Chapter 99: Sister Jiang's Limited-Time Return!

Come on, you haters, hurry up and kneel down and apologize!

[I hope to see the kind-hearted citizen Sister Jiang every day from now on]

[I'm curious what Sister Jiang did. Did she catch another car thief?]

Sisters, please read the question carefully; it's a tricky case.

Some netizens discovered that the man who spoke with Sister Jiang at the entrance of the rehabilitation hospital was surnamed Ren, the young master of the Jingcheng Ren Group, and that the Ren family's old residence was located in Qiyun Mountain.

Gossip about high society has always been a topic of conversation for ordinary people. Ren Kai was not very famous in the Ren family. It was the second son's grandson who became a vegetable and was rumored to be in a rehabilitation hospital.

[Family members, do you remember Langham Hotel? The chairman of Langham Hotel is Mr. Ren's ex-sister-in-law.]

[I understand. So the chairman of Langham Hotel went to apologize to Sister Jiang.]

[Apologizing is fine, but what does it have to do with the thorny case announced by Ping An Qiyun Mountain?]

Don't ask, the answer is it's none of our business.

Ordinary netizens watched the spectacle, while those in high society saw the commotion. Some even went to Ren Kai to ask about his relationship with Jiang Mingyue, hoping to find out more.

Ren Kai dodged the question, shifting the blame to President Yan, saying, "Miss Jiang is President Yan's friend; we only had dinner together."

Yan Qian was a well-known figure, and when others heard this, they naturally understood that it was Ren Kai's excuse. They didn't dare to ask President Yan for details, so they became even more curious about Jiang Mingyue.

The online uproar did not affect Jiang Mingyue, who was far away in Huai County. She lived a fulfilling and happy life every day.

Three days later, Jiang Mingyue received a call from Wei Lai. He and Qi Sheng, along with staff from Shiliu TV, had successfully arrived in Huai County and were staying at the Huai County Hotel.

Wei Lai revealed that the name of the program on Shiliu TV is "Walking into Intangible Cultural Heritage". All the program staff are familiar faces, and all the staff from the second season of the variety show have returned.

This time, four celebrity guests from the entertainment industry were invited to Huai County to participate in and learn about intangible cultural heritage projects such as double-sided embroidery, Huai Opera, Huai County pastries, and Huai County dough and sugar sculpture.

The male guests are Wei Lai and Qi Sheng, while the female guests are rising star Guan Yue and popular actress Zhao Xin'er.

"Getting Closer to Intangible Cultural Heritage" consists of ten episodes. The first episode was set in Huai County and was broadcast live. The remaining ten episodes will be recorded and then edited before being released online.

The filming location in Huai County was set in a wetland park. The park has excellent scenery and offers a wide variety of entertainment options, including boating, kayaking, camping, rock climbing, and a specially built intangible cultural heritage experience base.

"We'll get up at 7 a.m. tomorrow to do our makeup and styling, meet up at 8 a.m., start filming at 9 a.m., and finish at 5 p.m. Then the three of us can have dinner together in the evening."

Jiang Mingyue smiled and agreed, "Okay, I'll wait for you at the entrance of the wetland park at five o'clock."

Huai County Hotel, eighth floor guest room.

Qi Sheng packed his luggage and came to find Wei Lai. They were in the next room; the production team knew they were close and had arranged it for them.

"Brother Wei, have you contacted Mingyue yet?"

Wei Lai had just hung up the clothes from her suitcase, deliberately leaving the door open so that Qi Sheng could come over.

"I just called and arranged with Mingyue that she will pick us up at the entrance of the wetland park at 5 pm tomorrow."

"That's great, I'll see the bright moon tomorrow, I'm so happy just thinking about it."

They planned to stay in Huai County for about ten days and meet with Jiang Mingyue for dinner every night, which would make up for Qi Sheng's regret of not being able to spend time with Jiang Mingyue during the filming of the second season of the variety show.

When the other members of the group learned that they had come to Huai County to record a program, they were all extremely envious and jealous, and even told them to ask the production team why they didn't invite more guests.

