Scum A with a Sweet Black Lotus O – Chapter 8

To protect the Fu family, Fu Chaoyun decides to go on a love! reality! show!

In the days that followed—

Fu Chaoyun went to work every day, clocked in, and slacked off.

            

Facing the sea, with spring flowers blooming, living a happy life (just kidding).

Everyone at home probably knew Fu Chaoyun was slacking off on the job with pay, but this time, the usually strict Mrs. Fu turned a blind eye.

While this made Fu Chaoyun feel relaxed, it also brought a slight sense of sadness.

            

So is this all her family expects of her…?

Before the system could comfort her, Fu Chaoyun only felt sad for a few seconds before happily going back to “work”.

Continuing to be a salary thief.

            

However…

Fu Chaoyun noticed that her colleagues seemed a bit afraid of her. As soon as they saw her from afar, they wouldn’t dare come closer—what a joke! If they accidentally bumped into her and got mistaken for flirting with the director, they might end up being reassigned to the cleaning department.

The fate of the last person is still fresh in everyone’s mind, so even if some people had thoughts before, they’ve now snuffed them out. They wouldn’t dare entertain such ideas anymore.

            

Back in the office, Fu Chaoyun touched her face and said, “I shouldn’t look scary, right?”

【Not scary, very good-looking.】

What the system didn’t mention was that although Fu Chaoyun had been indulging in slacking off these days, for various reasons… anyway, because of her presence, the work efficiency of the entire variety show department had more than doubled!

            

So she has contributed to the department… right?

Fu Chaoyun didn’t really care much in the first place. After getting an answer that satisfied her, she immediately put the matter out of her mind and tapped on the system.

“Still no news from the female lead?”

            

【No.】

According to the original storyline, the day after Pei Xuezhi was forcibly marked by the scumbag alpha, someone would start a thread exposing the situation.

This caused a sensation at school. Although matters between alphas and omegas are natural instincts and everyone involved is an adult, not breaking any laws or taboos, it contrasted sharply with the image Pei Xuezhi had always presented to the public.

            

Ever since Pei Xuezhi’s image as a cool and proud goddess fell apart, wherever she went, people would look at her with strange eyes and whisper about her.

While studying the storyline, Fu Chaoyun had highlighted this part, thinking it was a crucial turning point in Pei Xuezhi’s character development.

Therefore, after that night, Fu Chaoyun have the system watch Pei Xuezhi closely.

            

However, nothing happened.

This left Fu Chaoyun both puzzled and relieved.

Thinking carefully, since she hadn’t done anything that night and Pei Xuezhi left early, it made sense for things to deviate from the original plot.

            

On the other hand, the person named Zhao Yujun and his group, who had delivered someone to her that night, ended up in quite a mess.

Fu Chaoyun didn’t mention it, but with such a noticeable event like Pei Xuezhi being brought over, it was unlikely that no one noticed. Just asking around a bit could reveal what happened.

The system had told Fu Chaoyun about it, and since those involved weren’t good people to begin with, Fu Chaoyun decided to let it go.

            

As for Zhao Yujun, he heard she started behaving and going to work regularly, and even called to check in on her.

The two were quite familiar with each other, so Fu Chaoyun didn’t mention any of the messy stuff and jokingly said, “If we get rich, don’t forget each other”, asking Zhao Yujun to look out for her in the future.

“Sure thing,” Fu Chaoyun, generous with friends, replied, “You come over, and I’ll set you up with a position right now.”

            

“What?” Zhao Yujun, with his carefree scumbag alpha look, said, “Let me be clear, I’m not taking anything below a vice president.”

“No way would I give you something like that,” Fu Chaoyun laughed. “You come over, and I’ll make you my driver right away. How’s that for loyalty?”

“…”

            

The catch-up finally ended with Zhao Yujun hanging up the phone while cursing.

Monday morning, there was the usual department meeting.

Fu Chaoyun, the department’s mascot, had to attend too.

            

She didn’t need to say anything; Fu Chaoyun just sat there to “make up the numbers” (meaning to be there for attendance), quietly keeping to herself and daydreaming the whole time.

Normally, these meetings last twenty minutes at the shortest and just under an hour at the longest, but today it had been an hour and a half, and the management team was still arguing.

This won’t do!

            

It’s delaying her lunch!

While slacking off on the clock, Fu Chaoyun overheard bits and pieces of the conversation. It seemed that the department’s new S-level variety show project collided with another company’s project!

They got the news just this weekend, and the core concept was almost identical. The other side was already preparing to start filming, while they were still in the planning stages and hadn’t even confirmed the guests. There was no way they could catch up.

            

Variety shows have a “time-sensitive nature” (meaning they need to be released timely to be relevant), and having two similar shows at the same time would lead to comparisons and competition for viewer attention. Not to mention, if the other show isn’t too subpar, it would likely capture the market first. No matter how much they promote afterwards, it would become very difficult for them.

Fu Chaoyun had previously signed off on the proposal for this variety show project, which seemed to be a celebrity dating reality show?

Suddenly, a thought popped into her head, and she asked, “Why does it have to be celebrities?”

