Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

After hanging up the phone, Xu Fei calmly reached out to the production team of "This Time for Real."

The production team happened to be in a meeting, and the sudden addition of two heavyweight guests undoubtedly gave the staff a much-needed boost.

Since the news of Lu Yan's participation spread in the industry, within just one day, they had received calls from several sponsors.

So even during the meeting, the director kept his phone on, fearing he might miss a call from a major sponsor.

Another unfamiliar number called in, and the director quickly motioned for quiet and answered, "Who’s calling?"

"Hello, is this the production team of 'This Time for Real'?"

"Yes, it is."

"This is Xu Fei, the assistant to the president of Mingsheng Entertainment."

Upon hearing the name "Mingsheng," the director immediately sat up straight. Is there a problem with Lu Yan?

"Hello, Assistant Xu. How can I help you?"

Xu Fei asked, "I heard your show is looking for top professionals from various fields to participate in this reality show?"

The director, thinking that Lu Yan might be concerned about the status of other participants, eagerly nodded, "Yes, yes, we've already approached Mr. Xu Ze, the CEO of Xu Corporation, and he has agreed..."

"Our CEO, Gu Xu, is quite interested in this show."

What’s he getting at?

Mingsheng had already provided sponsorship to get Lin Qing in, so this couldn’t be about sponsorship...

The director suddenly had an audacious thought: "...Then, is CEO Gu interested in participating in the show?"

After hanging up, the director informed the team, "CEO Gu from Mingsheng is also joining the show."

The other staff immediately recalled Gu Xu’s assertiveness when he issued a lawyer’s letter a few days ago, and for a moment, no one spoke. A young girl hesitantly asked, "Does CEO Gu know the nature of our reality show?"

The director: "He probably knows, right?"

*

For the next week, Lu Yan either stayed at home or at Gu Xu's company, occasionally heading out to shoot when he felt like it, living a life of ease.

In the CEO's office of Jiaming Corporation.

Gu Xu was out inspecting a construction site and hadn’t returned yet. Lu Yan sat on the sofa, his phone playing a live stream of a game of Werewolf by a certain host, with headphones dangling loosely from his ears.

Lu Miao called, and he answered, "Mom, what’s going on?"

"Xiao Yan, where are you?" Lu Miao's tone was a bit strange. "Can you come home right away?"

He could hear faint voices from the other end of the phone.

"You’re such a poisonous woman, I was blind to let my son marry a wicked woman like you..."

"Tricking my grandson away is one thing, but you also want to harm my son, you heartless..."

Lu Yan was startled, snatched his baseball cap, and headed out, "Mom, stay at home and wait for me."

When he got home, he saw several women sitting in front of the house, causing a commotion.

The old lady in the middle kept throwing stones at the door, muttering, "How can you be so wicked, encouraging my grandson to trick his father? If anything happens to my son, I won't let you off!"

Another middle-aged woman stood with her hands on her hips, angrily saying, "I disagreed when my brother said he wanted to marry you. You're the kind of woman who brings bad luck to her husband and kids!"

Lu Miao lived in a two-story villa in a quiet, upscale neighborhood, but their loud voices attracted the curiosity of several neighbors who peeked out to see what was happening.

The old lady had sharp eyes and spotted Xiao Yan as soon as he arrived. She immediately walked over, grabbed his hand, and said, "Oh, my dear grandson, come, let's go and bring your father out."

As for the incident in J City, Gu Xu had gathered all the necessary evidence and handed it over to Xiao Yan for him to decide.

Xiao Yan turned it over to the police directly, and Zhou Ming was sentenced. Since Xiao Yan hadn't suffered any substantial harm, the sentence was light.

Xiao Yan sneered, "I was the one who put him in there. Why should I bring him out?"

The old lady paused and said, "Grandma knows it was that awful woman Lu Miao who pushed you into this!"

Xiao Yan said calmly, "I made the decision myself."

The old lady stopped, turned, and stared at him for a long time. Suddenly, she picked up her bag and started hitting Xiao Yan, "You unfilial son! He's your father. Do you have no conscience?"

When Gu Xu arrived, he saw Xiao Yan standing by the roadside, several women pointing and shouting at him, and an old lady hitting him with her bag.

He wore a baseball cap, his face blank.

Gu Xu quickly stepped forward, pulled Xiao Yan behind him, and stood in front of him, "What’s going on here?"

Old Lady Zhou said, "I’m disciplining my grandson. It's our family matter. What's it to you? Move aside!"

Gu Xu raised an eyebrow but remained silent, standing firmly in front of Xiao Yan.

When she saw Gu Xu wasn’t moving, the old lady ignored him and continued to hit both of them with her bag.

After enduring the beating in silence, Xiao Yan suddenly reached out from behind and snatched the old lady's bag.

His voice was cold, "Had enough?"

At that moment, Lu Miao rushed out of the house and tightly hugged Xiao Yan, "Stop hitting my son!"

Old Lady Zhou was tough, and her daughters weren’t any easier to deal with. Lu Miao had let them curse downstairs, too afraid to peek out.

