Chapter 27 Pretty Dumbass

The autumn wind is bleak, and doubts are rising.

Fu Yanle looked at the back of An Shigou's head, not quite understanding what magical power had given An Shigou a pair of eyes that could see through the darkness.

According to the plot details learned before his death in his previous life, An Shigou and Lin Qingtong got along fairly well during the variety show recording. They were good colleagues who only worked together for a short period of time and had no prior conflicts of interest, since they were different types of actors.

Therefore, An Shigou should not have any hostile feelings towards Lin Qingtong, so what is he doing now?

Lin Qingtong had no idea what An Shigou was up to. After hearing this, she said helplessly, "Shigou, you've misunderstood. How could I possibly bully Yanle?"

Last time at the Lu family's house, Fu Yanle pulled out a clump of his hair, okay!

An Shigou looked at Lin Qingtong's red and moist eyes and said righteously, "Then I'll take Fu Yanle away. You're not allowed to follow me."

Before Lin Qingtong could react, An Shigou grabbed Fu Yanle and pulled her inside.

The film crew, who finally managed to find the three of them, were speechless. What's going on?

An Shigou pulled Fu Yanle to a quiet spot and waved to the two film crews that were about to approach. He turned his head, coughed affectedly, and then said arrogantly, "Don't get too close to Lin Qingtong in the future, understand?"

Fu Yanle, scooping up his ice cream, said without looking up, "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

"Me!" An Shigou's arrogance crumbled instantly. He was furious at Fu Yanle's carefree, nonchalant, and unguarded demeanor!

Seeing Fu Yanle nonchalantly put the ice cream in his mouth, An Shigou couldn't help but reach out and grab Fu Yanle's shoulder, shaking it a few times like rolling dice. "I'm doing this for your own good. You're no match for him!"

Huh? Fu Yanle looked at An Shigou with a completely bewildered expression.

“…Sigh!” Seeing this, An Shigou couldn’t be too harsh anymore and said in a low voice, “Don’t be fooled by Lin Qingtong’s usual gentle and polite demeanor and his kind and good-natured appearance. He’s actually quite shrewd.”

Fu Yanle raised an eyebrow, his tone trailing off with a hint of doubt, "Oh?"

"This isn't just my guess, it's a group's guess." An Shigou saw the blatant naiveté on Fu Yanle's face, so he could only take out his phone, skillfully open Weibo, and search for the term, "Look—"

【Appreciating Flower Tea – Let's savor the history of Linhua Tea's budding】

oh.

Fu Yanle understood.

An Shigou stumbled upon this entry while browsing the internet using a secondary account, and presumably, those comments were from incredibly clever people who had seen through the true nature of Lin Qingtong's flower tea. An Shigou stumbled upon the entry, became engrossed, and sank deeper and deeper, eventually transforming himself into one of those clever people.

Fu Yanle licked the light purple taro paste from the corner of his mouth, his red tongue creating a striking visual impact on An Shigou. He quickly raised his head, looking up at the sky, and said, "Let me tell you, a little blockhead like you has no chance of seeing through the tricks."

Fu Yanle lowered his head and continued to focus on eating his ice cream. "For example?"

"For example, if I hadn't taken you away just now, there would have been pictures of 'Lin Qingtong and Fu Yanle confronting each other, Lin Qingtong feeling envious and wronged, while Fu Yanle arrogantly eats ice cream' uploaded online very soon. Then the hashtag 'Fu Yanle bullies Lin Qingtong' would have been trending! You think that's all?"

Fu Yanle humbly asked for advice, "Of course not!"

"Yes. Just when Lin Qingtong's fans come out to defend him and attack you, the trending topic will be removed, and the public opinion will change to 'Fu Yanle used mysterious power to remove the trending topic, the powerful bully the working class, Lin Qingtong is really pitiful.' In the end, you will be scolded even more, while Lin Qingtong will achieve the triple success of abusing fans, gaining fans, and increasing popularity."

An Shigou made a solemn vow.

"Lin Qingtong has used this method several times, and it has always worked."

Other ordinary artists could be utterly defeated by this move, let alone Fu Yanle, who had a bad reputation before. This move was practically tailor-made for him.

