Chapter 28: Wang Likun

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——Seoul Airport, South Korea,

Chen Chichi returns like a king, his waist injury fully healed!

However, due to scheduling conflicts, Wang Zulan would not be participating in this recording.

The new guests consisted of two men and one woman.

Male artists: Lin Gengxin, known as "Lin the Dog," and Ou Di, the host of the hit variety show *Day Day Up*.

Female artist: Wang Likun, known as the "No-Makeup Goddess."

The teams were once again divided into three groups.

Red Team: Ou Di, Li Chen, Wang Baoqiang

Green Team: Deng Chao, Baby, Lin Gengxin

Orange Team: Wang Likun, Chen Chichi, Gu Qing

Unexpectedly, Gu Qing was assigned to the Orange Team.

Behind the camera, Lu Hao looked sullen, his displeasure visible to the naked eye.

Gu Qing and Baby were the fixed "CP" (couple pairing) that served as the show's main selling point, a pairing personally handpicked by him.

Their massive popularity since the first episode proved Lu Hao's keen eye.

But he couldn't stop people from being stupid!

No matter how much Lu Hao thought about it, he never expected that the romance between "Big Baby" and "Huang Jiao Zhu" (Huang Xiaoming) would be revealed so suddenly and plainly.

In the entertainment industry,

Forget about just acting for the cameras;

Even when a married couple divorces, they often have to act affectionate for variety shows or movie promotions.

The goal is simply to prevent the audience from being pulled out of the moment, right?

But now, things had gone sideways.

With Big Baby making her relationship public, the massive momentum of her "CP" with Gu Qing was instantly cut in half.

How could Lu Hao not be angry?

Even if you were going to go public, couldn't you wait until after the show was filmed?!

Was that little bit of time really that much to ask?!

Therefore, for this episode,

Lu Hao took the initiative to break up the "Brother-Sister CP" by placing Gu Qing on Wang Likun's Orange Team.

From the previous two recordings,

Lu Hao had discovered that Gu Qing possessed a unique aura—he was essentially a "universal match."

Even though he wasn't proactive, he always managed to create a sense of chemistry with whoever he was with.

"Worst case scenario, for every future recording, I'll just swap in a new female guest for Little Gu."

"I don't believe that without the Brother-Sister CP, my show will starve!"

With that determination, Lu Hao commenced filming.

The first-person perspective of the camera shifted to the Red Team, where Wang Baoqiang was located.

The theme of this recording was related to his previous film, so a crossover was natural.

The other two teams,

Following the production team's arrangements, arrived at a bus parking lot to wait for their teammates to assemble.

"Little Gu, haven't you missed me while we were apart?"

While waiting, Chen Chichi hooked his arm around Gu Qing's neck and asked with a grin.

"Brother Chichi, why are you acting like a child? Don't I message you every day?"

Gu Qing said wearily, "Senior Likun is right next to us, watching us make fools of ourselves."

"No, no, I'm just very envious of your friendship."

Wang Likun waved her hands hurriedly, her smile bright. "Also, just call me Likun, no need to be so formal."

"Little Gu, did you hear that? What girl likes being called 'Senior' by others?"

Chen Chichi playfully messed up Gu Qing's hair.

"Finger Flick!"

Unable to take it anymore, Gu Qing pressed his index fingers together and poked Chen Chichi hard in the small of his back.

"Ah~ Augh~ Hooooh!!"

Chen Chichi's face turned green, his eyes bulged, and he let out a shrill, Tom Cat-like scream.

He then hopped around a few times, clutching his waist and bending over in pain, occasionally twitching like a dead fish to prove he was still alive.

"Hahaha, quick, quick, record this for the bloopers!"

Even the disgruntled Lu Hao was amused by this cheerful scene. "I didn't expect Little Gu to be a fan of *IPartment*. We should invite the whole cast over to play sometime."

Beside the two, Wang Likun covered her mouth and laughed, her body shaking with mirth.

With the two jokers around, time flew by,

And the figures of the Green and Red teams appeared one after another.

