Chapter 2: Who Goes on a Variety Show to Get Divorced?

Do not be nervous. Just be yourself, after all... after all...

Xu Shujian had not even finished speaking when footsteps sounded on the wooden boardwalk. Turning around, they saw someone from the production crew.

She seemed to be called Tang Mingyue, dressed very discreetly. Also a beauty, and not old, around twenty-five or twenty-six. She was the producer of this program, and there was something gentle about her manner when she spoke.

“May I conduct the pre-interview with the two of you now?”

Xu Shujian stood up. “Yes.”

“This way, please.”

Xu Shujian and Song Yue started walking back side by side. Only after a few steps did Song Yue ask Xu Shujian, “After what?”

Xu Shujian glanced at Tang Mingyue ahead of them and replied, “After... once I loved her sincerely.”

He said this from the point of view of the original Xu Shujian’s feelings.

Some things need not be rushed. Just like the joke Song Yue had just made when she asked whether he minded.

They were both adults, and naturally had their rational side. Before coming, they had signed a private contract. In broad terms, they were indeed headed for divorce. The business Song Yue now managed was in the food industry, and in the age of the internet, it needed someone who could step into the spotlight.

Of course, Xu Shujian also needed to return to his old career.

So the two of them signed a contract whose general principle was to part on good terms.

Even if they divorced, they had to do it beautifully.

That would be a dignified ending for both Song Yue and Xu Shujian.

There was no need to haggle over every little thing from the start. Besides, according to that contract, if they separated amicably, he would also receive a considerable amount of property after the divorce. That was the key point.

In a sense, Song Yue was hoping Xu Shujian would truly rise in this program, and at this very moment Xu Shujian was equally hoping Song Yue would perform well and truly achieve what she wanted.

Up ahead, Tang Mingyue, the producer, had heard what he said. After thinking for a moment, she turned back and said, “Sister Yue, Brother Xu, you are the highest-scoring couple in this round of testing.”

Song Yue had been a little absent-minded, but when she heard that, she exchanged a glance with Xu Shujian.

It seemed... it seemed that filming a divorce program was not as simple as expected. After all, there were other couples too.

Song Yue and Xu Shujian had long been estranged in everything but appearance, especially Song Yue, whose energy had long since been devoted to her career. Even so, they still took first place?

Those questions were not difficult. They were all basic questions about how couples get along.

With a little thought, one could get close enough.

Why had she signed a private contract with Xu Shujian? Was it really for an amicable parting? Wasn’t it also for a breakthrough in her career?

If it were only about divorce, who would go on a divorce show? They would rather separate quietly and be done with it.

So those other couples’ problems were clearly more outrageous.

Song Yue frowned slightly. This show, Let Us Divorce, was already in its sixth season. From the information she had compiled over this period, it seemed the more outrageous it became, the more popular it was.

Was that a good thing, or a bad thing?

...

After the pre-interview ended, following the production crew’s instructions, Xu Shujian and Song Yue dragged their suitcases and carried their bags to the courtyard nearest the lake.

This was a travel-style divorce reality show, lasting eighteen days in all, and the two of them had brought quite a lot of luggage.

The courtyard was laid out in a somewhat gate-shaped configuration, and straight ahead was Qionghai Lake. At a glance, it really did feel like sunshine, beach, and sea—only the sun was about to set.

Just as the two stepped into the small courtyard, the people seated there stood up. Someone had arrived before Xu Shujian and Song Yue.

It was also a married couple, and a long dining table had already been set up in the courtyard.

“Hello!”

The first to greet them was a very slim but beautiful woman. Xu Shujian glanced sideways at Song Yue. On looks alone, the woman greeting them was more refined, but her temperament was not as good as Song Yue’s.

“Hello!”

“Oh? President Song!”

The man who had been standing in front of the dining table had not moved at first, and only after confirming who had arrived did he step forward.

Song Yue froze for a moment. After thinking for quite a while, she seemed to have some impression: “Zhang...”

The man walking over smiled. “Zhang Qidong, Jinyue Group, Xiaodong Film and Television.”

With that reminder, Xu Shujian also had an impression and was slightly surprised.

