The Rebirth of a Top Star

The next morning, Shen Nanqiao packed a few simple bags and went downstairs early to wait for Xiao Ju to pick her up.

When the door opened, Shen Nanqiao saw neither Xiao Ju, who had arrived early, nor the driver.

Song Shiyuan was someone I never expected to appear.

Shen Nanqiao hesitated, and Song Shiyuan had already looked over.

"Didn't you go for a run at six o'clock?" Although Shen Nanqiao hesitated, she still moved to Song Shiyuan's side.

Seeing her shuffling over, Song Shiyuan wanted to laugh but held it in. He couldn't help but ask, "Is it possible that I'm the boss?"

"Tch," Shen Nanqiao glanced away and carefully flipped the page, her inner monologue: "You're the boss, you're so amazing."

After spending these few days together inexplicably, Shen Nanqiao realized that Song Shiyuan wasn't so boring after all. However, given their relationship, Shen Nanqiao was still too embarrassed to be herself in front of Song Shiyuan.

Shen Nanqiao eagerly awaited her arrival, and finally saw her familiar van approaching. She hurriedly said goodbye to Song Shiyuan, but before Xiaoju could even see who was standing next to Shen Nanqiao, the van had already sped away.

"What's wrong, Sister Qiao Qiao?" Shen Nanqiao liked the way her fans addressed her, and even asked Xiao Ju to call her that as well. As a result, her relationship with Xiao Ju grew closer day by day.

Shen Nanqiao glanced at Song Shiyuan, who was still standing behind her. He didn't leave immediately. Shen Nanqiao only knew that he lived in this community, but she had no idea which building he lived in.

Once Shen Nanqiao's car had left Song Shiyuan's sight, Song Shiyuan turned around and went back into the building Shen Nanqiao had just come from.

Shen Nanqiao bought the plane ticket late last night because the production team only gave her the specific time and location yesterday, and the time was too tight. Shen Nanqiao only took Xiaoju with her to the airport.

Despite traveling across provinces, Shen Nanqiao followed her agent's advice and took Xiaoju to the filming location, so that if anything happened, someone would be there to handle it.

Shen Nanqiao arrived at the first location, a beach. They first tidied up and prepared there before going to the actual site.

Shen Nanqiao accidentally became the first one again. She didn't intentionally maintain this persona, but it just always happened this way. What was different today was that there was an audience present.

Perhaps it was a teaser from the production team, or perhaps it was information deliberately leaked by the production team, but in any case, when Shen Nanqiao arrived at the outdoor area on the beach, there were crowds of people standing outside the cordon.

Shen Nanqiao could only see the dark mass of people from afar.

Those were pairs of eyes looking at him.

It was the first time Shen Nanqiao had seen her fans in person. They were very noticeable, holding up signs with "Qiaoqiao" written on them, held very high.

Shen Nanqiao waved happily in that direction, where there were many beautiful girls and a few boys appearing occasionally.

Shen Nanqiao was genuinely unaware that she had male fans, and was secretly surprised when she saw it.

She noticed her staff following behind her and awkwardly moved towards the crowd, trying to quietly get closer to the fans around her.

Before she could even begin, Shen Nanqiao was spotted by the security personnel behind her. It wasn't that Shen Nanqiao didn't want to get closer to the food stall; it was just that the security guard's eyes were too sharp.

Security guards' protection includes not only preventing harm to guests from fans, but also controlling guests who go up to cause trouble.

Shen Nanqiao chuckled at them and walked onto the path she had seriously planned for herself. She sat on the beach chair that had been arranged for her. She was dressed casually today, just like Shen Nanqiao always is.

She rarely dresses up extravagantly for TV shows, prioritizing comfort most of the time. So today, Shen Nanqiao wore a loose-fitting but slightly see-through white long-sleeved shirt with perfectly fitting hot pants.

Shen Nanqiao sat on a beach chair, completely hidden under a large parasol.

Because she was the first to arrive, Shen Nanqiao didn't have any tasks and could only pretend to sleep and wait for everyone else to arrive.

Shen Nanqiao didn't know how long she had been there, but still no one came.

Shen Nanqiao looked at the time and it was almost 3 pm. Because they came by plane, their arrival times were all different. Shen Nanqiao took the first flight this morning.

