Meanwhile, several topics surged onto the trending searches together.
#Xi Juan Average
#Nan Qing Romance
#Xi Juan King of Jealousy
The popularity of "Hello, World" skyrocketed. Director Xu had smiled so much his face was practically numb.
The livestream was packed with viewers, but the handsome man holding his assistant's phone handed it back expressionlessly.
Having listened to the entire exchange, Mona regained her usual image as an intellectual career woman.
"Sorry, President Huo. I was wrong to get distracted during work. I'm willing to forfeit this month's bonus, and I promise this won't happen again."
Huo Yuzhou did not respond to that. His phoenix eyes lifted, his voice low.
"Does Xi Juan have any partnerships with companies affiliated with Huo Group?"
Mona could not work out what he was thinking, but her exceptional professionalism allowed her to answer quickly.
"Yes. Holding Crane, the high-end menswear brand we hold a controlling stake in, is planning to sign Xi Juan as its spokesperson for the next quarter. The upcoming mobile MOBA Escape to Safety is also about to officially announce Xi Juan as its spokesperson. And Jijia Media's major film project, 'Strangulation,' is also in talks with Xi Juan..."
The handsome man seemed somewhat impatient.
"Cut off all partnerships."
Mona froze for a second, finally realizing that things looked bad for her idol.
But professional ethics kept her from asking another question. She simply accepted the order crisply.
"Yes. I'll arrange it immediately."
The tall man turned away, his spotless leather shoes reflecting the light as he walked farther and farther away.
Only when Huo Yuzhou had completely disappeared did Mona slump into her chair and stare at her phone in disbelief-
So her former idol had been provoking Huo Yuzhou on camera, calling him average?
Given their boss's ruthless, vindictive temperament, this was probably only the beginning.
Mona sheepishly left Xi Juan's supertopic and unfollowed his Weibo account as well before letting out a somewhat regretful sigh.
Huo Group was the leading enterprise in S City. Huo Yuzhou did not even need to speak; a single glance could make others follow his lead.
Xi Juan would probably lose quite a few opportunities in the days ahead.
The sun rose little by little. The scent of rotting wood mingled with fresh grass in the forest, insects of unknown species fluttered their wings, and spiders spun webs between tree trunks.
Carrying his basket, Nan Qing lowered his head and began his main quest: picking mushrooms.
But there were simply too many varieties of mushrooms in the forest. Nan Qing crouched on the ground, looking somewhat hesitant as he studied a cluster beside a tree root.
The PD offered a friendly reminder. "Mr. Nan, you have to pick edible ones. You'll only complete the task once you've filled two baskets. Points will be deducted as appropriate if you pick poisonous mushrooms."
Nan Qing nodded, carefully picked an unremarkable-looking mushroom from the cluster, and held it up to show the camera.
"A brown bolete."
He lowered his head, fixed his gaze on some mushrooms, picked them, and held them up again.
"These are termite mushrooms. They have a texture I like."
"Verdigris agarics. They look like rusty, moldy copper coins, but they aren't poisonous. They're edible too."
"Blue-staining boletes. These are famous. You've probably all seen them online..."
Looking confident, he picked his way around the tree roots.
"Any friends from Yunnan here? Is Nan Qing making this up?"
"LOL, does anyone seriously believe a pampered young master knows mushrooms? How can people not see such an obvious script?"
"Did the director give Nan Qing special training? Why didn't they train our Xingxing too? Our Xingxing even swung the handle right off his hoe!"
"I get it now. Nan Qing is the real royal this episode. Who has an easier job than picking mushrooms? The apple pickers are exhausted, okay?"
"Whoa! That fast?"
Xi Juan strode over, having just washed his bamboo basket, and marveled at the thick layer of mushrooms covering the bottom of Nan Qing's basket.
"You aren't specifically picking the ugly ones, are you, Qingqing?"
Nan Qing said, "What are you talking about? Can't I know how to pick mushrooms?"
Xi Juan crouched down and copied him, picking one and offering it to him.
"Is this the kind? It looks pretty similar to the ones you picked."
Nan Qing glanced over and suggested without a change in expression,
"Not bad. Put it in your basket, then throw the basket far away."
"LOL, poison master Xi Juan. Congratulations on successfully selecting the most poisonous mushroom out of every single one in sight!"
"Bro! That's a lethal amanita! Also called a destroying angel!!!"
Xi Juan tossed away the mushroom in his hand, a glimmer of interest flashing in his eyes.
"Qingqing, it's been a few years, but you're still just as interesting."
"But how can you tell them apart? Don't you think they all look a little alike?"
Without even looking up, Nan Qing moved to another tree and kept briskly picking.
"I went to the countryside with a friend before and stayed there for a while. He taught me."
They were a good distance apart. Xi Juan was somewhat baffled. Whether in the past or now, he always felt there was something a little strange about Nan Qing's attitude toward him.
A very strong, pronounced sense of boundaries.
As though he was taking pains to avoid suspicion.
Meanwhile, both figures in the apple orchard looked tired.
Lin Tang had debuted in an idol boy group. He was small and slender, and although picking apples required constantly standing on tiptoe and bending down, he managed it fairly easily.
Bai Ruanruan, however, could not.
His adoptive mother had spoiled him in the past. He had never done a bit of work and only drank water when it was brought right to his lips. Now, wearing white shoes worth tens of thousands, he clicked his tongue inwardly when he stepped on dry branches and grew annoyed when he stepped on rotten apples.
Not only did he refuse to work, but he also kept insinuating that Lin Tang was working too slowly.
Several times, Lin Tang wanted to fall out with him, but he did not want to end up trending over something like this and give Bai Ruanruan more exposure.
Lin Tang simply headed deeper into the apple orchard and picked from a different tree.
Finally getting his wish, Bai Ruanruan began creating the variety-show highlight he had seen in his dream.
He made a show of picking a few apples too, even angling his profile just right to reveal his jawline.
"What a round apple!"
Talking to himself, he picked a perfectly round apple and took a bite, scrunching up his eyes.
"So sour!"
Even his shoulders trembled, making him look rather pitiful and endearing.
The camera was pointed straight at his face. Bai Ruanruan smiled somewhat shyly at it, anticipation rising within him.
In that prophetic dream of his, this shot had been the first thing about him to generate discussion. Back then, all the online comments had praised how cute he was, and there had even been a trending topic: #Bai Ruanruan Little Dummy.
The apple with one bite taken out of it rolled away across the ground.
As expected, Bai Ruanruan bagged his first trending topic on the road to stardom, but the comments were not particularly pleasant.
"What the hell is wrong with Bai Ruanruan? Isn't that such a waste of food?"
"It's so high up the mountain. It's a real hassle for the farmers to fertilize and spray the trees, okay? Doesn't he have any respect for other people's hard work?"
"Why is he making those faces? Does he actually think he's cute?"
"Wait, who even is this Bai Ruanruan? There's no trace of him in the entertainment industry, and his first gig is 'Hello, World'? How much money did he slip the production team?"