Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Early in the morning, Zhao Yunyun got up and went straight online without even having breakfast, just to tune into Su Xingyao's live broadcast on "Let's Travel Together."

Since Su Xingyao exposed the issue of dishonest scales, many internet celebrities and ordinary netizens followed suit last night, taking their phones to local night markets and stalls to test the accuracy of the scales.

Especially many online personalities, who posted videos overnight exposing the issues with dishonest scales they found across the country.

While these videos were entertaining, Zhao Yunyun felt that these bloggers who followed the trend had gone with the intention of debunking from the start, which seemed a bit deliberate and lacked the authenticity of Su Xingyao's original discovery of short-weighting while shopping.

That's why she, like everyone else curious, followed the trend and came to the live broadcast yesterday, and suddenly found Su Xingyao pretty intriguing.

Of course, she got up so early today mainly out of curiosity about what Su Xingyao had chosen last night.

She had a hunch that Su Xingyao would definitely choose something unexpected.

When Zhao Yunyun logged into the show's live streaming platform, the broadcast hadn't started yet.

She quickly found Su Xingyao's live stream room and clicked in.

Today, without the flood of curious netizens, Su Xingyao's live stream room was a lot calmer, but compared to the coldness at the start of the broadcast yesterday, today's data was quite impressive.

Early in the morning, in the dark live stream room, there were already fifty or sixty thousand people waiting.

Zhao Yunyun was bored but didn’t want to miss out on the first glimpse of Su Xingyao's decorated room, so she made herself a bowl of instant noodles and started watching the netizens' chat in the live stream room.

The early risers were just as curious as Zhao Yunyun, trying to guess what Su Xingyao had picked last night.

"What did Su Xingyao choose last night? Does anyone know?"

"He probably chose bedsheets and pillowcases, right? His room didn't have any, and these two things are just enough for sleeping."

"But based on Su Xingyao's previous performance, he probably wouldn’t do something so mundane."

"So what did he choose? This show is really messing with our emotions, making me dream all night about what Su Xingyao chose."

"I dreamed that he asked the show for two giant pandas."

"Hahahahaha, in Sichuan, everyone has a panda. I’d back Su Xingyao asking the show for that."

"@Zhang Shanfeng, Zhang Shanfeng, are you up yet? If you're up, hurry up and turn on the live broadcast for me."

"@Zhang Shanfeng, hurry up and start the live broadcast, don't make me kneel down and beg you."

The netizens in the live stream room, getting really antsy, quickly went from guessing Su Xingyao’s choice to collectively tagging Zhang Shanfeng.

Zhao Yunyun found it funny to see everyone roasting this shady director and joined in.

But the moment her comment went up, the live stream screen suddenly lit up.

"It's here, it's here!!"

"The director is finally awake!!"

The audience, who’d been waiting forever, excitedly flooded the chat while searching for Su Xingyao's figure on the screen.

But the show wasn't that kind; they didn't show what Su Xingyao had chosen right away. Instead, they focused the camera on the dining table in the living room.

It was already filled with a rich breakfast, both Chinese and Western style.

All these breakfasts were prepared by Su Xingyao.

"Watching this early in the morning is making me hungry."

"What a sumptuous breakfast!"

"Did Su Xingyao really get up this early to prepare breakfast for the guests?"

"He's so thoughtful, I adore him, I wish I could take him home as my spouse."

"Upstairs, no way!! He's already my spouse."

As the live stream audience watched enviously, the other guests arrived in the living room one by one.

Their reactions mirrored the comments.

"Ahhh Xing Yao, you're like an angel sent by the show to save us."

Tong Anan joyfully took Su Xingyao's wrist and playfully rubbed it, her face beaming with happiness.

The other guests, touched and appreciative, kept saying, "Thanks for all your effort."

Su Xingyao waved it off, "No big deal."

Though Su Xingyao downplayed it, Feng Han and Xu Xiang now regarded him like a brother.

After last night's recording, Su Xingyao had asked everyone in the group about their breakfast preferences, and this morning, he went out of his way to prepare dishes tailored to each person's tastes.

Xu Xiang, for instance, had mentioned craving mixed sauce noodles, and Su Xingyao not only made them for her but they were delicious!

Reflecting on the breakfast and how Su Xingyao had selflessly given up his room for her last night, Xu Xiang, experiencing such kindness on her first variety show, was overwhelmed with joy.

So she impulsively said to Su Xingyao, "Brother Xing Yao, why don't you just be my real brother..."