"I didn't realize you were so insightful!" Fu Yanle patted An Shigou's chest heartily. "Don't worry, I'm exceptionally smart."

"Really?" An Shigou smiled sarcastically, straightened his head, and discovered that Fu Yanle had actually finished half a cup of ice cream in a minute in such bleak weather!

It's like it has a fire mouth, it's not afraid of the cold!

"But?" Fu Yanle smiled, "Are you very concerned about me?"

An Shigou instantly transformed into a duck that had been stepped on, leaping away with a splash, shouting, "I care about you? You don't deserve it!"

"Huh?" Fu Yanle frowned. "Then why did you drag me away? And why tell me all this?"

An Shigou said with bared teeth and claws, "Because I hate flower tea that pretends to be weak, kind, innocent, and wronged, but secretly plots and harms others!"

"Oh, I see." Fu Yanle lowered his eyelids in disappointment. "I thought you were concerned about me."

Fu Yanle was too beautiful, and the kind of beauty that was sharp and striking. An Shigou had heard analyses saying that this aggressive look easily attracted hostility because it didn't inherently inspire affection.

After spending this time together, An Shigou noticed that Fu Yanle was somewhat aloof when he wasn't speaking, like a proud young master. But when he smiled, he was very cute and innocent, perhaps thanks to his two dimples.

An Shigou had seen Fu Yanle in many different ways, but this was the first time she had seen him look aggrieved and disappointed, and she couldn't help but say subconsciously, "No, that's not it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, An Shigou saw Fu Yanle raise his eyes. His clear and bright pupils, backlit by the hazy sunlight filtering through the yellowing autumn branches, resembled rainbows of amber adorning the sunset.

"I...I..." he stammered, trying to coax Fu Yanle, "I...I care about you."

Upon hearing this, Fu Yanle's expression shifted within three seconds from surprise to delight to cautiousness, disbelief, and a touch of longing.

Screw your modesty!

An Shigou closed his eyes and said, "Okay, I admit I just care about you. I don't want you to be schemed against by Hua Cha. After all, you're a pretty, arrogant little idiot who only knows how to argue with others to their face but doesn't know how to guard against underhanded attacks. Okay, I just fucking care about you!"

Pfft—Pfft—Pfft!

With his strong self-control and acting skills worthy of a Galaxy Award, Fu Yanle didn't laugh out loud. "Really?" he said shyly. "Do you really care about me? I don't have many friends."

Damn! Damn! Damn!

An Shigou suppressed the urge to hug this pretty little dork and said in a condescending tone, "I... I can force myself to be your friend. This is a blessing you earned in your past life!"

"Really?" Fu Yanle punched An Shigou's chest with her little fist. "Then we're friends from now on. I'll protect you. If anyone dares to bully you, I'll write a song to scold them!"

I'm so damn lucky!

An Shigou coughed and said haughtily, "Look how happy you are! I'm going to do my mission."

“Let’s work together.” Fu Yanle followed An Shigou. “If we work together, the work won’t be tiring.”

"Since you're so eager to follow me, then follow me." An Shigou condescended to snatch the empty cup from Fu Yanle's hand and threw it into the trash can by the path. Then he suddenly remembered—he and Fu Yanle weren't on the same team, were they?

Oh well, if we're not on the same team, we're not on the same team. It doesn't matter!

The two walked along the path and saw a group of elderly men.

Fu Yanle put his hands behind his back and circled the old men in a dignified manner. Not finding Xingxing, he led An Shigou on a continued patrol.

"Will the stars really be here?" An Shigou thought about it more and more and it seemed unreliable. "Are we supposed to play cards? Play chess? Walk birds? Or just sit quietly by the little speaker, singing and dancing by ourselves?"

“No.” Fu Yanle stretched out his arm and pointed to the stone pavilion on the right. “Take a look.”

An Shigou glanced sideways and saw an old man dressed in a gray-blue long-sleeved shirt sitting cross-legged in the pavilion with a peaceful expression. His hands were clasped in front of his lower abdomen, and a sword lay horizontally in front of the futon beneath him. His aura was solemn and imposing, as if this were actually the summit of some treasure mountain.

