Chapter 45: World Two [15] Part 1

Thanks to the backdoor provided by the production team, Xu Yin was finally no longer so unlucky on camera.

After exchanging the wood he had painstakingly chopped for half the day for clues to two supply boxes, Xu Yin opened a box of dry instant noodles and a small case of biscuits, ensuring he wouldn’t have to worry about what to eat today and tomorrow morning.

Xu Yin was quite happy after getting the supplies. Eating instant food might not be that healthy, but at least it was better than gnawing on unpalatable wild taro.

But the moment Xu Yin smelled the aroma of Beggar’s Chicken, certain unpleasant memories flooded back, instantly diluting his joy.

Eating dry instant noodles was indeed better than gnawing on wild taro, but compared to the fragrant Beggar’s Chicken that rivaled restaurant quality, it was still far too lacking. Moreover, Shao Qing had already had her fill of things like dry instant noodles and biscuits since the second day.

Xu Yin didn’t want to go over and wait for a share of the food like someone who had never eaten before. He went straight back to his own small two-person camp, preparing to make some seafood instant noodles.

This time, Shao Qing didn’t share the pheasant with the others. She only split it with Yu Hongjun. After finishing, she buried the bones in the soil to decompose and become fertilizer.

Regarding not getting a share of the Beggar’s Chicken, Li Liming and Liu Chang had no reaction. They were quite sensible about this kind of thing.

They hadn’t helped make the traps, nor had they lifted a finger to process the pheasant. Not getting a bite was perfectly normal.

But Zheng Xingxing, who had been fed twice and was clearly more gluttonous, was different. Although he held back from going over for a taste, the yearning in his eyes was very obvious.

Zheng Xingxing’s luck was quite consistent. The supply box he got today in exchange for ten kilograms of ocean trash contained a one-kilogram bag of rice. As long as he wasn’t picky, he definitely wouldn’t starve.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Smelling it is the same as eating it. Seafood congee is good too,” Zheng Xingxing muttered to himself, drinking his seashell congee that was clearly more broth than rice grains, seemingly trying to hypnotize himself.

Zheng Xingxing had a good appearance, and sitting on a small rock, holding a bowl and eating in small bites, he looked particularly pitiful and fragile under the camera’s lens.

[‘Why does Shao Qing have no love for her companions? Is she really going to finish such a big chicken all by herself? Why not give a drumstick to Xingxing and just watch him eat congee?’ ‘Xingxing is so well-behaved. Even though he really wants Beggar’s Chicken, he didn’t say anything. He’s so… I’m crying!’]

[‘Slowly typing a question mark. Are all of Zheng Xingxing’s fans minors? My Qingqing got that pheasant through her own skill, why shouldn’t she eat it herself?’ ‘If you’re so kind and generous, if you feel so sorry for your idol, just call a plane to airdrop supplies for him.’]

Zheng Xingxing’s agent didn’t deliberately guide the public opinion. The few comments that popped up were quickly suppressed by fans and passersby.

Shao Qing took a sip of coconut water. Enjoying the delicious food had lifted her mood considerably, and she wasn’t affected by the comments of some brainless fans.

“Thank you. I don’t think you need to constantly monitor the barrage; you can take appropriate breaks,” Shao Qing said. “My anti-fans probably aren’t so dedicated as to stay in the live stream room all day just to hate on me.”

Getting real-time information was indeed good, but staring at the barrage every second must be tiring. Since they were collaborators, she shouldn’t just endlessly exploit Jing Ke. A long-term, sustainable approach was better.

[It’s fine. Processing this information is as easy as drinking water for me. I won’t get tired.]

Realizing Shao Qing was concerned about her, Jing Ke’s tone changed slightly.

[Your public appeal has rebounded to a certain extent. Would you consider more formally clarifying those scandals during the live stream?]

[The production team plans to arrange a live Q&A session the night after tomorrow. They’ll randomly select twenty questions from viewer submissions. I can select a few questions related to your scandals and create an opportunity for you.]

“Is this a decision the director just made?” Shao Qing asked.

[Yes, the director has already sent people to create the related submission link. Out of twenty questions, ten are pre-selected by the production team, and the other ten will be randomly drawn.]

“Alright, then I’ll leave it to you. Arrange something then,” Shao Qing did not refuse.

The sixth evening, wasn’t that Saturday night?

Randomly selecting questions submitted by viewers for the guests to answer was quite a good gimmick. The online viewer count in the live stream room should be quite high then, making it a good time to clarify things.

—

Relying on the backdoor, Xu Yin managed a fairly decent life. So, he settled down for a while and didn’t come over to Shao Qing’s side to cause trouble.

As one of the investors who had thrown money in, Xu Yin also learned through his agent on the fourth night about the production team’s plan to blindly select viewer submissions for designated guests to answer.

For the sake of his five million, the production team gave Xu Yin the chance to designate one question. No matter what question he gave, it would be presented as if drawn from viewer submissions.

