Chapter 49.2
Editor: Jodi
The day after the livestream ended, a family of three arrived at the small mountain village to stay at the guesthouse and pick cherries.
The participating artists were thrilled. This was their first genuine customer, hence they busied themselves with preparing the guesthouse and cleaning.
The family of three took the local bus to the village, then were guided all the way to the guesthouse.
However the moment they entered the small building, they were taken aback.
The artists were standing on either side of the entrance, all of them dressed in perfectly tailored guesthouse uniforms, bowing enthusiastically and exaggeratedly in unison. “Guests, welcome!”
With handsome men and beautiful women lined up respectfully, it looked like they had entered some kind of exclusive, secret club.
The family of three was a bit startled, nodding awkwardly as they quickly passed by to check in.
Although their initial enthusiasm scared the first customers, the artists gradually found their rhythm as more tourists came to stay at the guesthouse.
Each person’s role was clearly defined: Shao Jinhuan was in charge of room management and handling customer complaints, while Shen Ci was responsible for guiding guests to the corresponding farmers to pick cherries.
And with his sweet talk and good looks, Shen Ci easily bridged the gap between the guests and the local farmers.
Initially, when there were fewer tourists, Shen Ci could still sit by the cherry trees, watch, or help guests pick cherries.
However as word spread and more tourists arrived, he had to focus solely on being a guide.
After several trips, Shen Ci became familiar with the local farmers, who often gifted him fruit. Sometimes, they even argued over whose fruit Xiao Shen would take that day.
“…..” ‘There’s really no need’, was something Shen Ci found himself saying a lot.
Thanks to the buzz from the livestream and hot searches on Weibo, the small guesthouse was fully booked within two days, making it so that the production team had to announce on their official Weibo that future guests would need to book at least half a week in advance.
**
“…Ah, sure enough, he’s even cuter in person.” A few young girls chirped as they followed Shen Ci, snapping photos of his back.
Shen Ci immediately knew they were his fans and so turned to smile, “Would you like a photo together?”
Excited, his fans nodded hurriedly.
Shen Ci’s simple, rustic attire, and even the bit of dirt on his face only made him look more cute and authentic to the girls, who excitedly asked if they could post the photos online.
Naturally, Shen Ci agreed with a smile— he always spoiled his fans.
That night, the photo went viral, topping the hot searches once again.
However this time there were many negative comments beneath the post.
“Can we stop seeing this vase on the hot search every day? It’s so annoying, so annoying!”
“Even as a casual passerby, I’m sick of it. If you don’t have any real work to show, then stop flaunting your face all the time, okay?”
“He just relies on his good looks, who knows how he managed to attract so many fans? Is it that he slept with them all to keep them loyal?”
“……”
The wave of negative comments and water army attacks was overwhelming, drowning out the positive comments from his fans.
Brother Zhang was caught off guard when Shen Ci who was still participating in the variety show suddenly became the target of online abuse. He immediately contacted Yunxiao’s PR team.
The other artists also stopped their work to comfort Shen Ci, then picked their phones up angrily to defend him.
And unlike their previous teasing, this time they were genuinely concerned.
Shen Ci scrolled through the hot search, seeing many friends speaking up for him.
Cheng Yun: “If you don’t know him, then don’t make baseless accusations! All of us who spend time with Xiao Ci adore him!”
Wei Shuo: “This is infuriating. Xiao Ci’s SB illness is acting up again! Some keyboard warriors need to stop seeking attention!”
Shao Jinhuan: “Is it fun to slander him?”
Many others spoke up as well, however it was of no use— Shen Ci was still being scolded harshly.
The main issue was that the haters were attacking Shen Ci as a “vase with no talent”, and his friends couldn’t provide solid evidence to silence them.
Shen Ci was a little sad. He was used to joking about being a “vase” or being”useless”, but hearing these words as insults from others was painful.
Flying Pig: “So many foul-mouthed trolls, I’m really speechless! Just wait until ‘Neighborhood Sunshine and You’ airs in a few days. Xiao Shen’s performance will definitely slap you in the faces!”
This statement caused a stir, drawing attention from the public. Gossip-hungry netizens flocked to the topic, curious about the sudden announcement as well as Director Zhu Fei’s praise for “Xiao Shen’s performance”. Just how good was Shen Ci’s performance?
Shen Ci was also a little surprised. The school drama was still at least two months away from passing review and airing, so how come….. it had suddenly passed the review so quickly?
Moreover, the fact that the director himself spoke out for him caught him off guard.
This development momentarily calmed the haters, and the aggressive posts were slightly suppressed.
Soon, Yunxiao Entertainment’s official Weibo account also posted an announcement.
“Everything will be revealed in three days. The truth speaks the loudest.”
Shen Ci: “Brother Zhang… is the show really going to air suddenly?”
“Yes.” Brother Zhang leaned in close, whispering in his ear, “Your little uncle pulled some strings.”
Little Uncle…
Shen Ci sighed as he bit his lip, “I’ve troubled him again. He’s been so busy with work lately, it really shouldn’t be like this.”
Brother Zhang smiled, showing him the hot search trends. “You just focused on your own post and missed these?”
He pointed to another trending hot search topic, “Yunxiao Group’s Acquisition”. Shen Ci clicked on it and saw many familiar names.
The news reported that Yunxiao had simultaneously acquired four major companies, whose chairmen were imprisoned for reasons like “concealing worker deaths” and the like. The most notable part was that all these people had surnames starting with “Lu”.
Shen Ci recognized these names—they were relatives of Lu Xiao from when his family was still intact.
According to his parents, Lu Xiao’s parents’ deaths were caused by these people, who had always coveted the vast Lu family fortune.
What’s more Wei Shuo had also told him that Lu Xiao was fighting this group. Now it seemed… it was over?
Shen Ci felt a surge of happiness— this meant Lu Xiao wouldn’t have to work overtime anymore!
And that Sister Jiaxi also wouldn’t need to be by his side every day for work.
Feeling much lighter, he was about to call Lu Xiao when his phone rang—it was Lu Xiao.
Was this what they called “two hearts linked as one”?
Smiling, he pursed his lips as he answered, “Hello? Little Uncle!”
Lu Xiao’s deep, steady voice came through, “Xiao Ci, don’t worry about what’s going on online.”
Shen Ci nodded. It was only after he was done that he realized he couldn’t see him, so he added hurriedly, “With Little Uncle backing me, of course I’m not worried!”
And seemingly pleased by this response, Lu Xiao chuckled softly.
“But I’m a little worried about you…”
“So I’ll come to stay at your guesthouse tomorrow. Make sure you reserve a room for me.”
Shen Ci was dazed, “…..What?”
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