TRYMBPIETM 47: Mirror, Night, Snow Peak (10)

The audience in the live stream didn’t know if this was a real special mission, but the little golden crows had just confirmed the statement, so they naturally continued to go along with it.

【What kind of large-scale social death scene is this?】

【Hahaha, sorry, I know I should have followed the proper procedure first, but I couldn’t hold it in!】

【Hehe, I still remember earlier today when Xue Jinshi treated these skincare products like treasures, refusing to hand them over to the program team, and now, at night, he secretly sneaks out to throw them away?】

【From the sound, it doesn’t seem like it’s just empty bottles.】

【So after all this, he himself thinks they’re too heavy? He was too proud to admit it during the day.】

【Hahaha, this is really funny. I used to see marketing accounts saying Xue Jinshi was straightforward and cold, but who knew he had a talent for comedy?】

【But seriously, I don’t understand. Why didn’t he just hand these things over to the program team during the day? Why sneak out at night to throw them away?】

【And the place where he threw them was the changing room from earlier in the afternoon. It’s hard not to wonder if… is there something going on here?】

【Why do I feel like Xue Jinshi doesn’t know the cameras are on?】

【No way.】

【Wasn’t there a close-up shot earlier? If no one was around, how could they have gotten a close-up?】

Everyone thought this reasoning made sense.

So the question arises: If this was indeed a special mission from the program team, why would Xue Jinshi agree to do it?

Doesn’t he care about his personal image?

Because of everything that happened in the first episode, the audience of Scenery Along the Way was quite daring in speaking their minds.

They couldn’t figure it out, and were extremely curious, so they directly called out to the golden crows to ask.

【Hey? Are the little golden crows here? Come chat for a bit. What’s your brother thinking?】

【Let’s interview the little golden crows. Based on what you know, why would your brother agree to do this kind of task? Does he have some special ‘I won’t lose’ or ‘proud’ persona?】

The little golden crows were already stunned by Xue Jinshi’s actions, and now, with the barrage of comments, they felt suffocated.

Their brother had many labels, and indeed, some people had said he was a bit proud, but their brother was someone who cared about his image!

They still couldn’t understand why their brother would sneak out at night to throw things away!

Confused and suffocated, the little golden crows once again stuck to their previous story.

Their brother must have received a mission from the director, and in order to complete it, he had no choice but to sacrifice his image!

【Maybe it’s some kind of competition? Wasn’t there a group division this afternoon?】

【Xue Ge is very competitive, and the person next door, CQZ, is doing a task, so maybe it’s for points or rewards or something, that’s why he’s gritting his teeth and doing it.】

【It’s possible the program team is being unreasonable, and my brother just wanted to earn some extra pocket money.】

【I’ll say this: the price list this afternoon was really suffocating, the program team is really stingy.】

【I feel bad for my brother. For a little pocket money, the program team has forced him into this situation.】

This speculation seemed somewhat credible.

Some of the audience were convinced, while others didn’t care about the true reason and just wanted to watch the variety show for the fun of it.

Of course, there were also some viewers who were just there for the drama, thinking, how could such a funny scene go to waste?

It’s better to share the fun than keep it to oneself!

They happily recorded, took screenshots, and even turned them into GIFs, spontaneously creating the hashtag #XueJinShiSneaksOutAtNightToThrowThings# and, together with the laughing netizens, pushed it to the trending topics.

Netizens are essentially repeating machines, laughing creatures, and trolls, so the topic was quickly pushed to the top.

When Xue Jinshi’s manager noticed, the topic had already quickly climbed to the trending search rankings.

The manager hastily scanned through the topic and felt a wave of dizziness. He cursed, “Does he have glue in his brain? Does he know that I’ve been working hard to get him that endorsement? Couldn’t he just be quiet for even a day?”

Securing endorsements was a very important matter. What artist would dare to be careless?

Xue Jinshi, on the other hand, had gone ahead and thrown away cosmetics, and one of the bottles just happened to be from the brand they were in talks with!

While cursing, the manager quickly contacted the people involved to remove the topic from trending.

Not long after, he received some bad news.

Someone was trying to prevent them from taking the topic down.

The person was being secretive, but the manager soon realized it was a familiar face.

It was the female artist who had lost the guest spot to Xue Jinshi.

Clearly, she now hated Xue Jinshi.

The manager slammed the mouse onto the table, angry beyond belief.

