Mission Issued

Si You and Jiang Tingxu had been paired up as a CP.

Jiang Tingxu's popularity with the general public stood at the opposite extreme from Si You's. Since his debut, he had let his work speak for itself, never hyping himself up or pushing marketing campaigns. Whenever some malicious rumor about him made it onto the trending searches, his fans only needed to control the comments a little; passersby would naturally step in to defend him, and the situation would turn around.

The moment news of this got out, Si You was torn apart on the trending searches within fifteen minutes.

Haters and fans of rival celebrities exaggerated the story and flooded Si You's Weibo. He had not set any restrictions, so everyone was free to speak their minds. Among the spectacular hundred thousand-plus comments, every single one was filled with insults and attacks. Naturally, Si You gave no response, and he had long since lost any fan support. Not one person spoke up to refute the accusations or defend him. The crowd charged in mightily to tear him apart, only to discover that their punches had landed on cotton.

They were furious!

Meanwhile, the director arranged Jiang Tingxu's room right next to Si You's.

The guests all wore varying expressions, never expecting the production team to go this far.

As for the two people involved, each was calmer than the other.

Si You did not dare show weakness in front of over a dozen cameras, lest they seize on it and make something of it. Jiang Tingxu, meanwhile, was willing to cooperate.

Before Jiang Tingxu became wildly popular, he would patiently wait when he encountered stars on set who liked throwing their weight around, then reshoot scene after scene. His pursuit of acting was like painstakingly carving a work of art. Later, this extended to commercials and variety shows. Jiang Tingxu was always the least pretentious one there, yet it did not diminish the innate air of nobility about him in the slightest.

Jiang Tingxu watched Si You make his bed, his thoughts drifting.

He had been resting for the past half year and had not initially planned to accept Spring Action. Yet that single glimpse during Horror Livestream had made him decide otherwise. But whenever he examined the reason closely, all he found in his heart was a vast blankness.

Si You was somewhat taller than he had appeared on camera. His features were refined and fair, and he was quiet as well as wary.

It seemed Si You knew very well that, this season, he was essentially a living target.

Compared with the other CPs' familiarity and warmth, Si You said little, while Jiang Tingxu said even less. Even the cameramen felt somewhat stifled by the silence.

[My heart aches for Jiang, the Movie Emperor QAQ. He'll probably have nightmares for several nights straight.]

[What exactly is Sister Chen doing?!]

Manager Sister Chen fell silent upon seeing that bullet comment, screaming wildly in her heart. I want to know too! Your Movie Emperor volunteered for this from start to finish, okay?! I tried to talk him out of it, but I couldn't!

"All done." Si You stood up.

Jiang Tingxu said, "Thank you."

Jiang Tingxu was standing right behind Si You, far too close. Si You could even smell the faint mint scent emanating from him. Those two brief words seemed to scrape swiftly across his eardrums.

Even Si You was startled by himself. What kind of person had he not seen before?

Well, someone like Jiang Tingxu really was rare.

He was a match for Si You's former self!

After a brief rest, everyone was to head to the living room to receive their mission.

The moment Si You came downstairs, he heard Xu Ke say weakly, "Director, can you at least let us have a bite to eat first?"

"No," said the director.

Xu Ke said, "?"

"You only get food after completing the mission." The director smiled pleasantly.

Everyone immediately began wailing.

Seeing that Jiang Tingxu and Si You had also come downstairs, the director began assigning the mission. "For today's game, players must follow the designated routes and seek out NPCs hidden among ordinary people. Once you identify them, you'll receive clues for the next location. Every NPC you find will also earn you corresponding ingredients." The director's smile became increasingly sadistic. "That's right, you'll receive ingredients rather than prepared food. Players will need to make it themselves. The first to reach the finish line will receive a generous reward. Do your best!"

Xu Ke nearly could not catch his breath. He was genuinely about to starve to death.

Si You's expression turned strange for a moment, and he could not resist glancing toward the kitchen.

Jiang Tingxu noticed and asked quietly, "Hungry?"

A dating show was a dating show. Everyone understood what a CP represented. The other guests had already spent last season getting used to one another and got along harmoniously, whereas the two of them had to start from scratch. If Si You was wary and cautious, Jiang Tingxu felt he could be a little more proactive. Otherwise, if the recording did not turn out well, Si You would still be the one cursed out in the end.

Si You leaned back slightly. Jiang Tingxu was a head taller than him and bent down to listen.

"Not hungry. What about you?"

"I'm fine," Jiang Tingxu said.

At least three cameras were aimed directly at them.

