Chapter 9

The ones most anticipating “Little Han Cheng” were, unsurprisingly, Han Cheng’s fans—especially his devoted “mom fans” who adored his little face.

Within Han Cheng’s fan groups, the pre-show interview live stream had caused quite a stir. Part of it was that their idol rarely engaged in promotional activities like this and had never before revealed the inside of his home.

Although many said that Best Actor Han owned countless properties and his real home was likely in the Royal View Villa, the celebrity haven, the Cloud Lake house was probably just for the kid variety show filming.

Still, the fans were excited, hoping to catch glimpses of their idol’s private life through the live broadcast lens. If they were lucky, they might even unearth some juicy gossip.

Of course, the prerequisite was doing their best to ignore Ji Nuo, who dampened their mood.

Unexpectedly, not only did the former D-list celebrity, known far and wide for his ugly plastic-surgery face, look surprisingly good on camera, but even more unbelievably, the production team had dug up “Little Han Cheng”!

Thus, from the moment the live stream ended, the inside of every major fan group chat resembled a bootleg DVD marketplace:

[No snitches, quickly download 59 high-def edited photos of wheat-skin, blue-eyed perfection!]

[Holy crap, the ambient lighting in this set is amazing!]

[Oh my god, our Ao’ao cub is just devastatingly handsome! Auntie is drooling so much the screen is leaking!]

[+10086, already wrecked several phones from drooling, LOL. There are people online saying Ao’ao looking like Brother Cheng is just AI face-swap. If I had that tech, I’d use it on my hubby first.]

[Nine out of ten, it’s Cen Xi fans pretending to be bystanders and stirring up trouble. It’s one thing to bash Ji Nuo, but not even sparing a child? Ptooey!]

[Group rules warning: to avoid sisters getting angry and fighting, don’t mention that certain someone.]

[Ok ok, bad luck. Forget I said anything.]

[Right? If it weren’t for Xue Xiaoshan as a reference point, I might have almost believed their ghost talk.]

Because of Xue Xiaoshan’s presence as an on-screen reference, while Han Cheng’s fans didn’t know if Ji Nuo had truly found the right doctor as rumored online, they at least understood that Ji Nuo’s face was currently in good condition.

However, the Orange Fans’ policy was selective blindness regarding Ji Nuo. If it involved Han Cheng, they demanded he back off. If it had nothing to do with Han Cheng, they treated him as if he didn’t exist.

After all, Han Cheng was a purely career-focused actor. He never engaged in the fan economy nonsense. It was normal for him to date at his age. As long as he consistently produced good work, the fans could stomach watching a kid variety show even if it meant dragging Ji Nuo along.

But when Han Cheng’s fans saw two-thirds of the danmaku screaming about Ji Nuo, the ugly freak, revealing his true form, a sense of “everyone’s an idiot but me” superiority inevitably arose within them.

Although the fan group rules forbade mentioning Ji Nuo to start fights, the half-hour wait was simply too boring. Waves of danmaku with obvious fan badges savagely attacked Ji Nuo’s appearance. Watching this, the Orange Fans felt their intelligence being insulted and couldn’t help chatting in their groups:

[How does Cen Xi attract so many brainless fans? I can barely resist telling them to leave some virtue in their words. What if your precious idol is way inferior to that certain someone? How awkward would that be…]

[No choice, their idol is just too lame. Can’t sing, can’t dance, acts like an overproducing oil field turned sentient. All they can do is everywhere engage in smear campaigns and show off heavily-edited bare-face photos to maintain the “god-like visuals” label.]

[HAHAHA +1, I’m dying of laughter. Who would’ve thought that I, who was watching the live stream just for Brother Cheng and Ao’ao, would actually find a satisfying trigger point because of that certain someone.]

Probably finding it too hard to hold back, many Orange Fans switched to alt accounts to send reminders in the danmaku: [Didn’t some expert analysis say the last live stream footage had no filter?]

This single sentence stirred up a hornet’s nest: [No way, no way? Don’t tell me even a plastic surgery monster has fans now?]

[Best Actor Han is generous with his “patronage” money. Not only does he give him resources, he also buys mindless shills to whitewash him~]

[No filter, my ass. You think everyone is blind? Does anyone not know what Ji Nuo looked like in “The Legend of the Fox Demon”?]

