Chapter 63

Chapter 63

The footage ended, and everyone’s expressions had gone a little numb. They had clearly been scared past the point of fear.

Looking at their follower counts again, Lei Long and the others had all lost followers to varying degrees because of what had happened.

Liu Ye’s follower count, meanwhile, was shooting up at a Terror-level speed.

Somewhere inside the villa, a certain shadow stared at the image on the monitor and fell into deep thought.

He took out a small notebook. On the cover were the words Fiend Script. He licked his finger, flipped it open, and found the cast list, where Xiaoshuai and the others’ names were written. After confirming that Liu Ye was not on it, he nodded.

Then he looked at the Fiend column. His own name was written there. He pointed at himself, nodded again, then looked at the number 1 listed under the Fiend count and drew a huge question mark beside it.

He lifted his head and stared at Liu Ye, sinking into thought. The script hadn’t said anything about sending him an assistant! More importantly, this guy was way too efficient. He could hardly keep up on his end!

Never mind that they had only arrived yesterday. Today was only the first official day, and Liu Ye had already wiped out four people. What was he supposed to do for the remaining thirteen days?

This wouldn’t do. He felt he had to rein Liu Ye in a little. If this kept up, the whole show would be ruined! His ability depended on this program.

“All right, the show continues,” the director said wearily.

“Starting today, we will no longer provide lunch for everyone. If you want to eat, you’ll have to complete our tasks.”

The celebrities all nodded. They had originally planned to just muddle through, but now every single one of them perked up. After all, if they performed well, their fans might follow them again.

“Okay, the first game is a knowledge quiz. We’ll ask a few questions. As long as you answer five correctly, you will receive… a fan reward?”

The director stared at his cue book in confusion. Why had it suddenly changed to a fan reward? Wasn’t it supposed to be lunch?

The Fiend hiding in the dark nodded. There was no helping it. If he didn’t offer them some kind of reward, they genuinely wouldn’t be able to keep playing.

Especially that Liu Ye. He had to guard against him even more.

The other celebrities, however, immediately became excited. For them right now, fans were their lifeline!

One by one, they began getting fully prepared. They had to answer properly.

Seeing this, the director could no longer change it, so he took out the questions he had prepared.

“All right, you have three chances in total. Listen carefully to the first question: please name three things related to Zhuge Liang. Now let’s draw one person to answer.”

The director took out a box and pulled a ball from inside. After glancing at it, he said,

“Teacher Xiangdong, you answer.”

The Fiend in the shadows nodded. It was only the first question, so he was basically giving it to them as a gift. Who hadn’t read Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

The contestant was Li Xiangdong, a wildly popular idol lately. Everyone looked at him expectantly, only to see him blink his innocent big eyes and say awkwardly,

“Zhuge Liang… is he a singer?”

Everyone: “…”

Thud!

The Fiend in the shadows fell straight off his chair.

The director took a deep breath. With Liu Ye absent, he could only smooth things over himself. “Well… in a way, I suppose. After all, he did once hold a concert for hundreds of thousands of people.”

“Wow, he’s that amazing? Then I definitely need to collaborate with him if I ever get the chance!” Li Xiangdong said excitedly. If he could get a song from such a big singer, that would be perfect.

“No, I seriously can’t take this anymore. What even are you saying?” Liu Ye suddenly cut in.

“I know this one. Zhuge Liang! A character from the Four Great Classical Novels.”

“Yes, that’s right!” The director nodded. This answer was actually decent.

“The Seven Times Beating the White Bone Demon story is about him!”

“…Sir, please go rest for a while. I’m begging you, give me a chance. We don’t need you to step in here.” The director looked at him pitifully.

The driver covered his face and dragged Liu Ye to the doorway.

What the hell was that? The Monkey King only beat someone three times, but your Zhuge Liang beat someone seven times? What kind of grudge was that supposed to be?

Seeing Liu Ye dragged away, the director let out a sigh of relief.

“Let’s just treat that last question as a warm-up. Xiangdong really knows how to joke around, hahaha… Anyway, let’s look at the next question!”

“Right, right, it was all for show effect!”

The two of them laughed together.

Then the director wiped away his sweat, took out another question card, and continued.

“Teacher Yifan, this one is for you. It’s also a history question.”

