books44 Chapter 606: Curtains Down, Heading Back to Beijing!
Chapter 606: Curtains Down, Heading Back to Beijing!
Early in the morning, Xiao He was preparing to lead his team to Beijing.In the hotel lobby, they also ran into Wu Chuyi and his crew, their faces haggard, clearly having not rested well the night before.
Last night's episode of "Journey Across Mountains and Rivers" had already wrapped up, and the various guests had been leaving with their own teams. Originally, Liang Cheng and Qiu Hua, both from Shanghai, wanted to wait for Xiao He and head back to Shanghai together. But they hadn't expected Xiao He to be going to Beijing instead, taking a different route.
So after saying their goodbyes, they too left with their teams one by one.
In the end, only Wu Chuyi's team remained—the ones who had worked hard until late last night but ended up with nothing to show for it.
Due to the stalker fan incident, he was still being battered by online public opinion. He simply couldn't have been more unlucky.
Seeing him this time, Xiao He's attitude had softened considerably. He no longer held a grudge over their earlier cold stares and sharp words.
Wu Chuyi looked at Xiao He, his feelings complicated.
He had originally thought that last night's events would be his perfect chance to showcase himself and shine. But he never imagined it would become yet another golden opportunity for Xiao He to display his skills.
Instead, he had become the clown.
But Wu Chuyi no longer dared to hold any grudge against Xiao He.
A tech genius was marketable anywhere.
Especially for someone like Wu Chuyi—an "ordinary person" with a mediocre background, average grades, and a fame built entirely on luck.
He had once belittled Xiao He, linking his success to his own "good fortune," thinking that if Xiao He could make it, he could too, sooner or later.
Now Wu Chuyi understood.
He had been a real fool.
Where had he gotten the confidence to compare himself to a true heavyweight like this?
"B-Brother Xiao, you're leaving?"
Wu Chuyi touched his nose, greeting him awkwardly.
He had always respectfully called Xiao He "Teacher Xiao," but this time, he followed everyone else and changed it to "Brother Xiao."
Hmm, it seemed he had finally accepted reality.
Xiao He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm heading to Beijing for a schedule."
"Oh, oh, okay—you take care—"
Wu Chuyi was indeed bad with words. After thinking for a while, he couldn't come up with anything more to say, only dryly bidding Xiao He farewell.
Xiao He gave a slight nod, then turned and led his team away.
-
But what Xiao He didn't expect was that Wu Chuyi and his team were also heading to Beijing.
And, by sheer coincidence, they were on the same flight.
On the plane, Liu Rulan turned her head to glance at Wu Chuyi and his team sitting diagonally behind them, then turned back with a long sigh. "When we land, there's going to be chaos."
Wu Chuyi's traffic had been huge lately, and last night's events were still stirring up a storm online. The moment they landed, they'd probably be swarmed by the fans and media chasing after him.
Xiao He also glanced back, then withdrew his gaze. "Are all these trending idols' fans this clingy these days?"
Honestly, he still preferred the old-school fans—those who'd show up for offline events but didn't feel the need to chase someone around 24/7.
That was stressful not only for the artist but for the fans too!
Liu Rulan said, "Sigh, that's a long-debated topic."
"So, should we wait a bit and not exit the station?" Xiao He suggested. "Let those people chase after Wu Chuyi first, and then we'll leave."
The only good thing was that Beijing, as the capital, had stricter airport management. Even if fans and media wanted to greet arrivals or dig up news, they wouldn't dare linger there too long.
So they could easily lay low.
Otherwise, if Xiao He walked out with them, even more people would come to gawk at him.
"Sounds good."
Liu Rulan thought for a moment, then nodded.
-
At the same time, at the Beijing airport, Huang Mang had finally received his last bank transfer.
Seeing the string of digits in his account balance, Huang Mang's eyes curved into a happy grin.
"This trip was totally worth it!"
Thinking back to the money-making opportunity he'd stumbled upon not long ago, he couldn't help but want to laugh out loud.
As he was about to head in, he suddenly ran into other industry competitors.
Seeing the aggressive setup of these paparazzi, Huang Mang immediately became alert. "What are you all doing here?"
They weren't trying to mooch off his fortune, were they?
"Hey, Old Huang, where have you been making money lately? Haven't seen you around in ages."
One of the paparazzi greeted Huang Mang while keeping his eyes locked on the exit of the hall in front of him.
"Pfft, he hasn't been chatting in the group lately. One look at him, and you know he's snagged something good."
Another guy in a baseball cap sneered, envy dripping from his voice.
Huang Mang chuckled, refusing to take the bait, and craned his neck to look around. "Who are you all staking out?"
"Wu Chuyi. You didn't hear about last night's huge news? The whole group was discussing it all night! Those two dumbass paparazzi are still rotting in the police station!"
Huang Mang felt a twinge of guilt. "Oh, oh, right, right."
Since yesterday was the final payment date, Huang Mang had been so happy that he couldn't resist a few drinks. He slept straight through till noon and hadn't paid any attention to the group messages.
But he didn't let it show. He just crouched down with the others and started catching up on the gossip online.
"Holy shit."
After reading all the news he'd missed last night, Huang Mang's eyes went wide.
And right at that moment, everyone around him stirred. "They're here, they're here—Wu Chuyi's coming out—"
In the next second, the paparazzi crouching next to Huang Mang shot forward like rockets, pushing their way into the crowd.
Huang Mang instinctively wanted to follow, but after a few steps, he suddenly remembered that this time he was here to catch a flight back to Shanghai.
With such a huge public outcry and so many people on the scene, even if he went to snap photos now, he wouldn't make much money.
Anyway, he'd already made more than enough on this trip.
Forget it, forget it. No need to fight the others for scraps.
So Huang Mang contentedly sat back down, ready to wait for his flight.
The clamor died down quickly, returning to silence. A massive crowd gathered, then followed the stream of people away—all within a few minutes.
Huang Mang snorted softly, staying planted in his seat, clearly looking down on such meager traffic.
But not long after the crowd left, Huang Mang suddenly sat up straight—
A group of people wearing hats and masks walked out of the exit in a unified formation.
A sharp professional instinct immediately told Huang Mang this was another celebrity's team.
But who could it be?
Huang Mang squinted, his hand already reaching for his camera subconsciously.
Holy shit!
That figure, that team trailing behind... wasn't that none other than last night's other party, Xiao He?
Damn, he never imagined it—he and Xiao He really had some kind of fate!
Last time too, while everyone else was fooled by Xiao He and chased after someone else, only he had followed him all the way to the parking lot and successfully gotten the photos (even though he got caught red-handed).
But what did that prove?
It proved that when fortune came knocking, you couldn't stop it even if you tried!
Huang Mang was so excited he could barely contain himself, clicking away furiously with his camera.
As for his earlier disdain and magnanimity?
No, no—that was for Wu Chuyi.
If he didn't photograph Xiao He, he'd be an idiot!
This money had to be made!
And with no competitors around, it was a guaranteed exclusive!
But just as Huang Mang clicked the shutter a few times, a familiar shadow loomed over him.
Huang Mang: ...That familiar, ominous feeling.
Huang Mang's mouth twitched as he cautiously turned his head. Sure enough, he met Old Qi's gaze.
Old Qi had been running around with Xiao He lately, and his skin had darkened several shades. Now, when he grinned, his teeth flashed stark white, making him look even more sinister.
Huang Mang forced out an expression that was neither crying nor laughing. "Come on, bro, I swear I'm really just here to catch my flight. Would you believe me?"