"May I ask what your husband's name is?" Ye Qiusuo asked the other party.
Zheng Longju was taken aback for a moment, then remembered something and smiled, "Does Professor Ye know my husband?"
Zheng Longju was preparing to produce a detective puzzle-solving show and was currently scouting for candidates. She had seen Ye Qiusuo's previous performance on "Knowledge Q&A," and especially with the recent broadcast of "The Lake," Professor Ye had been receiving a lot of attention. Therefore, she came to invite Ye Qiusuo. Firstly, she had the popularity; secondly, the combination of ordinary people and celebrities was currently trending, which would generate more topics for discussion.
When Ye Qiusuo asked, Zheng Longju remembered that her husband used to be in this field as well.
"Professor Yu Zhengkang, who teaches at Xida?" Ye Qiusuo asked.
"Yes, our Old Yu should have a similar major to Professor Ye," Zheng Longju nodded.
Since they knew each other, Zheng Longju began to think that she could have her husband persuade Ye Qiusuo to participate in her show.
"Director Zheng, if I participate in your show, could you help me persuade Professor Yu?"
Zheng Longju: "?" Why is this reversed?
The two talked in the office for over an hour, discussing all the details, and in the end, both parties were satisfied.
...
When Zheng Longju went home that night, she specifically mentioned this matter to her husband: "This show of mine is very important, just consider it doing me a favor."
Yu Zhengkang sat in the living room without saying a word, but his movements of flipping through his book grew louder.
Zheng Longju sat in front of her husband: "Stop reading. I know you've been bored all these years. Why didn't you agree when Professor Ye sought you out before?"
Professor Li was right; Yu Zhengkang was a stubborn person. But after so many years of not touching the field he was most interested in, his heart had long begun to waver. All he needed was an opportunity.
Yu Zhengkang flipped the pages of his book rustling loudly. When he reached the end, he put the book down and snorted in annoyance, "I was waiting for her to come find me one more time, but look at her, she got herself roped in instead."
"Good thing you didn't agree at first," Zheng Longju rejoiced. "It's also because I acted fast, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to invite Professor Ye."
Yu Zhengkang glanced at his wife. "Her agreeing to join your show is one thing, but don't go overboard."
"Alright, I'll take it easy." Zheng Longju was also happy for her husband.
...
Since agreeing to Director Zheng, Ye Qiusuo felt a pang of regret for the first time. Recording this kind of show required continuously freeing up time. The work at the company was easy to handle, but the school was a bit complicated. She might have to swap classes with other teachers. In addition, she had to arrange for a few students to go on internships so they could gain experience faster.
However, once Professor Yu Zhengkang arrived at Tianqiu Technology, Ye Qiusuo's slight feeling of regret dissipated.
A major characteristic of Zheng Longju's shows was that she liked to whet the audience's appetite well before the show even started.
First, she opened an official Weibo account for "Game Within a Maze" and posted the first Weibo update. There were a total of six seats, and currently, three card seats were already occupied by Wan Yurou, Ye Qiusuo, and Lu Mingzhe.
Zheng Longju was the first to repost: [It is a great honor to be able to invite Professor Ye to participate in the show. Looking forward to everyone's performance later on. There are currently three seats left. Everyone can leave a comment in the comment section on who you want to see, and our production team will try our best to invite them.]
Her Weibo post was full of explosive points from beginning to end. The first half with Ye Qiusuo had already attracted a portion of people who liked Professor Ye; they had long suffered from being fans of Professor Ye but getting no content. The latter half attracted all kinds of celebrity fans. Especially second and third-tier celebrities, they absolutely wanted to be on her show. Whether it was bad publicity or good publicity, popularity was popularity.
However, the fans of those celebrities who were already popular or currently trending did not want their idols to go. After all, too many celebrities had crashed and burned on Zheng Longju's shows, especially due to editing issues, which were unavoidable.
[??? Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Is it the Professor Ye I'm thinking of?]
