Let Me Be Spoiled - Chapter 44

Yang Xun didn’t have much time. After dinner and once his clothes had dried, Xie Yan said goodbye and took the information about Where Are We Going Today? and caught a ride home.

After taking a shower, Xie Yan leaned against the headboard and spread out the materials, but his mind was elsewhere. He stared at the same page for a long time without turning it.

He kept thinking about what Yang Xun had said offhandedly.

“Men wear Guanyin, women wear Buddha.”

Xie Yan had seen Fu Qing’s jade pendant before and it was different from his own. It wasn’t a Laughing Buddha, but a figure of Guanyin, which made theirs a matched pair.

Grandpa Fu probably didn’t know the saying. Otherwise, why would he have given this pendant to Xie Yan?

If he did know, then this pendant was either meant for Fu Qing’s younger sister—or…

Or for his future wife.

At the thought of that possibility, Xie Yan’s fingers trembled slightly as he held the pendant.

The chances of it being for a wife were much higher. No one could predict whether Madam Fu would next have a daughter, but it was certain that Fu Qing would one day marry.

Whether Grandpa Fu knew or not no longer mattered much to Xie Yan.

Because all he could think about now was—did Fu Ge know?

Did he not know, or did he?

Xie Yan’s chest felt tight, his breath short, as if he couldn’t breathe properly.

He had acted in front of cameras many times before, but he had rarely felt this way.

It was an overwhelming kind of anxiety.

He looked up at the bedside lamp. The light, usually so ordinary, now seemed blinding and impossible to look at.

Xie Yan shut his eyes slightly and turned the light off. The room fell into darkness. It was quiet, except for the sound of his heartbeat.

For a brief moment, he even wanted to call Fu Qing, just to ask, when you saw the pendant, if you knew what it meant, what were you thinking?

Completely irrational.

He didn’t know why he kept thinking about this.

Whether it was or wasn’t, whether Fu Qing knew or not, it was still a gift given with sincerity. Why did it matter?

Xie Yan seemed to convince himself. He got up from bed, went to the bathroom, and splashed cold water on his face. His breathing gradually calmed. He lay back down, pulled himself together, and started reading the Where Are We Going Today? materials.

The company’s packet was quite basic. It was just an overview of the show’s format and the strict scheduling rules that had to be followed.

But the one from Yang Xun was clearly much more detailed, with a full analysis report on the show. Where Are We Going Today? had already aired for six seasons. The first half of season one had only lukewarm reception, but the production quality had always been high. By the end of the first season, it exploded in popularity, with ratings surpassing 4%. The following seasons climbed steadily and eventually stabilized at high numbers. 

Besides its massive ratings, the show had a broad audience. It wasn’t just followed by the usual idol-chasing fans—it was widely discussed by the general public, and its fame wasn’t limited to just the entertainment circle. Though the survival conditions weren’t usually too extreme, there were no other shows quite like it on the market. The production team basically didn’t use a script, making it relatively “hardcore.”

Most importantly, the show was great at making people popular. Unlike typical shows that followed a fixed script for games and segments, this was a week-long survival challenge with 16-hour daily shoots. Even if someone tried to maintain a persona, it would be nearly impossible to keep up the act.

Yang Xun’s agent had designed a few personas for him to attract fans—most were fairly true to Yang Xun’s real personality, emphasizing his cute and fun sides. Even if they didn’t work perfectly, there was little risk of a total collapse.

Where Are We Going Today? had four regular hosts. Each episode, four to six guests were invited and divided into groups to participate in outdoor survival challenges at specific locations. The winning team was announced based on the goals set at the start of the episode.

Xie Yan made a note of that and turned to the next page. Of the four regular hosts, three were men. One of them, Wang Yuan, was a veteran in the hosting world with twenty years of experience. His hosting skills were top-tier—he could manage any situation. To prepare for this show, he had trained at the gym for two months and studied numerous related programs and books. He was extremely dedicated.

The other two male hosts were Chen Mo, a longtime but little-known actor, and Xu Huayi, a young singer from a talent show background. Neither had made a big name for themselves before joining the program.

The last host was a nineteen-year-old girl. According to the notes, the production team had initially chosen a trending male star to attract viewership. But that star had a packed filming schedule and couldn’t handle the hardship of outdoor survival. He left before the first episode even finished. Luckily, the news hadn’t gone public yet, so they quickly pulled in someone to replace him—an unknown female host from the entertainment fringes.

Her name was Ruan Anning.

Xie Yan turned to Ruan Anning’s profile, and when he saw the photo, he froze for a moment.

She was petite, not exactly a classic beauty, but had a clean, delicate look. When she smiled at the camera, two small dimples appeared—very charming.

Xie Yan rarely remembered ordinary people or ordinary things in detail, because there was no need to.

But Ruan Anning was different.

She looked vaguely familiar, though he couldn’t recall exactly who she was.

The first page of her file listed her past work and experiences. She hadn’t gone to university and started working at sixteen. With her quick tongue and cute looks, she stumbled into the hosting world by accident and turned out to be quite good at it. Despite having no academic background, her practical experience was extensive. She joined a subchannel of Xingyu Entertainment and turned a low-tier show into a surprising hit. Later, she got into Where Are We Going Today? by pitching herself. She argued that four men would make the dynamic too dull and offered to join to liven things up. At first, the station refused—they didn’t want to place such responsibility on a young girl. But after that male star quit and no replacement could be found quickly, they remembered Ruan Anning. Rumor had it that the contract she signed was extremely strict.

