Seeing the surprise in both of their eyes, Ai Ya smiled sweetly and explained:
“I couldn’t really help much in the kitchen, so they arranged for me to work as a waitress instead.”
Strictly speaking, the purpose of this segment arranged by the production team was to show the intimate feelings of the couple working together.
Even if they weren’t eating some grand meal, as long as the two of them were together, it would have been enough.
So the fact that Ai Ya had actually been transferred to another position meant…
How badly had she messed up?
Although they were wondering about it, neither of them asked any further questions.
They didn’t even care where the filming group that should have been following Ai Ya was now.
“Open it,” Zong Xuan said.
Then he turned to Xu Tang.
“You already drank champagne today. Only half a glass of red wine.”
Xu Tang nodded.
“Then you should drink less too.”
Even though champagne had a lower alcohol content, it still contained alcohol.
“Mm. I’ll only drink half a glass too.”
Zong Xuan smiled.
Ai Ya stood beside the table and opened the wine bottle.
Normally, she should have taken it away to open it, but because it was Ai Ya, the production team allowed her to remain in the camera frame.
Another waiter brought over a plate of lemon fruit.
Just as she was about to place it on the table, Ai Ya’s movement while pulling out the cork bumped into her.
The entire glass of water spilled onto Xu Tang.
Zong Xuan immediately stood up and pulled Xu Tang to his feet.
“Are you okay?”
Xu Tang shook his head.
The water provided by the restaurant was room temperature, so it wasn’t hot.
However, a large area of his clothes was soaked and stuck to his body.
Because the fabric was thin, his skin could faintly be seen through the white shirt, making him look extremely embarrassed.
The waiter repeatedly apologized.
This was something that had never happened during her entire service career, so she was completely flustered.
Fortunately, the restaurant manager reacted quickly and immediately brought over a large clean towel.
Zong Xuan took it and wrapped it around Xu Tang.
“Why don’t we have the restaurant send the food back to the room? We’ll eat there instead.”
Zong Xuan suggested.
Xu Tang didn’t really mind.
He smiled and said:
“No need. Since the production team arranged this candlelight dinner, we should still enjoy it. Didn’t Shaoqian bring clothes? I’ll just go change.”
Since they were worried about getting dirty while out at sea today, both of them had brought an extra change of clothes and left them with Xie Shaoqian.
Zong Xuan thought about it and felt it was fine.
He asked Xie Shaoqian to accompany Xu Tang to the restaurant’s lounge to change clothes.
However, he didn’t follow.
It wasn’t because he didn’t want to.
It was because if he went, the filming group would definitely follow as well.
Then wouldn’t Xu Tang’s changing scene be recorded?
It was better for him to stay here and keep the filming group from wandering away.
“I’m sorry. I’m not very skilled at opening wine bottles.”
Ai Ya said with an expression that carried a hint of panic.
If this had been anyone else, they might have believed her.
But who was Zong Xuan?
The Movie Emperor himself.
How could he not see through such a clumsy performance?
“Manager.”
Zong Xuan called out.
The restaurant manager had not gone far and immediately responded.
“What can I do for you?”
“Please change the waiter.”
Zong Xuan completely refused to give Ai Ya any face.
The production team could edit the footage however they wanted later.
He was not going to simply smile and let this pass.
“Mr. Zong…”
Ai Ya looked somewhat hurt.
Zong Xuan looked at her and gave a faint, mocking smile.
“You should go help Yu Lun in the kitchen instead.”
After Zong Xuan said this, Ai Ya’s expression became slightly awkward.
But she couldn’t lose her composure.
After all, compared with Zong Xuan, she was only a minor figure.
He could afford to act this way.
She could not.
“Okay… okay. Please enjoy your meal, Mr. Zong and Mr. Xu.”
Ai Ya said.
Actually, the way she addressed them was already problematic.
Normally, regardless of status or popularity, reality shows usually encouraged everyone to call each other by their names or use familiar terms like “brother” or “sister” to create a harmonious atmosphere.
But Ai Ya’s way of addressing them clearly created distance.
It sounded respectful, but it could send outsiders the impression that Zong Xuan and Xu Tang were either unfriendly or looked down on others.
However, Zong Xuan didn’t care.
This was easy enough to explain.
After all, they were in a restaurant.
He and Xu Tang were guests, while Ai Ya was a waitress.
Given their positions, the formal way of addressing them made sense.
