheng Tingyan’s message, he knocked over the cola bottle.
The commotion attracted the attention of the staff and waiters, Shen Zilin, holding his untouched wine, returned to the dinner.
Although Liu Ming and Shen Zilin had many questions, they both replied immediately, expressing their support and making arrangements.
Cheng Tingyan, after quickly arranging things, felt her mind go blank.
The scenery outside blurred as the car sped along, like her current situation, unclear, uncertain.
Zhao Can, so many suspicious signs, but… it didn’t quite fit.
Rebirth would lead to changes, but could one’s personality change so drastically?
Cheng Tingyan thought about herself, her life in this life was much better than in her previous one, but…
She couldn’t figure it out.
If it wasn’t Zhao Can, then who?
Cheng Tingyan started analyzing Zhao Can’s relationships.
Zhao Tong? But she suffered from depression for years, would she still be the same if she were reborn? And Cheng Tingyan’s interactions with Zhao Tong were even less frequent than with Zhao Can, just group gatherings and online chats…
Then… Zhao Ximei? No… she dismissed the thought.
It was past 8 PM, the streetlights outside flashing past.
Cheng Tingyan, her head lowered, fidgeted with her phone.
Maomao… she had wet the bed…
But what if Maomao just hadn’t been reborn yet at that time…?
Cheng Tingyan’s heart ached at the thought of Maomao being Little Cookie.
If it was Maomao, what had she been doing all these years? How difficult must it have been for her, carrying Little Cookie’s memories…
No…
It couldn’t be Maomao…
Cheng Tingyan bit her lip, stopping her thoughts.
Now, she had to focus on talking to Zhao Can!
Cheng Tingyan opened the show’s rules and the electronic contract Shi Hongxiao sent her and forced herself to read them carefully.
The journey was short; they soon arrived, Cheng Tingyan had just finished reading the rules.
Shi Hongxiao, guilty for inadvertently dragging Cheng Tingyan into the show, his face red with embarrassment, Hua Lang pushed him aside and handed Cheng Tingyan the paper contract.
Cheng Tingyan glanced at Shi Hongxiao, who was standing there obediently. In her previous life, he was a gambling addict who blackmailed his stepmother and exposed Shi Dingshan’s death, but in this life, Shi Dingshan was fine, and he was a successful director. She had even suspected him of being the first reborn person, but now it seemed…
Mmm… still a mystery.
“Ms. Cheng, if you sign this, you have to follow our schedule, even after you’ve asked your questions, you can’t leave until the filming is over.” Hua Lang said, pointing at the contract, although he wanted her on the show, he still had to make it clear.
Cheng Tingyan quickly skimmed through the contract.
Shen Zilin had already sent her Zhao Can’s contract; she just had to make sure the terms were the same.
If she signed, she would join the show, meet Zhao Can in a day or two, and if Zhao Can wasn’t Little Cookie, she would have to wait another two weeks before she could look for the right person.
If she didn’t sign, she couldn’t join the show, she might have a chance to meet Zhao Can in three or four days, if Zhao Can wasn’t Little Cookie, she could continue her search. But if Zhao Can was Little Cookie, she would have to watch her on a dating show with other people…
Neither option was ideal, and it wasn’t her show, why would they make an exception for her?
She had wandered around Helian City like a fool for years, now that she had a lead, she couldn’t hesitate…
Like a dying person in the desert, seeing an oasis, she couldn’t question its reality, she just had to reach it first.
Cheng Tingyan quickly signed the contract, Hua Lang, praising her decisiveness, personally escorted her to the villa.
At 8:45 PM, forty-five minutes into the live broadcast of “Possible Summer,” a new window appeared on the homepage.
Before the viewers could even fill the comment section with question marks, the bedroom door opened, and someone unexpected entered.
“Cheng… Cheng Tingyan?”
“Holy shit! Why are CEO Mao and Yan Yan on the same show?! Am I hallucinating? Is this a dream?”
“Aren’t all the guests celebrities? Who is she?”
“Ah, ‘Where’s Baby Going’ Season 3 was eighteen years ago, the kids today don’t even know Yan Yan anymore! I’m getting old!”
“Yan Yan acted in a few dramas when she was young, but she’s been working as a director these past few years. That martial arts film ‘Ashes to Ashes’ two years ago, she directed it, and she even did some stunts, so she was technically back on screen, hahaha. (Still waiting for her to act again, I’m not crazy)”
“‘Ashes to Ashes’! Beautiful fight scenes! All-around director! I remember those trending topics! The lead actor said the best fight scenes were all done by the director herself, it brought a lot of attention to the declining wuxia genre!”
“Mmm? Enjoying the delicious CanMao CP, is there anything more popular than the CanMao CP from ‘Fighting for Life’? Did you guys not see today’s trending topics?”
“Hahaha, now that Yan Yan is here, what CanMao? You guys are outdated! When Yan Yan and Maomao were trending, you were probably still drinking milk, hahaha!”
“Be polite… we oldies also have to control ourselves… Ahhh! I can’t! Why are Yan Yan and CEO Mao on the same dating show?! Shouldn’t they be getting married?!”
“Calm down… everyone, read the show’s description! The guests are all single and open to both same-sex and opposite-sex relationships. They’re on the show because they’re single… What if they’re just exploring the possibilities? We have four male guests…”
“No! No ‘what ifs’! Change the name to ‘Summer of Love’! Down with heterosexuality!”