“I’ve told him so many times not to make enemies, but Xue Jinshi just wouldn’t listen! Now look at what happened?”

He sneered as he pushed the keyboard aside, feeling frustrated.

Xue Jinshi’s assistant stood awkwardly at the side, holding the manager’s constantly vibrating work phone, unsure whether to speak up.

The manager cursed a couple more times, stood up angrily, and paced around the room, his eyes bloodshot.

It wasn’t that his reaction was slow, it was just that he hadn’t noticed the problem until the topic went viral.

He had been busy all day handling Xue Jinshi’s aftermath after grabbing the guest role and dealing with a makeup artist from the Pearl Watches brand who had caused trouble. He didn’t have the time to monitor Xue Jinshi 24/7.

The company had built an image for Xue Jinshi as straightforward, not rude, and certainly not someone who would resort to violence at the drop of a hat. While the makeup artist was nothing to worry about, what if they actually had evidence of Xue Jinshi attacking him? What would happen to his image? What about his reputation?

The manager knew very well that not everyone could make a spectacular comeback like Chi Qingzhou after being dragged through the mud.

And let’s be clear, Xue Jinshi wasn’t following the same path as Chi Qingzhou.

Even though Xue Jinshi was a popular idol right now, his team had already been planning his transition.

That’s how the industry works—no idol stays at the top forever.

At some point, they need to transition.

Xue Jinshi was still young, but some of the circumstances in the company had given him a strong sense of crisis.

His first choice was to transition into acting, but that path wasn’t easy.

The industry had a bias against idol actors.

He definitely wanted to join big productions, but given his current status, the best he could hope for were idol dramas.

Forget about playing a lead in a major production, no big director would even consider letting him play a supporting role. His team would laugh themselves awake if they dreamed of that.

Of course, Xue Jinshi wasn’t in a rush to make this transition in the next two years, but which manager wouldn’t hope for their artist to have a smoother career?

Despite how hard his team worked, they couldn’t keep up with the damage Xue Jinshi was doing.

At times like this, the manager couldn’t help but envy Chi Qingzhou’s manager, Guan Xihua.

From what he knew, due to strong recommendations from Tang Qichen and Song Yuzhi, several big directors had already started to notice Chi Qingzhou.

When Wen Zhuohua woke up, the MV was released in time, and directors who were initially only slightly interested began privately reaching out to Chi Qingzhou’s manager. One of them was even the director of “Wanxiang.”

Though no official news had been released yet, the manager had enough connections to know that at least three directors had already placed Chi Qingzhou on their consideration list.

How could he not be jealous?

Look at the other artists—no need for a manager to clear up their scandals, they attract fans on their own, and even receive official recognition.

And then look at his own artist. Although his singing and dancing skills were impressive, all he did every day was cause trouble and constantly stand up for Chi Qingning.

No one knew what kind of influence Chi Qingning had on him to make him so obsessed.

The manager, now even more irritable, paced back and forth again.

He spent every day cleaning up Xue Jinshi’s messes, losing hair over the process, and just when he was about to close deals on two skincare endorsements, Xue Jinshi went ahead and threw away cosmetics. How could he possibly be at ease?

Seeing this, the assistant could only offer some words of comfort. “Brother Qian, don’t be angry. Xue Ge is just a bit impulsive, he’s not a bad person.”

“And Xue Ge does have professional ethics. That skincare brand he’s endorsing, he didn’t touch any of the products, right?”

The manager didn’t respond.

The assistant looked at the phone that had been hung up automatically, gritted her teeth, and said, “We’ll get someone to sort it out later. The brand has already started trying to reach out.”

But at this moment, the assistant felt a sudden sense of unease.

She felt like something was wrong.

The agent glanced at the incoming call display, and his expression quickly became serious.

He answered the phone.

“Hello, boss.”

“I know, I’m trying to figure it out on my side. I’ll do my best to secure those two endorsements.”

“Make the production team take the blame? They might not agree. Although Director Hu’s background isn’t very deep, he probably doesn’t want to offend those brand owners. If we make him admit that the production team asked to throw those things away, he probably won’t agree.”

“The items were selected by drawing lots… This could be manipulated, but without the live broadcast of Xiao Xue making jokes and bets, they might not buy it…”

“I’ll think of something…”

The boss of Dingsheng Entertainment cared deeply about Xue Jinshi’s commercial value, and when he saw the trending search, he couldn’t suppress his anger.

