Chapter 25: The Fallen Child Star (25) part 1

While Yao Rong and the assistant director were engrossed in pleasant conversation, Xu Weiheng was accompanying Ping’an in a game of beach volleyball. More precisely, he was watching Ping’an attempt to head-butt the volleyball.

As Ping’an persisted, the ball became nearly buried in the sand. Despite using all its strength, Ping’an couldn’t budge the ball an inch. Frustrated, it dug a large hole in the sand with its hind legs.

Xu Weiheng laughed heartily at the sight. He walked over to help Ping’an excavate the volleyball, then placed it on a flatter patch of sand.

After playing with the ball a while longer, Ping’an flopped down by Xu Weiheng’s feet, tongue lolling out, clearly overwhelmed by the heat. Xu Weiheng offered it some water.

Xu Yiyuan passed by, walking his poodle. Witnessing this scene, a flicker of resentment flashed in his eyes. Suddenly, an idea struck him. If Yao Rong and Xu Weiheng were too difficult to scheme against, surely manipulating a mere animal would be simpler?

With this thought, Xu Yiyuan turned to leave, forgetting he still held the leash. The poodle, which had started to trot forward, yelped in pain as it was suddenly yanked back.

Hearing the yelp, Xu Weiheng noticed Xu Yiyuan for the first time. “You hurt it,” he said.

Xu Yiyuan halted, sneering, “Just mind your own pet.”

What a busybody, he thought.

Xu Weiheng frowned, but seeing Yao Rong approaching with two glasses of orange juice, he couldn’t be bothered to engage further with Xu Yiyuan. He went to meet Yao Rong instead.

Xu Yiyuan glared at Xu Weiheng’s retreating back for a few seconds before shifting his gaze to Ping’an. His eyes were particularly dark and cold.

Ping’an shrank back, unnerved by his stare.

[How infuriating! Why did this variety show invite Xu Yiyuan to participate? It’s aggravating just seeing him now]

[Has Xu Yiyuan realized he’s lost his audience appeal and given up on his ‘little sunshine’ persona?]

[Daily question: Has Xu Yiyuan quit the entertainment industry today?]

Meanwhile, after bidding farewell to Yao Rong, Assistant Director Xiao Zhou returned to his room. He opened a document on his computer and quickly began typing.

With a clear and concrete idea in mind, it took him only an hour to write out a complete activity plan. He even further optimized the proposal based on Yao Rong’s ideas.

Clutching the freshly printed activity plan, Assistant Director Xiao Zhou rushed to the Chief Director’s room. Just as he was about to knock, the door opened from inside.

Xiao Xi stood in the doorway, looking smug.

“Oh, you finished writing? I thought you wouldn’t be able to,” he said.

Assistant Director Xiao Zhou forced a smile. “That won’t happen.”

“True, even if it’s poorly done, it’s better than doing nothing at all.” Xiao Xi patted Xiao Zhou’s shoulder condescendingly.

“Xiao Zhou’s here, come in,” the Chief Director’s voice called from inside.

Assistant Director Xiao Zhou pushed past Xiao Xi. “Excuse me, you’re blocking the way.”

Xiao Xi’s face darkened, but then he remembered the activity plan he had submitted and felt reassured.

His uncle, a veteran at the TV station, had earlier hinted about the Chief Director’s upcoming promotion. So before the third season of ‘Dear Family’ began filming, Xiao Xi had already prepared several activity plans.

The one he had just given to the Chief Director was a revised version of one of those plans. It was, in his opinion, the best activity plan he had ever created in his years of work.

With such thorough preparation, Xiao Xi was confident he would outshine Assistant Director Xiao Zhou this time!

In the room, Assistant Director Xiao Zhou handed his activity plan to the Chief Director.

The Chief Director had already been leaning towards Xiao Xi’s proposal, but now that Xiao Zhou had submitted his plan, he felt obliged to at least look it over.

After just reading the first two sentences, the Chief Director exclaimed in surprise. He unconsciously sat up straighter and continued reading attentively.

A few minutes later, the Chief Director slapped the table excitedly, praising the plan repeatedly. “I thought Xiao Xi’s proposal was quite good, but yours is even better! Well done!”

The Assistant Director caught the implication: if not for Yao Rong’s help, the Chief Director would have certainly chosen Xiao Xi’s proposal.

The Chief Director put down the plan. “Xiao Zhou, come, sit down. There’s something I want to tell you in advance.”

