TRYMBPIETM 74: Mirror, Night, Snow Peak (37)

The guests’ phones were all confiscated by the production team, so no matter what was being discussed in the live broadcast, they couldn’t see it.

The director and the production staff could see, but since the Paranormal Control Bureau had promised to handle the avalanche issue, there was no need for the production team to worry. Besides, the topics related to Wanxiang were not the main focus of this episode’s broadcast, so the director didn’t pay much attention to it.

As long as there weren’t any issues with the artists, what did it matter whether Wanxiang was released or not?

They weren’t Chi Qingning’s mom, why would they care?

The director thought to himself, but Chi Qingzhou was the big boss of their entire production team, so they had to be respectful!

He glanced at the guests who were chatting with the tea garden owner, then without hesitation waved a small flag in his hand, signaling the host, Lu Man, to use the high-difficulty task card.

Lu Man looked speechless, but since the director was giving him a pointed look, he could only reluctantly proceed.

He was a bit worried that after the live broadcast, he would be harshly criticized by the fans, but facing the guests’ “you’re doomed” looks, he helplessly shrugged his shoulders.

However, what Lu Man and the guests didn’t know was that the atmosphere in the live broadcast room was unusually harmonious.

First, some of the audience had been distracted by the two trending searches from earlier this morning. Second, the atmosphere among the guests was naturally more relaxed, which influenced the audience’s mood and made them more laid-back.

【Feels like the guests have suddenly become much closer. Seems like the tension between the regular guests and the special guests was caused by unfamiliarity.】

【It’s probably because XJS is an idol, and his image matters a lot. He subconsciously keeps up appearances, but last night’s incident broke the ice. As long as he doesn’t keep up that facade, people are willing to interact with him.】

【He’s considered one of us in the industry, and XJS just speaks bluntly and doesn’t care about maintaining face. He’s actually not bad. He sings really well, and he doesn’t need to hold onto that image all the time.】

【Am I the only one who feels like the guests seem a bit sleepy today? But they seem to be in good spirits.】

【I feel the same. They’re all smiling brightly today. Yesterday the atmosphere was tense, but today even Teacher Xue and Teacher Shen are cracking jokes.】

【Speaking of which, are Xue Jinshi’s fans still going crazy since last night?】

The company that Xue Jinshi belongs to, Ding Sheng Entertainment, has a well-established fan management system, and the fans they cultivate are extremely fervent.

They take pride in their fan identities, actively protect their artist’s interests, and enjoy the feeling of being above others and undefeated.

For this type of fan, the collapse of their idol’s image or even illegal behavior might not affect them.

In their minds, everyone is out to harm their idol, and everything they do is to protect them.

Negative rumors about their idol are not seen as true but as malicious slander.

Accordingly, when their “efforts” are rejected by their idol or they lose a fan battle, they can’t take it.

The little Golden Crows experienced both situations at once yesterday.

Except for a few more composed fans, most of the little Golden Crows had their behavior “regulated” by Ding Sheng’s professional fanbase, and their thinking was quite extreme.

They couldn’t accept being trampled on, and they certainly couldn’t accept Xue Jinshi not acknowledging their efforts. After a brief period of disbelief, they turned their anger on Xue Jinshi.

Fortunately, Xue Jinshi had a good manager who could see things clearly, and with the manager’s tireless efforts, the backlash was skillfully redirected towards Ding Sheng Entertainment.

By this morning, although some confused fans were still dissatisfied with Xue Jinshi’s attitude, they began to doubt Ding Sheng and believed it was the company that forced Xue Jinshi to this point.

As a result, many Little Golden Crows stopped writing essays on Xue Jinshi’s homepage and turned their attention to Ding Sheng’s official social media.

They even found contact details for several high-ranking Ding Sheng executives, and within a short time, including the company’s CEO, their social media accounts, phone numbers, and other contact details were all flooded.

Their inboxes, private messages, and texts were packed with questions, threats, and insults from the Little Golden Crows. Their phones rang incessantly, and the Little Golden Crows were calling even before dawn to stir up trouble.

Ding Sheng’s executives were overwhelmed, and the CEO even smashed two phones, angrily roaring in his office.

He had always considered his methods of controlling fans to be mature, and never imagined things would escalate so quickly in just one day.

In the past, they had used similar tactics to attack rival celebrities, and some artists had even chosen to end their lives because of the relentless harassment.

At that time, they had both celebrated defeating their rivals and looked down on the artists who couldn’t cope.

They had genuinely despised those artists, until now, when they realized how painful it was to be constantly harassed.

These fans were everywhere, disrupting their normal lives.

Not only the CEO of Ding Sheng, but even the regular executives could hardly stand it.

They instructed their PR team to guide the public opinion and redirect the fans’ attention back to Xue Jinshi, while simultaneously collecting evidence of these fans’ online harassment and slander, preparing to use Xue Jinshi’s name to retaliate against these people.

But Xue Jinshi’s manager wasn’t someone to be underestimated.

He was waiting for Ding Sheng’s executives to make their move.

Only if the senior executives of Ding Sheng really carried out these actions would they be able to use this suitable opportunity to let Xue Jinshi sever ties with Ding Sheng and some of his fans at the cheapest cost.

