Chapter 76 My Earphones Are Leaking Electricity

Chapter 76: The Earphones Were Faulty

At 10 a.m., all the guests gathered downstairs on time. Ji Ruyan, looking refreshed, walked over to Lu Jingtang and sighed, "It's been so long since I last had such good sleep. I never expected a variety show to offer such a perk."

Lu Jingtang nodded, "Good morning, Sis Yan."

"Good morning, Tang-Tang," Ji Ruyan replied, glancing at Lu Jingtang's youthful complexion and gently tapping her left ear with a fingertip. "Why is your ear so red?"

Lu Jingtang's entire left ear was flushed bright red, a stark contrast to her fair skin.

"Maybe I slept on it," Lu Jingtang said, touching her ear and forcing an awkward smile.

When she woke up, her ear had felt burning hot. At first, she thought it was because Fu Nanyu's voice was so captivating that it made her blush.

But when she picked up her earphones, she realized—oh, the earphones were faulty.

The live stream was already running.

The first thing Producer Chen Xun did after coming downstairs was head straight to the fridge, only to find it locked. Every edible item in the kitchen had been cleared out.

He went to ask the director, who flashed a mischievous grin and pulled out four 100-yuan bills, handing one to each group.

Chen Xun asked, "What's this? Breakfast money?"

Director: "No, no, no. This is your food budget for the next three days."

100 yuan for three days—for two people! Everyone gasped. In three days, they wouldn't even be able to afford to add sausage to their instant noodles.

Before the celebrities could even react, their fans were already arguing noisily online.

{"I hope Wen Yue behaves herself and doesn’t hold my brother back."}

{"This variety show is really brutal. Sometimes 100 yuan a day isn’t even enough for us ordinary people. How can it be enough for two? If it weren’t for the company’s harsh demands, Chris would never have joined this show."}

{"I don’t know about the others, but that little princess definitely can’t handle this. How could a capitalist’s little princess endure such hardship?"}

{"Did you notice? Chris keeps stealing glances at the little princess."}

{"Stop spreading rumors! Chris just happened to glance her way."}

{"While you fans are arguing, Chris might be thinking about how to curry favor with a rich woman."}

{"Sis Ruyan is so beautiful (?＞＜)/?"}

The director stated, "Don’t worry, we’ll assign you tasks. If you run out of money, you’ll have to find ways to earn more."

As he spoke, the staff brought out several cards. The director explained, "There are two tasks here. Each pair of groups will form a team. The first task is to help Grandma Liu next door with some work—each group will earn 400 yuan. The second task is to work at a nearby orchard. It’s more labor-intensive, and the pay is only 200 yuan per group."

The task assignments were determined by a quick quiz. The first and second-place groups would take the first task, while the third and fourth-place groups would be assigned to the orchard.

Each group received their questions and began working on them seriously.

There was no point struggling—this segment was usually the female lead’s time to shine. But it would be embarrassing if they couldn’t write anything at all.

The "Ji-Lu" team, with completely blank minds, tried to peek at Jiang Cheng’s answers but were immediately warned by the director.

Ji Yunyin finished quickly. In her previous life, she had been so focused on chasing after Fu Nanyu that she neglected her studies. But this time, she was no longer the same Ji Yunyin. After her rebirth, her first thought was to study, to improve herself, and to prove wrong those who had looked down on her. Through her own hard work, she achieved the top academic score in her major within two months and won multiple scholarships.

Lu Jingtang couldn’t understand—why was it that only the female lead’s intelligence improved after rebirth?

Jiang Cheng glanced at Lu Jingtang’s answer sheet and shook his head helplessly. Oh well, he earns enough—he could afford to support her.

Chris had attended the prestigious Cambridge University abroad, so such simple questions were no challenge for him. Yet, he only wrote half the answers before putting down his pen.

Wen Yue glanced at him but said nothing. She had been added to the show by her company at the last minute and had no say in things.

The final results were Ji Yunyin and Xie Qinghe in first place, while Jiang Cheng and Chen Xun came in second. The remaining two groups were assigned to work in the orchard.

After the tasks were assigned, everyone was getting hungry. The director brought out a basket containing milk and sandwiches. A bottle of milk cost 10 yuan, and a sandwich cost 15 yuan. For two people, that would be 50 yuan—half their budget gone on breakfast alone.

Ji Yunyin hadn’t eaten much for dinner the night before and was genuinely hungry. Since they had 400 yuan coming in later, she felt okay buying breakfast.

When the basket was brought to Lu Jingtang, the staff member smiled and asked, "Miss Lu, what would you like?"

Lu Jingtang clutched her 100-yuan bill tightly, looking dazed. "I want to leave."

The staff member, struggling to keep a straight face, her cheeks turning red, said, "I’m sorry, that’s not an option."

The live chat erupted in laughter.

{"Look how scared she is. This might be the toughest battle the little princess has ever fought."}

{"The production team really knows how to mess with them, haha."}

{"I thought rich kids were supposed to be smart. Guess bloodline matters—she’s such a naive airhead."}

{"I agree. How could an elite family raise such a simpleton? She seems so out of place compared to the real Fu family."}

{"Ji Yunyin is amazing—starting her own company, excelling academically, winning scholarships. She’s cold, elegant, and proud—the epitome of a modern woman."}

{"Why do people always feel the need to define women? Women have the right to choose who they want to be. We can be soft or strong. Not attending a top university or having a tough personality doesn’t make us weak. You call her naive, but when she stood up to those foreigners to defend our country, there were men present too. Where were the ‘strong’ men then? Did any of you help?"}

{"Sometimes, gentleness is a strength too."}

…

Lu Jingtang was oblivious to the online arguments. She discussed with Ji Ruyan and concluded that if they bought breakfast, they wouldn’t have enough for lunch.

But breakfast didn't necessarily have to be bought from the production team. The director hadn't anticipated this move, but he had to admit there was no rule against it.

"If you want to buy your own food… that’s fine too."

The others immediately felt cheated, realizing they had wasted 50 yuan on breakfast when 20 yuan outside could have fed them generously.