Chapter 42

After Su Xingyao got off the plane, he ran into two girls.

At first, when they called out “Mr. Xiao Su Xingyao,” Su Xingyao didn’t realize they were calling him.

It wasn’t until the two girls jogged up and stopped him that he paused and looked up at them, his eyes filled with confusion.

“I thought I saw you from the side, but didn’t expect it to really be you!” one of the girls with short hair said, her eyes filled with excitement that she couldn’t hide.

“Mr. Xiao Su, I’ve finally seen you in person! I’m a big fan of yours…” she continued.

She had noticed him the moment he stepped out.

Although he was wearing a mask, his tall stature and striking appearance made him stand out, even though he was just wearing a simple black T-shirt. He was still the most eye-catching one in the crowd.

It was the first time Su Xingyao had ever heard someone call themselves his fan since debuting, and he was taken aback for a moment, unaccustomed to the attention.

When he realized that the two girls seemed a bit nervous, he politely removed his mask and gave a small nod, saying, “Hello.”

His clear and pleasant voice made the two girls even more excited.

Especially when they saw Su Xingyao’s face up close.

His slightly upturned fox-like eyes seemed as if they could pull your soul away with just one glance.

The two girls had both become fans of Su Xingyao after watching We’re Going Traveling.

Seeing him in person, they finally realized that the cameras had made him look much less handsome than he actually was!

He was a hundred times more handsome in real life!

Both girls were momentarily stunned, forgetting what they had wanted to say as they looked at him so closely.

Finally, one of the girls came back to her senses and cautiously asked, “Teacher Su, could I have your autograph?”

The girl had heard some of the gossip about him before, and originally thought he would refuse.

However, to her surprise, Su Xingyao gently agreed.

After agreeing to give them an autograph, Su Xingyao bent down to rummage through his bag.

But since he was rarely asked for autographs, he didn’t have a pen with him.

The two girls didn’t have one either.

After searching for a while and not finding anything, Su Xingyao, unwilling to disappoint them, asked, “If you don’t have a pen… would a photo be okay?”

What they had initially hoped for was just an autograph, but they never imagined they’d get the chance for a photo.

Hearing this upgrade in the offer, the two girls were so excited they almost jumped.

After quickly taking a photo with Su Xingyao, they didn’t want to bother him any longer.

However, they noticed he was alone and carrying a suitcase, so they hesitantly asked him,

“Mr. Xiao Su, are you here to record a program?”

Su Xingyao nodded at them.

Once the two girls confirmed this, they became even more puzzled.

Why was he here alone to record the program? No assistant or anyone with him?

But they didn’t ask further and just waved at Su Xingyao. “Mr. Su, thank you for your hard work. Take care of yourself!”

Su Xingyao waved back politely and said, “Thank you.”

He smiled lightly again. “And thank you for your support.”

The two girls didn’t understand why Su Xingyao was thanking them for liking him.

But being thanked by the person they admired made their hearts feel like they were floating on clouds.

After watching Su Xingyao get into the program’s car, the two girls happily planned to share their excitement about meeting him in person on his fan forum.

However, when they checked the fan forum, they found it was filled with chaos and negativity.

Searching through the main feed, they saw almost all the posts were criticizing him from rival fanbases.

The two girls were confused but weren’t very involved in fan circles, so they didn’t know what was going on.

Unable to find the main fanbase, they decided to post the photo they took with Su Xingyao on their personal Weibo accounts.

Xiaolu Alice: Waaahhh, I ran into Su Xingyao today! He couldn’t sign for us, but he took a photo with us! Ahhh, how could someone be so good-looking, even more than the peace sign!!

FiveSixSevenEightNine: Su Xingyao is really so handsome in person!! And he’s so gentle and polite! The way he bent down and carefully searched through his bag for a pen was just too cute, wwww. But why was he all alone today? I didn’t see an assistant at all…

While the two fans were still puzzled about why Su Xingyao appeared alone at the airport, Su Xingyao had already been escorted by the program staff to the recording site.

