“Thanks” was just an excuse; Mu Li embraced her because he felt like being a hooligan.
Fu Peiyao’s cheeks flushed red again, and her words became stuttered: “Mu Li, were you doing that on purpose?”
Just as Mu Li was about to answer, he heard a sharp Growl: “Boli!!!”
The two immediately looked over, only to see Jigglypuff’s eyes had turned into hearts, her two small hands clutching her little heart, looking as if she couldn’t breathe.
“What’s wrong with her?” Fu Peiyao asked, frowning in confusion.
Mu Li said irritably, “She probably has too much sugar and is about to pass out. Don’t mind her.”
Fu Peiyao turned her head and glanced at Mu Li. Mu Li felt her gaze suddenly turn cold, so he chuckled awkwardly, let go of her hand, and pretended nothing had happened.
“I knew it, you just wanted to take advantage of me,” Fu Peiyao snorted, “All that talk about thanks was just an excuse.”
Mu Li immediately flinched and quickly explained, “No, how could that be!”
“It is! It is!” Fu Peiyao insisted.
“It’s not! It’s not!” Mu Li would rather die than admit it.
Watching the two argue like elementary school students, Mu Li’s Pokémon instead felt relieved.
“This girl seems pretty good.”
Early the next morning, Mu Li, for the first time in a long time, woke up early and went out for a drive with Arcanine.
However, before he even left, he inexplicably found himself at Fu Peiyao’s doorstep.
Considering it was still early, Mu Li directly dialed Fu Peiyao’s number. After two rings, the call connected.
“Are you awake?” Mu Li asked.
“What do you think?” Fu Peiyao’s voice was clearly a bit irritable. “We talked until midnight last night, and it’s only 7 AM now!”
“Uh, it does seem a bit early!” Mu Li had no intention of apologizing. “Since you’re already up, come downstairs. I’ll take you for a dog walk!”
“Dog walk? What dog walk? We don’t have a dog at home.” Fu Peiyao’s mind was clearly still fuzzy. “You’re the real dog.”
Mu Li’s mouth twitched. How could she curse at him?
However, despite her complaints, Fu Peiyao still opened the door.
Clearly, Fu Peiyao didn’t have time to do her hair or makeup. At this moment, her hair was a bit messy, indicating she had simply thrown on a jacket to open the door. She was still wearing a T-shirt and loose pajama pants underneath, and her hair was still tucked inside her jacket, not yet tidied.
“What do you want?” Fu Peiyao asked irritably.
A mischievous smile appeared on Mu Li’s lips. The next moment, Fu Peiyao floated into the air out of nowhere.
Amidst Fu Peiyao’s screams, she was lifted by Gardevoir using Psychic and placed directly onto Arcanine’s back, landing right into Mu Li’s embrace.
Before Fu Peiyao could react, Arcanine had already set off at full speed, the scenery around them rapidly receding as if rewinding.
“Mu Li, are you trying to kill me?!” Fu Peiyao seemed to only now realize what had happened.
“The early bird catches the worm. I’m taking you to breathe some fresh air,” Mu Li said with a wicked smile. “Young people like you should go to bed early and wake up early!”
“Ah ah ah ah!” Fu Peiyao seemed exceptionally irritable at this moment.
Mu Li pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear, “You can sleep now too. Arcanine’s back is very stable.”
“Really?” Fu Peiyao’s voice became a bit happier. “Wow, how did you train your Arcanine? It’s no different from being on flat ground!”
“Of course, my dog is the most amazing Arcanine in the world,” Mu Li praised.
Arcanine also couldn’t help but let out a long howl.
However, Fu Peiyao immediately began to complain, “It’s all your fault! I didn’t even get dressed up before leaving, and I’m wearing pajamas! I’m a female celebrity, you know?”
“It’s okay. If there’s anyone, just hide in my arms. No one will recognize you,” Mu Li said with a laugh.
“Bah, who wants to hide in your arms?” Although Mu Li couldn’t see Fu Peiyao’s expression, judging from her voice, she was clearly a bit shy.
Before long, the two arrived at the familiar Fresh Meat Tangyuan shop.
“Why did you think of bringing me here?” Fu Peiyao asked while eating her Tangyuan.
“I’m going to Minzhou today to record ‘Wu Ha.’ I probably won’t see you for over a week,” Mu Li said. “That ‘Wu Ha’ program is a bit abnormal. This time they said we can’t use our phones for a week. I’m even worried they’ll sell us to Southeast Asia for our kidneys.”
Fu Peiyao suppressed the smile on her lips and nodded casually, “For the sake of the Fresh Meat Tangyuan, I’ll forgive your abruptness this morning.”
After meeting Fu Peiyao, Mu Li embarked on his journey to Minzhou.
As soon as he left the airport, Mu Li felt an ominous aura. Before he could react, a group of men in black swarmed him, surrounding him.
Mu Li looked helplessly at Director Wang, who was hidden behind the many men in black, and asked, “Director Wang, what kind of stunt are you pulling now?”
Director Wang had no intention of answering Mu Li’s question. He directed the men in black to swarm forward and cover Mu Li’s eyes with blindfolds.
