No. 26 Melon
At nine o'clock in the morning, the warm sunshine covered the cold CBD street, adding a lot of warmth to the street.
Lu Yanche returned to the Bentley. Zhou Te poked his head out from the front row and asked in confusion, "I received a call from Lu Yanyan."
"It's only nine o'clock, and you're already up?" Lu Yanche asked.
Lu Yanyan is an absolute lazy bum and usually doesn't wake up until eleven or twelve o'clock.
"I was afraid I'd get used to the bed, so I went to bed early," Lu Yanyan said. "But the mattress on the show is so comfortable, just like the one at home! I fell asleep as soon as I lay down. I wonder if Director Yu replaced it with a more comfortable mattress. He's quite considerate."
Lu Yanche lowered his eyes, and a slight curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Just sleep comfortably."
"By the way, brother, I watched today's live broadcast," Lu Yanyan said carefully, holding the phone, "Are you okay?"
After all, he had been in love with Bai Yueguang for nine years and thought that they would finally get married. However, he learned from Lin Cha that she had passed away five years ago. The woman he cherished like a treasure was actually the one who indirectly killed Bai Yueguang. No one would feel good about this news.
Lu Yanyan remembered that in high school, Lu Yanche was suspected of premature love and was almost kicked out of the Lu family by his father. It was after the school called his parents that Lu Yanche confessed to his parents and teachers that he did have a crush on Wei Xinyi, but he hadn't confessed and would not be with her in the future.
With Lu Yanche's assurance, the matter was settled. Unexpectedly, the two of them would meet again later by chance.
In fact, Lu Yanyan felt that if it was really Wei Xinyi, and they were destined to be together, there would be nothing wrong in renewing their old relationship.
Rich couples have never had any feelings for each other, and they get married just for business purposes. It is not easy to find someone who likes you.
But I didn't expect that she was just an imposter.
"I'm fine." Lu Yanche answered calmly. Then he paused slightly and jokingly said, "Why, like mom, you also want to meddle in my emotional issues?"
“It’s not impossible!”
Lu Yanyan straightened her back. "What kind of girl don't I know? Celebrities from the wealthy, celebrities from the entertainment industry, and models from the fashion world! I have connections in all of them! Tell me what kind of girl you like! I'll help you find one!"
"As long as it's arranged by you..." Lu Yanche smiled, "I like it."
Lu Yanyan could sense a hint of reluctance in Lu Yanche's voice. The two of them remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, Lu Yanyan asked, "Lu Yanche, do you...have other thoughts and don't want to be my brother anymore?"
Lu Yanche paused, his heart seeming to skip a beat.
"Why do you ask that suddenly?"
"Will you always be my brother?"
Lu Yanyan said in a low voice, "It's so great to have a family of four like us! I can't imagine what the future will be like without one person... I think it's just like this, you're the older brother, I'm the younger sister, that's all that matters."
Lu Yanche was silent for a long time. During this time, Lu Yanyan heard the sound of his Adam's apple rolling, as if he had drunk some water, and then he tugged at his tie in annoyance.
Lu Yanche lowered his voice, "Yan Yan, can you please stop being my brother?"
Lu Yanyan did not reply. There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, so long that it made Lu Yanche's heart palpitate and a subtle panic arose in his heart.
After a while, when Lu Yanche could no longer sit still and was about to take back what he had said, he heard Lu Yanyan's angry voice.
"Lu Yanche! What did you say? There was a mosquito in the room just now! I was swatting it!"
"Did you just say you don't want to be my brother anymore? Lu Yanche! What do you mean? What, you don't want to take care of me anymore? Daddy said you'd take care of me forever! And now you regret it! You bastard!"
Lu Yanche was stunned and speechless for a long time. Finally, he seemed to realize something and smiled bitterly.
"why are you laughing?"
Lu Yanyan on the other end of the phone looked puzzled.
"nothing."
Lu Yanche cleared his throat, his voice extremely gentle, "Don't worry, whether I am your brother or not, I will take care of you for the rest of my life. I will do what I say and I will never break my promise."
