The Thirty-Second Star
Zong Ye took a sip of juice and put down the glass, his fingers rubbing on the screen. After a while, he sent her a message back.
“How should I be careful?”
He looked up and saw Jiang Chuyi straighten her body across the table, her expression very serious.
Jiang Chuyi: “Anyway, just be careful. I can’t say more.”
Zong Ye: “I understand.”
…
…
While eating, Jiang Chuyi probed Feng Miaotong.
Feng Miaotong also had a worried look, “My PD said to take a megaphone to Wang Tan’s room tomorrow to wake him up.”
Jiang Chuyi: “…”
Feng Miaotong put her palms together, muttering with utmost piety, “Bodhisattva Guanyin, please bless me. I hope when the show airs, Wang Tan’s fans won’t scold me. If they want to scold someone, scold the production team.”
Jiang Chuyi’s expression was equally solemn, “My PD hasn’t told me yet how to wake up Zong Ye.”
“Do you think they have morning tempers?” Feng Miaotong asked.
Jiang Chuyi had only filmed with them for a few days on set before, so she wasn’t familiar enough to be certain, “Since it’s for the show, they shouldn’t get angry, right?”
“Sigh, the directors are so bold. They’re really not afraid of being scolded by BloodXGentle fans. I’m already starting to feel this show isn’t simple.”
Jiang Chuyi nodded with a sense of resonance.
Variety shows are programs meant to entertain the masses after all, so there are many segments that prank the guests. As reality shows become more and more competitive, production teams also resort to more unscrupulous methods to attract attention.
Feng Miaotong taking a megaphone to wake up Wang Tan is already considered a “gentle” wake-up service.
Jiang Chuyi had previously watched similar challenge-based reality shows during meals. Sometimes, while the guests were sleeping in their rooms at night, the bed would suddenly split in the middle and collapse, or while they were sleeping, a basin of water would pour down without warning. There were even stranger pranks like climbing through windows, diving under covers, all sorts of bizarre ways to startle them.
…
…
At 5:30 in the morning, the sky outside was still dark. Feng Jia and Jiang Chuyi, along with several VJs behind them, moved through the hotel corridor like thieves.
Stopping at the door of 3027, Jiang Chuyi slowly lowered her head, glanced at the gong she was holding, and asked again without giving up, “Do I really have to wake up Zong Ye like this?”
Feng Jia took out the room card and handed it to her, saying with enthusiasm, “Let’s hurry. In a few minutes, Fu Cheng will be woken up by water being poured on him.”
Jiang Chuyi: “…”
As if knowing what she was thinking, Feng Jia chuckled, “Considering the guests’ personal safety, we picked a tall and sturdy cameraman to wake up Fu Cheng.”
Jiang Chuyi hesitated and hesitated. Another two minutes passed. She looked at the people following and filming behind her with difficulty. A bunch of people were waiting. She took two deep breaths and finally made up her mind, gently placing the room card on the sensor area.
With a soft beep, the door opened a crack. Jiang Chuyi first poked her head in to check the situation.
The main light in the room was off, leaving only a hallway light by the bathroom door. On the hotel’s 1.8-meter-wide bed, a small hill bulged.
Using the half-light, half-dark illumination, Jiang Chuyi tiptoed over.
A few meters away from the bed, Jiang Chuyi stopped.
The group of people who entered one after another were all very careful not to make any noise. The person on the bed seemed to be sleeping very deeply, completely unaware that a bunch of people had poured into the room.
Jiang Chuyi stood for a moment with mixed feelings, deflated one moment and energized the next.
Finally, she finished her mental preparation, bit her lip, braced herself, swung the mallet in her hand, and struck the gong, shouting, “Zong Ye, time to get up!”
The room seemed to reverberate with the lingering sound of the sudden, thunderous gong ringing.
After a moment, Zong Ye frowned, his eyelashes fluttering slightly, and opened his eyes, seeming dazed for a bit.
The world had ironically returned to a state of dead silence at this time.
Zong Ye’s eyes immediately fell upon the stiffly standing Jiang Chuyi.
He recovered his senses after a while and sat up slightly, turning on the bedside lamp.
Jiang Chuyi, who was closest, saw clearly as the white sheet slid down from his shoulder blades—
Zong Ye wasn’t wearing any clothes!
Jiang Chuyi almost immediately turned around, trying to use the gong in her hand to block the VJ’s camera, saying urgently, “This can’t be filmed, this can’t be filmed.”