Su Xingyao, sipping hot milk with his head down, nearly choked when he heard Xu Xiang's words.

He smiled, looking across at Xu Xiang, who was gazing at him earnestly.

"Don't worry, I can handle things at home!"

Xu Xiang's unexpected comment had the other guests in stitches.

Shi Hongyu teased her, "Not cool trying to steal my bro right in front of me—Xing Yao officially acknowledged us during yesterday's Pictionary!"

Breakfast flew by with the guests' laughter filling the air.

After the meal, everyone pitched in to wash the dishes, ensuring Su Xingyao, who'd been busy all morning, didn't lift another finger.

Once the tasks were done, it was time for the show's most awaited moment: the room decoration reveal.

"Are we still deciding the order by drawing lots?"

Feng Han, somewhat familiar with Zhang Shanfeng's ways, asked the director directly.

But the unpredictable Zhang Shanfeng had other plans and pointed to Xu Xiang's room, "We'll start with the most luxurious one."

The main live stream's camera followed Xu Xiang to her room.

The bubbly and adorable Xu Xiang didn't hesitate and pushed the door open.

This room is the best one Su Xingyao picked, with all the facilities fully equipped, already a beautifully decorated room.

Such a room doesn’t need much decoration to look beautiful, so Xu Xiang only placed a bunch of lilies and a vase on the bedside cabinet.

Xu Xiang’s touch wasn’t exactly a showstopper, but the yellow lilies matched the fresh style of the room, making the overall look quite nice.

After visiting Xu Xiang’s room, the cameraman went to see the rooms of Tong Anan, Cen Yi, and Shi Hongyu.

These guests all chose some very conventional ornaments, which looked good in the room but lacked a bit of surprise.

The only thing that amused the audience was Feng Han’s room, but his "surprise" came from the half-finished LEGO set.

Looking at his ghost-like assembled blocks, Feng Han gave an embarrassed smile, "It was too late last night. I only got halfway through before I dozed off."

After saying that, he started to accuse the director.

"I said I wanted LEGO, but I didn’t ask you to find me a 720-piece set..."

Hearing Feng Han’s pitiful voice, the chat exploded with laughter.

"Haha, Zhang Shanfeng’s really trying to keep you up, huh?"

"LOL, a 720-piece set would take forever to put together..."

"Feng Han’s still too trusting, not realizing how sneaky the producers can be."

"What about Su Xingyao? Is he last?"

Shi Hongyu asked in unison with the audience in the live broadcast room.

"Where’s Xingyao? Are we checking out his room next?"

After saying that, he looked at Su Xingyao with full expectation, "I’m super curious and can’t wait to see it..."

Hearing this, Feng Han jumped in, "Honestly, I was totally surprised by what you picked last night..."

When the audience heard the first half of Feng Han’s sentence, they pricked up their ears.

But after hearing the complete sentence, they went crazy.

"What two things? Spill it already!!"

"Feng Han, did Zhang Shanfeng teach you how to be such a tease?"

"I’m excited, but let’s not get our hopes up too high. Su Xingyao’s room is pretty basic, and the producers only gave him two things. No matter what he does, can he really work miracles with it?"

"Yeah... that’s probably true."

The audience’s curiosity stems from not knowing what he picked last night.

But now, after seeing the comments and remembering his rundown room with a hard bed, they realized his decorated room probably wouldn’t be much better.

As the viewers chatted away in the live stream, Su Xingyao had already led everyone to his room.

"I can’t wait to see it..."

"I have a feeling it’s going to look amazing."

The three female guests who knew what Su Xingyao had picked were way more excited than the audience, all eyes glued to Su Xingyao’s door.

In the next moment, Su Xingyao's slender fingers pushed the door open.

The scene that suddenly appeared on camera left the audience gasping.

What came into view was a wall-sized mural.

Four pandas were playing leisurely under the bamboo forest.

The one on the far left sat on the ground, its back to everyone, enjoying its bamboo, its back resembling a cute triangular rice ball.

The other two round and chubby pandas were busy wrestling over bamboo, their little paws waving animatedly in the air.

The last one was living its best life.

It lay leisurely on the ground with a bamboo leaf in its mouth, its legs raised, showing off its white belly, basking in the sun with ease.

The entire wall painting was drawn in black paint, and the overall tone complemented the pandas perfectly.

But this painting was not just black and white.

The painter added a brilliant touch from above, drawing a beam of sunlight.

The bright light slanted through the bamboo forest, gently illuminating the round belly of the sunbathing panda...

