Ye Xiu and his three bodyguards emerged from their tent. The three had taken turns carrying Zong Rui the day before, and from constantly falling, they were now covered in bruises. But being bodyguards with excellent physical conditioning, they showed no signs of muscle soreness.

"You! Ye Lin’er’s bodyguard! Stop right there!"

Ye Xiu had just been about to ask someone why everyone was up so early when he heard the angry shout. He immediately looked toward the voice and saw Li Ran, her agent Wang Xuan, and her assistant Li Meng storming toward him, their faces masks of fury. Seeing the awkward way they walked, Ye Xiu was amused.

"What’s the matter?" Ye Xiu asked.

Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Wu, and Ye Lin’er, who had just come out of her tent, all turned to look at Li Ran’s group. They couldn’t figure out what kind of stunt Li Ran and her entourage were trying to pull so early in the morning.

"Quite the cool customer, aren’t you? Acting as if nothing happened." Li Ran strode over and grabbed Ye Xiu by the collar. The quick movement aggravated her sore muscles and bruises, making her gasp for breath as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She feigned anger and demanded, "Tell me, did you steal my watch?"

Hearing Li Ran’s accusation, the nearby crew members instantly understood the situation. It seemed her watch was missing, and she was accusing Ye Xiu of stealing it. They all crowded around to watch the drama unfold.

Ye Lin’er and Chen Yang exchanged a knowing glance. They were certain that Li Ran was framing Ye Xiu.

Tajiguli, Zong Rui, Su Mu, and Shi Hexuan all clicked their tongues. Li Ran is quick and ruthless with her moves!

"Li Ran, what’s going on?" the Director asked as he walked over.

"My watch is missing, and I suspect he stole it," Li Ran said.

"Is that so?" The Director immediately understood the situation and was secretly delighted. I hadn’t even figured out a way to get rid of Ye Lin’er and Ye Xiu, and Li Ran has already made her move. Brilliant!

He immediately played along, interrogating Ye Xiu. "I knew you were a shifty character the moment I saw you yesterday. Tell me, did you steal Li Ran’s watch?"

"He definitely stole it," Li Ran said with conviction. "Everyone on this crew has a known background. He’s the only one from the mountains. It has to be him; no one else would steal my watch."

Ye Lin’er grew anxious and stomped over to protest, "This is slander! There’s no way he stole the watch."

Li Ran snorted coldly. "You just met him yesterday. How can you be so sure he didn’t steal my watch?"

Ye Lin’er was speechless. She couldn’t very well reveal Ye Xiu’s true identity, so she could only argue weakly, "In any case, I believe he didn’t steal it."

Tajiguli said with a sneer, "Ye Lin’er, do you have any proof that your bodyguard didn’t steal Li Ran’s watch?"

Zong Rui added maliciously, "People from the mountains are dirt-poor. How could someone like that see an expensive watch and not be tempted? I’m sure he stole it."

"You... you all..." Ye Lin’er’s pretty face turned pale with anger, but she was powerless to argue back.

Just then, the Director spoke righteously, "Ye Lin’er, yesterday you stated publicly that if your bodyguard caused any trouble for the crew, you would take full responsibility. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?"

"I said that!" Ye Lin’er nodded.

"Good. Now that your bodyguard has stolen Li Ran’s watch, I am officially expelling him from the crew. Furthermore, I don’t believe you are suitable for filming ’Lost in the Mountains’ any longer. You can leave with him," the Director declared impassively.

Li Ran’s and Tajiguli’s eyes lit up. They had finally managed to oust their powerful rival, Ye Lin’er. With the stain of theft on her record, Ye Lin’er could forget about ever making it in the entertainment industry.

Zong Rui chuckled. This is my moment to shine. If I defend Ye Lin’er now, she’ll be incredibly grateful. She might even throw herself into my arms tonight.

Before he could speak, Li Ran said, "Are we just letting them go? That was a Franck Muller Double Mystery series 42DM4SAIBAGCD watch, worth 1.2 million! For a theft this valuable, we have to call the authorities."

Her agent Wang Xuan added, "Based on my understanding of the law, the theft of an item valued at 1.2 million would lead to at least ten years in prison."

Li Meng chimed in, "Call the authorities! We have to!"

The Director mulled over their words. The reality show hasn’t even started filming, and we already have a major controversy. This is basically free advertising!

He made his decision on the spot. "Alright, call them in. Hand this thief over to the Patrol Officers."

Ye Lin’er panicked. My brother is the Medicine King Xuanse! If this is reported to the authorities, the news that he’s a thief will destroy his reputation! She was about to defend Ye Xiu again when he chuckled.

"You’ve been chattering away this whole time based on pure suspicion. Where’s your proof? As the saying goes, ’catch a thief with the goods.’ You need to produce evidence that I actually stole something."

Li Ran, Wang Xuan, and Li Meng nearly burst out laughing. What an idiot! We were just wondering how to bring up the subject of evidence, and this fool served it up on a platter.

Li Meng said, "You must have stolen the watch last night while I was asleep and haven’t had time to hide it yet. I bet the watch is either on you or in your tent!"

The Director waved his hand grandly. "Field crew, go search his tent." He then walked up to Ye Xiu and said, "I’ll search him myself."

He proceeded to pat Ye Xiu down. After a thorough search yielded nothing, he declared, "It seems you’ve hidden the loot in your tent!"

Just as he finished speaking, a crew member emerged from the tent. "There’s no watch in here."

What? The Director suddenly felt as if he had been slapped across the face. Tajiguli, Zong Rui, Su Mu, and Shi Hexuan all frowned. Since Li Ran was going to frame Ye Lin’er’s bodyguard, she wouldn’t just use words, would she? That’s too stupid. She’d have to at least plant the stolen goods as evidence!

"Impossible, this is impossible..." Li Meng blurted out. I put the watch under his bedding myself! How can it not be there?

"The crew member was too careless! Li Meng, you go in and look," Li Ran urged.

"Alright!" Li Meng immediately ran into the tent, beelining for Ye Xiu’s bed. After rummaging through everything, she stood there, baffled. "How is this possible? How can it not be here?"

Li Ran and Wang Xuan rushed into the tent.

"It can’t be missing!" Li Ran grew frantic. If we can’t find the stolen goods, I’ll be exposed for framing Ye Xiu and Ye Lin’er! Not only will I lose face completely, but I’ll also be out a 1.2 million watch. What a disastrous loss!

"Should I get you an Iron Spatula? You could try digging three feet deep," Ye Xiu asked with a smile.

"Right, right! He must have buried it! Quick, find an Iron Spatula!" Li Ran shrieked, on the verge of losing her mind.

"Oh, oh!" Li Meng scrambled to fetch an Iron Spatula and started frantically digging up the floor of Ye Xiu’s tent until she was exhausted, panting, and drenched in sweat...