Si Wuyu thought Tang Shiba's grin looked downright wicked. He rarely saw her this happy.
Over on the other side, Zhao Shen hummed smugly to himself, gave the mushrooms a few quick tosses, and dished them up.
The camera even zoomed in on the cooking. Some fans recognized the uncooked mushrooms sitting nearby and fell silent.
[Stealing their pots and pans wasn't enough? They had to steal their food too?]
[Guys, has anyone noticed that the mushrooms on the ground look a little weird?]
[They do look weird. Weirdly pretty.]
[Pretty, my ass! They're poisonous! Those are blue-staining boletes!]
[Whoa! Are those the mushrooms that make you see tiny people after you eat them?]
[Everyone, keep quiet. These mushrooms won't kill them. Just enjoy the show.]
The livestream chat fell silent. The backstage crew noticed too and hurriedly searched Baidu. Once they found out the mushrooms weren't lethal, they left it alone.
With their food and utensils stolen, the three of them could only make some seafood soup in the Stone Pot.
Fang Cheng took a sip and gazed tearfully toward Tang Xueqing's group, looking utterly pitiful.
Tang Xueqing hesitated, then brought a plate of food over.
It was the blue-staining boletes Zhao Shen had stir-fried.
"Here, these are mushrooms Zhao Shen gathered. They taste pretty good. Take some to eat. We still have plenty."
Fang Cheng's eyes lit up, and he reached for the plate, only for Tang Shiba and Si Wuyu to each grab one of his hands.
Si Wuyu said, "No, thank you. Mushrooms of unknown origin could poison us."
Tang Shiba said, "We have food. If they're tasty, you should eat more yourselves."
Fang Cheng struggled but couldn't break free. Inside, he screamed, Let go of me! I want to eat! Even if they're poisonous, I'm willing!
Tang Xueqing looked disappointed. "Shiba, I know you're stubborn and proud, but you have to consider Mr. Si and the others."
"I know you won't eat anything I bring you, but even if you won't eat it, they still need to eat."
"I won't eat it, and neither will my brother. Take it back." Si Wuyu's refusal was blunt and decisive, and his cold expression pierced Tang Xueqing's heart.
She bit her lip and looked at him with wounded eyes, hoping he would show her a little sympathy. But he wouldn't even look at her.
Tang Xueqing glanced at Tang Shiba and could only leave in disappointment.
Once the two released Fang Cheng, he covered his face and burst into tears.
"Why did you two turn down the food? I haven't tasted anything decent in forever! Is this your idea of survival?"
In the livestream chat:
[Aw, don't cry, sweetie. I bought you a big crab.]
[Don't be sad. I've already placed an order for roast duck, grilled fish, and roasted chicken legs.]
[Don't cry. Those are poisonous mushrooms. You'll see tiny people if you eat them.]
Seeing his brother cry, Si Wuyu could only lean down and whisper something in his ear.
Fang Cheng lowered his hands and widened his eyes. "Really?"
"Really."
"Hahahaha!" Fang Cheng, who had been crying a moment ago, was suddenly full of energy again. He even took a crab over to Zhao Shen.
"Zhao Shen, those mushrooms are pretty tasty. Have some more. This crab's for you, because right now, I walk just like it. See if you can figure out what that means."
Fang Cheng let himself go completely, imitating a crab's sideways scuttle in front of Zhao Shen. Before leaving, he even asked, "Well? Am I throwing my weight around or what?"
Zhao Shen hurled the crab at him, and Fang Cheng ran off laughing.
Zhao Shen's eyes darkened. "Lunatic!"
In the livestream chat:
[Haha, his crab walk is amazing.]
[Who unleashed his true nature? This is hilarious.]
[Our boy's finally stopped being a gullible little sweetheart.]
The Fake Director seized the opportunity to put up the Yellow Cart again and run a one-minute advertisement.
"Everyone, these are our latest celebrity meme dolls. First come, first served. Supplies are limited, and they take a lot of work to make, so please support us."
The fans were puzzled. Why was the Yellow Cart up again?
Once they clicked through, they were so stunned that they immediately placed orders. Some even scrambled to grab them.
Those who couldn't get any started cursing in the livestream chat.
[This is bullshit! Why wasn't there a purchase limit? Which moron bought a hundred all by themselves?]
[Oh, come on! I couldn't get a single Tang Shiba meme doll. All I got was a Zhao Shen one.]
[Director, have a heart. Put a purchase limit on them.]
Director stared at the completely empty Yellow Cart, dumbfounded.
His lackey was dumbfounded too.
"Boss, we made money again! I told you twenty each was too cheap."
"That's not the point. Set a purchase limit next time. One celebrity meme doll set per person."
"Boss, someone's selling the dolls for ten times the price! I saw them in the livestream chat!"
The Fake Director snapped out of his daze and hurriedly checked. Sure enough, it was true.
He didn't panic. "No rush. Keep drawing the memes. We have to sell them all before filming ends."
Thanks to the meme dolls, they were trending on Weibo again.
#VarietyShowSellsDollsOnLivestream#
#FangChengCried#
#ZhaoShenStirFriesPoisonousMushrooms#
After the meal, the Fake Director announced a new task.
"Everyone, today's task is to collect seashells on the beach and make necklaces to give to someone you like. Whoever receives the most necklaces will have a chance to be featured in the official website's headlines for three days."
What? Three days!
Tang Xueqing raised her hand. "Director, can we accept a necklace from anyone?"
"Yes."
Then I'm definitely going to win.
Zhao Tiantian and Zhao Shen would definitely give theirs to her. Fang Cheng liked her, so she only had to drop a little hint and he would give her his too.
That would give her three necklaces.
As for Tang Shiba...
Tang Xueqing walked over to Tang Shiba and motioned for her to step aside for a private conversation.
Tang Shiba knew what she was after. She just wanted Tang Shiba to give her the necklace.
Tang Xueqing lowered her voice. "Shiba, I saw you and Emperor Si stealing from the production crew last night. If you give me your necklace, I won't tell anyone."
Oh, so she's threatening me now.
Not a chance.
Tang Shiba lowered her voice too. "Actually, I discovered a secret last night. Do you know what it is?"
Sure enough, Tang Xueqing was intrigued. "What secret?"
"There's a gang of Scammers on this island. Did you know that?"
What? How did Tang Shiba know? She eyed her suspiciously. Had she secretly followed me that day too?
"I didn't know."
"Wow, you actually didn't know? You're pretty slow on the uptake."
Seeing Tang Shiba mock her so casually, she clenched her fists.
"The production crew has locked those Scammers up. I heard Director say he'd wait until filming was over to call the police. Really, he just wants all the credit for himself."
So the people in the cave really were Scammers?
Good thing I didn't believe them.
She said matter-of-factly, "They caught them, so of course they deserve the credit."
Tang Shiba shook her head with a look of anguish. "I saw a news report before. There's a million-yuan reward for catching a scammer. There's more than one locked up, isn't there?"
She was making it up, of course, but her expression didn't change.
"A million yuan!"
Tang Xueqing sucked in a sharp breath.
There were at least fifteen people down there.
A million per person... My God, that Director is far too selfish.
Seeing temptation creep onto her face, Tang Shiba continued to lure her in. "Say, if we called the police first and had them arrested, wouldn't the credit be ours?"
Tang Xueqing was tempted. She couldn't let someone else claim all the credit for something this big.
Before you continue