Lin Shuheng's fans were stirring up trouble in the bullet comments again. They didn't dare fight Yu Qing's fans, so they turned to insulting Shen Huaian instead.
But Shen Huaian was a popular star with genuine talent, after all. His fan base was countless times larger than Lin Shuheng's; a mouthful of spit from each of them would be enough to drown those people.
Before long, they had shut those people down so hard they didn't dare let out so much as a fart.
Wen Jiu's fans watched the fight from the sidelines, feeling utterly satisfied.
After entering the house, Li Peiqi finally encountered the "dumbass" he'd been going on about. The newcomer's very first words dealt him a critical hit on the spot.
"Oh, isn't this President Li?" Wen Jiu jogged downstairs cheerfully, leaned closer, and blinked his sparkling, peach-blossom eyes. "I heard your company went bankrupt?"
Zhang Guozhong was taking the tea an assistant director handed him when he heard this. "Pfft-"
Several stifled laughs came from inside the house. Just from the sound, it was clear everyone was struggling to hold back.
Li Peiqi's expression instantly darkened. Looking at the man behind the youth, he didn't dare lose his temper. A curse rolled around his mouth before he finally swallowed it.
He merely said stiffly, "Not yet!"
"Oh." Wen Jiu nodded in understanding. "Then soon."
What the fuck did he mean, "then soon"?!
Zhang Guozhong pinched his thigh, desperately suppressing his laughter. Shen Huaian, on the other hand, wasn't afraid of him and laughed outright. His howls of laughter made it impossible for the others to hold back.
For a moment, the room descended into chaos.
At the center of that chaos, Li Peiqi flew into a rage. "Wen Jiu!"
Wen Jiu remained utterly carefree. "What do you want with your daddy?"
Li Peiqi gritted his teeth, but with Feng Chi there, he still didn't dare say anything. His expression was dark enough to drip ink.
[Hahahaha, this little menace is killing me, but I've gotta say, that felt good!]
[President Li, your little cutie is online. Wen Jiu: I heard your company went bankrupt? Hahahahahaha]
[Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! Taking my son away. He belongs to President Feng.]
[Where's the million-strong army from the supertopic? Wave the Endurance ship flag!]
Seeing everyone laughing, Wen Jiu could figure out even with his feet that the bullet comments must be full of hahahas too. As though that wasn't enough, he leaned over again and asked, "Everyone's laughing. Why aren't you?"
"Were you born not liking to smile?"
Shen Huaian gave the most enthusiastic response. "Pfft, hahahahahaha!"
Li Peiqi: ...
If looks could kill, Wen Jiu would have died ten thousand times already.
Along with Shen Huaian, the cannon fodder who had eagerly come over.
But neither of them was remotely afraid.
Wen Jiu was carefree and outrageously bold. He'd dared confront Li openly even before its financial troubles. Now that the company was about to go under, what the hell did he have to fear?
Besides, his wife was sitting right behind him! Hadn't he laughed too?
Dare curse at Feng Chi?
That bald man wouldn't dare even if he had a hundred times the guts!
As for Shen Huaian... he was capital himself.
Ever since his debut, Shen Huaian had enjoyed smooth sailing in the entertainment industry, closing in on top-star status. Beyond his own professional abilities, he also had the Shen Group backing him.
With an older brother who doted on him keeping all the petty troublemakers in check, no one in the entertainment industry had dared provoke him to this day.
Li Peiqi had run into a brick wall as soon as he arrived on the show and swallowed a bellyful of humiliation. It could be called the worst decision he'd made.
But he had no choice.
Li Peiqi looked at the man behind the youth. The latter seemed amused by the youth's joke too. He had wrapped both arms around the youth's waist from behind and was sitting on the sofa with him in his arms, smiling.
Yet the gaze he directed over held not a trace of warmth.
Li Peiqi sat on pins and needles, his head lowered and a sheen of cold sweat covering his forehead.
Feng's pressure on him had penetrated practically every corner. Some time ago, he'd begged someone to arrange a meeting with Xu Mingzhuo, and only then learned that he'd offended someone he should never have offended.
Xu Mingzhuo had put it this way: "President Feng said he can give you one chance. We won't intervene in this government partnership project in Peach Blossom Spring Village, but whether you can secure it will depend on your own abilities."
