[That's fake, right? I don't believe it! Unless you demonstrate it for me in person! I weigh eighty jin. Can you take me flying?]
[Aaaah, I want everything on this great hero in three minutes! Hurry! Assistant Chen! Go gather it for me!]
[The first time I watched, I thought it was a promo for Fu Yunyi's new drama and found it pretty interesting. Modern wuxia sounded fun, too, but then you told me this happened on a livestream. The second time, I wanted to look for flaws, like wire rigging equipment, but that long take never cut from the entrance of the terminal all the way to the private room. People kept passing around them, and I couldn't spot any wires or anything. I was just: ??? The third time, my mom came in, saw me, and looked utterly baffled. "Why are you kneeling to watch a video?" I told her, "Mom, there's a living immortal!"]
[Does anyone know someone on the production team?! I'm not trying to do anything, I just want to ask whether Teacher Xia would be willing to offer an online course.]
While some people were excited, others' first reaction was naturally that it was a publicity stunt, that it was fake.
But it had happened on a livestream, at an airport, and the entire process had been filmed, including the group later passing through the crowd and entering the private room. It had all happened on camera.
Other than wirework, was there any other way to fake it?
Surely Xia Zhiyi, an ordinary guest, couldn't have some extraordinary background and be carrying an unreleased high-tech device, putting on a show in front of the audience because they didn't know about it?
That wasn't possible, was it?
If something that amazing really existed, something that could let someone take off from a standstill while carrying another person, what company would keep it hidden instead of bringing it out to make money?
Or, if something that good really existed and the authorities wanted to keep it for the military's own use, they wouldn't let an ordinary person casually expose it on camera!
There were those who wanted to debunk it scientifically, and naturally there were also the "I don't believe it, I don't believe it, I won't believe anything you say" types. They simply concluded that Xia Zhiyi was a newcomer some company wanted to promote, and this whole stunt had been arranged for publicity.
What? You said Fu Yunyi?
People online all said Fu Yunyi was a rich young master, but wasn't that still just what people online said? It wasn't as though no one marketed a wealthy persona these days. Hadn't some minor celebrity recently been exposed, with revelations that his mansions and luxury cars had all been borrowed, and his bags and clothes all rented?
Besides, Fu Yunyi hadn't even claimed to come from a wealthy family himself. Fans had dug that up, and he hadn't personally confirmed it. Maybe he wasn't one at all.
If the company told him to cooperate, could Fu Yunyi really defy them?
Fu Yunyi was popular now, but how long had it even been since his debut? To put it bluntly, he was still a newcomer in the entertainment industry and might not have much say at his company.
Besides, perhaps Fu Yunyi himself had some connection with Xia Zhiyi and was voluntarily helping him out?
If Xia Zhiyi was really that impressive, why had he only taken Fu Yunyi flying? Weren't there several more guests after him? Why hadn't he flown again?
Obviously, they'd needed to dismantle the equipment that might give them away, so they couldn't do it a second time.
By the time Fu Yunyi learned that he had supposedly cooperated, all five guests had arrived, made brief introductions, and boarded the plane.
There was no livestream on the plane. Only two cameras were kept running to shoot some footage that could be added later during editing, as appropriate.
It was only then that Fu Yunyi caught up with his assistant on what had been happening from the morning's livestream until just now.
"How come I didn't know I... never mind. So you're saying the show has already blown up in a single morning?" Fu Yunyi asked.
His assistant hurriedly nodded.
Whatever arguments were raging online, the production team had benefited. The buzz was up, and more people were paying attention. Even those trying to debunk it might specifically come watch with that very intention.
Fu Yunyi glanced over at Xia Zhiyi, who had two guests gathered around him, his feelings complicated.
To explain how things had come to this, one had to go back to when Xia Zhiyi went to the parking lot.
The airport had two parking lots, one underground and one just outside the terminal. The former covered a larger area and was also more suitable for the guests the production team had invited, being relatively less conspicuous.
Following the markers the production team had provided, Xia Zhiyi found a guest who was about to get out of a vehicle. Just as he was about to surprise her as planned, he heard a strange noise not far from them.
Clearly, though, he was the only person there who had noticed it. Xiao Yang and the others were still holding their breath, trying hard not to disturb him.
Xia Zhiyi took two steps forward. Just then, the vehicle door was pulled open, and a masked cameraman carrying a camera on his shoulder got out first. Startled into a brief daze by Xia Zhiyi standing silently beside him, he quickly acted as though nothing had happened, managing his camera as he moved out of the way.
Then a young woman with pink-dyed hair and a woodland-style outfit hopped out of the vehicle. Smiling broadly, she turned, about to say something to the person inside.
This was the show's fourth guest, Xue Ranran, a former girl group member who was currently pursuing a solo career.
Xiao Yang was waiting for Xia Zhiyi to step forward, but instead, he saw Xia Zhiyi turn on his heel and vanish from before their eyes the next second.
Xiao Yang: ?????
Xue Ranran also noticed the group standing at the rear of the vehicle and gave a start. "Ah... are you with the production team?"
Once she saw Xiao Yang's staff badge and the cameraman carrying a camera beside him, Xue Ranran breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly put on another radiant smile and approached them. "So the production team sent people to meet us? Sorry, we were stuck in traffic for a bit. I'm not the last one here, am I?"
Xiao Yang and the cameraman simultaneously heard the chief director bellow through their earpieces, "What are you standing there for?! Find him!"
Xiao Yang & the cameraman: Teacher Xia, are you here to surprise the guests or us?!
How did you disappear in the blink of an eye?!
Xue Ranran hadn't even noticed there was supposed to be another person here!
So... where was he?
Noticing the slightly dazed look in their eyes gradually turn to panic, Xue Ranran found it strange, too. "What's wrong? Aren't you with the Incredible Life production team?"
That couldn't be right. They all had the show's logo on them. Surely she couldn't have remembered even that wrong?
Xue Ranran said, "Hello?"
With a glance at the camera opposite him out of the corner of his eye, Xiao Yang quickly put on a polite smile. "Hello, Teacher Xue. I'm Xiao Yang, the guest escort."
He was just about to explain the current situation and then hurry off to find his guest. He couldn't just lose him like this!
But before Xiao Yang could explain further, everyone in the parking lot heard a woman's scream, followed by a muffled groan.
Then came a man's furious curses, as though he were forcing them out through pain. "Fucking bitch! You really did find another man! Just watch how I deal with you!"
For some reason, Xiao Yang had a bad feeling.