Chapter 8 – Meeting
A few days passed in the blink of an eye. Early Saturday morning, Shi Cha was picked up by a car arranged by the show’s production team and taken to the filming location for this episode.
In fact, for the previous few episodes, the amateur guests hadn’t been provided with transportation by the production team. The only reason Shi Cha got to ride in the car this time was thanks to his mother.
Director Qi, out of respect for his own teacher, naturally had to take special care of this pretty junior, who was a bit socially anxious and withdrawn.
The filming location was in an ancient town in the neighboring city—not too far away.
By the time Shi Cha got out of the car, four people had already arrived in the lounge at the filming site.
The variety show <Go For It, Brother!> had three regular cast members and three guest stars per episode.
The regulars were: veteran comedian Zhong Jiarong, aged 55; rising comedy star Wu Heze, aged 33; and new-generation idol actor Zhou Caizhe, who had just turned 26.
At this moment, all three regulars were already present, along with one of the guest stars for the episode—Lu Lecheng, the newly appointed leader of a freshly debuted idol group.
He also happened to be Shi Cha’s university classmate.
Inside the lounge, the four were chatting.
Zhong Jiarong, Wu Heze, and Zhou Caizhe had already worked together on several episodes, so they were quite familiar with each other.
Moreover, with Zhong Jiarong and Wu Heze both being comedians, even the most mundane topics turned into humorous banter in their hands, keeping things from ever going dull.
Lu Lecheng, on the other hand, still felt like the camera rarely lingered on him during the livestream. Though he tried several times to start conversations, even when others responded, the topic would quickly shift away again, leaving him a bit anxious.
Just as Zhong Jiarong and Wu Heze were speculating about the remaining two guest stars, the door opened—and Shi Cha walked in.
Hearing the door, the four turned simultaneously toward the entrance—and were met with an almost unrealistically beautiful face.
Yes, beautiful!
Fair skin, delicate features, bright and expressive eyes—though with a hint of coldness.
Zhong Jiarong was momentarily stunned by the sheer beauty of Shi Cha’s appearance. Then he realized he didn’t recognize this young man at all, let alone know his name.
Of course, it would be a bit rude to ask directly.
So he grinned and joked, “Looks like I’m going to have to give up my title as the most handsome one here.”
He even pretended to rub his eyes, as if he’d been blinded by the radiance. Naturally, fellow comedian Wu Heze played along with the bit.
Shi Cha found situations like this hard to handle. He could feel his palms starting to sweat, and he had a strong urge to escape.
But since he was already here, there was no turning back.
Forcing himself to stay calm, he stepped forward and greeted everyone. “Hello, I’m Shi Cha, the amateur guest for this episode.”
As soon as he said that, Zhong Jiarong froze in surprise. With looks like that—he’s not a celebrity?
The livestream camera was aimed directly at Shi Cha. Yet even under such a close-up, unflattering angle, his beauty remained undiminished.
Not only were the people in the lounge struck by Shi Cha’s beauty like a lightning bolt, but the livestream audience watching from home clutched their chests in awe—after all, the camera was zoomed in on his face.
[“555 (sobbing emoji), Mom, I’ve seen a god-tier face! Are you sure he’s not a celebrity?”]
[“Right now. Immediately. I need all the info on this gorgeous guy!”]
The moment Lu Lecheng saw Shi Cha in the lounge, he was momentarily stunned. But that was quickly replaced by an uncontrollable wave of jealousy and annoyance. However, when he saw everyone else’s reactions and noticed the livestream camera, inspiration suddenly struck.
Smiling, he walked over to greet Shi Cha with an air of familiarity. “Shi Cha! I didn’t expect to see you here. Why didn’t you mention it in the class group chat?”
Zhong Jiarong raised his eyebrows. “Oh? Xiao Lu, you two know each other?”
With the camera now turned to him, Lu Lecheng immediately angled his face to show off his best side and flashed his most photogenic smile. “Yes, Mr. Zhong—we were classmates in university. Both of us were in the acting program at A University.”
He took the opportunity to casually name-drop their prestigious alma mater, knowing that the acting department at A University ranked among the top in the country and would help boost viewer favor.
But Zhou Caizhe, who had remained mostly quiet until now, asked with a puzzled expression, “Huh? If he graduated from A University’s acting program, how come he’s showing up here as an amateur guest?”
Lu Lecheng quickly answered on Shi Cha’s behalf, “Shi Cha never joined the entertainment industry. After graduation, no one really knew what he was up to. We’ve had no contact since. If I hadn’t seen him today, I would’ve thought he switched careers.”
