Chapter 35: “Xiao Lang, You Are Now My God!” The 1997 Duo~

Deng Chao dramatically slid onto his knees and shouted, “Xiao Lang, you are now my god!”

Then, turning to the director, he declared, “Director, did you hear that? If we don’t change locations now, Xiao Lang will leave a bad review on Douban!”

Shen Lang played along perfectly. He pulled out his phone, opened Douban, and searched for Keep Running!. With a serious expression, he said:

“Director, I just checked—this season’s rating is below passing. Compared to the first season, it dropped two whole points. That’s tragic!”

“If I leave a bad review, do you think it’ll hit rock bottom?”

“Xiao Lang, you’re my god too!”

Chen He also dropped to his knees dramatically and yelled, “I hereby declare that the White Team is today’s champion!”

Li Chen, Zheng Kai, and the others joined in, shouting, “Xiao Lang, your team is winning today!”

Deng Chao burst into laughter. “See? This is the voice of the people!”

“Director, if you don’t change locations now, I’m leaving a bad review too.”

Shen Lang pocketed his phone and said solemnly, “Not just me—I’ll get my fans to flood the reviews too. But if we switch locations now… well, good reviews aren’t out of the question.”

“Count me in!” Deng Chao added.

Their White Team teammates, Angelababy and Lu Han, chimed in, “Us too!”

“Fine, we’ll switch!”

The director was speechless, but he knew this would make great content.

“Hahaha! Who else?!”

Deng Chao raised his arms triumphantly, hugged Shen Lang, and roared, “Today, our ‘Chao-Lang Duo’ is unstoppable!”

“The White Team is taking the championship!”

“Damn right we are!” Shen Lang nodded. “If we don’t win, Douban gets bombed!”

“Xiao Lang, no need for that… Let’s keep it fair.”

“Fine. The White Team believes in fairness—and we’ll show you what real fairness looks like!”

“Xiao Lang, you’re my god!”

Chen He immediately rushed over. “Director, can I switch teams? I want to join the White Team!”

“Me too! I’m defecting!”

After more playful banter, they finally moved to the next location.

Once this segment wrapped up, Deng Chao grinned and asked, “Xiao Lang, your variety show instincts are god-tier.”

Then, curious, he added, “How did you dare threaten the director like that?”

Chen He nodded. “Yeah, you’re the first guest to successfully bully the director on Keep Running!. We’ve tried before—always failed. Now we’ve got a new strategy, hahaha—”

“Just a spur-of-the-moment idea,” Shen Lang said with a laugh.

“After getting the invite, I researched the show and binge-watched all the past episodes. I’m a die-hard fan, and I noticed—”

“Stop right there! Don’t say the next line!”

Deng Chao cut him off, not wanting to hear “I grew up watching this show”.

After some more casual chatting, they moved to the next location, with each team riding in their own vehicle.

In the car, Deng Chao sighed. “Xiao Lang, seriously, you’re just like Shen Teng—born for variety shows.”

“Now it’s your post-90s generation’s turn to shake things up…”

He turned to Lu Han. “Xiao Lu, you’re a 90s kid too. Why are you so timid?”

Lu Han deadpanned, “I was born in 1990. Xiao Lang’s a ’97 liner—that’s Gen Z. We’re not even the same era.”

Deng Chao gasped. “Seven years apart counts as different eras now?”

“Then what about me? I’m a 70s kid—does that make me ancient history?”

Angelababy teased, “Chao-ge, that means you could be Xiao Lu’s dad… or even Xiao Lang’s—”

“Oh, hell no!”

Deng Chao refused to accept it. “I’m a 90s kid too! Born in 1997, same as Xiao Lang—Hong Kong’s handover day, baby!”

Shen Lang played along. “Exactly. Chao-ge and I share the same birth year, month, and day. He just… aged faster.”

“Not faster—lightyears faster,” Lu Han stabbed.

“Xiao Lu, are we still the ‘Father-Son Duo’?”

“Chao-ge, if you’re ’97, you’re younger than me.”

“Oh right! This episode, I’m a ’97 kid—same as Xiao Lang. Hahaha—”

Once they settled on their “new ages,” they arrived at the next game site.

Deng Chao burst into manic laughter. “Attention, everyone! Big announcement!”

“From now on, call me Xiao Chao. Why?”

“Because I was born on July 1, 1997—same year, month, and day as Xiao Lang! So, uncles and aunties… be nice to me.”

Chen He’s eyes nearly popped out. “Chao-ge, what the hell are you saying?”

“Uncle Chen, it’s Xiao Chao now,” Deng Chao said gravely.

“Chao-ge, get lost!”

Chen He kicked at him, but Deng Chao dodged and stood beside Shen Lang, declaring, “Director, don’t call me Chao-ge today—call me Xiao Chao!”

“Today, Xiao Lang—no, Shen Lang and I are the ‘Chao-Lang Duo’! Also known as… the 1997 Duo!”

Shen Lang clasped his hands. “Chao-ge, my long-lost twin brother—different parents, same soul! I’ve finally found you!”

“Lang-di, my twin brother—I’ve searched for you for so long!”

“Someone drag them out and execute them!”

Chen He clutched his head, sliding to his knees. “Xiao Lu, Baby, what the hell happened in that car? How did Chao-ge lose his mind?”

Angelababy giggled. “Actually, I kinda want to join the post-90s team too…”

Lu Han declared, “The White Team is now officially all post-90s!”

“Damn right! We’re the post-90s squad!”

Shen Lang pointed at Chen He’s Red Team. “They’re the post-80s squad!”

“And Brother Chen’s Blue Team? Post-70s!”

Deng Chao roared with laughter. “Xiao Lang, you read my mind!”

“This is the real reason for today’s team divisions, hahaha—”

The other two teams were not happy. Protests erupted, and soon, chaos followed.