ASFSODS 45

The town may have been small, but there were plenty of places to explore. Wen Chi and the others wandered around, stopping here and there to look around while taking lots of photos along the way.

Zhou Yunbai was in full shopping mode, showcasing the natural talent women have for browsing. She bought a bunch of stuff—useful or not, she didn’t care. She ended up with so much that she couldn’t carry it all by herself. Wen Chi, Zhou Ruoyao, and Tian Yang all helped her with the bags.

Jiang Siheng walked beside Wen Chi. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a hat hanging on a metal display rack outside a shop and stopped. “Xiao Chi, want to try that hat on?”

“What?” Wen Chi stopped too and followed Jiang Siheng’s gaze. When he saw what kind of hat it was, his entire body and facial expression screamed rejection. “No way.”

“What hat?” Zhou Yunbai overheard Jiang Siheng and looked in the same direction. Then she burst into laughter. “Hahaha honestly, Xiao Chi, it would be kind of cute on you.”

Wen Chi’s mouth twitched. “But it’s so childish.”

Jiang Siheng walked over and grabbed the hat. After saying a few words to the shop owner, the two of them turned to look at Wen Chi.

Wen Chi was baffled. “Why are you both looking at me like that?”

The shop owner covered her mouth, laughing.

Jiang Siheng placed the hat on Wen Chi’s head. The fluffy pompom on top swayed adorably as Wen Chi turned his head.

“Hey, Xiao Chi, it actually suits you a lot,” Zhou Yunbai said, unable to resist ruffling his hair.

Zhou Ruoyao stared for a few seconds, then turned to ask the shop owner how much the hat cost.

Wen Chi didn’t hear exactly what Zhou Ruoyao said, but he saw the shop owner hold up a number with her fingers and quickly pulled him back.

Zhou Ruoyao looked at him seriously. “Xiao Chi Ge, it really looks super ha—handsome on you.”

“Thanks, but I really don’t need it.”

Wen Chi was silently dying inside. He took off the hat, returned it to the shop owner, gave her an awkward smile, and then pushed Jiang Siheng away. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.”

Jiang Siheng looked a little disappointed that Wen Chi wasn’t into the hat. A few hundred meters down the road, he still couldn’t help asking, “You really don’t like it?” 

“I already have a lot of hats,” Wen Chi said.

Jiang Siheng replied, “But none like that one.”

“….” Wen Chi gave him a helpless look.

After being stared at for a few seconds, Jiang Siheng finally gave up on the idea of buying the hat.

Tong Xian’en caught the near-identical expression of disappointment on Jiang Siheng’s and Zhou Ruoyao’s faces. His eyes lowered slightly—he really didn’t understand why almost everyone here seemed to like Wen Chi.

During lunch at the restaurant, they heard from the staff that there would be a small fireworks show in the town square that night at 9 p.m.

“Should we go watch it?” Tian Yang asked the group.

“Let’s go. Besides, didn’t Yuqing say the lights here at night would be really pretty?” Tong Xian’en added.

Xu Yuqing paused, then deliberately responded in a tone that came off as ambiguous, “Yeah? I didn’t expect En’en to remember what I said so clearly.”

The funny thing was, when Tong Xian’en answered Tian Yang, Wen Chi actually froze for a second, then sneaked a glance at Tong Xian’en, thinking he was being subtle. Ever since Tian Yang and Tong Xian’en stopped being a “pair,” their relationship had noticeably cooled.

Tian Yang was honestly a little caught off guard. He looked at Tong Xian’en and was surprised to find the others were also looking at him.

For some reason, his instinct was to look away.

Main livestream chat:

[Bro, I’m just saying—try not to look like you’re eating popcorn]

[If you ship Sheep × En’en, we’re instant best friends]

[Question: can a variety show switch out guests halfway through?]

[Definitely not. Everyone signed contracts. Unless a guest violates terms or something, the show can’t just replace people.]

[Started disliking XYQ just now, not gonna lie]

[Lol fine, go ahead. Yuqing’s not short on fans like you anyway.]

[Why are this show’s fans so hostile toward the guests though?]

Tong Xian’en pretended not to notice that Tian Yang had looked away.

“But the fireworks don’t start until 9, and we’ve nearly finished walking through the whole town. How are we supposed to kill the next few hours?” Zhou Ruoyao asked.

