Volume 1, Chapter 54: Chickens and Rabbits in the Same Cage, Gang Warfare

Backstage.

Zhang Wei couldn't even believe his eyes.

"Chief Director, can you believe it? Shen Qi actually refused!"

"Even if someone has the heart for it without the guts, they should at least leave their contact information. He actually..."

Hong Tao hadn't expected this outcome either. Under normal circumstances, it shouldn't have been this cold at least.

Everyone is human and has desires; when an energetic, red-blooded man is approached proactively by a beauty, he should at least engage in some flirtatious banter.

Yet Shen Qi simply didn't.

"Chief Director, the person we arranged acted very well and didn't give away the game at all. We didn't even tell Li Huange about this setup. Weren't you afraid something would go wrong?" Zhang Wei asked curiously.

Hong Tao chuckled.

"Go wrong? If something went wrong, wouldn't the hype be even higher? It would also let Li Huange see Shen Qi's true colors, and she might even thank us!"

"It's a good thing nothing went wrong either. Li Huange and Shen Qi's popularity will soar, and the show's ratings will be even better!"

Zhang Wei struggled to process Hong Tao's words. Hong Tao stroked his chin and said:

"Just treat this matter as completely unrelated to our production team, understand?"

"Understood... Then what about Lin Xiaolu and Bai Qinghe's households..."

"Stick to one principle—do not favor one over the other, everyone must get a share of the rain and dew!"

"..."

……

"Then will you teach me folk instruments now? I really want to learn!" Shen Xiaokun pleaded slightly.

Shen Qi shook his head.

Shen Xiaokun grew anxious. "You clearly promised to teach me one just now!"

"I did promise, but I didn't say *when* I would teach you," Shen Qi replied shamelessly.

Little brat, you're a newcomer, and you still can't tell who's the big boss and who's the small boss?

Li Huange is the big boss, and I'm the small boss.

How old are you anyway?

Tricking you is child's play.

Shen Xiaokun once again experienced Shen Qi's shamelessness. His face flushed red with anger, and he grabbed the collar of Shen Qi's T-shirt.

Rip!

It tore!

Shen Xiaokun was also stunned. "Uh... your clothes are of such poor quality... I really didn't expect that."

Shen Qi wore an unhappy expression and took off the garment with a look of heartache.

Whoosh!

The audience in the broadcast studio let out an exclamation. Although they had seen it in the previous episode, seeing it again still delivered the visual impact of Shen Qi's sharply defined muscles.

The live comment stream was flooded with extremely brief remarks.

[Hiss...]

[Corn-kernel abdominal muscles!]

[A dog-leg waist!]

[An inverted triangle!]

[I'm drooling!]

Shen Qi instantly felt depressed.

"You little punk... sigh!"

"Do you know why I've kept wearing this old shirt for so long?"

Shen Xiaokun gave a hesitant shake of his head.

Causing the tattered T-shirt, Shen Qi stroked it with a trace of nostalgic emotion and said:

"This was the first piece of clothing your mother ever gave me..."

Shen Xiaokun's mind suddenly went blank, and he stared blankly at Shen Qi, unable to speak.

The studio instantly erupted with envious exclamations.

"Sister Huange, I can't take this anymore. A man like Shen Qi is just too perfect!" Dou Yiyi's eyes sparkled with tiny flashes of lightning as she tightly grabbed Li Huange's arm.

However, Li Huange was somewhat dazed at this moment; she had just remembered this piece of clothing!

"I... back then, it was left over from a variety show one of the artists in my company participated in, which the production team had provided for the artist."

"Actually..."

With a slight trace of embarrassment, Li Huange said:

"Actually, it wasn't valuable. I just grabbed it on my way out, thinking he could wear it as casual homewear while doing chores..."

There were some things Li Huange left unsaid.

This garment was also the only piece of clothing Li Huange had ever given to Shen Qi.

Bai Qinghe and Lin Xiaolu looked like one had caught pink-eye and the other had eaten a sour lemon.

Burning with intense jealousy!

……

Shen Qi returned to the bedroom and changed into another T-shirt, though it was still of the heavily worn-out variety.

Embroidered across the chest of the shirt was an English word—ABIDAS.

"Then what on earth will it take for you to teach me?" Shen Xiaokun chased after him, asking persistently.

Shen Qi pondered for a moment. "Do you think you're smart?"

