The Book of All Things: Born for Joy

After a short period of preparation, Li Zichun and Zhao Qianfan successfully joined the cast and began their variety show journey.

Li Zichun's only belongings were a few changes of clothes, a laptop, and his cat, Qitong. Zhao Qianfan also followed, carrying a small bag of clothes.

Zhao Qianfan was also curious why he always carried a cat with him wherever he went. Li Zichun was too lazy to explain, and Qi Tong gave him a disdainful look, thinking to himself, "You don't know anything."

The show's director, Zhang Xiaochuan, is a seasoned veteran, having filmed so many programs that he's seen it all before. He's even seen celebrities bring pet snakes, rats, birds, and fish; cats and dogs are child's play for him. Fortunately, Li Zichun takes care of everything himself and doesn't bother them, so they've turned a blind eye.

The group consisted of artists from other companies. They all looked at Li Zichun and Zhao Qianfan with somewhat envious and flattering eyes. But there was one person who was different. Li Zichun could sense his obvious hostility. After asking Zhao Qianfan, he learned that his name was Yuan Zian, the little king who had been dethroned from the top spot by Uncle Seven's "Gentleman". He casually said "Oh" and didn't take it to heart. The higher you go, the more criticism and complaints you will naturally receive. It doesn't matter whether it's good or bad, it's the same in any field.

The entire program featured five groups of guests, totaling ten people, from five different companies. Li Zichun glanced at them and couldn't help but nod to himself, realizing that there wasn't a single one who could compete.

After watching, he leaned on Zhao Qianfan's shoulder to rest. The two had a clear division of labor: Zhao Qianfan was in charge of the physical activities, while he was in charge of the mental tasks. Moreover, this group of handsome men and beautiful women didn't seem to be very clever, so he could easily handle them with a little effort.

Everyone was in the entertainment industry, and although they belonged to different companies, they had all met each other more or less. Only he and Zhao Qianfan had not appeared in the industry for a long time, so everyone's eyes inevitably had a sense of inquiry and consideration. The group chatted casually and finally arrived at their destination, Huai'an Ancient Town.

Zhao Qianfan gently shook the person and the cat awake. Li Zichun and Zhao Qianfan were naturally assigned to the same dormitory. After settling in, it was time for the game segment arranged by the program.

Li Zichun was almost bored to death during the whole game. Zhao Qianfan could handle this kind of physical game by himself. He held Qi Tong and watched Zhao Qianfan go back and forth. Compared with the variety shows in his previous life, this place was so boring that he was too lazy to even pretend anymore.

After the game was over, it was time for a word game. Zhao Qianfan looked at him with an inquiring gaze, and he waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, with me here, we won't lose."

This conversation was naturally recorded and played, and director Zhang Xiaochuan was quite curious whether his damn confidence was justified.

Playing games like pitch-pot and musical chairs were games he and his children had played countless times in his previous life. Losers would either have to sing or dance, or have their team penalized with points, which directly affected their food, clothing, and shelter.

The more troublesome thing is the winding stream party, which requires composing and reciting poems. He is not familiar with the best poems and literature in this world. After inquiring about the rules in detail, he learned that he could compose his own poems as long as the three judges from the Academy of Literature nodded in approval. Only then did he feel relieved. He had the history books of an entire planet in his mind, so why should he be afraid of this thing?

Most people chose to memorize poems and prose, and after a few times, he could tell that they had all put in a lot of hard work.

When the wine glass was placed in front of him, everyone became expectant. Those present had all heard his poem "May We All Be Blessed with Longevity," written for Li Jiawei, and his drunken ramblings on "Jiang Cheng Zi." Anyone with a little knowledge knew that even if those weren't textbook masterpieces, they were still classics worth reading repeatedly. Everyone was eager to see what kind of beautiful verses he would recite.

He picked up the wine glass and asked if there were any taboos or things that couldn't be said. After receiving an affirmative answer, he handed the wine to Zhao Qianfan, stood up, and, with a confident and elegant air, recited as he walked away: "

No travelers walk along the ten-mile-long pavilion; stars appear in the nine heavens.

All ships on the eight rivers returned to port, and the gates of seven thousand prefectures and counties were closed.

The six palaces and five government offices have returned to their officials, and fishing lines have ceased to flow across the four seas and three rivers.

The bells and drums of two towers resound, and a bright moon shines over the heavens and earth.

This poem by Wu Cheng'en is quite fitting to be recited in Huai'an Town. Li Zichun is wondering whether he should also write "Journey to the West," otherwise he would be letting Wu Cheng'en down. He has too much to write right now, so he'll think about it later.