The manager also didn’t want the restaurant’s reputation damaged.
Even if some things were arranged for the sake of the show, she still wanted to display the restaurant’s service standards.
So she immediately called over the best waiter in the restaurant.
Ai Ya left while biting her lip.
After the red wine had properly breathed, it was poured into glasses.
Xu Tang also came back after changing clothes.
“Where’s Ai Ya?” Xu Tang asked.
Zong Xuan casually replied:
“She went to help Yu Lun in the kitchen.”
Xu Tang nodded and didn’t pay any more attention.
The two began enjoying their dinner together.
This show had five episodes every season.
It wasn’t the type where episodes were filmed and broadcast simultaneously.
Instead, everything was recorded first, then slowly edited.
One episode aired every week, and each episode was about fifty minutes long.
That day, after Xu Tang and Zong Xuan finished recording and returned to the hotel, both of them were exhausted.
They collapsed onto the sofa and didn’t want to move.
“Shopping really is a physical activity.”
Zong Xuan said.
He rarely went shopping.
Usually, when he bought things, he had a clear goal. He bought what he needed and left.
His mother also wasn’t someone who enjoyed shopping.
Every season, catalogs of new products from various brands would be sent directly to her.
There was no need for her to go shopping herself.
“Mm…”
Xu Tang grabbed a blanket and wrapped himself up.
After sweating all day, returning to an air-conditioned room made him feel slightly cold.
Today’s theme was buying a local-style outfit for their partner.
The two groups acted separately.
So whether the clothes fit, whether they looked good, and whether the other person would like them were all unknown.
The production team took them to the local city center.
There were many shopping malls there.
The production team selected a huge one and asked them to choose outfits within three hours.
There were many Chinese tourists here.
When they suddenly saw Zong Xuan and Xu Tang appear in the shopping mall, they became extremely excited.
Some foreign tourists who didn’t even recognize them saw so many people gathering and naturally wanted to see what was happening.
Maintaining order took quite a lot of effort.
Although shopping had been somewhat difficult, Xu Tang had been focused on thinking about what kind of clothes would suit Zong Xuan.
So he didn’t pay much attention to the crowd and chaos.
Fortunately, the production team and shopping mall had arranged enough security.
The situation never got out of control.
Although Zong Xuan and Xu Tang were not following an idol-style image, they still cared about their public appearance.
When Zong Xuan filmed movies, he could take on any role and wear anything.
That was professionalism.
But privately, he was still very particular about his appearance.
His clothing style was always carefully maintained, preserving his image as a male god.
As for Xu Tang, because of his musical style in the past, some of his previous outfits had looked rather unusual.
However, in recent years, Kang Duo had paid great attention to this aspect.
She was determined to turn him into a young singer at the forefront of fashion.
So Xu Tang’s recent styling, including his event appearances and clothing choices, had always been appropriate and widely praised.
Therefore, no matter what, they were not the type of people who could casually walk around wearing bright floral shirts and oversized shorts.
This also made choosing outfits much more difficult.
Fortunately, this shopping mall had a wide variety of clothing colors.
Choosing something not too eye-catching was still possible.
After three hours, the two gathered in the center of the mall.
After exchanging clothes, they each went into changing rooms to put on the outfits chosen by the other.
Zong Xuan felt that choosing a suitable outfit among all these beach-style clothes was genuinely difficult.
So he simply started with the color.
He chose a light pink outfit for Xu Tang.
When Xu Tang walked out wearing the pink clothes, he didn’t look feminine at all.
Instead, he looked extremely cute.
It felt like he was a new university student who had just entered school.
Someone who hadn’t developed his own style yet and simply wore whatever clothes his family bought for him.
The outfit attracted many people who took photos.
Some even asked where the clothes were from, planning to buy the same set.
Meanwhile, the outfit Xu Tang chose for Zong Xuan was light blue.
It had an adorable cartoon rabbit printed on it.
It reduced some of Zong Xuan’s intimidating aura and made him seem more approachable.
The rabbit design also seemed to match Xu Tang’s soft pink outfit.
It was as if a wolf had put on rabbit skin and was preparing to play with the rabbit.
After completing the production team’s required task, they had to wait until evening to take the boat back to the island.
The remaining time was free activity.
Although the two were already exhausted, the production team still needed more footage.
So Zong Xuan had no choice but to hold Xu Tang’s hand and continue walking around the shopping mall.
