Xia Zhiyi had still been wondering who that male guest was.
There were only six guests in total. Excluding himself and Fu Yunyi, the only other male guest he had met was Wang Chengran.
But based on Xia Zhiyi's first impression of Wang Chengran, he seemed like a somewhat innocent male idol. Even at their first meeting, Xia Zhiyi had sensed in him that distinctly student-like... crystal-clear stupidity.
Just, dumb.
If the person Xiao Yang had mentioned was Wang Chengran...
Xia Zhiyi thought, Either my judgment of people is off, or Wang Chengran himself doesn't know his guest spot was snatched from someone else.
Then Xia Zhiyi got off the high-speed train, took another hour-and-a-half bus ride with the production crew, and walked along mountain paths for half an hour. When he finally joined the other guests and saw the sixth guest, he understood everything.
Zhou Kai.
Stealing other people's opportunities was something Zhou Kai and Huanyu, the company behind him, were all too practiced at.
By then, the group had already arrived at the mountain villa-the production team's so-called villa was actually a red-brick house-and everyone had finished introducing themselves by the time Xia Zhiyi arrived.
To be honest, seeing Zhou Kai put Xia Zhiyi in a rather bad mood.
That was normal, too. Anyone would be in a bad mood upon seeing someone they had a grudge against.
But when he saw Fu Yunyi sitting a considerable distance from Zhou Kai, Xia Zhiyi's mood improved again.
The people in this world didn't know that the so-called plot existed, so naturally, they didn't know that certain people carried labels like protagonist, cannon fodder, supporting male character, or villain.
But Xia Zhiyi knew.
Fu Yunyi was the protagonist, and Zhou Kai... what a coincidence, he belonged to the villain camp.
And as everyone knew, protagonists and villains were natural enemies.
Even though neither Fu Yunyi nor Zhou Kai currently knew any of this, their respective auras meant one was bound to be suppressed. And with Fu Yunyi, a protagonist with money, looks, and ability, up against Zhou Kai...
Xia Zhiyi: Nice. Coming on this show was worth it.
"Teacher Xia's here." Xue Ranran was the first to stand up and greet Xia Zhiyi when she saw him. "The production team said you might need another half hour. I didn't expect you to make it up here so quickly."
The production team had previously led the guests along mountain paths for over an hour before bringing them to the house. Otherwise, the guests wouldn't all have been sitting in the main room resting from exhaustion. They would have had to put on something of a show for the cameras.
It was only because they had no energy left for the moment.
Wang Chengran also came forward, wanting to take the suitcase from Xia Zhiyi's hand, and said with easy familiarity, "Teacher Xia, did you know? There's actually a mountain road here that cars can drive straight up. The production team is so mean. They insisted on making us walk up the little path out back."
Director Gong, who had been about to come over and greet Xia Zhiyi, offered an explanation when he heard that. "Oh, Wang Chengran, you've misunderstood our production team. We just wanted the guests and the viewers watching to appreciate the natural scenery around our living cottage first."
Xue Ranran said, "Ha, ha, ha. Director Gong, do you believe that yourself?"
Director Gong said, "I do."
Xue Ranran: "..."
Xia Zhiyi smiled and said, "Don't trouble yourself. My suitcase isn't heavy. I can manage."
By then, Wang Chengran had already been quick enough to lift the suitcase. He had braced himself for something heavy, only to find it so light that he froze. "Teacher Xia, this suitcase of yours... did you put anything in it?"
It did have some weight to it, but compared with the luggage they had carried up the mountain earlier, it was far too light.
Xia Zhiyi said, "I didn't bring much, just some clothes."
He had originally planned to bring a few books as well, but when he asked the production team, they said they would provide some relevant books. After collecting Xia Zhiyi's preferences, they said they would make the arrangements, sparing him that weight.
Xue Ranran said, "Then Teacher Xia must have had a pretty easy time coming up."
The house was the sort of home commonly found in the local countryside, with a main room at the front entrance and a kitchen and back door at the rear.
Through the front entrance, one could see a roughly paved concrete road. Cars could drive down the mountain along it, and although it took a longer route, having transportation still saved considerable effort.
Out the back door was a mountain path connecting several other local homes halfway up the mountain. Following it could take one farther up the mountain or to a relatively flat area on the other side to look at the villagers' fields.
Xia Zhiyi had just appeared from the back with the production staff, so the other guests all knew he had taken the mountain path just as they had.
Fu Yunyi had been watching them the whole time. At that, he hesitated before taking the initiative to speak. "How long did it take Teacher Xia to climb the mountain?"
Xia Zhiyi hadn't expected him to strike up a conversation. He paused, a little hesitant. "Well, I'm not really sure either. I don't know if anyone on the production team was keeping track."
Beside him, Xiao Yang, who had climbed the mountain with Xia Zhiyi, had just gulped down a huge mug of water. He hurried over to answer, "Teacher Xia walked for half an hour, but that wasn't his fastest pace. We slowed him down."
As Xiao Yang spoke, he was rather amazed himself. "Look, Teacher Xia hasn't shed a single drop of sweat."
Everyone turned to look at Xia Zhiyi.
Xia Zhiyi: "..."
Fu Yunyi blinked. "So you really do know kung fu, right?"
At those words, Wang Chengran's and Xue Ranran's eyes lit up together.
When they had unexpectedly become separated from Xia Zhiyi earlier, none of them had had time to talk to him. They had plenty of questions on their minds, and now they could finally ask him in person.
Xia Zhiyi said, "Well..."
Just as he was about to say something, Director Gong picked up his megaphone and signaled for the staff to tidy up the set and leave the main room to the guests. They all withdrew to the little square in front of the main room, staying out of the shot as much as possible.
Director Gong said, "All right, now that all our guests are here, let's save the chatting for later and go through the format first."
It was quite down-to-earth.
They hadn't paid any attention to the livestream, so the viewers had seen everyone's relaxed behavior just now. But a "life" variety show also needed to be edited later and uploaded to a platform, so they needed some proper footage.
Hearing Director Gong, the celebrity guests, all of whom had spent at least a year in the entertainment industry, caught on and cooperatively found places to sit.
Xia Zhiyi also found a chair and sat down.
Seeing this, Fu Yunyi gave him a somewhat puzzled look.
Xia Zhiyi asked, "What's wrong?"
Fu Yunyi said, "...You're a guest?"
Xia Zhiyi said, "Yes."
Wait, Fu Yunyi still didn't know?
Then why had he taken the initiative to talk to him just now?
Zhou Kai had watched as Xia Zhiyi attracted everyone's attention the moment he arrived. Now, he finally found an opening and was just about to speak.
Director Gong said, "All right, first, let's welcome the final guest of Incredible Life back to the group!"
Enough chat, let's follow the format first!