44: Is the air conditioner broken?

Who was the most popular person in the fan groups?

That would undoubtedly be Intentional Punch. He didn't put on airs as a moderator and was a well-known 'rich bro' in the groups, occasionally handing out small benefits.

The moderator had spoken; how could they not charge in?

The fans, who had been holding their breath, mobilized in full force across nearly eighty fan groups.

With nearly 40,000 fans organized to storm the comment section, if each person posted three comments, that would be 120,000 comments.

The reply count under the comment 'Fishing Should Be Like Wo Zi Ge' skyrocketed, heading straight for the top spot among the video's hot comments.

Compared to other influencers' fans, how could a die-hard fan like Intentional Punch not know? Gao Xiaofan had already signed the contract, so striking back was well-justified.

Gao Xiaofan naturally knew this as well. He smiled without saying anything, though he was impressed by Ai Qi Film and Television's marketing tactics.

After the main attraction—the celebrity lineup—was revealed, the influencer guests became even more intriguing. This was a 24-hour live-streamed show, not a program where a guest would just make a single cameo and then be replaced.

This also made many celebrity fans curious: who would be living with their idols for nearly half a month?

If they had released the list of influencer guests first, there certainly wouldn't be this much hype; people might not have even paid attention to the variety show.

For instance, the addition of the entertainment industry's two great beauties, Mi Mi and Reba, instantly excited the male fans.

A 24-hour live stream? Doesn't that mean they might see... something? *Slurp*~

Although everyone knew it was impossible, what if...?

But then they thought, there are influencer guests participating too? They might even be men?

The thought made them unhappy. What influencer could possibly deserve to live with their goddess for half a month?

Once the audience's emotions were stirred, topics and hype naturally followed.

Ai Qi Film and Television's move showed they understood exactly how to manipulate traffic.

“nine-turn continuous daily mission. Triggering the third task: Having finally gotten used to rural life, how can you change so easily? Sleep on the floor before the show starts; using the air conditioner is not permitted.”

Gao Xiaofan, who hadn't even been lying in bed for ten minutes, climbed up with a numb expression upon hearing the voice in his mind. He turned off the air conditioner, grabbed his quilt to spread it on the floor, and collapsed onto it weakly.

“Knock, knock, knock~” A knock sounded at the door. Gao Xiaofan climbed up curiously to open it.

When the door opened, Gao Xiaofan saw Qu Lang and Chen Cheng standing outside.

“Brother Lang, what's going on?”

Qu Lang waved his hand. “Nothing, just came to see you.”

Chen Cheng, standing behind him, carefully pointed at the small microphone on her chest.

Gao Xiaofan understood instantly; they were here to gather footage.

After the two entered the room, they immediately saw the quilt on the floor, and a thousand question marks popped into their heads.

“Xiaofan, why did you put the quilt on the floor? Are you not used to sleeping here? Should I have someone change your room?”

Qu Lang asked hurriedly upon seeing this.

Gao Xiaofan waved his hand. “No need, Director Qu. I'm just worried that if I sleep too comfortably now, I won't be used to it when we get to the village. I thought I'd adapt in advance.”

Qu Lang said with a face full of black lines, “I was wondering why you were putting on a show here. It turns out you already know the Program Production Crew's plan.”

Gao Xiaofan: ???

“Hey, Brother Lang, why did you say it out loud? Can't this be used as footage?”

Qu Lang sat on the bed and lit a cigarette. “Forget it. This is way too deliberate. How could we air this? Do you take the audience for fools?”

The two chatted for a while longer. Then, Qu Lang wiped the sweat from his forehead and finally sensed something was wrong. He looked up at the air conditioner curiously.

“Is the air conditioner broken? I'll have someone change it for you.”

“No, Director Qu. I'm afraid if the environment is too good now, I won't be able to get used to it when recording the show.”

“You brat, can you just be normal?”

Gao Xiaofan watched with a sorrowful face as Qu Lang and Chen Cheng rushed out the door and headed toward the other guests' rooms.

My footage is right here, and you guys aren't even using it! Waaaah!

The next morning, Gao Xiaofan walked out of his room with dark circles under his eyes. It had been so hot last night that he couldn't sleep at all. In the end, unable to take it, he had taken a cold shower every so often just to make it through.

Under Qu Lang's disdainful gaze, Gao Xiaofan resolutely chose a steamed bun from the many breakfast options like beef noodles, pork rib noodles, and soy milk with fried dough sticks.

After breakfast, everyone gathered in the hotel's conference hall and learned the detailed rules of the show for the first time.

The show was divided into four groups, with celebrity guests and influencer guests paired up to live together for half a month.

The grouping would be determined entirely by netizen votes, but they had to be male-female pairings.

Ai Qi Film and Television had already reached a cooperation agreement with TikTok. Both would open dedicated sections to live stream the program. There were four main camera feeds, and each could be subdivided into two.

This meant there would be a total of eight camera teams on standby 24 hours a day. With shifts, there might be 16 camera teams. The investment was staggering.

Qu Lang sat at the table and said seriously, “So, a situation is very likely to arise where popular live streams are watched by tens of millions, while unpopular ones might only have tens of thousands.”

As soon as he said this, the celebrity guests' expressions changed.

They were naturally confident in themselves, but they were a bit worried about being paired with an influencer who might drag them down. If they were paired with someone who had few fans or was disliked, it was easy to imagine that their traffic would be affected.

Qu Lang ignored them and continued explaining the details.

Secondly, iQiyi and TikTok had achieved synchronization; gift data would be shared, and all gift proceeds would be distributed to everyone. The split for celebrity guests and the platform was fifty-fifty, while influencers would receive the full amount as their appearance fee.

Every other influencer had chosen the gift split; only Gao Xiaofan had taken the 50,000 yuan for free.

Qu Lang cleared his throat and continued, “Additionally, iQiyi is planning to try a different approach for operations and promotion this time. Since iQiyi has invested heavily, the gifts during this live stream will be the basis for determining the show's direction. We're still researching the specifics, but regardless, more gifts will definitely be more advantageous for you.”

Hearing this, the celebrity guests looked thoughtful.

“Also, the Program Production Crew will start the promotion for the influencer guests today. You should prepare to cooperate with the promotion.”

The influencers nodded; this was already agreed upon in the contract. The reason the crew chose them was because of their fan bases. The four influencers were from different fields: beauty, dance, singing, and Gao Xiaofan's fishing.

Among them, Gao Xiaofan had the fewest fans, yet he had entered Ai Qi Film and Television's sights as a dark horse. Celebrities often had a lot of 'black material' (scandals), but influencers actually had even more.

Gao Xiaofan, who had become famous in a very short time, practically hadn't had time to accumulate any scandals, which was why he was selected.

After Qu Lang finished speaking, he stood up and walked out. As the general director of the crew, the closer it got to filming, the more things he had to do.

At the same time, the Show Water Bright Mountain Program Production Crew began releasing the first teaser trailer.