Since he was a flying guest, he would appear later than the other guests, so his live stream hadn’t started yet.

However, this didn’t dampen the audience’s anticipation for Su Xingyao.

After his outstanding performance in the previous program, viewers of We’re Going Traveling were eagerly awaiting his appearance in this episode.

Especially after seeing the boring and useless behavior of the previous flying guests, the audience couldn’t wait for Su Xingyao to make his appearance.

【Who is the other flying guest today?】

【Su Xingyao, Su Xingyao, Su Xingyao, please!!!】

【Xiangxiang is already here, could this episode be a reunion with the original cast from the third episode?】

【Bring back the original cast from the third episode!!!】

Seeing the live stream’s chat filled with requests for Su Xingyao, some viewers were quite confused.

【Su Xingyao isn’t even that popular, is he?】

【I almost thought I entered the wrong live stream.】 

【Are these paid fans???】

However, despite all the questioning, many loyal fans immediately jumped to Su Xingyao’s defense.

【Paid fans? Are you paying me? Watching him on variety shows is really fun…】

To be honest, I’ve watched Su Xingyao and Shi Hongyu’s word-guessing segment on repeat for a long time, it’s really entertaining, but I’m not his fan.】

【Not a fan +1, but as long as this guy stays honest and just does variety shows without pulling any stunts, I can help promote him for three months with my eyes closed.】

While the program’s live stream was filled with noisy comments, the live stream of the flying guest suddenly began.

And then everyone saw Su Xingyao, dragging his suitcase, appearing in front of everyone.

Unlike the awkward situation during his first appearance, this time, Su Xingyao was warmly welcomed by everyone.

After spending time together in the previous episode, all the guests had developed a very positive impression of Su Xingyao.

Especially Xu Xiang, who admired this talented older brother who had helped her so much.

“Brother Xingyao!”

She was the first to notice Su Xingyao.

Upon seeing him, she immediately stopped doing her homework, stood up, and ran enthusiastically to the door, waving at him.

Shi Hongyu even immediately hugged him.

“My destined brother is here.”

Actually, when Xu Xiang appeared earlier, the guests had a vague suspicion that Su Xingyao might show up today.

Now that it was confirmed, they were all incredibly happy.

As the last flying guest to arrive, once Su Xingyao was present, Director Zhang Shanfeng appeared in front of everyone with a loudspeaker.

However, this time, Director Zhang Shanfeng didn’t announce a task like usual. Instead, he surprised everyone by allowing them to eat dinner before continuing with the rest of the recording.

After two seasons of being caught off guard, the guests had gotten smarter.

When they heard Zhang Shanfeng say something so unusual, their first reaction was suspicion.

Because they had been tricked last time.

Although the method was different, it was just as crafty.

“Director, you’re acting so out of character, it really scares me…”

The first to speak was Tong An’an, who looked unconvinced.

Feng Han also looked at Zhang Shanfeng and confirmed, “Are you sure there’s no trick this time?”

Chen Yi nodded, “You’re not going to make us pay for the dinner, right?”

In response to the guests’ doubts, Zhang Shanfeng casually pulled a stack of bills from his bag.

With a look that said, “You really don’t trust me?” he spread the money out like a fan, showing it to the guests.

“Here.”

“Are you reassured now? We’ll pay you later.”

Shi Hongyu, who didn’t suspect anything, saw the money and nodded with relief.

Xu Xiang was skeptical, “I have a bad feeling about this…”

Although she saw that the program team had prepared a budget for them, she still felt that something was off.

Su Xingyao, who had been silent until now, glanced at the stack of bills and asked the director, “Director, can’t you give us the budget to hold onto for now?”

Upon hearing Su Xingyao’s suggestion, Xu Xiang suddenly realized what was wrong.

She immediately agreed, nodding, “Right… why don’t we just pay for ourselves?”

However, Su Xingyao’s suggestion was quickly rejected by Zhang Shanfeng.

“This is the total budget for this trip, and it has to be handed over to the tour guide.”

After speaking, he seriously called out the tour guide and handed the money to them in front of everyone.

