Chapter 31

Chapter 31

One scandal hadn't even died down before another erupted. The drama-loving public was completely overwhelmed, and the other guest celebrities on-site nearly failed to control their expressions on camera.

Meanwhile, the live-stream audience had no need to restrain their emotions. Bullet comments scrolled past, expressing shock—

"Xiao Chu, slow down! My brain can't keep up, damn!"

"A master??? Siphoning luck???"

"Another superstitious crackpot. You Alien folks really are a collection of 'geniuses.'"

"What's this about scamming money off someone?"

"Wow, I thought it was just a regular dating scandal. Didn't see this coming at all."

"I'm stunned. He's mixed up in the corpse oil lipstick thing too?!"

"This Zheng Gu is such a faker. He acted completely clueless about it earlier."

"LMAO, Film Emperor He blocking Zheng Gu like that really has Ning Yichu's back."

"Keep going, keep going!"

"Damn, they're fighting now hahahahaha"

Ji Tianfeng was so shocked he froze for a moment before coming to his senses. Then, blinded by rage, he threw a punch at Zheng Gu right then and there, not caring about the cameras.

He Shixia took Ning Yichu's hand and pulled him aside, both to avoid getting caught in the crossfire and to give the two fighters room to go at it.

Caught off guard, Zheng Gu took a punch. He wanted to fight back but was already on the back foot. Pushed to the ground by the furious Ji Tianfeng, he was pinned down as the punches continued.

Zheng Gu blocked his face with his arms, trying to call for a stop: "Wait... Ji Tianfeng! The lipstick has nothing to do with me! Calm the fuck down... Shit, if you have the guts, get off me and fight fair!"

Ji Tianfeng, having the upper hand, refused to yield. He kept trying to punch Zheng Gu's face: "Like I'd believe you! Acting all innocent, turns out you and Han Wushuang were in on the scam together! Seeing how much I believed in that corpse oil lipstick, you must have been so smug! Pisses me off! You dared to trick me, making a fool out of me!"

"Ning Yichu is lying through his teeth! I didn't scam you with Han Wushuang! I didn't take a single cent!" Zheng Gu was also furious. While dodging Ji Tianfeng, he strained his neck to look at Ning Yichu. "Ning Yichu, you're framing me!"

Ning Yichu tilted his head: "You didn't take Mr. Ji's money..."

Hearing this, Ji Tianfeng hesitated, giving Zheng Gu an opening to counterattack. Grabbing Ji Tianfeng's shoulders, Zheng Gu threw him off with all his might, finally managing to scramble to his feet.

But Ji Tianfeng was relentless, grabbing Zheng Gu again, who threw a punch right back.

"But cluing Han Wushuang in on the corpse oil lipstick was indeed Mr. Zheng's inspiration," Ning Yichu continued, unruffled. "Han Wushuang doesn't believe in that supernatural stuff. It was Mr. Zheng who clued him in on the concept, and with Mr. Ji going from half-believing to fully convinced, Mr. Zheng's cooperation played no small part. So, how is that not being involved in the 'corpse oil lipstick' affair?"

Ji Tianfeng was livid. The rage gave him renewed strength to fight back, and Zheng Gu was no match for him, once again pinned down and beaten by Ji Tianfeng.

Unable to fight back, Zheng Gu could only cover his head and yell: "But I had no part in the money scam! That's the kind of shit that could land you in jail if discovered! I'm not that stupid!"

Ji Tianfeng sneered: "So it was you who gave Han Wushuang the idea! And you were just denying it to the end!"

"But I really didn't scam you out of money!" Zheng Gu clung to this one point, emphasizing, "I admit I couldn't stand how smug you were before. And I happened to overhear Shen Zhou telling Han Wushuang that you were the one who put the snake in his bed. I figured Han Wushuang must hate your guts, so I hinted he could use the corpse oil lipstick to get back at you. But I just wanted to see you make a fool of yourself..."

"See me make a fool of myself?! Ha! You clearly thought this would give you leverage over me, something you could use later! How come you never felt guilty when you were riding my coattails and mooching off my resources?!" Ji Tianfeng's face was red with fury, veins bulging on his neck.