After hanging up the phone, Lu Yanyan fought the mosquitoes in the room for a while, but ended in failure. She could only reluctantly get up, wash up, and go out to record the show.
Lin Cha, who also had severe difficulty getting up, also got up in a daze, his eyes half closed, and the scenery in front of him was blurry.
Last night, she stayed up until two or three in the morning, devouring all the gossip about Wei Xinyi online. Although the gossip system knows everything, it's more fun to eat gossip together with everyone!
This made her look very listless today, with two big dark circles under her eyes.
Arriving at the leisure courtyard, Lin Cha's consciousness was still hazy. He felt thirsty and wanted to drink some water, but he couldn't bear to open his eyes.
[Water... If only there were a kind soul who could get me a glass of water right now...]
The hand that was groping around was stuffed into a half-filled cup of water.
Lin Cha took a big sip with satisfaction, and his mind started working again.
[My eyes are swollen from staying up all night last night... I wish someone could give me an egg compress right now...]
Soon, a delicate and round touch touched Lin Cha's eyes, gently massaging back and forth.
Lin Cha was so happy that her feet were raised up, and she felt like she could play a game of chess with Zhou Gong again.
Suddenly, she realized something was wrong and opened her eyes abruptly.
The same little house and the same scene still appeared before my eyes.
But the one in front of me who was giving me a hot compress with eggs——
It turned out to be Lu Yanyan!
Lin Cha: ???
Lin Cha rubbed his eyes quickly and his eyes widened in an instant.
"Miss?!"
【Why are you still here! 】
Lu Yanyan pulled a stool and sat down, peeling the eggs slowly and leisurely.
"Oh, I'm going to be a permanent resident here. I'll be with you on the show every day from now on! Are you happy? Are you excited? Do you like it?"
Lin Cha's face was full of smiles: "So happy! So happy! I like it so much~"
Heart: [Unhappy! Unhappy! Dislike!]
Who wants to be on a variety show with Party A's dad? What kind of extreme move is this? Does Teacher Liu have any objections? Does Teacher Chen have any objections? Jiang Mingkai wouldn't agree too, would he? Lu Yanyan is her real boss!
Jiang Mingkai, who was suddenly called out, had a short circuit in his mind and muttered, "Indeed, our program already has six permanent members. Would adding one more be too much..."
Lu Yanyan raised her eyebrows: "Oh, then you leave?"
Jiang Mingkai argued confidently, "I think the eldest lady is the most suitable for our variety show! What's wrong with having seven people on the variety show? Seven people, seven Calabash Brothers! Not too many, not too few, just right!"
Lin Cha: “…”
[They say women change their expressions faster than turning the pages of a book, and men are no less so!]
Lu Yanyan sneered softly and said to Jiang Mingkai, "You continue recording your variety show. I'm not here for you."
She clapped her hands, and a group of staff in suits and uniforms filed in. In an instant, a long white table covered with a tablecloth was set up in the courtyard.
A wide variety of breakfasts were placed on the table, including Western-style fried eggs, ham and pancakes, and Eastern-style porridge, fried dough sticks and soy milk.
The freshly baked food is still hot, but the aroma of the food has already filled the entire courtyard.
The guests felt that they were all growling and hungry.
"Now, do you still dislike me being a permanent resident?" Lu Yanyan asked with a smile.
"How could we possibly dislike you!" Liu Mingqian was the first to respond. "We welcome permanent residents like you with open arms and feet!"
"It's a pity that we couldn't invite you earlier!" Chen Xianzhi was heartbroken. If he had, he wouldn't have to eat bread!
"Mr. Lu is the ray of hope for our show!" Zhou Zexu said, adding, "With you, our show has a future!"
The guests enjoyed the breakfast very happily, and the netizens in the live broadcast room were also very greedy.
[Damn it! I clearly wanted to watch this show to see the guests working tirelessly on the farm, but why do they seem to be having such a great time every day, with all the barbecue and the boss's luxurious breakfast!]
