Chapter 88: In His Previous Life, He Must Have Been Reincarnated from a Big Golden Retriever

Because the other guests all had scheduling conflicts and were scattered across different cities, everyone traveled separately this time and agreed to meet directly at the destination.

The production team really was broke. They had booked a red-eye flight that took off at midnight and landed around seven in the morning.

Bai Lu knew filming would begin the moment they touched down, so as soon as she boarded, she pulled a blanket over her head and fell fast asleep.

Shen Xinluo, Qiao Xianyi, Zu Xinen, Lin Ye, Di Jiaer, and Li Huan had all already arrived.

Huo Yanfang was not coming for this episode, so Li Huan, who had been squeezed out by him before, was brought back in.

“Little Deer, I missed you so much!” Lin Ye paid no mind to the fact that the cameras were already rolling. The instant he saw her, he pounced, wrapped her in a hug, and began nuzzling against her.

Bai Lu felt that in her previous life, Lin Ye must have been a big golden retriever.

“I want a hug too!” Qiao Xianyi howled and flung herself over as well.

Bai Lu thought, Is this the burden of being too lovable? I’m exhausted.

Zu Xinen dragged Lin Ye and Qiao Xianyi off her. “Everyone’s here. Let’s go.”

“No, we haven’t gotten the money yet.” Bai Lu held out her hand. “Director, pay up.”

The director’s team said, “You came late, so you don’t know yet. We’ve got a special guest joining us this episode. Wait a little longer.”

Bai Lu gave a small nod, unzipped her backpack, and said, “Quick, before filming really starts, eat as much as you can. Stuff yourselves as full as possible so we can skip lunch and save money!”

“Pass me that one, the thing Best Actor Lu likes.” Qiao Xianyi never thought before speaking. “Bai Lu, you really are good at careful budgeting.”

Before she had even finished speaking, everyone, including the crew, wore rather strange expressions.

“…Bai Lu, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” Qiao Xianyi covered her mouth and apologized.

Bai Lu looked baffled. “?”

Zu Xinen and Di Jiaer exchanged a glance, then pulled her aside, away from the cameras.

Di Jiaer said, “Little Deer, you were on the plane, so you don’t know yet. A few hours ago, news broke online that you owed loan sharks. The uproar couldn’t be suppressed at all. Your company definitely spent money trying to pull the trending topic, but the moment one topic disappeared, another shot right back up.”

Bai Lu thought to herself, That’s because Gao Fanqin spent money too. Of course it couldn’t be taken down.

Zu Xinen quickly added, “Don’t worry. A company like Yuxing Entertainment is still Yuxing Entertainment. Their professionalism and response speed are beyond question. About half an hour ago, they already held a press conference and cleared up the matter of your debts.”

Di Jiaer pulled up the video of the press conference for her to watch.

At the conference, Shen Yanghong’s face was livid, full of fury.

He stated that every debt under Bai Lu’s name had been borrowed by Wu Liping under false pretenses, using Bai Lu’s identity.

That included not only illegal loan-shark debts, but also more than twenty million in legitimate loans from formal lending channels.

Taken altogether, the total exceeded sixty million.

In short, every bad thing had been done by Wu Liping alone and had absolutely nothing to do with Shen Yanghong or Shen Xinluo.

The same old trick all over again.

Bai Lu was not surprised in the least by this outcome.

She lowered her eyes. “I need to make a call.”

Di Jiaer and Zu Xinen nodded. They went back to stand with the others and watched her from a distance, worry plain in their eyes.

Before boarding, Bai Lu had turned her phone off. Only now did she switch it back on, and notification sounds exploded one after another.

Several thousand messages nearly froze her brand-new phone.

Yu Fuqing answered almost the instant she called. “Little Deer, did you land safely?”

“Brother Fuqing—” Bai Lu had barely opened her mouth when he cut her off.

He said, “Little Deer, don’t worry, all right? I told you I would help you solve this, and I absolutely will. Just focus on filming your variety show and don’t think about anything else.”

“Tell me the truth. Their condition... was it that you had to pay off all the loan-shark debt for them?” Bai Lu demanded in a low shout. “Yu Fuqing, don’t you dare lie to me!”

“Little Deer, Brother Fuqing originally didn’t want to tell you. I was afraid you’d worry if you knew. But you’re too clever. I really can’t hide anything from you.” Yu Fuqing had no intention of missing such a perfect chance to move her, so he confessed readily. “That’s right. Only then were they willing to admit it.”

Bai Lu asked directly, “Did you sell me to Best Actor Lu? He already told me you went to him to borrow money, and that he told you to hand me over to him—”

“Little Deer!” Yu Fuqing exploded and cut her off. “How could I possibly do such a thing? How could you think that of me?”

Bai Lu pressed on relentlessly. “Then where did you get the money? If you weren’t at the end of your rope, you never would have gone to him to borrow it.”

Afraid she would truly misunderstand, Yu Fuqing finally told her the truth. “Little Deer, the Yu family may not compare to the Lu family, and it may not compare to your fans. But the Yu family still has some foundation. I don’t have liquid cash on hand, but the family owns fifty years of usage rights to a highway. Brother Fuqing mortgaged it.”

Bai Lu could not stop the corners of her mouth from lifting. She nearly laughed out loud.

So old Master Yu’s trump card really had been stolen away by this wastrel grandson.

She slapped her cheeks hard before forcing out a trembling, tearful voice. “Ah... Brother Fuqing, how can this be? You’ve done this, and now I... sob... Brother Fuqing, you’re too good to me! How can Little Deer ever repay you?”

At her words, the gloom that had hung over Yu Fuqing for days vanished at once.

“Little Deer, if it’s for you, nothing is impossible. For your sake, Brother Fuqing is willing to give up everything. All right, don’t worry anymore. I’ve only mortgaged the usage rights temporarily. I’ll redeem them very soon.”

Bai Lu sneered inwardly.

Yu Fuqing, I won’t give you the chance to redeem them.

Not only those fifty years of highway rights, but also that treasure plot old Master Yu has been clutching to his chest—I’ll make you spit that out too.

Yu Fuqing offered hypocritical comfort on the surface, but in truth he was telling her how hard it had been for him to solve her crisis, how much money he had spent, and how much effort he had put in.

Bai Lu could not be bothered to keep acting along with him. After a few sniffles, she said, “The crew is calling me.”

Yu Fuqing said, “Then go on. We’ll talk about the rest after you come back.”

The moment Bai Lu walked over, everyone looked at her with concern.

She forced a smile. “No need to worry about Little Deer. It’s all been settled.”

Lin Ye was frantic enough to ask right in front of the camera, “What about the money? Is that settled too? Even if you didn’t borrow it yourself, it was still done in your name! Little Deer, that’s over sixty million!”

Following Wu Liping’s instructions, Shen Xinluo said nothing. She merely covered her mouth and wept silently.

Bai Lu nodded. “My agency helped me resolve it.”

Lin Ye still wanted to ask more, but Zu Xinen stopped him and reminded him in a low voice, “This is a live broadcast. Ask later in private!”

Di Jiaer smiled and said, “Little Deer, while you were making your call, our special guest arrived. We’ve all already said hello. You should go greet Sister Nana too.”

Only then did Bai Lu notice that beside Shen Xinluo stood another person.

Liu Nana, one of the Four Young Starlets, the woman who had pulled strings through sheer clout to stuff Shen Xinluo into this variety show.