48: Chapter 48 Lin Chen: I'm here on a paid vacation

At this very moment, inside a luxury villa in the Southern District of the capital.

The camera crew had pushed their lenses into the kitchen.

Lin Chen had an apron tied around his waist, holding a kitchen knife that glinted with a cold light.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

The blade flew up and down on the cutting board, producing a series of crisp, rhythmic chopping sounds.

After working for half an hour, a sumptuous breakfast was freshly served.

The white rice porridge was cooked until thick and soft, several scallion pancakes were fried to a golden, crispy perfection, and there were two plates of refreshing cold-dressed side dishes.

Although it was just a simple home-cooked meal, under the blessing of Master-level cooking, it looked incredibly appetizing.

The Production Team's post-production editors even added some exaggerated special effects of steaming aroma on the screen.

The cameraman shouldered his machine, lens locked firmly onto the movements of Lin Chen's hands.

A production assistant stood nearby, holding a phone to watch the livestream's comments.

"Lin Chen, what are you busy with?" the production assistant asked, knowing the answer, hoping to spark some interaction.

Lin Chen didn't even look up, flipping the pancakes in the pan: "Making breakfast."

The production assistant was left stunned.

The livestream's chat was instantly flooded with question marks.

"Is this really just making breakfast?" the production assistant asked awkwardly.

"You have two eyes, can't you see for yourself?" Lin Chen retorted in a flat tone.

The livestream instantly filled with "Hahaha" and "666" comments.

"This 'Soft Rice Brother' has quite the temper, that retort was satisfying!"

"My 'Soft Rice' man is just this volatile."

"Am I seeing things? Why do I find the way he flips the pan actually quite handsome?"

"Shut up, he's a peerless hunk to begin with, okay?"

"Breakfast is ready!" Lin Chen wiped his hands with a towel and shouted toward the second floor.

Before long, Tong Liya, Liu Shishi, and Guli Nazha, three stunning superstars, walked down the stairs together.

Behind them followed a group of accompanying cameramen.

The three women were all dressed in comfortable and cool loungewear.

Guli Nazha wore a pure white tight-fitting tank top, with a pair of denim hot pants underneath.

Because the shorts were so tight, the base of her fair, long legs was squeezed into an alluring flesh indentation.

Tong Liya and Liu Shishi wore silk nightgowns with low necklines, the edges of their lace lingerie faintly visible.

The four sat around the dining table.

During the meal, the staff kept throwing questions at them.

Asking what everyone's expectations were for the budget tour, and whether they favored Lei Jiayin or Yue Yunpeng to be the tour guide.

The three women's answers were all very official, canned responses.

Lin Chen was even more extreme; he barely spoke, occasionally just giving a perfunctory reply to follow the flow of the three women's conversation.

After eating and drinking their fill, the four returned to their rooms, waiting for the two candidates to come by and campaign for votes.

This free time was specifically arranged by the Production Team to let the guests unpack on camera and show the audience what budget travel gear they had brought.

Lin Chen's side was extremely simple, with just one pitifully small suitcase.

Besides a few changes of clothes, a pair of sneakers, and basic toiletries, there was nothing else.

When the camera cut over, the three women's side was like a massive moving scene.

Each of them had two jumbo-sized super-large suitcases.

They knelt on the floor with their plump, perky peach-like buttocks in the air, pulling items out one by one.

Aside from countless designer clothes, just the facial masks, full sets of cosmetics, first-aid kits, sunscreen, and various snacks covered the floor.

Just introducing these odds and ends took up most of the morning.

After a morning of broadcasting, the number of online viewers across the eight independent livestreams saw a shocking turnaround.

Tong Liya, relying on the massive popularity of showcasing her private wardrobe, saw her online viewership surge to 2.89 million, shooting straight to first place.

Liu Shishi and Guli Nazha followed closely behind, with numbers all above 2.8 million.

The three top-tier actresses completely dominated the top three spots.

Next were Song Zuer, Lei Jiayin, and Yue Yunpeng, all hovering around two million.

