The smile froze on his face.
Xu Chao chickened out.
"This is my own gig. It has nothing to do with Young Master Fu, so there's no need to tell him specifically, right?"
Chen Chong sneered. "Oh, then just wait until Young Master Fu sees his wife showing off his love with some other man online..."
"Aaah!" Xu Chao clutched his head in despair. "Chong, please shut up! I don't want to be flayed alive!"
Chen Chong frowned. "What nonsense are you talking about? Remember to report this to Young Master Fu soon. I'm hanging up."
Xu Chao: "..."
Xu Chao hugged his small, pitiful, helpless self and spent ages psyching himself up before tentatively sending Young Master Fu a message.
Then he received a single word: okay.
???
He agreed just like that?!
Your wife was going on a husbands' variety show, hello!
Xu Chao figured Fu Sichen probably didn't understand what a husbands' variety show meant, so he explained in detail.
[Xu Chao: This show requires me to pair up with another male guest as an on-screen married couple. Aren't you afraid I'll cheat on you?]
[Fu Sichen: Naughty wife.]
Xu Chao felt a chill across his butt and hurriedly replied.
[Xu Chao: I'm good! I'm super good! Hubby, my body and heart are all yours. Even on a variety show full of gorgeous men, I absolutely won't cheat. I'm going there to build my career and win the five-million grand prize!]
But the fantasy was beautiful.
Reality was harsh.
Before he came, Chen Chong had told him that as long as he passed the production team's challenges and emerged as the ultimate winner, he could win the five-million grand prize!
But only after arriving did he learn that the requirement for winning the ultimate five-million prize was-to pass trial after trial in harsh conditions and become real husbands who truly loved each other and would spend their lives hand in hand!
The whole premise was husbands finding true love through adversity!
So here was the problem: even if Xu Chao had nerves of steel, he wouldn't dare become real husbands with some other man!
In other words, he was destined never to get that five million!
"You bastard!"
"You tricked me!"
Chen Chong, who was quietly trying to slip away, immediately picked up speed. He nimbly hopped into a black Volkswagen while sticking his head out to shout, "Who told you to be so money-hungry? You came running the second you heard five million!"
Having only just transmigrated, Xu Chao was flat broke. Although he didn't want anything more to do with the lead top and bottom, he had decided to participate on the principle that whatever else was wrong, money was never at fault.
But now, either he or that five million had to go!
Heartbroken, Xu Chao cried, "I'm not doing this show anymore! Cancel my contract! I want out!"
Chen Chong already had a countermeasure ready. "Director, quick, tell him how many times the fee he owes for breach of contract."
The director raised his little megaphone and shouted, "Ten times!"
Ten times five hundred thousand was five million!
Although he now had fifty million, asking him to fork over five million as a cancellation penalty was beyond him!
Xu Chao clutched his little wallet protectively. "Five million? Why don't you just rob me? You can take my life, but you're not getting my money!"
The director smiled. "Fine, your life belongs to the production team now. Let go of the villager's sow and hurry back here to film."
Only then did Xu Chao realize that, in his eagerness to chase Chen Chong, he had spotted someone leading an old sow among the onlookers and instinctively commandeered her as a mount.
After all, four legs ran faster than two!
[Hahaha, Xu Chao's smooth pig-riding moves just now seriously blew me away!]
[Even better, the sow actually listened and carried him half a li down the road.]
[The sow, who got grabbed halfway through watching the fun and turned into a mount: how very kind of you.]
In the end, a four-wheeled engine was much faster than a four-legged sow. Resigned, Xu Chao patted the pig's rump and headed back.
Watching this ridiculous scene, Shen Xinbai laughed mockingly. "Mr. Fu gave you fifty million in pocket money. Why are you still so reluctant to pay a five-million cancellation penalty?"
The pig-riding boy was carefree and utterly unabashed.
"Because I'm stingy and cheap. You're generous, so why don't you lend me five million to pay the penalty?"
Shen Xinbai's expression changed. "I-I don't have that kind of money."
Xu Chao hopped off the sow with easy grace and patted her rump to send her back to her owner. At those words, he casually replied, "Oh, then you're pretty useless. You don't even have that little bit of money."
Humiliated like this in front of viewers across the internet, Shen Xinbai's eyes reddened with anger. "Xu Chao, you've gone too far!"
His shrill voice startled the sow as she ambled leisurely along. Kicking off with all four legs, she instinctively charged toward Shen Xinbai.
Shen Xinbai screamed in alarm and hurried backward, falling flat on his backside.
Just as the sow was about to slam into Shen Xinbai, Xu Chao sprinted forward, vaulted neatly onto her back, and gripped the back of her neck to stop her lunge.
