Chapter 53: Transmigrated as a Cheapskate Phoenix Man (53)
Lou Baichuan didn’t care how much they offered; after all, no matter how much it was, it was just a number.
He tapped his fingers on the desk a few times—a habit he had whenever he was thinking.
“You still have ten days of annual leave,” Lou Baichuan said. “Besides, you’re only asking for one day off this time. As long as you complete your work with high quality, I have no reason not to approve your leave.”
“However, when I asked you before, you said you weren’t interested in this reality show at all.”
He leaned forward slightly, looking at Cen Yu as if wanting to hear his true answer. “May I ask what changed your mind?”
“They offered too much,” Cen Yu said, stubbornly clinging to this single reason.
Lou Baichuan looked at Cen Yu. After a moment, he nodded. “OK.”
“Go through the proper process to submit your application,” he said, turning his attention back to his computer, no longer looking at Cen Yu. “May I ask about the specific filming dates for the show?”
Cen Yu gave a rough timeframe for the recording.
Since the big celebrities didn’t have overly flexible schedules either, this reality show would spend a maximum of three days filming at each location—or as few as two days if time was tight.
Because the first episode required time for everyone to get used to each other, and many non-celebrity guests were appearing on a reality show for the first time, a slightly more relaxed timeframe of three days was specifically arranged to ensure enough usable footage.
The show adopted a hybrid format of partial live streaming combined with post-edited broadcasts on television.
Hearing the filming schedule and locations, Lou Baichuan made no further comments, simply nodding before gesturing that Cen Yu could head out.
In the blink of an eye, the day officially arrived for the reality show to begin!
Sang Qianshan and Cen Yu were setting off for the airport. Originally, the production crew wanted the two to depart separately, but Sang Qianshan claimed that Cen Yu didn’t have a car, making it inconvenient for him, and negotiated with the team to pick Cen Yu up himself on the way to the airport.
The crew figured this would make for great viewing material, so they agreed to Sang Qianshan’s request.
And as the live stream channel went live, filming for We’re the Real Friends! officially commenced.
Because Sang Qianshan had the largest fan base, the live chat blew up the moment his face appeared on screen:
—Here to see my friendless, lonely, foul-faced hubby! (licking lips)
—Sang Qianshan!! Tell me right now!!! You DO NOT have a male partner/brother-in-law!! (furious)(furious)
—Tee-hee, here to see the male partner/brother-in-law! Hope the solo fan sisters don’t get angered to death by Gege later~ (aggrieved)(aggrieved)
On screen, Sang Qianshan was wearing glasses with no makeup, dressed rather casually—likely for flight comfort.
He wore a basic black T-shirt with a modest logo on top, jeans on the bottom, and a simple hoodie jacket over it. Catching sight of the camera, he gave a quick greeting and went silent.
“Let’s head to Little Yu’s place first,” Sang Qianshan instructed the driver after carrying his luggage out of his luxury apartment.
He then loaded his suitcase into the back seat.
By now, the live chat was completely dominated by:
—Little Yu?!!! Calling him so intimately! Are you still the same Sang Qianshan?? Have you been possessed??
—Looks like the male partner/brother-in-law is named Little Yu, tee-hee.
Meanwhile, the crew members dutifully began asking questions:
“Is Little Yu Brother Sang’s best friend?”
On screen, hearing this question, Sang Qianshan suddenly knit his brows, staring at the camera with apparent displeasure.
—Heheh he pulled a dark face, I knew Gege didn’t have any friends!
—Great news! Pulling a dark face right at the start of the live stream—as expected of stupid dumbass Sang Gege, his face is stinkier than death!
“He’s not my best friend.” Sang Qianshan pulled out his phone, not looking at the lens. He couldn’t care less that his words almost sent his manager scrambling for heart medication, or that anti-fans were having a field day in the comments.
With absolute composure, he dropped a massive bombshell right at the camera:
“Little Yu is my only friend,” he said.
“He’s the only friend I have.”
—??? Bro??? Are you coming out of the closet????
