Ning Xiaoyu had originally only planned to complete the love mission. Taking ten photos with passersby would be enough.

Unexpectedly, a long line had formed at the scene for group photos.

And the line showed no signs of stopping. In fact, it was growing longer and longer.

Ning Xiaoyu’s waving hand suddenly froze mid-motion, as if she had abruptly stalled. For a moment, she remained completely motionless.

【LOL, the salted fish is shocked.jpg】

【Salted Fish is at a loss.jpg】

【Salted Fish is dumbfounded.jpg】

【I can totally sense Xiao Yu’s confusion and disbelief, hahaha! Even that enchanting movement of hers came to a halt.】

【Xiao Yu, aren’t you surprised? Aren’t you caught off guard? Can’t believe this, can you?】

【Xiao Yu, wait for me! I’m rushing over to take a photo!】

【Upstairs, me too! Westwind Plaza, right?】

More and more viewers from the livestream were making their way to Westwind Plaza.

At this moment, Ning Xiaoyu had no idea that a large group of viewers was heading over to take photos with her.

After she remained frozen for a while, a passerby suddenly chuckled and said, “What kind of pose is this? ‘Salted Fish Glitch’? Actually, it looks pretty good. Let’s take a picture.”

After speaking, the passerby brought her son to stand beside Ning Xiaoyu.

As for the bear, it truly became just a background prop.

It wasn’t entirely ignored, but it didn’t have much presence either.

The photos were taken by the program crew.

Because of the massive crowd, the crew had to assign additional security personnel and staff to maintain order. “Everyone, please line up properly, don’t push.”

There were even two staff members specifically handling payments and bookkeeping.

“I want the Salted Fish Salt Sprinkle pose and the Salted Fish Thrust pose.”

“I want the Salted Fish Scratch pose and the Salted Fish Lying Flat pose.”

Originally, Ning Xiaoyu just wanted to finish quickly, so she had especially thought of a few poses. However, the plan had backfired, and instead of wrapping up early, she had only added to her workload. Seeing the ever-growing crowd, she had no choice but to ask the staff to add a note to the sign.

「Salted Fish Salt Sprinkle and other special poses are limited to ten slots total. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. After that, only Salted Fish Lying Flat is available.」

Although some passersby left regretfully after reading the sign, most people still stayed.

Of course, Salted Fish Lying Flat didn’t mean literally lying flat.

Ning Xiaoyu propped her head up with one hand while crossing one leg over the other. The oversized salted fish head she wore, combined with the lifeless fish eyes on it, made her look both silly and adorable.

The passersby had, after all, paid for the photos. At ten yuan per picture, it wasn’t exactly cheap. Ning Xiaoyu felt bad about slacking off too much.

But at least she could lie down while taking photos.

【This has got to be the easiest money ever. The other guests are putting in serious effort performing or selling products, and she’s just lying there?】

【Hater alert! What’s the problem? In our Xiao Yu’s world, money is this easy to earn! If you’re jealous, too bad! Deal with it!】

【This is what you call ‘making money while lying down.’】

【Ladies, our Xiao Yu has secured an effortless win, no doubt about it.】

Lying down, Ning Xiaoyu casually supported her face with one hand, occasionally waving the other hand lazily.

At least she had learned some dance moves before, so even her relaxed hand gestures had a certain grace to them. Combined with the big salted fish head, the queue of people waiting for a photo never seemed to shrink.

Some kids happily grabbed onto her elegantly waving hand, sticking close to her.

One little child even stared at her in amazement and exclaimed, “The salted fish has come to life!”

Ning Xiaoyu: “……”

What could she say? The costume she was wearing had been infused with so much of her personality that it no longer looked stiff or lifeless— it had become vivid and lively.

It had truly ‘come to life.’

By the end of the afternoon, Ning Xiaoyu had lost count of how many photos she had taken.

────ρя


On the other hand, the other guests weren’t having such an easy time.

Ning Yuwei’s team was selling fruits and vegetables, which couldn’t be priced too high, meaning they had to rely on volume sales to make money.

