Chapter 217 - A Stunning Medusa Preparing To Go Into Battle
"Is it good?" After Mu Sheng gave him the silent treatment for 15 minutes, Li Hanchen finally could not take it and said something to Mu Sheng.
Mu Sheng glanced at Li Hanchen. After she finished the entire apple, she threw its core into the trash can. "Nope."
Mu Sheng gargled her mouth before she lay down in bed and covered herself with the blanket.
Li Hanchen walked up to Mu Sheng's bed. Mu Sheng's eyes were already closed, and her long eyelashes left a shadow on her face.
Li Hanchen felt tickled. "Are you angry?"
"Do you think everyone is as petty as you?" said Mu Sheng without opening her eyes.
Li Hanchen smiled. "Didn't you want to go to the concert? Let me take you there."
Mu Sheng said nothing, but her eyelashes moved slightly.
"I know where all the good food is outside the concert hall."
Mu Sheng still did not respond.
"I will carry your bag and find you the best spot at the concert…"
"Okay. You said it." Mu Sheng opened her eyes and looked straight at Li Hanchen.
"Uh huh." Li Hanchen contemplated. "Are you still angry?"
Mu Sheng wriggled under the blanket. "I wasn't angry at all."
Li Hanchen smiled. "Oh, really?"
Mu Sheng's face felt slightly warm when Li Hanchen looked at her with his deep eyes. "Why aren't you going to bed? Why are you standing here?"
Li Hanchen swallowed his saliva when he saw Mu Sheng's pink cheeks. He suddenly leaned over before stopping one head away from her.
Mu Sheng did not expect Li Hanchen to suddenly come so close to her. She could see every one of his eyelashes distinctly and even his deep eyes.
"What?" A distinct wave of uneasiness swept through Mu Sheng's eyes.
Li Hanchen's lips curved slightly before he said softly, "Good night." He proceeded to get up and leave.
Mu Sheng went speechless. She watched from behind as Li Hanchen left and touched her heart. It had started to palpitate when Li Hanchen suddenly came close to her.
Why was Li Hanchen so petty? She had already decided to stop being angry with him. Why did Li Hanchen have to scare her?
Ever since the surgery, Li Hanchen had recovered well. Also, Mu Sheng had been taking excellent care of him. By the time they had to appear on the show, Li Hanchen was more or less fully recovered.
Mu Sheng and Li Hanchen were packing in the villa when she walked over to him.
Li Hanchen glanced at her. "Yes?"
Mu Sheng looked at him with a serious look on her face. "Do you remember what I told you about the show?"
Li Hanchen naturally remembered what she said. Since he had developed a kick making fun of Mu Sheng, he placed the neatly folded clothing into his suitcase before he said, "What?"
Mu Sheng raised her brow. "You promised to pretend that we did not know each other while we were on the show."
Li Hanchen nodded. "Uh huh."
Mu Sheng walked off when she got the answer she wanted. Just as she was about to turn and leave, Li Hanchen said, "What if I changed my mind?"
Mu Sheng turned back. She pondered before she said, "In that case, I won't give you a discount when I rent you rooms at my place."
Mu Sheng had intended on renting Li Hanchen a couple of rooms on the cheap when she bought her own place.
Li Hanchen could not help laughing. "Got it. For the sake of my discount, I will do as you say."
Mu Sheng had some trust issues with Li Hanchen. She turned back, picked up the pen and paper on the table, and wrote a contract. "Sign here."
Li Hanchen glanced at the contents of the contract powerlessly before signing his name on it.
Li An was sitting in the living room. He had already seen the news about "A Journey Through Food" on social media.
Li An was a sensible kid. Despite calling Mu Sheng his Sis-in-Law when he was home, he never once divulged the truth about his family.
He knew that the entertainment industry was a complicated world. It would attract Mu Sheng a lot of trouble if he said the wrong things.
However, he did not understand what Li Hanchen was doing. Did Li Hanchen get discovered by some talent agent? Was his older brother thinking of becoming an idol?
The moment Li Hanchen came downstairs, Li An went over to him. "Big Bro, how long will you be gone?"
"One week."
"I see." Li An was a little unhappy.
Although he hated it when Li Hanchen kept checking on his schoolwork, making him reflect on himself, and that he was mean to him, he would miss Li Hanchen badly while he was away.
