Entertainment Era: Starting with Teaching Sister Meng to Sing

After Huang Mao said a few words, no one in the room felt awkward anymore.

The staff proactively stepped forward to help, dividing the three snacks on the coffee table so that they could enjoy them after Fumino gave the order.

Wang Xiaozhou took action, but after tasting the snacks from Huang Mao's and Xu Min's groups, he frowned repeatedly. These guys really didn't know how to eat anything; they had spent an entire afternoon wandering around the vast Jingli and all they brought back were these things.

"Let's not even talk about the roasted gluten from Huang Mao's place; it's of the same quality that you can find all over the country."

Xu Min, your group's rice noodles were really mediocre, not at all the authentic Yunzhen style. But at least they're a local delicacy, so I'll vote for your group.

In the voting segment, the show's guests naturally spoke first. Among the guests, the most prominent celebrity was obviously Wang Xiaozhou. So, after asking Meng Ziyi and the other person for their opinions, he cast his vote for Xu Min's group first.

It wasn't that Wang Xiaozhou was taking care of the female guest from out of town, but rather that the things Huang Mao and his group brought were so perfunctory that Wang Xiaozhou couldn't even show them any favoritism.

After Wang Xiaozhou, Xu Min's group naturally took over. After tasting the snacks that Wang Xiaozhou brought, the two female guests' eyes lit up and they immediately voted for Wang Xiaozhou.

"Although I'm reluctant to admit it, the food you brought is definitely better than ours, so I'm voting for you."

Before tasting the food, Huang Mao and his friends whispered among themselves for a while, probably trying to create some kind of entertainment effect. After tasting it, they all thought that Wang Xiaozhou's food was the best, but they voted for Xu Min's group. Afterwards, they even added their own background music to create a tense atmosphere.

But Wang Xiaozhou wasn't nervous at all. After all the guests on the show had tasted the food, they all voted for him, giving him an overwhelming victory.

Even though the result was exactly what Huang Mao had expected, he still frowned and chuckled.

"You guys are so unoriginal. You're already in Yunzhen, why choose barbecue? Rice noodles are the local specialty, okay?"

Wang Xiaozhou snorted without even looking up: "Roasted potatoes and roasted tofu are local specialties of Yunzhen. The contestant with zero votes should say less."

Yes, the roasted gluten that Huang Mao and his gang brought back received zero votes. The masses have discerning eyes; no one has such a strong palate that they think it tastes better than roasted potatoes or rice noodles.

Wang Xiaozhou and his group successfully secured accommodations at a five-star hotel. After the photographer showed them some room details, the broadcast ended smoothly. It's unclear whether they'll visit each other's rooms later.

There's not much to say about Xu Min's group either. It was just an ordinary hotel in the city. The photographer went into the room, took some pictures of the environment, and then ended the broadcast.

Huang Mao's group is interesting, especially Liu Guangwei's performance. This kid has never been afraid of anything since he was a child, except for one thing: he is afraid of hairless animals!

The group went to a hotel in the village. In a place like Yunzhen, it's normal to have geckos or snakes in the house. But a gecko the size of a palm scared Liu Weiguang so much that he screamed and ran away. Even the camera couldn't catch up with him immediately.

Then he encountered a bamboo rat the size of a small dog outside the door, a sight that would delight anyone who loves to eat such a thing.

Then Liu Weiguang was so frightened that he jumped up, his hair standing on end, leaving Huang Mao and the others stunned.

"Big brother, what are you doing? Take off!"

The third brother chased after him and said to Liu Weiguang, who was yelling.

Liu Weiguang ran to the car and refused to get out, shouting, "I'm not staying here! Quickly call my older brother and beg him to let me go back to the city!"

The third brother was genuinely scared, it was a biological instinct. If he were to stay here for one night, he would probably be terrified to death.

"Alright, alright, come out now. It's just a gecko, why are you so scared? I'll tell your brother to let you go back by yourself. Come down now."

Huang Mao laughed as he called Wang Xiaozhou. He felt sorry for Liu Weiguang, who was so frightened, and he would feel bad if he stayed any longer.

Upon hearing the news over the phone, Wang Xiaozhou immediately agreed. It was just a variety show recording, and there was no need to take the punishment segments too seriously. Making Liu Weiguang suffer for a little bit of viewership would really break the hearts of the brothers.

After receiving permission, Huang Mao quickly found the driver who had brought them and asked him to take Liu Weiguang back to the hotel. The driver gave them a thumbs up.