Of course, the prerequisite was that Li Peiqi had to participate in this installment of the variety show.
When he'd first heard that condition, he hadn't understood why competing for a project required him to join a variety show like those celebrities. Now it looked like he'd fucking been brought here so Wen Jiu could vent his anger!
Only after thoroughly making fun of him did Wen Jiu realize he'd somehow ended up sitting in Feng Chi's lap. Unable to save face, he fiercely slapped the man's hands away. "Get off!"
He'd actually noticed?
Feng Chi pouted and could only let go reluctantly.
Wen Jiu felt guilty at the sight of his pitiful expression. "What did I do to you now?"
Feng Chi raised the hand that had been slapped red for him to see. "It hurts."
Everyone: ...
"Did I hurt you?" Wen Jiu took his hand to check. Sure enough, there really was a red patch.
Wen Jiu didn't understand. Were all the big shots these days this delicate?!
Still shaken, Wen Jiu looked at him and stiffened his neck. "I didn't even use any force, okay!"
Feng Chi wouldn't have it. "It still hurts."
The kind of hurt that would have people calling it domestic violence if word got out.
This time, Wen Xiaojiu genuinely had no idea what to do. "Then, then what should I do?"
Feng Chi said, "Blow on it."
Wen Jiu: ... Stop flirting.
[Wifey, it hurts. Blow on it.]
[Does anyone get it? Big Boss Feng was hiding a knife behind his smile when he looked at Li Peiqi, but the moment he sees his wife, he's acting all cute.]
[This man really knows what he's doing. No wonder he has a wifey-wifey.]
[Hahahaha, what the hell is a wifey-wifey? Don't get too ridiculous!]
[Ever since these two appeared on screen together, the corners of my mouth haven't come down.]
[Same. Ever since wifey came on this show, I haven't stopped smiling. My fucking period even came early.]
The bullet comments were as jubilant as a New Year's celebration, and everyone in the room was watching the show too.
Under everyone's burning gazes, Wen Xiaojiu ultimately couldn't bring himself to act like a scumbag. Gritting his teeth, he lifted the man's hand and blew gently on it.
Feng Chi had beautiful hands, with cool, pale skin and long, evenly proportioned, well-defined fingers-a bony sort of beauty.
When Wen Jiu lifted his hand, he could see the raised blue veins on its back. They held an inexplicably seductive quality, very sexy.
As Wen Jiu kept blowing, his own face turned red.
When he looked up and met the man's gaze, a faint mist veiled his peach-blossom eyes.
An invisible intimacy lingered around them. From an onlooker's perspective, the youth's gaze was devout and sincere, like a believer looking at a god.
But the man's gaze as he looked down at the youth was complex and unfathomable, far from innocent.
For a moment, it was hard to tell which of them was truly the god being worshipped.
The bullet comments instantly fell silent.
[Wh-why am I inexplicably a little moved?]
[The sexual tension between these two is incredible.]
"Ahem!" Only after watching the whole performance did Zhang Guozhong leisurely speak up to interrupt.
As though pricked by a needle, Wen Jiu instantly withdrew his hand at lightning speed and turned away, his face burning.
Fuck, this bastard was downright poisonous!
"Great, everyone's here now. Get ready to head to the open-air square." Zhang Guozhong shouted excitedly, "Let's go, let's go!"
Pretty much wherever Travel Around the World went, it boosted the local tourism industry.
This season was based in Peach Blossom Spring Village. After just four or five episodes had aired, local tourist visits had tripled, while sales of specialty agricultural products had risen eightfold.
As a result, the local residents were very welcoming toward both the production team and the guests.
By the time everyone reached the open-air square, the ingredients were nearly all ready. A group of people stood around several tables arranging dishes, while several barbecue grills stood nearby, the charcoal in the bonfire blazing brightly.
When the dinner began, the seat beside Wen Jiu suddenly became vacant. The director was introducing Peach Blossom Spring Village on the platform used for the villagers' regular meetings. When he finished, he handed the microphone to Village Chief Liu.
He hurried over to Wen Xiaojiu, looking every bit an elder showing concern for a junior. "Still having a tiff?"