“Xiao Wei, I know you’re different from other people, but if you don’t become popular, how will the company ever let you do the things you like?”
“Just listen to me this once. Agree to it for me, just this once. What if? What if you suddenly explode in popularity? Then wouldn’t you have everything?”
【Hahahahaha, I’m dying. Bai Jianwei, this famous variety-show disaster case, is joining another variety show!】
【And it’s even some show that popped out of who-knows-what forgotten corner. What was it called again? Taking Mom and Dad on a Variety Show?】
【The entertainment industry really is getting more and more creative with variety shows now. First there were dating shows, then child-rearing shows, and now there’s what… a parents variety show??】
【Child-rearing shows have cute, obedient little kids to adore. Dating shows have sweet romance to ship. What does this show have? Watching ordinary life turn into complete chaos?】
【Who accepted this thing for Bai Jianwei? What a waste of such a good-looking face.】
【Mm… is there a chance that Bai Jianwei, the king of scandals, can only get this kind of thing now?】
Sister Sang’s words and the netizens’ ridiculous comments kept alternating in Bai Jianwei’s mind. At that moment, he was sitting in the car arranged by the director’s team, leaning against the window with a hand over his heart like a delicate beauty in distress, and he let out a very, very deep sigh.
The netizens were not wrong at all. He, Bai Jianwei, a famous variety-show scandal magnet, really could only get this kind of variety show now.
A small director, a low-budget production, and by sheer dumb luck, they had managed to run into the best livestreaming platform. The contract had only been signed yesterday, and the show was already going live today. It was casual to the extreme.
No matter which angle one looked at it from, it had “flop” written all over it in every possible form.
And Bai Jianwei was very likely to be the biggest flop among all the flops.
Bai Jianwei was a little worried, but not that worried.
After all, he was already used to being hated on and mocked. If one more came along… it seemed like it did not really matter?
Hiss. Human habits were far too terrifying!
Bai Jianwei discovered in horror that he had actually become used to the daily routine of being slandered and dragged through the mud in every possible way!
Becoming popular was impossible. Trying to clear his name would only make him look guiltier.
Bai Jianwei thought back to his previous experiences on two variety shows, where every attempt to explain himself had only made matters worse. He closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed.
The only fortunate thing this time was that the company had basically given up on him completely. They no longer forced some persona onto him every time he attended an event like they had in the past. This time, he could comfortably and freely be himself!
Bai Jianwei felt a little delighted, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
His lips were red, his teeth were white, his brows and eyes curved beautifully, and his peach-blossom eyes looked as though they could draw a person right into them. He fully lived up to the title he had once earned in the entertainment industry: a beauty unforgettable after a single glance.
…But that was all in the past.
The Bai Jianwei of today was a major source of scandals and memes in the entertainment industry, creating countless jokes for netizens.
Nearly half of those scandals had been produced during the process of participating in variety shows.
And this time, Bai Jianwei was joining a variety show once again. Many fun-seekers had rushed over after hearing the news, but they had not expected to be struck head-on the moment the livestream opened, thoroughly bewitched by his beauty.
Inside the slightly dim car, Bai Jianwei was so fair that he seemed to be glowing. He truly lived up to the “Bai” in his name.
His features were first-class, as though God had carefully carved them. His skin was flawless, and his beauty did not seem quite real, as if he had stepped straight out of an anime.
By then, in the livestream room that had quietly opened, the speed of the bullet comments reached a small peak.
【I’ll admire when it’s time to admire, and I’ll scold when it’s time to scold. At this moment, all I can say is: hi, wife!】
【You people can still worship Bai Jianwei’s face? Have you forgotten what he actually did?】
【What did he do? I’m new here, I don’t really understand!】
【Hahahahaha, I thought everyone watching his livestream would be antis. Turns out there are real passersby too.】
【There are loads of scandals. But based on the current situation, I’ll only mention one: he’s an orphan, but he stubbornly pretended to be rich, and he still refuses to admit it even now.】
【Hehehe, in other words, this show is about to expose his lie immediately! I call that exciting.】
To put it simply, the last time Bai Jianwei participated in a variety show, his attitude toward certain luxury goods had been far too familiar. He often “said outrageous things,” carried himself with a proud expression, yet his own clothing was far too low-key and casual. There was not even the slightest sign that he came from a wealthy family.