She thought she might run into someone she knew when she boarded the plane, but little did she know that no one else was as anxious as she was.

Shen Nanqiao couldn't help but sit up and ask the director, because the shade above their heads had been moved to several different locations.

"Are you saying you'll arrive today? Why haven't I seen a single person?"

The director was a little embarrassed because he had given the notice that the person should arrive before 8 p.m. that night. He didn't expect that only Shen Nanqiao would be so obedient and come over so early in the morning without even sleeping in.

Hearing the director quietly explain this to her, Shen Nanqiao felt a few drops of cold sweat trickle down her forehead. She realized that being proactive was wrong.

The live stream won't start until everyone is present. Shen Nanqiao is sitting here, and only those who are present can see her. Everyone online is watching the live stream by using the phones of those present.

Therefore, during the first hour after Shen Nanqiao arrived, all the live streams that the production team allowed were shot of Shen Nanqiao.

Those who watched from the beginning had no complaints, but later fans who wanted to see a passerby's perspective had some grievances.

"Why did you only film Shen Nanqiao and not my brother?"

There are always people who come up and start using their big moves without saying anything. Fans who have been watching the live stream explained to him, "It's because they haven't arrived yet, so the official live stream hasn't opened."

"Then why is there a solo live stream by Shen Nanqiao?"

The person speaking was unyielding and continued to question her. However, all fans understand the desire to see their idols, so although she was getting impatient, she still maintained a good attitude and explained again.

"Because Shen Nanqiao is the only one here right now, who else can we film if not her?"

"Why did she arrive so early? Was she doing it on purpose?"

It's not that this person is completely unreasonable; the person who made this comment genuinely doesn't care about anyone else except his brother.

The person who had been patiently explaining things to him at first didn't want to talk to him anymore, and the people in the live stream collectively ignored his remarks.

Later on, when he was still spamming the chat, the host of the live stream finally jumped out and kicked him out.

Shen Nanqiao didn't wait outside for long. Knowing that everyone would only be able to come in the evening, she walked over to the fans and chatted with them up close.

Some fans excitedly held up their phones to show Shen Nanqiao's face, but Shen Nanqiao wasn't angry. Instead, he smiled and greeted the phone.

After the meal was served, Shen Nanqiao followed the men who were protecting him back to the dressing room arranged by the production team. Song's assistant came over and explained to Shen Nanqiao somewhat apologetically.

"Sister Nan Qiao, don't be angry. We didn't expect everyone to arrive at night, so we apologize for making things difficult for you earlier."

Shen Nanqiao didn't expect anyone to apologize to her. If you were to say she was angry, Shen Nanqiao wasn't angry at all. On the contrary, she was quite excited. She was very happy to meet a fan who liked her, which was unexpected.

She believes that seeing her fans would also make her happy.

After Director Song's assistant apologized repeatedly and left, Shen Nanqiao picked up her phone and looked at the photos she had just saved. They were group photos of everyone from that district.

There's no beauty filter; it's very simple. In the front is my own big face, and in the back are all my fans.

Shen Nanqiao couldn't help but log onto Weibo and start editing her post, "I'm so happy to meet everyone today."

The accompanying photos were simple pictures. Shen Nanqiao didn't use any heavy special effects, but she zoomed in on some girls who didn't look as good as they did in real life due to lens distortion and restored their original beauty.

As soon as the photo was posted, the number of likes skyrocketed. Shen Nanqiao didn't even have time to log out of Weibo before she saw the change in the number.

Many of the fans present also took photos of Shen Nanqiao, and quietly shared her beauty in the comments section below.

Although the words were simple, Shen Nanqiao saw warmth in them and her eyes welled up with tears. She felt the power of being loved.

After all the guests arrived around 6 p.m., most of the fans on the beach had left. The production team went up to the fans who were unwilling to leave to explain that it might affect the filming, so most people cooperated.

Shen Nanqiao returned to the familiar beach once again, but this time she didn't rush to the parasol, because the sunset was particularly beautiful.

Shen Nanqiao liked this scene, and her phone was raised again to record moments of life that she wanted to share.

Gu Ning didn't approach Shen Nanqiao directly right away. Shen Nanqiao had been paying attention to the feedback from the previous episode while she was at home.

