The stone-faced CEO and the adorably clueless brainiac-I ship it!

After half an hour of rehearsals, everyone came over with the elderly person they had invited.

Su Xia turned his head from side to side. "What order should we perform in?"

Qiao Qianqian smiled. "Let's respect our elders and care for our youngsters. Why don't we have Cheng Qing, our variety-show king, set an example first?"

Cheng Qing readily agreed. "No problem with me. I'm not much good at anything else, so I'll sing a song with Grandpa for everyone."

With that, he looked at the elderly man standing beside him. "Grandpa, let's show them what we've got."

"Sure!" The elderly man was game too. He took the microphone a crew member handed him, stood in the middle of the courtyard, and waited for the music to start.

"We're singing an old song, Zheng Zhihua's 'Sailor.' If you know it, sing along with us!"

Cheng Qing had spent years appearing on all sorts of variety shows and knew how to get a crowd going. As soon as the music started, he waved at the crowd, and everyone waved along.

The elderly man was a singing enthusiast at the nursing home too. The two worked well together and soon had the crowd warmed up.

Even the crew couldn't help quietly humming along for a few lines.

[Old songs really do have that special flavor. Even I couldn't help singing along.]

[Grandpa sings so well! He's every bit as good as Cheng Qing. He was probably a regular at dance halls when he was young.]

[The other seniors are all playing along too. It feels so lively.]

The two sang the final line in unison, and the courtyard immediately erupted in cheerful applause.

Cheng Qing bowed in thanks and handed the microphone to Shi Yan, who was up second.

Everyone was rather curious about what this taciturn CEO would perform.

Then they saw him step forward holding a coin.

The person he had invited was none other than old Mr. Pei Ling, the thirteenth young master of the Pei family, which owned the nursing home.

The old man wore a modern Chinese-style Tang suit made of light, comfortable silk. Holding a bottle of juice, he stood beside Shi Yan, looking full of vigor.

He even waved cheerfully at Li Yi.

Li Yi's gaze paused slightly. He couldn't make sense of the sight.

These two had actually teamed up?

Shi Yan spoke expressionlessly. "We were a little short on time, so we'll each perform a magic trick for everyone."

He first showed everyone a coin, pinched it between his evenly proportioned fingers, placed it in his palm, and closed his hand into a fist. When he opened both hands, the coin had vanished.

A gasp rose from the crowd.

With a flick of his fingers, the coin reappeared in his palm. Then he turned his hand over, and the coin vanished again.

His slender fingers moved nimbly and lightly, the movements so smooth that everyone's eyes could barely keep up.

The coin vanished one final time, replaced by an orange-colored, orange-flavored lollipop.

The courtyard instantly erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.

Amid the applause, Shi Yan walked over to Li Yi with the lollipop in his hand and held it out to him. "Here."

"Why are you giving it to me?" Despite saying that, Li Yi's hand readily accepted it. He tore off the wrapper in a few quick movements and popped it into his mouth.

One cheek instantly bulged, looking so soft and fleshy that it made people want to pinch it.

"It's for a kid." There was a smile in Shi Yan's voice, and he had already left before Li Yi could react.

"My magic trick isn't as complicated as Shi Yan's just now. I'll show you how to drink without touching the bottle."

Old Mr. Pei raised a bottle of juice in one hand and held a straw in the other. He casually showed everyone the juice to indicate there was nothing wrong with it.

Everyone's gaze settled on the bottle.

The old man put the straw in his mouth and slowly brought it toward the bottle, stopping one centimeter away.

They saw him make swallowing motions, and the juice in the bottle gradually diminished in time with his movements.

No one at the nursing home had expected the old man to know magic.

The courtyard instantly erupted in applause even more enthusiastic than before. That was home-field advantage.

[Huh? That's seriously magical! The juice really is disappearing. That's incredible.]

[A sparrow pecking a bull's backside-now that's some badass stuff!]

[You're all watching the magic tricks. Am I the only one enjoying the sweet moments? Mr. Shi just gave the lollipop he conjured up to Li Yi. These two are so shippable!]

[Girl, me too! The stone-faced CEO and the adorably clueless brainiac-I ship it, and I'll keep shipping it!]

Su Xia went third. The elderly lady he had chosen was actually a fan of his. She sang his song while he danced beside her. Young and old worked together seamlessly, and their performance was quite entertaining, earning plenty of applause.

Lu Xingluo went fourth. Being stuck in this spot really wasn't ideal for her. She had thought that, with her title of Nation's Daughter and her popularity among elderly people, she could win easily.

Who would have thought she would hit a wall while choosing a partner?

The seniors who had previously said they liked her were unwilling to work with her, while those willing to work with her refused to cooperate.

In the end, just to complete the task, they could only perform separately.

Others had already sung and danced, so she wanted to try something different. She remembered the Chinese painting she had studied as a child. These elderly people were bound to love it.

As soon as she stepped up, she had the crew bring over a table and even bought a set of Chinese painting pigments at short notice. She certainly made a show of it.

Holding a brush in her slender fingers, she smiled sweetly at the camera. "I studied Chinese painting for a while when I was little, so this time, I'll paint a lotus for everyone."

Chinese painting?

Li Yi glanced ahead, a soft laugh escaping his lips at her overestimation of herself.

Lu Xingluo confidently outlined the lotus, and the camera obligingly focused on the painting paper.

[Baby Xingluo is so amazing! She even knows Chinese painting. Just what you'd expect from a rich family's child.]

[I love Chinese painting so much that even Lu Xingluo is starting to look more likable.]

[Her lines are smooth. She does have some grounding in the basics. I never expected a wealthy young lady to study Chinese painting.]

[What's so great about singing and dancing? Can they paint? Our Luo Luo is the impressive one. Go, Luo Luo!]

With that, Lu Xingluo's fans became active again.

How many people in the entertainment industry knew Chinese painting?

As long as Lu Xingluo finished this entire lotus painting today, they could hype her up as a master of Chinese painting for the new era!

Clearly, Lu Xingluo thought so herself.

She painted with confidence and composure, maintaining a gracious smile throughout. She was going to make this performance go viral across the internet.

More than twenty minutes later, a lotus had appeared on the paper.

She bent down, gently lifted the paper, and displayed it to everyone, deliberately holding it in front of the camera for a few extra seconds.

Naturally, the comments were full of praise. A few said it was average, but most were buried by Lu Xingluo's fans.

The applause from the audience was less than Lu Xingluo had imagined, leaving her a little disappointed.

But she didn't show it and continued to maintain her gracious smile.

She simply took it that these elderly people didn't know quality when they saw it.