Chapter 62: Transmigrated as a Stingy Phoenix Man (62)
Almost no one had anticipated that Yu Jinheng would take all the ingredients.
Pei Zhuo hadn’t expected it either. Staring at Yu Jinheng in near-dumbfounded shock… he watched as the man simply nodded and walked over to stand beside him.
“…Why so suddenly?” he didn’t dare ask too much.
After all, he knew very well that he and Yu Jinheng couldn’t really be called friends. If forced to label it, their relationship was more of a business partnership.
“I’m hungry,” Yu Jinheng said nonchalantly.
“Besides, I won’t be participating in the next round.”
The next round was the three-legged race, and Yu Jinheng had no intention of taking part in it whatsoever. He suddenly coughed a few more times, then raised a hand to signal the production team that he was leaving…
Right before everyone’s eyes, he walked off the shooting set.
Pei Zhuo knew Yu Jinheng wouldn’t join the three-legged race anyway, so he had already prepared to forfeit this round.
The director’s team was in a bit of a tight spot. Looking at Pei Zhuo standing there all by himself—
If Yu Jinheng was an untouchable titan, Pei Zhuo was also someone he couldn’t afford to offend.
Because his partner felt unwell and disappeared, Pei Zhuo had no choice but to forfeit?!
The director could already visualize how marketing accounts on Weibo, Douban, and Douyin would roast him mercilessly from start to finish.
Just as he was caught in this dilemma, scanning the remaining guests, he suddenly saw Cen Yu raise his hand—
“Director, I have an idea,” Cen Yu spoke up unexpectedly.
Pei Zhuo and Sang Qianshan couldn’t help but turn to look at him, as did the rest of the guests.
“We can bring Pei Zhuo along with us,” Cen Yu said. “The three of us can walk together.”
Heh, if I’m left to play the three-legged race with just Sang Qianshan, I can already picture how this damn production crew will edit it in the end.
A single glance would be spun into “electric chemistry, off to the civil affairs bureau to get married,” and touching arms would basically equate to being escorted into the bridal chamber!
Since that’s the case, I might as well drag Pei Zhuo into the mix. I’d love to see how anyone can ship that crack-pair ship between me and Sang Qianshan when there are three people playing this stupid game.
Pei Zhuo hadn’t expected Cen Yu to step up and bail him out like this.
Hearing this, Yu Huaining immediately voiced his disapproval!
Damn it! How come I didn’t think of such a good opportunity just now? How did this guy beat me to it?!
“…Director, wouldn’t three people be unfair?” Yu Huaining offered cautiously.
“How is three people unfair?” Cen Yu countered. “Coordinating three people is harder, and we’ll walk much slower.”
“What if someone just lifts the person in the middle and carries them along?” Yu Huaining immediately argued. “Doesn’t that happen all the time during school sports days?”
Hearing this, Cen Yu swept his gaze up and down Yu Huaining’s height, then nodded—
“Given your perspective, it’s not entirely incomprehensible that you’d have a concern like that.”
“!!!” Yu Huaining was furious!
He really hadn’t expected Cen Yu to dare mock him so blatantly!
He cast a cover-up glance down at his shoes. He had specifically bought these sandals from a luxury brand precisely because this model had an extra-thick sole!!
How did Cen Yu manage to spot a small trick like that?!
[…Our sister-in-law really refuses to take a single loss, huh (facepalm bitter laugh)]
[Fine, fine, fine! Fully supportive! Open up the whole palace courtyard!]
[Stop supporting it, your precious idol is about to cry, go soothe him quick, my heart breaks for him (smile)]
Sang Qianshan frowned. Looking at Cen Yu, who seemed brimming with enthusiasm and ready to roll up his sleeves, and then at Pei Zhuo, his mood swung wildly up and down…
Pei Zhuo really hadn’t anticipated Cen Yu coming up with a proposal like this.