“I could play games all afternoon,” Tian Yang said.

Zhou Ruoyao said, “…Thanks, but we can’t.”

“How about we find a place to have afternoon tea and rest a bit?” Zhou Yunbai suggested.

It was Wen Chi’s first time sitting through an afternoon tea that lasted three or four hours. He glanced over at President Qin, who was sitting alone in a corner with his laptop, still working, and sighed, “President Qin is seriously busy.”

Zhou Yunbai nodded. “He just finished a meeting not long ago and now he’s already handling other work.”

Tian Yang said, “CEOs really are insanely busy.”

Zhou Yunbai suddenly remembered something and turned to Wen Chi. “Oh right, Xiao Chi, those photos of your mom’s cooking that you posted in the group chat looked amazing. Can we come over to your place for a meal sometime?”

“Hm?” Wen Chi blinked. “If you have time, you can come anytime.”

Zhou Yunbai was confused. “What do you mean by anytime?”

“My parents run a restaurant. As long as you go there and give my name, they’ll…”

Tian Yang leaned in and interrupted, “It’s free?”

Wen Chi gave him a side-eye. “You’ll have to ask my parents about that.”

Tian Yang asked, “What, the little boss can’t even get his friends a free meal?”

Wen Chi said, “Not if you don’t want the little boss to get beaten by his parents.”

Everyone laughed at the banter between Wen Chi and Tian Yang.

After they finished bickering, Zhou Yunbai smiled and said, “Your parents must be amazing, then.”

Wen Chi nodded. “I’m not even exaggerating—they make the best food in our whole neighborhood.”

They once even managed to lure a shut-in neighbor out of his house several times just with their cooking.

Zhou Ruoyao asked, “Can I come too? I don’t need a free meal, I’ll pay full price.”

As soon as he said that, it made Tian Yang look a little stingy in comparison.

Tian Yang made a noise of protest. “Fine, I’ll pay full price too.”

Little boss Wen waved them off. “Full price for everyone, full price.”

“And what about me?” Jiang Siheng suddenly chimed in.

Wen Chi choked and turned to glare at him.

What does this have to do with you?

Jiang Siheng looked at him with a teasing smile.

Everyone else looked on with popcorn-munching expressions—except Zhou Ruoyao.

Zhou Ruoyao muttered under his breath, “That one should cost extra.”

Jiang Siheng: “…”

Wen Chi: “Pfft.”

Jiang Siheng let out an exasperated laugh. He really didn’t get why Zhou Ruoyao always had this vibe like, I don’t like you, but I also don’t plan to punch you.

Xu Yuqing, listening nearby, noticed that Wen Chi didn’t hide the fact that his parents just ran a normal restaurant. His eyes flickered with a trace of hard-to-detect ridicule.

Finally, as it got past 6 p.m., the group decided to head out for dinner early so they could grab a good spot in the square.

In Country Y, it didn’t get dark until nearly 8. The town at night was even prettier and livelier than during the day.

By the time they got to the square, it was already packed with people. All the restaurants nearby were full.

“See if we can get to the front,” Tian Yang suggested.

They thought it would be difficult, but the foreign crowd quickly stepped aside when they saw the group coming.

Wen Chi suddenly froze in place, hesitant to walk forward.

“Wh-Why are they letting us through all of a sudden? Did the show pay them or something?”

Zhou Yunbai was confused too. They hadn’t said or done anything, so why the sudden kindness?

One of the foreigners seemed to sense their confusion and explained something in rapid-fire English.

After listening, Zhou Yunbai finally understood and turned to explain, “He said they saw we’re from another country and guessed it might be our first time here.”

The foreigner didn’t know what she was saying but nodded enthusiastically anyway.

Main livestream chat:

[Wen Chi is so unintentionally hilarious hahahaha]

[LMAO he’s the first guest I’ve ever heard openly ask if the show paid people]

[That’s our boy—bold and blunt]

[The locals are so sweet]

[Foreigners: we’ve seen this show enough, let the tourists enjoy it]

[They probably also saw the cameras following them around]

There was a fountain in the center of the square. Though the fireworks show was advertised as being at the square, the actual launch site was elsewhere—the square was just the best place to watch from.

The camera crew had already set up tripods. The central cameraman was in charge of capturing wide shots of all the guests.

