Chapter 245: Wei Jin: The Startup Was Only Halfway Through When the Path Collapsed Mid-Way

At the recording site, the seven Resident Guests had already appeared, and one could see the team leader, He Laoshi, taking over the conversation.

"Everyone, today we are welcoming two guest stars; can you all guess who they are?"

"He Laoshi, you're being too much. There are 1.3 billion people in Huaxia and tens of millions in Beijing. Even if we only count people related to the entertainment industry, there are tens of thousands. How are we supposed to guess?"

After recording several episodes, Xue Zhiqian had already found his rhythm; he was very serious about being funny.

"Then let me give you a hint: what has been the hottest thing in the entertainment industry these past two days?"

"I know, *Lucy*!"

As someone in the film and television industry, Jiang Shuying reacted immediately; no wonder the director's team was so nervous during the recording today.

"Oh my, Xiao Ying, it seems you pay close attention to movies. That's right, it's *Lucy*. Let us welcome the director of the movie *Lucy*, Wei Jin, and the lead actress, Jing Tian!"

Wei Jin and Jing Tian, who were in the waiting area, also appeared and greeted the guests one by one.

After some pleasantries, He Laoshi suggested starting today's tasks.

To be fair, from what Wei Jin felt on set, He Laoshi's ability to control the scene was truly strong; in two or three minutes, he provided a grouping plan that everyone found convincing.

The nine people were divided into red, yellow, and blue teams: He Laoshi, Jing Tian, and Xue Zhiqian were the red team; Liu Yan, Liu Feiren, and Luo Jin were the yellow team; Wei Jin, Guo Jinfei, and Jiang Shuying were the blue team.

The first game was the *Keep Running* artifact—the acupressure mat relay race.

At this moment, the recording site had already been set up with a loop-shaped track made of acupressure mats, featuring various obstacles; whichever team finished running the full course first would win.

Seeing the game, the faces of the seven guests turned green; they had tried it several times before, and now they began to push the responsibility onto each other.

"He Laoshi, let me try it."

Although she had seen their awkward appearances on the show, Jing Tian didn't want to believe it and volunteered to represent the red team; she remembered Wei Jin saying that variety shows were all about acting.

Watching the young girl's high spirits, and considering they weren't on the same team, Wei Jin could only offer a silent prayer for her.

Sure enough, Jing Tian walked up full of confidence, but after two seconds, she began to lose control of her facial expressions and quickly jumped off the acupressure mat.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, how can it be this painful?"

After saying this, Jing Tian specifically squatted down to check it over, feeling that the production team must have done something to it.

The hosts were all bent over with laughter; they hadn't expected such an honest guest star to arrive.

The onlookers were also very happy, and even Wei Jin couldn't stop laughing.

The subsequent official competition was even more full of laughs; Xue Zhiqian looked as if he were stepping on a hot wok, hopping and jumping, screaming in pain, and by the end, his legs were trembling so much that he barely managed to pass the relay baton to Jing Tian.

This time, the young girl was mentally prepared; the moment she stepped onto the track, she held her breath and ran quickly, and only after passing the baton did she hop over to the side to massage the soles of her feet.

The last leg was He Laoshi; he had barely taken a step when a two-hundred-pound fat man appeared opposite him, demanding that he carry him on his back for the final stretch.

Under the production team's prank, the thin He Laoshi shivered, and both the guests and the onlookers at the scene burst into roars of laughter.

Although it was difficult, He Laoshi gritted his teeth and carried the big fat man, walking through that section with every step trembling; throughout the whole process, the laughter at the scene never stopped.

Jing Tian was also shaking with laughter on the side, laughing until she was almost out of breath, then she pulled Wei Jin and asked:

"Brother, isn't the production team too mean?"

To this, Wei Jin could only agree; this was also the biggest draw of this variety show, showcasing the down-to-earth side of celebrities.

As the saying goes, people's happiness is built upon the suffering of others; seeing others get thwarted in games naturally makes those nearby very happy, and with this group being celebrities, the effect was naturally even better.

Soon it was the yellow team's turn to go, and the first to go was Liu Yan.

When Liu Yan was hopping on the acupressure mat, the astonishing curve arched at her chest was truly magnificent, and Wei Jin clearly felt the surrounding audience become more enthusiastic and focused.

Then Luo Jin went up; he was a man of few words, stepping on the acupressure mat without saying a thing, and only after passing the baton did he let out a long breath.

When it was Liu Feiren's turn, there was even less to say; he was absolutely the powerhouse of the show.