“From now on, the food, clothing, and transportation are all in your hands.”

In previous episodes, there were occasionally segments with a tour guide, and they had always given the budget to the tour guide in the same way.

So, the guests felt that something was off but couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong. They decided not to dwell on it for now.

However, since Zhang Shanfeng had never been so generous as to let them enjoy a comfortable meal like this before, the guests remained cautious and didn’t order anything too expensive.

In the end, the total cost for the meal came to 230 yuan for six people and one tour guide.

It wasn’t a large sum, so everyone could accept it.

After they were full, they waited for the tour guide to go pay the bill.

The tour guide had only taken a few steps when she hurriedly returned to everyone’s sight.

“Sorry, everyone… my money is gone…”

Seeing the tour guide acting flustered, the guests suddenly realized what was going on.

They had suspected there would be a trap, but they hadn’t expected it to be set up right here!

Chen Yi laughed and teased, “Wow, director, you’ve really corrupted the tour guide!”

After the tour guide announced that her money was missing, the boss who had been handed over from the program team also walked out.

She stood at the door with her hands folded and dramatically recited the lines prepared by the program team.

“What are we going to do if there’s no money? We don’t do free meals here.”

As soon as Chen Yi heard that, she immediately suggested, “If you don’t have cash… I can transfer the money to you?”

She had just said that when she realized she was using the program team’s phone, which didn’t have a card linked to it.

Zhang Shanfeng immediately stopped her, “No transfers, no asking fans for money, no selling autographs!”

The boss also nodded in agreement, “We don’t accept WeChat transfers, only cash.”

Chen Yi: …

“Alright, just tell us what you want us to do!”

Knowing the program team was definitely setting them up for a trick, Feng Han raised his hand and said, “Um… can I help wash the dishes to pay off the debt?”

Shi Hongyu looked at the director with a “you’re really bad” expression and said, “I knew it, director! You suddenly got so generous, turns out you wanted us to wash the dishes!”

He rolled up his sleeves, “Hey, you should’ve said so earlier. Washing dishes is my specialty.”

Just as Shi Hongyu was ready to wash the dishes, the director shook his head.

“Please, guests, solve the funding issue by other means, earn the cash to pay for the dinner.”

The audience was ecstatic to see the director pull this stunt.

【Cunning director】

【So this is the trap! Haha】

【Going for a surprise twist】

At that moment, it started pouring rain outside.

The guests looked at the heavy rain and were reluctant to go out in such weather to do the tasks.

After realizing they couldn’t even wash the dishes, Tong An’an curiously turned to Zhang Shanfeng.

“Director, do you owe gambling debts?”

Zhang Shanfeng immediately raised an eyebrow, “This is a live broadcast, don’t say nonsense.”

Xu Xiang wrinkled her nose and continued to complain, “Otherwise, how could you be so mean…”

Just as everyone was about to ask Zhang Shanfeng how they would settle the dinner payment, Su Xingyao, who had been quietly observing, noticed the heavy rain outside and asked the boss, “I have cash on me. Can I pay?”

Hearing Su Xingyao speak, Zhang Shanfeng, who had been lighthearted up until then, suddenly became nervous.

“What?”

Before he could finish his question, he saw Su Xingyao turn around and rummage through the hem of his clothes.

He quickly pulled out three one-hundred-yuan bills.

“I happen to have three hundred yuan. That should cover the dinner, right?”

Seeing Su Xingyao, who had previously been empty-handed but now suddenly had three hundred yuan in his hand, Zhang Shanfeng looked horrified and turned to the staff beside him.

“You didn’t search his bag?”

The staff looked wronged: We did!

“Then where did he get the money from???”

Before the staff could answer, Su Xingyao answered for them.

“I have a hidden pocket in my clothes…”

A hidden pocket in his clothes…

Zhang Shanfeng: …

The guests: !!!

The audience: ???