“Good, good, good,” the two literature teaching assistants clapped and cheered. Only one teaching assistant, Guo Rui’ai, frowned and paused before saying, “It is good, but such neatness inevitably suggests that it was prepared in advance. It cannot be considered a masterpiece on the spot. Moreover, it is noon at this time, and there are no stars or moon, so it is not appropriate.”

The others were also taken aback. This kind of competition was prepared in advance; everyone knew it. They weren't naive newcomers to the show. Everyone had someone prepare a poem or two as backup. It was ostensibly a competition of stars, but in reality, it was a contest of connections between companies and ties within the literary world. As long as the work wasn't too bad, people usually turned a blind eye. The expert's blatant obstruction made everyone suspect something was amiss, and they quietly watched Li Zichun and Zhao Qianfan.

Just as Zhao Qianfan was about to speak, Li Zichun tugged at his sleeve, quietly touching the Seven Bamboo in his arms without replying, and the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

Seeing that Li Zichun remained silent, everyone assumed he had run out of material. For a moment, everyone's expressions varied. Guo Ruiai also felt the atmosphere was a bit awkward, so he coughed a few times and said, "Ahem, considering it's your first offense, I won't pursue it. This poem is invalid; write another one."

Li Zichun was stunned. Did this guy have enough knowledge to back it up? Was he shamelessly asking for trouble? Given his current popularity, it seemed someone was eager to make a move. Well, I won't tolerate that.

Li Zichun chuckled: "Can't I count backwards from ten? That's really unfair to me."

He stood up, looked around, and casually recited: "One or two miles away, there are four or five houses in a village, six or seven pavilions, and eight or nine or ten flowers."

When Shao Yong's "Thoughts on a Mountain Village" was recited, everyone was stunned. Poetry could be written like this? Without even thinking? A glance was enough to create a poem? And it was so timely and fitting for the occasion, amazing!

Li Zichun looked at Guo Ruiai, about to speak, when he heard him exclaim in amazement, "Wonderful, wonderful! It's a pity you're a star with your talent. Why don't you come to our literary world..."

Director Zhang Xiaochuan coughed a few times at the opportune moment. "I spent a lot of money to invite these guests. At least wait until the end before pulling people in. Are you making a scene here?"

The host also came to his senses, offered a few words of praise, and the game continued.

Zhao Qianfan hooked his arm around Li Zichun's neck, gave him a thumbs-up, and said excitedly, "Great job! You really can do everything. I was all prepared to get drunk, but nothing could stop you!"

The two were playfully bickering when, as if guided by fate, another round of cups and saucers stopped right in front of them, freezing their smiles on their faces.

Li Zichun stared at the constantly spinning cup in front of him, lost in thought. There was something wrong with the water; it seemed they were being targeted.

Zhao Qianfan followed his gaze, their eyes met, and he understood perfectly, picking up the entire cup and saying with a smile, "Oh dear, it's our turn again..."

He slowly turned the wine glass by the handle, then brought it close to his nose to smell it. He pulled hard, but couldn't pull it open. He couldn't help but chuckle and say, "This wine glass is really good quality. It's like a magnet; you can't pull it open."

Looking at the thoughtful crowd, Li Zichun took the cup from their hands and said with a smile, "It's just composing poems and lyrics, what's so difficult about it? It's not worth ruining your voice by drinking too much."

He stared intently at Guo Rui'ai, then at the director, and looked around, trying to glean clues from everyone's expressions. He paced back and forth a couple of times, dropping the cup in his hand and shattering it on the stone slab: "Oops, sorry, my hand slipped... Hey, does your production team like to put magnets in your tea?"

Before anyone could react, Li Zichun stared directly at the prop master, tilted his head back, and said, "One nest, two nests, three or four nests, five nests, six nests, seven or eight nests? Having devoured the emperor's thousand cups of millet, how few are the phoenixes, how many are there!"

Zhang Xiaochuan's expression suddenly changed, and his gaze abruptly shifted to the prop master of the production team. The prop master's eyes darted around, and his face was full of embarrassment. He whispered a few words to his assistant and then bowed to Li Zichun to apologize. Although he liked the show to have conflicts and contradictions so that it would be exciting, it was different if the problem was with the production team itself. If the games could not be fair from the beginning, the artists would have a crisis of trust in the production team. If they could tamper with the wine glass today, they might be the safety rope tomorrow. They all knew this principle well in the entertainment industry.

