Chapter 168: Truly a Legendary Miss Hong Kong – A Reality Amidst Deception…

Having barely recovered from the near-public collapse, he suddenly saw Zou Huayan's knowing look, as if he understood everything. Ling Chen opened his mouth, but ultimately decided to just go with the flow.

After all, between the "scheming guy who pretended to fall to try and grab the seat next to the pretty girl" and the "loser who, despite being a grown man, still managed to trip and fall even on flat ground," anyone with a shred of decency wouldn't want to become one of those wayward youths...

Seeing Ling Chen's speechless expression, Zou Huayan patted him on the shoulder like an older brother, his eyes seemingly encouraging him: "It's not shameful for young people to be attracted to pretty girls. Just ask him to switch seats next time!"

You don't have to be so hard on yourself!

He chuckled awkwardly and thanked Zou Huayan, who had a misunderstanding about him but not a complete one, and then called his assistant, A-Quan, over to help the stylist fix his hair.

"Have you been working hard lately? You look a bit thinner." Li Sishi glanced at him sideways.

To be honest, it's hard to tell whether he's fat or thin at this moment. He just looks tired and haggard, which gives people the impression that he has "lost weight".

"The director asked me to keep the door in this position throughout filming," Ling Chen explained quietly.

"Oh... I understand." Li Sishi nodded in sudden realization.

Given that director's consistent style, he really loves this kind of artistic, melancholic, decadent, and dejected feel. No matter how sunny the actors are, they all turn into resentful women and men in his hands. In short, it's a kind of indescribable flavor that is detached from the world but seems to be permeated with the mortal world.

The only person who worked with the director, Blackie, but wasn't "harmed" by him was Tang Jingwen, who sat in the next seat. However, she was an introverted yet strong-willed person, and she didn't need Blackie to do much to achieve the unique personality he wanted...

As if noticing Li Sishi's gaze, Tang Jingwen turned her head and looked over: "Oh, it's you—I heard you're pretty good at mahjong, is that right?"

"Uh, it's alright." Li Sishi nodded, somewhat surprised that she had steered the conversation to this topic.

"It's a pity I had other things to do and couldn't meet you..." Tang Jingwen recalled how You Jiating said Li Sishi had a series of big hands, including Nine of a Kind and Thirteen Orphans, which made Rong Juezhang, who had always been her "enemy" at the mahjong table, depressed for quite some time. She was very fascinated by it.

Take advantage of this time to record the show together

Now that they had a chance to meet, Tang Jingwen couldn't wait to find a mahjong master like Li Sishi and have a three-hundred-round battle: "When do you have time to arrange a game?"

At this point, she proudly showed Li Sishi her newly bought large diamond ring, saying, "I just spent a lot of money to have it blessed by a master, so my luck will definitely be very good during this period!"

Seeing her so confident, if Li Sishi hadn't heard Rong Juezhang say at the mahjong table that Tang Jingwen's skills were about the same as his, she probably wouldn't have guessed that the person in front of her was also a mahjong enthusiast who was bad at the game but had a big addiction to it.

After all, Tang Jingwen naturally had a cool and aloof demeanor, and seemed quite intelligent—of course, you can't judge a book by its cover. Rong Juezhang looked so sharp and intelligent, yet he turned out to be a mathematical genius who could calculate 8+8=18…

It's amazing that he can still play mahjong with others despite his limited math skills. Everyone who sees him would praise him for his "strong will despite physical disability"!

With a wry smile, Li Sishi accepted Tang Jingwen's invitation. After patting her cheeks with a powder puff to make sure her makeup, hairstyle, and clothes were all okay, she stood up from her seat.

The initial live performance of the Golden Melody Awards was conducted according to the order in which the host called out the names. She was seventh in line, so she had plenty of time to prepare.

This wasn't her first time participating in the Jade Solid Gold Awards quarterly selection. After all, the Jade Solid Gold Awards ceremony held at the beginning of each year had forty nominated songs selected in the corresponding quarterly selections of the four seasons. However, back then, she mainly joked around with everyone, so she didn't need to think about anything beforehand and really came to record the show with a playful attitude.