The originally slightly dull black and white was suddenly brightened by this beam of light!

The guests were utterly amazed when they saw this painting.

Tong Anan, who especially loves pandas, even ran directly to the mural, leaning in to take a closer look at the vivid scene.

Although she had guessed earlier that Su Xingyao might paint, she thought he would only paint some simple, cartoon-like drawings.

But she never expected... such an elaborate piece!

And, it was absolutely stunning!!

Tong Anan stared at Su Xingyao in disbelief, "Did you... paint all of this?"

Su Xingyao nodded, "Yes."

"Such a big wall... how long did it take you to paint this?"

Cen Yi asked this question, suddenly remembering that Su Xingyao had gotten up early to make breakfast for everyone, and couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

Su Xingyao actually didn't pay much attention to how long it took.

He never kept track of time while painting.

"A few hours, I can't remember."

Although Su Xingyao didn't mention the time, this wall was blank around midnight last night, and today a painting was already completed, so it couldn't have taken too long.

After Su Xingyao's mural was revealed, the chat in his live stream and the main live stream exploded instantly.

"Ahhhhh these pandas are so cute! Su Xingyao, you're so good at painting!!"

"So cute, so cute, so cute!! I also want such a cute mural in my room"

"Did it really take less than a night??? Incredible!!"

"This painting is incredible! Did Su Xingyao study art before?"

"I don’t know; his profile as a star never mentioned anything about it."

"OMG, as an art student, I’m so jealous of Su Xingyao’s talent! I wish I could paint a whole wall so quickly like him!"

The live stream viewers didn’t know what Su Xingyao had chosen beforehand, so when they saw this painting, they were completely blown away.

After all, it’s rare for a star to paint this well.

And he pulled this off in his spare time...

Most viewers were in awe of Su Xingyao’s talent.

However, eagle-eyed viewers quickly spotted something else.

"Hold up!! Su Xingyao might have more than just this one!!"

"Wait, what??"

"He painted something else???"

"Yes, yes, I also saw a flash of green just now."

A few comments from viewers immediately caught everyone’s attention.

But now the camera is zoomed in on the wall, so aside from the pandas and bamboo, they can’t see much else.

Just as they were dying to know what else Su Xingyao had painted, Xu Xiang pointed it out for them.

Xu Xiang turned around and pointed at the wall next to the hard bed, her eyes widened in surprise, "I remember there was no window here yesterday..."

The cameraman and guests turned to follow Xu Xiang’s gaze.

Then, a half-open window came into view.

Outside the window, under the blue sky and white clouds, two lifelike little birds flew past, as if they were about to burst out of the screen any second.

The sheer curtains fluttered gently in the breeze, revealing the lush plants on the windowsill.

Among the vibrant greenery, there was a pot of multi-headed roses, with clusters of flowers blooming brilliantly in the sunlight, looking almost real at first glance.

"!!!!!"

"The vibe is absolutely unreal..."

"I’m realizing how limited my vocabulary is; at this moment, I can only say 'wow'..."

"If I hadn’t seen the live stream yesterday, I’d totally believe there’s a window in this room..."

"Ahhhh I love these potted plants so much!"

"Su Xingyao, please paint one for my house too, pretty please!"

"It’s so beautiful, can you make a tutorial? I also want to have such a window in my windowless bedroom."

The guests on site were completely shocked as well.

Before coming in, none of them could have imagined that Su Xingyao could transform such a shabby room into something completely new with just brushes and paint!

"Xing Yao, you're just too good!"

Shi Hongyu exclaimed, "How did you do that?! I remember Director Zhang didn't give you much paint to work with..."

Su Xingyao nodded in agreement at Shi Hongyu, taking out the cleaned palette and brushes to return to Zhang Shanfeng.

He laughed lightly, "Director Zhang only gave me seven colors to work with."

As he spoke, he pointed to the panda mural, expressing a slight regret, "So I had to go with this design for now."

Hearing this, it all clicked for everyone.

So the black and white design with warm light was due to the lack of paint!!

"If there were more colors, wouldn't the details be even better??"

"Director Zhang, don't be so stingy next time, I want to see Su Xingyao in action!!"

The scene of Su Xingyao painting had already been captured by live-stream viewers and shared across various forums.

The haters, late to the party, quickly jumped in after hearing the news.

Seeing the live-stream room flooded with praise for Su Xingyao, their jealousy kicked in again.

"He painted all that in one night? Su Xingyao's just bragging."

