Chapter 430: Quite Open-Minded

Chapter 430: Chapter 430: Quite Open-Minded

The cameraman following Hector Donovan was a real pro. He perfectly captured and zoomed in on the actor’s frustrated, speechless expression after being so confidently shut down by Arabella Donovan.

For a moment, the entire livestream was filled with a close-up of Best Actor Donovan’s dumbfounded face. Not only were his fans not the least bit angry, but they seemed to be reveling in his misfortune.

[As expected. For someone with a sister complex, his little sister is his absolute nemesis. No matter what they’re arguing about, the moment she opens her mouth, the outcome is already sealed.]

[If you live long enough, you’ll see everything. Just think back to when he first debuted; he was picking fights and had no match in the entire industry. No exaggeration, he was so abrasive back then he probably would’ve kicked a passing dog. If it weren’t for his incredible talent, his career would’ve been over long ago because of how he acted.]

[I feel you, OP. In the words of our fan club’s leader: "Such a shame. A pretty boy’s face, but attached to a mouth that just won’t quit. Makes it impossible to love him or hate him."]

[What is this, a new-age "Dream of the Blue Chamber"? HAHAHAHA, Hector, don’t look! These are bad comments!]

Excluding the time the production crew spent picking up all the guests, it had been less than two hours since the entire cast had assembled and filming began. Yet, Hector Donovan’s team had already found a comfortable house to stay in for the next few days and were enjoying a delicious meal, with extra dishes specially prepared for them by the villagers.

Meanwhile, the other pairs of guests were still wandering around the village under the blazing sun like lost souls. The only relatively lucky team was Milton Lambert and his daughter. They had taken a route in the complete opposite direction from which they’d arrived and stumbled upon the No. 3 tile-roofed house. It looked a bit old, but it was clean and spacious.

The father and daughter happily moved in, and upon discovering a relatively well-equipped kitchen, they decided to cook for themselves to solve the problem of lunch.

However, this presented another major hurdle: the kitchen had rice but no vegetables. They still had to go out and find some.

Perhaps because the contrast between the teams was so stark, the popularity and buzz around Hector Donovan’s livestream were leaving the others in the dust, crushing the competition by a landslide.

This was a development the production team had more or less expected. After all, Hector Donovan’s fame already gave him a huge advantage over the other guests.

But other, unexpected factors had also contributed to the current situation.

"Director, Director! This is bad!"

The director couldn’t stand hearing those words. His head throbbed just listening to them. The towel on his head wobbled as he sat up straight.

"What trouble has Mr. Coleman’s son caused now?"

"It’s not Mr. Coleman’s son this time. It’s Best Actor Donovan’s group."

The director’s head immediately started to hurt even more. "What has that big shot done now?"

"It wasn’t Best Actor Donovan, it was his sister." The young assistant quickly summarized for the director everything that had happened on Hector Donovan’s livestream over the past hour.

After hearing the summary, the director felt his headache lessen. "Isn’t this a good thing? How’s the traffic on their livestream? Is the engagement high?"

"High! It’s already trending. Right now, out of all the livestreams, theirs has the most viewers and the most comments."

"If that’s the case, why are you making such a racket? Never been out in the world, or never seen a real master at work?"

"It’s neither! It’s just... at first, the comments on their livestream were all quite good. Best Actor Donovan’s fans were very accepting of his sister and the young guest, and the comments were mostly positive."

"But ever since Miss Donovan successfully helped Ms. Young find her keys, their livestream has been flooded with a huge influx of people. They’re questioning our show’s transparency and fairness, claiming that what Miss Donovan did was completely scripted by our crew to help Best Actor Donovan pave the way for her to enter the entertainment industry."

The director nearly spat blood in frustration. But he was an industry veteran, after all. He’d seen all kinds of schemes and immediately understood what was happening.

"Best Actor Donovan’s sister... Is someone trying to preemptively sabotage her before she gets famous?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"Most likely. But now that they’ve stirred things up, a lot of casual viewers who don’t know the situation are falling for their lies. Especially since Best Actor Donovan also... now, many people think we’re deliberately fooling the audience with this ’unscripted’ gimmick, that every single thing the guests do is arranged by us beforehand. Our show’s reputation... we just went live and it’s already hit rock bottom. I’m worried about what happens next..."

As he finished, the young assistant looked up cautiously at the director. "Director, what do you think we should do?"

The director was silent. The director pondered. The director grew frustrated. The director decided to just let it all go to hell.

"What to do? We do nothing! Ah, Wagner, you’re still too young. Do you know what’s most important in our line of work?"

"What?"

"Traffic! Buzz! Popularity! As long as you have those, nothing else matters. Infamy is still a form of fame!"

The assistant was speechless. ’I guess... maybe... he kind of has a point.’

"Besides, they’re not wrong. How could a variety show not have a script? That was just a line to placate the audience. All that’s happened is we’ve been called out on it. It’s no big deal."

"...You’re certainly taking this well."

"This isn’t about taking it well; it’s about being savvy. Since it’s already come to this, we might as well add more fuel to the fire. Go hire a batch of paid commenters. Have them muddy the waters, fan the flames, and make this whole thing an even bigger deal. The bigger the controversy, the better! Our ratings and popularity will soar."

"Aren’t you afraid they’ll flame you?"

"Let them! It’s better if they do. The more vicious the flaming, the better! The more they curse me out, the more money I make. The harsher their criticism, the more suckers I can fleece. Flame away, flame away! The more they hate, the happier I am! HAHAHAHA..."

The assistant was speechless. ’Aren’t you worried this will all blow up in your face?’

’Best Actor Donovan is obviously not someone you want to cross. Miss Donovan seems gentle, but if what happened on the stream was real, then she’s a genuine master. Offending a genuine master has to be way more terrifying than offending Best Actor Donovan.’

But alas, he was just a powerless wage slave. He could only do as his boss commanded.

Arabella Donovan and her group were completely unaware of the storm brewing outside.

After claiming the No. 1 "mansion," the Donovan siblings took the child and went to Miss Young’s house for lunch.

Perhaps because they were hosting guests, the meal was quite lavish, with meat, vegetables, and soup.

Knowing the chicken soup had been stewed for her own son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter, Arabella Donovan’s group was too polite to drink any at first. But Miss Young insisted, saying, "There’s a whole other pot in the back, we can’t have you going without," and firmly ladled a bowl for each of them.

After eating their fill, the three of them said their goodbyes and returned next door, only to find that two uninvited guests had appeared outside their courtyard.