Chapter 22
As a travel program, the team naturally put a lot of thought into location scouting. Picturesque scenery, birdsong, and fragrant flowers, a truly soul-cleansing experience.
Their destination this time was Yao Village, a village famous for its handcrafted musical instruments, known for their exquisite craftsmanship and having garnered a considerable following online.
When Xia Wansheng arrived, the two resident guests were already waiting.
Shao Huan, naturally, wouldn’t show any animosity on camera, acting as if they were long-lost friends, practically ready to become sworn brothers with Xia Wansheng on the spot.
“So you’re also a fan of Heavenly King Lu, I’ve been trying to emulate his style!” Shao Huan said with a sunny smile.
They had argued in private about their favorite singers before, but now, in front of the cameras, they were all smiles.
“Since you two know each other, could you describe your first impression of each other in one word?” a staff member asked.
This topic had been communicated to the artists in advance; it was just an icebreaker for the behind-the-scenes footage.
“I’ll go first. My first impression of Xia Wansheng is ‘courageous’.” Shao Huan’s expression was “sincere.”
He dared to come on the program and embarrass himself even though he couldn’t write songs, no one was more courageous than him.
Xia Wansheng raised his eyebrows in surprise, as if he was truly meeting Shao Huan for the first time.
He thought, this guy had some acting skills, it was a waste he wasn’t in the acting industry.
“My first impression of him would be ‘resilient’ I suppose,” Xia Wansheng said after some thought.
After all, Shao Huan, as the most persistent villain in the original book, had a long-standing feud with the original owner, dragging on for almost half the book. He was certainly persistent.
The other resident guest was Xu Yiran, a professional singer with some musical talent and good variety show presence. He was incredibly oblivious and responsible for mediating and smoothing things over within the team.
He greeted Xia Wansheng cheerfully, then, completely missing the social cues, said: “I’ve heard of you before, I even reposted your lottery.”
Although Xu Yiran had been busy with engagements and didn’t watch the livestream, he admired the flawless PR strategy.
The camera, originally focused on Xu Yiran, immediately moved away when he started talking to Xia Wansheng.
Clearly telling the guests not to interact too much with him.
Xu Yiran, oblivious to the program team’s intentions towards Xia Wansheng, whispered to him when the camera was away: “I heard Yi Ge is coming too, what are you planning to do?”
Apart from the resident guests Shao Huan and Xu Yiran, the program team had also invited a popular celebrity couple, the actor Li Yi and his wife, to boost the program’s profile.
They were known for their loving relationship and good reputation in the entertainment industry.
Li Yi hadn’t planned on joining any variety shows, but the program team, wanting to sabotage Xia Wansheng, visited him repeatedly, saying a talented newcomer was a huge fan and this was a rare opportunity for them to interact, so he finally agreed.
There were no filming tasks on the first day, mainly for familiarizing themselves with the environment and local customs.
The director team’s first task for them was to learn about the village’s music-related history and culture, and to find examples of cultural inheritance.
They followed some vague clues, wandering around. The cameraman couldn’t completely avoid filming Xia Wansheng, so he had to find awkward angles.
Before filming began, the entire staff had been instructed to make things as difficult as possible for this celebrity.
Whether it was deleting positive footage, reducing his screen time, or maliciously editing to highlight his negative emotions, they had to ruin his public image.
“Go away, go away, who allowed you to film here?!” The villagers were used to program crews and interviews, knowing exactly what to say in front of the cameras.
Clutching the red envelopes given to them by the program team, they inwardly despised the show’s tendency towards sensationalism, but no one hated money.
“Still filming him? These internet celebrities have no morals!” The villager pointed at Xia Wansheng, directing the blame towards him.
“…” This acting was truly terrible.
“I feel like I’ve suffered emotional distress, can I sue for damages?” Xia Wansheng turned to ask Xu Yiran beside him.
“Probably, I think it’s a few million, selling their house should be enough.” Xu Yiran looked around, as if seriously considering how to convert it into cash.
Their responses were completely out of sync, like human customer service bots, leaving only Shao Huan, who was supposed to mediate, looking normal.
The villagers had been paid to create drama for the program. Since the other two weren’t cooperating, they naturally turned to Shao Huan.
Facing the instructions from behind the camera, Shao Huan felt like he had become the target.
Shao Huan: Wait, why am I the unlucky one again?
The pre-filming footage wouldn’t be livestreamed, it was mainly for everyone to get acquainted, after all, they would be spending some time together, and appearances had to be maintained.
In the afternoon, the celebrity couple finally arrived. The program team suggested they cook together to bond.