Zheng Gu, who initially did feel guilty and thus wasn't as enraged, became incensed upon hearing this. Mustering unexpected strength, he flipped Ji Tianfeng over.

The tables turned. Now it was Ji Tianfeng being pinned and beaten by Zheng Gu.

Zheng Gu punched while roaring: "Why should I feel guilty?! Anyway, I'm telling you, I had no part in the money scam! Han Wushuang never told me; I only found out just now! How dare you talk about me mooching your resources! Have you forgotten how you got those resources? By screwing over Han Wushuang to snatch them! You've forgotten where you came from! Why don't you feel guilty?!"

The two fought back and forth. The other guests naturally wouldn't bother getting involved in this dog-eat-dog brawl. The production team, for reasons unknown—perhaps stunned and slow to react, or maybe deliberately not intervening for the ratings—simply let Ji Tianfeng and Zheng Gu beat each other black and blue.

As their teammate, Shen Zhou, who usually avoided meddling, finally steeled himself and stepped forward to break it up: "Stop fighting..."

Only after he spoke did the show's director seem to belatedly react, instructing staff to separate the two fighting guest teachers.

Helped up by staff, Ji Tianfeng glared at Shen Zhou resentfully: "You're so good at playing the nice guy! As if nothing ever involves you, right?! Why didn't you dare come closer earlier? Afraid our fists might hit your expensively plastic-surgeried face?!"

Shen Zhou was taken aback, then fell silent.

"Oh my god!"

"Hahahaha, while plastic surgery isn't rare in the industry, having it exposed at this moment is still hilarious."

"Aw, I haven't seen enough, keep fighting!"

"LMAO, who knew you could see such realistic, flesh-and-blood fight scenes in a reality show? Filmmakers who can't shoot good close combat scenes should come take notes!"

"Tsk, speaking of which, Zheng Gu is really good at acting. Putting on that straightforward persona, but actually he's the most scheming one. Pretty scary."

"Being an idol is a waste of his talent. He should go into acting."

"Circus acts would suit him better. Let's not further pollute the already precarious film industry..."

"Don't insult circus acts like that, wuwuwu..."

"The other scandals are too explosive, so Shen Zhou's plastic surgery isn't even getting much discussion hahahaha."

"The corpse oil lipstick thing is cleared up. What's this about a master saying his girlfriend brings him luck, Zheng Gu siphoning it and making money off her? Hurry up!"

"His girlfriend must be furious. Dating an idol who can't go public is bad enough. She probably comforted herself with 'but he loves me so much.' Never imagined he had such terrifying motives."

"Siphoning luck is intangible, but being financially exploited is a real loss!"

"Looking forward to Zheng Gu's girlfriend getting angry and spilling the beans online. That would be even more entertaining!"

"The other guests, especially Zhang Kejiu and Cui Yun, are so pitiful hahaha. They have to suppress their expressions while watching this. I can see their faces are red from holding back."

"Hahahaha, Ning Yichu and He Shixia are the most at ease, watching the show without needing to hold back at all."

"Ning Yichu is in charge of dropping shocking revelations, He Shixia is in charge of security."

"The scene where He Shixia pulled Ning Yichu away to give Ji Tianfeng and Zheng Gu space to fight absolutely killed me hahahahaha."

Although stopped by staff and unable to continue fighting, Ji Tianfeng wasn't about to let Zheng Gu off the hook.

Without needing Ning Yichu to steer the conversation further, Ji Tianfeng already started asking with sarcasm: "Mr. Zheng, what's the deal with that girlfriend whose luck you're siphoning? Sounds like you scammed money from her too?"

Having been beaten, Ji Tianfeng had a wound on his lip that stung with every movement, making him suck in air. So his words came out through gritted teeth, looking rather undignified. But to the questioned Zheng Gu, the sarcastic tone felt even more pronounced.

Zheng Gu shot a few more glares at the "instigator" Ning Yichu, then straightened his clothes. Gnashing his teeth but feigning composure, he said: "Ji Tianfeng, that's enough. You got scammed because you're stupid. Giving out such large sums without being cautious. Why are you trying to pin the scammer label on me now..."