Unsurprisingly, many people were completely taken aback by Gu Ning's resolute choice to choose Shen Nanqiao. Shen Nanqiao didn't watch the entire show, but the internet inevitably led her to come across videos of fan-made content featuring the two as a couple.

Without needing to add any extra romantic flair, Shen Nanqiao could tell that the two seemed like a good match.

She could see that the accompanying flowery words carried a rather unusual guiding meaning, and Shen Nanqiao had none of those thoughts about her own feelings.

It seems that the thing I thought about most throughout the whole trip was what kind of big meal I should have for dinner.

However, after the video was edited, Shen Nanqiao watched it and genuinely felt that her relationship with Gu Ning seemed to be a two-way street.

After Shen Nanqiao said those direct things last time, she noticed a change in the atmosphere between them when they spent time together again. She liked this change.

Gu Ning originally intended to find a seat anywhere, but because the bonfire lit by the production team wasn't very strong yet, she noticed that her name was placed next to Shen Nanqiao's in the assigned seating area.

He dawdled a bit, still didn't say much, and seemed hesitant.

She wondered whether she should take the initiative to approach them, but sitting next to someone else, Gu Ning looked around and felt even more uncomfortable if she were with other female guests.

Shen Nanqiao actually saw the name on the chair. She always believed that even if guests couldn't be a couple on the show, they could still be friends.

She didn't get up to greet Gu Ning, but instead sat down first, giving Gu Ning the opportunity to choose.

As expected, Gu Ning watched as everyone else sat down one by one, and with no other choice left, she moved over and sat down next to Shen Nanqiao.

The show's producers are really shady. They didn't start the live stream earlier or later, but just when Gu Ning had chosen her seat and was about to sit down, they turned it on. Now, many viewers are watching the show just to see Shen Nanqiao and Gu Ning.

This scene was witnessed by the viewers who rushed in immediately, and the live stream chat was instantly filled with the names of the two people.

When Shen Nanqiao saw the familiar lit red dot, a bad feeling welled up in her heart.

Gu Ning sat down and turned to face Shen Nanqiao, saying, "You came very early today, didn't you?" It wasn't a question, but a statement, so Gu Ning also learned about the misunderstanding that Shen Nanqiao had arrived early today.

Shen Nanqiao was not surprised; in fact, she felt that all the guests present today should know this.

In today's parlance, my behavior is a kind of alternative form of involution.

Shen Nanqiao nodded. The two of them were talking inaudible to others, but Gu Ning actually felt a little uncomfortable in front of Shen Nanqiao's expression.

Shen Nanqiao comforted him instead: "Don't worry, we're all just doing this for work."

Upon hearing the word "work," Shen Nanqiao and Gu Ning both calmed down. Whether they were filming dramas together before or participating in variety shows together now, the initial intention of everything was for work.

The word "work" helps one calm down.

As Shen Nanqiao listened to the director explain the arrangements for this trip, she didn't pay attention to the details beyond that, but she clearly understood what she needed to do now.

"We'll be staying at the campsite up there tonight, in pairs, and we'll set up our own tents."

Upon hearing the request, Shen Nanqiao and the others did not remain seated. Instead, they stood up, stretched their limbs, and walked upstairs.

The ground above is more convenient than the beach. I wonder if the production team rented the entire campsite, because there wasn't a single camping tent around.

Instead, far away on the neighboring side, there were tents with pointed tops standing one after another.

After the director said to pair up, Shen Nanqiao immediately made eye contact with Zheng Yiyi. The production team didn't assign specific pairings, so everyone spontaneously formed teams.

Shen Nanqiao saw Wu Miaomiao walking ahead of her, leaving only her back view. She thought she wouldn't come to participate anymore, but she didn't expect her to be so strong at this moment.

Shen Nanqiao did not expose her thoughts.

They didn't even pay attention to her thoughts.

Shen Nanqiao and Zheng Yiyi quickly carried out the task. Setting up a tent was a piece of cake for them.

The guests are all using their own phones now; the production team hasn't made any demands. The guests who just arrived have already read through all the trending topics from this afternoon.

What Shen Nanqiao didn't notice was that while she was looking at Wu Miaomiao in front of her, Li Yicheng's eyes were also following her.

He gazed at her.