Program Broadcasts

Xiao Ming was startled by his scream, his face turning a shade paler as he turned to Xiao Le. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Seeing Xiao Ming's frightened expression, Qu An easily thought of a terrified kitten being threatened. For some reason, his mood soured.

Knowing he had overreacted, Xiao Le gave an awkward laugh, his voice weakening. "No, I just suddenly remembered that we could've hired a housekeeping service. The typhoon's already over."

Xiao Le turned to Qu An and met those gloomy eyes, impossible to read. A chill ran down his back, and his entire body stiffened. It was only when Xiao Ming leaned over again to ask what was wrong, blocking Qu An's gaze, that he felt as though he had come back to life.

"Your and Brother Qu's Full Speed Ahead! is about to air, right? There are only a few minutes left."

Hearing that, Xiao Ming looked at the beautiful clock hanging on the wall and realized they had been messing around for so long that it was nearly seven in the evening.

Since all three of them had been fooling around, they had not managed to make the cake. Fortunately, Xiao Ming remembered that they had bought plenty of snacks.

But when he opened the storage cabinet and saw that the snacks that had once filled it were now reduced to less than half, his hairs stood on end. Could they have been robbed?

It was Qu An, who had followed him over and taken a look, who calmly gave the reason. "Xiao Le ate them."

"Ah?" Xiao Ming mulled over those words for a while before relaxing. There had been no thief, but... "Is it okay for Xiao Le to eat so many snacks? Didn't he already have heatiness?"

"If something happens, have someone take him away. It'll save us from listening to him yell all day." Thinking of someone's instructions, Qu An rarely felt a headache coming on.

Xiao Ming assumed Qu An meant that Zhu Fei should take Xiao Le away, so he did not ask further. He grabbed a few bags of snacks, asked Qu An whether he wanted anything else to eat, then headed for the living room.

Walking ahead of Qu An, Xiao Ming did not see him rapidly typing on his phone, as though he were in a bad mood.

Just as Xiao Ming reached the living room sofa and was about to sit down, Xiao Le, who had been scrolling through his phone beside him, suddenly sprang up. His little face was pale, and he pursed his lips, looking somewhat frightened, before running toward his room.

"Is Xiao Le okay? He looks awful." It felt as if there were a knife at his throat.

"He's fine. Someone's just come looking for him."

At first, he had let Xiao Le become his assistant because he had not put much thought into it, and the boy was not particularly bright. Later, however, he had kept him on because of someone's request.

Now, he regretted it a little. Although Qu An still did not quite understand the reason behind this feeling, he had grown accustomed to his own inexplicable moods.

If he knew what love was, he might have understood that this was the frustration of a lonely single man and the dejection of a male whose courtship display had failed.

In just a few days, Xiao Ming and Xiao Le had quickly become close. A few times, he had seen the two of them in the screening room, chatting about who knew what, both looking very happy.

As for Qu An, he was still busy with work.

With Xiao Le gone, Xiao Ming and Qu An did not wait for him. They turned on the television and watched the first episode of Full Speed Ahead!

The beginning was filled with introductory chatter, and Xiao Ming had hardly any screen time, but Qu An appeared in almost every frame. It was also through this that Xiao Ming clearly saw what set Qu An apart from others. There was no shortage of good-looking people, but Qu An was the kind of person one noticed at first glance and could not look away from.

When Xiao Ming appeared on screen, even the flowers and grass beside him seemed to lose some of their color. He was a clean, beautiful young man, quietly standing in the corner with little expression on his face, yet that face alone was stunning enough.

They had not turned on the live comments, but the real-time comment feed was already buzzing with discussion.

[So gorgeous, so gorgeous, ahhh! How can a man be this pretty?! I'll call him wife first!]

[Is this a newcomer? He's so good-looking!]

Since Full Speed Ahead! had the fan base from its previous three seasons, along with the fans of several idol stars, its popularity on the first day was terrifying.

So not long after the show began airing, plenty of people were discussing it online, and it had already shot onto the trending searches.

[This newcomer looks like an icy little prince. Let me melt you /drool/]

[Wife, wife, this is the wife fate has destined for me!]

As the progress bar advanced, the show moved into the main topic. It first introduced the main setting, unfolding a magnificent interstellar landscape where every part brimmed with a sense of technology.

The guests could not see any of this while filming the show, nor did they know about it. Seeing the images on the screen now, Xiao Ming found them somewhat breathtaking.

It was only when the camera gave a bird's-eye panoramic view of the stadium that one could truly feel just how enormous the place was.

When they drew the balls earlier, the editor had been excellent at building tension, making even Xiao Ming, who had participated and knew the outcome, feel thrilled.

Then came the moment he drew his ball, shown in a full close-up. This was the first time Xiao Ming had truly seen himself on screen—not the junior disciple played by "Xiao Ming," nor something with a storyline like Mermaid, but his real self, exactly as he normally was.