Although his instinct was to deny everything, Zheng Gu paused. Considering Ning Yichu's eerily well-informed channels, and not wanting to be contradicted again, he simply owned the term "making money off her." He declared righteously: "Ning Yichu only said 'making money off her' earlier. That's different from scamming. I make my girlfriend happy, and she's willing to spend money on me!"

The audience was speechless—

"Well, aren't you proud of yourself."

"So that means the girlfriend must be a rich woman?"

"Isn't the boy band's manager about to cry his eyes out? Hahaha."

"They sent the more popular members on the show to gain fans, but they all got dragged down instead. Tsk tsk."

"Group fans have gone silent... ex-group fans, ex! I've already ditched them right then and there!"

"Now only Tao Jin is left. He didn't join the show, so he wasn't in the spotlight or dragged into this mess... Can't we have at least one who's not a villain? Give the ex-fans a break..."

"But Tao Jin hasn't been making many appearances in the past six months anyway. He missed several group events, and fans asked Alien's agency but got no answers..."

"Uh... given his teammates' behavior... not appearing for half a year... could it be... he's already in jail?"

"No, no, no! Tao Jin still goes live a few times every month. It's an old contract obligation. But when asked during streams why he doesn't attend offline events, he never answers... He's not in jail! Don't get the wrong idea!"

While the audience chatted in the live stream, on camera, Ji Tianfeng sneered at Zheng Gu: "After watching today's episode, I wonder if your girlfriend will still be willing to spend money on you!"

Zheng Gu stubbornly retorted, "That's my business! None of your concern!"

Ning Yichu tilted his head: "Probably..."

"Shut up! Shut up!" Zheng Gu was now so triggered by Ning Yichu's slow, deliberate tone that he shouted without thinking.

He Shixia frowned in displeasure: "You have the nerve to do it but not own up to it, yet you're brave enough to shout at people."

Zheng Gu glared furiously: "How am I shouting? I just told him to shut up! Is that considered verbal abuse?!"

"Film Emperor He: Yes, you yelled at my wife, and I'm very unhappy."

"If telling someone to shut up worked, we wouldn't have all this drama now, hahaha."

"Ning Yichu still has something to say? Looks like there's more fun to come?!"

"Just now, they were talking about whether Zheng Gu's girlfriend would still be willing to spend money on him, right? Is Ning Yichu about to spill the tea on her next?"

"Even so, if the girlfriend is just a non-celebrity, saying too much isn't great. She's already unlucky and heartbroken enough from being scammed..."

"Ning Yichu already started, so he probably won't leave us hanging. Whatever it is, just finish it quickly! I'm so curious!"

Ji Tianfeng felt Ning Yichu wouldn't defend Zheng Gu, so he urged, "Probably what? You're not going to say his girlfriend should forgive him, are you?"

The corner of Ning Yichu's eye curved, playfully "hiding" the small red mole near his left eye. His tone was cheerful: "Yes, Zheng Gu's girlfriend will choose to forgive him. After all..."

He looked at Zheng Gu's livid face: "Zheng Gu's girlfriend is also deceiving her boyfriend, isn't that right, Zheng Gu?"

Zheng Gu gritted his teeth, turned his head away, and said nothing.

Ji Tianfeng widened his eyes: "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is," Ning Yichu said leisurely, "Zheng Gu knows his girlfriend is deceiving him but chose to play along, since the money she gives him is a real monetary benefit."

"However, his girlfriend has always felt guilty because she doesn't know Zheng Gu is aware of her deception. She thought Zheng Gu genuinely believed in the 'luck borrowing' story. She willingly spends money on him, partly to compensate for her guilt."

"Now that it's exposed that Zheng Gu is only with her for 'luck borrowing' and money, his girlfriend might happily go with the flow, claiming she forgives him and is still willing to be with him, thereby making Zheng Gu moved to tears..."

"Huh? I'm still a bit confused..."

"Feels like there's more to the story..."

"Does that mean Zheng Gu's girlfriend isn't the prey but the hunter?"

"Putting character aside, this kind of drama has a wide audience, hahaha."

"All this circling around, basically means no one is innocent, right? That's good, I can sit back and enjoy the mess, hehe."

Zheng Gu gnashed his teeth, each word seeming to grind away a layer of enamel: "How on earth... do you know all this..."