Feng Jia stood at the door and laughed, “It’s fine for male celebrities, Teacher Jiang.”
Zong Ye also seemed to have realized what the situation was. He casually picked up the T-shirt beside him and put it on.
When Jiang Chuyi received the cue and had no choice but to turn back around, Zong Ye had already gotten dressed.
He sat propped up against the headboard with a helpless expression, half-embracing the blanket, his black hair slightly disheveled.
Seeing her turn back with a distressed face, Zong Ye was silent for a moment before shaking his head with a soft laugh, asking in a low voice, “So this is what you meant last night when you told me to be careful when sleeping?”
Having just woken up, his voice was still a bit hoarse. Zong Ye already had a deep voice to begin with, and now with a touch of huskiness, it felt vaguely alluring.
Jiang Chuyi’s gaze wandered unsteadily as she nodded nervously.
Zong Ye looked at her, not knowing what he was thinking.
“When will you get up?” Jiang Chuyi said cautiously, “I still have to read the task card to you.”
“I…” Zong Ye paused for a moment, “Wait a bit longer.”
Certain reasons prevented him from getting out of bed immediately.
Because he had the… physiological reaction that normal men have in the morning.
Especially with her still standing by the bed, staring at him.
Jiang Chuyi made eye contact with Zong Ye for a few seconds, realizing something, and turned around again without a word.
On camera, her cheeks flushed red at a visible speed.
This entire scene fell into Feng Jia’s eyes. She grasped the door frame, her hand pressed against her chest, already about to faint from excitement.
After a few minutes, Zong Ye lifted the blanket and got out of bed.
His expression had returned to normal, and he greeted the camera.
As he walked past Jiang Chuyi, Zong Ye said, “Teacher Jiang, wait for me a bit longer. I’ll go wash my face to wake up.”
…
…
After Jiang Chuyi finished reading the task card, informing Zong Ye that they were flying to Changsha today, the “wake-up” segment filming was complete.
They went to the lobby together for breakfast.
While riding the elevator down, Feng Jia huddled in the corner, picked up her phone, and frantically sent messages spamming the chat group.
Feng Jia: “Little Zong’s bare face right after waking up really makes one want to push him down… so tender, so tender. The main thing is those tempting abs. How can Teacher Jiang remain so unmoved with a heart of stone…? There was really a moment when I wanted to chase all the cameramen out and leave just the two of them in the room, ah ah ah ah [Going crazy].”
Feng Jia: “Is anyone still awake to respond to me? Without anyone to gush with me, I feel like the loneliest person in the world…”
Feng Jia: “I’m going to remove all the cameras in Zong Ye’s room overnight, trick Teacher Jiang into going over, and then lock the two of them in the room alone for three days and three nights!!!”
Writer A: “Enough, stop showing off!!! Unlike you, we can’t watch it live. Don’t tempt people here, damn it… I’ve already made arrangements with the DIT team… As soon as I get my hands on the master tape, I’ll start gushing ‘Frenzy’.”
Feng Jia: “I just heard Teacher Zong say that Chuyi told him to be careful when sleeping last night… Oh my god, what kind of flirtatious words are these?! Although it’s normal for men to sleep naked, Teacher Zong definitely guessed that Teacher Jiang would go wake him up today, but he still! Very! Deliberately! Didn’t wear clothes!!! He just wanted to show his wife his abs. Those who know, know…”
Writer B: “Just a tactic used by the little couple to please us, boo hoo.”
*
In the lobby, the younger guests sat around a table, each with dark circles under their eyes.
They ate breakfast while complaining about the production team’s elaborate schemes.
Xu Jiayu’s tone was particularly incredulous, “I was sleeping so soundly when an ear-splitting ‘The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style’ started playing in the room. For a moment, I thought I had gotten drunk last night and slept in a KTV…”
Ji Kai consoled him, “Bro, you and I are in a similar situation. They set up some unknown contraption that made a clanging racket. I thought a construction crew had come to excavate my room.”
After saying that, they asked Wang Tan, “What about you?”
Feng Miaotong sipped her soy milk, guiltily lowering her eyes.
Wang Tan slowly began to speak, “Someone took a loudspeaker for collecting scrap, placed it on my pillow, and shouted: collecting refrigerators, color TVs, old washing machines, bicycles, old newspapers…”
Jiang Chuyi couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing this. She said to Zong Ye in a low voice, “I only hit the gong once. Isn’t that still not too bad?”
“The force you used to hit the gong seemed quite substantial though.” Zong Ye laughed.
