The Most Popular Comedian

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After the guests spread positive energy one by one, the entire recording for this episode came to an end. Backstage, they all had to change out of their wet clothes.

There were separate dressing rooms for men and women. Rong Yuheng took off the clothes provided by the program team and changed back into his own. As he put his hand into his pocket, he felt his phone.

Opening it, he saw messages from Xu Sun and two missed calls from his sons.

Rong Yuheng’s finger paused for a moment, then he opened WeChat. Except for the regular water group for the wealthy idiots and “STAR-T,” all the other chat boxes were silent.

“Rong Bao, zip up your jacket, it will get cold when we leave later,” Su Yuyin called to him, but noticed that he was absent-minded. “…Rong Rong, Little Treasure? Little Abalone? Little Clam??” Su Yuyin called him three times, and only then did Rong Yuheng turn back, seemingly slow, “Ah…?”

Su Yuyin was speechless. “Why are you acting like a little fool?”

“It’s nothing,” Rong Yuheng put his phone away and zipped up the jacket.

How strange, why hasn’t his cherished pet sent him any messages?

Since the recording lasted for several hours, he had informed Wen Zhecheng in the morning that he was going to record “Treasure Hunt,” but Wen Zhecheng had not replied.

…Rong Yuheng paused as he zipped up his jacket and suddenly couldn’t believe what he thought—could he be out of favor!?

If a pet was out of favor, it would truly become livestock!

At this moment, Rong Yuheng didn’t know that after Wen Zhecheng received his message, he was busy setting up a surprise and trying to create a coincidence. After everything was done, he got too excited on his own and completely forgot to reply.

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Rong Yuheng left the dressing room with mixed feelings and saw Yang Wen waiting at the door.

Yang Wen had a serious expression and immediately waved him over, saying, “Come here, Xiao Rong.”

Su Yuyin and Ji Yanchu saw the situation and left on their own. Rong Yuheng followed Yang Wen into his resting room, and the latter personally poured a cup of hot water and handed it over. “Sit down and warm your hands.”

“Thank you, Director Yang.”

Yang Wen sat on the sofa next to Rong Yuheng, frowned, and contemplated for a moment. Suddenly, he apologized, “I’m sorry, we indeed made a mistake when selecting the participants.”

Rong Yuheng knew he was referring to Liu Wanjing.

“It’s okay. I don’t know why he targeted me either.”

Yang Wen asked, “Think about who you have grudges with and what conflicts you’ve had.”

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Rong Yuheng began to count with his little claws…

Yang Wen saw that he couldn’t count them all with one hand and almost choked: Why are there so many!

Rong Yuheng counted again but couldn’t figure it out, so he asked, “Which company does Liu Wanjing belong to?”

“SH Entertainment.”

Rong Yuheng shook his head, still unable to make sense of it.

Yang Wen added, “The boss behind the scenes is Mai Xiang Yogurt.”

Rong Yuheng replied with a sound. He planned to ask Lu Mingxuan’s to investigate the source of this conflict. If there really was a problem, then someone must be responsible.

Yang Wen was now absolutely afraid to offend Rong Yuheng. Sometimes, he would worry about why this distinguished Golden Buddha came to the entertainment industry.

“We will replace Liu Wanjing, so don’t worry. You are a regular on this show, and without him, it will still have you,” Yang Wen comforted Rong Yuheng. Then, he sighed and said, “He’s really like a person who can’t stand on a wall. Originally, he was a second or third-tier host. I thought his hosting skills were decent, and he didn’t ask for a high fee, so I invited him. But unexpectedly, he would do something like this behind the scenes… Xiao Rong, you are one of us, so I’ll give you some insider information.”

Rong Yuheng listened attentively as he sipped his tea, “Go ahead, Director Yang.”

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Yang Wen said, “At first, I thought it was hard to say if our new program could become popular. Su Laoshi (Teacher Su) came to help me as a favor because we are good friends. When you joined, I didn’t expect such a good response, so I thought this show could make it into the top ten variety shows.”

Yang Wen leaned closer to Rong Yuheng and said, “But now I’m confident that we can make it to the top five. Do you know why?”

“…” Rong Yuheng realized that Yang Wen was also quite talkative, going on without getting to the point. Patiently, he asked, “Why?”

Yang Wen’s eyes couldn’t hide his excitement. “I just received news that Wen Zhecheng, Teacher Wen, is coming to our variety show!”

“Poof—” Rong Yuheng sprayed the tea he was drinking.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and turned aside, avoiding spraying Yang Wen in the face.

He patted his chest violently, coughing violently, “Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough…!!”

Yang Wen was rather pleased, “What do you think? Surprised, right?”