Although the trouble Xue Jinshi caused this time wasn’t major, the timing was terrible.

He had cultivated Xue Jinshi for so long to let him act recklessly?

What was the agent doing?

What was the public relations team doing?

Why was everyone reacting so slowly?

He never cared if an artist had a temper, but he absolutely could not allow them to do anything that could affect their business endorsements at such a crucial moment!

The two brands they were in contact with already had several competitors, one of whom was Xue Jinshi’s old rival.

Given their temperament, no matter how small the issue, they would find a way to make trouble.

Losing just two endorsements that hadn’t even been secured was still a good result. Who knew if Xue Jinshi would be ostracized by the industry because of this small issue?!

The boss was furious, and the agent naturally received a harsh scolding.

The agent understood the boss’s anger but was in a difficult position.

He tried to explain his thoughts to the boss in a strained tone, but the boss refused to listen to his reasons and just gave a stern order. The endorsements were not to be pushed for too hard, but those two big brands absolutely could not be offended! This matter had to be resolved tonight!

It was already past 7 p.m.!

The agent glanced at the time and was almost forced to pray to the gods.

The assistant sighed quietly and opened Xue Jinshi’s live stream, preparing to think of a solution.

Just as the live stream page loaded, she suddenly widened her eyes.

“Brother Qian!” She raised her voice, startling the agent who was on the phone.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

The agent apologized to the boss and rushed over.

The assistant stretched out a hand, trembling as she pointed to the title and description of the live stream.

The agent took a look and was stunned.

The title said—

“Special Punishment Mission”

“Description: The group with the least savings must send one member to accept punishment. The punishment is to do the most embarrassing thing currently possible.'”

The agent: “…”

I haven’t even prayed yet, and the production team has already taken the blame themselves?

Which god is so effective?

Quickly tell me their name, and I’ll go buy a statue for them tomorrow!

…

Xue Jinshi’s agent was overjoyed and quickly arranged for a public statement to explain the situation and had the PR team start creating a narrative around the topic.

However, when the “Little Golden Crows” discovered that this incident had almost affected Xue Jinshi’s next two deals, they almost exploded on the spot!

They understood the company’s decision, but how could they let it slide so easily?

Trending searches are not that easy to get, someone must have bought them!

If these people are not taught a lesson, what’s the point of Dingsheng Entertainment?

The “Little Golden Crows” were upset.

They felt wronged for themselves and for Xue Jinshi.

Originally, this wouldn’t be considered a serious scandal. As long as it was handled well and didn’t involve major brand partners, the worst outcome would be a few jokes in the future.

Didn’t most of the viewers in the live stream laugh? But most of them were just teasing without ill intentions, right?

As long as Xue Jinshi wasn’t embarrassed, it would just be a boost of free traffic.

But the “Little Golden Crows” had been spoiled by Dingsheng Entertainment.

They were used to seeing their idol always being one step ahead, always getting good resources, always being put on a pedestal, and always mocking other fans from a high position. They couldn’t tolerate Xue Jinshi being wronged like this.

If those two endorsements fell through, how upset would their idol be?

The methods Dingsheng Entertainment used to create stars and manage fans had now exposed their serious flaws.

The “Little Golden Crows” didn’t listen to instructions, feeling that many people were targeting Xue Jinshi, and Chi Qingzhou must be one of them.

With a few people leading the charge, their emotions became extreme. Although they didn’t go out to argue with others to avoid affecting their idol’s career, they still couldn’t help but hate Chi Qingzhou.

Of course, they also hated the production team.

In their eyes, if the production team hadn’t treated them differently, Xue Jinshi wouldn’t have had to endure such embarrassment.

“Who is that CQZ? He just entered the industry three months ago and dares to stand on equal footing with Xue Ge?”

“Are the newcomers today so disrespectful of their seniors?”

“Don’t argue, don’t argue! What’s CQZ even worth? Don’t give him any attention!”

“Let’s stay rational, arguing with his fans is just boosting his popularity, and we don’t do things that benefit others.”

“Honestly, it’s disgusting! Some people are just shameless, thinking that blackened fame is still fame. They’ll do anything for traffic. How shameless!”

They cursed Chi Qingzhou in their fan group, feeling that this matter couldn’t be left like this.

