Chapter 23

Episode 23

"Let's Travel Together" is a recently launched laid-back reality show.

The show's premise is straightforward: a group of people hanging out, eating, drinking, and having fun together, while also completing some tasks.

Although the show has a slow rhythm, it includes live-streaming segments during regular recordings to present to the audience.

Additionally, each location is picked to reflect everyday life. This program, filled with the warmth and hustle of everyday life, has become very popular among netizens and is dubbed the latest "digital comfort food" for viewers.

Today is the recording day for a new episode, and viewers were already tuning into the show's official live-streaming platform early.

The live-streaming platform has created an official live room and individual live channels for "Let's Travel Together."

Viewers can choose the corresponding live room to watch today's broadcast based on their preferences.

"Let's Travel Together" features four regular cast members, and after two episodes, each has built their own loyal following.

Thus, even before the official live broadcast began, the personal live channels of the four regular cast members were flooded with a large number of viewers.

Among the four regular cast members, Tong Anan's live room, a popular girl group member, had already reached over 3 million in popularity before the broadcast even started. Meanwhile, the other cast members' live rooms also had around 2 million viewers.

However, viewers soon noticed that the show had launched two new live channels, which immediately sparked curiosity.

"Two new channels? Are there two special guests joining today?"

"Wow, so exciting! Does anyone know who's coming?"

"One is probably Xu Xiang. Her fans have already hinted she's filming for 'Travel' today."

"Welcome, welcome! Looking forward to seeing the beautiful girl."

"If one is confirmed to be Xu Xiang, who's the other one? Does anyone know?"

"The show is keeping it under tight wraps. No information has been leaked yet."

"Being so mysterious, could it be a top-tier celebrity? I'm so excited!"

As viewers chatted, the show's live broadcast began.

After the regular cast members arrived at today's shooting location and delivered their introductions, the first special guest made a grand entrance.

Just as the rumors suggested, the first special guest was indeed the national sweetheart, Xu Xiang.

In the footage, Xu Xiang, stepping out of the car with an energetic high ponytail, held a book in one hand and dragged her small suitcase with the other, peeking curiously into the small courtyard.

The moment Xu Xiang appeared, her live channel went live. Her fans and viewers quickly jumped to her live room, and the live popularity instantly soared to over 2.7 million.

"Ahhh, my girl is so fresh, lively, and gorgeous!"

"Hahaha, am I the only one who noticed the physics book she's always carrying? Are you really doing your physics homework while filming, girl? Hahaha!"

"Can't forget homework no matter where you go, hahaha! So real, truly a high school student."

[She's so cute, but unfortunately, our little travel crew doesn't have anyone to help her with homework. After all, our group's 'brain,' Brother Hong, once messed up grocery math and overpaid by eleven yuan.]

Xu Xiang's arrival was warmly welcomed by the regular cast members. They kept calling her 'little sister,' offering her tea and making small talk.

However, Xu Xiang is still a student and is somewhat shy and socially anxious. She isn't very familiar with the older brothers and sisters, and after chatting for a while, she soon ran out of things to talk about.

The other four guests, having become quite familiar with the show after two episodes of collaboration, noticed Xu Xiang's discomfort and naturally steered the conversation towards the new guest.

"Are we getting another guest today?"

Shi Hongyu, the senior among the guests, subtly shifted the conversation to the new guest and then walked out of the living room, pretending to look outside.

"We just had a beautiful sister arrive; next, are you going to bring in a handsome guy for us?"

Cen Yi also stepped out, eagerly looking towards the chief director, hoping for some clues.

Off-camera, Zhang Shanfeng, the director who was monitoring from a corner of the yard, was suddenly addressed. He grabbed his trademark loudspeaker and confidently assured Cen Yi.

"It's gotta be a super handsome guy!"

Zhang Shanfeng's words were broadcast to every live stream through the live equipment.

The audience, upon hearing that a super handsome guy was coming, immediately got excited.

Within just a minute.

Over a million people flooded into the dark live stream of the second guest, all eager to see who this super handsome guy the director mentioned was.

"How handsome is this super handsome guy? I won't believe it until I see him in person right now."

Not just the audience, but the guests too were intrigued by the director's description and came out one by one, each pretending to look around.

Tong Anan: "When's the hottie arriving!!"

Shi Hongyu: "Which hunk? Do I know him?"

Feng Han: "Director, give us a clue first."

Facing the guests' curious questions, the director shook his head with a mysterious smile.

Realizing they weren't getting any info from the director, the guests headed back to the living room since nothing was happening outside.

By then, Xu Xiang had already started on her homework, but it seemed she was stuck on a problem and looked frustrated.

When the guests came back and saw her expression, they all eagerly gathered around, trying to help with her homework.

However, a few of them took one look at the problem and backed off, looking just as clueless.

Only Feng Han, a college freshman who had survived the college entrance exams, could barely help.

But having been out of the high school learning environment for so long, he had forgotten a lot of what he knew.

"I'm also not good at physics, I can't help you with this problem."

Just as the guests were struggling with Xu Xiang's homework, the live stream of the second guest suddenly lit up.

"He's coming, he's coming!!"

"Ahhhhhhh I'm so excited!!"

As soon as the screen lit up, the live stream was instantly filled with various bullet comments, and fans from all sides came to claim their brother.

However, the production team was quite mischievous; when they turned the camera from the ground upwards, everyone realized they could only see a blurry figure!

In the camera, a tall figure wearing a white shirt and a black mask was dragging a suitcase along the path towards the cabin.

