I Joined a Fake Variety Show (GL) - Chapter 2

The direction Zhou Xi was looking was toward the area where electric bikes were parked outside the apartment building.

Wang Feng dismounted her vehicle, took out a lock and chain, and was bending down to secure it when she suddenly heard someone call her name from behind.

“Auntie Wang.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Wang Feng stood up and turned to face the direction of the sound.

Seeing Wang Feng rise, Zhou Xi hurried over, clutching the box in her arms.

Wang Feng, 50 years old, lived next door to Zhou Xi and had helped her a lot since Zhou Xi moved in.

The two got along quite well.

Wang Feng immediately saw the item in Zhou Xi’s arms and pointed with a look of surprise, “Xiao Zhou, you’re…”

The box was heavy, and Zhou Xi felt it slipping in her embrace. After adjusting it twice, she looked down at the box, then back at Wang Feng, saying, “Auntie Wang, I’m moving.”

Wang Feng looked at Zhou Xi. The girl was well-behaved, sensible, and pretty. With her moving away, Wang Feng felt a sense of reluctance, wondering if they would ever meet again. “Didn’t you say your rent wasn’t due for another month? Why are you leaving now?”

“A new tenant is moving in,” Zhou Xi said, her tone level.

Wang Feng sighed after hearing this. She gripped Zhou Xi’s arm and looked into her eyes, asking, “Where are you moving to? Is it far from here?”

Zhou Xi shook her head slightly. “I haven’t settled on a place yet. I plan to stay at the Heping Hotel for a few days first.”

“Don’t bother with a hotel, come stay at my place. You can stay as long as you like,” Wang Feng offered.

“No, Auntie Wang, I have too much stuff. I don’t want to bother you,” Zhou Xi smiled and politely declined. “But I actually do need your help with one thing.”

“Tell me.”

“The hotel is quite close to here. I was hoping to just carry everything myself instead of hiring a moving company, but these boxes are just too heavy. So, I was wondering, could I borrow your vehicle for a bit? I’ll park it back here after I’m done moving,” Zhou Xi explained as she walked around the vehicle, pointing to the bed of the trike with one free finger.

Watching Zhou Xi’s small action, Wang Feng smiled widely, amused. “If you don’t mind that my vehicle is dirty, use it all you want.”

Wang Feng suffered from a chronic illness and couldn’t work much, so she bought a used cycling rickshaw. When she felt well enough, she would go out and collect recyclables to earn a little money for groceries.

The body and cargo bed were already covered in rust spots, each brown patch a testament to the passage of time. Cardboard signs hung around the exterior of the bed. The sign on the left read: Collecting waste paper, fifty cents per catty.

Compared to the box that was so heavy it made her arms ache, Zhou Xi unhesitatingly placed it in the cargo bed and told Wang Feng, “I could never dislike your vehicle, Auntie Wang.”

The compliment made Wang Feng burst into laughter. She waved her hand at Zhou Xi and said, “You have the sweetest tongue. Go up and bring down a few more things. Fill up the cargo bed. I’ll keep an eye on it for you here.”

Zhou Xi thanked her and went upstairs to continue moving.

She estimated it would take three more trips to move all the boxes.

Ten minutes later, the back of the vehicle was full.

Just as Zhou Xi was about to climb on, she realized she had forgotten to change her clothes; she was still wearing the red dress.

This dress was the only piece of clothing Zhou Xi owned that cost over four figures. Ordinarily, she would only wear it for important occasions. But now all her clothes were packed in boxes, making a change difficult. The thought of riding the trike while wearing it made her heart ache for ten full seconds.

Fortunately, she had changed her shoes before leaving, opting for a pair of canvas shoes.

This made the ride a little easier.

To prevent the skirt from getting tangled in the chain, Zhou Xi pulled the hem up as she got on. After adjusting her posture, she pedaled toward the community gate.

At first, things were fine within the community; few people paid Zhou Xi much attention. However, it was rush hour, and the streets were several times more crowded. As Zhou Xi rode and weaved through the throngs of people, she drew frequent glances from passersby.

A beautiful woman in a red dress, on a dilapidated trike.

Aside from how jarring the combination was, the fleeting sight of Zhou Xi’s profile alone caused many people to stop and stare.

The person they were watching was unaware that she had become the center of attention.

This wasn’t Zhou Xi’s first time riding this kind of vehicle; she had experience while filming a drama before. But Wang Feng’s vehicle was too old, and the brakes were somewhat unreliable, making Zhou Xi nervous throughout the ride. She was afraid of accidentally hitting someone and had no time to look around.

As a result, Zhou Xi did not notice that several people secretly filmed her with their phones as she cycled past a certain section of the road.

The video was posted, and the number of likes soared from thousands to tens of thousands, eventually breaking through a hundred thousand.

By the time the video went viral on a short video platform, Zhou Xi was completely oblivious, as she was busy circulating among various rental properties.

In a day and a half, she looked at no fewer than seven rental homes, but not a single one met her expectations.

After she finished viewing the seventh apartment, the real estate agent bade Zhou Xi a very “friendly” farewell.

Watching the agent walk away, Zhou Xi clicked on her Alipay balance. Looking at the numbers displayed, her lips pressed into a tight line.

In truth, the houses weren’t the problem; the real issue was that she was short on money.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, in a high-end residential community.

Bai Mo stood behind the sofa. Seeing that the call she had placed was answered, she cautiously said, “Boss.”

“What is it?”

A woman’s voice came from the phone, accompanied by the sound of others reporting work.

When Bai Mo heard the woman’s voice, she quickly held the phone forward, presenting it to the person sitting on the sofa and flipping through a script.

