Chapter 42
After lunch, Xing Shi took a short break, touched up his makeup, and began the afternoon shoot.
The six of them “traveled” back to ancient times, and under the influence of their abilities, they inexplicably became the children of officials. To the surrounding people, they appeared as though they were long-haired, ancient-attired youths.
With the palace banquet approaching, their respective families were placing great importance on the event, requiring some preliminary preparations—tasks that naturally fell on them as the children of the families.
Each of the six received a task and headed to the streets. In this segment, guests were allowed to form teams of two to complete their families’ commissions together while also exchanging information from the letters they had received.
However, upon assuming their new identities, each person had a fatal flaw.
Xing Shi’s role was that of a young general, but since his identity was fake, his flaw was that he could neither mention nor touch any weapons.
His family’s task, ironically, was to find a peerless divine weapon to present to the emperor at the palace banquet.
The flaw and the task directly conflicted, forcing the guests to think creatively about how to resolve the issue.
Xing Shi tucked the mission slip into his belt and strolled down the street. Before long, he spotted Qi Changyi.
Qi Changyi noticed him as well. Seeing that Xing Shi was unaccompanied, he smiled and asked, “Want to team up?”
Xing Shi replied, “I’ve already finished my task.”
The PD behind him: ???
The director’s team: ???
Qi Changyi was surprised. “That fast?”
Xing Shi casually replied, “Yeah, it was easy. What about you?”
Qi Changyi said, “I just got to the street.”
Xing Shi offered, “I’ll help you then. What’s your task?”
Qi Changyi showed him his mission slip, which stated he needed to find a fine piece of jade.
Xing Shi understood the task immediately. He walked a few steps with Qi Changyi before spotting a street stall selling accessories. Xing Shi picked up a jade hairpin, grabbed Qi Changyi’s wrist, and pressed it into his palm.
Qi Changyi froze in surprise. Before he could speak, he felt something shoved into his hand. Looking down, he fell silent.
Two PDs: ???
Director’s team: ?????
Nearby staff stared in a daze for a few seconds before hesitantly picking up a megaphone. “Qi Changyi, out.”
Qi Changyi: “…”
Without a shred of guilt, Xing Shi waved at him cheerfully and walked off.
The director’s team was still deliberating whether to call for a pause or have the PD capture Qi Changyi’s reaction for bloopers when Xing Shi rounded a corner and encountered Yan Feng.
In two minutes, he repeated the process and sent Yan Feng packing.
The director’s team finally called for a halt.
Xiao Qin, assisting a celebrity for the first time, handled the situation with precision. She quickly brought over a cold drink and used a small electric fan to cool Xing Shi down.
Holding the cold drink, Xing Shi sipped it innocently while looking at the director.
Director Jiang sighed helplessly. “Shi, you can’t play it like this.”
Xing Shi looked puzzled. “Huh? Why not? Isn’t the rule designed to eliminate people?”
Director Jiang swallowed his frustration, thinking, If I give you ten more minutes, you’ll send everyone packing. What’s left for us to film?
Patiently, he explained, “Guests can’t force items on each other like that. You have to guide them into making mistakes.”
Xing Shi thought for a moment. “That should be pretty easy too.”
Director Jiang immediately changed his approach. “You’re not allowed to eliminate anyone today.”
With that command, the actors reset the scene.
Qi Changyi stood on the street, meeting Xing Shi again. This time, he looked at Xing Shi with a knowing smirk.
Since getting to know Xing Shi, he’d found his personality somewhat different from the rumors he’d heard. But this little stunt? That seemed to match the stories.
Once again, Qi Changyi asked, “Want to team up?”
Xing Shi nodded cooperatively. “Sure.”
As they walked, Qi Changyi asked, “Want to exchange some intel?”
Xing Shi, carrying an alien-like message, glanced at him and replied, “Alright.”
Qi Changyi guessed that Xing Shi’s method of eliminating people might be tied to a special mission. Curious to see how it would unfold, he said, “My letter mentioned a palace maid.”
Xing Shi responded, “Oh, mine didn’t mention anything about that. I do have a note about a eunuch named Xiao Shun. What’s your maid’s name?”
