A Slacker Loses His Dreams

As their last chance to turn the funding contest around, and to get a little more screen time, both the girl group sisters and the veteran group worked exceptionally hard. They also took Xie Ran's advice and divided up the locations he had suggested.

Once the first day's lunch service ended, they could finally stop and rest. But nobody had time to rest; they immediately gathered to tally up the morning's earnings.

To their surprise, Zhu Chuanjia really had taken first place. The people of Old West City were warm and enthusiastic, fond of lively new things, and Zhu Chuanjia's clapper-talk had indeed drawn quite a crowd.

This time, Xie Ran finally failed to put on another dazzling performance. Mainly because he did not seem to have any intention of performing at all. He could not even be bothered to walk a few more steps, simply standing at the restaurant entrance handing out flyers.

Nor was he particularly approachable. Standing tall and straight, he looked like an elite professional who only appeared in the CBD. If he had not been wearing a waiter's uniform, who would have guessed he was handing out flyers?

Fortunately, he was handsome and spoke excellent English, so a few guests dazzled by his looks took the initiative to come over and ask.

Without question, Xie Ran came in last.

"I think we have a chance!" Zhu Chuanjia excitedly slapped Jiang Wei on the shoulder and started doing the math. "Our funding gap with President Xie is over three thousand right now, right? It's only been half a day, and our group's revenue is already nearly two hundred higher than President Xie's. If we work a little harder, beating President Xie after three days might not be just a dream!"

Meng Xixi was confused. "That's not right, is it? We're only two hundred ahead after half a day. Even if we work our hardest for three days, that's only another thousand or two thousand. How does that mean we'll surpass President Xie?"

Jiang Wei looked at her with fatherly affection. "Silly girl, have you forgotten how good President Xie is at spending money?"

Xie Ran's profit over the previous three days had been close to seven thousand US dollars. If he had not spent money so freely, the gap could never have narrowed to just over three thousand.

When they had been doing their task the day before yesterday, Xie Ran had even stopped by a mall and bought a pair of platinum cufflinks for five hundred dollars. It was simply outrageous!

Zhu Chuanjia looked at Xie Ran expectantly. "President Xie, will you consider saving money over the next few days?"

Xie Ran gave a soft laugh. "There's no need."

He did not care much about Ruiyan's advertisement. From the very beginning, he had not taken winning or losing to heart. Doing the task was merely a matter of completing his work.

Fang Huiwang's expression immediately tightened. "Xiao Ran, you—"

He truly had not expected Xie Ran to spend so lavishly. Fine, he used only the best for food and lodging, but he had even bought an entirely unnecessary pair of cufflinks. At this rate, the others really might surpass him in the end.

But after calling out to him, Fang Huiwang abruptly stopped. He suddenly realized that he no longer quite knew how to speak to Xie Ran.

Xie Ran would not listen to him anyway.

Zhu Chuanjia and Jiang Wei had already burst into cheers and high-fived each other. This time, their fighting spirit had truly been ignited. "Let's give it everything we've got from here on out. We can do this!"

After hearing their calculations, Meng Xixi and Chen Xiaoxuan immediately saw hope as well. "Then we'll give it another try too. Maybe we really do have a chance!"

Seeing the guests finally display the positive attitude they ought to have on this show, the production team could not help shedding tears of relief.

Just then, the tour leader in charge of translation hurried over, holding up his phone. "Director, we just got a call from Xia Xi. She said she wants to find the photographer who took that picture of the 'New and Old West' filming location."

"Xia Xi?" The director was startled. "The great painter Xia Xi!"

Everyone turned at once. Even those in the production team who knew nothing about art had become thoroughly familiar with Xia Xi's name over the past two days.

The tour leader nodded. "That's her. She specifically contacted the Old West City tourism bureau for our number and hopes we can put her in touch with the photographer."

The director nodded and had the tour leader hand the phone to Xie Ran.

Everyone else was somewhat excited by then, but Xie Ran's expression did not change. He took the phone and calmly began speaking with the other party. His English was extremely fluent, and he spoke at an unhurried pace, as though such a conversation were perfectly ordinary.

After chatting casually for a few moments, he suddenly paused. Covering the receiver, he turned to the production team and asked, "Can our restaurant be booked out?"

The staff were a little bewildered, but they still nodded. The guests' goal was to earn revenue, each using their own methods to attract customers. If someone could bring in a customer who booked out the whole place, that would be a highlight too.

Only after receiving an affirmative answer did Xie Ran say, "Okay," to the other person. After a few more simple remarks, he hung up and looked up at everyone. "Xia Xi has booked our restaurant for tonight."

The director instinctively asked, "Why?"

Xie Ran said, "She wants to meet me, but I have to work. She thinks I should have more free time if she books out the restaurant."

Everyone: "..."

Amid the dead silence, Zhu Chuanjia's voice pierced the air. "WHY—"

Author's note: Brother Jia let out the same scream as Kang Jin: "WHY!!!"

President Xie: I really didn't do anything.

Mark: I can testify for sir!

Parts of this task's setup were inspired by Chinese Restaurant, but the plot is unrelated.

A Slacker Loses His Dreams

Xia Xi seemed full of anticipation for her meeting with Xie Ran. Before it was even time for dinner, she arrived at the restaurant early.

After learning that Xie Ran and the others were filming a show, Xia Xi specially invited a group of friends to dine with her so as not to affect the filming. She turned the private booking into a friends' gathering, allowing the restaurant to present a bustling, fully packed scene.

Thus, since Somewhere Else with You began airing, the customer-attraction task featured its first-ever case of a guest booking out the restaurant—and it had not relied on the production team's resources at all, but had been accomplished entirely by an individual guest.

The people of Old West City had always been warm and enthusiastic, and the guests were all Xia Xi's friends, so they were extremely accommodating toward the production team. Not only did they cooperate with filming, but they also occasionally took the initiative to interact with the guests, providing plenty of material for the show.

The production team filmed with ease and delight, but the celebrity guests were not nearly as happy, because they realized they had completely become waiters.