Once all three teams had gathered and exchanged greetings,

Yang Ying noticed the Orange Team uniform Gu Qing was wearing, and the sweet smile on her face seemed to dim slightly.

"Likun, you have no future in the Orange Team. You'd be better off joining our Green Team."

Deng Chao tried to liven up the atmosphere, saying with a look of disdain, "Look at Chen Chichi—he looks big and strong, but he's actually weaker than anyone. And Little Gu next to you looks so delicate; he needs more protection than you do. How are you going to win?"

"Exactly, our Red Team is very strong too. Ou Di, show them what we've got."

Wang Baoqiang pushed Ou Di forward.

Ou Di had debuted as a host and knew exactly how to play along; he immediately performed a street dance solo.

The crowd cheered continuously, and the female guests watched with sparkling eyes.

"A dance battle?"

Chen Chichi interrupted with a sneer, stepping behind Gu Qing to help massage his shoulders. "Do you know who is standing next to me?"

"A professional trainee graduated from SM. Little Gu, give them a dance!"

"Get me a backing track."

Facing Ou Di's "provocation" of a dance battle, Gu Qing showed no intimidation.

He took a step forward, his spirited expression directed toward Lu Hao and the crew behind the camera.

'Dance.'

It was the skill he had mastered through five years of day-and-night practice in this body!

The female staff in the camera crew, whether they were being serious or just didn't know better, played "Roar" by EXO.

Gu Qing froze for a moment, but as the rhythmic drumbeat kicked in, his lazy demeanor vanished instantly.

The muscle memory etched into his DNA from five years of training awakened. His fingertips trembled three times to the beat, and his entire aura shifted abruptly.

Clean, sharp movements and idol-level facial expressions—every single frame could be used as a poster.

Especially the moment the chorus arrived,

The raw tension brought by his hip movements created a powerful contrast with Gu Qing's naturally "abstinent" and refined face.

It could be said that not a single woman at the scene failed to scream.

Even Yang Ying was seeing a brand-new side of Gu Qing for the first time.

She had thought he was a well-behaved, shy younger brother,

But in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into the exact type of "Idol" she admired and loved most.

Radiant and brimming with charm!

"I can't, I can't... I can't keep up..."

Ou Di knew when to stop and proactively conceded.

The reason he could thrive on Huangguo TV was that he always knew he was a supporting player.

He wanted screen time? Sure.

But he would never steal the spotlight!

"We can't admit defeat."

Wang Baoqiang refused to back down and brought out his specialty: a backflip.

Chen Chichi's face turned pale instantly.

With his old waist, he'd probably break in half before even finishing the flip.

"Brother Baoqiang, your flip isn't quite there."

As luck would have it, when Gu Qing was practicing "Roar" at the company, the position he took was 'Tao,' one of the four returning members.

He stabilized his breathing, took a few steps back, accelerated into a side flip, performed a handsome 720-degree mid-air rotation, and landed smoothly.

"Brother Baoqiang, if this is all you've got, you won't be able to take Sister Likun away from our team."

Listening to Chen Chichi's passionate celebration behind him, Gu Qing smiled slightly and gestured with his hand.

Wang Baoqiang scratched his head in frustration, then waved a hand and retreated sheepishly to his team.

"Likun, suffer a little for now. Our Red Team will win you back sooner or later!"

"Uh... I think the Orange Team is great. You'd better not try to take me."

Wang Likun covered her face shyly, effectively ending the competition.

"Little Gu, I really didn't know you had this skill! So cool!!"

As Gu Qing returned to his team, Chen Chichi grabbed his shoulders so excitedly he nearly shook him apart.

"Brother Chichi, I wasn't defeated by the Red Team, but I'm about to be defeated by you."

Gu Qing saw stars.

"Here."

A tissue was held out in front of Gu Qing.

He looked up in confusion, and Wang Likun gave him a gentle smile. "Wipe your sweat."

"Thank you."

Gu Qing took the tissue.

"That's the vibe! That's the vibe!"

In the distance, Lu Hao hurried to preserve this segment before turning the camera toward Big Baby.

Sure enough,

Upon seeing this scene, someone could only manage a forced smile.

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(End of Chapter)