"You know how to care about your brothers. The older brother you called earlier was also a good guy. He didn't become rigid just because we were filming a show. It's not easy to have a few brothers like that when you're young. I won't charge you any money when we go back this time."

Huang Mao quickly thanked him repeatedly and stood ramrod straight as he saw the car out of the yard.

At the hotel entrance, Wang Xiaozhou had been waiting for a long time. Seeing the taxi arrive, he quickly went to help Liu Weiguang out, but his first question wasn't about Liu's health, but rather, "Where's Huang Mao?"

Although the taxi driver said it was free, Liu Weiguang still paid the fare, then pointed to himself incredulously:

"Bro, I was the one who was almost scared to death. Why are you asking about blondie?"

Wang Xiaozhou let out a soft breath.

Sigh, I thought Huang Mao had learned something, that he knew how to find an excuse to go back to the hotel, but it turns out it's true...

Patting Liu Weiguang on the shoulder, Wang Xiaozhou said, "It's okay, the room's already booked for you. Go upstairs and get some rest, you real man."

Liu Weiguang: I feel like you're insulting me...

After seeing Liu Weiguang upstairs, Wang Xiaozhou dialed Huang Mao's number again, and the first thing he asked was:

"Have you ended your broadcast?"

The blond-haired guy's voice even sounded excited: "Just finished the broadcast. With Liu Weiguang's stunt and all of you guys finishing your broadcasts, our live stream was super popular. What's up, bro?"

Wang Xiaozhou rubbed his temples, wondering why his ambition had suddenly surfaced: "Are you sick in the head? Have you gone mad from working so much? Cui Fangfang's still at the hotel, bro!"

The voice on the yellow-haired guy's end paused for a moment, then he said "Uh," and added, "So what if she's there? We're staying in the village tonight, so we can't meet up anyway."

Wang Xiaozhou was truly captivated by this bizarre train of thought, and too lazy to explain further to the blond-haired man, he simply gave the order:

"The show's over now, so hurry up and have the production team arrange a car to take you back to your hotel. Once you get there, call Cui Fangfang and tell her you'll treat her to a late-night snack. I don't care what happens next, just make sure you're back at your hotel in the village by 8 a.m. tomorrow."

The simple-minded blond guy even retorted, "So we're not cheating?"

Wang Xiaozhou: "..."

"You don't need to be so upright now. Just do as I say, I'm going to sleep."

After hanging up the phone, Huang Mao reluctantly got out of bed. He felt that it was wrong to gamble and refuse to admit defeat, but there was nothing he could do, as the person on the other end of the phone was his older brother.

Huang Mao, who was out in the world of gangsters, valued loyalty and righteousness above all else. He couldn't possibly disobey his boss, so he had no choice but to get out of bed and hail a taxi.

The village was located in a remote area. When Huang Mao arrived at the hotel, it was already 1 a.m. He hesitated for a while downstairs with his phone in hand before calling Cui Fangfang.

I thought she was asleep, but when Cui Fangfang answered the phone, she spoke with a strong voice. As soon as she heard that Huang Mao wanted to treat her to a late-night snack, she immediately got dressed and went downstairs.

Huang Mao actually has a driver's license. After receiving a positive reply, he immediately went to the production team to get a key to a minivan. It's more convenient to drive when going out with a girl.

When Cui Fangfang met Huang Mao, she was wearing full makeup, clearly indicating that she had been waiting for Huang Mao to ask her out.

Of course, the blond-haired guy wouldn't notice anything amiss. He would just grin foolishly at Cui Fangfang and ask, "Why aren't you asleep yet, it's so late?"

Cui Fangfang could only roll her eyes silently, thinking to herself: Everyone says I don't like you, what kind of emotional intelligence is this? Dressing up to accompany you on a date is not enough, I also have to go to great lengths to find excuses for you, it's really too much.

"It's not late, it's only a little past one o'clock. I wouldn't be asleep at this time at home either. Look, I haven't even taken off my makeup yet."

As she spoke, Cui Fangfang brought her face close to the blond-haired man's, blinking her big eyes and fluttering her eyelashes, completely dominating him, making his voice tremble slightly.

"Um...it's not that late. Sometimes I just leave home around this time to go out for an overnight stay with Liu Weiguang and the other guys."

Cui Fangfang secretly rolled her eyes again. "Loser, why doesn't Wang Xiaozhou go to a one-night stand with you guys?"

"Where should we go for a late-night snack? Do you know any good places to eat nearby?"

