The Scumbag A Really Doesn't Want to Become Famous [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 58

Yu Youqing didn’t say anything else. She simply kept the flashlight on her phone stubbornly lit.

She didn’t ask why Jiang Musheng’s body had stiffened slightly, nor did she question why Jiang Musheng had still chosen to walk this way despite being afraid of the dark.

What Yu Youqing did was simply what she wanted to do for Jiang Musheng at that moment.

She noticed that once her phone’s flashlight illuminated the small area around them, Jiang Musheng visibly relaxed compared to before.

She knew exactly how it felt to be afraid of the dark.

Especially in Gushan.

She had once gotten lost here as a child, and it had taken her a long time to overcome the deep-seated fear that had lingered afterward.

Yu Youqing stood quietly beside Jiang Musheng, keeping her company.

It wasn’t until Cheng Shunzhu retrieved the balloon and rejoined them with Wei Xi that Yu Youqing noticed a small tag hanging beneath it. Picking it up, she read: [Do Not Remove]

She showed the tag to Cheng Shunzhu. “Looks like a warning from the production team.”

“Who cares? I already took it down. There’s a camera set up near this balloon, it’s definitely part of the mission. Holding onto it can’t be wrong,” Cheng Shunzhu said.

Cheng Shunzhu then asked, “How did you guys know to take this path? I thought only Jiang Musheng and I knew about it.”

Wei Xi replied, “Xiao Yu said she used to play around here a lot as a kid, so she’s familiar with the area. That’s how we ran into you.”

“What a coincidence!” Cheng Shunzhu exclaimed. “Jiang Musheng told me the same thing, so we took the shortcut too.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Youqing and Jiang Musheng exchanged a glance before quickly looking away.

Yu Youqing also found it quite a coincidence.

Since the group had reunited here, they decided to continue together. Within minutes, they reached a fork in the path. At that moment, Yu Youqing and Jiang Musheng spoke simultaneously: “Go left.”

Wei Xi and Cheng Shunzhu echoed in unison, “How did you two know that?”

Yu Youqing: “…”

She knew to go left because, as a child, she had gone right and gotten lost.

“Let’s go,” Jiang Musheng said without explaining, reminding everyone to keep an eye on the time.

As she walked at the back, she seemed lost in thought, as if realizing something unusual about the situation.

Since both had insisted on going left, the others had no objections. Not long after taking that path, they reached the exit.

Along the way, they encountered more balloons.

Each one had a [Do Not Remove] tag attached. Cheng Shunzhu wanted to take every single one, but Yu Youqing had a nagging feeling it wasn’t right, so she settled for taking photos of each balloon instead.

Eventually, Cheng Shunzhu grew tired of collecting them and ended up with only five balloons in hand.

At the exit, the production crew was already waiting for them.

“You actually managed to find this place?” The staff member, who had been rather lethargic since no guests had ever discovered this spot before, immediately perked up upon seeing them arrive. “This is a special shortcut set up by the production team, consolidating tasks from three mountain locations into one. If you can earn the rewards here, it’ll be extremely helpful for your remaining recording.”

Cheng Shunzhu said, “Let’s get started then.”

The staff member glanced at the balloon in Cheng Shunzhu’s hand, hesitating as if wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

Yu Youqing noticed the staff’s expression and suddenly recalled what another staff member had whispered to her before departure. She leaned closer to Jiang Musheng and murmured, “I think this balloon might be a trap.”

She also shared her earlier warning about potentially severe penalties, voicing her concern, “They wouldn’t actually abandon someone on the mountain, would they? Teacher Jiang, you all should try your best during the tasks, let’s avoid being last place.”

Though Yu Youqing tried to hide it, Jiang Musheng detected the underlying worry in her words.

With Yu Youqing by her side, the lingering fear of darkness in Jiang Musheng’s heart had already dissipated. Her voice regained its calm composure as she softly replied, “Alright, I’ll do my best.”

The staff announced: “First task mutual feeding challenge. You must choose someone to pick up food from this table and feed it to your partner. Successfully feeding all three items means victory. You may forfeit, after which you can immediately attempt the second challenge.”

All four participants: “……”

Cheng Shunzhu immediately wanted to quit.

He genuinely didn’t dare to feed Teacher Jiang or be fed by her!!! This had nothing to do with maintaining his idol image.

Yu Youqing, however, found the task relatively simple. She examined the items on the table: a soft glutinous rice ball, noodles, and french fries.

Nothing difficult.

“Will you feed me or should I feed you?” Yu Youqing asked Wei Xi. “How about you feed me? I’ll cooperate.”

“O-okay,” Wei Xi stammered, stealing a glance at Jiang Musheng’s expression before nervously sitting on the stool.