Shen Xiaokun immediately put on a smug expression.

"You're asking a bit of a redundant question."

Shen Qi chuckled, recalling an interesting math problem from the parallel world.

"Then I'll test you with a problem. The moment you figure it out is when I'll teach you!"

Shen Xiaokun immediately wore a knowing look. "Are you going to stump me with a problem that requires calculation methods beyond my age, right?"

"Of course not!"

"Then let's hear it?"

Shen Qi nodded. "Chickens and rabbits in the same cage..."

"Chickens and rabbits in the same *deaf*?"

"..."

Shen Qi glared at Shen Xiaokun.

"There is a cage containing some chickens and some rabbits. It is known that there are a total of 35 heads and 94 feet in the cage. Tell me..."

"How many chickens and how many rabbits are precisely in the cage?!"

Shen Xiaokun froze.

Could this even be called a problem?

He fetched a pen and a piece of paper, and began scribbling away.

Shen Qi was very satisfied.

It was finally quiet.

The comment stream, however, exploded.

[This problem is so novel. It sounds too simple, yet I can't figure out the answer.]

[Idiot, fifth graders can definitely solve this. It can be solved with a linear equation in one variable!]

[Shen Qi is giving a problem solvable within Xiaokun's age group. No matter how smart Xiaokun is, he couldn't have learned equations yet, right?]

[My name is Equation, what do you need me for?]

Quite a few live studio audience members began counting on their fingers, while Li Huange and Dou Yiyi also fell into deep thought.

Equations can't be used...

Bai Qinghe and Lin Xiaolu exchanged glances, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.

By the way... what on earth is an equation?

Even more people were drawn into the live stream because of this question, pushing the simultaneous online viewership to 19 million!

As Bai Qinghe and Lin Xiaolu calculated, their complexions also turned ugly.

Judging solely by the popularity of the broadcast households, the combined efforts of their two households still lost to Li Huange.

……

Watching Shen Xiaokun scratch his head in frustration, Shen Qi was instantly amused.

Problems from the parallel world must count as novel here, right?

By the way... why hasn't that guy arrived yet?

Ding-dong!

The doorbell finally rang.

Less than two minutes later, Shen Qi led in a middle-aged man of about fifty years old.

The middle-aged man looked fierce and formidable, with a full beard, making him look somewhat like a butcher.

Shen Xiaokun secretly glanced at him and lost interest, returning to his bedroom to continue researching the chickens and rabbits in the same cage.

The two men seemed quite familiar with each other; without any formal pleasantries, they sat down to drink tea and converse, both of their expressions rather solemn.

"Has the time been set?"

"It's set, two months from now."

"How many people do we have on hand right now?"

"78 people!"

"78 people... two months..." Shen Qi frowned. "What about the location?"

The middle-aged man said, "It's decided, but..."

"How much?" Shen Qi asked.

The middle-aged man said with some frustration, "It requires a full 8 million!"

Shen Qi deep-thought for a moment, got up and walked to the bedroom, and upon returning, shoved a card into the middle-aged man's hand.

"There are 2 million on this card! I'll figure out the rest!"

The middle-aged man was startled, his eyes flickered twice before he tucked the card into his pocket, and then flashed a very awkward smile at Shen Qi.

"It will definitely be handled properly!"

Shen Qi also smiled slightly.

"I trust you!"

The middle-aged man moved like a gust of wind; he came and went, taking only about three minutes in total.

This left everyone completely bewildered.

Fang Qian looked at Li Huange curiously.

"Celestial Huange, do you know what Shen Qi and that person were discussing?"

Li Huange shook her head slightly.

"I don't know, and I don't recognize this person either..."

Li Huange suddenly felt a renewed sense of unfamiliarity toward Shen Qi.

Aside from the two of them crossing paths in the morning or evening at home, they weren't together the rest of the time.

What Shen Qi did, who he interacted with, and what personal business he busied himself with—Li Huange knew none of it.

[Why does this feel like an underground resistance contact? That guy looks a lot like a gangster.]

[Not only does he look like a gangster, but the two of them sounded like they were discussing a gang turf war—two months... new location... 8 million...]

[You can save 2 million just by living off a woman? This job is way too good, right?]

[I admit I've successfully been captivated by this man's mystery!]

[So is Shen Qi's true identity a triad boss? Is that money to buy weapons for a turf war?]