Chapter 59 – The Romance Show Ends, Livestream Sales Are Out of the Question

The car carrying Song of the High Heavens and Bai Zehan pulled away, and everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. Those two troublemakers were finally gone.

"Director, our show had eight guests, and now three have left, with another frozen stiff—how are we supposed to continue? There aren’t any female guests left… Surely you’re not going to make me go on a date with Teacher Song, are you? Would that even air?" Qi Jun looked bewildered. With the show reduced to this, how could it go on? Honestly, he really liked the live segments of this variety show… Traveling and earning money at the same time...

Gao Minglang ushered them inside. "Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything soon. You’ve all been standing out there long enough. Come in, warm up, and have some breakfast."

Seeing the chief director’s invitation, the assistant director Chen Liang brought over a bowl of corn porridge and set it on the table. "Have some porridge to warm up, everyone."

"This porridge is delicious—the corn kernels are so sticky," Qi Jun gulped down a bowl and immediately filled another.

Song Xiao, a chef, nodded in agreement and drank two bowls in a row. "Southern corn isn’t this glutinous; this is really good."

Mu Ran, seeing the two praising the porridge, took a curious sip herself, but...

"Sister Ran, how is it? Isn’t it tasty? Try this salted duck egg—the yolk is especially fragrant." Qi Jun handed her a salted duck egg.

Mu Ran said nothing, just smiled faintly.

What did the porridge taste like? She couldn’t tell.

"Don’t overindulge, it’s too salty." Gu Beicheng gently snatched the duck egg from Mu Ran’s hand, where she’d taken a big bite, and spoke softly.

"Sister Ran, you’re amazing—eating a salted duck egg like it’s a regular chicken egg." Qi Jun, unaware of Mu Ran’s loss of taste, joked obliviously, sipping another bowl of porridge in between.

"Where are Shao Ping and the others?" It was already past eight; why hadn’t they gathered at the farmhouse yet?

Mu Ran took the tissue Gu Beicheng handed her, wiped her mouth, and turned to ask Gao Minglang.

Gao Minglang snapped out of his daze and laughed heartily. "Shao Ping and his group got a last-minute call to return and headed for the Capital at six this morning."

Gu Beicheng ruffled Mu Ran’s hair and met her gaze tenderly. "My ski club is hosting a competition in a week—would you like to join? Shao Ping and his team will be there, too."

"What level is it?"

Gu Beicheng’s eyes sparkled, his voice lazy and raspy. "World-class. Top athletes from home and abroad will compete."

"I’ll go." Mu Ran hadn’t participated in a competition for a long time—only in contests could she find her sense of worth.

"Sister Ran, you’re awesome! Teacher Cheng, I want to go too. Can you give me an invite?" Qi Jun shamelessly played his card.

"Teacher Cheng, if it’s possible, I’d like to come and watch too," Song Xiao added, putting down his bowl and scratching his head sheepishly.

Gu Beicheng replied, "Of course."

Day broke over the snowy village, and everyone finished breakfast.

"Director, stop keeping us in suspense—what’s the matter?" Qi Jun noticed Gao Minglang stepping out several times, as if waiting for something.

A rumbling sound echoed.

"What was that?"

"It’s finally here!" Gao Minglang’s serious expression relaxed.

Qi Jun went to the window and looked out, nearly losing his balance. He glanced, startled, at Gao Minglang. "Director, where are you sending us? I haven’t had enough of the snow village!"

Gao Minglang shook his head, his voice tinged with helplessness. "I have to tell you all something. From today, the show’s recording is terminated. The director’s team will compensate each guest threefold."

"What?"

"What?" Qi Jun and Fu Jiaojiao, sitting on the heated kang, spoke in unison. What was going on?

Why was a perfectly good show suddenly cancelled?

"There are many reasons. Genuine reactions from everyone are good, but some people are too real—the variety effect is maximized, but for the guests’ own futures, it may not be a good thing." Gao Minglang spoke with pointed intent.

Qi Jun glanced at Fu Jiaojiao, glaring at her without restraint.

Fu Jiaojiao, Bai Zehan, Song of the High Heavens, Yun Fu—none of them were easy to handle.

"Director, you’re right." Qi Jun nodded. Those few kept bullying and framing Mu Ran, turning a dating show into a battlefield.

"Director, can’t we keep going?" Fu Jiaojiao hurriedly got off the kang and begged Gao Minglang. She’d worked hard for this opportunity.

She’d endured days of humiliation just to get this chance.

"Jiaojiao, I warned you to rein it in." Gao Minglang distanced himself from her with disgust. What had he been thinking? She knew how precious this opportunity was, yet kept causing trouble, without considering whether she had the ability to back it up.

