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

"Qin Yu!"

Xiao Fang swallowed hard and spoke very quickly, "That guy who came from a talent show boy group recently played the second male lead in an ancient costume web drama, and his popularity has skyrocketed. The investors forced him in this time, aiming for a permanent spot on 'Five Ha'."

Chen Yi listened without showing any change in expression.

"understood."

He uttered those three words, then turned to Hanikezi standing beside him, "Let's go, let's meet at the square."

Hanikezi followed in his footsteps, her brows furrowed.

"I've heard Sister Hong mention Qin Yu before. He's notorious for stealing the spotlight and especially loves creating on-screen couples. Be careful later, don't let him get you involved."

"Let him fire his job, what does it have to do with me?"

"It's okay! There's only one spot. If he wins, you won't be able to come next time!"

Hanikezi reached out and tugged at his clothes in a panic.

Chen Yi stopped and looked down at the hand that was clutching his coat.

"Are you that afraid I won't come?"

Hanikezi was stumped by the question, her fingers loosened, and a slight blush rose to her cheeks.

"I just think it's unfair. You're the one who boosted the ratings, so why should he get all the credit?"

"There's never been any fairness in this industry to begin with."

Chen Yi continued walking forward, saying, "Whoever stays until the end depends on their own abilities."

The two walked to the recording plaza.

The regular guests have arrived.

A strange face appeared in the center of the venue.

The man was dressed in a high-end casual suit, with his hair styled in an exquisite way. He was about the same height as Chen Yi and was handing out several beautiful gift boxes to Deng Chao and Lu Han.

"Brother Chao, Brother Han, nice to meet you. Here's a small gift. Please take care of me in the future."

Qin Yu smiled flawlessly, adopting a very humble posture.

Deng Chao accepted the gift box and exchanged a few polite words with a laugh.

Lu Han weighed the box in her hand and glanced at Chen Yi.

Qin Yu turned his head in the direction of Lu Han's gaze.

The moment Qin Yu saw Hanikezi, his eyes lit up. He immediately left Deng Chao and Lu Han behind and strode over to greet her.

"Teacher Hani! I've heard so much about you!"

Qin Yu extended his hand, his smile radiant. "I've seen your flying dance before, it was absolutely stunning. I'm so glad to finally meet you in person today."

Hanikezi smiled politely but did not reach out to shake hands.

"Hello there."

Qin Yu didn't feel embarrassed at all. He naturally withdrew his hand, took a bottle of imported sparkling water with pink packaging from his assistant, and handed it to Hanikezi.

"It's freshly chilled; it's good for girls' skin."

Hanikezi looked at the bottle of water, unsure whether to accept it or not.

A hand reached out from the side, precisely pinched the neck of the bottle, and sucked the water away.

Chen Yi held the sparkling water in one hand and glanced at the calorie information on the packaging.

"She's already exceeded her sugar intake limit today, so she can't drink this water."

Qin Yu's smile froze for half a second before he turned to look at Chen Yi, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

"This must be Brother Chen Yi, right? Brother Chi's cousin?"

Qin Yu emphasized the word "cousin," his tone filled with undisguised superiority. "I've heard about you. For an ordinary person to make it to the top five is really lucky."

"You're really lucky."

Chen Yi casually placed the sparkling water on the prop table next to him, "After all, I can stand here without bringing my own investment to the crew."

Chen Chichi had just finished eating an apple and walked over when he heard this, and he almost choked on his saliva.

Deng Chao frantically winked at Chen Chichi from the side, and the two retreated to a blind spot out of the camera's view to prepare for the show.

Qin Yu's face darkened, but he managed to suppress his anger because of the machines all around him.

"Brother Chen Yi is really humorous."

Qin Yu forced a smile, "But when it comes to recording variety shows, you can't just rely on your words."

"Then what do you rely on?"

Chen Yi retorted, "By handing out drinks to others?"

Qin Yu was speechless, choked by the words.

Old Wang walked out of the director's studio with a megaphone, interrupting the undercurrent of confrontation.

"Attention all departments! Guests, assemble!"

Old Wang stood in the center of the field and cleared his throat.

"Today, our Wuha welcomes a new friend, Qin Yu. Let's give him a warm welcome."

Sparse applause broke out.

Old Wang picked up the megaphone and continued shouting.

"In this episode, we've introduced a brand-new competition mechanism. Chen Yi and Qin Yu, our two special guest stars, will compete in a comprehensive evaluation across all the upcoming tasks."

"Physical strength, intelligence, talent, and audience support are all included in the assessment."