[Holy shit, so cool!]
[He's clearly riding a pig, but he looks even cooler than someone galloping on horseback!]
[Who keeps calling Xu Chao an effeminate weakling? He's clearly a dashing young man in fine clothes astride a spirited pig!]
Shen Xinbai sat sprawled on the ground, utterly disheveled, like a clown.
Xu Chao sat on the pig, looking down at him from above and stealing all the limelight.
Shen Xinbai clenched his fists in anger. "Xu Chao, you're jealous that Lou Jun and I are together. I've put up with all your petty tricks, but I never thought you'd deliberately sic a sow on me today."
Lin Yang immediately jumped in. "Jealous, my ass! Your own screaming brought the sow charging over. Chao saved you!"
Shen Xinbai gritted his teeth, refusing to back down. "Would this accident have happened if he hadn't let the sow loose?"
Xu Chao smiled. "Would you have run into this accident if you hadn't come on this dating show?"
Shen Xinbai choked.
[Good comeback. Shen Xinbai really is accusing him unfairly this time. If it weren't for Xu Chao, that sow might've shoved him all the way back to her pen to be her captive husband.]
[Hahahaha, the commenter above stole every last bit of sass in the world.]
[That was seriously so cool. Where did this guy learn his pig-riding skills? He blew me away!]
Soon, the director stepped forward to speak.
"The first activity of our jungle adventure is a two-minute talent showcase! The villagers will vote on-site, and you'll receive valuable supply packs according to your rankings. You'll also get priority in bringing out your husbands!"
The director spoke with stirring enthusiasm, and his fellow participants cheered bashfully, but Xu Chao couldn't muster any enthusiasm. He squatted in a corner, his pretty little face downcast.
Lin Yang asked worriedly, "Chao, if you really want to cancel your contract, I'll pay the penalty for you."
Borrowed money had to be paid back!
Xu Chao pouted.
"I just think spending five million to cancel isn't worth it."
If he stayed, he could earn a five-hundred-thousand appearance fee.
If he canceled, he would be out five million instead.
Only an idiot would do that!
But suddenly, looking at Lin Yang's cute little face, so rich and so gullible, Xu Chao rubbed his chin and chuckled.
Lin Yang grew nervous. "Is there something on my face?"
Xu Chao nodded solemnly. "Money!"
Lin Yang: "?"
Xu Chao shuffled closer to Lin Yang. "How much money do you have on hand right now?"
Lin Yang didn't hide anything from him. He counted it up and said, "About ten million. Do you need it? If that's not enough, I'll ask my dad for more!"
"That's enough. Yang, we're adults. We should be independent and stand on our own two feet. We can't keep asking our elders for money at the drop of a hat."
Lin Yang also felt it was a little embarrassing to still ask his father for spending money at his age. His cheeks flushed slightly. "I-I think so too."
With that, Lin Yang transferred ten million to Xu Chao, leaving himself only a few tens of thousands in spending money.
If he couldn't throw money around, would that social-climbing man still come clinging to him?
Xu Chao smiled like a little fox up to no good.
Just then, Shen Xinbai eagerly went first.
Dressed in army-green camouflage, he walked to the middle of the lawn and gave a gentlemanly bow to the villagers gathered around.
Compared with Xu Chao's pig-riding antics and clowning around, the foreign-language song he had chosen was noble and elegant. Not only would it broaden the horizons of these bumpkin villagers who had never seen the world, but it would also put Xu Chao firmly in his place.
In fact, Shen Xinbai's singing was of a very high standard.
Except...
"What gibberish is he singing? Jabbering away like that. I can't understand a word."
"Sounds pretty nice, but I can't understand it. Boring."
[Do these people even understand high art? These uncultured peasants deserve to spend their whole lives farming.]
[Uh, there's no need to insult the audience, is there? The villagers have limited education and don't understand foreign languages, but they still praised his singing. What more do you want?]
[Seriously, you're even insulting the audience over this? What did farmers ever do to you?]
Hearing the audience's comments, Shen Xinbai's face turned green. He hurried through the rest of his song and left the stage in shame and anger.
Next, Cheng Yu played a tune on a leaf, winning cheers from the villagers.
Then came Lin Yang, who performed one of his group's song-and-dance numbers, but whether from lack of practice or something else, he got several dance moves wrong.
Finally, it was Xu Chao's turn.
Xu Chao had no interest in the supply packs and even less in his on-screen partner.
He had originally planned to casually recite "Ode to the Goose," but a sudden chicken call changed his mind. Geese weren't nearly as cute as chicks. Squeeze the chick, squeeze the chick.
Before you continue