After Transmigrating as Cannon Fodder, I Became the Darling of the Variety Show - Chapter 12

Chu Guannan watched him quietly. After a long while, he leaned down, took one of the hands of An Rao, and lifted him horizontally to carry him into the tent.

There were very few uninjured spots left on the body of An Rao. His palms were still bleeding, staining the bedsheets beneath him red.

Chu Guannan processed the wounds without saying a word. An Rao had no strength left and could only let the other man move him around like a rag doll.

Chu Guannan reached for the T-shirt on the body of An Rao, which was revealing his slender waist for the umpteenth time, and pulled it up firmly. The pain caused An Rao to let out a small cry of complaint.

“Hubby, be a little gentler.”

Chu Guannan looked up, staring at him coldly. “Do you enjoy exposing your waist that much?”

An Rao forced a smile. “You do not like it? Then what should I expose? My thighs?”

The eyes of Chu Guannan darkened. He walked out, fetched a basin of clean water, and returned. Without a word, he stripped off the tattered crop top of An Rao along with his ruined jeans.

An Rao lay there naked, raising his hands to shield his body as he curled up. “There are a lot of people outside. You would not want to do it here, would you?”

Chu Guannan sat down, pulled him from the ground into his arms, and pinned him there. With one hand holding him steady, he used the other to dampen a towel and began wiping the body of the other man with clean water.

Wherever his fingers rubbed, the sensation was as itchy as ten thousand ants crawling through his heart.

An Rao curled his body tightly, his eyes frequently darting toward the entrance, terrified that someone might suddenly walk in.

Noticing his gaze, Chu Guannan took off his jacket and draped it over him, reaching underneath to find the right spots to wipe.

Even though the pressure from the hand of Chu Guannan was not heavy, An Rao still felt pain, though he could not say exactly where it hurt. He finally could not take it anymore. He dodged the hand, flattened himself against the ground to protect his body, and said urgently, “It hurts.”

Chu Guannan lowered his eyelids, threw the towel into the basin, and said in a low voice, “Wipe yourself.”

Having said that, he left the tent decisively without sparing a single glance.

In the original novel, this was exactly how Chu Guannan was in the early stages. Although he did not marry the original body out of love, the fact that he married him because he felt the original body had lost his purity for him showed that he was a man with a strong sense of responsibility. If the original body had not truly enraged him later on, he probably would have stayed with him for a lifetime.

Therefore, An Rao did not think that applying medicine or wiping his body was out of concern. It was merely that exaggerated sense of responsibility acting up. As soon as he said he did not need help, Chu Guannan would turn around and leave without a second thought.

An Rao managed to sit upright and reached for the towel in the basin when he suddenly heard voices outside the tent.

“Brother Guannan, I came to see Rao Rao. I heard he was injured. Is he okay?” The tone of Lin Jingxi carried a hint of anxiety.

The voice of Chu Guannan was as indifferent as ever. “He is fine. Go get some rest.”

“Okay. If there is anything you need, definitely find me. I am very worried about him.”

An Rao silently wiped his wounds, glancing toward the spot where Lin Jingxi stood outside. He could roughly imagine the tearful face the other man was making at that moment.

An Rao found a pair of clean pants and changed. Just as he picked up his shirt, a sudden sound interrupted him.

“Ta-da! It is dark! The mission failed! The production crew is here to deliver your most sincere punishment gift pack!”

Suddenly, several cameras pushed in from outside, followed by at least five or six cameramen.

An Rao had not had time to put on his shirt and instinctively raised his hands to cover his torso, his brow furrowing. “Knocking before entering is an option.”

As soon as they entered, they were met with the sight of a body glowing white under the lights. The blood-red wounds against the extremely pale skin created a powerful visual impact. Paired with that indignant yet exceptionally brilliant face, the throats of the cameramen tightened for a moment, their bodies reacting involuntarily.

The MC backed away awkwardly, quickly averting his eyes from the torso, his speech becoming a bit stuttered. “I, I am here to give, give you your punishment.”

