Gao Hao's actions were swift. After communicating with the program team, he used Qin Zhao Studio's account to post two consecutive messages.
The first announced that Qin Zhao Studio had signed its second artist: Ji Fei.
The second stated that Qin Zhao would bring Ji Fei to participate in "My Acting, Cut!".
Instantly, both Qin Zhao's studio and personal Weibo exploded with activity. Their Weibo posts also tagged Ji Fei, causing her Weibo page to experience a sudden surge in views.
"Where did this unknown nobody come from to be personally mentored by our brother?"
"Wasn't our brother recently close to the newly emerging young actress Chu Xueqi? Said to be looking after a family friend's sister."
"How long have you been offline? Chu Xueqi retired long ago."
"I've heard rumors about an artist frequently entering and exiting Qin Zhao's studio."
"The key point is how could our brother's studio possibly sign a second person! Who exactly is she? What's so special about her? Ten minutes! Give me all her information in ten minutes."
As Gao Hao had predicted, when such a beautiful woman suddenly appeared in the public eye as the studio's second and only other artist, people focused more on Ji Fei's relationship with Qin Zhao rather than the retired Chu Xueqi.
Ten minutes later, no one could find complete information about Ji Fei. Even her online encyclopedia entry was incomplete. There were only details about magazines and advertisements she had shot, along with some rumors suggesting Ji Fei had intricate connections with Qin Corporation.
Gao Hao wouldn't clarify Ji Fei's identity. Sometimes, the more speculation, the greater the traffic. Of course, he had already instructed Xiao Tao to monitor the situation closely. If any unfavorable rumors started to gain traction, they would be immediately squashed.
In fact, Ji Fei's official Weibo account had been completely handed over to Gao Hao for management. Ji Fei only used her alternate account to browse gossip.
After a long time, Ji Fei finally opened her official Weibo account. Apart from work-related reposts, everything else from before had been deleted. New additions included recent class video compilations and beautiful photos.
This attracted some fans who appreciated her looks, though of course, there were more bored haters.
However, the traffic on her page quickly diluted as other groups participating in the show also made official announcements. Coupled with the show's first formal promotion, the popularity exploded.
Just as Gao Hao had said, each group was extraordinary. Ji Fei happily indulged in gossip on the Weibo plaza. Although these rumors might not be entirely true, they were certainly entertaining to consume.
The first group: A cool and aloof Best Actor and his former on-screen CP actress, who were actually from the same company and had a senior-junior relationship. When their CP was at its peak popularity, the junior was arranged by the company to develop her career in the foreign entertainment industry.
It seemed she hadn't made much of a splash abroad after a few years, so she returned to the domestic entertainment scene. This was considered her first major move since her return, leveraging her former CP to join the hottest live variety show.
With a Best Actor-level performer in her group to protect her, they were undoubtedly the most popular among the five groups of guests.
Adding the "Youth Comeback" tag reignited the passion of their former CP fans, directly occupying half of the show's traffic.
Some paparazzi had already released photos of the two entering and leaving various public places together in recent days. There were shots of a tall man with one arm around a petite woman, avoiding cameras; the two smiling at each other in a restaurant; and the woman accidentally falling into the man's arms.
Although all were candid shots and quite blurry, they captured the ambiguous atmosphere very precisely. There was a sense of a lover's return, a sudden reunion, and a successful harbor still willing to let you dock.
It perfectly maximized the anticipation for a rekindled romance.
Ji Fei looked at the various leaked photos and laughed heartily.
"I can't even imagine what would happen if it was revealed that the Best Actor is actually married. Having such a lack of boundaries with another woman would surely lead to a complete online backlash."
Although Gao Hao and Xiao Tao were both busy with their own work, and even Qin Zhao had gone to a meeting, everyone was still enthusiastic about responding to gossip.
Gao Hao pushed up his glasses and said, "If they've managed to keep a secret marriage under wraps for years, they must have some capability. Daring to form this combination means they've accepted this kind of hype. This hype method is actually particularly beneficial for the woman and completely useless for the man. But in their company, the only one who can make decisions now is the Best Actor himself, so..."
