"Now we're facing a very serious question: what exactly should Nie Chu post on Weibo to make it official? Does anyone here have any ideas?"
Ye Xunzhi rested her clasped hands in front of her, her voice serious.
Ye Lan raised his hand and said sincerely, "How about making him go shirtless and sing 'Conquered' in the rain, then swear at the end, 'I, Nie Chu, will never defeat Ye Lan in this lifetime'?"
On the other end of the phone, the manager, who had already prepared for crisis management and a battle lasting three days and nights, only to be blindsided by a pleasant surprise, eagerly chimed in:
"I think a video like that might get banned. We're civilized people, after all. How about this: make him tell us how many times 'the Master said' appears in The Analects. If he can't answer, he has to kowtow to our guy three times."
As a kindhearted person, Ye Xunzhi was deeply shocked by what these two had said.
[Is this what adults in the entertainment industry are like? So underhanded, so shameless. I absolutely love it.]
Watching these people openly discuss this right in front of him, Nie Chu's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
[Hahahahaha, are you guys demons? Hahaha, did anyone notice Little Xun's expression? She's really learning something new, hahahaha...]
[Nie Chu: Thanks to your whole family. You could've just killed me outright, but you even found a charge to pin on me.]
As the ultimate victor, Ye Xunzhi had the final say on whose idea they would use.
[What should I do? Second Brother's idea is so mean, I want to see it. But the manager's idea is so wicked, I want to see that too.]
Ye Lan sighed helplessly. He wanted to see them too, but unfortunately, they could only choose one...
[Can't we combine them? Like, make him go shirtless and kneel in the rain, kowtow three times while singing 'Conquered,' and finish with 'I, Nie Chu, will never defeat Ye Lan in this lifetime.']
Ye Lan's regretful thoughts came to an abrupt halt as he looked at his sister.
He really never would have imagined that the most vicious one was...
[Forget it. He'd probably jump up and fight us to the death if we did that. Besides, saying it out loud might ruin my gentle, adorable image in Second Brother's mind.]
Taking that into consideration, Ye Xunzhi considerately walked over and patted Nie Chu's shoulder, her eyes full of sympathy:
"How about this? You're the person involved, after all, so you ought to have some say. You can decide for yourself whose method we use."
Nie Chu: "..."
Just listen to that! This was practically murder with a twist of the knife. Were those words a human being could say?!
How was this any different from making him choose between beheading and being torn apart by five horses?!
In the end, Nie Chu chose to sing "Conquered." He would rather swear an oath than kowtow to his sworn enemy. That was his final act of defiance.
They could earn money anytime, but they couldn't always catch a good spectacle, so rather than making money, the siblings were more interested in watching the fun first.
Nie Chu knelt beside a fountain to sing "Conquered."
Behind their screens, Nie Chu's fans cried, "You've sacrificed so much!" while frantically taking screenshots.
At the end of the song, Nie Chu shouted, "I, Nie Chu, will never defeat Ye Lan in this lifetime!!!"
With that, he ran off in a flash, apparently to retreat into some corner and shut himself away.
Ye Lan's own scathing review was, "His singing was awful, and he's built like a scrawny mutt."
Ye Xunzhi said, "His wriggling was pretty on point, but all that excessive posing was painful to watch. I don't know who the intended audience was, but I was definitely one of the victims."
Once Nie Chu posted on Weibo, he experienced the spectacle of shooting straight onto the trending list in under ten minutes for the first time in his life.
Never in their wildest dreams had his fans imagined that one day, Ye Lan's fans would work together so unitedly to push their idol onto the trending list.
[No need to thank us. You earned this. If you insist on thanking us, you can call us Lei Feng.]
[Well, well, isn't this Nie Chu? After all these years, he's finally regained his sight and succumbed to our guy's personal charm.]
[You Ye fans shouldn't get so cocky! Fortunes change over thirty years, understand?!]
[We understand. Thirty years of good fortune: don't bully a poor young man. Thirty years of bad fortune: don't bully a poor middle-aged man. Thirty years one way, thirty years the other: don't bully a poor old man. Respect the dead. Don't worry, when your guy goes into his grave, we'll definitely come pay our respects.]
Nie Chu's fans collectively lost it and were driven back at every turn.
With their freshly earned 1,000 yuan in hand, the Ye siblings continued their treasure hunt.
At their second stop, they found a balloon-shooting stall, where Ye Lan's excellent marksmanship easily earned him 100 yuan.
Their third stop was the Clumsy Bird Delivery Station, where they had to help deliver twenty packages. Ye Xunzhi was naturally left at the station, while Ye Lan went to learn how to make deliveries from the courier.
By the time a listless Ye Lan finally finished delivering his seventh package, the courier received a call from a colleague.
The colleague said the task was complete. A young girl driving a little yellow vehicle had sped off and delivered all the packages herself. They could come back to collect their pay: an easy 500 yuan.
Their fourth stop was a restaurant...
As the sky grew dark, viewership in the livestream rose instead of falling. Especially after Nie Chu posted on Weibo, it kept doubling.
Director Mi was grinning so broadly that even his gums were showing.
Over the course of the day, Ye Lan's fans had done a complete one-eighty in their attitude toward Ye Xunzhi.
[The variety show I thought I was watching: "Where Are We Going, Brother?" The variety show I'm actually watching: "Where Are We Going, Sister?"]
[What do you mean, Best Actor Ye's variety show? Isn't it called "Burn Bright, Family Bonds!"?]
[No, you remembered wrong. This show is called "Little Sister Carries the Team." (Clutches heart)]
[...]
After a busy day, most of the task locations they found later only offered small amounts of 100 yuan, but they had still earned quite a lot today.
Ye Lan and Ye Xunzhi's team earned a total of 2,500 yuan.
Although Shi Che and Shi Yao hadn't found a 1,000-yuan task location, every one they found offered 500 yuan. With luck practically possessing them, they earned a total of 3,000 yuan.
Jiang Mingzhi, with the two younger ones in tow, likewise earned no less than 2,300 yuan.
Nie Chu and An Yuan had it worst. Having been utterly crushed early on, Nie Chu had suffered a pain that would take a lifetime to heal, and only pulled himself together near the end.
They earned 200 yuan.
Figuring he wouldn't be coming back for the next episode anyway, Nie Chu chose to give those 200 yuan to Jiang Mingzhi, who was deeply moved.
As the first episode of "Burn Bright, Family Bonds!" drew to a close, the production team gathered all the guests in the main house.
Everyone formed a circle, and Director Mi sat opposite them with a megaphone, smiling:
"After tonight, our first episode will officially be over. I'm sure that after spending two days together, you've all gained some understanding of one another and the show. Next, we'll play a little after-dinner game."
"Truth or dare. Whoever gets pointed at will be asked a question or given a dare by the person sitting opposite them."
The production team brought out a spinner. Nie Chu sat opposite Ye Lan-an ill-fated pairing, to say the least. He also seemed to be rubbing his hands in anticipation, clearly wanting revenge for what had happened today.
But apart from him, Ye Lan, who had always been exceptionally sensitive to people's gazes, noticed that Jiang Mingzhi also seemed to keep glancing at him.
His brows furrowed unconsciously. He didn't remember having any dealings with this singer. One was in the music industry, the other in acting, so it couldn't have been a career conflict either.
Before you continue