Before long, the other celebrities arrived one by one, but they were all in a leisurely manner. Anyway, the footage would be edited, so it was impossible to say how late they were. By eight o'clock, all six of them had finally arrived.
The director had them introduce themselves and then have breakfast together to get to know each other.
There were six people in total. Xu Zifan was the youngest at 22 years old. A third-rate male star who followed the idol route joined the company. He was 25 years old and his name was Su Yanchen. He was good at singing and dancing and had been acting in idol dramas. He was not very popular, but he was quite handsome.
This time, the purpose is to use Xu Zifan to highlight him. After all, compared to Xu Zifan, he can sing, dance, and act. If he performs well in wilderness survival, he will stand out even more.
Xu Zifan had Shao Hua investigate the real information of these individuals, gaining a certain understanding of them. This Su Yanchen enjoys the glamour of being a celebrity but doesn't work hard at all. Instead, he enjoys drinking with wealthy women and extorting money from them, clearly wanting to make as much as possible while he's young. If someone is willing to promote him, he'll be rolling in it.
He wouldn't have come at all if the company hadn't said they wanted to use Xu Zifan to highlight him. His agent had already spoken with the director, and they would secretly give him food so he wouldn't have to work too hard.
So Su Yanchen always jokes and laughs in front of the camera, showing off his youthful energy to the fullest. But when the camera isn't rolling, he looks down on Xu Zifan with disdain and doesn't take him seriously at all.
The other four weren't from their company. One of them was Chen Zaimin, a 40-year-old former TV King who was still very famous, but had been out of the spotlight for ten years. Because Chen Zaimin was older than the others, he took good care of them and had the demeanor of an older brother.
Actually, he's a good person. He just neglected his career after his wife gave birth, which is why he was overtaken by the younger generation. He has a very peaceful mindset; he doesn't have a dream of reaching the top, and he just sees the entertainment industry as a way to make money. Having witnessed many ups and downs in the entertainment industry over the years, he trusts his own judgment and is the kindest to Xu Zifan.
Song Yunjian, a 32-year-old third-tier host, has mediocre hosting skills. He tries to be humorous but isn't funny at all. He's okay as a partner for excellent hosts, but he can't carry the guests on his own. He came here this time to try to change his career path and see if he can go into variety shows.
He is a strong-willed and meticulous person who works very hard and has no major flaws. However, he values his career highly and keeps his distance from Xu Zifan, a minor celebrity with a dark past, to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Yi Xiao, a 29-year-old singer, sings very well, but his style isn't particularly distinctive. He won a talent show and debuted but hasn't become famous. Moreover, his persistence in pursuing his musical dreams makes the road even more difficult. His company arranged for him to participate in this program, which he was somewhat reluctant to do, hence his aloof attitude and quiet demeanor.
Yi Xiao was indifferent to everyone, not caring whether Xu Zifan was famous or not; he treated him and everyone else the same.
The only female celebrity is a model, who is 1.8 meters tall, a little taller than Song Yunjian and Su Yanchen.
Her name is Xue Ninglu, she is twenty-five years old, has a curvaceous figure, and a pretty face, giving her a very glamorous appearance. However, this isn't really suitable for the modeling world, and she has never become famous, only hovering in the middle ranks.
She wanted to try her hand at variety shows, establish a tomboy persona, and also planned to create a romantic pairing with Su Yanchen.
In a survival reality show, everyone looks dusty and grimy, but this handsome man and beautiful woman together will definitely stand out. If they perform well, they can gain fans. We can just say they are good friends after the show ends.
Furthermore, Xue Ninglu also wanted to capitalize on Xu Zifan's popularity. They would create the illusion of a love triangle, making it seem like Xue Ninglu and Su Yanchen got along well, while Xu Zifan was desperately trying to get close to Xue Ninglu and constantly causing trouble. Anyway, editors are so amazing; given enough footage, they can edit anything into something.
So when Xue Ninglu ate, she sat between Xu Zifan and Su Yanchen. The two of them tacitly agreed that they both wanted to use Xu Zifan as a stepping stone.
Xu Zifan knew their information very well, so he was able to handle it with ease.
Xue Ninglu ate a meatball and praised it as delicious. Then she put some on Xu Zifan's plate, saying, "Here, you should try some too. I noticed you haven't eaten much."
Xu Zifan immediately blocked the bowl, Xue Ninglu's smile froze, and the others also looked over. The director quickly told the cameraman to aim at Xu Zifan and Xue Ninglu's faces to take pictures.
Xu Zifan smiled apologetically at everyone and said sincerely, "Sister Xue, I'm sorry, I overreacted a bit. The main thing is that my reputation isn't very good lately. I've been wrongly accused of creating hype on the show, and no matter how I explain, I can't clear it up. I don't want to drag people down with me, so when I found out there were girls in the team, I decided to keep my distance to avoid any more misunderstandings. I'm sorry, Sister Xue."
Xue Ninglu almost lost her composure from his constant use of "Sister Xue," but she forced a smile and said, "You're such a child. We're going to survive on an island together, why are you keeping your distance? You're our youngest, it's only right that I take care of you. If you feel awkward, you can treat me like a buddy, that would be much more comfortable, right?"