The production team did consider bringing back the guests from the second season of the variety show, but firstly, Qiu Zhenlong, Ji Wenxuan and others had scheduling conflicts, and secondly, intangible cultural heritage projects are not considered entertainment variety shows, so having too many guests could easily cause trouble.

The two female guests lived on the seventh floor. Guan Yue and Zhao Xin'er did not work in the same company, and they did not add each other on WeChat. They were just in the same group created by the production team.

Zhao Xiner is a big star, while Guan Yue only debuted last year. Guan Yue was too embarrassed to take the initiative to contact her, for fear of being attacked by Zhao Xiner's fans.

I heard that several of Zhao Xiner's wealthy female fans also came over, and they are also staying at the Huai County Hotel.

Guan Yue's agent made a special phone call to instruct her to cultivate good relationships with the three guests and the production team, hoping that she could leverage Jiang Mingyue's popularity to gain some attention.

"Brother Wang, what if Jiang Mingyue doesn't come to the wetland park?"

“Silly girl, Jiang Mingyue and Wei Laiqi Sheng are close friends. Last time, they secretly went to Huai County to check out the folk activities and even had a meal with Jiang Mingyue. This time they are going to film here for ten days, and they will definitely invite Jiang Mingyue to visit the set. Be smart and don’t let the netizens find out.”

Guan Yue was actually very resistant to it. She couldn't handle the social niceties of the entertainment industry, but she dared not disobey her agent.

"I understand, Brother Wang. I'll be careful."

Zhao Xin'er's manager, Sister Hu, came along with her.

Zhao Xin'er is a top artist at Huanyu Entertainment. She just finished filming a period drama last month, and her next project is scheduled for June this year, leaving her with a three-month gap in between.

She originally planned to go home and rest, because she had been overworked while filming and hadn't been able to sleep through the night for two or three months, and her body was giving her warnings.

However, her agent took her on the variety show "Walking into Intangible Cultural Heritage" to fill the gap in her schedule.

Zhao Xin'er was initially very resistant, but Sister Hu said that Huai County had beautiful scenery, the filming location was in a wetland park, and the filming task was not heavy, from eight in the morning to five in the evening, so it would not affect her rest at night.

Sister Hu also mentioned that the second season of the reality show is currently airing, and many female celebrities in the industry are eyeing this lucrative opportunity, making the competition fierce. She had to work very hard to secure the role.

Zhao Xin'er knew perfectly well that the company just wanted to take advantage of Jiang Mingyue's popularity and have her come over to ride on their coattails.

She was very dissatisfied, as she had 36 million followers on Weibo and four TV series on Taiqi Video that had each garnered over 10,000 views.

She just finished filming a patriotic TV series last month. When the series airs next year, she will likely have a chance to compete for the Best Actress award in Haicheng.

In terms of popularity and online traffic, she is in no way inferior to Jiang Mingyue.

Of course, Zhao Xiner is shrewd; no matter how dissatisfied she is, she won't show it on her face. She hasn't been in the entertainment industry for nothing after all these years of hard work.

Sister Hu received a group message: "The production team has arranged a dinner party tonight. Get ready, we'll be downstairs at six."

"Can I refuse?" Zhao Xin'er rushed to the next city by plane and then took the high-speed train. She was too tired to move.

Sister Hu shook her head, "If you don't go, you'll be acting like a big shot. You can leave early later. Don't worry, Director Xu is a trustworthy person with a great reputation in the industry. Besides, all the staff will be going tonight."

Zhao Xin'er sighed softly, "I understand."

The group had a meal together at the Huai County Hotel. The production team did not prepare any alcohol, only drinks and tea. Without any pleasantries, they simply celebrated the successful recording of the program and then invited everyone to eat.

Wei Lai and Qi Sheng were old acquaintances. They were chatting enthusiastically with the director team. Guan Yue was a woman of few words, listening quietly from the side. Zhao Xin'er patiently pretended to listen, occasionally putting on a smile.

Director Xu smiled and instructed Wei Lai and Qi Sheng, "After the show is finished, when you two have dinner with Teacher Jiang, please bring us along too."

Wei Laiqi readily agreed, but dared not say that he would have dinner with Jiang Mingyue the next day, lest the production team be envious.

