Tang Che normally never ate desserts, but since it was his birthday, he politely ate a piece of the cream cake Xiao Fei had ordered after cutting it.
Mo Xun took several photos as instructed by their manager.
FTM’s official blog needed to post some content about Tang Che’s birthday for the fans. The five posed together with the cake for a commemorative photo.
To accommodate those who couldn’t eat spicy food, they ordered a split pot with two flavors.
Tang Che and Fang Yinnian ate from the spicy side, while the other three had the mushroom soup side, creating a harmonious arrangement.
FTM’s official blog quickly posted the photos: “Today is our team member @FTM-Tang Che’s birthday. Wishing Tang Che a happy birthday and happiness every day! FTM members are currently celebrating Tang Che’s birthday with hotpot~”
The nine-grid layout featured many group photos of the five together.
The team members quickly logged into Weibo to repost. Fans excitedly rushed to leave blessings: “Happy birthday, Brother Che!” “Che Che looks so happy~” “The five together are like a big family!”
Regarding the birthday gift involving Tang Che’s desire to form a rock band, their manager didn’t allow them to post about it to avoid controversy.
Tang Che himself also posted on Weibo to thank fans for their wishes.
His birthday Weibo post received over 100,000 comments—without buying water army. This level of interaction already qualified him as a “small flow” celebrity in the industry.
Moreover, many fan creators drew birthday artwork for Tang Che, including various Q-version illustrations and several exceptionally handsome comic-style renditions.
Everyone was delighted, indicating that their two variety show appearances had been effective, successfully retaining a portion of their fans.
The five scrolled through Weibo while eating hotpot, not returning until 1 AM.
This was Tang Che’s happiest birthday in over a decade.
***
Time passed quickly, and soon it was September 27th, the Mid-Autumn Festival.
This was traditionally a day for family reunions, but entertainers were actually extremely busy during this holiday. There were countless Mid-Autumn Festival galas on various TV stations and special episodes of variety shows.
Xingmang Entertainment’s boy group Bluewind went to perform at the CCTV Mid-Autumn Festival Gala, which made Fang Yinnian very envious. 12-Star performed at Nanxing Satellite TV’s Mid-Autumn Festival Gala, while Sonic sang at Yuntu Satellite TV’s Mid-Autumn Festival Gala.
FTM didn’t even have their own original songs, so they couldn’t receive invitations from TV stations. Fortunately, they weren’t idle—they were invited to “Red-Blue Competition’s” Mid-Autumn special episode—a reward for going viral with their comedy last time.
In the entertainment industry, rewards come quickly. Once you become popular, resources will come to your doorstep. This was the first resource that had “come to them” since their debut.
So the five were quite happy.
Having no stage performance during Mid-Autumn Festival was fine; appearing on a variety show special was good too.
For this Mid-Autumn special episode, Taohe’s upper management had clearly allocated a substantial budget. The entire recording site, including scenery and props, had been completely redesigned.
With an abundant budget, the set was built beautifully.
The game area was directly decorated as “Chang’e’s Moon Palace,” with a round moon hanging in the middle, traditional pavilions and buildings, authentic-looking trees and flowers, and adorable jade rabbit plush toys.
The five were amazed when they arrived at the recording site.
Fu Fei widened his eyes: “This set could be used for filming a drama! Building a dedicated Moon Palace scene—they really spared no expense!”
Mo Xun praised: “This special episode is definitely worth our time.”
Special episodes would be repeatedly enjoyed by viewers, and there were surely many guests who wanted to participate. FTM being actively invited should largely thank Fu Fei for that slip and fall that dragged down his teammates, bringing FTM to the trending topics.
When they came to record the show last time, the staff’s attitude toward them was quite ordinary. After all, as an unknown group with low recognition, they bowed to everyone calling them “teacher,” and the staff just smiled, with some barely acknowledging them.
This time the enthusiasm was notably greater.
Many people actively greeted them.
While they were getting styled backstage, even the director came over specifically, smiling and greeting them: “Our little lucky stars have arrived! The previous episode has already surpassed 50 million views.”
The five couldn’t believe it: “That high?”
The director said: “Yes, many new users came to watch. The new user acquisition was incredible. Thank you, Old Xu, for bringing five treasures to our show.”
Xu Baichuan humbly shook hands with the director: “It’s also because your show has high quality. Interesting games can go viral.”
The director said: “No need to be modest. Your group’s popularity is really high recently. You even broke the ‘Desperate Escape Room’ record—you’re naturally destined for popularity!”
Xu Baichuan smiled: “Not at all, just good luck.”
The two exchanged a few polite words.