—SHOCKING!!! Big star comes out live in public!! The reason actually turned out to be…?!
—…Bro, I’m gonna call you Big Bro, you are genuinely legendary (thumbs up)
The staff from Durian TV felt their breathing hitch. Although they loved stirring up drama, they hadn’t expected Sang Qianshan to be this cooperative!
The moment those words left his mouth, the live chat blew up to near bursting!
Of course, they still had to keep the show’s core direction in mind—
We’re the Real Friends!
So even though the Durian TV team desperately wanted to buy ten hot searches on the spot, the staff inside the car frantically tried to smooth things over:
“Haha, looks like Brother Sang and Little Yu really have a fantastic relationship.”
“True ironclad bros!”
Sang Qianshan ignored whatever the Durian TV staff were saying, dialing Cen Yu’s phone directly. Hearing that the other was ready, he mentioned he would arrive in about half an hour.
“…Mm, I’ll be there in half an hour.” Sang Qianshan held the phone in one hand while leaning against the side of the van with the other.
“Hmm?” Sang Qianshan let out a soft laugh. “Breakfast? I haven’t eaten yet. You’re bringing me a portion?”
“…Oh.” Sang Qianshan’s expression chilled instantly. “Forget it then.”
“No need to trouble him.”
In under a few dozen seconds, Sang Qianshan’s expression had shifted with lightning speed. Question marks began flooding the live chat, as viewers struggled to understand why this guy’s mood swung from one moment to the next.
The moment Cen Yu heard the doorbell ring, he cast another glance toward Yu Xinyu’s bedroom door.
Ever since learning that Sang Qianshan would arrive in half an hour, Yu Xinyu had returned to his room, likely intending not to step out until the production crew left.
After a moment’s thought, Cen Yu opened the front door, catching sight of Sang Qianshan and the camera crew following behind him.
Sang Qianshan’s gaze instinctively swept through the apartment. Finding no sign of Yu Xinyu, he let out a subtle, satisfied snort in his heart. Looking at Cen Yu, he noted that the man was dressed simply in a gray hoodie and jeans—dressed quite similarly to himself—with a basic carry-on suitcase beside him, perfectly sufficient for three days of daily necessities.
Just as Sang Qianshan was about to say they could leave,
a bedroom door inside the apartment clicked open, and Yu Xinyu—fully dressed and clearly having put effort into his appearance—suddenly stepped out from inside the room.
The crew had known beforehand that Cen Yu was living with a roommate and hadn’t planned on filming inside the apartment.
However, Yu Xinyu walking out of the room was simply far too handsome, causing the camera lens to shift over instinctively. Right under Sang Qianshan’s watchful glare, Yu Xinyu slowly strolled over to Cen Yu’s side.
“Take this with you too.” Yu Xinyu suddenly stuffed a bag into Cen Yu’s hands.
Cen Yu opened it to look, discovering a bunch of pain-relief plaster patches for bruises and injuries…?
He was going to a tropical island for a vacation, not participating in an island battle royale, right?
Meanwhile, Yu Xinyu leaned slightly closer to Cen Yu, whispering in his ear, “…You can use these to cover up your… tattoo when the time comes.”
Only then did Cen Yu remember—as a televised network reality show, any tattoos he had would likely need to be pixelated or censored on air by Durian TV rules.
These plasters were meant for him to cover up his tattoos.
Just as he reached this sudden realization and felt touched by how thoughtful Yu Xinyu was, he heard Sang Qianshan suddenly speak up, “Is this Little Yu’s roommate?”
He looked at Yu Xinyu. “Nice to meet you for the first time. I’m his good friend, Sang Qianshan.”
Yu Xinyu merely found Sang Qianshan’s territorial attitude thoroughly laughable at this moment.
He also knew the guy assumed he wouldn’t expose his relationship with Cen Yu on a live broadcast, which was why he was stubbornly clinging to the word “roommate.”
“Mm, I’m Little Yu’s roommate,” Yu Xinyu said with a smile. “We’ve been living together ever since university.”
