Chapter 4: Having Fun? Part 2

At this table, only three people were genuinely in the dark about the final guest: Ye Zhinian, Liu Chen, and Li Nanshuang.

Chen Junlin and Lin Siying had elbowed everyone else out of their slots precisely for this person. Ren Li, as the show’s Main MC and a Starfruit host, might not have known at first, but with all the internal whispers he had heard, he could guess at least part of it. Zheng Yunqi went without saying.

That was why the three of them dared to openly challenge the Chief Director, hollering about punishing the late guest—while those who knew the truth didn’t dare peep.

But with Zheng Yunqi having spoken, the others naturally weren’t about to pass up the chance to climb down the pole she had lowered.

“Can he bring snacks? I want chips!” Chen Junlin raised his hand.

“If it’s no trouble, a few milk teas? Taro Boba Milk Tea, less sugar.” Lin Siying smiled.

Ren Li stroked his chin. “Just beer. Too much of anything else and I’m afraid things will get delayed.”

Li Nanshuang pushed her luck. “How about some bread too? That’s breakfast sorted for tomorrow.”

Zheng Yunqi looked around the table, and finally asked Ye Zhinian with a smile. “Little Ye, and you? What do you want him to bring?”

Ye Zhinian blinked at the question, taking a moment before answering. “Yogurt, I suppose. Thank you.”

Zheng Yunqi nodded, took out her phone, and—under the watchful eyes of all—sent a voice message a full thirty seconds long: “Since you’re far too late, we have jointly deliberated and sentenced you to bringing everyone dinner. Braised food, barbecue, and beer—buy at your discretion, enough for eight people. Additionally: Chen Junlin wants chips. Lin Siying wants a Taro Boba Milk Tea, less sugar. Li Nanshuang wants bread for breakfast. Little Ye… wants yogurt. Buy whatever else you see fit; it’s fine if you skip the extras, but the braised food, barbecue, and beer are non-negotiable.”

Message sent, Zheng Yunqi waggled her phone. “Done. Director—given all this, we’re skipping the afternoon tasks, right?”

Chief Director: “…Wash the dishes, clean everything up, and once you’ve finished dinner… I’ll be back!”

[BAHAHAHA, nice meme. A like for the director]

[Classic case of guests staging a mutiny, +1. Beautifully done!]

[I’m DYING to know who the final guest is! And there’s not a single leak online]

[Zheng Yunqi is really more of a journalism-circle person, completely separate from showbiz. No wonder nobody can guess her industry friend]

[Mostly, the whole cross-generational-friend angle is mesmerizing. Who could possibly catch that esteemed lady’s eye? This is the woman who has interviewed finance ministers from around the world!]

[Whoever it is, he or she has officially been demoted to delivery driver doge]

Ye Zhinian hadn’t the faintest idea that one sentence of his had just demoted his husband to delivery driver. At present, he was clearing the table while plotting to find a moment to make his call.

By the sacred rule of “whoever cooks doesn’t wash,” Ren Li, Zheng Yunqi, and Li Nanshuang automatically withdrew from dishwasher candidacy, and the heavy responsibility landed once more on Ye Zhinian’s team of four.

But Lin Siying vanished the moment she had carried her plates into the kitchen, and once again only three people stood before the kitchen sink: Ye Zhinian, Liu Chen, and Chen Junlin.

“Not enough room in here. How about this—” Ye Zhinian handed a basin to Chen Junlin. “Junlin, take it to the tap in the courtyard.”

The farmhouse compound had a classic U-shaped layout: main hall in the center, side rooms flanking it, washroom at the rear. The kitchen and a storage room formed the U’s protruding base, enclosing the open-air courtyard in the middle. Against the far wall of the courtyard stood a shade canopy, sheltering a big table cobbled together from two square tables, with a few benches.

At the courtyard’s center was a tap connected to a small pool about a square meter in size—that was where Ye Zhinian’s trio had washed and prepped the vegetables earlier.