“Sister Tong, it’s connected.”

After the person on the sofa took the phone, Bai Mo walked around to the adjacent single sofa and sat down obediently.

But her gaze remained fixed on the person on the sofa.

Her dark, beautiful hair was secured at the back of her head with a clip. The wisps of hair on both sides of her temples gently hung near her ears; a gust of wind could easily dislodge them.

She had delicate brows and round eyes, features that naturally suggested a cute appearance, but the cold light in her eyes made her seem unapproachable. Below her high, straight nose, her thin lips rarely cracked a smile.

Because she was at home, the person was wearing pajamas. The style of the pajamas looked plain at first glance, but it was actually a non-publicly sold item from a high-end brand, specially gifted to her by the brand.

The woman’s unique demeanor and refinement left Bai Mo stunned. Bai Mo blinked before recovering her attention from Han Shutong’s features.

Han Shutong, twenty-five years old, had starred in her first movie at the age of twenty. This debut film was not only her first step into the entertainment industry but also the reason she had a peak-debut and shot to fame.

In her first acting role, the character she played was rendered nearly perfectly, leaving a profound and impactful impression on people.

The movie was released and won numerous awards.

Over the next five years, Han Shutong’s national popularity continued to rise, evolving from a stunning newcomer to an indispensable box office guarantee.

After graduating, Bai Mo joined the company and was immediately assigned as Han Shutong’s assistant.

There were two other interns from the same period, but they were both fired for having improper intentions, leaving only Bai Mo.

She recalled when she first started working…

While Bai Mo was reminiscing, Han Shutong held the phone to her ear while flipping through the script. “Sister Qiu.”

Accompanied by the sound of turning pages, the person on the other end asked with confusion, “Shutong? Are you looking for me?”

Han Shutong hummed and then directly asked the purpose of the call, “What’s the situation with the variety show?”

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, then a faint question: “…Did Xiao Bai tell you?”

Coincidentally, to make reading the script easier, Han Shutong had put the phone on speaker and placed it on the sofa.

Luo Shuiqiu’s words went straight into Bai Mo’s ears.

Bai Mo shuddered and shouted into the phone, “Boss, let me explain! I didn’t do it on purpose, I just accidentally let it slip…”

By the end of her sentence, Bai Mo’s voice had dropped so low that Luo Shuiqiu couldn’t hear a single word clearly.

Luo Shuiqiu ignored Bai Mo, called out Han Shutong’s name, and said, “Listen to me—”

“Decline it.”

Han Shutong rejected her directly before Luo Shuiqiu could finish speaking.

Luo Shuiqiu was Han Shutong’s agent.

Han Shutong’s reaction was within Luo Shuiqiu’s expectations; otherwise, she wouldn’t have secretly accepted an invitation for a variety show on her behalf.

Luo Shuiqiu coughed slightly, planning to use a sob story to convince Han Shutong. “But Director Gao specifically called me to invite you to be a guest. He called me three or four times a day, showing great sincerity. Plus, didn’t you just finish filming a drama? Xiao Bai said you hadn’t fully stepped out of your character yet, so I thought of having you film a variety show. First, it could help you relax, and second, it would let fans see you outside of acting…”

Luo Shuiqiu persuaded her earnestly, like a worried mother. Aside from movie promotions, Han Shutong rarely appeared on variety shows, which often led her fans to privately message the studio, begging the company to arrange some for her.

It wasn’t that the company wouldn’t let Han Shutong do variety shows; it was that Han Shutong herself didn’t want to record them.

When this particular variety show came knocking, Luo Shuiqiu knew it was a good opportunity, so she accepted it behind Han Shutong’s back. She had planned to tell Han Shutong the day before filming started, forcing her to agree to record, but she never expected Bai Mo to let the secret slip early.

Luo Shuiqiu was completely panicked now.

“Shutong, listen to me—”

Luo Shuiqiu had just started speaking when she was interrupted.

“Boss, Sister Tong gave the phone back to me…” Bai Mo quietly told the phone.

“What does she mean?!”

Luo Shuiqiu knew exactly what Han Shutong meant.

Bai Mo knew too.

“Tong…”

Bai Mo had just opened her mouth when she heard an angry, frustrated shout from the other end: “Bai Mo, are you an idiot?! How could you let something like this slip? Do you want your salary docked? Why did I even hire you—”

“But Sister Tong was going to find out sooner or later. Does it matter when I told her?”

Luo Shuiqiu subconsciously said, “How can it be the same? What if Shutong thought things over and agreed to the variety show in a couple of days?”

Bai Mo gave an “uh” sound and said, “…That, that’s just what you think, Boss, isn’t it?”

A chill ran down Bai Mo’s neck. Only after she spoke did she realize what she had just said.

Immediately in the next second, Luo Shuiqiu’s chilling voice rang out, “Are you talking back to me?”

Bai Mo hastily replied that she wasn’t, then began to find another reason to explain.

However, Luo Shuiqiu’s casual mention of docking her salary ruined much of Bai Mo’s calm.

Their conversation drifted through the living room and into the kitchen.

Han Shutong was used to their arguing. She took a sip of water without changing her expression, leaned against the cabinet, and decided to wait until they hung up outside before coming out.

Ring.

The phone placed on the counter rang twice.

Han Shutong held the cup in one hand and picked up the phone with the other, looking down. A look of surprise flashed in her eyes when she saw the content displayed on the screen.

It was because the message came from her college dorm group chat, which hadn’t made a sound since graduation.

Han Shutong merely glanced at it and was about to put the phone back.

But with another ring, her hand froze in mid-air when she saw the familiar name.

A few seconds later, the phone was back in front of Han Shutong’s eyes.