[Haha, what a coincidence. My darling has acted in tons of historical dramas. A history question should be a piece of cake for him.]
[Exactly! Zhu Qizhen, as played by our darling, was so handsome. For the sake of friendship between nations, he went to the meeting alone. He was incredible!]

[And Emperor Qinzong of Song, Hu Hai, Li Yu, and all those other characters too. They were all great heroes!]

[Right, and Zhao Gou too. He played him so well, worrying himself sick for the country.]

The driver: “…”

Wait. Had they studied the same history?

The driver found the dramas Li Yifan had filmed online, only to be left completely speechless by their contents.

Bro, filming TV dramas is fine, but could you at least show a little respect for your own ancestors?

Aren’t you afraid your ancestors will come looking for you in the middle of the night? Anyone who’d so much as flipped through a few history books wouldn’t make mistakes like this, right?

Yang Yuhuan and An Lushan in a romance? What kind of nonsense is that!

“All right, then, Yifan, this one’s a little difficult, so listen carefully. Qin Shi Huang destroyed the six states and unified the realm, becoming our country’s first great emperor to accomplish grand unification. He was also known as Zu Long. So, what was the order in which Qin Shi Huang conquered the six states? Yifan, you’ve acted in a similar drama before.”

The director quietly gave him a hint.

Li Yifan: “…”

Yes, he had acted in one. But back then… he’d only shown his face. Even his lines had been delivered by a stand-in. How was he supposed to know this?

He looked to the others for help, only to find every single one of them staring back in blank confusion.

Only Liu Ye was raising his hand excitedly. He knew this one!

Li Yifan: “…”

He skipped right over Liu Ye.

“Uh, I know this one. Give me a moment to sort out my thoughts. It’s, uh… hiss… It’s clearly right on the tip of my tongue, but I just can’t remember it.”

The director: “…”

I never should have asked a history question.

“Time’s up! Wrong answer. It was Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, Qi!”

“Ah, that was exactly what I was about to say. I was just about to get it out. What a shame!” Li Yifan said awkwardly, scratching his head.

The director: “…”

If your acting skills were this good when you actually performed, you’d already have an Oscar.

“Next question.” The director’s voice cracked. When he saw the question, his eyes instantly lit up.

“Xiangdong, that last one was just a warm-up, so it doesn’t count. You’ll answer this one.”

He frantically shot Li Xiangdong a look. Li Xiangdong immediately understood that this was a question he knew, and at once prepared to show off and salvage his reputation.

Just then, a very plainly dressed woman suddenly walked in through the door, holding a thermos. Liu Ye, meanwhile, had one leg crossed over the other, cracking sunflower seeds as he watched them film the show.

“Comrade, hello. May I ask if Li Xiangdong is here?”

Liu Ye remembered the director’s instructions and did not speak. He only smiled and pointed inside.

“Thank you!”

The woman took a few steps in and immediately spotted Li Xiangdong swaying around up front. Seeing that he was filming, she didn’t want to disturb him, so she stood beside Liu Ye and waited.

Inside the room…

“Please name the three title tracks from Annie’s latest album, Crossing the Pacific to Do You.”

Liu Ye: “…”

That was some serious grudge!

Li Xiangdong: “…”

The director was going insane. Why had he gone silent again?!

“No, Xiangdong, isn’t she your girlfriend? You don’t even know your own girlfriend’s songs?”

This time, Li Xiangdong froze, because he now faced the choice of whether to lie or not.

Since the question concerned Li Xiangdong himself, he had to tell the truth. Otherwise, he would have to use up one chance.

Just then, inspiration struck. Since he couldn’t lie, then all he had to do was not speak at all.

He immediately shut his mouth, and the surrounding area fell silent. The director was about to lose it. Damn it, you don’t know common-sense questions, you don’t know your girlfriend’s songs, and now you’re not even talking. How are we supposed to film a show if you don’t talk?!

Just as Li Xiangdong was feeling smug about his own cleverness, the System’s voice suddenly rang out.

[Ding! Rule 1 violated. Failure to cooperate in completing the entire process! Punishment: Speak the truth.]

A certain Fiend hiding in the dark: “…”

For fuck’s sake…

“She is my girlfriend, but what kind of garbage songs are those? They were all propped up with paid promotion. Listening to them makes me want to puke.”

After he finished speaking, the scene fell silent once again. The staff around them could hardly take it anymore.