Qi Changyi wasn’t sure if Xing Shi was telling the truth and studied him.
Xing Shi’s expression remained innocent. He countered, “What, you can’t say? Don’t tell me your letter’s different from ours?”
Qi Changyi chuckled helplessly, thinking, You’re good at shifting blame.
Xing Shi, of course, knew he’d exposed himself, but it was just a variety show—no need to overthink things. Now that they were reshooting, he could pretend it never happened.
Qi Changyi finally gave a straight answer. “Her name is Cui Zhu.”
The two exchanged only that piece of intel before starting their mission.
Following clues, they located relevant NPCs and purchased the items specified by their families.
Due to the existence of their flaws, they had to avoid certain terms during negotiations, but overall, things went smoothly.
The others also completed their tasks one by one, signaling NPCs to wrap up the items and preparing to bring them home.
Later, they gathered to share intel for the second round. Relying on their discussions, Xing Shi pieced together enough hints to bluff his way through successfully.
The afternoon shoot ended there. Tomorrow’s palace banquet would be filmed at a different location.
After removing his makeup, Xing Shi stepped outside and saw Yan Feng and his assistant hurrying off. “Brother Feng, want to grab dinner tonight?” he called out.
Yan Feng replied, “No, I’ve got an event to attend.”
Xing Shi reminded him, “We have an early call for makeup tomorrow.”
Without turning back, Yan Feng said, “I’ll make it.”
Watching him walk away, Xing Shi turned to Fu Xiuning. “He’s always this hardworking?”
Fu Xiuning nodded. “Since his debut, he’s barely taken a break. His schedule is always packed.”
The implication was clear: if Xing Shi wanted to see Yan Feng in the future, he’d need to work with him.
Xing Shi wasn’t keen on the idea. “Isn’t he worried he’ll drop dead from overwork?”
Although Fu Xiuning would have liked to exploit Yan Feng further, dismantling the system was more urgent. “I’ll remind his manager to keep an eye on him.”
The next morning, Xing Shi and the others got up early and changed into ancient costumes again.
For cost reasons, the palace banquet shared the same set as the street scene from yesterday. It wasn’t as elaborate or meticulous as a proper film set, but it was passable. Instead of a real palace, the location was just a large mansion.
At this moment, the banquet hadn’t officially begun, giving the ability users time to gather clues and find their commissioners.
Yan Feng arrived at the film lot that morning.
He’d slept on the way there. After getting out of the car and downing a cup of coffee, he looked relatively alert.
Having been eliminated by Xing Shi yesterday, he told his system, “Xing Shi must have a special mission. I’ll take him out and show him who’s boss.”
The system chimed in smoothly, “Exactly. Once the show airs, fans will see the boss’s shining moment!”
Satisfied, Yan Feng gave a slight grunt. After the search round ended and everyone regrouped to share intel, he asked pointedly, “Xing Shi, did you find anything?”
Xing Shi replied, “I found out about a palace maid named Cui Zhu. She works in the prince’s palace. As for the other people mentioned in the letter, I don’t know their exact locations yet.”
Wen Zixin chimed in, “Yeah, I also heard about Cui Zhu. If we find her, we can probably ask about the commissioner. She likes wearing green cl—cough… um…”
Yuan Xinyu couldn’t help teasing, “Are the words ‘clothes’ burning your tongue?”
Everyone burst into laughter, quickly guessing that Wen Zixin’s flaw was related to the word “clothes.”
Amid the laughter, Yan Feng glanced at Xing Shi, wondering if he’d misjudged and Xing Shi didn’t have a special mission after all.
Sensing Yan Feng’s gaze, Xing Shi continued, “I also heard the commissioner likes reading. Maybe we can find some useful clues there. Brother Feng, didn’t you search the palace library?”
Still preoccupied with his suspicions, Yan Feng absentmindedly replied, “Yeah, but I didn’t see any books.”
The staff announced, “Yan Feng, out.”
Yan Feng: “!”
His role was the talented youngest son of the prime minister’s household, and his flaw prohibited him from anything related to the four arts—music, chess, calligraphy, or painting.
