CH 36.2

After listening to Xiao Lu’s explanation, Su Chengyang didn’t think much of it. No matter who the guest celebrity was, it didn’t affect her.

After a half-hour break, the staff knocked on their door and reminded them to prepare as they were ready to start filming.

When Su Chengyang and Xiao Lu packed up and left their room, everyone else was already prepared and walking towards the gathering point one by one.

After arriving at the destination, Tan Qi saw that everyone had gathered and said to them, “Sorry, I have to go back.”

Su Chengyang was stunned, with a look of confusion.

Wasn’t the situation much better than expected? Why leave?

“Sister! I looked it up, netizens aren’t criticizing you for your divorce. At most, they just say that your brain doesn’t work well, so you don’t need to quit!” Han Songxue looked nervous, and it was clear that she was worried about Tan Qi, although what she said was a bit unpleasant.

Su Chengyang sighed helplessly and quickly walked behind Han Songxue, without saying a word, covered her mouth and nose and dragged her back. She smiled apologetically at Tan Qi and said, “Sorry, she has no brain.”

Han Songxue also realized that she had said the wrong thing and obediently let Su Chengyang drag her to the other side, standing silently by her side.

“Sister, do you really want to quit?”

“I don’t think it’s necessary.”

The others were clearly aware of the online response to this matter and were trying to persuade Tan Qi.

Tan Qi smiled and said, “What are you thinking? I didn’t say I was quitting. How could I not want a free trip? I just want to go back and make a statement. I don’t want to delay any longer. I don’t want to continue being called brainless.”

The others suddenly understood, and their nervous emotions immediately relaxed.

Perhaps because they were all a group of small-time entertainers with little self-interest, appearing on the show was just a way to make some friends. They genuinely cared about Tan Qi and listened to her words, and a smile appeared on their faces.

After greeting everyone, Tan Qi left by car.

Although Tan Qi temporarily left, the program recording had to continue.

At this time, the program team gathered them together, which must have something to do with dinner.

As it turned out, Su Chengyang guessed correctly. Just after Tan Qi left, the program team took them into a room.

The assistant director held a megaphone as usual and shouted at them: “As you all know, the program team is tight on budget. The hot pot you ate at lunch has already used up the funds we prepared for the next two days. So, for tonight’s dinner and the funds to go to the next destination tomorrow, you have to prepare it yourselves.”

Su Chengyang looked around the room and saw a mess of props scattered everywhere.

She asked very seriously, “Are you planning to make us beg, pick up trash, or rob?”

Qi Fu hurriedly said, “I will never do anything illegal, and neither should you. Otherwise, I will report you.”

The program team: “…”

The assistant director rolled his eyes and said, “How exaggerated. Didn’t we prepare something for you? Look, the things in the room are your equipment.”

“I know you’re poor, but do you have to be this poor? Where did you pick up these things from? the garbage can?”

The assistant director said, “Your task tonight is to turn trash into treasure and then sell it at the night market. Since Tan Qi has temporarily left the program, you will be in teams of two, and you must dress up and disguise yourself so that passersby cannot recognize you. Otherwise, no matter how bad your product is, someone will buy it, which does not reflect the true meaning of turning trash into treasure. And…”

“Come on! You come here and turn this pile of stuff into treasure. Tell me honestly, if these things were in front of you, would you buy them? Isn’t that wicked?” Han Songxue looked at him in disbelief.

The assistant director gave her a sideways glance and said, “Can you let me finish my words?”

“You say it, but if you don’t give me a satisfactory answer, we’re not finished,” Han Songxue replied.

The assistant director rolled his eyes. This group of guests was the most difficult he had ever dealt with.

“Moreover, the items you sell based on your own abilities, regardless of the selling price, will ultimately be refunded by the program team to the buyers. Of course, the selling price cannot exceed the value of the item too much, otherwise it will be regarded as an unscrupulous merchant and disqualified from selling. In addition, guests who are recognized by passersby will also be disqualified from selling and will need to earn their food and travel expenses by performing.”

Upon hearing this, everyone quieted down.

