Chapter 36 - Horror Variety (1) (1/2)

When he heard that Cheng Ling Ling had fallen down the stairs, Cheng Zhi Chu was originally very worried. He wanted to rush home immediately but his mum reassured him that she wasn’t very seriously hurt and was just calling him to let him know. She also reminded him to attend class properly and that it is fine to just come home on the weekend.

Too many things had happened on this day. Cheng Zhi Chu felt tired to the point of death. He returned to his dormitory and called to ask his roommates how they were going. Only when he confirmed that nothing else had happened at the hospital, he was able to fall back into his bed and fall asleep.

Fortunately, it looked like his luck had returned back to normal over the next few days. He didn’t encounter any lucky situations, nor did he encounter any unlucky situations. Like this, the days passed by quite peacefully.

Like the silver coin had disappeared, it never spoke up again, no longer appeared in his dreams and it didn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was stored in his games’ storage space, Cheng Zhi Chu would have thought that he had lost it.

………..Did its’ feelings get hurt?

Faced with the silver coin’s silence, Cheng Zhi Chu couldn’t help but have this thought.

It had originally appeared to entice and trick him into thinking that it could bring him good luck but the result was that, in less than a day, that bogus good luck that it had promised was quickly broken and it had even turned into misfortune.

At first, Cheng Zhi Chu thought that this silver coin had brought him bad luck but, after seeing it fall silent for the past few days, it seems like it wasn’t something of its own doing. Afterall, it had not yet achieved its purpose of deceiving him and it wasn’t the right time to strike.

So his eventual conclusion was……….His own bad luck was something that couldn’t be reversed even with the coins strange power.

This thought only made Cheng Zhi Chu even more determined not to use the silver coin. Although he had the intention not to use it from the very beginning, what happened over the past few days just gave him a clear reminder.

【 Actually, I don’t think that this is necessarily a bad thing. ]

The system said: 【 All those misfortunes that you encountered would balance out with the good luck that came out of nowhere. Like this, you wouldn’t have to worry about something unlucky suddenly affecting you in the future. If all these misfortunes added up together, it may likely result in your death. ]

[You’re right.]

Cheng Zhi Chu nodded his head in agreement. He then thought: [But there’s one more thing that I haven’t figured out yet. My sister can’t go to Ji Yun Xiao’s variety how and I would need to go in her stead. Is that good or bad luck for me?]

【 That…….For a fan, it would naturally be good luck but you’re not Ji Yun Xiao’s fan, so I’m also not to sure if it’s good or bad. ] The system wasn’t certain.

[Then I won’t worry about it.] Cheng Zhi Chu scratched his head. [But I’m pretty happy to be able to an audience. I can now be considered as a casual fan of Ji Yun Xiao’s.]

After going through an instance together with Ji Yun Xiao and becoming forum friends, they would exchange a few words from time to time. It allowed Cheng Zhi Chu to deeply understand the charm of this nations’ male god and he naturally had a good impression of him.

Speaking of which, Ji Yun Xiao and the Meng sisters also found out about him being selected through the internet. The two sisters were very envious of him and they lamented that they had also made many friends and family participate but were unfortunately not selected. This made them extremely depressed and they have been unhappy for the past few days.

Later, Ji Yun Xiao comforted them. He said that if there are similar opportunities in the future, he would definitely save a spot for them. This made the two sisters’ mood change from sorrow to joy. It was at this point that they suddenly realised that they had really become friends with their idol.

[Chameleon: I’m happy to see that your photo was selected.]

In the forum, Ji Yun Xiao said this to Cheng Zhi Chu.

[Chameleon: But the person who submitted the photo seems to be your sister, not you. Will the person going to the show be you or your sister?]

[Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice: It’s me. Something unexpected happened to her and she can’t go.]

Cheng Zhi Chu also saw the comment left by his sister. She mentioned that the person in the photo is her brother and you could tell that it was written by a girl just by the way it was written so Ji Yun Xiao was probably able to guess that it was his sister’s submission.

