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

Old Wang turned his back to secretly drink water, his lips curling into a wide smile.

Chen Yi led the way onto the bus, where the cool air from the air conditioner dispelled the heat of the beach.

Deng Chao slumped back in his chair, fanning himself with his hat.

"Cousin, are we really not going to buy groceries? Are we really just having pickled vegetables for dinner?"

Chen Yi leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed.

"Brother Chao, do you believe Old Wang is even more anxious than we are? The sponsors have spent so much money, would he dare to show us eating a bowl of white rice in the final cut?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Chichi slapped his thigh and sat up straight.

"Yeah! How come I didn't think of that! Old Wang is playing mind games with us! As long as we hold our ground, he'll have to willingly hand us free kills!"

Lu Han burst out laughing in the back row.

"Brother Chichi, you almost borrowed money from loan sharks to buy lobsters on the beach just now."

Chen Chichi blushed and tried to argue his way out of it.

"I did that to suit the show! Don't you know what the self-cultivation of a veteran artist means?!"

Chen Yi opened his eyes and delivered a finishing blow with a single sentence.

"Your self-cultivation is such that you eat the crew's boxed lunches with the grandeur of a Manchu Han Imperial Feast. You even chewed up the duck bones in that roast duck rice box at noon."

A burst of laughter erupted in the carriage.

Deng Chao laughed so hard he was pounding the back of the chair, and Lu Han even had tears in her eyes.

Chen Yi sat there, a relaxed smile on his lips.

He found that he had finally found his rhythm in the show. He didn't need to create jokes like Chen Chichi or control the whole situation like Deng Chao. He just needed to hand over the sharpest knife at the most appropriate time.

They took what was originally a 6 out of 10 jokes and turned it into a 10.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the bus door was banged on loudly.

Old Wang stood outside the car with a megaphone, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Everyone get off the bus! Assemble on the beach immediately!"

The guests slowly got out of the car.

A huge inflatable pool was set up on the beach, with dozens of colorful plastic balls floating in it.

Beside the pool stood five burly bodyguards, each 1.9 meters tall, wearing sunglasses and tight black vests, their muscles bulging, exuding a menacing aura.

Old Wang cleared his throat, trying to regain his directorial authority.

"Given your lackadaisical attitude at lunchtime, all dinner ingredients are confiscated! If you want seafood, you'll have to win the upcoming beach ball-grabbing battle!"

"There are thirty balls in the pool labeled 'Top-Tier Seafood Ingredients' and ten labeled 'Perverted Punishments.' The four of you must break through the blockade of five men in black and transport the balls back to base within ten minutes."

"Eat whatever you get. If you receive a punishment, execute it on the spot!"

Deng Chao swallowed hard and took a half step back.

"Old Wang, are you serious? These five guys' arms are thicker than my thighs, aren't we just asking for death if we go in?"

Chen Chichi hid behind Lu Han, peeking out his head.

"I'm not playing anymore! I have a herniated disc! I'm calling the police! This isn't a variety show recording, it's a full-blown brawl!"

Lu Han frowned slightly as she looked at the distance to the pool.

"Director, the edge of this pool is so slippery, and there's water inside. The resistance is too great. Ten minutes is simply not enough."

Old Wang held up the megaphone, his face expressionless.

"Protest denied! Ten seconds left! Ready to begin!"

Chen Yi remained silent.

His gaze swept over the five men in black who were standing guard, then looked at the inflatable pool, and finally landed on the buzzing water pump behind the pool.

In his mind, his sense of variety was working at lightning speed, and a complete set of tactics was instantly formed.

He turned to look at Deng Chao.

"Brother Chao, you're the fastest runner. When the game starts, run around the perimeter of the pool and lure away the three men in black."

Deng Chao stared wide-eyed and pointed at his own nose.

"Me, use me as bait? They'll throw me into the water if they catch me!"

"If you run fast enough, they won't be able to catch you. If you're not fast enough, just consider it an extra dish for us, a cold salad of Deng Chao."

Chen Yi interrupted his protest.

Lu Han was laughing so hard she bent over.

"And what about me?"

Lu Han asked.

"Go to the left side of the pool, pretend to grab the ball, and attract the attention of the remaining two men in black. As soon as they move, run in the opposite direction."

Chen Yi made the arrangements very efficiently.

Chen Chichi pointed to his nose and leaned closer with a look of anticipation.

"Cousin, what about me? Am I the one who'll make a grand entrance last, deliver the decisive blow, and snatch the biggest lobster?"

Chen Yi looked him up and down.

"You're in charge of standing here and loudly announcing your weight to the men in black, and launching a psychological attack on them."

Chen Chichi's expectant expression froze.

"Chen Yi! You've gone too far! I'm a regular here! You expect me to be a cheerleader?"

"You think cheerleading lacks skill?"

Chen Yi pointed to the power cord of the water pump next to the pool, "Once the men in black are lured away, go and unplug that power cord."

