I Went Straight to Slurp Slurp

As Chu Tian muttered, he keenly noticed that Gu Shiyan's arm, lightly touching his shoulder, slowly stiffened.

[Whoa, don't tell me Gu Shiyan is scared of the dark and ghosts?!]

Gu Shiyan: "..."

Chu Tian wore a perfectly righteous expression without even glancing sideways at Gu Shiyan, looking as though he were protecting his dignity. Little did he know that Gu Shiyan had caught every bit of gloating in his thoughts.

"Based on our investigation and the clues from the case back then, we've artistically adapted a script," the director said mysteriously as he handed each guest a large envelope. "Inside are clues to each of your identities. Please study and memorize them carefully. The murderer is among you. If you successfully catch the murderer, everyone wins. Otherwise, the murderer wins. The winning side will get priority in choosing roles during the next recording."

[Good grief, what a scam. They're trying to fleece us without giving us a single benefit. Priority to choose roles next time if we win? What's the difference between winning and not winning?! Fine, I'm calling him an iron rooster from now on!]

Chu Tian grumbled wildly in his mind, and Gu Shiyan beside him unexpectedly choked. Unable to hold back, he scolded him in a low voice, "Watch your language."

[Was I being uncivilized? Oh, don't say chicken without saying... civilized for you and me? No, wait. I was only thinking it, I didn't say it out loud. How did Gu Shiyan know? Don't tell me he can read minds?!]

Suspicious, Chu Tian secretly observed Gu Shiyan. Unfortunately, whenever Gu Shiyan was silent, his handsome face always went expressionless. It really was hard to read anything from that upright-looking face.

After explaining the rules, the director chased the guests back to their respective dressing rooms to check their character cards and change costumes.

Chu Tian instinctively started walking. After he had gone some distance, he saw Cao Ying standing among the staff and making exaggerated faces at him, and he suddenly understood.

"Do you want to come to my dressing room?" Chu Tian put on a shy expression and asked Gu Shiyan coyly, "I don't want to be apart from you. Let's go together?"

[That should have been convincing, right? I'm seriously amazing. With acting skills like mine, I could definitely film dramas in the future!]

Hearing his thoughts, Gu Shiyan suppressed the twitch at the corner of his mouth. He wanted to say something about Chu Tian's over-the-top acting, but held it back.

Yet the livestream viewers ate it right up. One after another, they cried, "So sweet, so sweet!" Besides "Little Beauty," they gave Chu Tian another nickname: "Little Sweet Bean."

The director had been keeping an eye on the online buzz. Most of the discussion about the show revolved around Chu Tian and Gu Shiyan. Even Qian Feihe, whom he had originally been most optimistic about, could not compare to the popularity of those two.

After quietly sighing, "This really is an era that values faces," Li Yu became even more determined. Whether he could become the top director in online variety shows depended on whether he could seize this wave of popularity!

*

Thinking about the dating agreement he had just signed, Chu Tian resolved to seize this opportunity and ride his own popularity for the sake of saving money to support his family.

He had already spent money buying trending searches, so he absolutely could not waste this popularity that practically reeked of money.

Livestreaming a variety show was risky. One careless remark could ruin his entire future.

Chu Tian clenched his fists and silently cheered himself on. Then he read through his identity card once more, determined to memorize it thoroughly.

Since this was a large manor-themed scenario, everyone's roles were quite interesting.

Chu Tian's identity card described him as the manor's young master: innocent and naive, ignorant of the ways of the world, timid, cowardly, and prone to crying.

Chu Tian: "..." He had every reason to suspect that Li Yu was taking a jab at him.

The guests needed to change into clothing that suited their characters. The production team had prepared a golden medieval European court-style outfit for Chu Tian, with a shirt covered in bows and lace underneath, along with a pile of colorful gemstone accessories.

Chu Tian felt like a mobile rainbow parrot and was terribly uncomfortable.

In the same dressing room, Gu Shiyan's gaze involuntarily drifted toward Chu Tian. The elaborately dressed young master nearly dazzled his eyes.

Chu Tian sharply turned his head and saw Gu Shiyan's Adam's apple bob suspiciously.

"If you want to laugh, just laugh," Chu Tian muttered with a pout. "I knew this outfit would look ridiculous."

Gu Shiyan was silent for a moment. Just when Chu Tian thought he would ignore him, he finally forced out a dry compliment in a slightly hoarse voice. "It looks good."

Chu Tian was doubtful at first, but the instant his gaze landed on Gu Shiyan, he became green with envy.

Gu Shiyan's identity card cast him as the manor's butler. He wore a black tailcoat, a crisp white shirt, a black bow tie at the collar, and a pair of white gloves. Standing there, he looked striking and upright, as if he were glowing.

Chu Tian was dazzled by his handsomeness, his heart stirring.

[So handsome! Uniform temptation! I'm straight-up slurp slurp...]

Gu Shiyan: "..."

He turned his head in disbelief and met Chu Tian's righteous, innocent expression, while the sound of "slurp slurp" still echoed in his ears.

"..."

The corner of Gu Shiyan's mouth twitched slightly, and he silently looked away.

Chu Tian did not notice anything unusual. Under his manager's indulgent gaze, he devoured a fist-sized steamed bun and downed a cup of extra-sweet full-sugar mocha before setting off energetically to film the show.

Seeing Gu Shiyan silently watch Chu Tian eat and drink, his gaze still fixed on the other man's empty coffee cup even after he had left, Cao Ying immediately tensed up and reminded him in a sarcastic tone.

"You need to watch your figure. You're not allowed to eat tonight, and don't drink too much water either, or you'll get puffy. You can't compare yourself to Young Master Chu. If he fails to make it in the industry, he can always go home and live off his family. You can't."

Gu Shiyan cast Cao Ying a dark look, then rose without a word and left the dressing room.

Cao Ying, having been snubbed, nearly twisted his nose in anger and cursed.

Each episode of Haunted Mystery Exploration would be filmed over three days, with four hours of livestreaming each day.

After all filming was complete, the production team would re-edit the best parts and release them on the platform.

According to the show's setting, the current time was the very day the murder had just occurred.

The first day of filming mainly involved the guests getting familiar with one another's identities, laying out their individual timelines, jointly analyzing the clues already available, and conducting the first round of grouped evidence searches.

Chu Tian appeared before the livestream cameras in a lavish court dress, instantly stunning everyone.

[God, whose beautiful baby is this? Baby, you're such a sweet little prince!]

[He seems to give off the scent of a honey cake—fragrant and sweet. Just looking at him makes me want to take a bite, want to steal him home, boohoohoo.]

[The person above, you're done for. His husband is already watching you!]

[I hereby declare this variety show a feast for face-lovers! I'm moving into this livestream room.]

Li Yu stared at the livestream, grinning from ear to ear. It had been absolutely worth spending so much money, painful as it was, to get Chu Tian this outfit!

The next moment, the noisy barrage of comments filling the screen abruptly vanished.

Puzzled, Li Yu looked up from behind the camera—