I’ve Gone Viral Because of a Money-Saving Variety Show

Chapter 47: Chapter 44: Their days are more exciting than my entire lifetime… Chapter 47: Chapter 44: Their days are more exciting than my entire lifetime… Twenty minutes ago.
Nanxing Entertainment.
After coming out of the restroom, Chen Xixi was really curious about what they were up to, so she took out her phone and entered Zheng He’s live stream.
As she watched, her brows furrowed slightly, and she couldn’t help but utter, “…Are they conducting some kind of special ritual?”
It wasn’t until she saw the barrage of comments from netizens that she finally understood.
They were actually lying down and begging.
Even planning to do it behind her back, fearing she would steal their bowl of rice.
Initially, Chen Xixi asked them to wait for her because she wanted to sneak them into the employee canteen of Nanxing Entertainment for a meal.
Although each was relying on their own abilities in the race for the five million prize money, since she got the most Money today and was in a good mood, she wanted to spread a bit of her rare charity and let them have a full meal.
But since they didn’t appreciate it, she decided to let it be.
She had inquired that the canteen at Nanxing Entertainment closes a bit later than usual because artists and staff often work overtime for training and such.
After asking her makeup artist for the specific location of the canteen, Chen Xixi walked over with utmost composure.
[Isn’t the canteen at Nanxing Entertainment only for providing employee meals to its internal staff? What is Chen Xixi doing there? She’s not a part of Nanxing Entertainment.]
[Their program is sponsored by Nanxing Entertainment; maybe they can be considered as… external staff of Nanxing?]
[But the sponsor wouldn’t provide them with employee meals because the rule of their show is to live entirely on their own.]
The canteen indeed only provides free employee meals to internal staff.
Nanxing Entertainment as the sponsor didn’t provide them with any shortcuts to eat for free.
But if she could be at the company at this time, who would know that she isn’t an employee of the company?
After all, the auntie serving the food in the canteen couldn’t possibly remember the hundreds of people in the company clearly.
As long as she has enough nerve and appears undisturbed, from the moment she enters the canteen, she is an internal staff member!
Netizens only saw Chen Xixi stride into the canteen with confidence, and then she showed a particularly familiar smile: “Auntie, are you new here? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”
[Damn! This preemptive approach is awesome! Chen Xixi really has some skills!]
[Now the food-serving auntie has become the outsider…]
[Learned something new! She can even scrounge for food like this; Chen Xixi is too good, I salute this sister!]
The food-serving auntie, who was in her forties, wore a transparent mask for food service and with a kind smile, she picked up a spoon and asked, “I’ve been working here for over half a year. Are you just coming from a film crew so you haven’t seen me?”
Chen Xixi answered without changing her expression, “I just happened to join a crew more than half a year ago, so maybe it was when I joined them that you started working here.”
The auntie casually asked, “What drama are you shooting?”
Chen Xixi continued to spin a yarn: “A melodrama.”
“Melodramas aren’t easy to act, they really test your acting skills. What role do you play?”
“A vicious supporting female,” Chen Xixi said without hesitation.
She was already acting.
Scrounging for meals isn’t something to be proud of, but for the five million prize money, she had to thick-skinnedly scrounge for this meal.
So, sorry auntie…
[Chen Xixi is ready to take on acting roles right now, no joke.]
[If I weren’t in the live stream room, I would almost believe the nonsense Chen Xixi is spouting!]
Chen Xixi exchanged a few pleasantries with the auntie, who then filled her plate with plenty of food, even adding an extra chicken leg.
After all, who could resist a beautiful girl with sweet words!
Chen Xixi had meat and vegetables, eating her fill, while Zheng He and the others were different; their progress… not a single penny.
Zheng He and his group were lying on the ground with continuous, pitiful cries of hunger.
Wan Chen, Jin Cheng, and Han Qianyi were also experiencing the desire to find a hole to crawl into at this moment.
People came by to watch from time to time, but no one threw any money.
Han Qianyi covered her face, her cheeks red with embarrassment under her palms. She turned her head and whispered to Wan Chen beside her, “Let’s just go back.”
She really couldn’t take it anymore. If this continued, would President Lu still consider signing her?
Besides, if she became a big star in the future, she would have yet another scandal to her name!
“Let’s hang in there a bit longer and see,” Wan Chen said with his eyes closed, thinking to himself that as long as he didn’t open his eyes, he wasn’t lying on the ground begging but resting on a stone bench.
Zheng He, who was next to Wan Chen, spoke up, “I think it might be because there’s no music.”
He remembered that the beggars he had seen before always brought their own speakers.
Maybe without music, it wasn’t moving enough to evoke people’s sympathy.
So Zheng He took out his phone and played a sorrowful erhu solo.
The night market was noisy, and to maximize the effect of the music, he turned the volume all the way up and placed the phone beside him.
The sound was louder than if it were in his pocket.
Now, there was the right atmosphere for begging.
Only… after a short while, the sorrowful erhu music, which had been playing close to their ears, suddenly stopped.
Zheng He frowned, opened his eyes, and turned to look where his phone had been.
The spot was now empty, with no sign of the phone to be seen!
Zheng He suddenly sat up and roared, “Fuck! Where’s my phone?!”
The other three guests quickly opened their eyes in shock: “!!!”
Zheng He stood up in a hurry, glanced around at the people nearby, and shouted, “I think I lost my phone, did anyone see who took it?!”
[Zheng He is really pitiful, but why do I feel like laughing…]
[Daring to leave a phone out in the night market, he’s really begging to be noticed by thieves.]
[Thief: If I don’t steal this, wouldn’t that be rude?]
[Help, hahaha! Their day has been too tumultuous!]
[I feel like their day has been more thrilling than my entire life…]
[Chen Xixi just asked them to wait for her earlier, I think she might have wanted to take them to dinner. If they’d stayed with Chen Xixi, Zheng He’s phone wouldn’t have been lost.]
[Didn’t get any money and lost a phone too, the cost of begging is a bit high!]
For the next while, they searched for Zheng He’s phone with empty stomachs.
But with so many people in the night market, finding the thief was nearly impossible.
Han Qianyi kindly suggested, “Why don’t we call the police?”
She was totally out of energy.
After calling the police, the few who came out of the police station for the second time today felt as though they had expended a lifetime’s worth of energy.
Jin Cheng looked up at the dark night sky with regret and said, “We should have just waited for Chen Xixi earlier.”
Wan Chen agreed, “Yeah, it seems begging is just not viable.”
Zheng He stubbornly said, “It’s just that we weren’t properly equipped today, trust me, next time I can definitely get us some Money!”
Next time? If they believed Zheng He again, they’d be dogs!
Without having eaten dinner, not having received a single penny, and having lost a phone, the few walked back to the dormitory at one in the morning, stopping and going along the way, almost too exhausted to continue halfway.
…
On the twelfth day of the live stream.
Except for Chen Xixi, the four guests felt like they had been through an ordeal, their bodies aching and weak, almost losing faith in life.
Just then, the production team delivered another piece of bad news.
Qian Yue, holding a megaphone, walked along the corridors of the second and third floors and announced, “The free dormitory period has expired, please guests quickly pack your belongings and valuable items and leave!”