Chapter 192 Captain

The night was as dark as ink. The dim lights in the car poured down through the long black eyelashes of Ren Limeng and Shen Xingzhi. The drizzle outside the window knocked against the car window, making a rustling sound, which slowly spread to the quiet and undercurrent in the car, intertwined with the two people's imperceptible heartbeats.

As Ren Limeng spoke softly with a smile, the room suddenly became completely quiet.

In the narrow space inside the car, it seemed as if only the intersecting line of sight of Ren Limeng and Shen Xingzhi remained. With the thick air that was extremely quiet and sensitive, time stood still at this moment.

Chen Xingzhi suddenly chuckled, reached out and grabbed Ren Limeng's slender fingers that were moving lightly in his palm, and then moved forward directly until the soft warmth of Ren Limeng's palm gradually penetrated the skin of his palm. The similar handshake instantly shortened the distance between Chen Xingzhi and Ren Limeng again.

Shen Xingzhi's movements were gentle but firm. He gently rubbed the warmth in his palm and looked straight at Ren Limeng, "Junior sister Limeng, now... do you remember?"

The air in the car seemed to be completely sticky, the breaths intertwined and entangled, and a faint, clear and cold fragrance lingered at the tip of Ren Limeng's nose, seeming far and near with the rhythm of the alternating breathing.

"Senior, don't you feel it?"

The heartbeat accelerated the blood circulation throughout the body, but Ren Limeng just blinked a pair of smiling eyes. She gently touched the tip of Shen Xingzhi's nose and avoided answering Shen Xingzhi's question again.

As Ren Limeng spoke, she wanted to pull back her right hand and increase the distance between them again, but Shen Xingzhi's left hand never let go.

Chen Xingzhi looked intently at Ren Limeng, who was just a few feet away. Even though the ambiguous atmosphere was intertwined in every breath he took, he still couldn't see through the deep eyes beneath Ren Limeng's bright smile, just like he couldn't be sure of the warmth that Ren Limeng had gently drawn on his palm twice.

Was the stroke that Ren Limeng drew on his hand the "Z" character that he felt?

Or... is it meaningless, just a casual stroke made by fingertips across the palm?

Chen Xingzhi couldn't be sure. Even though they were so close at this moment, he still couldn't grasp Ren Limeng's ambiguous attitude.

There was no other way. From the day he confessed his love to her, he had been willing to give her everything, like a little kite swaying in the wind in the sky. He just wanted to be by her side, waiting for her to reach out and gently retract the kite string in her hand.

"Ren Limeng, what do you mean?"

Shen Xingzhi's throat rolled slightly, his low voice carried a hint of bewitching, his hot breath accompanied every word he couldn't help but say, and he quietly sank into the dim warm atmosphere in the car.

Ren Limeng smiled and whispered to Shen Xingzhi's ear, "Senior Xingzhi, I have been pursuing you for so long in college. It would be boring if you want an answer so soon."

After all, she has been pursuing Shen Xingzhi for more than three years, how could she agree to Shen Xingzhi so easily?

Although... at certain moments, looking at Shen Xingzhi's handsome face that completely met her aesthetic standards, and looking at his deep black eyes that seemed to only have her, Ren Limeng couldn't help but feel soft-hearted for a moment.

But she had given Chen Xingzhi a chance, because their team won first place in this performance.

She would never tell him that the winning requirement of her bet was for him to be her boyfriend.

With two weeks of recording left, Ren Limeng suddenly looks forward to the end of "Mountains and Seas". When work is no longer intertwined with life, perhaps her and Shen Xingzhi's future will become clearer.

Ren Limeng finally got away as she wished. She half leaned against the car wall behind her, raised her head, and looked at Shen Xingzhi with sparkling eyes.

Shen Xingzhi chuckled helplessly. He raised his eyelids slightly, his gaze fixed on the person in front of him. His deep eyes were like a deep pool, emitting a soft yet fiery light. Through the intoxicating sticky air, he just looked at Ren Limeng quietly until Ren Limeng felt her cheeks gradually warming up.

"Ahem...Brother Xingzhi, have you reached an agreement on the contract renewal?"

Ren Limeng glanced at the driver in the front row, thinking about the series of casual and natural actions of Shen Xingshang after he got in the car. She finally spoke slowly, asked about the doubts she had had in the past two days, and tried to break the subtle ambiguity in the car.

Business is important.

"No."

Sensing the subtle change in Ren Limeng's attitude, Chen Xingzhi lowered his eyes and finally sat back in his seat. "Xu Jiao was originally planning to record the third public performance with us tomorrow, but tonight, her current main supporter Yuan Gaoyang was photographed by paparazzi in intimate photos, so she just rushed back to the company to deal with it. Limeng, don't worry, I have a plan."

"You did it?"

Combining the context and looking at Shen Xingzhi with a smile on his face, Ren Limeng had reason to suspect that this was Shen Xingzhi's work.

"I just went with the flow. Xu Jiao has recently been trying to secure the second male lead for Yuan Gaoyang in an S-rated TV series on the Pitaya platform. Competition for the supporting male lead role is fierce for a returning celebrity, and Chen Xi and her team at Leyu also want to secure it for their own artist."

It's just that while the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits, and it's the unspoken rule of natural selection in the entertainment industry.

