Chapter 6: This Interview Really Knows How to Stir Things Up

After Zhao Xing dropped off Lu Zhou, he hurried off to handle other matters.

The pre-interview recording primarily focused on questions related to past romantic relationships. Cameras had already been set up in the interview room, and Lu Zhou sat before the lens, with a female staff member assigned to conduct the questioning.

What exactly would she ask? He had no idea.

This was his first time participating in such a major variety show, marking his official debut in the world of entertainment programs. In his previous life, he had received plenty of invitations to popular shows, but at the time, they were a secondary concern for his career, so he rejected them all. In this life, when he first entered the industry, he had appeared on one or two obscure, nearly unnoticed programs—recordings so simple that the experience hardly counted for anything.

As the recording was about to begin, the woman's polite smile gave Lu Zhou a subtle, indescribable sense of unease. Though he hadn’t been nervous at first, he suddenly felt out of sorts; the sensation was uncanny. He was well aware that from this moment on, his private emotional history would be hauled into the open for public consumption and gossip, and this thought disturbed him at a subconscious level.

After some small talk with the staff, the interview officially commenced.

“When did you meet your first love?”

Fortunately, the opening question was a gentle one.

Lu Zhou rested his interlaced fingers on his knees and replied with a calm smile, “I met her when I was eighteen.”

“Eighteen? Were you classmates?”

“No, we met through work; we were colleagues. She was a year older than me, a freshman at Jinghua College of Music, while I…” He paused slightly, deliberated, then decided to answer truthfully. “I was a trainee at Jinhua Entertainment. My debut attempt as part of a duo hadn’t been successful, so we disbanded and I returned to the company to await new plans.”

“The company’s training schedule wasn’t too intense at the time, so I took on some part-time jobs,” he continued. “I met Jiayan at the bar where we both worked part-time.”

“A bar?” The staff member seemed surprised at the mention of a bar.

“Yes, an upscale bar,” Lu Zhou instinctively emphasized the word “upscale,” anticipating that netizens might otherwise spin wild theories about “the bar” and speculate unfairly about Li Jiayan.

“I was a part-time resident singer there, and Jiayan played piano. Her school was on break, so she had some free time and decided to pick up some part-time work,” Lu Zhou explained.

The staffer gave a long “Oh,” then smiled, “So, was it love at first sight?”

Lu Zhou recalled the scene of their first meeting, and a faint, involuntary smile touched his lips.

“Love at first sight… I suppose you could say that. At the very least, my first impression of her was very good. As for whether she felt the same…” Lu Zhou chuckled sheepishly. “That I can’t say for sure. You’ll have to ask her.”

From here, the atmosphere noticeably relaxed, and Lu Zhou’s nerves faded away.

“How long did you date?”

“Less than half a year.”

“Why did you break up?”

“Uh…” Lu Zhou hesitated again. Should he be completely honest? He glanced at the camera, weighed his words for a couple of seconds, and chose to finesse his response.

“There were various reasons. Back then, neither of us was very mature. She was still in school, and the academic pressure was heavy. Our social circles were quite different, and… her parents hoped she’d concentrate more on her studies, so…”

He’d put it as tactfully as possible.

Lu Zhou preserved his own dignity and left room for the other party as well. In his previous life, he’d frequently tangled with the media and knew how to craft his statements.

The staff member nodded knowingly. “You were eighteen, dated less than half a year—so you’ve been separated for quite a few years now.”

“Six or seven years,” Lu Zhou supplied.

“Did you ever consider getting back together?”

He shook his head without hesitation. “No.”

“To this day, you’ve never thought about reconciling?”

“No.”

This answer left the staffer momentarily at a loss.

“Then may I ask—why did you invite her to participate in our show with you?”

“She’s my only ex-girlfriend.”

“???”

The staffer frowned silently, feeling as though the interview had hit a dead end. She was clearly unsatisfied with his responses, and Lu Zhou could read that from her expression.

“Our breakup back then was rather abrupt and not exactly graceful. Whenever I think about it, it isn’t a particularly pleasant memory,” he added after a thoughtful pause. “After all these years, I thought maybe if we met again—both more mature—we could resolve the regrets of the past and give our youth a proper closure.”

The staffer was finally satisfied with this answer and, smiling, moved on to the next question.

“For the sake of filming, the show will require you two to pretend to be strangers in front of the other guests. Do you think you’ll be able to pull that off?”

Lu Zhou laughed. “I don’t think it’ll be an issue. We haven’t seen each other in six or seven years and haven’t been in touch. We’re not much different from strangers now, are we? We might not even recognize each other right away if we bumped into one another.”

The staff member was speechless. She felt the potential for drama between Lu Zhou and Li Jiayan was minimal—almost boring—and couldn’t help but wonder how they’d even made it to the final selection…

“So, does that mean you’re open to meeting someone new on the show?”

Could he be honest? The truth was, he wasn’t… Honestly, who comes to these shows genuinely hoping to find love? Desperate singles aside.

But Lu Zhou figured that if he answered “no” again, the staffer would be thoroughly displeased.

“A little, I suppose,” he replied, against his true feelings.

The staffer’s expression finally softened. She smiled and posed the final question: “Will you mind if your ex-girlfriend flirts with other male guests right in front of you?”

“That question…” Lu Zhou raised his brows and admitted, “I can’t give you an answer right now.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

The staffer perked up, immediately sensing some juicy gossip.

“You said you have no intention of getting back together. So why would it matter if she ends up with someone else?”

She certainly knew how to probe.

“If you ask me now, I’d honestly say it wouldn’t bother me. But… once we’re all together, filming the actual show, who can say for certain how they’ll feel in that situation?” he replied.

The staffer noted he still hadn’t taken the bait, silently lamenting that this guy was almost too steady.

The interview finally wrapped up, and Lu Zhou let out a long breath. Leaving the studio, he reflected on the entire process. He couldn’t help but marvel at how cunning variety shows had become—every “simple” pre-interview was riddled with hidden traps. The questions seemed innocuous, but with a single careless answer, the production team could easily splice together footage that manufactured whatever persona they wanted, one that even he might not recognize as himself.

He’d joined the show to ride the wave of popularity, yes, but as an artist, he had no intention of becoming infamous for the wrong reasons.

Clearly, he’d have to be even more cautious in the future.