Brothers and sisters, you really don’t see us as outsiders, do you? These bombs just keep dropping one after another. We’re stuffed from all the gossip!

Just then, a sharp crack rang out, breaking the silence in the room. A moment later, a burst of commotion came from the doorway.
The director shouted, on the verge of a breakdown.

“What is it this time?!”

“Director, there’s a woman trying to get in!” a staff member said.

Hearing that, the director roared in fury.

“What are the security guards even doing? Are they just letting anyone in now?”

“No, Director. The woman says she’s Li Xiangdong’s wife.”

“Oh my God, and you believed her just because she said so? Is this your first day in showbiz? Do you people have brains or not?”

“She has a marriage certificate,” the staff member said quietly.

“So what if she has a marriage certi-her marriage certificate… marriage certificate???”

A bad feeling washed over the director. He hurriedly told the staff member, “Quick, arrange for her to stay at a nearby hotel first. Whatever it is, we’ll talk after we finish filming!”

The staff member had just nodded when the woman charged straight in.

Despite her petite build, she was shockingly strong. A few ordinary men couldn’t get anywhere near her.

“Xiangdong!”

The woman rushed up and called out to him.

The director grabbed at his hair. Something was about to go wrong again!

The Fiend hiding in the shadows also clawed hard at the wall. Why were these bastards so impossible to manage?!!!

The moment Li Xiangdong saw the woman, his expression changed drastically.

“Who are you? I don’t know you at all!”

But as soon as he said that, he added, “Didn’t I tell you to stay in the countryside? Why did you come here?”

The woman stood there, trembling with anger.

“Xiangdong, who is that woman named Annie? Why did you say she’s your girlfriend? I’m clearly your wife!”

“You? Don’t be ridiculous. Do you know who I am? I’m one of the top stars in the country! Are you worthy of being my wife? We’re on completely different levels now. There won’t be a good ending if we’re together.”

“You bastard!”

Sobbing, the woman was about to throw the bundle in her hands at Li Xiangdong. The director quickly ordered people to stop her.

“Hey, hey, hey, ma’am, let’s not rush into anything. Is there some kind of misunderstanding here? Tell us what happened first.”

The director hurriedly tried to mediate.

The woman wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand, then began to speak.

As it turned out, she and Li Xiangdong came from the same small county town. They had been classmates, grown up together, and had always been very close.

Because neither of their families was well off, life had been difficult for both of them. After they entered high school, they were faced with a problem: tuition.

“So I decided to work and earn money to pay for his studies!”

At this point, the woman stared fixedly at him.

“Eight years. Eight whole years! I supported him for eight years and finally got him into college, and now he says I’m not worthy of being his wife! Wuwuwu…” The woman covered her face and started crying.

“No, wait a second!” The director suddenly felt something was off.

“Isn’t high school only three years in our country?” the director asked in confusion.

“Oh. He repeated the year five times.”

Everyone: “…”

Meanwhile, the internet had already erupted into heated discussion.

[Our gege has the right to pursue his own happiness. Why should spending a little money give her the right to hijack his happiness?!]

[Exactly, sisters! Can a marriage bought with money really be happy?]

[There’s already a gap in their social status. It’s better to end things sooner rather than later.]

[Right? What that woman is doing is basically destroying Dong-ge’s future!]

At the same time, Li Xiangdong gained a large number of fans, which delighted him. He hadn’t expected there to be such a turn of events.

Then he spread his hands and said, “I already said it’s impossible for us to be together. It’s useless no matter how hard you cling to me. At worst, I’ll pay back all the money of yours I’ve used over the years.”

When he said that, his face was full of pain. That was money he had worked so hard to earn!

By now, the woman had stopped crying. She simply looked at him coldly.

“I’ll make you regret this!”

Clearly, the woman had already made some terrifying decision. But the moment she turned around, she saw Liu Ye.

“Ma’am, I advise you to just give up.”

“Why? Do you think I’m wrong too?” the woman asked through her tears, her voice filled with despair.

“Not really. I just think it doesn’t matter how much money you spent. Just treat it as paying for a lesson. But if you really keep living with him and have children, I’m afraid it’ll affect the kids’ IQ.”

Li Xiangdong: “…”

Everyone else: “…”

And what left them even more speechless was that the woman actually snapped out of her despair and began seriously considering it.