Xu Zifan held the bowl in his hand and shook his head firmly. "Sister Xue, you really don't need to take care of me. I just told the director that I'm very good at wilderness survival and I'm also a good cook. Don't worry about me just because I'm young. By the way, I can help everyone cook on the island."
Xue Ninglu was a little embarrassed, but Xu Zifan was only twenty-two years old and was being attacked online. Although his excessive caution was inappropriate, it actually made him seem very innocent and uncorrupted by the entertainment industry.
Even their thoughts are as simple as those of an innocent child.
Chen Zaimin picked up the bowl and took the meatball, smiling as he helped out of the awkward situation, "Give it to me, I haven't eaten yet. Zifan may look young, but he's quite thoughtful. But don't say anything about dragging others down. From now on, we're a team. On this island, we need to survive like a family. It's only right that everyone takes care of the youngest brother."
Song Yunjian, being the host, skillfully changed the subject, "Once we get to the island, we'll truly be family. Nobody will help us, and we don't know what will happen." He glanced at his watch and smiled, "It's almost time. Are you excited? Looking forward to it?"
They all expressed great anticipation, yet also a bit of trepidation.
Su Yanchen took a big bite of meat, then looked at the table full of food with reluctance and sighed, "This is our last meal before we leave. I don't know if we'll be able to find anything to eat when we get to the island. We might go hungry. I really want to pack all this up and take it with us!"
Su Yanchen was trying to make his presence known and get more screen time. Seeing this, Xu Zifan said, "Actually, there's no need to feel sorry. I'm a really good cook. If the production team allowed us to bring our own seasonings, the food we ate on the island wouldn't have been any worse than this meal."
Everyone fell silent for a moment, all looking at him. They'd seen people boast before, but never one like this. Wasn't he just asking to embarrass himself? Even renowned survivors wouldn't dare claim they could cook better food in the wild than in a restaurant. No wonder he got criticized; how could he not be criticized when he was so good at creating trouble for himself?
Su Yanchen realized he had found a weakness in Su Yanchen's words and said with a smile, "Junior brother, the island is different from home. There's no gas stove, no ingredients, no oil, nothing. It's hard to cook. This time, we're not going on a picnic; we're really going to survive."
Xu Zifan nodded, looking at them earnestly. "I'm serious. Although I'm not good at acting, I'm very good at wilderness survival. Leave the food to me. The wilderness may not be as convenient as the city, but nature is truly amazing; it has everything."
Su Yanchen almost burst out laughing. He hadn't even tried to put Xu Zifan down, and Xu Zifan had delivered himself to him. It would be a shame not to. He gave a helpless look and said, "Since Junior Brother is so eager to show off, then you can have the food first. If it's not enough, we can have more. What do you all think?"
Their conversation had progressed this far, so naturally the others wouldn't interfere. The task of finding the most important thing for survival—food—fell to Xu Zifan. However, he now had the added label of wanting to show off and steal the spotlight, which could easily attract negative attention if things went wrong.
Yi Xiao remained silent, unconcerned. Song Yunjian, thinking Xu Zifan was a bit foolish, took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Su Yanchen. Chen Zaimin looked at Xu Zifan with a wry smile, truly feeling that this child was too naive. He couldn't bear to see him foolishly causing trouble for himself, and said, "The youngest is indeed considerate. We're just waiting for your food. As long as there's something to eat, being on the island is happiness."
Xu Zifan smiled sincerely at him. What is the "show effect"? It's about plot twists, unexpected turns, humor, and talent—a whole host of jokes. As long as you have a few of these, you can attract viewers. Setting a goal is also a highlight. Success, or even absolute success, represents talent, and people naturally admire strength. As for failure, as long as it's funny enough, it's a joke. Nobody cares how many times you fail.
Su Yanchen thought he had found a way to make himself stand out by putting him down, but in reality, he was paving the way for himself. The more the audience disliked him in the early stages of the show, the more shocked they would be later. When they looked back at his performance at this point, they would only see his sincerity and purity.
After dinner, the group took a plane to a coastal city. No recording was done on the plane; everyone could just rest and there was no need for interaction.
Xue Ninglu wanted to do it with Xu Zifan, but she couldn't keep her distance from him. She was thinking of flirting with him privately, and seducing a young man wouldn't be difficult, right? Then, she could naturally make Xu Zifan show his affection for her on the show.
Before she could even reach Xu Zifan, Xu Zifan looked at Chen Zaimin and said, "Brother Chen, shall we sit together? I have some questions about acting that I'd like to ask you."
Chen Zaimin paused for a moment, then smiled and walked over. "Sure, no problem. What do you want to ask? Don't say 'ask for advice,' just 'exchange ideas.'"
Xu Zifan smiled happily and said, "Thank you, Brother Chen. I didn't perform well in my last film, so it's great to be able to work with you this time. Your acting skills are impeccable."
Chen Zaimin smiled and waved his hand, "It's not as good as you say. Let me tell you about my experience."
The two of them started chatting, so Xue Ninglu naturally couldn't go over there anymore. When she looked back, everyone else was already seated, except for the seat next to Su Yanchen, so she had no choice but to sit down next to Su Yanchen.
Upon reaching the beach, they took a speedboat to the island. Looking at the sea, they all showed expressions of excitement and shouted to the camera, "Survival on a desert island! Here we come!"