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

"Xiao Fang, tell Chen Yi that he will be a regular guest starting from the next episode."

The phone hangs up.

Xiao Fang stood in the corridor, took a deep breath, and dialed Chen Yi's number.

hotel room.

Chen Yi was sitting on the sofa, holding a box of freshly made braised beef noodles.

The afternoon's orienteering was too strenuous, so Chen Chichi ate all the crew's boxed lunches by himself.

The phone vibrated on the coffee table.

The caller ID shows Xiao Fang.

Chen Yi pressed the speakerphone button and picked up a mouthful of noodles.

"explain."

"Brother Yi! Old Wang just called me!"

Xiao Fang's voice was so loud that it echoed in the room.

"Is he going to deduct my appearance fee?"

"No! Old Wang said that starting from the next episode, you'll be a regular guest on 'Five Ha'!"

clack.

The plastic fork in Chen Yi's hand fell into the paper bowl, splashing two drops of red oil.

He looked at the two drops of red oil, then pulled out a tissue and wiped his hands.

"What exactly did Old Wang say?"

"Old Wang said the internal review panel unanimously approved it! Your overall score completely crushes Qin Yu's!"

Xiao Fang spoke incredibly fast, without even taking a breath, "The assistant director used the footage of you playing guitar this afternoon to shut the investors up. President Li has also given in!"

Chen Yi leaned back on the sofa.

"Did Mr. Li agree to my conditions?"

"It's agreed! The top-tier flight rate will cover the difference between the first two episodes, and the subsequent permanent contract will be based on the rates for top-tier variety show stars! Moreover, President Li personally promised that he will never use malicious editing to target you!"

Why did he compromise so quickly?

Chen Yi spoke calmly, not letting joy cloud his judgment.

"Because of the data!"

Xiao Fang slapped his thigh excitedly, though Chen Yi couldn't see it. "Your solo clips from the first two episodes have already surpassed 100 million views on short video platforms! Mr. Li is a businessman. No matter how strong Qin Yu's backers are, can they compete with real money in viewership ratings?"

Chen Yi looked at the instant noodles on the coffee table.

When will the contract be signed?

"I'll sign it first thing tomorrow morning when I get back to Shanghai! I've already contacted a lawyer, and I'll scrutinize every single clause to make sure they don't leave any linguistic traps!"

"You've worked hard. Get some rest."

"How can I sleep! I have to work through the night to plan your next steps! Wuha is just the beginning; I'll negotiate those six brand endorsements tomorrow, and I also need to re-screen the new variety show offers!"

Xiao Fang hung up the phone.

Chen Yi tossed his phone back onto the coffee table.

A blue virtual screen popped up in my mind.

"Ding!"

"Mid-term main quest: Permanent Guest, completed."

"Mission Assessment: Producer Mr. Li has verbally confirmed, the directing team has approved, and the permanent position has been successfully secured."

"Task Rewards: Advanced Talent Package, Popularity Points multiplied by 10000, and a Mystery Gift Pack, already sent to your system inventory."

Chen Yi stared at the few lines of text that were jumping around.

From a substitute who only wanted to earn 20,000 yuan in appearance fees, he has now secured a regular spot on a top domestic variety show.

It only took less than half a month.

Instead of opening the reward packs, he picked up the paper bowl and finished the rest of the noodles.

The WeChat notification sound on my phone kept going off.

Chen Chichi's image kept flashing on the screen.

A series of celebratory emojis flooded social media.

This was followed by a long voice message.

Chen Yi clicked on it.

"Congratulations, cousin! Old Wang just posted a notification in the group chat! We're officially colleagues now! Call him 'senior' so I can hear it!"

Chen Yi typed a reply.

"Same to you. I'll treat you to steamed buns tomorrow."

Chen Chichi replied instantly.

"Just a steamed bun? You're getting top-tier quotes now! You should at least treat me to a seafood feast! Do you know how dark Qin Yu's face was when he left? He didn't even say goodbye, just got into his car and drove off! His assistant even smashed a water glass in the hallway."

Chen Yi.

"Seafood dinners are too high in calories. Your aunt asked me to supervise your diet yesterday. As for Qin Yu, whether his face is dark or not is none of my business. Remember to make him pay for the hotel if the cup breaks."

Chen Chichi sent a blood-vomiting emoji.

