Meng Xu

Biodata

Background / History

Meng Xu is the young heir to the Meng Group and has known Pei Yubai since kindergarten. Alongside Shen Yuzhou, he belongs to the innermost tier of Pei Yubai’s social circle, whose members share powerful family backgrounds and compatible temperaments. The Meng, Pei, and Shen families maintain close ties 2 54 128.

Already independently wealthy, Meng Xu does not depend on directing for his livelihood. He funds Travel to Those Little-Known Places out of personal interest, investing heavily in equipment and a format combining livestreams with recorded broadcasts. Recruiting Pei Yubai secures his childhood friend’s variety-show debut and gives the program substantial attention before filming begins 2 54 128.

Appearance

• Casual clothing: Wears crumpled T-shirts and sits informally behind the production monitors, sometimes looking as relaxed as he would in his own living room 87.
• Unstyled hair: His hair hangs loosely over his forehead during filming; immediately after waking, it is described as resembling a bird’s nest 129 148.
• On-location attire: Appears in a dark blue T-shirt while introducing a new installment and a wrinkled gray T-shirt during the desert trip 129 148.

Personality

Meng Xu is curious, impulsive, and quick to pursue whatever interests him, though his enthusiasm is described as short-lived. He is active within his closest circle but difficult for outsiders to approach, rarely attending broader upper-class social gatherings. Celebrity status alone does not persuade him to accept someone onto his show 79.

His irreverent manner often conceals concern. When the guests return after becoming lost in the mountains, he visibly relaxes before scolding them. He similarly tries to comfort Pei Yubai after Qiguan Yuan leaves, only for their conversation to become another exchange of insults 9 69.

As a director, he respects boundaries: he does not force Qiguan Yuan into unwanted activities or investigate matters guests prefer not to discuss. That consideration does not extend to people who antagonize him publicly; he openly retaliates against hostile fans and an artist who challenges him 54 128 161.

Adopting Chenchen brings out a particularly attentive side of him. He studies childcare, personally oversees his son’s arrangements, and calls at least three times a day when work keeps them apart. Keeping promises to Chenchen becomes one of his reasons for protecting the show 161 165.

Abilities & Skills

Variety-Show Direction

• Task design: Creates mushroom-picking challenges, fortune-stick searches, village chores, language games, puzzle attractions, and amusement-park assignments 6 11 32 42 85 107.
• Points and incentives: Uses individual and team scores to determine food, accommodation, privileges, and career-related rewards 9 39 72.
• Flexible planning: Changes locations and filming schedules around the guests’ work and Qiguan Yuan’s travel plans, including arranging a private plane for the northwest journey 128 131 136 163.
• Spontaneous filming: Admits that he often films whatever occurs to him; after hearing about a fan’s clothing-shop invitation, he quickly turns the visit into a group filming plan 148.
• Guest privacy: Films what guests willingly share rather than pursuing subjects they decline to explain 161.

Equipment Development

• Develops filming equipment that attracts the attention of Song Yuan and other directors 78 166.
• Uses access to that equipment as part of his negotiation for an audition in Song Yuan’s film 78.
• Earns a substantial sum from the equipment after directors discover it through the variety show and the Jiangcheng studio visit 166.

Investment and Industry Connections

Meng Xu uses personal investment, family resources, and industry contacts to secure opportunities beyond ordinary in-show advantages 72 78 127.

Production Management

• Pays high salaries and provides strong employee benefits, believing a successful employer should make staff enjoy their work 141.
• Supplies food for the crew and hires a cook rather than repeatedly relying on Ji Shiyu to feed everyone 141.
• Monitors online opinion about Qiguan Yuan together with Shen Lingyi 127.
• Responds to the Cidu Temple crisis by calling the police and ordering comprehensive filming when stopping the broadcast could worsen public suspicion 165.

Fate and Fortune

These are assessments made by Qiguan Yuan, not cultivation abilities demonstrated by Meng Xu.

