The following evening, Chen Zaimin and his wife, along with their child, and Yi Xiao, along with his girlfriend, arrived at Xu Zifan's new home, each bringing a suitable decorative item as a gift.
Chen Zaimin and Yi Xiao looked at the decorated house and were completely convinced of their youngest son's abilities. They praised him for being good at managing the household and told their families a lot about their experiences on the island, almost praising Xu Zifan to the skies.
Xu Zifan specially prepared twelve dishes for them, including chicken, duck, fish and meat, but they were not home-style dishes. Each dish had the feel of a high-end restaurant's signature dish. As soon as they were placed on the table, they attracted the attention of several people. They looked, smelled and tasted delicious. The two women kept taking pictures and marveled at Xu Zifan's excellent cooking skills.
Chen Zaimin exclaimed, "If you add a little more, you could make a Manchu Han Imperial Feast! The New Year's Eve dinner I ordered wasn't as beautiful as this."
Xu Zifan laughed and said, "Brother Chen, don't flatter me. Everyone, please sit down and eat. See if you like the taste."
"Of course we'll love it! Nobody dislikes your cooking." Chen Zaimin helped everyone take their seats, took a bite, and let out a satisfied sigh. He raised his glass to Xu Zifan and said, "I never knew I was a foodie. Participating in 'Survival on a Desert Island' was the right decision! What a pleasant surprise!"
Everyone else who tasted the food praised it highly, and the children ate happily without needing any supervision from the adults. As they ate and chatted, Aunt Chen and Aunt Yi noticed that Xu Zifan seemed quite good in every way, and after the meal, they started asking him about his family and wanted to introduce him to girlfriends.
Xu Zifan smiled and politely declined, "I've been embroiled in trouble lately, so I'll take care of my own affairs first before considering dating. Thank you both, sisters-in-law. I'll definitely ask for your help if I ever decide to pursue this."
Influenced by Chen Zaimin, Aunt Chen particularly liked Xu Zifan. Upon hearing this, she laughed and said, "Then don't be shy later. I know quite a few nice girls, and I definitely won't introduce you to any unreliable ones. By the way, let's create a group chat. Next time we have a family dinner at my house, my cooking skills aren't as good as Zifan's, so let's have a barbecue on my terrace, how about that?"
They all got along very well and naturally wanted to continue their friendship. Upon hearing what Mrs. Chen said, they immediately created a WeChat group. Thinking about Xu Zifan's troubles, Chen Zaimin suggested, "Let's take a group photo and post it on Weibo, including the clean plates on the table."
Yi Xiao immediately understood his meaning. Although they weren't top-tier celebrities, they still had fans and were relatively stable in the entertainment industry. Most importantly, they had no negative news. Their expression of goodwill towards Xu Zifan could help clear his name to some extent.
Sister Yi took out a selfie stick, and the group took several group photos. Then she chose one without children and posted it on Weibo.
[Chen Zaimin v: Met an amazing younger brother, his cooking is absolutely incredible, I'll definitely come over for a meal again next time. @Xu Zifan]
[Yi Xiao v: It's a pity I didn't meet you sooner. @Xu Zifan]
They not only posted a group photo, but also a picture of the food just being served, which looked incredibly appetizing. Fans complained that the two of them were tempting people with their food late at night, and were also surprised by their relationship with Xu Zifan. They looked so happy having dinner together at home so late, which means they must have a very good relationship.
Their fans' impression of Xu Zifan improved rapidly, with many leaving messages on Xu Zifan's Weibo and some even following him.
Xu Zifan also posted a Weibo post, with one more picture than the other two, showing the gifts they gave him, thanking them for congratulating him on his housewarming.
The collaboration between the three sparked a lot of activity among fans. Although there were some unpleasant comments, such as Chen Zaimin and Yi Xiao being friends with Xu Zifan must mean they were no good, or that the three of them were just trying to generate buzz for the show, these comments were quickly drowned out by the fans' comments. The comments increasingly focused on the food, with everyone paying attention to the twelve dishes in the photo, resulting in a harmonious comment section.
Because the director of "Survival on a Desert Island" was confident in the show, he insisted on allocating a portion of the budget for promotion. After seeing the interaction between the three of them, he edited a trailer overnight, which included a scene where Xu Zifan said that he was good at cooking.
The trailer didn't show Xu Zifan cooking on the island, but that one line about a flag has already been linked to their Weibo posts, generating buzz.
Some people say, "Look, this show is just a publicity stunt, isn't it? All that brotherhood will turn into a fake friendship once the show ends." But regardless, "Survival on a Desert Island" has definitely gained popularity, become known to many people, secured an air date, and bought advertising space on major video websites, suddenly becoming a highly anticipated variety show.
Xu Zifan didn't care what others thought or did. Apart from having dinner with Chen Zaimin and the others, he stayed at home and focused on his cultivation, remaining silent for several days.
A week later, "Survival on a Desert Island" aired. The first episode featured a scene where it thundered and rained in the middle of the night. At the end, it felt like Su Yanchen and his two companions were about to be struck by lightning, making viewers' hearts pound and unable to help but worry for them, deeply feeling the dangers on the island.
The internet exploded as soon as the first episode aired.
[Chen Zaimin, Yi Xiao, and Xu Zifan have teamed up, haven't they? No wonder they're so close. On the island, they ostracized those three, not letting them in even during thunderstorms. Were they trying to get struck by lightning?]