"Wow, this star's outfit looks so fresh and clean!"

"His waist is so slim and his legs are so long... I'm in love!"

"Is he a singer and dancer? His physique is incredible!"

"I think I caught a glimpse of his eyes earlier, they're really stunning!!"

"The white shirt is so clean and handsome... this guy is definitely a looker, the director didn't disappoint us this time."

Even though the guest's face was intentionally blurred by the camera, his striking figure and fresh outfit instantly grabbed everyone's attention.

"Hurry up and remove the blur!! I need to see who this hottie is!!"

"Has anyone figured out who this is yet?"

Despite the viewers' pleas, even as he walked into the courtyard, the camera stayed blurry, keeping his identity a mystery.

The more the production team teased, the more the audience stayed glued, determined to uncover his identity.

When Su Xingyao got to the living room door, he didn't just walk in; instead, he politely knocked three times.

The guests, bogged down by their homework, finally noticed the sound and quickly turned to look at the door.

Su Xingyao removed his mask and greeted everyone with a warm smile.

Simultaneously, the blur effect on the second guest was abruptly lifted.

In the overexposed shot, the newcomer's fair skin seemed to glow, standing backlit like a radiant moon, his figure graceful and slim.

A full-body shot flashed by, and the crew quickly zoomed in on Su Xingyao's face as he took off his mask.

Instantly, a strikingly beautiful face filled the screens of all viewers in the live broadcast room.

The newcomer had soft, fluffy black hair, with slightly charming almond-shaped eyes flanking his high nose bridge.

But with eyes like that, he smiled, the corners of his eyes lifting, his light brown pupils clear and captivating.

Just his eyes alone perfectly blended innocence and allure to the extreme.

After Su Xingyao ended his contract, he didn't form a studio or assemble a team; he came solo.

After landing, he went straight to the recording site with the show's director, appearing on camera completely makeup-free and natural.

So, when such a stunning face suddenly appeared on the live broadcast, completely natural, the viewers were all taken aback.

"Damn, he's so handsome..."

"And he's all natural!!"

On set, the regular guests also got a clear look at the newcomer's face.

Cen Yi, who had just been calling for a hottie, immediately exclaimed, "Wow... the hottie's here!!"

Cen Yi, nearly forty, actually didn't recognize Su Xingyao.

But being naturally outgoing, she didn't let the awkwardness linger and immediately stepped forward to shake Su Xingyao's hand.

Shi Hongyu also approached, "Hey handsome, we've been waiting for you."

Cen Yi and Shi Hongyu acted this way because they are both of a certain age, one being a talented singer and the other a skilled actor, both belonging to the group that doesn’t pay much attention to the internet and doesn’t recognize new-generation stars.

However, the remaining guests are all internet-savvy individuals.

Recently, Su Xingyao’s contract termination was all over social media, so they naturally recognized him at a glance.

Therefore, upon seeing that the second guest was Su Xingyao, their faces showed surprise and awkwardness.

Not only were the guests surprised, but the live chat also exploded instantly.

"How could it be Su Xingyao???"

"Is this why you kept the guest a secret??"

"Zhang Shanfeng, are you serious? Are you serious??? Have you been out of the entertainment industry for so long that you forgot to do a background check on the artist? Aren’t you worried the show might get canceled by inviting such a controversial artist?"

"Ahhhh, I didn’t expect to watch a feel-good show and suddenly have my heart broken."

"Zhang Shanfeng, you big liar, you got my hopes up for nothing."

The viewers who had just praised Su Xingyao after seeing a blurry image were completely disheartened, with most of them angrily leaving the live stream.

So, the live stream, which had nearly three million viewers, quickly dropped to less than ten thousand in no time.

The few thousand viewers who stayed only did so to angrily criticize the show and Su Xingyao in the chat.

However, not all viewers of this show are part of fan circles; many are just working people looking for a casual show to watch while eating. Seeing so many people criticizing, they were very puzzled and asked.

"This guest is indeed a good-looking guy, the director wasn’t wrong, I really like his looks..."

"Just curious, what did this star do? Why are so many people hating on him?"

Seeing that some viewers were clueless, the haters started to fill everyone in on Su Xingyao’s scandals.

Including but not limited to being arrogant, giving Shen Huaixi the cold shoulder on a show, eating separately from everyone, etc...

After hearing about these so-called terrible deeds, the casual viewers were confused.

"? No illegal activities, no tax evasion, domestic violence, or cheating, how is this a controversial artist?"

The haters immediately shot back: "Isn’t this disgusting? And he’s a total loser."

The casual viewers were still confused: "There are plenty of losers in the entertainment industry, what’s one more? Besides, how much better are your idols’ skills? At least this loser is good-looking, is the entertainment industry your family’s business, so controlling that you won’t let him on a variety show?"

Su Xingyao’s natural appearance was so striking that many casual viewers had a good impression of him.

Even though many people criticized him, there were still some who stood up for him now and then.

However, his haters were really overbearing, immediately calling anyone who defended him a paid supporter, not allowing any pushback.

"Su Xingyao fans, stop subtly defending him, pretending to be casual viewers is gross, get lost."

"Just wait, don’t be fooled by his looks, you’ll see how awful he is later."

"Su Xingyao’s paid supporters, get lost, did he find some big shot after his contract ended to get on such a popular show?"

While the haters in the live stream were so upset by a few casual viewers’ defenses that they started spreading nasty rumors about Su Xingyao, Su Xingyao at the show was already warmly introducing himself to Cen Yi and Shi Hongyu, who didn’t know him.