[Haha, if you want to see the guests working themselves to death, watch that show next door called "Our Pastoral Life." They do farm work every day. I think the guests must be exhausted every day!]
[“Pastoral” is so boring, “Leisure” is better!]
"Pastoral" is so boring, especially Lin Churou, who gives me the feeling of overdoing it. And the rest of the guests, who seem to be loving and united, feel like they're all acting!
[Of course, the daily banter between the young lady and the guests was more interesting! Especially when Lu Yanyan announced that she was joining the show, everyone had such sad faces, it was hilarious and so real!]
[Yeah, yeah, yeah! And last time they said they were going to pick up Zhou Zexu, they ended up going to watch him get his wigs made, and they even discovered some Xinghui melons! That episode was awesome!]
[I can't stop reading "Leisure" gossip. I stayed up late last night reading Wei Xinyi's gossip. I wonder what gossip will be revealed today? I'm rubbing my hands in anticipation. jpg]
While the guests were having breakfast, Director Yu also told them that a film crew would come to the show today to promote a new drama, and the director, male and female protagonists, and supporting male actors would all be present.
This web series, titled "Angel's Tears," was produced and invested in by Tianyao Entertainment, and the four guests were also arranged by Tianyao. Generally, when an entertainment company has a new series online, they will arrange for the crew to participate in various variety shows to show their face and promote the new series.
Lu Yanyan didn't react much to this, it was just routine publicity, but when the other guests heard about the invited guest stars, they all showed indescribable expressions.
The next second, Lu Yanyan saw them all picking up their chopsticks—
"Chacha! These fried dough sticks are delicious! Try them!"
"Cha Cha! This pancake is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and it's topped with chocolate sauce. Come try it!"
"Chacha! This cup of black coffee is perfect for you. It can eliminate the swelling in your eyes!"
"Cha Cha! This is me... This is my anti-hair loss Chinese medicine! I'd like to share some with you! It will make your hair thicker!"
Lin Cha: ???
Why did these people suddenly become so weird?
She doesn’t want to drink any Chinese medicine to prevent hair loss!
Lu Yanyan couldn't understand it either, and felt that this group of people were a little crazy.
At this moment, Liu Mingqian sent her a text message.
Liu Mingqian: [Lin Cha currently only has 7 friends.]
Liu Mingqian: [Today, there are 9 guests!]
Lu Yanyan's eyes widened instantly, and the next second, she rushed to Lin Cha and held Lin Cha's hand tightly.
"Chacha, do you want to...get rich overnight?"
Lin Cha:!!!
[There's such a good thing?! I won't be sleepy anymore if you say that!]
The eldest lady's plan to get rich quickly was crude and simple. She took out her mobile phone, added Lin Cha as a friend, and sent her a red envelope of one million!
The guests on the scene and the netizens in the live broadcast room were all shocked by the red envelopes. Is this how rich ladies spend money?
[Miss, do you need any other accessories? I can!]
[I want to be a little lady's puppy, and get her red envelopes every day!]
[Please God grant me a client like Lu Yanyan! I would be so happy!]
One million is not a lot of money for the young lady, but for Lin Cha and the general public, it is a huge sum of money. Lin Cha even feels it is a bit too hot to handle.
In order to better reflect the wealthy class, WeChat does not even have a transfer limit. Lin Cha stared at the string of zeros on the phone and counted them several times.
One million, that's right.
Lin Cha instantly became alert.
[If someone offers kindness for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief! ]
[The young lady suddenly gave me so much money...]
[Are you trying to send me to Burma to be a slacker? Ahhhhhhhhhhhh I don’t want that!]
Lu Yanyan: ???
What misunderstanding do you have about yourself, little girl? Are your kidneys made of gold and worth a million?
But after Jiang Mingkai's reminder, Lu Yanyan realized that one million was indeed a huge sum of money for an 18th-tier unknown like Lin Cha, and giving her money for no reason would make her suspicious.
So, Lu Yanyan lied and said that this was a dividend for the guests because "Leisure" had made good profits recently.