The person in the shot still looked expressionless, with not a hint of nervousness on his face. Only when he drew the ball did he make the small movement of letting out a breath.

Xiao Ming himself had not known that he had made that movement at the time. He simply found it novel because the camera had captured it.

The following scenes showed the others running and hiding during that one minute. Xiao Ming soon saw himself again, along with Qu An.

The two of them really had gone the farthest and hidden the farthest away. The shot of Xiao Ming sneaking glances at Qu An had not been edited out. Perhaps because Yuan Yangming was absent, Xiao Ming had received more screen time as well.

Seeing how foolish he had looked when he had first met Qu An, Xiao Ming felt his face heat up.

People always regretted things, thinking that if they could do it over again, they definitely would not act that way.

The comments also began discussing and speculating about it.

[Why does this Xiao Ming keep following Qu An?]

[Is it because Movie Emperor Qu is so popular now that everyone wants to ride his coattails?]

[The little newcomer is pretty and totally my type, but his intentions are way too obvious.]

[Back off! Back off! Back off! Qu An doesn't do that CP nonsense!]

[The newcomer's face is expressionless, but his ears are so red.]

[He looks like such a sweet, well-behaved kid. Why is he taking this route too?]

Although most of the comments said Xiao Ming was trying to gain popularity off Qu An, a small number of people saw the truth and made rational remarks.

[But Xiao Ming looks like he was heading straight for the end. He didn't even look to see where Qu An was.]

[It feels like this newcomer didn't even realize Qu An had been taking the same route as him.]

Their scenes soon passed, and it became someone else's turn.

Since Xiao Ming had been with Qu An almost the entire time, he did not know what things had been like on the others' side. Now, he got to see through the show.

Most of the runners had hidden on the commercial street. Only a few had gone to the stadium and training hall.

Lin Xiang was the first to be caught, so Xiao Ming had barely seen him. At the start, he had hidden in a small shop, while hunters passed by several times. Xiao Ming suddenly understood why he had been caught first. His chosen spot had not been very good.

The footage mainly focused on the runners hiding at the beginning. The five-member group had split into two teams from the start, and You Duidui and Lin Shange, whom Xiao Ming remembered, had hidden near the training hall.

But soon, the entire exchange where Qu An asked Xiao Ming why he had hidden there, and Xiao Ming explained his reason, was shown in full.

[I told you, the little newcomer had his own ideas. He wasn't following Qu An.]

[Qu An's expression makes it seem like he thinks so too. I wonder whether it'll really turn out that way.]

[It would be hilarious if the first mission were at the stadium and training hall.]

[I'll bet fifty cents that they guessed wrong.]

[I'll bet a pack of spicy strips that this newcomer has some real skills.]

[The first mission is probably about to be released /rubbing hands in anticipation/]

The screen had begun introducing Chang Le, then shifted to the predicament facing Chang Le and his mother.

The first mission was also released. The actor playing the marshal was a household name, and every gesture of his made the audience feel immersed in the scene.

[Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! Is this for real?! Xiao Ming is literally right next to the mission!]

[Did this newcomer get handed a script or something?!]

[Good-looking and smart too. I'm a fan.]

[The two of them are right beside the mission point. Are they chosen by heaven or what?]

[Xiao Ming's prediction was seriously cool.]

[Thanks, I'm already a fan.]

[I just realized Xiao Ming's name sounds a lot like Little Ming.]

[Yes, sis above. Xiao Ming's fans are called Textbooks.]

[Please explain, why are they called Textbooks?]

[Because Little Ming always appears in textbooks.]

[Welcome to our little Textbooks family. We may be few in number now, but one day, we'll definitely grow!]

[Haha, that's such an interesting name.]

The first mission was not difficult to understand. Xiao Ming had interpreted it at the time, though that part had not been included. However, the scene where Xiao Ming told Qu An to leave was in the episode.

At the same time, the show also aired footage of the other runners making their way toward the mission location.

Xiao Ming and Qu An's conversation in the tailor shop was very brief. When Chang Le's mother said they should not go yet, the comments began guessing again.

[There'll definitely be a mission later that has something to do with Chang Le's mother, right?]

[I think so too.]

[Huh? Qu An is driving?]

The actor playing Chang Le did not truly have only one hand; he had merely kept the other behind his back. Xiao Ming and the others knew that, but under the production team's masterful editing, there was not the slightest sense of incongruity. The production was truly meticulous.

Because Qu An was driving, and they still did not know the speed of the vehicle then, when Xiao Ming sat behind Qu An, the comments exploded, while the footage itself remained peaceful and serene.

The comments also began explaining a racer role Qu An had played before. Xiao Ming, who was nearly finished catching up on Qu An's works, now knew exactly which role they meant.