After the Lantern Festival, the two officially entered the dating reality show that Zhou Lu had previously negotiated for them. The organizers appeared slightly displeased due to their violation of the initial requirements.
Only after Zhu Yin invested thirty million yuan in post-production costs did they change their attitude and create a script for the couple.
Zhu Yin initially didn't want to participate in the show, but after reading the script, she agreed. Although some parts of the script were absurd, the script stipulated that they were the designated CP, and they were to portray a gradually developing emotional relationship.
Thus, on the first day, the two entered the program as if they were strangers.
The program featured a total of four CPs. Two pairs were meant to be manufactured CPs, one was an openly declared couple, and the other was a newlywed couple.
They belonged to the first category. The male of the other manufactured CP was the popular idol Ye Qingyi, whom the program had initially intended to pair with Zhu Yin. His CP was Zhong Peihan, the nationally beloved "daughter" who had been popular since childhood. Reportedly, she had offended someone and was suppressed for over a year. Now that her adversary was gone, she had regained resources and was paired with a popular idol, making it easier to gain attention.
The publicly declared couple consisted of the acting "little flower" Tang Ruoxi and her "kept man" boyfriend. Tang Ruoxi had been in the industry for several years, possessed excellent acting skills, and enjoyed good public favor. Unfortunately, she was hopelessly devoted to love. Her boyfriend, a fitness coach, was rumored to have inappropriate relationships with multiple women. Despite this, she brought him onto the show, which was truly bizarre.
The only married couple was the veteran "fresh meat" Xu Zhenghao and his model wife Du Bingmeng. Xu Zhenghao had been in the industry for many years and had experienced a period of immense popularity. Now considered past his prime, he retained the reputation of a seasoned actor and held considerable national recognition. Du Bingmeng was a newcomer in the modeling industry, and her rise to fame was largely due to her newlywed husband.
Due to the script, they arrived separately. This program technically had two amateur participants, with Chong Yan accounting for half. Although he had gained some fame during the filming of "Son of Heaven," his scenes were later deleted by the program. After such a long time, he had been largely forgotten.
The other half was the model Du Bingmeng. Since she was not from the same circle, many people did not recognize her.
Tang Ruoxi's boyfriend was a complete amateur, recognized by no one. His name was only learned during the introductions.
After the host introduced the sponsors, they introduced the participants one by one and then announced the filming rules.
On the first day, the program would assign tasks to the eight guests. Those with the highest scores would have priority in choosing their teammates, which essentially meant choosing their CPs.
Instead of allowing free team formation, they were made to compete through tasks. The host emphasized that choosing a "teammate" did not consider gender, clearly indicating that the program intended to stir up drama from the outset.
The eight guests soon received their tasks, and everyone was a little dumbfounded.
They had expected tasks like general knowledge quizzes. To their surprise, the twenty questions given by the program covered politics, history, geography, physics, chemistry, and biology, both ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign. The questions were diverse, with evenly distributed scores, aiming to allow everyone to display their true abilities.
The tasks consisted only of multiple-choice and open-ended questions. They were answered quickly, and within ten minutes, someone "submitted their paper."
The judges immediately began "grading."
Du Bingmeng, who had studied abroad, was the first to submit. She only answered the multiple-choice questions, getting most of them wrong, ultimately scoring twenty points. The second was Ye Qingyi. He maintained his academic prodigy persona, which was not an exaggeration. He missed one multiple-choice question and one open-ended question, scoring ninety points. The third was Tang Ruoxi's boyfriend, Kong Qian, who achieved an unexpected result, leaving only one open-ended question unanswered, scoring ninety-five points. Fourth was Xu Zhenghao, with seventy-five points. Fifth was Tang Ruoxi, with sixty points. She seemed unconcerned, running to Kong Qian after submitting her paper and affectionately hooking his arm with a smile. Sixth was Chong Yan, who also left many questions blank, scoring fifty-five points; he appeared quite disappointed.
The scores of the other two were not disclosed.
The program, feigning mystery, allowed those whose scores were announced to choose first. If their scores were insufficient, they would depend on the other's willingness.
Clearly, they considered Zhu Yin and Zhong Peihan as golden tickets, intending to generate more buzz with these two.
Ye Qingyi, following the script, chose Zhong Peihan. Unexpectedly, Kong Qian immediately raised his hand, expressing his desire to choose Zhong Peihan as well. Tang Ruoxi's expression stiffened, appearing somewhat embarrassed. However, he remained insistent.
"My score is the highest, I have the right to choose first."
The host, having seen it all, smiled and said into the microphone, "A high score does grant priority, but since Peihan scored a perfect score, Peihan, who do you want to choose?"
Zhong Peihan smiled and walked over to Ye Qingyi.
The host announced Zhong Peihan's perfect score. Her paper was flawless, with no mistakes. She smiled, while others displayed various expressions. The program's cameramen, keen on creating drama, captured everyone's subtle micro-expressions.
Especially Kong Qian's slightly disbelieving yet extremely unwilling expression.
"Okay, our first pair is now established as Peihan and Qingyi. You can think of a team name. Others, continue your choices."
Everyone assumed that Kong Qian, having been rejected by Zhong Peihan, would now settle for Tang Ruoxi. However, he reverted to his old ways and once again wanted to choose Zhu Yin.
Zhu Yin looked at him with a mocking expression, her disdain undisguised. Amidst Kong Qian's slightly inferior yet confident gaze, the host smiled and said, "What a coincidence, our Yin Yin also scored a perfect score. This will depend on her wishes."
Zhu Yin walked over to Chong Yan's side.
Within a mere two hours, the program had already conceived countless potential trending headlines.
Initially, they had not wanted to include Tang Ruoxi's boyfriend, as it was a celebrity dating show and having an amateur was deemed unsuitable. Now, it seemed he was incredibly suitable.
Following his girlfriend onto a dating show, only to choose other female celebrities twice, and failing both times because the female celebrities, having scored higher than him, chose others.
They could already imagine Kong Qian being thoroughly lambasted by netizens if this segment were aired.
With the two most popular individuals chosen, he naturally had no other choice, eventually forming a team with Tang Ruoxi.
Xu Zhenghao and Du Bingmeng were already a couple, and neither of them had significant fame. They were not contended for and naturally formed a team.
After the team formation, the host began assigning tasks.
The eight individuals, now in four groups, would participate in games prepared by the program. These games were part of the show's content and also served as hints for future tasks.
These games would last for three days. After three days, they would change locations, and based on their performance in these games, their compatibility would be tested. Their compatibility would then determine their living accommodations.
The reality show truly never forgot to stir up trouble.