Just as Li Yuheng was about to retort, the director suddenly rushed into the living room, sweating profusely and clutching his phone: "Dear teachers! Urgent notice! The program is temporarily suspended!"
The living room fell silent instantly.
Zhao Wen's eyes widened: "Huh? Why?"
The director hesitated to speak: "President Ying... you mean Ying Youshi. He's just been exposed for allegedly engaging in power-for-sex transactions and has been taken away by the police for investigation. He was our program's biggest financial backer, and now that the funding chain has dried up, the station has decided to suspend filming."
Yu Keke exclaimed softly, "Oh my god..."
Jiang Wei raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Yuheng: "Oh, what a coincidence again?"
Li Yuheng looked completely innocent: "What's wrong?"
This really has nothing to do with him.
It's likely that the old man offended someone, and others added fuel to the fire.
Shu Bai stood up, her tone calm: "When are you leaving?"
The director rubbed his hands together: "A car will be coming to pick you all up this afternoon. I'm so sorry, this is really an unexpected situation..."
Li Yuheng suddenly spoke up: "Director, how should the breach of contract penalty be calculated?"
The director was taken aback: "Huh?"
Li Yuheng leaned lazily against the sofa: "The contract clearly states the recording period in black and white. Now they're unilaterally stopping it. They should at least give an explanation, right?"
The director's forehead was covered in even more sweat: "This...this...the station will compensate according to the contract..."
Li Yuheng nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Shu Bai and winked: "Teacher Shu Bai, you made a fortune for free, aren't you happy?"
Shu Bai: "..."
[Holy crap! The show was suddenly canceled?!]
The drama surrounding Gong Yu and Ying Youshi isn't over yet! Why has it stopped?!
[Hilarious! If the sponsor goes to jail, the show is bound to be canceled.]
[Aaaaaah! No way! I still want to see the HengShu couple's sweet moments!]
The chat was filled with groans of despair, but the live stream had already been cut off, leaving only a black screen and scrolling advertisements.
The production team began packing up the equipment, and the guests went back to their rooms to unpack their luggage.
Li Yuheng strolled leisurely to the door of Shu Bai's room and leaned against the door frame: "Teacher Shu Bai, do you need help tidying up?"
Shu Bai was folding clothes, not even looking up: "No need."
Li Yuheng walked into the room uninvited, picked up a book from the bedside table and flipped through it: "The Complete Guide to Scientific Chicken Raising? Teacher Shu Bai is quite diligent."
Shu Bai froze, snatched the book back, and stuffed it into his suitcase: "...Get to the point."
Li Yuheng shrugged: "Can't I come to see you if there's nothing wrong?"
"Finished watching? You can go now."
Li Yuheng showed no intention of leaving. Instead, he closed the door, sat down casually on the edge of the bed, and swung his long legs around, causing the mattress to sink slightly with his movements.
"Professor Shubai," he tilted his head, "the program was suddenly canceled, what are your plans now?"
Where is his confession?
Where should I put it?
Where?
where?
Shu Bai paused slightly as he folded the clothes, the fabric wrinkling slightly in his palm.
"Going back to my hometown." His voice was as calm as a deep pool, and he didn't even lift his eyelids.
"Then what?"
Li Yuheng pressed on relentlessly, his toes lightly tapping the floor.
"Farming." Shu Bai put the folded clothes into the open suitcase, his collar meticulously smoothed.
"..."
Li Yuheng's mind finally returned to normal. He raised one eyebrow and let out a soft chuckle: "...Really planning to retire from the entertainment industry? Just like that?"
Shu Bai finally straightened up, the lock on his suitcase making a crisp click in his hand.
"Otherwise what?"
He turned around, his backlit figure silhouetted against the morning light filtering through the curtains, creating a pale golden outline. "Stay in this circle, just to be made a fool of?"
Suddenly, Li Yuheng braced himself against the mattress with both hands, and when he tilted his head back, his neck stretched out a beautiful line.
He stared intently at Shu Bai: "Teacher Shu Bai, you know that public opinion has reversed now, right? Three out of the top ten trending topics are exonerating you, and those marketing accounts that spread rumors are deleting their posts and apologizing."