The Assistant Director sat down respectfully. “I’m listening.”

The Chief Director then revealed his upcoming promotion to the Assistant Director.

He figured there was no point in keeping it secret, as everyone would know in a few days anyway.

The Assistant Director first expressed his happiness for the Chief Director, but quickly his thoughts turned to the position that would be left vacant after the promotion. He felt a surge of excitement.

Could it be…?

Sure enough, the Chief Director continued, “I’m putting you in charge of tonight’s activity. Do your best and try to set a new record for live stream viewership.”

While overjoyed at this opportunity, the Assistant Director felt increasingly grateful to Yao Rong.

He now owed her a huge favor!

The four groups of guests had mostly been active separately, so the entire day had been peaceful. But this calm was like the layers of suppressed storm beneath the sea’s surface.

As night fell and rain poured down, the audience waited in anticipation. The clock in the living room struck seven, and all the guests gathered in one place.

The host appeared again, smiling as he announced the evening’s activity —

Truth or Dare.

Half of the questions the guests would answer would be selected from the bullet screen comments, while the other half would be asked by the other guests.

When the host explained this part, the guests were still able to maintain their composure.

But as the host read out the next rule of the game, Wen Qiu and Shi Qingqing both let out exclamations of surprise, while Xu Ji and Xu Yiyuan’s faces, unsurprisingly, darkened.

Even Yao Rong, who was already aware of the details, had to admit that the production team really knew how to create drama.

“Our production team has specially prepared eight lie detectors. Before the activity begins, we will connect these eight lie detectors to each of your wrists.”

“After answering a question, if the lie detector shows a green light, it means you haven’t lied.”

“If it shows a red light, the guest will need to continue answering questions. However, in this round, the opportunity to ask questions will shift from the bullet screen comments to the other guests.”

“Alright, does anyone have any questions about the rules of the game?”

Yao Rong raised her hand and asked, “May I ask how accurate are the lie detectors prepared by the production team?”

The host was taken aback, secretly impressed: Yao Rong’s question had hit the nail on the head.

“These lie detectors were purchased by the production team at great expense. They’re said to have an accuracy rate of 99.99%.”

Yao Rong nodded, “So you’re saying there’s still a possibility of error with the devices. Sometimes, even if the red light comes on, it doesn’t necessarily mean the guest is lying, right?”

The host smiled awkwardly without responding.

At that moment, the live stream was clearly projected onto the living room TV.

All the guests could clearly see the barrage of comments floating above:

[What does Ms. Yao mean by that? I don’t quite understand.]

[Given Ms. Yao’s personality, her questions won’t hold back. If Xu Ji and Xu Yiyuan aren’t sincere and try to cover up later, they’ll have to blame the equipment.]

[That’s ruthless! Ms. Yao is cutting off Xu Ji and Xu Yiyuan’s escape routes!]

[The production team really knows how to play the game. It’s all about gaining traffic. I’ll spread the word in all groups so everyone can come watch the drama!]

Yao Rong’s lips curved slightly as she responded to the comments: “Stop scaring Xu Ji and the others. Look, you’ve made them tremble with fear.”

The cameraman promptly switched focus to Xu Ji and Xu Yiyuan.

Xu Ji forced a faint smile, his hands resting on his knees visibly shaking.

“If there are no objections, let’s begin,” the host said with a smile when no one spoke up, signaling for the lie detectors to be brought out.

Eight ingeniously designed lie detectors were set up. Once in place, the host invited the guests to put them on.

Yao Rong was the first to comply.

Xu Weiheng quickly followed suit.

Xu Ji and Xu Yiyuan exchanged glances, and seeing the other six had already put theirs on, reluctantly complied. Their faces, however, were noticeably pale.

“Now that everyone’s ready, let’s start,” the host said, clearing his throat slightly and turning towards the TV screen where the projections had appeared. “Viewers, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Our production team will select some from backstage.”

Almost instantly, the screen was flooded with a dense wave of comments. The livestream viewership rapidly jumped from over 8 million to surpass 9 million, inching closer to the 10 million mark.

The selected questions were promptly printed on cards and handed to the host.

The host unfolded the first card and, smiling, said, “For this first question—everyone guess who it’s for.”

“It’s for Wen Qiu—”

After a deliberate three-second pause, the host changed course.

“—’s friend, Xu Weiheng.”