It was past midnight before the entire production crew finally got settled in.
Since it was so late and everything had been rushed, everyone could only sort out dinner on their own.
In his previous life, Xie Chen had had his legs broken and spent a long time in the hospital. Bored out of his mind, he had curiously opened the livestream of the variety show he had missed and ended up watching the entire episode.
He had possessed an exceptional memory since childhood and could basically remember anything after seeing it once. Even after going through so many transmigration worlds, he still remembered every detail of this episode's filming process.
So while all the guests lay hungry and tossed and turned, unable to sleep, Xie Chen had already finished the scallion pancake roll given to him by the village chief and was sleeping blissfully in a single suite.
The next day, when dawn had barely broken, Director Li shouted through a loudspeaker, "Gather outside within ten minutes! Anyone who's late gets no breakfast!"
"I'll say it again! Gather outside within ten minutes! Anyone who's late gets no breakfast!"
Several guests had suffered severe insomnia, along with a chronic inability to get out of bed. Even if someone drove a police car over and blasted the siren in their ears, they probably still would not make it to the gathering on time.
That was exactly the effect Director Li wanted.
Ideally, no one would get up. They could go work hungry, which would not only establish his authority but also satisfy the viewers' desire to see bad people get punished.
The ratings would definitely go through the roof!
Pleased with his own prediction, he turned around and was about to tell his assistant, We can prepare less breakfast. None of these guys will get up, when a lazy, yawning voice interrupted him.
"There are still ten minutes left. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
Director Li turned back in surprise and saw Xie Chen standing there with his hands in his pockets, eyes still heavy with sleep. His expression was full of astonishment. "Hey, how did you..."
Before he could finish, he suddenly remembered last night's scallion pancake roll. His face immediately turned stern. "I haven't even talked to you about that! How could you ask the villagers for food?!"
Xie Chen shot him a sidelong glance. "If I don't ask the villagers, should I ask you? Would you give me any?"
"Me?" Director Li pointed at himself.
He truly could not understand how Xie Chen had the nerve to say that!
"Didn't the production assistant already notify you?! You were supposed to handle dinner yourselves!" Director Li restrained his temper and tried his best to maintain a good image in front of the cameras.
Xie Chen nodded slowly twice. "Mm, that's right. I handled it myself."
If he had not been in such a rush to come back and watch the show, he definitely would have stayed at the village chief's house to mooch another meal.
Who would have thought—
Luo Mingyu and Li Sifan had not fought at all.
What a pity!
They could have made it onto the trending searches.
He still vividly remembered the trending topic title.
#LuoMingyuLiSifanGoCrazyAndPullEachOthersHairInTheDorm#
To be honest, Xie Chen had really wanted to see that kind of fight.
"Fine, fine, even if you did handle it yourself," Director Li said, unwilling to waste time dwelling on what had already happened. The new task was what mattered now. "Since you gathered on time, you can start preparing breakfast."
"You have two choices, A and B..."
"I choose B," Xie Chen blurted out.
The viewers who had been waiting in the livestream early in the morning instantly lost all their drowsiness upon seeing this.
[What is this? A blind guess?!]
[Is Xie Chen determined to stay arrogant to the bitter end?]
[Knowing Director Li's style, he definitely won't let the guests get breakfast so easily. There might be a trap hidden in one of the choices, and Xie Chen actually dared to pick one?!]
[Hahaha, I don't know why, but when Xie Chen said he wanted B, Director Li's face seemed to go a little dark. Did Xie Chen really guess right?]
Sure enough, Director Li roared the very next second, "I haven't finished explaining yet!"
"Too much nonsense. Don't feel like listening." With a tuft of hair sticking up like a chicken feather, Xie Chen strode over on his long legs to Director Li's assistant, raised an arm, and pulled out the slip marked with option B.
He casually glanced at it, stuffed it back, and turned to head for the guesthouse.
Director Li stood there, feeling like smoke was coming out of his head. "..." Is this bastard trying to establish authority over me?!
Xie Chen had barely taken one step when Xie Ran came jogging out with a pale face, apologizing nonstop. "Sorry, sorry, I'm late!"
"My stomach acted up last night, and I couldn't sleep at all, so..."
"So you ran out early in the morning to put on an act?" Xie Chen sidestepped Xie Ran's attempt to crash into him and gave him a disgusted look. "Aren't you tired?"
Xie Ran's eyes instantly reddened at those words. "Brother Xie Chen, I wasn't putting on an act. You know my stomach is bad..."
[Why is Xie Chen so vicious?! His stomach hurts, and Xie Chen says he's acting?! I seriously can't take this anymore! Can the production crew kick him out?!]
[The comment above is hilarious. Could you join this show if you weren't vicious?!]
[Is it just me, or does it feel like there are more paid commenters in the livestream now?]
Director Li lowered his head to check his watch. "There's still one minute left. I'll count you as on time. You can eat breakfast, but you have to complete a task first. You have two choices. A is to wake everyone up and help the farmers work together to earn breakfast vouchers. B is to find farmers with breakfast vouchers on your own and exchange labor for them."
After what had happened earlier, he spoke extremely fast, afraid of being interrupted again.
"What did Brother Xie Chen choose?" Xie Ran seemed to casually glance at the retreating figure that had already left.
"B!" Recalling what had just happened, Director Li was clearly a little irritable.
Xie Ran smiled brightly. "Then I'll choose A. Everyone went to bed hungry last night, after all. I couldn't bear to go eat breakfast by myself."
[Xie Ran is still so kind. Even when someone says nasty things to him, he never thinks of abandoning everyone to eat alone!]
[Please, this is a villain variety show. Don't you think this deliberately ingratiating persona feels kind of out of place?]
[Hahahaha, compared to waking everyone up, I think Xie Chen going alone to find breakfast vouchers will be easier. Those guests are all terrible at getting out of bed!]
Sure enough, Xie Chen returned to his room, changed clothes, put on a baseball cap, and swaggered past the entire production crew.
Director Li gritted his teeth in hatred, but then he suddenly thought of something, and a pleased curve lifted the corner of his mouth. "Have the split-screen camera follow him."
Let's see how he thinks he can find those breakfast vouchers we went to so much trouble to hide!
The morning air in the remote countryside was pretty good.
The peculiar blend of dirt and manure gave people the illusion of returning to childhood.
Xie Chen walked while casually looking around. The cameraman following him trailed closely behind, but when he suddenly spotted a figure, he gave a shudder, looking utterly shocked.
"Morning." A low, magnetic voice drifted over.
Xie Chen halted, then instinctively turned around. The face of that dignified, revered figure from the capital came into view.
"Y-you, why are you up too?"
He stammered a little, his mind filled with questions.
Were the observers really this free?
Wandering around everywhere so early in the morning?!
Just as he was silently grumbling, something seemed to strike Xie Chen's heart. For some reason, this scene suddenly felt familiar.
Before you continue