Chapter 230: It

The filming of "Lost in Thailand" has already begun in full swing, and Cheng Chen spends his days between the set of "Nirvana in Fire" and the set of "Lost in Thailand" for inspections.

His schedule for the second half of the year is packed, so he has no intention of making a cameo in "Lost in Thailand."

Nevertheless, his frequent appearances on the "Lost in Thailand" set have attracted relentless media coverage.

He himself is under constant scrutiny; fueled by his own influence, both "Nirvana in Fire" and "Lost in Thailand" have never stopped generating buzz since filming began.

Occasionally topping trending lists, it's clear these two productions have never lacked exposure.

"Cut! Bao Qiang, your performance is off—again, try a different approach."

Director Ning Hao shouted through a megaphone at Wang Baoqiang on set.

Wang Baoqiang scratched his head, recalling his previous performance, but his state remained off.

With the whole crew waiting, he had no choice but to push forward.

"Cut! Wrong."

"Cut! Again!"

"Once more!"

Ning Hao held the megaphone expressionlessly, calling out without emotion.

Only on the sixth take did Ning Hao check the time and say:

"Take a ten-minute break. Bao Qiang, find your state yourself."

Ning Hao has a distinctive style: he dislikes repeatedly explaining scenes.

Before filming, he clearly outlines the key emotional beats of the scene, then leaves it to the actors to improvise.

He believes over-explaining restricts actors' performances.

Of course, he doesn't treat every actor this way.

For example, some guest actors or supporting roles, or even certain required "leads"...

"Big Brother, have I disappointed you?"

Wang Baoqiang walked over to Cheng Chen, scratching his head like a child who'd misbehaved.

Cheng Chen shook his head and comforted him:

"Don't be nervous,

Hand me your script."

Does Wang Baoqiang have acting ability?

Definitely.

From "Blind Shaft" to "Dark War" to "A World Without Thieves," he has steadily progressed step by step.

Years of playing minor roles have given him abundant acting experience.

But the fatal issue is he has always followed a self-taught path.

It's not that the self-taught path is bad—many renowned actors and directors came from it.

As long as the character's authenticity is conveyed, it's a success.

That's what we commonly call acting.

But now Wang Baoqiang is clearly relying on past experience, drawing only on old techniques without any new learning or growth.

In fact, the role of Wang Bao was tailor-made for him: Wang Bao lacks social experience, is simple and warm-hearted.

In a sense, this character directly mirrors Wang Baoqiang himself.

So Cheng Chen isn't worried Wang Baoqiang can't play the role—he's just under too much pressure, too tense, unable to perform well right now.

Cheng Chen glanced at the script; it was filled with Wang Baoqiang's handwritten notes and reflections, cramped, crooked, and messy—hardly surprising given his elementary-school education.

No, more accurately, he never even graduated from elementary school—he has no formal education.

After all, this kid spent from age eight to fourteen as a lay disciple at Shaolin Temple...

"Relax? How do I relax? I'm not nervous at all!"

Wang Baoqiang looked at Cheng Chen, puzzled.

Well, this guy...

Cheng Chen shook his head and said:

"Bao Qiang, how many people are in your family?"

"Five: my older brother, my older sister, and my parents..."

Cheng Chen slowly chatted with Wang Baoqiang, and gradually Wang Baoqiang relaxed.

In fact, multiple takes are routine on set, but some actors have the wrong mindset.

After three or more takes, their composure shatters.

This mindset commonly occurs among novice actors, or actors like Wang Baoqiang who suddenly became famous and were cast as leads.

They carry too much psychological burden and lack inner resilience.

When ten minutes were up, Ning Hao walked over with his megaphone; Cheng Chen waved him off, signaling him to wait.

Seeing Cheng Chen coach the actor, Ning Hao was happy to take it easy and gave the crew another ten-minute break.

"Alright, remember that feeling—like chatting with family, don't worry about the camera."

Ten minutes later, Cheng Chen patted Wang Baoqiang's shoulder and smiled encouragingly.

Only then did Wang Baoqiang realize Cheng Chen had been teaching him how to act.

He had never seen such a conversational teaching style before.

Unconsciously, the heavy stone that had weighed on his heart seemed to lift.

He felt much lighter—Big Brother really is Big Brother!

Wang Baoqiang looked at Cheng Chen with gratitude and nodded firmly.

