After a D-List Celebrity and Their A-List Ex-Partner Join a Travel Reality Show - Chapter 8

“Oh!” He Lan pulled his thoughts back, tugging the reins to adjust his direction.

His mind was still in a mess, and the reins in his hands were not responding well, causing the huskies to drift from side to side.

Shen Shiqin felt his stomach churning from the swaying. He pressed down on He Lan’s hand that was holding the reins. “Teacher He, isn’t this a bit much? Are you settling a personal vendetta?”

He Lan calmly pulled his hand away and adjusted the direction again.

The four groups quickly returned to the indoor recording location. The staff had already set up the equipment in preparation for the upcoming live stream.

After everyone entered, Meng Yichun stopped directing and walked over to explain the instructions.

“The live stream in a moment will have two aspects. The first is to chat with fans and answer their questions as usual; the second is to collect the check-in locations that fans are looking forward to most.”

“Additionally, the selection of check-in locations has already been synchronized to the platform by our production team. The locations will be announced based on the online votes of the netizens at that time.”

Duan Nan asked, “So, are we selecting the check-in locations for all four cities during this live stream?”

Meng Yichun shook his head. “Of course not. Before the start of each stop, there will be a live stream to select check-in locations. Besides the four cities, we will also insert one or two cities along the route for a day or two of rest, as the route is quite long.”

Zuo Jiaxi, upon hearing this, put down the snack he had just swiped from the staff and asked excitedly, “So, we are actually visiting more than four cities!”

Meng Yichun replied, “That is correct.”

“Wow, then how many cities will this trip actually visit in total?”

“If you count both domestic and international stops, we will find cities to pause in along the way.”

“Will all cities have corresponding check-in tasks?”

“Not necessarily. The cities where we stop for rest will have some small activities, but other than that, the guests are free to arrange their own time.”

Upon hearing this, the guests all breathed a sigh of relief. The production team finally showed a bit of humanity.

The staff redid the makeup and styling for the guests, and everyone took their seats in preparation for the live stream.

He Lan and Shen Shiqin remained at the far left and far right ends respectively. Yu An was sitting to He Lan’s left, and she whispered gossip: “Hey, how was your playtime?”

“What playtime?” He Lan feigned ignorance. “No, who is playing with him?”

Yu An curled her lip. “Just keep pretending.”

“We were fighting at that time,” He Lan emphasized again. “Not playing with him.”

“Yes, yes, yes, a snowball fight, how is that not fighting?”

Yu An turned her head to look to the other side. Shen Shiqin was sitting on the edge, being pestered by Yuan Kuanglun, who was asking for advice on acting techniques.

In truth, she was not very familiar with Yuan Kuanglun, but since most people in the circle knew that her relationship with Shen Shiqin was quite good, they would occasionally mention this newcomer.

At the time, she found it very novel that such a green actor would get involved with Shen Shiqin. So, during an awards ceremony, when she saw Yuan Kuanglun go to talk to Shen Shiqin, she could not suppress her curiosity and asked a friend in the industry about it.

Basically, she wondered what big figure this new actor was backed by, as he had the opportunity to participate in a major film production immediately upon returning to the country, even acting alongside a crowd of big shots, and this movie just happened to be headlined by Shen Shiqin.

Her first reaction at the time was that this actor must have some backing to get such resources. Based on her years of knowing Shen Shiqin, he was someone who despised those who relied on backdoor connections.

But her friend denied it then and said, “Teacher Shen thinks very highly of this new actor. I heard that on set, this actor often asks Teacher Shen questions, and Teacher Shen frequently instructs him on acting techniques. They have even dined together a few times.”

The industry is rife with rumors every day, spreading from one person to ten, then to a hundred. Many things get twisted by the time they are passed on.

She understood the truths and falsehoods of these matters too well, so she only echoed a few sentiments at the time, but in her heart, she did not believe Shen Shiqin would have such a good relationship with a newcomer.

Shen Shiqin was famous for being cold to everyone. Even during the time he was dating He Lan, he would never show in front of the public or even industry friends how special He Lan was to him.

When the show’s guests met for the first time, Shen Shiqin did not show any level of familiarity with Yuan Kuanglun either; it looked as if they had never crossed paths.

It was Yuan Kuanglun who, after the show stopped recording, walked up to Shen Shiqin and sweetly called out, “Brother Shen, long time no see!”

She remembered how Shen Shiqin responded; he seemed to smile slightly, nod, and even asked how things had been recently.

She looked at the two of them still discussing acting, then turned her head back. He Lan was debating with Meng Yichun about which other cities he wanted to visit besides the four set ones.

She rolled her eyes internally and asked seemingly unintentionally: “Eh, Shen Shiqin seems to think quite highly of that newcomer. I have never seen Teacher Shen be so patient with any other new actor.”

He Lan was in the middle of lobbying for the benefits of a government-funded world tour for the guests. Upon hearing this, he immediately paused his debate with Meng Yichun and looked at the two of them.

The distance was quite far, and he could not hear what they were saying; he could only see Yuan Kuanglun say something that made Shen Shiqin curl the corner of his mouth.

He withdrew his gaze, his tone sounding different from usual: “Who?”

