Chapter 146 – The Program Crew’s Crafty Tactics

Chapter 146 - The Program Crew's Crafty Tactics

Xiao Yuan refused to cry; she must stand up and perform.

Encouraging herself, Xiao Yuan thought that it was fine for Tang Fei to win once; she wouldn't always triumph. With a script in hand, who would she be afraid of? She was the one being pampered, so she needed to be more confident!

Xiao Yuan held her head high with pride.

"Deities, over this month, you will undergo both physical and mental torture. Although I may sound like a military instructor now, believe me, it'll be even more grueling than military training. You still have a choice right now – to quit and receive flowers and applause just the same."

The chief director of "Rural Goddesses," Huang Jiang, raised his hand, and the conference room door opened. A red carpet had already been laid out outside, with staff members holding bouquets and waving at them.

This was clearly a game of palace intrigue. The program crew sure knew how to play, and Tang Fei could already imagine the music they would add during post-production, highlighting the guests' facial expressions, switching between the flowers and red carpet, and contrasting their eventual disheveled appearance after joining the show.

Perhaps there would also be a montage of embarrassing moments, with their grand declarations now being slapped back in their faces through various comparisons in the later episodes.

But, Chief Director Brother, with all those cameras zoomed in on everyone's faces, did he think they were fools? If they quit now to receive flowers and applause, they'd better brace themselves for rotten eggs and vegetables thrown at them when the show aired.

She didn't know if these women were goddesses or not, but they were all excellent actors. At that moment, each of them showcased their skills, donning determined and serious expressions, not even casting a glance at the door.

"It seems like the goddess isn't fond of flowers and applause? Then you'd better be prepared! Our reality show is tough, and the focus for our Farm Goddess is farming! If you don't withdraw now, once the show starts, you won't have the right to give up. Only losers will be eliminated!"

Hmm, were they afraid that the contestants wouldn't fight among themselves?

Song Li, Xiao Yuan...

Tang Fei thought to herself, I feel like this show is targeting me.

"Although the show is challenging, there are special circumstances for our goddesses." Huang Jiang gestured for He Zhuhua to come on stage. "Sister Hua is our invited guest judge who will be assigning tasks to all of you. Not only will she give you tasks, but she'll also evaluate your performance during them. Everyone, get it? You'd better start sucking up."

"..."

Of course, people would suck up behind their backs!

But sucking up in front of everyone was courting death!

Who knew what the editors would do in post-production?

The production team seemed quite adept at stirring things up!

Tang Fei silently crossed out variety shows in her mind with a big X. She decided not to participate in any casting through such programs in the future – they were filled with traps. It seemed she had landed on the surface of the moon.

No one responded.

The chief director sighed in disappointment. "None of you are trying to curry favor? Then I'm truly disappointed. I was even prepared to give an extra ten points to whoever did it best."

"Resist! Those ten points are just words. If you actually do it, you might end up losing ten points instead. Let me tell you, the longest road in the world is the program's manipulation," Tang Fei whispered into Jiang Xiaoying's ear as she held her back from showing any gesture.

The filming crew captured the moment and passed a note with the conversation to Huang Jiang.

With his character persona in place, Xiao Yuan earnestly spoke up, "Since I've come here, I want to experience rural life and share genuine feelings with everyone. If I had intended to curry favor, I wouldn't have come at all."

Dare to speak!

Authentic!

Hardworking and ambitious!

Unafraid of authority!

Could there possibly be a better character setup than this?

Certainly.

There was the genuine, comedic fool.

Huang Jiang held the slip of paper in his hand, hesitating whether or not to give Tang Fei a chance to showcase herself. This would also be a highlight of the show.

He Zhuhua waited for a moment and noticed Huang Jiang's indecision. She glanced at Tang Fei before pretending to be curious about the paper strip. "Director, can I take a look at this?"

Now that He Zhuhua had made the request, Huang Jiang no longer needed to hesitate; he passed the paper over.

He Zhuhua read aloud, "Tang Fei and Jiang Xiaoying are whispering. She says sucking up to me won't earn extra points, it'll actually deduct them. The longest road in the world is the program's trickery."

Without delay, He Zhuhua asked Huang Jiang, "Really? Director, will you really deduct points?"

"I was planning to do so, but now I've changed my mind," Huang Jiang said with a smile. "I've decided to deduct ten points from Tang Fei and five points from Jiang Xiaoying!"

"Tsk, Director, where's the integrity of your production team?" Tang Fei's expression fell slightly. It was only after the fact that one regretted being cautious with their words; in the moment, she couldn't help but resist.

Seventeen or eighteen cameras panned in on Tang Fei and Jiang Xiaoying's faces, capturing every nuanced expression change in stunning detail.

Tang Fei seemed to have quite the repertoire of witty remarks, with a style and integrity that made her feel very close to online netizens. It appeared she spent a fair amount of time surfing the web. Yet, she was so quiet on Weibo – this was a significant revelation!

Reality shows truly were treasure troves!

"Director, is the show really that unprincipled?"

Jiang Xiaoying rubbed her ear, wondering if they were already starting off with negative points before the show even began?

"Hooray! You two are truly courageous. I've decided to deduct another ten points from Tang Fei and Jiang Xiaoying for doubting the production team," Huang Jiang's smile widened. "I am indeed principled – my principle is... I'm happy when you're unhappy."

The cheeky chief director was willing to sacrifice his image for the sake of entertainment value.

"..."

