My cousin asked me to go to Wuha, and Hanikezi stuck to me.

Chen Yi stepped into the restaurant.

Chen Chichi rushed over, phone in hand, with half a meat bun stuffed in his mouth.

"Brother! You've kept this from me for so long!"

Chen Yi dodged his outstretched, oily hand by turning to the side.

"If you're going to eat your steamed bun, then eat your steamed bun. Don't try to get all over me."

Chen Chichi shoved the screen right in his face.

"Who cares about the steamed buns! Look at this! The production team has gone mad; they edited yesterday's footage into the first part of the second episode and aired it at noon!"

Chen Yi glanced at the screen.

Weibo's trending topics list.

The first line is followed by a dark red "explosion" character.

The entry is titled "Chen Yi secretly bought earrings for Hanikezi".

Deng Chao and Lu Han also came over with their bowls.

Deng Chao clicked on the trending video, and the screen split in two.

On the left, Hanikezi reluctantly put down her teardrop-shaped silver earrings and pulled Chen Yi to buy flour.

On the right, Chen Yi made an excuse to go to the restroom, turned back to the stall, took out his points card, bought earrings, and stuffed them into his pocket without changing his expression.

The video ended with a clip of footage from the courtyard last night.

Chen Yi took out the small velvet bag and handed it over.

Hanikezi said, "I wasn't talking about earrings."

The entire video is accompanied by background music that is very pink and bubbly.

Lu Han cleared her throat and began reading the dense barrage of comments on the screen.

"Holy crap! This is some kind of romance reality show!"

"Did I buy earrings with 30 points? No, I bought my life as a single dog!"

"Cold and ruthless on the surface, but secretly paying the bill behind the scenes—the contrast is amazing!"

"The whole internet is waiting for your second episode together, and you guys practically brought the Civil Affairs Bureau here!"

After reading the comments, Lu Han gave a thumbs up.

"Brother Yi, your move has blown up our show's ratings."

Chen Chichi pounded the table in anguish.

"I'm the regular! I'm the comedic relief! Why are all the trending topics about you two dating?!"

Chen Yi pulled out a chair, sat down, picked up the soy milk in front of him, took a sip, and spoke in a calm tone.

"Because you don't have a girlfriend."

Chen Chichi clutched his chest and slumped into a chair.

"That hurts! Why do you always pick on my sore spots!"

Deng Chao laughed so hard he couldn't stand up straight.

"Alright, Chichi, your cousin is getting top-tier treatment now, you need to stick close to him."

At this moment, Old Wang walked in from outside the door carrying a large tea mug, his face glowing.

His attitude towards Chen Yi completely changed.

"Xiao Chen, did you sleep well last night?"

Old Wang pulled out a chair with a smile and sat down opposite Chen Yi.

Chen Chichi complained from the side.

"Old Wang, your attitude has changed so quickly! In the first episode you were calling him 'that guy,' but now you're calling him 'Little Chen'?"

Old Wang glared at Chen Chichi.

"What do you know! Xiao Chen is now our show's ratings guarantee!"

Old Wang turned to look at Chen Yi, lowering his voice to reveal the truth.

"The first part of this episode just aired at noon, and the backend data crashed the server three times."

"The sponsors were ecstatic and demanded that the post-production editing team add more solo interaction scenes between the two of you."

Chen Yi looked at Old Wang.

"So, for the afternoon's group assignments, you deliberately made Deng Chao and me team captains to see if I could lead the team?"

Old Wang chuckled and took a sip of goji berry water.

"clever."

"Having a romantic pairing isn't enough; if you want to establish yourself in this industry, you need the ability to control the situation."

"The task this afternoon will be difficult, so be prepared."

Old Wang left with his teacup, leaving behind the words, "Hurry up and come out to gather after you finish eating."

Chen Chichi swiped the screen indignantly.

"Look at this! The netizens created a supertopic for you two, called Yi Zi CP!"

"It was just created yesterday, and today it already has over 500,000 followers!"

"At this rate of follower growth, even popular young celebrities would have to hold a meeting overnight!"

Chen Yi took out his phone.

I just opened Weibo and the app crashed immediately.

The page took three refreshes to load.

The number of followers jumped from over 100,000 yesterday to 1.2 million.

My unread messages are all red dots, and my private message inbox is overflowing.

He switched to Hanikezi's homepage and took a look.

Her follower count has increased by nearly two million, and the comments under her latest Weibo post are all saying "Hello, sister-in-law".

My phone vibrated, and a WeChat pop-up appeared.