Now, besides worrying about those undercurrents of relationships, she also has to pay attention to the situation of the fans at the scene—Li Sishi looked from backstage and saw that the fans of each group were sitting in the audience in a very clear and distinct manner.

Among them, the Four Heavenly Kings' fans are the most numerous. Although her little pink flags tried their best to wave flags and shout, they were still somewhat inferior to the Four Heavenly Kings' fans, who had a grand scale and skillful demeanor.

However, although they lost to others in terms of numbers and momentum, the little pink flags were incredibly strong when Li Sishi went on stage to sing. One large bouquet after another was presented to her, keeping Li Sishi so busy that she almost couldn't sing. She took advantage of every gap in the doorway to catch her breath and repeatedly accepted and put down the flowers. Before long, a colorful mountain of flowers had piled up in front of her.

The vibrant bouquets complemented Li Sishi's elegant white dress, the same style worn in the music video, and further enhanced by the music video for "If I Were a Myth".

The light and refreshing melody created a warm and inviting atmosphere on stage, like a summer scene.

It wasn't until the last part of the song that a muscular man wearing a pink fan support T-shirt came up carrying a giant bouquet that looked to be over a meter in diameter. He excitedly said that it was a gift from his group of brothers... Only then did Li Sishi show a slight look of surprise at realizing the unbearable weight of life. Then, she gratefully accepted this overwhelmingly heavy love from the pink-clad fan.

As Li Sishi stumbled after receiving the bouquet, the door was instantly flooded with flowers, leaving only her knees visible. Shang Hanyou, who was waiting backstage and at the edge of the stage for the next performer, quickly came out to help her. Amid a small chorus of screams from the audience, he helped her carry the bouquet back to the other side of the awards stage.

"Wow, May, not only did you receive the most flowers today, but you even brought back a protector!" the host teased.

"You flatter me too much. I'm just temporarily filling in as a laborer, helping to carry the flowers." Upon hearing this, Shang Hanyou quickly tilted the giant bouquet in his hand to the side and leaned over the microphone in front of Li Sishi to help deal with the host's teasing remarks.

"Look, everyone, look! I only said one sentence—and he's already 'protecting' her again..." Hong Kong's variety shows have always been known for their love of drama, and since Li Sishi and Shang Hanyou had indeed worked together as a couple, the teasing came naturally.

"There's nothing I can do. Although I'm very grateful for the fan and his friends' love, their 'love' is really too heavy for me..." Li Sishi waved innocently towards the audience, her expression of love mixed with helplessness was quite adorable. The pink-clad hunk representing his brothers to present flowers to his idol raised his hands to his mouth and shouted, "Thank you so much, May! We'll present flowers again next time..."

"Then send a smaller bouquet next time!" Li Sishi replied, looking at him with a wry smile.

"Okay, okay, next time you have to send an even bigger bouquet—" Whether this pink-clad male fan misheard on purpose or not, he immediately replied to Li Sishi's call.

"Ah May, we girls won't lose to those boys either! Next time, we'll send three of us to carry a super huge bouquet for you!" Originally hoping to outdo the superstar with sheer numbers, the female fans, whose attendance was low due to poor ticket sales, were outshone. A group of female fans waving small pink flags immediately refused to back down.

They shouted in unison.

Li Sishi was stunned to see her fans turn on each other on the spot. She could only lament that her recent efforts to attract fans had been too hasty and she hadn't fully controlled them. As a result, while they were united against external forces, they would also fight amongst themselves for various reasons...

But it's okay, this is just the initial stage of massive absorption, so the management is insufficient. Once she puts in the effort to find someone to manage it properly, it will become a powerful fan army.

"Alright, alright, everyone's seen how popular Ah May is. Hanyou, no matter how well you 'protect' her now, it's nothing. You'll really be sharp when you can protect Ah May properly later." The host, having finished his joke, smoothed things over and also introduced the next game segment.

After Shang Hanyou, the last nominee for the Golden Melody Award, finished his performance, all the winning singers came to the game area with stacked nine-square grid boxes and listened to the rules of the game.

Prior to this, the 10 people had been randomly divided into two teams by drawing lots. One team drew Arabic numerals 12345, and the other team drew Chinese capital characters 壹贰叁肆伍.

