Dating My Drama Queen Girlfriend On A Slow-Paced Variety Show - Chapter 3

Li Yue stepped out of the breakroom carrying her thermal flask, her faded white canvas bag slung over her shoulder.

Staff members tidying up the set stopped to bid her goodbye.

“Hello, Teacher Li. Take care, Teacher Li.”

A few of the younger, more enthusiastic staffers raised their hands to cheer her on: “Teacher Li, today’s stage was incredible! Keep it up!”

Li Yue gave a slight bow of thanks and stood by the door to wait for Yu Bilan. Before Bilan arrived, two other guests from the show walked by, their eyes filled with admiration.

“Not bad, Xiao Li. I knew you had a future ahead of you. How about a collaboration stage for the next round?”

Unsure of what prompted the sudden praise, Li Yue simply smiled and said, “Sure.” Once the senior veterans had left, a giant question mark practically popped up over her head.

“Li-Li-Li…” Yu Bilan came charging toward her, clutching her phone, looking as frantic as if ten bulls were chasing her. She skidded to a halt in front of Li Yue, took a deep breath, smoothed back her hair, and flashed a twitchy smile as she grabbed Li Yue’s arm to pull her outside.

Once they reached a deserted stairwell, her voice forced its way out of her throat.

“You’re viral!”

Li Yue blanked for a moment. “Huh?”

“Did the stage performance get a good reaction?” she asked.

The filming for the show was more than halfway through. Her scores for the first few stages had been excellent, and the live audience’s reactions were great. She was just waiting for the official broadcast, which, by her calculations, should be happening in a day or two.

“Did I get the date wrong?” Li Yue pulled out her silenced phone to check the calendar.

The screen was flooded with notifications. Clicking in, she saw they were indeed from her. According to the schedule, that person was currently filming a variety show and had a bit more free time than when she was on a film set. The “crying puppy” emojis were being used so frequently they were about to drown the Pacific Ocean.

Looking at the crying puppy, a smile tugged at the corner of Li Yue’s mouth, but Yu Bilan’s hand suddenly darted over to block her view.

“It’s Late Countryside!”

Yu Bilan said excitedly, “Late Countryside has been released across the whole network! Besides our Teacher Luo, the cast includes Pi Dajun and Wu Xuezhen that powerhouse veteran actor couple and You Yang, the top-tier boy group idol from that survival show! Even the guest for the first episode is a heavyweight, Teacher Gong Jing!”

Though she was now an artist herself, Li Yue, who tended to focus solely on her own work and wasn’t very familiar with the various stars of the entertainment industry, nodded solemnly.

So that was it!

“The show should be a hit, right?” she asked, a bit worried.

Yu Bilan gave her a look of absolute certainty.

“And you are a hit, too!!” Yu Bilan shoved her phone right in Li Yue’s face, shouting, “Your song is viral! The reviews are amazing!”

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Li Yue checked her own phone.

On the Weibo Hot Search entertainment section, several of the top spots were related to Late Countryside. The search term for the song of the same name was sandwiched among them, sitting at a respectable rank.

Li Yue only glanced at it before her eyes fixed on the very top of the list. Her brow suddenly furrowed.

The #1 trending topic was: #Luo Mingzi Late Countryside

The #2 spot: #Luo Mingzi New New Year Variety

The #3 spot: #You Yang Late Countryside

But at #4, it was: #Luo Mingzi’s Acting Is Bad So She’s Switching Careers? The hashtag was even tagged with an infuriating “confused face” emoji.

Only below those did the general “Late Countryside Premiere” tags appear.

Seeing where Li Yue’s gaze was fixed, Yu Bilan said dismissively, “Teacher Luo… well, you know how it is. She has tons of fans but tons of haters. Every time she breathes, it’s a bloodbath. With a cast this strong, Late Countryside is bound to succeed, so rival companies can’t just sit still, they have to stir up trouble. This little bit of noise probably isn’t even worth Sister Su’s time.”

The “Sister Su” she mentioned was Su Pei, Luo Mingzi’s manager.

“Mm.” Li Yue slowly looked up, turned off her phone, and said, “Let’s go back. Take me home.”

With that, she started walking.

Yu Bilan hurried to catch up, asking, “Not going back to the company? Have you picked your song for next week’s stage yet?”

“No rush,” Li Yue said softly. “I know what I’m doing.”

Right now, there was something more important to attend to.

Yu Bilan assumed she wanted to go home to read the news. She smiled to herself even though Li Yue seemed steady and mature, she was still a young woman who had only graduated two years ago. After achieving such success, it was only natural to want to go home and soak it all in!

“Then I’ll drop you off first. Oh, while the Late Countryside song is trending, the company is going to start your promotion immediately. Music Because of You is about to launch too, we’re going to make a huge splash all at once!”

Li Yue climbed into the car and gave Yu Bilan a small smile before staring blankly out the window.

The excited Yu Bilan caught a glimpse of her in the rearview mirror and blinked in surprise.

Why did Xiao Li… not look happy for herself at all?

When they arrived at the apartment complex, Yu Bilan watched Li Yue get out of the car with a lingering sense of worry.

Before closing the door, Li Yue asked, “I’m going to go buy some food to take up. Sister Yu, want to join?”

Heavens! Li Yue wasn’t even going home to cook her own noodles! Yu Bilan’s heart raced, she was now convinced Li Yue was in a bad mood. Was it because she didn’t get first place in today’s stage?

But that didn’t make sense, she’d placed second before and had still gone home smiling to boil noodles.