"I'll remember that!"

Seeing Wang Baoqiang as if he had become a completely different person, that spark of energy had instantly returned.

Ning Hao had witnessed Cheng Chen's methods of coaching actors firsthand, so he couldn't help but give Cheng Chen a thumbs-up.

Afterward, Wang Baoqiang indeed nailed it in one take, and everyone looked at Cheng Chen in surprise.

Cheng Chen, however, stood there with a faint smile, while inwardly thinking he could go be an acting coach on "The Birth of an Actor."

……

After a month of intense preparation, "We Are In Love" finally began to take shape.

The show was made up of three parties; Cheng Chen belonged to the creative and planning side, namely the director's team.

Then Anhui Satellite TV provided the editing directors and camera crew as support and on-the-ground execution, along with widely inviting various celebrities.

Lingxi Jewelry, as the money daddy, only had to worry about writing checks.

Originally Cheng Chen only wanted to be an unknown behind-the-scenes worker, but Lingxi Jewelry was unhappy about that.

What the hell!

I came for you, Cheng Chen, in the first place, and now you just toss out a show and refuse to appear in it?

What kind of international joke is this!

The money daddy was not pleased.

No matter how Cheng Chen tried to persuade them, it was no use—the other party insisted Cheng Chen appear.

They even declared that if Cheng Chen didn't participate, there was no point in making this show.

Fine, Cheng Chen had no choice but to agree.

The importance of this variety show to Xinghuo Entertainment went without saying; he was still counting on using this show to make money and gain popularity.

The show adopted a film-as-you-broadcast model; as of now, very few variety shows in the country dared to do this.

Although some existed, they were extremely rare.

After all, there were too many uncertainties.

But in many countries like Japan, Korea, and the US, the film-as-you-go model was common, and some could even manage write-as-you-film-as-you-broadcast.

Cheng Chen had enough confidence, so the client naturally had nothing more to say.

Thus, when this show began its warm-up on Weibo, it immediately drew the attention of countless people.

It blew up on the internet directly.

"The Country's First Celebrity Real-Scene Dating Reality Show"

"Celebrity Dating Exposed—How Does the Musical Prodigy Perform in the Face of Love?"

When the warm-up posters went up, everyone's eyes were immediately locked in tight.

Celebrities dating?

No way, which celebrity would dare to expose their dating life?

A reality show? What's a reality show?

Quite a few people said they were looking forward to it, but plenty also said they didn't even know what a reality show was.

Fair enough—the reality show thing originated abroad, but it's actually pretty easy to understand.

The famous movie "The Truman Show" can be seen as a reality show film.

Some talent shows can also be classified as part of the reality show genre.

Like the later "Keep Running" and "Go Fighting!"—they all fall within the scope of reality shows.

Some sharp-eyed people noticed that in the planner and chief director column, the name Cheng Chen was actually written.

Good lord, everyone immediately understood.

This was Cheng Chen stirring things up.

Many people who had originally not been interested in this show were immediately drawn in by those two words—Cheng Chen.

"Holy crap, no way—besides singing and acting, Cheng Chen can also plan variety shows?"

"Dude above is a country bumpkin—Cheng Chen is awesome, writing lyrics, composing, writing scripts is all a piece of cake, the boss is badass!"

"Wasn't really interested at first, but then I saw Cheng Chen's name—suddenly looking forward to it!"

"Even though I don't know what this show will be like, just for Cheng Chen's name, I'm in!"

……

"A timid question—is this Cheng Chen the Cheng Chen I know?"

Immediately, many people rushed to Cheng Chen's Weibo to verify.

Seeing a long queue forming under his Weibo, Cheng Chen simply replied with one line:

Stay tuned!

Good lord, the crowd immediately went wild.

Solid proof—this show was Cheng Chen's doing!

Some people also asked in the comments whether Cheng Chen would appear in this so-called dating reality show.

Cheng Chen only replied with a smiling emoji:

"Guess."

Public opinion immediately exploded; although Cheng Chen's "guess" was an ambiguous answer.

At least they knew this show was a work planned by Cheng Chen, and that Cheng Chen was expected to join this variety show.

Cheng Chen joining a dating variety show, and a reality show at that.

To the outside world, this was undoubtedly bombshell news.

