Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

Chapter 120: Chapter 114: Male Fatal Attraction, "Qing Tian" Single Release_2

From Lin Wanzhou's perspective, the doll that Pei Muchan had was given by Shen Jinyue.

The moment she figured it out, Shen Jinyue covered her face, wanting to die, but she felt someone else deserved to die more.

At the wrap-up party, Xu Qingyan had his fill of food and drink. Director Chen Fufeng, drunk, promised that the last payment of three hundred thousand would arrive within about three days.

Xu Qingyan didn't take it seriously and turned to find Zhou Mian, roughly inquiring about the situation. The news he got was that, unless there was an accident, it would take about half a year for the money to arrive.

According to the contract, they received an initial payment of fifty thousand at the start of filming, the production team made a mid-shoot payment of three hundred thousand, and on the fifth day they added thirty-five thousand more.

After taxes, he only had five hundred and fifty thousand in hand, and with the money he could gather now, it was definitely enough for his mother's medical fees. The surgery wasn't expensive; it was the subsequent convalescence and rehabilitation costs that were pricey.

Since the payment would take half a year, he was too lazy to chase it up. Stay connected with mvl

First, since Director Chen said it would arrive after three days, he would deal with it then. Second, Pei Muchan still had two hundred thousand, which he could ask for if he urgently needed it.

There wasn't time to think too much about it. After hastily saying goodbye to Shen Jinyue and the others, Xu Qingyan set off on his way home.

In the past, travel was difficult due to the distance and mode of transportation.

Now, with high-speed rail, boarding the train on an empty stomach in the afternoon meant arriving in another city by the evening.

Pingsha was a small southern county town. Zhang Hongmei had never left this moist, perennially misty town except to spend money on medical treatments outside of the province.

As a widow with an orphan, they barely scraped by on a small clothing business with the help of local connections. However, after falling severely ill years ago, she couldn't manage the store, so she closed it.

Illness struck down like a mountain collapse. Maybe that was just fate.

The moment Xu Qingyan stepped off the public bus, rain poured down from the sky without warning. It pattered densely amidst the traffic, and pedestrians scurried to take cover.

He looked up to see the sky, enshrouded by dim and old light signs. A million tiny threads and a fine mist of rain blanketed the slightly oppressive county town.

Someone was selling umbrellas by the roadside for twenty-five yuan each.

With a flick, a black folding umbrella opened in the rain, separating him from the downpour.

"Xu Qingyan! Is it really you?"

The woman's face lit up with surprise. She wore a sultry red strapless dress, which stood out in this conservative town like a blooming red rose in the rain.

"Look, my high school classmate, just appeared on a dating show a few days ago, handsome, right?"

She turned to the silent man beside her, holding an umbrella, to flaunt their encounter as the rain cascaded down the umbrella's edge, and the three of them suddenly stopped on the street.

"Long time no see." He turned his head to glance at the woman, remembering her face but forgetting her name.

In high school, she was the most active, straightforward, with mediocre grades but popular. Her family had a business covering most of Pingsha.

"It's been a very long time, almost five or six years. When did you come back?" The woman beamed, her creamy hand hooked through the man's arm, "This is my husband, Zhao Gongnian."

"Hello, I am Xu Qingyan." He extended his hand out of habit.

The man's brow furrowed slightly, he did not respond, nor did he seem inclined to shake hands. He merely sized up Xu Qingyan with a look of scrutiny and unease.

He probably harbored equal hostility towards all attractive men who appeared around his wife, and his gaze towards Xu Qingyan was tinged with wariness, as if thinking this man was too good-looking for comfort.

The atmosphere became a bit awkward, and Xu Qingyan smiled subtly, discreetly withdrawing his hand.

However, the woman suddenly erupted, flinging her hand away, her face instantly cooling as she turned and berated the man beside her.

"Zhang Gongnian, have you lost your damn mind? He's a classmate from five or six years ago, why are you making that face!"

"You're always suspicious of my co-workers, and you even wanted to change my driving instructor because he was good-looking, and I tolerated that, thinking you were just overly jealous."

"Do you know who he is? He's that guy on the dating show dating the female celebrity, are you jealous of that too? In our high school, he was the most handsome one in the entire grade—if I had even the slightest chance, what would it have to do with you!"