Chen Chichi followed Chen Yi's finger and looked over. His eyes lit up, and he immediately understood Chen Yi's intention.

"That's cunning! I love it! I knew you were a rascal!"

Old Wang blew his whistle.

Game start.

Deng Chao shouted and rushed towards the right side of the pool like a gust of wind.

"Come and get me, you bunch of big guys!"

The three men in black were immediately drawn to his commotion and gave chase.

Deng Chao ran at the speed of a 100-meter sprint on the beach, the sand behind him flying everywhere as he stepped on it.

Lu Han peeked out from the left, while the other two men in black kept a close eye on him.

Lu Han feinted with his gun forward, and as soon as the two men in black moved, he turned and ran.

The front of the pool is completely empty.

Chen Chichi crouched low and tiptoed to the water pump, grabbed the thick power cord with both hands, and pulled hard.

The buzzing of the motor came to an abrupt halt.

The edges of the inflatable pool lost their air pressure support and began to deflate rapidly.

Water mixed with plastic balls gushed out, covering the beach.

The men in black heard the commotion, turned around, and were completely dumbfounded.

Chen Yi walked over.

He didn't need to go into the water at all. He just stood on the edge of the dried-up pool and picked up the balls labeled "Australian Lobster," "King Crab," and "Grouper" one by one, like picking out cabbages at a market, and stuffed them into his coat pocket.

He didn't even glance at the punishment ball labeled "Eat raw bitter melon" and "Jump rope on acupressure mat," and kicked it aside.

Five men in black stood on the beach, looking at the water everywhere, then at Old Wang, at a loss.

Old Wang was so anxious in the director's studio that he kept slamming his fist on the table.

"Chen Yi! You fouled! Who gave you permission to unplug the power?!"

Chen Yi put the last ball with "Wagyu" written on it into his pocket, patted the sand off his hands, and turned to look at the camera.

"Director, did the rules you just read out say anything about not unplugging the power cord?"

Old Wang rolled his eyes, choked on his words.

"This is vandalizing the show's props!"

"This is called making reasonable use of site resources and breaking through the limitations of conventional thinking."

Chen Yi walked back to the base camp and dumped all the balls from his pocket onto the table.

All of them are top-quality ingredients.

Deng Chao ran back, panting heavily, and stared wide-eyed at the table full of balls.

"Holy crap! Cousin, you've completely copied Old Wang's secrets!"

Lu Han rushed over and gave Chen Yi a bear hug.

"That's amazing! I thought I was going to have to fight them hand-to-hand!"

Chen Chichi walked back triumphantly, hands on his hips, chin raised towards the camera.

"See that?! That's the ceiling of our team's intelligence!"

Chen Chichi grabbed Chen Yi's shoulder and loudly announced to the camera crew.

"I always thought I was the smartest person on this show. Now I realize that's only because my cousin hasn't arrived yet!"

The entire staff burst into laughter.

The cameramen were so exhausted they could barely hold the equipment steady.

Old Wang slumped in the director's chair, staring at Chen Yi's calm face on the monitor, his teeth itching with anger.

But his eyes were filled with undisguised excitement.

This kid's talent for variety shows is simply a gift from God.

He doesn't play by the rules; he always finds the most tricky way to break the deadlock and can perfectly bring out the unique qualities of other guests.

Deng Chao's fighting spirit, Lu Han's cleverness, and Chen Chichi's shamelessness.

Chen Yi was like a thread, stringing all these scattered beads together.

Night falls.

A bonfire was lit on the beach.

A seafood feast was laid out on the long table.

The guests ate with gusto, their mouths greasy, and the atmosphere was incredibly lively.

Chen Yi sat in the corner, quietly peeling a shrimp.

He completely relaxed during the recording that day.

There was no deliberate effort to plan the shots, nor any concern for the negative comments online.

He was just enjoying the game.

In the distance, inside the director's studio.

Old Wang held a large tea mug, staring at the data screen in front of him.

The assistant director stood beside him, pointing to a curve on the screen.

"Director Wang, look here. The real-time monitoring data for the beach ball-grabbing segment this afternoon is out."

Old Wang leaned closer to the screen.

"How is it?"

"Outrageously high."

The assistant director swallowed hard, his voice trembling with excitement, "Every time Chen Yi throws out a joke or interacts with other guests, the viewers' online viewing time increases dramatically."

Old Wang took a big gulp of goji berry water, his eyes sparkling.

Capital's assembly-line packaging is utterly vulnerable in the face of absolute truth.

Old Wang put down his teacup and tapped his fingers twice on the table.

During a break in filming, director Lao Wang checked the real-time monitoring data and noticed a significant increase in viewers' online viewing time for each segment featuring Chen Yi interacting with other guests.

Old Wang had a bold idea in mind—in the next episode, he would give Chen Yi a separate highlight segment.