As he spoke, he reached out to pat Shi Cha on the shoulder in a friendly gesture.
But Shi Cha disliked physical contact. As soon as Lu Lecheng’s hand moved in, Shi Cha dodged it completely.
Lu Lecheng’s hand froze awkwardly mid-air.
He gave an embarrassed smile and apologized to Shi Cha, “Sorry about that—my bad.”
Shi Cha accepted the apology calmly, without the slightest sense that he had done anything wrong.
Everyone who witnessed the moment: [“……”]
A wave of awkwardness instantly filled the lounge.
None of them were close enough to this pretty-faced newcomer to try anything so physically familiar—like a shoulder pat—on first meeting.
But these two had been classmates for four years at university, and Shi Cha still didn’t give him any face? Leaving someone hanging like that on camera? It gave the impression that Shi Cha might not be the easiest person to get along with.
After a few seconds of silence, Zhong Jiarong chuckled and changed the subject. “Director Qi told me we have a major guest joining us today. I wonder who the last guest is?”
Wu Heze grinned and joked, “You sure he didn’t mean you—weight-wise?”
Everyone laughed, and the awkward moment seemed to dissolve.
But the livestream viewers wouldn’t forget what happened so easily.
[“Who does he think he is? So rude! Chengcheng, you did nothing wrong—no need to apologize!”]
[“Ugh, he’s clearly one of those people who turns their back on you the moment they graduate. Poor Chengcheng still thought of him as a friend!”]
[“Graduated from A University’s acting program and accomplished nothing. No presence in the industry. Looks like a pretty face alone won’t get you far in showbiz.”]
[“What good is a good-looking face? He definitely doesn’t have the skills our Chengcheng has. Chengcheng won awards all throughout college!”]
[“…”]
The comment section was almost entirely flooded by Lu Lecheng’s fans.
Even the general audience began to view Shi Cha less favorably.
Meanwhile, in the lounge, Lu Lecheng wore a look of apology on his face—but inside, he was practically glowing with smug satisfaction.
He had spent four years at university with Shi Cha, so he knew him well.
Shi Cha was low-key and almost always kept to himself. He rarely interacted with others, except for one person—Du Yan, the classmate who constantly wandered around and had the lowest grades in the program.
He still remembered someone once joking: “How did the top student and the bottom one end up as best friends?”
Shi Cha’s aloof demeanor and his reputation for keeping others at a distance were well-known across the school. Outside of class and acting exercises, he rarely spoke more than three sentences to anyone.
And Lu Lecheng also knew one more thing—Shi Cha hated physical contact. He reacted almost like a trauma response when touched.
So yes, what he did today was intentional—he’d deliberately tried to make Shi Cha dodge in front of the camera.
One was a beautiful but seemingly rude amateur, and the other a kind, considerate rising star in the entertainment industry.
He was sure that by using Shi Cha’s face, he could generate more buzz and attention for himself.
Shi Cha knew very well what people would say about his reaction after it aired. But he had no choice.
Some instinctive reactions simply couldn’t be overcome.
Zhong Jiarong chatted animatedly with the others, occasionally trying to bring Shi Cha into the conversation, but he only ever responded in brief replies—three to five words at most. That just made the others even more convinced that he was cold and hard to get along with.
Shi Cha, however, felt perfectly fine being the quiet background character. As someone with social anxiety, he naturally disliked small talk and mingling.
After some time passed, the final guest arrived.
As the sound of the door opening rang out, everyone stood up.
Zhong Jiarong clapped and laughed, “The world champion is here—now that’s what I call heavyweight!”
Lin Ran had spent three years in the esports world, winning three national titles and two world championships. In his final year before retirement, he even won an Olympic gold medal.
Even without mentioning his top-tier status in the entertainment industry, just based on his esports career, he was considered the number one figure in the field.
One by one, everyone stepped forward to shake his hand and greet him. Lin Ran responded to each of them politely.
Finally, only one person remained—the one standing quietly at the back of the group: Shi Cha.
Lin Ran smiled warmly and walked over to him, extending a fair, slender hand.
Shi Cha stared blankly at Lin Ran as he walked toward him from across the room, frozen in place like a paused frame. For a moment, he wasn’t even sure if he was dreaming.
Why was Lin Ran here? Why hadn’t there been any news about this beforehand?
Lin Ran let out a soft chuckle and continued to hold out his hand, his voice gentle and rich with a magnetic tone.
“Little Shi Cha, aren’t you going to shake hands with your big brother?”