Money Is Hard to Earn, Shit Is Hard to Eat

Duan Xun and Guan Luo were a pair, Gu Yanting and Qin Xuewei were a pair, and Xiao Ziyu and Tang Wanxing were a pair.

Good, good, good.

The pairings were pretty decent.

They kicked off the afternoon broadcast with a bang.

—'Luoluo cutie looks so scared of Young Master Duan. It feels like she can barely breathe—I'm getting nervous just watching.'

—'Hahaha, the girl isn't very famous and she's soft and sweet. Of course she'd be scared of Lord Duan. Who is Lord Duan? When he starts cursing people out, he doesn't even recognize their parents. Even I, as a fan, don't dare make eye contact with him.'

—'Xiao Ziyu is scared of President Tang too, hahaha. A little devil finally ran into the only pot lid that could keep him down. He can't raise hell anymore.'

—'Anyone want to ship [Yuxing CP]? A cold and aloof Best Actress with a spoiled rich kid—perfect female-dominant territory.'

—'I still think Song Mingzhou and Shen Qing's love-rival CP is more fun to ship. Let Gu shine beautifully on his own.'

—'Honestly, I think all these pairs are kind of unhinged. The only pair with a little romantic tension is probably Qin Xuewei and Best Actor Gu? Shy and hesitant, wanting to speak but holding back—there's something there. (I'm watching this like a dating show.)'

Song Mingzhou did not care either way.

He did not actually like Gu Yanting.

Only after all four pairs had put on their wristbands did the director begin explaining the rules.

"Each of your four groups will randomly draw lots to determine a direction. The production team has already marked locations in all four directions. Once you find the item, return the way you came. The first two teams back will receive rewards.

"While you're on the way, the wristbands will issue a task every ten minutes. Completing them will earn you points."

After explaining the rules, each group noted down their direction and requirements, grabbed their props, and set off.

Song Mingzhou walked in front. Though the production crew had cleared a path through the mountain in advance, it was still overgrown with thorns and brambles. For pampered celebrities, the environment was truly harsh.

Before they had even gone a hundred meters, Shen Qing's arm was scratched by a branch.

"Ah..."

Shen Qing cried out and stopped where he was, clutching his arm.

A red string tied the two of them together, so Song Mingzhou had no choice but to stop as well. He politely asked, "What's wrong?"

"I got scratched."

"Let me see."

Song Mingzhou walked over, quickly narrowing the meter-wide distance between them. The cool-looking young man lowered his head to inspect the injury, his expression focused and serious.

Shen Qing stared fixedly at his face. Back when Song Mingzhou had chased after Gu Yanting every day, how had he failed to notice that Song Mingzhou was actually so good-looking? His features were refined, and his looks were exceptional.

Objectively speaking, he was not inferior to Shen Qing in the slightest?

"It's nothing." Song Mingzhou suddenly spoke, interrupting his thoughts. "I looked for ages and couldn't even find where you were hurt. Let's keep walking."

"..."

—'Hahahaha, our Zhouzhou is way too straightforward. Also, someone is laying it on way too thick. He got hurt from one little touch? Is he a porcelain doll?'

—'I'm dying. Some precious big star tried to play the victim and failed.'

—'Song Mingzhou is being so obvious on purpose. He deliberately led our Qingqing down this kind of path, then Shen Qing got scratched and he said something like that. What a vicious mind.'

Shen Qing lightly bit his lip. After hesitating several times, he finally spoke softly. "Mingzhou, do you hate me that much?"

"??"

"I know, about you and Yanting..."

"Stop!" Song Mingzhou was full of question marks, speechless. "Brother, I used to chase after Gu Yanting because I wanted him to pay me back. He owes me hundreds of thousands. I don't even have money left to pay my mortgage."

"Huh??"

Now it was Shen Qing's turn to be full of question marks.

The comments were also filled with rows of question marks.

—'Holy shit, is that real? Gu Yanting owes him that much money???'

—'It's definitely fake. Don't tell me anyone actually believes him? Does anyone not know what kind of washed-up nobody Song Mingzhou is? He'll film any trash drama for money. Why would Gu owe him money?'

