Did the Movie Emperor Blow His Cover Today? - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The variety show officially began filming. The first segment was partner selection. Tao Hui, dressed in a black tracksuit, stood quietly among the crowd, her head bowed like a timid elementary school student afraid of being called on by the teacher.

She was like a struggling student who avoided eye contact with the teacher, terrified of being asked a question.

Last night at dinner, her loud declaration of “I want Han Buji!” had been heard not only by everyone at her table but also by the directors and staff at the neighboring table.

Directors of variety shows naturally thrive on creating drama. Given Tao Hui’s previous trending topics had all been linked to Han Buji’s popularity, the head director immediately declared, “Hey, Tao Hui really wants to team up with Xiao Han, huh? Then you two can be partners!”

The dinner was a rustic farmhouse meal, and the entire room was filled with the production crew. With the director leading the teasing, everyone relaxed, joining in with cheers and laughter.

Tao Hui felt so mortified she wanted to crawl into the cracks in the floor.

As it turned out, the head director’s words from the previous night weren’t just a casual remark. After scanning the room, his gaze settled on Tao Hui, and he asked with a Northeast accent, “What’s up, Tao Hui-er? Still want Han Buji? If you do, I’ll give you the first pick.”

Tang Qingqing laughed first, joking, “Director, Director, I want to choose Teacher Han too!”

Meng Xianying put her hands on her hips and joined in the commotion. “Exactly, Director! I want to choose a new guest too! Han Buji or Li Sijin would be great, or even Xu Chang if we have to.”

Xu Chang looked incredulous. “Wait, why does it sound like you’re settling for me?”

“I’ve been wanting to get out of Lu Teng’s group for ages. I’m exhausted,” Fe Sili said in heavily accented Mandarin, standing next to Han Buji in her towering heels. “I’d rather have a partner whose height difference with me isn’t so obvious.”

Lu Teng, who had just woken up and was munching on a breakfast bun, cried out in anguish, “Why does Fe Sili always reject me every episode?! I’m going to turn the tables! I’m choosing Tao Hui’s group!”

The established cast members’ relaxed banter emboldened the new guests to speak more freely.

“I want to choose Rabbit too,” Li Sijin murmured, rubbing his Korean-style monolid eyes.

Xu Chang immediately leaned in to join the fun, chiming in, “I’ll pick Huihui then! Tang Qingqing pinches way too hard. Yesterday, just because I said she looked a little chubby, she pinched my arm purple!”

Before he could finish, Tang Qingqing lunged at him, pinching him so hard he winced in pain.

After all the commotion, Tao Hui actually felt less awkward and joined in the laughter. “Let’s just compete fairly,” she said. “Teacher Han is too popular!”

As she spoke, Tao Hui subtly shot Han Buji a look that said, “Everything I just said was nonsense. You absolutely have to choose me as your partner.”

Han Buji raised his coffee cup to hide the corner of his mouth, which was curving into a smile.

The first challenge: the Partner Scramble!

Game rules: Each male guest had three food items in front of them. They had to choose one, finish it to obtain a key, then ride a snowmobile to find a female guest. The first to arrive got to choose their partner first.

Before the male guests were led away, Han Buji lingered a step behind the others. As he passed Tao Hui, he whispered, “Wait for me.”

The words were so soft that Tao Hui almost thought she’d imagined them. When she turned to look again, she only saw Han Buji’s dashing figure striding away.

Today, neither of them wore their long white down jackets. Instead, they were both in black tracksuits and short black down jackets, unintentionally matching again.

Tao Hui stared after Han Buji’s retreating figure for two seconds, then sat back down on the waiting chair, suddenly feeling a flicker of anticipation.

Tao Hui desperately hoped Han Buji’s “Wait for me” was sincere.

In the women’s waiting area, a large screen displayed the men’s side. Tao Hui watched with anticipation, only to see Han Buji lean back in the car, close his eyes, and adopt a languid expression.

Tao Hui: “?!”

This isn’t how it’s supposed to be! After telling someone to wait, shouldn’t he be charging forward with fierce determination, aiming to be the first one back?!

Han Buji, you damn liar!

On the screen, the other three male guests looked visibly excited, huddled together speculating about the game’s difficulty.

The rules seemed simple enough: eating challenges and snowmobile riding.

Li Sijin, an office-bound CEO whose only exercise was golf, had zero variety show experience. He glanced at the relaxed, eyes-closed Han Buji and, with naive earnestness, said, “I’m fine with the eating challenges, but I’ve never ridden a snowmobile before. What’s it like?”

A true Southerner, his only concern was his lack of experience with winter sports.

