So you're an expert at juggling lovers too?

Jian Ran did not actually care who came and went as guests on the variety show.

He just wanted to make some money and put food on the table, so that, at the very least, he would not end up destitute because of his lovesick brain and ultimately die a miserable death.

So Jian Ran was quite tempted when he heard about the million-yuan investment.

And so, after saying "something unclean," he immediately followed up with, "Since the production team has money now, can you reimburse me for this rice and soybean oil?"

"Besides, I carried all this up here myself. You need to settle the delivery fee too."

Li Yuan blinked and hurriedly put on an apologetic smile. "Jian Ran, talking money hurts our friendship. I..."

Jian Ran waved a hand, cutting him off. "Don't talk friendship with me. It hurts my wallet!"

"Are you reimbursing me or not? If you don't pay, I'm not filming this show!"

"I swear on my head, once that bastard Yu Fengyi gets here, you'll all die even faster!"

Seeing that he did not look like he was joking, Li Yuan could not help shuddering. With life and death on the line, he shouted, "We'll reimburse you!"

"At least you know what's good for you." Jian Ran curled his lips in satisfaction, dusted the rice powder off his hands, and headed for the stairs.

Only after he disappeared from view did Li Yuan dare let out a long breath. Wiping the cold sweat off his forehead, he marveled, "Since when was Jian Ran this intimidating? How come I never noticed before?"

Qi Rui nodded in agreement. "Assistant director, I feel like he's become a different person too."

"A different person?" That opened up a new line of thought for Li Yuan. "Could he be possessed?"

Qi Rui was uncertain and terrified. "Doesn't seem like it. He has a shadow!"

Before sunset, the guests who had gone out in search of food hurried back. Many carried ingredients wrapped in plastic bags of various colors, complaining endlessly about their exhaustion.

Yang Ruoxi came through the entryway and dropped to her knees with a thud. "That nearly worked me to death!"

"So much?" Li Yuan ran over. Seeing the dazzling assortment of food, his mouth fell open in astonishment. "Did you rob a farmers' market?!"

Yang Ruoxi immediately started complaining. "It's all because of Jian Ran-uh, Jian Ran. He insisted on stocking up, saying he was afraid we might not be able to get out even during the day and would be trapped in the mountain villa."

"Hah, nonsense!" Ji Yuanming, empty-handed and with half his face red and swollen, gave a disdainful scoff.

Li Yuan looked over at the sound, his jaw dropping. "Yuanming, what happened to your face?!"

Ji Yuanming opened his mouth and was just about to speak when Lu Yanting, beside him, cut in coolly. "Jian Ran was molested, so he hit back."

"Lu Yanting, you-"

Before he could get the words "That's complete bullshit" out, he heard the next sentence. "Perhaps it was a misunderstanding."

Li Yuan looked utterly bewildered. "..." They went out once, and what the hell kind of misunderstanding happened?!

The cameraman who had returned had recorded the whole thing, and viewers in the livestream began discussing it.

[Why does it feel like Yanting keeps protecting Jian Ran? He clearly hit someone, but Yanting framed it as him thinking he was being molested, instantly turning it into self-defense. One word: brilliant!]

[Does Yanting have some kind of grudge against Ji Yuanming? I've never heard of them having anything to do with each other. Could they have privately...]

[Didn't he already make his position clear? If it involves Jian Ran, he'll step in! He has such good character. Even with a washed-up celebrity who's being trashed all over the internet, he doesn't judge him through prejudiced eyes. He's so much better than those trolls!]

[Wait, am I the only one who noticed what Yang Ruoxi said? Jian Ran said the mountain villa might be sealed off? Who would seal it off?! Don't tell me it's that female ghost from last night?!]

Jian Ran went upstairs, took a shower, and rested for a while before heading out to the guest room on the second floor.

He was going to meet the scumbag and have a heart-to-heart.

The second-floor corridor remained gloomy and eerie. The floor creaked underfoot, and gusts of chilling wind raised goosebumps that scattered all over the floor.

Jian Ran stood outside the heavy wooden door and raised his arm to knock. "Li Zongsheng? Are you there?"

There was no response for a long while.

Jian Ran's lips curled into a sly smile. "If you don't say something, I'll go find that female ghost from last night..."

Before he finished, the wooden door sprang open from inside with a bang, accompanied by a low, hoarse voice. "Come in."

There were no lights in the room, leaving it dim and dark, a setting particularly suited to ghosts appearing.

Jian Ran took just one look before stepping inside without hesitation.

An instant later, the door slammed heavily shut again, fitting tightly into its frame without a gap for air.

His view grew even murkier, so dark he could not see his hand in front of his face. It was like a trap designed specifically to catch prey, with a strange, dangerous atmosphere flowing everywhere.

Fearless Jian was not scared at all. He plopped into a nearby chair, words of familiarity spilling readily from his mouth. "Buddy, how about we talk relationships?"

"How many relationships did you have before you died?"

"Don't be shy. Count them all out in detail."

"Or should I confess first?"

"I'm still a virgin..."

At that, a voice from the corner finally ran out of patience. "Can you shut up?!"

I'm still a ghost, you know!

Shouldn't I get at least a little respect?!

Li Zongsheng's figure flashed into view, a dark mass.

"That's not very polite of you." Jian Ran grinned unrestrainedly. "I originally wanted to settle this peacefully with you, but it seems you don't really want to..."

As he spoke, he took a paper talisman from inside his clothes, held it between his fingertips, and tossed it a short distance into the air. Firelight instantly illuminated the entire room.

"Aaaaaaaaaah-!" Li Zongsheng covered his face and screamed uncontrollably, his voice so inhumanly shrill that it carried straight through the walls.

Everyone cooking in the kitchen heard it perfectly clearly. "..." Is it fucking starting again?!

Where's Jian Ran?!

Ji Yuanming sneered and said to Li Yuan, "Aren't the gimmicks on your variety show a little too fake?"

Li Yuan trembled. "..." I fucking wish it were a gimmick!

Seeing that Jian Ran was about to take out another talisman, Li Zongsheng bent his knees and dropped straight to the floor. "Boss, I was wrong. We can talk about anything you want."

"I've had quite a few partners, around seventeen."

"Over eighteen and under forty."

"I broke up with them. Had my fun and ran..."

"That's more like it." Jian Ran withdrew his fingertips, his eyes glinting slyly. "Who was the one who came looking for you last night?"

"..." Li Zongsheng hesitated, a complicated, strange look flashing across his ashen face. "Another old flame. She wouldn't accept the breakup and insisted on pestering me endlessly."

Jian Ran sneered. "She was pregnant with your child, and you still wanted to dump her. Aren't you a bit of a scumbag?"

He paused, then changed tack. "What's her name?"

Li Zongsheng opened his mouth and was just about to speak.

Jian Ran's phone suddenly rang. He irritably pulled it out and saw the unmistakable words "International Racer C" on the screen.

While he was distracted, Li Zongsheng actually floated over and glanced at the contact on his phone, immediately grinning. "Buddy, you're one of my kind."

"So you're an expert at juggling lovers too?"