The people who went inside couldn't help but reach out to pinch the pile of things, leading to immediate shrieks and a cacophony of various sounds filling the room.
Gotta say... it was pretty satisfying.
The guests and the production crew were too shocked. After finishing the tour, everyone's mood was complicated.
However, the on-site directors were delighted. They could already imagine how many interesting segments they could cut from this footage.
If the other two guests could also be as mind-blowing as Xie Xi, the show would definitely be a massive hit.
Unfortunately, observing Director Xu Qingwei and You Feibai, it was clear they were also stunned by the things in Xie Xi's home.
"Next, we are going to visit You Feibai's and Teacher Xu's homes," the on-site director said to the three guests.
While they were leaving, the cameras were turned off. As a rule, reality shows are not allowed to reveal the stars' residences, so they deliberately drove a considerable distance before turning the cameras back on inside the car.
Everyone was sitting in the same vehicle.
"Xiao Xie, don't blame us for earlier when we arrived," Xu Qingwei said with a smile. "The director told us to try and dig out any areas you might not want people to see."
Xie Xi was already exposed. He presented a state of surrender: "There's nothing inside that can't be seen."
The group first went to the nearest house, Xu Qingwei's. The famous director's home wasn't overly opulent; the design, by contrast, had a kind of Jiangnan (the regions south of the Yangtze River) charm, with most of the furniture and fittings made of wood.
The house was very beautiful, with a special place for displaying trophies. Xu Qingwei introduced the origins of each trophy one by one.
After walking around for less than an hour, they were done. The group set off again for You Feibai's home.
You Feibai's home absolutely fits the public's imagination of a male celebrity's lifestyle. The walls were painted dark gray, and the furniture largely followed a cool Nordic style. There weren't many possessions in the house. There was a dedicated walk-in closet, but it was smaller in scale than Xie Xi's. The only large room was the trophy display room, which, like Xu Qingwei's, had been carefully designed, clearly showing how much importance the owner placed on it.
Unlike them, You Feibai's entire house was equipped with smart controls, from small faucets to large curtains and staircases. Almost every applicable high-tech feature was present here.
The style was flashy, cool, and aloof.
Celebrity Xie suddenly felt very embarrassed.
"Feibai, can you cook?" Xu Qingwei asked, turning around as they passed the kitchen. "How about we just cook today?"
"I know a little. Let me see what's left in the fridge." You Feibai opened the fridge to check. "We can make scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and there's also a box of pork belly and a head of cabbage."
"Alright, let's make three dishes then," Xu Qingwei nodded. "We don't need to eat out."
"Then let's make a stir-fried pork with chili peppers, but we're out of peppers at home." You Feibai said as he took out the ingredients.
Xu Qingwei took the cabbage and glanced at Xie Xi, who was out of the loop: "Is there a supermarket nearby? Let Xiao Xie go buy some."
"There is."
"Buy what?" Xie Xi only caught the last part.
"Feibai wants to make stir-fried pork with chili peppers. I'll help wash the cabbage. You go buy some peppers from the nearby supermarket."
"Oh."
Following the directions You Feibai pointed out, Xie Xi went to find the supermarket. Around three or four in the afternoon, the supermarket was relatively empty. When he entered, only the supermarket aunties were organizing the goods.
Following the signs above the supermarket aisles, Xie Xi successfully found the pepper section.
"Which kind should I buy?" Xie Xi turned to ask the on-site director.
"The kind for stir-frying meat," the director whispered.
How would Xie Xi know which peppers were for stir-frying meat? Looking at the green, red, and even yellow peppers, he finally pulled a bag from the side, picked one of each type of pepper, and headed straight for the checkout counter.
"Young man, where are you going?" The weighing auntie, seeing Xie Xi walking off with the bag, couldn't help but remind him.
"Me?" Xie Xi turned back. "To pay."
"Weigh them first, then pay." The auntie called him over, snatched the bag, and prepared to weigh it.
The auntie looked inside the bag: Oh my, a riot of colorful peppers.
"The price per jin (catty) is different for each of these. Why did you put them all in one bag?" The auntie looked at Xie Xi and clicked her tongue. "You look quite like the star on my granddaughter's desk, but you're not very bright."
Xie Xi: "..."
Those colorful bell peppers were large; putting just one on the scale didn't seem like much. Finally, the auntie held up a tiny red bird's-eye chili and said, "You want just this one?"
The auntie wasn't even sure if the scale could register it.
Xie Xi nodded definitely.
It was finally weighed. The auntie stared at the price tag for a moment before sticking it on the bag and throwing the pepper inside. "They'll scan the code on your bag later."
Xie Xi just carried the bag, plastered with a bunch of tags, back. Xu Qingwei smiled and took it. "The scrambled eggs with tomatoes are just about to come out of the pan. Perfect timing to make the stir-fried pork with peppers now."
She looked down, opened the bag, and saw: "..."
You Feibai came out carrying a dish, passed by, saw the peppers inside the bag: "..."
"Hahaha, well then we can only cook with what we have today." Xu Qingwei maintained her expression, took the bag of peppers, and went to wash them.
Xie Xi stood in the kitchen, watching them bustle about, his eyes betraying a faint bewilderment. He hardly ever went into the kitchen.
Behind them, a group of on-site directors all looked excited. For reality shows, you need topics. If everyone is reserved and everything goes perfectly, the audience won't love it either.
At that moment, everyone on the production team shared the same thought: fortunately they had invited Xie Xi.
...
After recording the first episode, Wei Qi made a point of asking Xie Xi how he felt.
"Average." Xie Xi had already given up on maintaining his image. "Is that You Feibai very impressive?"
"He's very well liked by those prominent directors in the film and television circle," Wei Qi smiled. "There's no conflict of interest between the two of you."