"Hello, Teacher Cen, Teacher Shi, I’m Su Xingyao."

He had seen the variety show before arriving, so he could recognize the people in front of him at a glance.

Cen Yi finally found out his name and quickly brought a chair over for Su Xingyao to sit on.

"Oh, Xing Yao! Welcome, welcome~"

After thanking her politely, Su Xingyao also greeted the younger guests standing behind Cen Yi, "Nice to meet you all, hello everyone."

Su Xingyao's appearance was indeed unexpected for everyone.

However, Tong Anan and the others, who have been through the ups and downs of the entertainment industry, quickly composed themselves after a brief surprise and warmly engaged in friendly conversation with Su Xingyao.

Even Xu Xiang, who had been doing her homework, quickly put it away and greeted Su Xingyao with a "Hello, brother."

The guests were quite decent, and the atmosphere at the scene was harmonious.

Shi Hongyu, noticing that Su Xingyao was still pulling his suitcase, was about to suggest he put it in the corner of the room when they heard the director calling from outside.

"Alright, everyone, now that all the guests have arrived, please gather in the courtyard immediately."

Upon hearing the director's instruction, everyone put down what they were doing and stood together in the center of the courtyard.

Zhang Shanfeng, holding a loudspeaker, walked in front of the guests and smiled as he looked at everyone.

"Old friends, we meet again. Before we start today's recording tasks, let's first give a warm round of applause to welcome our flying guests, Xu Xiang and Su Xingyao."

The four regular guests clapped enthusiastically upon hearing this.

After clapping, Cen Yi even shouted, "Welcome our national sister and the handsome Xing Yao~"

After she finished speaking, the director began to assign today's tasks.

"It's still early, let's do a warm-up activity first."

Feng Han immediately raised his hand and showed off his muscles to the camera, "Is it a competition? I'm good at that!"

The director smiled mysteriously and then slowly said, "This warm-up activity is called 'You Draw, I Guess.'"

Hearing the words "You Draw, I Guess," Feng Han looked as if he had been deceived.

Who would have thought that he had just fallen into the director's verbal trap.

"Hahaha, Zhang Shanfeng hasn't been active for years, have the guests forgotten that he loves playing word games?"

"The atmosphere of the previous episodes was too peaceful and loving, making me look at the director's name for a long time."

"Hahaha, Director Zhang, are you getting restless and ready to start tricking the guests?"

It must be said that the audience knows the director well.

Zhang Shanfeng pointed to the rooms inside and immediately announced the task for this round.

"You should have noticed that, except for the living room, all other rooms are locked."

The rooms Zhang Shanfeng referred to included bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, etc.

And the four regular guests noticed upon arrival that all these rooms were locked.

"We’ve prepared a total of 15 questions. Within three minutes, the guests just need to get ten right to unlock all the rooms."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiang immediately asked the director, "What if we don’t get any right?"

Zhang Shanfeng smiled, "Then I’m sorry, but you’re stuck with what you’ve got."

Feng Han, upon hearing this result, rushed to Zhang Shanfeng and shouted, half-laughing and half-crying, "Director, you’ve changed!! You weren’t like this in the first two episodes!!"

The other guests also chimed in, "Director, if you’re being held hostage, blink twice."

However, the live chat was absolutely losing it.

"Hahahaha, this rule has that classic vibe."

"This is the Zhang Shanfeng I know, hahahaha."

"I can’t wait to see them fail to unlock even one room."

Seeing that this round of Pictionary also determined whether they’d have to sleep on the streets tonight, the guests immediately started brainstorming.

"Who among us is the best artist?"

"Yeah, pick the best artist to draw, so it’s easier to guess."

Shi Hongyu immediately waved his hand, "I’m out—I can’t draw for my life…"

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Shanfeng’s gaze fell on him.

"Mr. Shi, you’re up—you’re drawing for us."

Upon hearing this, Cen Yi immediately crossed her arms in an X.

"NO!!! I refuse!!"

Tong Anan and Feng Han also gave Zhang Shanfeng a look that said it all.

"Director, if you don’t want us to guess, just say it."

The guests reacted intensely, but the live chat was already in stitches.

"No way, no way, he’s definitely doing it on purpose."

"Laughing my head off, Shi Hongyu is a total disaster at drawing."

"You’re definitely sleeping outside tonight, hahaha."

Despite Shi Hongyu’s full refusal, he couldn’t withstand the pressure from Zhang Shanfeng’s stare and reluctantly took the brush and walked to the blackboard in front.

"Just so you know, if we don’t pass this level, don’t blame me. I can only say I’ll try… try my best to make it look right."

Even though Shi Hongyu tried his best to appear very sincere, the others still looked like they were in agony. The tension was palpable.

"Let’s go, Mr. Shi."

Under Zhang Shanfeng’s urging, Shi Hongyu stepped behind the board to check out the word he needed to draw.

Soon, he reappeared in everyone’s sight.

In the camera, Shi Hongyu fidgeted with the brush, unsure where to start, finally just scratching his head, completely lost, looking totally clueless about how to even begin.

The remaining guests were on the verge of losing their patience watching him like this.

"Mr. Shi, hurry up and draw!!!"

"If you don’t draw, how are we supposed to figure it out?"

"We’ve only got three minutes!!"

Hearing everyone's urging, Shi Hongyu reluctantly picked up the brush.

