The Salted Fish And Protagonist A Ended Up Together - Chapter 6

Gu Man sat on the sofa beside her, her gaze drifting downward, looking at something indiscernible.

By the time Wang Qiang finished speaking, five minutes had passed. Realizing he was being a bit long-winded, he cleared his throat loudly, his voice booming: “Now, I shall announce the matter everyone cares about most, the room assignments!”

“Based on the scores determined by the program crew, Wen Mian and Su Shiqiu have obtained the highest score with a total of 100 points. Gu Man and Zhang Yunxi are second with 80 points, and finally, our Wang Mo and Song Xue have 50 points.”

“According to the rankings, Wen Mian and Su Shiqiu get to choose their rooms first! Everyone, keep up the hard work!”

Wen Mian was startled awake by the sudden rise in his volume. Rubbing her bleary eyes, she looked at Wang Qiang in confusion. Su Shiqiu gave her arm a gentle nudge and whispered, “We get to pick our rooms first.”

Realization finally dawned on Wen Mian. With a dazed “Oh,” she stepped forward.

In truth, there weren’t many room types. The production team had likely considered the artists’ statuses and prepared four single rooms. After a quick thought she and Su Shiqiu were Omegas, Gu Man and Wang Mo were Alphas, and Song Xue and Zhang Yunxi were Betas. Since Alphas and Omegas couldn’t room together, Wen Mian ultimately chose a single room.

Why worry about others? As long as I’m comfortable, it’s fine. Besides, the crew will surely have everything arranged.

Su Shiqiu turned to Zhang Yunxi. “Xixi, why don’t we stay together?”

Zhang Yunxi nodded and quickly agreed, “Of course!”

Thanks to Su Shiqiu, everyone’s rooms were settled in a second.

An Unexpected Helping Hand

Wen Mian dragged her luggage toward her room on the second floor. Looking at the staircase, she sighed. Even in an ABO world, why couldn’t they make stairs disappear in the writing?

Steeling herself, she reached down to grab her suitcase. Wait… where is it?

She turned around and her eyes landed first on a slender, aesthetically pleasing arm with faint veins showing a very familiar sight. Looking up, she saw Gu Man glancing at her, her tone flat: “Aren’t you going upstairs?”

Without waiting for a response, Gu Man picked up the luggage and headed up the stairs.

Surprise flickered in Wen Mian’s eyes. Wasn’t it said that Gu Man hated the original owner? Why was she helping her? Unable to find a reason, Wen Mian simply noted that Gu Man seemed to have quite good manners.

Following behind Gu Man, Wen Mian reached the second floor with ease. Once at the room, Gu Man set the suitcase down.

Wen Mian took it and smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Gu Man.”

Gu Man gave a faint “Mm,” walked to the adjacent room, and pushed the door open. Only then did Wen Mian realize their rooms were right next to each other.

The Rise of a Fanbase

After washing up, Wen Mian rolled around on her bed, feeling a bit disappointed. It’s not as comfortable as the bed at home! Truly, it’s easy to go from rags to riches, but hard to go back.

Her phone vibrated. She rolled to the head of the bed to answer it. A loud voice erupted from the other end: “Wen Mian! You have fans now!”

Wen Mian quickly pulled the phone away from her ear, asking curiously, “Fans? Where did they come from?”

Xu Qing’s voice was full of irrepressible joy. “You did well today. Specifically, that photo Zhang Yunxi took attracted a lot of ‘face fans’ (visual fans). Keep it up tomorrow, and remember stay away from Gu Man.”

Recalling the photo she had shared earlier, Wen Mian checked her account. The comments were already dominated by fans of her visuals:

• “Sister is so beautiful! Take more, I love watching!”
• “Beautiful! So beautiful that I’m lost in the universe!”
• “Xixi took such a great photo; it perfectly captured Wen Mian’s beauty. Love it!”

A smile spread across Wen Mian’s face. “I got it, thanks Sister Xu.”

Xu Qing was still unaccustomed to Wen Mian being so obedient. She muttered a quick “Just keep it up” and hung up. Wen Mian continued scrolling through the comments. Though most were focused on her looks, she could feel their genuine excitement.

Finding a spot with good lighting, she took a new photo and posted it. It immediately drew out the “night owls” who hadn’t slept yet:

• Mian Mian Loves to Sleep (Wen Mian): “Hehe, glad you like it.”
• Fan: “A succubus? I’m officially a fan now, not just a visual fan!”

With a gentle look in her eyes, Wen Mian put her phone down and tucked herself in. She drifted off to sleep with a smile, perhaps dreaming of sweet honey.

The Early Morning “Easter Egg”

As night deepened and the guests slept, Wang Qiang held an emergency meeting with the staff to discuss the next day’s tasks.

The next morning, the crew started causing trouble early. They opened the livestream, and early risers and those who hadn’t slept yet flooded in.

Wang Qiang quickly explained, “Hello everyone! The official stream still starts at 10:00 AM. This is just a random ‘Easter Egg’ segment.”

