An Hui said to Cheng Sirong, Chen Zhuo, and Su Li, "Enough. We're livestreaming. Ignore him and finish the task first. Don't waste your breath on someone like that."
An Hui was known in the industry for being gentle and steady, but even he was very angry now.
Song You stood nearby, dumbfounded. This was her first time on the show, and she had run into something like this. Did none of them care about the livestream cameras?
What she didn't know, however, was that Chen Zhuo genuinely thought highly of Su Li, An Hui felt that being friends with the sincere Su Li was quite nice, and Cheng Sirong already regarded Su Li as a younger brother. Naturally, they were all willing to defend him.
[Why are they arguing?]
[Good on Chen Zhuo and Cheng Sirong for telling him off!]
[What kind of guests did they invite this episode? First two with scandalous pasts, and now an idiot today.]
[Mr. Liu is right. This Su Li is just an attention seeker!]
[Attention seeker, my ass. Someone like this actually has fans?]
[This idiot actually gets called a respected writer? How blind are his fans?]
[First he starts telling everyone what to do, then he mocks them. Where did this freak come from?]
[Liu Jinjian really is a jerk. Who can he blame when he asked to get chewed out?]
[He insulted Li Bao and Zhuo Bao? I'm heading to Feibo to go after him right now.]
[Even someone as good-tempered as Brother An got angry. Incredible.]
[The four of them work together so well. They're practically making Liu Jinjian pass out from rage.]
[Am I the only one who noticed Youyou standing there at a loss? hahaha]
The live comments erupted into arguments.
Watching the scene from the control room, Wang Xiang actually started laughing.
The assistant director asked him, "Director Wang, shouldn't we stop them? Doesn't this count as a livestream incident?"
"Stop what? Can't you see the buzz and viewer numbers shooting up? Just keep the connection stable and don't let it crash!"
He then spoke into the microphone to the staff member playing the masked man. "Drag things out a little longer. Let them argue some more. The viewer count is high right now." Wang Xiang thought inviting Liu Jinjian had been an excellent decision.
Inside the banquet hall, Su Li and the others continued examining the puppets.
Out of the corner of his eye, however, he caught Liu Jinjian edging toward him, seemingly casually.
His gaze held malice, and intense anger surrounded him.
He was probably planning to embarrass him shortly. After some thought, Su Li pretended not to notice.
Liu Jinjian's anger had reached its peak. All he wanted was to teach Su Li a lesson.
This little bastard had contradicted him right from the start, then stirred up the others to humiliate him. As a famous writer, who didn't show him respect?
The violin fell silent, and the lights dimmed again.
The puppets began moving. Everyone had initially thought they would simply walk around as they had in the previous round.
After a while, some of them actually bent down or walked up to the guests and stared into their eyes!
One was staring straight at Song You. She was terrified, but she desperately forced herself not to move.
Su Li was slightly bent forward, and a puppet was slowly approaching him.
The puppet slowly crouched down and looked up at Su Li.
Liu Jinjian thought this was a good opportunity. The brat had to be terrified right now. No cameras should be able to capture this spot; someone was blocking the view, and it was a blind spot anyway.
So he suddenly stuck out his foot to kick Su Li!
You little brat, let's see how you handle falling flat on your face! I hope it ruins your looks!
But the moment he stuck out his foot, he suddenly felt himself lose control. With a cry, he crashed heavily to the floor.
The lights came on, and the puppets stopped.
Cheng Sirong came over to mock him. "Well, well, if it isn't the great literary master. Even you can get scared? What a surprise!"
Liu Jinjian ached from the fall. "Someone tripped me on purpose! It was this brat!" He pointed at Su Li.
Su Li looked utterly confused.
"We're livestreaming, and there's a recording too. Don't just make things up." An Hui's tone was harsh.
Chen Zhuo chimed in, "Exactly. Are you trying to frame him for compensation?"
"I... I was right beside you. I didn't see Su Li trip you on purpose." Even Song You spoke up.
She was telling the truth, and seeing how close the other three were to Su Li, she wanted to earn some goodwill with him too.
She wasn't an idiot like Meng Chichi, who had provoked him for no reason and ended up ruining her own career.
Liu Jinjian struggled to his feet. His tailbone hurt terribly from the fall. Gritting his teeth, he pointed at them. "You... you've gone too far!"
Even more live comments poured in:
[Su Li went too far, deliberately tripping Mr. Liu.]
[Still calling him Mr. Liu? Do you have eyes? He fell on his own.]
[I saw it. He fell on his own, and now he wants to pin it on Su Li?]
[He's framing someone, yet he says they're bullying him?]
[All four of them are on Su Li's side. What does that tell you?]
[That Li Bao is loved by everyone!]
Before Liu Jinjian could finish, he saw the masked man step off the stage and approach him with a small cup of green liquid.
It was actually bitter melon juice mixed with concentrated white vinegar, just a small shot glass's worth.
"Guest, please follow the rules of the game. Drink."
Liu Jinjian's expression was ugly. He wanted to smash the glass outright, but one condition in his contract with the show was that he had to follow the games' rules. Otherwise, it would count as refusing to continue filming, and he would have to pay compensation.
He could only take it. After hesitating for a long time, he downed it in one gulp. Bitterness and sourness instantly filled his mouth, twisting his face. "What is this stuff? Is there any water?!"
"Sorry, guest. Those are the rules of the game." The masked man turned and returned to the stage.
[What is that stuff? It looks like some cursed concoction.]
[Judging by the color, probably bitter melon juice.]
[This segment is downright diabolical.]
[He's wearing a mask of agony now.]
[Seeing Liu Jinjian suffer makes me feel great.]
The music started again.
Su Li walked over to a puppet in the corner that looked less conspicuous than the others and bent down to examine him.
The puppet's eyes became extraordinarily lively the instant Su Li met his gaze.
Su Li gave him a faint smile, and the puppet froze.
Then he felt the terrifying pressure radiating from the exceptionally beautiful person before him and saw the powerful black-and-red energy surrounding him.
The puppet trembled slightly as the young man's gentle, pleasant voice reached his ears. "In a moment, go find the ugliest person and wink at him. Walk up beside him, then disappear. Otherwise, you know what'll happen."
The puppet nodded slightly, not daring to resist.
[Does Su Li need to get that close to examine a puppet?]
[Am I seeing things, or is he talking to the puppet?]
[He's probably talking to himself.]
[Did you notice the puppet in front of him moving its head?]
[You're hallucinating...]
[That's normal, isn't it? It's a prop. Someone must be controlling its movements.]
The music stopped.
In the dim light, Liu Jinjian saw a puppet slowly approaching him. Its face came close to his, its eyes fixed intently on him.
He couldn't help feeling a tremor of fear, but he calmed down again when he remembered it was a prop.
Just then, the puppet before him suddenly winked at him!
How could a puppet wink? Liu Jinjian nearly moved.
Someone's probably controlling it, right? But none of the earlier ones did that. Could it be... this was the different puppet, and the production team was deliberately giving him a clue?
The delight in Liu Jinjian's heart outweighed his fear. If he found it, he would see what this bunch of useless celebrities had left to say!
Before you continue