An Rao put on his shirt unhurriedly and said, “I am afraid you are going to be disappointed.”

The group looked at each other in disbelief, clearly not buying it.

The whole world knew that An Rao and Lin Jingxi did not get along, and everyone knew that Xu Renyu had expressed his admiration for Lin Jingxi many times.

“You do not believe it?” An Rao raised an eyebrow. “How about we go find the person involved to verify it together?”

Refusing to believe in miracles, the group waved their hands. “Let us go.”

When they stepped outside, Lin Jingxi was wandering around for some reason. Seeing the crowd gathered, he stepped forward. “I am very worried about the injury of Renyu. Can I go down the mountain to see him?”

The staff did not think much of it and nodded. “It just so happens we are going too. Let us go together.”

Under the cover of night, the group walked for over an hour on the mountain path, finally arriving at the hospital at the foot of the mountain at eleven o’clock.

The hospital was small and lacked equipment, with only a few doctors on duty. It looked quite desolate.

The camera was pointed at the face of Lin Jingxi, reflecting his slightly furrowed brows. Worry seemed to spill out from the depths of his eyes.

He stood in front of the ward, wiping his eyes, and intentionally or unintentionally cheered himself up for the camera. “Brother Renyu reached where he is today and won Best Actor because of a single word of encouragement from me. Perhaps to him, I am his guiding light. So, I must not let him see me sad. I cannot fall first.”

For the first time, An Rao experienced what it meant to have his teeth set on edge. He looked away, surreptitiously rubbing the goosebumps on his arms.

Lin Jingxi looked at the staff, smiling sheepishly with red-rimmed eyes. “Sorry, I lost my composure.”

He knocked gently on the door but received no response. Murmuring that the other man might be asleep, he pushed the door open and walked in.

Upon opening the door, they saw that Xu Renyu was not sleeping. He was leaning sickly against the headboard, staring blankly at a half-length strip of cloth in his hand. He was so focused that he did not even notice anyone entering.

“Brother Renyu, are you feeling better? How is your leg?” Under the pursuit of the cameras, Lin Jingxi walked naturally to the bedside of Xu Renyu and sat down, asking with concern.

Xu Renyu finally snapped back to reality. Looking at Lin Jingxi, he caught a glimpse of the cameramen behind him and said flatly, “Yes, it is fine. The doctor said it is just a dislocation. I can be discharged after a few days of rest.”

Lin Jingxi let out a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted. “I was so worried I could not sleep.”

Xu Renyu seemed a bit tired. He sank down slightly, glanced at the cameramen, and said in a low voice, “I am tired. You guys go first.”

Mid-sentence, his eyes suddenly widened, and his sinking body abruptly straightened up.

In the middle of the crowd of cameramen, there was also An Rao.

Xu Renyu gripped the strip of cloth tightly, trying his best to control his emotions, but the joy in his trembling voice betrayed him. “An, An Rao, why are you here too?”

An Rao smiled. “Came to see you.”

Lin Jingxi looked up at the eyes of Xu Renyu and realized that his gaze held only the figure of An Rao. He silently clenched his fists, his smile blooming like a flower. “Brother Renyu, you have to get better soon. Do not let me worry.”

“An Rao, is your injury better? Did you apply medicine?” But Xu Renyu seemed to treat him as air, his eyes only on An Rao.

An Rao nodded. “Do not worry about me. Just take care of yourself.”

At this point, the MC stepped in timely. “Teacher Xu, sorry to interrupt, but we actually came here to verify something with you.”

The MC handed over the mission card. “This was a hidden mission completed by An Rao alone. We hope you tell the truth. Before dark today, did you say this sentence to Mr. An Rao?”

Xu Renyu flipped over the mission card. A gentle smile suddenly appeared at the corners of his mouth, and he said firmly without hesitation, “I did. And I meant it sincerely.”

The MC looked at An Rao. “Alright, consider yourself lucky. You are exempt from punishment.”

An Rao was incredibly sleepy. He blinked, his voice carrying a trace of lazy exhaustion. “Then can I go back to sleep?”