Then, a lopsided house, the kind a kid might draw, made up of a trapezoid and a rectangle, appeared on the blackboard.

Tong Anan, staring at the house, was completely lost and asked him, "How many words, bro?"

Shi Hongyu held up four fingers.

"Is it an idiom related to houses?" Xu Xiang asked, then tentatively said, "High-rise buildings? High buildings and flowing water?"

The referee beside them flatly replied, "Wrong."

Shi Hongyu quickly waved his hand and hurriedly added something that looked like a paperclip on the board.

On screen, the guests were frantically guessing the word, and the live chat exploded with guesses.

"A beehive and a whirlpool?"

"A golden house hiding a beauty?"

"Mr. Shi, what’s this mess supposed to be? Why is there a paperclip?"

"What an abstract artist—who could possibly guess this?"

Neither the audience nor the guests could figure it out.

Just as Cen Yi was about to call it quits, they heard Su Xingyao speak up in confusion.

"Three visits to the thatched hut?"

Hearing this seemingly unrelated answer, the other guests frowned at Su Xingyao, thinking it couldn't be right.

However, unexpectedly, Shi Hongyu, who was scratching his head with a worried look, immediately spun around, thrilled upon hearing this answer.

He looked happily at Su Xingyao, giving him a thumbs-up, looking like he’d found his soulmate.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! That's it!!"

His emphatic 'yeses' left everyone stunned.

Tong Anan, utterly baffled, looked at the house and the paperclip, then at Su Xingyao, and couldn't help but ask, "Xing Yao, what does this drawing have to do with 'Three Visits to the Thatched Hut'?"

Su Xingyao pointed to the paperclip Shi Hongyu had drawn and explained, "Mr. Shi drew two and a half trips back and forth."

As soon as Su Xingyao finished speaking, Shi Hongyu, even more thrilled that someone had caught his subtle detail, loudly affirmed to Su Xingyao, "Xing Yao is right! Liu Bei visited Zhuge Liang three times—the first two attempts failed, so he went back and forth, making it two and a half trips, right?"

After Shi Hongyu’s explanation, everyone finally got the paperclip’s meaning: ...

Are you kidding me, Mr. Shi...

Shi Hongyu, oblivious to the confusion, continued confidently, "I added so many details, how could you miss them???"

The crowd he questioned: ...

The barrage of comments: ...

"That's a solution I never would have thought of..."

"Haha, I can't help but admire Shi Hongyu's logic. Despite the messy drawing, he still managed to include details."

"Two and a half loops... who could have guessed that??"

"Haha, but Su Xingyao not only saw it but also understood it, haha, I can't stop laughing."

"Su Xingyao must be the production team's secret weapon to rescue the game's weakest link, Shi Hongyu, haha."

The crowd clearly struggled to accept this explanation. They had plenty to say, but with the countdown ticking, they bit their tongues and urged Shi Hongyu to hurry up with the next drawing.

Encouraged by Su Xingyao's accurate interpretation, Shi Hongyu promptly began the second drawing.

This time, he sketched five fingers and linked them with an oval.

The guests couldn't help but roll their eyes again.

Cen Yi felt utterly exasperated.

"What on earth is this..."

"Is this supposed to represent hand in hand, connected at the heart?"

Su Xingyao remained silent, his gaze fixed on the fingers and the oval shape they enclosed.

After a few seconds of thought, he ventured, "One hand covering the sky?"

Shi Hongyu leapt up excitedly and gave Su Xingyao another thumbs-up, "Yes!!"

At this confirmation, the guests looked at Su Xingyao with a mix of surprise and admiration.

"Damn, Xing Yao, you got it again??"

"How the hell does this drawing relate to 'one hand covering the sky' except for having a finger?"

However, Shi Hongyu, on the other hand, was already too lazy to explain and even started urging everyone.

"As long as Xing Yao gets it, hurry up, I'm drawing the next one."

After saying this, he even gave a cheering gesture specifically to Su Xingyao, "Keep it up, Xing Yao, I believe in you!"

Because Su Xingyao had quickly answered two questions correctly in a row, Shi Hongyu suddenly became extremely confident and immediately began drawing furiously.

Then the scene turned into a collaboration between him and Su Xingyao.

Shi Hongyu drew a cloud accompanied by lightning.

Su Xingyao responded, "A bolt out of the blue."

Shi Hongyu drew a jumble with a flower on its head.

Su Xingyao guessed, "A passing glance."

Shi Hongyu continued to draw.

Su Xingyao responded: "A dagger hidden in a smile."

"Perfect harmony and beauty under the moon."

...

In less than a minute, Shi Hongyu had drawn nine images in one go.

And each one was quickly guessed correctly by Su Xingyao.

Seeing Su Xingyao's skill, the guests went from clueless to amazed as he guessed the words.

By the end, they were cheering him on with admiration, chanting his name!

"Just one more, just one more!!"

Xu Xiang was overjoyed, clapping wildly behind Su Xingyao, "Xingyao, you're amazing!!"

Tong Anan, who had already turned into a cheering machine, was also excitedly giving Su Xingyao thumbs up and cheering loudly.

"Ahhh, we just need one more correct guess to unlock all the rooms! Xingyao, you're a genius!"

In the heat of the "You Draw, I Guess" game, the young guests quickly forgot their initial unease about Su Xingyao's scandal.

Now, all they could think was, "Su Xingyao is really strong!"

Originally, they thought the director wanted them to carry this useless bronze for the entire episode.

Who would have thought that he was actually a guessing master!!