"Su Xingyao's a joke, I don't buy that he can paint so well..."

"The show team probably got someone to paint for him overnight."

At first, only a few people were posting such comments, and the audience ignored them.

But the haters kept at it, and soon the live-stream chat was flooded with demands for the show team to explain and for Su Xingyao to paint on the spot.

Of course, the show team wasn't about to give in to the haters' demands.

After checking out all the guests' rooms, everyone agreed that Su Xingyao deserved the best reward for today's task.

"Congrats to Su Xingyao for snagging the Best Decoration Award!"

Once Zhang Shanfeng was done, Su Xingyao stepped up and took a small ball from his hand.

"What's this?"

He looked curiously at the other.

Zhang Shanfeng didn't give a straight answer, just said, "It's a magical little ball—open it when you're in a pinch."

Hearing this, Su Xingyao glanced down at the little ball in his hand.

He held it, giving it a gentle squeeze, curious about what was inside.

As curious as he was, he knew it was all for the show, so after a quick squeeze, he showed it off to everyone before tucking it into his bag.

After receiving the reward, the show team gave everyone some rest time.

Xu Xiang eagerly checked out Su Xingyao's room again, stunned that it was the same shabby hard-bed room she'd picked yesterday.

Thinking of the hard bed, she quickly looked down at Su Xingyao's bed.

What she saw was still that bare, hardboard bed...

Compared to yesterday, aside from being much cleaner, nothing else had changed...

Xu Xiang rushed to the bedside in disbelief, "Director Zhang, didn't you provide him with anything last night?"

Su Xingyao smiled, "Not really."

Xu Xiang was about to sigh in relief when she heard this, but then she heard Feng Han, who was passing by, add another sentence.

"They only gave him a blanket, nothing else."

Xu Xiang was speechless...

Just a blanket...

So Xing Yao actually slept directly on the hardboard bed last night...

Not even a sheet or a pillow!!!

Upon hearing Feng Han's description, Xu Xiang turned angrily to Zhang Shanfeng and started to complain.

"Director, your team is really heartless... treating guests like this!!"

After that, she felt embarrassed and said to Su Xingyao, "I'm sorry, bro... if it weren't for me..."

Su Xingyao didn't elaborate, originally to keep Xu Xiang from feeling guilty.

But unexpectedly, Feng Han let it slip, so he had to smile and comfort the young girl, "It's fine, I'm used to it. During military training... we slept right on the ground."

He was indeed used to it, though not because of military training.

When he was young, his foster father often punished him by locking him in a small, dark room, and crying himself to sleep on the floor was common.

He often woke up to being bitten by various insects crawling on the ground.

So compared to that, sleeping on a hardboard bed was actually a good spot for him.

But these things weren't suitable to mention on the show, and Su Xingyao didn't plan to tell anyone.

Su Xingyao didn't mean to play the victim, but the haters couldn't help but twist it maliciously again.

"Su Xingyao is pushing his persona too far; how can he sleep on this hard bed?"

"I don't believe he sleeps on this; he probably went to a hotel after the live broadcast ended."

"What's Su Xingyao up to? In the last episode, he was desperately crafting his persona? Trying to whitewash himself?? Dream on."

"These haters are so annoying; do you think Feng Han would help Su Xingyao lie in front of everyone?"

"What persona is Su Xingyao building? He didn't say anything earlier to keep the young girl from worrying... if Feng Han hadn't let it slip, no one would know he only had a blanket last night."

"Haters, get lost."

After a brief rest, the program team sent a bus to take them to the next location.

Since it was a travel show, the afternoon shooting was relatively relaxed.

The program team took everyone to a famous local attraction. The six of them played and recorded the show, and finally went boating and watched the scenery. Everyone's face showed a satisfied smile with the trip.

After the lake tour, Su Xingyao followed the group off the boat and arrived at a local popular spot for social media check-ins.

This place, not far from the lakeside, is called Cat House, the home of a local animal lover.

She has adopted seven stray cats and usually posts some interesting videos of the cats, making her quite famous locally.

When Su Xingyao and the others arrived at the host's home, the host was facing a pile of materials with a worried look.

At this moment, the production team also announced the last task of the day for everyone - "Help the host solve the problem she is facing."

The team leader stepped forward and asked, "What are you worried about?"

Upon hearing this, the host took out her phone, quickly found a video, and showed it to everyone.

"I want to make a bus like this for my cats."

Su Xingyao felt that the host's words sounded somewhat familiar, so he took a step forward and looked down at her phone with everyone.