At that time, he already had quite a few antis, and very soon, someone dug up the résumé he had submitted to the company. On it, he had written that he was an orphan with no one to rely on.
Back then, it caused a huge storm online. Some people believed Bai Jianwei was merely putting on airs, while others believed that even an orphan might have inherited an estate, and that dressing simply might just be due to his personality.
The two sides argued endlessly and never reached a conclusion.
Then, all the uproar came to an abrupt stop when a photo was leaked.
In the photo, a younger, more immature Bai Jianwei was wearing slightly dirty clothes, squatting beside the curb of a main road. His eyes were bright, and he was holding a one-yuan steamed bun in his hands as if it were something precious. His eyes were full of satisfaction.
Everyone: …Definitely poor.
What rich young master would look that satisfied while eating a steamed bun?
From then on, all talk that Bai Jianwei might be a rich second-generation heir disappeared completely. The image of him as a little liar with a mouth full of lies took deep root in people’s minds, and his reputation collapsed all the way down, never recovering again.
While everyone was still enthusiastically discussing Bai Jianwei’s scandals, the dutiful cameraman in front had already begun chatting smoothly with Bai Jianwei. They were about to begin their first stop—going to each guest’s parents’ home, then meeting up again.
The cameraman was very familiar and friendly by nature. He wore a black short-sleeved shirt and a thick gold chain, and spoke in an extremely warm Northeastern accent. The moment he opened his mouth, he called Bai Jianwei brother. “Brother, we’re almost at your home. Got any thoughts?”
Bai Jianwei instinctively shook his head. But then he thought of the two unreliable elders in his family, and a few indescribably solemn traces actually appeared on his usually smiling face.
Those two… would not cause too much trouble in front of the camera, right?
And in front of the camera, they would not perform as though they did not know each other, right?
Bai Jianwei could not be sure.
But when the viewers in the livestream saw Bai Jianwei’s expression change, they became even more excited. At the same time, they became even more certain that this was definitely a sign that Bai Jianwei felt guilty.
【His expression changed! He’s guilty! He’s definitely panicking, hahahaha.】
【Let’s just wait and watch the drama. I didn’t squat in this trash variety show’s livestream for so long for nothing. Finally, there’s something fun to watch!】
【Rubbing my hands excitedly. So, which slum will Bai Jianwei’s home be in? The Northwest District or the North District?】
When the viewers brought up the address, the cameraman also took the opportunity to mention the issue. He looked again at the address Bai Jianwei had provided to the production team and said hesitantly, “Buddy, you’re sure it’s in… the South District?”
Jing City’s South District was a place where every inch of land was worth gold. It contained countless high-end residential compounds that ordinary people could not even imagine, and was known as a paradise for the wealthy.
And Jing City’s richest man, Rong Sinian, who was also currently ranked first on Zhonghua’s rich list, lived in a famous residential compound in the South District.
【??? Pretentious bro, stop pretending at a time like this, okay?】
【Maybe he lives in some slum inside the South District? Everyone, don’t immediately insist he’s rich. After all, someone has already been thoroughly exposed.】
To protect privacy, the cameraman only mentioned the general district and did not reveal the more specific address.
At that moment, he looked at the name of the residential compound displayed on his phone, then thought about some of the comments he had previously seen online about Bai Jianwei. Respect rose in his heart.
Living in a place like this, yet still willing to go out and work in the entertainment industry while getting scolded—he must truly love show business.
Heh. This kind of sucker was extremely rare in the entertainment industry. Encountering such talent was truly uncommon!
“All right, then we should be arriving soon.”
After the cameraman said this, he began quietly urging the driver to go faster.
People in Zhonghua had one particular trait: they loved watching drama unfold. He could already barely wait to know how countless netizens would react when they learned Bai Jianwei’s real family address!
Bai Jianwei nodded and continued looking worried.
He was still thinking about what he should do when he met that unreliable pair of parents later.
But in truth, no matter how much he thought about it, he could not come up with anything. Besides, he had not seen his parents for a very long time. What if their personalities had changed a little…
Forget it. How could that be possible?
Bai Jianwei shook his head, threw that even more unrealistic thought out of his mind, and chose to close his eyes and rest.
With those two’s completely unreliable personalities from before, the chances of him becoming popular were higher than the chances of his parents becoming steady and mature!
So he might as well give up and go with the flow.
