After Transmigrating as Cannon Fodder, I Became the Darling of the Variety Show - Chapter 13

The thirteenth day of wanting a divorce.

Looking at the unfamiliar number, An Rao thought someone had sent the message to the wrong person. However, Song Weichuan’s words suddenly popped into his head: “After all, you have a bloodsucker in your family.”

Could it be the original host’s family? Were they constantly clinging to him like leeches, demanding money? Combined with Lin Jingxi’s previous text about “birds of a feather,” it was almost certain that such a person existed. However, the original host likely avoided this person intentionally, as there was not even a contact name saved. Their relationship was probably terrible.

An Rao closed the message interface and opened his music player. He clicked on his newly created “Lan Jiao” folder, found a classic track, and put on his headphones, staring out the car window in a daze.

In the front row, Lin Jingxi was deeply upset by the netizens’ insults. At first, he was only choking up, but eventually, it turned into full-blown sobbing. He whispered aggrievedly to Shen Yi, “I really did not do it on purpose. Why do they keep picking on me?”

Shen Yi pulled him close and comforted him softly: “Netizens have always lacked manners. Do not care too much about what they say. It is enough that we believe in you.”

Yin Xueya took a deep breath, stood up from her seat next to them, and walked straight to An Rao in the back row.

“Are you listening to ‘Sound of Rain’ again?” Yin Xueya asked with a smile.

An Rao lowered the volume and handed over his phone. “You guessed wrong, Sister. It is ‘Love in a Fallen City.'”

Yin Xueya took the phone and glanced at it, her eyes widening suddenly. “You like Little Bear too?”

An Rao looked at the phone case. A chubby little bear was hugging Tigger and holding a honey pot, looking adorably naive. This was the original host’s phone; he must have liked it.

An Rao replied casually, “Yes, I like it very much.”

Yin Xueya took out her own phone to show him. “I like Little Bear too! When I was a child, my brother and I would wait in front of the TV every day for him. My brother liked him a lot too. What a coincidence.”

Not just her phone case, but her wallpaper, keyboard, and icons were all Little Bear.

“Young people nowadays all like Iron Man or Spider-Man. There are not many who like Little Bear anymore. It is a tear of the era,” Yin Xueya laughed. As she laughed, her smile gradually faded. Her fingers gently stroked the bear on the phone case, and her gaze became somber. “By the way, let us exchange contact information.”

Yin Xueya opened her WeChat and presented her QR code. An Rao scanned it to add her. She whispered, “Teacher Chu will not be jealous, will he?”

Given Chu Guannan’s status, he had naturally left in the private luxury van the production team prepared specifically for him. He could not see them, and even if he did, he would not say anything. He probably wished someone would take the big trouble that was the original host off his hands.

“Him?” An Rao shrugged. “He might never even know.”

Just as he finished speaking, a shadow fell over him. An Rao looked up to see Li Meiwei holding her phone, her fingers nervously picking at a pendant on her case. After a long moment, she gathered her courage and handed her phone over.

“An Rao, add me too. I do not have any other intentions; I just want to expand my friend list.”

Su Xiangming shoved his phone in front of An Rao’s face. “Me too! Me too!”

An Rao opened his phone and added them both. Just as he was about to write their nicknames, a Weibo notification popped up: someone had tagged him. He clicked it and saw that fans had created a Super Topic for him and invited him to join.

Compared to the rest of the internet, the Super Topic was much more harmonious. Fans had edited clips of An Rao from the variety show and picked out a few stunning photos, applying filters and posting them with captions:

“Day 1 of checking in. By day 1,000, I hope our Super Topic reaches the top of the celebrity list! Go Rao Rao baby! We believe in you!”

To reach the top of the celebrity list, he would have to displace hundreds of top-tier superstars, including Chu Guannan. Currently, An Rao’s ranking was beyond 3,000, even lower than some minor influencers who did live-stream sales.

For An Rao, being a celebrity was not his ambition. However, since so many people believed in him, he probably could not let them down.

The car left the remote mountains and, as time passed, gradually entered the city center, finally stopping outside the Guanyuan Yipin housing complex. An Rao put on his backpack, said goodbye to everyone, and got off.

Yin Xueya waved. “Remember to keep in touch!”