Ji Yun Xiao sent over a cute smiley face.

[Chameleon: Welcoming you. I’ll see you this weekend.]

[Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice: Okay, see you this weekend!]

………..

The recording of the variety show was set on a Saturday afternoon at C City. From where Cheng Zhi Chu is, it is more than 200 kilometres away so he would need to take a bullet train on Saturday morning.

On Friday night, Cheng Zhi Chu first went back home to check on his sister who was recuperating at home. Seeing that she was still lively and just upset about not being able to go to the variety show filming herself, he was able to feel relieved. The two of them sat in the living room chatting while watching TV.

“Just when I got the chance to go, I’m unable to. I’m so upset………”

The young girl made a sorrowful expression. She tugged at Cheng Zhi Chu’s sleeves and said repeatedly: “Brother, you must help me take in all of Ji Yun Xiao’s beauty in my stead. I’ll wait for you to come back and tell me all about it. Also, if you have a chance please help me get Xiao Xiao’s signature…….”

“Okay.”

Cheng Zhi Chu nodded his head. This wasn’t a difficult request. After all, he and Ji Yun Xiao already know each other but, because it is related to “Infinite Escape”, he couldn’t tell his sister about this.

“I wish the recording site was somewhere nearby. If that was the case, even if I need to crawl, I would be willing to crawl over.”

Cheng Ling Ling muttered grievously. She then suddenly remembered something: “Speaking of which, didn’t we go to C City before? Brother, do you remember? When we were young, didn’t our whole family go on a short trip to C City?”

“Ah, did we?” Cheng Zhi Chu blinked. “You must’ve remembered wrong. I don’t remember that at all.”

“No no no. I clearly remember going there before. Although I was still very young and maybe not even in elementary school yet, I still have an impression of it.”

The young girl made a thoughtful expression and muttered: “I even remember that something had happened at that time and mum and dad were very worried………Brother, did you get lost at that time?”

Cheng Zhi Chu was even more confused: “How can that be?”

“Ling Ling, don’t talk nonsense.”

Their mum who was cooking in the kitchen stuck her head out and said: “We haven’t been to C City before and your brother never got lost. Did you get confused after sleeping too much?”

“We really haven’t been there?” The young girl furrowed her brows. She didn’t seem to believe that she had remembered wrong.

“Since mum said so then we probably haven’t been there before.” Cheng Zhi Chu patted her head and laughed, “I’ll explore around for you tomorrow. If it’s fun, let’s go together later on.”

“Okay!” The young girl smiled happily. “Brother, remember to take lots of photos tomorrow!”

“Okay. I’ll do as you say.”

Hearing the two converse, their mum seemed to be a little worried: “Zhi Chu, when you go to C City tomorrow, you must be careful. If anything happens, remember to call home.”

“Mum, I’m already so old now. I’ll be going and coming back on the same day so nothing will happen.” Cheng Zhi Chu laughed. He then added, “I know. If anything happens, I won’t try to deal with it myself. Thanks mum.”

“That’s good then…………”

His mum said this but there was still a hint of worry in her eyes.

………

In the morning, Cheng Zhi Chu took the bullet train to C City. After having a simple lunch, he rushed over to the recording site which was located in a large building. When he reached the building, he saw that there were many people gathered downstairs.

The audience for this show were mainly young people and most of them were girls. They stood around in small groups and appeared to be fans of different celebrities.

This variety show is very popular in China. Cheng Zhi Chu has also watched it before, so he knew some things about it. Every week, they would have four or five guests, all of which are famous stars or newcomers.

Before Ji Yun Xiao debuted and became famous, this program had invited him to participate. After that, there was another time so this would be his third time appearing in this variety show. This week, he was one of the more famous guests so most of the audience members were his fans.

Before arriving, Cheng Zhi Chu had already read through the rules. One point specifically mentioned that the audience would be arranged such that fans of each celebrity are seated together so it would be best to wear supporting clothes or to bring along supporting banners and the such.