It wasn’t until the noise died down that she noticed Xiao Yan was outside.

Seeing Lu Miao, Old Lady Zhou immediately tried to grab her hair, "You—"

"Hey! What's going on here?!" Two police motorcycles pulled up, and officers got off, running over to ask, "We got a report about a serious disturbance. What's happening?"

Old Lady Zhou, with inexplicable confidence, shouted, "This is our family matter!"

"No matter what’s going on, you can’t disturb the peace. Either break it up now or come with us for a warning!"

In the end, Old Lady Zhou was pulled away by her daughters, still swearing and promising to come back.

Inside the house, Lu Miao anxiously asked, "Did they hurt you? Where did they hit you? Show me."

"I’m fine, Mom. If they show up again, just call the cops."

"I know, I just panicked. Did I interrupt your work?" Remembering the person behind her son, she quickly said, "Mr. Gu, I apologize for you having to see our family drama."

Gu Xu replied gently, "Auntie, you can just call me Xiao Xu."

Lu Miao was surprised. They say Chairman Gu's son is cold and distant, but now that she saw him... he didn’t seem that way at all.

"Well... Xiao Xu, I’ll get you some tea," she said, then turned to Lu Yan, "Xiao Yan, stay for dinner with Xiao Xu tonight. I’ll go grab some groceries and cook for you."

Lu Yan had to shoot Oelas' promotional photos in the afternoon and quickly replied, "No need, Mom. I’ve got work and need to head out soon."

Gu Xu: "Auntie, don’t bother with the tea. I’ll leave with Lu Yan."

As they reached the door, Lu Miao pulled Lu Yan back.

She whispered, "Xiao Xu really stood up for you; he must care a lot about you. Next time you’re free, bring him over, and I’ll cook something special to thank him."

Lu Yan glanced at Gu Xu, who was smiling, clearly having heard Lu Miao's words.

Lu Yan nodded, "Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll make sure to bring him home."

After they left, Lu Miao pouted and went back inside, looking confused.

...Why did her son’s last words feel a little off?

In the car, Lu Yan asked the guy next to him, "How did you know I was here?"

When Gu Xu was returning to the company, he happened to see Lu Yan leaving in a taxi, but lost him at the traffic light. He drove around for a while before finally finding the villa area.

He didn’t answer, just freed his right hand and took Lu Yan’s.

Lu Yan suddenly brought Gu Xu’s hand to his mouth, bit it, then let go and laughed, "Careful there, Driver Gu."

*

The 'This Time for Real' team spent two weeks overhauling the previous segments, finally setting the program's flow and immediately gathering the guests to officially start filming.

Most celebs would binge old episodes and come up with jokes before going on a reality show, to make themselves stand out more.

But this season of 'This Time for Real' landed three big shots.

Lu Yan, Gu Xu, and Xu Ze sat in the helicopter, staring at the camera, completely speechless.

The cameraman in front of them: "..."

The director coughed, signaling the cameraman to stop filming, then said, "So... everyone, let’s talk a bit?"

Xu Ze turned his head and asked, "What are you doing here?! And why are you in the middle? I want to sit with Xiao Yan!"

Gu Xu just sneered, ignoring him.

The director: "..."

Lu Yan had some understanding of reality shows and asked, "Director, where's the script?"

The director: "Our show is unscripted."

"..." So refreshingly unique?!

He asked again, "Then where are we going now?"

There were two helicopters; the three of them were in one, while Lin Qing and three other minor celebrities Lu Yan didn't recognize were in the other.

"Of course, we can’t tell you," the director said, forcing a mysterious smile, "That’s part of the show’s charm."

After flying for a while, it seemed they were about to reach their destination. The director suddenly took out a plastic bag and said, "Alright, everyone, hand over your phones and devices."

Lu Yan took out his phone, ready to put it away, when he noticed a text message from Lin An.

"The reality TV show starts filming today, right? Have you watched this show before? Anyway, let me explain, this reality TV show is all about being real and thrilling. In the beginning, it often made celebrities cry. Because of that, fewer big stars wanted to participate later, as they didn’t want to deal with the hard work and fatigue. Lesser-known stars could handle it, but they lacked popularity, so the show’s viewership dropped over time. Just be careful and don’t get hurt."

"..."

Upon reaching the destination, the helicopter began to descend. Lu Yan leaned over to tell Gu Xu about the message and remind him to be cautious.

But before he could speak, a staff member from behind blindfolded him.

After getting off the helicopter, the wind was whipping against his face, and the air was mixed with the scent of seawater.

The three were separated. Lu Yan was pushed by a staff member for quite a distance before stopping. He asked, "Can I take off the blindfold now?"

"You can."

Removing the blindfold, he saw only one person in front of him—his cameraman.

Yes, there was no director, no lighting technician, no sound recorder.

All around was wilderness, and in the distance, the sea could be seen.

The seasoned cameraman, who also served as the narrator, said without changing his expression, "For the first episode, our theme is—Survival on a Deserted Island."

"..."