“Did it scare you?” Her sense of guilt rose again as she muttered, “I even warned you yesterday to be careful when sleeping. You probably didn’t understand what I meant.”
“If you hadn’t warned me, I might not have slept so deeply.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I thought you were looking for me at night for something.” Zong Ye lowered his head, peeling an eggshell, and slowly said, “I didn’t fall asleep until nearly 5 AM.”
Jiang Chuyi: “…”
*
Within twenty minutes of finishing breakfast, the director gathered the listless group to an open terrace and had Feng Miaotong and Jiang Chuyi stand in front.
The two of them exchanged glances, stepped out of line, and took their positions.
Just as everyone was feeling puzzled, the director began reading the task card, “Several new friends are waiting for us in Changsha, and you need to split up to find them. So before setting off, you need to divide into red and blue teams. Coincidentally, the two female guests will be the team leaders. Miaotong is the red team, and Chuyi is the blue team. Everyone, choose your team on your own!”
The recording site fell silent for a moment.
Xu Jiayu questioned, “Director, you’re starting off with such an exciting setup? If we all choose one female guest, won’t it be very awkward for the other female guest?”
The director waved his hand, “These are the rules. You have five minutes to discuss among yourselves. Oh, and before they finish selecting, the team leaders are not allowed to look back!”
Feng Miaotong instantly became nervous, wearing a mournful expression, “I’m done for, done for. Will no one choose me?”
“That won’t happen.” Jiang Chuyi comforted her.
Although she rarely faced this kind of situation where she was put on the spot to be “chosen”, it was their first time recording the show, and everyone’s EQ was generally in line. They wouldn’t deliberately embarrass anyone.
Jiang Chuyi couldn’t be certain about the others, but at least Xu Zhi and Quan Yongning would definitely stand on separate teams with tacit understanding.
Jiang Chuyi and Feng Miaotong both had their backs to them and were completely unaware of the team distribution taking place. They could only guess whether anyone had stood behind them based on the sound of the wind beside their ears and some movements from the production team in front.
Not knowing what happened, a teasing sound came from the crowd.
Feng Miaotong tried her best to resist the urge to turn her head and look.
The two veteran brothers discussed for a while. Xu Zhi went to Feng Miaotong’s team, and Quan Yongning stood behind Jiang Chuyi.
Ji Kai bumped Wang Tan’s shoulder.
Under the eager gaze of his own PD, Wang Tan clicked his tongue and slowly walked towards the red team.
Fu Cheng headed straight in Jiang Chuyi’s direction.
Ji Kai quickly grabbed him.
“What’s the matter?” Fu Cheng had a dark expression.
He had been woken up by water being poured on him in the morning and had maintained low pressure until now.
“I want to go to Teacher Jiang’s team and fight alongside her.” Ji Kai stated his intention.
Fu Cheng said impatiently, “You go to Wang Tan.”
Ji Kai looked left and right with a face full of displeasure, gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, “Why?”
“Zong Ye and I are both standing on Jiang Chuyi’s side. Which one of us do you want to switch with?” Fu Cheng countered.
Ji Kai elbowed him, “Of course it’s you. Why do you want to be on the same team as Teacher Jiang?”
“Because…” Fu Cheng tugged at the microphone on his collar and leaned close to Ji Kai’s ear, saying, “You and Wang Tan talk too much nonsense. It’s too damn noisy.”
Ji Kai: “…”
He silently cursed in his heart.
Soon, everyone had chosen their teams. The director called out, “The female guests can turn around now and confirm your team members!”
Jiang Chuyi turned around and immediately saw Zong Ye standing in front.
“What’s wrong? Are you very surprised?” He asked.
Jiang Chuyi shook her head.
As expected, Feng Miaotong and Jiang Chuyi’s teams were very evenly distributed with three people each.
Jiang Chuyi took the team uniforms handed over by the staff and distributed them to her team members.
On the way to the airport, Quan Yongning held a team meeting on the bus and discussed with them, “The location where we need to find people is near Wuyi Square Pozi Street. The crowd there is quite dense. Zong Ye and Fu Cheng’s popularity is too high, so it’s best to split up when doing the task.”
Jiang Chuyi nodded thoughtfully.
“How about this? I’ll team up with Fu Cheng when the time comes.” Quan Yongning said to Jiang Chuyi with a smile, “You team up with Zong Ye. After finding the person, send a message in the group, and then we’ll regroup. How does that sound?”
Jiang Chuyi: “Alright, no problem.”
