Chapter 32
News that the Forbidden Palace was producing a new variety show, The Forbidden City’s Little Shop, quickly spread across Weibo. It was scheduled to air at the same time as Great Nation’s Artifacts, and most people were not optimistic about its prospects.
[GreenLeaf]The guest lineup alone can’t compare to Yancheng Television Station’s. I don’t know what the Forbidden Palace is thinking.
[LittleTaro]Ugh, I trust the Forbidden Palace’s production quality, but the popularity gap between a web variety show and a TV variety show is just too big. The ratings are going to look awful, and all the attention will be stolen by Great Nation’s Artifacts. I guess we can only hope it gains traction through word-of-mouth.
[RainbowShell]+1
Whether it was due to confidence in the show or a desire to maintain an air of mystery, the guest lineup for The Forbidden City’s Little Shop was kept under tight wraps. Until the day the show premiered, not even Ji Wei knew who the other guests were. Accompanied by a staff member, he dragged his suitcase from Yan City Airport and, after a long journey, arrived in St. Lawrence, a small town on the southwestern coast of the United States.
A staff member handed him a mission card and a map of St. Lawrence.
He opened the mission card.
—Guests, please use the map to find the location of the Forbidden City’s Little Shop.
Meanwhile, the livestream for The Forbidden City’s Little Shop had quietly gone live on the Forbidden Palace’s official website. Not many people tuned in at first, as the show’s genre was similar to National Style, sharing some of its audience.
[There are so few bullet comments.]
[Ahhhhh! Is Weiwei actually here? Can I hope for Film Emperor Lu too? I really want to see them in the same frame!]
[Wake up! Film Emperor Lu is still in the hospital. How could he possibly be on the show? But I’m already so happy to see Weiwei. He was my biggest motivation for watching ‘National Style’.]
[+1, I’m going to tell my sisters on Weibo!]
Ji Wei unfolded the map. The Forbidden City’s Little Shop was located in the southeastern corner of the map, near the coastline. All he had to do was follow the small town’s main road. The biggest difference between The Forbidden City’s Little Shop and National Style was its slower pace. There were no time-sensitive tasks, so he could leisurely wander through St. Lawrence and enjoy the scenery along the way.
[This place looks so comfortable.]
[The cinematography is amazing. From the lighting to the composition, the livestream quality is on par with a formally produced show. It feels like it was made by an international team.]
[+1, the equipment is super high-def too. You can even see the veins on the leaves. The Forbidden Palace really went all out this time. I thought it was going to be a low-to-mid-budget variety show. It has a real shot at surpassing Yancheng Television Station.]
[It still depends on the content, right? The livestream for ‘Great Nation’s Artifacts’ has over seven million viewers, while this one only has four hundred thousand.]
When he reached his destination, Ji Wei’s first reaction was to wonder if he had gone to the wrong place. He looked up at the sign several times. It was indeed the Forbidden City’s Little Shop. But aside from the brand-new sign that read “The Forbidden City’s Little Shop,” everything else was old and worn. Overturned tables and chairs were scattered across a floor thick with dust, and the walls were covered in all sorts of messy graffiti.
[Hahahahaha, Weiwei looks so confused. Does this look like a place for a proper variety show?]
[Starting on hell mode!]
[Haha, I’m hooked. I’m definitely watching this.]
Just as Ji Wei was about to step inside to take a look, he suddenly heard an enthusiastic young man’s voice from behind him. “Hello, are you Ji Wei?”
He turned around to see a handsome young man with long, upturned phoenix eyes. For some reason, he found the young man a little familiar.
The young man proactively shook his hand and said with a bit of shyness, “My name is Xiao Chi. I’ve seen your show before. Your painting and calligraphy are really beautiful. Can we add each other on WeChat? It’ll be more convenient for the show later.”
Xiao Chi? Ji Wei remembered him now; he was a member of a very popular boy band. He nodded. “Of course.”
[Wuwuwuwuwu, my Brother Chi!]
[They even invited Xiao Chi? The Forbidden Palace’s lineup is pretty good!]
