Chapter 286: Chapter 286: 203: Taking the Royal Sister to Riverside Barbecue, Meeting the Fan Circle Leader Siblings_3

“Good,” she smiled, her eyes warm and tender.

After a while, Xu Qingyan came over and broke the harmonious atmosphere of idol and fans feeling like one family.

“Hey, the skewers are all crooked.”

“They’re not crooked, Sister Pei did them really well,” Zhou Lili joined in, my eyes are the measure, blatantly blowing smoke.

“How can you say they’re not crooked? They’re lopsided, these shrimps have met a terrible fate in their old age,” Xu Qingyan, as always, had nothing nice to say, coming over and officiously barking orders.

Pei Muchan turned her head to look at him, puffing her cheeks slightly at an angle others couldn’t see, and stared at him.

Xu Qingyan was startled for a moment then swallowed hard. Seeing the rare expression on Pei Muchan’s face, he suddenly lost his words and could only continue to fuss over the barbecue.

The dining table was placed upwind. Zhou Mian took charge of the grilling, serving skewers to the three eaters. Standing there with a white towel around his neck, he looked like the “Little Master Chef of China.”

The three were only responsible for eating. With Zhou Lili and Xu Qingyan around, the atmosphere was guaranteed not to fall silent. The two went back and forth like a comedy duo, tit for tat.

Midway through the conversation and after drinking a cup of tea, Zhou Lili suddenly said.

“Brother Xu, I’m your diehard fan.”

Coughing, Xu Qingyan choked on his tea, turning back to stare at her.

“Why on earth would you be a fan of me?”

Zhou Mian, grilling to the side, smirked as though to say, “See?”

“Not only am I a fan of Brother Xu, I’m also a fan of Sister Pei. I really like Zhouzhou’s songs, and, and…” she counted on her fingers, listing them one by one.

“Who would’ve thought, people good at studying really do excel at everything,” he said, biting into a grilled meat skewer, grease at the corner of his mouth, casually accepting the tissue Pei Muchan passed to him.

“You have talents that would make you a legend in the fan circles!”

“Brother Xu, I suspect you’re insinuating something,” Zhou Lili said, a full head of black lines finally beginning to understand what her older cousin had meant on the road—that following stars would make her suffer.

He looked so good, why did he have to be so mouthy.

“Okay, that’s enough grilling, we have plenty to eat,” Xu Qingyan called Zhou Mian over to join them, standing up and walking toward the grill, “I’ll take over for you.”

Zhou Mian didn’t object, wiping his apron and stepping aside.

Not far away, Pei Muchan also stood up, carrying a small cup of hot tea. She stood next to the barbecue, looking curiously at Xu Qingyan grilling the meat.

“How come you’re so skilled?”

“Of course, it’s all practice. You see, this meat has got to turn into…” Xu Qingyan patiently taught her, and then made room for Pei Muchan to have a go at grilling.

After it got burned, he stood off to the side and mercilessly mocked her, and the area around the grill became rowdy.

“Brother Xu and Pei… they have such a good relationship,” Zhou Lili sat at the dining table, her head propped up by her hand and musing, “Really, now I’m starting to believe that there’s no script in romance reality shows.”

“`

“Psh, there was never a script to begin with,” Zhou Mian took a sip of his iced cola, casting a sidelong glance at his cousin, “improvisation is always better than any script.”

“After ‘Falling in Love’, how come Brother Xu and Sister Pei’s relationship is still so good?” Zhou Lili tilted her head, “Bro, logically speaking, after a love variety show, you either date or go your separate ways.”

“What’s the status between Brother Xu and Sister Pei?”

“Who knows, they’re probably just cooperating,” Zhou Mian mumbled through a mouthful of skewered meat, “We don’t understand the world of big shots, who knows if he’s writing songs or what.”

After grilling for a while, the two came over with prominently mismatched plates of barbecue and sat down to eat together.

While they were chatting, Pei Muchan’s phone rang. She glanced at it and gestured to Xu Qingyan that she was going to answer the call. He nodded and watched her walk aside.

Suddenly, with only the three of them left at the barbecue table, Xu Qingyan’s smile faded and he looked at Zhou Mian, furrowing his brow to reveal the true purpose of today’s gathering.

“Are you familiar with Xiliang Band?”

The question hit right in Zhou Lili’s area of expertise; she was a big-time leader in the fan community. But since Xu Qingyan was addressing her older cousin, she held back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

“Somewhat familiar, I’ve worked with them before on a music video,” Zhou Mian said, putting down his skewer and speaking seriously, as if he had been prepared.

“They have a strong fan base, which is also why they have not fallen despite their numerous scandals. As for the specifics, my sister knows more about this area.”

Xu Qingyan: “Your sister?”

Zhou Mian: “…..”

“She’s in university now, but started getting involved in fan circles behind her parents’ backs in high school,” Zhou Mian said nonchalantly, his lips moving with ease as he began spilling his cousin’s secrets.

“In her first year, she spent her pocket money to vote for her idol, blew through thirty thousand yuan, and got a harsh scolding. In the end, the idol she supported got ruined by manipulating fans and faded out not long after debuting.”

“You!!” Zhou Lili trembled with shock at her cousin’s betrayal, relieved Sister Pei wasn’t there, “You have the nerve to talk, Zhou Mian, you tipped a female streamer in university, and almost got scammed at a hotel with a ‘fairy jump’.”

“Hey hey hey, you—,” Zhou Mian interrupted his cousin with an embarrassed face, “Silence is golden. Let’s all speak less and value harmony.”

Xu Qingyan listened on the side with an expression that said he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. These siblings not only had money, but were also generous with it. It seemed he had indeed approached the right people, experts in their field.

Seizing the moment while Pei Muchan was away, he asked urgently.@@novelbin@@

“So, Xiliang’s fans have strong cohesion?”

“Yeah, going to the comment section of their rivals and cursing is considered normal,” Zhou Lili began her rundown as if she had a wealth of knowledge on the subject, “Organizing blast campaigns in group chats and exposing each other’s dark secrets are their signature moves.”

“Hiring marketers to write smear posts?” Xu Qingyan asked, drawing on his own partial experience of being smeared.

“That’s one method, but it’s not very aggressive and can be easily seen through,” Zhou Lili explained, “The fan circle’s infighting has long since updated its tactics.”

“Their habitual tactics include slaughtering trending topics with the rivals’ unflattering photos and dark secrets, and opening analysis threads with short essays to conclude how sinister the other party is.”

“Ah? Using Xuan Ting School tactics?”

“`

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