The atmosphere grew even more awkward, as Xu Qingyan watched the man with the umbrella, his face gradually reddening. Passersby on the street seemed to slow their pace in unison, curiously turning their heads to watch.

The drizzle was mournful, enveloping the small county town like a fine net; ancient streets lit by dim street lamps, with lush greenery bursting from the trees lining the roads. The light rain not only enveloped the small county town but also trapped its residents within.

"I didn't mean it like that!" the man blurted out a sentence.

In a small county town, one's reputation is especially important. Xu Qingyan feared that some scandal between the two might arise, and in the end, he'd be the one blamed, saddled with the reputation of a home-wrecker.

Before the woman could lose her temper further, he found an excuse and hurriedly left.

The advantage of a small place is that having connections can be very useful. The downside, however, is quite obvious: it's easy to run into acquaintances. If one were to leave for three to five years and come back, they might be surprised to find that the other person had already gotten married and had children.

County People's Hospital, the ward was brightly lit.

"Where did you get the money from?"

"Acting, the kind that's on TV, payment for a role," Xu Qingyan said.

Previously, when Zhang Hongmei had asked, he didn't know what to say, and he also feared Zhang Hongmei might watch the live broadcast. So he never mentioned what kind of show it was, only that it was one related to TV and film.

Some things can't be explained; it's better to avoid extra trouble.

Nowadays, young people may indulge in 'shipping' celebrities, but they don't take it too seriously.

But the older generation can be more stubborn. What young people can accept, the elders may not understand, like earning money through variety shows or playing a love-hate relationship with a female star in a dating show.

Xu Qingyan didn't want to have to explain that he hadn't actually done anything, that it was just a script, oh what's a script, blabla, and then get into the question of whether doing this could really earn him a million.

Too troublesome, better left unsaid, especially since Madame Zhang Hongmei never watched variety shows.

"You should use that money to buy a house, I hear the prices are soaring," Zhang Hongmei said earnestly, not sounding like she was joking, "I'll ask around, see about buying..."

"Mom, can you stop making a fuss?" Xu Qingyan sighed.

Zhang Hongmei had always been domineering, especially strict with herself, behaving as if she had grown fearless since becoming a widow. Life and death could wait, but buying a house and getting her son married off was of utmost importance.

"If you give all your money to the hospital, what will you do in the future?" Zhang Hongmei sat on the hospital bed, wiping away tears, "Like money just blows in with the wind, I've been a burden on you your whole life."

Here we go again, Xu Qingyan thought with a headache, taking a deep breath.

"Mom, I made this money in one week. We can talk about the future later; it's not like I can't earn money. Listen to me, let's focus on getting you treated first."

"Qiang Qiang already has children, and you're so good-looking, yet you don't even have a girlfriend."

"Good looks come from you, of course Qiang Qiang has to marry early," Xu Qingyan reasoned patiently, "He's not good-looking to begin with. A few years later, all that'll be left is 'maturity' as a selling point."

"I'm not in a hurry to find a girlfriend; she has legs, she'll come find me. Can we prioritize things and focus on getting you better first?"

"Phooey, complain about you and you start to huff," Zhang Hongmei frowned, "What's the use of being good-looking, are you planning to marry into someone's family as a son-in-law?"

"I'm warning you, don't you dare get any crooked ideas. Even if I'm gone, there are uncles and older men in the clan to take care of you, and you won't have too hard a time," she said firmly.

At the mention of this, Xu Qingyan felt a headache rising, quelling his anger as he spoke.

"Mom, if that's how you think, then I might as well go out and throw money on the street tomorrow. Drop two hundred here, drop two hundred there; I swear I won't spend this money on buying a house," he retorted.

"You wouldn't dare!"

The next day, Xu Qingyan completed all the discharge and transfer procedures and rushed to the provincial hospital for accompanying care.

His second aunt, receiving the news, came from home to help. Over the years, it was family members like these aunts and cousins who took turns assisting, or else Xu Qingyan would never have managed on his own.

Time flowed like water as days passed, and Xu Qingyan was incredibly busy.

Fortunately, the surgery went smoothly. Not only did Zhang Hongmei urge him to return to work, but his aunt also reassured him that it was okay to leave. The family would take care of everything here; there would be no issues.

Meanwhile, Pei Muchan's single "Qing Tian" was officially released.