Then Su Xingyao saw on the phone screen a "mini train" speeding by.

On the first carriage, a dog with a defective ear was excitedly waving its paw in the wind.

On the second carriage, an orange cat proudly raised its chin, squinting its eyes with a look of disdain towards the front.

On the third carriage, a cute Call duck was panicking, shaking its head left and right...

The video was accompanied by an extremely cheerful background music, the mini train was running noisily, and the front of the train was written with the four big characters "Animal Bus".

This video was only posted last night, but it had already garnered over three million likes...

Looking at the familiar cats, familiar dogs, and this familiar animal bus...

Su Xingyao suddenly had a strange feeling of finding himself in the middle of the drama.

Lu Zhiyun actually filmed and posted this video...

In the few seconds Su Xingyao was distracted, Shi Hongyu had already walked over to the materials and started studying how to make it.

The other guests also squatted down and discussed how to assemble it to make it look like the video.

Su Xingyao glanced at the materials prepared by the cat owner.

The host had prepared quite comprehensively, but making seven carriages would be more challenging than four carriages, and blindly assembling it would definitely not work.

Seeing that the guests were also at a loss, Su Xingyao decisively spoke up, "Let me draw a blueprint first, it will be easier with a blueprint."

After saying that, he picked up a pencil and quickly drew the blueprint on the paper.

He was familiar with this thing, and before the online trolls could question him, he had already drawn the design and distributed it to the other guests in no time.

Then he explained to everyone how to make the cat bus.

The fact that Su Xingyao had strong drawing skills had already been silently agreed upon by the guests, so everyone followed his instructions without hesitation.

Of course, the cat bus looked simple, but it was quite challenging to make.

And these guests usually didn't have much contact with these tasks, so the main part was still completed by Su Xingyao.

At first, the guests were actually a bit clueless.

But they soon found that following Su Xingyao's instructions made the assembly of the Cat Bus much more orderly and simpler.

This task was actually a bit challenging for the guests, which is why Zhang Shanfeng had earlier given Su Xingyao that ball that could solve difficulties.

He never expected that Su Xingyao, this genius, didn't need it at all and even exceeded expectations...

Two hours later, the Cat Bus was completed.

The cat owner was overjoyed and immediately took the cat for a "test drive."

Seeing the cat happily sitting on the little train, Tong Anan furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Why do I feel like the Cat Bus is missing something?"

Shi Hongyu touched his chin and nodded, "It needs some color... it's too bland."

After hearing their conversation, Su Xingyao also felt it was a bit of a pity, so he casually suggested, "Then... shall we paint the bus?"

It seemed like everyone was waiting for Su Xingyao to say this, as his proposal was met with everyone agreeing right away.

Soon, the guests began a second round of touch-ups to the bus.

The guests picked up paint and started coloring the carriages, comparing them to the video.

Painting wasn't too hard, but the custom-designed train head in the video was particularly challenging for the guests.

Among the five of them, none of them could draw a train head that nice.

Seeing everyone so troubled, Su Xingyao quietly stepped up to the task...

Soon, Su Xingyao drew a cute train head.

Five minutes later, a cute cat design popped up on the first carriage.

A few minutes later, a second one...

Before long, Su Xingyao had drawn adorable cats on each carriage.

The cat owner instantly fell in love with it.

And the live stream viewers, seeing Su Xingyao paint as easily as drinking water, flooded with comments once more.

"How does he paint so easily and so well?"

"Is this what a master looks like..."

"This train head is a perfect match for the one in the video. If I hadn't seen him draw it myself, I would have thought it was printed."

"Did anyone else notice these cats? Su Xingyao drew the owner's seven cats, each with its own unique look. He only saw them once, yet he remembered them all!!"

"Su Xingyao, you should ditch being a star and become a painter! I'll be the first to sign up."

"Where are those who said Su Xingyao's painting was fake and that the show team hired someone to paint for him?"

"LOL, can't you just admit he's an amazing painter?"

"Hahaha, Su Xingyao, you really know how to shut people down on the spot."

Once Su Xingyao was done painting the bus, the "Cat Bus" was finally finished.

Meanwhile, this episode's recording was wrapping up.

The group left the Cat House and headed to the parking lot to catch the program's bus.

As they walked, they were abruptly approached by a group of people.

One of the men, smiling, approached Zhang Shanfeng with a commendation banner in hand.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Su Xingyao with you? We're with the Market Supervision Bureau."