Chapter 17 Either You or Me

After Dong Zhu patiently comforted Yan Baiwei who was throwing a tantrum on the side, he hurried to meet Shen Xingzhi. Shen Xingzhi said something, but Dong Zhu looked a little embarrassed, and a look of helplessness flashed across his eyes, and then his face was filled with flattery and ingratiation again.

Under the clear blue sky, the sun is hanging in the azure sky like a fireball. The fluffy and white clouds cannot withstand the scorching heat, and they quietly scatter and disappear without a trace.

Ren Limeng put away the smile on her lips, stared at the tall and graceful Shen Xingzhi, walked calmly to a place not far from Shen Xingzhi, lowered her head and took two bottles of mineral water from the cardboard box in the corner, her ears deliberately paying attention to the sounds around her.

"Teacher Shen, please have some pity on me. If Teacher Yan keeps up this fuss, our filming today will really be disrupted. We only have a little over three days for each stop, so we can't afford any more delays. Teacher Yan is a girl after all, so why don't you just give in to her symbolically and give her a way out? Just consider this as the production team wronging you!"

"Since it's her fault, why should I give in, Director Dong? Or should I also act like a big shot?"

Shen Xingzhi's cold voice did not yield, and his lazy tone even carried a hint of threat. The program team was somewhat unable to do anything to Yan Baiwei. The most fundamental reason was that Yan Baiwei was famous and had a backstage.

If the person causing trouble today was a small-time unknown celebrity with no background, the program crew would have drastic measures and would not allow the filming to be interrupted at all. Instead, they would directly record everything on the scene, which would be great editing material.

"Director Dong, how are the other groups progressing? Has anyone already chosen a stage, or are they also having problems?"

Ren Limeng handed a bottle of mineral water to Dong Zhu, who had just finished a long speech. She looked at Yan Baiwei who was surrounded by a crowd in another corner and asked softly.

The first season of "Shan Hai" was able to stand out from many variety shows, largely due to its innovative and exciting competition system and undercurrents of interpersonal relationships. This season of "Shan Hai" not only has an upgraded competition system and upgraded the status of the guests, and has been given more hope by the station, but also chose to integrate flexible and changeable travel variety shows, so the shooting challenges are naturally much greater.

Dong Zhu took the mineral water with a frown on her face. Although her mouth was dry, she had no intention of drinking a sip. She turned her head to glance at Ren Limeng who was joining in the fun. She didn't have the leisure to answer these irrelevant questions. She was about to continue to persuade Shen Xingzhi, but suddenly, she stared at Ren Limeng again, her eyes moved, and she briefly introduced the progress of the other three groups.

"You're the only group that still hasn't decided on a song. Teacher Shen, I know you're angry, but you're the team leader, so you should be magnanimous. Can you please not get angry with Teacher Yan? Li Meng, aren't you Teacher Shen's junior? Why don't you help me persuade Teacher Shen that filming can't wait. Let's all take a step back and get the real work done first!"

"Okay, Director Dong, I'll try to persuade the senior!"

Ren Limeng called out "Senior" with emphasis. Shen Xingzhi raised his cold eyes slightly and met Ren Limeng's face full of worry. In front of Dong Zhu, she completely put away her expression of watching the show, and her eyebrows were full of worries about the filming.

"Senior, please drink some water. It's so hot out here, and it's not easy for everyone!"

Ren Limeng calmly handed another bottle of mineral water to Shen Xingzhi. She looked around and saw more than 20 staff members on site. Some were trying to persuade Yan Baiwei, some were observing their movements, and a small number were frantically sorting out the equipment.

"After all, we've already signed the contract, and the team has already been formed. It's impossible to change teammates in this first stop. You'll only hurt yourself if you get angry now."

Ren Limeng approached Shen Xingzhi softly, with a hint of flattery in her smile, fully interpreting the four words "flexible and adaptable". Shen Xingzhi's deep eyes almost had a real shadow, and Ren Limeng could feel the air pressure around him getting lower and lower.

Although she didn't know why, since Chen Xingzhi didn't like her calling him "senior", she had to show her courtesy. Looking at his angry look, she felt much relieved.

Compared to her shameless behavior in college due to her love, her flexibility now is simply disgusting, and her main goal is to make life difficult for everyone.

She has matured a lot, but she also has a temper, so if Chen Xingzhi vents his anger on her, she will definitely vent it back!

"Ren Limeng?"

Shen Xingzhi turned away with a stern look, and his low voice was filled with obvious displeasure.

"Senior, didn't you say you wanted me to express my opinion?"

Ren Limeng blinked her innocent big eyes with a half-smile. Compared to the imposing Shen Xingzhi, she looked like an innocent passerby who was being angered. The staff around her couldn't help but look at her with sympathy.

When gods fight, the devils suffer.

"Are you expressing an opinion?"

Chen Xingzhi was almost amused by Ren Limeng's sophistry. He raised his eyelids slightly, and his face showed some emotions other than calmness.

But before he could expose her hypocrisy as he did to Yan Baiwei just now, Ren Limeng had already changed the subject and stopped while she was ahead.