Rong Yuheng almost choked, “Cough, cough, cough…surprised, cough, cough, cough!!!”

To say he was happy was hard to say, but he was definitely surprised.

Rong Yuheng took a few more sips of tea and barely recovered. Then, he asked curiously, “Teacher Wen is coming? Will he be a regular or a guest?”

“His manager said that if he can’t be a regular, he’ll come for one episode. Why not? I hope he can come for every episode,” Yang Wen patted his thigh excitedly. “If Wen Teacher can fit it into his schedule, I’ll definitely make him a regular!”

Rong Yuheng lowered his gaze, murmuring in a subdued voice, “Oh…I didn’t know about this.”

Normally, good friends appearing on the same show would let each other know in advance. Moreover, they were a pet and their owner, so their relationship should be even closer—just like when Wen Zecheng said, “My pet.” There was always a sense of exclusivity in it.

Rong Yuheng, the hamster, held the cup with a grudge and knocked on it with his teeth… It seemed like he was out of favor!

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Yang Wen had no idea what he was thinking and continued, “Didn’t I tell you about this? We now have three regulars: Teacher Su, Teacher Wen, and you! Oh, our show is going to be explosive! After you finish recording the episode, your number of fans will definitely skyrocket!”

Rong Yuheng nodded slightly.

Let it skyrocket. Increase his value. He felt that his owner was almost losing interest in him.

…

Back in the dormitory from the program team, Rong Yuheng collapsed onto the bed.

For these few days, there was no need to record the album temporarily, and the members of STAR-T all had their individual jobs.

Huang Jianing was still asking in the group chat, “I’ll be back at seven tonight. Does anyone want anything?”

Rong Yuheng thought for a moment and replied, “Cake flour, glutinous rice flour, butter, and whipped cream.”

Huang Jianing replied with a question mark, “Are you changing careers?”

Rong Yuheng said, “I’m about to devolve into a different species.” From a pet to livestock.

Huang Jianing didn’t quite understand, but still kindly followed his request.

In the evening, only Huang Jianing and Bian Chen returned. Shan Qi and Zou Yi’s workload had always been more extensive, and they were still outside filming. As for Tang Ji, he belonged to the type that did things quietly and diligently, working as hard as Shan Qi, and often coming home late.

Huang Jianing put the ingredients in the kitchen, and Rong Yuheng sneaked in to prepare to make dessert.

Beating eggs, adding sugar, and pouring milk, Rong Yuheng was stirring when Huang Jianing approached, “What are you making?”

He didn’t lift his head, “Thousand Layer pastry.”- [another name of Mille Crepes]

“Oh, you can make this too?” Huang Jianing’s heart stirred when he heard “Thousand layer pastry.” It felt like he had overlooked some subtle connection.

Rong Yuheng said, “I learned western pastries when I was studying abroad.”

Huang Jianing’s attention was immediately diverted!

“Studied abroad? In pastry?” He widened his eyes, “No way? Your family… not that… you know…”

Rong Yuheng helplessly said, “I already said it before, my family is not bad.”

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” Huang Jianing kept stuttering for a long time. He was shocked and curious, “Really? Where did you study abroad? Why did others say that your family is not good?”

“In Y country, I came back in my junior year and went straight to the audition,” Rong Yuheng continued stirring, his calm tone sending ripples through Huang Jianing’s heart, “I don’t know how others came to that conclusion… If we really have to trace the roots, it’s all because of that Teacher Song’s stupid pot.”

Huang Jianing had seen the video of the auditions, and hearing what he said now, he fell into silence for half a minute. “I was completely misled when I saw it before. I never doubted it. Now that you mention it, it seems like you really never said that your family’s background was bad.”

By now, Rong Yuheng had finished mixing the egg and milk, and began to sift the flour. White powder dust fell on his face, making him look like a dessert ready to be eaten.

Rong Yuheng lifted his lips and blew on the powder on the tip of his nose, “People’s preconceived notions are like mountains. even Yu Gong can’t move them.”

“…” Huang Jianing didn’t know how to respond for a moment. He was still experiencing strong aftershocks. Going to study abroad in Y country and learning about Western pastries, judging from Rong Yuheng’s expression, it didn’t seem like some random university. Watching Rong Yuheng skillfully melt the butter over the water and mix it into the batter, the warm kitchen lights falling on Rong Yuheng’s serene profile, his temperament seemed genuinely gentle when he wasn’t speaking.

During a brief silence, Bian Chen suddenly entered the kitchen and stuck his head out from behind Rong Yuheng. “What are you doing?”

Rong Yuheng felt like hot air was blown into his ear, so he couldn’t help but turn his head away slightly. “Don’t blow my earwax into the batter; I made this for someone.”