Ever since his debut, Cheng Chen had been linked with many female stars in numerous scandals.

But there weren't many stone hammers; this dating show, though not an exposure of Cheng Chen's real romance,

at least lets fans see another side of their idol—undoubtedly the best news for the gossip-loving masses.

What does Cheng Chen's romance look like?

Instantly, this topic surged to the top of the trending list.

Those unaware of the truth thought Cheng Chen was dating someone.

But when they clicked in, they found it was just a teaser for a show.

This shows just how much attention Cheng Chen's romance attracts.

Cheng Chen sat in his office, watching the heated discussions among the gossip-loving masses about We Are In Love, and felt deeply satisfied.

Gossip has always been one of the driving forces behind fans chasing stars.

Exposing celebrity romance—a thing artists desperately avoid—on variety TV,

instead creates a sense of anticipation.

But Cheng Chen didn't smile long before he received a call:

"You're dating again?"

Hearing the question, Cheng Chen broke into a cold sweat, quickly smiling apologetically:

"How could I, sis? Who else would have me besides you?"

"Then what's going on with the trending topic?"

"Sis, can you please open the trending list and check it out? Don't get fooled by clickbait headlines, okay?"

For the next half hour, Cheng Chen explained the show We Are In Love to Gao Yuanyuan.

After listening, Gao Yuanyuan fell silent for a moment, then said:

"So, are you actually going to participate in this show?"

"Guess!"

"Cheng Chen!"

"!"

In the end, Cheng Chen still didn't tell Gao Yuanyuan whether he would join the show.

As soon as he hung up on Gao Yuanyuan, his phone immediately rang again:

"Who were you just talking to?"

The caller asked sharply.

"How could I? Stop imagining things all day."

Cheng Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead, thinking: Do women's instincts really work this well?

But Yan Danchen dismissed it casually:

"You just picked up a little fangirl on set, and now you're rushing into a dating variety show? You've got too many hats to wear, Cheng Heavenly King!"

In The Legend of Langya, he dated Yan Danchen.

Now he's about to date some unknown female star on variety TV.

Although Cheng Chen was vague on Weibo, Yan Danchen, who knew him well, saw through him at a glance.

Cheng Chen would 100% join this dating variety show!

After barely dealing with Yan Danchen, Cheng Chen finally had a moment to rest.

He slumped back in his office chair, staring blankly at the ceiling:

Being a player isn't easy either!

……

Under Cheng Chen's management, the popularity of We Are In Love remained consistently high.

And this outcome was exactly what Anhui Satellite TV and Lingxi Jewelry wanted to see.

Although the show hadn't aired yet, it was already a sensation before launch.

Compared to the Korean version of Let's Get Married, this version of We Are In Love premiered three years earlier.

Remember, Let's Get Married didn't begin broadcasting in Korea until 2008.

So there was no question of plagiarism—indeed, if We Are In Love sparked a sensation in China, it might even be exported abroad.

Turning around China's past dilemma of only being able to copy or license foreign variety formats.

Cheng Chen planned to imitate the previous season's We Are In Love by inviting three pairs of guests.

And these three pairs should ideally be stars currently adored by young audiences.

Not everyone needs to be a top star—just one per pair needs to be a traffic star.

The first two pairs were chosen smoothly; after all, there really isn't anything money can't buy.

If there is, you just need to pay more!

After smoothly securing the first two "couples," the production team hit a snag with Cheng Chen.

What kind of woman should partner with Cheng Chen?

The team asked Cheng Chen, but he gave them no clear answer.

Actually, this show was a bit like opening a blind box.

You never know which one you'll get.

Although Cheng Chen was the Dazongyan, he still wanted to preserve this sense of mystery…

"Sweet as cotton candy, warm as a macaron.

As summer approaches, I hope you'll add a spark of romance to this season.

And We Are In Love is that spark—countless fans are now waiting with bated breath."

Everyone must not let them down. Remember, we have always been precisely positioned around the topic of urban romance.

Maintain a documentary approach that is authentic and close to life…"

Hui Sheng, in the meeting room of "We Are In Love."

Cheng Chen said this to the staff of the "We Are In Love" program team below him.

This team was the production crew Hui Sheng's Anhui Satellite TV had assigned to Cheng Chen — essentially the station's elite veterans.

Once all the staff were in position, it meant the show was about to begin recording…

…