Relationships

• Pei Yubai — Childhood friend since kindergarten and a central member of his social circle. Meng Xu brings him onto the show, then repeatedly teases him for putting Qiguan Yuan ahead of friendship. Pei Yubai becomes Chenchen’s godfather 2 54 69 125.
• Qiguan Yuan — Special guest whom Meng Xu privately regards as his “God of Wealth” because of his extraordinary audience appeal. He respects Qiguan Yuan’s preferences and accommodates his itinerary; Qiguan Yuan becomes Chenchen’s godpapa 44 54 84 125 163.
• Chenchen — Adopted son, affectionately called “Chenbao.” Meng Xu promises to take him home after his recovery and becomes deeply involved in his care 126 148 161.
• Shen Yuzhou — Fellow member of Pei Yubai’s inner circle and a show participant. He supports Meng Xu during the public dispute with an artist by involving the Shen Group 54 128.
• Shen Lingyi — Respected family elder whom he calls “Auntie Shen.” Her arrival makes him abruptly abandon his casual posture; they also cooperate in monitoring Qiguan Yuan’s online reputation 87 127 170.
• Pei Zhongkang — Family elder who persuades Meng Xu’s father to approve Chenchen’s adoption 125.
• Meng Xu’s father — Initially objects when Meng Xu declares that he does not plan to marry or seek a partner, but eventually agrees to the adoption 125.
• Song Yuan — Director and professional collaborator. Meng Xu negotiates investment, equipment support, and an audition with him, later incorporating his film set into the variety show 78 119.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Launching the Travel Show

At Cloud-Hidden Town, Meng Xu introduces the cast to remote travel without cell service, Wi-Fi, supermarkets, or food delivery. He oversees mushroom gathering, fortune-stick searches in Fated Marriage Village, and task hunting at Yue Lao Temple. Points can purchase better meals and lodgings, while Jiang Wantang’s first-place finish earns a later career opportunity 4 6 9 11 21 22.

In the Village Above the Clouds, he assigns fifteen days of work involving stilt-house accommodation, gathering ingredients, and learning Miao customs. Although viewers call the program a “penniless show,” its austere conditions are deliberate challenges rather than evidence that he lacks funding 32 72.

Recruiting Qiguan Yuan

Meng Xu announces Qiguan Yuan as a special guest and exempts him from compulsory daily tasks. When discussing a five-million appearance fee, he discovers that Qiguan Yuan neither understands bank cards nor possesses an ID card. Qiguan Yuan asks him to transfer the fee to Pei Yubai instead 39 44 54 55.

For a later installment, Meng Xu secures Qiguan Yuan’s participation by suggesting that he can accompany Pei Yubai and date him at the production’s expense. When Qiguan Yuan refuses a dedicated camera operator, Meng Xu accepts his sharing Pei Yubai’s livestream 84.

Adopting Chenchen

After visiting Chenchen in hospital, Meng Xu offers to adopt him before Pei Yubai’s parents finalize their own plans. He explains that he does not expect to marry or find a partner and would welcome companionship beyond work. Despite arguing with his father over the decision, he proceeds with preparations once Pei Zhongkang secures his father’s approval 124 125.

Meng Xu then asks Chenchen to live with him and promises to visit until he can bring him home. Chenchen quietly calls him “Dad.” Meng Xu subsequently assembles a professional care team, including nannies, nutritionists, and private doctors, while studying childcare himself 126 161.

Blacklisting an Artist

As the show’s popularity grows, Meng Xu refuses pressure to expand its original lineup and delays filming to accommodate existing guests. After an artist publicly accuses him of suppression through capital, he tags more than a dozen brands and initiates an open blacklist. Pei Yubai and Shen Yuzhou bring in the Huateng and Shen groups; the artist loses all endorsements and subsequently disappears from the industry 128.

Northwest Journey and Cidu Temple

Meng Xu reorganizes the show around Qiguan Yuan’s northwest journey, arranging private air travel and giving each guest 1,500 yuan for basic desert supplies. He later accommodates a request to visit a large temple 136 163.

At Cidu Temple, the discovery of an evil cult and Qiguan Yuan’s divine identity leaves him weighing the show’s survival against the unprecedented footage. He calls the police at Pei Yubai’s request and resumes comprehensive coverage, but the livestream is ultimately cut off as higher authorities intervene 165 166.

Afterward, he attempts to collect protective red cords for Chenchen and his parents. Qiguan Yuan tells him that he has no romantic Thread of Fate, then instructs him to have Chenchen request his own cord when he grows up 168.

Final Livestream with Pei Yubai and Qiguan Yuan

Meng Xu announces that Pei Yubai and Qiguan Yuan will leave the show after that evening and asks the guests to hold separate farewell livestreams for their viewers. After the broadcast, Pei Yubai messages him about bringing Chenchen to visit another day 173.

Notable Quotes

“You know I just film whatever pops into my head for this thing.” 148

“When you’re better, I’ll come take you home from the hospital. I’ll come visit you often until then.” 126

“This is what suppression by capital looks like. See it clearly now?” 128