Ren Limeng suddenly remembered the team of Chen Xi and Shen Xingzhi in the second public performance. She also smiled and did not ask Xu Jiao about this matter again.

But looking at Shen Xingzhi with a calm face, and thinking of everything that happened inside and outside Yao Xin's office, Ren Limeng still felt that things would not go so smoothly. She couldn't help but remind him again, "Brother Xingzhi, be careful when cooperating with the Orange platform. I have been in Orange for more than four years, and many things here are really complicated."

The intrigues in the agricultural channel were not as numerous as those in the entertainment channel, but as a member of the Orange platform, Ren Limeng had witnessed many of her colleagues' tactics over the years and had heard of the unscrupulous actions of some so-called smart people in the entertainment department. Even though Shen Xingzhi looked quite shady now, Ren Limeng was still a little worried.

Before the dust settles, everything is possible. This is just an important workplace rule she learned when she first joined the Orange platform and countless special reports were snatched away by her colleagues. Ren Limeng believes that this also applies to Shen Xingzhi's current situation.

"The platforms have risen so rapidly in recent years. The capital behind the four major platforms is intricate and complex. Don't worry, I have a clear understanding of it."

Shen Xingzhi pulled the corner of his mouth slightly, and still stared at Ren Limeng quietly while sighing softly. He didn't seem to care much about Ren Limeng's reminder, but Ren Limeng could see that his attention was on her.

His gaze was silent yet seemed to weigh a thousand pounds and could not be ignored. Shen Xingzhi tilted his face slightly, and every inch of his eyes moving in the quiet night made people tremble with fear. Ren Limeng sat up straight, lowered her eyes slightly, and clasped her hands tightly in front of her abdomen.

......

on Monday

The third travel group recording of "Mountains and Seas" has arrived as scheduled.

In the recording hall, the sixteen guests were still divided into four groups according to the second public performance team and sat in a row of chairs in front of the host desk. Everyone's eyes fell on Wu Yue. After listening to him summarize the second public performance, thank all the advertising sponsors, and finally start the main recording.

"For the third performance, the competition system has been upgraded again! First of all, congratulations to Team Shen Xingzhi for winning first place in the last performance! Since Team Lost failed the entire team challenge and was directly eliminated, the first place prize for the entire team's safety was not used. Do you feel sorry for Brother Xingzhi and his team?"

Wu Yue spoke with a smile, not forgetting to interact with other guests. He looked at the guests opposite him who nodded in cooperation, withdrew his gaze with satisfaction, and continued to move forward.

"Of course the production team can't not give out rewards. The results of the second public performance have finally triggered another hidden rule that the production team carefully set up in advance. Before the official start of the third public performance, I, on behalf of the production team, will announce that Team Shen Xingzhi has won the first place award for the second public performance. Let us congratulate Team Shen Xingzhi, Chen Xi, Guan He, and Ren Limeng for becoming the four captains of the third public performance!"

Following Guan He's suddenly high-pitched voice, the training room fell silent. Everyone subconsciously clapped and congratulated, but they looked at each other with the same confusion in their eyes. As the winning team of the performance, how could the entire team be dismantled so easily?

From the first season of "Mountains and Seas" to now, this is the first time that the reward for winning a performance is to split up the team. Even in the first season of "Thirty-six Changes of Mountains and Seas", the team that won first place in the performance had more choices for the next performance, and most teammates of the winning team even tacitly chose to stick together.

Ren Limeng concealed the surprise in her eyes and looked at Wu Yue, who was on the stage with a happy face. She wondered whether this season's new competition system was designed in advance for the first season, or... a chain reaction after Xu Jiao's visit.

It's no wonder that Ren Limeng thought too much. She remembered that on Saturday in Yao Xin's office, before leaving, Yao Xin hinted to her meaningfully that San Gong would separate her and Shen Xingzhi, and Dong Zhu would still be the director.

The situation at this moment is indeed somewhat unexpected.

I wonder... did Shen Xingzhi know about this in advance?

Ren Limeng tilted her head slightly without making a sound, and noticed the expressionless Shen Xingzhi from the corner of her eye. Even without looking closely, Ren Limeng could feel the low pressure all over his body, and she immediately had the answer in her heart.

A platform is a platform. There are no permanent partners. As expected, everything is possible.

Ren Limeng secretly sighed in her heart, but still maintained a gentle smile on her face. When she heard Wu Yue's congratulations, she showed some shock and helplessness, as if being a captain was something she had never thought of.

Chen Xingzhi and Guan He have both served as captains in a public performance. Chen Xi's status is more than enough to be a captain, but she...

Putting aside other factors, Ren Limeng was very clear that being the captain might not be a bad thing for her.

After all, based on her so-called qualifications and fame, it would be impossible for her to be the captain. Did she get lucky, or... ?

As her thoughts raced, Ren Limeng smiled as usual and listened quietly to Wu Yue's introduction of the three-minute team rules.

"In addition to the four captains mentioned above, another captain will be chosen based on everyone's personal love rankings. Please look at the big screen. Excluding Chen Xingzhi, who has the highest personal love ranking, the final captain of the three public performances will be... Chen He! Brother Chen He, congratulations!"

Ren Limeng, along with everyone else, turned their attention to the large central screen next to Guan He, which displayed everyone's personal popularity rankings from the second public performance. Ren Limeng did not pay attention to who would be the last captain of the third public performance, but instead started looking for her own name from the back to the front.