With nine correct guesses, Su Xingyao only needed one more to win.

Confident of victory, Shi Hongyu casually walked behind the blackboard to check the next word set by the director.

After seeing it, he couldn't resist boasting to the production team.

"Director, these questions are too easy; they're no challenge."

For dramatic effect, he even taunted the director.

"Not to boast, but they'll guess it in just two or three strokes."

The provoked director, Zhang Shanfeng, remained seated like a mountain, maintaining a mysterious smile on his face.

However, his inner thoughts were: "Song Yingming, you rascal!! Where did you dig up this game prodigy for me!!!"

While Zhang Shanfeng's thoughts were private, the audience saw Shi Hongyu's overconfidence and quickly brought him back to earth.

"Don't get too full of yourself, bro, or you'll get a reality check hahaha"

"Bro, why can't you see the reality? It's not that you draw well, it's clearly Su Xingyao who guesses well hahaha"

Amidst the audience's laughter, Shi Hongyu drew a circle with two vertical lines beneath it.

After these three quick strokes, he paused.

Cen Yi leaned in close to Su Xingyao's ear and whispered, "Xing Yao, did you figure it out? Did you guess it?"

Su Xingyao glanced away from the three strokes and gave a slight nod, then leaned over to Cen Yi's ear and whispered a few words.

"No way, Su Xingyao got it that fast??"

"Seriously? He could tell from that??"

Hearing this, Cen Yi shot her hand up in excitement.

At the same time, Shi Hongyu began drawing wavy lines next to the vertical ones.

Cen Yi: "Frog in a well!!!"

Seeing the wavy lines, Xu Xiang also excitedly raised her hand, "Frog in a well!"

After both of them said the same phrase, they looked at each other in surprise.

They exchanged glances, each trying to figure out who said it first.

Finally, the referee stepped in, gesturing toward Cen Yi.

"That's correct! Congrats, Teacher Cen—you said it first."

When the referee confirmed it, Cen Yi froze for a moment, pointing at herself in disbelief.

"Wait, did I actually get it?"

After receiving another confirmation from the referee, she joyfully hugged Su Xingyao.

"Wow!! Xing Yao was the one who told me."

Then she told everyone what had just happened, "Can you believe it? He guessed it the moment Teacher Shi drew three strokes!!"

"I was thinking, 'Is this too fast?' But... it really was!!"

Cen Yi's words practically crowned Su Xingyao as the guessing champion.

I mean, guessing the idiom from just three strokes? That's insane!

With all ten questions guessed, they finally had time to ask what was on their minds.

Everyone crowded around Su Xingyao, their faces full of disbelief.

"How on earth did you guess that!!"

Tong Anan even ran behind Su Xingyao to look forward, then waved her hand, "You can't even see the word from where you're standing!!"

Feng Han also laughed and joked with him, "Come on, spill it—did you and Teacher Shi plan this ahead of time?"

"I never thought anyone could actually figure out what Teacher Shi was drawing."

Su Xingyao smiled and nodded, half-jokingly saying, "Yeah, honestly, Teacher Shi and I are basically long-lost brothers."

Shi Hongyu immediately hugged Su Xingyao's shoulder, "The bond between us brothers is something you can't even imagine."

Su Xingyao and Shi Hongyu's banter had everyone cracking up.

After this round, the guests were seriously impressed with Su Xingyao.

Meanwhile, Su Xingyao's live stream attracted a wave of viewers thanks to his stellar performance earlier, and the viewership jumped from a few thousand to twenty thousand.

"This guy is not only good-looking but also a pro at gaming. Love it!"

"I’m dying to know how he and Shi Hongyu were on the same wavelength, haha."

Seeing the audience praising Su Xingyao, the haters who’d been lurking in his stream popped up again.

"This is so scripted... Did the director feed Su Xingyao these idioms beforehand?"

"Is Su Xingyao using this show to clean up his image and play the genius card?"

"Don’t kid yourself, bro. Everyone knows the ‘genius’ act is the quickest to flop in showbiz."

"Can you haters just leave? If you don’t like him, why are you still here yapping? You’re ruining the vibe for the rest of us."

The haters didn’t just stick around—they shamelessly stayed in Su Xingyao’s stream, bragging, "Just wait, he’ll screw up soon, and don’t come crying when he gets exposed."

While the haters were busy online, the show kept rolling smoothly in real life.

Su Xingyao’s genius move got everyone through the challenge, and the director grudgingly handed over ten keys.

"Congrats to the guests for breezing through the task."

Zhang Shanfeng stepped up to Su Xingyao and gave him four keys.

"These are for the living quarters."

Shi Hongyu piped up, "What about the other six keys?"

Zhang Shanfeng grinned and jingled the six keys, "Let’s do a draw."

After saying that, he put the keys into a box, "Life’s no fun without a little unpredictability—let’s spice things up."

"We’ve got six unique rooms lined up, and this time, it’s all luck of the draw. You’ll get whatever room you pick."

Hearing this, the guests had a sneaking suspicion there was a catch.

"Alright, folks, time to pick your keys."

After saying that, Zhang Shanfeng called Su Xingyao, "Su Xingyao, you’re up first—you aced the most questions today."

Su Xingyao, who was called, stepped forward and drew his key.

He drew number 3.

After Su Xingyao picked his, the others followed suit.

After everyone got their keys, Zhang Shanfeng told them, "Alright, everyone, go check out your rooms."

So everyone returned to the living room, picked up their suitcases, and went to their respective bedrooms.