The audience on the side also exclaimed one after another; carrying a 200-pound fat man, Liu Feiren was actually still able to walk as if flying—who could argue with that?

When it was the blue team's turn, the guests suddenly perked up; one had to know that opportunities to see Wei Jin make a fool of himself were too rare.

As a girl, Jiang Shuying took the first leg; it wasn't her first time playing this game, so she had actually found a few tricks.

One could see her ten toes curled together desperately, minimizing the contact between the soles of her feet and the acupressure mat, and she ran across quickly; although her movements weren't very elegant, it was indeed quite efficient—it seems this girl had really let loose on the show.

"Boss Wei, why don't you take the second leg?"

Guo Jinfei suggested with a sycophantic tone; after all, the third leg required carrying the fat man, and opportunities to show loyalty in front of the big boss were rare.

"Old Guo, you're underestimating Wei Jin. Back on my show, he wiped us out completely; you have to trust his strength."

It was rare for He Laoshi to have a chance to see Wei Jin get thwarted, and he also knew Wei Jin's personality; this kind of goading was harmless.

"Fine, He Laoshi, it's been so many years, and you still remember that."

Wei Jin helplessly spread his hands; although he didn't like appearing on variety shows, it didn't mean he didn't know how to play. "Alright, today I'll give you a chance for revenge. It's not that I'm underestimating you all, but besides Liu Feiren, everyone here..."

Although Wei Jin didn't finish his sentence, combined with his disdainful expression and tone, the lethality was too strong.

The onlookers immediately jeered, and the director's team also had their eyes shining; this was excellent promotional material.

Then Guo Jinfei started the second leg; this guy was also born with a sense of humor, and his facial expressions were extremely rich, contributing quite a few laughs.

Wei Jin warmed up a little and stepped onto the acupressure mat; and to be honest, it was quite stimulating.

Taking a few deep breaths and walking two steps, Wei Jin hoisted the big fat man onto his back and started running directly.

"Hiss!"

Xue Zhiqian gasped, his entire face losing control of its expression, feeling somewhat speechless:

"Does Boss Wei not feel pain at all?"

He Laoshi also opened his mouth in shock: "It's over, we're definitely going to lose; as expected, he's still that same Wei Jin."

Only Liu Feiren was relatively calm: "Boss Wei has strong willpower; he simply suppressed the pain."

Wei Jin naturally couldn't hear what they were saying, otherwise, he would have retorted one way or another—he just had a cheat, his physical fitness was simply too strong.

However, although Wei Jin performed excellently, he couldn't help that his teammates weren't up to the task, and in the end, they narrowly lost to Liu Feiren's group. —The morning passed just like that, and at lunch, the production team announced the next project: the pool ejection seat.

Each of the three teams sent one person to sit on the ejection seat by the pool, and another person was sent to be responsible for recalling the order of the food eaten at noon; once the order was wrong, the person behind would be launched into the water by the ejection seat.

"My god, the production team is too mean; when eating, who remembers the order!!!"

"No, production team, do you still want to get paid? Boss Wei is here, and you're playing this big?"

Several Resident Guests were all a bit speechless; wasn't it always just Q&A games in the past?

Upon hearing the show's rules, Wei Jin was full of confidence; he had a photographic memory, after all.

Afterwards, each team began discussing the distribution of personnel. What Wei Jin didn't expect was that Tian Tian actually volunteered to sit in the chair.

Seeing this, Liu Yan also raised her hand to signal. She knew the show's highlights: female guests losing their composure, losing control of their expressions in mid-air, and their stunning figures the moment they emerged from the water were definitely a Dharma Treasure for viewership ratings.

Seeing this, Jiang Shuying had no choice but to go up as well. Now that all three female guests were in the chairs, the expressions of the others began to turn serious; if they answered poorly, they would be letting the girls down.

For the Red Team, it was naturally He Laoshi who went up to answer, as Xue Zhiqian had zero confidence.

For the Yellow Team, Luo Jin went up; he claimed his instant memory ability was quite good.

For the Blue Team, Wei Jin volunteered and even made a 'V' sign at Jiang Shuying to signal the young lady to rest easy.

For the first dish, both Wei Jin and Luo Jin answered correctly. Liu Yan and Jiang Shuying exchanged a glance, feeling somewhat relieved.

Poor Tian Tian hadn't even prepared herself before she had already flown out.

Fortunately, the young lady was a natural beauty; even though her makeup was a bit smudged, she was still breathtakingly beautiful the moment she emerged from the water.

Looking at Tian Tian's resentful expression, He Laoshi laughed sheepishly.