He then sent a Beta staff member to knock on Wen Mian’s door. After several knocks, there was no answer. The viewers laughed:

• “Haha, nobody’s home!”
• “That’s me for sure, simply cannot get up.”

Wang Qiang gritted his teeth and decided to call her. The phone rang for a long time, but still, no one picked up. The mockery in the chat intensified.

Wang Qiang’s face flushed bright red as he called again.

Wen Mian was so drowsy she couldn’t even open her eyes. She mindlessly grabbed her phone and pressed answer. “Hello? Hi, I’m fine, okay then, bye, hanging up now!”

Before Wang Qiang could get a word in, Wen Mian fired off a string of words and prepared to end the call.

Wang Qiang managed to intercept her just in time, his voice rising in exasperated desperation. “Miss Wen Mian, it is time to wake up and start your missions!”

Wen Mian half-opened her eyes and squinted at the phone. “Time to wake up? Okay, give me five minutes.”

A beep sounded as the phone rolled back onto the head of the bed.

[Hahaha! Is Wen Mian always this funny?]

[As expected of you! I knew from the moment she opened her suitcase yesterday that the production crew wouldn’t be able to control her.]

[I’m dying, the director must be so furious right now.]

Wang Qiang was indeed fuming. He rubbed his chest, whispering self-comforting words: “Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. If I get sick from rage, no one will suffer for me.”

Unbeknownst to him, his mic was still on, and his murmurs were broadcast clearly. The audience laughed even harder. Even the staff members nearby were covering their mouths, their faces turning red from the effort of holding back their laughter.

Wang Qiang gritted his teeth. “Fine, let’s switch to someone else.” He quickly walked away from the scene of his embarrassment.

He didn’t dare call Gu Man, so he decided to target Zhang Yunxi instead. Fortunately, Zhang Yunxi was cooperative and got up quickly.

Wang Qiang began assigning the mission: “Xixi, your task is simple. Randomly choose one guest to wake up, and then they will wake up the next one.”

Zhang Yunxi nodded and said softly, “That’s easy. I’ll go wake up Shiqiu!”

Only then did Wang Qiang remember they were staying in the same room. He slapped his leg in regret, if he had known, he would have assigned the target himself. His original plan was to have Zhang Yunxi wake up Wen Mian.

Within seconds, Su Shiqiu walked out of the room. Su Shiqiu then woke up Song Xue, and Song Xue woke up Wang Mo.

Wang Mo looked at the remaining two names on the list, her eyes filled with despair. “Seriously? These are the only two left for me?”

Thinking of Gu Man’s icy expression, Wang Mo couldn’t help but shiver. Ultimately, she decided to wake up Wen Mian first.

The viewers in the livestream were gleefully watching the drama unfold.

[Hahaha, I hope Momo can actually get Wen Mian up.]

[Based on my experience, the previous scene is about to repeat itself.]

As expected, there was no response to the knocking. Wang Mo picked up her phone and called Wen Mian.

“Mianmian, get up!”

Wen Mian rolled over reluctantly in bed, opening her eyes with a voice thick with sleep. “Okay, I got it. Give me five minutes.”

The audience roared with laughter.

[Another five minutes! I wonder if these five minutes will last forever.]

[So funny! They definitely will!]

Wang Mo, not yet having tasted the bitterness of human nature, waited quietly at the door for five minutes, then six…

Just as she was about to lose patience and call again, the door suddenly swung open. Wen Mian appeared with a fresh, pale, and flawless face, completely free of makeup.

Knowing she was a heavy sleeper, Wen Mian quickly thanked her. “Sorry for the trouble of waking me up.”

The livestream chat paused for a split second before being flooded with comments.

[So beautiful! Stunning!]

[She’s so pretty I don’t even know what to say!]

[The visual fans were right, I love this!]

Wang Mo didn’t linger on the delay. Instead, a meaningful smile played on her lips. “Mianmian, we have a mission. Don’t you want to know what it is?”

Wen Mian felt a moment of helplessness. With that look on your face, who would want to know! She replied decisively, “No, I don’t.”

“The mission is…Wait, you… you don’t?” Wang Mo blurted out before realizing Wen Mian had rejected her.

She gave an awkward laugh and stopped playing games. “Even if you don’t want to know, you have to. The mission is to wake up Gu Man!”

At the end of her sentence, she spread her hands, her tone full of mischief.

Wen Mian looked around. Everyone else was dressed and ready, Gu Man was the only one missing.

She wondered if it would be awkward for her to wake Gu Man up, but then she remembered it was a mission. Bracing herself, she gave a casual nod. “Fine, I’ll go.”

Gu Man’s room was very close. Wen Mian walked through the crowd and…thud, thud…knocked loudly on the door.

Everyone froze. Wait, is Wen Mian really this brave?

Song Xue gritted her teeth, thinking indignantly. If I knew it was that simple, I would have knocked on Gu Man’s door myself!

The viewers were a mix of those waiting for a scene, those worried, and those reveling in the chaos…