Xu Zifan considered the needs of a science fiction film for a moment and nodded, "Okay, we'll make a science fiction film. However, scripts in this genre are hard to find, and the screenwriters in the company may not be good at it. I'll send them abroad for further studies, so they can refine the script while they study, and also see if any good scripts from excellent screenwriters abroad are available for us to use. It might take a while to prepare. During this break, do you want to rest or film a reality show?"
Qiao Zixin's eyes lit up. "A reality show? You're going to film it?"
Xu Zifan thought for a moment. Although he and Qiao Zixin spent every day together, he had been working almost all of the past six months. Sometimes he was busy with social engagements and would leave early and return late, so he didn't even get to say a word to Qiao Zixin. Filming a reality show would be a great opportunity for them to spend time together and see if there was any chemistry between them. So he said, "Let's film together and bring along two likable celebrities."
Qiao Zixin immediately smiled and her eyes crinkled. "Okay."
After finishing the business, Xu Zifan relaxed and leaned back on the sofa, saying, "The Qiao family has been quiet these past few days. You handled it very well. I didn't expect you to use this method."
Qiao Zixin winked playfully and laughed, "I learned it from you. Bai You was tricked by you and is still in rehab. Sometimes, using a little trick can be surprisingly effective. You're always too protective of me, solving everything for me, so I never get a chance to show off. This time, at least let me have a chance to prove myself. I'm not that weak."
Xu Zifan chuckled. He had indeed protected her too well, planning everything out for her so she could simply follow along step by step. In reality, he hadn't given her any real opportunities to shine. A young girl entering the entertainment industry at 18, becoming an overnight sensation and winning a Best Actress award, yet remaining uncorrupted by its decadent atmosphere, maintaining her kindness and innocence—this was truly remarkable and proved she was no weakling.
If she hadn't suffered from depression, she might have been able to make a comeback on her own. After all, Qiao Zixin, armed with her own strength and without any weaknesses, is a truly shining presence. Just like now, her bright smile can warm people's hearts.
Xu Zifan had someone conduct a survey and, based on the most popular aspects of the show, planned two reality shows.
The first is "Man vs. Wild," where eight celebrities form an adventure team to experience wilderness survival on a safe island. Each person can only bring one item, and they choose what to bring. Once on the island, they are responsible for providing everything themselves, including food, water, shelter, and warmth. There are many staff members accompanying them, but they will not help. Before setting off, all the celebrities are given the opportunity to learn wilderness survival skills on their own.
Xu Zifan and Qiao Zixin are the backbone of this reality show. They're both incredibly popular right now. Instead of inviting other popular young male and female celebrities, they directly selected other cast members from within their company. When Xu Zifan was filming "A Mother's Strength," he used many extras and students, polishing the entire production. He then selected several promising talents and signed them. During the filming of "Life is Beautiful," he also gave them roles, helping them gain recognition from the audience, and then signed several other students who participated. Now, the company has over a dozen artists.
When the company released the cast list for "Survival on a Desert Island," netizens were stunned! "Life Is Beautiful" had just topped the Spring Festival box office with 2 billion yuan, and instead of making another film, why were they participating in a reality show? Wouldn't it be beneath the dignity of such a big-name, popular director and actress to participate in a reality show? Netizens exclaimed: "Mr. Xu, do you even remember you're a CEO?"
Then people saw on the list that Xu Zifan was still the chief director, which made them even more helpless. Is it appropriate for a well-known film director to go and direct a reality show? What kind of revenue can a reality show bring? Isn't it a waste of the CEO's time? Many people are also very pessimistic about this show, believing that reality shows are different from movies and will definitely flop.
Regardless of the online discussions, Xu Zifan and Qiao Zixin's group still diligently learned survival skills and set off as scheduled.
They searched for a base on the island, building shelters from tree branches and leaves. They started fires by rubbing wood together with sawdust and sticks. Unable to find fresh water, they quenched their thirst with coconuts. They caught snakes and crabs, and used sharp branches to spear fish and roast them. Several days later, they finally found a small lake to bathe in. On particularly cold, rainy nights, they could only huddle together for warmth…
The eight of them spent many days on the island, going from initial chaos to eventual ease, from arguing about hunger to celebrating with seafood feasts. They encountered many problems along the way, which highlighted each person's true character. They argued and lost their tempers, but in the end, they became closer to each other, playing and laughing together like brothers and sisters.
Viewers were completely captivated from the very first episode. It's a place many people would never visit in their lifetime, and the show captured all the island's beautiful scenery, making it a fascinating watch. The normally glamorous celebrities, disheveled and exhausted, trying every possible way to survive on the island, were surprisingly entertaining, eliciting laughter from the audience.