Make one truthful statement and immediately get a ten-thousand-strong rebuttal. Even a clay Buddha would spit sparks. Han Cheng’s fans were enraged by the opposite side’s mindless attacks, but they firmly believed they weren’t angry because of Ji Nuo, but because of justice. They all donned their alt accounts and started tearing into Cen Xi’s fans.

Just as the danmaku war was heating up, the four guest groups finally made their late appearance.

The live stream screen went from distant to close-up. Walking at the front was Variety King Weng Kai and former Movie Empress Ming Yu. The couple each held one hand of their precious daughter, Weng Tiantian, dressed in a princess dress.

Then came the Old Dramatist couple, walking with a casual gait, and their adopted son Ruirui, who looked like he was marching in a parade formation.

Walking at the very end were the two single parents managing alone. Kang Feier, the Beauty Queen, had a CEO husband who, because their son was still sick, had chosen to act separately from his wife.

Kang Feier, bringing up a child alone for the first time, was flustered, trying to soothe her slightly crying younger daughter.

Ji Nuo, holding Lu Aotian’s hand, happened to pass by the two. Seeing the little girl struggling too fiercely and the young mother having trouble holding the child, Ji Nuo reached out to support the girl’s waist, steadying her.

The little dumpling, beautifully sculpted like fine jade, stopped crying mid-sob when she saw Ji Nuo. She bit her finger and blinked her large, watery eyes.

Kang Feier was just wondering why this little thing suddenly became so well-behaved. Looking up, she met Ji Nuo’s exquisite and beautiful face, and she too paused briefly.

Perhaps “pretty” wasn’t the right word. But facing this face that even she felt inferior to, although it carried no trace of femininity, the most accurate descriptor she could think of was simply “too beautiful.”

She was a natural face-con, with a somewhat extreme pursuit of beauty. So after getting in the car, she hadn’t paid close attention to the supposedly eyesore-inducing Ji Nuo. She never imagined Ji Nuo himself was this outstandingly attractive.

Ji Nuo gave her a gentle, subtle smile and, urged on by Lu Aotian at his side, walked ahead first.

Mother and daughter, still standing there, wore identical expressions of dazed bewilderment. Kang Feier’s first thought wasn’t why Ji Nuo was blackened as a freak, but that the lack of color on the beauty’s lips was very detrimental on camera. She felt a strong urge to give him one of the nude lipsticks from her purse.

Due to insufficient on-site fill light, little friend Lu Aotian reverted to his little black monkey appearance. However, this time the shot was ultra-clear. He simply transformed from a wheat-skinned little handsome boy to a dark-skinned little handsome boy, immediately triggering a frenzy of squeals from a host of weird aunties:

[God! He’s only four! How can a kid be this both milky and handsome!!]

[Bao, jiejie is willing to wait fourteen years for you!]

[Sisters, why wait? Isn’t the adult version, Han Cheng, available as a cheaper alternative right now!]

[Thanks to the person above for the reminder. If you hadn’t said it, I’d have forgotten I could also choose to marry Han Cheng. /Smile /Doge Head.]

The camera slowly panned from bottom to top, settling on Ji Nuo’s pale porcelain face, which held a hint of fragility.

The danmaku briefly froze for two seconds, then a massive wave of question marks flooded in:

[This is Ji Nuo???]

[Holy crap?? Did the production team add a filter just to Ji Nuo’s footage???]

[I’d previously seen rumors that he had full facial reconstruction and didn’t believe it… This, this, this… he must have met the Hua Tuo of plastic surgery!]

[He… is way too good-looking!]

[Tbh, I can’t find signs of plastic surgery… Is it possible Ji Nuo had no surgery at all? This is a high-def extreme close-up…]

The Orange Fans, who had long expected Ji Nuo’s current good facial condition, were secretly thrilled. They even felt, quite fairly, that the sunset glow’s atmospheric boost made Ji Nuo look even more handsome this time.

The Orange Fans could barely restrain their hands, itching to fight for justice, and another wave of danmaku troops surged forth:

[Hey hey hey, where are all those Cen Xi fans who were calling Ji Nuo an ugly freak earlier? This is the ugly freak you were talking about? An ugly freak ten thousand times handsomer than Cen Xi? Hahaha, so what does that make your idol?]

[Stop the slander. Cen Xi fans aren’t biting.]

[Oho, oho, I’ve got screenshots! Every single one calling him a knockoff copycat, saying Ji Nuo was born to be a foil for Cen Xi, all while wearing Cen Xi fan badges!]