Lu Teng, a regular guest on the show, naturally understood the production team’s tricks better than the others. He clapped Li Sijin on the shoulder, his voice earnest. “Brother, you’re wrong. You think the snowmobiles are the hardest part? The food is the real horror. Trust me, the stuff they make us eat here is absolutely disgusting.”

“Disgusting? What kind of food? Rice cakes?” Xu Chang, ever naive, immediately thought back to the time he nearly choked to death on a rice cake during a previous show, an experience that had permanently soured him on all sticky foods.

“Rice cakes?” Lu Teng wagged his index finger with a mysterious smile, slowly ticking off items on his fingers. “No, no, no, you’re too innocent. Last season, I had toothpaste-filled Oreos, wasabi-stuffed cupcakes, duck intestines as tough as shoe leather, and even squid ink juice…”

“No way!” Xu Chang and Li Sijin groaned in unison.

Tao Hui sat in her chair, watching the large screen as the other three debated strategies for choosing food with fervent enthusiasm. Only Han Buji remained with his eyes closed, seemingly unfazed by the commotion.

It was as if he hadn’t come to participate in a variety show at all, but had simply wandered onto the wrong set while trying to catch up on sleep.

Tao Hui felt a twinge of nervousness. Teaming up with the others wouldn’t be a problem, but deep down, she still wished she could be paired with Han Buji.

Tao Hui thought that being paired with Xu Chang, who was always smiling, wouldn’t be so bad. Teacher Lu Teng was also a good person. The worst-case scenario would be Li Sijin, which might just lead to some trending topics online—nothing too serious.

But she still wanted Han Buji.

Tao Hui stared at the side profile of Han Buji’s closed eyes on the big screen, thinking, I still hope Han Buji comes back first and chooses me.

The four male guests arrived at their destination. As the car stopped, Han Buji suddenly opened his eyes. This casual movement made Tao Hui’s heart race.

The group followed the staff to the door. As soon as Lu Teng pushed it open, he pinched his nose and roared, “What the hell is this? This place stinks of cow dung!”

Li Sijin, standing behind him, also covered his nose, his face contorted in horror. “Holy shit, are they going to make us eat shit?”

“Pfft, hey, I finally heard you swear!” Xu Chang burst out laughing, sniffing the air. “I think it’s okay. I can tolerate this smell. What about you, Brother Han?”

Han Buji frowned slightly. “Not really.”

“Hahahaha! I thought you’d say you were fine!” Xu Chang roared with laughter. “Is there anything you can’t handle?”

Seeing an opportunity to tease Han Buji, Li Sijin immediately stopped covering his nose and said cheerfully, “Han Buji just has a facial paralysis, not a loss of smell.”

Han Buji turned to look at Li Sijin and suddenly smiled, whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear, “Tao Hui is on my team today.”

Li Sijin grinned, lowering his voice to match, “I think I’ve got this in the bag.”

The female contestants waiting for the male guests watched the two handsome men whispering and laughing, growing restless. Meng Xianying called out, “Director! Aren’t they coming to find us? Why haven’t they started moving yet?”

“Exactly! What are Han Buji and Li Sijin whispering about? Why are they covering their mics and laughing so much? Are they planning to wander off?” Fe Sili chimed in.

Tang Qingqing burst into laughter. “Fe Sili, that’s not how you use the word ‘wander off’!”

Tao Hui watched Han Buji’s smile, sensing something unsettling about it—almost like a provocation. Would someone as aloof and enigmatic as Han Buji actually provoke someone?

Suddenly, Xu Chang’s startled shout echoed from the main screen: “What is this?!”

The four men had entered a room containing only four tables, each identically set with three dishes:

1. Spicy sour soup
2. Beef noodle soup
3. Crispy fried balls.

At first glance, everything seemed ordinary, but the four contestants quickly analyzed the situation.

The spicy sour soup looked normal, but it contained an unknown variety of chili peppers that were overwhelmingly spicy. Even Li Sijin, a native of Sichuan-Chongqing, had to wipe his nose repeatedly after just a sip.

The crispy fried balls were even more interesting. They looked golden and appetizing, but the pungent smell of cow dung emanated from them. Lu Teng couldn’t even bear to get close without gagging, let alone eat one.

Only the beef noodles appeared normal, but they were served in an enormous basin! Choosing the noodles meant finishing the entire portion—what a joke!

The staff announced the official start of the game.

Tao Hui stared at the spicy sour soup in its disposable paper cup, remembering Wu Yue’s earlier comment that Han Buji had a stomach condition and couldn’t tolerate spicy food.

The last time she’d made him eat Sichuan hotpot, Han Buji’s stomach had flared up the next day. There was no way he’d touch something this spicy.