As he spoke, he suddenly stretched out his leg and lightly kicked the suitcase beside his feet, then changed the subject: "Are you willing to just walk away like this?"
Upon hearing this, Shu Bai merely glanced at him indifferently: "When contentment transcends desire, happiness will last a lifetime." (This is a widely circulated modern proverb, the author of which is unknown.)
The room suddenly fell silent, with only the faint ticking of the second hand on Li Yuheng's watch, like a silent countdown.
Li Yuheng was silent for a moment: "...Is that so?"
Shu Bai withdrew his gaze, his tone calm and indifferent: "In this industry, today they can elevate you to a pedestal, and tomorrow they can trample you into the mud."
He paused, a hint of mockery flickering in his eyes, "Three years ago, when that fragmented video went viral online, these accounts now shouting 'Restore Shu's innocence'—"
A sarcastic smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "They were the most vocal critics back then."
Li Yuheng didn't reply, but merely raised an eyebrow, his gaze still fixed on him.
Shu Bai raised his hand to press his temples, then suddenly chuckled softly, his voice tinged with weariness: "It's all so hypocritical. Everyone wears an elaborately crafted mask, saying insincere, beautiful words, and doing absurd things against their conscience."
He shook his head, his smile fading, and finally uttered a few words almost speechlessly: "It's really... utterly fucking ridiculous."
Li Yuheng suddenly stood up and leaned forward, his shadow obliquely enveloping Shu Bai. The slightly open collar of his shirt rippled open during the movement, revealing a small patch of pale skin below his collarbone.
"Teacher Shubai".
He suddenly smiled, a sharp curve appearing at the corner of his lips, but his eyes were incredibly hot.
"So, do you like sincerity?"
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Her sparse white eyelashes trembled slightly, like duckweed tilting gently in the rain, with water droplets silently sliding down the edges.
…
In the afternoon, the program crew's bus arrived at the villa's entrance on time.
The five guests boarded the bus one after another, and Jiang Wei, in order to maintain the buzz, simply started a live stream to interact with fans.
"Hello!" Jiang Wei waved to the camera. "Although it's a pity that the show was suddenly canceled, I really made a lot of good friends this time!"
Zhao Wen immediately leaned in front of the camera: "That's right! Especially Teacher Shu Bai, he taught me so many acting techniques!"
Yu Keke greeted everyone sweetly, "Thank you everyone for your support during this time~"
The live chat immediately erupted:
[Ahhh, Vivi's livestreaming!]
【Wenwen is so cute!】
【Coco, Mommy loves you!】
When the camera panned across the back row, the audience suddenly noticed that Li Yuheng was staring intently at Shu Bai's collarbone.
[Where is Hengzi staring?]
That look in his eyes... I'm done for.
[Help! That drool-worthy look in his eyes!]
Shu Bai noticed the gaze, turned her head and frowned: "What are you looking at?"
Li Yuheng snapped back to reality, immediately pulled out sunglasses from his pocket and put them on, saying with a straight face, "Look at the scenery."
[Hahaha, what the hell is this about looking at the scenery!]
Is the scenery reflected in the bare collarbone?!
[#Li Yuheng's Eyes Are Full of Love# is destined to trend on Weibo!]
Shu Bai gave a cold laugh and pulled his collar up.
Li Yuheng adjusted his sunglasses and continued looking out the window, feigning composure.
Jiang Wei, with his sharp eyes, noticed the direction of the comments and immediately turned the camera to the window: "Wow, the weather is so nice today!"
But it was too late; #LiYuheng'sEyesAreStretched# had already quickly become a trending topic.
…
The bus slowly drove away from the villa, and Jiang Wei's live broadcast had already ended.
However, even through his sunglasses, Li Yuheng couldn't help but glance at Shu Bai out of the corner of his eye.
That mole... it's such an eyesore.
He tugged at his collar in frustration, mentally cursing himself for being useless for the 108th time.
Shu Bai suddenly spoke up: "Let's see the fees."
Li Yuheng: "..."
He silently took out his phone and transferred 8,888 yuan to Shu Bai via WeChat.
Shu Bai's phone vibrated. Seeing the transfer notification, he raised an eyebrow: "?"
Li Yuheng pushed up his sunglasses and said matter-of-factly, "Prepayment."
Shu Bai: "..."
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