Chapter Fifty-Seven: Group Team Building

The next day marked the final group outing for the seventh season of “Love at First Sight.” Early in the morning, everyone was already waiting by the villa’s entrance with their backpacks. Once the show’s crew was ready, it was time to pick their vehicles—three to a car, self-driving.

The group exchanged glances before, as if by mutual agreement, all eyes turned to Tang Zhichu. This collective movement caught the chief director, Li Hongzhou, by surprise as he stood among them.

Tang Zhichu spoke up, “Lan, let me ride with you. I feel safe when you drive.”

Jiang Lan paused, then smiled, “Sure. Yangyang, you should join us too—the three of us in one car.”

Chen Siyang glanced at Tang Zhichu before nodding her agreement.

After the program’s vehicles had all departed, Li Hongzhou got into another van, but didn’t set off immediately. Instead, he opened a laptop, put on his headphones, checked the time, and initiated a voice chat.

A woman’s voice came through the headphones, “Good morning, Director Li.”

A smile appeared on Li Hongzhou’s face. “I thought you didn’t care about your artists.”

“Are you suggesting that the people we sent aren’t high-profile enough?”

Li Hongzhou chuckled and scolded, “Juan, your tongue is as sharp as ever.”

She laughed, “Just joking, don’t take it to heart. I have to say, you’ve surprised me this time, Director Li. Who would’ve thought a dating show could bring together so many elements?”

The person on the other end was Pang Juan. Tianhe Entertainment had many artists, but only two managers held particularly high status, and Pang Juan was one of them—a partner in the company, and her list of hit artists was too long to count.

Yesterday, Li Hongzhou had sent Pang Juan an email summarizing the highlights of the first episode about to air, along with what he saw as the show’s selling points and his own analysis. Pang Juan had stayed up late reading it, and replied that they should talk in the morning.

Chen Siyang was one of Pang Juan’s artists. But Pang Juan was in no rush regarding her—for one, she had many artists to manage; for another, she felt that Siyang wasn’t mature enough yet, needing the right opportunity. Since Siyang couldn’t stay idle, Pang Juan had arranged for her to join the dating show, thinking of it as a way for her to gain experience. Whether Siyang would actually fall in love on the show was irrelevant to someone at Pang Juan’s level.

But what surprised her in Li Hongzhou’s email wasn’t the potential romance between Siyang and Tang Zhichu, but rather two subtle details.

On the second date, Tang Zhichu taught a short dance to Tianhe Entertainment’s trainees. On DY, the video had surpassed seven million views and over four hundred thousand likes. Influenced by those trainees, more and more people started filming themselves doing the dance, forming a significant pool of online traffic. Pang Juan immediately recognized this as a valuable moment for the show.

The second detail was that Tang Zhichu had made a kind of candy for Chen Siyang, which a company was already producing, and they had reached a sponsorship agreement with the program. Pang Juan realized that this time, Li Hongzhou just might create a hit dating show.

From a business perspective, that meant it was time to rethink Chen Siyang’s positioning—hence this conversation.

“Director Li, the show goes online the day after tomorrow, correct?”

“Yes. Let me share my thoughts. Based on the current footage and the production team’s work, I believe Tang Zhichu and Chen Siyang already meet the standard for a model couple on a dating show. With coordinated trending topics, turning this program around won’t be difficult—it could even exceed expectations. I propose we bring in DY for a joint discussion.”

After considering for a moment, Pang Juan replied, “Alright, Director Li. You set the time.”

...

In the car, Jiang Lan glanced at the back seats through the rearview mirror from time to time. Tang Zhichu and Chen Siyang each sat by a window, saying nothing. Jiang Lan couldn’t help but wonder—were they having a quarrel? At this point in the season?

“I heard the destination this time is a vast grassland. We’ll probably be camping out there,” Jiang Lan suddenly said.

Chen Siyang replied, “Oh? Alright.”

Tang Zhichu echoed, “Oh? Mm.”

“I bet there’ll be a barbecue,” Jiang Lan added. “Hopefully the crew has set up equipment for singing and watching TV—that would be perfect!”

Chen Siyang responded, “Okay.”

Tang Zhichu agreed, “Mm.”

Jiang Lan kept driving, having more or less figured it out. With the show nearing its end, everyone was getting sentimental. She thought to herself, It all depends on whether a certain actress has the courage to take a step forward.

After an hour and a half, the caravan reached a riverside road before turning onto the riverbed. The area looked like a small plain, lush with green grass. The convoy stopped at the designated spot, and as soon as everyone got out, they couldn’t help but cheer.

This place seemed like a custom-built resort, with seven or eight large tents scattered around. A long table stood before the tents, along with a large pot piled with firewood—likely for a bonfire. Off to the side, just as Jiang Lan had hoped, there was equipment for karaoke and film screenings.

“I had no idea there was a place like this in Yuzhou,” Yang Jiaxing said with a laugh.

Huang Zejun called back, “Let’s move our luggage first. Then I’ll take pictures for everyone!”

Tang Zhichu carried a backpack on his front and back—one for himself and one for Chen Siyang—and a suitcase in his hand for Jiang Lan. Following behind, Chen Siyang felt her gloom lighten a little. She thought, He’s not even talking to me, so why is he carrying my bag?

Jiang Lan squinted contentedly, enjoying the river breeze and the soft grass beneath her feet. It was another day to relax and take it easy.

“Lan, shall we go pick a tent?” Chen Siyang whispered.

Jiang Lan nodded, and together, arm in arm, they ran toward the tents.

Each tent slept two, with two beds inside. Tang Zhichu picked one at random, and Huang Zejun followed him in.

“We’re sharing a tent?” Huang asked.

“Why not?” Tang replied.

“Jiaxing’s got a tent all to himself—lucky guy.”

They both laughed.

After settling in, it was time to split into teams: one group would drive to the market to shop for groceries; the other would buy from local residents. This time, the teams changed up—Huang Zejun went with Tang Zhichu and Chen Siyang, camera in hand, snapping photos along the way.

Huang Zejun had figured it out: why bother falling in love on a dating show when you could build your career? He’d use his time on the show to showcase his photography, then launch a DY account afterward. As for love? Just look at Tang Zhichu and Chen Siyang—confused, aren’t they?

In the later stages of a dating show, things are never as simple as just being together or not. As far as Huang Zejun knew, there were even binding commercial contracts to sign. No matter how much you might like each other, after a while, things are bound to change. And breaking up isn’t so easy—because of breach of contract.

He’d also noticed the awkward atmosphere between Tang Zhichu and Chen Siyang, but at the moment, he was firmly on Tang’s side. On the way back, he even patted Tang Zhichu’s shoulder in silent comfort.

(PS: The first major arc is approaching its conclusion. Everything you’re looking forward to is on its way—just give me a little more time. The new song drops tomorrow.)