When the subject of their public personas came up, Qin Shuchun had plenty to say. “That’s right. When I first met Xie Tangning, I thought she was an incredibly aloof and quiet kid!”
“Looking back, she was such a poser back then. Of course, I was pretty pretentious too!”
“Otherwise, the two of us never would’ve become besties!”
Liang Zhou and Shen Yunqiong immediately raised their hands. “We can vouch for that. Every last one of us was a poser!”
Xie Tangning rolled her eyes at them. “As if you two weren’t putting on an act too. Who could’ve guessed, when we first met, that those two seemingly soft, adorable little brats would grow up to become Monkey Bro and Crazy Bro?”
Then she shot her bestie a resentful look. “Why do you have to blab everything to everyone? Don’t I get to keep any dignity?”
“To make up for my wounded heart, you are hereby stripped of your status as my number-one bestie for the next three seconds!”
Liang Zhou and Shen Yunqiong, whose embarrassing pasts had also been exposed, began grinning sheepishly while remaining completely unapologetic—especially Monkey Bro, who was famous for having absolutely no shame.
He simply tossed his dignity aside and declared, “See? We were all posers!”
“I was already a complete lunatic. If I hadn’t pretended to be normal the first time we met, what idiot would’ve wanted to be friends with me?!”
Everyone else: “……”
If you wanted to call us idiots, you could’ve just said so. Why take the scenic route?!
The topics of conversation among these chuuni kids were always wildly unpredictable. One second they would be chatting perfectly normally, and the next the conversation would have taken eighteen sharp turns. But people who shared the same interests could always keep up without missing a beat.
Su Xiaoye loved spending time with them. With a smile, she pointed toward the horizon, where only half of the setting sun remained.
“Should we take a picture? A group photo!”
“Let’s do it!”
The little girl’s suggestion won everyone’s approval. They all promptly found their places and struck their poses.
Xie Tangning glanced from side to side, then immediately went to grab Xie Changyu, who was off to the other side, fussing over his big brother and trying to get him to take some good photos.
“Second Brother~ My dear Second Brother~ Take a picture for us, please~”
Xie Changyu was still striking poses and preening when he heard the child’s overly sing-song voice. He was so startled that he nearly lost his pose.
“Xie Tangning, are you trying to kill me?! Can you stop using that creepy voice every time you talk to me? Aren’t you afraid of scaring your dear, dear Second Brother~?”
Lu Huaiyu, who had been pressing the shutter, paused and shot him a glance. “You try acting normal too! You’re scaring your dear, dear big brother~”
That wasn’t the response he wanted to hear, but Xie Changyu pretended not to notice. He turned to Xie Tangning and said haughtily, “I’m not taking pictures for you!”
“You didn’t even include me in your group photo, and now you expect me to work for free? What makes you think you get to have everything your way?!”
Xie Tangning had always known when to be flexible. She clasped her hands in a pleading gesture. “Please, please, please~ My dear Second Brother~”
Xie Changyu was instantly satisfied. “Since you’re being so sincere, I suppose I can grant this tiny request of yours~”
“After all, there aren’t many brothers as gentle and doting toward their sisters as I am~”
Lu Huaiyu clicked his tongue, then turned to Xie Tangning and began to complain. “Is my photography really that bad? Why didn’t you ask me~?”
Xie Tangning gave him a mysterious smile and answered offhandedly, “Big Brother, you’re in charge of the poses and the artistic direction. That’s different from Second Brother!”
“Second Brother doesn’t have your sense of aesthetics. I only trust your eye, Big Brother!”
After being coaxed into a good mood, Lu Huaiyu readily agreed. “All right. Today, I’ll be your art director!”
“As for the action director position, Xie Shen, are you in?”
Xie Shen was busy taking candid shots of his younger sister’s adorable moments. Without pausing what he was doing, he answered directly, “No problem!”
“I’m a professional when it comes to this. And if you think I’m not, then just pretend I’m talking nonsense!”
Xie Wanwan glanced at her brother in surprise. “Are you really up to it, Big Brother?”
It was mainly because her brother really didn’t look like someone who would know how to design photo-worthy poses. She wasn’t exactly confident in his sense of style!
Xie Shen instantly became serious. “Of course. I said I was going to be the best big brother in the world. How could I possibly disappoint you?”
Xie Wanwan smiled in satisfaction. “All right, then! You’d better work hard!”
With the three older brothers working together, it didn’t take long for them to take photo after photo of the children.
Every single one looked good enough to post straight out of the camera!
The scenery was perfect, and Liang Jiaqing and Shen Lin, the young couple surrounded by a strong romantic atmosphere, were taking photos of their own and discussing their own topics. They didn’t come over to join the children’s group again.
Hu Miaoqi and Wu Weixiang were enjoying some quality time together at the public’s expense, and they were having the time of their lives.
Even Shen Hao, that perennial scapegoat, was no longer being treated like one. He was off by himself studying the architectural artistry of Laojun Temple, admiring the aesthetics created by the scattered layout of the buildings on this famed mountain of immortals.
He was completely immersed in his own world, unable to tear himself away. He was thoroughly enjoying the visual impact brought by this supreme example of natural and architectural beauty.
Meanwhile, Su Yue’er and Shi Jiahui could only watch Su Xiaoye and the others smiling from the side, unable to find even the slightest opportunity to join them.
All day long, the group of friends surrounding Su Xiaoye stayed glued to her side. Shi Jiahui never found a chance to explain Su Xiaoye’s true background to her.
All she could do was stand off to the side with Li Boyan, serving as little more than background decoration. Anyone could see how terrible their expressions were.
But public opinion was currently on Su Xiaoye’s side. On top of that, Yisen had smeared the entire production team, so the live-stream chatrooms of those three were an absolute cesspool.
Director Zhang and the assistant director paid it no mind. “Negative” attention was still attention, and there was no reason to turn down free publicity!
At that moment, he was taking in the magnificent scenery of his motherland, his heart filled with boundless emotion.
He could finally understand the line: “Why are my eyes so often filled with tears? Because I love this land so deeply.”
This time, instead of having the guests lead the audience in introducing the scenic views as they had before, he opened another live-stream channel.
There were no explanations and no unnecessary people on screen. The broadcast simply and quietly conveyed the beauty of the sunset to the audience, allowing them to experience the beauty of nature for themselves.
As night fell, the cluster of temples atop the Golden Summit glowed beneath the lights, resembling a heavenly palace—resplendent and breathtakingly beautiful.
[It’s so beautiful! Next time, I’m going to Laojun Mountain too—but I want to see it covered in snow!]
[Director Zhang, you’re amazing! This is practically the ultimate visual feast! How can I even describe the feeling of seeing it and sensing that the mountains and rivers are safe and the nation is at peace?]
[So beautiful! I’m constantly proud of my motherland’s breathtaking scenery. I believe that one day, I’ll set foot on every mountain, river, lake, and sea across this land!]
The assistant director looked at the various comments filling the live-stream chat and smiled knowingly.
“Your move worked pretty well, kid! The publicity it generated speaks for itself!”
Director Zhang gave a proud snort. “Did you really need to tell me that? There’s nothing this director can’t pull off!”
“Ah~ My talent has finally reached the point where there’s nowhere left to put it! Being too outstanding is such a burden!”
The assistant director: “…”
He shouldn’t have said anything!
That old rascal Zhang Huaicai was the most narcissistic and shameless one of them all!
No wonder he managed to bring back a whole bunch of oddballs as guests!