This brat set me up on purpose!
He irritably commanded in his mind: “Move him to slot 15 for me!”
The system responded: “Understood.”
It immediately began to placate him: “This is all because Boss has been too exhausted these past few days. That guy only got lucky. If you were in better shape, how could he possibly stand a chance?”
Yan Feng reluctantly felt a bit better as he walked into the waiting area.
The others hadn’t expected someone to already be eliminated during the first round of discussions that day.
Yuan Xinyu and the others, who were far away yesterday, didn’t know that Xing Shi’s team had paused filming. But now, with such an unexpected development, they began to grow suspicious of him. “You two did the task together earlier, didn’t you?”
Xing Shi had originally planned to lay out a series of traps, but to his surprise, his opponent fell for the very first one. Innocently, he replied, “Nope.”
Qi Changyi chimed in, “He was with me.”
Yuan Xinyu and the others nodded, momentarily setting aside their doubts.
After sharing their intel, the group split up again to continue searching.
On his way back, Xing Shi ran into Wen Zixin and walked with her. He sighed in frustration, “It’s so hot. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have chosen the young general role. Brother Qi’s group wore long robes; they could at least go bare-legged underneath.”
Wen Zixin was amused. “You’ll know better next time with more experience.”
Xing Shi hummed in agreement and chatted with her about his new findings. When he noticed her focus shifting back to the storyline, he casually fanned himself, made a few comments about his riding outfit, then turned to her with a sweet smile. “Sister Xin, your outfit looks great. Is it Tang or Song Dynasty style?”
Wen Zixin, momentarily dazzled by his smile, instinctively answered, “It’s Hanfu.”
[Wen Zixin, out.]
Wen Zixin: “!”
The ability users all came from modern society, so such topics were within the rules’ allowances, designed to make people lower their guard and accidentally reveal their flaws.
Lacking the willpower to resist his charm, Wen Zixin got herself eliminated, leaving the stage in tears.
In the waiting area, Yan Feng watched her and commented, “He definitely received a special commission.”
Wen Zixin, fake crying, replied, “I know that now.”
With yet another person eliminated, Yuan Xinyu and Lu Fengya were now fully suspicious of Xing Shi.
However, the fun of the game lay in the fact that players couldn’t directly vote others out. They could only set traps for their opponents through dialogue or props. Seeing Xing Shi exposed, Qi Changyi helpfully revealed his flaw: it was related to weapons.
Hearing this, Yuan Xinyu and Lu Fengya grew confident. With three players openly targeting one, how could they not eliminate him?
The answer: they couldn’t. Xing Shi was extremely vigilant and refused to fall for any tricks. Instead, he managed to eliminate Yuan Xinyu.
Realizing the kind of sly opponent they were up against, Lu Fengya decided not to engage with him anymore. She conserved her energy and focused on collecting intel faster.
When the palace banquet officially began, she planned to split up with Qi Changyi to test a few suspicious commissioners and complete her task first.
But before they could part ways, a loud shout rang out nearby: “Your Majesty!”
The air froze in an instant as everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
Xing Shi stood at the center of the hall, staring directly at the figure seated at the top.
The NPC, feeling the weight of everyone’s gaze, kept his expression composed and asked, “What is it, my loyal subject?”
Xing Shi said, “Your servant’s family has offered a treasure to the emperor. Have you received it yet?”
The NPC nodded.
Xing Shi declared firmly, “Your Majesty, it has another name—it’s called a spaceship!”
Qi Changyi and Lu Fengya: “?”
The three people in the waiting area: “???”
The director’s team: “…Is he really this reckless?”
But the recklessness worked brilliantly.
According to the game’s rules, commissioners were required to react when they heard certain keywords. Sure enough, after a moment of stunned silence, the empress let out a gasp, dropping her wine cup to the ground.
Xing Shi immediately locked onto her.
Lu Fengya snapped back to reality and glanced at Qi Changyi beside her, almost thinking she’d misheard. “Did he just say ‘spaceship’? Isn’t this supposed to be an ancient setting?”
