Chapter 3: Character Persona and CP

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Among these seven members, the ones with the highest status were clearly led by Deng Chao and Wang Baoqiang.

The two of them were bona fide A-list male artists.

The second tier belonged to Li Chen and Chen Chichi; they had name recognition, but lacked any representative works of real substance.

The final tier naturally consisted of Wang Zhulan and Baby.

Most mainland audiences were completely in the dark about them, essentially treating them as non-entities.

As for Gu Qing himself, he was an outlier among outliers.

Forget about works; he hadn't even officially debuted yet.

However, thanks to the marketing over this period, he had been frantically tied to the "Four Returning Sons," creating a massive buzz.

Coupled with his exceptionally striking appearance, he had briefly attracted a huge wave of public favor and gained significant popularity.

He could be considered a true "traffic" magnet.

As the artists arrived, Director Lu Hao signaled to the staff beside him to distribute a detailed proposal to each artist.

"Everyone, for this season of *Keep Running*, we have purchased the copyright for the peninsula's national-level variety show *Running Man*, so naturally, we must learn from their successful experience."

Director Lu Hao got straight to the point. "The main reason for calling this meeting is to inform everyone in advance of your personas and character positioning for the show."

It was an open secret in the industry that reality shows had scripts.

Deng Chao and the others present did not show any surprise, and even Gu Qing, the "amateur," had long been mentally prepared.

"Chao-ge, Baoqiang."

Lu Hao first looked at Deng Chao and Wang Baoqiang; these two were undoubtedly the core of the team.

"Chao-ge, your task is the heaviest. Not only are you the captain and the big brother of the group, but you also bear the responsibility of controlling the flow. Try to keep the atmosphere lively; you must not let the energy drop."

"Director Lu, don't you worry. No one knows how to liven up an atmosphere better than me."

Deng Chao raised his eyebrows excitedly, fidgeting in his chair as if he had ADHD.

"Chao-ge, you don't actually need to be *that* lively."

Lu Hao smiled helplessly and continued, "Baoqiang, you are the 'honest man' of the show. Just show your simple, honest, and straightforward nature. You are responsible for creating contrast and comedic relief—it’s basically playing yourself."

"I'm not that simple, though."

Wang Baoqiang scratched his head. "Forget it, forget it. I'll just do my best not to hold the brothers back."

Next, Lu Hao turned his gaze to Chen Chichi and Li Chen.

"Chichi, you are the comedic relief. You are responsible for helping Chao-ge liven up the atmosphere, picking up cues, and creating show effects together. You need to let go and play; don't be reserved."

Chen Chichi grinned, the shadow of Zeng Xiaoxian faintly emerging. "Comedy? I'm a professional."

"Li Chen, you are the 'power' member. You are responsible for physical tasks and confrontation segments. You are also the strongest in combat among all the members, and we will highlight your strength in the later confrontation segments."

"And Zhulan, you are the 'wisdom' member, responsible for solving puzzles and strategy. Your main style is being cunning and opportunistic. If you encounter female guests, you should act a bit indifferent—be a lady-killer!"

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Soon, Lu Hao's gaze fell on Gu Qing and Baby (Yang Ying), pausing slightly.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses behind him suddenly walked over and began speaking to Lu Hao.

"It's Korean."

Gu Qing raised his eyes slightly. His predecessor's four years of training in the peninsula meant he had naturally inherited Korean language skills.

"CP... sister-brother... immoral... exciting..."

The few words he vaguely caught caused a sense of unease to rise in Gu Qing's heart.

"Ahem, next is our Gu Qing."

After listening to the translator, Lu Hao cleared his throat and spoke with a beaming smile. "You just turned 19, and everyone here is your older brother or sister, so you will naturally serve as the show's 'maknae' (youngest brother)."

So I really am the little brother now...

After hearing his arrangement, Gu Qing quickly stood up and bowed to Deng Chao, Wang Baoqiang, and the other members with a touch of reserve: "Seniors, I am Gu Qing. If there is anything improper during the recording, please bear with me."

"Hey, what 'seniors'? Just call me Chao-ge from now on."

Deng Chao had no airs at all; he smiled and patted Gu Qing on the shoulder, pressing him back into his chair. "We're all on *Keep Running* now, why be so formal?"

"That's right, we don't go in for that stuff."

Wang Baoqiang chimed in, "Meeting is fate; we're all one family."

"Chao-ge, Baoqiang-ge."

Gu Qing wasn't a dull person and immediately changed his address.

"That's more like it."

Deng Chao and Wang Baoqiang exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of amusement in each other's eyes.

