Chapter 54

Keep Going! Newcomers in the Workplace is a workplace observational reality show produced by Litchi TV. It combines amateur workplace performance with celebrity studio observation.

The first season was set in a hospital, produced in cooperation with Hospital B's affiliated hospital, with several medical students entering the hospital for a special practical learning experience.

In fact, there were already some shows of this type on the market. How could this show stand out from the others? The production team racked their brains over this question.

Firstly, unlike other workplace variety shows which were pre-recorded, this show adopted a live broadcast format. With no post-editing intervention, it presented a more authentic effect and generated huge topic and discussion value for the show.

Secondly, they took great pains in selecting in-studio celebrity observers. The invited celebrities all had considerable fame, especially Pei Kuang.

This was his return to the public eye after two years, right after winning Best Actor at the awards. His popularity and ability to generate topics were through the roof.

Clearly, the production team was not satisfied with this alone. After confirming Pei Kuang's attendance, inspiration struck and they immediately thought of Song Anan.

This show was cooperating with Hospital B after all. The director made a few discreet inquiries and learned Song Anan was doing her clinical internship at the hospital.

It was just perfect - she happened to meet the criteria for the show's intern recruitment. The director and producer put their heads together and immediately approached the hospital official in charge, eager to get her on the show at any cost.

This led to the conversation between Jing Wenjin and Song Anan.

Getting Song Anan on board would be killing three birds with one stone for the production team.

Firstly, Song Anan had been really popular on that previous lifestyle show. Letting audiences see how the little auntie had grown up was something many netizens looked forward to.

Secondly, compared to other workplace variety shows, none could boast a newbie as famous as Song Anan. With her uncle Song Linchuan, having her was like piggybacking off a top star's popularity.

Lastly, and very importantly, the 'aunt-nephew CP' of Pei Kuang and Song Anan had been wildly popular three years ago. Putting the two together would effortlessly generate topics and discussions.

The production team's calculations were smart, but unexpectedly, the hospital soon replied that Song Anan herself had no intention of participating in the show.

Just as the director thought there was no hope, the situation took a sudden turn. The hospital sent word that Song Anan had agreed to be on their show after all.

The overjoyed production team immediately finalized the contract, and their official Weibo account posted a teaser tweet that perfectly stoked anticipation:

@Keep Going! Newcomers in the Workplace: Nothing is impossible for us. Don't miss out on the absolutely worth looking forward to S1 guest lineup! *mysterious.jpg*

Comments:

??? What's going on? Didn't the identities of the observational team's six celebrity guests already announced?

Yeah, even Pei Kuang's identity was announced. Unless there's some other big shot the production team invited? *curious.jpg*

Whoa, there's a guest even bigger than Pei Kuang? The production team is awesome, they really splurged!

Er...this is obviously just hype from the production team, let's go guys.

I have a bold guess. Wasn't this show filmed at Hospital B's affiliated hospital? When you hear Hospital B and medical students, who's the first person that comes to mind?

OMG don't tell me it's who I think it is!

Whoa whoa!

Er...what are you guys on about? Speak plainly!

Auntie is a medical student at Hospital B? Her doing her internship at the affiliated hospital is just too normal!

I don't think it's very likely they invited Song Anan. If she wanted to do a show, she would've done it long ago instead of waiting until now.

True, Song Anan has kept a really low profile these past few years, obviously trying to reduce her popularity on purpose.

Netizens quickly dismissed the speculation, just casually throwing the guess out. No one truly believed Song Anan would participate.

Indeed, many shows had secretly tried to piggyback off Song Anan's popularity over the years, but who among them ever succeeded in getting her on? After it happened once, twice, thrice, netizens learned not to buy into it, like the boy who cried wolf.

But this was precisely the production team's plan. The more incredulous the public, the more shocked their reactions would be when Song Anan appeared on the live broadcast.

It would definitely trend on social media!

To achieve this effect, the production team kept mum. Everyone who knew about Song Anan's participation was ordered by the director to keep it absolutely secret.

Not only were netizens completely unaware, even the other celebrity guests knew nothing about it.

While everyone was kept in the dark, the premiere date of Keep Going! Newcomers in the Workplace soon arrived.

Since the show was broadcast live, and hospital staff worked irregular hours different from other industries, the production team's requirements for the guests were also a bit different.