"So they really have something going on?" Xiao Tao asked. After all, sometimes misleading photos can be quite deceptive.
"Anyway, I can't see any value in that actress that would make the Best Actor do this. Perhaps there are other reasons," Gao Hao shrugged.
"The wives in the entertainment circle are so magnanimous, able to tolerate their husbands being so close to other women?" Ji Fei marveled inwardly.
"It's said that his wife also holds shares in the company. In the entertainment world, they might just play their own games. Divorce would be too damaging, so it's unnecessary," Gao Hao explained.
Ji Fei expressed her disappointment. After all, the Best Actor was quite handsome, and she had initially thought about becoming his fan. But after consuming such big gossip, she decided against it.
The second most popular group consisted of two male idols.
They were both famous in their respective fields, one dominating historical and fantasy dramas, the other ruling youth and campus dramas. They were from the same company.
As they were both approaching thirty, they wanted to transition their careers, which is why they came to participate in the variety show. Grouping together was also to attract more attention.
But many insiders knew that the campus idol's current girlfriend was the fantasy idol's underground girlfriend five years ago.
Although many years had passed, just thinking about an ex and current partner collaborating on stage made people want to dig a hole through the Mariana Trench for them.
Ji Fei said: I want to see them act one way in public and another in private. Gosh, how entertaining!
The third group's popularity was related to a recently released movie, also serving as promotion.
The TV drama told the story of Imperial Consort Yang.
A veteran actor played Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. During the film's release, audiences worried that his performance was so good, hoping he wouldn't be enchanted by the actress playing Imperial Consort Yang, as this actress was known as a notorious 'mistress'.
Her reputation preceded her, with a new scandal for every project, either with the lead actor or the director. She was known for her black material flying everywhere. She had once been ordered to be boycotted by the wives' circle in the industry, but her exotic and bewitching looks and solid acting skills meant the entertainment circle really had no substitute for her.
She was the only person who, when publicly scolded as a vixen by the original wife, responded with a smile and said "Thank you for the compliment."
As if she took pride in bewitching men.
This time, she was paired with a veteran actor famous for his loving husband image, so everyone was very curious to see who would prevail in this battle between spear and shield.
Ji Fei looked at the actress's photo and was also instantly captivated by her beauty.
Gao Hao mentioned that the veteran actor's wife would come to keep an eye on things, and Ji Fei couldn't imagine what kind of bloodbath that would be.
The last group, according to original popularity, should have had the lowest heat, but people love to gossip and join in the excitement.
A former national-level TV drama actress and a newly emerging young actress in TV dramas, originally should have had a harmonious senior-junior relationship, but a man came between them, nearly turning it into a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship.
Originally, because of the man, the mother wanted to assess her son's current girlfriend's character, so she requested that the girlfriend participate in the variety show together.
However, before filming even started, the couple broke up.
Internet users across the network felt embarrassed for these two actresses, but surprisingly, neither of them withdrew when the official announcement was made.
How could people not look forward to seeing how they would interact in the future?
However, judging from the trend, people seemed to prefer the newly emerging young actress. The young actress's ex-boyfriend was a mama's boy, and his mother had become synonymous with the evil mother-in-law, having driven away countless potential daughters-in-law. This time, though, it was the newly emerging young actress who actively dumped him. People speculated that the mother's refusal to withdraw from the show might be an attempt to seek revenge for her son.
After all, in this mother's eyes, her son was perfect in every way. Only her son could dump others, let alone a small-time actress with no background or influence.
Ji Fei had watched this newly emerging young actress's dramas and quite liked them. She also felt that the actress had a high output of work.
Hearing Ji Fei's evaluation, Gao Hao couldn't help but comment, "You think everyone's like you, slacking off as soon as they enter the circle? She's working hard to make money. However... she is indeed being exploited a bit too much."