The variety show “Red-Blue Competition” had indeed gained popularity thanks to FTM, but the show itself was also noteworthy, with different games in each episode.
Last time FTM was on the blue team; this time they were randomly assigned to the red team. After styling, the five changed into black pants and red short-sleeved shirts. The shirts also featured Mid-Autumn Festival elements like rabbits and mooncakes.
The blue team’s invited guests also had some weight to them.
After all, as a Mid-Autumn special episode, there were more people wanting to participate than usual, and the production team could be selective, choosing those with higher fame and bigger status.
One pair was the third male and female leads from this summer’s hit idol drama—a handsome man and beautiful woman whose on-screen couple also went viral during the show’s airing. There were also two fairly well-known singers and a veteran who frequently appeared on variety shows.
The guests greeted each other backstage.
At 8 PM sharp, recording began.
The host smiled and said: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to ‘Red-Blue Competition’ Episode 34—the Mid-Autumn Festival special!”
“First to join us are this episode’s guest stars, the red team—our old friends, FTM!”
During the individual showcase segment last time, Fang Yinnian didn’t know how to pose and directly copied Mo Xun. This time, Fang Yinnian had learned some photo poses in advance. He looked at the camera with a smile and made a heart shape with his right hand next to his cheek.
The bullet comment section immediately exploded—
“Ahhh Nian Nian is too cute!”
“Wow, Yinnian, you’re so good at this now? Who taught you?”
“Hahaha, making a heart gesture with such a serious face, so adorable.”
“Clean, natural makeup—very pleasing to my eyes!”
The host finished introducing all the guests.
The ten guests came to the prepared Moon Palace set and stood on opposite sides.
The host said: “I’m sure everyone is familiar with the red team guests, FTM group. Their record from their last appearance on ‘Red-Blue Competition’ was—0:3!”
The big screen replayed some scenes of FTM’s miserable defeat.
Abstract drawings with wild guesses, falling in a row to the ground, chasing each other with inflatable hammers—triggering a wave of laughter in the livestream.
The five: “…”
This was public humiliation.
The host laughed and said: “In this Mid-Autumn special, can they successfully get their revenge? Let’s wait and see!”
The host then introduced the blue team guests. Today, many fans of the blue team guests were also in the livestream, with the bullet comment section flooded with celebrity names.
Host: “The first round game perfectly matches today’s theme.”
“Mid-Autumn Poetry Competition! We will display poetry related to Mid-Autumn or the moon on the screen, and guests need to recite the next line.”
“The game uses a buzzer format. Answering correctly earns 1 point, answering incorrectly deducts 1 point. The total time is 10 minutes. Do all guests understand the rules?”
“Understood,” everyone nodded.
The game was simple—answering poetry questions, testing the breadth of knowledge.
The host said: “The resident guests can place their bets now!”
Cheng Kangle glanced at Fang Yinnian and said with a smile: “I won’t jinx FTM today—I bet on the blue team to win.”
Female guest Xu Jia laughed and said: “Old Cheng has jinxed the blue team, so I’ll bet on the red team! Aren’t Tang Che and Fang Yinnian from FTM academic aces? I think scholars will have a big advantage in this kind of poetry game.”
The host immediately picked up on the topic: “I heard you two have excellent grades?”
Tang Che’s expression remained calm: “I studied science, so I’m decent at math, physics, and chemistry, but I don’t actually know much about poetry.”
Fang Yinnian humbly said: “I took the arts entrance examination route. Compared to students from top universities, my academic performance is just average.”
The host said: “No need to be modest! If I remember correctly, our Yinnian entered Jiangzhou Music Academy ranking first in the arts entrance exam, which is quite impressive!”
Viewers in the bullet comment section typed rows of “666.”
In the livestream betting channel, viewers predicting the red team’s victory reached 65%.
Fang Yinnian and Tang Che exchanged glances, feeling like they were being put on the spot. The host and resident guests deliberately emphasized that they were “academic aces,” so if they lost, it would be extremely embarrassing.
—Fortunately, they were prepared.
Before coming on the show, Fang Yinnian had guessed: Would the Mid-Autumn special include poetry-related games?
Predicting the test questions beforehand, he had guessed correctly.
He had researched many poems this week and compiled a document, sharing it in the group chat for his teammates to memorize.
Mo Xun leaned over and said softly: “What a coincidence, you predicted the right topic.”
Fang Yinnian nodded: “But we still can’t be careless.”
Host: “Alright, now would both teams please stand in front of the buzzers? We’ll begin the first round of quick-fire questions!”
The 10 guests took their positions.
Host: “Countdown 3, 2, 1—begin!”
A “beep” sounded, and the first poem appeared on the screen.