The recordings would be done intensively over 21 days. Whether amateur guests or celebrities, to better facilitate filming, everyone would live together.

The production team rented two villas near Hospital B, one for the celebrity guests and one for the amateur newcomer guests to stay in during filming.

Early that morning, Pei Kuang was on the way to the set.

Li Dong handed Pei Kuang the production script to familiarize himself with the flow.

Variety shows more or less all had scripts. However, with live broadcasts like this, controllability was weaker. At least for some impromptu reactions, it was up to the celebrities themselves.

This was Pei Kuang's first show in three years. Li Dong was still quite cautious.

"Also, here are profiles on the other five celebrity guests. Familiarize yourself with them in advance." He said.

Pei Kuang nodded lightly and started flipping through the documents.

Li Dong added, "But there should be one more guest on the observation team."

Pei Kuang's brows quirked slightly in puzzlement. "One more?"

Li Dong nodded. "Yes, but the production team said not to worry, there's no conflict with us."

That day after seeing the online chatter, he had asked about it. The director was vague, refusing to say who exactly was invited, only promising no conflict with them. So he didn't pursue it further.

"Oh right," Li Dong seemed to recall something. He suddenly looked to Pei Kuang and reminded, "Han Ming has always been at odds with Song Linchuan. He's known to be petty. He'll probably treat you unkindly because of Song Linchuan."

Pei Kuang's fingers lightly tapped the page with Han Ming's profile. "Don't worry, I can handle him."

Li Dong naturally believed in Pei Kuang's abilities here. Dealing with a mere Han Ming would be effortless for someone so assured in these situations.

The car headed steadily along the road.

Pei Kuang read through the guest profiles and show script for a bit before a yawn overtook him. His spirits seemed drained. He rolled down the window for some refreshing air to wake himself up.

Li Dong glanced at him, worry flickering through his eyes. "Did you sleep poorly again last night?"

Pei Kuang lightly murmured affirmation.

Li Dong heaved a silent sigh. "Your insomnia seems to be getting worse. We're filming near the hospital this time anyway, so I'll make an appointment for you there."

Pei Kuang waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine, just occasional, no big deal."

Li Dong felt somewhat helpless inside. Occasional, his foot. As if he didn't know better!

But he also knew that further persuasion was useless. Pei Kuang simply wasn't the sort to take advice. At least regarding decisions he firmly made, truly no one could make him change his mind.

But then again, his pressure had been massive these past two years, spending all year round cooped up in drama sets. It was good to take this opportunity with the show to relax a little.

"Oh right, little auntie is doing her internship at Hospital B's affiliated hospital right? If you guys wrap up early some day, you can ask her out for a meal." Li Dong said.

"You two haven't seen each other much these past couple years, right?"

Pei Kuang lightly murmured agreement, an inscrutable look flashing through his eyes.

"We'll see, don't know if she'll be busy with her internship."

-

For publicity, Keep Going! Newcomers in the Workplace aired its first episode on Saturday morning.

Many people queued outside the livestream room that day, eager to see just who the mysterious big shot guest was that the production team had supposedly invited.

At 10am, the show officially began.

The opening shot was of the observation room. The host and the six officially announced celebrity guests sat in a row at the desk. After some opening remarks, the host began cueing the guests to introduce themselves from left to right.

The first five guests all had some medical background, whether they had studied medicine themselves before entering entertainment, or had family in the medical profession.

Finally it was Pei Kuang's turn.

The host introduced, "Next we welcome newly crowned Best Actor, Pei Kuang. Congratulations!"

The other guests also offered their congratulations.

Pei Kuang nodded slightly to everyone with a smile and began his self-introduction.

"Hello everyone, I'm Pei Kuang. I'm honored to be part of the observation team, but I probably differ from the other guests in that I have no medical background personally or in my family. I've never studied medicine."

"As for why I was invited, the only explanation is probably that I've played some doctor roles."

The host joked, "Pei is too modest. Who says there's no one from your family who studied medicine?"

At this line, the on-site guests may not have reacted, but netizens and fans in the livestream caught the implication.

[Hahaha Pei Kuang that's where you're wrong. Your dear nephew is still your nephew!]

"Senior apprentice, we shouldn't be modest. Our little aunt is a medical student!"

"What little aunt? Is Aunt Pei Kuang a medical student?"

"Uh...brothers upstairs, it's better if you search online for an explanation of this."