The director's special arrangement made the guests think that some rooms might be better than others, so they were all praying not to be so unlucky as to draw the worst one.

Su Xingyao's number 3 was on the left side of the yard.

When he opened the door, he found the room fully stocked and cozy—a real comfy setup.

After a glance, Su Xingyao didn't rush in immediately but looked back behind him.

Xu Xiang, who was in the room directly opposite, crouched down on the spot, looking utterly defeated.

"Director... does your show really have no budget..."

As Xu Xiang uttered these words, the audience also got a clear look at each guest's room through the main live stream.

This time, the rooms were divided into four tiers.

Su Xingyao had the best luck, drawing the largest and most comfortable room in the random draw.

Tong Anan and Cen Yi also had decent luck, drawing second-tier rooms.

Shi Hongyu and Feng Han were a bit less fortunate, ending up with relatively simple rooms, but still livable.

However, Xu Xiang, the youngest guest, had the worst luck.

She ended up with the most basic room, practically bare, with just a hard bed plank...

Not even a mattress in sight...

Seeing this allocation, the comment section exploded.

"Poor girl, how can anyone live in this room..."

"I knew the show would pull something like this."

"Why does someone like Su Xingyao get the best room?"

"Are you kidding me? It was a random draw..."

Hearing Xu Xiang's lament about her room, Su Xingyao walked over to her.

After a quick glance around her shabby room, he handed his key to Xu Xiang.

"Let's swap. You can have my room."

Xu Xiang, who had been on the verge of breaking down, looked at Su Xingyao in shock.

"But didn't the director say we have to stay in the room we drew..."

As Xu Xiang spoke, the other guests arrived and were stunned by the scene.

"Is this even livable?"

Su Xingyao smiled and shook his head, lowering his voice to tell Xu Xiang, "He didn't explicitly say we couldn't swap keys."

Xu Xiang hesitated but felt grateful as she took the key. "Is this really okay?"

Zhang Shanfeng, who had been watching the monitor, immediately straightened up, about to announce a temporary task to allow the swap.

But Su Xingyao suddenly spoke up, "Director Zhang won't make things difficult for you."

Zhang Shanfeng: ...

So now if I say anything, I'll be the one making things difficult for her???

Indeed, Su Xingyao's preemptive move worked like a charm.

Zhang Shanfeng, full of mischief, hadn't even had a chance to act before he reluctantly agreed.

After that, he told the producer next to him to remind him to fully explain the rules next time he announces them!

Once the director agreed, the tone of the bullet comments immediately shifted.

Xu Xiang's fans now have an incredibly high level of appreciation for Su Xingyao.

"Let me explain, it's not that my daughter is being picky or disliking the room; she's allergic to dust and really can't stay in this room."

"Wuwu, thank you Su Xingyao for swapping rooms with my girl. Thank you so much!"

"He's handsome and kind-hearted."

"Su Xingyao seems really nice; he didn't hesitate at all and gave the best room to the little sister. If it were me, I'd have to think twice."

"Mainly because the room is really bad... I'm even worried mice might come out at night."

"Just a passerby, but after watching this, my impression of Su Xingyao has greatly improved. Wasn't he said to be picky and throwing his weight around? I don't see that at all."

"Don't see it at all +1, I quite like him."

Since Su Xingyao's room wasn't too bad, Feng Han and Shi Hongyu later asked the director if they could swap to squeeze in together.

But the director didn't agree, saying there were other tasks later and they couldn't do that.

So the guests had no choice but to give up.

In the afternoon, after everyone had tidied up their rooms a bit, the director gave them a new task.

This time, for the travel show, the production team didn't arrange meals like before. Instead, they had everyone go out to buy and cook their own food.

Besides dinner, they also needed to buy milk, fruits, and other daily necessities.

The production team gave each guest one hundred yuan to buy all the necessary items.

The small courtyard where the guests are staying is near the mountains, quite a distance from the city center.

It was already 3 PM, and it would be too late to go out together, so they split into two groups.

Shi Hongyu took Tong Anan and Su Xingyao to buy vegetables, fruits, and other groceries.

Cen Yi took Feng Han and Xu Xiang to buy daily essentials.

Soon, Shi Hongyu started the car and drove everyone toward the city.

The drive was a bit boring, so he started chatting with Su Xingyao, who had just joined them.

"We were playing games earlier and didn't have time to ask, Xingyao, do you focus on singing or acting?"

Shi Hongyu asked this because he didn't know Su Xingyao and wanted to quickly get to know him.

He didn't mean any harm by asking, but the haters in the bullet comments were delighted.

After all, compared to everyone else, Su Xingyao has the least amount of work to his name.

"Hahaha, I'm dying, Mr. Shi, are you implying that Su Xingyao has no notable works?"

"He doesn't focus on singing or acting; he focuses on causing trouble."

The haters were staring intently at Su Xingyao, hoping to catch a glimpse of embarrassment on his face.

However, Su Xingyao remained calm and composed, speaking to Shi Hongyu very naturally, "I was in a TV drama once, but you might not have seen it, sir."

Shi Hongyu wasn't clueless either, and hearing Su Xingyao say this, he didn't press further.

Soon, they reached the city center.

Shi Hongyu parked the car by the roadside, unsure of where to shop.

Tong Anan, an idol with little life experience, said, "Let's hit the supermarket; they have everything."

However, Su Xingyao offered a new suggestion.

"We only have three hundred, so let's go to the vegetable market; it's cheaper."