Hanikezi sent me a meme of a cat peeking out.

Then came two lines of text.

Did you see the trending topics?

"So you didn't even go to the bathroom yesterday!"

Chen Yi tapped the screen to reply.

"The production team lacks sportsmanship and violates the privacy of the guests."

The reply came instantly.

"Don't give me that! My dare game from tonight will be broadcast too, that'll be so embarrassing!"

Chen Yi replied.

"Corny pickup lines are indeed quite embarrassing."

Hanikezi sent me a kitchen knife emoji.

Half a minute later, she sent another message.

"Sister Hong just called me."

Hong Jie is Hanikezi's agent and is known for her strong personality in the industry.

Chen Yi replied.

Did she insult you?

Hanikezi.

"No, she actually praised me for doing well! And told me to keep being natural."

"That's so strange. She used to hate it when I got close to male celebrities, and she was afraid I would lose fans."

Chen Yi stared at the screen, typing rapidly.

"Because capital looks at data; if the data is good, all rules can be compromised."

Hanikezi.

Why do you always talk in such an old-fashioned way?

"Whatever, during the treasure hunt this afternoon, you have to pick me first!"

Chen Yi.

"It depends on your performance."

Hanikezi.

"Chen Yi! You dare not choose me, just try it!"

Chen Yi's lips curled into a slight smile as he was about to type when Xiao Fang's call came in.

He stood up and walked to the corner of the courtyard outside the restaurant to make the call.

"Brother Yi! Is it a convenient time for you to talk now?"

Xiao Fang's voice trembled as if he were on a roller coaster, with the background sounds of keyboard typing and telephone ringing.

"explain."

"It's exploded! It's completely exploded! My phone hasn't stopped ringing since noon!"

"Focus on the key points."

"Six brands have approached us about endorsement deals! Three of them are national-level fast-moving consumer goods brands—one selling athletic shoes, the other beverages—and the other is a snack brand that directly offered us the title of annual brand ambassador!"

"The asking prices are all in the seven figures or higher!"

Chen Yi looked at the busy staff in the courtyard.

"Anything else?"

"Five variety shows have also sent invitations, all top-tier projects from major platforms, some lifestyle-oriented, some competitive, and the offers are all outrageous!"

"We even received an audition invitation from a production team for the second male lead!"

Chen Yi spoke calmly.

"I'm holding off on all business deals and announcements. I won't refuse or accept them. We'll deal with them after this episode is finished and we return to Shanghai."

"I know! None of these are the most important things!"

Xiao Fang took a deep breath, lowered his voice, and spoke with such excitement that his voice almost cracked.

"Mr. Li, the producer of Wuha, just called me personally."

Chen Yi's eyes flickered slightly.

"What did Mr. Li say?"

"Mr. Li said he'd like to invite you to dinner tomorrow night after you return to Shanghai to discuss your permanent contract for the rest of the season in person!"

In my mind, a blue virtual screen quietly appeared.

[Mid-term main quest: Permanent Guest, Current progress: 80%]

Chen Yi stared at the fluctuating number.

It jumped from 8% to 80%.

It seems that Mr. Li is indeed in a hurry.

Capital always has the keenest sense of smell.

The first episode's explosive popularity could be attributed to chance.

The first part of the second episode once again ignited the entire internet, even creating a phenomenal level of CP (couple) popularity, which proves that Chen Yi has an extremely stable ability to convert traffic.

If we don't sign, other platforms could snatch us up at any time.

Xiao Fang excitedly pressed for answers on the other end of the phone.

"Brother Yi! The permanent position is secured! President Li personally spoke up; even top-tier actors in the industry don't get this kind of treatment! Shouldn't we start preparing the contract?"

Chen Yi looked away.

"It's just a meeting; the deal isn't finalized until the contract is signed."

"Mr. Li is a businessman; he won't act until he sees the benefits. He's contacting me now because he wants to see just how much overall value I can create."

"So what do we do?"

Xiao Fang asked.

Chen Yi turned his head to look in the direction of the restaurant.

Old Wang was walking over with a megaphone, ready to announce the afternoon's task rules.

"Isn't there a treasure hunt in the ancient town this afternoon?"

"Since Mr. Li wants to see the value, let's add some more value to it."

P.S.: Here's a poem!

[Extreme update, please hide]

He writes every day without rest.

Today, I'm releasing an extra chapter as a bonus for my readers.

Seeking neither praise nor extravagance,

I just hope the bookshelves will always have guests!