Pei Kuang naturally understood the host's teasing, but he just smiled without taking the bait. Obviously he had no intention of bringing up Song Anan.

The host was also tactful and didn't press further after making his point. He then directly changed the topic.

"Alright, we've finished introducing our observer team guests. Next let's get to know our intern students!"

As he finished speaking, the host gestured towards the big screen ahead of them.

The livestream was instantly split into two screens. One showed the observation room, the other showed the intern side.

The online audience was confused. Wasn't there still one more guest for the observer team? Where were they? The guests were also puzzled, but they kept their cool and followed the host's lead, though they couldn't help but wonder in their hearts.

Who was it that was being kept so mysterious? Would they only come out after the civilian guests were introduced?

The interns were being introduced in a large conference room.

Currently there was no one in the room, just some scattered tables and chairs. The camera panned over quickly, and it looked like there were profiles for each intern taped to the table tops, but the specifics were hard to make out.

Soon, the door to the room was pushed open from outside, and a male student walked in. He looked around for a bit before finding his name on one of the tables.

The camera zoomed in, and this male student's personal information was also displayed to the livestream audience and observer team members.

Jiang Huan, neurosurgery intern, currently pursuing PhD, clinical experience: 1 year and 5 months.

Right after, the door opened again and another male student came in. The two greeted each other and exchanged introductions.

The second male was called Fang Chengchen, cardiac surgery intern, currently pursuing Masters, clinical experience: 1 year.

The door opened again, and this time a female student entered.

Yu Sijing, pediatrics, currently pursuing Masters, clinical experience: 7 months.

As the door continued to open multiple times, seven interns entered the room one by one, five male and two female.

From their introductions, it was learned they were from medical schools all over the country, and had been selected by the show's crew. Although their academics and clinical experience weren't the same, there was one similarity - they all hoped to gain the opportunity to study and train at the affiliated hospital of B University.

They belonged to neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, and pediatrics - the three departments involved in this filming.

The interns were slowly getting acquainted with each other and chatting quite well.

On the observer side, the host was also cueing the team members, and everyone was chatting casually.

Just then, the conference room door was pushed open again from outside.

No matter if it was the intern side or the observer team, everyone's eyes were instantly drawn over.

As the final intern student, Song Anan walked in.

"Wow! This girl is so pretty!"

"Of course! She gives off that eye-catching vibe."

"Hmm...why do I feel like I've seen this girl somewhere? Could it just be that pretty faces are a dime a dozen?"

After Song Anan entered, she took the initiative to greet everyone. "Hello everyone, I'm Song Anan."

Livestream audience: "F*ck!! It really is the little aunt!"

At that moment, the main livestream instantly switched back to the observer side, and the cameraman immediately aimed at Pei Kuang.

The brief look of astonishment that flashed across his face was captured in that instant.

"Damn! Pei Kuang must not have known the little aunt was coming too!"

"From his reaction, looks like he didn't know!"

Following the director's cue, the host smiled and asked, "Teacher Pei, anything you'd like to say?"

Pei Kuang had already regained his composure. He replied, "Our show's confidentiality measures are truly impressive. It really is quite the surprise."

The host continued questioning, "Reuniting with the little aunt after three years to film a show again, don't you have anything you want to say?"

Pei Kuang laughed lightly. "Who's envious? I don't need to spell it out right?"

"Hahahaha, I'm really going to die from laughter! Other than Song Linchuan, who else could it be that's envious?"

"Song Linchuan: You don't say my name, yet everything you say is about me!"

According to the process, after all the interns arrived, the teacher would come in holding the exam papers.

In the morning, all the interns had to take a written test.

The written test was prepared by the department heads in order to get a sense of the students' levels and facilitate internship arrangements going forward.

After the written test formally started, the conference room instantly quieted down.

All the interns were completely focused on the exam.

The task of keeping the livestream lively now fell to the observer side. The positions of the main and secondary livestreams switched again.

The observer team guests chattered on, recalling their own exam nightmares.

The livestream was also quite lively, as if a simple exam had brought many people back to their school days.

It seemed only Pei Kuang stared fixedly at the big screen without blinking, like an exam proctor.

The host looked towards Pei Kuang and jokingly asked, "Confident in the little aunt?"

Pei Kuang lightly raised his brow, unable to keep the pride from his tone. "Of course, she's always been outstanding."