Jiang Musheng turned to Cheng Shunzhu: “Let’s begin then.”

Cheng Shunzhu jumped slightly: “Yes yes! Please feed me, Teacher Jiang.”

Jiang Musheng had no objections.

Cheng Shunzhu and Yu Youqing sat obediently side by side like well-behaved children waiting to be fed.

Under pressure, Wei Xi first picked up what seemed the easiest the small glutinous rice ball, cradling it carefully with his other hand to prevent dropping it. He successfully delivered it to Yu Youqing’s mouth.

Yu Youqing tried her best to cooperate, but perhaps due to Wei Xi’s nervousness, his hand trembled just before reaching her mouth. The rice ball fell with a plop onto Yu Youqing’s lap.

Without hesitation, Yu Youqing picked up the rice ball and popped it into her mouth, cheeks bulging as she chewed. “Three-second rule! Does this still count as successfully delivered since it didn’t hit the ground?”

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

[“Just a second ago, I was wondering why Yu Youqing had to make such a big deal about eating, but after seeing her performance, I have to say—this variety show wouldn’t be worth watching without her.”]

[“She’s truly the queen of entertainment.”]

[“Oh my god, I had no idea she was this adorable!”]

[“Ughhh, this is just her real personality! Yu Youqing is the only one who could turn haters into stans.”]

[“When she mentioned the three-second rule, I was shocked. Who knew Yu Youqing was so down-to-earth?”]

[“My opinion of her has definitely changed, +1.”]

[“Hahahaha what’s up with Yu Youqing? Is she secretly a variety show pro?”]

Meanwhile, on Cheng Shunzhu’s side, Jiang Musheng picked up her chopsticks and smoothly delivered a sticky rice ball to him. But just as it reached his mouth, Cheng Shunzhu suddenly turned his head away, bursting into laughter.

“S-sorry, Teacher Jiang, but my Youqing-jie is just too hilarious, hahahaha, I can’t take it!” Cheng Shunzhu was laughing so hard he could barely breathe, still trying to apologize. “It’s my fault, Teacher Jiang.”

At that moment, Yu Youqing looked like a little hamster hoarding food. Jiang Musheng’s gaze lingered on her face before she said, “Understandable.”

Then, as if realizing her words might be misinterpreted, she added, “Naturally.”

[“HAHAHAHA even Teacher Jiang can’t hold back—how are we supposed to?”]

[“I’ve finally ‘got’ Yu Youqing, and now I’m just confused?”]

[“Is there a link for that sticky rice ball? I wanna eat it too, drools.”]

[“I also want to be fed!”]

[“Little Bamboo is always so terrified of Teacher Jiang,hahaha!”]

The staff member stifled a laugh. “Doesn’t count. First feeding attempt failed.”

“No worries, but it was tasty. You should drop the link, I bet the audience is asking for it,” Yu Youqing said, completely unfazed as she swallowed the rice ball.

The next food was noodles, and this time, Jiang Musheng went first. But since it was zhajiangmian, she wasn’t sure how to deliver it to Cheng Shunzhu’s mouth. Mimicking Wei Xi’s earlier method with Yu Youqing, she tried to support it with her hand, causing Cheng Shunzhu to nearly jump in shock.

“N-no, Teacher Jiang, I’ll do it myself!” There was no way Cheng Shunzhu would dare let Jiang Musheng feed him like that, so he tried to take over, only to fumble and drop the noodles on the floor.

Wei Xi, on the other hand, had more common sense. She neatly twirled the noodles around her chopsticks before feeding them to Yu Youqing, completing the task effortlessly.

Yu Youqing’s eyes lit up as she took a bite, her voice brimming with delight. “This zhajiangmian is amazing!”

[“???”]

[“I thought I was watching a dating show, not a mukbang, why am I suddenly hungry?”]

[“Mom, it’s not even midnight and I’m already starving.”]

[“At this point, Yu Youqing should just switch careers.”]

[“Hahahaha Little Bamboo really treats Teacher Jiang like an elder respect!”]

The final challenge was feeding french fries.

Cheng Shunzhu declared, “This one’s in the bag!”

But Yu Youqing had a feeling something was off, would the show really make it that simple?

Sure enough, when the staff brought out an unusually long fry, she realized this was no ordinary task.

The staff member said, “There are two ways to complete this challenge. First, you can feed each other fries mouth-to-mouth, no limit on how many you eat.”

Cheng Shunzhu: “???”

“I can’t do that.”

Wei Xi also said, “Me neither! My relationship with Xiaoyu is too pure for mouth-to-mouth fry feeding.”