It dawned on Tong Anan. "Oh right, we should go to the vegetable market. Oops, my bad. I always shop at the supermarket and totally forgot about this place."

Shi Hongyu, who had been financially independent for a while, also smiled. "Honestly, I didn't think of the vegetable market either... haha, it's been years since I've been there. Let's check it out."

After saying this, he rolled down the window and asked a passerby for directions, quickly finding a large vegetable market nearby.

The vegetable market was bustling with various stalls, and since it was still some time before closing, it wasn't too crowded at the moment.

Shi Hongyu and Tong Anan clearly weren't used to buying vegetables themselves, picking up vegetables without knowing how to tell which were good.

Meanwhile, Su Xingyao, with the program's phone in hand, asked the group for their preferences and expertly guided the two through the market.

Since someone wanted fish, they headed straight to the seafood section.

As soon as they arrived, a shop owner greeted them.

Tong Anan, unsure how to pick fish since they all looked similar, asked about the price.

The owner eagerly quoted her a price.

Thinking the price was reasonable, Tong Anan was ready to buy a fish.

But Su Xingyao subtly shook his head at her.

"Let's check out the next stall."

Without a word, Su Xingyao led Tong Anan away, and the haters in the comments started mocking him again.

"What's he up to?"

"Why stop Tong Anan from buying?"

"What are you trying to prove, Su Xingyao?"

Su Xingyao couldn't see the comments, nor could he reply to them.

However, the audience soon noticed that he was carefully looking around the seafood section.

Soon, he found another shop in a slightly remote corner.

After asking the owner for the price, Tong Anan realized that although the price quoted was exactly the same as the previous shop, the fish here were much more active.

This fish was much better than the one she had found!!

"Wow, Xing Yao, do you know how to cook?" Tong Anan was a bit surprised. She hadn't expected that among them, there would be someone who knew how to cook.

Su Xingyao nodded, "I used to do the basics myself when I was in school."

Shi Hongyu automatically took Su Xingyao's words to mean he cooked for himself during university and praised him in surprise, "That's really impressive, being able to cook for yourself..."

As the three were talking, the shopkeeper had already weighed the fish.

"1.62 kilograms."

Shi Hongyu, who is not good at math, looked at the electronic scale and immediately took out his phone to calculate the price, "13 yuan per half-kilogram, 1.62 kilograms... let me figure out how much that is."

As he was punching in the numbers on the calculator, Su Xingyao had already blurted out the correct price and started bargaining with the shopkeeper.

"42.12 yuan, how about 40 yuan, boss?"

The shopkeeper, still tapping away at the calculator, looked at Su Xingyao in confusion, made a wait gesture, and continued pressing the calculator.

A few seconds later, the mechanical female voice of the electronic calculator announced the same number as Su Xingyao had said.

42.12.

Shi Hongyu, who hadn't finished inputting the numbers, was stunned.

The live chat was also stunned.

"???? Su Xingyao calculated that so fast"

"Is he doing mental math?? That's not easy with decimals..."

"Damn, he's so good at bargaining with the boss... he must shop at the market a lot"

After the shopkeeper finished calculating, he agreed to Su Xingyao's price.

After buying the fish, Tong Anan and Shi Hongyu realized Su Xingyao was a market tycoon and naturally followed his lead, hanging on his every word.

Later, Su Xingyao took them to buy some meat and vegetables.

Then the viewers gradually noticed that Su Xingyao was very good at comparing prices and selecting goods, and he patiently taught Shi Hongyu and Tong Anan how to pick the best vegetables and get the most bang for their buck.

Thanks to Su Xingyao's guidance, their group snagged the best deals in the market.

By the time they were done, they'd loaded up on veggies, meat, and rice, all for just over a hundred yuan.

"Bowing down to the grocery shopping king"

"He bargains just like my mom—suddenly, stars feel so relatable"

"I thought this part would be boring, but Su Xingyao dropped so many grocery shopping tips, I'm itching to hit the market and try them out"

"As someone who shops for groceries often, I can tell Su Xingyao's a regular at the market. He bought a variety of veggies, but in just the right amounts for six people."

"Wow, so meticulous..."

The haters wanted to clap back at the praise for Su Xingyao.

But since they didn't know the first thing about grocery shopping, they had to back down.

At first, Shi Hongyu figured three hundred yuan would cover meat, rice, and veggies, but they still had about a hundred yuan left, so he suggested using the leftover cash to grab some fruit and crayfish for everyone.

The other two were all for it, so they made their way to the nearby fruit stalls.

To better reflect the lives of ordinary people, the segment where they went grocery shopping was filmed without a cameraman following them. They all wore masks and hats, with hidden cameras on them, so no one really paid them any attention.

Tong Anan stopped in front of a fruit stall and picked up a bunch of grapes. "Xiangxiang would probably like these, let's get some," she said.

After saying that, she asked the vendor for a bag and started filling it.

The grapes cost ten yuan per jin, and Tong Anan didn't dare to take too many. She estimated the amount for six people, filled the bag, and handed it to the vendor.

The vendor eagerly put the bag on the electronic scale. "Miss, three jin and two liang," he said.

Then, he handed the bagged grapes to Tong Anan and generously offered a discount. "I'll just charge you thirty yuan. Come back often to support my shop."

Just as Tong Anan was about to take the grapes, Su Xingyao reached out. "Let me carry them," he said.

He took the grapes from the vendor, weighed them, and then asked, "Boss, are you sure this is three jin and two liang?"