Tian Yang checked the time. “Half an hour to go.”

“It’s not long now,” Wen Chi said, glancing around. “There’s still enough time.”

“Where are you going?” Jiang Siheng asked.

“To find a convenience store. I want to buy some water,” Wen Chi said while scanning the street. “The food earlier was a bit salty. I’m thirsty.”

Xu Yuqing turned to him and said, “If you’re looking for a small shop, you’ll have to walk a few hundred meters back.”

Wen Chi paused. “There’s one on this street?”

Xu Yuqing replied, “I saw one when we came earlier.”

Wen Chi looked at him. Xu Yuqing still wore that ever-smiling, polite expression. “…Oh, I see. Thanks.” 

Xu Yuqing turned away afterward. This time, he really did seem to be just answering a question.

Still, Wen Chi felt like something was off. But maybe he was just overthinking it.

“I’m going to buy water. Does anyone else want something?” Wen Chi asked the group.

Zhou Yunbai said, “I’ll take a bottle too. Thanks, Xiao Chi.”

Zhou Ruoyao said, “I’m good. But Xiao Chi Ge, I’ll go with you.”

Wen Chi replied, “It’s fine, I can go alone.”

Jiang Siheng placed a hand on his shoulder. “You stay here. I’ll go.”

Wen Chi paused. “…That line of yours sounds kind of…”

Jiang Siheng didn’t get what he meant, but Tian Yang, who spent a lot of time online, snorted and gave Wen Chi a thumbs-up. “He’s right. That sounded exactly like it.”

Wen Chi chuckled.

Jiang Siheng raised an eyebrow and patted his head. “Don’t get cheeky.”

Then he turned and headed off to buy water, with the cameraman following close behind.

With his tall figure and good looks, Jiang Siheng immediately drew the attention of all the bystanders.

A few hundred meters back was a tiny corner shop. Jiang Siheng walked in, didn’t bother picking anything fancy, and grabbed a few bottles of water to check out.

The cashier had been playing on her phone, but quickly put it down when she saw a customer.

She looked up and saw a ridiculously handsome man standing at the counter.

Even so, she didn’t dare approach him—not because of the camera, but because she recognized exactly who he was at a glance.

Jiang Siheng heard a soft, uncertain “Jiang?” from the cashier.

He looked up and saw she was talking to him. He smiled gently and greeted her.

“Oh my god!”

The cashier gasped, covering her mouth. She had seen Jiang Siheng’s movies and liked him quite a bit. She wasn’t exactly a fan, but meeting an actor she admired in person was still exciting.

She glanced at the camera, then asked Jiang Siheng if she could take a picture with him.

The moment he nodded, she already had her phone out and took a selfie with him over the counter. Luckily, she was tall enough that holding the phone up wasn’t a struggle.

Jiang Siheng’s livestream:

[Is she a fan from overseas?!]

[See? Jiang Ge really has fans all over the world!]

[“All over the world” might be a bit much lol]

[She’s really pretty though]

[Her height is literally my dream height]

[I didn’t think foreigners even watched our movies…]

[…Do none of you sleep?]

[I’m watching from overseas!]

After taking the picture and paying for the water, the cashier suddenly remembered something and asked if Jiang Siheng was heading to the fireworks show.

He said yes, then asked why.

Her expression turned serious, and she launched into a rapid explanation, using hand gestures.

Neither the cameraman nor most of the livestream viewers could understand her. She was speaking too fast but they all saw Jiang Siheng’s face change the moment she finished.

Without saying a word, he grabbed the bag of water and started running toward the square.

Jiang Siheng’s Livestream:

[Wh-what’s going on?]

[Why did Jiang Ge suddenly look so panicked??]

[WTF?!]

[Anyone here who understands English PLEASE translate QAQ]

[!!! The cashier said there’s been a violent incident near the square before—someone attacked people with a knife!!]

[WHAT?!?!?!]

[But that was a while ago, right? If it were really dangerous, there wouldn’t be this many people at the square tonight.]

[Yeah, if there were any real threats, the production team wouldn’t have let the guests come.]

[True. Let’s not scare ourselves.]

Just as Jiang Siheng’s fans in the livestream were reassuring themselves, a new comment shattered their sense of calm.

[Holy Sh*t, check the main stream!! There’s a psycho with a knife!!!]