Guan Yue looked around and saw that the entire production team had a very good impression of Jiang Mingyue. Their faces were full of cheerful smiles, unlike when they were facing her, when they were polite and reserved.

That's understandable. Jiang Mingyue spent fifteen days with them on the reality show and even helped the director team catch a car thief. She was very popular, and every episode of the show had a skyrocketing number of views.

Guan Yue envied Jiang Mingyue's luck and wished she could be just as lucky.

Zhao Xin'er disagreed, finding it somewhat tiresome to hear them mention Jiang Mingyue, as it was all old news and trivial matters.

After persisting for half an hour, Zhao Xin'er gave Sister Hu a look, and Sister Hu quickly made an excuse to say goodbye to Director Xu and took Zhao Xin'er away from the table first.

Director Xu didn't think much of it. The female guest had traveled a long way to Huai County, so she definitely needed to rest more and adjust her condition in time.

Guan Yue didn't dare leave and stayed until the end of the dinner. Anyway, no one smoked during the meal, and the atmosphere was good, so it was good for her to stay.

When Wei Lai and Qi Sheng returned to their room upstairs, Qi Sheng reminded them, "Brother Wei, Zhao Xin'er has a rather cold personality. During the filming these next few days, let's keep our distance from her, lest we get labeled by her fans."

Zhao Xin'er's coldness was different from Jiang Mingyue's at first. Zhao Xin'er's coldness was aloof, an arrogant coldness. Jiang Mingyue's coldness was detached; she remained calm and composed before getting to know people.

Wei Lai understood Qi Sheng's subtext: Zhao Xin'er's comment about being cold was actually a disguised way of saying she was being arrogant.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. We're just having normal work-related contact with her."

The next morning, the four guests of "Walking into Intangible Cultural Heritage" got up at seven o'clock sharp, had breakfast and started to do their makeup and hair. They met in the lobby on the first floor at eight o'clock sharp, and then took a bus arranged by the program team to the wetland park in the suburbs.

A line of fans gathered outside the Huai County Hotel. Wei Lai and Qi Sheng's fans were in the minority, but the majority were fans of Zhao Xin'er's drama.

"Brother Wei!"

"Brother Qi!"

"Sister Xin!"

"Yueyue!"

Fans of the four guests enthusiastically shouted for their idols at the hotel entrance, and Wei Lai and the other three waved and greeted them before boarding the bus.

Zhao Xiner's fansite admin was also among them, and quickly snapped several high-definition photos of Zhao Xiner. They uploaded them to Weibo with almost no editing, sharing them with her fans.

Thanks to Zhao Xiner's popularity, "Walking into Intangible Cultural Heritage" made it to the top of Weibo's trending topics list right after it was recorded today.

Netizens and passersby clicked in and found that it was produced by Shiliu TV, and was created by the original team of the second season of the variety show. The first episode was filmed in Huai County, and the male guests were Wei Lai and Qi Sheng.

I can't wait!

"The live stream starts at nine o'clock, right? Okay, I'll wait."

"Haha, it's Friday! I'm so happy, I can catch up on the fifth episode of the variety show and watch Brother Wei and Brother Qi's live broadcast."

"So I'm the only working-class ox here? None of you are working!"

"The housewife is not going to work, she sends the kids to school, and she's not even making lunch today. She's going to order takeout to watch the show."

"Working in my own company, with a private office, I can slack off anytime."

"Waaaah, is your company still hiring?"

Zhao Xin'er received a Weibo message from Sister Hu, who said that the topic was gaining traction and reminded her to smile more today.

Zhao Xin'er spent several minutes reading the comments from passersby. Most of them praised the production team, with only a few praising her beauty, and some even mentioning Jiang Mingyue.

She pursed her lips, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes. Jiang Mingyue, it's Jiang Mingyue again.

Huai County Wetland Park.

The park covers a considerable area and is open to the public free of charge. Visitors can either walk through it, rent electric sightseeing vehicles, or ride the miniature train.

Most of the production crew arrived at the filming location earlier to prepare for the 9 o'clock recording of the program, while the guests transferred to electric tour buses at the park entrance to enter.

To ensure the smooth recording of the program, fans were kept out of the filming location.