"I actually think you shouldn't give Yan Baiwei a way out."

Ren Limeng was well aware of the principle of "giving a slap in the face and then giving a sweet date". She quietly took half a step towards Shen Xingzhi, deliberately lowering her voice, with only a look of concern in her eyes that was unclear whether it was true or not, which seemed more genuine than when she was facing Dong Zhu.

"But this stalemate isn't a good idea. Yan Baiwei's personality is well known. Since you chose her, didn't you prepare yourself mentally? I agree with your point. That ancient style song and the banggu are indeed not a good match. But Yan Baiwei is a female star after all. It's really disrespectful to refute her like that in front of the camera. But, senior, I didn't expect you to pay attention to Yan Baiwei's drama!"

Chen Xingzhi listened indifferently to Ren Limeng's soft analysis, and his deep cold eyes returned to calmness. Even though he knew that she was pretending to be humble to shorten the distance between them, compared to her sarcastic tone and her fake smile, every whisper from her at this moment, as if she were a close friend, sounded more pleasant to the ear.

"I chose her simply because she's young and strong."

Chen Xingzhi's words controlled Ren Limeng for three seconds. She tried to figure out Chen Xingzhi's logic. Comprehensive travel consumes physical strength, so his last teammate chose the youngest one among the remaining guests?

If this clip were broadcast, Yan Baiwei's fans would fight his fans for three hundred rounds.

"Don't you know her...character?"

Taking into consideration Dong Zhu and others who were not far away, Ren Limeng asked very tactfully, without showing any surprise or unexpectedness on her face, and still had a calm and caring smile on her face.

"Um."

Shen Xingzhi responded softly without further explanation. He had only begun to understand Yan Baiwei after forming the team these two days. After all, as the captain, he had secretly gotten to know each team member roughly for the purpose of performance allocation.

"...As expected of you, Senior."

She turned a deaf ear to the outside world and didn't care about other people, but she could become so popular in the entertainment industry with such an indifferent attitude. She felt that the entertainment industry was not as turbulent and scary as she had imagined.

Ren Limeng's smile froze for a moment. Even though she was complaining in her heart, the words she said were still very considerate. "This isn't a solution now. We can't cancel the performance this weekend, Senior..."

How about we split up into two groups?

Ren Limeng’s suggestion had just been laid out when Shen Xingzhi followed up on her words and continued, “You’re right, we shouldn’t delay everyone’s progress any longer!”

Shen Xingzhi's voice was very loud, in stark contrast to their whispers just now. It was as if Ren Limeng's words touched his heart, making Shen Xingzhi unable to help but respond loudly.

Before Shen Xingzhi finished speaking, the whole audience fell into extreme silence. Ren Limeng immediately became the focus of the whole audience. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly. She could feel Yan Baiwei's death gaze without turning her head. Ren Limeng's smile was really stiff this time.

This guy Shen Xingzhi definitely did this on purpose!!!

The corners of Shen Xingzhi's mouth raised a subtle arc, looking at Ren Limeng who was staring at him stiffly. The coldness in his eyes quietly faded away, and a smile appeared on his narrow and cold eyes, but he quickly returned to his deep eyes, leaving Ren Limeng with a frozen smile and pretending to be calm to be stared at by everyone.

"Ren Limeng, who are you? You think you're such a big shot! Who's to blame for sowing discord between me and Shen Xingzhi? You took advantage of An Ling's weakness and you're still not satisfied? What? Do you really take yourself seriously? You want to be my teammate, but are you worthy? I've put up with you for so long! I'm not filming anymore! This show has either her or me!"

Ren Limeng clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and told herself countless times to stay calm. She just used the word "senior" to disgust Shen Xingzhi, and Shen Xingzhi took revenge on the spot. She was now in a passive position.

"Bai Wei, calm down."

Ren Limeng spoke in a light tone. She glanced at her phone and pretended to be mysterious as she met Yan Baiwei's angry eyes. She did not dodge or evade, and her tone was steady and powerful.

"It's almost one in the afternoon. If we all keep delaying like this, how much usable footage will we have for the first leg? This stalemate is not good for anyone. I just tried to persuade Brother Xingzhi only for the sake of the entire team. If the performance becomes a mess because of the conflict between you two, even Brother Xingzhi will be powerless to change the public opinion. Bai Wei, this is the program team's rule. I'm not targeting you alone. If I have offended you, I am willing to apologize."

Ren Limeng's logic was clear and her speech was slow and steady. Her words were gentle and soothing, and she directly pointed out the issues that all the guests cared about. Even Yan Baiwei had to subconsciously think about Ren Limeng's analysis.

But the anger in her heart was not so easy to get over.

She couldn't do anything to Chen Xingzhi, nor could she do anything to the program crew, but Yan Baiwei didn't care about a host who didn't have many fans.

She sneered, her tone arrogant, "There's no need for you to make a hypocritical apology. I told you that this show is either you or me. Since you want to be in the spotlight, I'll let you have enough. Dong Zhu, or, you can let Ren Limeng withdraw..."

Shen Xingzhi suddenly spoke in a cold voice, interrupting Yan Baiwei's domineering attitude.