Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"So annoying! What's with this attitude? A top idol is talking to you, some nobody!"

"My heart breaks for our baby Xinghui."

"Just 'cause you've got a pretty face, you think you're heaven's gift? You think you can coast in showbiz like this?"

Fu Xie didn't see the storm of criticism raining down on him in the live stream. He kept on sleeping, completely indifferent to the fact that he'd brushed off the nation's top idol.

Sikou Xinghui kept his smile firmly in place. "Were you too tired last night? It's fine, you can sleep."

His sweet, understanding act only made the chat rage harder, flooding the screen with abuse toward Fu Xie.

Fu Xie thought to himself that this guy was good at using others to prop up his persona. But as someone ready to ditch the industry any second, he couldn't care less—if he wanted to use him, whatever.

Far away, Xi Wenlun’s brow twitched slightly.

Seeing Fu Xie still wouldn’t respond, Sikou Xinghui turned to look out the window. The two of them remained silent all the way to the filming location.

As soon as they got out of the car, the other group of guests had already arrived earlier and tagged along with the lead host to greet them.

"No worries," Sikou Xinghui said. "We can handle our own luggage." As he spoke, he casually pulled the suitcase Fu Xie couldn’t manage over to his side and sneakily scrubbed his muddy sneakers on the suitcase wheels.

Smug, he peeked at Fu Xie’s reaction, only to find the brim of his hat covering his eyes—clearly, he hadn’t noticed.

At that moment, Fu Xie adjusted his fisherman’s hat, revealing a pair of mesmerizing peach-blossom eyes. When Sikou Xinghui met that gaze, his heart skipped a beat.

He hadn’t expected this person to be so stunning.

Seeing his suitcase taken, Fu Xie assumed he was responsible for carrying things and handed over the rest of his luggage.

Sikou Xinghui, now treated like a luggage boy: ...

Stuck playing his nice-guy role from the show, Sikou Xinghui cursed Fu Xie under his breath while obediently taking the rest of his stuff.

"Wow, Xinghui is such a caretaker!"

"I'm so jealous of that little idol—I want to be pampered by Lord Sikou too!"

Unfortunately, Sikou Xinghui didn’t get to play porter for long. The other guests quickly snatched their luggage away. "Hey hey, don’t fight me for it! The food here is amazing—I was worried I wouldn’t get enough exercise. Let me do it!"

Everyone laughed.

With a top idol like Sikou Xinghui on this episode, every big shot pulled favors to cram their people in, and Fu Xie got lost in a crowd of nepotism hires.

With so many people around, camera time became a rare commodity. The Z-listers clawed for exposure, fighting over the smallest jobs—even then, some still got stuck twiddling their thumbs.

By comparison, Fu Xie suddenly felt his life wasn’t so bad.

He didn’t join the group chatter, simply tugging down his ever-present fisherman’s hat and heading out to take in the view.

This season’s filming location was in a village within an ancient town, still preserving traditional architecture from the last century. Fu Xie had caught a distant glimpse when stepping out—it was downright gorgeous.

The guest sitting next to Fu Xie noticed him leaving and asked through a mouthful of sunflower seeds, "Fu Xie, where are you going?"

His question drew the attention of the chatting guests. Fu Xie removed his hat, revealing lush, painterly looks straight out of a Renaissance portrait, the golden sunlight tracing delicate light across his porcelain skin.

The guest’s grip on the seed shells slackened, scattering them over his lap.

"Wow, this newbie is so pretty!"

"I was about to keep cursing him... until he took off that ugly hat. Sorry, I admit I typed a bit too harshly earlier."

"You're so wishy-washy! How can you be like that? You should be like me—'Babe, my bad—I'll grovel. Let me simp first?'"

Fu Xie ignored the stunned crowd around the square table. He simply wanted some peace and quiet. Blinking, he said, "I'm going out for a walk. You all keep chatting." With that, he left the courtyard alone.

The moment he stepped off the stairs, it was as if he suddenly came alive, his expression softening considerably.

The director noticed that viewership spiked the instant Fu Xie appeared on screen. But once the camera switched away, numbers dropped quickly. So even while filming Sikou Xinghui's segments, he had to keep cutting back to Fu Xie for a few minutes at a time.

Fu Xie wandered alone through the village, seemingly unconcerned about dirt staining his shoes, following the usual routes taken by villagers.

Under the clear blue sky, he walked through lush green fields, paused to coo at fluffy ducklings by the lake, dipped his hands in cool mountain springs, and helped elderly villagers push their carts...

The village unfolded like a postcard beneath his steps, immersing the live audience as if they'd escaped the city and wandered into nature.

"Wow, this village is really beautiful. The production team chose such a great location."

"Actually, the show picks gorgeous spots every season! It's just that most of the time, they focus on the guests or the same old farming tasks, rarely exploring the entire village like this."

"LMAO, the director’s being lowkey sweet—thinking Fu Xie might be lonely and switching to his face and the scenery."

"Am I the only one who thinks Fu Xie’s current vibe is perfect for introverts? The extroverts are yapping away, while the introvert just wanders off alone to enjoy the view."

"+1, Xinghui’s textbook extrovert, Fu’s the introvert!"

"If he’s an introvert, I can understand why he doesn’t fit in."

Xi Wenlun, who had been frowning at the flood of comments, finally relaxed. He thought to himself, At least he’s smart enough to know how to slip away.