The weather was perfect today, sunny and calm, perfect for outdoor shooting.

The intangible cultural heritage base was decorated in an antique style, saving the production team the trouble of setting up additional sets.

Four rattan covers were placed on the long table, and four promotional posters were placed behind them, which were also temporarily covered by a curtain.

Around 8:30, all four guests arrived and received brochures related to Huai County's intangible cultural heritage projects.

Following the director's instructions, the four of them went forward to familiarize themselves with their positions.

The seating arrangement didn't discriminate based on status; Guan Yue and Zhao Xin'er stood in the middle, with Wei Lai and Qi Sheng on either side.

To match the theme of the show, all four guests wore Chinese-style clothing. The female guest wore a cotton-padded jacket with a front opening and knotted buttons, paired with a horse-face skirt, while the male guest wore a cotton-padded jacket with a front opening and pockets, paired with trousers of the same color.

Inside the base at the back, the executive director, Xiao Ma, hurriedly came out to find the chief director, Xu Daolai.

"Boss, Ms. Shao Quan, the master of double-sided embroidery, is feeling unwell and has gone to the hospital. Her apprentice will come over later to explain on her behalf."

Xu Dao remained calm in the face of danger, confident that he could handle any small situation. "Alright, just change the introduction and add a few words."

Today was just the opening recording, mainly for promotion and introduction. The groups will be formed this afternoon, and the guests will begin their formal learning tomorrow.

At 9:00 AM, the recording of the program "Exploring Intangible Cultural Heritage" officially began, and the official Weibo account also released the live stream link on time.

Because it was a weekday and the show wasn't a comedy or entertainment program, the number of online viewers wasn't high, only around 70,000 to 80,000 fans.

There was no invited host this time; the program's producers acted as the host, first asking the four guests to introduce themselves and greet the audience, and then introducing the program's theme.

After the speech, the director invited a staff member from Huai County's cultural and tourism department to the stage to give a brief introduction to Huai County's intangible cultural heritage history.

Ah, what a meaningful program!

[The young man from Huai County's cultural and tourism bureau is so young and handsome; I thought he was the bureau chief himself introducing the place.]

Huai County's cultural and tourism sector is playing its cards well. How will the old bureau chief attract tourists? Haha, of course, by selecting young, capable, and outstanding individuals.

[Brother Wei and Brother Qi look so handsome today]

The four guests look like a newlywed couple today; who prepared their outfits?

[Don't talk nonsense upstairs. The four guests dressed like that to match the theme of the show. The patterns on their shirts are double-sided embroidery.]

While the program was being recorded, the executive director, Xiao Ma, waited at the entrance of the wetland park, holding up his work badge to welcome the apprentice of double-sided embroidery master Shao Quan.

Jiang Mingyue parked her car in a nearby parking space. As soon as she walked to the park entrance, she saw Xiao Ma. Xiao Ma was still the same as before, neither fat nor thin.

She walked over.

Xiao Ma didn't recognize Jiang Mingyue at first. He only saw a young woman wearing a baseball cap and a mask. When he saw her walking towards him, he quickly introduced himself with a smile.

"Are you Ms. Jiang, a student of Teacher Shao Quan?"

On the phone, Xiao Ma misheard Jiang as Jiang, but Jiang Mingyue didn't correct him. Anyway, everything would be clear when they met later.

Jiang Mingyue raised her hat brim, pulled down her mask, and greeted him with a smile, "Director Ma, it's been a long time."

Xiao Ma stared wide-eyed at Jiang Mingyue in disbelief.

He looked at the sign in his hand, then at Jiang Mingyue. Oh my god, Master Shao Quan's disciple is actually Sister Jiang?!

Jiang Mingyue nodded under Xiao Ma's surprised and doubtful gaze, "My master is Shao Quan. She had some stomach upset this morning, so she sent me to fill in for her for a day."

Ahhhh, it really is Sister Jiang!

They're so lucky with Pomegranate TV! Their live stream ratings are going to be off the charts today!

Xiao Ma, unable to contain his excitement, reached out to Jiang Mingyue, "Sister Jiang, it's been a long time! Welcome, welcome, a warm welcome to Teacher Jiang! I'm Xiao Ma, the executive director of this program."

