Chapter 168: Leisurely Slow Life

Qi Guan Mingzhu looked at Jin Li with a hint of a threat in her eyes, as if meeting her for the first time, and circled around her.

"I only just realized, you're actually a wealthy tycoon!"

Jin Li spread her hands: "Have you ever seen a tycoon with so few gigs?"

Qi Guan Mingzhu continued: "But still much better than me."

Jin Li smiled: "I just took on more gigs this year, so I have a bit of money; in previous years, I had almost nothing. Several friends warned me about personal safety, so after thinking it over, I decided to book presidential suites."

In the past, she didn't have many gigs and had no money in her account, so even if she wanted to book one, she couldn't.

This year, she had more gigs, and she was relatively frugal.

But Gu Cheng's reminder was quite reasonable; even for the sake of her own personal safety, she should try to choose reputable hotels.

Just imagine, if something happened in an ordinary room versus a presidential suite, which would have a bigger impact on the hotel?

That would definitely be the presidential suite!

After all, what kind of status does someone who can afford a presidential suite have?

If privacy could still be leaked from the most luxurious room, then the hotel might as well wait to go out of business.

They opened the room and watched the live broadcast of "I Am a Singer" in the hotel.

At this point, it was already the fourth singer's turn. They hadn't seen the performances of the first two singers, but judging from the online reviews.

It seemed they were both too nervous, which led to poor performances.

The fourth singer was Xiao Su. His mindset had been adjusted well; he was thoroughly enjoying the stage, singing his signature adapted love songs while playing to his strengths.

Full of that "Su-style sweet boy" vibe~

Midway through, Qi Guan Mingzhu's phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, she raised an eyebrow and went into the room to answer it.

Her manager's voice came through the phone, asking if she was going to record "Leisurely Slow Life" this weekend.

Qi Guan Mingzhu said: "It should be. Jin Li's manager, Sui Lingfang, is helping us coordinate. Jin Li doesn't plan on doing any heavy labor. If the coordination goes smoothly, we will go record it."

The manager hurriedly said: "I see you've been quite fond of taking on variety shows lately, and your popularity online is high. Several shows with good ratings have also approached me. How about I help you take on a few?"

Qi Guan Mingzhu refused: "No, I won't take any more. Sister Lu, I told you before, I don't like doing variety shows. The only reason I accepted 'Leisurely Slow Life' is because Jin Li is there, and I'm going there to hang out with her."

Lu Shuxian tried to persuade her earnestly: "You can hang out on other variety shows too; no one said you'd definitely be restricted. Other shows are also filmed very interestingly.

You've regained popularity recently, you can totally take this opportunity to cash in. The ones I picked for you are all very relaxed, no heavy physical labor required..."

Qi Guan Mingzhu's mouth twitched silently.

People who didn't know better would think Lu Shuxian was so good to her.

But she had investigated all the variety shows she picked.

They didn't require physical labor, but at the same time, they involved scheming, tearing each other down, and playing politics. If you spoke without thinking, you'd be cyberbullied.

And if you were too indifferent, it wouldn't fit the tone of those programs; they could always find ways to stir up controversy.

Among them was the tactic of "malicious editing."

If it weren't for Jin Li choosing to participate in "Leisurely Slow Life," Qi Guan Mingzhu wouldn't even want to go on this show. Don't look at variety shows as simple; they are actually much like acting.

You have to act in variety shows too!

No script?

Naive.

Without a script, the guests wouldn't know what to do. Would a group of people just sit on the sofa, silently looking at each other?

Besides, Lu Shuxian didn't choose gigs based on the reputation of the variety show; she chose them based on money. Whichever production team paid the most, she prioritized for her.

Just glancing at the guest lineup, apart from her being the biggest star, the others were all nobodies.

This isn't called participating in a variety show; this is called charity babysitting.

After Lu Shuxian finished speaking, Qi Guan Mingzhu said faintly: "Sister Lu, it's too late to take on other variety shows now. Summer break is coming to an end, and 'Leisurely Slow Life' looks like it will gradually resume airing. I don't have that much time to run to another one."

She paused and added: "But I can go as a guest star. You pick out suitable variety show gigs and show them to me; I'll decide then."

Lu Shuxian hurriedly said: "Alright, alright, as long as you're willing to participate!"

After hanging up, Qi Guan Mingzhu sighed softly and walked out of the room.

She had been working with this company for over three years, and her contract was due to expire in a little over a year, which would be around January of the year after next.

This was a small company, and she was the only star worth mentioning; the company's performance rested entirely on her.