Yu Youqing herself hadn’t fully processed the idea yet. She noticed the fries were deliberately made extra long the production team wasn’t that cruel and had considered the potential awkwardness between guests. The “mouth-to-mouth” feeding just meant each person had to hold one end of the fry, which wasn’t actually difficult. There was no rule forcing them to bite the middle at the same time.

Jiang Musheng didn’t voice her opinion, but Cheng Shunzhu had strong objections and immediately asked, “What’s the second option?”

Staff: “The second way is for one person to eat the entire fry in one bite. That also counts as completion.”

That fry was at least as long as two index fingers. Eating it all in one go was that even humanly possible?

Cheng Shunzhu: “…”

He turned to Jiang Musheng. “Jiang-jie, maybe we should just.” give up.

But then he noticed Jiang Musheng wasn’t even looking at him. Following her gaze, he saw that Yu Youqing and Wei Xi had already completed the challenge.

Yu Youqing had taken the initiative. She told Wei Xi they could just nibble opposite ends, keeping a safe distance, and finish quickly. Wei Xi obediently followed along, so they breezed through it without a hitch.

Jiang Musheng finally looked back at him. “Can you do it?”

“Probably not,” Cheng Shunzhu said with a pained expression, already apologetic. “I’m afraid I’d burst out laughing and accidentally spit it in your face. I’d never forgive myself, Jiang-jie.”

Jiang Musheng said, “We’ll forfeit.”

The staff announced, “Congratulations to Team Yu Youqing for winning this mini-challenge! Unfortunately, Team Jiang Musheng has failed. Now, let’s move on to the second task.”

“The Staring Contest.”

Cheng Shunzhu perked up. “That’s it? Easy! I can definitely do this one!”

Yu Youqing warned him, “Don’t speak too soon. The production team isn’t known for playing fair.”

Staff: “Yu-laoshi, we’re right here.”

Yu Youqing: “Go on.”

Suddenly, Jiang Musheng handed her a tissue.

Yu Youqing: “?”

“At the corner of your mouth.” Jiang Musheng gestured to her own lips. “Fry crumbs.”

“Ah, right.” Yu Youqing hastily wiped her mouth, scrubbing like she was trying to erase evidence.

The cameras didn’t even catch this moment.

The staff continued, “The Staring Contest is simple just sit on each other’s laps and maintain eye contact for ten seconds.”

Everyone: “???”

Cheng Shunzhu: “I’m out.”

[Little Bamboo keeps unlocking achievements in “I can do this!” only to immediately hit “Nope, never mind.”]

[Zhuzhu’s comebacks always land right on my funny bone.]

[Honestly, Jiang-jie and Shunzhu give off such teacher-student vibes, zero romantic chemistry lol.]

[Even the Jiang-Yu shippers can’t force Jiang-Shunzhu into existence hahaha.]

[Ugh, no need to pit them against each other like that.]

Yu Youqing and Jiang Musheng were both seasoned enough to handle games and challenges, but Cheng Shunzhu and Wei Xi, being newer to the industry, naturally struggled with pushing boundaries.

Moreover, Cheng Shunzhu never considered Jiang Musheng as a romantic interest in the first place, while Wei Xi also had someone else in mind. This made completing these intimate tasks even more challenging.

On the other hand, Jiang Musheng and Yu Youqing had no romantic feelings toward their respective partners, so they were much more relaxed about it.

Wei Xi and Yu Youqing exchanged a glance, thinking the task wasn’t too bad.

It was just like sitting on a close friend’s lap, what was there to be embarrassed about? Wei Xi sat down, and just as Yu Youqing was about to casually plop onto Wei Xi’s lap, she heard,

Cheng Shunzhu ask, “Can someone else do it for me?”

Jiang Musheng had no idea what Cheng Shunzhu was up to.

As an alpha, she couldn’t possibly sit on Cheng Shunzhu’s lap, so Jiang Musheng had already taken a seat on the stool.

The staff, knowing Cheng Shunzhu was a guest who often created great variety show moments, even asked, “How do you want someone else to do it for you?”

Jiang Musheng, familiar with Cheng Shunzhu’s personality and originally intending to help him out, started to say, “If not, we can just skip this,”

“I really can’t bring myself to sit on Teacher Jiang’s lap, I’d burst out laughing,” Cheng Shunzhu said, trying his best to sound utterly sincere. “Can I have Sister Youqing do it for me instead?”

Yu Youqing instantly: “???”

And Jiang Musheng’s words abruptly cut off.

Cheng Shunzhu: “Teacher Jiang, what were you just saying?”

Jiang Musheng: I was about to say how we could skip this damn task, but turns out we really can’t.jpg

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