Tang Fei placed a hand over her forehead, avoiding eye contact with Huang Jiang.

Jiang Xiaoying, on the other hand, covered her mouth, afraid she might say something else.

Xiao Yuan's tears flowed inwardly, but she had to maintain the same cheerful expression as Song Li and He Zhuhua, laughing so hard that her stomach ached.

Her brilliance was overshadowed by Tang Fei, and now there was Jiang Xiaoying to contend with – was there any justice in this world?

After this episode, Huang Jiang continued, "I won't tell you the remaining rules. Madam Hua will reveal them to you in due time."

At that moment, He Zhuhua addressed Tang Fei and the others, "The show will officially begin filming on April 1st, and during that time, I'll be accompanying you all for a month.

My grading will be rigorous, so I hope you won't hold it against me then. But don't be afraid of me. Although the task-giving judges might seem grand, we're not that different from game NPCs, don't you think? I'm just like one of those NPCs giving you tasks."

Chief Director Huang Jiang: "You have two days to acquaint yourselves with our production team and support staff. During filming, they will follow your respective groups as assigned.

The shooting schedule is from 8 AM on April 1st to 5 PM on April 30th. During this period, you'll be disconnected from the outside world.

The show will air on April 20th. In the meantime, you can use the remaining time to get physically fit and gain some weight in preparation for the challenging weight loss ahead.

Country Goddess, Rural Training! Healthy Weight Loss! For just 998! With 998, you'll slim down to 88!

Registration hotline: 888888."

1 Tang Fei mentally added fancy subtitles to the scene and even jotted it down in her notebook. The camera crew quickly zoomed in, but Tang Fei hurriedly tried to cover it up, to no avail.

1 The photographer specifically assigned to follow Tang Fei couldn't resist saying, "Tang Fei, I already got the shot, you don't need to hide it."

Tang Fei clung onto her defense even more stubbornly. "I still want to cover it. You only captured a tiny bit."

1 The director of the first group chimed in, "Feifei, we can freeze the frame and enhance it with special effects subtitles. It'll definitely be clear."

On the side, Jiang Xiaoying, the goddess, was laughing like a lunatic.

So this is what my master is like on variety shows, she thought.

So adorable! Jiang Xiaoying giggled uncontrollably; the commercial slogan was too witty.

Confused, Song Li left. The director following her approached and asked, "Sister Song Li, I noticed that you didn't say much. Are you feeling unwell?"

Maintaining her image as an intellectual goddess, Song Li assumed that the director was offering her an excuse for her lack of participation. She seized the opportunity and replied, "Yes, I'm a bit uncomfortable."

The second group's directors immediately started documenting: Song Li encountered Tang Fei and felt uncomfortable.

A major event! The bigger, the better!

The production team revealed their cunning side, adept at manipulating situations.

Xiao Yuan held back her tears and left with determination.

She was familiar with the itinerary and had a mediocre performance.

Just by observing that over 70% of the twenty-odd camera angles were focused on Tang Fei, she knew that all the highlights belonged to Tang Fei.

In response to the director's questions, she still earnestly tried her best, "I didn't treat this show as a variety program. I'm here to genuinely experience the life of working from sunrise to sunset."

After Jiang Xiaoying finished her notes, she wanted to compare them with Tang Fei's, only to find out that hers were still inferior, "Master, what did you write here? Weather forecasts, geographical conditions, historical stories? Why write about historical stories?"

"I'm currently self-studying high school courses, and I happened to think about Qin Xi's history, so I wrote some down."

Tang Fei was afraid of mentioning historical events in her reality show that contradicted this world's history. Therefore, she had researched the differences between the history of this world and hers, making careful annotations in her notebook.

Director of Group 1 picked up on something significant, "Feifei, why are you self-studying high school courses? Do you regret not attending high school?"

Yippee!

Here comes the troublemaker again.

She's poking at the sore spot!

Tang Fei raised an eyebrow and dove straight into the director's trap. "Yes, I regret not attending high school before debuting. I plan to take the college entrance exam this fall to fulfill a dream."

The director's face lit up with delight. This kid was truly a goldmine for drama. "So, how long have you been studying? Which school do you plan on attending? Have you registered?"

"I've been studying for about two months now, always reading on set. I haven't decided on a school yet, but I've already registered."

"What score do you expect for yourself?"

"Haha, I have no idea. I haven't finished all the books yet. I'll strive to pass the minimum threshold."

The post-production team would probably add a caption under Tang's name showing the admission lines for first, second-tier universities, and vocational schools, with a question mark under the 280-point line for vocational schools: Is it passing this line?

Jiang Xiaoying also left, and Tang Fei gathered her things, heading towards their group's small staff office.

The director continued, "Feifei, do you think being at the bottom with minus twenty points before the show even starts will affect your performance in the future?"

Tang Fei covered her face. "I just covered my eyes to prevent myself from showing any inappropriate expressions. When it comes to manipulation, no one beats reality TV shows.

What can I say? Can I be unhappy? What if... saying that I'm unhappy deducts points? I hope I can perform better later and catch up with the scores. From today onwards, I'll be a 'minus man'!"

Director: "A wealthy man?"

Tang Fei: "Minus as in negative."

Tang Fei took a few steps before turning back. "Can you help me cut out the beginning and only keep the part where I wish to perform better later?"

The director smiled triumphantly. "Sister Feifei, we won't edit it. We want to keep it authentic."

"Tang Fei lowered her head. "In that case, let me be for a while."