Chapter 68

The next day, alongside the hot search for #Leng Xiang Love Diary#, another related topic climbed the charts: #Jiang Sisi Confirmed to Host Love Diary#.

The internet exploded immediately.

“Did I see that right? Jiang Sisi abandoned her ace live variety show to host some no-name knockoff romance program? What’s she after?”

“What else could it be? Leng Xiang-jie is in it.”

“Love Diary managed to snag Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang. What kind of show do you think Love Diary is? Dare to say it again?”

“WTS diehards are dying. Sisi, give us a glance! Remember your WTS by the shores of Daming Lake?!”

“She just wrapped a movie, fine, skipping WTS is one thing. I’d even accept her jumping straight to the next film—her movies are genuinely good. But… but how could you go host another show?!!”

“Jiang Sisi, you’ve changed! You’ve gone astray! You’re not the rebellious teen who ran away from home and dropped out for WTS anymore!”

“Dropped out for WTS? What’s that about? I don’t remember hearing this.”

“Nah, she didn’t actually drop out. Father Jiang dragged her back to school. Check out our station head’s exclusive interview special, av65578X77—it mentions this bit. No thanks needed.”

“Hahahahaha, I’ve seen it! Laughed my head off! Father Jiang looked so helpless!”

“The station head and Sisi-jie’s father-daughter vibe is super close. Jealous, crying qwq.”

“Original family environments shape personalities so much. You can tell Jiang Sisi’s home life is amazing just by looking at her.”

“Yeah, totally agree.”

“Speaking of which, why have I never heard about Sisi’s mom? Where’s she at? Is she outside the industry, so no public appearances?”

“This topic… emmmm, let’s not go there. Change subjects.”

“Changing subjects: What’s Jiang Sisi really after by hosting Love Diary?”

“Jiang Sisi: Sorry, gentlemen contestants, you’re about to lose one female guest.”

“Hahahahaha, the male guests are so pitiful! It was set up perfectly as three guys, three girls, one host—and now the host is joining the guys to fight for the girls.”

“But real talk, folks, I’m hyped to see Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang date.”

“Hype +1”

“Hype!!!”

“I’m locked in for this show!! So when does it air?!!!”

“Rumor has it, March 24th, Sunday, 8 AM start for the first live part, full-network synchronized broadcast.”

“Wait, 8 AM? What the hell?!”

…

Leng Xiang had been home for less than three days when she received a call from the Love Diary production team. They told her someone would pick her up the next day and had already emailed her the character setup and script in advance.

She printed it out—a thick stack. She clicked her tongue in amazement as she held it.

This thickness rivaled the script for the female lead in Luxury Goods.

It seemed 6.3 million wasn’t so easy to earn after all.

Wang Linlin had performed well during her internship, so Shen Cheng had made it official. From then on, she was dedicated to handling Leng Xiang’s schedule.

She arrived early at Leng Xiang’s home on the morning she was set to join the show, helping her pack.

Leng Xiang tossed the stack of character sheets and scripts onto the living room carpet. She had grown used to reading there; even at her desk, she couldn’t focus as well as on the carpet.

Wang Linlin flipped through the character booklet and looked up at Leng Xiang. “Xiang-jie, they want your persona to be a hardworking, diligent actress who’s super aloof, no-nonsense, independent, serious… What does that even mean?”

Leng Xiang replied, “The show’s personas and scripts are pretty much like acting in a drama.”

Wang Linlin’s mouth fell open. “Huh? So all variety shows are scripted? I actually like watching them.”

Leng Xiang answered honestly, “Eighty percent of variety shows have scripts. But the production team usually picks personas close to the celebrity’s real image. If they’re too far off, it falls apart if you don’t nail the acting.”

Wang Linlin let out a disappointed “oh.”

At 8:30 AM, the doorbell rang.

Leng Xiang had just closed her suitcase. She tidied the character sheets and scripts from the carpet, set them on the coffee table, and went to open the door.

When Leng Xiang opened the door and saw who stood there, she froze. Her heart started pounding instinctively, so loud she could hear it herself.

She had scrolled Weibo, so she wasn’t entirely unprepared for Jiang Sisi leading the production team to pick her up.

After all, Jiang Sisi was the host.

Jiang Sisi grinned at her. “Morning.”

Leng Xiang instinctively replied, “Morning.”

Leng Xiang glanced behind her—three cameras trailing, filming her.

With her actor’s professionalism, Leng Xiang remembered her Love Diary persona: aloof and unsmiling. She nodded at the lens without a word and stepped aside to let them in.

