Chapter 168

Why should I?

Because he's taller than me, thinner than me, handsomer than me, better at clapper talk than me, sings better than me…

Oh? No wonder I've fallen out of favor.

…

"Waaa~~~ Our old beggar lady's back!"

Reba perked up the moment Boss Yang walked in.

"Go die! Don't humiliate me like that—my image…"

Boss Yang wore a look of worry, yet her lips unconsciously curled into a faint smile.

Seems partnering with Su Meng these past few days has been pretty easy and fun.

"Don't act modest after you've already won, okay?"

Reba pouted, her face full of disdain.

"Do you even know how popular your show is right now?"

"The top twenty trending topics are all yours… actually, all of them are Su Meng's."

"But you're not bad either."

"Lots of fans are still praising you—saying you're gentle, virtuous, good at cooking, practically the perfect wife and maternal type."

"Your popularity hasn't dropped—it's actually spiked."

"Some video sites are even using AI to swap your face into those kinds of videos!"

"What?!" Boss Yang gasped, pointing at Reba with trembling fingers.

"Reba, you're the pure, innocent girl!"

"How could you watch those porn videos?"

Reba froze, then asked weakly.

"Why does mentioning those sites make you think of Madou?"

"Have I stumbled onto something?"

The two exchanged glances, sensing awkwardness, and quickly changed the subject.

"Um… today's weather is nice, the sun's really bright."

"Yeah yeah… uh… it's already dark outside."

"Hmm… what's your schedule looking like lately?"

"I'm going to shoot a video set… damn it! A photo shoot."

"I've already told the director—next episode, you'll be a guest star."

"Oh."

The two suddenly sank into an awkward silence…

…

"Hahaha, that kills me, this is hilarious!"

"Sure enough, to enjoy xiangsheng, you've got to come to De Yun She."

"Phew…"

Inside De Yun Theater, the atmosphere was electric.

After a xiangsheng act ended, the host, Little Marquis Hou Zhen, stepped onto the stage, still looking dazed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you've come to the right place today."

"We've added an extra xiangsheng segment tonight."

"Do you want to hear it? Do you want to hear it? Or do you want to hear it?"

Oh? An impromptu act?

The audience instantly perked up.

They shouted loudly.

"We want to hear it!"

Hou Zhen grinned.

"You all know who the real backbone of De Yun She is—that's Master Guo and Old Man Yu."

"But they're both old now, their energy's faded, so they rarely perform anymore."

"But tonight, they're feeling in the mood and want to do a short piece."

"Next, please enjoy the xiangsheng 'Stealing the Horse Coat,' performed by Guo Dagang, Old Man Yu… and Su Meng!"

"Good!" The audience erupted in loud cheers.

But suddenly, silence fell.

Many exchanged confused glances.

Hearing Guo Dagang and Old Man Yu perform was great—but Su Meng?

"Ah! Is Master Su going to do xiangsheng?"

A cry suddenly rose from the crowd.

Someone else shouted, disgruntled.

"What Master Su? That's Su Qi!"

"Clapper! Clapper! Clapper! I want to hear Su Meng's clapper!"

The atmosphere instantly burst into lively chaos.

After all, everyone knew Su Meng had swept the trending charts these past few days.

……

Su Meng, waiting offstage on the side, was also a little excited.

He had come to the Deyun Society this time mainly to pay a visit to Guo Dagang.

After all, Guo Dagang had almost single-handedly carried crosstalk, which had been on the verge of dying out, to such a booming, flourishing state.

Su Meng still respected him greatly.

The man had even specially arranged a tea meeting through Xiao Yueyue, yet he himself had used him as a joke target on stage.

By any measure, it was only right to come by and pay a visit.

But he hadn't expected that the moment they met, Guo Dagang would actually insistently invite him up on stage to perform a segment.

Su Meng had professional-grade crosstalk mastery, but had never had the chance to actually perform crosstalk, so he was a bit itching to try, and agreed in one breath.

The moment the three of them stepped onto the stage, warm cheers erupted from the audience below.

Some people even took out their phones and switched to video recording mode.

How novel — this was Su Meng's very first time performing crosstalk!

Although he wasn't a professional crosstalk performer, he was handsome!

Seeing these three walk onto the stage, almost all the disciples crowded into the waiting area, craning their necks to watch.

It had been a long time since they'd heard Master perform live.

And this time there was even an amateur?

Although Su Meng's clappers had beaten them into complete submission, as for crosstalk…

To be honest, seeing Guo Dagang and Uncle Yu play him up so much, quite a few disciples were honestly a little unconvinced.

……

Su Meng walked onto the stage unhurriedly, methodically adjusting the microphone first.

He first pulled his own microphone to a suitable height, then attentively helped Guo Dagang adjust his.

He pulled the microphone up to about a meter in one go, and said with a smile.

"Teacher Guo, do you think this height is suitable?"

Huh? The audience below paused briefly, then burst into a wave of laughter.

That was a joke at Guo Dagang's height.

But isn't that a bit too mean?

Is Guo Dagang really that short?

Guo Dagang and Uncle Yu also paused slightly — it's starting already?

But the two of them were experienced and didn't mind.

Guo Dagang pulled a long face and threatened.