While inwardly complaining, Cui Fangfang maintained a gentle and virtuous demeanor on the surface. Seeing the blond-haired man shake his head, she immediately pulled out her phone.

"I did a lot of research at the hotel. Let's go eat bamboo rice. I don't know if that's the right name, but it's the kind of food Pigsy ate in Journey to the West. Then we can have some local barbecue. How about that?"

Instead of going to a fancy restaurant, Cui Fangfang, after getting Huang Mao's opinion, took him to a roadside stall with many positive online reviews.

What surprised and touched Huang Mao the most was that Cui Fangfang actually paid for all the snacks.

Yellow Hair, the stray dog, had never seen anything like this before. He even began to doubt his brothers' judgment. Could it be that the girl he had been pursuing for three years was actually a good girl, and he had just misunderstood her before?

Back at the hotel, Huang Mao escorted the man to his room. He intended to find Liu Weiguang to spend the night with, but Cui Fangfang called him into the room and asked:

"Where are you staying? I watched the live broadcast. Weren't you arranged to stay at a hotel in the village?"

Huang Mao nodded: "Yeah, but I won't be going back to the village tonight. I'll go back first thing tomorrow morning. I'll just make do with Liu Weiguang for today."

"Huh?" Cui Fangfang said coquettishly, as if she were pouting, "It's so inconvenient for two men to live together."

Huang Mao, completely unimpressed, simply said "Hi": "What's inconvenient about that? Let alone a hotel, we've even stayed at Lao San's window seat. It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter."

You big idiot...

Cui Fangfang cursed inwardly, but still had to put on a smile as she got up and closed the hotel room door: "My stomach is a little upset, could you stay with me for a while?"

"what?"

Huang Mao was even a little reluctant, thinking to himself that women are such a hassle. If you have a stomachache, go to the hospital. What good will it do you if I go with you?

Sitting down on the sofa, the blond-haired man asked, "When will you be better? I can't stay with you for too long. I have to record a show tomorrow, so I need to get some rest."

Cui Fangfang sighed. She no longer expected Huang Mao to understand any romance; she could only take the initiative step by step.

"Come lie down on the bed, why are you so far away from me?"

Huang Mao swallowed hard. Even when he was stunned, he still felt a little nervous when he was in a room with the girl he liked and was invited to bed.

"Then I'll lie down for a while, you said it yourself."

The blond-haired man tiptoed to Cui Fangfang's side and lay down, then one minute... five minutes... ten minutes...

Not knowing if he was asleep, Cui Fangfang tentatively asked, "Yellow Hair, my stomach feels so cold, can you warm it up for me?"

The blond-haired man reached out shakily, but Cui Fangfang grabbed his hand and then rolled over...

...

The next morning at seven o'clock, when Wang Xiaozhou and the others went downstairs for breakfast, they happened to run into Huang Mao and Cui Fangfang together in the elevator.

Wang Xiaozhou smiled and nodded to Cui Fangfang, then grinned at Huang Mao.

Mao Xiaotong squinted at Huang Mao for a while, then smiled and said, "You stayed up late last night, didn't you? You don't look very energetic."

The blond-haired man puffed out his chest: "It's okay, I'm still young."

Meng Ziyi, having been through similar experiences, couldn't help but frown as she watched Cui Fangfang deliberately feign stumbling. With a hint of amusement, she said, "It doesn't hurt that much."

As someone who knew Huang Mao relatively early, Meng Ziyi knew exactly what kind of person Cui Fangfang was. She was a very straightforward person, so she didn't care about saving face. If she didn't like someone, she would just confront them directly. Anyway, with Wang Xiaozhou around, she had the confidence to do so.

Hearing this, Cui Fangfang could only laugh. It really didn't hurt. It wasn't like she had never been in a relationship before. What was there to feel pain about? Wasn't this just putting on an act for Huang Mao to see?

Meng Ziyi was speechless at this kind of woman, rolled her eyes and ignored her.

Huang Mao didn't seem to care. While eating the buffet breakfast, he kept putting food on Cui Fangfang's plate, suddenly turning back into a sycophant.

After the meal, everyone went back to their rooms to rest. Before Huang Mao set off back to the village, Wang Xiaozhou secretly asked him:

"Should we eat now?"

The blond-haired man nodded vigorously: "We have to eat!"

Wang Xiaozhou patted him on the shoulder: "We agreed it was just for fun, don't take it too seriously. I think you're getting a little carried away today."

The blond-haired man smiled shyly: "I was just trying to appease her so she could be happier these next few days. That bitch had dated before and she was still pretending with me. I'm not stupid, I know whether I'll bleed or not. It'll be over when we get back to Songbei."