Now, Fu Jiaojiao looked like a clown—a nuisance.

"To our viewers, I’m honored that you all like 'Love in Travel.' I’m not afraid to say it: given the current situation, I see no reason to keep broadcasting." Gao Minglang gestured for the cameramen to turn off their cameras, then addressed Mu Ran and the others. "Let’s board the plane."

"Love in Travel," in some sense, had been a success—plenty of viewers, lots of buzz—but a few guests had really gone too far.

In all his years in the industry, Gao Minglang had never encountered such brazen scheming among artists, or two top actors so desperate for drama they caused chaos in the team.

Perhaps this had happened in other shows, but since those weren’t live, the impact wasn’t as great.

------

Two days later.

The abrupt end of "Love in Travel" had become a hot topic online.

Even two days after the show’s cancellation, its popularity showed no sign of waning on Weibo.

Some loyal viewers even messaged Gao Minglang, asking him to find new guests and restart the show.

Upon reading these messages, Gao Minglang posted a Weibo update, firm and resolute.

[Hello everyone, I am Gao Minglang, the chief director of 'Love in Travel.' First, the decision to terminate the show was made after careful consideration by the hosting company and the director’s team. Secondly, every guest in 'Love in Travel' is irreplaceable. We will not consider recasting or reshooting.]

A villa in Biting Garden—

"Ranran, look—Director Gao’s Weibo post. Truly a giant among directors, what poise! So powerful." An Lan, a lollipop in her mouth, handed her tablet to Mu Ran, who was fully absorbed in her game on the sofa wearing a tank top and short skirt.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Qi Jun, didn’t I say you were supposed to support me? Why are you off jungling again? Do you even know how to play?" Mu Ran’s fingers danced over her phone, completely immersed in the heat of battle.

"Sister Ran, I’m coming to support you right now! Who knew you’d be so amazing at games? You don’t even need me. I might as well go jungle for an easy win."

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry over."

As their fierce gaming filled the room with cries of "double kill" and "triple kill," An Lan—who didn’t usually play—sidled up to Mu Ran, intent on spectating.

"Xiao Ran, you’re so good at games. Why not try streaming for a couple of days? You could win fans! Lots of influencers and streamers are moving into entertainment, hoping for a piece of the pie. Why don’t we do the opposite—switch careers, become influencers, and sell things?"

An Lan fussed over Mu Ran, serving tea and water, pleading earnestly. "Xiao Ran, think about it. New media is the trend. Why not try being an influencer for a bit?"

Mu Ran gulped down a few sips from the straw cup An Lan handed her, staying silent, eyes glued to her phone.

A minute later—

"Destroyed the enemy crystal."

"Qi Jun, never ask me to play games again. How are you so bad?"

Mu Ran tossed her phone onto the sofa, elbow propped, resting her flawless, vibrant face on her palm, and looked at the sulking An Lan across from her.

An Lan was peeling an orange, her face the very picture of dissatisfaction. She angrily threw a piece of peel at Mu Ran, who was smiling. "Did you even hear what I said? Stop joking with me!"

"What did you say?" Mu Ran picked the orange peel from her neck, held it to her pretty nose, and sniffed. "If only my sense of taste were as sharp as my nose."

"Don’t change the subject. Gu Beicheng is already looking for a doctor for your taste—don’t worry about that for now. Tell me, do you think the influencer path is viable?"

An Lan was at her wit’s end. Yesterday, she’d asked Mu Ran to pick out a few variety shows, but none passed muster: one had male guests cheating, another’s director engaged in shady dealings.

An Lan was helpless. She thought the latest talent shows—like Creation Camp 202, Youth With You—were fresh and innovative. Loads of minor artists had broken out through those shows, getting endless offers.

Yet Mu Ran, the heiress, dismissed them all, saying talent shows were rife with corruption: companies buying votes, pushing candidates to debut, and within three months the shows would be banned.

An Lan was exasperated, unsure where Mu Ran got all these rumors.

The ironic part was, the very artists and talent shows Mu Ran criticized were thriving, making her seem like some kind of entertainment industry oracle.

"Don’t even think about the influencer route. I just want to act, earn an award with real merit. And as for selling goods—forget it. My throat couldn’t handle it. I only want to devote myself to acting."

Mu Ran spoke with righteous conviction. She picked up her phone, opened her chat app, saw no new messages, and tossed it aside.

That Gu Beicheng on "Love in Travel"—could he have just been acting the whole time? She’d even earnestly encouraged him to open up.

As expected, men are all liars!

"You said Gu Beicheng is looking for a doctor for me?"

An Lan, thrown off by the sudden change in topic, paused. "Yeah, it’s all over our circle—Gu Beicheng searching for a cure for love, even traveling abroad to see his archrival."