"According to the numbers drawn, the number 1 and number 2 of each team should hold hands and stand on the 3x3 grid. Numbers 3 and 4 should sit below and answer questions. If they answer correctly, they can reduce the number of squares in the opponent's 3x3 grid by one..." The host explained the rules of the game and then instructed everyone to go to their respective positions according to their drawn numbers. "As for number 5, stand in the middle of the opposing team and take the various props we provide..."

"When a team's entire 3x3 grid is taken away, or when the opposing team's number 5 player knocks down their 3x3 grid, that's considered a loss—Alright, everyone get ready, our game is about to begin!"

"This is the most unlucky day of my life..." Looking at the two gaming black holes, Lingchen and Cheng Erjian, who were answering the questions on her side, and then looking at Huo Gucheng, who was particularly crazy when playing games, Li Sishi couldn't help but complain to Shang Hanyou, who was going to hold hands with her and stand on the nine-square grid.

"There's nothing we can do. If you were sitting here answering the questions, that would be too 'violation of the rules.' It's clear that heaven has eyes." Everyone knows that Li Sishi is a professional question-answerer, so Hou Beihua, who was in charge of answering the questions on the other side, couldn't help but chuckle when he saw that her talent was restricted right from the start.

"I really want the prize this time! You guys need to work harder!" (Afraid of being responsible for answering...)

"Those two might have some ulterior motives," Li Sishi said pitifully, calling out in their direction.

"Try, try..." Although they were a little annoyed to see Li Sishi and Shang Hanyou standing hand in hand, and had thought about ending the game quickly so that they could separate, seeing Li Sishi's expectant little expression, and thinking about how if they deliberately lost, the two would only stand closer and closer before falling, Ling Chen and Cheng Erjian could only nod repeatedly, indicating that they would do their best.

However, to truly "do one's best," one still needs to have substance...

Seeing Li Sishi's team lose three points in a row and have three nine-square boxes taken, Huo Gucheng, who was responsible for harassing the local team, became more and more energetic. He wielded his prop sword with great skill, making Li Sishi and Shang Hanyou hold hands and jump around, quickly changing positions on the increasingly smaller nine-square grid to avoid attacks.

In contrast, Chen Weilan, number 5 on their side, was much less effective at harassing the enemy. She was petite and had a refined demeanor; even with her arms outstretched, she could only barely touch the two players on the enemy's nine-square grid.

Fortunately, luck didn't stay on the enemy's side forever. Hou Beihua and Tang Jingwen, who were responsible for answering the questions, failed to answer and answered two more questions incorrectly. As a result, the number of squares lost by both sides became equal.

With the movement range of the two players on the 3x3 grid reduced, the two number 5 players responsible for harassing the enemy were able to perform their duties much more smoothly.

As time passed, Huo Gucheng's expression was one of absolute certainty when the eighth nine-square grid box under Li Sishi's feet was taken away.

"Come on!" Shang Hanyou swept Li Sishi up in his arms, meeting Huo Gucheng's triumphant gaze with fierce intensity.

"Hanyou, hang in there! Hold on tight! They only have one box left!" In this critical situation, there was no time to think about personal feelings.

In addition, the two had played games together before and had some tacit understanding. So, with two negatives turning into a positive, Lingchen and Cheng Erjian encouraged Shang Hanyou in unison, and then they stared intently at the enemy team's nine-square grid area.

Huo Gucheng subconsciously glanced at his own side, only to see that Li Dewen and Zou Huayan, the two big men who had drawn the numbers to stand in the nine-square grid, were struggling to stand on a box, hugging each other, and were being poked by Chen Weilan with a velvet strip, making them teeter on the verge of falling...

"You two, are you trying to form a human pyramid?! Are you trying to pull a princess carry too?!" Huo Gucheng shouted in exasperation, then couldn't help but look at the three men who had suddenly teamed up: When did they become so united?!

They were hoping to take advantage of the situation when their relationship with Shang Hanyou changed in the early morning to win a prize while things were in disarray!

Unaware that a three-way standoff could temporarily create a balance, Huo Gucheng, after a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, looked at Li Sishi, who was being protected in Shang Hanyou's arms, with an admiring gaze: "Truly a legendary Miss Hong Kong, managing to stand so firmly even while juggling two relationships!"