Selling this pile of junk as treasure, refunding the money to the buyers with the program team’s funds, is not considered cheating and they can also get food and travel expenses, which is reasonable. However, if they are disqualified from selling, they must perform…

Jiang Shanqi frowned and asked, “How do we perform?”

The assistant director said, “Singing, dancing, telling jokes? You can also do acrobatics.”

“NO.”

“Refuse.”

“If two people are in a group and one of them is recognized, will the other one be affected too?”

The assistant director nodded: “Yes.”

Everyone looked at each other and, without coordination, took a few steps to the side, leaving an empty spot next to Su Chengyang.

Su Chengyang’s popularity on Weibo is very high these days, almost rivalling some of the new budding actresses. Being paired with her carries a significant risk of being recognized.

Su Chengyang looked at the group of people expressionlessly.

Among them, Han Songxue, who had recently pledged to stick with her, shrunk back the fastest.

When Su Chengyang’s gaze fell on her, Han Songxue immediately looked guilty and turned her eyes to the other side.

The assistant director, who liked to stir things up, saw the group’s reluctance to pair up with Su Chengyang and said directly, “Well then, Chengyang, you can choose your partner first, and the selected guest cannot object.”

Upon hearing this, Su Chengyang gave Han Songxue a seemingly smiling glance.

Han Songxue: “…”

It’s not an exaggeration to say that in that instant, cold sweat broke out on Han Songxue.

Su Chengyang’s gaze lingered on her for a few rounds, and Han Songxue was both hopeful and fearful.

If Chengyang chose her, it would mean that she had the best relationship with Chengyang on the show. If she didn’t choose her, the risk of being recognized during the show would be slightly lower.

But what does it matter if we get recognized? It’s not just me who will be embarrassed, let’s just die!

Han Songxue gritted her teeth and was about to step forward and volunteer when Su Chengyang’s gaze drifted past her face and landed on Jiang Shanqi.

Jiang Shanqi met Su Chengyang’s eyes without flinching, appearing indifferent.

Su Chengyang turned her head to the assistant director and said, “I choose Shanqi.”

Jiang Shanqi wasn’t surprised and walked over to Su Chengyang’s side. Although her face was expressionless, she didn’t seem to mind being on the same team as Su Chengyang.

Han Songxue was stunned and looked incredulously at Jiang Shanqi who had walked to Su Chengyang’s right side, feeling devastated.

Su Chengyang’s best friend wasn’t her?! How could that be…this can’t be…waaahh…this can’t be…

Jiang Shanqi seemed to sense Han Songxue’s gaze and gave her a casual glance, followed by a victorious smile.

Han Songxue: “…”

Damn it! This makes me so angry!

In the end, the guests were divided into four groups: Su Chengyang and Jiang Shanqi, Han Songxue and Qi Fu, Song Mingan and Shen Fu, and He Xu and Qin You.

After the groups were determined, the program team gave the guests some time to prepare. During this time, Su Chengyang was called aside by the assistant director.

Su Chengyang instructed Jiang Shanqi to find more items in the scrap that children might like, and then left the room with the assistant director.

In the corridor, there was no one around.

Su Chengyang asked, “Assistant Director, what do you want to talk to me about?”

The assistant director looked a bit embarrassed and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Starting from this episode, we will invite a celebrity guest. You should know about it, right?”

Su Chengyang nodded, “I heard from Xiao Lu.”

The assistant director sighed and said, “I think I should tell you in advance. Do you know where Tian Rong is from?”

Tian Rong? Su Chengyang was stunned for a moment. Wasn’t she Yang Xiuyi’s girlfriend?

“I don’t know. What’s going on?” Su Chengyang looked puzzled, but quickly realized, “Is she the celebrity guest that the program team invited?”

The assistant director sighed silently, “Her hometown is in Sichuan, a small place. They heard that we are coming there to film the program, to boost the local economy. In addition, the first two episodes of the program had good ratings, so her agency spent some money to bring her here.”

After listening, Su Chengyang fell silent for a moment and asked, “Does Manager Lin know about this?”

The assistant director shook his head, “This is a last-minute decision and we haven’t had a chance to tell him yet.”

