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

The next evening, the van came to a smooth stop at the entrance of the Qiandao Lake Resort Hotel.

Chen Yi pushed open the car door and got out.

In the plaza in front of the hotel, the open-air stage, which had been half-demolished, is being rebuilt.

Dozens of staff members, sweating profusely, were carrying lighting and sound equipment, creating a bustling scene.

Old Wang, sporting dark circles under his eyes, strode up to greet us.

"Teacher Chen!" Old Wang grasped Chen Yi's hands and shook them vigorously twice. "The approval document was delivered back to my desk at 10:00 AM sharp! Director Li's secretary delivered it personally! I owe you a huge favor this time!"

Chen Yi withdrew his hand.

"Will the stage be set up tonight?" Chen Yi asked, looking at the scaffolding in the distance.

"Absolutely!" Old Wang patted his chest confidently. "I've brought over setup teams from three nearby cities, and tripled their wages! Recording will start promptly at 8 PM tomorrow at Qiandao Lake Live!"

"Where is Qin Yu?" Chen Yi asked.

"Him?" Old Wang sneered. "Star Entertainment Media released three announcements this morning, completely blacklisting him. His spot as the final performer is now so unpopular, even dogs wouldn't stand there!"

I even said I'd give him a good whack on the head on stage, but he didn't pull it off! ╮(╯_╰)╭!!

We went back to our room first, and then led Xiao Fang straight into the hotel lobby.

After taking the room key, Chen Yi pushed open the door to the top-floor suite.

He threw his coat on the sofa and sank into the soft backrest.

After working non-stop for half a month with only three hours of sleep a day, the high-intensity work finally came to a halt.

In my mind, a blue virtual screen popped up automatically, bursting out with unprecedentedly dazzling golden light.

"Ding!"

"The first phase, from ordinary people to a phenomenal dark horse in variety shows, has come to a perfect end!"

"Stage summary report being generated..."

Current Weibo followers: 1005 million (with a very high percentage of highly active followers).

Current cumulative popularity points: 65000.

"Unlocked skills: Variety show perception Lv3, camera presence Lv4, intermediate singing, intermediate dancing, intermediate guitar playing, intermediate culinary skills, intermediate athletic ability, beginner live performance skills, and intermediate mental resilience."

Current status assessment: Near top-tier observation zone; Commercial value rating: S level.

Chen Yi looked at the impressive rows of data on the panel, picked up the bottled water on the table, and took a sip.

A month ago, he was a recent graduate with an offer from an internet company, preparing to work in a cubicle drawing PowerPoint presentations.

Now, he holds two Golden Melody Award nominations and is the face of endorsements for the entire Chinese fashion trend, forcefully breaking through the blockade imposed by top capital in the Chinese entertainment industry.

The doorbell suddenly started ringing frantically.

Chen Yi turned off the system panel, walked over and opened the door.

Chen Chichi, wearing a baseball cap, carrying two large bags of steaming barbecue, and with a dozen ice-cold beers tucked under his arm, squeezed straight into the room.

"You're even harder to see than me these days!" Chen Chichi threw his things on the coffee table and plopped down on the carpet. "Old Wang is downstairs directing the setup, he's so excited he's almost in tears! I quickly slipped up to find you for a drink."

Chen Yi walked over, opened two cans of beer, and handed one to him.

Chen Chichi took a big gulp of beer, grabbed a skewer of lamb, and took a bite.

"What you've done in the past two weeks has really scared everyone in the industry." Chen Chichi looked at Chen Yi. "You've been working non-stop, going head-to-head with a big V with eight million followers, and sending him to work on a sewing machine! Now everyone knows that you, Chen Yi, are a madman you shouldn't mess with."

"If they don't mess with me, I won't go crazy," Chen Yi said calmly.

Chen Chichi put down the meat skewers in his hand and tore off a tissue to wipe his hands.

He abandoned his usual playful demeanor, and his eyes became extremely serious.

"Chen Yi, let's have a heart-to-heart talk today," Chen Chichi said, raising his beer can.

Chen Yi paused for a moment and turned to look at him.

"A month ago, Wuha was short-staffed, so I pulled you out of my house to fill in." Chen Chichi lowered his voice. "Back then, I was really just recruiting. I thought you could become a familiar face, earn some appearance fees, and then go back to your job."

Chen Yi raised his beer can and clinked it against Chen Chichi's.

"But I really didn't expect you to get to where you are today." Chen Chichi's eyes reddened, his variety show skills overwhelmed the entire audience, his singing impressed Zhang Liangying, and he didn't even flinch in the face of capital suppression.

You earned those millions of followers all by your own hard work and dedication.

Chen Yi took a sip of wine.

"Brother, you've had too much to drink," Chen Yi said.

