As soon as Qu Nanzhu ended his stream, messages from Qin Siyi and Shang Ni'en came flooding in, both about his appearance on the variety show.
Qu Nanzhu chatted briefly with them, then went to talk to Huo Sili.
Huo Sili asked whether he needed an assistant arranged for him. Without even thinking, Qu Nanzhu asked: [Are you going to let me have Brother Chen Xun?]
Huo Sili: [You want him to go with you?]
Qu Nanzhu: [Yeah, I know him better, so he's more comfortable to be around.]
Huo Sili had long since noticed that Qu Nanzhu disliked spending time with strangers.
When he was around people he didn't know well, he often seemed a little blank. To outsiders, he came across as cold and aloof, but anyone who got to know him would discover that he was actually a little cheeky underneath, and a little childish.
He looked perfectly calm on the surface, but had plenty of little schemes going on inside. It felt as though his identity kept him from wanting to show it. In that respect, he was somewhat like Huo Sili himself, though Huo Sili was constrained more by his family's rules of etiquette.
And so, that evening, Chen Xun had just washed up and was preparing for a good night's sleep when he suddenly received a call from his boss, telling him to get ready to accompany Qu Nanzhu to film a livestreamed variety show on Tuesday.
Knowing that Qu Nanzhu was going on a livestreamed variety show was one thing. Having to accompany him personally was another matter altogether.
Wasn't that basically being a celebrity's assistant? Chen Xun had absolutely no idea how to do that.
It was Friday. Next Tuesday was only three days away.
Sigh. Another day of being called upon in a crisis.
Two days passed in a flash, and the clothes Qu Nanzhu had bought online had arrived just the previous evening.
He felt that since he was going on a variety show with celebrities, he couldn't dress so casually. At the very least, he couldn't look like an elementary school kid.
Many times when he visited the Huo family, Fang Pingyue would mutter under her breath about his fashion sense.
He hadn't cared then because they were all familiar faces, but now he couldn't afford not to.
He specifically chose a soft, light blue shirt, its color as fresh as the sky after rain. Leaving the top two buttons undone made him look a little less stiff and a little more relaxed.
He paired it with slim-fitting, off-white casual trousers, their clean lines accentuating his straight legs.
To add some energy and a youthful feel, he chose not to wear leather shoes, opting instead for limited-edition white sneakers with pale blue graffiti accents along the sides that echoed his shirt.
His overlong bangs partly concealed the already fading scar at his temple. He had done little else to his face, with his eyebrows neatly trimmed to bring out the clarity and brightness of his eyes.
Standing before the mirror, Qu Nanzhu was very satisfied with his appearance. He thought he was practically the very image of the sunny, cheerful young man his viewers always talked about.
Chen Xun arrived at the agreed time of eight thirty. His outfit gave Chen Xun a pleasant little surprise, and he instinctively asked, "Have you shown Mr. Huo?"
The question left even him momentarily stunned. Why did I ask that?
Qu Nanzhu had the same question, but he didn't voice it. Instead, he took out his phone and said, "Not yet. I'll show him now."
With that, right in front of Chen Xun, he took a photo from a 361-degree unflattering angle and confidently sent it to Huo Sili.
This time, Huo Sili replied very quickly.
Huo: [You look good. Did you take it yourself?]
Qu's Bamboo: [Yep, I think it looks good too.]
Huo: [Chen Xun should be there by now. You can ask him to take a full-body photo for me.]
Qu Nanzhu happily agreed and handed his phone to Chen Xun, asking him to take a full-body photo.
Chen Xun had just accepted the phone when he heard the special notification sound he had set for his boss. By reflex, he pulled out his own phone and quickly opened the message.
BOSS: [Take a good one.]
Then his gaze fell on the photo Qu Nanzhu had taken himself, along with his boss's praise against all conscience, and he was momentarily speechless.
Having successfully received two perfectly composed photos, Huo Sili saved all three pictures without hesitation, then put down his phone in an excellent mood and looked out the car window.
The scenery on his way to work seemed much nicer today than before.
Meanwhile, Chen Xun asked Qu Nanzhu where his luggage was so he could carry it downstairs, only to receive a bewildered look.
Chen Xun said, "The filming location is outside the province. The first episode will take six days to shoot, meaning you'll be eating and sleeping with the production crew for all six days."
Qu Nanzhu: "..." He genuinely hadn't known. Little Eighteen had handled the contract, and since she didn't need luggage when she went out, she hadn't reminded her master to pack.