As a young actress with few representative works, it was normal for Tian Rong to participate in variety shows to increase her exposure, especially since the first two episodes of had received good reviews and successfully promoted tourist attractions. Her participation in the program would also earn her some popularity in her hometown.

However, if she and Tian Rong appear on the same variety show, it is bound to cause controversy. This is not necessarily a bad thing for the program, but it is not a good thing for Su Chengyang and Tian Rong. Bringing up old issues will not benefit either of them, so Su Chengyang doesn’t quite understand why Tian Rong agreed to participate in the show.

Nevertheless, this is ultimately the decision of the program team, and Su Chengyang has no right to interfere. Moreover, Tian Rong doesn’t care, so what does she care about? In the end, they are the ones who are in the wrong, not herself.

Su Chengyang didn’t say anything and nodded in agreement.

“I’ll talk to Mr. Lin about it and prepare yourself mentally.”

“Okay, then I’ll go back first.”

Su Chengyang turned and walked back to the room where a group of people were rummaging through piles of junk to find useful things.

Seeing Su Chengyang come in, Han Songxue immediately crowded around her, asking curiously, “What did the assistant director ask you to do? Did he want you to change your teammate? I think I’m pretty good.”

Su Chengyang hadn’t forgotten how she had avoided her before and tugged at the corner of her mouth, “No change.”

Han Songxue’s face fell, “Oh.”

Su Chengyang pushed her gently, “Go find something useful.”

Returning to Jiang Shanqi’s side, she stood among a pile of broken toys, looking at Su Chengyang with a puzzled expression, “Are you sure these children’s things can really be sold?”

Su Chengyang nodded. “Of course.”

Jiang Shanqi still looked skeptical.

Su Chengyang squatted down and rummaged through the pile of toys for something decent, realizing that these were probably bought by the program team and were useless parts, but put together they were brand new and complete, and not difficult to find.

While Su Chengyang was assembling the toy, she said to Jiang Shanqi, “Usually, parents bring their children to these kinds of places. If the child wants to buy a toy and it’s not too expensive, they’ll usually get it by whining to their parents.”

Jiang Shanqi squatted down half-believingly and helped her assemble the toy.

Su Chengyang continued, “And only young children don’t care about the quality of the toys. They get bored of playing with them in just a couple of days and want to buy new ones. That’s why toys for kids sell better than other things.”

Jiang Shanqi nodded, somewhat understanding. “You know quite a lot about this.”

“I used to sell things when I was a kid, and on Valentine’s Day, I sold flowers. I was rarely rejected, but there were some people with bad temper who would chase you away.”

Jiang Shanqi had never experienced anything like this before and was very curious about Su Chengyang’s description, so she worked harder on the toy.

“Songxue, what are you looking at?”

Qi Fu held a few scarves and looked at Han Songxue with suspicion.

Han Songxue stood still, looking at Su Chengyang and Jiang Shanqi who were chatting and laughing not far away, feeling a bit sad. It’s more fun to be with Chengyang.

Song Mingan passed behind her and sighed, “What can we do? It seems like Chengyang and Shanqi have a better relationship.”

Han Songxue turned her head and glared at him, “Mind your own business.”

Song Mingan turned around and said, “Assistant Director, someone here is using foul language. I suggest deducting their pay.”

During this period, under the beatings of Han Songxue and Su Chengyang, Song Mingan would occasionally use strange words and tones.

Han Songxue gave him a cold look and went to collect scarves with Qi Fu.

Tomorrow, their travel expenses will be two hundred yuan, and with tonight’s dinner expenses, they all agreed that earning three hundred yuan would be enough.

After organizing their merchandise, they began the segment of guests dressing up in costumes.

Because if they were recognized, they would have to perform in front of everyone, so everyone dressed up very seriously.

Su Chengyang’s popularity online has been very high these days. She deliberately wore a male wig, a slightly masculine hoodie, and dark jeans. She buttoned a duckbill cap and a mask and even put in a height insoles in her shoes. She looked like a young man.