Qi Changyi also wanted an explanation but knew it wasn’t the priority. “He’s already found the person. We need to hurry.”
Lu Fengya instantly became serious. “Alright.”
Unfortunately, they still couldn’t act faster than Xing Shi, who had already completed the task.
The program team had designed two interrelated letters for each episode, and this time was no exception.
Qi Changyi’s group’s commission letter came from the crown princess. She had recently noticed her husband behaving strangely, as if he were plotting something significant. He frequently visited the inner palace and seemed especially close to the maid Cui Zhu.
Initially, they speculated that he might have been “involved with the emperor’s concubine,” “secretly preparing a gift to surprise someone,” or even “plotting a coup.” But following the clues, they discovered he had contracted an unspeakable illness and that the cure was in the empress’s possession.
Xing Shi’s storyline took a different route.
His commission letter came from the alien empress, whose son was half-alien. Since alien adulthood occurs later than on Earth, her son was now entering that stage and experiencing health issues. Growing tired of the palace’s constant schemes and power struggles, the empress was debating whether to “suppress her son’s alien lineage” or “take her husband, son, and daughter-in-law home.” Xing Shi’s victory meant she chose to return home.
When a paper model spaceship was brought out, everyone was dumbfounded. They couldn’t help but marvel at how wild the program team’s imagination was.
Next, they watched as the empress joyfully boarded the spaceship with her family. Even the emperor and his entourage looked delighted, believing they were about to ascend to immortality.
Yuan Xinyu and the others watching: “…”
As expected, when the outlier won, things spiraled into irreparable chaos.
But this was way beyond irreparable—what even was a spaceship?!
Feeling both amused and helpless, they stared speechlessly at the program team.
The team was just as speechless. They’d thought the shoot would last longer, but Xing Shi had immediately activated elimination mode and cleared the game so quickly.
The director reviewed the footage, concluded there was enough material, and proceeded to the next segment.
The six guests changed back into modern clothes and split into two groups. Four regular guests filmed a conference room scene to summarize the events and shot dream-like footage to set up the next episode.
Qi Changyi and Xing Shi, meanwhile, recorded individual interviews.
As night fell, the director announced the wrap, and everyone cheered.
The four regular guests were particularly pleased.
Their filming schedules were heavier, and if the day’s shoot wasn’t completed, they’d have to continue tomorrow. Thanks to Xing Shi’s antics, they finished ahead of schedule.
Having already added Xing Shi on WeChat, they smiled warmly at him, suggesting they meet up when they had free time.
Yan Feng, who had taken a liking to his “new little brother,” decided not to hold a grudge for being eliminated and even praised him. “Not bad.”
Xing Shi modestly accepted the compliment and asked, “Brother Feng, are you free for dinner tonight?”
Yan Feng replied calmly, “I am.”
Xing Shi pressed, “Not busy?”
Yan Feng nodded. “Not too rushed.”
But with the unexpected extra day tomorrow, could he take on a last-minute gig? Earning a little extra never hurt.
Lost in thought, he followed the group to the restaurant.
The next morning, Xing Shi and Fu Xiuning went downstairs for breakfast, only to see Yan Feng pulling a suitcase out of the opposite elevator.
Raising an eyebrow, Xing Shi asked, “Brother Feng, leaving so early?”
Yan Feng replied, “Yeah, I changed my schedule last night.”
Xing Shi casually asked, “Breakfast?”
Yan Feng said, “I’ll eat at the airport.”
With a slight nod toward them, he glanced at Fu Xiuning one last time before turning and leaving with his suitcase.
Make money, start a company, become the boss, recruit underlings to work for me, tame Fu Xiuning… A bright future awaits!
Feeling invigorated, he climbed into the car, brimming with fighting spirit.
Xing Shi watched him disappear from view, silently evaluating him.
Arrogant, overly concerned with appearances, possibly stingy—he hasn’t spent a single penny these past few days. And he carries an inexplicable confidence, as if he has his own set of theories that are always self-justified. Even when I deliberately provoked him, it didn’t work.
Most importantly, he doesn’t seem to care at all about Fu Xiuning’s unusual attention toward him.