The two of them breathed softly and stepped forward. Before the prayer mat lay a slip of paper with the four characters "Martial Arts Competition for Stars" written vertically. Beside it was a small stack of red characters that read:

[Life and Death Pact: Martial arts contest to seize a star; medical care not provided; life or death not considered; coffin not provided.]

Good heavens!

An Shigou's expression remained unmoved, but inwardly he was raging: What a lousy show, playing this big game?

The unknown master suddenly opened his eyes and said in a deep voice, "I have waited for half a day and finally met you two young friends."

He then laughed three times, spread his legs apart to the sides, making a short "one" shape, and stretched his arms out in front and behind, his five fingers forming tiger claws. "My two young friends, please give me your guidance!"

An Shi Gou was so frightened that he took a step back, feeling a sharp pain in his testicles!

"Wow, such pure and simple true energy!" Fu Yanle exclaimed in admiration. He stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "This junior is Yanlezi of Wushan. This gentleman is Shigouzi of Mei'e Mountain. May I ask your name, senior?"

The old man spoke solemnly, “I am Niubiting Niubitzi.”

"Senior is truly amazing." Fu Yanle sincerely bowed in admiration. "May I ask, senior, how can we reclaim the star?"

"Whoever defeats me can have this star." With a shout, Newbiko instantly transformed from a split-legged man back into an upright one, kicking his foot and sending the longsword flying into his palm.

He drew his sword. "Watch!"

Fu Yanle and An Shigou opened their eyes at the same time and saw a star stuck to the tip of the sword with double-sided tape.

Newbitch said, "As long as I can take this star from my hands—what are you going to do about it!"

One second ago, Fu Yanle reached out and ripped the star off. The next second, Fu Yanle, holding the star, said with a bewildered look, "Take it."

“…What an uncivilized junior!” Newbiko pulled a mission card from her pocket. “It has to be within three minutes of me saying ‘start,’ and it has to be first come, first served! This doesn’t count!”

"Okay." Fu Yanle reluctantly stuck the star back on.

Newbee coughed. “My two young friends, the mission is arduous and dangerous. I advise you not to act rashly. If you really want to spar with me, then sign a life-or-death contract first.”

An Shigou reached out and pinched Newbie's biceps, then pounded his short but strong thighs, and leaned in front of Fu Yanle, saying, "Looks like the real deal! Back or forward?"

"Those who live the martial world are never afraid of death." Fu Yanle solemnly extended his hand. "Sign!"

“Okay!” An Shigou blindly followed suit and was the first to sign his name, “Shigouzi”.

Fu Yanle signed his name as "Yanlezi," paused for a moment, and then added confidently below:

When it comes to martial arts for redeeming stars, I'm the best!

Disrespecting the elderly and children, let's see who's the most arrogant!

Life and death are irrelevant, physical deformities are disregarded!

Anyone who tries to stage an accident is a coward!

"Wow! Young friend, you have ambition and spirit!" Niu Bizi stepped forward and signed her name. "Looking at your handwriting, it's as graceful as a phoenix soaring over a swan. You truly have the spirit of youth and your skill is quite impressive!"

An Shigou, who was standing to the side, was also surprised. Fu Yanle's handwriting was not only beautiful, but also had a charm, which meant he must have practiced.

How many more surprises does the pretty little dork not know about?

Fu Yanle adopted a composed and unperturbed demeanor, saying, "Senior, you flatter me."

"Alright!" Newbiko twirled her sword, did another split, and said fiercely, "Who goes first!"

"Ha!" An Shigou threw a flurry of punches, then dove into the water like a carp, his momentum waning. "Anything goes!"

Seeing this, Fu Yanle slammed his hands on the ground, lowered his waist, raised his buttocks, pushed backward, and with a "pfft," used the same Toad Stance as Ouyang Feng, excitedly inciting—

"Gu, come on!"

Author's Note:

Xiao Fu: Ugh! Go! I'll use my butt skills to help you! (Ruthless)

Serious topic (Pay attention!)

Starting tonight, I'll be tentatively trying out six updates a day. Those of you who have been following me before probably already know that I usually update three times a day (this is just a trial, not a guarantee!).

Now, please choose one of the two methods:

A. 6000 words per chapter, updated at 9 PM.

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