Sign a Long-Term Contract

The last Hunter in the shopping district that Xiao Ming hadn't been involved with was discovered by You Duidui's group. From an editing perspective, Yuan Yangming should have been in it too.

He remembered that Yuan Yangming had been present when that mission was completed. Since Yuan Yangming's footage couldn't be aired, everyone else got a little more screen time.

The footage of Xiao Ming and Qu An running toward each other to activate the AR theater for the third mission had been perfectly normal.

But then the narrator added, "After a brief separation, the two were finally reunited. What a tear-jerking brotherhood that moved heaven and earth."

[Hahaha, is this really brotherhood? Why does it feel so gay?]

[I'm dying, this narration is so funny.]

[It looked fine at first, but with the commentary, it suddenly feels like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.]

[The funniest part is that they hadn't even been apart for a few minutes.]

[Something feels off whenever I look at Xiao Ming now. Was he seriously crawling in and out of that cabinet earlier?]

[He looks so soft, like he'd be really xxxxxxxxx.]

[What kind of dangerous statement was that?! But it's true, hahaha.]

[Watch yourselves. The actual people involved might be watching the show too.]

[Even better. Honey, look at me. Love you, love you.]

[Are netizens really this bold and blatant now? So scary.]

[I'm embarrassed on Xiao Ming's behalf, hahaha.]

Luckily, Qu An and Xiao Ming hadn't turned on the live comments while watching the show, or the two people watching together would have been the embarrassed ones.

The production team had clearly spared no expense on the set. The beautiful interstellar ocean on camera wasn't quite as stunning as the real thing, but it was still enough to draw admiration.

[The production team is seriously loaded.]

[They managed to invite so many big names, so obviously. But I didn't expect Xiao Ming to be the most eye-catching one.]

[Qu An did really well too. The two of them kept charging ahead during missions and completed so many tasks.]

Once the scenes of Xiao Ming helping Qu An lure away the Hunters appeared, the comments began scrolling faster and faster.

[No wonder Qu An treated Xiao Ming to dinner. Who wouldn't be smitten by someone pretty, hardworking, and protective of you?]

[I want one.]

[Me too.]

[Xiao Ming totally won this round. He performed well on the variety show and gained Film Emperor Qu's recognition too.]

[But he always seems so quiet. Aside from reposting today's premiere, his previous Weibo post was from Only Me in the Martial World. He didn't even repost that Mermaid one.]

[His Mermaid was seriously gorgeous.]

[It was only a few seconds, but after seeing him, I feel like my whole life has been worth it.]

[So when is Xiao Ming actually going to play a mermaid? The comments and trending searches were discussing it at the same time.]

By the end of the third mission, "#XiaoMingHunterBait" had been on the trending searches for a long time and was climbing even higher, second only to "#FullSpeedAheadSeasonFour" and "#QuAnMissesAccelerationKing."

By the time the first episode reached the part where Qu An was caught, Xiao Ming's delicate brows had knitted together. Thinking of the behind-the-scenes photos from the second episode, Xiao Ming couldn't help turning to ask Qu An, "Did you get Acceleration King in the second episode?"

"You'll find out when you watch the show." Qu An kept him in suspense and didn't tell Xiao Ming the result.

"You should've been able to get Acceleration King. The recording location for the second episode looked like it had a lot of buildings. With fewer straight paths, you definitely could've shaken off the Hunters."

Xiao Ming had a good impression of Full Speed Ahead! He thought it was genuinely fun, and the narration pulled absolutely no punches.

At the end of the first episode, the Imperial Marshal appeared, along with a young man dressed entirely in white.

"A-Bai, how was the Acceleration Energy collected for the first time?"

A-Bai looked somewhat troubled. "This Acceleration Energy can reinforce one layer of the protective shield, but it's still far from enough to repel the Space Pirates."

The Imperial Marshal pondered for a moment and looked toward the accelerating team members on the control screen. "Then the team members will have to work harder to collect more energy."

That was how the episode ended, but the online discussions did not. The two of them knew nothing about it, though.

It was already past nine. Xiao Ming planned to return to his room, look at his phone for a while, and then sleep. But when he reached his door, he heard his phone ringing inside.

Xiao Ming mainly used his new phone now, and his frequently used accounts were all on it.

The other phone was for matters related to "Xiao Ming" and Full Speed Ahead!

After the first episode had finished filming, aside from Qu An, the only people who had added him on WeChat were "Yuan Yangming" and You Duidui from the five-member group. Some others had scanned his code but never added him, while others had only scanned it symbolically. Xiao Ming had already deleted Yuan Yangming after the incident.

He had used his personal WeChat account at the time, only realizing later that it had been somewhat inappropriate. Fortunately, not many people had added him.

Xiao Ming didn't need to think too hard to know that the account Qu An had used to add him was a work account, so he truly admired how thoroughly Qu An had considered everything when joining the show.

