Mu Li and Didi were meeting for the first time; they weren't familiar with each other. It was He Lin who had introduced them, and that's how they got to know each other.
For a variety show personality like Didi, the show's effect is very important.
Considering it was Mu Li's first time on an indoor variety show, Didi even specifically told Mu Li to be bolder and try to create some effects with him.
Didi would also give similar advice to other new guests, but most new guests found it hard enough just to get through the entire recording without making mistakes, so Didi's expectations for newcomers were very low.
He didn't expect them to create any particularly good effects, only that they would be stable and not ruin their public image.
However, what Didi didn't expect was that Mu Li would play so wildly from the start.
This was also because he didn't know Mu Li very well; if Chichi had been there, Chichi would never have dared to say such things to Mu Li, after all, he had been tricked more than once or twice.
That one-million-per-use Draco Meteor was still vivid in Chichi's mind.
Moreover, the most important thing was that Mu Li not only played freely but also concealed it exceptionally well; after recording that entire evening, there wasn't the slightest flaw, and even the director team didn't discover how Mu Li had manipulated things.
After the winning team was decided, the losing team also chose one person for punishment.
Undoubtedly, what everyone wanted to see most was Ding Ding being punished, and the production team also understood the fans' wishes very well.
As for how Mu Li managed to make the three Psyduck so obedient, He Lin didn't ask about it on the show, nor did anyone else.
It wasn't until after the show, when everyone went out for dinner, that the victim, Didi, brought it up.
"Actually, it's not difficult at all; I just had Gardevoir stand by invisibly and direct them," Mu Li revealed.
"I believed your evil!" Didi said exasperatedly, "A Gardevoir that can turn invisible and use telepathy, and that's 'not difficult at all'?"
However, after this recording, Mu Li and Didi's relationship became quite familiar.
When Didi learned from He Lin that Mu Li was a regular on 《Good Life》 (Wonderful Life), he also said happily, "I'm going to participate this time too, so remember to take care of me then."
The mention of 《Good Life》 (Wonderful Life) reminded Mu Li of Tapu Fini, and he suddenly felt a bit sad: Speaking of which, Tapu Fini hasn't even caught a fish for me to eat yet.
Mu Li recalled that the reason he wanted to bring Tapu Fini out initially was, firstly, to help Tapu Fini escape its original predicament, and secondly, to have a Water-type Pokémon that could help him catch fish.
As a result, the only Pokémon that actually caught fish was Togekiss.
"Brother Di! When you go this time, I'll take you fishing!" Mu Li suddenly exclaimed.
Didi's mouth twitched, and he retorted, "Fishing is fishing, why are you suddenly so excited?"
He Lin laughed from the side, "The King of Air Force saying he'll take someone else fishing, don't make me laugh myself to death."
Mu Li retorted exasperatedly, "Teacher He, don't mention people's shortcomings."
Didi asked curiously, "A Li, have you really never caught a single fish?"
He Lin thought for a moment and said, "Strictly speaking, yes. Every time he gets fish, it's either his Pokémon catching them for him, or he trades with other Pokémon."
Mu Li wanted to retort, but when he remembered that he and Wang Yijia had fished all morning without catching a single one, he immediately lost his spirit.
However, speaking of the show, Mu Li remembered the lost Gible from before, so he asked He Lin about its whereabouts.
"My sister is temporarily taking care of it; she seems to really like that Gible," He Lin said with a smile.
"What's so special about that silly Gible?" Mu Li complained, "It can't even catch a fish."
"Isn't someone else the same?" He Lin retorted sarcastically.
"Oh, right, Teacher He, my Golden Magikarp evolved last time!" Mu Li suddenly said with a laugh, "If Gible saw Gyarados, how wonderful that scene would be!"
He Lin's eyes lit up, and he said in surprise, "That little Magikarp actually evolved? That's too fast, isn't it?"
"Because of some accidents, the evolution went quite well," Mu Li said with a smile, "I feel like I can let him catch fish this time."
He Lin said exasperatedly, "Eating fish, huh? And catching fish? Look at Gyarados, how does it look like it can catch fish?"
"That's true," Mu Li said, a little troubled, "Sigh, is there really no Pokémon around me that can catch fish?"
He couldn't possibly let Lugia catch fish, could he? That would be too undignified.
Regarding fishing, Mu Li said that he could fail to catch fish, but he couldn't keep failing to catch fish.
Perhaps this was the obsession of a fishing enthusiast.
During his two days in Star City, Mu Li also met with Xu Ming.
Xu Ming had just finished recording the third and fourth episodes of "I Live Alone" a few days ago.
It was unclear if the production team had discussed it with Ai Jing, but Xu Ming hadn't seen Ai Jing's father, Deng Hongye—the person who seemed to look down on Mu Li—during these two recordings.
After Deng Hongye stopped participating in the recordings, the entire atmosphere of the recording improved significantly.
This time, the production team invited a friend from Jin Zhong, who was also a former guest on "I Live Alone"—Xu Mingfeng, an experienced action actor from the Greater Bay Area.
The content they watched this time was the recording from the day Mu Li met Chichi, as well as the following day when he met Fu Peiyao and Mu Qingqing.
Xu Ming felt a sense of vindication; when Deng Hongye participated in the recordings before, he often boasted about his daughter's acting career, saying things like 'singing is not as good as acting,' especially when Ai Jing invited some actor friends to their home for dinner, his tone became even more sarcastic.
It was a pity that Mu Li had risen up this time, but Deng Hongye was no longer there.
Mu Li, on the other hand, felt a bit strange about this; he always felt that the show was just using its name to piggyback on other celebrities' popularity.