Leaving aside Si You's dark past, the two of them standing together without any physical contact were still truly... pleasing to the eye.

[I just slapped myself to wake up.]

After the guests left, the assistant director opened the refrigerator with a puzzled look. "Why are two tomatoes missing? I remember the carton of eggs being full too..."

Si You was savoring the lingering fragrance of noodles in his mouth.

He was not hungry. Heh, hehehe.

It was not Si You's fault, either. When he woke up, he had not known there would be a mission. Everything had been deathly quiet.

The mission began—

The guests all started from the same point. Along the coastline and through an ancient town, the production team had set seven routes to the finish line. How many NPCs were there? Were they men or women? No one knew.

When they reached an intersection, they found three main roads and had to choose from there.

Shao Ancheng took Song Yalin down the far-left route. Zhang Jianlin and his partner joined Xu Ke's group and chose the middle route, leaving Si You and Jiang Tingxu with only the third option. Since information and supplies obtained by intercepting NPCs could not be shared, having more people only made the competition fiercer. It was better to take the less crowded route.

Everyone looked at Jiang, the Movie Emperor with varying degrees of sympathy. They all knew Si You had none of a young master's fate but every young master's ailment. The weather was hot today too; he would probably start throwing a tantrum halfway through.

"Um..." Xue Boyu asked Si You and Jiang Tingxu, his face slightly red, "Can I come with you?"

[Little brother, you're so foolish!]

[Don't put it like that. Si You may be useless, but Jiang, the Movie Emperor is the most reliable.]

[Besides, our Movie Emperor doesn't have an endless temper. Take a certain young actor as an example—he almost made it into the top tier once, but now he's drifting around eighteenth-tier obscurity. If Si You goes too far and pisses off our Movie Emperor, he might get packed up and kicked out, smiley jpg.]

[Can't wait!]

Once the groups were set, everyone immediately set off.

Xue Boyu walked beside Jiang Tingxu, keeping a slight distance from Si You. It was not that he had any prejudice, but the original owner had not treated Xue Boyu kindly last season. To put it bluntly, he was jealous. They were close in age, yet lived completely different lives. Shen Chuan, in particular, also took extra care of Xue Boyu.

But if Si You had anything to say about it, the original owner was sick in the head. You could not choose the circumstances of your birth, but taking out your resentment on innocent people because of it meant you would either die of anger in this life or be on the way to dying of anger.

When your heart was narrowed to a crack, your life would be filled with pain.

Xue Boyu quietly chatted with Jiang Tingxu while Si You listened in silence.

The sun gradually grew more scorching.

Suddenly, Si You stopped walking.

Xue Boyu's heart jumped. Is it starting...?

But Si You was staring at a fruit farmer by the roadside.

Jiang Tingxu asked him, "What is it?"

"Is it normal for a fruit farmer's hands to be that fair and clean?" Si You said, then strode toward the fruit farmer.

The way to identify an NPC was to exchange a code phrase. Si You would say the first half, and if the person truly was an NPC, they would respond with the second half as though following a program. Of course, an ordinary resident would surely look utterly confused.

The number of times the guests could use the code phrase along each route was limited, so they had to be fairly certain before trying.

[Holy shit, what is this scammer doing?]

Si You squatted in front of the fruit farmer. The fruit farmer only smiled and said nothing.

Si You turned and met Jiang Tingxu's eyes. Jiang Tingxu had reached the same conclusion and nodded lightly.

Si You said, "A plate of pig head meat."

The fruit farmer answered without hesitation, "Two liang of baijiu."

It really was an NPC!

Even Jiang Tingxu was impressed by Si You's powers of observation. There were many people on this street, and the colorful sights were extremely distracting, yet Si You had spotted the fruit farmer at once.

The fruit farmer took out a card and told Si You to choose.

Without asking anyone, Si You chose two cucumbers and two bottles of water. The director had said beforehand that there would be no prepared food. Bottled water was already a mercy. Si You had actually wanted to exchange for three bottles of water, but the NPC would not agree.

The fruit farmer opened the basket at his feet and took out the items Si You had requested.

Si You accepted them. Once he stood, he stuffed a bottle of water each into Jiang Tingxu's and Xue Boyu's arms, then gave them each a cucumber as well. "Drink the water slowly. We can't exchange for cooked food, so make do with the cucumbers for now. Let's see whether the next NPC has anything good."

Jiang Tingxu felt strangely unsettled. He was usually the one taking care of juniors; this was the first time a junior had fed him.

Xue Boyu simply thought that Si You, standing there with one hand in his pocket and a faintly wild expression, looked cool!