“…” Bian Chen found that Rong Yuheng was becoming more and more vulgar in his speech.

Huang Jianing was shocked again. “I thought you were making it for yourself!”

“If it’s for myself, I’ll just order takeout. When making it for someone else, I want to do it by hand to show sincerity,” Rong Yuheng said.

Bian Chen poked him with his hand. “I was asking what it is.”

“Thousand-layer pastry,” Rong Yuheng answered.

Bian Chen furrowed his brows. “Thousand-layer… doesn’t that sound like the name of Wen Zhecheng’s fan group, ‘Thousand-Layer’?”

Rong Yuheng turned his head around in surprise. “Really?”

Now it was Bian Chen’s turn to be confused. “Don’t you know?”

He had just thought of the “Wen Zhecheng x Rong Yuheng” ship that appeared in “Ace Creator.” That was why he asked tentatively.

…Could it be that he was overthinking?

Rong Yuheng said, “I rarely pay attention to these things.”

“Alright.” Both Bian Chen and Huang Jianing knew the boundaries of being friends. Since Rong Yuheng didn’t say who it was for, they didn’t inquire further and went upstairs to rest after having some food.

Making thousand-layer pastry was troublesome because it required layering many sheets of dough and adding cream and mango pieces between each layer, stacking them together. Rong Yuheng worked on it until after eleven in the evening, and by the time his teammates returned, he had finished assembling the pastry and placed it in the refrigerator to chill.

He sent a message to Wen Zhecheng.

【Rong Yuheng】: I made a dessert for you, but it can’t be stored for too long. If you have time, I’ll bring it to you.

Initially, he wanted to address Wen Zhecheng as “Master,” but it felt awkward, so he deleted it.

After sending the message, Rong Yuheng went upstairs to wash up. When he came out, he saw three missed calls from Wen Zhecheng and a message in the WeChat conversation.

【Wen Zhecheng】: My little hamster knows how to repay his master. So obedient. Are you free tomorrow? I’ll come pick you up.

Rong Yuheng’s mood immediately brightened, and the slight discomfort in his heart was instantly smoothed away. He was still well-loved after all!

【Rong Yuheng】: I’m free, I’m free! Come and catch me quickly!

【Wen Zhecheng】: Call me when you wake up.

【Rong Yuheng】: Then I’ll sleep now. Master, good night~ [Sleepy sea otter.jpg]

【Wen Zhecheng】: Little cub, good night~ [Sleepy sea otter.jpg]

…

Wen Zhecheng hung up the phone and immediately sent a big red envelope to Qu Youhe.

【Qu Youhe】: ??

【Wen Zhecheng】: Can we change the schedule for tomorrow’s solo interview?

Qu Youhe’s eyes widened – it was almost midnight! Tomorrow was just around the corner, and Wen Zhecheng was bringing up this now? And he even added “么” to the question, trying to act cute. What is Wen Zhecheng up to?!!

【Qu Youhe】: Do you have something urgent?

【Wen Zhecheng】: Uh, yes, something came up, and I can’t leave. I can do it for free.

Qu Youhe was taken aback! His blood pressure was rising. In this industry, lesser-known stars have to pay for interviews, but Wen Zhecheng, a popular star, was offering to do it for free?

Wen Zhecheng even sent himself a red envelope of two thousand yuan, but Qu Youhe had no idea why he was doing this on the eve of the interview.

Qu Youhe immediately called Wen Zhecheng.

The call was answered, and Wen Zhecheng’s voice sounded slightly breathless.

Qu Youhe paused for a second, “Zhecheng, what are you doing?”

Wen Zhecheng’s voice revealed restrained excitement, “I’m boxing!”

“…”

Wen Zhecheng felt like he was about to burst with excitement. His little hamster had indeed made a heartfelt dessert for him and even said he would come over to see him!

Wen Zhecheng’s energy had nowhere to vent, so he started punching the air in the room.

Qu Youhe had gotten used to Wen Zhecheng’s occasional outbursts and could even play along, adjusting his mood to tease, “What’s the big deal? Are you going to take down a gang tomorrow? Why are you punching the air? Are you doing Wing Chun or Tai Chi?”

Wen Zhecheng put down his phone with a huff, turned on the loudspeaker, and with the usual sense of ceremony, struck a pose. His strong and well-defined arms looked smooth and beautiful. Despite that, his tone was somewhat playful, and Qu Youhe could hear the smugness in his voice even through the phone:

“I’m practicing military body boxing to keep fit!”

Author’s note: Wen Zhecheng: I heard everyone really wants to see me (boxing.gif)