The Most Popular Comedian

Rong Yuheng couldn’t bear to let Wen Zhecheng’s lifelong reputation be tarnished, so he had no choice but to type “tap tap” and explain to Lu Mingxuan:

He wasn’t hitting on me, it was just a misunderstanding. He just wanted to be my grandmother.

When Lu Mingxuan saw the word “he,” he didn’t pay much attention and thought Rong Yuheng had made a typo.

【Lu Mingxuan】: People these days are really strange, but you’re also quite delusional.

【Rong Yuheng】: …

He knew that no matter what he said to this grandson, it would inevitably end with mutual harm.

After exchanging heated words with Lu Mingxuan for about six or seven minutes, Zou Yi’s group finished their performance and returned to the backstage.

Rong Yuheng quickly left Lu Mingxuan and rushed over to offer his care, “Are you tired? Thirsty? Do you want me to peel the eggs for you?”

Zou Yi’s street dance routine was physically demanding, and he hadn’t completely recovered his breath after coming offstage. When he heard Rong Yuheng’s words, he almost couldn’t catch his breath.

“We don’t need the peeled eggs…”

Pu Zaixi, not understanding the concept of politeness, directly leaned on Rong Yuheng’s shoulder, resembling a wet sack turned inside out, with air constantly leaking from the opening, blowing into Rong Yuheng’s ear.

“So tired, huff, huff…”

“…” Rong Yuheng felt like his mind was filled with the sound of rushing wind, as if he had been stuffed into a deep cave.

“I’ll accompany you to the rest area for a while.”

“That works.” Pu Zaixi looked around and asked, “Where’s Shubai?”

Rong Yuheng also looked around but couldn’t see him. He remembered Wen Zhecheng saying that Shubai’s ranking was in a dangerous position, and for a moment, he couldn’t help but worry:

Was he hiding in some dark corner, crying where no one could see his vulnerability, wiping away his tears?

Zou Yi didn’t understand why Rong Yuheng suddenly became worried. In accordance with the fine traditions of the Chinese nation, he humbly sought clarification.

Rong Yuheng repeated Wen Zhecheng’s words.

After he finished speaking, an unspoken silence fell among the three.

In fact, Shubai’s strength had always been average, and he didn’t have the magical explosive power like Rong Yuheng. Coupled with his tendency to show off his wealth, the audience’s perception of him was mixed, neither particularly high nor low in popularity.

It was expected that he might be eliminated, but emotionally, Rong Yuheng and the others hoped that Shubai could make it to the end.

The collective silence ended with three synchronized sighs. With a sense of melancholy, they slowly made their way to the rest area.

Rong Yuheng’s tear ducts, which had recently been quite active, were once again triggered by sensitive emotions. Just the thought of Shubai possibly being in a corner somewhere, feeling downcast, made him uncontrollably want to shed empathetic tears…

The group arrived at the door of the rest area, enveloped in a cloud of sadness.

Pu Zaixi pressed down on the door handle and with a click, pushed the door open.

As soon as the door opened, they saw the person they had been discussing sitting inside, looking quite imposing.

There was no trace of desolation or feigned strength after vulnerability.

Shubai leaned back on the chair, like a king looking down upon the world, with a radiant expression and a sense of grandeur in his eyes.

That demeanor seemed as if he had already won the finals.

The three, who hadn’t fully recovered from their sadness, remained silent.

Seeing that their emotions seemed low, Shubai became a bit worried. “What’s wrong? Did Zou Yi and Pu Zaixi not perform well?”

Zou Yi said, “…No, they did great.”

Shubai let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I thought you guys were also in a dangerous position.”

The word “also” flowed smoothly, as if he had already accepted his predetermined fate.

Rong Yuheng choked up for a moment. Although he didn’t know what Shubai was triumphantly looking down upon, he still comforted him, “What Wen Zhecheng said may not be entirely correct. You might just make it to the end.”

Shubai, in a tolerant manner, ignored the vivid word “make it” and accepted his well-wishes. “Actually, I also know that my strength is average, neither high nor low in popularity. Wen Zhecheng’s assessment is very objective, and I’m prepared for it.”

Rong Yuheng thought that when Shubai said he was “prepared,” he meant he was mentally prepared. Before he had a chance to feel sorry for him, Shubai’s words took a turn, and an unparalleled radiance emanated from him.

“I’m ready to enter the film and television industry.”

Rong, Zou, and Pu all took a sharp intake of breath at the same time: So he was looking down upon the film and television world!