[Didn’t they say Xiao Chi is really cool and distant on stage? Why does he seem like such a fanboy in front of Weiwei?]
[Time to ship a new CP!]
Just after they exchanged WeChat contacts, Ji Wei heard someone call his name again from behind. The voice was so familiar that he froze completely.
The bullet comments went wild.
[Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! Am I seeing things? Film Emperor Lu!]
[Front row for a group photo!]
[I’m so touched. He’s such a model worker, participating in a variety show even with a leg injury like that. No wonder he became a Film Emperor.]
[I just checked Weibo, it’s already the number one trending topic.]
[As a Lu-Wei CP fan, I’m so happy. I can get my sugar fix again! No need to find a Xiao-Wei substitute.]
Ji Wei turned around and met the man’s faint gaze. For some reason, he felt a little guilty. He walked over and naturally took the man’s wheelchair, pushing him into the shop.
After a moment of silence, the man suddenly spoke, his lips pressed into a straight line. “What did he say to you just now?”
“We added each other on WeChat to make it easier to stay in touch later,” Ji Wei replied without thinking.
“I see.”
The man’s tone was thoughtful.
Ji Wei “mhm-ed” and was about to continue pushing forward when he heard the man’s deep voice. “Give me your phone.”
Did his idol’s phone run out of battery? Ji Wei handed his phone to Lu Shenxing. Lu Shenxing took it, his long fingers swiping across the screen, and promptly added Xiao Chi to the blacklist.
“There.”
He handed the phone back to Ji Wei.
[The cameraman isn’t quick enough! I just praised him, so why isn’t he filming the phone screen? Ugh, I want to see what Film Emperor Lu did!]
[Could he have blacklisted Xiao Chi?]
[No way, is Film Emperor Lu that kind of person?]
The man quietly lowered his eyes, a look of nonchalance on his face. Ji Wei assumed he had just checked the time, so he took the phone and put it back in his pocket.
By the time he had taken Lu Shenxing for a look around, the other guests had all arrived. Normally, they would have introduced themselves, but when Ji Wei pushed Lu Shenxing out, he discovered… they were all old acquaintances! Apart from Su Wen, who couldn’t make it because she was preparing for a concert, and the addition of Xiao Chi, all the other guests were the original cast of National Style.
[I’m actually a little moved. Did everyone terminate their contracts with Yancheng Television Station to reunite here? I’m even starting to find Zhao Yue tolerable now. He’s just a bit of a show-off.]
[Ahhhhh, old fans of ‘National Style’, what are you doing watching ‘Great Nation’s Artifacts’? Come watch ‘The Forbidden City’s Little Shop’!]
[Coming, coming! I was just watching ‘Great Nation’s Artifacts’. The guests are all so stiff, it’s no fun at all.]
[It’s so great that everyone is still together.]
After all the guests had arrived, the director finally announced the task. “Your mission is to run this Forbidden City’s Little Shop. With a starting capital of one thousand US dollars, you need to take it from dilapidated to prosperous and attract more customers.”
“For specific tasks, please download and install the Forbidden City’s Little Shop app from the official website. Follow the app’s guidance to complete each period’s tasks.”
There was even an app? Ji Wei downloaded it and opened it. The main interface displayed a dazzling array of cultural and creative products, such as Forbidden City lipstick, washi tape, notebooks, and even cosmetics and hot pot. But they all needed to be unlocked with popularity value. The more popular the show became, the more products could be unlocked, and the more items the shop could sell. It was a model of two-way interaction between the guests and the audience.
[I’m already on Weibo trying to recruit people. It’s just grinding, right? As long as the show doesn’t air in the middle of the night, I can handle it!]
[These are all new products. Can we buy them in the country? That washi tape with ‘A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains’ is so beautiful.]
[I’m so in for ‘The Forbidden City’s Little Shop’! Sisters, let’s go recruit people. I can’t wait to see them sell hot pot.]
