Chapter 75: Living Together!

Chapter 75: Living Together!

After nearly half an hour of video call, Xu Sinian finally managed to reduce the torrential tears on the other end to a trickle.

As the call ended, Chen Moubai, wiping his tears like a schoolboy, said they'd meet in half a month. As he spoke, it seemed that the barely contained tears threatened to spill over again.

This wasn't just a marathon call; it had overtime too.

After coaxing the tears back into their orbits, Xu Sinian finally saw a smile from the person on the screen as they waved goodbye with their usual small gesture.

The room fell silent after the call ended.

Holding the now darkened phone, he lowered his head to brighten the screen again, finding the recent message and giving a brief reply.

"Okay"

"But there are conditions"

The message was sent, and the response came swiftly, reaching a simple agreement.

More than half an hour later, the assistants who had finished their work finally saw the person enter the room with their phone in hand, and they pricked up their ears.

Then they heard him say, "I have work next week."

---

Living a few more days at his dear aunt and uncle's house, taking his medicine, eating meals, and consuming fruit regularly, Chen Moubai's cold was completely cured, and he was once again a lively white.

This time, his agent came directly to pick him up. On the day of her arrival, Ms. Jiang and her partner happened to be off work, so they saw him off.

The sun was shining brightly, and the courtyard was lush with greenery. Standing under the shade of a tree by the roadside, Ms. Jiang and her partner watched as the person with a mess of hair on his head got into the car. Before he left, they didn't forget to remind him, "Remember to eat on time, and if you're not feeling well, make sure to give us a call."

Ms. Jiang paused, thinking for a moment, then added, "And remember to call even when you have free time."

Mr. Xu handed over a bag filled with freshly cut fruits and another with freshly baked cakes and cookies, saying, "Eat these with everyone on the way."

Chen Yibai reached out to take them, feeling as though he was about to go on a spring outing with his little schoolmates.

Watching from the other side of the car, the agent couldn't help but move her eyes, turning to the assistant sitting in front and saying, "Isn't this like a family of three?"

It was the first time the assistant had met these friends' parents, and she nodded in agreement. "Indeed."

If they hadn't been told beforehand that these were his friends' parents, they would have believed they were his biological parents without any doubt.

As the vehicle truly departed, all the companions inside greeted Uncle and Auntie, leaving together.

Uncle and Auntie had good reason to provide the fruit slices and cake cookies for the journey.

The filming location was set in City D, which was two cities away, requiring several hours of travel. They would pass through service areas on the highway, but nothing there could compare to freshly cut fruits and freshly baked cakes.

Each portion of fruit was separately packaged, and the fruity aroma spread throughout the car, making the air seem fresher.

After eating their fill, the agent leaned back and started looking at her phone.

When she had nothing to do, she would browse online messages, always staying connected to the internet. Originally, she was the only one looking, but soon Assistant Little Meng joined her, and the two looked together.

Chen Yibai rarely looked at his phone in the car unless he was chatting or had something to do, and he continued to quietly munch on his fruit. But suddenly, he heard his name mentioned by the two of them. With his mouth still full of watermelon, he finally turned his head and asked, "What's up?"

Little Meng said, "We're reading your negative comments."

The agent added, "For example, the frugal persona... um, saving money, but actually earning a lot, not needing to save that bit of money."

"No," Chen Yibai opened his eyes and said, "To maintain my mental health, shouldn't things like this normally be kept from me?"

The agent raised her eyes to look at him and said, "So are you upset?"

"Not really."

Continuing to poke a piece of watermelon into his mouth, Chen Yibai took it well, saying, "A normal person wouldn't owe billions in debt either; thinking that way is quite normal."

Only the person who truly needed to build a mountain knew how important each small stone was for the great endeavor.

He became curious and leaned over to see what other types of negative comments there were.

Stylist and Assistant Brother Liu watched with twitching eyebrows, seeing someone so actively and curiously checking their own negative reviews for the first time.

Having entered the public eye for only two years, Chen Yibai's fan base had grown rapidly, active and strangely loyal. Every endorsement significantly boosted the brand's sales, and correspondingly, he had no shortage of haters, some of whom were undoubtedly influenced by competitors.

His acting skills were beyond reproach, and his personality had no flaws, so the negative comments mainly focused on his rapid rise to fame, finding it suspicious and believing there must be someone behind the scenes pulling strings for such swift development.

In addition, there were rumors of him being a diva and stealing roles from others. Eventually, even his friends were deemed fictional characters, with the belief that he often mentioned them to establish a certain persona.

These words weren't entirely false, but none of them were facts.

These comments were beneficial in a way, promoting Chen Yibai's own mental health. He followed along, laughing at the absurdity of the content.

