Marry a female star at a bargain price

Two days after returning to work following the holiday, Friday arrived.

This is the fifth recording of "Longing for Married Life".

This National Day holiday was a very difficult time for the production team, especially director Rutgerdan.

The reason is that the only soul characters in "Rebirth"—the couple Lin Xiao and Han Xixi—are just too popular.

Unlike the initial popularity of the show, this time the buzz is entirely negative, completely ruining the careers of two rising stars.

This is definitely not a good thing.

In just over two months, the couple experienced a dramatic reversal in public opinion, demonstrating that the entertainment industry is more ruthless and unpredictable than prostitutes and actors, and more fickle than the face of God, characterized by its unpredictable and ever-changing nature.

From the perspective of variety show promotion, it's not necessarily a bad thing for guests to become famous or disliked.

In particular, if a guest's fame or infamy is due to their own actions and has nothing to do with the production team, then the production team is very happy to accept it.

Because they can enjoy the traffic brought by being both famous and infamous, without having to endure the criticism from netizens.

They were too busy secretly laughing to keep quiet.

But this kind of scheming can only be used on some minor celebrities who are only moderately famous.

This approach is completely ineffective when applied to Lin Xiao and Han Xixi, a top-tier couple; in fact, it can only backfire.

After all, their popularity has already reached its peak.

The production team has already capitalized on all the potential benefits; they can't expect to gain any more from viewership and popularity.

In fact, the production team didn't expect to gain anything more.

Since its premiere, "Rebirth" has been a huge hit in various metrics, setting multiple records for the program IP and even for the entire Hunan TV.

Such a magnificent scene of boiling oil over a raging fire.

It feels exhilarating at first, but later it inexplicably evokes fear and dread.

Extreme prosperity leads to decline, and extreme joy turns to sorrow.

Five thousand years of history have taught us countless lessons, and these lessons have become a warning etched into the very bones of the Chinese people!
Therefore, with the show already at its current level of popularity, the production team no longer dares to hope for it to reach even greater heights.

As the show's popularity and reputation continue to rise, there is little room left for growth, and it will create insurmountable pressure for the next season.

and so.

The only hope that the show's director, Rutgerdan, can launch smoothly is that this season will be completed without any major issues.

However, Lin Xiao and Han Xixi's decision to turn to the dark side has brought deep concerns to this "small expectation".

Director Lu knows all too well that traffic is a double-edged sword; it can bring immense benefits, but it can also easily destroy a shining pearl.

If Lin Xiao and Han Xixi don't make it through this time...

Not only their own careers and reputations, but even the popular show "Rebirth" will be forced to end in failure—this is the biggest crisis since the show started, and also the only one that can be foreseen.

So lately, Lutdan and the entire production team have been having a really tough time, unable to eat or sleep.

They were even more anxious than the couple involved.

They didn't dare to hope that the couple could clear their names; they just hoped that this wave of scandals would land smoothly and be quietly overshadowed by other big gossip in the entertainment industry.

However, what the entire production team never expected was...

Faced with this challenge, Lin Xiao surprisingly came up with a solution: he orchestrated a grand spectacle of "farmers from the entire town presenting banners of appreciation," which immediately garnered strong support and praise from the central propaganda department, easily erasing all negative voices online.

That's an incredibly awesome move.

Other celebrities, when faced with scandals and infamy, are considered heroes if they can stubbornly refuse to admit it, and at most they'll issue a statement or lawyer's letter to prove their innocence.

In any case, they would never dare to fight back against netizens, even if these people verbally abused them to the point of being completely humiliated!
Lin Xiao, however, skipped the low-level stages of "denial" and "self-proof" and went straight to covering up the mouths of all netizens.

It's absolutely outrageous!

You are the Thousand-Hand Guanyin!
On the surface, he did nothing.

The villagers had spontaneously sent him banners to express their gratitude, but when the central government's official media intervened, it was as if they had bestowed an imperial robe upon him.

Central government: This guy is under my protection!
This has left netizens completely baffled.

People no longer dared to pursue the matter of his deputy mayor working part-time as a ride-hailing driver and his wife's alleged plastic surgery.

Netizen: How many guts do I have to go against an outstanding grassroots role model strongly promoted by the central government?!

People didn't just believe him and his wife; they simply dared not question them anymore.

This is essentially silencing hundreds of millions of netizens; it's incredibly impressive.

