Translator: Prakriti Bhatta

Once it was broadcasted, netizens watched it for the first time.

When first clicking into the video, there was the introduction of the background of the village:

”Although densely populated, people here always live in harmony. Welcome to Yunluo County of the Yellow River Province that has exquisite scenery with a clear sky. Because of the suitable climate and availability of rich resources, it is also known as the granary above the Yellow River. However, Sha Jia Village, which is surrounded by mountains and lush greenery, is trapped in a vicious circle of poverty due to the inaccessible roads, poor means of communication, etc.

There are many aspiring young people in the village who cannot bear to carelessly leave their hometown, leaving the old elders and children. This season of ‘The Metamorphosis’ is going to be shot in this small Sha Jia village. Three children born in rich families are about to come here to experience real human life.

It was just the introduction. The netizens also left messages. :

[As everyone knows, the copywriting of this program’s crew is pretty good.]

[This village is somehow better. The last time’s village Da Mu was really full of old people and children. The young and middle-aged people in the village could be counted with two hands.]

[I’m really surprised. I am from the Yellow River Province myself, why have I never heard of this Yunluo County? After flipping the map two or three times, I found this small county town like sesame seeds at the edge of the Yellow River. I really admire the program group. The village that even the locals don’t know, how did the program group find it? 】

The beginning of the program was the introduction of the basic situation of the Luo family, the introduction of family circumstances, the names and ages of the three brothers and sisters in the family, etc. The scene of Luo Yusheng packing his bags to go to the city and riding on the tractor in the county town to bid farewell to relatives was also included. The two old elders of the Luo family sighed and were slouching with crutches. Father Luo comforted the two elders, while Mother Luo was shedding tears more than the amount of rainwater. She almost died of crying, as if she would never see her son again in her lifetime. The two sisters on the side of the road were also facing each other reluctant to give up.

But in comparison, the expressions of the two sisters were quite different. The small one was full of longing and hopes while the big one was a little cold and didn’t seem to have deep feelings for the younger brother who was about to be separated from her.

Netizens are not fools. On the contrary, they are quite observing people. What’s more, everybody says that bystanders are more knowledgeable than the authorities who often think too much about the pros and cons and don’t have a comprehensive understanding of it. The rest of the Luo family were immersed in concern for the son but they did not notice anything wrong with the attitude of their eldest daughter.

It has been almost ten years since the program ”The Metamorphosis” was launched. The majority of netizens have no shortage of experience and knowledge and they could see through Luo’s problems at a glance.

[Emmmmm this girl has a cold face. She seems to have a bad relationship with her brother? ]

[This is excusable. Everybody, look at their age. The eldest daughter is fifteen years old while the son is only thirteen years old. From the perspective of age, the most suitable exchange candidate should be the eldest daughter but the son was the one that was chosen. Even if a person really has a friendly relationship with his/her brother, normal people can’t act calm when encountering such things, right? ]

[To put it plainly, this Luo family discriminates against girls ah. I feel distressed for the eldest daughter]

[+1 feeling distressed. Look at that face. She is reluctant to give up. She looks like she is going to turn around and cry.]

It is well-known that the villages are mainly male-dominated societies. It was the same in the case of the Luo Family.

In the farewell scenes, the two girls Luo Cuihua and Luo Cuimiao were dressed more decently wearing colorful clothes like on New Year’s Day. But witty netizens could still find out some differences from their names. The Luo family has two girls and one boy. The oldest girl is Luo Cuihua, the youngest girl is Luo Cuimiao, and the only son is Luo Yusheng. People with good ears felt that the first two names were so perfunctorily given as if they were randomly and cheaply chosen.

In this kind of sexist family, there was no doubt that the quota for going to the city fell on the son.

Many netizens left messages and expressed sympathy for Luo Cuihua. Especially after ”giving up” her chance, this gave rise to a wonderful empathy. This issue was very sensitive. Coupled with the recent social policies, even young netizens shed tears to write down their own life stories.

[This girl is just like me. However, I was born in the city. Since the two-child policy was implemented, my mother kept going to the hospital last year. I asked her what had happened but she never told me anything. Until I found the hospital diagnosis and treatment documents in the drawer. She was already pregnant for three months but kept hiding from me! Why do people want boys so much now? 】

【Hehe, in the year of my college entrance examination, my family suddenly brought a boy and lied to me that he was my cousin. Later, when I was admitted to college, I was going to college for the first time. The whole family only knew to surround my brother. There was no time for them to take me to college. I will always remember that year when I was carrying two large suitcases and sitting on a train alone. I am not a saint. Under that situation, you want me to have a good relationship with my brother??? I’m sorry, I can’t do it]

Comparing themselves with Luo Cuihua, the majority of netizens showed sympathy and care for Luo Cuihua. They could not help but curse and blame the Luo family. All the sexist people should die!