"Hahahaha, this familiar feeling! Pei Kuang has definitely learned well from his apprentice Song Linchuan!"

"Pei Kuang: Just kidding, she's my little aunt."

"Song Linchuan: Yo, you're copying me!"

Han Ming glanced at Pei Kuang, then glanced at Song Anan earnestly taking the exam on the big screen. A strange look flashed through his eyes.

He pretended to be puzzled and asked, "I'm a bit curious why everyone else has Masters or PhD qualifications, but Song Anan alone is only in her 5th year of an 8-year degree?

As he finished speaking, the entire observation room suddenly went silent.

The intention to nitpick was just too obvious!

"What is Han Ming trying to imply? He's just short of saying the little aunt got in through connections!"

"I heard before that Han Ming and Song Linchuan don't get along well. Looks like it's true!"

"Really speechless. Han Ming, going after a young girl like this, what kind of man are you!"

"Right! If you have an issue with Song Linchuan, then confront him directly! Who are you trying to bully here?"

"Although, Han Ming isn't saying anything wrong per se. It's reasonable doubt." "Hilarious! What's wrong? Are the facts my brother stated not true? Trying to cover things up now?"

Han Ming added in a two-faced way, "I didn't mean anything else! Just worried she hasn't finished all her courses at school yet, so following along with the others during the internship might be difficult for her."

Pei Kuang lifted his eyelids and casually glanced at Han Ming.

"Wow! This look from Pei Kuang is amazing. A vivid interpretation of an eye dagger!"

"Impressive! My Pei is such an acting god. A single look says it all."

Pei Kuang looked to the host and calmly asked, "Didn't the show producers publicly announce the criteria for selecting intern guests?"

The host hurriedly replied, "Of course! It's all on the website!"

He then continued speaking according to the director's cue, "Our show has strict selection criteria, with requirements not only academically but also for individual ability."

"After assessments, although Song Anan is in the 5th year of an 8-year program at B University, she has already completed the medical theory coursework and clinical internship for one year, fully meeting the requirements for interns this time."

With this lengthy explanation from the host, whether they understood or not, one point was made very clear.

Their show had selection criteria that had already been made public, and Song Anan completely met the criteria.

Pei Kuang looked at Han Ming, a hint of disdain in his slight smile. "I knew I hadn't judged wrong. You go on shows without even doing your homework?"

"Tsk tsk, how unprofessional."

"Ahhh I've been captivated by Pei Kuang's charm again. This is a king's contempt!"

"Tsk tsk, how did this man get even more attractive after two years?"

"When it comes to protecting their young, our aunt-nephew duo has never lost!"

"Wow, Pei Kuang's domineering qi protection, I mean, domineering aunt protection. I love it!"

"Wahhh I really want to ship Pei Kuang with the little aunt!"

"What do you mean there's no ship?! It's been three years, the little aunt has finally grown up. I'm going to openly ship them this time, no one can stop me!"

Pei Kuang really held nothing back with this. Han Ming's expression instantly darkened.

Seeing this, the host quickly changed topics, afraid the two would really start a spat on the spot.

After all, this was a livestream! If anything happened, they wouldn't be able to cover for them at all.

After the written test in the morning, the interns returned after lunch for an interview session in the afternoon.

The department heads from each department came, along with the teacher who had proctored the test in the morning. The four of them would serve as the interview panel for this interview session.

For the intern students, the interview process was still quite stressful.

When it was Song Anan's turn, she wasn't as nervous. Perhaps it was a home advantage.

After all, of all the interns, only she and Jiang Huan from neurosurgery were from the medical school at B University and had interned here before.

When she entered, she did indeed see some familiar faces in the room, especially Cardiac Surgery Department Head Guan Yang.

"Hello teachers," Song Anan politely greeted them.

The few people weren't unfamiliar with Song Anan either. After all, she was a student that their Dean Jing Wenjin wanted to focus on cultivating. It was said she was especially talented.

Neurosurgery Head Dr. Zhang turned to look at Guan Yang and joked, "Department Head Guan, she's your junior apprentice sister. Later you can't go easy on her during the interview."

Guan Yang waved his hand and replied, "I'll recuse myself later. You guys can interview her however you want, I won't participate in the scoring. That should be fine right?"

Pediatrics Head Dr. Wu said, "Oh, quite confident in your junior apprentice sister huh."

