Chapter 198 Pet Affection
Brandon's gaze swept across the venue, but he didn't see Candice anywhere.
He raised his hand slightly toward Vance and said, "You do your thing, don't worry about us. We're just here to check things out!"
Finnian was quite perceptive.
He told Vance, "Could you arrange some seats for us? We're here to see how today's guests perform. After all, we made such a big investment, so we care about how the show is received after it airs."
Vance quickly nodded and replied with a smile, "Of course."
So he specially arranged the best seats for these big shots.
After Brandon sat down, he saw Candice's group on the monitor.
At this moment, the other guests had already started their tasks, but Ulysses was still leisurely showing Candice around.
Fans in the live chat were worried sick for them.
[Everyone else is looking for food, and Uly is still so relaxed. Is he going to go hungry with Candice today?]
[No way, with Uly's looks, just standing at the village entrance would probably get people offering them food.]
[I want to know what Candice looks like. It's been so long, why hasn't she taken off her mask and shown her face?]
[Maybe she's not good-looking?]
[Impossible. You can tell from her presence that Candice is a beauty. Maybe she doesn't want to show her face because she's not a celebrity.]
[Agreed! Just looking at Uly's beauty, Candice definitely can't be ugly!]
People were discussing in the chat.
Meanwhile, Ulysses was asking Candice affectionately, "Candice, are you tired? If you are, you can watch TV in the lobby and take a nap when you're tired. I'll go find food for you!"
Hearing this, Candice asked with a smile, "Won't that break the rules?"
The production team was confused too—they hadn't expected Uly to operate this way.
A staff member immediately reminded through the walkie-talkie, "Uly, this is a two-person task!"
The implication was that both people must do the task together.
The chat went crazy seeing this.
[Uly, we know you adore Candice, but you can't spoil her this much. I'm jealous!]
[Are they really not a couple?]
[I'm not like this with my own sister. She only asks me for money, and I always want to kick her out, so they must be a couple.]
All kinds of comments appeared online, though Candice and the others didn't know yet.
After hearing the staff's reminder, Candice helplessly pulled Ulysses and said, "You heard that, right? Come on, let's do the task. I'll come with you!"
"Okay, with Candice along, I'll definitely be full of energy!"
Ulysses didn't mind being mushy at all and ignored the staff's expressions, quickly heading out with Candice.
How they would complete the task, the production team didn't know, and the audience was curious too.
At this point, the other guest groups had already made their decisions.
The Sawyer couple, while looking for tasks, ran into some fruit farmers picking fruit.
The couple negotiated with the farmers to help them pick fruit for money, or exchange their labor for some food!
Pearl and her brother had a similar approach to the Sawyers.
However, considering that the village was full of elderly people and traditional crafts, they decided to help the elderly with handicrafts.
The method was simple, and the atmosphere relaxed. Plus, Pearl and her brother were outgoing and humorous, which made the elderly very happy.
As for Phaedra, being a Best Actress award winner with many fans, many people recognized her and were very warm toward her.
Moreover, Phaedra's mother was a singing artist, and Phaedra had picked up singing too. Many villagers loved listening to songs, so the mother-daughter duo planned to perform and sing.
Viewers in the chat praised everyone's choices.
They thought everyone had great ideas.
When the camera finally turned to Vesper's group's live stream, Vesper was suggesting that Xavier perform with his specialty instruments and dance.
She would sing and coordinate with Xavier.
Vesper's thinking was simple: Xavier was very popular now, and interacting with him would help increase her visibility.
Plus, as a young and single idol, working with Xavier could gain her more fans.
Additionally, she wanted to outshine Uly's group!
Xavier's dancing ability was the best among all the guests.
Their chances of winning were high.
Later, Vesper would pay people to post more complimentary comments, which would further boost her profile.
She refused to lose to that bitch Candice!
A nobody trying to get into the entertainment industry.
As if Candice was worthy!
Vesper had lost to Candice in other areas before, but in this aspect, she would crush Candice!
Later, she would also build good relationships with the other guests, showing off her popularity and making Candice look bad in comparison!
Vesper had her plan all figured out.
Xavier admired her, so he was very cooperative with her arrangements.
Xavier's fans were pretty happy too.
Because they could see their idol dance!
Vesper's fans were also looking forward to it.
But this was only in their live stream—fans in other guests' streams didn't think highly of them at all.
Idol dancing mainly attracted young audiences.
The village was full of elderly people who might not be interested in Xavier's style.
[This Vesper seems a bit attention-seeking, doesn't she?]
[Better to do something practical, even helping elderly people sell goods by the roadside would work!]
[Yeah, the village is full of simple elderly folk. Their plan is bound to fail.]
[She's probably going to drag Xavier down to a loss.]
Vesper's fans didn't dare say anything seeing these comments.
Because among all the guests, Vesper's fan base was the weakest.
They had no chance against anyone.
Only a few die-hard fans dared to speak up.
But those few comments were quickly drowned out by other fans' remarks.
When Candice and Ulysses were looking for tasks, they found a moment when Candice asked Ulysses, "Why is Vesper here too?"
Hearing her question, Ulysses sounded apologetic and said quietly, "I only found out today when I arrived. My fault! I asked the regular guests before, and they didn't mention anything about guest family members in the contract."
"If I'd known in advance, I never would have let that disgusting woman on this show!"
Ulysses still clearly remembered how the Elikin family and Vesper had bullied Candice before.
He felt the same disgust and revulsion toward them as Candice did.
Candice looked at Ulysses's downcast expression and believed he truly didn't know.
Besides, the show had probably already started live streaming at that point, so Ulysses couldn't have made a scene or refused to record on camera.
Otherwise, who knew how he'd be criticized online!
After thinking it over, Candice quickly let it go.
She comforted Ulysses, saying, "It's okay, not your fault. She's just an irrelevant person. During the day's filming, we won't be in the same place as her. Out of sight, out of mind. Don't take it to heart!"
Hearing her comfort, Ulysses couldn't help but gently pat her head. "You're being wronged this time, but don't worry, with me here, I'll definitely protect you!"
"Okay."
Their intimate gesture and this exchange were all captured by the camera.
The internet went wild again.
[What kind of super-doting declaration is this!]
[Is she really just Uly's sister? I'm so jealous! Uly has never patted my head like that!]
[This is so enviable!]
The bullet-screen fans were shouting lively, but the director team of the program was silent.
Finnian felt the temperature around him drop several degrees.
In the footage, Candice and Uly first huddled together, whispering.
The camera crew probably felt it was a shame they couldn't hear what they were saying, so they moved closer.
As a result, they caught Uly's last sentence perfectly.
What girl wouldn't be charmed by those words?
Finnian could already feel Brandon's jealousy completely overflowing.
Moreover, Brandon had an impulse to immediately get up and rush out to grab Candice back!
This made Finnian extremely nervous. He quickly gripped Brandon's arm tightly and tried to calm him down, saying, "Brandon, stay calm, stay calm!"