They didn’t even have a good impression of Luo Yusheng. When they saw him on a tractor, he was still holding the book in his hand. Everyone mocked:

[Everyone who has been on a tractor knows that the road will be rough and the body will follow the chaos. Before anyone can take a few glances at the book, their body will fly somewhere. The books can’t be read at all. Why must that Luo Yusheng hold that book at this time? For a show? 】

【Does this little brother know that his sister gave him this opportunity? 】

【I hope this girl will be successful. She should study hard and leave that home in the future! This sister supports you! 】

The show had only been aired for ten minutes, but the comment area was already full of maliciousness. The discussion of the sexist people took up the whole comment section.

However, it is undeniable that Luo Cuihua’s desire to make her first appearance impressionable was, coincidentally, achieved more than what she had originally expected. Especially after her parents and elders held her little brother and solemnly said “Luo family will rely on you from now on”. The tears that fell from the corner of Luo Cuihua’s eyes made people feel infinite pity.

The program continued. After the basic situation of Sha Jia Village and Luo family was broadcasted, the following were the scenes of several city’s teenagers not doing good deeds in the city before coming to the program.

The first was Yuanfeng. Netizens were surprised by the looks of the other party. Then they were even more shocked when they saw that the other party had skipped school at a young age, had a puppy love, caused the woman to get pregnant, and had an abortion. He had even beat his brother almost to his death:

[ He impregnated a girl at the age of fifteen? This child is too precocious, right? No wonder he was expelled by the school]

[It’s okay, isn’t it? I was also in love at the age of fifteen. It’s just that this guy is irresponsible after impregnating a woman. What a scumbag!!! I was really blinded by his handsome looks. He must change his behaviors! 】

【He even beat his own brother!!! He is a ruthless person.】

【This kind of person is relying on the wealth of the family to act arrogantly. The more you discipline him, the more rebellious he’ll be.】

【Look at his posture of smoking and drinking. He’s too skillful. He must be an old smoker. The boys nowadays are handsome but don’t learn well…】

It was Xia Ming’s turn. Everyone was shocked by his star-like face. For a long time, they were reluctant to look away. They all left messages:

[It’s unscientific…..This season’s face value is too high. The last season’s people were celebrity wannabes with exaggerated hairstyles, heavy make-up, flamboyant costumes, piercings, etc. This time they brought the future celebrity themselves. ]

[Agreed!!! The third one hasn’t even made his appearance yet. In case he doesn’t look good, he’ll be caught between two handsome guys. In the meantime, won’t he die from feeling the sense of inferiority?]

Before the comment area could go absolutely crazy, the boy’s introduction also followed:

“His name is Xia Ming. Indifference is his only attitude towards world affairs.

At home, he has always been too sensible. In school, since childhood, he added honors and won many awards. He has excellent grades and is extremely smart. He is the pride in the eyes of his parents and the good boy in the eyes of the teacher.”

“But maybe because he is too smart, even silence became a kind of rebellion.”

“In a big family, he has always enjoyed the doting and pampering of people that love him. But he is not close to his parents, brothers, and sisters. He regards them as evil people with bad intentions. He does not seem to have anyone worthy of his respect and admiration in his eyes. He is uncooperative and pushes everyone away with indifference, including his parents and his teachers…”

“The teacher reluctantly commented on him. Student Xia Ming is very good but he is also like a robot with no emotions. In school, his reputation is not very good. All of us teachers care about him and hope he can get out of his own world.”

“His deskmate kindly revealed that Xia Ming was not like this before. He had changed only after his parents had divorced and had married again. Then only he had turned to be like this, stubborn and hard to approach.”

[It seems there is nothing wrong with it, right? Isn’t it natural for people who are too smart to be aloof? 】

【This is not called being aloof anymore. He is an ungrateful kid. He refuses even the care of his parents. Look at him. He doesn’t even respect the teachers. This kind of inhumane teenager, at the same time, has a super high IQ, which is the sign that he is going to be a criminal with a high IQ in the future.]

[The person above, what you said was too brutal. He is just a little colder and you labeled him as a possible “criminal with a high IQ” in the future. Are you spreading these defaming rumors relying on your broken mouth? 】

【He became rebellious just because his parents remarried? This child is too selfish and immature. Is it because the parents’ feelings are considered old, so they have to take care of the child for the rest of their lives and can’t pursue their own happiness? Is it necessary to give up their happiness for the sake of the child? Such selfish children must change their behaviors! ]

[The person above, calm down a bit and tell your story.]

There was another conflict going on in the comment section. After Yin Minglu’s turn came, the comment section was weirdly silent for a while again.

[Oh my fucking god!!! Is this show a beauty pageant? One is better than the other.]

[For these faces, no matter how badass they are, you can’t hate them at all.]

[Agreed +1. In fact, these boys are preparing to debut, right? They are accumulating popularity by being in this program. Í’m kindly suggesting that it’s better to go to join some idol trainee program, the popularity gaining speed will be faster.]

[Ignorant homo sapiens!!! Go to Baidu[Chinese version of google] by yourself. He is the only son of the Yin family and the sole heir of Yin’s Daily Chemical Company, does he need to make his debut? ]

[WTF? ? ? This kid is actually a top-rich second-generation? I am so scared and lost as fuck. The sole heir of the Yin family was actually thrown over here. Is there some conspiracy going on in this family??? 】

Thank you guys for reading. Please feel free to comment your thoughts. 🙂