            

The noisy meeting room fell silent.

After a moment, someone bravely asked, “Director Fu, do you mean… using ordinary people?”

Nowadays, “ordinary people” refers to regular individuals outside of the celebrity world, not those from sketchy websites!

            

Fu Chaoyun casually flipped through the proposal in front of her and absentmindedly replied, “Hmm.”

“How can that work?!”

“If we use ordinary people, where will the traffic, exposure, and buzz come from? I heard they’re using not just current hot stars, but also those who were once famous. Just seeing their faces reminds people of their past glories… If we use ordinary people, we’ll lose the ratings battle right from the start. No way, we definitely can’t compete…”

            

Fu Chaoyun let them voice their opinions while she continued to look over the proposal.

She didn’t read it carefully, just skimmed through it quickly, and then looked up—

“What do you think is the selling point of this variety show?”

            

Her tone was light, and her face showed no serious expression, looking quite relaxed. Yet, her strong alpha presence suddenly filled the room, leaving everyone else momentarily stunned.

After a brief pause, they slowly responded.

“Love?”

            

“Stars?”

“Neither,” Fu Chaoyun shook her head, tapping her fingers lightly on the table, as if each tap resonated in everyone’s hearts. “It’s the reality show aspect.”

Everyone exchanged looks, and Fu Chaoyun continued.

            

“In recent years, all sorts of variety show formats have been popping up. Audiences have gone from being excited about new things to having seen it all. If we don’t offer something fresh, we can’t satisfy their current tastes.”

The variety department folks nodded in agreement. “That’s why, Director Fu, we’re also trying to innovate…”

But then they ended up clashing with someone else’s idea, didn’t they?

            

Fu Chaoyun glanced at them and asked, “Is this really that innovative?”

“…”

The executives exchanged glances.

            

At first, they thought the idea of a celebrity dating show was quite new; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been listed as the department’s S-level project for the year. But with Fu Chaoyun’s straightforward attitude, they started to feel…

Maybe it wasn’t that new after all?

Fu Chaoyun tapped the proposal, saying, “Putting two celebrities in a house and filming their romance, that’s a good idea.”

            

She gave a compliment, but before the people in the variety department could relax, she added,

“Do you take the audience for fools?”

“…”

            

“The script.”

Fu Chaoyun said, “After watching for a few years, audiences have started to catch on to the patterns of variety shows. Two people who are still being polite and formal suddenly becoming a couple, kissing passionately in no time—do you think the audience will believe that? Do you think they can’t tell it’s fake romance?”

“It seems like… it might not work that well?”

            

“The script does seem too obvious, it needs more tweaking…”

“So, Director Fu, what do you think…?”

Actually, the original celebrity dating proposal wasn’t as bad as Fu Chaoyun made it sound. Celebrities naturally attract attention, and even if people know it’s “fake romance,” some still enjoy it, exclaiming “so sweet, so sweet.”

            

Fu Chaoyun remembered a variety show from before she traveled through time that was quite popular.

However, her strong presence made everyone nervous right from the start. Once she began speaking, they just followed her lead and ended up getting completely confused!

Fu Chaoyun glanced around the room. “That’s why I said from the beginning, the selling point of this show is the reality aspect.”

            

“Please enlighten us, Director Fu.”

“Love!”

“Reality show!”

            

Fu Chaoyun pointed out these two key points:

“People just love watching drama, don’t they? Otherwise, why would so many gather around when there’s an argument happening somewhere?”

“The other show matches couples one-on-one? Then we’ll throw all the participants together… hmm… let them live in a house for a month. Let’s see who likes whom, who fights over whom, without any script, let them do it all themselves!”

            

“You have to know that besides sweet romance, drama and conflict are essential parts of a reality show. Why should a dating reality show be any different?”

“Oh, and make sure to cut off all ways of contacting the outside world and using the internet. We don’t want them adjusting their behavior based on outside opinions. Let them go all out—the whole show is about being genuine!”

“And to ensure the show’s authenticity, it needs to be live-streamed… Considering our audience might be regular folks who are not used to being on camera and might not be very exciting, we can set up small activities to guide and keep the show interesting…”

            

Fu Chaoyun said all of this in one breath, as if it was all naturally flowing from her mind.

She took a sip of water, “Got it?”

Looking up, she saw everyone staring at her blankly. Fu Chaoyun tilted her head to the side, puzzled.

            

Suddenly, someone started clapping, and soon everyone joined in, filling the meeting room with thunderous applause.

“…”

For a moment, Fu Chaoyun felt like she was back in school, giving a speech under the national flag.

            

Fu Chaoyun pretended to be calm, “No objections, right?”

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

“Good. The core ideas are those I’ve mentioned, and you can fill in the details yourselves. That’s it for today’s meeting. Everyone is dismissed.”

            

After saying this, Fu Chaoyun stood up and left.

As she was leaving, she heard someone shouting with all their might, “Director Fu is brilliant! Director Fu is awesome!”

Fu Chaoyun stumbled a bit but managed to keep her balance, avoiding an embarrassing fall.