"Tian Tian, don't worry, I remember the answer to the next question."

For the second dish, He Laoshi indeed answered correctly, but unfortunately, Luo Jin remembered it wrong, and Liu Yan flew out instantly.

The moment Liu Yan emerged from the water, Wei Jin felt as if he heard the sound of people swallowing their saliva. Set off by her soaked tight-fitting clothes, her figure was revealed without a doubt; it was too overbearing.

"Boss, that's amazing, keep it up."

Jiang Shuying, in the chair, was very surprised by Wei Jin's performance and cheered him on from afar.

In the subsequent questions, Wei Jin didn't make a single mistake, shocking the entire guest team and the production crew.

"Director, you didn't give Wei Jin the answers, did you?"

He Laoshi's suspicion was also well-founded; after all, he was the boss, so what if he looked at the script? "Hey, hey, He Laoshi, that's not fair. I've only used half of my strength."

Wei Jin tried his best to prove his innocence, and the production team also solemnly stated that there was no favoritism. This round, without a doubt, was won by the Blue Team. — The third round was high-platform photography.

In a pool, there was a high platform, about half a meter high. The camera was aimed at the platform for a delayed shot. Guests had to complete the scramble for positions on the platform within the delay time. Finally, when the camera froze, the team would earn points based on how many of their team members' faces appeared in the frame. The highest score would win.

From this round on, Tian Tian also began to figure out the show's rules, transforming into a Lucy, blocking those who tried to stop her and killing those who stood in her way, directly playing ruthlessly.

Girls naturally have an advantage in this kind of small-scale struggle. The male guests were all a bit timid, afraid of being accused of being handsy; after all, the three female guests present were all people they couldn't afford to provoke.

Under these circumstances, even though the Red Team had the weakest average strength, they couldn't be stopped because they had the old fox He Laoshi, the scoundrel Xue Zhiqian, and the reckless Tian Tian who had no scruples about her actions. After a fierce battle, they actually won this round.

By this time it was already evening. The production team discussed it with Wei Jin and decided to continue recording.

Half an hour later, the three teams of guests transferred to the Shanhe Building, where the final name-tag ripping showdown would begin.

The three teams searched for props inside the building—cards with names on them. If they found their own team's, they would protect it, and that person could not be ripped; if they found an enemy's, they would rip it directly, meaning that person could be targeted.

In the enclosed space, the 9 people began hiding, chasing, plotting, searching, and fighting—tense and exciting, yet not lacking in entertainment.

Even Wei Jin, who had experienced the baptism of modern escape rooms and murder mystery games, still felt it was very interesting, which shows why the audience would favor the show so much.

After some searching, Wei Jin had already ripped three cards, all from other teams.

Just as he turned a corner, he saw Tian Tian pounce over, and Wei Jin habitually hugged the beauty.

"Rip!" came a sound.

The name tag on Wei Jin's back was ripped off, accompanied by the announcement: "Blue Team, Wei Jin, out."

Wei Jin didn't expect that while he had been invincible in the first half, this round would end before it had even begun; it could truly be called "the enterprise had not yet reached half its goal when the middle path collapsed."

"Tian Tian, you really break my heart."

"Brother, it's just a game, don't take it to heart."

Tian Tian was having a blast today, showing no mercy at all.

"He Laoshi said you were too strong and you had to be eliminated first."

Soon, the men in black appeared to take Wei Jin to the prison. Tian Tian took the opportunity to quietly add a sentence in his ear.

"Brother, tonight I'll listen to everything you say."

Tian Tian had completely transformed into a game master today. Following the plan formulated by He Laoshi, she began to look for the next target.

Soon, Guo Jinfei, who was hiding in the stairwell, was discovered by her.

"Brother Jinfei, Brother Wei Jin was eliminated by Liu Feiren. Feiren is too strong, let's join forces."

The young lady looked panicked at this moment. Guo Jinfei didn't doubt her and quickly joined up with Tian Tian.

Without any surprise, Guo Jinfei met his elimination.

On the other side, He Laoshi teamed up with Jiang Shuying and was besieging Liu Yan. The situation was deadlocked for a time, mainly because Jiang Shuying felt a bit embarrassed to make a move.

Just at this moment, a voice came over the broadcast: "Blue Team, Guo Jinfei, out."

"Xiao Ying, it must be Liu Feiren. Only he has that kind of strength. Now there's only you left on your team, we must join forces."

Jiang Shuying nodded upon hearing this and rushed forward, holding Liu Yan tightly, allowing the former to easily rip off the latter's name tag.

"Xiao Ying, you will regret this, you're next."