[It's just filming a TV show, what's with all the genuine emotions? Do you think the production team would make someone get struck by lightning? Su Yanchen and the others are back safe and sound now, no problem at all. These kinds of shows are all scripted.]
[What script? Aside from Chen Zaimin, whose acting is top-notch, are the others even qualified to act? They can actually follow the script like this? They deserve an award then. They have a conflict, three against three, I'm on Su Yan's side.]
On Chen's side, they simply lacked experience and made a wrong judgment. Why shouldn't Xu Zifan and his group be allowed in?
[They insisted on setting up a tent because they didn't want to work, and then blamed others for getting soaked in the rain? Xu Zifan had told them three or four times that he was worried about the rain, right? Whose fault is it if they didn't listen? They didn't listen to Xu Zifan from the beginning, didn't scout ahead, couldn't find food, almost got lost, and had no experience whatsoever. If it weren't for Xu Zifan, they wouldn't even have had a meal.]
[Xu Zifan is the youngest, and he doesn't know how to respect his seniors. His tone is completely commanding. Who would be happy about that? Su Yanchen is his senior brother.]
[Haha, does your boss have any employees higher up than him? He's incompetent himself, yet he expects the professional Xu Zifan to grovel? In that kind of place, whoever is more professional is the boss. He deserves to be struck by lightning for not listening to advice.]
[Am I the only one who's shipping Su Yanchen and Xue Ninglu? The Chenlu couple, I think they definitely have a future together.]
[I only care about what happened to them in the end. Was the lightning and thunder real, not special effects? That was terrifying! The sea is indeed unpredictable and ever-changing. This show was quite good, better than I expected.]
[Haha, Xu Zifan's avoidance of women is so cute! I think he was wronged before; there's no solid evidence. He might not even have been in a relationship yet, so fresh and inexperienced!!!]
[Are you implying my family wronged him? He kept trying to curry favor with us on the show; are you blind to that?]
[Your little flower is untouchable, she has a bunch of brainless fans, I'm outta here.]
[You guys are really something else. Can't you live without constantly bashing Xu Zifan? You've made him think the sea is better than a crowd. It's all because of you keyboard warriors. I really don't know what Xu Zifan did to you.]
[Xu Zifan looks so cool catching fish in the sea! Super handsome, like a mermaid prince! Can someone Photoshop a picture of him as the mermaid prince? I want to use it as my wallpaper and admire it every day!!]
[The edited photos are out, take them if you want, they look like they're from a blockbuster movie.]
[Wow, this is amazing Photoshop work! It looks so natural. I definitely wouldn't have done this if it weren't for the good looks! It's so beautiful! I'm drooling over it, my screen is going to break!]
[Xu Zifan's wilderness survival skills are off the charts. This footage clearly shows that he did it himself; it wasn't the production team's help at all. Those who say he's useless except for his looks should be proven wrong!]
[Turns out Xu Zifan is not only good-looking, but also a skilled wilderness survivor and a fantastic cook! Amazing!]
[It's funny that you believe he's a good cook without even having eaten the food. It might not even taste good.]
[The production team is the most unethical; they write scripts, create hype, and don't care about the guests. They deserve the most criticism.]
There are so many opinions online. Because there was so much information in the first episode, netizens started arguing from different perspectives, focusing on different points. It was a complete melee, and people who hadn't watched it couldn't understand what they were arguing about.
But it was precisely this chaotic situation that attracted the curiosity of most passersby, causing them to click on "Survival on a Desert Island" as bystanders. Once they started watching, many of them fell into the trap, eagerly waiting to see the next episode, just like the fans, and joined in the arguments.
"Survival on a Desert Island" became an instant hit!
The show inexplicably gained widespread attention due to an online argument, and its captivating content immediately grabbed viewers' attention. Even the online debates became juicy gossip, drawing viewers to the comments section after watching the program to find those who shared or disagreed with their views. The show's popularity was unstoppable.
The director of "Survival on a Desert Island" was overjoyed and immediately discussed replacing the show with the executive producer. After watching the edited four episodes, the executive producer called a meeting with relevant personnel in the company and ultimately decided to heavily promote the show to see if it could become a top-rated variety show.
Just then, Su Yanchen and Xue Ninglu expressed their dissatisfaction, so he directly sent people to terminate their contracts and replace them with a comedian who was very popular with the audience and a popular young idol.
The reason these two were invited was because the show's popularity had increased. Coincidentally, this change of guests could make up for the lack of popularity of the guests and improve the overall star power of the guests.
Su Yanchen and Xue Ninglu were having a great time promoting their on-screen couple status. They didn't want to continue participating, but that was before. Now that the show is popular, it would be foolish for anyone to quit. Who knew the production team would actually kick them out? Both of them were indignant. After discussing it, they both posted on Weibo expressing their regret that they couldn't participate in the next recording of "Survival on a Desert Island".
Their posts were full of hidden meanings, sounding like stiff, official statements, but in reality, they were deeply aggrieved by being abandoned by the production team. Their fans immediately went on a rampage, questioning the production team and demanding justice for their idols.
Seeing this, Tan Yi intervened, having online trolls stir up trouble by claiming that Su Yanchen and Xu Zifan were at odds and that the production team had sacrificed Su Yanchen to protect Xu Zifan, thus dragging Xu Zifan into the mess and attracting a lot of haters.
Amidst the storm of controversy, Xu Zifan posted a video on Weibo: "[Seeing that everyone likes my cooking, I specially recorded myself cooking today. Feel free to try it if you're interested. [heart]]"