23: Breaking records

Su Jing and the other men originally wanted to make a few more meat dishes, but the female guests insisted on eating things like broccoli and lettuce salad. To show their gentlemanly side, they could only follow suit and "eat grass."

He Chenguang was a meat lover to begin with, and the smell of the braised pork made his mouth water.

He Chenguang: "This braised pork must cost 200 yuan!"

Lu Qingyu picked up a piece of meat with alternating layers of fat and lean. It was a bright, vibrant red, clearly the work of a master chef.

"Yes, the Program Production Team ordered it from Dongyue Restaurant, and they even threw in some rice for free."

He Chenguang couldn't resist: "Qingyu, is it good?"

Since He Chenguang had asked, wouldn't a normal person push the braised pork to the center of the table to share with everyone? But Lu Qingyu was no ordinary person.

He found a small iron bowl and a spoon in the kitchen, returned to the table, dumped the rice into the bowl, and then poured the braised pork—sauce and all—over it. With a quick mix of the spoon, the translucent grains of rice were coated in the savory sauce. After taking a spoonful, Lu Qingyu gave a thumbs up.

"Mmm, authentic and delicious."

Lu Qingyu was satisfied, but He Chenguang and the others were petrified.

Brother, you really aren't giving us even a single bite!

Although the female guests were also craving it, they fared a bit better than the men.

From the very beginning, Bai Tingxin had been dissatisfied with Lu Qingyu. She had never hit a wall with men before; regardless of their age, as long as they were male, none had failed to be polite and complimentary toward her. But Lu Qingyu seemed completely impervious to her charms.

Bai Tingxin said, "Spending all 200 yuan on braised pork? Are you planning to sleep in a tent tonight?"

Lu Qingyu acted as if he hadn't heard her, continuing to eat his braised pork with increasing relish.

With the braised pork as a contrast, the meal the other seven people ate felt completely tasteless.

The audience in front of their screens, however, were shaking with laughter at Lu Qingyu's behavior.

"Lu Qingyu's appetite never disappoints."

"Haha, eating meat really is pure happiness."

"Little Brother's mukbang is so good to watch; I just ordered braised pork too."

"He Chenguang's drool is about to fall; he's genuinely starving for it."

"Compared to meat, eating vegetable leaves suddenly becomes so depressing."

At ten o'clock in the evening, PD Zhao came out to ask everyone which rooms they wanted to book for the night.

Everyone still wanted Room 3, but PD Zhao didn't ask Lu Qingyu. This time, everyone watched Lu Qingyu as if waiting for a show to start. He had spent 200 yuan on a single meal; surely he'd be sleeping in a tent tonight?

Bai Tingxin: "Qingyu, I still have 80 yuan. Do you want me to lend you 50? At least you'll be able to sleep indoors. If you sleep in a tent, there will be a lot of mosquitoes."

Lu Qingyu: "Huh? Why would I sleep in a tent?"

Bai Tingxin: "You've run out of money. What else would you sleep in if not a tent?"

Everyone stared at Lu Qingyu, and it finally dawned on him that they thought he had eaten through all his funds in one meal.

Lu Qingyu: "No need, I have money."

He Chenguang suddenly clapped Lu Qingyu on the shoulder: "Brother, as a fellow man, I understand you want to save face, but don't try to be a hero right now. You're the youngest; we won't look down on you."

The group came forward to persuade Lu Qingyu not to be stubborn out of pride. Moreover, with the seven of them staying in Room 3, it wouldn't look good if Lu Qingyu stayed in a tent alone; it would seem like they were bullying him.

Just then, PD Zhao came up carrying a new bag. Seeing this, Lu Qingyu took it and casually pulled 200 yuan from his pocket to give to PD Zhao.

Lu Qingyu: "Dessert after dinner—canelés. These can be shared. Want some?"

He Chenguang bristled, and the other guests were equally incredulous: "How do you still have money?"

Lu Qingyu: "I earned it today."

He Chenguang: "How did you earn it?"

Lu Qingyu: "Fishing."

Bai Tingxin's tone was a bit urgent: "You caught fish?"

Lu Qingyu: "Of course. Why else would I come back so early?"

Bai Tingxin couldn't help but ask: "How much did you earn today?"

Lu Qingyu said, "A little over four thousand, but I only have four hundred and forty left in hand now."

Su Jing: !!!

Lü Qing: !!!!

He Chenguang: WTF!

Kaluo, Yao Yiyi, Bai Tingxin, and Wen Minmin—the four girls—all couldn't help but gasp.

Especially Bai Tingxin; for a moment, she felt like an idiot. Just moments ago, she had wanted to lend Lu Qingyu money.

Even someone as refined as Su Jing couldn't help but curse "holy crap" in his mind.

"Over four thousand... how many fish would you have to catch?"

Before Lu Qingyu could talk about his results, Wen Minmin had already seen it on today's mobile hot search topics.

"Oh my god, you went crocodile fishing?"

Hearing this, everyone immediately crowded around to look at the phone. They saw Lu Qingyu's smooth and effortless handling of the crocodiles, leaving them shocked and speechless!

Is it reasonable for this guy to be so fierce at such a young age? Isn't he a singer? Shouldn't a singer just be able to sing? Why is he so good at wilderness survival? What is he trying to do?

Kaluo stood beside Lu Qingyu, looking him up and down several times, still unable to quite believe what she was hearing.

Lu Qingyu: "Coincidence, just a coincidence."

Bullet screen: "Pah! Don't think we don't know. After you arrived at the fishery, you went straight to the crocodile breeding pond without even taking a single turn."

"Little Brother, you're being dishonest. Don't you know your crocodile-kidnapping techniques are incredibly seasoned?"

"What kind of 'coincidence' is that? Do you even believe yourself when you say that?"

"To be fair, Lu Qingyu is definitely not as harmless as he looks."

It was another day where Lu Qingyu lived quite comfortably.

Seemingly oblivious to the jealousy and envy of others, Lu Qingyu stood up after finishing his meal: "I'm going upstairs to take a bath. The jacuzzi is quite comfortable."

Lu Qingyu headed upstairs, completely indifferent to how much he was aggravating everyone else.

After all the guests had gone to sleep, the behind-the-scenes staff of the Program Production Team were still working. The data for Love Journey was out, and PD Zhao was both shocked and delighted by the numbers in his hand.

The delight came from the fact that Love Journey's viewership ratings had broken the record of the previous season. The shock came from there being eight record-breaking moments—six of which centered on Lu Qingyu, while the other two were the "shura field" scenes involving Yao Yiyi, Bai Tingxin, and Su Jing.

What PD Zhao hadn't expected even more was that Lu Qingyu could break records just by sitting there and reading a book without doing anything else.

Su Jixing also received the program's data. Seeing the analysis regarding Lu Qingyu, he felt a faint excitement. Lu Qingyu was definitely a promising talent; artists with such strong public appeal were rare.

After two episodes, Love Journey began to explode in popularity. Many viewers came to ship couples, but after arriving, they found one person who was impossible to ship with anyone. Yet, they still wanted to watch him, to see just what kind of trouble he would stir up next.

Once they started watching, they were immediately hooked and became fans.

"Lu Qingyu did everything I've always wanted to do but never did. So satisfying."

"What's so good about shipping couples? Isn't it much more satisfying to watch someone play like they have cheats enabled?"

"Little Brother doesn't need a ship at all; Little Brother is beautiful on his own."