Ning Yichu smiled slightly but didn't answer him. Instead, he observed with mock seriousness, "Chinese is so convenient. You can just use 'ta' for everything. If we were speaking English, I'd have to struggle over whether to use 'she' or the actual 'he' when referring to Zheng Gu's 'girlfriend'."

"???!!!"

"If I'm not misunderstanding..."

"Zheng Gu's girlfriend is actually a boyfriend?!"

"But don't they video call every night?"

"Ning Yichu!" Zheng Gu roared, on the verge of a breakdown, "Do you have to ruin all of us! What did we in Alien ever do to you!"

Shen Zhou caught the key point: "...All of us?"

Ning Yichu stopped beating around the bush and said directly to the others who were completely baffled: "Isn't there another Alien member named Tao Jin? He's Zheng Gu's 'girlfriend'."

The entire scene fell into a stunned silence, and the live stream barrage paused for a brief moment.

Ning Yichu: "Tao Jin has always had a crush on Zheng Gu, but Zheng Gu is straight..."

Ji Tianfeng chimed in, shocked: "Right! Zheng Gu even said openly in the dorm that he hates gay men!"

"So Tao Jin never dared to express his feelings. Until he overheard Zheng Gu talking to Han Wushuang about the corpse oil lipstick, and from past clues, concluded that Zheng Gu himself believed in the supernatural. So Tao Jin came up with an idea."

Ning Yichu was gleeful: "Zheng Gu himself had known a 'master' for quite some time. He would consult this 'master' beforehand about his fortune. Tao Jin once accidentally saw Zheng Gu's chat history with the 'master.' So he found that 'master' and asked him to help fabricate a story: 'A woman with this specific birth chart will bring you luck. If you spend at least an hour with her daily, you can borrow luck from her, which is good for your career.'"

"Of course, that 'woman' was the fake identity Tao Jin created for himself."

"He successfully became Zheng Gu's 'girlfriend' this way. During meetups, he relied on skillful makeup, cross-dressing, and a fake voice to get by. Tao Jin's voice is naturally soft, and he knows some voice acting, so it always went smoothly. He always thought his disguise was good, not knowing... actually, the 'master' was playing both sides and had long since sold him out to Zheng Gu."

Zheng Gu ground his teeth: "He was the one who tried to trick me first!"

At this point, with both the surface and hidden matters exposed, Zheng Gu couldn't hope to maintain his relationship with his 'girlfriend' after the show. He simply showed his true colors, sneering and spitting out a "pah."

"You think it was easy for me!" Zheng Gu said, "To make him believe I was truly fooled, I endured disgust every night video calling him. I'm the unlucky one here! If he likes me, he should just give me money directly, not trick me and make me act along!"

"What twisted logic..."

"Alien really is a band of villains now, just to varying degrees..."

"Just now I thought at least Tao Jin might be spared. Didn't expect that, didn't expect that at all."

"How does Zheng Gu manage to sound so righteous?"

"Wait, let me sort this out. So, Ji Tianfeng put a snake in Han Wushuang's bed for competition, which led to Han Wushuang's subsequent poor development. Shen Zhou saw Ji Tianfeng put the snake but didn't stop it, only telling Han Wushuang the truth afterward."

"And at that time, Zheng Gu secretly overheard this and used it to incite Han Wushuang to get revenge on Ji Tianfeng with corpse oil lipstick. Han Wushuang got the idea and expanded it into financial fraud."

"And when Zheng Gu was inciting, Tao Jin secretly overheard it too. Tao Jin also didn't warn Ji Tianfeng. He just realized superstitious methods could be exploited. While Han Wushuang diligently used corpse oil lipstick to scam Ji Tianfeng, Tao Jin was diligently cross-dressing to scam Zheng Gu."

[Although Zheng Gu knew it was a scam, he still 'sacrificed himself' for the money, even enduring daily video calls with Tao Jin to keep up the act...]

"What heartwarming team spirit."

"Zheng Gu and Tao Jin both have a knack for secret eavesdropping—aren't they just a match made in heaven?"

"I'm dying. Zheng Gu used Ji Tianfeng's superstitious beliefs to egg Han Wushuang into conning him, while Tao Jin tried to use Zheng Gu's own superstitions to trick him into dating. If the 'master' had any professional ethics, it would've been even funnier if Zheng Gu only found out the truth now, hahaha."

