Starlet Taotie Chapter 6
Chapter 6 Dream Life
Jiang Tao spat out the wood splinters in her mouth, looking utterly dejected.
Boohoo~
Missed out on such a big piece of chocolate!
Sniffling, she walked out of the room.
The tightly gathered guests and staff all seemed to snap back to their senses and collectively took a large step backward.
The host swallowed. “X-Xiao Jiang… don’t be upset, okay?”
Fang Yiran also forced himself to comfort her. “Yeah, jie, nothing to be embarrassed about. I… I’ll also take a bite.”
One of the directors mustered his courage and said, “Xiao Jiang, um… you lost this round. According to what we said earlier, you’ll need to come work as an intern for a day on our show.”
Jiang Tao was still thinking about the chocolate she had missed out on. She gave a listless “mm” in response.
She had just delivered a terrifying, table-biting moment—but now she looked like a little rabbit who hadn’t gotten its beloved carrot, ears drooping in disappointment.
That gap-moe* was too damn adorable.
(TLN: Gap-moe describes the charm felt when a character’s behavior contradicts their appearance/public persona. It represents a "gap" between perceived personality and reality, often highlighting a soft side of a harsh character or a clumsy side of a perfect one, making them more endearing.)
Fang Yiran patted his chest and declared generously. “Jie! After the show, I’ll send you a whole box of chocolate!”
Ann Lisa stared at the broken edge of the table in disbelief.
Still dazed, she suddenly met Jiang Tao’s gaze across the crowd.
Jiang Tao smiled at her, baring her teeth.
Those snow-white teeth seemed to gleam with a chilling edge.
Ann Lisa: “!!!”
Her legs went weak and she collapsed straight onto the floor.
By this point, the viewers online had finally recovered from their shock.
【I’m kneeling!!!!!!】
【Jiang jie is the GOAT!!! IS HER TEETH OKAY THOUGH??】
【Don’t bother asking, she’s got diamond for teeth!】
【I used to be stupid and badmouthed Jiang Tao. Is it too late to delete my posts now sob sob】
【From today on, I’m officially Jiang jie’s hater-turned-fan!!!】
【This episode is god-tier!!】
【I don’t believe it! The table must’ve been low quality!!】
Aside from the chaotic bullet comments, netizens quickly turned the clip into GIFs, and it instantly became a trending meme across the internet.
A post was directly pushed to the top of trending:
【A certain actress surnamed Jiang demonstrates snake-catching and table-biting on a variety show. Is this moral decline or distortion of human nature? If all celebrities start following her ‘involution spirit’, audiences may soon be watching chest stone crushing* in variety shows!】
(TLN: Involution refers to a state of over-competition, excessive complexity, or "inward curling" where increased effort yields diminishing returns. Originating as a sociological term for forced, fruitless competition (popularized in China as neijuan (内卷)
胸口碎大石 is is a traditional Chinese acrobatic act in which a large stone is placed on a performer’s chest or abdomen and then shattered with a hammer. )
Some uninformed netizens clicked in, were immediately shocked, and rushed to watch the replay of ‘Over Here!’.
After watching and cussing in awe, they also began actively recommending it to others.
‘Biting table’ became the hottest keyword across social platforms that night.
Even on Taobao, searches for tables surged by 30%.
Quick-thinking sellers immediately updated their product descriptions overnight:
【All tables in this store are solid wood, high-quality materials guaranteed. Can NOT be bitten through!】
Jiang Tao’s antis didn’t manage to enter the battlefield in time. By the time they reacted, her Weibo comment section had already turned into a sea of joyful chaos.
…
When Sun Jianxian received the news that Jiang Tao had blown up in popularity, he stared at his phone for a long time without reacting.
Truthfully speaking, he had never once considered that Jiang Tao could make a comeback.
She was indeed beautiful, there was no denying that. But the entertainment industry never lacked handsome men and beautiful women.
Even when she first debuted, she had briefly gained attention thanks to her looks, but her bland and uninteresting personality quickly caused her to fade out.
Not to mention her current reputation was already damaged.
There was even less chance she could rise again.