Seeing Bai Jianwei close his eyes, the cameraman considerately turned the car’s air conditioning up a little. From time to time, he also filmed the scenery for the netizens, scenery that looked high-end and luxurious everywhere, quietly hinting at the truth to everyone.
They had already entered the interior of a certain famous residential compound without any obstruction, but it still looked no different from the commercial streets outside.
It was still extravagant, dazzling, and full of temptation.
To put it simply, one glance was enough to know they could not afford it.
Only as they gradually went deeper did certain changes begin to appear. Large areas of exquisite landscaped gardens, a tea room that looked extremely high-end and classy at first glance, a gym filled with all kinds of expensive imported equipment, an indoor heated swimming pool, outdoor open-air hot springs, and more flashed before everyone’s eyes one after another, making them even more amazed and emotional.
The life of rich people looked wonderful at a glance!!
Everyone was filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment!
【Wait… this definitely isn’t a slum.】
【Bai Jianwei rented this house, right!!】
【No, could a little actor like him even rent a house in a place like this?】
However, it was far more than that. Very soon, someone discovered that in the large landscaped garden they had just passed, even a random tree inside was priced at over 800,000!
While everyone was still sighing over it, a five-star hotel sign appeared before their eyes.
Only then did everyone suddenly realise exactly which residential compound this was.
【This five-star hotel… doesn’t it only serve Ziwei Pavilion? trembling while lighting a cigarette】
【Ziwei Pavilion??? I didn’t hear that wrong, did I?】
【That’s right, it’s the one whose name comes from “the Three Terraces shine bright, Shaowei glows brilliantly, their radiance illuminating the Great Ziwei together,” the property developed by Zhonghua’s richest man, the one known as the number one residential compound.】
【But isn’t the important point… that Bai Jianwei really lives here??】
【He… wants to pretend again?】
【The person upstairs is too used to hating, right? Do you think anyone can just enter this residential compound whenever they want?】
At this point, some people in the livestream had already realised something was wrong, while others stubbornly continued to insist, refusing to admit even if it killed them that Bai Jianwei was rich.
It was not until they were about to get out of the car that Bai Jianwei opened his eyes and hopped down from the car. “Let’s go. I’ll take everyone to meet my… parents.”
At that moment, a question suddenly stood before everyone. Bai Jianwei, who had been exposed as an orphan, how could he be participating in this show? And how could he say he was taking everyone to meet his parents?
Everyone was completely dumbfounded. The bullet comments in the livestream refreshed rapidly, making people dizzy.
Outside the livestream room, the show’s popularity climbed level by level. Bai Jianwei, who usually appeared on trending searches only to be cursed at, actually gained a positive headline this time.
And Manager Sang, who had truly always believed that Bai Jianwei was a pitiful little thing and was watching the livestream at the same time, was also stunned. Looking at Bai Jianwei calmly and openly leading everyone into the courtyard, she suddenly felt that he was a little unfamiliar.
It was not until the next moment, when Bai Jianwei lowered his head shyly and said, “All of this is just to make us look very high-end,” that Sang Qin’s heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled back down.
Good. That was right. He was still the same silly, easy-to-coax Bai Xiao Wei.
She gritted her teeth as she thought, He did not even tell me about something this big. When today’s show is over, I will definitely make him pay!
Meanwhile, the netizens watched Bai Jianwei’s familiarity with the place, then listened to his quiet, low-key bragging. Suddenly, they fell silent.
No, wait… What happened to the agreed-upon story that he was a poor man pretending to be rich and full of lies?
He was a real young master from a top-tier wealthy family, damn it!!!
And more importantly, we agreed to be poor together, so why the hell did you secretly become rich behind our backs!
The netizens burst into tears.
In the very next moment, a trending topic was finally pushed to number one, followed by a small “explosive” label—
Bai Jianwei, a real top-tier young master of a wealthy family.
But at the same time, the photo of pitiful Bai Xiao Wei squatting by the road and happily gnawing on a steamed bun was also pushed up again.
The contrast between the two trending searches was especially obvious.
For a moment, people could not tell whether Bai Jianwei was a young master from a wealthy family, or a poor boy down on his luck, gnawing on steamed buns on the street.
Countless drama-loving netizens rushed over after hearing the news and left three question marks in the comments section.
??? Sleeping on the street and gnawing on steamed buns, but also a rich young master?
Could this be some new meme format they did not know about??!