Even Song Dandan had 1.5 million.

In contrast, Lin Chen, who had started with over a million and crushed the field in popularity, now saw a straight dive, left with a pathetic 750,000, firmly stuck in last place.

Lin Chen didn't care about the data at all.

He wasn't a performer playing the entertainment circle game; this trip was purely a paid job to help his wife ward off disasters, and having no one watching actually made it more peaceful.

After showing his luggage, Lin Chen went into the bathroom to change clothes.

When he came out, he had changed into a knee-length black linen robe, the fabric light and breathable, with exquisite dark red auspicious cloud patterns embroidered on the lapels.

He paired it with black cropped slim-fit casual pants and stepped into a pair of black leather shoes.

This outfit was specially chosen for him by Dilraba, who had nagged him repeatedly before he left to make sure he wore this set on camera.

Dilraba's fashion sense was impeccable.

This slim-fit black robe worn on Lin Chen, combined with his already god-tier physique proportions, instantly exuded an uninhibited, cool, and dashing aura.

As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, the two cameramen and the assistant in the room were stunned.

The livestream's chat exploded again.

"Oh my god! This robe is so stylish! Suddenly I feel like it's worth it for Yang Mi and the others to pay to be with him!"

"Lin Chen's looks are absolutely killer. No, I have to defect, sorry to all my fellow haters!"

"So what if he's handsome! I'm a pure, hardcore straight man, the troll brigade, keep firing at me!"

The chat was completely polarized: those cursing were all male haters, and those frantically fawning were all fangirls.

Lin Chen turned a deaf ear, pulled over a chair to lean by the window, and closed his eyes, pretending to doze off.

In reality, he was pulling up the latest system panel in his mind.

Yesterday afternoon, when he went out for a big shopping trip, he took the opportunity to go to a bookstore and go on a crazy spree.

【Universal System】

【Host: Lin Chen】

【Culinary Arts: Master-level, 11/1 billion.】

【Medical Arts: Master-level, 16/1 billion.】

【Adventure: Master-level, 29/1 billion. You are an all-around adventure master, possessing extremely rich wilderness survival and global travel experience; there is no harsh, desperate situation in the world you cannot overcome.】

【Language: English (Top-tier), French (Top-tier), German (Top-tier), Japanese (Top-tier), Russian (Top-tier)...】

...

The system interface had completely turned the page, densely packed with over a dozen new skills.

Except for the Master-level "Adventure," the rest were all mainstream foreign languages from around the world.

It hadn't been long since he last unlocked three Master-level skills, and Lin Chen felt his brain's capacity was reaching a critical point, so he only leveled the language skills to "Top-tier".

Top-tier foreign language was already indistinguishable from his native tongue, absolutely sufficient for communication, and he didn't want to go to the UN to be a simultaneous interpreter.

As for local dialects, he only leveled them to "Advanced" before maxing them out.

Maxing out foreign languages and adventure in one go was all to prepare for this overseas budget tour.

He didn't want to become a blind, mute person in a foreign land just for some crappy program effect, getting flustered over every little thing.

Lin Chen positioned himself very correctly.

For this trip, he was just the most peripheral accessory.

The Production Team only gave him a 200,000 appearance fee; did they expect him to work like a horse for this bit of pocket change?

Guli Nazha said she was joining the show for a free vacation.

Lin Chen was the one who truly treated this as a paid vacation.

Whether the audience bought it or what the ratings were, none of that was his business.

At ten o'clock sharp in the morning.

Lei Jiayin, one of the tour guide candidates, knocked on the villa door.

The two men met for the first time, exchanged a few casual pleasantries, and Lei Jiayin immediately got to the point, starting to campaign for votes with great passion.

"Brother Lin, don't you worry about this trip abroad; your brother here will definitely arrange everything for everyone's needs. You just enjoy yourselves, and all the dirty and tiring work is on me. Brother, cast your sacred vote for me, and I guarantee you won't suffer the slightest grievance!"

Lei Jiayin put his hands together and made his pledge to the camera with a sincere face.