Out of consideration for the company's kindness in signing her back then, she would frequently take on gigs at the end of every year to boost their performance.

But in reality, she didn't want to do those gigs.

Everyone wore a hypocritical mask; it was truly meaningless.

In the living room, Jin Li saw her come out and hurriedly beckoned her over: "Come over quickly and watch, the fourth singer is about to finish, it's actually quite good."

Qi Guan Mingzhu sat down, thinking: One still needs friends around; with friends, it's not boring, and even watching TV is enjoyable.

Finally, the singer rankings for this episode of "I Am a Singer" were out.

First place went to Little Chili, because she took a risk and sang a Chinese song, with English lyrics mixed in, which suited her performance style.

The Chinese people love the trope of "foreigners being moved and taking the initiative to learn the profound Chinese culture." Once a foreign singer brings out this ultimate weapon, the results are generally not bad.

Even if the singing isn't great, out of encouragement, everyone will vote for her.

Second place was beyond everyone's expectations; it was won by Xi Sister Meng Ze!

After this result was announced, the surrounding singers offered their congratulations to Xi Sister Meng Ze, and even the netizens were deeply surprised, sending barrage comments one after another.

【Did the production team find their conscience?】

【They actually didn't rig Xi Sister Meng Ze's ranking!】

【When things are abnormal, there must be a demon... did Chenxi Entertainment put on pressure?】

【Inside scoop, the president of Chenxi Entertainment is one of the biggest sponsors of the show. Director Hong also just received the news, so he reported Xi Sister Meng Ze's real vote count, wanting to use this to mend the relationship with the sponsor.】

Seeing this, Jin Li thought of how President Xiao was unconventional in his dealings and thought: Perhaps even that sponsor didn't know their own artist was being bullied by the production team.

It was just arranging some scripts, suppressing before elevating, right?

As long as they could stir up hype, the advertisers might be happy to see it and wouldn't ask further. Of course, Jin Li was still very happy for Meng Meng that her ranking could reach second place.

Compared to having scripts arranged behind her back, being able to perfectly display her strength and draw a good conclusion to the result was enough.

She didn't know what the others were thinking, but the members of Pink Girls just wanted to seek "truth."

Sunshine, waves, and the beach.

Crystal-clear waves crashed onto the soft beach, and when feet stepped on it, it felt like stepping on clouds, not prickly at all.

Jin Li and the others wore Bohemian long dresses with complex and bright colors, standing on the beach, wearing sunglasses and looking into the distance, letting the sea breeze blow their skirts, like colorful butterflies.

Not far from them, the staff of "Charm" magazine were busy working.

Setting up lights, touching up makeup, and organizing clothes.

March Days stood like puppets, staring at the sea with expressionless faces, maintaining a cool posture.

This was the requirement of "Charm" magazine.

They wanted to use the coldness of March Days to set off the heat of summer.

As a first-tier magazine, "Charm" had a fixed audience, mostly women, so more than half of the big covers every year were contracted by male stars.

Big covers were often shot by popular stars, and this "popularity" depended on the degree.

If there was a hit drama that month, they would choose the male lead and supporting actor of the hit drama to shoot a double cover, focusing on "rivals meeting."

Whether they would be extra jealous, the magazine didn't know, but the result was very good, and many people were willing to buy it.

If there was no hit drama, they would pick from popular stars; there were those who had been popular for a year, two years, or long-term popular ones.

Jin Li saw March Days shooting for the magazine not far away and was a bit curious, so she specifically searched for "Charm."

She found that the magazine's previous big cover featured a long-term popular artist who had been popular for ten years, with seven or eight representative works during that period, and had won both Best Actor and Best Film Actor awards.

Apart from not being associated with "old," it could be considered "virtuous and talented."

And that issue's big cover was to let this artist show off his figure, fully displaying the charm of a mature man.

It had to be said that "Charm" really understood female customers.

"Leisurely Slow Life" had coordinated the cooperation with Charm in advance. After March Days finished shooting the important big cover and only needed to shoot some inserts, they started the live broadcast!

Because this was a temporarily launched summer special, the production team didn't promote it in advance, just letting the stars forward a related advertisement this morning.

The summer lineup already had high traffic.

Even without spending money on promotion, as long as the stars' popularity was there, word of mouth might even spontaneously get them on a trending search.

Although they didn't buy external promotion.

But when the live broadcast started, Cat Claw Live and Wang Wang Live both gave "Leisurely Slow Life" pop-up treatment.

This was a great opportunity to snatch the fans of March Days and Pink Girls to settle in the live streaming network!