"Qin Kai will drive you around. Don't go out." Li Ting might not have done anything recently, but no one knew when he would make a move on Li An again.
"Got it." Li An pulled Li Hanchen by his sleeve miserably as he looked at his older brother's cool profile. "Come back soon, okay?"
Li Hanchen glanced at Li An in disdain. "You are almost a grown man, so stop being so clingy."
The moment Li Hanchen said this, Li An got even more clingy. He held Li Hanchen's arm as he said indignantly, "I am just 15 years old. I have three more years to go before I am legally an adult. See you soon."
Li Hanchen went quiet. He dragged Li An to the couch with him on his arm before he retrieved a piece of paper from his suit jacket.
Li An had an ominous feeling about this.
Sure enough, Li Hanchen opened the piece of paper to reveal a tightly packed revision schedule for Li An. It was written in such detail that Li Hanchen had even dictated the number of test papers Li An had to do each day and the length of time he could play video games.
Li An stood up and wanted to run, but Li Hanchen grabbed him from the back of his collar. "Think about what kind of punishment you will get if you don't finish it."
Li An lowered his head dejectedly with terror in his bright round eyes. "Big Bro, are you a monster or something?"
Li Hanchen stuffed the revision schedule into Li An's pocket. "Don't you dare exceed your allocated gaming time, got it?"
Li An was rendered speechless. This was simply depressing.
——
Meanwhile, at a luxurious condominium in the capital.
Chu Rao lay in bed bereft of hope as her talent agent helped her pack.
"Shall we bring this along?" The talent agent opened a black V-neck sweater and showed it to Chu Rao.
Chu Rao looked around. "No. I want to bring my sequined black spaghetti strap dress."
The talent agent went speechless as her lips twitched. "My dear, do you have a death wish? Do you want the audience to curse you again? Some people wish they could go dressed in overalls. Do you want to wear a spaghetti strap dress to work? What are you thinking?"
Chu Rao sneered gently. "I don't care. I'm bringing that dress with me."
Since she was filming an entertainment program with her ex-boyfriend, she could not show up dressed ordinarily and make herself look bad.
More importantly, she felt completely embarrassed when Ye Zhipei caught her wearing a gaudy red and green floral jacket at Metropolis University previously.
This time, she was determined to make up for it.
"Bring all the clothes I wore on the catwalk previously. I want to be the most beautiful woman on the show."
The talent agent went speechless. Since it was impossible to convince Chu Rao otherwise, she did as Chu Rao said. "Fine. My dear, I will pack everything. Don't say I didn't warn you. Don't let me catch you crying in some corner when people scold you for pulling this stunt."
Chu Rao raised her brow. "Who said anything about crying? Do I look like that sort of person?"
The talent agent rolled her eyes furtively. Then who did she catch acting calmly in public, but crying curled up in bed after getting dissed?
Chu Rao rolled on the bed and scratched her head, feeling a little worried and flustered.
Never mind. Even if she had to die, she had to face Ye Zhipei, so she could not be a coward. "Yang, bring me my sequined micro mini dress. I want to wear it on the show."
However, the talent agent could not stop Chu Rao. She could only watch as Chu Rao put on the tube dress, slipped on a pair of 15-inch stilettos, and put on provocative makeup.
Chu Rao admired herself in front of the mirror after she was done putting on her makeup.
It was the perfect battle dress. She was a stunning Medusa!
Chu Rao turned her head and saw her talent agent clutching her chest. "Yang, are you okay? Are you sick?"
The talent agent gritted her teeth. "Nothing. Let's go."
It was a mistake picking Chu Rao for her good looks. Back then, the talent agent felt Chu Rao would definitely succeed in the entertainment industry. Even though Chu Rao was a hit, she had failed to factor in Chu Rao's uncanny ability to attract trouble.
——
Although "A Journey Through Food" was an entertainment program, the essence of the show was authenticity, so it strived to stay real.
Since the audience already had an overdose of well-edited glamorous programs, they had lost interest in carefully orchestrated programs. Instead, they liked shows with authenticity.
[I am here! When is the show starting? I can't wait to see them fight!]
[Howl! I want to see Wen Lan and Ye Zhipei! I don't get it. Why didn't they get assigned to the same team since they have the same well-mannered and refined air?]
[I am here to see Li Hanchen. I hope the pictures online weren't lying. I have been dying to see him. Even though he is not a celebrity, he is hotter than a superstar.]