No matter the chaotic melee on the danmaku, the show on site quickly entered the room assignment segment after the concise guest introductions.

Everyone gathered in a spacious central courtyard. Four live broadcast lenses were set up beside each guest group, with the main camera capturing the wide shot. Luggage was gradually moved to the guests’ sides.

Although the live stream had just started, the guests had been traveling all day. So, the production team didn’t start with any competitive room-grabbing challenges, opting instead for the fairest and most impartial method: drawing lots.

The other three families all sent their little dumplings to draw. Ji Nuo looked at his own cub. Lu Aotian was standing stiffly, small hands clasped behind his back, surveying the surroundings like a top leader on an inspection tour.

Lu Aotian spoke flatly: “You go.”

If it weren’t for the little guy’s powerful sense of individual rights and his tendency to bristle easily, Ji Nuo really wanted to scoop him up and ruffle him fiercely.

A staff member brought out the lottery box. Weng Kai, standing to the side and familiar with all the variety show routines, immediately asked: “There aren’t any of those ‘open-air stargazing panoramic rooms’ inside, right? You know, the dangerous ones with drafts everywhere and no roof? We’ve all got kids here.”

The staff member immediately smiled and shook his head, explaining: “Of course, the production team has taken the kids’ young age into consideration. We’ve prepared five types of rooms here. Only one is slightly worse condition; the other four are warm and comfortable, perfectly livable.”

Saying this, they also displayed the exteriors of the four quality rooms for the camera: the local richest man’s small Western-style villa, the inn, a wealthy household’s traditional courtyard house, and an ordinary farmer’s large bungalow.

It couldn’t compare to the luxury homes in Cloud City, but here in Jade Mountain, these were indeed top-tier and budget-friendly options coexisting. As for the fifth room not shown, the staff’s suggestive smile made everyone understand.

Weng Kai immediately grabbed his daughter’s hand and rubbed it vigorously, singing “Good Luck Comes” as he rubbed: “Good luck comes, our good luck comes~ Welcoming good luck, flourishing and prosperous, reaching all corners of the world!”

Weng Tiantian protested with disgust: “Daddy, you’re rubbing my hands raw!”

The Old Dramatist couple beside Weng Kai were amused by his antics. Looking down at their own well-behaved adopted son, Ruirui was already imitating Weng Kai, rubbing his own hands, his little brow knitted in solemn concentration. He was secretly vowing in his heart to win a good house for Mom and Dad.

And so, three little ones and one big one approached the lottery box.

The little tykes could reach the opening in the center of the box, but their hands couldn’t quite reach inside. The parents were about to step forward when Ji Nuo simply lifted the children one by one in order.

Kang Feier’s youngest daughter, Zhenzhen, was the smallest child this time, just three years old. She slowly shuffled closer and then just stared at Ji Nuo with her large, dewy eyes.

When Ji Nuo lifted her to draw a lot, the little girl’s hand reached into the lottery box, but her little head remained tilted up, looking at Ji Nuo.

Just as the guests on site and the danmaku were collectively puzzled, this usually quiet little dumpling slowly uttered a few words: “Pretty brother!”

After speaking, the child even gulped. The camera immediately cut to the facepalming Kang Feier. The danmaku burst into laughter:

[Hahaha, I was wondering why she kept staring at Ji Nuo’s face!]

[Confirmed face-con. Even the Beauty Queen’s daughter can’t escape Ji Nuo’s face?]

[Wuwuwu, who could dislike Ji Nuo’s face? Han Cheng, your wife is just too beautiful!!!]

Holding the chubby little dumpling, Ji Nuo’s heart felt like it was melting. When he set her down, he couldn’t resist ruffling her hair once more.

Once all the children had drawn, Ji Nuo also reached into the box, casually grabbing a slip of paper. He handed it to the staff to be revealed on camera along with the others, heightening the contrast and conflict.

After drawing, Ji Nuo returned to Lu Aotian’s side to await the results.

The little guy next to him, however, scowled his little dark face and automatically stepped away a pace. He absolutely didn’t want to smell the milky baby scent clinging to his henchman.

Disgusting.

Just as Lu Aotian moved away from Ji Nuo, he heard the staff member loudly announce the result to the camera: “Congratulations to Ji Nuo and little friend Ao’ao, for winning the Mystery Suite!”