Chapter 240: The No-Name Star Beckons, the Benefactor Becomes a Simp 13

Chapter 240: A Nobody Crooks His Finger, and the Sugar Daddy Turns into a Lapdog 13

At the table, staring at all the fancy food in front of them, everyone had a different look on their face.

"So lavish? Is this because it's our last supper?" Ji Jingzhao sure knew how to run his mouth.

"The production team went out of their way to prepare such a feast for us—I reckon the days ahead won't be easy!"

After the meal, Fei Xiu finally showed up at the scene, looking tired from the road.

The moment he appeared, the comments section really started popping off.

"Ahhh! Film Emperor Fei is finally here—I thought we'd have to wait until tomorrow!"

"Zhaobao's hubby is here; I can't keep my eyes off him!"

"Wait, are those two for real or not? I swear, the way they look at each other is anything but innocent."

Innocent or not, Lin Huaiqing didn't know, and he didn't care. All he knew was that the moment he saw Fei Xiu, his liver hurt, his kidneys hurt—everything hurt.

This was their first meeting since cutting off contact. Fei Xiu had barely changed, still just as full of himself and cocky as ever.

Fei Xiu showed up and said hi to everyone—except Lin Huaiqing.

Lin Huaiqing was busy packing up his stuff, back turned to Fei Xiu. Fei Xiu just pretended he didn't see him, walked right past, and stopped next to Ji Jingzhao.

The second those two stood side by side, the comments went absolutely nuts. The screen was flooded with "99"—Chinese internet slang for "long-lasting love"—so thick you could barely see the people on screen.

"Okay, everyone, quiet down! Before announcing the first task, since Fei Xiu arrived late, he's getting punished first. We're gonna pick one comment from the chat to be his punishment."

Lin Huaiqing crossed his arms, looking like he was ready to watch the show.

Hopefully they'd pick something like letting him kick Fei Xiu once—that'd be the dream.

The netizens went crazy, spamming all kinds of ways to punish Fei Xiu.

Of course, the production team would keep it tame—nothing too wild would actually happen.

The screen started scrolling and finally landed on a comment: Fei Xiu had to send a "goodnight" message to the first chat in his messaging app.

The first contact would either be someone he just texted or the most important person he'd pinned to the top. Either way, it was someone important.

Honestly, that's barely a punishment.

But here's the kicker: if Fei Xiu sent that message and Ji Jingzhao's phone went off right after, they'd basically be confirmed as a couple.

The CP fans would lose their damn minds.

The comments flooded with: "Ladies, you deserve a shrine!"

"Fei Xiu, you good with this punishment?"

"Of course." Fei Xiu didn't even hesitate, just pulled out his phone and handed it over.

The big screen immediately showed Fei Xiu's phone screen. But when he opened the messaging app, all his contacts were blurred.

Fei Xiu tapped the first chat, typed "Goodnight, sweet dreams," and hit send.

Whether on purpose or not, the whole place went dead silent. But after a long beat, still no notification sound.

Fei Xiu chuckled lightly: "What are you all waiting for? I just texted my mom to let her know I got here safe."

"..."

Ji Jingzhao's face turned bright red, and he ducked behind Lin Huaiqing so the cameras wouldn't catch him blushing.

Fei Xiu's excuse might work on everyone else, but Lin Huaiqing wasn't buying it.

For one, Fei Xiu never made a habit of checking in with his mom. And given his character, hmph...

Yeah, tell that to the ghosts.

After the punishment, the director started announcing the first task.

They'd pick their rooms for the seven-day stay in the order they arrived at the filming location.

The courtyard house had a main hall, two side rooms, and a room facing the main hall from across the courtyard.

The staff stayed in the room facing the main hall during filming. So the remaining three rooms were up for grabs, and each could fit two people.

As the only woman there, Xu Shan naturally picked one of the side rooms.

Huo Dirui, who arrived second, grabbed the other side room.

So the only spots left were the main hall and one open bed in Huo Dirui's side room. The remaining three poor bastards had a tough choice to make.

When Lin Huaiqing got to the courtyard, he walked in before Ji Jingzhao, so he was naturally third to pick.

Normally, with the "Journey to the West" (Xiu-Ji CP) hype at its peak, Lin Huaiqing would've picked Huo Dirui's room and left the main hall for Fei Xiu and Ji Jingzhao.

Their CP fans would probably lose their minds with joy right then and there.

But he wasn't about to do that!

"I'm taking the main hall!"

Jokes are jokes, and games are games.

He hadn't forgotten he had a mission here. Playing the jerk who breaks up the lovebirds—that's where the drama was, right?

Sure enough, the second Lin Huaiqing said that, the CP fans who'd been waiting in the comments couldn't sit still.

They practically jumped into the screen, ready to curse Lin Huaiqing out.

"Damn! Are you kidding me? Does this dude have zero awareness? Doesn't he know he should leave the main hall for Film Emperor Fei and Zhaobao? What an idiot!"

"Ahhh! I've been waiting forever for this, and this is what I get? Does he think he can squeeze his way into the Journey to the West ship?"

"I'm dead! This is such a buzzkill!"

Of course, there were also random people in the comments who stepped up to defend him.

"Hey, he picked first—what's wrong with him choosing the main hall? Are your two faves emperors or something? Does everyone have to bow down to them?"

"Ha! If he didn't want to room with one of them, why would he so cluelessly grab the main hall? His little scheme is written all over his face! He's just trying to ride their coattails!"

The comments were in an uproar, with eighty percent of them trashing Lin Huaiqing for being clueless.

But that was exactly what he wanted.

Lin Huaiqing didn't care about any of that and naturally moved his luggage to the front of the main room.

It was up to Ji Jingzhao and Fei Xiu to decide next.

They faced a choice between Huo Dirui, that cocky kid, and Lin Huaiqing.

Ji Jingzhao ended up choosing to room with Lin Huaiqing.

"I'm picking the main room too!" Ji Jingzhao grinned as he slid up next to Lin Huaiqing, pressing close.

Even though Lin Huaiqing didn't like Ji Jingzhao, it was way better than having Fei Xiu move in.

Having Fei Xiu around made him unable to stand anyone else.

Fei Xiu was the last to arrive, and no surprise, he had no choice but to room with Huo Dirui.

Once the room selection was done, the director was about to cue the next part when Fei Xiu suddenly stepped forward.

"Director! Can I swap rooms?"

"No! The rooms are already locked in and can't be changed."

Even after the director shot him down, Fei Xiu still wouldn't give up.

"Then can I room with Ji Jingzhao and Lin Huaiqing—all three of us together?"

"Well..."

A random bullet screen comment hit the nail on the head.

"Anyone watching would think Fei Xiu is trying to force a CP with Ji Jingzhao, but you'd almost think Huo Dirui has BO or something. I feel bad for Huo Dirui for a second."

But plenty of people clapped back at this comment.

"Film Emperor Fei just wants to be closer to his wife—what's he done wrong?"

"If it weren't for that Lin guy butting in, would Film Emperor Fei have to go this far? These days, people really have no shame when it comes to grabbing screen time."