“Ask Yanghe,” Wen Zheng said. “Xiaoyu and I are both game streamers.”
Yanghe also said, "I can sing a song; there's no need to prepare anything."
The planner declared emphatically: "No, you have to provide three programs! And we need them to be fresh, exciting, and imaginative!"
Before anyone could object, he exclaimed enthusiastically, "I saw the program and I immediately thought this gala was too conservative, lacking any highlights. Who says game streamers can't be on TV? How outdated! What everyone wants to see isn't professional dance moves or beautiful singing voices, but rather exciting moments, exciting moments, exciting moments!"
He emphasized it three times to show its importance, then took a few breaths before looking enthusiastically at everyone, hoping for their enlightening response.
Silence fell.
"What do you mean by 'explosive point'?" Deng Puyue asked innocently.
"Contrast!" The planner pulled out an electronic pen, wrote in mid-air, and passionately explained, "Viewers expect the unexpected, such as a good singer performing dances, a dancer telling jokes, food streamers from the lifestyle section acting as judges, commenting on whether the dishes cooked by game streamers are delicious, and so on and so forth!"
He finished, the words in mid-air slowly disappeared, he put the pen cap back on, and concluded: "Whether it's true or not is not important at all. What everyone wants to see is your unknown side!"
After finishing his presentation, his face flushed with excitement, and he put down his pen to look at everyone expectantly.
"……don't want."
The group stood up one by one, expressionless, looking bored and ready to leave. Bai Shuang even sharply summarized, "Why should we embarrass ourselves in front of others? Dream on."
"???" The planner was stunned for a moment, speechless. Director Liu was exasperated: "You should have just told us that, why did you tell them? These streamers are really something else, they don't care at all about going broke if they don't become famous..."
After a few complaints, he quickly urged them to stay: "Hey, wait a minute, there's more to it than meets the eye. You won't be on the show for nothing!"
benefit?
In this world, who is more refined than whom? The five men sat down with nothing to do, staring at Director Liu and waiting for him to speak.
Director Liu gritted his teeth: "Featured spot, one month, plus a platinum contract, unlimited duration."
Wen Zheng is about to become the champion of the Survival Space Streamer Competition. He already has a platinum contract. Before he could raise any objections, Director Liu quickly added, "And another thing, 200,000 each."
Deng Puyue immediately stood up, smiling broadly on behalf of everyone: "No problem, no problem, it's a pleasure to cooperate."
...
Director Liu and the planner clutched their chests and went back to their rooms to calm down. The new generation of the King family gathered together to discuss the issue of selling their bodies for the next night in order to secure the million.
Everyone likes money. Although we don't lack it, we'd rather have as much as we can get for free.
Deng Puyue wanted to support her boyfriend, Wen Zheng wanted to support her cat, and Yanghe wanted to support herself; they were all very satisfied with the deal.
However, let's forget about acting foolish. Director Liu also agreed that as long as it's a show, they can do whatever they want.
Yanghe: "Of the three programs, I'll sing a song."
That solves one of them.
"What about you guys? What do you have that you can actually do? Just something that won't embarrass you, but please don't bother with singing," Yanghe asked.
"I can't sing even if you ask me to, I'm tone-deaf." Deng Puyue honestly said, "I also fall down when I dance, forget the words when I recite, and I've never been on stage for any arts performance since I was a child."
Yanghe was convinced and then asked Bai Shuang, "Where's Brother Bai?"
Bai Shuang: "...Can I pretend to fall asleep instantly? I can fall asleep in three seconds if I want to."
Yanghe: "..."
This isn't some kind of show featuring extraordinary people or events!
When Wen Zheng saw Yang He looking at him, he hesitated for a moment and said, "I can recite Buddhist scriptures."
"What?" Yanghe was stunned.
“Buddhist scriptures,” Wen Zheng said seriously. “Both Sanskrit and Chinese are acceptable. Namo Refuge in all Buddhas throughout the ten directions and the entire universe; Namo Refuge in all Dharma throughout the ten directions and the entire universe; Namo Refuge in…”
"Stop!" Yanghe quickly called for a halt, sweating profusely. "Forget about this, is there anything else? Don't you game streamers usually have any highlights?"
"Memory disk? It's just a bunch of numbers randomly placed on the spot, and I think I can memorize them in three seconds."
Yanghe: "..." It's starting to resemble a program about extraordinary people and events.
Yanghe finally turned its expectant gaze to Bei Sining.
"Brother Ning, what about you? You're so handsome..."
“...The show will be right on the platform,” Deng Puyue replied.
Bei Sining was displeased when she heard this, as if she were talking about someone who was incompetent.
"I know a lot," he said seriously. "I can play the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, rites, archery, charioteering, and mathematics."
His gaze flickered for a moment, then his face darkened. He seemed to be angry with himself again, and said in a deep voice, "I'm not bad. I do everything well."
Wen Zheng was surprised, not expecting Bei Sining to know these things.
In his mind, even if the cat spirit turned into a human, it should be like his life these past two days: eating and playing, competing with himself, admiring his beauty in the mirror, and then lazily lying down... instead of going through all the trouble of learning some kind of talent.
Yanghe was astonished: "I've heard of rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics...aren't those the Six Arts of a Gentleman?"
"The Six Arts of a Gentleman?" Xiaoyu, a poor student, was bewildered.
Yanghe explained: "I studied classical Chinese in college, so these are actually common knowledge from ancient times. Qinqi Shuhua mainly refers to playing the zither, playing Go, calligraphy, and painting. People who are proficient in all of these are praised for their elegance. The Six Arts of a Gentleman are an old educational system, and one must also be able to ride a horse."