Far away, Fu Xie remained clueless—he had no idea that his social anxiety nearly got him roasted online, only to be unexpectedly salvaged by his own actions.

He simply walked quietly along the country path, waiting until sunset before heading back.

By then, everyone was busy preparing dinner, eager to showcase their cooking skills. Fu Xie, unwilling to compete, sat among those who missed out, chiming in occasionally.

When the steaming dishes were finally served, Fu Xie discreetly glanced at the quiet but popular guest beside him, subtly copying his moves to avoid drawing attention to himself.

Luckily, everyone was too preoccupied trying to go viral and mingling to pay him any mind. Happy to be overlooked, he happily devoured his meal.

Except for one person—Sikou Xinghui, whom he had previously ordered around.

Sikou Xinghui wore a fixed smile, never ceasing conversation—whether the host was speaking to him or the guest stars were eagerly chatting him up.

And since he was committed to maintaining his warm, kind persona, he had no choice but to humor them.

Sikou Xinghui had assumed Fu Xie, who ignored him in the car, would be crushed by others’ indifference. Instead, the guy went off and enjoyed himself.

No chores, just vibing all day, then returning right in time for dinner—no need to socialize.

Sikou Xinghui, who had been tirelessly working, talking, and maintaining his image of being strong, kind, and skilled at cooking: ...

So jealous! I’m furious!

Still, Sikou Xinghui insisted Fu Xie was just putting on a brave face. Just wait till the ad-reads tonight—we’ll see how cool he acts then!

*

Fu Xie stuffed himself, then collapsed onto a lawn chair in the evening breeze, completely missing the moment when the others laughed and headed inside to play games.

"Xiaofu Xiansheng," a staff member whispered, "it's time to wake up and deliver your endorsement lines."

Seeing Fu Xie being ignored like this because he wasn’t famous, some kind-hearted staff members felt bad for him and personally woke him up so he could join the activity.

Fu Xie rubbed his eyes sleepily and sat up from the lounge chair, then stretched.

What a great nap.

He was loving this show—he’d goofed off all day without anyone bothering him. So awesome!

But he still had to do the endorsement right. When he saw the endorsement fee ZZ Brand had paid him, he stood there stunned, thinking how easy it was to make money in the entertainment industry.

No matter what, that endorsement fee gave his retirement fund a huge boost.

Fu Xie perked up and headed to the spot designated by the staff to deliver his ad lines.

A group had already gathered there, politely letting each other go first until they finally decided on Sikou Xinghui.

Sikou Xinghui pretended to decline but still stepped in front of the camera, just as Fu Xie happened to arrive at the same time.

A staff member suddenly said, "Actually, since both Xiaofu Xiansheng and Mr. Sikou are endorsers for ZZ Brand, and there are so many people today, why don’t you two do the promotion together?"

Sikou Xinghui’s eyes widened slightly. What? This nobody shared the same endorsement as him?

Fu Xie immediately nodded and, before Sikou Xinghui could react, stepped in front of the camera and took the product handed to him by the staff.

When Sikou Xinghui saw the pillow Fu Xie was holding, he was even more shocked—it was from ZZ Brand’s best-selling offline series. Although he was also an endorser for the same brand, due to ZZ’s strong popularity and the hefty endorsement fees, his agent had only managed to get him a deal for their new series.

And yet, the main series endorser was this nobody? Sikou Xinghui instantly felt his face burn with embarrassment.

His expression darkened. His alert manager, sensing trouble, pulled him aside to calm him down and warn him that this was a super popular live show—any outburst would ruin the nice guy image he'd worked hard to build over the years.

Only then did Sikou Xinghui’s expression ease slightly. He forced his usual smile back on and, under Fu Xie’s impatient gaze, returned to the camera.

*

Once the endorsement work was done, and before it got too late, Fu Xie noticed they were still planning to continue playing games in the living room, so he said he was heading upstairs to shower and sleep.

Everyone: "...He really can sleep."

Fu Xie ignored the weird looks thrown his way. After a full day of socializing, he had adapted well to the attention and could now focus on his own business without much trouble.

The only one still fuming was Sikou Xinghui. Fu Xie had gotten under his skin, and he kept scheming about how to get back at him.

A sly castmate who wanted to suck up to him noticed the tension between the two and came up with an idea.

Seizing the moment after a round of games, while everyone was discussing what punishment to give Sikou Xinghui, he raised his hand and said, "I have an idea. We’ve been leaving little Fu out all this time—it’s not fair to him."

Sikou Xinghui perked up. "How do you plan to include him?"

The castmate grinned. "Brother Sikou, since you lost, how about this as your dare—go check on Fu Xie and see what he’s doing right now."

Sikou Xinghui rubbed his hands excitedly but pretended to hesitate. "That’s not good... he might be showering..."

The others egged him on. "What’s the big deal? If he’s sleeping, there’s no camera on him. You’d be giving him screen time!"

"Exactly, poor guy. Plus, Fu Xie is good-looking—the audience wants to see him. He’s a guy anyway; just don’t film below the waist."

Sikou Xinghui, who had already been itching to embarrass Fu Xie, was further provoked by the crowd and grew eager to act.

He led a group of PDs upstairs and knocked lightly on the bathroom door for the cameras. Then, facing the lens, he announced that he had "warned" the person inside before swiftly pushing the door open.