The next day, after having lunch with Ye Jiawen, Chi Yan went to find the show’s chief director to watch the rough cut of their commercial.
The chief director praised them, saying, “You two did a great job, and the sponsors are very satisfied.”
The rough cut was indeed well-made. The framing and filters were aesthetically pleasing, and both actors performed well.
After watching it, Chi Yan felt that this commercial would definitely generate a lot of buzz.
“We plan to air it tomorrow,” the director said. “This is the first commercial the show is broadcasting, so we hope it will be a great start!”
Ye Jiawen said confidently, “It’ll be fine. I think it’s perfect.”
The chief director patted his shoulder with a smile. “Young people should have confidence like this.”
The commercial featuring Chi Yan and Ye Jiawen was officially aired on Tuesday at 10 AM.
The livestream cut from the contestants’ page to a scene of a young couple. The girl sat on the back seat of the boy’s bicycle. As the boy turned back to look at her, their eyes met for a brief moment before they quickly looked away.
Many viewers didn’t react immediately, but soon, they recognized the two actors.
“That’s Chi Yan and Ye Jiawen’s commercial! We even saw them leaving the apartment during Saturday’s livestream!”
“The way they looked at each other is amazing! It’s so romantic! It reminds me of my first love!”
“Damn! The way Chi Yan hesitated to pull at his sleeve but didn’t dare—so relatable! And Ye Jiawen’s smile when he turned around—totally got me! awsl!! The attention to detail is incredible! [praise] [praise]”
On screen, the boy rode with the girl through the streets, gradually disappearing from view. The scene then shifted abruptly, showing them all grown up.
As adults, the distance between them felt much closer, no longer as youthful and shy but instead warm and familiar.
The man opened the car door for the woman, fastened her seatbelt, and their gazes met again—this time, filled with happiness.
“!!! This feels like watching a romance drama! I’m obsessed!”
“The second eye contact really has depth! No wonder they’re the most talked-about contestants right now—so impressive!”
“The final scene—man, the car effects totally reminded me this was an ad. [laughing while crying]”
The sponsor, Xunjie Motors, was thrilled with the hype. Building a strong reputation was their top priority—now, they just had to see if sales would follow.
The commercial featuring Chi Yan and Ye Jiawen was posted on Weibo by both Xunjie and the show’s official account. Many fans flooded the comment sections, and hashtags like #ChiYanYeJiawen and #XunjieCommercial quickly climbed onto the trending list, garnering widespread praise.
Their popularity skyrocketed. With their unforgettable performance in last Friday’s competition, their fanbase was growing rapidly.
Although Chi Yan and Ye Jiawen’s fan count wasn’t yet as high as Duan Jing, who had been a child star, they were far ahead of the remaining contestants.
That evening, Chi Yan picked up her phone and casually opened Weibo, only to see that her followers had already surpassed two million.
She noticed the show’s official account had tagged her and also saw that Ye Jiawen had followed her. Chi Yan immediately followed him back out of politeness.
Since the commercial was filmed in a hurry, the contract had been signed, but many of the financial details hadn’t been settled yet. So, for now, she didn’t promote Xunjie on her own account.
After liking the posts from both the show and Xunjie, Chi Yan was about to close Weibo when a message from Shen Chen popped up. She clicked on it right away.
Shen Chen: The commercial was well done. Watching it made me want to buy a car.
Chi Yan couldn’t help but smile and replied: Thinking of getting a new one? I have a discount coupon from the sponsor. I can give it to you.
Shen Chen: You should keep it for yourself.
Chi Yan was confused. Shen Chen wasn’t the type to specifically mention seeing her commercial, yet he didn’t say anything else either. It was strange.
In truth, Shen Chen himself didn’t know what he was doing. He hadn’t planned on messaging her at all, but his fingers seemed to move on their own.
Maybe he had been watching too many livestreams, and it was messing with his brain. So, for the next two days, he didn’t watch any.
It wasn’t until Thursday morning that Shen Chen opened the livestream app again.
On Wednesday night, during a rehearsal session in the training room, Yu Jingming’s team was informed that their costumes had been rushed to completion and would be ready for the next day’s shoot.
Shen Chen happened to see this news while browsing and started looking forward to it.
Early Thursday morning, Yu Jingming’s team got up and headed to the filming studio together. The show had rented the space for five days, so they had to complete filming within that time.
Yu Jingming’s script was set in a futuristic, interstellar era, requiring a lot of special effects. Most of their scenes were shot using a green screen.
Acting without real props or scenery—speaking lines and making movements in empty space—added another layer of difficulty to their performance.
To avoid backlash, the production team chose a part of the scene where Ye Jiawen wouldn’t have to dress as a woman and streamed Chi Yan’s group’s performance instead.
However, they knew how to keep viewers hooked—revealing just enough to spark curiosity. The livestream only showed the visuals, but no audio was played.
At first, viewers protested, but when their complaints got them nowhere, they started speculating about the plot.
“The costumes look futuristic. Maybe it’s about aliens invading Earth…”
“They’re acting entirely with a green screen—I can’t even imagine what the final result will look like. But it’s honestly kind of funny to watch. [laughing while crying]”
“The production team is so sneaky. Fine, I’ll pay for extra content. Just let me hear the dialogue!!!”
