CHAPTER 413: CHAPTER 413: ADDING ANOTHER ENTRY TO THE GRUDGE BOOK

When the passerby returned the phone to Sang Ning, the others still hadn’t fully reacted.

"Sister Sangsang, what’s going on? Were you taking pictures just now?" Song Shiye asked, puzzled.

Sang Ning nodded while fiddling with her phone, "Yep."

What?!

Lu Yujing’s pupils trembled, "Sang Ning, you’re way too much! I wasn’t even ready yet, and you had someone take pictures of me!"

Lu Yujing cared deeply about her image in other people’s cameras. She quickly walked over to Sang Ning, intending to snatch her phone to delete the photos.

Sang Ning beat her to it, holding the phone up in front of Lu Yujing, "Relax, isn’t this beautiful? I’ve been in the entertainment industry for so long and still haven’t seen a female star with posture and grace as excellent as yours."

Flattery always sounds sweeter, especially coming from Sang Ning. Sure enough, Lu Yujing’s anger dissipated significantly.

She merely raised her eyes to look at the photo of herself, rendered speechless for a moment.

Sang Ning had used a very cute sticker to cover her head, with the sticker reading four characters: "Elegant Beauty."

Lu Yujing, self-aware of her attractiveness, knew she had always been viewed as the epitome of "elegant beauty." However, after seeing Sang Ning’s edited photo, she suddenly felt like the term wasn’t all that flattering.

"Give me the phone!" Li Haidong said gruffly, stepping forward to snatch Sang Ning’s phone.

Sang Ning deftly sidestepped, moving the phone to dangle playfully in front of Li Haidong, "Uncle, how’s this phrase for you?"

Li Haidong focused his gaze, his face entirely covered by an exaggerated cartoon cat sticker. Above the sticker floated four large characters: "Dashing Uncle."

He was caught in an awkward position—neither angry nor not angry.

"Relax, relax, I won’t reveal any of your faces. I absolutely respect everyone’s portrait rights!"

Sang Ning solemnly assured the remaining crowd, then proceeded to stick cartoon stickers over everyone’s faces while they watched. Finally, she connected all six of them with crude, hand-drawn lines.

"Alright, the distorted version of ’The Blooming Prosperity’ is complete. Thank you all for your cooperation!" Sang Ning presented the edited image to everyone.

Each person’s head sprouted two crooked red lines, forming an extremely... ugly six-pointed star.

The group of people in the photo: "..."

Having completed her task, Sang Ning removed the pin on her chest and directed the hidden camera toward her phone, asking in a serious tone, "Director Zhou, I’m about to post this on Weibo. Does this count as completing the task?"

"No! It doesn’t!" Zhou Rui roared in frustration in front of the monitors.

But Sang Ning wasn’t wearing an earpiece and completely missed his shouting. She pocketed the pin and posted the edited photo on Weibo with the caption: "Finally done!"

[What’s up with Sang Ning? I wanted to keep watching; why did she suddenly cut the live broadcast?]

[That six-pointed star photo is pure chaos, like rules simply don’t apply to Sang Ning.]

[This year’s most bizarre variety show artist, hands down, Sang Ning.]

All the guests had gathered and completed the little task arranged by the show producers, though the process wasn’t quite to the director’s satisfaction.

Before boarding, the program had everyone do a brief self-introduction to one another.

No need to mention Qin Feng and Song Shiye—Sang Ning was already quite familiar with them.

As for Jiang Xiaoti, who had tricked Sang Ning into taking a photo together at the start, she was a moderately famous influencer who had recently transitioned into the entertainment industry.

Among the three amateurs, the middle-aged couple were avid travel enthusiasts reportedly quite wealthy. Their main "mission" was to travel and enjoy themselves wherever they went.

The last amateur, Lu Yujing, was an internationally renowned ballet dancer who had only recently returned to the country. Her reasons for joining this variety show were unclear, though it was known she had close relationships with Wei Lan and Li Haidong.

The two tasks set by the production team were designed specifically as ice-breaking activities, but Sang Ning felt that while the tasks were completed, everyone seemed even more estranged.

This estrangement seemed particularly directed at her and the three amateurs.

On the plane, Li Haidong specifically asked to switch seats, ending up far away from Sang Ning. During several accidental moments of eye contact, he glared at her intensely—one might think he held a deep-seated grudge against her.

Wei Lan, naturally, sat with Li Haidong since they were a couple.

Though Lu Yujing was close friends with them, she was younger and might have more to talk about sitting with Sang Ning, but she still deliberately switched her seat to sit with Wei Lan and Li Haidong.

She fussed over the couple like a caring daughter, showing her utmost concern and affection.

Sang Ning refrained from commenting on anyone else’s behavior but found herself watching Lu Yujing as she thoughtfully handed preheated eye masks to Wei Lan and Li Haidong. Suddenly, Li Haidong coughed heavily, pulling everyone’s attention toward him.

Sang Ning turned her head as well, only to receive a sharp glare from Li Haidong. "Hmph, people—ugh, you just can’t stand to compare them. The difference becomes so obvious." His tone was dripping with sarcasm and pointedness.

Sang Ning nodded in agreement, "Absolutely. But, Uncle Hai—don’t stress yourself out. Even though you’re older and your stamina is clearly no match for us younger folks, we won’t abandon you. You’ll still get to eat, drink, and play with us all the way through!"

Li Haidong: "..."

Sang Ning’s grin was bright and genuine, but entirely insincere, making it unbearably grating in Li Haidong’s eyes.

Song Shiye, oblivious, followed up with his own attempt at reassurance, "Uncle, don’t worry. We’ve got two strong young guys here. If you get too tired, just say the word, and we’ll carry you through the trip!"

He clapped the other young man on the chest.

Qin Feng gave Li Haidong an awkward smile, saying nothing, while frantically shooting Song Shiye a warning glance.

Idiot!

But Song Shiye interpreted Qin Feng’s look as avoidance, punched Qin Feng squarely in the chest a few more times, and challenged him, "You’re not that much older than me. Are you saying you can’t carry an elderly man who weighs over a hundred pounds?"

Elderly Li Haidong was so enraged he couldn’t even speak. He turned away, refusing to continue the conversation.

While no one else was paying attention, he secretly asked Wei Lan for a portable mirror, conspicuously sneaking a look at himself in it, his expression laden with frustration.

By all accounts, his hair was still thick and jet black, his skin well-maintained, albeit darker from years of traveling. Compared to his peers, he looked remarkably young. Yet here he was being called "elderly"!

Looking closer, the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen by several degrees. Outrageous!

At that moment, Li Haidong felt his first pangs of age anxiety, and the instigator was none other than Sang Ning.

He cast a resentful glance toward Sang Ning, who was happily chatting and laughing with Song Shiye, even throwing in compliments like, "Young folks are so capable!"

Li Haidong silently added another grudge against Sang Ning in his mental ledger. If he could help it, this woman would never set foot in his Li Family, not in this lifetime.

He would absolutely not allow his son to marry someone so sharp-tongued and conniving!