Upon hearing this, Lin Cha felt relieved instantly, happily accepted the red envelope, and his favorability towards Lu Yanyan increased a little.
This made Jiang Mingkai and Zhou Zexu extremely envious. Their favorability levels were only around 25, and they could be kicked out at any time!
However, Liu Mingqian and Chen Xianzhi did not react much. Their favorability levels were already over 30, which was a mid-range position and very stable.
The guest stars would not arrive for some time, and the program team had not arranged any tasks for them, so Lin Cha simply took out the script of "Painted Bones" and continued to memorize the lines.
Zhou Zexu and Jiang Mingkai immediately stepped forward, one of them attentively brought freshly squeezed juice, and the other personally massaged Lin Cha's back.
"Cha Cha, are you thirsty? Have some juice!"
"Cha Cha, memorizing the script must be tiring. Let me help you with the massage!"
Lin Cha is overwhelmed.
[Forget about Miss Lu, but what's wrong with these people today? Why are they all so nice to me?]
【Did you do something wrong to me?】
Lin Cha suddenly looked at Zhou Zexu with a sharp gaze.
Zhou Zexu felt his scalp tingle under the stare, and he quickly said, "Cha Cha, don't overthink it. I just made some juice and wanted you to try it. Look, Teacher Liu and Teacher Chen are drinking it too!"
Lin Cha's round eyes rolled——
[The juice is freshly squeezed, yes, but the melon-eating system just showed that Zhou Zexu dug up a booger ball while squeezing the juice. Could it be that he dropped the booger ball into the juice and that's why he's so attentive to give it to me?]
Liu Mingqian & Chen Xianzhi: "Puff——"
All the juice spurted out in one mouthful!
Zhou Zexu was stunned and tried to defend himself, "I'm not! I didn't! I washed my hands before squeezing the juice!"
Jiang Mingkai was very proud and laughed in a low voice, "It seems that the booger ball is real!"
Zhou Zexu: "..."
His nose just itches a little!
Lin Cha turned around and looked at Jiang Mingkai who was massaging her behind her.
[I have to say, Brother Kai’s massage was really comfortable. It was so comfortable that I almost wanted to sleep...]
Jiang Mingkai became even more proud.
[As expected of a man who learned at a duck restaurant! He knows how to serve a woman!]
All guests:!!!
This time, everyone erupted.
Everyone's heads turned and they stared at Jiang Mingkai with a gloating look.
Jiang Mingkai actually went to a duck restaurant? What happened? Tell us more!
Lin Cha saw this melon while watching "Secrets of the Rich" while having dinner. He had read half of it at that time, and now he felt comfortable with the massage, so he opened it again and continued to chew on it.
Who would have thought that the second young master of the wealthy Jiang family would have his wallet and phone stolen while on his graduation trip to Japan? Unable to contact his family, he was left with no choice but to work part-time at a restaurant.
Jiang Mingkai just wanted to make some money to call his brother, but he didn't expect that because he was so good-looking, he was knocked unconscious by the restaurant staff and sold to the duck shop next door!
[Hahahaha! So, boys, when you go out, you have to protect yourself!]
Everyone looked at Jiang Mingkai at the same time, their eyes full of sympathy.
Previously cuckolded, became a father, and now is abducted to a gigolo club. It has to be said that Jiang Mingkai's life is really miserable!
However, despite this unfortunate experience, Jiang Mingkai also turned a disaster into a blessing. His first role in the industry was an S-rated male third in a period costume drama. Many second-tier actors couldn't pull off the role of a prostitute in an ancient brothel! However, Jiang Mingkai leveraged his previous experience as a gigolo to successfully land the role!
[The scene of Jiang Mingkai's audition in the conference room was so exciting hehe~]
[This is called a blessing in disguise! ]
Lin Cha kept praising Jiang Mingkai in her heart.
Being able to turn such an experience into an opportunity and later filming the classic role of a young waiter, it makes sense that Jiang Mingkai could become a first-line traffic star.
However, Jiang Mingkai didn't feel appreciated at all. He only felt that four pairs of eyes were fixed on him, and he felt a chill...