The vendor chuckled and said, "Of course, of course. We've been here for over ten years, and we never cheat anyone."

Su Xingyao smiled and asked again, "Really?"

The vendor confidently replied, "Really."

Since Su Xingyao had done such a good job shopping earlier, Shi Hongyu had given him the money to handle.

The live audience, seeing Su Xingyao questioning the vendor without paying, started to get antsy, and the haters couldn't help but mock him.

"What is Su Xingyao doing?"

"Why is he dragging his feet and not paying?"

After hearing the vendor, Su Xingyao didn't say much. He just pulled out the phone the production team gave him.

The phone was bare, without even a case.

Su Xingyao held up the phone and shook it in front of the vendor. "Boss, can I use your scale to weigh this phone?"

"This phone weighs 250 grams without a case."

Hearing this, the vendor's face clearly showed panic.

But Shi Hongyu, catching on, quickly put the phone the production team gave him on the scale first.

The scale read 380 grams.

Seeing this, Shi Hongyu got a little mad. "Boss, this scale has a problem."

At Shi Hongyu's words, the previously confident vendor immediately changed his tune and snatched the grapes back.

"I'm not selling anymore, just go."

Seeing the vendor's guilt, the audience finally got what Su Xingyao had been hinting at.

"???"

"Ghost scale?"

"This scale really has a problem."

"Wow, how did Su Xingyao figure that out..."

After Su Xingyao exposed the shopkeeper for using a rigged scale, the shopkeeper angrily chased them away.

But Tong Anan and Shi Hongyu weren't upset; instead, they admired Su Xingyao greatly.

"How did you figure this out?"

Su Xingyao spread his hands and weighed the items, "I felt the weight was off, it seemed a bit light."

Shi Hongyu, who usually ignored such things, immediately gave Su Xingyao a thumbs up, "Impressive..."

Seriously impressive... he could tell something was off just by weighing it.

Tong Anan, standing nearby, had completely become Su Xingyao's fan, asking him with curiosity and admiration, "So, is our phone actually 250 grams?"

Su Xingyao pulled out his phone and showed it to Tong Anan, saying, "This is my phone. It's 250 grams without a case. I've weighed it before."

Tong Anan: !!!!!!

"Xing Yao, how do you come up with all this stuff!!!"

After running into a rigged scale at the first shop, Tong Anan and Shi Hongyu got more careful at the next ones.

Every time they bought something, no matter how sincere the shopkeeper seemed or how confidently they claimed to compensate tenfold for any fake goods, they would test the scale with their phone.

However, they were shocked to find that not only was the first shop they visited problematic, but seven or eight out of the next ten fruit shops also had issues...

With so many dishonest merchants using rigged scales, the trio stopped buying fruits after discovering this.

Instead, they became a fraud-busting team, checking all the nearby vendors.

They found that besides fruit stalls, shops selling braised dishes, crayfish, etc., also had varying degrees of rigged scale problems.

"These shopkeepers are really shady..." Tong Anan was utterly amazed.

If it weren't for Su Xingyao, they'd have been ripped off at every shop.

And she roughly figured that for every hundred yuan spent, they'd have been cheated out of at least thirty yuan by the shopkeepers using rigged scales...

The audience, watching this on screen, was amazed and filled the screen with '666.'

"Wow, I had no idea rigged scales made such a difference. No wonder stuff felt so pricey. I must've wasted a ton of money before!!"

"I never noticed these rigged scales before. Thanks to Su Xingyao for teaching us about fraud today."

"I just came to watch a variety show, but it turned into a fraud-busting episode."

"What a positive and fun show, hahaha."

"Did anyone else weigh their phone right after watching the show?"

"Me, my phone's 230 grams. Thanks to Su Xingyao for showing me how to check for rigged scales. I'll tell my mom so we won't get scammed by these shady vendors anymore."

"Girls, who else gets it? Su Xingyao's so cool. He's like a human scale—just by lifting something, he can tell if the scale's off. If he says there's a problem, there is."

"Hahaha, Su Xingyao's really amazing. Are you from the market supervision bureau? You've got some serious fraud-busting skills."

"I just came to buy fruits, but it turned into cleaning up the market, hahaha."

"Su Xingyao, this treasure, please participate in more variety shows in the future."

After the group completed their tests, Su Xingyao called the local market supervision bureau.

Then, they drove home.

When they got back to the small yard, the other trio had already returned long before.

Before they could even ask why the three of them were back so late, they were stunned by the numerous bags of items they had brought back.

"Did you really get all this for just three hundred yuan???"

Feng Han stared at the ingredients scattered on the floor, totally shocked.

"Director, are you sure you didn't give them more cash?"

Tong Anan had been dying to share her thoughts and wanted to tell everyone as soon as they got back. Seeing Feng Han's shock, she quickly waved at him.

"We actually scored all this for just three hundred yuan!!"

After saying that, she emphasized with great excitement, "But!!! Let me tell you about our day, Xing Yao is absolutely amazing!!!"

Then, Tong Anan vividly described today's events to everyone.

While everyone was hanging on her every word, Su Xingyao suddenly became a sensation overnight.

As soon as the show ended, the hashtag #Su Xingyao Are You from the Market Supervision Bureau# quickly trended on social media.

The clip of him exposing fake goods during the live broadcast went viral on various short video platforms.

That same night, a nationwide anti-counterfeit movement quietly began across the country, all thanks to Su Xingyao.

Su Xingyao's name suddenly became widely known in a rather unusual way.