They were in different circles, and their niches weren't the same either.
Xie Xi absentmindedly agreed. He hadn't contacted Professor Ye for a long time. The previous excuse of checking on the project's progress should probably still work.
Actually, even if Xie Xi didn't go looking for Ye Qiusuo, she would take the initiative to come find him.
Quite a lot happened this month.
Zhang Chengjue had already arranged for the production line to mass-produce the mushrooms and delivered them to his partners. They were very popular at first. Wealthy people like things that are good for their health, even if the price is steep.
Initially, the use of the therapeutic mushrooms was limited to severely injured patients to accelerate wound healing. However, because the mushrooms could cause hallucinations as a side effect, patients' hands and feet were restrained during use.
After a week of experiments, the results weren't good.
Because severely injured patients shouldn't engage in vigorous movement. Although eating the therapeutic mushrooms could speed recovery, the hallucinations immediately after consumption caused patients to thrash about, unintentionally worsening their wounds.
So later, they lowered their targets, and the effects only then began to appear.
This thing seemed to possess a miraculous power, especially because of its hallucinogenic effects.
Rumors began to circulate privately that these mushrooms could beautify and promote longevity. The wealthy, who lacked neither money nor connections, gradually began contacting Zhang Chengjue's side privately.
A large amount of funds flowed back in, and Zhang Chengjue immediately swelled with ambition. He felt that relying solely on the mushrooms, Tianqiu's reputation could be completely established worldwide. Perhaps these mushrooms could even branch out into cosmetics?
As is well known, women's money is the easiest to earn.
The more inflated he became, the more he disliked Ye Qiusuo, feeling she held too many shares.
At Tianqiu Technology, Ye Qiusuo could clearly feel herself being increasingly constrained and sidelined.
She was in no hurry, as if watching someone stride quickly toward an abyss.
The therapeutic mushroom product was good. With a gradual, steady approach, the future would undoubtedly be bright. Yet Zhang Chengjue couldn't wait. He overextended himself, abruptly threatening too many people's interests, and the mushrooms had a fatal flaw—they could induce hallucinations.
Once others reacted, Tianqiu Technology would undoubtedly face fierce attacks.
Ye Qiusuo wanted a huge sum of money to later increase capital and expand shares, diluting Zhang Chengjue's stake.
Cooperating with Lu Minglang might make things smoother, but the Lu family was even more ambitious and cunning than Zhang Chengjue. Partnering with him would be like making a pact with a tiger.
Ye Qiusuo wanted absolute authority and didn't want a second Zhang Chengjue to emerge.
Borrowing money was a good idea, but from whom?
For some reason, Ye Qiusuo thought of Xie Xi.
He had money.
Within a year, Ye Qiusuo was confident she could repay it, but it depended on whether the other party was willing.
When he received Ye Qiusuo's call, Xie Xi was somewhat incredulous—Professor Ye was actually contacting him first.
"I need to ask you for a favor. Can we meet to talk?" Ye Qiusuo said directly.
Xie Xi naturally agreed happily, his mind filled with guesses along the way.
When Ye Qiusuo saw Xie Xi, she suddenly didn't know how to begin. In her view, they hadn't known each other long; they might not even be considered friends, at most collaborators.
She didn't know why she had suddenly thought of Xie Xi that day, listing him as someone she could borrow money from.
"I want to borrow a sum of money from you..." Ye Qiusuo explained the entire situation clearly, without any concealment. She didn't believe Xie Xi would disclose it to others.
Xie Xi listened quietly, then suddenly asked, "Can I become a shareholder of Tianqiu Technology?"
Then he would be part of Tianqiu Technology too, and could visit Ye Qiusuo anytime in the future... no, visit the company for inspections anytime.
Ye Qiusuo quickly calculated in her mind, then nodded: "If I borrow the money, I can allocate one percent of the shares to you as your interest."
"Deal," Xie Xi agreed without hesitation.
Professor Ye: "...Are you sure you want to lend me this much money?"
Before coming, she had thought the whole idea was too idealistic.
"I have plenty of money," Xie Xi said casually, propping his head on one hand.
"Thank you," Ye Qiusuo said seriously.
"I'll transfer the money to you tomorrow and write an IOU," Xie Xi calculated. If he lent it tomorrow, they could meet again.
Ye Qiusuo shook her head: "Not needed for now. I'll come find you when I need to borrow the money."
She was waiting for Zhang Chengjue to fail.
Xie Xi: So she wasn't in a hurry after all. He felt a little disappointed.
...
Inside Tianqiu Technology.
"Xiao Ye, lend your lab to our team for a while." That afternoon, Ye Qiusu came specifically to find Ye Qiusuo.
"My lab is not for lending."
All of Ye Qiusuo's experiments were inside, and she used it daily. It was impossible to give it to others.
"Xiao Ye, you can't hog the lab forever. Instruments in school labs are for public use," Ye Qiusu advised in a patronizing tone.
"This is a company, not a school," Ye Qiusuo frowned. "Your team's project can be completed in other labs."
There was no need to use the instruments in her lab at all.
"Our team just wants to be more precise. Everyone knows your lab has the best instruments," Ye Qiusu said matter-of-factly. "We're all working for Tianqiu. Xiao Ye, don't develop a possessive mindset."
Ye Qiusuo stared at Ye Qiusu for a moment, then said calmly, "If your team can't perform well, the project can be handed to others. As a shareholder, I still have that right."
Ye Qiusu hadn't expected her to say that; after all, at the university, she was considered Ye Qiusuo's superior.
In the end, she could only leave in a huff, mentally noting the offense.
After she left, Ye Qiusuo's eyes turned cold.
Ye Qiusu was a newly recruited researcher, part of Zhang Chengjue's faction.