“The bright moon rises from the sea”
Fu Fei hit the buzzer extremely quickly. Having played all kinds of games since childhood, his hand speed was lightning fast.
After hitting the buzzer, the camera focused on him.
Fu Fei didn’t answer but looked at his teammates: “Quick, you guys answer!”
Tang Che asked with confusion: “You buzzed in—didn’t you want to answer?”
Fu Fei said justifiably: “I buzzed in for you guys!”
The livestream audience all laughed.
“Xiao Fei: I just handle the buzzing, you guys handle the answering!”
“Xiao Fei: Full of confidence in his brothers’ knowledge reserves”
“Used to being a tool-person, this time he’s the buzzer-pressing tool”
“I’m just a heartless buzzing machine~”
Fu Fei truly had a talent for comedy on variety shows. No one expected him to pull such a move.
The host immediately said: “That’s not allowed. Whoever presses the buzzer must answer, and wrong answers will deduct points.”
Fu Fei awkwardly scratched his head, but fortunately he knew this one: “Shared by all across the vast distance!”
Host: “Correct answer, red team +1 point.”
A new verse appeared on the screen: “Tonight the moon is bright and everyone gazes at it”
Fang Yinnian pressed the buzzer and smiled: “Unknown whose home autumn nostalgia falls upon”
“Correct answer, red team +1 point!”
Next question: “Where is my hometown in the northwest?”
Tang Che pressed the buzzer: “How many times has the moon waxed full in the southeast?”
The bullet comment section was filled with question marks.
“FTM’s mysteriously vast knowledge reserve”
“How do they know so many poems?”
“Did they memorize these in advance?!”
Indeed, Fang Yinnian had predicted the topic correctly before the test, searched and memorized a bunch of poems, so FTM handled this poetry game section with ease.
Of course, they couldn’t grab all the questions. There were some common poems that the blue team also knew and could answer to score points.
After several rounds of quick answers, the red and blue teams went back and forth.
Overall, FTM had a greater advantage, with Tang Che and Fang Yinnian taking turns scoring points, quickly leaving the blue team behind.
The game ended.
The host excitedly said: “In the Mid-Autumn Poetry Competition, the red team’s final score is 35 points, blue team 25 points. Congratulations to the red team for winning this round!”
The bullet comment section scrolled with rows of 666, and the five FTM members applauded happily. Although it was just a game, constantly losing wouldn’t look good!
Today’s penalty segment was relatively mild, requiring the blue team guests to squeeze together within a large moon-shaped frame for a photo, striking several funny poses to complete the task.
Host: “Second round game—Jade Rabbit Treasure Hunt.”
“Game rules: Everyone pretends to be rabbits, walking with hopping movements to search for clues left by Chang’e in the Moon Palace. The time limit is 20 minutes. Whichever team finds more clues wins!”
“Please bring in the props.”
The props team brought many jade rabbit cosplay outfits, having guests put them on on-site.
The production team’s jade rabbit costumes were super cute—large rabbit outfits that could envelop the entire guest, fluffy and available in different colors.
FTM was given pink, gray, white, brown, and red. Fang Yinnian chose a white rabbit, unzipped it, and climbed inside.
The cosplay outfit covered the guest’s entire body, leaving only the head exposed.
After putting on the bulky outfit, the zipper was difficult to pull up. Fang Yinnian instinctively called to Mo Xun: “Help me zip up.”
Mo Xun walked in front of him, slightly lowered his head, and carefully pulled up the zipper on his chest. Then Mo Xun climbed into the brown rabbit costume beside him, and Fang Yinnian also helped zip him up.
Both dressed, they faced each other and simultaneously burst into laughter.
It was too adorable.
Fang Yinnian wore a white rabbit costume with two fluffy pink-white rabbit ears on top and a short tail on the rear—super cute.
However, he hadn’t noticed while dressing that one ear stood upright while the other was folded, making them asymmetrical.
Mo Xun turned to face Fang Yinnian and helped adjust the folded ear. He reached out with both hands, gently touched Fang Yinnian’s two rabbit ears, and stood them both upright, which looked much better.
Fang Yinnian realized he was helping fix his ears and said softly: “Everyone cosplaying as rabbits feels like we’re back in kindergarten.”
Mo Xun smiled and said: “It’s quite cute.”
As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Fang Yinnian.
The entertainment group’s CP shipping thread exploded—
“Holy crap, Mo Xun, you’re so good at this!”
“My goodness, I also want to touch Nian Nian’s rabbit ears, so cute~”
“I truly admire Mo Xun’s initiative!”
“He never hesitates to take action. Last episode in the escape room, grabbing Yinnian’s wrist was like an everyday occurrence!”
