I’m so sorry for the long break. To make up for it, I will be uploading two chapters a day for this week. And bonus chapters will also be posted on Saturday.
Likely due to his face hitting the ground and colliding with his nose, his entire nasal ridge was throbbing with pain. He suspected there was an internal injury where it was hit.
Qian Jianan reached up and felt around carelessly. The middle of his nasal ridge seemed a bit off. However, as he felt along it and found it still straight, not bent to the side, he dismissed it as a numb ache, and so he didn’t pay much attention to it.
Qian Jianan subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, but then he heard a teasing voice laced with amusement come from beside him: “Jianan, were you guarding our coins? You should’ve said so; there was no need for us to fight each other.”
Qian Jianan’s head snapped up to see Wang Lele smiling at him. The others also turning to look at him upon hearing the commotion.
He looked down at the place where he fell. He had already left the game range set by the program team. For a moment, he couldn’t find the words to retort.
Jing Li was also looking at Qian Jianan, not because of his actions. He stared at Qian Jianan’s face for a few times. He always felt that this person’s face seemed more weird and awkward, but for a while he couldn’t tell what was wrong. As they were still filming, he couldn’t approach for a closer inspection, so after a cursory glance, he averted his gaze.
The others on the set were slightly further away than him and did not notice the subtle changes on his face. In addition, they knew Qian Jianan’s moral character better and knew that he was just acting crazy again, determined not to let his behavior affect the show’s atmosphere.
So, after glancing at Qian Jianan, his teammate Wen Ting reacted first, feigning a solemn expression and sighing, “Ai, Jianan, even if you think the enemy is weak, isn’t joining their side going too far? I’m too embarrassed to watch!”
Hearing Wen Ting’s words, the other teammates chimed in: “That’s right! How could you do that!”
“Let’s just pin them down!”
“I’m in!”
…
People from the “Immortal Road” camp also spoke.
“Hey, you guys are really shameless!” Fu Yan jokingly glared at the opposing team, then looked at Qian Jianan being helped up, joking, “If I hadn’t seen Jianan’s textbook kowtow, I might have believed your nonsense!”
“Hahaha, Wen Ting-ge, you can talk big, but can you snatch the coins?”
“The greatest trash-talker in history – we all bow to you.”
…
The two teams bantered playfully as the hosts quickly regained control, declaring the round over while laughingly chiding the attackers for their “dirty tactics” and urging them to back up their words with skill.
Through everyone’s efforts, the on-set atmosphere was restored, and the third round commenced.
However, the audience below was not confused and even expressed doubts about Qian Jianan’s behavior.
“Am I imagining things? I feel like Qian Jianan was deliberately targeting that guest named Jing Li.”
“I got that vibe too, like he was going straight for Jing Li and didn’t even hold back his strength.”
“That’s right, especially in the second round, even though Jing Li and the coins were in opposite directions, he didn’t even look at the coins and just charged at Jing Li.”
“This guy, could he be up to something?”
…
Although The Big Winner was a variety show that focused on playing games, every game segment implements proper protective measures to ensure the safety of the celebrity guests.
For the coin game just played, the game area was specially padded with foam mats. The coins were made of paper and bamboo, with their bases fixed on a long track. It could only be moved left and right and could not be lifted from the ground.
To maximize guest safety, a sponge pit was set up behind the game area, covering the full range the coins could move.
So as long as they stayed within the designated area, the guests’ safety during gameplay is essentially guaranteed.
However, Qian Jianan’s performance seemed a bit unreasonable. Especially in the second round when Jing Li had moved to the edge to help other guests while the unguarded coins lay on the opposite side. Logically, wouldn’t a normal person seize that chance to charge over and break the coins for points?
Yet Qian Jianan did the opposite, completely ignoring the coins and instead charging straight at Jing Li, which caused him to overshoot the safe area and fall to the ground.
Such behavior is truly puzzling, leading some to develop other suspicions. After all, in this circle, underneath the glamorous facade, there is no shortage of shameless, despicable conduct.
Some disapproved of such speculation though, especially Qian Jianan’s fans, who couldn’t help but defend their idol upon hearing the doubts: “It’s just a game, why read so much into it with conspiracy theories?”
“Exactly. Since it’s a game, some collisions are normal, right? And our Jianan got hurt like that but we didn’t say anything!”
“The game is about snatching the opponent’s coins. Jianan clearly saw two people blocking our teammates, so he ran over to help!”
…
But most audience members weren’t buying it, and the fans’ blind defense only made them more amused.
“Conspiracy theories? If it was Jing Li charging at Qian Jianan, you’d probably be cursing up a storm already!”
“Don’t be such hypocrites!”
“Why did Qian Jianan fall? Didn’t he rush up to hit someone but missed? How is that anyone else’s fault?”
“It’s indeed a game, but games have rules. Anyone with a brain should know breaking the coins for points is the key, right?”
“His teammates were trying to fend off the opponents to go for the coins. He had a clear chance but instead purposely charged into the other guest? You really think that’s normal gameplay? You must be brain-dead!”
…
Faced with such increasingly aggressive comments, Qian Jianan’s fans struggled to formulate a strong rebuttal.
After all, in the second round he ignored the wide-open coins in favor of “helping control Jing Li”, which was hardly a logical explanation.