Indeed, he was a person whose mental health did not need careful maintenance, in every sense of the word.

Happy times are short-lived, and halfway through reading the comments under the marketing accounts, the official Weibo account of "Living Together!" posted a message, prompting the agent to log in and help share it.

Switching from leisure to work, Chen Yibai promptly retracted his head.

At exactly ten o'clock in the morning, the official Weibo account of "Living Together!" officially announced the lineup for the next episode's guests.

"LivingTogether V: See you tomorrow at nine [Live Broadcast Reservation Link][Image]"

The guest lineup wasn't as drastically changed as speculated online. The production team used their financial power to retain half of the regular guests and replaced them with a new batch. With the gold coins in place, the newly added guests were also well-known artists, at least appearing not too bad on the surface.

There were two guest stars per episode, but this time, only one of them was revealed alongside the regular guests.

Enough with one already.

"What is this? Chen Yibai! Not sure, let's take another look! What is this? Chen Yibai! Not sure, let's take another look!"

"Upon seeing the guest switch, my reaction: The production team is doomed; upon seeing Chen Yibai, still me: Well done!"

"I've been flipping through 'Fate Inquiry' and 'Chronicles of Youth' countless times already, how does Yibai know I'm out of food to eat!"

"In my personal opinion, the production team still has areas they could improve on—why isn't Chen Yibai a regular guest?!"

"Hoping that when I close and open my eyes again, it'll be tomorrow. Already booked, don't disappoint."

"Such an impressive lineup."

...

Chen Yibai had departed in the morning, arriving at his destination by late afternoon.

The program team had arranged accommodations and transportation, allowing him to check in directly upon arrival. The other regular guests had already arrived earlier, making a total of six people, including him seven. They had a simple meet-and-greet that evening.

Chen Yibai, who never had time for variety shows or other entertainment programs, manually searched for information about the others before coming. That night, he successfully matched names to faces, ending up as if they had known each other for eight hundred years.

Of the six people, three were former regular guests of the show, already quite familiar with each other. The new guests included an actress who had once won Best Actress, a professional variety show personality who frequently appeared on such programs, and a celebrity akin to the previous version of Zhou Jing.

The live broadcast started promptly at nine o'clock the next morning. Each person had their own dedicated camera position and a cameraman assigned to follow them. Back in his room that night, Chen Yibai took the opportunity to catch up on the previous episodes of the variety show.

Each episode of the variety show had somewhat different content, but the general process remained unchanged. It mainly involved pairs experiencing life unlike their usual routines, with the form of experience changing each episode. He was uncertain about what would happen in his episode.

Even the guests themselves didn't know what would happen next. This time, the production team had indeed created a thrilling experience, regardless of whether for the audience watching the live broadcast or the guests being broadcasted.

The live broadcast began at nine in the morning, with all related staff waking up and starting preparations around six or seven in the morning.

Chen Yibai didn't need much preparation. The only battle was between the stylist and the bedhead hair—a fighter in the realm of unruly hair.

Outside, the sky was bright. The person who usually sucked down soy milk with gusto sat in a chair, letting others fuss over him. With a soy milk straw in his mouth, his half-open eyes lacked vitality.

As soon as the assistant entered the room, they saw the listless eyes and put down the things they brought, asking the agent, "What's wrong?"

The agent waved a hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it. He's just depressed for a moment."

In reality, if there was no work today, this should have been the time for this person to meet up with friends.

After waiting for over a month, the meeting time was now canceled, and the friend's brain had entered a period of silence.

Thus, the assistant also kept quiet.

The stylist tamed the head of unruly hair, clapping their hands and saying, "Done."

With his hair sorted, the depression ended. The friend's brain took a deep breath of soy milk, threw the packaging remnants into the trash, engaged in a meaningless bout of punching and kicking, then exhaled, saying, "Let's go."

When he said "for a while," it really was just for a while. The person instantly became spirited, precise to the second, not a moment more or less.

Today, they were to gather outside the hotel's fountain. When he went down, he coincided with the arrival of the others.

Yesterday, he hadn't seen many staff members, but today they appeared like heavenly soldiers descending from the sky, suddenly popping up out of nowhere.

After polite exchanges with the acquaintances he met last night, he met the photographer assigned to follow him and had a brief friendly chat.

A staff member approached to help attach the small microphone for sound pickup to his collar, to which he smiled and thanked them.

Approaching nine o'clock, the other flying guest had yet to arrive. The director, holding their signature megaphone, said, "The other guest is still on the way. Let's start here first."

At exactly nine o'clock, the live broadcast officially began.

The live stream was divided into a main live room and several smaller live rooms, each corresponding to a guest. Viewers could choose to switch between them.