To be honest, when he first gave Jiang Tao the gig for ‘Over Here!’, he’d thought it was a bit of a waste.
Who would’ve guessed that she’d actually blow up after just one episode?
He immediately tapped into the trending searches and was completely floored.
How the hell is this Jiang Tao?!
He’d been managing her for over a year, and he never knew she had this in her?!
He then clicked over to Jiang Tao’s Weibo and saw that she’d gained 300,000 followers in a single night!
And these were real, live followers and not company bought fake bots!
Sun Jianxian scrolled through the comments: a wall of “LMAOOOO,” “ur too hot jie,” and “Jiang jie the GOATT.” His mind started churning again.
As a manager, who wouldn’t want their own artist to hit it big?
If Jiang Tao played along and did as she was told, it wasn’t like he wouldn’t give her more chances…
He quickly opened his computer, dug up a batch of gigs suitable for Jiang Tao, and printed them out.
Just as he was browsing and fantasizing about the possibilities, his phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
Sun Jianxian picked up and his expression changed almost instantly.
“Yes, yes, yes, I understand.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely follow your instructions.”
After hanging up the phone, he let out a long sigh.
He looked gloomily at the stack of gigs on his desk that had been prepared for Jiang Tao, hesitated for a moment, then swept them all into the trash bin.
In the end, only one variety show notice remained on the desk.
Sun Jianxian thought to himself that he couldn’t be blamed for not giving Jiang Tao a chance, who told her to offend someone important?
All he could say was that she simply didn’t have the fate to become famous!
…
Jiang Tao slept very soundly.
The moment she woke up, she received a courier call; it was the chocolates Fang Yiran had sent.
Waking up and having something delivered straight to her door.
This was practically the life Jiang Tao had always dreamed of.
However, just as she happily ate the chocolates, Tong Tong showed up at her door with a tearful face.
“Jie, I’m sorry! Boohoohoo~”
Tong Tong originally thought that after Jiang Tao started to gain popularity, Sun Jianxian would arrange more and better opportunities for her. But this morning, when she went to the company for a meeting, Sun Jianxian had only given her a lukewarm variety show, one that was already on the verge of being discontinued.
Tong Tong argued her case, but it was useless. Sun Jianxian brushed her off with a few perfunctory words and sent her away.
Jiang Tao didn’t think much of it.
Anyway, she never intended to become famous in the first place. As long as she stayed hidden within the plot and didn’t get noticed by that minor immortal, that was enough.
Jiang Tao’s attitude gradually calmed Tong Tong down as well.
Although it wasn’t a particularly good program, it was still better than nothing. And for some reason, she had an inexplicable confidence in her jie; she felt Jiang Tao would definitely pull through.
The variety show was called ‘Our Village’. It was a slow-paced rural lifestyle reality show. It had been quite popular two years ago, but its ratings had steadily declined since then. The viewership had been cut again and again, and it was said that if this season didn’t show any improvement, the show would be canceled altogether.
The filming location this time was Qingxi Town in Southern Province. Qingxi Town was located in the mountains, and the roads were not even fully repaired yet, making the ride extremely bumpy.
By the time they arrived, Tong Tong had already vomited up all her breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
On the other hand, Jiang Tao was completely fine and started wandering around casually, looking for something to eat.
Not long after, the other guests also arrived.
This time, there were a total of six participating celebrities: three men and three women.
The male guests were martial arts star Dong Xianhong, the ‘second male lead specialist’ Yang Zhen, and a newly debuted rookie this year, Sheng Xibai. On the female side, aside from Jiang Tao, there were AIR girl group member Tang Yuxia and internet celebrity Le Hui.
Once everyone had arrived, Director Zou Ming finally spoke. “Hello everyone, welcome to the fourth season of ‘Our Village’. Qingxi Town is a very beautiful place; lush mountains and clear waters, gentle winds and bright moonlight. We hope that during the next period of time, everyone can closely experience an original, unspoiled lifestyle.”
After finishing his speech, he had the staff confiscate all food from their luggage as well as their phones and other electronic devices, then led them to their accommodation.
Only when the guests arrived did they finally understand what the director’s words had meant.