Su Xingyao continued, “When you’re out, it’s reassuring to have some cash on hand…”

【It’s reassuring to have some cash when you’re out, haha】

【But why does he have a hidden pocket in his clothes? 23333?】

【Did he sew it himself?】

【This habit really seems like something my grandma would do, hahahaha】

【I’m dying, Zhang Shanfeng didn’t expect this, that Su Xingyao carries cash when he goes out, and hides it in a pocket nobody thought to check】

【I strongly suspect Su Xingyao was raised by his grandma or grandmother, hahahah】

【Zhang Shanfeng’s two major enemies in variety shows: first Lin Yanran, now Su Xingyao, both are experts at hiding things】

Shi Hongyu was stunned when he saw that Su Xingyao had cash, then quickly shoved the cash into the boss’s hands.

“Boss, please give us 70 back, thank you!”

The boss, who had only been given the first script, didn’t expect there would be a guest secretly carrying cash, so she was momentarily taken aback.

She looked to the director for help.

Zhang Shanfeng still wanted to say something.

Su Xingyao spoke again, “We didn’t transfer money, we didn’t rely on fans, and we didn’t sell signatures or photos…”

Zhang Shanfeng: …

—

The rain outside was indeed heavy. Although he was reluctant that his trick didn’t work, Zhang Shanfeng still agreed to Su Xingyao’s suggestion.

As he watched the payment being made, he reminded the staff, “Next time, make sure to find the hidden pocket and check it too!”

With the cash Su Xingyao brought, the problem was smoothly solved.

There was no need to go out in the rain for a task, so everyone returned to the place they were staying for the night.

The rooms were quite spacious, and according to personal habits, everyone quickly divided up the rooms.

After the rooms were assigned, the guests started doing their own things.

Xu Xiang, who always carried homework with her, quietly took out her assignments.

However, this time, besides Xu Xiang, Feng Han also pulled out his homework.

The two of them, who were recording a variety show but still had to do homework, exchanged a few words before starting.

Xu Xiang: “Brother, why are you doing homework too?”

Feng Han: “No choice, the finals are coming up, and I haven’t finished the advanced math homework the teacher assigned.”

Xu Xiang: “I was going to ask you to tutor me…”

Feng Han: “I’m already drowning myself…”

The two exchanged sympathetic glances, then silently lowered their heads to do their homework.

But not long after, two sighs were heard.

【Hahahaha, my daughter is probably stressing out about physics again】

【Feng Han, this guy clearly doesn’t understand advanced math】

The production team loves to stir things up, and the live broadcast camera zoomed in on the two people who were struggling with their homework.

In the shot, both of them looked troubled and downcast.

After finishing his shower and coming down to get some water, Su Xingyao heard two sighs and walked over to them.

“What’s wrong?”

Xu Xiang, with the pen in her mouth, dejectedly pointed to her physics homework.

“Why does the world have such difficult problems…”

Su Xingyao’s long fingers tapped the table as he looked down at Xu Xiang’s paper.

After glancing at the question, he didn’t say anything but asked Xu Xiang for a piece of paper and a pencil. He then started drawing and writing on it.

The viewers in the live broadcast room immediately began to speculate when they saw his actions.

【Is Su Xingyao… trying to tutor Xu Xiang?】

【Just… not to be disrespectful, but can Su Xingyao even solve these problems?】

【What’s his educational background? Can he really tutor Xu Xiang? I’m not looking down on Su Xingyao, but Xu Xiang, even though she’s often puzzled, isn’t bad academically. The problems she can’t solve are probably advanced or competition-level problems, which most people can’t solve.】

【I don’t know Su Xingyao’s educational background either, I just checked his wiki but couldn’t find anything…】

【If a school doesn’t mention its name, it’s probably some obscure university… I get it, he wants to build a personal image, but please don’t waste the kid’s time.】

As the audience began to doubt Su Xingyao’s qualifications and abilities, he had already written out the entire process.

Xu Xiang quickly looked at the paper Su Xingyao had written on.

She carefully studied it for three minutes, and then…

Xu Xiang: “Thank you, brother. I finally know how to solve this problem.”

The live comments: ????????