Even the well-traveled Lutdan was stunned by Lin Xiao's actions, and was so impressed that he wanted to take off his clothes and give him a thumbs up.

But Lin Xiao had something to say: I really didn't do anything!

……

Anyway.

Before the fifth recording, the negative rumors surrounding Lin Xiao and Han Xixi were promptly, accurately, and effectively dispelled.

So the entire production team happily and earnestly began their first day of work after the holiday.

Because of the National Day holiday.

For this recording, Friday and Saturday were both workdays, with only Sunday as a rest day.

This meant that most of Lin Xiao and Han Xixi's scenes had to be filmed at the town government and school.

Lin Xiao didn't care. He could do one job and get two salaries, do two jobs in front of netizens across the country, and not be afraid of being criticized even though he was in a powerful position. It couldn't be more comfortable.

Han Xixi was a little nervous this time.

Because she led the Shiliang Primary School choir to register for the Yizhou City Primary and Secondary School Students' Choir Competition, the preliminary round will be held this Saturday.

It was said to be a coincidence, but it wasn't a coincidence at all.

Prior to this year, the Yizhou Municipal Education Bureau had never organized a city-wide choral competition.

The reason we suddenly decided to hold this event this year!
Because of the broadcast of "The Rebirth", Han Xixi's story of serving as a volunteer music teacher at Shiliang Primary School went viral and became a hot topic across the country, attracting attention and praise from netizens.

Given this level of public interest, it would be incredibly foolish for the Yizhou Education Bureau not to take any action.

Therefore, after an emergency study, the Education Bureau organized the first citywide primary and secondary school choir competition. A notice was issued before National Day, and the Shiliang Primary School Choir was selected by Mashan County as the representative team to participate in the competition.

The notice was sent before the holiday, and the competition was on the first Saturday after the holiday.

This schedule is quite tight.

Actually, there was no need to be so nervous. After all, the semester has just begun, and there are at least two months to arrange the choir competition.

The reason for setting the final date so quickly is not to finish the competition as soon as possible so that students can return to their studies.

Instead... the recording of "Rebirth" will be completed in another half month.

With such a great promotional platform and such a popular program, why not take advantage of it?

This time, the Yizhou Education Bureau didn't even bother with pretense; they were really scheming, practically jumping right into the faces of netizens across the country.

Lin Xiao's comment on this was: Well done!!
In today's internet age, many government departments want to connect with the internet, but are too embarrassed to jump on the bandwagon.

Therefore, some of the publicity work was done terribly.

It's neither serious nor funny; the videos it posts are a complete mess.

The Yizhou Education Bureau, on the other hand, targeted the trending topic, disregarded its "face," and didn't care about letting all netizens see its shameless "蹭热度" (蹭热度 is a Chinese idiom meaning to piggyback on a trend) approach. It only wanted to be a pig that flies on the cusp of a trend, taking the opportunity to expand the boundaries of quality education in the city.

This is the decisiveness and courage that relevant departments should have when taking advantage of the internet in the internet age.

Initially, Han Xixi wasn't prepared to participate in this choral competition.

On the one hand, it's because of her personality that she doesn't like to stand out.

On the other hand, she knew that the choir she led had all started learning music and choral singing from scratch, with poor foundations, weak bases, and short training time.

Even though they've been attending classes every week for the past month, their live choral singing is quite impressive.

But to be honest, there is definitely still a considerable gap compared to the choirs of urban schools.

Moreover, the children come from rural areas, and more than 80% of them are left-behind children, which shows their fear in their eyes.

Han Xixi didn't look down on them.

Instead, they genuinely believe that using music to broaden their understanding of the world is helpful, but forcing them to participate in competitions in the city may not necessarily be a good thing.

If they win, it's good that it can help boost the children's confidence. But if they lose, it might shatter the confidence and sense of belonging they've just found in music.

It's no wonder Han Xixi is thinking so far ahead now.

For more than a month, she has been going to teach the children every Friday without fail. Facing those simple and expectant little faces, Xixi's state of mind has also undergone tremendous changes.

At first, she simply hoped to use her abilities to give children the opportunity to experience the beauty of music. Later, she fully embraced the role of "teaching and nurturing."

Moreover, the focus is gradually shifting from "teaching" to "nurturing people".

Class is now in session.

What she cares about more is not who sang the wrong note or whose beat was off, but the mental state and psychological condition of each child.