After Zhang Xiaochuan promised to give him an explanation, Li Zichun didn't pursue the matter further. He simply smiled and said, "Why let a mere rat spoil our fun? Now that the problem has been solved, let's continue the game."

For a moment, everyone exchanged glances. They were all veterans of the entertainment industry, and they understood the unspoken agreement; the discussion would most likely end with that person's resignation. And this was the first person who could make Zhang Xiaochuan bow his head.

Zhang Xiaochuan was also dumbfounded. This prop master had been with him for many years, how could he make such a mistake? If not, then someone was deliberately targeting him. The people participating in the program were all from the five major entertainment companies. They couldn't openly compete with each other, so it could only be the remaining three. And the only person who could have the ability to bribe his subordinates was Dynasty Entertainment, which was invited but did not come this time.

Zhang Xiaochuan frowned, rubbing his temples. He couldn't afford to offend Wangchao Entertainment, but he also couldn't swallow his anger. That damned entertainment company had gone too far; the variety show was ruined. He didn't know how many others besides the prop master had been bribed, and he was at a loss. He steeled himself and gave everyone half a day off, then several groups of people reviewed the on-site surveillance footage and entry/exit records. This was a habit he'd maintained for years of recording shows, and it was the foundation of his success.

Not only Li Zichun and Zhao Qianfan wanted to know, but everyone else was also curious about who could have offended this rising star.

As the saying goes, snakes and rats are from the same nest. Zhang Xiaochuan's investigation did indeed uncover some things. The entire team was undisciplined, with some employees not on duty during work hours, some artists smoking, and he even pulled up hidden surveillance footage. He couldn't tolerate any wrongdoing, so he took them all down in one fell swoop.

Finally, the team was reduced by one-fifth, and the already small number of people suddenly seemed a bit cramped. If the number were reduced even further, it would be almost the same as the number of guests.

Zhang Xiaochuan suggested taking half a day off to make personnel adjustments, which made everyone hesitate. The show was about to be canceled before even one episode was finished.

With the production team suspending filming, bad news flooded the internet. Most of it was criticism of Li Zichun and Zhao Qianfan: their first time on a show and it was all ruined; they're such troublemakers in variety shows!

It's just unfair, why take it so seriously? Newcomers can just bear with it and it will pass.

Two jinxes have come together.

Poor Director Zhang, he ran into these two unlucky guys. Maybe he should just replace them; that might save the day!

In an instant, public opinion turned against the two of them. They had only just recovered, and the whole internet knew about the news. He couldn't believe that no one was stirring up trouble and fanning the flames.

Li Zichun originally didn't want to get involved, but considering the power of public opinion, since the other party had already made a move, he decided to be ruthless and eliminate them.

Looking at Zhang Xiaochuan, who had just rearranged the personnel, Li Zichun took the opportunity to propose a revamp to the variety show, suggesting that it be centered around him and radiate globally, inviting everyone to come up with topics and write songs for the twelve-episode program.

Of course, he also had his own selfish motives. He wanted to see how far his influence had gone, how many people would come for him, and to warm up for the global music festival. Even if it was limited to China, it would still be a good opportunity to make friends and recruit talented people. He had too few people he could use. Zhao Qianfan was one, Li Jiawei was half, and Xiao Qi and Liu Xueqi were only passable and still needed to grow and improve.

Zhang Xiaochuan's eyes lit up. Since there wasn't enough manpower, it was good to revamp the show. But the premise was that he could take on this responsibility and release songs every episode, and good songs at that. Otherwise, the show's ratings would be very worrying.

After Li Zichun patted his chest and assured everyone that there would be no problem, another problem arose: what would happen to the other ten singers on the scene?

Li Zichun turned around and looked at the group of celebrities who had gathered around him. He smiled and squinted his eyes, saying, "Then let's go on a global tour of fun! As contestants, I'll randomly compose songs for you, how about that?"

The expressions on everyone's faces varied, some were surprised, some were dissatisfied. Li Zichun instantly understood and added, "Of course, besides songs, it can also be a group performance, or a solo dance, or even an acting demonstration. I will tailor-make content specifically for the winner. Does anyone have any objections?"

Before anyone could react, Zhao Qianfan looked at him with a rather resentful expression. "Didn't you agree to push me first? Am I not your favorite little cutie? Didn't you agree to make me famous first? So our friendship is going to disappear?"

Although his facial expression wasn't very obvious, the camera still captured his twitching expression, which Zhang Xiaochuan plans to air as the ending bonus footage. He's been shipping this couple for a long time now.