The spicy sour soup was out. The gentlemanly Han Buji probably wouldn’t choose the crispy fried balls either. Tao Hui could only pray that he’d be able to finish that basin of beef noodles.

As the starting buzzer sounded, Xu Chang and Li Sijin moved simultaneously, their faces grim as they shoved crispy fried balls into their mouths while gagging.

Lu Teng sat at the table and began devouring the beef noodles.

Only Han Buji remained calm and composed. He strolled over to the table, picked up the cup of spicy sour soup, raised it in a toast, and drained it in one smooth motion.

After finishing, he casually wiped his mouth with a napkin, accepted a piece of gum from a staff member, and picked up the snowmobile keys from the table with a flourish. He grinned at the three contestants still struggling and said, “See you later. I’m heading out.”

Xu Chang, who was barely managing to swallow the shit-flavored crispy balls, stared in disbelief and wailed, “Brother Han! Did you cheat? Is that just water in your cup?”

Li Sijin, who had just swallowed half a crispy ball and suppressed a gag, watched Han Buji head for the exit and shouted, “That son of a bitch must have cheated!”

Lu Teng, still chewing on his beef noodles with a strand dangling from his mouth, lunged forward and scraped the inside of Han Buji’s disposable cup with his finger. He popped the residue into his mouth and exclaimed, “Ugh, that’s way too spicy!”

The female guests watching on the big screen screamed with excitement at Han Buji’s decisive action, and even the staff joined in the cheering.

Only Tao Hui frowned slightly, her mind racing: Has Han Buji’s stomach condition improved?

The spicy sour soup wasn’t without its effects on Han Buji. As he jammed the key into the snowmobile, his lips and the corners of his eyes were flushed red.

Han Buji’s look today was sharp and clean. His bangs were swept back, revealing a smooth, full forehead. His pale, almost icy skin glowed against the swirling snowflakes, making him look like some kind of snow prince.

Only the unnatural redness at the corners of his eyes and lips betrayed his discomfort.

Tao Hui’s eyes stung with sympathy as she watched the large screen anxiously.

Han Buji mounted the snowmobile, donned his helmet, and started the engine in a fluid, practiced motion. The snowmobile roared into the snowy track, kicking up a cloud of powdery snow.

The screen split into four quadrants, each showing the progress of one of the four male contestants.

Xu Chang and Li Sijin had finished their crispy fried balls and were sprinting back to their snowmobiles.

Lu Teng, having given up, was listlessly slurping his noodles, muttering to himself, “Someone has to come in last. I’ll let them have their moment.”

Tao Hui paid no attention to the others. Her eyes were fixed on Han Buji as he raced through the snow, his phoenix eyes burning with determination.

More than ten minutes later, the screen announced the contestants’ progress. Tao Hui only registered the words “Han Buji is approaching the finish line.”

She whipped her head around to look out the window. Sure enough, a red blur was hurtling toward them through the snowy track—Han Buji’s red snowmobile, charging down the slope like a swift leopard.

He crashed through the finish line, coming to a steady stop at the end.

Han Buji removed his helmet and tossed it into the arms of a staff member before striding purposefully toward the female contestants’ waiting room.

The moment Han Buji pushed open the door, Tao Hui couldn’t hear anything. It was as if she had gone deaf, and everyone around her had vanished. Only Han Buji remained, his composure unshaken by the wind and snow, striding into the room with effortless grace.

It felt as though he had braved the storm just for her.

Oh, not just braved the storm, but also brought a stomach full of chili water, Tao Hui thought dazedly, suppressing the stinging in her nose.

As per the show’s rules, when a male contestant entered, the female contestants were to raise the nameplate of the man they were hoping to pair with. Each woman had four nameplates beside her, each bearing the name of one of the male contestants.

As Han Buji pushed open the door, the other three female contestants immediately raised their nameplates.

Tang Qingqing, sitting next to Tao Hui, nudged her, jolting her back to reality. Tao Hui fumbled for the nameplate beside her—she had already prepared Han Buji’s nameplate and placed it within easy reach.

Holding the nameplate aloft, Tao Hui remained silent, her gaze fixed on Han Buji as he stepped into the room.

It seemed there was an unspoken understanding between Tao Hui and Han Buji, a silent agreement that needed no words.

Han Buji wore a faint smile, enduring the burning sensation in his stomach as he looked at Tao Hui.

Tao Hui sat in the spacious chair, dressed in black sportswear with her ponytail pulled high.

Unlike the other three female guests who were visibly excited, she remained composed, sitting quietly with a serene smile, holding up a large sign.

The sign read: Li Sijin.