An Rao guessed that Chu Guannan might have returned a step ahead of them. However, a workaholic like him probably would not stay idle at home and had likely gone to another film set for a guest appearance. Since he was not home, An Rao needed to get some food to fill his stomach. He bought a burger from a fast-food restaurant nearby and headed back, planning to eat and then film a few Chinese painting tutorials to post online and earn some pocket money.

Ding. As the elevator reached his floor, An Rao’s hand was already reaching into the fast-food bag. However, someone seemed to be standing at his front door. An Rao looked over and was stunned.

Chu Guannan was home? But what was he doing standing outside?

An Rao walked over and saw a bucket of clean water at Chu Guannan’s feet. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to reveal firm forearms, and he was using a rag to scrub the wall outside. As the wet rag swiped across the wall, it smeared glaring streaks of red.

“PAY YOUR DEBTS! OR WE WILL KILL YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY!”

Several bright red characters stared back from the wall.

An Rao froze. He walked over quickly and watched Chu Guannan vigorously scrubbing the red words. A strange thought suddenly surfaced. Was Chu Guannan in debt? How could someone that wealthy be in debt?

“You,” An Rao said in disbelief.

Chu Guannan paused his movements. Seeing it was An Rao, he resumed scrubbing the wall. “I do not know who wrote this. They might have the wrong door,” he said in a deep voice.

An Rao thought about it and felt that was possible. Chu Guannan paid hundreds of millions in personal taxes every year. Looking at those bloody characters on the wall, it was almost certainly the work of loan sharks. Though in reality, Chu Guannan looked more like the one who would be lending the high-interest money.

The writing became more blurred as it was scrubbed, turning the wall into a red mess that looked like a crime scene.

“Hire a worker to repaint the wall. It will not come clean,” An Rao said, taking a bite of his burger and opening the fingerprint lock to enter the house.

After finishing his burger, he took out his Chinese painting tools, spread out the paper, and started recording with his phone. Today, he wanted to give the audience something practical and simple. Only when the audience truly learned something would they find the teaching videos valuable, ensuring the long-term success of each video.

Using a large brush dipped in light red, he outlined the flowers. He switched between the tip and the side of the brush to create texture. Then, he used a medium brush soaked in cinnabar, starting from the tip of the petals and working downward, keeping the color deep at the edges and fading inward.

In a pond, vibrant lotuses were hidden among the leaves. The lotuses were quiet and elegant, while the leaves were vast and emerald. The atmosphere of a few lotuses in a pond instantly leapt off the paper. Finally, he added an inscription and his seal, then edited the video with music. At the end, An Rao appeared on camera, briefly explaining the painting process and how to switch brush strokes naturally. His manner was so fluent that one might believe he was an old professor with years of teaching experience.

He had just posted the video to the website, and while it was still under review, his phone rang. The screen displayed two words: “President Song.”

If it were Zhang Ze’an calling, An Rao mostly would not answer, but since it was Song Weichuan, as soon as the call connected, Song Weichuan’s laughing voice came through:

“How do you plan to handle this? Will you handle it personally, or should I help you?”

With no context, An Rao had no idea what he was talking about.

“If you need my help, just ask. However, I will charge a corresponding fee.”

An Rao’s eyes were fixed on the video review screen, but he suddenly noticed the Weibo icon on his computer had a red circle with “99+” in it. Most likely, he was in trouble again.

“Thank you for your concern, President Song. If the fee involves me selling my soul, I think I can handle this myself.”

With Song Weichuan saying, “Fine, I want to see what other skills you have,” An Rao hung up the phone.

He clicked on Weibo. Before he could open his private messages or comments, a long post on the homepage caught his attention.

The title read: “An Rao’s Father Deeply Involved in Gambling Scandal; Neighbors Complain as Loan Sharks Intimidate Them Daily.”

In an instant, An Rao remembered the dozens of text messages asking for money and the blood-red paint on his door. It was not a misunderstanding; he really was in trouble.

The article stated: A Mr. Zhao, who lives in Guanyuan Yipin, could no longer bear it and told reporters that a group of men had been banging on Chu Guannan’s door and shouting every day, even splashing paint on the walls. When he asked these men about the situation, they claimed the father of a minor star named An Rao had been gambling and owed 12 million. The father had fled, and since the loan sharks could not find the debtor, they tracked down his son’s address. They insisted the son pay the father’s debt. This had been going on for several days, and even calling the police had been useless. Mr. Zhao had no choice but to ask reporters for help.