[Holy crap, they actually managed to invite Professor Ye. Suddenly, I don't dislike Zheng Longju as much.]
[The show is called Game Within a Maze, right? Following it first, waiting for the broadcast.]
[Still missing three people. Am I the only one who wants to see Fei Bai and Professor Ye appear on the show together? Bai-Qiu CP is just too sweet to ship. If Director Zheng Longju can invite Fei Bai over too, then I will never scold you again.]
[Is our Xie-Ye CP not standing high enough, or are there not enough lucky draws? I cast my vote for Xie Xi.]
[Voting for Baby Xi, I want to see them on the show together.]
...
Today, when Zheng Longju did her promotion, Wan Yurou, who had paid special attention to her, saw the notification and reposted it immediately. After it was sent out and she clearly saw the content, her face instantly turned ugly.
"Why is Ye Qiusuo also participating in the show?" Wan Yurou called to question her manager.
"I'm not sure about this either. At the time, you were the first person Zheng Longju invited," the manager comforted her. "Don't worry, I have already found out the rules of the show. You will have the upper hand when the time comes."
Even though her manager kept comforting her, Wan Yurou still felt uneasy. She hated Ye Qiusuo, or more accurately, she feared Ye Qiusuo to her bones.
This person seemed to be her natural nemesis; whenever they ran into each other, nothing good ever happened.
Wan Yurou stared at that Weibo post for a long time. Finally, she called that person in her phone contacts and asked them out for a meal together.
...
"Brother Xi, Brother Xi." Zhang Dong called out a few times before Xie Xi, who was practicing the drum kit opposite him, stopped.
"What is it?"
"Brother Xi, look at this." Zhang Dong showed him the Weibo post he had just scrolled past. "Professor Ye is going on a new show."
Xie Xi: "!"
He took the phone and carefully looked at Zheng Longju's Weibo post, then said seriously, "I want to go on this show too."
Xie Xi could not possibly give up such a perfectly justifiable opportunity to get in touch with her.
He just didn't expect that she would have the time to participate in this kind of show.
Xie Xi returned the phone to Zhang Dong, got up to get his own phone, and called his manager, saying that he wanted to go on this show.
"'Game Within a Maze'? Why do you suddenly want to go on this show?" Wei Qi felt that since before the New Year, Xie Xi had been a little different. In the past, apart from writing and releasing songs, he didn't care much about anything else.
"...I'm tight on money." Xie Xi casually made up an excuse.
Wei Qi reopened Weibo and looked at the photos of the three people posted by the official account of "Game Within a Maze": "Didn't the endorsement fee from a while ago just get transferred to your card? Professor Ye is also participating in this show; Zheng Longju really has the capability to invite her."
"Can I go on it?"
"If you want to go on it, of course you can. They'll be over the moon to have you," Wei Qi said nonchalantly. Ever since a popular celebrity crashed and burned on a previous show, it had been very difficult for Zheng Longju's shows to invite big-name artists. Usually, only second or third-tier celebrities, or former A-listers wanting to make a comeback, would go.
"Thank you, Sister Wei."
Wei Qi laughed: "Xi Xi, if you want to make money, I'll help you take on a drama. After 'The Lake' aired last time, you have no idea how many directors came to me wanting to collaborate. It pays much more than this kind of show."
The remuneration for variety shows wasn't considered high; they were mainly for building popularity. Once fame increased and there was more traffic and discussion, endorsements and various acting roles would come knocking. But the key point was that Xie Xi already had these resources without needing to participate in such shows.
Xie Xi: "...I won't take on any dramas for now. This show looks quite interesting to me."
Wei Qi didn't mind either. "It seems Zheng Longju is determined to produce a hit show this time. He even managed to invite Professor Ye."
After hanging up the phone, Xie Xi decided to sound out Ye Qiusuo.
He knew Ye Qiusuo was always incredibly busy. He usually had to deliberate for a long time before reaching out to her, so he certainly hadn't expected her to participate in a variety show.