Surprisingly, Qiao Zixin stood out the most. Although everyone had studied diligently, practice is different from theory, and Xu Zifan was also encountering these things for the first time, so he didn't have much of an advantage. At the beginning of the recording, everyone was at a loss and somewhat confused. As the team leader, Xu Zifan assigned tasks to each of them. Qiao Zixin was assigned to find fresh water.
Finding water should have been an easy task, requiring only walking and searching. However, there was no fresh water nearby, so Qiao Zixin actually climbed a tall tree and used branches to knock down over a dozen coconuts. Then she wove a net from the vines, scooped up the coconuts, and carried them back all by herself! The goddess instantly transformed into a tough woman, definitely a highlight of the first episode. Later, the attempt to start a fire by friction left the two celebrities disheartened and their mood sour.
Okay, it was Qiao Zixin who, with extraordinary patience, didn't care about getting dirty or tired, lay on the ground and started a fire. When she blew on the fire, ash got on her face, but she didn't care at all, showing no concern for her image whatsoever.
When catching fish in the sea, she quickly became skilled after a few tries, spearing four or five fish out of ten attempts. She even dived down to dig out large, edible shellfish. While searching for fruit, she identified several edible and inedible varieties and even named the vitamins they contained. She had previously mentioned on a TV show that she wasn't a good student and always struggled to remember things, but this time she said she was really looking forward to wilderness survival with everyone and had put in a lot of effort to memorize these things, and she actually remembered them! This dedication alone won her a lot of goodwill.
There were many more interesting and touching moments, which not only made the audience love this beautiful actress even more, but also allowed Xu Zifan, who was always by her side, to understand her better and see more of her shining qualities. Isn't it said that to understand someone, you should travel with them? They didn't just travel; they went on a wilderness survival trip. Qiao Zixin revealed many of her strengths and weaknesses, being particularly unrestrained. But Xu Zifan found that watching her play and joke around every day didn't annoy him at all; in fact, it improved his mood, and he even found her flaws endearing. During their time on the island, he wanted to see Qiao Zixin's bright smile every morning when he woke up.
The twelve-episode reality show "Survival on a Desert Island" presents the joys and sorrows of the celebrities' off-screen interactions directly to the audience. As the show progresses, it increasingly emphasizes teamwork, highlighting the crucial elements of division of labor, trust, and sharing within a team. This reflects the principles of interpersonal relationships in human society. It explores how to lead a team, how to communicate tactfully, how to be understanding and tolerant of teammates, and how to maintain unwavering faith and fight together…
These factors combined to create a successful "Survival on a Desert Island," disappointing those who wanted to see Xu Zifan fail and thoroughly proving his critics wrong. It proves that Xu Zifan is still Xu Zifan; whether he's making movies or variety shows, he conveys a message to the audience, and both will be huge hits. Those who questioned whether Xu Zifan was wasting the CEO's time need not worry. This show not only improved Qiao Zixin's reputation and gained her more fans, but also incidentally boosted the careers of six other artists, all from Zifan Entertainment. This kind of hidden investment is incredibly worthwhile, and the future returns are immeasurable.
So when news broke that Xu Zifan and Qiao Zixin would be filming a second variety show, netizens cheered. No one doubted whether the show would flop; everyone was looking forward to another great variety show where they could see their favorite stars every week!
The second variety show, "Leisurely Courtyard," is a slow-paced program planned by Xu Zifan. He and Qiao Zixin, along with two likeable young male celebrities from their company, film the show. They rent a farmhouse as their home, hosting two or three popular celebrities each episode, preparing necessities according to the celebrities' requests. Since they have no money, these items must be earned through labor. They can harvest corn from their own fields, dry it, shell the kernels, and grind it into flour, exchanging several bags of corn flour for a certain amount of money.
They can also raise bees to collect honey and sell it, make jam from strawberries and fruits and sell it, fish in the river if they want to eat fish, and pick vegetables in the field if they want to eat vegetables. Of course, if they want to eat other delicious food, the celebrities have to work with them to earn money and exchange for things.
This is a magical variety show. Almost every celebrity comes thinking they can relax and have fun for one episode, but once they arrive and see everyone busy, they can't stay idle and always want to do this or that. They have to chop wood to start a fire, build a stove in the yard to cook, and in the second and third episodes, several animals will be added to the house, which they must take good care of. In such a rural courtyard, by achieving their goals through their own efforts, and finally making delicious food for everyone to enjoy together, the sense of accomplishment is so palpable that it practically leaps off the screen.
No one can explain why this show is so addictive. It talks about ordinary household chores, but like those management simulation games, once you start playing, you can't stop. Many viewers, watching this show, ask themselves: in their busy and tiring lives, do they experience that same joyful sense of accomplishment? If not, why? Have they forgotten their original aspirations? Do they want too much? Perhaps life is about stripping away the complexities and returning to the essence to find the purest happiness.
This reality show became popular out of nowhere.