"Why do you always pick on my sore spots! We're relatives, can't you at least show me some basic respect? My aunt just asked me in the group chat when you're bringing that Xinjiang girl home for dinner."

Chen Yi: "Stop stirring up trouble in the group."

Chen Chichi: "You win! But seriously, you need to tone it down a bit in the future. I'm a regular senior on the show, you can't always steal my thunder. Brother Chao and Brother Han were just discussing in the group chat that your guitar performance completely stole their thunder."

Chen Yi: "I'll try my best. The condition is that you don't always get too close to the camera and block my light."

Chen Chichi sent a voice message, his tone becoming serious.

"I'm not kidding anymore. If you take Qin Yu down this time, his investors will definitely be unhappy. It's good that he's a regular cast member, but after the show airs, there will definitely be online trolls stirring up trouble."

After listening, Chen Yi typed a reply.

"What kind of rhythm are you setting?"

Chen Chichi: "What else could it be? Saying you climbed to the top because of me, saying how an ordinary person like you could squeeze out popular celebrities. I know the tricks of this industry all too well. If they can't get resources, they'll ruin your reputation through public opinion. You have to be mentally prepared."

Chen Yi looked at the screen.

"Let them do it. The audience has eyes; they'll see who's good and who's not in the final cut."

Chen Chichi: "Okay, that's good. Anyway, if the sky falls, I'll hold it up. Go to sleep early, there's a tough battle to fight when we get back to Shanghai tomorrow."

Chen Yi replied with an "Mm" and exited the chat.

He scrolled down his contacts list, his gaze landing on the cat peek-out icon.

Hanikezi's chat window was still open in the afternoon.

She posted a picture of braised chicken with the caption, "Not as good as yours."

Chen Yi's fingers hovered over the keyboard, pausing for a few seconds.

He opened the input box and started typing.

"Are you asleep?"

The message had barely been sent when a message popped up at the top saying "The other party is typing."

Hanikezi: "I'm not asleep! Sister Hong is holding a meeting with me, I'm so sleepy."

Chen Yi: "What kind of meeting?"

Hanikezi: "It's not about the next episode yet. Sister Hong said Qin Yu didn't get a spot, and the investors are throwing a tantrum. She told me to stay away from you next episode so I don't get caught up in it."

Chen Yi: "So how far away do you plan to be from me?"

Hanikezi sent a meme of someone angrily banging on a table.

"I'm not listening to her! I'll just pay her back the appearance fee! Why should I have to avoid you?!"

Chen Yi looked at the line of text and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Wouldn't you call this going against the company for my sake?"

Hanikezi: "Stop being so conceited! I did it for justice! You clearly won, why should you put up with their bullying!"

After a while, she sent another message.

"When you played guitar this afternoon, were the lyrics improvised?"

Chen Yi: "Otherwise what? Should I write it down in advance to target him?"

Hanikezi: "What about the sentence you wrote about me? Was that made up on the spot too?"

Chen Yi: "Which sentence?"

Hanikezi: "It's that 'all you can eat with the big plate chicken' thing!"

Chen Yi: "That was the truth."

Hanikezi sent a facepalm emoji.

"You're really something! But has Old Wang made a decision yet? Are you going to stay or not? I asked the assistant director today, but he won't say anything! I'm so worried!"

Chen Yi: "What if I can't stay?"

Hanikezi: "Then I won't record either! Anyway, without you cooking, I can't eat the crew's boxed lunches!"

Chen Yi: "Are you trying to starve yourself to death on set?"

Hanikezi sent me a meme of someone holding a kitchen knife.

"Chen Yi! Are you going to tell me or not! If you keep beating around the bush, I'm coming to your door!"

Looking at the exclamation marks popping up on the screen, Chen Yi could imagine how anxious she was on the other side.

Instead of continuing to type, he pressed the voice button.

"I have good news for you," he said, then pressed the voice button again, "I'm not leaving Wuha anymore."

After sending the two voice messages, the chat interface went silent.

The "Typing..." message at the top flashed twice and then disappeared.

A full half minute passed.

A ten-second voice message popped up on the screen.

Chen Yi turned on the voice message.

Hanikezi's scream shattered the speaker.

Chen Yi quickly moved his phone away, creating a half-meter distance between them.

Ps:

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