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Scarface's brows knitted tightly. "Young Master Chen, are you trying to double-cross us?"

"No, no, no."

"As an outstanding young man raised under the red flag and nurtured by the spring breeze, my loyal heart has always belonged to the Party. Double-crossing is out of the question!"

If Scarface still failed to understand, he had no business being in the underworld. His expression turned extremely ugly. "You dare screw with me!"

[Holy shit, that twist was so cool I nearly passed out!]

[Ahhh, so all of that was an act! Seriously, Xu Chao's acting was incredible!]

[Those two kicks were perfectly coordinated. So freaking cool!]

[Ahhh, I urgently need a proud, arrogant young master! Xu Chao is so wild and beautiful, he's killing me!]

Only then did the viewers watching the livestream realize that everything just now had been an act.

But his acting was far too good. Even with their bird's-eye view, Xu Chao had managed to fool them!

Just then, Xu Chao tipped his head back and addressed the camera drone circling overhead.

"Everyone in the livestream, my friends, do me a favor!"

"Call the police and have all these bastards thrown in prison."

In the original story, these mercenaries had stolen crucial experimental data and killed several innocent villagers while fleeing. Their crimes were truly heinous.

Xu Chao couldn't muster a shred of sympathy for them.

Then, just at that moment, Fu Sichen struck again. Bang, bang, bang-several shots rang out in succession, and the mercenaries fell to the ground.

Shen Xinbai screamed in fright. "Ah! Murder! Murder!"

Xu Chao immediately said sternly, "Shut up. My husband only shot their wrists to incapacitate them!"

But Xu Chao was truly fed up with Shen Xinbai scheming against him.

"Come on, court is in session! Bring up everyone who sold us out!"

Lin Yang had gotten carried away with the fun too, excitedly shoving them toward Xu Chao. "Reporting to Young Master Xu! They're all here!"

Xu Chao waved a hand grandly. "Good. The rabbit leg is yours."

Lin Yang scampered over and chomped down, filling his mouth with fragrant, dripping fat.

Everyone present, without exception, drooled with envy.

Xu Chao cleared his throat. "Well? Which of you sold me out?"

Shen Xinbai lowered his head without speaking. Lou Jun said helplessly, "Chaochao, stop fooling around."

Xu Chao clapped his hands. "You impudent traitor! Did I give you permission to speak?"

Traitor?!

Having that label slapped on them could easily get them blacklisted from the entertainment industry!

Shen Xinbai's face went white, and he shrieked, "Xu Chao, what nonsense are you spouting? We were captured by kidnappers! We only came looking for you to stay alive and buy time!"

Xu Chao smiled. "I thought you wanted to see me dead more than anything."

Shen Xinbai's eyes shifted guiltily. "Of course not."

Xu Chao smiled. Before he could speak, the rumble of engines drew closer. Soon, a squad of well-trained police officers filed out, trailed by a hunched, anguished... director.

Thank goodness, thank goodness!

None of the guests had lost any limbs. They were all still alive!

Xu Chao walked over, put an arm around the director's trembling shoulders, and asked with concern, "Old Liu, what are you crying for? We're not dead, are we?"

That attempt at comfort left Director Liu choking on his next breath.

[Hahaha, the director looks alive but slightly dead inside.]

[Seriously exhausting. Does anyone still remember this is a dating show? A dating show!]

Once the police arrived, they immediately took custody of the vicious mercenaries. Er, with their battered faces and streaming tears, none of them looked remotely vicious.

After comforting the director, Xu Chao ran over to the police to seek praise. "Officer, my husband was the one who took all these bad guys down."

"Yes, we saw everything on the livestream."

They had originally thought this would be a major criminal case that shocked the nation. After all, it involved desperate criminals, state secrets, public figures, and a livestreaming platform.

Yet, to their surprise, everything had been resolved without them even needing to intervene.

The lead officer looked at Fu Sichen, then at Xu Chao, and took a deep breath. "You're both fine comrades of the people!"

Xu Chao's bright eyes curved with delight.

Just then, Shen Xinbai suddenly shouted, "I want to report something! Xu Chao is working with these kidnappers. They planned everything that happened today!"

Everyone was bewildered.

The kidnappers were even more bewildered. They had gone through all that trouble just to land themselves in prison?

Xu Chao was very curious about Shen Xinbai's thought process. "Shouldn't you suspect yourself before suspecting me? After all, you brought these people to me. Otherwise..."