Looks like I’ll have to ask Fu Xiuning for more details.
After getting his food, Xing Shi followed Fu Xiuning to a table and sat down, looking at him from across the table.
Fu Xiuning picked up his utensils and glanced up. “What is it?”
Xing Shi replied, “Nothing, just looking at you.”
Fu Xiuning met his gaze and asked, “Thinking about Yan Feng?”
Xing Shi said, “Kind of. He’s so hardworking, it makes me feel a bit guilty. Are all the company’s other artists this busy?”
Fu Xiuning knew he was asking about the other two hosts. “More or less. Most of them are filming on set.”
Xing Shi understood. So those two are tied up with filming. Only Yan Feng’s gigs are fragmented enough for him to show up here.
He sighed. “Everyone is so hardworking.”
Fu Xiuning replied, “You train every day too. It’s not easy.”
He said, “Yan Feng has been busy for far too long. He needs a break.”
Xing Shi understood this was Fu Xiuning creating an opportunity for him and nodded in agreement.
The system, finally catching Xing Shi with some free time, said excitedly, “Why are you talking about Yan Feng? Let’s talk about that bet you made~”
Xing Shi replied flatly, “Not interested.”
The system chuckled slyly. “Do you think refusing matters? Your Brother isn’t going to let you off the hook, is he?”
Xing Shi’s heart skipped a beat. Before he could recover, Fu Xiuning continued, “He comes from a talent show background. His professional skills are decent. Why not ask him to take some time to teach you and the others a class or two? Share some experience?”
Xing Shi didn’t hear any notification sound signaling a gain in favorability, meaning Fu Xiuning had managed to hold himself back this time. Xing Shi quickly told the system to shut up, then said, “That sounds great.”
Fu Xiuning let out a neutral “Mm.” Their gazes met for a fleeting moment before they each looked away.
They both knew what the other was thinking.
By betting an “anything-you-want” wager, Xing Shi had made it clear he didn’t mind using unconventional means to evade the system’s surveillance.
Fu Xiuning understood his intentions but also knew they were both hesitant.
Because… could they really trust what the system said?
Plenty of apps claim they don’t collect user data, yet they’re secretly doing it anyway.
They hadn’t been forced into a corner yet, so this method required careful consideration.
After finishing their meal, they saw Qi Changyi rushing downstairs, freshly awake. He quickly ate a few bites and joined them for the trip to the airport.
Back in Z City, life returned to its usual rhythm.
Fu Xiuning contacted Yan Feng’s manager to discuss his schedule. He learned that most of Yan Feng’s work had been arranged in advance, with contracts already signed, and canceling would result in breach-of-contract penalties.
The only solution was to stop taking on new work and let Yan Feng rest after finishing his current obligations.
Calculating the timeline, Fu Xiuning realized that by the time Yan Feng was finally free, the other hosts would likely have wrapped up their filming. For a moment, he entertained the thought of pushing the “workhorse” to keep going.
But it was only a passing thought. He stuck to the original plan.
Plans, however, rarely keep up with change.
A week later, Xing Shi was sitting beside Fu Xiuning, playing on his phone, when a new trending topic popped up: ?Yan Feng Collapses?.
Xing Shi: “?”
System: “?”
The system gasped. “Goodness, did he overwork himself into the ground?”
Fu Xiuning, hearing this, kept his eyes fixed on the book in front of him, unmoving.
The next moment, Xing Shi held his phone up. “Brother, Yan Feng collapsed.”
Fu Xiuning glanced at the screen. It was another indoor variety show, where Yan Feng had participated in a game requiring intense physical activity. After finishing one round, he collapsed on the ground.
Fu Xiuning stood up. “I’m going to make a call.”
The online uproar escalated quickly. Fans unearthed Yan Feng’s year-long schedule and discovered he had almost no breaks, instantly inciting outrage as they began lambasting his company.
The PR department of Liuyue Media, following the boss’s orders, didn’t issue a response right away.