Yu An saw him like this and smiled.

“Just Yuan Kuanglun, the one talking to Teacher Shen.”

He Lan’s fingers unconsciously plucked at the elastic cord leaking out of the right side of his windbreaker.

He did not look over there again and said, “Oh, not very familiar, I have not looked into it.”

Yu An: “He and Shen Shiqin acted in a movie together a while ago. Come to think of it, the response to that movie was pretty good.”

He Lan: “I did not watch it.”

Yu An: “You did not watch it! Although it is indeed hard to speak about watching an ex’s movie, I would not laugh at you if you watched it secretly.”

She wanted to say more but heard Meng Yichun, holding a small microphone of unknown origin, shout into a loudspeaker: “All departments in position! We officially go live in ten minutes. Familiarize yourselves with the flow once more.”

Yu An had to pause the gossip and was led away by a makeup artist for a touch-up, naturally missing He Lan muttering: “Tsk, just a male number N.”

He knew this Yuan Kuanglun all too well. From the first time he saw this person, he felt inexplicably unhappy.

Although he had faded from the screen these years, he was not living in the 2G era, so of course, he knew this person’s origins, background, and family status.

…He absolutely did not investigate him on purpose.

He Lan watched the two of them chatting away in the distance and silently clenched his fists.

After breaking up for so long, has Shen Shiqin’s taste become this bad? Could it be that he fancies this person’s youth? Or does he fancy that this guy is more lively and vivid than he is?

Heh.

At 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM domestic time, the live stream started on time.

Because the production team had already built up the hype, and all the fans, especially Shen Shiqin’s fan base, had jumped in to boost the variety show’s heat, tens of thousands of people poured in to watch as soon as it began.

“I am here! Finally got in, I am lagging to death!” “Ah, long time no see, Qin-qin!” “Student Zuo Jiaxi, sit up straight, do not slouch!” “Did everyone notice that Shen Shiqin and He Lan are still sitting at the South Pole and North Pole? It is killing me.” “Greetings to the two door gods. Do you want me to send some gifts as offerings?”

He Lan saw this comment and his mouth twitched. Just as he was about to retort, he was interrupted by Meng Yichun: “Haha, let our guests greet our fan friends!”

Duan Nan spoke first: “Hello everyone, welcome to the new season of our Looking for the North group.”

Yu An followed: “Nice to see you all again, friends. Thank you for supporting our Looking for the North group!”

Shen Shiqin smiled at the camera: “Hello everyone, I am very happy to meet you all again.”

The barrage screen instantly flooded with comments.

“Happy, happy!” “Shen Shiqin actually came to this show.” “Ah, why is Emperor Shen so handsome? I cannot take it.” “To the one above, I beg you, can ‘handsome’ even describe this? It is simply infuriating for both man and God.” “Why does Shen Bao look a bit pale? Is he frozen? Is he unwell?”

Shen Shiqin saw this comment among the hundreds of flower-filled messages and replied: “I am not unwell; I was just a bit tired from playing the game earlier.”

Just as he finished, He Lan said: “Hello everyone, I am He Lan. Long time no see.”

“Who is this? I cannot seem to recognize him. What is his name? Sounds like his surname is He.” “Ah, He-he really came.” “Long time no see, baby. Crying.jpg” “Oh my god, may I ask, did you finally appear after three years?”

He Lan looked at the comments pouring in for him, feeling a sudden warmth in his heart.

In these three years, he had basically not appeared on the big screen. Even when he did live streams, it was only three or four times, and each time he did it secretly behind his company and manager’s back, without specifically telling his fans. Therefore, the number of people in his limited live streams had not been high.

Now, looking at the number of people in the live room rising in a straight line, he suddenly felt a bit awkward.

However, the awkwardness lasted only for a moment because the barrage was soon occupied by He Lan’s anti-fans.

“Everyone knows why He Lan is suddenly on the show after staying quiet for so many years.” “Exactly, it is simply glaringly obvious.”

That sense of awkwardness faded immediately. He Lan already felt an inexplicable spark of anger inside him, and now that it seemed to have a place to vent, he immediately retorted at those comments:

“To this viewer with the IP ‘Big Macaque,’ are you the roundworm in my stomach? You only know what I am thinking after eating some metabolic waste?”

“And to this user with the IP ‘User 388569,’ what is up? You just became an anti-fan and do not know you should change your nickname first?”

“I will not mention the others, but does not that rhetoric sound very familiar to your elders?”

The staff and the guests all stopped in tacit agreement, listening to He Lan’s passionate outburst.

The scene fell into momentary silence.

“User 388569 has exited the live room.”

This line drifted across the screen lightly, taking several initial users with it.

“Hahaha, cough.” Yu An lowered her head immediately, as if to hide it.

She was dying of laughter; she knew He Lan would never wrong himself.

Shen Shiqin seemed to have anticipated this move of his, and he used the back of his hand to cover the corner of his mouth that was slightly turned up, hiding that hint of a smile.

Although He Lan could not beat him in an argument, his ability to retort at netizens remained unchanged.

But…

Watching this series of furious retorts that had not ended yet, he frowned slightly.

Why did he always feel that something was off with He Lan today?

Who had provoked him again?