Even at the already low prices, elderly customers still scrutinized the produce with critical eyes, complaining that it wasn’t fresh enough and questioning why it was so expensive.

If they had to rely solely on these bargain-hunting seniors, Ning Yuwei might not have sold much at all.

Fortunately, later on, one of Ning Yuwei’s devoted male fans showed up and bought out all the fruits and vegetables.

Even so, by the end of the afternoon, Ning Yuwei and Ling Zige were both completely drained.

The bargaining skills of the elderly customers were just too intense and they could hardly handle it.

After Ning Yuwei’s fan bought everything, one elderly woman even sighed and said, “Such a waste of money! Buying so many vegetables, you won’t be able to finish them. Wasting food is shameful!”

The male fan quickly explained that he would give the extra food to others, so nothing would go to waste.

As for the groups performing on the street……

They attracted plenty of spectators while performing, but when Mu Jiajia, Xi Rui, and the others went around with a collection box asking for tips, most people only gave a yuan or two. Occasionally, someone would give five or ten, but the majority just watched for free.

After all, no one was required to pay to watch street performances, right?

Most of these onlookers weren’t fans of the performers and had just stumbled upon the scene and stopped to watch out of curiosity.

So they had no qualms about enjoying the show without paying.

────ρя


When the staff finally announced the end of the event, Ning Xiaoyu let out a long sigh of relief.

Even though she had been lying down, she still felt exhausted after the whole afternoon.

If the other guests heard her thoughts, they would probably be bitter.

At least you got to lie down. We were busy running around all afternoon. And you’re saying you’re tired?

Ning Xiaoyu didn’t bother checking how much money she and Lu Jingdu had earned. That was for the staff to count later.

When all the guests gathered at the guesthouse, the director arrived with a piece of paper recording the earnings.

“You’ve all worked hard today to earn money for the children’s milk formula fund!”

The children clapped enthusiastically in appreciation of the guests’ efforts.

The director continued, “Now, we’ve tallied up the afternoon’s earnings for each group. I’m sure all of you are curious to know how much you made.”

Since the guests couldn’t watch each other’s livestreams, they had no idea how much they or the others had earned. They could only wait for the director’s announcement.

Xi Rui, looking utterly exhausted, said, “I don’t even want to think about being first.”

Mu Jiajia glanced at Ning Yuwei beside her and smiled. “I’m definitely not getting first place, but from what Weiwei told me, she and Zige managed to sell everything on their truck.”

Mu Jiajia didn’t explicitly say it, but her implication was clear— Ning Yuwei was most likely the top earner.

Shen Yueyue secretly rolled her eyes.

Shi Chao waved his hand dismissively. “Selling stuff is too hard. Customers are so picky and stingy. Even at rock-bottom prices, they still try to bargain. Making money is not easy.”

Making money wasn’t easy.

That was the sentiment shared by many of the guests present.

They had been busy all afternoon, but for the most part, it had been a waste of effort.

The one paying was the boss.

Each one was harder to deal with than the last.

【LOL. The other guests: Making money is tough. Xiao Yu: Making money while lying down.】

【Xiao Yu: Don’t come over here! I don’t want to make money through photo ops anymore!】

【Xiao Yu: There’s only one Salted Fish Lying Flat pose left. Take it or leave it. If you don’t want it, forget it.】

The director’s gaze swept across the guests. When he reached Ning Xiaoyu, he paused.

Dressing up as a mascot was something that several fathers on 《Hello Dad》 had done in the past to earn milk money.

However, very few passersby had been willing to take photos with them.

After all, street mascots were everywhere these days, in all sorts of costumes, so they were no longer a novelty.

Even kids had grown tired of them.

Yet, who could have expected that Ning Xiaoyu would take an unconventional approach and attract a crowd with her ‘enchanting salted fish’ act?

These days, only those with a unique style can draw an audience and passersby.

────ρя


After building up some suspense, the director quickly announced the results.