Liu Yan was taken away by the men in black in frustration. Jiang Shuying began to retreat uncontrollably upon hearing this; even though He Laoshi was a weakling, she still had to be careful.

"Xiao Ying, don't be afraid, I won't hurt you, believe me."

Saying this, He Laoshi exposed his back without reservation to show his sincerity.

"Alright, He Laoshi, what should we do next?"

Jiang Shuying relaxed her guard, but at this point, she was the only one left. She knew there was no hope of winning and could only avenge her teammate. In her mind, Wei Jin was so strong that indeed only Liu Feiren had that kind of strength.

"Hmm, with you, we are 4 against 2, the advantage is with us."

At this time, although the Red Team already had the numerical advantage, He Laoshi was not in a hurry to eliminate Jiang Shuying; after all, Liu Feiren and Luo Jin were no ordinary people.

"Xiao Ying, do it like this..."

Under the guidance of He Laoshi, Jiang Shuying began to execute the plan.

On the other side, Xue Zhiqian was hiding and dodging, desperately dragging Liu Feiren down, while Luo Jin was still searching for targets.

The appearance of Jiang Shuying made Luo Jin beam with joy.

"Brother Jin, I'm the only one left in our team. You'll protect me, right?"

"Xiao Ying, don't come over yet. Let me ask, how were the people on your team eliminated?"

Luo Jin had already realized something was wrong; he hadn't made a move, and no matter how strong Liu Feiren was, it was impossible for him to eliminate two people so quickly.

But in a place he didn't notice, Jing Tian appeared, quietly gave Jiang Shuying a gesture, and continued to sneak forward.

"I don't know, I've been looking for cards the whole time."

As she spoke, Jiang Shuying walked toward Luo Jin.

Suddenly, Luo Jin felt someone pouncing from behind, turned around quickly, placed his hands behind his back, and opened up some distance.

Unfortunately, Jiang Shuying had been waiting for an opportunity, so how could she let it go?

With a "Rip!" sound, Luo Jin's name tag appeared in Jiang Shuying's hand.

"Brother Jin, sor—"

"Rip!"

Before Jiang Shuying could finish her sentence, the name tag on her back was torn off by Jing Tian.

"Luo Jin, Jiang Shuying, out."

"You two, see you later."

At this moment, Jing Tian seemed possessed by Athena, full of fighting spirit, with victory right before her eyes.

Xue Zhiqian no longer hid at this point, leading Liu Feiren into the location pre-set by the Red Team, where Jing Tian and He Laoshi had already surrounded them.

In the final showdown, although Liu Feiren was very strong, in a 3-on-1 situation, he was eventually traded out by Xue Zhiqian.

"Xue Zhiqian, Liu Feiren, out."

As the broadcast sounded, it thoroughly signaled that the Red Team had become the winner of the night.

"He Laoshi, I eliminated Liu Feiren! We won."

Jing Tian held the name tag in her hand high, her mood practically exploding with joy.

"Tian Tian, you're starting to look like the heroine of *Lucy*, the MVP of the whole show."

"Haha." — The recording ended, it was already very late, and after having a meal with several guests, Wei Jin took Jing Tian home.

This episode would air on August 7th, right at the end of the first week's box office peak; Wei Jin believed that by then, it would bring quite a bit of traffic to the movie, keeping the box office rising.

On the way home, although Jing Tian was a bit tired, she was still not finished with the excitement.

"Brother, it was really so much fun."

Seeming to recall how she had been killing it, Jing Tian started to get excited again.

"You had fun, but I sat on the bench all night."

Wei Jin pretended to be a little angry; the crying child gets the milk, and he had already thought through the show for tonight.

"Hmm~~ Brother, don't be so stingy."

Jing Tian sat on Wei Jin's lap and began to act spoiled; what she did today was indeed a bit unkind.

"I've already promised you, don't be angry, okay?"

"Hmph, I'll see how you perform tonight."

"Mm-hmm, Brother is the best."

After saying this, Jing Tian leaned on the man's shoulder, affectionately rubbing her cheek against Wei Jin's.

Enjoying the beauty's fawning, Wei Jin was also summarizing the show's effects.

As it stands, the guests had basically found their positioning, and the game design was also quite commendable, except that Liu Feiren seemed a bit too overpowered; he needed to be reminded to cooperate with the show's effects and suppress his strength.

While pondering, the car had already arrived at Dongshanshu; turning his head to look, the little girl had fallen asleep.

Smiling helplessly, Wei Jin picked up Jing Tian and walked into the house with long strides. Today's second update (End of this chapter)