It also served as indirect promotion for the mall.
This had already been agreed upon by the three parties beforehand.
After an afternoon of physical activity, the two returned to the hotel and immediately collapsed.
“What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll call and order.”
“Just get me a seafood porridge. You can choose whatever else you want.”
“Okay.”
Zong Xuan was just thinking about what he wanted to eat when his phone rang.
It was a message from Wen Hui.
Wen Hui:
You went shopping today?
Zong Xuan:
How did you know?
Wen Hui:
Someone uploaded photos of you and Xu Tang holding hands while shopping. What are you two wearing? Did you not bring enough clothes? Do you really need to dress so… down-to-earth?
Zong Xuan:
It was arranged by the production team. We couldn’t do anything about it. You haven’t seen the others yet. They’re even funnier.
Wen Hui:
Alright then… If you want to respond later, respond. If you don’t, just ignore it.
Zong Xuan:
Mm. I’ll decide later.
Wen Hui:
I found out some information about the thing you asked me to investigate.
On Ai Ya’s side, the CEO of Orange contacted the producer through his relationship with the assistant director.
Originally, this spot belonged to Orange’s top female artist, Ning Qing.
But somehow, it ended up going to Ai Ya instead.
Ning Qing’s side has not made any move yet.
As for Yu Lun, after Ai Ya’s spot was confirmed, Ai Ya’s manager contacted Yu Lun’s manager and arranged this fake-couple storyline.
Originally, the production team had some hesitation about letting Yu Lun join with Ai Ya.
But Young Master Sun invested money and also used the connection of a small sponsor.
So the production team agreed.
I heard that in order to get onto the show, Yu Lun made an agreement with Young Master Sun.
If Yu Lun became popular because of this program, he would provide free endorsement services for five years for projects developed by Xin Ye.
Zong Xuan:
Got it. I estimate this season is going to fail. Notify Kang Duo and have her prepare public relations plans in advance.
Wen Hui:
What happened?!
Zong Xuan:
That fake couple has too many flaws. Even a god probably won’t be able to fix it during editing.
If they give them too much screen time, the truth will be obvious.
If they give them too little screen time, the fans won’t accept it.
No matter how they handle it, it won’t work.
Wen Hui:
Then doesn’t that mean you two were dragged into this mess?
Zong Xuan:
It doesn’t matter. Tang Tang and I only came here for a vacation.
Wen Hui:
I really don’t know what this production team is thinking. Do they not want their reputation anymore? They only care about money?
Zong Xuan:
Reality shows always follow the same pattern. Each season is worse than the last.
If this season is bad, at worst people will criticize it.
As long as the next season improves even slightly, they can restore their reputation.
What are they afraid of?
Wen Hui:
…In the future, I’ll pay more attention to this and won’t let you two accept something like this again.
Zong Xuan:
Some things are hidden behind confidentiality agreements. It’s impossible to prevent everything. Don’t worry about it.
Wen Hui:
Got it. I’ll notify Kang Duo right away.
After tossing his phone aside, Zong Xuan stretched.
If they had known beforehand that Yu Lun and Ai Ya would participate, they never would have come.
He Xin and Yue Yan probably wouldn’t have come either.
Or they could have simply replaced them with another reliable couple.
But things had already reached this point.
There was no use saying anything now.
All they could do was handle what needed to be handled.
Whoever caused the problem would have to take responsibility.
Later that evening, Xu Tang opened Weibo and saw the photo that had been reposted countless times.
“Wow, my Tang is so cute!”
“I really want to push Tang Tang down!”
“Hahaha, this outfit on Actor Zong practically screams ‘I’m not a serious person!’”
“Although the clothes are a little strange, Zong Xuan and Tang Tang look so compatible!”
“A wolf wearing rabbit skin. You have to protect our Tang Tang well!”
“Anyone interested in the same outfit?”
“Message me for purchasing!”
“…”
Meanwhile, the “fake rabbit, real gray wolf, definitely-not-serious-person” Zong Xuan was calling Xie Shaoqian.
He asked him to go back to the shopping mall tomorrow and buy three more sets of the outfits they purchased that day.
Later, they would use them for a fan giveaway.
Even if the clothes didn’t fit him properly, he would still keep the ones Xu Tang chose for him.
After all, they were selected by Xu Tang.
As for doing giveaways for fans, that was something he should still do.
His relationship had received blessings from his fans.
Naturally, he should give something back in return.