After finishing her choir class every Friday, she wouldn't rush off, but instead play games and chat with the children, truly interacting with them as friends.

After more than a month of contact.

Han Xixi now knows the family circumstances of each student like the back of her hand. Because of this familiarity, she feels even more pity and can't bear to see these children bear setbacks that they shouldn't have to bear at their age because of a competition that has no real significance.

But rationally, Xixi also felt that participating in the competition was a good opportunity for the children to get out of the mountains and see the world.

So she hesitated.

Back home, she confided her doubts to her husband, which resulted in Mayor Lin bursting into laughter.

Xi Xi was initially confused, then her eyes widened in anger.

She put her hands on her hips and snapped, "What the hell are you laughing at?! If you laugh again, I'll sew your mouth shut!!!"

Lin Xiao was so frightened that he immediately straightened his face and fell silent.

He silently complained to himself: Ever since his wife became a music teacher, her temper has gotten worse and worse. Sure enough, whoever teaches this book goes crazy!
"What are you laughing at? Do you think my worries are meaningless, that I'm making a mountain out of a molehill and creating trouble for myself?" Han Xixi asked angrily.

"Uh……"

Lin Xiao looked like he wanted to say something but didn't dare to.

Xi Xi waved her hand and said, "Tell me, as long as it's the truth and not mocking me, I won't be angry!"

Lin Xiao rubbed his hands together, grinned slyly, and nodded: "Yes, you're making a mountain out of a molehill and creating trouble for yourself!"

Xi Xi took a deep breath, her anger instantly reaching the top of her head.

"Hey, you're not angry at all!"

"call……"

Han Xixi tried hard to control her emotions, "Then tell me, why do you think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill?"

Lin Xiao shrugged helplessly: "Is that even a question? You're definitely going to win this competition! The Municipal Education Bureau organized this competition just to ride on your and the 'Rebirth' program's popularity. Now that they've gotten the publicity, are they going to turn around and award the championship to another team? They're asking for trouble!!"

Xi Xi was stunned, her face showing a "you can do that?" expression.

Lin Xiao continued with a laugh, "Even if they wanted to do that, they'd have to consider whether they could withstand the online backlash! Let me put it this way, if there were even one sane person among the education bureau leaders, this championship would be yours for the taking. You yourself haven't even participated in the finals, and you've already secured the championship trophy, yet you're here worrying about whether the children's confidence will be damaged if they lose... Isn't that just pure Versailles?"

After his analysis, Han Xixi was left speechless.

She wanted to argue a bit, to rationally point out that the children's choral singing level was not yet mature, and that there was still a lot of room for improvement in terms of both skill and ability.

But when the words came out, I felt... well... these things don't seem to matter!
The quality of art is inherently subjective.

Besides, it's just a primary school choir competition, not a very professional or formal competition. Most of the judges are non-professionals with different musical pitches.

No matter how many standards you list, I still feel that this team is inspiring, what can you do about it?
Look at it this way.

Lin Xiao said that the Shiliang Primary School team is bound to win the championship, and it seems like... there's no problem!
Xi Xi suddenly felt very conflicted.

It was a relief for the children, but it also made me feel uncomfortable and awkward about using connections.

What's even more uncomfortable and awkward is that she used her own connections, and did so so brazenly and shamelessly!
Xixi could also foresee that when the show aired and the whole internet knew that her team had won the championship, there would definitely be some discordant voices accusing her of rigging the game.

Such a reputation is definitely not good, and Xixi felt wronged just thinking about it.

But then she thought about how bright and cheerful the children's faces would be after winning the championship, and her heart immediately softened.

Then Lin Xiao said, "Actually, there's no use in you hesitating! This competition is specifically for you and your choir. The county has already registered you, so there's no reason not to participate. Even if you don't want to go, the kids definitely want to go. Kids this age are the most competitive."

"Moreover, the various departments above will definitely try their best to get you to agree to participate, and they might even send your dad as an intermediary. If you don't want to receive a call from your dad, you'd better give in quickly; everyone's happy is the best outcome!"

Xi Xi found it both funny and frustrating.

I initially volunteered as a teacher because I felt sorry for the children, but after consistently teaching for a while, I've gained a lot of happiness and a sense of accomplishment.

She has absolutely no regrets about doing it.