Upon entering, viewers were defaulted to the main live room, but the smaller live rooms were also open, except for one corner that remained dark.

"Early birds get the worm!"

"Chen Yibai really stands out under the lens, you can see him at a glance—he's glowing white, kid."

"Why haven't you announced the last one yet! Damn!"

"? Still not revealing the last guest even now, keeping it so tightly under wraps. Is Xu Sinian coming? [Confused Cat Face.jpg]"

Underneath the last comment was a string of "hahas."

Xu Sinian, the most unlikely person in the industry to accept invitations. From the beginning of his career until now, he had never appeared in front of the cameras of any variety show, truly the insulator of variety shows. Those who could make such jokes must have had a couple of unusually humorous cells in their bodies.

On Saturday morning at nine o'clock, a time when many people should have been lying in bed in a deep sleep, the popularity of the program team's live stream continued to climb steadily, increasing by tens of thousands with each refresh of online viewers.

Unaware of the situation in the live stream, separated by internet cables and without touching their phones, the people in the scene and those in front of the cameras had already begun the first segment after the routine introduction.

The director hid behind the camera, using their megaphone to act as the host, saying, "The first round is the lottery draw. This will determine who you will be paired with for the next little while to experience life together, forming a community of shared destiny. Those who draw the same number will be in a group. Please prepare yourselves."

It was once again the most peaceful and temper-free lottery draw for Chen Choushou. His entire being exuded a faint sense of tranquility, his brows and eyes calm as if he had seen through the world.

Fortunately, to him, everyone present was the same. There was no such thing as a double bad luck. The drawing order was from left to right, and he happened to be standing on the far right, having chosen his own position. He ended up drawing last.

One could say that his stinky luck was functioning normally. After everyone else drew in turn, when it was his turn, because only two lots remained, he casually drew for the good guest he had yet to meet, holding one lot in each hand.

During the reveal phase, the good guest on the way still hadn't arrived. The others displayed the numbers they had drawn according to the drawing order. It was a very exciting moment, with each reveal being incredibly stimulating.

But when it came to Chen Yibai's turn, the excitement vanished instantly.

"..."

It was hard to describe. Not only did he have rotten luck, but he seemed destined for a solitary life. After the first six guests revealed their numbers, they directly formed pairs.

He seemed like he should show his draw, but it didn't seem necessary, and thus the absent good guest wouldn't be needed either.

According to past routines, the lottery warm-up activities should have ended here.

But not today. The first lottery box was removed, followed swiftly by the second. Standing beside the guests, Chen Choushou caught a whiff of something ominous.

His intuition was correct. Another lottery box was set up, and the director picked up his megaphone again, saying, "Due to various reasons, the production team's funds have been overdrawn, and we can no longer afford for everyone to stay at this hotel."

Accommodation was divided into four tiers, no longer the uniform suite stays in the hotel. The four tiers were the grand suites in the current hotel, luxury twin rooms, standard twin rooms, and the budget twin rooms at the neighboring hotel that happened to be offering a discount.

Each pair sent one person forward to draw lots. With his good partner absent, Chen Bai, carrying a faint death wish, bravely stepped up.

After drawing lots, he didn't even need to see the results; seeing the expressions on others' faces gave him a pretty good idea of the answer.

Following two consecutive thrilling draws, the lottery didn't stop. Chen Choushou soon faced the third deathly draw.

The third draw was for living expenses, the money they would use for their living expenses during this period.

"…"

Quickly glancing at the number on the lottery slip, Chen Yibai closed his eyes and opened them again, looking at the dedicated cameraman beside him with both eyes and saying, "My guest will definitely kill me the moment they arrive."

Given what he drew based on his luck, it was undeniable that the guest would modify and kill him without hesitation.

"…" The cameraman wanted to comfort him but objectively felt that this luck was indeed too outrageous, making it hard to offer any consolation. Thus, he chose to simply say, "Good luck."

Before the oil could be added, the killer finally arrived. Arriving at such a time, it was hard not to think that they had come just to claim his life. As they accepted the lots they had drawn, behind the camera, staff members quickly jogged out to the roadside outside the hotel square, accompanied by the cameraman who also approached, carrying the camera.

A vehicle approached from the road and slowly parked by the roadside.

Before the car door opened, everyone looked over curiously, except for Chen Choushou, who quietly tightened his grip on the lot he had drawn, his mind racing as he thought about how to reasonably avoid the risk of being killed.

…There was no way to make it reasonable at all!

Still thinking at the fastest speed of his life, someone suddenly exclaimed, interrupting his thoughts. He raised his head along with the sound.

A man got out of the car, tall and long-legged, wearing a simple black top. The muscles on his arms flowed smoothly under the sleeves. After bending down to get out of the car, he lifted his head, and the sunlight failed to illuminate his dark pupils.