“Hahaha, calm down, even if it’s ‘Summer of Love,’ we still have three, no, four female guests now, how many possibilities are there?”
“Not just CanMao, Zhao Can and Xie Dongxing also had great chemistry in ‘Under the Wu Dynasty’! And Wei Maomao and Xia Lanruo in ‘Drunken Palace’ two years ago! And Xie Dongxing and Yan Yongzhi in that esports drama! The director is playing matchmaker, all these interconnected guests, so many potential couples!”
“Did you not see today’s trending topics? During the ‘Fighting for Life’ premiere, Maomao and Cancan were holding hands on stage, fighting against that idiot! Not just on-screen chemistry, but also off-screen! If this isn’t love! I’m all in on CanMao! Double my returns!”
“Hahaha, save your money, you’ll lose everything on CanMao! I’m betting on Yan Yan and Maomao, ten red strings turning into twenty, I’m going to tie them together!”
“Mmm… three minutes ago, I was a CanMao shipper. But now… holding hands is nothing! If you haven’t watched ‘Where’s Baby Going’ Season 3, don’t bet yet, go watch it! At least watch the Yan Yan and Maomao clips! Trust me, it’s a whole new world.”
“What’s so great about holding hands? Yan Yan and CEO Mao teamed up against Cheng Fei… Yan Yan even washed CEO Mao’s bedsheet after she wet the bed!”
“??? I’m out, I’m going to watch the bedsheet scene!”
…
No need to check the backend data; the comments in Cheng Tingyan’s live stream window spoke for themselves.
Hua Lang, satisfied, looked at the still-guilty Shi Hongxiao and poked him playfully. “Cheng Tingyan seems happy to be on the show, why are you feeling guilty? If you weren’t friends, which director would go through so much trouble just to let her talk to someone on the show? Look at these comments, hehe, they’re fighting! Those advertisers who ignored us before, they’ll be fighting to sponsor us now!”
Shi Hongxiao: “…“
“Okay, go on, go and make sure the guests look good on camera, I’ll handle the rest.” Hua Lang said, patting Shi Hongxiao’s shoulder.
Sigh, this Xiao Shi, technically brilliant, but truly a simpleton. This show, a politically charged assignment to promote same-sex marriage, no one wanted it, and it landed on his lap.
Well, they used dating shows to promote marriage, parenting shows to encourage childbirth, educational shows to promote good parenting, now they were using a dating show to promote same-sex marriage.
But with him, Hua Lang, it wouldn’t be just for show.
With an obedient director, he had unlimited possibilities~~~
Hua Lang glanced at Shi Hongxiao, who was diligently monitoring the screens, then, after receiving a message that Wang Zhiqing had arrived at the parking lot, he rushed out with the contract.
Perfect, more traffic, here he came!
Cheng Tingyan had been quick in reading the contract, but Wang Zhiqing was even faster, Hua Lang even suspected she hadn’t even read it before signing.
“Anything else? Can I go in now?” Wang Zhiqing asked, handing the contract back to Hua Lang.
Hua Lang, glancing at her phone, which was clearly displaying their live stream, extended his hand. “Phone, please.”
Tsk, tsk, tsk, just this beginning, he could already sense the drama!
There were a few empty rooms prepared in the villa, after Cheng Tingyan agreed to join, Hua Lang had two of them properly furnished, now that Wang Zhiqing was here, she could also start filming immediately.
Hua Lang led her to the villa, but it wasn’t as simple as with Cheng Tingyan.
“Can I know where the others are staying?” Wang Zhiqing asked, before they reached the cameras at the villa entrance.
“That’s… confidential. We discussed this with Zhixing Entertainment, didn’t we? There’s a blind selection segment; everything is confidential until after the successful date. The rooms are also soundproof; you can’t send signals to each other.” Hua Lang said quickly, seeing her intention.
“You think I would shout and give signals?” Wang Zhiqing asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Ahem, of course not, it’s just… procedure…” Hua Lang said, looking at the little girl, her lips curved in a sweet, yet mocking smile, he remembered the industry’s assessment of her: seemingly sweet and innocent, but actually a wildcat…
“Mmm, I won’t.” Wang Zhiqing said, nodding, a genuine smile finally appearing, but her next words weren’t as pleasant. “Director Hua, if I want an advantage in the blind selection, I mean, to know who’s who, to be paired with someone I like, what should I do?”
“Just… analyze carefully? Observe? Collect red strings? You’ll see the rules later, the number of red strings determines your… advantage in choosing a partner…” Hua Lang explained.
Wang Zhiqing shook her head, interrupting him. “I’m not talking about the rules. I can waive my appearance fee, accept all the sponsorships, if you or Director Shi need me for anything, I can clear my schedule for the next year, I’ll only take the company’s share of the payment, no… I can even cover the company’s share… as long as you…”
“No, no, no…” Hua Lang said, waving his hands and backing away, he pointed at the villa. “Ms. Wang, please go inside! We’re about to start the next segment! And the red strings, everyone will be earning them soon, you’ll miss out if you’re late!”
Although Hua Lang’s refusal was clear, Wang Zhiqing still tried. “Really no way?”
“No!” Hua Lang said, crossing his arms.
Wang Zhiqing, disappointed, dragged her suitcase into the villa.
Hua Lang, watching her appear in the new live stream window, finally relaxed.
Seriously, such generous offers, if she had persisted, he would have caved…
Yan Yan was much better, although eager, she was obedient!
Tsk, tsk… this unconventional wildcat… Zhao Can, you were in for a treat.