Guan Yang just smiled without replying.

Since Song Anan had already interned at Cardiac Surgery for a year, he was naturally very clear on her situation.

Chief Zhang of the Department of Neurosurgery said enviously, "Alright, alright, how could he not be confident? His junior apprentice sister was first in her clinical medicine class for four consecutive years, if it was you wouldn't you be confident too?"

Sigh, such a good seedling, it was a pity he made his move too late back then, otherwise he should have pulled her to their Neurosurgery Department!

Chief Wu of Pediatrics was stunned for a moment, "She's that amazing?"

He really didn't know about this. But being first in her B University clinical medicine class for four consecutive years really couldn't be summed up by just the word "amazing". To achieve that with even the slightest less talent would be extremely difficult.

No wonder he heard that Grandmaster Jing, who hadn't taken a disciple in many years, personally came down the mountain to accept her as a disciple.

【Feels like the chiefs all think very highly of Song Anan, she's outstanding!】

【My god, isn't Song Anan only in her fifth year right now? Being first for four consecutive years means she was first every year before too!】

【In a place like B University full of academic overlords, she could still be first for four consecutive years. Good heavens, little sister-in-law must be a genius!】

【Huh? Am I the only one curious? Chief Guan looks about forty, how is he Song Anan's senior brother apprentice, and who is both their master?】

After some idle chatter, the interviewers started the formal interview process.

The first question every intern was asked — "Why do you want to be a doctor?"

Song Anan thought for a moment and earnestly replied, "I think it's cool."

Everyone: ???

【Damn! Little sister-in-law's answer is so chuunibyou! She thinks it's cool? Are you kidding】

【Hahahaha, I thought little sister-in-law would go on about the selfless dedication to treat illness and save lives, but she just came out with finding it cool. I'm really going to die laughing】

Hearing this, Pei Kuang was also taken aback.

He had not expected that the reason the little girl studied medicine was because of this.

But it had to be said, her answer was indeed quite cool.

Song Anan was oblivious to what others thought. This answer was truly what was in her heart.

Due to her physical condition in her previous life, from young till she grew up, the people she saw most were doctors, especially when she was very little, watching the doctors in their white coats, shuttling between patients, snatching them from the jaws of death. She had thought it was so cool.

Thus, little Song Anan had secretly made up her mind back then to also become a really cool doctor in the future.

In the interview that followed, Song Anan calmly answered every question the interviewers raised, unruffled even when under pressure.

Even when she encountered questions she didn't know, she did not panic, openly admitting it before earnestly asking the assembled group to teach her.

When it came to practical aspects like surgical suturing, her performance was also quite eye-catching.

After just that short half hour interview, Song Anan had proven with her abilities that she completely deserved to stand there.

On the first day of filming, besides the written test and interview, the interns mainly familiarized themselves with the working and filming environments. Once these were done, everyone wrapped up for the day.

Song Anan had gone to the hospital to help her teacher check on patients before coming over to participate in the show that morning.

A new patient happened to be admitted to the department, a case she had not encountered before. The teacher had also assigned some homework, so once filming here wrapped up, she went straight to the hospital library to look up some information without even leaving the hospital.

Once Song Anan burrowed into the library, she lost track of time. By the time she returned to the lodging arranged by the crew, it was almost eleven.

She had wolfed down dinner earlier and hadn't eaten much, so now her stomach was growling with hunger.

Song Anan pondered for a few seconds before deciding to go out and buy some food to fill her stomach, otherwise she wouldn't be able to sleep later.

The lodging for the interns and guests were adjacent, in two adjoining villas. The staff had introduced the environment to them that afternoon.

As she passed the neighboring villa, Song Anan's footsteps unconsciously slowed.

He's probably asleep at this hour.

While at the library just now, Pei Kuang had sent her a message asking if she had time to meet up, but her phone had been on silent then and she only saw it after coming out.

Oh well, she would message him back later to explain. Song Anan thought.

It really was very late, she didn't tarry any further and jogged to the 24-hour convenience store at the hospital entrance, buying two rice balls.

After leaving the convenience store, Song Anan crossed a street and passed the hospital side entrance before arriving at the villa area. But just as she reached the entrance to the villa area, she caught sight of a familiar figure.

Just as Song Anan was still in a daze, that person happened to turn and look over as well.

Their eyes met.

In the next moment, Pei Kuang strode towards her.