Chapter 73: Realistic, Too Realistic

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Realistic, Too Realistic

It was Nan Yi’s voice!

The production crew and the audience all perked up.

For them, this was an unexpected answer.

And one that made the next development more interesting and unpredictable!

The follow-up director softened his tone:

"We’re from the *Cub Observation Diary* production team, doing a surprise ambush livestream. Could you open the door for us?"

But the voice from inside the door was incredibly firm:

"Scammers! Go away!"

Nan Yi didn’t believe them at all!

The follow-up director patiently explained again:

"We know your name. You’re Nan Yi, and your mom is Nan Zhi, right? If we weren’t from the show, how would we know all that, right?"

Nan Yi remained unmoved, his logic clearer than you’d expect from a four-and-a-half-year-old:

"AI can imitate people’s voices for phone scams. Knowing my name doesn’t prove anything!"

The production crew was dumbfounded!

The bullet comments were rolling with laughter:

[These days, anti-scam PSAs have really sunk in! Even kids know about AI phone scams!]

[And I was worried that the production team doing this would lower kids’ guards and lead to dangerous situations, but... LMAO, they can’t fool him at all!]

[Because standing before you is Nan Yi of the Nan Family, Mommy’s treasure, the King of Memory, the God of Catching Thieves, a premium human cub of the modern era, an internet-certified high-IQ genius...]

[Hahaha, what the heck! I’m laughing so hard I’m crowing like a rooster in my dorm bed. I scared my roommate so bad he sat up and asked if the school was raising chickens!]

[Compared to Yiyi’s brilliant mind, the production team is just adorably dumb.]

...

The follow-up director tried everything he could think of, even citing events from the last shoot as proof.

But Nan Yi’s response was always the same three words:

"I don’t believe."

Nan Yi, probably getting annoyed by all the fuss, suddenly went quiet.

Then, the production crew, exhausted to the point of speechlessness, heard the sound of a keypad from behind the quiet door.

Those familiar three beeps... BEEP BEEP BEEP...

The follow-up director asked, "Yiyi, what are you doing? Don’t tell me..."

Nan Yi said, "Mommy told me to call the police if I meet bad guys."

BEEP—

The call connected!

The production crew clutched their heads and screamed. ’Help! Save us!’

Fortunately, at that moment, another female voice, tinged with confusion, sounded from inside:

"Yiyi, who are you talking to?"

"Mommy!"

Nan Yi’s tone changed completely!

[Woohoo! The cool cub instantly turned into a sweetie cub!]

[Production team’s internal monologue: ’You’ve changed. You weren’t like this a second ago.’]

[Oh no, the call went through! Is our show about to turn into a crime documentary? I kinda want to laugh, haha!]

[Shocking! Why was a hit variety show publicly reprimanded? How did a director with a promising future end up behind bars?]

[You little wiseguys are so clever. The production team must just *love* you!]

The follow-up director knocked on the door again, this time in a panic:

"Nan Zhi! Open the door, quick! This is a disaster!"

’Your son is about to get us sent to jail to sing the blues!’

...After a whole lot of commotion, Nan Zhi finally understood the whole story.

She explained the situation over the phone and then hung up.

Then, after confirming their identities through the peephole, she finally opened the door.

The moment they stepped inside, the production crew was so exhausted they nearly collapsed. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought they had just run a marathon!

In fact, before this surprise ambush, the production team had planned different approaches for each guest based on their personalities, aiming to capture their most authentic state outside of the show!

But now...

Authentic!

It was a little *too* authentic!

Except it was the production team’s authentic state on display, not the guest’s.

It was practically a real-life version of *The Perilous Filming Chronicles of a Modern Production Crew*!

Nan Zhi cleared her throat. "Ahem, my apologies."

The production crew: ’We can all see you’re holding back a laugh, thanks.’

Nan Yi pouted, unconvinced. "Hmph."

"But they did look like bad guys... Right, Mommy?"

The production crew members all turned their pleading gazes toward Nan Zhi, hoping she would stand up for them.

Nan Zhi casually averted her gaze and nodded seriously in agreement.

"Yiyi did a great job. You should always stay this vigilant! Don’t you all agree?"

That last part was directed at the production crew.

The production crew forced a smile.

"Y-Yes, that’s right! Just think of this as... a safety drill! Right! A drill!"

Finally, Xu Li, who had been dead to the world, also crawled out of bed.

Sporting a messy bedhead and sleepy eyes, she listened blankly as Nan Zhi recounted the whole ordeal.

"...Wait! So when your production team confirmed my schedule with me yesterday, it was all for this crappy ’surprise ambush’? I knew there was a reason you needed my wake-up time down to the minute. It was all a setup!"

Xu Li angrily declared that people who make variety shows were all scheming black hearts.

"Yiyi, nicely done!"

Nan Zhi nodded along.

Nan Yi held his head high with pride.

The audience was dying of laughter.

Only the production crew was left shedding waterfalls of tears.

-

The surprise ambushes for the other groups went smoothly, just as the production team had planned.

Apparently, the livestream effect was great, and the audience was very satisfied.

However, the one group that deviated from the plan—Nan Zhi and Nan Yi’s, where the production crew ended up being the ones pranked—had the best reception by far!

This also caused the viewership for Nan Zhi and Nan Yi’s livestream channel to skyrocket. Before the official broadcast even began, they had actually surpassed Fu Chao, briefly claiming the number one spot!

No matter how small the margin, this was a shocking achievement!

Just then, Nan Zhi and Nan Yi finally got into the car heading to the filming location.

The vehicle was provided by the show. Rumor had it the variety show’s ratings were so good that the new season had landed a car sponsorship, allowing the production team to get a major upgrade and become quite lavish.

The follow-up director in the passenger seat was fiddling with something, making a RUSTLING sound.

Nan Yi kicked his little legs excitedly.

"Is it time to draw lots?"

Before Nan Zhi could answer,

the follow-up director jumped in to announce the answer:

"Bingo! You got it! It’s time for our guests to draw their identity cards for this episode! Remember the rules? The four identity cards will determine your living standards, so please choose carefully!"

He twisted around with some effort, holding a familiar cardboard box.

Last time, Nan Zhi knew that the identity card they drew was bound to be the worst one.

To keep Nan Yi from being disappointed, she had taken on the task of drawing herself.

But now, Nan Zhi believed the production team wouldn’t play any tricks.

So, she let Nan Yi be in charge of drawing.

Nan Yi was both happy and excited.

Upon hearing this, he immediately jumped up from his seat, stuck his small hand into the box, and felt around for a long time, his eyebrows knitting and relaxing like a nimble caterpillar.

Nan Zhi waited for a long time before she couldn’t help but ask:

"Are you done yet?"

"Almost, almost."

After about a minute, Nan Yi solemnly pulled out an identity card.

But he didn’t dare to look at it, immediately shoving it into Nan Zhi’s hand!

"Mommy, you look."

He turned his little face away, his lips pressed into a tight line.

It was clear just how nervous he was!

Nan Zhi flipped the card over—[Bankrupt Shop Owner].

Behind it was a large block of dense, tiny text containing the detailed information for the identity...