…

However, Shubai’s “film and television ambitions” did not come to fruition. As the performances of the ten groups of contestants concluded, the audience voting channel closed. After the mentors made their selections, Xi Lin announced the final results of each participant and the number of eliminations for this round.

Surprisingly, Shubai’s name was not on the list of eliminations. He narrowly made it through.

The group of Sand Sculptures, who had been preparing their emotions with trepidation, exclaimed in unison: No sadness in vain!

But they were also overjoyed!

On the way back, the four gathered together, trying to figure out the reason why Shubai managed to make it through. Zou Yi specifically found the replay of the qualifying round and watched the barrage comments and support messages in the voting section.

After some investigation, they finally found the key point: The disappointed viewers who had initially felt let down because Shubai and Rong Yuheng obscured their faces were all infuriated by a toxic fan’s comment that said, “Superficial, only looking at appearances.” In order to prove their depth, they all voted for the two of them!

As a result, Shubai, who had been on the verge of elimination, unexpectedly turned the tide.

Silence spread among the four. After a long while, Pu Zaixi clenched his fist and held it up to Shubai’s mouth.

“Player, I want to interview you about your feelings.”

Shubai stared at those lines of bright red toxic comments, his lips twitched for a moment, and after a long pause, he squeezed out a sentence:

“When adversity turns to prosperity.”

–

Back at the training center, another group of contestants was sent off as usual. The remaining fifteen contestants were called together by the director, Chen Li, to announce the format of the finals.

“As you all know, the finals will determine six spots for the debut group, so teamwork is also part of our assessment. You will be divided into three groups, with five members in each group, to prepare for the stage performance in the finals together.”

As soon as Chen Li said this, there was an uproar among the contestants. A five-member group performance had to strike a balance between not overshadowing one’s own presence and not letting one’s individual talents be buried. How could they allocate roles without fighting?

Chen Li raised his eyebrows and said, “I know some of you have objections, but objections are useless because I am the director.”

Everyone: …So annoying!

Chen Li paused for a moment and then continued, “In the future, even after debuting, you will face these kinds of issues. You need to understand the meaning of teamwork in advance. Even if you have great talent, if you can’t harmoniously coexist with the team, then the team will have no soul.”

The director’s team was highly efficient and assigned the groups according to the contestants’ characteristics on the same night that the rules were announced.

Rong Yuheng was assigned to the second group, along with Shan Qi, Pu Zaixi, Nan Minshan, and Yu Fu.

When Rong Yuheng saw the name “Yu Fu” on the list, he fell into a silence that lasted for a full ten seconds. After ten seconds, he reached out and…

Rubbing the Guanyin jade pendant on his chest, Rong Yuheng exhaled a breath of stale air:

Harmony… Team spirit… Friendly gazes.

In the second group, Shan Qi had the strongest abilities, and no one had any objections to him leading the group in composition and training.

After the groups were formed, each group began their respective training.

In the midst of the intense collaboration and practice day after day, Xu Sun’s call disrupted the tranquility once again.

But this time, he was just reminding Rong Yuheng to pay attention to the upcoming trial version of “Treasure Hunt Competition” that would air in a few days and to think about how to interpret his character after the show’s broadcast.

It was only then that Rong Yuheng remembered “Treasure Hunt Competition.”

As for his character… he had a sense of measure. He put it aside for now.

“Treasure Hunt Competition” was going to premiere, and the “sponsor daddies” naturally couldn’t miss it. After notifying each of them, Rong Yuheng suddenly caught sight of “Wen Zhecheng” on the communication page, second to last.

It seemed that Wen Zhecheng was quite concerned about his variety show. Rong Yuheng thought that even though the big film emperor might not have time to watch, he should at least inform him.

He composed a message.

[Rong Yuheng]: Grandma, your grandson’s “Treasure Hunt Competition” will be airing on Thursday~ [Sea Otter Cheers.jpg]

Wen Zhecheng had already joined the cast, so he was probably filming at the moment. It wasn’t until Rong Yuheng finished his training in the evening and returned to his dormitory that he received a reply from Wen Zhecheng.

[Wen Zhecheng]: Filming now. I’ll call you later, be good.

Rong Yuheng stared at the word “good” for a while, thinking that Wen Zhecheng was deeply immersed in the “grandma-grandson script,” which was not only in-character but also quite long-lasting. Truly worthy of being a film emperor.