His phone was filled with missed calls and messages from unknown numbers. Xiao Ming frowned as he swiped through them. His WeChat also had over 99 unread messages, while notifications on Weibo were pouring in nonstop. He already had six hundred thousand followers.

This was even more exaggerated than during the Mermaid incident. Aside from business offers, there were quite a few direct messages asking whether he wanted to join an agency. Most were from small companies he had never even heard of.

Only after rejecting them one by one did Xiao Ming open WeChat. The situation there was the same. The people "Xiao Ming" had added from that production crew were all probing to find out how he was doing now. Tang Gudu had even sent several messages asking whether he wanted to join his company.

Xiao Ming had no intention of responding to Tang Gudu at all. Sometimes, he trusted his instincts deeply, so he directly blocked him. Since he hadn't been the one to add Tang Gudu in the first place, he felt it would be improper to delete him without reason.

He replied to the messages he could answer and blocked all the rest that carried malicious intent.

Seeing no other important messages, Xiao Ming turned off his phone and went to sleep.

The next day, however, he saw that the producer of Full Speed Ahead! had sent him several messages asking whether he wanted to sign a long-term contract and become a regular cast member for the season.

Because of Yuan Yangming, many guests didn't dare accept a regular role on the show. Even finding guest participants had become somewhat difficult.

But the traffic and discussion Xiao Ming had brought to the program after appearing the previous night had not died down even by midnight. The director, several assistant directors, and the producer had held an emergency meeting, while Green Mango Entertainment had also sent word that they hoped the show would sign Xiao Ming.

Naturally, Xiao Ming knew none of this. After replying to the producer that he would consider it, he headed downstairs looking half-asleep.

Just like the previous few days, Qu An was the first one awake. He had gotten up early, made breakfast, and was sitting in the living room.

When he saw Xiao Ming greet him, he simply continued reading the script in his hands.

Ever since receiving the producer's message, Xiao Ming had been wavering. Looking at Qu An's back, he hesitated for a while before walking over.

He had no one else familiar to ask, so he could only seek some advice from Qu An.

"This morning, the director of Full Speed Ahead! messaged me and asked whether I wanted to become a regular on the show. I'm not sure. I'm not short on money, and I don't want to enter the entertainment industry, but..." Xiao Ming hesitated, unsure whether he should continue. It felt like what he had said before sounded strange.

"You want to join the show, don't you?" Qu An finished for him.

"Yes, because I think it's really fun." Qu An's gaze was calm, without contempt or anything else, and it gave Xiao Ming the strength to continue. "Before this, I'd barely ever played these kinds of things. It was the first time I realized something like this could be so interesting, so I want to give it a try."

"If you want to try it, then join. You don't need to consider too many other things." Qu An had just set the script in his hands on the coffee table beside him. There was a rare seriousness in his eyes as he looked at Xiao Ming.

It was truly rare to do something purely for its own sake, and Qu An was more than willing to help preserve that purity. Perhaps it was because of Xiao Ming himself, or perhaps because Qu An lacked such a thing within himself.

In truth, after he continued acting, he had never been pure again.

"And you can earn some summer job money too." Qu An spoke in his usual tone, making Xiao Ming feel much more at ease. "Besides, the director and the others really need a regular member right now. You're a good fit."

Xiao Ming's eyes curved into faint crescents, as though they held moonlight. "It feels like I'm always filling in and saving the day. I joined the show because a senior got hurt. Since I helped him back then, he gave me this opportunity. The advertisement and this show were both opportunities I picked up too. Looks like I've had good luck this year."

Qu An looked at Xiao Ming, and a strange joy rose in his heart—not for himself, but for Xiao Ming.

When he had first met Xiao Ming, Xiao Ming had seemed to care about the show while also not caring much about it. His entire focus had been on completing the missions, without the slightest intention of fighting for screen time.

Later, the advertisement had brought them closer. During an accidental deep conversation, Qu An discovered that Xiao Ming no longer had many utilitarian thoughts about this world, yet he also seemed contradictory.

Because of that contradiction, Qu An had broken his usual habits again and again. He had taken the initiative to seek out Xiao Ming several times and had even brought him home.

The person before him was a year older than him, yet there was always a childlike innocence in the way he spoke and acted. It wasn't because he was unintelligent. On the contrary, Xiao Ming understood things immediately, and he was actually quite good at dealing with people as well. It was a reflection of his nature.

Qu An said, "Yes, it looks like you're about to make a fortune."

Xiao Ming accepted that remark. He wasn't particularly short on money now. His parents sent him living expenses every month, and with that payment for his manuscript, he truly didn't lack money anymore. Still, everyone liked hearing pleasant words.

"Haha, I'll take that as a good omen. I'll share some of my luck with you too. I hope you can find something you truly want to do." Xiao Ming clasped his hands in greeting, a faint smile still on his face.

He hadn't noticed it himself, but over the past few days, he had been smiling more and more with each passing day.