Their proactive show of goodwill wasn't entirely out of care for a newcomer—having been in the entertainment industry for years, who wasn't a seasoned pro?

Firstly, Gu Qing was currently a hot "traffic" idol; being on good terms with him would always have more pros than cons.

Secondly, the young man's attitude was humble in just the right way; that "senior" title made people feel good.

Even though they said not to be formal, who in this circle didn't like being flattered and catered to?

Thirdly...

"I say, little Gu, your face is truly well-grown."

Chen Chichi suddenly leaned over, his fingertip pointing vaguely at the tip of Gu Qing's nose. "Look at these eyes, this chin—not a single flaw. After so many years in the business, this is the first time I've felt a sense of defeat in a beauty contest."

"Chichi, you don't have a shred of beauty."

Amidst the laughter of the group, Li Chen chimed in with a joke: "If I looked like this when I was young, I wouldn't have needed to train these muscles." As he spoke, he deliberately flexed his arm muscles.

"Chen, the point is, your muscles aren't even that big."

Deng Chao pinched them, looking very unimpressed.

Waves of laughter surged through the conference room.

No one noticed Yang Ying in the corner using her phone's front camera to fix her hair.

In the reflection of the mirror, the boy's awkward appearance looked just like her own embarrassment and panic when she first entered the Hong Kong circle and attended parties.

"Alright, let's stop messing around; I haven't finished yet."

Lu Hao turned his gaze to Yang Ying, who had finished fixing her hair.

"Baby, your persona is also the biggest highlight of our show. While being a goddess, I hope you can show your 'tomboy' side. Your usual makeup should be simple and elegant to close the distance with the audience. As long as you let go, it will definitely be very brilliant!" Lu Hao said seriously.

Yang Ying smiled slightly and nodded: "Director, I will work hard."

She was wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans today, her pure appearance paired with light makeup making her look exceptionally fresh and moving.

As the girlfriend of "Master Huang" (Huang Xiaoming) who hadn't gone public yet, the resources behind her were naturally not to be underestimated.

In order for her, a female artist with no roots in the mainland, to stand out on the show, "Master" had spent a fortune.

Not only did he get Baby into the show, but he also fought for the best persona for her.

Just when everyone thought it was over, Director Lu Hao continued: "Besides this, our production team also wants to hype up a 'major trend CP.' Considering that the 'Monday Couple' CP of 'Dog-ge' and Jihyo in the Korean version of *Running Man* is too classic, it's hard for us to replicate it, so we decided to start with the earliest version, the 'Song-Song Sister-Brother CP'."

This suggestion naturally came from the peninsula native behind him.

To film the show well, Moon TV had specifically poached several cameramen, VJs, and PD directors from the *Running Man* production team for planning.

Nowadays, domestic idol dramas were still generally about "the overbearing CEO falling in love with me."

But in the peninsula, idol dramas had long since begun the "strong woman, weak man" and "younger man, older woman" style of development.

Especially the "younger man" CP, which was almost carved into the bones of the peninsula people.

This was mainly due to their country's perverted senior-junior system.

The younger must unconditionally obey the older; peers only make friends with peers, and even a one-year age gap requires the use of honorifics.

If a senior slaps you for no reason, it's considered love and guidance; wanting to resist is challenging the entire social system.

And the "younger man" romance was a form of fantasy rebellion.

The cold, strong senior is infatuated and loses her composure because of the weak, pitiful junior, revealing all sorts of contrasting, ugly states, which perfectly satisfied the fantasies of the subordinates.

"Gu Qing, Baby, I hope that during the filming, besides showing family affection and friendship, you can also inadvertently highlight some ambiguity. Can you do that?"

Lu Hao said very directly.

This was the true inside story of hyping CPs in the entertainment industry.

There is no such thing as "love" in their gazes; as long as it appears on camera and makes you feel sweet and want to "ship" the CP, it's all fake.

As for the ones that make you feel like you can't ship them, those are just failed cases.

This was Gu Qing's first time witnessing this.

"No problem, Director. I am a 'professional' actor."

Yang Ying was poised and graceful, waving her hand with a bright smile, her lips curling as she said playfully: "Little brother Gu Qing, call me 'sister' and let me hear it."

"Baby-jie."

Gu Qing said woodenly.

"That's all for now. If you have time, you can watch a few episodes of the Korean version of *Running Man* to understand the basic filming style."

Lu Hao glanced at his watch and said, "By this evening, we will be filming the opening of the first episode."

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Babies, the new seedling needs watering (●`●)

(End of chapter)