Pei Xiyan is a genuine second-generation star. His mother is the widely known and highly respected actress Su Cheng, while his father's identity remains mysterious and has long been the subject of public speculation.
Some speculate that his father is Su Cheng's second husband, a jewelry tycoon, while others with insider knowledge claim it is her first husband, a political figure from the Beijing circle. The rumors even suggest that Su Cheng is planning to remarry this political figure soon.
Pei Xiyan first gained public attention when he was six years old, appearing with Su Cheng on a parent-child outdoor reality show. With his striking looks and distinct personality at such a young age, he quickly amassed a large fanbase of older sister fans and mom fans.
Unfortunately, he remained largely out of the public eye for many years afterward, only occasionally photographed with Su Cheng or making cameo appearances in films, lingering on the fringes of the entertainment industry.
Last year, the film "The Last Time," in which he played the younger version of the male lead, unexpectedly achieved both box office success and critical acclaim. Overnight, the once rebellious and aloof boy re-entered the public spotlight. Not only had he not lost his charm, but he had grown into an almost unfairly handsome young man, effortlessly capturing the hearts of countless young girls and skyrocketing in popularity.
Although Ji Mingshu was no longer a young girl, she was one of those captivated hearts.
She wasn't well-versed in fan culture and didn't understand things like airport greetings or voting campaigns, but last year, in her eagerness to see Pei Xiyan, she shamelessly tagged along with her cousin to Director Pei's house for a meal.
At the time, Pei Xiyan happened to be home. He greeted them coldly and indifferently before grabbing a bag of iced milk and heading upstairs, not even coming down for lunch.
If it had been Cen Sen, Ji Mingshu would have mentally labeled him as "rude," "low emotional intelligence," "cold and arrogant," and a host of other negative traits. But with Pei Xiyan, she simply thought, "My baby is so unique! So rebellious! So edgy! So youthful! I love it!"
"Do you think this outfit looks better on me? More dignified and professional?"
Ji Mingshu spun around in front of the full-length mirror after changing into a suit dress, then turned back to ask Cen Sen.
Cen Sen glanced up briefly, his tone indifferent. "You look like a real estate agent."
"...?"
A real estate agent this beautiful?
After Cen Sen's comment, Ji Mingshu took a closer look and realized the dress did seem a bit too professional.
She tried on four or five more outfits, but every time she asked Cen Sen, he found something to criticize.
"Too tight."
"The color is too bright."
"Are you going to an audition?"
After being criticized repeatedly, Ji Mingshu finally ran out of patience.
She pulled all the clothes out of her suitcase and tossed them onto the bed, saying irritably, "Then you pick! You pick, you pick, you pick!"
If you don't pick a nice outfit, you might as well commit seppuku!
Cen Sen paused briefly, set down the documents in his hand, and pointed to a black tracksuit. "This one looks good."
Ji Mingshu: "?"
"You're going to do interior design, so of course you should wear something comfortable and practical."
Ji Mingshu: "..."
No, I'm not going to do interior design. I'm going to protect my baby :)
The second recording was scheduled three days later. After much deliberation, Ji Mingshu decided to wear the shirt dress Cen Sen had said was too tight.She felt this shirt dress could perfectly outline her exquisite and alluring figure with its curves in all the right places, completely overshadowing the little drama queen from the girl group while also reflecting her professionalism, elegance, and elite sensibility as an interior designer.
However, Cen Sen mentioned the dress looked a bit tight, so she figured she might have indulged a little too much in her diet lately. She promptly arranged lighter meals for herself and even did a one-day intermittent fast.
On the day of the recording, Ji Mingshu changed into the dress at the hotel and twirled in front of the mirror, feeling only one word could describe it: perfect.
She winked at the mirror, making a shooting gesture with her hands, one in front and one behind.
Unfortunately, Cen Sen had just stepped out of the bathroom, his hair still dripping.
The two stared at each other silently through the mirror for thirty seconds. Suddenly remembering the embarrassing incident that had happened at Baicui Tianhua before, and possibly because her IQ had dropped along with her weight from the recent dieting, Ji Mingshu blurted out without thinking, "...Do you... want me to rap for you?"
"..."
"No."
The second recording of Designer involved an on-site home visit.
The house assigned to Ji Mingshu’s group for renovation was an 89-square-meter apartment in the old district of Star City, located in a school district. The homeowners were a newlywed couple.
The apartment was an old property left by the wife’s parents, and its interior design was clearly outdated.
The newlyweds’ request was to transform this old apartment into a sweet, artistic, and nostalgic space for two, while also reserving one room to be converted into a nursery for their future baby.
Ji Mingshu had seen the design challenges assigned to other groups. They often included situations like "having elderly or sick family members at home, requiring designs to accommodate their needs" or "extremely limited space that must be maximized to serve multiple functions." These challenges offered opportunities for in-depth exploration and showcased the artistry of spatial design.
In comparison, the challenge assigned to her group lacked any explosively difficult renovation problems or tear-jerking backstories. It could be described as utterly ordinary and unremarkable.
The camera crew followed them from the moment they stepped out of the car.
It happened to be the time when elementary school students were heading to school, and a large group of them stood in line, crossing the street ahead.
The little drama queen Yan Yuexing immediately clasped her face, her eyes sparkling, and began her performance. She rambled about how much she missed her elementary school days and how fun it was back then, even subtly hinting at her popularity among boys during that time.
Ji Mingshu figured such irrelevant topics would likely be edited out in post-production and couldn’t be bothered to engage. She was solely focused on hoping to see Pei Xiyan as soon as possible.
Half an hour later, after Ji Mingshu, Feng Yan, and Yan Yuexing had finished their on-site inspection of the old apartment, Pei Xiyan’s van finally appeared downstairs in the residential complex.