Cheng Zhi Chu thought about it and decided to just wear Ji Yun Xiao’s fan shirt. After all, it wasn’t very convenient bringing around a light stick and, not to mention, he had already worn the shirt in front of the person himself.

However, when he saw Ji Yun Xiao’s fans his expression couldn’t help but stiffen a little.

He suddenly discovered that all the fans of Ji Yun Xiao’s here were female fans. There wasn’t a single man fan. If no other male fan turns up later and Ling Ling was able to attend, then Ji Yun Xiao’s part of the audience would pretty much be an army of girls……

Faced with a group of female fans, Cheng Zhi Chu suddenly didn’t dare to approach them. Just when he wanted to find a quiet corner to stand in and wait until time was almost up before quietly mixing in, he was discovered by one of the staffs on-site.

“You’re Ji Yun Xiao’s fan?”

The staff looked at Cheng Zhi Chu’s T-shirt and smiled. She asked kindly: “You’re the first male ‘Yuan Lan’ to come. Tell me your name and phone number and I’ll check you in.

“Ah, it’s a real male fan! It’s my first time seeing one!”

“It really is……..That little brother is so cute. Look, look. He’s blushing…….”

“……..”

All the fans of Ji Yun Xiao immediately looked over at Cheng Zhi Chu with bright eyes. Cheng Zhi Chu pretended to be oblivious of this as he talked to the staff but, in fact, his ears were bright red.

This is killing me………

After the staff left, he found himself surrounded by the female fans and was unsurprisingly asked about his sexual orientation. After all, most of Ji Yun Xiao’s male fans were gay fans.

Cheng Zhi Chu felt a little helpless. He was only able to breath a sigh of relief when the audience members were allowed to enter, and the fans rushed inside. At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel at loss. Turns out, he really is the only male fan……

Before they entered the recording studio, the staff gave them a quick briefing. They also collected everyone’s phones to prevent them from secretly taking photos or disrupting the filming. The phones were to be returned when the filming was over.

After the recording of the show, the staff had also arranged for some time for the audience to get signatures and take photos with their celebrity.

When they took their seats, the director came over to give his greetings. He then briefly talked about how the program worked.

“Everyone here may have already seen our show before. Generally, the show would be divided into indoor and outdoor parts. This episode is the same. The indoor parts would include………”

“……..After we finish recording the first half, the guests would go and film the outdoor activities. You can choose to wait here for them to return or you can choose to take the bus that we have prepared and follow them. You are free to choose whether or not you want to come along.”

The director then did a simple rehearsal of applause and cheering. When the filming was about to start, the audience gradually quietened down.

It was Cheng Zhi Chu’s first time being an audience of a TV show so he was quite excited. Besides Ji Yun Xiao, an actress that he liked would also be appearing, so he was looking forward to it.

After waiting for a while, the filming officially began. The host appeared on stage, said a few opening remarks before introducing the guests while the audience cheered and clapped along.

Especially when Ji Yun Xiao appeared, the cheers and applause from the audience seemed to reach a new high. Even the fans of the other stars cheered for him. It was enough to show how popular he was.

“Hello everyone.”

Ji Yun Xiao said this with a smile and waved at the audience. When he saw Cheng Zhi Chu sitting in the front row, a very faint flash of light passed through his eyes and his smile softened even more.

Under the bright and soft lighting, Ji Yun Xiao looked even more beautiful and eye-catching. Even when he is just simply standing on the stage, he looked like he was glowing. Next to him, the other guests paled in comparison. Like this, Ji Yun Xiao was the centre, the focus of everything.

Infected by this atmosphere, Cheng Zhi Chu also couldn’t help but feel excited. He applauded enthusiastically until his palms went red. He became very excited about what was to come next.

This variety show is one of the best variety shows in China and it would always have a lot of jokes. This time it also didn’t let down the audiences’ expectations.