“I still have high hopes for Director Yu. He should have some creative twists in the storyline.”
Chi Yan and the others knew the cameras were on, and the program team had communicated with them beforehand. They would film two hours of less important scenes first, and then the cameras would switch to another team.
Yu Jingming frowned and instructed his assistant to rearrange the shooting schedule and inform the others.
The program team hadn’t notified him in advance this time, almost as if something had happened elsewhere, and they were using his team’s footage to divert attention.
Chi Yan and Ye Jiawen didn’t have scenes to film at the moment, so they rested nearby and discussed the middle portion of their scenes.
Ye Jiawen said, “I agreed to live on Earth, but I definitely wouldn’t be happy about it. In my eyes, you’re all low-level creatures. A cold and arrogant queenly demeanor… I think I can manage that.”
“Maybe you should also show a subtle sense of urgency,” Chi Yan suggested. “After all, your home planet has been destroyed, and you’ve come to Earth to find a way to save it.”
“Makes sense,” Ye Jiawen flipped to the background section of the script. “I’ll take another look.”
Filming continued in full swing. Their group worked together efficiently, supporting one another, and successfully completed their scenes within Yu Jingming’s deadline.
From Thursday morning until Monday morning, Yu Jingming barely had any time to rest—he was completely exhausted.
But since his team members were responsible and diligent, he felt relatively at ease.
After wrapping up the final scene, Yu Jingming addressed everyone, “We’re expected to finish filming tonight. It’s amazing that we’re ahead of schedule! After we reshoot a few shots, I’ll give you all a break!”
Everyone cheered in excitement, but Yu Jingming quickly cut them off.
“There’s just one condition—you must keep your phones turned on from 6 AM to 11 PM. If I need you to reshoot any scenes, I’ll contact you in advance.”
Cheng Yu said, “Don’t worry, Director Yu, we won’t just disappear!”
“If you really go missing,” Yu Jingming said, “I’ll request the program team to remove anyone who’s unreachable from my group.”
With that, he had his assistant return their phones.
“I got your phones back from the program team. You’re free to do as you please this afternoon.”
It was clear that he was serious, so everyone took his instructions to heart.
When they finally got their phones back, they were all grinning from ear to ear.
There weren’t many extra shots to film, and the thought of getting a break motivated everyone to work even faster.
As soon as Chi Yan got her phone, she told her mother that she would be coming home later.
Thinking that she might not get time to rest once the show ended, she also reached out to Shen Chen and invited him to lunch the next day.
However, after finishing lunch at home, Chi Yan still hadn’t received a reply from Shen Chen. She pursed her lips before deciding to go to her room to take a nap.
“Yan Yan, wait a second,” her mother called after her, unable to hide the excitement on her face. “My art exhibition is the day after tomorrow. Can you come with me?”
Chi Yan was delighted. “Mom, I happen to be free for the next few days. Of course, I’ll go!”
This was her mother’s first time participating in an art exhibition since marrying Chi Hongzheng. It was an important event for her, and Chi Yan was glad she could attend.
“Will you be able to go out safely? Won’t people recognize you? I saw online that some fans can be really crazy,” her mother asked worriedly.
Chi Yan reassured her, “It’s fine. I’ll wear a mask and glasses—no one will recognize me. Plus, before the exhibition, I plan to dye my hair. That way, I’ll look like a completely different person.”
“What color?” her mother asked nervously. “Is this something the director requested? If it’s not necessary, don’t do it. It’s bad for your hair. If you can’t go out, I can just take videos and photos for you.”
“No, Mom, I’ve thought about this for a while. For the Top 10 Ranking competition, my character’s hair is silver. Mom, I really want to play this role.”
After thinking for a moment, Chi Yan added, “Silver is super cool. If I don’t dye it now, I don’t know when I’ll get the chance again. Besides, I’m meeting a friend tomorrow, so I can get my hair done at the same time.”
Her mother still seemed hesitant, but since she had invited Chi Yan to the art exhibition first—and Chi Yan kept emphasizing that no one would recognize her—she eventually relented.
“Alright, have fun with your friend tomorrow, and then accompany me to the exhibition the day after.”
Chi Yan, relieved that her mother had agreed, said, “Mom, I’m exhausted. I’m going to take a nap.”
“Go rest. You’ve been staying up late and waking up early every day. You must be really tired. I’ll wake you up for dinner.”
With nothing pressing on her mind, Chi Yan allowed herself to drift into sleep.
She ended up sleeping until past five in the evening.
When she woke up and checked her phone, she saw that Shen Chen had finally replied.
He said: I have a meeting at the company tomorrow morning, so I can’t make it. Sorry.
Chi Yan responded: No problem, we can reschedule, or I can just book a place near your company. I might only be free for the next few days—after that, I don’t know how busy I’ll be.
A long time passed before Shen Chen sent another message: Alright, I’ll be there tomorrow.
Chi Yan really felt that Shen Chen had been acting strangely lately. First, there was that reaction to the commercial, and now this.
His tone just now was especially cold—so much so that she felt like she wasn’t even talking to the same Shen Chen.
Then she shook her head. Maybe he was just under a lot of work stress.