“Sixth place is Shi Chao’s team, earning a total of 221 yuan.”

Shi Chao waved his hand dismissively. “We did our best, really.”

“Fifth place is Mu Jiajia’s team, earning 351 yuan.”

Mu Jiajia pursed her lips in displeasure.

She had known she wouldn’t get first place, but she had never expected to end up in second-to-last place.

It was a bit disappointing. If she had known earlier, she and Xue Anzheng would have worked harder in the afternoon.

“Fourth place is Xi Rui’s team, earning 379 yuan.”

Xi Rui shrugged. “Not bad.”

“Third place is Shen Yueyue’s team, earning 387 yuan.”

Shen Yueyue looked surprised. She hadn’t expected her team to make it into the top three.

She laughed heartily. “I’m satisfied, totally satisfied.”

The director added, “As you can see, the difference between third, fourth, and fifth place is quite small. It all comes down to luck. If you were luckier, you ranked a bit higher. If not, you ranked lower.”

Shi Chao chuckled. “Director Zhang, are you publicly shaming me here?”

His team had only made 221 yuan— more than a hundred yuan less than the third, fourth, and fifth places.

It was a significant gap.

The director grinned. “This is Director Shi’s first time on a variety show, and this result is already quite impressive.”

Then, without further delay, he continued, “Now, we move on to the battle for first and second place.”

Ning Yuwei glanced at Ning Xiaoyu, but she quickly looked away. Her expression remained calm, her posture straight, but the slight clenching of her fists betrayed her emotions.

Her fan had bought out both truckloads of vegetables and fruits.

If nothing unexpected happened, the first place would be hers.

The director smiled and looked at the four remaining guests. Aside from Ling Zige, who had an exaggerated expression, the other three appeared calm, showing nothing on their faces.

He didn’t drag things out any longer and announced, “Second place is…”

The other guests instinctively perked up their ears.

They had all been working hard all afternoon, unable to watch the livestream and unaware of how much the other groups had earned.

It was impossible not to be curious about which two guests would win the year-long endorsement deal for a domestic cosmetics brand.

Even more than that, they were curious about which brand the first-place winners would represent.

After all, there was a significant difference between brands.

Since the director hadn’t revealed the specific company beforehand, it was probably a small brand.

If that were the case, missing out on first place didn’t seem like a big deal.

Participating was what mattered.

“Second place is……”

Ning Yuwei instinctively looked at Ning Xiaoyu.

“Ning Yuwei and Ling Zige’s team, earning a total of 2,025 yuan.”

【No surprises here.】

【No surprises here +1】

For the audience, this result was entirely expected. After all, the long line of people queuing up for photos with Ning Xiaoyu had been obvious for all to see.

Just imagining the length of the queue, it was clear she had made quite a bit of money.

But for the other guests on set, this news was a bombshell.

What?!

Ning Yuwei wasn’t first place?

Hadn’t she and Ling Zige sold out two entire truckloads of produce?

Even after earning over 2,000 yuan, she still hadn’t secured first place?

Wasn’t Ning Xiaoyu’s team just dressed up as mascots? These days, who would pay to take pictures with a mascot?

Unless it was in a tourist attraction, street mascots rarely made any money from photos.

If second place had earned this much, then how much had first place made?

2,050 yuan? 2,075 yuan?

Many of the guests assumed the gap between first and second place wouldn’t be too large. The difference between second and third, fourth, and fifth place was already quite significant.

What a pity for Ning Yuwei.

She had just been a little unlucky and lost both first place and the endorsement deal.

Just as the contestants were thinking that, the director finally revealed the first-place result.

“First place is Ning Xiaoyu and Lu Jingdu’s team, earning a total of 4,675 yuan of milk money!”

Other Guests: “???” What? What did you just say?

4,675 yuan versus 2,025 yuan— that wasn’t just a small gap, it was a complete landslide!

The viewers, who had watched the entire livestream: Totally expected! Sit down, this is just Xiao Yu’s usual routine, no need to be surprised.