Compared with himself and Song Yue, these two were much more high-profile, and their situation was very similar to his and Song Yue’s.

After Xu Shujian and Song Yue got married, they had truly retreated behind the scenes. After stepping out of the industry, they had barely shown their faces again. But Zhang Qidong and Lin Xiaoxian were different; they were still active across various fields.

Lin Xiaoxian was an actress, one of the first generation of the four great young beauties on the mainland. Her peak came when Xu Shujian was still in school. Back then, her face had indeed dazzled an entire generation. Even now, she still resisted the erosion of time, maintaining herself in especially good condition.

Why did Xu Shujian feel this pair was so similar to him and Song Yue?

Because the members of Xu Shujian’s former group were still active in the industry today, and had even become representative figures of top-tier celebrity transformation. Lin Xiaoxian’s situation was much the same. Those actresses from the same era had all become benchmark figures for today’s female entertainers.

“Sister Xiaoxian, it’s you two.” Song Yue smiled.

A burst of knowing laughter immediately rose in the air.

To outsiders, Xu Shujian and Song Yue had been a rare good story in the entertainment world. Zhang Qidong and Lin Xiaoxian had remained constantly in the public eye, and everyone had thought their relationship was good. Lin Xiaoxian had indeed fallen a step behind, but her husband had shifted from industry into media, and had done acting, livestreaming—everything. He was, in a word, thriving.

To meet here had the flavor of fate to it, as though heaven enjoyed toying with people.

“Let me show you around. This place is pretty good. You girls can stay inside. Those two bedrooms are adjacent, inside and out, so mixed lodging would be inconvenient. We men will stay on these two sides. Shujian, you’re still that handsome young man from back then, haha. Back then you were the only idol-type celebrity I was genuinely interested in.”

Perhaps because Song Yue did not seem very responsive to Zhang Qidong, he changed the subject and looked at Xu Shujian.

Xu Shujian smiled. “I’ve watched the dramas you and Sister Xiaoxian were in.”

Zhang Qidong stepped forward to take the suitcase from Xu Shujian’s hand, and he even looked toward Lin Xiaoxian. “Help out, will you? What are you standing there for? We got here first, so we know the place a little better.”

Lin Xiaoxian also came forward to take Song Yue’s suitcase.

Song Yue politely declined, dragging her suitcase toward the rooms inside instead. Xu Shujian failed to wrest the suitcase away from Zhang Qidong.

Xu Shujian’s memories of these two gradually became clearer. Indeed, just as the public had always perceived, this pair—at least from what he could see now—had Zhang Qidong as the absolutely dominant one.

Why was Zhang Qidong being so enthusiastic? Xu Shujian could roughly guess.

The Jinyue Group he had mentioned was also a publicly listed company, but its scale could not compare with Song Yue’s family’s. In Xu Shujian’s memories, Zhang Qidong had been active in the livestream e-commerce industry these past two years. His media company was running an MCN agency, supporting a large number of sales streamers, and he had even dragged Lin Xiaoxian into livestreaming with him. It seemed he had contacted the Song family and wanted to sell snacks from the Song family’s brand, but negotiations had not gone well.

Zhang Qidong was clearly a very forceful man. Without even asking Xu Shujian’s opinion, he took Xu Shujian’s luggage to the bedroom on the right.

“We’ll room together. Before you two arrived, I was still worrying about who I’d have to share with.”

Xu Shujian looked into the room. It was laid out like a standard hotel twin room, with two beds. He let out a breath of relief.

“Don’t worry, I don’t snore.”

“That’s fine. Pretty good, actually.”

“I didn’t expect you two to come as well. What, couldn’t make it work anymore?”

Xu Shujian set down his backpack and smiled. “Aren’t you here too? Every family has its own troubles.”

Zhang Qidong laughed heartily. “President Song still has the same presence as ever. It’s just that you seem to have changed a bit.”

“I’ve changed?”

“Yes. Back then you had a crew cut and were dazzling on stage. I thought you were one of the rare people whose aura could stand up to Japanese and Korean idols. Looking at you now, your temperament has become much gentler.” He smiled again. “See? I wasn’t just being polite, was I? Back then you were one of the few idol celebrities I truly acknowledged.”