Chapter 4: Signing Up for the Show

"This show exists in this world too?"

While flipping through the materials, Ye Qinghe spotted a variety show, and his heart stirred with interest.

Stand Till the End!

The show hadn't been particularly popular in his previous life, but in this world it seemed to enjoy a considerably larger following — and as luck would have it, they appeared to be recruiting challengers right now.

Ye Qinghe figured that if he was looking for the fastest way to cash in on his Photographic Memory ability, this might just be one of his best options.

The show tested contestants on their breadth of knowledge, and Photographic Memory was practically tailor-made for it.

"Youyou, open the Stand Till the End challenger application form for me!"

Without hesitation, Ye Qinghe had his smart assistant pull up the application form for Stand Till the End.

Fill it out!

Submit!

Done in one smooth motion!

"I'd better do some preparation."

Ye Qinghe felt fairly confident he'd make it through the application process.

For no other reason than this: given his current condition, any director with half a brain would absolutely want him on the show.

A contestant who was completely paralyzed — unable to move anything except his head — was the kind of hook that would send ratings through the roof the moment it was announced.

It didn't matter how talented this contestant was. Just showing up on set would be a massive selling point in itself.

So as long as the production team saw his application, he was practically guaranteed a spot.

* * *

"You really do get all kinds — there's someone here with only an elementary school education applying for our show!"

In the screening department of the Stand Till the End production team, a group of reviewers were sifting through applications one by one, occasionally sharing the more outlandish submissions with each other for a laugh.

"Hey?! What's yours compared to this? Everyone, come take a look at the application I just got — now this one is actually interesting!"

One reviewer suddenly widened her eyes and let out a startled cry, immediately waving her colleagues over.

Over a dozen reviewers crowded around at once.

"Completely paralyzed?"

"Can't move anything except his head?"

"Someone like that watches our show?"

"If he actually came on, would he have to compete lying in bed? Would Stand Till the End even count as 'standing' anymore?"

"What I want to know is — how is he supposed to hit the buzzer?"

After reading through the file, everyone was brimming with curiosity about this applicant. They'd seen their share of unusual submissions before, but someone quite this unusual? That was a first.

After the initial round of jokes and commentary died down, however, the group suddenly realized something: as bizarre as this contestant sounded, if they could actually get him on set, it would be an absolute bombshell for the show.

A severely paralyzed person watches their show!

A severely paralyzed person wants to compete on their show!

And then actually shows up at the studio — not standing at, but arriving at center stage. They were certain that once the promo dropped, virtually everyone who saw it would want to tune in just to see what that would even look like.

"I think we need to report this to the director right away."

Someone murmured under their breath, and the reviewer who had received the application immediately picked up the phone on the desk and called the director.

A contestant like this was a once-in-a-lifetime find!

If he actually had some real ability, this could easily become the highlight moment of their newest season!!

* * *

Ye Qinghe pulled up a few earlier episodes of Stand Till the End and skimmed through them at triple speed. Once he had a feel for what kinds of questions the show tended to ask, he started searching online for relevant question banks and began working through them.

"Why are you suddenly looking at all this?"

When Ye Dali came home, Ye Qinghe had been so absorbed that he hadn't heard him come in. Ye Dali walked over to the bedside, crouched down, and glanced up at the ceiling projection with a curious look.

"I watched a few episodes of Stand Till the End. I thought it seemed interesting, so I submitted an application. Figured I should get familiar with it in case I actually get selected."

"Stand Till the End? What kind of show is that?"

Ye Dali had zero knowledge of online variety shows and had no idea what type of program this was.

After Ye Qinghe explained it to him, Ye Dali's first thought was: isn't this just making trouble? The show would require traveling to another city, and on top of that, it would take at least two or three days — meaning he'd lose a fair chunk of income.

But then he thought of how focused Ye Qinghe had looked just now, poring over all that material, and he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Besides, he figured — what decent show would actually pick someone like Ye Qinghe to compete? Even if he'd applied, the production team probably wouldn't approve it.

So there was no point in being discouraging.

"Well, keep at it then," said Ye Dali, standing up and heading off to cook. "Oh, by the way — what do you win on this show? Money, or something else?"

"No cash prizes — just rewards like travel packages, usage rights to certain things, and honorary titles."

Ye Dali shook his head. "That show sounds pretty Stingy. Won't even hand out real money!"

Ye Qinghe laughed at that. "It's not entirely without money — if you defend the podium for three episodes, you can earn an annual salary of 200,000 yuan from the Think Tank. Six episodes and it doubles to 400,000!"

That was what he'd had his eye on from the very beginning!

If he could hold the podium for three episodes, he'd have a shot at a 200,000-yuan annual salary. That would fundamentally change his and Ye Dali's lives — Ye Dali wouldn't have to work so hard anymore, and they'd finally have the means to move somewhere better.

"Oh."

Ye Dali, busy cooking, gave a single "oh" and didn't give it another thought. He figured it was simply impossible — never mind whether the show would actually pay out; the main issue was that even if Ye Qinghe somehow got selected, there was no way he'd meet that condition.

Ye Qinghe was twenty years old now. Three years ago he hadn't even finished high school, and back when he was in school, his grades had been average at best — nowhere near the top. On a show like this, he'd be a one-and-done. Two hundred thousand yuan? That was nothing more than a carrot dangled in front of a donkey.

Ye Dali finished cooking, fed Ye Qinghe, helped him with his personal hygiene, gave him a round of massage, then hopped on his motorbike and headed out to pick up designated driving jobs.

Ye Qinghe, meanwhile, continued rapidly flipping through the various knowledge points he'd found online.

He had never felt like studying was this easy before. One glance — no, not even a full glance, just a quick scan — and it was committed to memory. The feeling was absolutely incredible.

"Ding dong!"

The Stand Till the End production team moved fast. Before three o'clock that afternoon, Ye Qinghe received a reply from them.

"Congratulations, Mr. Ye Qinghe — your application has been reviewed and approved. Please come to our studio next Wednesday, June 21st, to participate in the recording of the show!

Thank you for your love of the program! We look forward to meeting you!

— The Stand Till the End Production Team."