He cast a glance at Sang Qianshan, catching the unsightly look on the man’s face. Before Sang Qianshan could say anything to object, Pei Zhuo immediately chimed in—
“I suppose this is our first time collaborating,” he said with a smile.
He certainly didn’t want Sang Qianshan saying anything to oppose it. Although he had only joined this reality show to earn some cash, leverage his connection with Yu Jinheng, boost his exposure, and lock in the brand endorsement for the Lou family, he still didn’t want to be completely robbed of screen time.
Even if the director respected his high status in the industry and wouldn’t edit him out completely just because he skipped a game, sitting on the sidelines watching others play would leave him with zero screen time—aside from the production team slapping a few melancholic text overlays above his head to highlight his loneliness.
“That’s not entirely true,” Sang Qianshan remarked.
Pei Zhuo had absolutely no memory of any other collaboration with Sang Qianshan.
“At the XX Magazine gala earlier this year,” Sang Qianshan said, “we played a mini-game together.”
Hearing that, Pei Zhuo cursed Sang Qianshan in his heart.
As the top fashion publication in the industry, XX Magazine always relied on its prestige and traffic to stage gimmicky, controversial little activities. On that occasion, he and Sang Qianshan had merely cooperated in a brief mini-game, essentially passing a relay baton back and forth.
Yet the magazine’s official social media account immediately hyped up the moment with zero restraint. They even specifically cropped out that exact photo, titling it and using it as the main cover image for their article:
Handing Over the Baton: The Old and New Film Emperors.
Cen Yu wasn’t particularly clear on the grudge between the two, but everyone else present was a seasoned veteran in the entertainment circle. Naturally, they all recalled that wildly outrageous stunt by the magazine.
Jian Zhou immediately lowered his head, while the two female guests began staring off into the distance, terrified that the cameras might catch the expressions on their faces right now.
The director’s breathing grew heavy—not from anger, but from sheer excitement!
He truly hadn’t expected this season’s reality show to harbor so many hidden talents and intense rivalries.
He had a hunch that years down the line, this show of his would become a brand-new textbook case study in entertainment group dynamics, where countless netizens would screenshot and dissect the hidden motives behind every single word spoken by this group.
Cen Yu looked at Pei Zhuo and Sang Qianshan. “So everyone’s on board?”
Sang Qianshan nodded. “I have no objections.”
“Neither do I.” A smile remained on Pei Zhuo’s face, though if he had a knife in hand right now, he’d likely want to stab Sang Qianshan a few times.
However, when it came to arranging their positions, Cen Yu put his foot down—
“I’m not standing in the middle,” Cen Yu declared immediately.
What a joke. He had dragged Pei Zhuo along specifically to prevent people from wildly shipping him with Sang Qianshan and creating some bizarre crack-ship content.
If he stood in the middle, wouldn’t that completely ruin the point?
Wouldn’t he end up sandwiched right between two men?!
He could already visualize how certain online groups would manufacture rumors, and he had even mapped out the headline in his mind:
Three-Legged Race, if you know you know! Isn’t our sister-in-law eating a bit too well?! What a massive appetite!
Sang Qianshan cast a glance at Pei Zhuo. Just the thought of standing right next to this guy made his skin crawl as if he were covered in fleas.
Pei Zhuo wasn’t keen on standing next to Sang Qianshan either. But as a man famous for his gentle, cultured, and good-natured image, he naturally couldn’t just blurt out:
I wish Sang Qianshan would retire from the industry, standing next to him makes me want to throw up!
So he framed it differently, leaning in to whisper softly to Cen Yu, “If I’m paired right next to him, what if we exchange a brief glance or accidentally bump into each other? Marketing accounts will probably spin countless stories about us having a feud.”
Aren’t you two literally in a feud already?
Cen Yu thought to himself, though on the surface, he put on an innocent front. “Isn’t that a great thing?”
“Consider this your icebreaker journey.”
“Don’t corporate team-building events love doing this exact sort of thing?” Cen Yu said with a smile. “I’m just breaking the ice for you two in advance.”
