Before A Meng could finish speaking, Shi Jing suddenly rushed out of his room and shouted sharply, "Chao Chao, don't listen to them!"
Zhu Jinzhao blinked in confusion, staring blankly at the suddenly appearing Shi Jing.
"Shi Jing, what's wrong?" she asked timidly.
She didn't even know what A-Meng and Tang Jie wanted to do, so how could she decide whether or not to listen to them?
Shi Jing's face was full of anger, and he looked very fierce. He raised his hand to tug at his slightly crooked collar, gave a warning glare to the two staff members who had followed him out of his room, and then strode over to Zhu Jinzhao's side.
Zhu Jinzhao kept her eyes on him, quietly waiting for him to give an explanation.
But he said nothing, only curled his lips in a mocking smile and stared coldly at A Meng and Tang Jie in front of him.
A-Meng couldn't stand his gaze, and the rest of her words got stuck in her throat, unable to come out.
"What are you guys trying to do?" Zhu Jinzhao was completely confused, feeling that each person in front of him was stranger than the last.
"..." A-Meng and Tang Jie exchanged a glance, but neither of them said a word.
"Speak up, what do you want?" Shi Jing didn't have the patience to stay silent with them. Seeing that they didn't speak for a long time, he couldn't help but yell at them.
“…Well, it’s like this.” Tang Jie forced a smile, “The production team has made some changes to the game settings, so they sent us here to discuss with everyone and ask for your agreement to add some hidden elements to the first round of the hide-and-seek game.”
"...Add settings now?" Zhu Jinzhao genuinely didn't understand. "The game is already finished, what settings do we need to add?"
“Yes,” Shi Jing agreed, “The games are all finished, and the tasks are all completed. What kind of new features are you guys adding now?”
"This..." Tang Jie scratched his forehead guiltily and weakly explained, "This was ordered by the production team. We don't know why this setting was added. We were just following orders."
"So what's the setting?" As a fellow working person, Zhu Jinzhao didn't want to make things difficult for them, so he had to suppress his doubts and patiently ask.
A-Meng said, "This setting is to add a hidden mission to the hide-and-seek game."
Zhu Jinchao frowned in confusion: "What is a hidden mission?"
A Meng explained, "These are little-known secrets that viewers in the live stream don't know yet. For example, Ning Shi's secret is to randomly hide in other people's rooms, and Fang Lei's secret is to randomly choose a hunter and lie to them in order to confuse them."
"Oh..." Zhu Jinzhao seemed to understand but not quite, "So what is my little secret?"
A-Meng: "Your little secret is that you deliberately target Su Ying in the missions. No matter which game you play, you keep your eyes on her and make sure she's the first one eliminated."
"...Hmm?" Why do other people's little secrets sound so normal, but when it comes to hers, it inexplicably seems like she's stirring things up?
I hope you don't understand today.
She frowned and pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked, "So, what is Su Ying's little secret?"
"..." A-Meng pursed her lips, her expression instantly turning awkward. "Su Ying's secret is that when playing games, she pretends to be angry with you and then curses you with the most offensive words possible..."
Perhaps she herself felt that such a setting was too outrageous, which is why she unconsciously lowered her voice when talking about Su Ying's secret, so low that even the last word was barely audible.
Even so, Zhu Jinzhao immediately understood what she meant.
Her eyes widened in disbelief, and for the first time, a clear anger appeared in them.
"Adding hidden settings is just an excuse, isn't it?" she said directly. "Your real purpose is to cover up what happened this morning when Su Ying used foul language to curse at me."
"..." A-Meng and Tang Jie lowered their heads guiltily, neither daring to utter a sound.
"Heh..." Shi Jing sneered, deliberately asking Zhu Jinchao in front of the two of them, "Chaochao, do you agree to the production team adding this inexplicable 'hidden setting'?"
“I disagree.” Zhu Jinzhao’s refusal was without the slightest hesitation. “It’s true that Su Ying insulted me, and I’m not willing to cooperate with the production team to cover for her. If you’re determined to do this, then I can only notify my agency to negotiate with you.”
"Did you hear what Chaochao said?" Shi Jing raised his arm and put it on Zhu Jinchao's shoulder, coldly looking at the two people in front of him. "Chaochao and I both disagree with your actions. If you want to insist on covering up for Su Ying, then don't blame us for not cooperating."
"After all, 'Let's Make Friends' is a live broadcast program. If I'm unhappy, I might say something during the live broadcast at any time."
These words were a blatant threat. A-Meng and Tang Jie were just junior assistants and had no idea how to handle the situation.
Shi Jing and Zhu Jinzhao made it clear that they were unwilling to cooperate. Unable to think of any other way, they could only turn around and go back to their office to call over the assistant director and producer.
The two middle-aged men tried everything—playing the victim and brainwashing—but they still couldn't persuade Shi Jing and Zhu Jinzhao.
Shi Jing reiterated, "Chaochao is under my protection; none of you are allowed to bully her."
"I haven't even had a chance to settle the score with Su Ying for what she said, and you guys actually dare to try and make my Chaochao a stepping stone for Su Ying to clear her name! Dream on!"
"Shi Jing, we've really been forced into this situation." The assistant director had a bitter face and was almost in tears.
"The second season of 'Make Friends' was able to start thanks to the investment that Su Ying brought in. She brought her own funding to the production, so we must protect her reputation."
Shi Jing: "That's your business, what does it have to do with me?"
As he spoke, he stepped forward and openly shielded Zhu Jinchao behind him: "Don't give me this nonsense. I don't care or sympathize with you. Chaochao is my person, and my main purpose in coming to this program is to protect her. If you dare to have any designs on her, don't blame me, Shi Jing, for not giving you face."
At this point, the assistant director and producer had nothing more to say.
They slunk into the room, and then slunk out again.
Whether or not this so-called "hidden feature" will be added remains undisclosed. In any case, half an hour later, the belated dinner livestream finally began.
Zhu Jinzhao sat at the dining table, staring expressionlessly at the boiling hot pot in front of him.
"Buzzing—"
My phone rang twice; it was a notification from the production team about the task.
—After a long day, everyone must be hungry and tired. The viewers in the live stream have been waiting for a while; you can chat with them while you eat. Note: Each person must interact with at least twenty viewers.
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