Chapter 110: Love Variety Show Strategy System (28)

"Sister Xie!"

Having just emerged from the director's temporary office, Xie Yang caught sight of Gu Qiaoxi, who had been waiting there specifically for her.

The other party took a few long strides forward and gave Xie Yang a tight hug.

"Xiao Qiao, why are you still here?" Xie Yang patted her back soothingly, then steadied her and asked, "Didn't the police take you home?"

Gu Qiaoxi nodded, then shook her head: "The policewoman did say she would take me back, but I..."

Her eyes instantly reddened, and her throat choked up, not knowing how to explain.

She no longer had a home.

Four years ago, it was because she had a mental breakdown over a phone call from home that she went to the seaside to clear her head.

Four years later, she escaped from the devil's den, and when the police helped her contact her family, they learned that after her parents' divorce, they had each started new families, and the original house had been sold shortly after she went missing.

Her father had remarried a powerful businesswoman; her father was just a freeloader, and he had clearly stated his difficulties over the phone, saying that even if she went, he couldn't settle her in well, and might even cause her to suffer grievances.

Her mother had been the one who cheated back then, and the man she cheated with was wealthy and powerful; she had even given birth to a son for him, but to this day she still lived outside, with a status similar to that of a mistress.

Her mother had indeed welcomed her to stay at her place for a few days over the phone, but she herself was unwilling.

Yet, this left her with nowhere to go.

She did still have a little money on her.

Before she went missing, she had already turned eighteen and had her own bank account.

At the time, she was the most popular member of the group, and during the recording period, she had filmed several small commercials; the advertising fees were all deposited into this bank card under her name.

After the incident happened back then, the money in her card had been divided up by her parents.

This time, when the police came knocking, regardless of whether her parents were willing in their hearts, they had returned this money on the surface.

The bank received the certificate issued by the police and used the green channel to quickly help her replace the card.

With this money to rely on, she wouldn't go hungry for a short time.

After her story broke yesterday, quite a few talent agencies contacted her through the police, wanting to sign her, but she had rejected them all.

She knew in her heart that she could never go back to how things were.

The clear, lovely, and sweet-voiced Gu Qiaoxi of four years ago had long since ceased to exist, following those four years of imprisonment.

Although her voice hadn't been poisoned into muteness, it wasn't far off; could a voice as unpleasant as an old smoker's still go on stage to sing?

Since she couldn't sing, couldn't dance the sweet girl-group dances, and couldn't pull off those sugary, playful moves, what were those companies trying to gain by signing her? It was nothing but the heat from her exposure last night.

But the matter had just broken; the outside world might be full of sympathy for her, but what about later?

When she gathered the courage to stand on stage again, there would always be people pointing at her and whispering:

Look, this is the person who was imprisoned for a full four years by a rapist who turned dark after being dumped by his gold-digging girlfriend; she even has the nerve to go on stage after her body was ruined.

Therefore, it was impossible for her to return to that stage.

"Sister Xie, do... do you need an assistant?" Gu Qiaoxi gathered her courage and asked Xie Yang.

While she was waiting outside just now, she heard people from the production team saying that Sister Xie still hadn't signed with a talent agency, and she had neither a manager nor an assistant by her side; when they needed to find her, they often couldn't reach her, and calls were even being made to the production team.

But fearing that Xie Yang would misunderstand her as being clingy—since she had saved her and was helping her resolve her subsequent employment—she hurriedly explained:

"I don't want a salary; I just want to stay by your side. I... I don't have any other skills, but I can run errands and do odd jobs for you. In short, I'll do whatever you tell me to."

Xie Yang hadn't considered looking for an assistant or a manager at all; she didn't even intend to keep working in this circle herself.

However, looking at Gu Qiaoxi, whose eyes were filled with anxiety and unease, she couldn't bring herself to say no.

Besides, she planned to move out of that house once this show finished recording, so having a companion then wouldn't be bad.

Thinking this, she said to Gu Qiaoxi: "Since you don't have a good place to go for now, come with me. It just so happens there's something I need your help with."

Gu Qiaoxi nodded vigorously, holding back tears: "Don't worry, I will definitely handle the task you entrust to me with care."