Xu Chao took a bite of the fragrant rabbit leg. "We were having barbecue. We didn't have time to bother with all that."

Shen Xinbai gritted his teeth and stubbornly insisted, "I-I only did it because you hinted at it."

Xu Chao scoffed. "So now I can launch psychic attacks too?"

Seeing someone start making unreasonable accusations, the police were also losing patience. Still, in the interests of fairness and impartiality, they asked, "What evidence do you have?"

Shen Xinbai immediately answered, "He knew the kidnappers' surnames, and he even claimed to be their employer."

"A week ago, the police announced through local official media that these fugitives had fled here. You said you did plenty of research before coming. Didn't you see it?" Xu Chao went straight to the point.

Shen Xinbai froze. "Huh?"

The police immediately confirmed it. "Yes, we released that information through various media outlets a week ago. There's a substantial reward for relevant leads."

Xu Chao's eyes lit up at once. He hadn't merely provided leads-he had provided the actual criminals. Didn't that mean...

His gaze burned so intensely it could practically bore holes through people.

It truly made one marvel: money was the greatest power in the world!

Shen Xinbai struggled to hold his ground. "Even so, how do you explain knowing their employer's exact surname? You must have something to do with them."

"Oh, that surname? I made it up."

Made it up?

Everyone was stunned, including the kidnappers.

Xu Chao nodded frankly. "I played a similar role before and did a little research into these shady deals, so I improvised a scene on the spot."

Scarface felt as though he had been struck by lightning. It had all been an act!

But thinking it over, that was indeed the case. He had only heard vague rumors about their employer and didn't know the person's name at all. Xu Chao's acting had simply been so good that he had gotten swept up in it!

Shen Xinbai was the first to object. "How come I don't know when you ever played a role like that?"

Shen Xinbai and Xu Chao were similar types of entertainers, and the opportunities they competed for overlapped considerably. His earlier targeting of Xu Chao hadn't been solely because of Lou Jun. More than anything, he had feared Xu Chao becoming popular and taking his opportunities!

If Xu Chao's acting was that good...

No, impossible. Xu Chao had only ever acted in ridiculous dramas like President Li, Stop Tormenting Her, the Grass on Your Wife's Grave Is Ten Feet Tall, or Domineering President Gu Falls for a Middle-Aged Cleaning Lady...

They were all stupid, brainless comic roles meant to make people laugh. Xu Chao was definitely lying!

Then Xu Chao answered as though it were obvious, "In murder mystery games!"

What normal person honed their acting skills in murder mystery games?

Not even a dog would believe that!

But the next second, Fu Sichen asked with a perfectly serious expression, "Did you learn pig farming in murder mystery games too?"

Xu Chao inwardly exclaimed, Wow. His arranged-marriage husband really was clever. He had even thought up an explanation for the pig farming.

So Xu Chao immediately nodded his little head cheerfully. "Yes, yes! I learned to raise pigs, cows, sheep, and snakes in murder mystery games. There's lots of useful knowledge in those games. I strongly recommend my fellow entertainers give them a try and learn something too."

Fu Sichen raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh, I see."

Oh? What do you mean, oh? He's obviously spouting nonsense!

His fellow entertainers collectively thought, Thanks. Thanks a whole lot!

Shen Xinbai couldn't stand it anymore. "How is that possible? How can you learn acting from murder mystery games?"

"By working as a ghost in murder mystery games, portraying a ghost's life in depth and immersing yourself in the ghost experience. Isn't that a form of learning?" Xu Chao declared confidently.

Shen Xinbai clenched his fists. "Yes."

Xu Chao clapped his hands. "Exactly! The important part of learning is learning itself, not insisting on things like textbooks, classrooms, or teachers. As long as you want to learn, you can learn anywhere."

"Live and learn, Comrade Shen. You've still got a long road ahead!"

Shen Xinbai: "..."

[I can just about believe learning to play a ghost in murder mystery games, but raising pigs, cows, and sheep? I can't.]

[Murder mystery games: at last, it's my turn to enjoy this incredible windfall.]

[Xu Chao flexes his biceps, gathers his breath deep in his belly, and declares in a booming voice: I endorse murder mystery games.]

[Hahaha, President Fu's utterly serious expression is killing me. Turns out he's just as unhinged.]

Since there was still no reasonable evidence, only wild speculation, the farce finally came to an end.

The police shackled all the arrested mercenaries and put them into vehicles. The show's guests also had to go with them to give statements.

