Although she had said she wouldn't participate in ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) the upcoming promotional activities for "the thief catcher 2," seeing the May Day release window approaching and other movies starting to ramp up their marketing, Liu Rulan still went to discuss it with Qiu Zhenlong. They decided to have Xiao He take a day off to go back and record a promotional variety show.

However, based on the investment level of "the thief catcher 2" across the entire May Day period, they naturally couldn't snag a promotional slot on a national-level variety show like "Happy Everyday." Therefore, the Film Crew chose a popular variety show on another platform called "mars collision."

Coincidentally, the predecessor of this variety show was actually the original "Fearless Journey."

Originally, "Fearless Journey" was also a national-level, hit outdoor reality variety show. However, because the Program Group's Director repeatedly violated regulations by filming dangerous activities, leading to multiple safety accidents—not to mention some of the filthy business within the Director's own family—the entire variety show was eventually implicated and suspended indefinitely.

Xiao He remembered it very clearly. His only intersection with this variety show was during a filming session when an accident occurred on-site. A guest who couldn't swim fell into the sea and disappeared. In the end, it was he, Xiao Chen, and Sister Liu who took a boat out to rescue those guests.

That accident was exceptionally dangerous. A slight slip-up could have cost two lives.

Because of that, previous public outcry completely exploded. Even Director's mother, Qu Qiuyan, heard about it and took the initiative to join in, denouncing the Program Group's Director at the time and helping other victims find lawyers to speak out.

The final result was naturally very good: "Fearless Journey" was suspended indefinitely, the villains received their due punishment, and those who were harmed received compensation.

And "indefinitely" actually meant being directly banned, with no chance of ever returning.

However, while one project stopped, there was still a large group of people working around that project who needed to find new work.

So, except for those who were kicked out for their offenses, the rest of the team was packaged as-is to participate in this new project, "mars collision."

But after experiencing so much, "mars collision" could never reach the heights of the old "Fearless Journey." Furthermore, having learned from previous accidents, this brand-new variety show completely abandoned outdoor challenges and transformed into an indoor variety show. Most of the activities and games were copied from here and there from other shows, lacking anything novel or eye-catching.

Fortunately, the platform was large and they had the connections from the old "Fearless Journey" as a foundation, so the basic viewership for "mars collision" was still there. As a promotional variety show for "the thief catcher 2," it was more than sufficient.

It wasn't until Xiao He arrived at the location that he realized—good grief—"mars collision" had actually become an investment project of Director's family!

"Hehe."

Seeing Xiao He's bewildered face, Director gave a modest smile. "You probably know about the 'Fearless Journey' incident, right? It was quite a big deal back then. The investors at the time were unwilling to continue and were afraid it would rot on their hands, so my family picked it up at a bargain price."

Although the big IP of "Fearless Journey" was indeed ruined and unusable, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. There were still many talents from "Fearless Journey" who could be retained. With the reputation of its predecessor and the fact that it had been reorganized with new people, it could actually gain some fame and tap into the nostalgia of old viewers.

So, while Qu Qiuyan had stood up to speak for those harmed by the Program Group out of a sense of shared suffering and pity, her family was actually working behind the scenes. They used the opportunity to pull some of the projects from that Director's family into their own bowl.

That way, when the other party truly fell, her family would end up with the best and most essential parts.

Hearing Director's vague explanation, Xiao He, who had guessed the general situation, fell slightly silent.

As expected! You capitalists really have dirty hearts!

So you didn't let this matter go at all back then!

Xiao He couldn't help but sigh in admiration: "No wonder it's a great family."

They pounce as soon as they see an opportunity; every step they take is calculated!

"Hehe, but as you can see, this variety show isn't doing too well right now. It relies entirely on helping with promotions and building buzz around trending stars."

Director sighed helplessly.

During the "Fearless Journey" era, there was still a core of "challenging limits and discovering oneself." But now that those core elements were gone, leaving only hollow entertainment, "mars collision" had completely lost its original character. It had become a pure promotional platform, relying on promoting new Film Crews and selling old nostalgia to keep going every episode. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

If it weren't for the few veteran guests from the "Fearless Journey" era they had kept, whose performances had always been quite good, the variety show might have actually started losing money.

Xiao He couldn't offer any great advice regarding the current situation.

Moreover, since that internet celebrity variety show "Public Enemy Number One" barely survived after so many twists and turns, Linghui Entertainment had not dabbled in variety show-related projects. Thus, he could only offer tactful comfort: "It's actually quite good as it is now. At least among several promotional channels, you're about on par with 'Happy Everyday.' You still have the fan economy, after all."

—But they really were purely surviving on the fan economy.

Sure enough, the subsequent recording with the Program Group was very simple.

—

To summarize briefly, it was basically singing, playing games, singing, playing games, and finally reminiscing about the past.

Well, the part about the past was mainly Qu Qiuyan's stage. She would lead into the past and then tell stories from back then, which also served as a way to debunk the old rumors about her being "dead from illness," "gone insane," "committed suicide," or "gone abroad."

It was also to show the people from back then—she, Qu Qiuyan, still retained her grace!

Let the past be the past; she had already walked out of the haze and toward a happier life.

Regarding this, Xiao He truly admired her.

To be disfigured at her peak and forced to exit the stage in shadow, only to boldly step back in front of the cameras when her life was stable and happy, to accept the public's various gazes, face the tragic tragedies of the past, and be able to bloom with her own brilliance once more...

Even though her youth had passed and the repaired scars remained forever on her cheeks, the elegance and composure Qu Qiuyan showed while talking from her seat still made many people present feel inferior.

At that moment, no one saw her as "hideous"—decades later, the goddess in the hearts of countless people was still a goddess.

The more emotional female guests and audience members shed tears as they listened to those stories.

Offstage, Director looked at his mother on stage, his eyes filled with unconcealed pride.

He knew that his mother had returned to the stage for his sake.

But when he first created the character of the proprietress in "the thief catcher," hadn't he also harbored that bit of selfishness from his youth, wanting his mother to walk back under the spotlight of her dreams?

The goddess on stage was magnificent, earning the respect of everyone. But as family, what they saw was the painful restoration and the way the woman with her face wrapped in gauze would look at the stage, her eyes inadvertently revealing regret and yearning.

And so, they came—

It was a mother supporting her child.

And it was a child fulfilling his mother's regret.