Wang Xiaozhou couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't realized that Huang Mao had any brains and knew the principle of "live for today." Fine, let him enjoy himself for a few days.

After seeing Huang Mao off to the car and making sure there wouldn't be any accidents during the night's filming, Wang Xiaozhou went upstairs to his room, and then... found Mao Xiaotong and Meng Ziyi waiting for him in the room.

"How did she get your room key?!"

The two women asked in unison.

Wang Xiaozhou shrugged: "When we booked the room, you guys were worried I'd lose my room key, so you each insisted on getting one. What could I do?"

Seeing that the two women still wanted to ask more questions, Wang Xiaozhou's expression changed: "What are you doing in my room? You didn't touch my underwear in the bathroom, did you? I just washed it this morning."

Distracted by him, both women forgot what they had been angry about. Mao Xiaotong blushed and spat, "Who touched your junk? I just came to see if you had any work to do after you finished eating. Isn't Tencent urging you to film your next project?"

Wang Xiaozhou said nonchalantly, "Let him urge us if he wants. We're not slacking off right now; filming variety shows is tiring too."

Meng Ziyi almost burst out laughing when she heard him speak. Was he tired?

Tired my ass! This guy isn't making a show at all; he's clearly treating it like a graduation trip. The only real work he's doing is probably writing that song, "Chang'an People."

Oh, right, there's also "Once Upon a Time," but he wrote "Once Upon a Time" so simply that it's often overlooked.

"You can't even come up with a good excuse. You clearly saw me come to Wang Xiaozhou's room, so you followed me here."

Meng Ziyi pouted and retorted to Mao Xiaotong.

Wang Xiaozhou was afraid that their bickering would escalate into a real argument, so he quickly interrupted, "Alright, are you two going to sleep or not? If not, let's go out and have some fun."

"If we don't sleep, where are we going to play!"

The two of them seem to have developed a tacit understanding despite being rivals in love; they speak in perfect unison.

Since they were already at the hotel, and Yun Zhen had come all this way, Wang Xiaozhou decided to show them around properly. So the three of them set off again and arrived at a place that sold jade.

"Just browse around here. If you want to buy jade for your family, don't buy anything over 200 yuan. They overcharge you terribly. They'll just take one-tenth of the price and then cut it in half."

Before entering the jade market, Wang Xiaozhou gave the two women some serious advice, fearing they might make impulsive purchases.

Meng Ziyi nodded repeatedly, indicating that he would only look and would definitely not buy it.

Mao Xiaotong said that if she finds a suitable item, she will bring two home, one for Sister Song and one for her mother.

Anyway, this is just a token of my appreciation, and even if I take it back, Sister Song won't think it's too cheap.

After wandering around the jade market for a while and witnessing the exorbitant prices charged by migrant workers, Mao Xiaotong decisively spent two hundred yuan on a safety buckle and a jade bracelet for one hundred and fifty yuan, and then pulled Wang Xiaozhou to leave.

After visiting the place of origin once, Mao Xiaotong completely lost her fascination with jade. No matter how beautiful it looks, it's just a stone that can be soaked in chemicals. There are too many theories about it, and ordinary people can't understand it.

"I think you two are being a bit vulgar. You came to the jade city and didn't even open a couple of rough stones. This stuff is about the feeling and the meaning behind it. What's the point of you just wandering around like this?"

Meng Ziyi curled his lip, indicating that he had already "hehed".

"It's just a broken rock, what's so special about it? It's just a way to swindle money from people."

Mao Xiaotong chimed in, "Ziyi is right. We can just take some home. We can't afford to buy anything expensive; we can't tell the difference between real and fake."

Wang Xiaozhou shrugged helplessly. He could only say that these two women were very shrewd and knew exactly how to spend money.

"Let's go then, I'll take you to see the local banana and dragon fruit fields."

The two women got into the car, and then Meng Ziyi quietly licked her lips:

"The local fruits are so delicious! I wonder what sugarcane tastes like."

Mao Xiaotong: "Local fruits are so delicious! I wonder what strawberries taste like."

Wang Xiaozhou was amused by the two men, and got into the car and drove onto the national highway.

The two women mentioned that the fruit was sold at roadside stalls, and they bought the snacks for the greedy girls in no time.

As the two were eating in the car, happily heading to their next tourist attraction, Wang Xiaozhou's phone rang. It was his father calling.

"A little girl came to your house and said her father had passed away, and her family told her to come and see you."