Guided by the men in black, Mu Li felt himself leave the airport and then get into a car.
“Yo-hoo? Is anyone there?” Mu Li tried to call out.
The next moment, he felt a towel stuffed into his mouth, followed by a voice saying, “Boss, this guy talks too much. It’s better to use a stinky sock to gag him.”
Mu Li’s mouth twitched, and he quickly shut up.
After an unknown amount of time, Mu Li felt another person being brought in, and then he heard a familiar voice.
“Hello there! Is anyone here?” This was clearly Chichi’s voice.
Then, a series of muffled struggling sounds came, and Mu Li guessed that Chichi had suffered the same treatment as him, also being gagged.
However, not long after, Chichi’s smug laughter rang out again: “Didn’t expect it, did you? You think a mere towel can gag me…”
Before he could finish, another series of struggling sounds echoed.
Mu Li couldn’t help but sigh helplessly.
Why is it always the same person courting death?
If he wasn’t mistaken, the next one to court death would be Deng Fei.
Sure enough, as soon as Deng Fei arrived, he made the same commotion as Chichi, and was gagged amidst his bluster.
Once Fei Ge was in the car, the car drove off immediately.
About half an hour later, the car stopped. After getting out, Mu Li vaguely smelled the salty scent of the sea.
“Why are we at the seaside again?” Mu Li expressed his current dislike for seawater.
In the darkness, Mu Li felt himself board a boat.
Once the boat started moving, his blindfold was removed.
Mu Li’s gaze swept across Deng Fei, Chichi, Fan Yizhi, Wang Qin, Wang Yijia, and Peng Xiaochang on the boat, and he was immediately speechless.
“I think the production team is going too far,” Deng Fei began to complain as soon as the towel was removed from his mouth. “How can our show not let people talk?”
“Exactly!” Chichi echoed. “What kind of show are we even filming if we can’t talk?”
Mu Li retorted irritably, “It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you two talking so much and dragging me down, I wouldn’t have been gagged with a towel. It was really uncomfortable.”
Anyway, everyone was wearing blindfolds, so no one knew that Mu Li was the first person to get into the car.
“That’s right! Fei Ge and Chichi Ge talk way too much,” Peng Xiaochang also complained. “Even the editor complained about them during previous recordings, saying their microphones were like monks chanting, non-stop, and more importantly, everything they said was useless, not a single usable word.”
Chichi and Deng Fei immediately felt like they’d been shot.
“No, Peng Peng, it’s only been a few days, how did he become so sharp-tongued?” Deng Fei asked in confusion. “Did he learn bad habits from someone?”
Chichi said irritably, “Think about it, who else could have corrupted him?”
The two looked at Mu Li in unison.
Mu Li flicked his head, pointed at the Wingull in the sky, and shouted, “Wow, a Wingull! They’re really rare!”
Then he looked at the production team and asked, “Where did you take my Jigglypuff and Sylveon?”
The cameraman pointed to the ship’s cabin. Jigglypuff and Sylveon had somehow acquired beach chairs and were squeezing onto them inside the cabin, holding two bottles of cola, wearing sunglasses, and looking utterly blissful.
“Why do they get to enjoy themselves? Why are we tied up?” Deng Fei protested. “We can be very obedient too.”
Director Wang said irritably, “If you could just not talk, that would be a blessing. Obedient?”
“Director Wang, we disagree with that,” Chichi said. “You can use cola, or delicious food to gag us, but using a towel is a bit much, isn’t it? We’re not bandits.”
“You’re right,” Director Wang sneered. “Today is a kidnapping special. You are the prisoners we’ve kidnapped, and you’ll be confined to an island where you have to survive for a week.”
“???” Chichi widened his eyes and said, “Director Wang, this is too simple, isn’t it? We all have Pokémon! With the help of our Pokémon, do you think we can’t survive a week? You’re underestimating us too much.”
“Oh? Is that so?” Director Wang went along with it. “In that case, we won’t be distributing the supplies we originally prepared. You can find your own food on the island.”
Chichi shook a single index finger and said, “Haven’t you seen the latest variety shows?”
Chichi pointed mysteriously at Mu Li beside him and said, “You haven’t seen this guy’s variety show, have you? Let me briefly introduce him. This person has been blessed by the Prince of the Sea. He’s known as the Son of the Sea God, and his underwater skills are amazing. Catching fish and shrimp is simply too easy for him.”
Mu Li cooperated by showing a smug smile on his face, and Chichi added, “Although he was once the King of the Air Force, I believe he will definitely be able to solve our food problem.”
Mu Li’s mouth twitched, and he couldn’t help but tug at Chichi’s arm, saying, “You didn’t have to add that last part.”
Chichi waved his hand and said, “Don’t worry about the details.”
Chichi looked at Director Wang and sneered, “Scared now? It’s not too late to regret it. Treat us well with good food and supplies, and we can still put on a bit of a performance for the show.”
Director Wang, however, was unmoved. Instead, he pointed at Mu Li with a mocking expression and said, “You mean him? Ask him how long he’s had that blessing? Has it done him any good?”