This news energized Xu Yin, but also made him somewhat conflicted. He couldn’t quite decide whether to use this question to target Shao Qing or Zheng Xingxing.

After a difficult minute of deliberation, Xu Yin chose to target Shao Qing.

The system that had previously assisted him had mysteriously disappeared for several days now. If he didn’t find a way to stabilize his fortune soon, all his prior efforts might be in vain.

—

On the sixth day of filming, Shao Qing’s life had completely transformed into a vacation.

There was still a surplus of coconuts—she could drink as many as she wanted. The catch rate of her homemade fishing rod made the stubborn fishing enthusiasts watching the live stream green with envy. Working for less than an hour, she could harvest several plump, big fish.

The traps set in the forest were also functioning steadily, catching either a pheasant or a wild rabbit practically every day. A daily serving of meat was guaranteed.

On the fifth day, some newcomers to the live stream questioned whether the production team was giving Shao Qing special treatment, insisting that the pheasants and wild rabbits must have been arranged in advance and deliberately delivered.

Seeing the buzz it generated, the production team responded to viewer demands and set up infrared cameras near the three traps, even opening a 24-hour live stream.

Then, the anti-fans who were lying in wait stayed up all night, watching until sunrise. Finding that no animals had stepped into the traps yet, the anti-fans started smugly gloating, planning to slap Shao Qing hard in the face when the official live stream started, labeling her a fraud.

But the anti-fans hadn’t been gloating for long before two pheasants consecutively stepped into the traps, flapping their wings energetically as if slapping the anti-fans from afar.

[‘Haha, animals need to rest at night too, you know. Up at sunrise, resting at sunset—nothing wrong with looking for food when it gets light.’ ‘Great, I get to see some entertainment as soon as I wake up. Well worth waking up early on my day off!’]

As Shao Qing went to collect her spoils, Jing Ke very thoughtfully recounted the events that had just transpired, successfully bringing a smile to Shao Qing’s face, like a morning joke.

The two pheasants caught by the traps in the early morning were enough for Shao Qing to eat until filming ended the next day. So, while collecting her spoils, she also dismantled the traps she had set.

There would be a Q&A session that evening. All six guests were already well aware of this.

But when the director announced it with a loudspeaker, they all cooperatively showed expressions of surprise, acting as if they’d just learned of it.

“Director, why didn’t you tell me earlier? I haven’t had time to tell my fans,” Zheng Xingxing’s reaction was particularly exaggerated. “If all twenty questions are drawn and none of them are about me, I’ll be so embarrassed.”

But his fans bought into this act. After Zheng Xingxing finished speaking, his fans in the barrage suddenly became hyperactive, each one proclaiming their loyalty, saying how many submissions they had sent, engaging in a distant dialogue with Zheng Xingxing.

The director announced this news while everyone was having dinner. After speaking, he thoughtfully left an hour for the guests to prepare.

Of course, the director was actually going off to do promotion, wanting the online viewer count to look better, which would help secure more investment for the next season.

—

At 7 PM, the six guests arrived at the spot the production team had set up beforehand.

The six sat face-to-face at a long table. The backdrop was the ultra-large logo of their financial backer sponsor. The table also held some sponsored products for the guests to use freely.

Shao Qing’s position was arranged second from the right, with Yu Hongjun in front of her and Zheng Xingxing behind her.

Xu Yin was second from the left, seated behind Li Liming and in front of Liu Chang.

“Ahem, the live stream viewers are already waiting, so I won’t waste words. Please look at the big screen. We’ll now start drawing the first viewer submission.”

The director had gotten himself a headset, acting as an off-screen question host.

“Three, two, one, stop! Now let’s look at the first question. It’s directed at Teacher Yu,” the director read the question off the big screen. “What does Teacher Yu think of last year’s remake of ‘The World’s Number One Sword,’ and what advice do you have for the actress playing the Female Swordswoman?”

Hearing this, Yu Hongjun’s brow furrowed in thought. After a moment, she slowly said, “The remade ‘The World’s Number One Sword’ differs somewhat from the version I starred in. It focuses more on emotional expression and adds much more exploration of human nature.”

“I can’t say I have specific advice, only that after watching it, I had some new insights. Times are progressing, and many scenes we couldn’t visualize before can now be brought to the screen.”

[‘Hahaha, let me translate. What Teacher Yu means is: The remake of ‘The World’s Number One Sword’ was terribly done. A good wuxia drama turned into a dog-blood romance drama of ‘you love me, I love him.’ The fight scenes are trash; all it can boast about are special effects.’]

[‘LOL, the previous commenter is my voice. Teacher Yu, I’m really crying for you, your expression was so tactful.’ ‘I think the critique could be a bit more direct, otherwise I’m worried some people with bad brains might actually mistake Teacher Yu’s words for praise.’]

The viewers’ live stream barrage comments were not displayed on the big screen, so Jing Ke still needed to extract the core parts to relay them.