It was an unexpected person for everyone present.

The people on the scene hadn't reacted yet, and even the live chat in the broadcast room paused for a moment. The small live stream that had been dark all along finally lit up, with a name in the lower left corner, clearly reading "Xu Sinian."

"? I wasn't kidding before, Brother Xu, you're really here!!!"

"It's actually Xu Sinian. My first reaction is that compared to this physique, Chen Yibai could be killed a hundred times, hahaha."

"How powerful is this production team? How did you manage to invite Xu Sinian?!!"

"Although, but, Brother Xu, waiting for you ahead is the hell that Chen Yibai has painstakingly created."

"Hahaha, Yibai looks like he's about to cry."

Watching the person walk straight towards them, Chen Yibai stared with both eyes, still not fully reacting until the person approached and stood beside him. He pointed at himself, then at the male guest, and then at his own smelly hand.

The meaning he wanted to convey was complex, but Xu Sinian understood. He was asking why he was here and why his luck had led him to draw the same team.

Still under the lens, he didn't say much, only lowering his head and whispering, "I'm here."

Chen Yibai handed him the team lottery slip he had drawn for help, the small piece of paper and pale fingers landing together in his palm. Feeling the fingers in his hand move, he realized something was wrong and remembered the soba noodle tears brewing in his eyes when he arrived. So he bent down, wanting to look at the person's expression, and asked softly, "Did you cry?"

"No."

Chen Yibai was relatively restrained on the outside, and the soba noodle tears had been reined in early. He coughed lightly and simply stated the current situation: "It's like this, we just drew two rounds of lots."

He pointed to the hotel that shone splendidly in the sun—the small inn across the street—and said, "We'll be staying there for the next few days."

Then, he unfolded another lottery slip in the person's palm and said, "We have a whole 100 yuan for our living expenses."

After displaying the results one by one, he patted the person's palm, raised his head, and smiled, saying, "They don't have a small kitchen, only we do."

[HAHAHA "Only we have," you don't say a word about the reason why only you two have it, Chen Yibai.]

"Because only the two of you aren't provided with three meals a day, HAHAHA, that's why you have a small kitchen."

"[The Whole 100 Yuan], you don't say a word about the fact that everyone else starts with four digits, Chen Yibai."

"No matter how good your smile is, it doesn't hide the fact that you're deceiving people, Chen Yibai! How dare you deceive Brother Xu, Chen Yibai!"

"HAHAHA Brother Xu has never fought such a poor battle in his life, right?"

"Not, am I the only one who feels that these two people seem a bit off? Is this how they act when they've just met? By the way, wasn't Brother Xu's speech softer before? (wide-eyed)"

Chen Moubai tried to put a positive spin on things, but the male guest already knew him well. Looking at the barely concealed smiles on the lips of the others, he asked, "Last place?"

Chen Yibai closed his eyes. "Last place."

Xu Sinian lowered his eyes and smiled. "Good, we still have a small kitchen."

Chen Yibai instantly smiled. "Right?"

He smiled with his eyebrows and eyes curved, relaxed and carefree, as if he were a different person from the one who had worried about being killed by the male guest. His entire being basked in the sunlight.

The agent standing behind the camera with the production team staff wiped his face and looked away.

After several rounds of lot-drawing, the accommodation arrangements were settled, and the remaining morning was used for moving luggage, with a regrouping scheduled for the afternoon.

The main focus of the move was the two esteemed hotel residents, who needed to move from their hotel rooms to the rooms across the street at the inn.

Xu Sinian turned and asked, "Where's your room?"

Chen Yibai said 603.

Comrade Old Xu nodded in response, saying, "Let's go."

Back in the hotel room where they had stayed for only one night, unexpectedly, there was an operation of moving rooms, and Chen Yibai's suitcase was still open in the bedroom.

The suitcase contained ordinary clothes, not involving any privacy, so he didn't ask the dedicated photographer following him to wait outside the door temporarily.

Comrade Old Xu, who had already helped pack his luggage many times, was accustomed to the routine and knew what belonged to him. He bent down to pick up the pajamas draped over the bed.

The pajamas were white, with a fluffy puppy head on the chest.

He paused in his movement. Chen Yibai, who was tidying up other things nearby, noticed this and smiled after glancing at the puppy head, saying, "Aunt Jiang bought it, isn't it nice?"

Xu Sinian lowered his head to carefully fold the pajamas, following with a smile, "Yes, it's nice."

"..."

Now even the photographer could sense that something seemed off, asking the question that the surging audience in the live broadcast room most wanted to know: "The two of you... know each other?"

Chen Yibai simply nodded, smilingly saying, "Friends."