It wasn’t about showcasing their cooking skills, just establishing a diligent and approachable persona.
Xia Wansheng looked at the stir-fried lamb with scallions on the menu and fell into deep thought.
Was there really no mole planted in this program team?
Then he looked at Shao Huan beside him, who had already started directing others to help him.
But it turned out that even knowing the recipe by heart was different from being a seasoned cook.
Xia Wansheng looked helplessly at the messy open kitchen.
It was almost triggering the smoke alarm.
“Move aside, let me do it.” Xia Wansheng pulled him aside and practically threw him out of the kitchen.
The director tried to intervene, hinting that they should be chatting and collaborating, but was shut down by Xia Wansheng.
“The staff are already working so late, making them wait for dinner is unreasonable, isn’t it?” Xia Wansheng said confidently.
Upon hearing this, Shao Huan, who had been trying to maintain his persona, felt cornered.
It was originally just a competition between the two of them to cook, but now, after Xia Wansheng’s words, Shao Huan clearly felt the staff looking at him differently.
After all, workers empathized with each other. They could have gone home after filming the dinner scene, but now they had to watch Shao Huan putting on a show, they were naturally unhappy.
Shao Huan could only give up, thinking this person was deliberately targeting him.
The director, monitoring the progress outside, suddenly received a call: “What, CEO Yu has arrived?!”
Great, the money tree was here.
The director gave the surrounding staff a look, signaling them to be tactful later, preferably making Xia Wansheng suffer in silence with a forced smile.
The cold mountain air nipped at Yu Congyan as he got out of the car. He frowned slightly.
His migraine seemed to be getting worse.
He had finished delegating his work a few days ago, but that old shareholder had played another trick, delaying him.
Seeing the investor arrive, the director immediately put on a beaming smile, “CEO Yu, I thought you would come when the first episode officially aired. I didn’t expect you to be so supportive of our program!”
Yu Congyan scanned the area but didn’t see Xia Wansheng, his expression darkening slightly, appearing intimidating in the eyes of others.
“Where’s Xia Wansheng?”
Didn’t they know this person was most dangerous when left alone?!
Seeing his sudden question, the director quickly asked his assistant: “He’s preparing dinner in the kitchen.”
The director couldn’t understand Yu Congyan’s intention. Did he think they weren’t being harsh enough?
He didn’t notice Yu Congyan’s reaction upon hearing the word “kitchen.” Without greeting the others, he turned and walked towards the kitchen.
“Xiao Xu is helping him, the kitchen isn’t very big, we don’t want to crowd the place.” Actor Li smoothed things over.
He was experienced. When the director explained why they were targeting Xia Wansheng, he realized the relationship between these two was probably unusual.
If it was simply dislike, he would have just shelved or banned him, why go through all this trouble?
In the kitchen, Xia Wansheng was recalling quick and easy recipes. Although the presentation couldn’t compare to restaurant dishes, he had the basic skills.
Xu Yiran, sitting beside him picking vegetables, was also curious, “I’ve never seen a celebrity who can actually cook, does your company teach this too?”
Judging by his proficiency, Xia Wansheng must have cooked often before.
“My company is ruthless. I couldn’t get any jobs for a long time, so I had to learn to be self-sufficient.” Xia Wansheng said.
This was actually true. The company usually left small-time artists to their own devices, neither helping nor hindering them.
But it wasn’t because he was being exploited. For him, cooking was simply a necessary life skill for living alone, nothing special.
He shouldn’t be distracted while using a knife.
His mind wandered for a few seconds, the table wobbled, and Xia Wansheng bumped against the edge, the fruit knife in his hand leaving a shallow cut on his hand.
“!!!”
The belated pain shot through his nerves, and he gasped.
Xia Wansheng instinctively tried to press on the wound with his left hand to stop the bleeding, forgetting he was still holding the fruit knife in his right hand.
“Are you injured?!” Seeing his reaction, Xu Yiran quickly went to find iodine and gauze.
He almost bumped into someone at the door, quickly apologizing and hurrying away.
Yu Congyan, who had just arrived at the door, saw this scene.
Xia Wansheng was looking down, clutching his bleeding left hand, the half-cut tomato rolling off the counter and splattering on the cement floor between them.
Like a spreading pool of blood.
Yu Congyan’s pupils constricted, instinctively reaching out to grab the knife.
“It was almost over.” Xia Wansheng, still reeling from the pain, sighed.
He thought he shouldn’t have done it himself. He was almost finished with the last dish, but he got distracted and cut himself.
Hearing this, Yu Congyan felt a pang in his chest.
Almost over… what was almost over?
Not the tomato lmao 💀