Hearing from afar that the camera crew and directors were announcing Pei Xiyan’s arrival, Ji Mingshu and Yan Yuexing quietly took out their compact mirrors to touch up their makeup.
"Pei Xiyan, Pei Xiyan!"
"He’s really handsome!"
"Did you bring the photos? We’ll ask for his signature later."
"I did, I did!"
The styling team’s young women were also whispering excitedly among themselves.
Ji Mingshu stared unblinkingly at the cool, aloof young man walking in as he removed his mask, her heart pounding wildly.Although Pei Xiyan was only sixteen or seventeen years old, his height was already approaching 1.8 meters. At this rate, he would likely reach 1.85 meters by the time the college entrance exams were over. He carried a distinct sense of youthful clarity.
Under the director's introduction, he shook hands and greeted his partners one by one.
When it was Ji Mingshu's turn, she put on the perfect smile she had practiced for three days, looking at him with a bright expression, her voice gentle and reserved. "Hello, I really like your work."
Pei Xiyan glanced up briefly, responding politely yet distantly, "Hello, sister."
The handshake was merely a light, barely noticeable touch. After withdrawing her hand, Ji Mingshu stood near Feng Yan, casually tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear as if by accident.
Ahhh! Yan Zai! Sister loves you! Mom loves you! Mom won't wash her hands anymore, wuwuwu! This is the feeling of an electric shock! It's like I've instantly become ten years younger!
While Ji Mingshu was inwardly burning with passion but outwardly calm, the director had already begun explaining the upcoming recording content and the simple filming of the sponsor's advertisement. Ji Mingshu didn't listen very clearly, still in a dazed, dizzy, and disoriented state.
When Feng Yan handed her the cue card, she absentmindedly glanced at Pei Xiyan first before looking at the content on the card.
"Bring design into the home, Junyi Elegant Collection, your..."
Wait, what is this?
Ji Mingshu paused and took a closer look.
"What is this Junyi?"
Feng Yan, being helpful, whispered back, "It's the same Junyi as in Junyi Zhanghua and Junyi Shuiyunjian. I heard their group sponsored our show to promote their new brand hotel."
Ji Mingshu: "..."
She remembered now. The designer hotel document she had seen before mentioned the naming issue.
There had been over a dozen candidate names at the time. At first glance, she hadn't recognized it, but now she suddenly recalled that "Elegant Collection" was indeed one of them.
In other words, Junyi was the sponsor of this show.
Cen's Sensen was the sponsor of this show.
Great :) That dog man's mouth is tighter than a stitched-up hole in jeans. If he's so tight-lipped, why doesn't he join the National Security Agency or become a spy abroad?
Ji Mingshu took thirty seconds to calm down, feeling inexplicably dizzy and nauseous.
After suppressing the discomfort, she tried to encourage herself by looking on the bright side. This was also a chance to chase stars on the company's dime, nothing wrong with that. Yes, nothing wrong with that.
Ji Mingshu quietly asked Feng Yan again to catch up on what she had missed earlier.
It turned out the director had just explained that today's main task was to finalize the preliminary renovation plan and assign tasks such as sourcing materials from the market and finding construction teams.
In principle, the production team would provide a 100,000-yuan fund for hard renovations and a 100,000-yuan fund for soft furnishings, so there was no need to worry about renovation costs.
However, each household had wished for a new home gift. The director hinted that to enhance the show's appeal, they suggested the guests earn part of the funds through labor. These funds would be used to purchase gifts for the homeowners upon completion of the renovations.
Ji Mingshu thought she must have misheard and confirmed with Feng Yan, "Just 200,000 yuan?"
That's barely enough to renovate a low-end bathroom, and they say there's no need to worry about renovation costs? How could the production team say that with a straight face?
Feng Yan nodded affirmatively, "Yes, 200,000 yuan."
That dizzy, nauseous feeling returned.
After the director finished explaining these details, the rest was left to them to figure out on their own.As the designer, the authority to assign tasks naturally fell to Ji Mingshu.
However, these tasks already had scripts prepared. The production team had dedicated on-set writers who had crafted some storylines designed to create chemistry and conflict between the cast members, but these were only suggestions—they still had considerable autonomy.
Ji Mingshu saw that the prepared arrangement had Yan Yuexing and Pei Xiyan going to the building materials market together.
Without changing her expression, she swapped the assignments around and finally said to Pei Xiyan with a smile, "Xiao Yan, you'll come with me to the building materials market."
Pei Xiyan paused briefly, his voice slightly low, "I might be more suited to looking for decorations and things like that..."
Understood, understood, immediately arranged.
But when Ji Mingshu suggested that she go with him to look for decorations, he demurred again, saying that the designer was the backbone of the show and should handle the more important parts.
Ji Mingshu was unhappy.
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess: Does Yan Zai dislike her? Has Yan Zai already forgotten they met at the Pei family? Wuwuwu, Mom didn't do anything wrong, is it because she's too pretty and Yan Zai is afraid of rumors about a sister-brother romance after the show airs? Wuwuwu, it must be like this TVT.
No matter how much she tried to console herself, Ji Mingshu's mood was utterly terrible.
After assigning the tasks, the group went downstairs and set off for their respective destinations.
Ji Mingshu and Yan Yuexing were in the same group. She didn't want to say a single word, curled up in the back seat feeling gloomy and depressed.
But Pei Xiyan didn't get into his own car. Instead, he suddenly walked over to their car and knocked on the window on Ji Mingshu's side.
Ji Mingshu rolled down the window, her mood suddenly lifting with anticipation, only to see Pei Xiyan cover his mouth with a light cough and say somewhat awkwardly, "Mingshu-jie, sorry, Sen-ge hopes that you and I can... keep some distance."
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