The courtyard offered ample space for the Follow-Shot Crew to maneuver and frame their shots, and things looked better on camera out there. But Chen Junlin didn’t want to leave—Liu Chen’s hair-trigger temper was a magnet for lenses!

But Ye Zhinian had already handed over the basin, and he couldn’t produce a suitable excuse to stay. So, basin in hand, he led his Follow-Shot Crew out to the courtyard.

How could Ye Zhinian know about the eighteen winding twists of Chen Junlin’s scheming innards? All he wanted was to shoo everyone off, then signal the Follow-shot Director for a pause and clear the kitchen so he could call Mi Yan.

So no sooner had he dispatched Chen Junlin than, without lifting his head, he told Liu Chen, “It’s a tight space—one person is plenty. Go rest.”

Liu Chen looked faintly surprised, but didn’t refuse. Setting down his bowl, he headed out to join the others chatting under the canopy.

Ye Zhinian’s actual motive was the phone call—but in the Bullet Comments’ eyes, this was blatant favoritism.

[This pair just keeps getting more delicious to ship~]

[Accepting CP name submissions in this thread—the second we have one, I’m registering the Super Topic]

[Ye Zhinian has Liu Chen thoroughly by the throat. Though, to be fair, he does look after him]

[Ye Zhinian is a clever one. He knows exactly who he owes his spot on this show to—of course he’s going to simp]

[Some people have such filthy hearts they see filth everywhere]

[Can you not ship random things? A-Chen kindly brought a friend onto a variety show, and the friend immediately starts leeching off him?]

[So annoying. I actually thought Ye Zhinian seemed decent before—less than one day in and he’s already desperate to milk a CP for clout. Disgusting!]

The internet’s love and hate had always been cheap; public opinion nothing more than a doll to be posed at will. Ye Zhinian couldn’t see the Bullet Comments—and even if he could, he wouldn’t have cared.

There was exactly one thing on his mind right now—calling Mi Yan.

After scrubbing a couple of bowls, Ye Zhinian turned to the Follow-shot Director, who understood at once, flashing an OK sign: the livestream camera was not on him right now.

Ye Zhinian said at once, “Sorry—I have an important call to make…”

The Follow-shot Director nodded, the cameraman popped the lens cap on, and the three of them filed out of the kitchen—even thoughtfully closing the door behind them.

Ye Zhinian dried his hands, switched off his microphone, and dialed Mi Yan—phone powered off. He tried Lu Chen: powered off as well.

Only after working through the phone numbers of every single member of Lu Chen’s entourage did Ye Zhinian stop, utterly bewildered.

How could all of them be powered off at once? Surely the entire team hadn’t transmigrated to another world together? Or—were they maybe on a plane right now?

It was possible. Chen Junlin had said A-team of The Long Night Before Dawn wrapped this morning—by his count, they’d be in the air right about now.

But if that were true, why lie to him about the delay? And drag the entire team into it… Wait. Don’t tell me…!

In a flash of sparks, a possibility struck Ye Zhinian. He was just raising his phone to check Lu Chen’s ticket booking records when Chen Junlin pushed the door open, basin in hand.

“Brother Ye, I’m done washing.”

Ye Zhinian hastily stowed his phone away. “Good. Put them in the cupboard.”

Arranging the dishes as he spoke, Chen Junlin said, “Sister Shuang just said she was bored. I happen to have brought board games—want to all play together in a bit?”

Ye Zhinian’s mind was still on Lu Chen, and he answered absently, “I’ve never played board games…”

“It’s super fun, come on and try~” Chen Junlin sidled over, smiling. “Teacher Ren and Teacher Zheng went for their afternoon naps, Sister Lin’s disappeared somewhere, and Sister Shuang just called for Brother Liu. With you, that makes exactly four.”

Ye Zhinian badly wanted to refuse—but Liu Chen the brainless wonder had already agreed. If Ye Zhinian didn’t go, who knew what state that fool would end up in, played like a fiddle by the man before him? And in the end, the one whose termination would be jeopardized was still Ye Zhinian himself. So he could only nod. “Fine. Once I finish the dishes.”

“Yay! I’ll help!”