"But he knew the truth all along and still chose to play along—that's even more malicious. And now he has the nerve to call Tao Jin disgusting?"

"Um... so the reason Tao Jin hasn't shown up offline for the past six months is because Zheng Gu insisted on video calls every night, so he had to apply a disguise and basically couldn't do anything else, right?"

"Putting aside all the shady things they've done, just looking at their skills... they're actually quite talented."

"Seriously, I'm moved to tears. Not a single one of them put their minds to anything productive."

After the drama died down, the director cautiously interjected, "If there's nothing else... maybe the guests could disembark from the ferry now?"

Ning Yichu nodded amiably. "Sure."

"Thanks to Ning Yichu for bringing me so much joy today, hahaha."

"Even though the fans' world is collapsing, luckily I'm just here for the drama, hehe."

"I'm dying laughing. It's only the first day and these three from Alien have already caused such a mess. They still have to spend over two more days together on the show, living together. This is going to be interesting."

"The glass house they're staying in... hahaha, there's not a single curtain! What are they going to do?"

After getting off the ferry, the director handed maps to the guests, explaining that the houses were already marked and they'd need to find them themselves. The crew would only follow and film, offering no navigation help.

"Your luggage has already been delivered to your respective houses. You'll find it once you arrive. It's 11 a.m. now. Please find your house, unpack, and gather at the dining spot marked on the map by 1 p.m. Lunch will only begin once all guests have arrived." After these instructions, the director added, "You may now set off on your own."

As Ning Yichu listened, he noticed that these instructions differed slightly from what the director had said in his previous life—one step was missing.

"Aren't we checking the luggage?" Ning Yichu asked curiously.

The director instinctively glanced at He Shixia and shook his head. "Although we previously informed the guests that we would carefully inspect the luggage, that was just a formality. We trust that none of you have brought any prohibited items, so we're skipping that step."

Ning Yichu looked leisurely at He Shixia.

"Huh? Why is Ning Yichu looking at He Shixia like that?"

"There's something fishy going on!"

He Shixia couldn't help but laugh and confessed, "Alright, I admit it. I discussed it with the production team in advance, explaining that I brought something that, while not prohibited, is inconvenient to have inspected. I asked them to simplify the process. But the team was even more considerate than I expected—they canceled the inspection altogether."

Ning Yichu raised an eyebrow.

The director smiled warmly.

"What is it?"

"If you don't let us see, it's going to spark all sorts of rumors, hehehe."

"Ning Yichu's reaction seems almost intentional, like he was looking forward to the luggage check, hahaha."

"I suspect Ning Yichu originally planned to prank He Shixia during the inspection. He Shixia didn't want to refuse him but also didn't want to lose face, so he negotiated with the production team."

"Wait, I just realized—so Film Emperor He is admitting he interfered with the show's process?"

"Oh, right! Haha, He Shixia said it so matter-of-factly that I didn't even realize how inappropriate it sounds, lol."

"By the way, if there's only one bed, how are Brother He and his wife going to sleep?"

"? They're legally married, of course they'll sleep together. Why is that even a question?"

"But didn't they say Ning Yichu doesn't like He Shixia..."

"Still, they're married—surely they've slept together before..."

"Judging by their dynamic, it's not impossible that they haven't."

"Trust me, they've definitely slept together. The vibe between them is subtle—if it were a one-sided crush without any intimacy, they wouldn't have this distant-yet-close dynamic."

"So what exactly did Film Emperor He bring that's so inconvenient to show?"

"If it's that inconvenient, I can only think of condoms, thanks."

"Crude but probably accurate..."

"Huh, the word 'condoms' isn't being filtered out in the live stream chat? Interesting."

Ning Yichu and He Shixia had stayed in the red-brick house in their previous life, so even without the map, they knew the way. But since they were on camera, they still made a show of following the map.

Once they arrived, they checked their luggage already placed inside and glanced into the bedroom. Then Ning Yichu said to He Shixia, "You sleep on the floor."

He Shixia took it in stride. "Alright. Can I sleep on the floor next to your bed?"