Chapter 54: Reunion
Just like the last water splashing festival, this time, the show crew prepared a surprise interaction with the contestants for some fun content during the program.
The production team was recording while also making urgent edits to the show's plan. If it was always about the talent selection, the audience would get bored.
Installing cameras in their bedrooms was meant to capture interesting behind-the-scenes moments from the contestants' lives – something the audience enjoyed watching.
They were taking the top 30 contestants to a music festival. There, the contestants would also put on performances to canvass votes.
The performances were set for the evening, but they arrived on site in the daytime. Their assigned task was... to distribute flyers promoting themselves.
The production team made festival flyers for each of them, featuring their look from their music videos and a personalized invitation message.
The audience, upon receiving the flyers, could only enter the venue using one person’s flyer.
Tonight, the contestant with the highest number of people entering the venue via their personal flyer would get an additional 10,000 off-site votes.
We had just entered July and the weather was fiercely hot. Today was especially clear with almost no clouds in the sky, and hardly any haze.
In the car, An Zhihan began applying sunscreen to Su Jinli: "Going out to distribute flyers in this weather, you'll certainly get sunburnt."
Feeling a little guilty, Su Jinli replied, "I'm glad it isn't raining; that would be even worse."
An Zhihan couldn't help but ask, "Don't you think this idea from the production team is a bit crazy? Won't it cause chaos?"
"You really overestimate your own popularity," Wu Yu, sitting on the other side, suddenly said.
"You don't check Weibo, you wouldn't know. Do you know how many followers I have now?"
"I don't want to know, and besides, not all your Weibo followers are here."
Su Jinli, after applying the sunscreen, began looking at his own flyer. Looking at his photo, he couldn't help but say, "I look pretty good, don't I?"
"When did you become so narcissistic?" An Zhihan said, aggressively dispensing more sunscreen spray.
"It started when fans began cropping everyone else out from the screenshots, leaving just me."
This immediately upset An Zhihan.
After they got out of the car, they set off in different directions to start handing out the flyers.
The production team had ample funding at present, so they were doing a good job protecting the contestants, preventing any issues from arising.
After getting off the car, Su Jinli had initially stayed with An Zhihan and the others, but they soon separated.
An Zhihan rushed straight for the snack stalls after dismounting, knowing that's where most people gather. After walking just a short distance, he loudly exclaimed, "Wu Yu! Wu Yu! What are you doing here?!"
Wu Yu glanced over, saw the black fish in the fish tank, rolled his eyes and walked away.
Su Jinli stood by the side, unsure of whom to follow. The place was bustling with people. He continued handing out flyers and soon separated from the rest, enveloped by his fans.
"Su Jinli, I am your super fan!"
"Little Jinli, is your throat okay?"
"How's your health now?"
"May I pinch your cheek?"
Numerous fans recognized Su Jinli, approaching him for flyers and inquiring about his condition.
Su Jinli answered each one cheerfully, signing autographs when required and then continuing with the flyer distribution.
Some fans took some flyers to help Su Jinli with the promotion. A group of young girls gathered together, enthusiastically marketing Su Jinli. They praised Su Jinli in an exaggerated manner, treating him as if he were divine.
Su Jinli went over to them, asking, "Are you all fairies? Why are you all so nice?"
"We are little fairies!" the girls responded.
"How are you single with such a charming personality? How could any boy overlook you?"
"We're just really happy to help you," they stated.
Su Jinli did not have any tissues in his pocket, so he used his sleeve to wipe the sweat off their faces. This resulted in a chorus of screams.
Looking somewhat embarrassed, he smiled, "I sincerely appreciate you all. You're all fantastic people."
Shortly after, the girls began to promote for Su Jinli. They offered to take a photo with anyone willing to take Su Jinli's flyer for the event.
Eventually, the girls were solely in charge of distributing the flyers, while Su Jinli spent his time posing for pictures and signing autographs.
"I'd like to buy you all some soda drinks, but I seem to have left my money," Su Jinli said, patting his pocket regretfully.
"Are you a professional soda provider or what? You were offering sodas to people last time at the plaza," one girl teased.
"Ah, how did you all know that?" Su Jinli asked in surprise.
"Haven't you looked at Weibo?" one of them replied.
Su Jinli shook his head.
The girls excitedly spilled the beans about various rumors, leaving Su Jinli quite surprised and bewildered. He moved away with the girls, and when they passed by a small stall, he paused and asked, "Could anyone lend me twenty yuan, please?"
Immediately, a girl handed him the money.
Su Jinli handed the twenty yuan to the stall owner before picking up a bow and arrow and asked the girls, "What do you want?"
The girls were thrilled and pointed out their preferred toys on display.
Su Jinli's archery skills were specially honed, making his shots extra precise. He could aim at any prize and hit it right on the money, earning his prizes each time.