But now it seems that anything related to Han Xixi's fame and popularity will inevitably attract various forces and desires, making what should be a simple matter complicated.

Xixi hates these things, but she can't avoid them and can only force herself to adapt and accept them.

……

The fifth recording went very smoothly.

Han Xixi led the children in rehearsals at school on Friday, and on Saturday she led the team to Yizhou City to participate in the preliminary rounds, where they unsurprisingly secured a spot in the finals.

The production team of "Rebirth" followed and filmed the entire process.

Lin Xiao was busy at work, directing the village and town merger project, so he couldn't go to the competition to cheer on his wife.

This resulted in the couple spending most of their time working during the entire recording of a show that was supposed to be a slow-paced documentary about marriage. They only met briefly for a few hours in the evening, and went to bed after dinner.

This pair has a completely different art style from the other two groups.

As the show is about to end, the scripts of the other two groups have progressed from a sweet and romantic beginning to a conflict stage where they create trouble out of nothing, have conflicts erupt, and then resolve those conflicts.

The two houses were filled with hysterical arguments and heart-wrenching cries, a scene straight out of a romance novel, one of unbearable pain.

But when the camera pans to Lin Xiao and Han Xixi, the scene is completely different.

It's like it switched directly from an idol drama to a workplace drama.

The couple, though not in the same frame, were equally spirited and full of energy.

One of them was guiding all the cadres in the town to promote the merger of villages and towns, encouraging them to work hard and overcome difficulties, with an attitude of not giving up until victory was achieved.

A giant choir of dozens of people, led by the coach, is intensifying rehearsals, adjusting formations, and boosting morale, determined to win the championship trophy.

The couple were both incredibly excited, as if they'd been injected with adrenaline.

Although they weren't in the same frame, the similarities between them, despite being dozens of miles apart, and the way they shone brightly in their respective careers, inexplicably moved Xiao Fang, the group director who was reviewing the film that evening, to tears.

This is a very strange contrast.

The other two couples, as if afraid others wouldn't know they were in love, used all sorts of sweet words as proof and arguments as counter-proof, making for a dramatic and emotionally intense storyline.

But the staff only felt overwhelmed by what they saw.

Lin Xiao and Han Xixi have remained aloof since the show started. Sometimes they sit there without saying a word, and even passing villagers find it hard to believe they are a couple.

There were no sweet words exchanged, and the interactions were uneventful.

They were clearly the youngest and most likely to be sentimental, yet they acted like an old married couple more than the other two couples, which was strange.

Now it's even more outrageous.

The couple simply stopped appearing in the same frame, blatantly focusing on their careers while recording the show, as if they regarded romance as worthless.

The couple was practically ready to recite their oath of joining the Party right in front of the camera!
However, this tone, which was so out of place with "Longing for Married Life", somehow allowed the director, cinematographer, and editor to see a different dimension of mutual understanding and feel the true meaning of married life.

The truth is this: matching physical appearance, money, and power is merely the result of desire; only a deep connection at the level of the soul is the key to mutual appreciation and a lasting marriage.

Lin Xiao and Han Xixi are a couple who shine brightly in their respective careers and are highly compatible on a soul level.

Musical prodigies, top singers, handsome men and beautiful women...

These labels that make them admired by the world are actually just some of the most insignificant qualities they possess.

Their shared passion for their careers and lives, along with their genuine kindness, were the key factors that drew them together.

That evening, while reviewing the footage shot over the past two days, the director, Rutgerdan, was also present.

This woman, known as the "female devil" of the variety show industry, is the creator of the super IP "Longing for Married Life". Ironically, she herself is still single at the age of forty and resists the word "marriage" like a raging flood.

Three seasons, nine couples, the show was filmed with touching scenes of love, but the director was not moved in the slightest outside of the show.

Marriage? Love? It's all just a joke fueled by hormones!

However, on that very night...

For the first time, Lutdan's eyes went unfocused as he looked at the two screens showing the radiant Lin Xiao and Han Xixi.

Director Lu seemed somewhat dazed.

These two young people, clearly, never appeared in the same frame, never looked at each other, never even exchanged WeChat messages, and not a single word or phrase was connected to their relationship.

But inexplicably, she felt a deep bond, a transcendent appreciation, and a resonance of souls.

At that moment, Lutdan felt a chill run down his spine.

"So this time... I actually managed to capture my true love?" (End of Chapter)