"Ke Jingyang! You went to the convenience store last night to buy things and didn't even bother to wear a mask. Now look, you're trending again! Count on your fingers, how many times has this happened this month!"
"My dear Manager Lu, if I wear a black mask late at night, covered up from head to toe, people who don't know better might think I'm robbing the place. If the convenience store clerk got scared and called the police, you wouldn't be seeing my name trending on Weibo today, but going to the police station to bail me out."
"Okay, even if that's the case, if you needed to buy something, you could have asked your assistant to help. Why did you have to go by yourself!"
Other celebrities crave the trending spots, but Lu Yuanzhi wishes his artist would trend a little less. Day in and day out, there wasn't a single moment of peace.
Every day, he has to clean up his messes. Is it easy being his manager?!
If this continues, he'll be driven to an early grave.
Lu Yuanzhi glanced at the teenager on the sofa, who looked completely indifferent, not taking his words to heart at all. He took a deep breath and directly released a big move. "Oh, right, there's one more thing I need to tell you. I just signed you up for a parent-child reality show. It's scheduled to start filming next week, so get ready."
"...???" Ke Jingyang, who was engrossed in playing a game, paused mid-button press at the sudden news. The next second, his character was killed.
The large "game over" screen meant that the game he had worked so hard to this level had ended abruptly.
He had been playing this single-player game for two whole days and nights, finally reaching the last level. He was so close, so close to beating it, but now, because of a mistake, his character was dead, and he had to start all over again.
"...Manager Lu, you definitely did this on purpose. Couldn't you have waited until I finished the game to tell me?" Ke Jingyang knew he couldn't play the game anymore. He tossed the game controller aside, decided not to play anymore and instead intended to discuss what his manager had just said.
"Besides, I think you need to explain to me what you mean by 'parent-child reality show'." Ke Jingyang's lightly silver-gray hair was flamboyant.
He was a perfectly decent young man who had been single since birth. Forget kids, he didn’t even have a girlfriend! What the hell was he doing on a parent-child reality show?!
"There's nothing to explain. It's exactly what it sounds like. I signed you up for a reality show that Fruit TV recently planned called Traveling with Baby, where you become an intern dad and travel with kids along with other celebrities."
He originally thought that this was just his manager Lu Yuanzhi casually making it up to scare him, who knew that this parent-child reality show really existed...
Ke Jingyang scratched his fluffy short hair, and said in a slightly annoyed tone, "I just finished a concert last month. You could at least let me rest for a while!" Lu Yuanzhi, this black-bellied Zhou Papi was clearly just finding new ways to torture him!
[Note – Zhou Bapi: A notorious landlord character from the famous Chinese satirical story Gao Yubao (also known as The Story of Zhou Bapi). He is known for his extreme exploitation and cruel, oppressive treatment of tenant peasants. Zhou Bapi is considered one of the most infamous “evil landlord” figures in Communist Chinese literature. The term is often used figuratively to describe someone who is ruthlessly exploitative.]
Lu Yuanzhi pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and said leisurely, "Isn't participating in this kind of reality show a form of break? It's a publicly funded trip with money to be made. You just have to take care of a child on the side. You should be grateful for such a good deal, you brat."
Ke Jingyang: "..." Thank you, I don't need this kind of good deal!!
He hated little kids the most.
The thought of having an unknown child clinging to him all day long in the coming months, and maybe even being required by the show to call him "Daddy Ke" made Ke Jingyang feel uncomfortable.
No way! He absolutely cannot participate in this kind of mentally and physically damaging program!!
"Manager Lu, if you're not afraid that I'll get into a fight with the kid on the show, then let me participate. Anyway, I'm thick-skinned. I have no psychological pressure to bully a child, and I'm not afraid of being blacklisted by the entire internet." Desperate to escape this reality show that sounded so terrible, Ke Jingyang could only try to threaten his manager.
However, since Lu Yuanzhi could become Qin Entertainment's gold medal agent, and single-handedly made several first-tier stars popular in a few years, how could he be scared by his few words.
"You don't have to worry about that. I've already asked the show to find you a well-behaved little girl. There's absolutely no way the two of you will have a chance to fight."
He was confident that Ke Jingyang might fight with a thick-skinned little boy on the show, but against a gentle little girl with no means to fight back, Ke Jingyang was completely helpless.
Although this brat had a face as thick as a city wall, he has not reached such a shameless point.
Ke Jingyang, whose personality was firmly grasped, was extremely annoyed and depressed. He broke the jar and said, "I don't care, I can't possibly record this parent-child reality show. If you have the ability, tie me up and take me there."
Anyway, he would stay at home and refuse to leave on the day of recording. He would like to see what Lu Yuanzhi could really do.
Lu Yuanzhi had already expected him to do this, and said calmly: "This matter is not up to you. The liquidated damages for this variety show contract are very high. If you don't go to record the show, I can only sell all the Lego bricks in your room to pay off the debt."
Ke Jingyang's fans all knew that the Lego bricks he treasured were his favorite, and others couldn't even touch them, let alone sell them.
"...Can you really bear to see me suffer like this? Otherwise, let's take a step back. I won't resist, and you can change me to a variety show, such as one where I can play games?" Seeing that he really couldn't refuse, Ke Jingyang began to take a roundabout approach.
What program is not better than raising children these days! He would rather survive on a deserted island than take other people's bear children!!
"There are other variety shows, but this parent-child reality show pays the most, so don't think about the others for the time being. If you want to continue after this reality show, I will arrange it for you." Lu Yuanzhi ignored the silver-haired teenager's suddenly fierce and hostile gaze, his expression calm.