Especially the eldest lady's gaze, even a little eager to try?!
Next to him, the sound of Lin Cha continuing to chew the melon came:
[Ah! I think I missed it just now. Who rescued Jiang Mingkai when he was abducted to the host club?]
[Could it be the Jiang family? Then he would be beaten to death by his father!]
[Found it! Here!]
[I told you so. The Jiang family knew nothing about this from the beginning to the end. How could it be possible that they rescued him?]
"After being abducted to a male escort parlor, Jiang Mingkai underwent a week of training and was forced to take on the stage name 'Sakura Sauce.' That day, the parlor held a masked ball, with everyone wearing masks. Jiang Mingkai received a client for the first time, and after the ball ended, he was redeemed by a client. However, until the end, neither of them knew each other's identities."
[Huh? That's it? It's over? What's next? You didn't even mention who the customer was. System, you're not good enough!]
Lin Cha couldn't help but complain, feeling that Jiang Mingkai and the female guest had a story, but because Jiang Mingkai didn't know the other party's name, the melon-eating system didn't know the other party's name either.
What’s worse is that both parties were wearing masks, and the woman didn’t know who she was saving, which made it very difficult to find.
What a pity!
The guests around also looked regretful.
What a pity!
I don’t know if there will be any follow-up to this story. If there is, I must let Lin Cha tell it in detail!
The scandal surrounding Jiang Mingkai came to an end.
Lin Cha didn't dig any deeper because new guests had already arrived.
As soon as the four members of the "Angel's Tears" crew showed up, the small courtyard became much more crowded. Everyone tidied themselves up and stood up to welcome the new guests.
When Zhou Zexu heard they were here to promote their new drama, he couldn't help but mutter, "Are they really here to promote it? Aren't they afraid of ruining their reputation?"
Someone in the barrage caught Zhou Zexu's lip movements and burst into laughter.
[Xu Xu was really deeply touched, hahahaha!]
[After all, the show has only been recorded for the second episode, and already two groups of stars have been exposed!]
[Xu Xu, you need to clarify your position! You're the show "Life of Eating Melons," do you really think you're some kind of rural slow-paced variety show?]
[However, Director Zhao and the female lead Xu Zhiyan are a couple. This is no longer a secret in the industry, right? They just haven't made it clear. Can the rumors really be ruined?]
[Who knows! Wei Xinyi is devastated!]
[Rubbing my hands together in anticipation.jpg I have a feeling there's going to be something big today!]
The guests didn’t know if there were any big news, but after introducing themselves, Xu Zhiyan and director Zhao Jinnan were the first to get the seats to eat the melons.
However, the male protagonists Bao Wenhan and Zhu Mingzhi looked confused and obviously did not feel the true meaning of this program.
After Liu Mingqian dragged Zhao Jinnan and Xu Zhiyan into the group, he asked about their favorability ratings. Xu Zhiyan scored 30, and Zhao Jinnan scored 16.
Liu Mingqian figured out the pattern of Lin Cha's favorability:
Lin Cha has a natural liking for women, and generally the liking level for women is above 30; for men over 35 years old, Lin Cha's liking level is generally around 20; and the liking level for men under 35 is the lowest, and its value is seriously affected by appearance, the higher the appearance, the lower the score!
However, this influence will disappear after getting along with each other.
It is obvious that Lin Cha has definitely been hurt by handsome men of the same age. This is clearly the PTSD reaction after meeting a handsome scumbag!
Liu Mingqian looked at Lin Cha with curiosity. He always heard Lin Cha eat other people's melons. When would he be able to eat Lin Cha's melon? It seemed that this little girl was not simple at all!
Variety show recording continues.
It was already afternoon, and it was almost time for the program crew to assign tasks, but as soon as they arrived at the leisure cabin, they asked everyone to work. Obviously, the program crew was embarrassed, so they asked the guests to sit down and drink tea to get to know each other.
Xu Zhiyan and Zhao Jinnan were a couple, and they sat together legitimately, without any hesitation. However, when it came to the male lead Zhu Mingzhi and the supporting actor Bao Wenhan, they sat at the farthest seats diagonally opposite each other.