As he read, Xie Yan thought that Yang Xun’s agent was indeed experienced. He had been in the industry for years and had access to all kinds of inside information—even this sort of behind-the-scenes drama.

He flipped to the next page, which usually listed each host’s personality traits and habits. This helped guests avoid conflict and steer clear of anything that might provoke the hosts. In this kind of show, hosts had the power to shape the narrative, and even small shifts in attitude could lead viewers to jump to conclusions.

The three male hosts all seemed like decent guys—nothing much to watch out for. Ruan Anning’s profile was different. The agent had marked a note: it was best not to be grouped with her, as she apparently disliked interacting with male celebrities.

Xie Yan’s eyes landed on the word “suspected.” Something about it stirred his memory. He searched online for more of Ruan Anning’s photos, comparing them one by one—until finally, he remembered who she was.

She looked quite different from when she was younger, but there was still something familiar in her features.

Xie Yan thought for a while, then set the documents down and stopped reading.

Filming was scheduled to start in a week. Wang Zhuwei had contacted him several times. After the recent sugar daddy scandal, Qin Haocheng had completely collapsed—his contract was even terminated by the company. Wang Zhuwei now only had Xie Yan and one other mediocre singer under his management. But lately, Xie Yan had caught a lucky break. Into the Sheath was a massive hit. Though he wasn’t quite as viral as some of the big names, he was no longer unknown. His core fanbase was small, but he had a lot of casual followers. With his major strengths—his looks and standout acting—his luck had finally turned. As long as nothing went wrong, he was definitely on track to become a star.

Wang Zhuwei had all his focus on Xie Yan now and personally accompanied him to the filming location.

The meeting point set by the production team was at the base of a mountain. By the time Xie Yan arrived, the four regular hosts were already there, and two of the four invited guests had also arrived. About ten minutes later, the final guest showed up.

When Xie Yan came out of the dressing room, the first person he saw was Ruan Anning standing not far away. She was joking playfully with one of the female guests, making her laugh with delight.

The regular hosts were responsible for keeping the mood light, and everyone began introducing themselves.

There were four guests this time. Aside from Xie Yan, there was a young married couple and a middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man had a proper, respectable appearance. He smiled and shook hands with Xie Yan. “Xie Yan, right? You did a great job in Into the Sheath. This is a golden period for young actors like you—haha, go on and take over the spots us old guys are still clinging to.”

His name was Wang Zhongdao, a well-known figure in television, often starring in family dramas with high ratings. Xie Yan didn’t watch much TV—he mostly watched films—so he wasn’t very familiar with him.

Still, Xie Yan found himself instantly annoyed by the man, from the very moment they shook hands.

Because Wang Zhongdao’s grip was overly firm and far too familiar. Xie Yan noticed immediately. He lowered his head and smiled slightly, as if shifting his body to cooperate with the handshake, but in truth he was blocking most of the nearby camera’s view. Then he tightened his own grip around Wang Zhongdao’s thumb joint with extra force, pressing hard enough that the man’s expression changed, and he had no choice but to let go.

Xie Yan curled his lips into a casual smile.

The young couple were lively and outgoing. The husband, Wu Yun, was a rising director known for making cult suspense films and had won several independent film awards. His wife, Rebecca, was a tall, beautiful mixed-race model. Though she had grown up abroad, her Mandarin was excellent.

Xie Yan greeted each of them in turn, and the last one was Ruan Anning.

He passed in front of her, keeping his back to the camera, and gave her a brief, polite handshake. “Hello, I’m Xie Yan.”

Ruan Anning didn’t look up at him—she simply replied softly, “Hello, I’m Ruan Anning.”

After everyone had introduced themselves, the director stepped out from behind the scenes and announced the location of the survival challenge. The mountaintop.

The location itself wasn’t too extreme, but the rules were strict—no one was allowed to bring anything except for the standard-issue travel bags from the crew. Not even phones. Once on the mountain, any participant showing symptoms that affected mobility would be immediately removed and placed in the viewing area.

The eight participants would be divided into three teams. Wu Yun and Rebecca were locked in as a pair. The remaining participants would draw lots to determine the teams. Each day’s tasks included gathering berries and hunting small game. After seven days, the team with the most edible food remaining would be declared the winner.

The prize was a donation of 888,888 yuan in the name of the winning team to a nearby mountain village school, to be used for their lunch program.

But before going up the mountain, they had to settle the teams.

By some strange twist of fate, the draw resulted in Xie Yan, Ruan Anning, and Xu Huayi being placed on the same team. The remaining two teams were: Wang Yuan, Wang Zhongdao, and the Wu Yun–Rebecca couple, and Chen Mo.

Ruan Anning seemed momentarily stunned by the result. She quickly recovered, smiling as usual with her two small dimples showing—a very sweet look. “Looks like I’ll be relying on you for the next seven days, Xie Ge.”

Xie Yan gave a small nod. He knew that Ruan Anning still hadn’t looked at him—not even once.