—'Didn't they say Gu Yanting used to be supported by Song Mingzhou? Why couldn't he owe him money? Now that he's famous, he's pretending not to know him?'

—'Anyway, I believe Zhouzhou. After watching all day, I haven't seen even a hint that Zhouzhou cares about Gu Yanting.'

Shen Qing had originally wanted to use Gu Yanting's name to make Song Mingzhou lose control and go crazy in front of the livestream cameras, so everyone would realize that his earlier behavior had all been an act.

Unexpectedly, not only did Song Mingzhou refuse to take the bait, his tone even carried disdain for Gu Yanting.

Had the world really changed?

The two continued forward. Since Shen Qing was so slow, Song Mingzhou's pace was severely restricted, and he had to stop every now and then to wait for the deadweight.

Beep.

Their wristbands chimed almost simultaneously. Song Mingzhou raised his hand to look and saw a task sent by the production team.

"Take a walking journey with your partner and have a chat. Talk about each other's emotional experiences and bring your hearts closer together."

Song Mingzhou frowned slightly.

Money was hard to earn, and shit was hard to eat.

Unexpectedly, Shen Qing spoke first. His tone was friendly and calm, like they were old friends, with no trace of dissatisfaction or distance.

"Mingzhou, I heard you have a younger brother. How old is he?"

Song Mingzhou cast him a faint glance. An icy chill seemed to rise in his calm eyes, enough to make one's blood run cold. Shen Qing's heart skipped a beat, but when he looked again, it seemed as if there had been nothing at all.

Shen Qing paused, his smile easygoing. "It's fine if you don't want to talk about it..."

"Three."

Song Mingzhou answered casually.

—'What? Our Zhouzhou is twenty and has a three-year-old brother? That age gap is way too huge, isn't it??'

—'Zhouzhou's expression makes it seem like he doesn't want to mention him. Could he be his stepmother's child?'

—'Is Shen Qing doing this on purpose? Asking such private questions right off the bat—what's wrong with him!'

Shen Qing continued probing in surprise. "There's such a big age gap between you and your brother? When you get married in the future, will you have to consider taking care of him?"

Take care of his ass.

Song Mingzhou's expression did not change. He casually grabbed a leaf and wiped the dirt from his hands. "That's still far off. Let's talk about something else."

"?"

Song Mingzhou continued, "For example, when are you and Gu Yanting going public? Will you consider holding a wedding? How many people will you invite?"

"??" Shen Qing froze.

He had not expected Song Mingzhou to be so direct, without even the slightest preamble.

He was silent for a while. When he looked up again, tears glimmered in his eyes. "Are you still misunderstanding something? I really never wanted to hurt you."

[Ding, plot point triggered. You will soon pass a wide ditch. Host must seize the right opportunity to push Shen Qing into it, making him embarrass himself and suffer.]

Song Mingzhou curled his lips wickedly.

"What are you talking about? Aren't we just having a normal conversation?"

—'Huh?? What? Who's going public?'

—'Does this indirectly confirm that Gu Yanting and Shen Qing are really together?'

—'Didn't they deny being together just a few days ago? What is this supposed to mean? Why does it feel like they're baiting fans? Are they together or not...'

—'Could Shen Qing be the other man? The more I look at him, the more it seems that way. Mingzhou and Brother Ting weren't like this before. Ever since Shen Qing appeared, Mingzhou suddenly became everyone's target.'

—'I'm just a passerby, but I'm siding with Song Mingzhou. Anyway, I believe what I see with my own eyes. If he's really the kind of person people say he is online, I'll livestream myself eating shit upside down.'

The livestream chat was in heated uproar, while the two people involved walked until they were hot.

When they passed a ditch, Song Mingzhou suggested, "I want to wash my hands. They're too dirty."

Shen Qing nodded. "Me too."

His hands were not much better. He had been pushing aside branches and rotten leaves the whole way, and they were covered in black grime. He had long since had enough of it.

Song Mingzhou naturally led him to the edge of the ditch.