But.

"Wait! Director, come tell the officers what we're asking for."

The director looked bewildered. What was he asking for? He wasn't asking for anything. All he wanted now was for this group to return to the city safely!

"No, no, no. I'm not. I'm not asking for anything." The director hastily denied it three times.

Xu Chao hooked an arm around the director's neck and hauled him over to the officer.

"You are, you are! You were just saying we haven't finished filming and haven't even decided the winner of the first episode. You demanded that we keep filming, or we'd have to pay five million in breach-of-contract penalties!"

The director was scared out of his wits. "When did I ever say..."

Meeting Fu Sichen's faintly smiling eyes behind him, the director gritted his teeth and stamped his foot. "Well, um, that's right, officer. Could you let us finish filming before we give our statements?"

The young officer found it a little hard to keep a straight face as the middle-aged-to-elderly director addressed him so sweetly.

Barely maintaining his expression, he cleared his throat and was just about to refuse when Xu Chao snapped his fingers.

"Officer, I have a great idea."

"?"

"The finish line the production team set up is on our route back. We'll ride back as normal, and all we have to do is cross the finish line along the way. It won't delay anything."

The young officer immediately looked at the director.

The director was equally bewildered. He had lost all sense of direction the moment he entered the jungle. How would he know where the finish line was or which road led back to the city?

So he hurriedly called over the assistant director to check the digital map.

After some examination and comparison, they discovered that Xu Chao was indeed right.

In that case, there was no reason to refuse.

Xu Chao was delighted. Before anyone could react, he raised an arm, pointed at the sky, and shouted in surprise, "Wow, a huge plane!"

Everyone instinctively looked up in curiosity.

Seizing the opportunity, Xu Chao grabbed Fu Sichen's hand and ran.

"Honey, let's get in the first vehicle!"

By the time everyone realized they had been tricked, the two men had already raced like the wind to the first vehicle and settled firmly into their seats. They were even urging the driver to go, go, go.

Everyone: "..."

[Hahaha, I'm dying. That damned competitive streak.]

[As a viewer, my legs are still weak from that brush with death, but Xu Chao is already getting down to business. I've got to hand it to him: model worker!!!]

[All he knows are these underhanded little tricks. He'll do anything to win.]

[Bro, what are you talking about? Bro! Without Xu Chao, every last guest would have been wiped out!]

[Seriously? Seriously? Don't tell me people still think that was scripted. If it really was, would your precious idol have knelt and kowtowed, selling out his friends for a slim chance of survival?]

Shen Xinbai's thoughts were much the same as his fans'. He was just about to angrily accuse Xu Chao when Lou Jun grabbed his hand tightly.

"Shut up."

"Lou Jun, look at Xu Chao. He..."

"Doesn't he deserve first place?" Lou Jun interrupted impatiently.

Shen Xinbai was incredulous. "Why? We should compete fairly for first..."

"If you really competed fairly with him, you'd already be reporting to the King of Hell," Lou Jun sneered.

Shen Xinbai: "..."

The other guests felt the same way. Xu Chao fully deserved first place. They couldn't compete with him or take it from him, and they just wanted to get back to the city.

Boo-hoo, the jungle was full of tricks. They just wanted to go back to the city.

[Best Actor Lou is actually speaking up for Chaochao. Now I've seen everything.]

[This empress has watched every step of your journey. Xu Chao carried you all the way, and you still want to steal first place? That's pretty shameless.]

[Chaochao thinks fast and knows how to make use of the right timing, terrain, and people. Yeah, how isn't that fair competition?]

So the hundreds of millions of viewers drawn in by the jungle murder case had expected to see gruesome, bloody scenes upon entering the livestream, only to find a little open-top truck swaying from side to side.

Uh, their eyes must be playing tricks on them. Better look again.

Then they saw the young man standing on the roof, waving happily at them.

His eyes curved like a crescent moon on the horizon, brilliant and bright.

His lively little movements added even more youthful energy and were thoroughly infectious.

Even the viewers watching through their screens couldn't help smiling fondly, let alone the man standing beside him. As he watched the young man's face brimming with joy and excitement, his dark eyes were full of tenderness.

Ice and snow melted, and all things came back to life.

But Xu Chao didn't notice the deep affection in the eyes of the man beside him just then, because his heart and eyes were filled with nothing but-

"Go! Go faster, driver!"

"Crush that banner under the wheels, and we win!"

"Ahhh! We won! We won!"