Even if the two major live streaming rooms didn't make any entertainment investments, they wouldn't give up the opportunity to snatch users.

【First!!!】

【Who is the surprise guest? I see three sisters... Meng Meng is actually here too!】

【Hahaha, incredible, is Meng Meng finally not just watching from the sidelines this time?】

The production team suddenly appeared and manually sent a barrage comment.

【To convince her to show her face, it was really too hard for me!】

Netizens replied one after another: 【Bro, we understand your pain!】

If it were said that Jin Li and Qi Guan Mingzhu's recent popularity wasn't enough to carry the production team, Xi Sister Meng Ze's popularity alone could top a March Days.

In the past half month, she had been last place, then counterattacked to second place, earning enough controversy.

Once netizens discovered Xi Sister Meng Ze, they spoke up on the internet one after another. Before long, the production team exploded onto a top 20 trending search.

#Xi Sister Meng Ze drops into Leisurely Slow Life! #

Netizens attracted by this trending search poured into the live streaming room while posting comments.

【Good guy, the person who only said 'thanks for the support' and didn't speak again after winning second place last night can go to the beach happily today?】

【Otherwise what? Do you want to know how she responds? Second place is also a very good result, must one fight for first place, right?】

【But she has the ability to fight for first, why not fight?】

【This depends on how the production team wants to arrange it (doge)】

Since ancient times, there have been many disputes about rankings, not to mention this kind of competitive variety show. Netizens' predictions for each singer's ranking is a major way they can participate in the variety show and gain a sense of immersion, and it is also a major highlight of the show.

The official not only didn't stop it but encouraged it greatly.

Yesterday, Xi Sister Meng Ze ranked second, and netizens brought up the seventh place from the previous episode again, arguing endlessly.

Now that only a day had passed, as soon as Xi Sister Meng Ze appeared, netizens continued to argue.

Some felt she was played by the production team, some felt she just sang badly, some felt she could be better, some felt this result was fair...

Jin Li occasionally scrolled through it and was quite moved.

Why, why do they like arguing so much!!

In the lens, Jin Li, Xi Sister Meng Ze, and Qi Guan Mingzhu all greeted everyone, specifically moving the lens away to let netizens see March Days not far away.

Their shooting scene was the background board for the sisters.

Jin Li asked: "How has everyone been spending this summer? Have you gone out to play?"

Qi Guan Mingzhu tilted her head: "Did you meet me at the comic con?"

Xi Sister Meng Ze smiled: "Did you listen to me sing?"

【Yes, no, yes】

【No, no, yes】

【Yes, yes, yes】

Fans swiped the screen enthusiastically.

Jin Li specifically focused the lens on March Days behind her and whispered: "They are working, seeing us, they are very envious."

Qi Guan Mingzhu and Xi Sister Meng Ze couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This laughter attracted March Days, who were still working miserably. Chen Lin looked over curiously and asked: "How much longer until we finish shooting?"

Yan Xingdong calmly shook the leather belt in his hand, feeling that the style the magazine positioned for them was not quite right. What the hell is swinging a leather belt!

In the past, he wouldn't have thought much, just assuming it was the current trend, but recently he had sent many comics to Xi Sister Meng Ze, and under her influence, he knew a little bit about restricted levels.

He shook his head; he couldn't think about it.

The more he thought, the more he felt a sense of shame!

"You should restrain your curiosity; don't always look over, and we can finish shooting quickly," Yan Xingdong said.

Luo Yi slowly opened his thermos.

It wasn't filled with hot water, but ice water, with a few slices of lemon inside.

He took a sip; it was sour.

"The inserts seem to take a long time to shoot. Look, the magazine is constantly adjusting the set."

Gu Cheng also turned back to look a few times and suddenly asked: "Are they just going to wait for us like this?"

Chen Lin subconsciously said: "Is there such a good thing?"

There really is no such good thing under the sun.

After Jin Li and the others greeted the netizens and satisfied the fans' curiosity by filming March Days, they boarded the yacht.

Today the weather was hot, the sun was shining directly, and even with the sea breeze blowing, it was still one word:

Hot!

They definitely had to get on the yacht to enjoy themselves first.

The production team also split the screen at this time, one screen for Pink Girls, one screen for March Days, not splitting the screen for each star individually.

It was all group activities, no need to specifically make separate ones.

As for the advertisers, because this was a temporary additional broadcast, the production team only released two recommendation spots, and the advertisers were all bidding for them, so they had even less opinion.

While March Days were still shooting in the hot weather, the sisters had already boarded the yacht to enjoy the air conditioning beautifully. ===== CHAPTER 169 =====