One was the team leader, and the other was a senior. The two made the decision without Zong Ye and Fu Cheng saying a word. They were arranged clearly without any right to speak.
…
…
When they arrived at the airport, before getting off the bus, Jiang Chuyi urged Zong Ye and Fu Cheng, “You two put on your hats, masks, and sunglasses. It’s best not to be recognized at a glance.”
Zong Ye was amused by her serious appearance. He was silent for a moment before responding, “Got it, Captain.”
Seeing that the two of them obediently geared up, Jiang Chuyi nodded with satisfaction. She waved the small flag in her hand and loudly reminded, “Follow behind me and don’t get lost.”
Fu Cheng: “…”
*
Since Jiang Chuyi was appointed as the team leader, a sense of responsibility naturally arose from the bottom of her heart. She was like a tour guide leading elementary school students on a field trip, constantly paying attention to Fu Cheng and Zong Ye’s every move.
Although there had been early rumors about “Shining Stars”, it had not been officially announced yet, and the itinerary was also very confidential. So when filming outdoors, although they were followed by several VJs and bodyguards, it only attracted curious onlookers to stop and watch, and did not cause a bigger commotion.
Upon reaching the first designated task point, the blue team began to split into groups according to the plan. Quan Yongning and Fu Cheng were responsible for finding a building, while Jiang Chuyi and Zong Ye were responsible for finding a food street.
The code phrase given by the production team was: “King of heaven and earth, director is 1.5 meters tall.”
In June, even the air in Changsha seemed to carry heat waves.
Jiang Chuyi used one hand to shield her eyes, slightly blocking the glaring and scorching sunlight. She flipped through the phone provided by the production team, studying the clues and locations they had given for finding people.
She stood in front of a small shop and observed for a long time, muttering to herself, “Scooping shrimp from a jar, which means grabbing shrimp. Does it mean we should look for crayfish shops?”
Zong Ye: “It’s possible.”
“And this math problem about a reservoir, I just solved it and the number is 24, indicating that the shop is related to 24?”
Zong Ye: “How did you calculate it?”
Jiang Chuyi’s tone carried a hint of pride as she immediately answered, “Mental math. How about it? Impressive, right?”
Zong Ye nodded and smiled, “Impressive indeed.”
He stared at the sweat on her face and suddenly asked, “Are you currently…”
“What?” Jiang Chuyi turned to look at him.
Zong Ye paused for a moment, not finishing his sentence. He stretched out his hand, gesturing for her to give him the phone.
Jiang Chuyi handed it over with a puzzled expression.
Zong Ye took it, opened the memo app, typed a line of text, and held it up to her eyes:
“Are you on your period right now?”
Jiang Chuyi instinctively glanced at the camera a few meters away. She turned her body slightly, a bit out of sorts, and answered him in a low voice, “No, I’m not. Why?”
Zong Ye handed the phone back to her. “Wait for me here for a bit.”
He went to a convenience store across the street.
A few minutes later, he returned with a small fan and a bottle of ice water in his hands.
Jiang Chuyi took the opened ice water from him. After a dazed moment, she thanked him.
She asked in confusion, “I thought our phones were confiscated? How did you buy the water?”
Zong Ye said softly, “I brought 200 yuan in cash.”
Jiang Chuyi was speechless. She thanked him again.
Zong Ye smiled and lowered his eyes as he fiddled with the switch on the small fan. “I’m not as smart as our team leader. I can only serve as logistics support.”
Jiang Chuyi: “…”
After adjusting the fan, Zong Ye aimed it at her. “Does this cool you down a bit?”
Jiang Chuyi glanced at the camera with trepidation. “Thank you. I’ll hold it myself.”
Since they were filming, Zong Ye didn’t say much more and handed her the fan.
Zong Ye was tall. Even though he was wearing a mask and just a regular blue team uniform, he still stood out and attracted a lot of attention in the crowd.
Two young girls walked past them hand in hand, frequently looking back several times and whispering, “That guy looks so handsome. There are even cameras filming him. Is he an internet celebrity or an actor?”
“I don’t know.”
…
…
The two of them searched this street for a long time without any hints from the directing team.
Finally, as night gradually fell, in a shrimp restaurant, Jiang Chuyi asked awkwardly for the thirtieth time, “King of heaven and earth…”
The shop owner smiled as she looked Jiang Chuyi over and replied, “Director is 1.5 meters tall.”
Before they could even feel happy, an excited scream came from beside them, “Zong Ye?!”
They turned to look.