Meanwhile, Yan Feng regained consciousness shortly after being taken to the hospital. Seeing the online backlash, he worried his work might be put on hold. He quickly uploaded screenshots of his chats with his manager, admitting he had taken the jobs voluntarily. His manager had tried to dissuade him, but he had refused, wanting to become the pride of his fans as soon as possible.
Fans were moved to tears and urged him not to push himself so hard.
Only then did the PR department release an official statement on the company’s website, emphasizing that they valued their artists’ health and would enforce mandatory rest for Yan Feng.
Fans cried even harder, flooding the company with apologies and gratitude, begging them to take good care of their beloved “brother.”
Yan Feng, however, was not doing well at all. He called his manager, attempting to negotiate a return to work, but was flatly refused.
Left with no choice, he called Fu Xiuning, lowering his usual assertive tone for once, but it was equally fruitless. His frustration boiled over.
The system tried to console him. “Boss, just rest for a few days. You collapsed, after all.”
Yan Feng retorted, “I just fainted for a moment. What’s the big deal?”
The system pressed on. “…The doctor also said you’re overworked and need to rest!”
Yan Feng sneered. “That’s because you gave me a weak body! This is on you!”
The system: “…”
Honestly, with how hard you push yourself, even a body made of iron wouldn’t hold up! The fact that you lasted over a year before this happened is already a miracle!
It apologized. “I’m sorry. This is our fault.”
But Yan Feng wasn’t about to let it off the hook. “Your time has come. Think of a way for me to take jobs on my own!”
The system explained, “You can’t sign contracts with third parties while under your current contract. It would be a breach of contract.”
Yan Feng’s face darkened. “Then I’ll terminate the contract.”
The system wouldn’t allow him to leave Fu Xiuning’s company but didn’t directly refuse. Instead, it quoted the breach-of-contract penalty.
Yan Feng fell silent.
The system added, “Besides, leaving the company means you’ll have to find resources on your own, which means you’ll earn far less money.”
Yan Feng snapped, “Then tell me what to do!”
Cornered, the system suddenly remembered someone and redirected his focus. “Why not reach out to Xing Shi? He’s close to the boss and might be able to help.”
Yan Feng found the suggestion reasonable.
Xing Shi, who liked keeping his phone on silent while sleeping, only saw the call the next day.
Since he had class, he answered, “Brother Feng, you’re out of the hospital? How about coming back to Z City so we can talk in person?”
Yan Feng agreed. He had plenty of free time now, so he replied, “I’ll fly back tonight and head straight to the company.”
That evening, after Xing Shi’s class, they met at a restaurant. Coincidentally, Xing Shi chose the same seat Yu Shu had once taken.
After sitting down and hearing Yan Feng’s request to convince Fu Xiuning, Xing Shi said, “No way. You need to give me a reasonable reason.”
Yan Feng said, “The fact that I’m fine now is the best reason!”
Xing Shi countered, “But that’s not what the doctor said.”
Though anxious, Yan Feng kept his composure. “The doctor only said I should rest. I’ll just take on fewer jobs.”
Xing Shi quietly observed him for a few seconds before speaking, his tone heavy. “Brother Feng, I felt an instant connection with you. I see you as my Brother. I want you to take care of yourself. And I also want—just once—for you to tell me the truth. You’re rich, famous, and young, with endless possibilities ahead. Why push yourself so hard?”
Yan Feng replied, “Because I’m young, I need to.”
Xing Shi shook his head. “If you won’t tell me the truth, I won’t help you. I promise, no matter what your truth is, I’ll keep it a secret and won’t tell anyone else.”
Yan Feng fell silent.
Xing Shi held his gaze, determined to understand him this time.
They stared at each other for half a minute in silence.
Yan Feng took a deep breath and said faintly, “Alright.”
Xing Shi perked up and encouraged him with a nod.
Yan Feng looked around at the people nearby, then leaned closer, his tone serious. “You won’t tell anyone?”
Xing Shi nodded solemnly.
Yan Feng said, “Alright, then answer me one question.”
Xing Shi agreed readily. “Ask away.”
Yan Feng spoke deliberately, “Do you… have dreams?”
Xing Shi: “?”
System: “…”
