"Thud—"

The lighter made a soft click, and a small flame danced on Su Ying's fingertip, but it went out after a moment, leaving only a faint smell of tobacco in the room.

Thin wisps of smoke drifted from between the crimson embers. Su Ying held the cigarette between two fingers and brought the mouthpiece to her lips.

"call……"

With each inhale and exhale, white smoke billowed from her nostrils, temporarily blurring her delicate face.

She squinted, her gaze piercing through the hazy smoke and landing directly on the phone resting on the table.

The phone screen was still on, and the call duration displayed on the screen was already more than thirty minutes.

"Su Ying".

A rough, hoarse female voice came from the speaker, her tone filled with deep dissatisfaction.

"Stop smoking. You've already smoked five cigarettes in just half an hour."

Su Ying frowned, her eyes filled with impatience. She took another drag of her cigarette and flicked the dangling ash into the ashtray.

"So you mean you want me to bend over backwards?" She ignored what the woman had just said and asked her own question in a sarcastic tone.

The woman on the other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds, then said "Yes."

"...Why should I?" Su Ying's eyes turned cold, and her voice suddenly became sharp. "Why should I bow down and be subservient? I'm a top star! Who dares to mess with me?"

"Sigh..." The woman sighed heavily, feeling troubled by Su Ying's attitude.

"Being a top star is useless, because the person you've offended is the absolute capital of the capital! With Shi Jing's family background, ten Juguang Media wouldn't be enough for him to handle!"

"...You still have the nerve to ask why? If Shi Jing can't swallow this and really wants to play dirty with you, you won't even have a chance to cry out in pain!"

"..." Su Ying was rendered speechless by the retort. Furious, all she could do was kick the table leg and swear again.

"Damn it, they're all a bunch of bullies who take advantage of their power!"

"..."

Ignoring her, the woman continued, "Just now, Shiyun Group, Zhu Group, and Qintai Technology all sent people to contact our company's board of directors. All three companies made a threatening statement, saying that if you dare to target Zhu Jinzhao again, your career in the entertainment industry is over."

"Juguang Media has just gone public, and things are still unstable in many aspects. Even if we wanted to protect you, we wouldn't have the ability to do so right now. Therefore, after discussions among the senior management, the company has unanimously decided to have you keep a low profile and avoid this storm until Zhu Jinzhao's anger subsides."

“…Heh.” Su Ying laughed. “To put it bluntly, it’s because we’re not strong enough, so we can only hide our heads and live a lowly life.”

The woman said, "Let alone the Zhu Group and Qin Tai Technology, even if only the Shi family came to our door today, we still couldn't beat them."

"You should have heard how terrifying the Shi family's power is. What makes you think that Juguang Media has the ability to go against them?"

"Hoo..." Su Ying exhaled a puff of smoke, her face gloomy as she remained silent.

The woman said, "I know you feel wronged, but we have no other choice but to let you suffer. If you have any grievances, blame yourself for not knowing how to curry favor with powerful people. Look at Zhu Jinzhao, she's only been in the industry for a few days, and she's already managed to hook up with the heir of the Shi family so smoothly. You should learn from her."

"Feng Yuna, stop spouting nonsense!" Su Ying couldn't take it anymore and, unusually, addressed Feng Yuna by her full name. "What is Zhu Jinzhao anyway? She has no face, no figure, and no acting skills! Someone like her, who only knows how to rely on men, isn't even worthy of carrying my shoes, and she wants me to learn from her... I'm being very polite by not slapping her twice!"

"..."

Feng Yuna was already used to Su Ying's behavior. Hearing Su Ying curse through gritted teeth, she felt no ripples in her heart, but rather wanted to laugh.

"You can say these things to us, but you still have to do what the board of directors asks after you're done. Tomorrow's show will be recorded as scheduled. I hope you perform well and salvage your damaged reputation in time."

"……roll!"

Su Ying didn't want to hear these words, so she simply hung up the phone.

Feng Yuna knew she understood, so she didn't call to bother her again.

She took one last drag of her cigarette, puffing out smoke as she forcefully stubbed it out in the ashtray.

"Zhu Jinzhao, if you're so capable, then stay by Shi Jing's side forever..."

-

The rain stopped in the middle of the night, and the guests woke up at four in the morning.

They were sound asleep in their blankets when they suddenly received a urging call from the production team, telling them to get up immediately and carry out today's new task—

Beachcombing.

"ha……"

The van drove alone on the coastal highway, and the seven guests inside kept yawning.

"Are the production team crazy? Why did they drag us out of bed in the middle of the night to go beachcombing?" Ning Shi said with her eyes closed, her face full of resentment.

"..."

The other six guests all fell asleep while sitting, and none of them had the energy to answer her.

After venting her frustrations, she immediately went to sleep, not caring whether anyone answered.

The viewers in the live stream were laughing hysterically.

[You're doomed! You've offended the production team! They've completely turned evil, and dragging you out to the beach in the middle of the night is just the first step in their revenge!]

[Hahahaha! Evil production team!]

[Program Production Team: Dare to criticize me? Watch how I throw a little tantrum, give you a little punishment, play a little trick, and use a little cunning!]

[Guest: What good would it do you to trap us?]

[Holy crap, what an evil production team! They're actually trying to trap all the guests to death!]

The van drove west along the coastal highway for more than an hour before finally stopping at the coast.

"ha……"

The seven guests remained silent, only yawning repeatedly.

It was already 5:20 a.m. The inky darkness of night was being diluted by the struggling light of day, and the sky was beginning to lighten.

"Whoosh—"

The sound of rolling waves came from afar, bringing the unique salty smell of the sea to everyone's nose.

As the sky gradually brightened, the scenery on the beach slowly came into view.

The assistant director stood in front of the seven guests and put on his big red bee hat again.

Good morning, everyone!

"ha……"

His response was a chorus of yawns.

He chuckled twice and said in a cheeky tone, "I know everyone is sleepy, but don't be sleepy yet, because our only task today is beachcombing. After we finish beachcombing, we'll go back to the villa for lunch, and then the recording of the first episode of 'Let's Make Friends Season 2' will officially be over."

"We'll see you all again in a week."