As a result, Su Jinli, with twenty yuan, hit nine plush toys and fifty yuan in cash.
Even though the stall owner was devastated, his stall attracted many spectators because Su Jinli had visited. Plus, with cameras around, he could not complain much.
No one had seen anything like this before; Su Jinli had claimed more than half of the good prizes.
Having returned the money to the girl who had lent him, Su Jinli then held out thirty yuan and proposed, "Let me buy you all some ice cream cones."
Several girls immediately screamed with excitement. To not only have such close contact with their idol but also receive gifts from Su Jinli and get treated to ice cream, the girls were over the moon and almost teary-eyed.
One girl kept murmuring, "This is definitely the happiest day of my life."
"Your happiest day is the day you were born," Su Jinli replied and handed her an ice cream cone.
Thanks to the helping fans, Su Jinli quickly finished handing out all the promotional flyers. After communicating with the videographer, they decided to return to the meeting point.
While distributing flyers, Su Jinli had ventured quite far. To avoid crowds, he deliberately walked along a secluded path guided by the cameraman's navigation.
They passed by a small teahouse, and Su Jinli found the architecture quite pleasing, so he looked up and saw a familiar face.
He immediately waved and called out, "Old man! Hey!"
The old man sitting on the second floor in a pavilion peered at Su Jinli but didn't say a word.
"Are you feeling better?" Su Jinli asked.
"Who are you?" the old man inquired.
"I'm the one who took you to the hospital when you fainted in the car last time."
The old man stared at Su Jinli for a while before sitting back down.
Su Jinli thought the old man wouldn't pay him any more attention and was about to leave, but he was quickly invited to the second floor. Someone restrained the cameraman and bodyguard, not allowing them to continue filming.
With a puzzled look, Su Jinli went upstairs. Upon entering, he noticed only a few people wearing suits in the room, who seemed more like bodyguards than tea drinkers.
He followed the person who invited him upstairs to the terrace, where he saw the old man and continued to smile and greet him, "You've recovered quite quickly."
"Indeed. Sit down and have some tea," the old man replied politely, but still maintained that air of unfamiliarity and aloofness.
"I am rather thirsty." Su Jinli sat down opposite the old man. Looking at the teapot on the table and back at the old man, he placed his hands on the chair's armrests, crossed his legs gracefully, and relaxed without shaking.
This too was a form of courtesy.
The old man glanced at Su Jinli and poured tea for him.
Tea etiquette emphasized filling the cup to about seventy percent full.
There was an old saying, "Fill the wine to show respect, fill the tea to deceive." Naturally, a true tea lover would not overlook this detail.
Su Jinli picked up the teacup and took a sip, praising, "Delicious."
"Not many young people enjoy tea these days."
"I often join my grandfather for tea, but most of the tea at our house is not presentable."
"Have some walnuts," the old man pushed a plate of walnuts towards Su Jinli.
Su Jinli made a face as if he had just bitten into a sour lemon, "I don't really like these, they taste a bit bitter."
"These are not bitter, try them," the old man continued to urge.
Su Jinli ate two and still found them unappealing, "I really don't like them."
"Eating more of these is good for your brain."
"But they don't taste good."
"You young people only like junk food."
Su Jinli was in a hurry to go back, so after sitting for a while, he said, "Since you're feeling better, I'll be going now."
"Do you still have contact with that lady?" the old man suddenly asked out of the blue.
"You mean Sister Yura? I'm in touch with her."
"Did she ever mention to you that I once helped her?"
"Yes, she did."
The old man seemed surprised, and asked Su Jinli, "Don't you have anything you want me to explain?"
Su Jinli was asked inexplicably, "Since you've already helped Sister Yura, it's like returning a favour, what more could I ask for? Besides, seeing your car accident on the roadside, I definitely had to help. This is the same principle as picking up a penny on the road and handing it over to the police."
This response surprised the old man. He laughed a little, continued to look at Su Jinli, and asked, "So, does it not bother you that I only helped her, but not you?"
Su Jinli answered truthfully, "Why should I mind? She's a good person, and she would certainly receive rewards. Moreover, she gave me a card with more than tens of thousands of dollars in it. That card has been incredibly helpful."
The old man immediately understood. It turned out that Yura had granted other favours to Su Jinli, which caused him to let go of any grievances. So, he just continued to ask, "What did it help you with?"
Su Jinli honestly told him about Hao Ge's situation.
Only then did the old man discover that Su Jinli had used this money to help another person, someone he had also met by chance.
"You are quite trusting," the old man sighed.
"He's a good person, that much I can tell."
"You're a fool," the old man said mercilessly.
"If I weren't a fool, would you be sitting here?" Su Jinli asked.
The old man was stopped by this question. He paused and looked at Su Jinli, unable to refute.
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