[Rong Yuheng]: [Sea Otter Cute.jpg]

Due to the intense training during the day and the need to maintain a friendly mood to foster team spirit, he was already feeling a bit tired.

Rong Yuheng tossed his phone on the bedside and prepared to take a shower before collapsing on the bed to rest.

When he finished his shower and came out, steam still rising from his body, he heard Pu Zaixi calling him. “Your phone rang just now.”

Rong Yuheng thanked him and, wearing slippers, walked to the bedside where he saw a missed call invitation on the phone screen.

[Missed Call: Wen Zhecheng]

The call was from twenty minutes ago, and now it was already half past ten in the evening. Rong Yuheng didn’t know if Wen Zhecheng was resting, so he sent a message:

—Just finished showering, are you resting?

Not even a minute passed before he received a call invitation. Rong Yuheng walked outside and answered the call, hearing a calm exhale from the other end, along with faint sounds of equipment operating in the distant filming location.

Rong Yuheng was taken aback. “Are you still filming?”

Wen Zhecheng’s breathing had calmed down by now. It was very quiet around him, and his voice was exceptionally clear, with a deliberately lowered magnetic quality that vibrated through the earpiece.

“No, I finished filming my scenes for today. I stayed behind to watch their scenes so that it’ll be easier to match up tomorrow.”

“You are very hardworking.” Rong Yuheng exclaimed, then resumed the “grandma-grandson script,” “When you get older, you should rest early. Otherwise, your grandson will worry about you.”

Wen Zhecheng seemed to let out a stifled laugh on the other end, but it was very soft, and Rong Yuheng almost thought he had imagined it.

Wen Zhecheng said, “I understand. Thank you for caring about me. What time does ‘Treasure Hunt Competition’ air on Thursday?”

“At 6:30 PM. I want to watch it live,” Rong Yuheng said. “I just wanted to inform you.”

“Mhm, wait a moment,” Wen Zhecheng said, and there were rustling sounds on his end, as if he was searching for something. After a while, the phone came closer to his cheek, “I have scenes all day on Thursday, but I’m free on Friday night.”

Rong Yuheng hesitated, thinking he might have misheard, “You also want to watch?”

Even though he was so busy with filming, Wen Zhecheng could still find time to watch his variety show!

Wen Zhecheng’s voice was filled with an affectionate tone, “After all, it’s your first variety show as a grandson. We should have a sense of ceremony.”

Damn! Wen Zhecheng even called him “grandson”!

Rong Yuheng was successfully persuaded—after all, variety shows were more enjoyable when watched together with others.

“Then let’s watch it together on Friday. But if you’re busy or have something come up, just let me know. I don’t want to delay your important matters.”

“Okay,” Wen Zhecheng responded, and added, “I might be a bit late, but it won’t affect your rest. You wait for me.”

Rong Yuheng dutifully agreed, “I’ll wait for you no matter how late.”

Upon hearing those words, Wen Zhecheng’s heart was instantly filled with sweetness. He seemed to have completely forgotten what kind of script this was. All he could think about was connecting online and watching the variety show together.

And since a single episode of a variety show would last for at least an hour, it was essentially a more than one-hour long online connection between them!

Wen Zhecheng made up his mind. Over the next few days, he would thoroughly familiarize himself with the script and supervise the rest of the cast to do the same—no one should slow down the filming progress and jeopardize their online date!

…

After ending the call, Wen Zhecheng returned to the filming location. As soon as he entered, the crew keenly sensed a shift in the atmosphere.

Wen Zhecheng’s usually calm eyes now emitted sharp and intense gleams, fixedly staring at the two lead actors on set with scrutiny and criticism!

The crew members felt a surge of tension: What’s going on!

Pan Siyi, who played the female lead, was holding a copper basin to hand it over to Wei Xintian, the male lead on the other side. But as she turned her head, she collided with the substantial gaze from outside the scene. Startled, her hand trembled, and the copper basin fell to the ground with a “clang,” narrowly missing Wei Xintian’s foot.

Director Long Zheng furrowed his brows, about to stand up and give guidance, but before he could speak, a voice from beside him spoke faster than him.

Wen Zhecheng’s solemn voice pierced through half of the set, descending upon everyone, giving the impression that his words were not just for Pan Siyi to hear but for everyone present:

“Focus on acting, don’t get distracted. The progress of the production needs to be maintained by us together!”

Author’s note: Crew: This situation looks more like you’re single-handedly taking it upon yourself to maintain it!