Although this Weibo post had not been verified, the anti-fans did not care. They were as festive as if it were New Year’s Day:

“Hee hee, hammered again! Do they not know gambling is illegal? Breaking the law despite knowing it; birds of a feather indeed.” “The entertainment industry can tolerate affairs or domestic violence, but touching the legal bottom line, I am afraid An Rao is completely finished this time.” “Twelve million is nothing to Chu Guannan, right? He should hurry up and clean up his wife’s mess, or he will be crying behind bars with his wife, hahaha.” “Chu Guannan: I do not want this wife anymore. Is there any sucker willing to take him?” “Guannan, divorce him! I really cannot take it anymore. What did Guannan do wrong to be scolded along with this idiot?”

An Rao quietly scrolled through the comments. This matter was indeed thorny. Unlike those groundless rumors in videos, if the original host’s father really owed a gambling debt of such a massive amount, his career as a star was essentially over.

What was strange, however, was that based on Chu Guannan’s behavior scrubbing the paint outside, he truly did not know about this. The original host seemingly never mentioned it to him. But if it were Chu Guannan, 12 million would be available with a wave of his hand. Why would the original host not take the opportunity to fleece this ATM?

An Rao decided to apologize to his neighbor, Mr. Zhao, who had been so disturbed. When he rang the doorbell, an impatient voice soon came from inside: “I already told you I am not familiar with that couple! Stop bothering me!”

An Rao said softly, “Hello, Mr. Zhao. I am An Rao, your neighbor.”

Hearing the visitor identify himself, Mr. Zhao became even angrier and cursed, “You still have the face to come here! I cannot do anything all day because of the trouble you cause!”

As he spoke, the door swung open. Mr. Zhao had already organized every insult he knew. The moment the door opened, the curse word was about to leave his mouth, but he froze. Although this minor star lived next door, Mr. Zhao was always busy with his career and rarely came home. This was the first time he had seen him in person.

Those eyes, filled with starlight, were tinged with a weary red, making him look as pitiful as if he had been bullied. His lips were vibrant red, creating a strong visual impact against his pale skin. Could someone in this world really look like this?

Mr. Zhao swallowed and instinctively clasped his hands together. “Ah, ah, hello.”

An Rao bowed slightly. “I want to apologize first. My affairs have disturbed your rest. I am sorry.”

Even in apology, he remained composed and dignified.

Mr. Zhao’s smile almost reached his ears, and he waved his hands hurriedly. “It is nothing, it is nothing! I lectured them too. How could they splash paint on someone else’s door? It is so immoral. It is fine; please do not take it to heart.”

An Rao smiled and straightened up. “Thank you for your understanding. I am sorry for the trouble. I will handle this matter as soon as possible.”

“Oh, do not worry about it! We are neighbors. If you need anything, just ask. Is there enough money? I can lend it to you first, and you can pay me back slowly.”

An Rao shook his head. “Thank you for your concern. I will find a way to solve it. Sorry for the intrusion.”

When he left, Mr. Zhao leaned out of his doorway, his gaze following An Rao’s back reluctantly and greedily, as if he wanted to take in everything about this person. If he were to go head-to-head with Chu Guannan, what were his chances of winning? In terms of assets, he probably would not lose to Chu Guannan, right?

When he returned home, he saw Chu Guannan sitting on the sofa looking at his phone. He had evidently seen some news, as his sharp brows were deeply furrowed.

An Rao walked over and leaned his body gently against Chu Guannan’s arm. “Hubby, I am hungry. Go cook for me, okay?”

“Why did you not tell me?” Chu Guannan replied with an aloof coldness, ignoring the request.

It seemed he had seen the news too. The original host truly had never mentioned the gambling debt. An Rao finally understood why the original host’s balance was only 66 yuan after being in the industry for so many years. Combined with Song Weichuan’s “bloodsucker” comment, it was now certain: this person was the original host’s gambling father.

An Rao smiled. “Because I felt embarrassed and ashamed to say it.”

Chu Guannan suddenly stood up, and An Rao lost his balance, falling onto the sofa. An Rao silently watched his departing figure, then rolled over to lie flat, his gaze moving with the diamond chandelier above.

A short while later, footsteps sounded in the living room again. The next second, something fell into An Rao’s lap. He reached out to look; it was a bank card.