As Jiang Bin was entering the names of the guests into the mini-program and confirming the random pairings, the livestream chat exploded.
— What is the production team even doing? Pairing Jian Sheng with someone like this is worse than her being alone. How can she possibly beat others with a burden?
— I agree. While I sympathize with Jian Sheng, can we please not bring such a young child onto the show just for fun?
— I’m not saying anything bad about Jian Sheng, but it was wrong for the production team to invite such a young girl to participate in the show in the first place!
— At this point, I’d rather the random pairings weren’t random than have my favorite star paired with a liability.
Jiang Bin’s demonstration of the random pairings on his phone gradually stopped.
The results were clearly displayed:
Jian Xiuhuan, Yao Yaoyao.
Ke Xuan, Zhu Danni.
Jian Sheng, Xiao Yufeng.
Jian Xiuhuan was a top-tier celebrity who had emerged in the last two years, not to mention Jian Sheng had recently gained attention.
Among the remaining four, Zhu Danni had just turned eighteen this year. A former child star, she was known as the “nation’s little sister” for her lively, cute, and genuine persona.
Yao Yaoyao was a prodigy musician who had become incredibly popular in recent years. A fiery Sichuan girl, she had a strong personality and was highly independent.
Xiao Yufeng was a new idol, dabbling in acting, variety shows, and singing.
His career path was somewhat similar to Jian Xiuhuan’s, and his personality was also characterized by a similar pride and a refusal to be constrained by so-called celebrity status or fan opinions. Many people referred to him as “Little Xiuhuan.”
However, Xiao Yufeng had publicly stated that he was only himself and did not wish to be described as anyone else.
Ke Xuan was the most low-key among everyone, a veteran actor with considerable skill. Due to his infrequent marketing, he wasn’t widely recognized, but he had an abundance of outstanding works and roles.
He was the type of actor whose roles one could easily recall and name, but whose own name might temporarily slip one’s mind.
While the random group matching was in progress, Jian Xiuhuan quietly introduced the guests present to Jian Sheng.
After the introductions, Jiang Bin read out the matching results from his phone.
As Jian Xiuhuan listened to the allocation, his brows furrowed.
“Brother Jiang, this kind of pairing is not what I agreed to with the production team!”
He had thought the so-called random pairing was just a formality, and that backroom dealings were quite common.
He figured that the random pairings in variety shows were usually fake, with all combinations carefully orchestrated for better program effects.
However, when he agreed to be on the show with Hu Guangxu and requested that Jian Sheng join him, he had made his position clear.
He would take care of his own sister!
What if Sheng Sheng was mistreated by someone else?
Or what if she was suppressed or plotted against by her teammates, affecting her image in the eyes of the audience?
Jiang Bin gave a wry smile, “Director Hu arranged this. There’s nothing I can do even if you tell me.”
He patted Jian Xiuhuan on the shoulder, “Little brother, don’t worry. The show allows for mutual assistance between groups, but only after your own group has completed their tasks.”
“If you’re worried about your sister, you can quickly head to the task point and then go back to find her.”
Hearing this rule, Jian Xiuhuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, while inwardly cursing Hu Guangxu as an old fox.
Wasn’t this essentially urging him to reach the finish line by any means necessary, as long as it didn’t violate any fundamental principles?
He glanced at the production team’s dedicated van parked not far away, as if he could see a bald old fox smiling and stroking his head.
Meanwhile, the heated arguments in the comments section had also calmed down considerably.
— At least the production team has some humanity and didn’t make the guests carry the child to the finish line alone.
— I’ve already prepared myself to watch this episode in two parts.
— One part will be the challenge journey of the other two groups to their new homes, and the other will be a family-raising variety show featuring Jian Sheng’s group. Double the fun.
— Props to the sister upstairs! But Sheng Bao was paired with Xiao Yufeng. Can Xiao Yufeng, who looks down on everyone, take good care of Sheng Bao?
— I feel like this group is going to be interesting. Calling it now, I’m waiting for Xiao Yufeng to break.
After appeasing Jian Xiuhuan, Jiang Bin paid particular attention to Xiao Yufeng’s expression.
Seeing that this young master, famous in the entertainment industry for his innate rebellious streak, didn’t seem displeased, he finally relaxed.
Thank goodness, at least the guests seemed to have calmed down.
“Next, I will explain the rules for the first stage.”
Jiang Bin held a small card and adjusted his earpiece.
“The first leg of the journey to the new home is from here to the South City Bus Station. You need to find a bus with the license plate Jingxxxxxx.”
“Upon arrival, collect the first stage task completion card from the driver, and then you are free to move about.”
“Before heading to the bus station, the production team will confiscate all cash, mobile phones, bank cards, and any other payment devices you have.”
“After submitting everything, the production team will provide a detailed map of Beijing, including bus and subway station routes.”
Upon hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but look distressed.
They knew the production team wouldn’t make things easy for them, but they never expected them to be so ruthless.
From here to the South City Bus Station was at least twenty kilometers, and even without traffic jams, the journey would take an hour.
They were penniless and didn’t even have their ID cards. How were they supposed to get there?
Jiang Bin finished explaining all the rules for the first stage with a smile.
“...Next, everyone, please voluntarily submit your phones, wallets, and other items, and then proceed to the designated destination by any means necessary.”
“The deadline is before 5 PM.”
“The production team will assess the guests based on comprehensive factors such as their performance along the way and the time taken.”
“Those with higher scores will have the priority to choose their new homes upon reaching the destination.”
Even though the prospect of choosing their new homes first brought a glimmer of hope to many, their expressions drooped again as their belongings were collected and placed into the storage bags prepared by the production team.
Zhu Danni said with a crestfallen face, “Is a phone that’s not in your hand still a phone?”
Ke Xuan handed over his wallet with a pained expression.
“Of course… it is!”
“Just like wife cake without a wife is still wife cake, and an empty wallet is still a wallet, a phone that’s not in your hand is naturally still a phone.”
— Hahahaha, how did I not realize Ke Xuan was so funny before?
— Why don’t you guys form a group and do stand-up comedy together?
Production staff members collected items one by one until they noticed the large backpack Jian Xiuhuan was carrying.
“Teacher Xiuhuan, wasn’t your luggage already sent to the production team in advance? What’s with the backpack?”
Jian Xiuhuan then remembered the items he was carrying. He put Jian Sheng down and held the backpack to his chest.
“This is for Sheng Sheng. Teacher knew Sheng Sheng would be coming directly to the production team, so she asked me to bring it for her.”
The staff member asked curiously, “Can we know what’s inside?”
Jian Xiuhuan hesitated slightly, “I suppose so.”
Saying that, he opened the backpack.
The first thing visible was a folded piece of paper filled with writing.
Jian Xiuhuan unfolded it, took a look, and then, with a strange expression, read it aloud.
“Sheng Sheng, I heard you’re coming back soon. I’ve put the recorded course materials for you on a USB drive.”
“There are some simple brushes and ink in the backpack, along with your accumulated homework from the past few days. You can practice during your free time while filming.”
“It’s inconvenient to carry a full set of art supplies, so please make do with these.”