Deng Puyue's eyes immediately filled with admiration as she looked at Bei Sining: "Oh my god, Brother Ning! You're so amazing..."
Bei Sining's expression softened after being praised, and she emphasized again, "I'm exceptionally good at each of them."
Wen Zheng snapped out of his daze, putting aside his doubts about the cat spirit possessing human skills, and seriously considered the program's issues.
"If you want to perform on stage, riding a horse and shooting arrows are out of the question, and playing chess won't be understood by others. Writing or drawing on the spot is still possible." He turned the paper on the table around, wrote the words "writing" and "drawing" on it, and then said, "Playing the zither would be the best effect, but where can I find a guqin?"
Bei Sining remained silent, while everyone silently tried to recall if they had ever encountered anything so extraordinary before.
Yanghe shook his head first: "The music instrument stores don't have them. The most complete music instrument stores I've ever been to only have guzheng."
Deng Puyue and Bai Shuang had no idea either, and Xiaoyu even asked if the museum had any.
“Even if you have one, you can’t just play it,” Wen Zheng urged him to change his approach: “If all else fails, try drawing or writing.”
Ink and calligraphy brushes are still available in art supply stores; I can easily buy some tomorrow when I have some free time.
As for Bei Sining's actual skill level, everyone is quite open-minded.
As long as he's willing to go up there and has confidence, they'll praise whatever he writes. I don't believe he won't be happy. And with his current image, why would the audience have any other high expectations? Of course, we'll be happy if you just make a move.
That leaves only one program.
Wen Zheng suddenly said, "How about this? The director wants to show the friendship of our Wang family, so let the five of us perform together."
Deng Puyue was delighted: "Great, no one gets away with this for nothing, but what kind of acting can the five of us do?"
“Singing together is out of the question, dancing together is out of the question,” Yanghe said worriedly. “We can’t just go up there and cook a dish, can we? What if the TV station catches fire?”
Bai Shuang: "Let me state first, I do not box."
Wen Zheng nodded: "We don't need to practice boxing, everyone knows how. We can do it like this..."
The group huddled together, whispering and nodding in agreement.
***
After agreeing on the program, Deng Puyue acted as the contact person and reported it to Director Liu.
Despite vomiting blood, the director still accepted their report.
It was almost 11 o'clock when Wen Zheng got back to his room. While taking a shower, he briefly planned out tomorrow's itinerary.
Starting at nine in the morning, we went to the TV station to scout out the location and rehearse. In the afternoon, I took Bei Sining to that small shop that makes traditional clothing again, hoping she could buy a different outfit for her performance.
After shopping, we ate with some other people. Deng Puyue said that the restaurant was a popular spot in Lecheng, a must-visit for out-of-towners. It had fresh sashimi and such, which I figured the cat spirit would like. After eating, we went to the TV station to wait for the live broadcast that evening.
He admitted that he had been very happy lately, and this was the life he had always dreamed of. If it could continue for longer, it would feel like a gift from some unknown deity.
But the unease in my heart lingered, stubbornly refusing to disappear.
The sound of rushing water and soothing white noise enveloped Wen Zheng as he closed his eyes, facing the hot water to relieve the soreness around his eyes.
The discomfort from the morning blood draw had mostly disappeared; he recovered quickly and didn't take it seriously. But the message behind this incident was simple, direct, and heavy.
The research progress is slow, and the higher-ups are getting anxious.
Why are the authorities in such a hurry?
Because the conditions in subspace are not good.
Through the efforts of so many generations, this subspace, which resembles a giant prairie, has been compressed to a degree that makes it difficult to enter, but it has not been completely annihilated. The curse still hangs over the entire Earth.
The worst-case scenario is that subspace turbulence, spatial engulfment, and temporal conflicts lead to a chain reaction that destroys the world.
When Wen Zheng was a child, the thing that puzzled him the most was not why his parents had to save the world, or why he himself had to save the world in the future, but why other people didn't know these things.
There is a world of difference between heroes who are praised by the world and heroes who are unknown.
He didn't want to be an unsung hero.
As he grew older and learned the intricacies of the matter, Wen Zheng learned to cope with it on his own.
Some people are born able to live freely, but he cannot. If he does not learn to understand himself correctly and adapt to life, he will be immersed in endless suffering.
"I feel ashamed of the high-flying birds gazing at the clouds, and envious of the swimming fish standing by the abyss." Wen Zheng pondered silently, why was this the key to the second code his parents left him?
Do people like them really have any freedom?
With one event after another recently, Wen Zheng hasn't been researching the code day and night like before. Perhaps it's because he's made new friends and is no longer lonely, or perhaps it's because he knows the mystery will eventually be solved; he even somewhat enjoys this feeling, anticipating some unknown answer.
But if something really goes wrong with the subspace, he'll have to change his approach.
We must calculate the remaining time and get the things done.
If something unexpected happens and life comes to an abrupt end, at least there will be no regrets.
Wen Zheng didn't turn on the bathroom exhaust fan; his chest felt stuffy after showering for so long. He turned off the water, wiped the mirror, and looked at the person inside. His face was red, both from the hot water and the stuffiness, making him look rather unattractive.
Wen Zheng looked at it for a while, then made a smiling face. His reflection in the mirror smiled for a few seconds, then quickly straightened his mouth.
Don't be afraid, Wen Zheng.
Don't be afraid.
There's still time.
Author's Note: My dear readers: What? Why did it stop here? You're going to break my wings!
(I don't know what time the second update will be today, so don't wait until tomorrow! It's been a while since I've solved any mysteries, you've probably almost forgotten the poems, go review them!)