"Don't be nervous, it's not a difficult task. I'm moving in a while; help me look for a place to live in Beijing. It doesn't need to be big, a two-bedroom apartment will do. But the privacy must be good, and the environment should be quiet. Whether you rent or buy, you decide. I'll transfer a sum of money to you later; give me your account number."

"I don't need the money, I have..."

"You having it is your business. Aren't you my assistant now? Not listening to me on the first day?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Qiaoxi hurriedly took out the new phone the policewoman had helped her buy on the way to the bank this morning, clicked into the mobile banking app, and copied the card number for Xie Yang, fearing that if she were a second too slow, she would be fired by Xie Yang.

Xie Yang transferred four million to her.

Once this money was transferred out, she had almost nothing left.

But after finishing the recording of this show, there would be five hundred thousand coming in, so she wouldn't have to worry about her livelihood.

However, four million would likely not be enough to buy a small two-bedroom apartment in Beijing, unless it was in those counties in the far suburbs.

So she told Gu Qiaoxi to use her discretion; if the money really wasn't enough, renting a place first would be fine.

Receiving the transfer, Gu Qiaoxi was startled—so much?

"Sister Xie, aren't you afraid I'll run off with the money?"

Xie Yang glanced at her: "That would just mean my judgment is poor. But I think my judgment is alright."

Gu Qiaoxi smiled through her tears.

The sunlight spilled onto her face through the mottled tree canopy, making her smile look bright and devout.

That afternoon, Gu Qiaoxi, who had disguised herself so well that not even her own parents would recognize her if she stood before them, let alone former fans or paparazzi, flew to Beijing with the huge sum of money to scout for a house.

Xie Yang and the other guests recorded for two more hours to wrap up this team-building session, and before the sun set, they returned to the Romantic Cabin by bus.

After Lin Xiaoning withdrew from the recording, there was one fewer female guest, and the production team was busy contacting a new guest.

Therefore, they hadn't gone anywhere else to record for the past two days; the guests just played some interactive mini-games common in Love Variety Shows at the Romantic Cabin, and the process was quite relaxed.

Xie Yang's daily Heartbeat Text Message was basically sent to the partner she had teamed up or interacted with that day; the content of the messages was very standard, so the recipient wouldn't generate any misunderstandings.

Even so, the number of Heartbeat Votes she received was never less than three.

Well, besides Jiang Tuo and Fu Yichen, there was now an additional Zhou Hanqing.

Xie Danni was green with envy over this.

Ever since returning from the Ancient Town team-building trip, the Favorability Value of the five male guests had collectively plummeted:

The Favorability Value Jiang Tuo and Zhou Hanqing held for her had already fallen back to the initial value of 0;

Fu Yichen had fallen to 15;

Xiao Chenglei still had 50;

Lu Ming had also dropped quite a bit. But fortunately, his base was high, so even after the drop, he still had 84.

The Favorability Value she had wasted countless Props to grind up had all fallen back to square one in a single drop!

How could she not be resentful?

Yet she was helpless to do anything about it.

Xie Yang seemed as if her heart had been dug out; no matter how she provoked her, it was useless. After the Resentment Value fell back to 0, she never saw it rise again.

Without Resentment Value, she could not exchange for Props to woo the male guests.

If she could not woo the male guests, she could not exchange for Props that would allow her to increase her Beauty Value, Talent Value, Luck Value, and the like.

She had fallen into a complete dead loop.

Even though this show had become a massive hit due to Xie Yang's interaction with the National Beach Volleyball Team and the incident of saving people in the Ancient Town cellar, as the biggest investor, she did not feel particularly happy.

She would rather this show flop and her investment money go down the drain than see Xie Yang become more popular by the day, with her fan count increasing every day.

This was completely contrary to her original intention!

What she wanted was Xie Yang's endless resentment toward her, what she wanted was Xie Yang's corruption after that resentment, and what she wanted was Xie Yang's total collapse after that corruption!

Not the current situation—every day receiving more than one Heartbeat Text Message sent to Xie Yang by male guests; every day having new fans follow Xie Yang; every day seeing topics related to Xie Yang on the trending searches...

Xie Danni clenched her fists tightly; things could not go on like this! Everything must be made to return to its original track!