"The person with the highest final overall score will receive a permanent contract to join the cast of 'Five Ha' for the next season!"

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

Chen Chichi stared wide-eyed at Old Wang.

Deng Chao put away his playful expression.

Hanikezi turned to look at Chen Yi, her worry deepening.

Qin Yu straightened his back and gave the camera a confident smile.

"Thank you to the production team for giving me this opportunity. I will do my best and will never let my fans down."

Old Wang put down the loudspeaker and announced that preparations for the morning's recording would begin.

The guests then headed to the rest area to touch up their makeup.

The rest area only has a few folding chairs.

Just as Hanikezi walked up to a chair and was about to sit down, Qin Yu rushed over first, exaggeratedly took out a disinfectant wipe, and wiped the chair down.

"Teacher Hani, this chair isn't very clean. I've wiped it for you. Please sit here."

Qin Yu smiled warmly and even bowed slightly in a gesture of invitation.

Hanikezi stood there, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"No need, I can sit anywhere."

"That won't do. Girls need to be taken care of."

Qin Yu persisted, even taking a step forward to try and help Hanikezi take the coat from her hands.

Chen Yi stood two meters away, watching this scene, and suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

That feeling was very unfamiliar.

It's a bit sour, a bit heavy, and has a bit of barely suppressed irritation.

He strode over, passing directly between Qin Yu and Hanikezi, his shoulder bumping into Qin Yu intentionally or unintentionally.

Qin Yu was knocked back half a step and was about to retaliate.

Chen Yi had already pulled over his folding chair, hooked it with one foot, and slid it to Hanikezi's side.

"Sit here."

Chen Yi spoke in a flat tone.

Hanikezi felt like she had been granted a pardon and quickly sat down, casually draping her coat over the back of the chair.

Qin Yu's face was grim.

"Chen Yi, do you even know what gentlemanly manners are?"

"I don't understand."

Chen Yi looked down at him and said, "All I know is that when someone doesn't want to talk to you, forcing your way in is called harassment."

"you!"

Qin Yu pointed at Chen Yi's nose.

"Retract your finger."

Chen Yi's voice turned serious, "The recording hasn't even started yet, and you're already throwing a tantrum. Your gentle and refined persona is going to crumble."

Qin Yu gritted his teeth, stared at Chen Yi for a few seconds, and then sneered.

"Fine. We'll see. This afternoon's talent show, let's see what an amateur like you has to offer me."

Qin Yu turned and left.

Hanikezi tugged at Chen Yi's sleeve, her voice very low.

"Why did you provoke him? Sister Hong said he has powerful backing, and it won't do you any good to offend him."

Chen Yi lowered his head and looked into her eyes, which were full of worry.

"You feel sorry for him getting scolded?"

"I feel sorry for you!"

Hanikezi blurted it out in her haste.

After she finished speaking, she froze, quickly covered her mouth, and her ears turned so red they looked like they were about to bleed.

Seeing her reaction, Chen Yi felt a sudden, overwhelming soreness dissipate from his chest.

He pulled over a chair and sat down next to her.

"Don't worry. No matter how powerful capital is, it can't control the audience's eyes."

Just then, a mechanical electronic voice suddenly appeared in Chen Yi's mind.

"Ding!"

A blue virtual screen popped up in the corner of my field of vision.

The red and gold border flashed a warning red light.

"A strong competitor has been detected!"

"Mid-game main quest: Recurring Guest, difficulty increased!"

"Additional condition unlocked: During this recording, the host's overall performance score must be higher than that of competitor Qin Yu."

"If the score falls behind, the permanent spot will be forcibly given to another, and the mission will be deemed a failure!"

"Failure Penalty: Variety Show Awareness downgraded to Level 1, impromptu joke library withdrawn, popularity score reset to zero!"

Chen Yi stared at the last four words.

Popularity score reset to zero.

This is tantamount to stripping him of his original form, disqualifying him from unlocking subsequent skills.

Capital wanted to force him out in this way, and the system also joined in the fun by increasing its investment.

Chen Yi turned off the control panel.

He rotated his left ring finger, even though there was nothing there now.

He looked up at Qin Yu, who was trying to get close to the production team in the distance.

She wanted to climb to the top by stepping on him.

They want to take his permanent position.

She even wanted to fawn over him in front of him.

Chen Yi placed his hands on his knees, his fingers slowly tightening until his knuckles turned white.

He can't lose this time.

Not only can't we lose, we have to win in a way that shuts everyone up.