“Isn’t he the true young master of the Chi family? He’s using capital to bully Xue Ge. He’s really asking for trouble!”

“I’ll say it again, don’t go out and argue with those crazy fans! Don’t give him any attention! Don’t do things that hurt us! If we’re going to do something, let’s strike at his weakness.”

“Ah, this reminds me of something. When I had to fill in an episode’s content, I saw him wearing a knockoff watch.”

Huh???

This comment immediately caught the attention of several big fans in the group. They quickly started a discussion group to find out more.

The fan posted several screenshots. Most were unclear, but it was apparent that Chi Qingzhou was wearing the same watch.

The one clear screenshot showed that the watch was poorly made and had some design differences from VN’s replica version, so it was definitely a knockoff.

Several big fans’ eyes lit up.

“If I’m not mistaken, there were rumors that this small-time celebrity got a sponsorship from Pearl Watches?”

“Most likely. Did you not notice? He changed watches this time and is wearing Pearl’s new series.”

“Then he’s really stupid. Doesn’t he know the consequences of wearing counterfeit in the fashion industry?”

“Well, isn’t this perfect? Since he dared to steal Xue Ge’s endorsement, he’ll have to pay the price!”

“Everyone, prepare the evidence, use a burner account to leak it, and I don’t believe he can keep endorsing Zhujie!”

“Haha, forget Pearl Watches, the whole fashion industry will close its doors to him!”

“Can’t wait to see this small-time celebrity fade away and stop harming Xue Ge!”

…

Unlike Xue Jinshi’s agent’s joy, on the other side, Director Hu, who was forced to take the blame, was on the verge of tears.

What punishment mission? Of course, it was all made up.

But with the live stream running in such a suspicious way and the camera switching so smoothly, even if the production team said they didn’t know about it, no one would believe them!

The worst part was that Director Hu still didn’t understand how the live stream started. Could it possibly be… that kind of thing?

In fact, after the first episode, he had already noticed this issue when they were editing the footage.

But he didn’t dare speak up or ask. He only prayed that the second episode would go smoothly.

Now, that dream was completely shattered.

Director Hu hugged his chubby self, looked at his old partner, and his face was full of despair and helplessness.

The assistant director wasn’t in any better shape. He stared blankly at the live stream, not saying a word, probably lost in thought.

Even the technician, who knew a lot, was close to tears.

His hand shook as he held the mouse, looking around nervously, then quietly asked Director Hu.

“What should we do now? We can’t really leave Teacher Xue alone in there. What if…” He swallowed hard. “What if it’s really that kind of thing? Isn’t Teacher Xue in danger right now?”

If something really happened to Xue Jinshi, not only would the show be in jeopardy, but they might all have to take responsibility.

The guy couldn’t help but harbor some resentment.

Why was Xue Jinshi not staying in his room at this late hour, and instead going out to do something?

Can that thing be more important than life?

The two directors also felt a moment of suffocation.

Of course, they had considered this issue, but they didn’t dare rashly approach Xue Jinshi.

If it was really that kind of thing, with their limited abilities, even if they went over, they would only be like the Calabash brothers.^[1]

The two of them anxiously pulled at their hair, and they had no choice but to pay more attention to Xue Jinshi’s live stream.

During their discussion, Xue Jinshi had already tidied up the traces in the changing room, turned off the lights, and was preparing to leave through the window.

He hadn’t planned to use the door since he didn’t have the key to the changing room and might not be able to close it properly.

He opened the sliding window, quickly swung one leg over the window frame, and as he raised his head, he almost froze into a stone statue—

Right in front of him, in the small tree area outside the greenbelt, stood three “people.”

In the moonlight, their skin was covered in bruises, and the wounds from blunt instruments were rotting and turning pale, with a few white, bony pieces exposed beneath the torn flesh, looking nothing like living beings.

Their eyes showed no whites, their gaze vacant, their expressions stiff, and they slowly raised their arms and took a step forward.

Xue Jinshi’s eyes widened, his lips moved, and he began to tremble involuntarily.

He saw clearly that when these “people” jumped and landed, their joints didn’t move at all, and there was no sign of any muscle effort—humans, no, it should be said that living beings, couldn’t do that!

The moment he realized this, Xue Jinshi’s blood froze, and instantly, a chill ran from his scalp to the tips of his toes. The overwhelming fear even made him forget to breathe.