Lush mountains and clear waters—yes, but no running water and no electricity. Cooking depended entirely on burning firewood, and water had to be carried from the stream.
Gentle winds and bright moonlight—indeed, because the houses didn’t even have roofs. If one endured a night there, they could probably see the sunrise firsthand.
It was primitive living to the extreme.
Seeing the guests’ faces gradually crack, Zou Ming was extremely satisfied. “Next, you have three tasks: repairing the roof, catching chickens, and herding sheep. You may discuss among yourselves who will take which task. Only those who complete a task will get dinner.”
Dong Xianhong was nearly forty and clearly the most senior among them, so he naturally took on the role of leader. “Everyone, let’s talk about what we want to do first, then we’ll assign the tasks.”
Yang Zhen was the first to raise his hand. “I want to go catch chickens.”
Tang Yuxia followed right after. “Me too.”
“Then Yang Zhen and Yuxia will go catch chick—”
Before Dong Xianhong could finish speaking, Le Hui hesitantly raised her hand and said, “Dong ge, I want to catch chickens too.”
Repairing the roof was hard and exhausting work, and herding sheep was boring with clearly few camera shots. Compared to those, catching chickens was obviously the best option.
Sheng Xibai had originally wanted to say he would go catch chickens as well, but seeing so many people already choosing it, he said instead, “Then I’ll stay and repair the roof.”
Dong Xianhong nodded. “Alright, then Xibai and I will repair the roof. Yang Zhen, Yuxia, and Le Hui will catch chickens. Xiao Jiang, can you manage to herd the sheep alone?”
Jiang Tao nodded indifferently.
With the tasks assigned, everyone went their separate ways to their respective locations.
Jiang Tao and her follow-camera director, Zhang Ce, headed to the hillside where the sheep were.
“Xiao Jiang, there are a total of one hundred and one sheep here. You have two hours. If even one sheep runs away, the task will be considered a failure, and there will be no dinner…”
Zhang Ce spoke for quite a while, but received no reaction from Jiang Tao.
He looked over at her and only then realized she was actually salivating at the scattered flock of sheep.
Zhang Ce: “……”
Jiang Tao asked full of hope, “If the mission is successful, can dinner be mutton?”
“……”
Zhang Ce mercilessly rejected her.
Jiang Tao pouted.
Letting a bunch of food walk around right in front of her, yet not being able to eat it—how cruel was that?!
Zhang Ce handed her the herding whip and asked, “Xiao Jiang, do you want to learn some sheep-herding techniques first?”
There were tricks to herding sheep. You had to find the lead sheep, and once you controlled it, the rest would follow.
But if you didn’t know what you were doing and rushed in blindly, you would only scare the flock into scattering. In the end, not a single sheep would be herded back, and it would also create plenty of comedic moments along the way.
However, Jiang Tao completely failed to catch his good intentions. She grabbed the whip and started climbing the slope.
“No need to waste time. The sooner we finish, the sooner we eat!”
A guest like this, so headstrong and actively delivering material to the production team, was exactly Zhang Ce’s favorite kind.
He didn’t try to persuade her further and quickly called the cameraman to follow.
On the hillside, the sun was bright, the grass lush and green, and the flock of sheep wandered leisurely about.
Zhang Ce said, “Xiao Jiang, I’ll repeat the mission once more: within two hours, you must bring the entire flock back to this hillside. Not a single sheep can be missing! Understand?”
Jiang Tao nodded.
Zhang Ce signaled for the cameraman to focus on her, then pressed the timer.
“The countdown begins…now!”
He watched her walk toward the flock with full anticipation, already expecting the moment she would be frightened pale by the panicked, scattering sheep.
And then—
The sheep, seeing Jiang Tao approaching step by step, began trembling uncontrollably.
With a collective plop, they all dropped to their knees.
Zhang Ce: “??????”
TL Note: For those who want a simple character chart:
Dong Xianhong (male), martial arts star, older
Yang Zhen (male) ‘second male lead specialist’
Sheng Xibai (male) newly debuted rookie
Tang Yuxia (female) AIR girl group member
Le Hui (female) internet celebrity