Dishes done, Ye Zhinian followed Chen Junlin to the shade canopy, where he, Liu Chen, and Li Nanshuang started up I’m the Big Boss. Before long, Lin Siying materialized out of nowhere, noisily demanding in on the game.

The five of them played until the two napping mid-lifers woke, and then all seven gathered around—the young ones noisily brawling through board games while the two middle-aged onlookers watched, chatting idly, occasionally tossing in a comment or fanning the flames.

I’m the Big Boss was a negotiation-and-gambit game, the kind that inflamed tempers into shouting matches with ease. Everyone schemed furiously for deals, silver-tongued and ruthless—tremendously watchable. The livestream’s numbers didn’t dip at all; instead, the game stripped everyone bare, exposing sides of them no one had seen before. Everyone, that is, except Ye Zhinian.

Partly because he had to keep Liu Chen steady and his attention was divided; partly because Lu Chen occupied his thoughts and he had no competitive drive at all.

In the audience’s eyes, all of it became evidence of love.

[First time I’ve ever seen someone play I’m the Big Boss on a sacrificial-lamb script]

[As long as A-Chen makes money, whether I make any doesn’t matter doge]

[If the rules allowed, I swear Ye Zhinian would hand every cent of profit straight to Liu Chen]

[THIS is looove~~~]

[Seeing the Hot Searches earlier I thought Ye Zhinian was so clear-eyed about life. Now I see—he just never had the chance before. Give him one, and he’ll out-simp them all]

[Liu Chen truly cannot talk. He’s being carried entirely by Ye Zhinian]

[Feels like Liu Chen genuinely has no scheming in him. Straight shooter, flares up the second he’s anxious]

[Never expected Chen Junlin to have this many tricks up his sleeve. He’s got the most money of anyone right now, right?]

[Li Nanshuang and Lin Siying are no slouches either. Eight hundred schemes a person between these three—I’m dying laughing]

“Sis, I’ll take just two million. Look at me, sis~”

“Junlin, you can’t out-grind us THIS hard! Nanshuang, I only want one million!”

“Damn it, with everyone competing this hard the game’s unplayable!”

“Isn’t that what games are for? May the best schemer win.”

“Let me think…”

Right in the middle of the lively chaos, the livestream feed abruptly cut—and a face of devastating impact filled the screen.

Fair skin, a high-bridged nose, long narrow eye-lines sweeping up into his brows. Sensing the camera zooming in, the newcomer lifted his gaze, and those almost-blade-sharp features struck the audience’s senses like a physical blow.

After a brief frozen moment of blank screen, the Bullet Comments detonated.

[AHHHHHHH!!! IT’S LU CHEN AHHHHHH!!!]

[OMG OMG OMG! LU CHEN IS ON A VARIETY SHOW! AND IT’S LIVE!!!!]

[AHHHHH BIG BROTHER DON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT I CAN’T TAKE IT!]

[Lin Siying is a LEGEND! She said she’d get Lu Chen on a variety show and actually dragged him here!]

[Sweet mother, seeing this face up close is a physical assault]

[Both devastatingly beautiful. Seeing Ye Zhinian, my phantom limb gets hard. Seeing Lu Chen, my phantom limb hurts]

[Beautiful people make everything look good. Lu Chen laden with all those bags and somehow it’s not the least bit jarring—it’s giving high-fashion runway]

Unlike the other guests, interviewed from the moment they set out, Lu Chen had simply appeared at the courtyard gate. The gate stood open, and Ren Li and Zheng Yunqi spotted him instantly—but his raised index finger stopped them from doing anything more.

Setting his luggage down at the gate, Lu Chen slipped soundlessly into the shade canopy and stationed himself behind Ye Zhinian. Timing a lull perfectly, he leaned down close and asked, feigning curiosity, “Having fun?”

At that voice, Ye Zhinian froze solid. The next second, he whipped around to look—

Lu Chen, that Big Bad Wolf, had actually come!

And so, before everyone’s eyes, in a 4K ultra-HD close-up, in front of millions of viewers—Ye Zhinian’s face went black in a single second.