CHAPTER 23: CHAPTER 23: THE THIRD GUEST

Under Su Yan’s school uniform was a white team jersey.

As Mu Qiu clapped to welcome him, she leaned forward to continue admiring that high-profile face, sighing with pity in her heart.

According to Brother Cheng’s script, she should have had an affair object, so why not Su Yan?

And based on the clues from the last episode’s guests, there should be a female guest; surely her affair object can’t be of the same sex, right?

Contrary to her thoughts, Guan Yu was so delighted that her hands were trembling, as if she had instantly transformed from a sorrowful woman whose husband had cheated to an energetic fangirl ready to hand her husband a divorce certificate.

"It’s all fate, having Shi Yuhuai on my left hand and Su Yan on my right, I feel like a winner in life at this moment!"

"I can tell, you’re so excited as if you’ve drunk two shots of liquor."

Guan Yu looked at her smugly.

Shi Yuhuai furrowed his brow, a little puzzled, and asked Su Yan, "What’s your identity setup?"

Su Yan’s voice was charmingly aloof: "A person delivering information."

"?"

Beside him, Zhu Qi’s smile deepened.

A good person plus an information deliverer, both vague identities, made no difference whether they spoke or not.

At this moment, Cheng Zhirang spoke, "They probably can’t say much, but since it’s different, the third guest should be able to give us a clue."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Su Yan suddenly spoke again, "The third guest should be here on a mission."

"Huh?" Shu Ran was the first to react, "Have you seen that guest? Is it a male or female?"

"A girl."

As expected, it was a girl, and she wasn’t far away, standing by a small lake nearby, with a tall figure, wearing an ash-colored long dress, slender hand holding a medieval noble hat, casually glancing towards them.

With just one look, it took their breath away.

"This is..."

Everyone stopped in their tracks, not daring to approach, fearing to disturb this beautiful scene.

Mu Qiu didn’t recognize her, but that didn’t stop her from appreciating a beauty.

Surprisingly, it was Shi Yuhuai who spoke her name first.

"This is Lin Banyan, my junior sister."

To be called junior sister by Shi Yuhuai, she must have a significant background, but Mu Qiu looked at everyone’s reactions and few recognized her.

There’s a story here, worth referencing, Mu Qiu thought.

Regardless of whether or not she knew her, a warm greeting is a necessary etiquette for the show.

"Hello, everyone, I’m Lin Banyan." Her voice was as clear and icy, bowing and shaking hands with everyone one by one.

Starting from Cheng Zhirang, Mu Qiu was the second to shake hands. Just after introducing herself and straightening up, out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed that the third person to shake hands overstepped a boundary, turning a fingertip-only handshake into a full palm grasp.

The kind that couldn’t be shaken off.

She worked hard to maintain her original expression, pretending not to see Su Yan’s gesture and Lin Banyan’s expressionless struggle.

But her heart was already pounding in astonishment.

After the introductions, Lin Banyan went to change clothes and joined Mu Qiu’s team.

It seemed like no one else noticed Su Yan’s out-of-bounds action and continued to cheerfully ask Lin Banyan questions.

"Banyan, your name is quite unique. With such a special name, are you here with a special mission? Su Yan just said you came with a task."

Lin Banyan seemed to ignore the words "Su Yan," unperturbed as she took a task card from her pocket.

"Please proceed to the ice treat cart, refine guest identity settings according to clues, and join the plot development."

"So your identity settings are still incomplete?" Guan Yu glanced at Su Yan, "Do you need us to ’fabricate’ them?"

"The word ’fabricate’..." Li Yang scratched his head, searching for a synonym, giving up, "Forget it, it’s fine."

Mu Qiu mused, "We probably ’fabricate’, but there will be clues directing us how to ’fabricate’."

Guan Yu paid no heed, brimming with excitement, "Then let’s hurry, I want to fabricate the perfect identity for Su Yan!"

The ice treat cart was diagonally across the lake, by a small park, the vendor was a fifty-something aunt, warmly greeting them.

"Want some ice treats, what toppings... oh, aren’t you the three brothers from the East?"

Mu Qiu’s gaze skimmed over the words "Central Academy of Drama Associate Professor Liu Bing" on the ice treat stand, feeling she probably wasn’t qualified to converse directly with this person.

Zhu Qi, grinning slyly, didn’t mind at all, naturally called Aunt Liu, "Aunt Liu, is it? You still recognize us?"

This warm greeting couldn’t go wrong, the next sentence should reveal their identities.

If Zhu Qi’s identity wasn’t an issue.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Aunt Liu saw Zhu Qi, her demeanor changed, completely different from her earlier warmth.

"Li Family’s little brother-in-law, why are you still freeloading at your sister and brother-in-law’s place?"

Zhu Qi: "???"

As expected of a big shot, flawlessly switching faces, making it seem like a real situation.

Everyone stepped aside, all eyes on Zhu Qi in the center.

Li Yang: "...Little brother-in-law?"

Shu Ran: "Brother?"

Zhu Qi hadn’t recovered from his little brother-in-law identity when Auntie started making the ice treat, albeit with a bad attitude, "The most expensive, right? Fifty."

Zhu Qi: "!!! Aunt Li... Aunt Liu, one ice treat fifty?!"

Auntie tightened her lips, slapping the counter with a bang, "You find it expensive now! Didn’t you say last time this money was nothing to you?! Eating your brother-in-law’s food, drinking your brother-in-law’s drinks, and still having so much to say, do you really think everyone listens to you?! Do you think just because you have a sister who married well you’re king of the world?!"

The entire venue was stunned.

Zhu Qi couldn’t utter a single word.

Li Yang was the only one who reacted quickly among the group, hands on hips, confronting Zhu Qi, "You even took advantage of my name to do such things?! And your sister still pointed at me saying I’m just a second-generation rich kid sponging off my parents, well, I see you’re the one!"

Looks like it’s time to move the plot forward, a small test in front of the examiner. The previously relaxed atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Shu Ran also reacted, standing in front of Zhu Qi, pointing at Li Yang, "And what about you, huh? You’re just a rich second-generation kid living off your parents too! Leaning on your privileged background, as if you’re not afraid of anything and look down on everyone. And you have the nerve to say you bought that villa with your own money, without your father’s support could you even earn that kind of money?!"

This argument, Mu Qiu took another step back, couldn’t help but turn her head and quietly whisper to Cheng Zhirang, "Brother Cheng, does acting need to be so explosive?"

Mu Qiu only now realized the tension. As someone who only writes plots and has nothing to do with acting, she finds it impossible to be as quick and intense as Shu Ran and Li Yang.

Cheng Zhirang turned his face sideways and whispered, "It’s okay, your roles probably don’t require such scenes. Just immerse yourself in the identity setup, understand what reaction your setup would normally have in each scenario, and then respond accordingly."

Mu Qiu nodded, trying to get acquainted with her identity setting.