"Hello, Director Ma." Jiang Mingyue smiled and shook hands with him.

Afterwards, Xiao Ma led Jiang Mingyue onto the electric sightseeing vehicle and gestured for her to continue wearing her mask, so as to give Director Xu and the others a surprise.

Jiang Mingyue smiled slightly, "Brother Wei and Brother Qi don't know either."

Xiao Ma laughed heartily, "Fun, fun! I can't wait to see you all meet."

Five minutes later, Xiao Ma led Jiang Mingyue through the back door of the intangible cultural heritage base and found a makeup artist to do Jiang Mingyue's makeup. The makeup artist exclaimed in surprise when she saw Jiang Mingyue.

Before the word "sister" could even be uttered, Xiao Ma swiftly closed the dressing room door.

"Let's keep it low-key, we want to give everyone a surprise."

The makeup artist nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling, and put in her utmost effort to make Jiang Mingyue look beautiful!

"Alright, let's welcome our four teachers to the stage. Everyone, please give them a warm welcome."

The crowd applauded in welcome.

The next moment, to everyone's surprise and the viewers in the live broadcast room, the curtain behind the booth was lifted, and four large billboards blocked the faces and figures of the four teachers.

The director asked the four teachers to extend their hands, and then asked the four guests to guess the identities that matched them.

Wei Lai laughed and said, "Director, can't we be less formulaic and more sincere?"

Qi Sheng: "Brother Wei, don't worry. I've always had bad luck with riddles. With me at the bottom, you can fly boldly forward!"

Guan Yue was amused by Qi Sheng's words and was the first to notice that two of the four teachers were girls, and that girls' hands were easily distinguishable from boys' hands.

Zhao Xin'er raised her hand first, "Director, let me guess first."

As Zhao Xiner approached, the live stream camera zoomed in on the hands of the four teachers.

The viewers in the live stream widened their eyes and tried to figure it out together.

Zhao Xin'er looked around carefully, then returned to the starting point. "From left to right, they are the Huai Opera teacher, the double-sided embroidery teacher, the dough and sugar sculpture teacher, and the Huai County pastry teacher."

The director smiled and applauded Zhao Xiner, "Congratulations to Zhao Xiner for guessing correctly. You have won a prize prepared by the program team."

Qi Sheng interjected jokingly, "Brother Wei, you see, with a top student like you here, we don't even need to make an appearance."

[Sister Xin is the top student in her vocational college, a true academic superstar.]

[It's actually quite easy to guess: dough sculpting and sugar sculpting teachers have calluses on their hands, pastry chefs have oily hands, opera teachers must have meticulously maintained hands, and lastly, double-sided embroidery teachers probably have needle marks on their fingers from accidental pricks.]

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the four guests will choose their teachers.

The production team will definitely pull another stunt.

As expected, the large billboard remained, and the director directly asked the four guests to choose the teacher they wanted to learn from.

To be fair, the four guests played rock-paper-scissors to determine their order of appearance. Zhao Xin'er had good luck and went first, followed by Qi Sheng, Guan Yue, and Wei Lai last.

Zhao Xin'er chose Huai County pastries without hesitation, saying, "I can make them for my fans once I learn how."

Qi Sheng chose dough sculpting and sugar sculpting. "I've loved buying sugar paintings since I was little when I went to the market with my family. I really want to learn how to do this."

Guan Yue wasn't good at needlework, so she glanced at Wei Lai and said, "Brother Wei, I'm sorry, my scalp tingles whenever I hold a needle and thread. I'll choose Huaiqiang Opera."

What could Wei Lai say? He said, half-laughing and half-crying, "It's okay. Even if I don't do well, my fans won't blame me."

The director skillfully managed the situation, saying, "Alright, congratulations to all the guests for finding their preferred intangible cultural heritage teachers. Now, let's welcome our four teachers to the stage to greet everyone."

Everyone present, along with fans watching from various angles at the base entrance, clapped along.

The moment the four large billboards were moved, someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise.

Author's Note: [Cat head emoji][Cat head emoji] Is it pretty?