Reality bites as TV show's appeal becomes clear

After accepting an invite to take on the challenge of Run for Time, Yang Feiyue admits that there might be something to this light entertainment lark.

In the back of my mind, I have long considered myself past the point of keeping track of entertainment industry trends. I might pay attention to a new singer's name if the music strikes a chord with me, or an actor when the performance tugs at my heartstrings.

Yet, the chances of me taking the initiative to seek entertainment shows and chase after stars are few and far between.

I didn't know when my passion in this area died, nor why it did. Perhaps it's age.

I had moments of starry-eyed infatuation in my 20s, when I wouldn't think anything of dipping into my limited disposable cash reserves to buy the albums of my favorite singers, or binge-watch a TV series with a familiar star, no matter their quality.

Yet, for a guy now pushing 40, I have carried this weird moral burden of not keeping my cards close to my chest if I know too much of what is going on in the world of light entertainment. I even harbor a secret pride in not being invited by my younger colleagues to join in with their lunchtime gossip sessions and celebrity dirt-dishing, as if it grants me a level of gravitas becoming of my age.

That was why I felt both a bit nervous and curious when I recently got invited to join a test run for the reality game show Run for Time at Puyuan Fashion Resort in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province — a place with a myriad narrow, cobbled lanes and historical-looking buildings.