Each party had their own plans, so much so that the crowd watching fromWeibo to the live broadcast room was filled with onlookers.

They were shouting, “Fight, fight!” as they were curious about how the situation would unfold and how Chi Qingzhou and Chi Qingning played a role in this matter.

Curiosity, sympathy, suspicion, malicious speculation… a mixture of emotions turned into a pure flood that flowed towards Chi Qingzhou.

In between brewing tea, Chi Qingzhou raised his head, glanced in the direction of the camera, his face filled with innocent cuteness, and slowly curved his lips.

At first, he thought Xue Jinshi would be a great source of emotion, but now it seemed that Xue Jinshi’s fans, or the onlookers attracted by Xue Jinshi, were the real highlights.

He still had to thank Teacher Xue.

If it weren’t for Teacher Xue, he probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to gather so much emotion today.

Chi Qingzhou smiled, his eyes curving like a crescent moon, and standing near him, Xue Jinshi accidentally caught a glimpse of his expression. He froze for two seconds and shivered inexplicably.

Was it a hallucination?

Why did Chi Qingzhou look a little scary at this moment?

…

In the following days, the storm surrounding Xue Jinshi online still hadn’t calmed down.

The atmosphere within the program group was very good, and the guests continued filming the variety show as planned, building good friendships with each other.

The audience, watching their peaceful and leisurely live broadcasts, felt a sense of inexplicable division.

They ate, drank, and played, as if they were really doing a slow variety show, while the bloody storms outside and the game segments set up by the director on the first day felt like a dream.

The director almost lost his hair from the stress and quickly arranged two more game segments, setting up a score leaderboard, following the content from the first day to challenge the guests. This was the only way to distract the audience.

Faced with the audience’s criticism of “deliberately letting the guests relax for two days before giving them a deadly blow,” the director and Lu Man could only sadly accept it with resignation.

The guests did not sympathize with the program group’s self-inflicted woes, but happily watched the director and others lose their hair, leisurely completing the final days of filming.

By the end of the episode, both the guests and the director felt a sense of disorientation, as if they had survived a catastrophe.

The director, overwhelmed with joy, hesitated for a long time before mustering the courage to approach Cheng Yufei and suggest letting the guests take a break for an episode to relax their tense nerves.

Cheng Yufei didn’t answer immediately. After consulting with senior colleagues at the bureau who were good at divination, she agreed to the director’s proposal.

The director was so ecstatic that he danced around and rushed back to the program group to announce the good news.

Everyone froze for a moment, then cheered.

Chi Qingzhou stood in the crowd, smiling happily, though his beautiful pupils were filled with deep shades of color.

Perhaps, it was time to expand his work experience?

…

After this episode of Scenery Along the Way ended, the guests were taken by their respective agents, and the official version of the episode began to be edited in private.

Guan Xihua received Chi Qingzhou, but Chi Qingzhou didn’t rush back to HeXing City. He first sent Luo Huaiyu and Luo Ting to the Paranormal Control Bureau headquarters.

It was the first time Guan Xihua realized that Chi Qingzhou actually knew people in official circles, which felt somewhat surreal.

Chi Qingzhou didn’t explain anything. When passing by Shen Wenxing, he waved to him amiably.

Shen Wenxing moved his lips, but after a long while, he couldn’t say a word.

His agent looked at him curiously but didn’t understand his attitude toward Chi Qingzhou.

Shen Wenxing didn’t answer his agent’s question.

He remained silent until his agent had driven him home, and he still didn’t speak.

After the agent gave him the work details for the trip, seeing that he was distracted, the agent finally gave up.

The kind-looking woman patted his shoulder and said understandingly, “Are you tired? You should rest today and we can talk tomorrow.”

Shen Wenxing snapped out of it and quickly apologized. He personally saw his agent out the door. Afterward, his tense shoulders finally relaxed.

Weary, he slumped onto the sofa without even turning on the lights.

In the darkness, a soft sigh came from the direction of the bedroom.

Shen Wenxing jumped up from the sofa, startled.

“Who, who’s here? Is it my cousin?”

The rustling sounds came from the bedroom, and soon, Shen Wenxing’s cousin, Shen Wenxu, appeared at the bedroom door.

Shen Wenxing sighed in relief and cautiously asked, “Cousin, what are you doing here?”

Shen Wenxu was silent for a moment before speaking softly, “Cousin, you went to Scenery Along the Way, why didn’t you tell me in advance? You didn’t have much contact with Chi Qingzhou and didn’t intervene when you encountered trouble… What exactly did you go there for?”

“Uh…” Shen Wenxing wasn’t upset by his cousin’s questioning. Instead, he scratched his head awkwardly and said, “I… I didn’t think much about it before, just wanted to see if I could help you.”

Shen Wenxu: “Really? Well, thank you for thinking of me, Cousin.”

Shen Wenxing felt that something was off with his cousin’s mood. After hesitating for a while, he uncertainly said in a low voice, “I… I should take care of you, you’re my cousin after all.”

Shen Wenxu smiled lightly, but in the darkness, his eyes held a trace of gloom.

“Since Cousin wants to take care of me, how about when Wanxiang is reshot, you join the crew for a cameo role?”

Shen Wenxing froze: “Huh, wh-what?”