Ji Wei opened the task interface. Today’s mission was to attract the first customer. The reward was a random cultural and creative product. But as he looked back at the dilapidated shop and the empty shelves, he wondered, could they really attract… customers?
Of course, the immediate priority was to clean up the shop. Ma Liqing and Lu Shenxing were considered the old, weak, sick, and disabled, so they were tasked with going to the supermarket to buy cleaning supplies. Ji Wei, Zhao Yue, and Xiao Chi were responsible for arranging the tables and chairs.
Ji Wei rolled up his sleeves, ready to lift an overturned table, but a hand beat him to it. He looked up to see Xiao Chi. Xiao Chi righted the table and said matter-of-factly, “I’ll get it.”
Ji Wei moved a little farther away, preparing to lift a cabinet, but unexpectedly, Zhao Yue frowned and lifted the cabinet first. “Ji Wei, don’t get in my way.”
He walked to the middle, and just as he was about to lift a stool, two different hands grabbed either end of it. Xiao Chi smiled without letting go. “I’m young and have good stamina. I won’t trouble Senior Zhao.”
Zhao Yue sneered, “Although you debuted after me, I’m two years younger than you. It’s not certain who has better stamina.”
[I’m sensing some love triangle drama.]
[Why are they talking about stamina?]
[To the person above, you’ve got a dirty mind.]
The result of their dispute was that they lifted it together. A small stool required two grown men to right it, both with exceptionally serious expressions, neither willing to yield. Ji Wei was speechless.
After a few rounds of this, he was left with nothing to do but think about the store’s layout. The Forbidden City’s Little Shop was over two hundred square meters and even had a backyard for growing vegetables, so there was more than enough space initially. However, the conditions for unlocking the cultural and creative products were very strict. They needed to reach ten million popularity points just to unlock the Forbidden City washi tape. The livestream currently had eight million popularity points, so it would be at least tomorrow before they could unlock it.
Without any products, how could they attract their first customer? Ji Wei fell into deep thought. Suddenly, he looked up at the graffiti on the wall. The mission was to attract a customer, but it didn’t say the customer had to buy anything. He sent a text message to Lu Shenxing.
[Ji Wei] Can you buy some acrylic paint?
A moment later, Lu Shenxing replied with a single word: “Yes.”
Ji Wei breathed a sigh of relief. He took out a piece of paper and a pen from his backpack and began designing the basic layout of the shop. He hadn’t been drawing for long when Ma Liqing returned, carrying large bags of cleaning supplies. Zhao Yue and Xiao Chi took the brooms and mops and began the final cleaning. Ji Wei glanced outside the shop but didn’t see his idol.
Ma Liqing noticed his confusion and explained, “Xiao Lu said he was going to buy some kind of paint. He was afraid you’d be anxious to start cleaning, so he had me come back first.”
His idol was still in a wheelchair. Ji Wei sent another WeChat message to Lu Shenxing.
[Ji Wei] Where are you? I’ll come find you.
[Lu Shenxing] Missing your big brother?
Ji Wei’s typing hands paused. He typed a message, then deleted and re-edited it. Before he could send it, another message from Lu Shenxing arrived.
[Lu Shenxing] I’ll be back soon.
But it wasn’t until the afternoon that Lu Shenxing returned. The man pushed his wheelchair, his forehead dotted with barely perceptible beads of sweat. He handed the paint to Ji Wei, his tone calm. “I’m back.”
[Wuwuwuwu, Film Emperor Lu is too good. He didn’t mention a single word about running to three supermarkets before finally finding the paint in an art supply store.]
[Look! This is the air of the true queen!]
[Why do I feel like the love triangle drama just intensified?]
Ji Wei took the paint and pursed his lips. “You must be tired, right?”
“Quite tired.”
The man said calmly.
Ji Wei felt very guilty. He had assumed it could be bought at a supermarket. If he had known it would be so hard to find, he would have gone himself. The man saw the expression on Ji Wei’s face. He lowered his gaze and took off his earpiece. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke slowly and deliberately, “Give your big brother a kiss, and I won’t be tired anymore.”