A dozen excited girls had gathered at the shop entrance.
They had spent too long on this street. It was a very simple matter for Zong Ye to be recognized. Some fans had already rushed over after hearing the news.
As soon as Zong Ye’s name was mentioned, the gazes of all the diners in the shop converged on them.
Although bodyguards were blocking them and some staff members were trying to go over to communicate with them, saying they were filming a show, those fans clearly couldn’t listen to reason.
In addition to them, another batch of people quickly arrived. Mixed with curious onlookers, the crowd broke through the bodyguards’ obstruction and surged into the shop.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them were surrounded.
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Feng Jia immediately made a phone call. She was so anxious she was spinning in circles as she gave the address to the production team, urging them to quickly send more people over.
Although staff had been arranged in the shop in advance and emergency measures had been prepared, they still couldn’t stop this group of fans who were so passionate they had nearly lost their minds.
Jiang Chuyi had never encountered a situation like this. Her mind went blank.
Zong Ye reacted very quickly. He immediately grabbed her wrist and painstakingly moved to the wall.
The shop owner roared, “Be careful, everyone! Don’t damage my shop’s things!”
Zong Ye used his elbow to prop against the wall and his back to resist the crazed crowd, leaving a corner of space in front of the wall for Jiang Chuyi.
His strength alone was obviously no match for a crowd of people. He was squeezed so much that he had to press close to Jiang Chuyi from time to time. He couldn’t help but turn his head and say, “Everyone, please calm down. Be careful not to trample each other.”
Jiang Chuyi personally saw a somewhat pained expression appear on Zong Ye’s face. She finally reacted and shouted, “Stop pushing!”
But their voices were completely drowned out by the screaming.
Jiang Chuyi tried hard to block those hands that were wildly groping at Zong Ye.
The fan in her hand was also knocked to the ground in the chaos.
Jiang Chuyi was both anxious and scared. She shouted in vain, “Don’t push him anymore! Don’t push him! And don’t step on my little fan!”
The two people squeezed into the corner gradually couldn’t catch their breath. The feeling of suffocation grew stronger and stronger. Zong Ye was still struggling to support himself, trying to leave her the last bit of space.
Jiang Chuyi watched as his face turned paler and paler. She was frantic and distraught, repeatedly asking in a fluster, “Are you okay? Zong Ye? Are you feeling very uncomfortable? Zong Ye?”
“I’m fine.” Zong Ye lightly shook his head. His ears were buzzing. With difficulty, he managed to say a sentence to comfort her, “Hold on a bit longer. People will be here soon.”
…
…
When the program team’s people arrived, the crowd was finally dispersed.
Jiang Chuyi and Zong Ye were helped to sit on chairs.
The accompanying doctor immediately checked their bodies. Fortunately, Zong Ye only had a few superficial injuries. Several staff members apologized non-stop, saying it was a work mistake and guaranteeing that similar situations would not occur in the future.
Zong Ye used a cotton swab to apply medicine and disinfect his wounds. He casually said, “It’s alright.”
Jiang Chuyi apologized to Zong Ye in a low voice, saying guiltily, “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. I wasted too much time.”
Zong Ye paused in his action of applying the medicine. He turned his head slightly and said to her, “It’s my problem. It has nothing to do with you.”
He even smiled at her.
“No, it’s because I didn’t do a good job as the team leader.” Seeing him smile, Jiang Chuyi felt extremely distressed. She spoke incoherently, “It’s just that I took too long, dragging out so much time, causing you to be discovered by people. If I had been a bit smarter and completed the task earlier, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Zong Ye put down the medicine bottle in his hand and asked, “Why are you crying?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cry.”
While apologizing, Jiang Chuyi’s tears fell even faster.
Her emotions seemed to have suddenly found an outlet. Jiang Chuyi’s vision blurred as she repeatedly muttered sorry.
The group of people looked at each other, stunned. She herself also felt very embarrassed. She immediately turned around and wiped her tears with her hand.
Zong Ye immediately stood up and walked to squat down in front of Jiang Chuyi.
His gaze settled on her face. He wanted to raise his hand to wipe her tears for her but had to restrain himself.
He said softly, “It’s alright now, Chuyi. Don’t be afraid.”
“I… I’m not afraid.” Jiang Chuyi’s eyes were misty with tears. “I just feel a bit distressed for you…”
Zong Ye was quiet.
Realizing that there were people all around, she struggled to control her crying tone and added to her words, “I’m also sad that the little fan you gave me was also trampled and broken.”