Xie Xi: "Professor, I saw that you're also participating in The Enigma Game. Are you not busy lately?"
Naturally, Ye Qiusuo didn't see the message immediately. She was still at the company, showing Professor Yu Zhengkang around to familiarize him with the environment. As he walked in, he appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly, he was marveling at the fact that Tianqiu Technology truly deserved its reputation as the most sought-after company for researchers in recent years. With so many advanced laboratories, no researcher could resist such temptation.
"You can pick any lab on these two floors," Ye Qiusuo said after showing Yu Zhengkang around.
"I'll take this one." Yu Zhengkang pointed to the laboratory they were currently standing in, which happened to be the one previously used by the researcher whose contract had been terminated. "Can I start working today?"
"You may."
"Alright, then I'll start now." After saying this, Yu Zhengkang glanced at Ye Qiusuo, his eyes clearly asking if she needed anything else.
"If you have any questions, Professor Yu, you can contact me." Ye Qiusuo turned to leave. She didn't find Yu Zhengkang's attitude offensive; people wholly devoted to their research were often straightforward in temperament.
It was only after stepping outside that she saw Xie Xi's message.
Staring at the word 'also', Ye Qiusuo replied: "I am busy. My schedule is currently being adjusted. Are you participating in this show as well?"
Unlike her, Xie Xi had been practically guarding his phone. He replied instantly: "Sister Wei is negotiating with the production team. I'll probably go."
Xie Xi's reply was quite reserved.
Ye Qiusuo: "Then... see you on the show."
Even though it was just a standard, polite remark, the great superstar Xie was over the moon. First, he favorited the message, and then he posted a status update on his alt account: "Today, she said 'see you' to me~"
Ever since the previous lucky draw incident, this alt account's follower count had already hit the million mark, making it the top fan account for the Xie-Ye CP. Many people interested in the Xie-Ye CP would send their submissions to him.
Superstar Xie had now developed a new nightly hobby: reviewing his direct messages and reposting any amusing anecdotes or fan art that caught his eye.
Over time, his follower count continued to grow, and the engagement rate remained incredibly high.
It even got to the point where the blogger who originally led the Bai-Qiu CP shippers thought there was a professional PR team running this account behind the scenes.
"She? I feel like I'm onto something. Could the blogger be a guy?"
"Come on, are we really assuming genders in this day and age?"
"I don't care! Blogger, I can say 'see you' to you every day! It's not about the money; it's about the emotional bond we share."
Xie Xi didn't bother reading the comments; he purely just wanted to show off.
Once things were finalized on Wei Qi's end, others in the industry caught wind of it as well. Among them, You Feibai's manager, Jiang Jingyuan, had the strongest reaction.
"I think you should accept the offer for this show," Jiang Jingyuan analyzed. "Currently, you're only active in the film and television circles. Participating in a variety show like this will not only help you maintain your relevance and buzz, but it will also give the audience a sense of freshness."
"I have more than enough resources in the film industry to keep me busy." You Feibai carried the inherent pride of an actor and didn't want to be overexposed. However, he was also highly ambitious. He didn't just want to win awards; he wanted to make money quickly. Otherwise, he wouldn't have earned the reputation of being the industry's ultimate workaholic.
"I've received reliable information that Xie Xi will be participating in The Enigma Game," Jiang Jingyuan said.
"Xie Xi?" You Feibai reached out to push away the makeup artist's brush. "His manager is actually letting him participate in Zheng Longju's show?"
Wei Qi was famous for being fiercely protective of Xie Xi.
"Which is why I'm guessing this show is going to explode in popularity." Jiang Jingyuan looked at You Feibai seriously. "Your current endorsements aren't high-end enough. You need to push for better ones."
Perhaps it was because You Feibai's on-screen roles left too profound an impression, but luxury brands rarely approached him for endorsements. Even though he was young, handsome, and an acclaimed Best Actor, he still couldn't compare to Xie Xi when it came to securing those top-tier resources.
