Chapter 74: Bankrupt Small Shop Owner

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Bankrupt Small Shop Owner

[You are the owner of a small shop. After years of hard work, your life savings have been completely wiped out by business losses. With the shop on the brink of bankruptcy, your task is to turn a profit and pay off your overdue rent.]

[Available funds: 2,000 yuan. Overdue rent: 3,000 yuan.]

Nan Zhi fell into a subtle silence.

Nan Yi whipped his head around almost instantly, his little fists clenched nervously.

"Mom, the one I drew... is it really bad?"

Nan Zhi flipped the card face down with a flick of her wrist.

"Our new identity is shop owner! Yiyi, you have such great luck! Now we have our own shop!"

Nan Yi, dazed by the sudden surprise, asked in disbelief:

"R-Really?"

Nan Zhi nodded with absolute certainty.

And Nan Yi didn’t doubt her for a second. He struggled to keep from breaking into a huge grin, his little face flushed with excitement.

The follow-up director fell suspiciously quiet, unsure for a moment whether he should continue explaining.

At first, the viewers in the livestream chat were completely in the dark and almost believed Nan Zhi’s words...

Then, the production team displayed the contents of the drawn card as subtitles in the livestream.

The bullet comments went silent for a few seconds.

[I almost fell for it! I was just about to say that Nan Yi drew the best identity card this season!]

[So is it the best or not? The suspense is killing me!]

[As someone who’s been jumping between all four livestreams, let me tell you... uh, it’s the worst one.]

[Ah, this...]

[The production team is really going too far. These conditions are way too harsh!]

[Yeah, last time they were poor, but at least they weren’t in debt! This time, they even have to pay rent!]

[If it were me, I’d probably just get a job instead of running the shop! The show doesn’t force the guests to stick to their identity cards anyway. The card is just the starting point; how they live from then on is up to them!]

[Sis, that’s a great idea! Maybe that’s what the production team intended! Life is full of unexpected turns, after all!]

[Have you all forgotten about Nan Zhi’s cooking skills? Even just reopening a fried rice stall would be more profitable than running that shop!]

[Or she could get a job as a chef! There are starving diners, but never starving chefs!]

[What if the small shop is a restaurant? Then she could replicate last time’s success, right?]

...

Another hellish start sparked a heated discussion among the viewers.

They brainstormed strategies for the mother-son duo, Nan Zhi and Nan Yi, each feeling incredibly involved.

However, they were more interested in seeing how Nan Zhi and Nan Yi would handle the situation—

Taking a moment when Nan Yi wasn’t looking, Nan Zhi silently lifted her gaze.

Her gaze, neither light nor heavy, fell upon the follow-up director.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he let out an awkward laugh.

"This... this isn’t something we can decide..."

"Ahem."

Nan Zhi gave him a look, a subtle reminder.

The follow-up director took the hint and spoke very tactfully.

"Last season was a transition period for newcomers, so the tasks were relatively simple. But the difficulty has been increased this time. Guests are asked to interpret the task’s contents on their own. The higher your completion rate, the higher your score."

Nan Yi’s eyes widened with curiosity.

"Then what’s our task?"

"...To run the small shop well."

The follow-up director omitted the parts he wasn’t supposed to say.

Nan Yi didn’t overthink it.

"That’s easy! My mom can definitely do it!"

He lifted his chin proudly, fully convinced that his mother was the most capable mom in the whole world!

Nan Zhi slowly let out a breath.

Then, meeting Nan Yi’s expectant gaze, she nodded solemnly.

"Of course."

Not long after she spoke, the car pulled over to the side of the road.

Before the official filming began, there was still the routine opening segment where they met up with the other guests.

The location was a small park near the filming site.

Probably because it was a bit remote and still early, the park was mostly empty.

Nan Zhi and her son weren’t the first to arrive; Fu Chao and Qing Xi were already there.

Nan Zhi got out of the car, holding Nan Yi’s hand.

Qing Xi’s eyes lit up, and he came scampering over, waving as he ran.

"Little brother Yiyi! Little brother Yiyi!"

Compared to Qing Xi’s enthusiasm, Nan Yi was much more reserved.

He stayed close by Nan Zhi’s side, only giving a polite nod.

"Qing Xi, long time no—"

Before he could finish, the enthusiastic Qing Xi had already swept him up in a big bear hug.

"Silly little brother Yiyi! I already told you, you have to call me big brother Qing Xi!"

Nan Yi remained expressionless, straining his head backward.

’Can’t you tell I don’t want to call you big brother?’

’Who’s the real silly one here?’

Fortunately, Fu Chao arrived just in time to "peel" Qing Xi off Nan Yi.

Qing Xi complained, "Little Uncle, you’re a huge rock in the path of my friendship with little brother Yiyi!"

Fu Chao smiled. "Yes, I’m a big rock. And believe it or not, this big rock can also throw a punch."

Qing Xi backed off, grumbling under his breath.

Nan Yi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Nan Zhi was smiling the whole time, her heart practically melting from the cuteness.

The viewers felt much the same:

[The two kiddos are so adorable I could die!]

[Qing Xi is such a little ball of sunshine! You two brothers need to get along!]

[Brother Fu, you really have no self-awareness about your ’big rock’ status!]

[Huh, are Fu Chao and Nan Zhi really on such good terms? The vibe feels a little weird.]

[Tsk tsk, you can tell this one’s a new viewer.]

[I’m a long-time viewer, but I thought Nan Zhi and Fu Chao just had a working relationship. This is...]

...

Upon seeing Nan Zhi, Fu Chao started to complain:

"I couldn’t get through to your phone."

Nan Zhi subconsciously glanced at the camera before answering:

"Oh? Maybe you have the wrong number?"

"Take a look."

It wasn’t yet time for them to hand over their personal belongings.

So, Fu Chao took out his personal phone—

This was his true personal phone, not the one he used to contact work associates. This phone only stored the numbers of his close friends and family.

In his ten years in the industry, Fu Chao could count the number of industry peers whose numbers were saved in this phone on one hand, and almost all of them were people he had known for at least five years.

But Nan Zhi and Fu Chao had only truly known each other for a month.

Of course, neither Nan Zhi nor the audience knew any of this.

Nan Zhi leaned in for a look and frowned.

"This is a number I don’t use anymore."

Fu Chao had actually figured something out, but because of the cameras, he didn’t say it outright.

Instead, he casually asked Nan Zhi to enter her current number.

Nan Zhi did as he asked.

At the same time, she didn’t forget to ask:

"Did you need something?"

It wasn’t just Nan Zhi who was curious; the audience was too.

Facing all the curious eyes, Fu Chao laughed heartily.

"Didn’t I promise to treat you to a meal before?"

Nan Zhi said, "Oh."

Many viewers had a moment of realization along with her.

Many of Fu Chao’s "girlfriend fans," in particular, breathed a palpable sigh of relief.

[If the show dares to ship them as a couple, I’ll personally tear the production team to shreds!]

[Actually, asking for her number is still kinda...]

[My Brother Fu sees her as a friend, so what’s wrong with asking openly? Dirty-minded people see everything as dirty!]

[Amazing how fast Fu Chao’s fans changed their tune. That’s not what you were saying earlier.]

[What’s ’shipping’? A new recipe? I’m down for a new recipe!]

...

Fu Chao: "Actually, there’s one more thing..."

Another guest arrived.