Chen Xun sighed for his own sake. Fortunately, their flight was booked for two in the afternoon. There was still time to pack.
After packing and rushing about, they finally made it onto the plane before the airport could publicly call them out over the announcements.
In his seat, Chen Xun switched off his phone screen, exhausted in body and mind. That was close. We nearly died before the campaign even began.
At that rate, before fortune-telling master Qu Nanzhu could trend for his brilliant performance, he would have trended for being publicly called out for arriving late at the airport.
Qu Nanzhu wasn't doing much better. He had left in such a hurry that he hadn't had time to put on an eye-obscuring talisman, and his cinnabar and other supplies were all in his suitcase. All he could do now was wear a mask and pant.
After catching his breath, Qu Nanzhu noticed Chen Xun looking at him. He tugged at his mask, his eyes innocent.
"That was close. We were almost late."
Chen Xun: "..."
Meanwhile, at W City Airport, most of the celebrities taking part in the show were arriving on flights that day. Fans waiting to welcome them filled the area outside the airport, each group staking out a section with banners and holding their own fan support items.
Only one group had brought nothing at all. If everyone else hadn't already marked out their territory, they might not even have managed to gather together.
They huddled together, muttering quietly.
"Sorry to bother you, but are you Candlelight?"
"Ahhh, yes, yes! Come on over! There's still room here."
"Um... would you like this? I made these fan support items myself. Little Qu Bao badges."
"Wow, you're so talented! They're adorable! Thank you, thank you! Let's grab a meal together later!"
"Shh, shh! Someone's coming, someone's coming."
"Oh, okay, okay..."
A nearby group waiting for a female celebrity couldn't help casting suspicious looks their way. What was with these people? Why were they acting so furtive at the airport?
They could only ask forgiveness for being clueless kids who had never followed celebrities.
"Ahhhhh! Brother! Brother, look this way!"
"Brother, you're so handsome! So handsome!"
"Linlin, we're over here!!"
"Baby, look over here!!!"
For six whole hours, Candlelight's ears were filled with all kinds of screams and shouts. Groups came and went, but there was still no sign of Qu Nanzhu.
Two or three heads crowded together to read the show's official gathering announcement again.
"It is today. Qu Bao was still streaming at home last night, right?"
"Surely he didn't take the earliest flight..."
"Don't worry, he didn't. I got here at five and didn't see Qu Bao."
"Damn, buddy, you're a real devoted fan!"
"Of course!"
At four, the plane carrying Qu Nanzhu finally landed. Qu Nanzhu pulled up his mask and secured his cap, then stood obediently off to one side after getting off the plane, waiting for Chen Xun to collect their luggage.
Just then, a male voice spoke beside him. "Hello, are you Qu Nanzhu?"
Qu Nanzhu looked up at the voice, only then discovering that several dozen people were standing beside him.
The person who had asked was the Candlelight fan who had arrived at five. Almost the instant Qu Nanzhu looked up, they knew it was him.
Unlike other fan groups that cheered loudly when welcoming someone at the airport, Candlelight slowly formed a circle around Qu Nanzhu in unspoken agreement, excitedly calling him God Qu and Qu Bao in hushed voices.
Realizing these must be viewers from his livestream, Qu Nanzhu stopped covering himself up and removed his cap and mask.
Someone handed him a photo the fans had made themselves by cutting his image out of a livestream screenshot, then gave him a pen and quietly asked whether he could sign it.
Qu Nanzhu passively accepted all of this, though he didn't feel irritated. Instead, he asked how they had known he would be here.
The fans showed him the show's official gathering announcement.
Qu Nanzhu was puzzled. "It only says today." Then he quickly caught on. "So you've been waiting all day?"
The fans nodded sheepishly. "We didn't know what time your flight was..."
Just then, another group of fans arrived. The girl leading them was calling, "Hurry up, everyone! Xiao Yun lands in half an hour."
Qu Nanzhu glanced over, then looked around at the viewers surrounding him, his feelings complicated.
"How do people like them know the flight details?" Qu Nanzhu gestured for them to look.
The fans glanced over and explained, "Oh, big celebrities like them post their flight details on Weibo so fans can come welcome them."
Hearing that, Qu Nanzhu took out his phone, opened the preinstalled Weibo app, and quickly registered a new account, using a close-up selfie of Little Eighteen as his profile picture.
The name was simply Qu Nanzhu.