For Mu Li, he didn't have many friends in Magic City, and his friends were all successful individuals, so it was difficult for him to find ordinary friends.
However, perhaps in others' eyes, he was also such a person.
Fortunately, Jin Zhong and Mu Si were still good; the friends they invited were all their classmates or family members, taking a warm approach, which was quite comfortable.
When Mu Li heard this, he also thought, "Should I go and record an episode with my parents next time? It's been a long time since I've seen them."
After thinking about it, Mu Li decided to put this plan aside for the last shoot. As for the other shoot, he decided to go to the film city to find his good buddy, Wu Yao.
Xu Ming and Li Yu were also available, but considering that Wu Yao had just debuted and needed some traffic, he made this decision.
The two ate and drank, chatting late into the night. If it weren't for Xu Ming having work the next day, they probably would have talked until they fell asleep, just like in their school days.
When Mu Li woke up the next day, Xu Ming had already left home and gone straight to work.
Xu Ming's parents had bought his house for him. It was over a hundred square meters, not huge, but to provide him with accommodation right after he graduated showed that his parents had put some thought into it.
Mu Li knew before that his three roommates all came from wealthy families, especially the fourth one.
Li Yu, the eldest, was in the Imperial Capital, and his family was involved in politics; although they didn't have much money, they had extensive connections.
Xu Ming's family, the third one, had some savings, but compared to the other three, they were relatively less well-off.
In fact, when Mu Li was setting up his studio, he had thought about bringing Xu Ming in.
Xu Ming was a very meticulous person, serious about both studying and working.
If he joined the studio, he could perfectly cooperate with Liu Yun.
Last night, while drinking, Mu Li hinted at this matter.
Xu Ming agreed without hesitation; he, of course, knew that Mu Li was trying to help him.
From his internship before graduation until now, nearly a year and a half had passed, and Xu Ming also knew the situation within the TV station.
To put it bluntly, with his bachelor's degree and no strong connections, it was basically impossible for him to get promoted within the TV station.
He had already seen the best-case scenario: most would end up like his current senior, a small section chief in charge of a certain project until retirement.
If lucky, they might climb a bit higher, but the ultimate upward mobility was extremely limited.
Moreover, with his current qualifications, he would have to do outdoor shoots for one or two years before being eligible to work in the studio, and the hardship involved was considerable.
Don't look at him now, he's still somewhat appreciated by his superiors, and even gained some recognition recording shows on Mango TV, but this was all earned by being on call 24 hours a day.
Working tirelessly every day with no upward mobility, Xu Ming could only say that such a job was "not worth it."
So, when Mu Li made this request, Xu Ming agreed without hesitation.
Being able to work with his own brother, and being one of the bosses himself, seemed more promising than his current job in every way.
Xu Ming wasn't foolish; he wouldn't abandon his future over a silly issue like 'brothers shouldn't mix business with pleasure.'
Coincidentally, during Mu Li's two days in Star City, he also handled his handover with Mango TV, though the handover period would take about another month.
Xu Ming's parents were also very open-minded and fully supported Xu Ming's career.
Although they had paid a lot for their son's work, they were also far-sighted people; otherwise, they wouldn't have let their child choose a profession like a host.
It's not that the profession of a host itself is bad; it's just that without connections within the family and without academic qualifications to support them, most hosts find it very difficult to make a name for themselves in a TV station.
Xu Ming's addition filled the last missing piece in the studio, and with the three of them also signing Li Yu's management contract outside of his hosting work, the Four Heavenly Kings were reunited, and Storm World Studio was officially established—named after a certain sea god who preferred to remain anonymous.
Mu Li and He Lin once again arrived at Mushroom House for filming, accompanied by this episode's guest, Didi.
"Wow, I didn't expect Brother Di to have so many loyal fans," Mu Li said with some emotion as he walked alongside Didi and He Lin.
The three of them, wearing masks, were recognized directly on the street.
Of course, Mu Li was still a nobody at the moment; the passersby recognized He Lin and Didi.
"Now you know how many fans I have, right? Be careful from now on," Didi said smugly.
"Oh, please, your fans probably just want to see you make a fool of yourself," He Lin retorted appropriately.
"Brother Di, how many days will you be staying this time?" Mu Li asked.
Before Didi could answer, He Lin spoke first, "He should be staying for three or four episodes; he's here to help this time."
"Are we short-handed?" Mu Li asked, a little confused.
He Lin nodded, "Besides Didi this time, Chichi will also come tomorrow to help entertain the National Team guests."
Mu Li was startled, "Didn't the National Team come last time? Which sport are they from this time?"
He Lin smiled, "It's still the Pokémon Battle project. After all, it's the most popular competitive sport right now. They said they're making up for the loss of only recording for half a day last time. Six people are coming this time, even Director Ling Fei and Director Zhu Yuping are coming too."
Mu Li couldn't help but cover his face and sigh, "Teacher Huang is probably going to have a terrible time this time; he'll have to prepare meals for over a dozen people."
"And it's for two days. They're coming for two days this time, so besides them, there won't be any other guests," He Lin said, laughing gleefully, "But since they're National Team Champions, we need to prepare more fish and delicious food to entertain them."
"Entertain? Isn't it better to let them catch their own?" Mu Li sneered, "These people, it's clear they just want to mess with me, and they want me to catch fish for them? No way, they must catch their own. Isn't Director Zhu a Water-type Champion? Then let him go."
Hearing Mu Li's words, He Lin and Didi exchanged glances, both with some confusion in their eyes.
He Lin asked, "A Li, you know the two directors?"
"Familiar, couldn't be more familiar," Mu Li said, "Teacher He, don't worry, I'll handle them when the time comes."