Jiang Shanqi is a little shorter than Su Chengyang. She wore a plain light blue denim jacket, with her hair loose behind her head and no makeup on her face. She wore a super large black frame glasses and had a mole on her lips.

The two stood closer together, looking like an ordinary young couple.

Su Chengyang was fixing her wig in front of the mirror and asked, “Can you tell?”

Jiang Shanqi glanced at her and said, “You just showing your eyes, and you even put on men’s eye makeup. It’s weird if people can tell.”

“That’s good.”

After organizing her things, Su Chengyang glanced at Jiang Shanqi and immediately noticed that her accessories were shining brightly. She asked, “How much is your earrings?”

Jiang Shanqi was confused, “Around 70,000 yuan.”

“What about the necklace?”

“The necklace costs almost 300,000 yuan.”

“And the watch?”

“It’s a new model this year, costing over 5 million yuan. Do you like it? It’s a limited edition and probably sold out by now.”

Su Chengyang hesitated for a moment, “Are you planning to wear 6 million yuan worth of equipment to sell toys for 20 yuan each at a roadside stand?”

Jiang Shanqi remained silent.

In the end, Jiang Shanqi took off all her jewelry and handed it over to her manager.

“Is this okay?” Jiang Shanqi looked uncomfortable without her usual accessories.

“It’s fine.”

The two left the room one after the other and happened to run into Han Songxue in disguised.

Han Songxue couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw Su Chengyang and the other person. She pointed at Jiang Shanqi, then at Su Chengyang, and finally fixed her gaze on Jiang Shanqi, lowering her voice and saying, “You’re still filming the show, how dare you? What if you get exposed?”

Jiang Shanqi could tell from her expression that she was thinking the wrong thing, but she didn’t bother to explain and just rolled her eyes at her.

Su Chengyang took off his mask and said helplessly, “It’s me.”

Han Songxue looked even more shocked, “Su Chengyang? You? How did you get taller?”

“I added some height insoles, but judging by your reaction, my disguise was very successful and I shouldn’t be recognized.”

Han Songxue pursed her lips and didn’t say anything.

Su Chengyang lightly pinched her face and said, “You’re despising me.”

Han Songxue’s expression dimmed and she said, “Then wouldn’t I be…”

Su Chengyang held her shoulders and smiled, “Alright, it’s getting late, let’s go.”

When Su Chengyang and his group arrived at the night market, the roads on both sides were filled with stalls, and there were no good spots left.

The staff hid the cameras nearby, unnoticed by passersby, and each guest’s stall also had hidden cameras. They also had invisible receivers on them.

Su Chengyang was the only experienced person among them. She led Jiang Shanqi into the night market and passed by several places where they could set up stalls, but didn’t stop.

When they passed by a place with food trucks on both sides, Jiang Shanqi asked if they should set up there, but Su Chengyang shook her head and said, “No.”

Before she could finish her sentence, Han Songxue, who was quick-witted, rushed forward with Qi Fu and occupied the space between two food trucks. In the end, she even showed a victorious expression to Su Chengyang.

Jiang Shanqi let out a sigh, “It’s gone. They took it. This place is densely populated, so it should be fine.”

Su Chengyang was very calm and said, “How many people do you think will buy scarves in the snack street? Let’s go find a suitable place.”

Typically, night markets are divided into several areas, such as snacks and clothing, plants and birds, and places that sell pets, where there will be more children.

Finally, Su Chengyang and Jiang Shanqi arrived at the street that sells small pets and saw an empty space next to it, so they just moved their things there.

Their combination was very common in the night market and wouldn’t attract attention. After setting up the stall, Su Chengyang wrapped the colorful lights she bought last time around the stall, creating a warm atmosphere, and then she and Jiang Shanqi started to play with the toys.

It seemed that everyone else was on the other street, and they didn’t know how the situation was there.

Soon, two children came to their toy stall.

“Hello, children. Do you like any of these toys?” Su Chengyang greeted the two children and deliberately lowered her voice.

One of the children pointed to a toy car on the stall and asked, “How much is this car1?”

Su Chengyang was taken aback and looked at Jiang Shanqi, “What, what did he say?”