            

—Gotta hurry, the company cafeteria has her favorite sweet and sour pork today, and if she’s late, it might be all gone!

Fu Chaoyun quickly noticed that everyone in the department started looking at her differently.

No matter their age or gender, each person’s eyes were sparkling with admiration and seemed to project a sense of wisdom.

            

Fu Chaoyun: ?

That day, Fu Chaoyun had hurriedly shared a few suggestions because she was eager to eat, and afterwards, she didn’t pay any more attention to the project.

Luckily, no one bothered her about it again.

            

It’s not that they looked down on Director Fu.

The main ideas all came from her. They were all seasoned variety show folks, and Director Fu had explained everything so clearly, practically spoon-feeding them the concept. If they couldn’t come up with a complete plan from that, they might as well quit and “go home to grow sweet potatoes” (meaning to give up their career for something much simpler).

Since no one bothered her, Fu Chaoyun was happy to enjoy her peace.

            

Over a month passed, and the competing channel’s celebrity dating show, 《Every Day After Marriage》, had completed recording its first two episodes and was in the hype phase. Meanwhile, the 《Every Moment of Heartbeat》 amateur dating show on Xingdong’s side was also about to premiere!

Just these four words alone give off the feeling of a sweet summer romance, and the word “heartbeat” also serves as a clever nod to the company’s name (since heartbeat’s pinyin is “xindong”).

The variety show department fully embraced Fu Chaoyun’s suggestions, with the entire show being live-streamed, allowing for 24-hour close-up observation of the guests’ romantic journeys!

            

Each week, they would also release a highlight reel edited from the footage to be shown on their own video platform.

The show started with six guests, featuring one male and one female from each of the ABO genders. They would live together in a villa for thirty-three days, with new faces gradually joining as the show progressed to offer more choices for the guests.

Fu Chaoyun scanned through it and thought it looked pretty good. With a 24-hour live stream, she realized she’d have a new form of entertainment to enjoy outside of work every day.

            

Then she was informed—

“Director Fu, we signed you up for this project.”

Fu Chaoyun: ???

            

“You are one of the two alphas the show decided to feature right from the start.”

Fu Chaoyun: ?????

“Director Fu, your planning is flawless, and we’ve managed to go live just ahead of the competition. But since ours is a pure amateur show, we’re worried it might not attract much discussion at first.”

            

“The first broadcast has to make a splash, and with your looks, background, and talent… you’re perfect for the show! We checked with your housekeeper, and you’re currently single, which fits the show’s requirements.”

Fu Chaoyun was dumbfounded.

Is this a “done deal before being informed” (meaning decisions made without prior consultation)?

            

She waved her hand, “Don’t try to flatter me.” She wasn’t buying it!

【Host, go for it.】 The system suddenly chimed in, 【I think it’s a good idea. It’s the perfect chance to clear your bad alpha image from the screen.】

“Zip it,” Fu Chaoyun replied irritably.

            

Although she sometimes wished for a sweet romance with a gorgeous person, going on a dating show felt ridiculous. Performing like a monkey in front of countless viewers, with every move scrutinized and judged afterward…

Fu Chaoyun was determined to refuse.

【Ding—Task triggered: Participate in the dating show, or the Fu family will go bankrupt that very night.】

            

System: You forced my hand.jpg

“…”

Fu Chaoyun gritted her teeth, “You’ve got guts!”

            

Seeing Fu Chaoyun’s unhappy expression, the colleague who had come to discuss with her hesitated, wondering if they should go back and ask the boss to send someone else to persuade Director Fu instead…

Fu Chaoyun took a deep breath.

To save the Fu family, she resolutely decided—

            

“I’ll do it.”

Par-ti-ci-pate in the dating show!

Even though Fu Chaoyun was forced onto the stage like a duck being herded, since she was both a colleague and the department’s mascot, they were cautious not to upset this princess-like figure and gave her some special treatment in the show’s planning.

            

For instance, on the day the live stream began, she was allowed to make a stunning entrance as the last guest—of course, this was also due to her outstanding looks.

It was meant to be a little highlight at the start of the show.

After the Grain Rain (the period when rainfall is beneficial for grain crops, around April 20th), the season shifted into early summer.

            

With Fu Chaoyun’s family background, she didn’t even need to dress up specially.

When she walked into the villa, rolling a suitcase, wearing a thin-strapped red dress and 7cm diamond-studded heels, she indeed took everyone’s breath away.

Fu Chaoyun took off her sunglasses, glanced around, and greeted, not too warmly, “Hello, I’m Fu Chaoyun.”

            

Then.

She noticed the person in the corner.

That person was sitting quietly, not engaging warmly with the others, yet was like a blooming white gardenia flower.

            

Silent but with a subtle charm, drawing everyone’s eyes to her, making them linger.

Sensing someone looking at her, she turned her head, revealing a face as beautiful as the bright, clear moon.

She was exactly Fu Chaoyun’s favorite type!

            

With a slight nod, she acknowledged the greeting, her dark and clear eyes meeting Fu Chaoyun’s. Her voice was cool and clear like a mountain spring.

“—Pei Xuezhi.”

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