Filled with suspicion, Yu Bilan shook her head. “I won’t go up. I have to get back to the office to discuss the trending topics. I’ll watch you go in.”

“Alright.” Li Yue closed the door, scanned the street, and walked into a shop.

What is she buying? Yu Bilan leaned over the steering wheel to peek. When she saw the name of the shop, her face transformed into a mask of shock.

What?!

Ten minutes later, the “untouchable white cloud” of her heart emerged from “Old Wang’s Signature Crawfish and BBQ,” carrying a bag of crawfish and beer, waving casually at her.

Crawfish was one thing… but beer?

Beer??

Li Yue and beer? Beer and Li Yue??

Li Yue returned to her impeccably clean apartment. It was company housing, fully furnished, featuring a massive eighty-inch television hanging on the living room wall. She placed the takeout containers on the table, turned on the TV, cast her screen, and hit pause.

The sea of scrolling comments (danmu) was frozen at the starting gate, with countless usernames starting with the character “Luo” peeking out like pouting heads.

A short while later, after freshening up, Li Yue emerged, rolled up her sleeves, and pressed play on the remote.

Click.

The lid was separated from the container, revealing steaming, bright red crawfish. Li Yue poured the chilled beer into a glass. As the golden liquid foamed up, she suddenly looked up, subconsciously glancing toward the bedroom.

Right, that person was still out of town. She wouldn’t suddenly pop out to confiscate the glass.

Besides, the weather in May was already quite warm, a little chilled beer shouldn’t hurt, right? It should be fine.

Li Yue took a sip, swallowing the liquid along with her slight sense of guilt, and unhurriedly pulled on a pair of disposable gloves.

On the big screen, the elegant narration was reaching its conclusion, inviting the audience to step into the countryside, into the mountains and rivers, and away from the vanity of the world over the next six months.

Sitting amidst that “vanity,” Li Yue snapped a crawfish open with a crack, her eyes fixed on the screen.

The production van pulled over on an asphalt road. A middle-aged couple stepped out. The woman was well-maintained, lean and slender, appearing only in her thirties with a kind, gentle smile that immediately inspired affection. She was the famous actress Yu Bilan had mentioned, Wu Xuezhen. Standing beside her was her handsome and stylish husband, the equally famous actor Pi Dajun.

“Welcome, you two!” The staff member greeting them pointed toward the distance with a smile. “Teachers, do you see that house? For the next six months, we’ll be filming our show right there!”

Following the staff member’s finger, the two guests looked past the fields and the tall trees toward the horizon.

“Where?” A look of identical confusion appeared on both their faces.

The comments section exploded with laughter.

At that moment, the camera cut to another van. A handsome young man jumped out, looking full of energy.

“Hello everyone! I’m here!” he said brightly, waving cheerfully at the camera. The screen was immediately flooded with excited messages from You Yang’s fans.

Then, the camera cut again, and the smile on the boy’s face turned bitter.

“Why is it so far?!” You Yang shouted toward the sky as he dragged his suitcase down a dirt path.

The screen split into two frames. The veteran couple’s side was incredibly sweet.

“Give the luggage to me, I’ll pull it.”

“Are you tired, hubby? Watch out for the rocks.”

While one side was all lovey-dovey, the other was a lonely man in a cold wind. In the midst of the hilarious contrast, some commenters asked: “Where’s the last guest?”

[Still don’t know who the final guest is! Rumor says it’s someone very famous!]

[You Yang is the fixed male guest for the youth group, so the female guest definitely won’t be bad. Maybe another idol?]

[What are you thinking? How could they put a male and female idol together for a six-month variety show!]

[They say it’s an actress. If it’s an actress who is young and popular… Ni Jingxuan?]

[Why is no one guessing Luo Mingzi?]

[Huh? Luo Mingzi? Actress? Hahahaha!]

[I’m braying like a donkey. Is Luo Mingzi’s official bio still ‘Actress’? Her drama at the start of the year provided enough fuel for a hundred roast channels. Why hasn’t she given up yet?]

[Hasn’t given up on being the black sheep of the entertainment industry, you mean?]

[Goddess Luo peaked at the very beginning. Her ‘Little County Princess’ was so brilliant back then, but the stuff she acts in now is just a total ‘Fall’ (Luo). She’s truly the Goddess of Falling!]

[How does she manage to make every project worse than the last?]

[Ugh! Can she please improve her acting? Don’t let that god-tier face go to waste! Does she have anything to offer besides her face?]

[Yeah, she has a great body long legs, thin waist, and cough cough… seriously, did God put all her skill points into appearance?]

[No, there’s also her mouth.]

“Hahahaha!”

Another wave of laughter rippled through the comments. The volume of danmu clearly spiked the moment Luo Mingzi was mentioned.

The woman sitting on the rug leaned against the sofa, clutching her glass, quietly watching the judgmental and sarcastic remarks.

Amidst the mockery, a black van pulled up to the roadside. The door slid open, and under the anticipation of the masses, a pair of straight, snow white legs slowly extended. A slender high heel landed with a tap on the dark road.

The girl who stepped out looked like she was dressed for a high-end banquet, wearing a form-fitting short skirt. Her exposed skin glowed white under the sun. She wore oversized sunglasses that reflected the lush green fields.

The camera zoomed in, focusing on the guest’s slightly parted lips.

A soft, pleasant voice murmured, “What kind of place is this?”

She slowly raised a hand, pointing at the rugged, uneven path in shock. “Didn’t they say this was a slow variety show where I could just lie down and film comfortably? What is this, The X-Change?”