Lu Yanyan looked curious, and Zhou Zexu explained in a low voice, "They are notorious rivals in the circle."
Zhu Mingzhi and Bao Wenhan both came from old boy groups and experienced glory in their early years, but domestic entertainment was not suitable for idol development, and both of them were lonely for a while. Zhu Mingzhi took the lead in switching to become an actor, achieved certain success, and also got the opportunity to play the male lead in an A-level production such as "Angel's Tears".
Bao Wenhan was obviously not as wise as Zhu Mingzhi. He stuck to the idol track for another two years, but it was too late for him to switch to being an actor, and he ended up playing supporting roles for his former teammates.
But no one expected that a variety show "Brothers Riding the Wind and Waves" would emerge in the first half of the year, creating an exclusive stage for brothers over 30 years old. Bao Wenhan signed up to participate and got a debut position. His popularity soared and he has surpassed Zhu Mingzhi.
"The two were in a boy band in their early years, and now they are the only two well-known old idols in the circle. Their styles clash, so they are rivals." Zhou Zexu explained.
"If they're rivals... they don't have to be mortal enemies, right?" Lu Yanyan was puzzled.
"Of course there's more to it than that!" Chen Xianzhi whispered. He was a well-known host with extensive connections, and he knew a lot about the biggest scandals in the industry. "I heard from another member of their group that Zhu Mingzhi and Bao Wenhan don't get along because they like the same female artist! They're rivals in love!"
"I've heard about it too!" Liu Mingqian, a director with connections just as strong as Chen Xianzhi's, chimed in, lowering his voice. "I heard that actress was Bao Wenhan's ex. After they broke up, she got together with Zhu Mingzhi, which made Bao Wenhan really dislike him! But then Bao Wenhan became popular again and started showing off in front of Zhu Mingzhi, so Zhu Mingzhi really disliked him! They've become sworn enemies ever since!"
"As for who that female celebrity is, it's one of the unsolved mysteries in the industry!"
Everyone's eyes lit up and they looked at Lin Cha.
This is an unsolved mystery in the circle. Others may not know it, but Lin Cha will definitely know it!
Tell me, who is this woman who has these two old idols so obsessed and stirred up such a storm?!
Even Xu Zhiyan and Zhao Jinnan couldn't help but prick up their ears.
They had been filming together for three months, and it was clear to them that Zhu Mingzhi and Bao Wenhan were not getting along. What was strange was that they were obviously doing fine before the audition, so how did they suddenly become so hostile?
Lin Cha was also interested in this melon.
After all, as a background figure, she loves to watch the show when she has nothing to do.
However, when flipping through the system, Lin Cha showed a puzzled expression.
[That's not right! Zhu Mingzhi and Bao Wenhan became sworn enemies... and it wasn't because of a woman!]
Isn't it because of women?
Even Liu Mingqian was confused at this moment. Why was that?
【Because...Pfft...Hahahaha!】
【Hahahahahaha! 】
【Hahahahahahahahaha! 】
Everyone: Stop laughing! Stop laughing! Speak now!
[Because of a p! Hahahahahahaha! ]
On the first day of filming for "Angel's Tears," Bao Wenhan treated the crew to milk tea. Zhu Mingzhi, however, developed a stomach upset after drinking the tea. He happened to pass by Bao Wenhan on his way to the restroom. Bao Wenhan was sitting there reading a script, and Zhu Mingzhi couldn't help himself. His butt landed right in Bao Wenhan's face, and he popped!
This wasn't a big deal, but Bao Wenhan thought Zhu Mingzhi was upset with his recent popularity and was deliberately provoking him. That night, while Zhu Mingzhi was asleep, Bao Wenhan actually snuck into his room... and punched him in the face while he slept!
P.S. Just a reminder, the novel that Lin Cha traveled through is called "Return of the Daughter". Lu Yanyan is the villain in the control group after Lin Cha, and Lu Yanche is the biggest villain~
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