They couldn’t very well admit their idol was just having a brain fart, could they? So, the tongue-tied fans were soon overwhelmed and could only stubbornly retort “Whatever, I’m not wasting breath on unreasonable people” before falling silent in frustration.
But the fans represent their idol, and their attitude only worsened people’s perceptions of Qian Jianan and themselves. Eventually someone even posted on Weibo, openly mocking a “certain male star maliciously targeting a newcomer out of pettiness – so disgusting.”
The poster was a major fan account with tens of thousands of followers. Many of her followers knew she went to attend the recent The Big Winner recording at Dolphin TV, so upon seeing her post they flooded the comments asking what happened and blatantly guessing which male star she referred to.
The netizens in the comment area were tickled and excited, but the blogger disappeared after her cryptic post, leaving them in agonizing suspense as they spontaneously began naming the celebrity guests one by one.
Qian Jianan’s fans naturally also saw this Weibo, but because the other party neither mentioned his name nor said anything unnecessary, even if they knew that she was referring to their idol, there was nothing they could do about it. In the end, they could just pretend not to see it.
In contrast, fans of the other celebrities rushed to defend their idols upon seeing their names mentioned, appearing more active for a time.
However, as the speculation was rather baseless, and the fans remained rational, it didn’t escalate into a major incident. Many just gave it a passing glance.
*
Those on stage were naturally unaware of the commotion among the audience and online. After the hosts ended the second round, they swiftly transitioned into the next round.
This time, Qian Jianan seemed to have learned his lesson and no longer dared to target Jing Li, but instead desperately tried to snatch the coins from behind the opponents.
But no matter what tricks he tried, even if he tried his best, he couldn’t even graze the coins. Instead, he ended up drenched in sweat while the opponents toyed with him. Finally, he bent over panting to catch his breath.
In contrast, Jing Li remained poised, smiling as he watched Qian Jianan. Not to mention he was out of breath, he didn’t even break out a sweat.
The stark contrast only highlighted Qian Jianan’s dishevelment, leaving him even more disgruntled.
Soon the first round of the game ended. As the attacker, “Xianxia Romance” only got one gold coin in three rounds. It was only won by the combined efforts of the two female guests.
The dismal result drew laughter from everyone, as the host even playfully used Qian Jianan’s pre-game boast against him: “Jianan, you really were bullying them!”
Prompting more roars of laughter from the audience.
After the first match, the attackers and defenders swapped positions to begin the second match.
Now as the attackers, the “Immortal Road” team’s previous disadvantage instantly became an advantage. Though the opposing male guests appeared relatively strong, they only had three, allowing the three “Immortal Road” males to hold them off. With one male blocking the two opposing females, Du Jiaojiao could sneak past to assault the coins.
The matchups remained: Fu Yan vs Wen Ting, Wang Kun vs the opposing second male, Jing Li against Qian Jianan, and Wang Lele handling the two females.
Everyone had clear roles. As soon as the timer started, they all charged toward their targets.
Jing Li jogged over to face Qian Jianan.
Then, under Qian Jianan’s intense glare, he feinted left before suddenly hooking an arm around his waist and yanking him aside amid the audience’s excited cheers. Du Jiaojiao immediately pounced onto the coins, securing the point.
The timer ended just as “Immortal Road” claimed the first coin, tying the score.
Jing Li smiled at the opposing team before meeting Qian Jianan’s sullen gaze and calmly throwing his earlier words back at him: “Jianan, maybe you should consider surrendering? Wouldn’t want you to lose too embarrassingly~!”
His quip sparked another roar of laughter, especially at Qian Jianan’s flustered, reddening expression, leaving people in stitches.
The host also stood nearby and laughed, but he still paid attention to the rhythm. He laughed for a few seconds and then quickly stopped and announced the start of the second round. He shouted loudly to the “Xianxia Romance” team, “Come on.”
As the crowd cheered louder and louder, the members of the “Immortal Road” team rushed over again.
Jing Li once more faced Qian Jianan. However, this time Qian Jianan probably learned the lesson from the previous round. In short, they did not let him get close and dodge while guarding against his sneak attack. For a moment, Jing Li was really unable to make a move.
However, as they moved around, Jing Li suddenly noticed something wrong.
Perhaps due to the vigorous movements, Qian Jianan’s face appeared increasingly weirder, especially around his nose. One section was clearly bent to the side.
Jing Li stared at him for a moment. Although he didn’t know what was going on with him, he knew being filmed like that was not a good thing.
Thinking it over, he leaned forward slightly, intending to discreetly give Qian Jianan a heads up.
However, Qian Jianan saw his sudden movement as an attack, immediately pushing him away without a second thought.
Caught off guard, Jing Li stumbled backwards and would have fallen had Wang Lele not quickly steadied him.
Wang Lele turned to glare at Qian Jianan but froze upon seeing his face.
With Jing Li’s abrupt retreat, the audience also witnessed Qian Jianan’s shove, prompting murmurs.
“What the f*ck? Qian Jianan used way too much force!”
“Yeah, if Wang Lele didn’t catch him, Jing Li would’ve eaten the floor.”
…
As the crowd buzzed about the stage, someone seemed to have discovered something different: “Hey, look at Qian Jianan, doesn’t his nose seem a bit off?”
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