“You can.”

He took one last look at Xu Renyu and waved. “I wish you a speedy recovery.”

With that, the cameramen followed An Rao and left the ward in a sweep.

Lin Jingxi got up to leave as well. He stood at the door of the ward and looked back at Xu Renyu.

The actor brought that strip of cloth to his lips and kissed it reverently. The deep affection in his eyes was a sight Lin Jingxi had never seen before.

He suddenly remembered that the color of that cloth was exactly the same as the T-shirt An Rao had been wearing during the day.

The VJs turned off their equipment and walked back with An Rao. One of them asked casually, “How did you manage to get a big block of wood like Xu Renyu to be so compliant?”

An Rao pondered for a moment and said, “I just did what everyone would do.”

The VJs guessed it was because An Rao had saved the life of Xu Renyu, but the phrase “what everyone would do” showed that the emotional intelligence of An Rao was exceptionally high. They even began to wonder how much of the negative news about An Rao on the internet was true. Could it be that they were all rumors?

Just as they reached the hospital entrance, they bumped into the judge who had been suffering from abdominal pain. He was being supported by a staff member as he walked out shakily.

The VJs could not wait to turn on their cameras and rush over to ask, “What did the test results say?”

The judge waved his hand weakly. “Still food poisoning.”

“What did you eat?”

The judge looked up, his gaze drifting past Lin Jingxi, then he let out a helpless sigh. “Honey and tofu. Eating the two together causes diarrhea.”

“Honey and tofu? Did our box lunches today have those two items?”

Lin Jingxi suddenly straightened up, his breath catching. He stared unmovingly at the sickly judge.

The judge shook his head, gave Lin Jingxi one last look, and was supported by the staff as he left the hospital.

But even if he did not say it, everyone knew. Looking at all the ingredients over the past few days, only the braised tofu Lin Jingxi made during the cooking competition had those ingredients. To add sweetness and remove the fishy smell of the tofu, he had indeed added honey.

When the third video of My CP Is Super Capable aired, it immediately caused a sensation.

【Ahhh, Xu Renyu and An Rao! Xu Renyu has definitely fallen in love! The cloth he was holding was from the clothes of An Rao!】 【What a pity. An Rao married too early, otherwise I could really ship those two for a hundred years.】 【The official ship is killing the fan ships.】 【What is there to fear? An Rao cheating is only a matter of time. Do you really think that indecent video was an AI deepfake? It is just the team of the artist whitewashing.】 【True. He and the Great Deity Chu have no interaction at all. Would a real couple be this cold?】 【Hahaha, my Xi Bao is so cute. Doing a bad thing with good intentions. The miserable expression of the judge is killing me.】 【Are you sick? He almost sent someone to the afterlife. What is so funny about that? Do you have no empathy?】 【At least the cooking of Xi Bao is good, much better than your Great Chef An. Celery stir-fried with shiitake mushrooms? Who would come up with that?】

The director looked at the comment section and could not help but feel bad for the staff member who had diarrhea for three days. Lin Jingxi had not said a single sorry up to this point. The staff member was so angry he cursed, “If he ever appears on this show again, consider this my resignation!”

The ages of many fans were right there. They did not have mature values. Regarding Lin Jingxi making poisonous food, they actually said it was the good intentions of the brother that led to a bad result and told people not to blame him.

The director felt that in wilderness survival, not understanding food incompatibilities was a grave mistake.

Based on the leg injury of Xu Renyu and the fact that several staff members were not adapting well, the production crew decided to pause filming for a week. Everyone would go back to rest and recuperate before coming back for the final episode.

On the day they returned, everyone felt like they had been released from prison. They were so excited they almost cried. An Rao finally got hold of the phone of the original body. He actually really wanted to see what the situation on the internet was like now.

But just as he plugged it in and turned it on, he saw over a dozen missed calls and dozens of text messages. All of them originated from the same unfamiliar number with no contact name.

He opened the messages and scrolled through them one by one, only to find that the entire thread contained only the same sentence: “Child, hide yourself. They are coming.”