"I'm not drunk!" Chen Chichi raised his voice. "My aunt called me yesterday to ask if you were being bullied in the industry. I told her that you're the one bullying others now! I'm putting it bluntly today: I'm proud of you!"

Chen Yi looked at Chen Chichi's serious face and the corners of his mouth turned up.

"Alright, stop getting sentimental!" Chen Yi grabbed a skewer of grilled kidneys and shoved it into Chen Chichi's hand. "Eat your meat!"

Chen Chichi took a bite of the kidney, his mood instantly switching back, his eyes becoming gossipy.

"You've sorted out your career, but what about your love life?" Chen Chichi leaned closer. "That girl, Hani, is completely infatuated with you lately. When President Zhou pulled her resources, you turned around and overturned his table! What young girl could resist that hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress act?"

"We're partners!" Chen Yi said calmly.

"Don't give me that!" Chen Chichi rolled her eyes. "Everyone online can see your double standards. You're so venomous with other people you could kill them, but with her you lower your voice by eight octaves. Do you really think netizens are blind?"

Chen Yi didn't reply, and lowered his head to drink.

The two finished a dozen beers, and Chen Chichi burped, stood up, and patted his butt.

"I'm going back to my room to sleep. I have to record a show tomorrow." Chen Chichi walked to the door, turned around and pointed at Chen Yi. "Don't blame me for not reminding you, relationships in the industry are the most fragile. If you meet the right person, you should make a move."

After closing the door, Chen Yi threw the empty wine can on the table into the trash can and took a towel to wipe the table.

My phone, which was on the sofa, suddenly vibrated.

The screen flashed that familiar cat peek-out icon.

Chen Yi stopped wiping the table, walked over, picked up his phone, and pressed the answer button.

"Feed~~" Chen Yi said.

It was quiet on the other end of the phone, with only the sound of soft breathing.

"Chen Yi, are you asleep?" Hanikezi's clear voice came through, her speech much slower than usual.

"I just finished drinking with Chen Chichi." Chen Yi walked to the French windows and looked at the dark lake outside.

"Oh~" Hanikezi responded, then fell silent.

Chen Yi didn't urge her, but waited quietly with his phone in hand.

"Um..." Hanikezi spoke again, her voice visibly tense, "I saw your Golden Melody Award nomination, congratulations! Sister Hong said you've really offended Star Entertainment Media this time, so you'd better watch out!"

"President Zhou is too busy to deal with me right now!" Chen Yi said calmly. "Has your schedule been reinstated?"

"It's back!" Hanikezi's voice immediately rose a little. "The director of that production called Sister Hong personally today and said that I'm still the second female lead, and I'll be joining the crew next week."

"That's good!" There was silence on the other end of the phone again.

Chen Yin could hear her pacing back and forth over there.

"Is there anything else?" Chen Yi asked.

"Yes!" Hanikezi blurted out, then immediately lowered her voice, "Um... I have an offline event for a domestic beauty brand in Sanya in the middle of next month."

"Sanya?" Chen Yi thought back to his itinerary.

"Yes, just for two days!" Hanikezi's speech suddenly quickened. "Are you free at that time? I checked your schedule. You just finished recording the final episode of 'Five Ha', so you have a three-day break."

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow.

She even checked his schedule; this girl came prepared.

"You want me to visit the set in Sanya?" Chen Yi asked.

"It's not a set visit!" Hanikezi exclaimed urgently, her voice piercing Chen Yi's ears through the receiver. "What I mean is... we can meet. Not the kind of meeting for a TV show recording, and not the kind of meeting for work."

Chen Yi's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped his phone.

His face was reflected in the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window, and he could clearly see the surprise that flashed in his eyes.

My heart skipped a beat at that moment.

He knew all too well what that sentence meant in the entertainment industry.

A popular female star taking the initiative to invite a male artist to travel across half of China to meet her privately is not a test, but a direct and open invitation.

"Okay!" Chen Yi uttered a single word.

A suppressed cheer came from the other end of the phone.

"It's a deal then! No backing out! I'll send you the flight number tomorrow!" Hanikezi spoke at breakneck speed, "I'm going to go memorize the script now! Goodnight!"

beep...

The call was quickly disconnected.

Chen Yi looked at the phone screen that had returned to the home screen, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

In my mind, the blue virtual screen suddenly popped up again, bursting out with a blinding red light.

"Ding!"

"A major breakthrough has been detected in the host's emotional arc!"

"The second phase of the main quest, the Collision of Capital, has been activated!"

"Warning: The trip to Sanya carries an extremely high risk of exposure. The remaining forces of Star Entertainment Media have already locked onto the host's itinerary!"

"Host, please prepare for a full response!"

Chen Yi's eyes sharpened instantly as he looked at the red warning on the panel.

Are they planning to sabotage things in Sanya?

Chen Yi tossed his phone onto the sofa. "Let's see who's setting whom up!"

Ps:

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