——Ke Jingyang, this brat, has a lot of problems, and especially likes to take an inch. I can't just keep spoiling him.
Ke Jingyang was good-looking and could sing and dance, which made him very popular with young fans, especially women between the ages of 18 and 38. But among older, younger, and more general audiences, his popularity was almost nonexistent. Simply put, he had no national recognition, and his personal charm was nearly zero.
At this stage, his career had stagnated, so Lu Yuanzhi considered letting him go on a variety show to make a breakthrough. Among the many variety shows, this parent-child reality show was the most suitable for him to "transform" and is the most effective in solidifying his fanbase.
Anyway, no matter how you look at it, participating in this show was good for him, as long as he didn’t mess things up himself…
"I'm doing this for your own good. Go online and see for yourself. Aren't there enough news reports saying that you have a bad temper and play big names? Don't think that you can do whatever you want now that you have a little fame. You should really change your stinky temper of quitting at every turn."
"Please, I'm not just a little famous, I'm obviously charming thousands of girls, okay?" Ke Jingyang raised a confident smile on his face, "You can disrespect me as a person, but you can't disrespect my personal charm."
Lu Yuanzhi: "..."
This narcissistic and arrogant boy was actually his artist. Lu Yuanzhi felt that sooner or later, his good reputation in the industry would be ruined by this little brat.
"Then I'll trouble you to use your personal charm to charm the little girl in the upcoming parent-child reality show. Don't say I didn't give you any rest time. I'll give you a month's vacation after this reality show is over."
"Also, before the official recording of the show, go dye your silver hair back to black. With your current rebellious look, you’ll scare the kids.”
Ke Jingyang had not only dyed his hair but also got two ear piercings and wore diamond studs. If not for that incredibly handsome face that looked like it was crafted by God, he’d be a complete delinquent.
Ke Jingyang couldn't stand his manager nagging in his ear the most, and said impatiently, "Okay, okay, I'll go, okay?! You're so long-winded."
"Isn't it just a half-grown kid? I promise to make her obedient in minutes." After seeing the child arranged by the program team, he would first threaten and bribe the kid to ask her to be obedient to him during the recording time of the reality show in the future, and not to bother him if there was nothing to do, and even more so if there was something to do.
Lu Yuanzhi knew Ke Jingyang too well. The moment his eyes turned, Lu Yuanzhi could already tell he was up to no good.
"Ke Jingyang, if you dare to bully the kids, I'll let you go back to inherit the family business. Anyway, there are only two paths in front of you now, either go to the reality show honestly, or go home and live off your parents. Choose one of the two yourself." In order to make Ke Jingyang behave himself in the next few months, and not let him torment the production crew and the children who were his traveling partners, Lu Yuanzhi had to pull out his trump card.
Not many people in the industry knew that Lu Yuanzhi and Ke Jingyang were cousins.
But because they had grown up together, Ke Jingyang had every reason to believe that Lu Yuanzhi would definitely do something as ruthless as forcing him to go back and take over the family business.
==
The afternoon of the second day after receiving the call from the staff, Feng Yaoqin took her daughter to the audition site of the Traveling with Baby program team on time.
The location was arranged in a building of the Fruit TV. In addition to her family's Suisui, there were nine other children who passed the preliminary test, including boys and girls, but there were more girls, and all the amateur children looked young, about 3-6 years old.
Gu Suisui got the number plate 8. When the staff called this number, an aunt in black uniform led her to the room inside. She went in and found that there were several unfamiliar uncles sitting in the middle.
Producer Yi Zhuo was one of them.
Among the ten kids who passed the first round, quite a few were cute and good-looking. But finding one who was not only attractive but also outgoing, smart, good-looking and able to help boost ratings was much harder.
If they couldn’t find a particularly satisfactory candidate, they’d just have to pick someone obedient and adorable. After all, this “intern dad” was no ordinary man.
Ke Jingyang was a popular traffic star in the entertainment industry, with nearly 60 million followers on Weibo. But along with that fame came his flamboyant and unruly personality. He was well-known in the circle for having a bad temper.
If this ancestor felt that the child he was taking care of was too noisy or annoying, he might just walk off the set in a bad mood.
And the ones who’d suffer then would be their program crew.
Who told them to invite a big Buddha. They didn’t dare complain and could only serve him well.
Although no one knew why Ke Jingyang suddenly agreed to join their parent-child reality show, his participation had completely solved the production team’s urgent need. Just for this reason alone, they must give priority to him in all aspects now.
Besides, once the news of Ke Jingyang joining the show spread, would they even need to worry about ratings when the show starts?
Yi Zhuo restrained the smile on his face and focused his energy on the interview with the amateur children. He first asked the people around him to ask the same questions to Gu Suisui as other children, such as what was her name, how old was she, and whether she had any special skills or hobbies, etc.
"My name is Gu Suisui, I'm three and a half years old..."
The little marshmallow had a simple mindset. She only knew that if she passed this interview, she could go out and eat, drink, and have fun, so she had a very good attitude. She answered all of the uncles’ questions one by one, clearly and confidently, not showing the slightest bit of stage fright.
The interview time for each child was less than ten minutes, and Gu Suisui was no exception. She came out of the room not long after she went in, and then the staff on the scene asked her and her mother to go home and wait for news.
This wait lasted for several days, from Monday to Wednesday, but there was no news at all.
Just when Feng Yaoqin herself was about to give up, finally, on Wednesday night, she received a call from the program team.
"Hello, Ms. Feng Yaoqin, after repeated consideration by our program team, we believe that your child is very suitable for our reality show. Can you come over to sign the contract tomorrow?"