CHAPTER 66: CHAPTER 66: BROTHER CHENG, YOU’RE SO HANDSOME

After Li Yang finished speaking, Shu Ran, who was beside him, kept her smile unchanged and jokingly raised her hand, saying, "Not me."

Once she responded, Li Yang felt a bit uneasy.

Even though interactions with most people in the circle felt familiar, they were somewhat uncomfortable. However, with others, there was room for laughter and conversation, whereas with Shu Ran, just a word from her made him all uneasy. Apart from offering a perfunctory smile as a gesture of respect, he couldn’t think of any other reaction.

After a while of silence, Mu Qiu finally finished munching on the twisted doughnut and lazily spoke up, "Isn’t it kind of not okay that we’re just lounging around like this? The director hasn’t said anything for a long time."

Cheng Zhirang and Shi Yuhuai, who were next to her, seemed very unaccustomed to this kind of "laziness." Even when slumping, they remained tense with no bit of relaxation. But strangely enough, there was an air of going with the flow from one, and a bit of adorable compliance from the other, so they didn’t move either, seeing the others stay put.

It seemed like unless someone issued a command, they wouldn’t stand up to snatch anything.

Having fully recovered his energy, Li Yang sat up, "It’s indeed not very good. How about we race for it?"

With Li Yang’s "invitation," Cheng Zhirang and Shi Yuhuai also "revived," standing up and ready to engage in a men’s showdown.

As for the three girls, they were permitted to lounge for a while longer.

After some discussion, their battlefield shifted to the sponge pool below, where the oddly shaped and numerous sponge blocks added some resistance.

Mu Qiu and her friends were still on the high platform, leaning over to look down.

Shu Ran asked, "Who do you think will win?"

Mu Qiu focused on Cheng Zhirang, who was elegantly adjusting the cuffs of his shirt below. He unbuttoned his sleeve buttons, rolled up the sleeves to his elbows, and those two long, attractive fingers loosened his tie a bit, as a preliminary preparation for battle.

"I bet on Brother Cheng," she said straightforwardly.

Shu Ran smiled at her, "Mu Qiu, it seems like you really like Brother Cheng?"

For those writing and reading in the entertainment circle, talking was filled with traps. Answering questions in front of the camera often led to misunderstandings if one wasn’t careful.

Mu Qiu ran "traps" through her mind, rested her chin on her hand, and nodded without hesitation, with admiration in her eyes, "The first guest I saw when I came to the show was Brother Cheng. Really, it’s my first time meeting someone so handsome and good-looking."

No need to mention like or dislike, or whether he was special. Just expressing admiration was enough.

Guan Yu felt she made a lot of sense and quickly nodded, "I think so too. So handsome. Though it’s not my first time seeing Brother Cheng, so it’s not as intense for me. But Brother Huai, it’s my first time seeing him. His legs—oh my God, I think he walks like he’s flying."

Mu Qiu was amused by her description, "So exaggerated, does Brother Huai know?"

Guan Yu didn’t care if Shi Yuhuai knew or not, only smacked her lips as if savoring the memory.

Well, they’d praised both male guests, leaving only Li Yang. As someone deeply entrenched in the entertainment industry, Shu Ran knew well not to play favorites, so she bit her chest and began organizing lines to praise Li Yang, pretending to forget the tragic fact of just being snatched.

"It’s my first time seeing Li Yang, but I really liked him from watching his previous shows. So when I saw he was participating, I was truly happy. Their team is great at dancing and singing. I was hoping there might be an episode focused on singing and dancing so he could teach me."

Mu Qiu and Guan Yu nodded.

[Here comes the group rainbow compliment]

[I just knew Mu Qiu really fancies Brother Cheng!]

[Expressing your preference so clearly isn’t too nice to the other two camps...oh well, it’s pretty good]

[Finally, a candid fan, who dares say they don’t prefer good-looking ones?]

[An honest star chaser, a savvy networker, a busy comedian, this combination is fantastic. The program team is amazing]

[I feel for Shu Ran. Li Yang just snatched two stickers from her, haha]

[Alright, I feel like I’m sitting next to them, starting to comment on the guys’ abs]

[The sense of immersion is too strong. I feel like I’ve touched Brother Cheng’s face, Brother Huai’s legs, and watched Li Yang’s performance on stage]

[Sometimes, when dreams are too perfect, it’s actually the end of an illusion. Hope the dreaming sisters are aware]

[I love Brother Cheng’s face and charisma! I will forever submit to his gentleness!!!]

[Allow me to stay a while at Brother Long Legs’ fan site]

[I watched Li Yang’s stage cut. He’s really charismatic! Completely different from now!]

[Say no more, Li Yang’s fans are about to hold their mouths and cry. Clearly a stage prince, now turned fool, whether to continue being a fan or not is a dilemma]

[I’ve turned from a girlfriend fan to a sister fan, and maybe in two more episodes, I’ll be a mom fan]

[Brother Huai finally made it to the mainstream!]

[Dear ripples of the Qinhuai River, just a curious passerby asking innocently, what’s your brother’s relation with Sister Lin Banyan, whom Yan Shen liked as well?]

[The relationship of Crown Prince and Princess]

[Jiali, the double gods, Ms. Banyan used to be the leading model]

While the bullet screen was bustling, so was the program.

Shu Ran really felt like a steward forced to make a speech to appease fans from all sides, yet she managed well.

Mu Qiu thought, if they were truly a team, a family, the two men of few words in charge of looking handsome, the enthusiastic guy in charge of enlivening the atmosphere with Guan Yu, Mu Qiu in charge of observing people and writing stories (alright, maybe not too useful but self-perception is important), the rest still needed someone familiar with the entertainment circle’s rules for interacting with others.

This position was quite important, and currently, Shu Ran seemed most suitable. Even though she liked to speak a little, she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Speaking of wrongdoing...that third swing just now, where the right side suddenly exerted force, who on earth was it?

"It’s started, it’s started!" Guan Yu’s shout pulled Mu Qiu’s attention back.

Mu Qiu quickly looked down. Indeed, the aggressive Li Yang had already lunged to test the waters once, but was directly blocked by Shi Yuhuai’s arm.

The topic of betting on who would win came up again.

Mu Qiu had already said she was betting on Cheng Zhirang and gave her reason, "This is a teammate I asked for; who else would I bet on?"

Moreover, Cheng Zhirang and Shi Yuhuai had already torn off the sticker on the second round and put it on themselves, making it impossible to snatch, whereas Li Yang, that simpleton, probably still didn’t know.

"Then I’ll bet on Shi Yuhuai!" Guan Yu quickly voiced her choice, leaving Shu Ran, who was about to speak, only able to "earnestly" say, "I’ll bet on Li Yang."

Based on her earlier rainbow compliments, she indeed was going to bet on Li Yang, but being the last one picked left her feeling displeased with being accustomed to standing out.

Feeling displeased, Shu Ran shouted at Li Yang below, "Li Yang, come on! I bet on you to win!"

Li Yang was startled and looked up.

Mu Qiu and Guan Yu also leaned over to cheer for their respective bets.

"Brother Huai, Brother Huai, you’re the best! You’re the best, the strongest! No matter what, you’re the king of the race!"

Shi Yuhuai: "......"

Such a corny cheer made him instantly lose the motivation to be number one.

They both had people cheering for them, leaving only Cheng Zhirang. He looked up with a gentle smile, not focusing on anyone in particular, just smiling and asking, "Where’s mine?"

——————

Cheering for Brother Cheng!