APCF -Chapter 19 (1)

Qi Xingchen did not expect that even though he had tried hard to push Zhou Yu down and squeeze himself in, what he wanted to prevent from happening still failed to be prevented, and what was supposed to have happened still had to happen.

Was it possible that he still could not change the plot after all?

Zhou Yu was seen pulling a red RIMOWA Supreme co-branded suitcase in his left hand, a Gucci shoulder bag hanging from his right shoulder, dressed from head to toe in the Balenciaga men’s collection, pairing just perfectly with the dirty shoes on his feet.

He had to grudgingly admit that Zhou Yu’s looks and figure were really not bad, if not Qi Yuji would not have loved him to the point of madness.

Walking into the courtyard, Zhou Yu bowed while respectfully shaking hands with Director Zhao, who smiled: “His name is Zhou Yu, he is now a model under Noah. Bo Ye and Xingxing should know him, right?”

“…… Oh, yes.”

Bo Ye did not say anything, and Qi Xingchen just responded mechanically.

“At the same time, he is a kid that came from Qianzhou,” Director Zhao continued, “He is more familiar with this side of the country, so if there are any social customs or habits that anyone doesn’t understand, you can ask him.”

“That’s right, please give me lots of guidance for the following week.” Zhou Yu followed up.

Once the audience had gotten to know the fixed guests better in the first episode, it was common practice for variety programmes to start adding in new blood from the second episode onwards, to save the audience from aesthetic fatigue.

It was just that when choosing a temporary guest, they would usually have to choose someone who is more famous. For Zhou Yu to be able to come over this time, is certainly due to the existence of Qi Yuji’s involvement.

After the director’s introduction, the guests began to exchange pleasantries. Zhou Yu very politely shook each hand one by one, and he reached Tao Tao.

Tao Tao smiled lightly, “Hello, you can just call me Taotao.”

【In a spark of lightning, Zhou Yu was dazzled by Tao Tao’s smile.
Love emerged right at this moment, and Zhou Yu fell incorrigibly in love with Tao Tao】

…… This line was from the original text of 《Peach in the Night》. Qi Xingchen had a strong recollection of it.

And the image before his eyes had already overlapped with the original text; Zhou Yu looked at Tao Tao, his soul completely lost. It was just that in the original text, it took place during the first recording of the programme, and now it was taking place at the second stop of 《Budget Travel》.

Qi Xingchen gritted his teeth and hurriedly inserted himself between the two people, pretending to be familiar as he patted Zhou Yu’s arm, “Yu-ge, how could you not inform me before you came?”

Zhou Yu’s expression was bewildered. He didn’t have Qi Xingchen’s contact information, how could he inform him?
Immediately after, it dawned on him. Now that the camera was here, Qi Xingchen was probably trying to worm his way into being friends with him.

Ever since participating in 《Budget Travel》, Qi Xingchen’s popularity had skyrocketed. Often waking up from his dreams in the middle of the night, Zhou Yu always could not help but slip into reverie. What would have happened, if the one who had entered 《Budget Travel》at that time had been him?

He would certainly perform better than Qi Xingchen, right? He would have several millions of fans by now, right? He should have gotten hold of a role in a big platform web drama already, right? Maybe he could even be cast in a satellite television show, right?

It was Qi Xingchen who blocked his way, but fortunately, for the past few days, he had incessantly buttered Qi Yuji up, begging Qi Yuji to stuff him in by means of her guanxi.

Now, it was his turn to take revenge and set up a counterattack. Zhou Yu twisted his mouth into a smile and said snarkily “I was afraid that you were busy, hence I didn’t get in touch with you. Xingxing, long time no see ah.”

…

After welcoming the person, the second stop of the trip officially began, and the first priority was still finding accommodations.

Zhang Yunfei was still thinking of finding a local farming household to rent a courtyard, like what they did in Aunslev Village. Qi Xingchen stopped him, saying, “Yunfei-ge, let me try. Perhaps, there will be no need to spend money.”

“How are you going to do it?”

“Wait for me to go and chat with Zeng Er.”

With that, Qi Xingchen let the rest wait at the sidelines, then ran towards the courtyard of Zeng Er’s house.

As one of the villagers who could be entrusted with important guests when the village chief was not available, Old Zeng’s family was the wealthiest in Yangshan Village.
In the bright, spacious courtyard, brand new brick houses were built in the North, South, and West directions. The door opened towards the East, with two large yellow dogs that were fed till they were plump and strong at the doorway.

Qi Xingchen crossed over into the courtyard and nodded in satisfaction before calling out, “Uncle Zeng!”

“Aiyo,” Zeng Er had picked up the people and helped settle them down at the village chief’s office, then went home to feed the horses. Seeing Qi Xingchen and the cameras crashing in as one large group, he immediately set aside the fodder in his hands, “The leader is here lah!”

“I’m not the leader, you can just call me Xingxing,” Qi Xingchen smiled genuinely, “Uncle Zeng, I would like to discuss a matter with you.”

“What matter is it ah?”

“The seven of us guests came over in such a hurry that we have no place to stay. Can we lodge at your place for a few days?”

Zeng Er’s face promptly showed that he was at a loss. Although his house was big, his son and daughter-in-law were living with them. With so many people arriving at once, not only would it be inconvenient, they would also have to provide meals and such for more mouths, which would be too troublesome.

Qi Xingchen could see that Zeng Er had apprehensions, bringing over a small foldable stool and sat down next to Zeng Er. He adopted an attitude of confiding in him with entire sincerity: “Uncle Zeng, you know what we are here for, right?”

Zeng Er: “I know, it’s for shooting a programme mah.”

“Then you should also know why the village chief came to pick us up with great fanfare.”

Zeng Er nodded: “’Said that you all are strategic partners who can promote the development of the tourism industry and start renown farmhouses to become rich, and whatnot.”

“That’s precisely it, Uncle Zeng.”
Qi Xingchen moved closer to Zeng Er, lowering his voice. The following shot assistant could not record the audio, also drawing nearer to be next to Zeng Er.

Qi Xingchen whispered: “Do you think it was appropriate to toss such important guests like us in the office unattended?”

Zeng Er shook his head and said firmly, “It’s not appropriate.”

“Then ponder about it for a bit, why would the village chief rather throw us to the village office, than let you bring us to your home. Your home is certainly the best in the village, even bigger than the village chief’s courtyard. By right, it is the most suitable to receive guests, and also the best equipped to open a renowned farmhouse to earn money.”

Qi Xingchen emphasised the last two words “earn money” very clearly.