The filming was done in a warm small town in the South. The sun was bright and flowers were blooming in the background and the weather was excellent.
The first guest to appear on the show was Wen Lan.
Wen Lan was a top celebrity and had a great reputation. Just like her name, Wen Lan was sweet and gentle in nature. She seemed like a beautiful woman straight out of poetry from the South where women were known for their delicate demeanor.
Wen Lan was dressed in a light knitted top with white pear blossom flower earrings. Her warm and gentle image reminded everyone of springtime.
"How do you do? I am Wen Lan." Wen Lan smiled gently at the camera.
[Omigod. She is gorgeous! I can't help feeling infuriated thinking that this poor woman has to work with a troublemaker like Su Ran.]
[Watch your words! Su Ran is a top celebrity. As his fans, we have already stayed quiet about Wen Lan taking advantage of him. How could you have the cheek to look down on Su Ran?]
Just as the viewers were about to break into a fight, Chu Rao suddenly appeared and stole their attention.
Chu Rao was dressed in a black sequined mini dress. She had a hot body and a sexy face. The instant she appeared on the screen, all eyes were on her.
Even Su Ran's and Wen Lan's fans stopped fighting. Instead, they called Chu Rao out for being insensible.
[Is she crazy? Does this look like a catwalk to her? Why did she come dressed in a minidress? Is she dying to let everyone know how sexy she is?]
[Exactly. She is simply shameless. Please stay away from my Su Ran and don't let Prof Ye partner with her. This is annoying. I don't know what the production team was thinking when they invited Chu Rao to join the show. I am speechless.]
The camera turned to reveal two men walking from the corner making the viewers go quiet.
Su Ran was a top celebrity with an androgynous face. Also, he had an unrestrained aura making him stand out wherever he was.
Ye Zhipei stood beside Su Ran looking equally gorgeous. He was dressed in a simple white shirt with gold-framed spectacles on his face. Although he was not carrying any books, the audience inexplicably felt Ye Zhipei was on his way to class.
After the audience had recovered from this shock and started typing comments, the camera turned and two people could be seen slowly walking towards them from the small bridge nearby
Mu Sheng was dressed simply in a white jacket while Li Hanchen came in a well-made suit. Thanks to his imposing aura, it felt as though they were in an important business meeting even though they were in a small town.
The tall slender man had a lofty aura while the slim woman looked stunning and cool.
The sun penetrated from behind them leaving a gold light under the fair blue skies.
They looked absolutely radiant, elegant, and dignified.
[Oh my! Just look at this. Oh god! He looks just like a domineering CEO taking a walk with his pretty wife. I take back my words about how incompatible they seemed. They are made for each other. They simply look like a god and a goddess!]
[Aren't you overreacting? This is an entertainment program and not a beauty pageant. Even if they are gorgeous, they can't survive with just good looks. If looks were the only thing that mattered, there would be no comedians in the market.]
[I have to admit that this season has the hottest stars. I adore pretty faces. Even if they don't do anything, I am more than happy to watch the show.]
Chu Rao was standing in the furthest corner trying to keep a distance from Ye Zhipei, but she opened her eyes wide in surprise when she saw Mu Sheng.
Wasn't she the pretty girl she had met at Metropolis University? Since Mu Sheng was a breathtaking beauty and had an interesting personality, she caught Chu Rao's attention.
Chu Rao waved at Mu Sheng. "Hi, gorgeous."
Mu Sheng did not want to stand beside Li Hanchen, so she automatically went over to Chu Rao and stood beside her.
Chu Rao thought Mu Sheng was trying to be friends with her.
Since Mu Sheng had helped her out at the university, Chu Rao did not mind being friends with her. She went over to Mu Sheng and said, "Sheng, are you appearing on the show as well? Me too. This is such a coincidence."
Mu Sheng glanced at Chu Rao and checked out her mini skirt before she asked, "Aren't you cold?"
Chu Rao seemed touched. "Thanks, but I am fine."
Chu Rao sneezed the moment she finished her sentence.
She went into an awkward silence.
Ye Zhipei glanced in her direction deeply. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
"Welcome to the show. Why don't you get to know your partner better now?"
The moment the director finished his sentence, everyone fell into an awkward silence.
After a minute of awkward silence, Li Hanchen finally walked up to Mu Sheng and reached his hand out towards her. "Miss Mu, nice to meet you.. I am Li Hanchen."