She couldn’t help reflecting: Had she smiled at Jiang Sisi just now?

But the moment she saw Jiang Sisi, her mind went blank. How could she remember what expression she’d made?

If her persona collapsed on day one, could she even continue the show?

Jiang Sisi entered with the three cameramen. Wang Linlin heard the commotion and quietly slipped aside.

Jiang Sisi said, “We’re now in Leng Xiang’s home. Come on, Xiangxiang-jie, give a greeting to all our online friends?”

Leng Xiang: “…Where’d the netizens come from?”

One of the follow-cam guys burst out laughing with a “pfft,” shaking the camera up and down to point at her.

Jiang Sisi: “It’s a full-network live stream, jie. Didn’t the production team tell you?”

Leng Xiang: “…”

The production team had only said someone would pick her up. Seeing the cameras, she’d assumed they were just shooting B-roll for editing. She hadn’t expected a live stream right off the bat!!

She hadn’t done her makeup yet!

Leng Xiang blinked awkwardly, stiffly greeting, “Good morning, everyone.”

…

Rewind half an hour.

8:00 AM sharp.

By 7:30, nationwide live viewers had broken eight million. By 8:00, online viewers exceeded fifteen million, surging toward twenty.

Jiang Sisi fiddled with the camera lens. “Love Diary, first episode live part—live streaming now.”

She waved at the lens with a smile. “Good morning, everyone. Eaten breakfast?”

“Munching baozi while watching qwq.”

“Morning! Haven’t gotten up this early in ages, so sleepy ying qwq…”

“Snuggled in bed watching on my phone hehe, refusing to get up early.”

The director team relayed real-time barrage comments from major video sites to Jiang Sisi.

She shook the task card in her hand. “Next, let’s see today’s first task.”

Jiang Sisi opened the card and read aloud: “The late-to-join host picks up the last late-to-join female guest to the Love Cottage.”

“Oh, so that means I pick up your Leng Xiang-jie for the show.”

Jiang Sisi sat in the car heading to Leng Xiang’s, playing on her phone while occasionally looking up to chat with the lens and viewers.

“Being late couldn’t be helped. I only wrapped the drama crew yesterday, and the team rushed me out early today to fetch her.”

“The others entered the Love Cottage yesterday, right? I heard the male guests picked up the female ones at home. Tsk tsk, letting strange guys into pretty girls’ homes? Outrageous.”

“Why me picking up Leng Xiang? Just convenient—only us two left unjoined. Saves sending a guy out.”

“That reasoning shaky? Production team stirring drama, no reason needed. Next question.”

Jiang Sisi kept reading the director-provided barrages.

“Tiring? Nah, should be fine—for the paycheck.”

“My family’s loaded, why earn more? Filming’s expensive. Your Xiangxiang-jie took ten million from me. Know how much that movie cost total? I’m broke, crying. Gotta hustle side gigs.”

“Does Xiangxiang know it’s live? She should—the team reminded her.”

Jiang Sisi and the cameraman stood at Leng Xiang’s door. She said to the lens, “Alright, we’re at jie’s place now. Let’s see her reaction.”

…

Leng Xiang fumbled awkwardly for ages. She hadn’t done a real live stream in years and didn’t know where to put her hands and feet. After letting them in, she first seated them in the living room.

Online viewers cracked up watching.

“Hahahaha, dying—this production team didn’t even tell the female guest it’s live?!”

“Xiangxiang’s reaction so real, hilarious hahaha, too cute!! She’s totally clueless!”

“Waking at 8 AM to this? Worth it!”

“Still confused on the format. Why live at 8 AM? Mom shook me awake to fix the smart TV, total fog.”

“Every Sunday 8 AM live till 10 PM end, then edited ep Saturdays 8 PM. Think that’s it qwq.”

“Fine, for Si Xiang CP dating, I’ll wake at 8 AM weekends!”

Leng Xiang poured hot water for them in the living room first, then said to the lens, “I haven’t done my makeup yet. Please wait a bit, sorry.”

With that, she headed to the bedroom.

Viewers kept barraging.

“No makeup and this good-looking?!! Really bare-faced?!”

“Wuwuwu, skin flawless!! 1080p zoom, not a single pore!”

“Her face carries hard!! I was a looks stan even during her full-net blacklist phase…”

“Don’t dredge up the past—just let us simp in peace!!”

“Envy!! Skincare routine pls!”

Jiang Sisi glanced around, then sneakily pulled a stack of task cards from her pocket and drew another one.

“Alright, while she’s out, let’s check today’s second task.”

She opened it and read: “Without the female guest noticing, open and inspect her suitcase.”