Chapter 45: Fake Becomes Real

"Do I...have a choice now?"

Everything was silent all around, time became slow and stagnant, and the occasional chirping of insects in the distance seemed exceptionally clear yet abrupt. It was clearly a hot summer night, but Ren Limeng felt the coldness everywhere, and the hairs on her arms trembled slightly unconsciously.

Finally, she lowered her head, smiled bitterly, and asked softly. Perhaps this was not a question, because she already knew the answer, but... she was a little unwilling.

Even though she had imagined many situations, the reality was still unexpected enough, not only the things, but also the people, and she had to accept it.

"Of course, it's all gambling."

Shen Xingzhi's voice was steady and calm, and every word was like a pebble at the bottom of the water, round and firm. His unhurried tone made Ren Limeng's heart suddenly calm down.

"It's not a bet."

She took a deep breath, and after a moment, she suddenly said seriously, "It's about taking your destiny into your own hands."

Sitting back and waiting for death and praying to God for mercy is gambling, while taking the initiative to fight for a breakthrough is fighting.

At this moment, Ren Limeng truly felt that she was once again at a crossroads in fate. No matter what she thought, all she could do was try her best and not worry about the future.

This was the third fork in the road she had truly felt in her life.

The first fork in the road came at the age of 18, when she resolutely and without hesitation left the opera industry and gave up the Huangmei Opera that her parents had earnestly hoped for.

The second fork in the road was when she was 22 years old. She stood in front of Shen Xingzhi with courage and determination, and bravely said that she wanted to get married and that she loved him.

At this third fork in the road, the 32-year-old woman no longer has the resolve or courage to face it, but she must face it firmly and calmly, put everything aside, and desperately grasp the slightest possible opportunity in the turbulent road ahead, comforting herself that fortune and honor are achieved through risk.

"I'll listen to you, but there's only one thing: hyping up CPs can't cross the line."

She knew that she was not as "sinister and cunning" as Shen Xing, and was not even very familiar with the rules of the game in the entertainment industry. In such a dangerous situation of walking on a tightrope, she knew how to deal with the current situation and was naturally obedient, serving the client with a friendly attitude. When Ren Limeng looked up at Shen Xing again, her face was gentle, and the patience, thoughtfulness and warmth in her eyes were almost overflowing, and there was no trace of the tension just now.

"Bottom line?"

"Fake becomes real."

Ren Limeng raised her right hand slightly, gently pinched a strand of hair between her fingers, and slowly twisted it behind her ear. Her voice was gentle and polite, but also distant. "Brother Xingzhi, although I don't like you and you don't like me, things are unpredictable. Some things should be said upfront to avoid affecting our cooperation."

Chen Xingyi's deep eyes stared quietly at Ren Limeng's watery and smiling eyes, his gaze fell on Ren Limeng's right arm, which was slightly red, and he said slowly, "Of course, we were just pretending, we didn't really do it."

When their eyes met, her heart suddenly settled down. Ren Limeng moved her lips slightly, but in the end she just smiled.

......

When leaving, Shen Xingzhi suddenly called Ren Limeng again, took out a colorful small bottle from his trouser pocket with his right hand, looked at the red mark on Ren Limeng's right hand, and said, "I'm sorry for what I did just now. Here, I just brought it with me."

Ren Limeng subconsciously reached out to take it, but before she could say anything, Shen Xingzhi had already walked straight past her and headed up the steps.

Feeling the cool touch in her hand, Ren Limeng finally withdrew her gaze from Shen Xingzhi, lowered her head and immediately reacted. When she looked up again to speak, she could no longer see Shen Xingzhi's back. There was only the empty stairwell and the somewhat gloomy atmosphere. Only the bottle in her hand felt familiar and real.

Yunnan Baiyao spray, Shen Xingzhi happened to bring the medicine again?

In the morning, he gave them mosquito repellent and anti-itching medication, as well as pain-relieving plasters. In the evening, he gave her medicine for bruises and swelling. Did Chen Xingzhi accept a pharmaceutical endorsement? But it seems celebrities aren't allowed to endorse pharmaceuticals anymore. So why is he being so thoughtful? It can't be a captain's sense of responsibility, right?

More importantly, her ankle had been aching ever since she was almost tripped by Xu Chichi that night. This medicine came at the right time.

Could it be... that he was afraid that she and Xu Chichi would get injured and slow down the progress of the entire team?

Ren Limeng stood there, playing with the small bottle in her hand with an expressionless face. She felt a tingling sensation in her ankle. As her thoughts churned, her eyes finally revealed a hint of complexity.

But soon, she lowered her eyes and her face returned to calm. In any case, she and Shen Xingzhi had reached a consensus that choosing to hype up their relationship was a fake show and they were not really doing it. Although Shen Xingzhi had changed a lot, so had she. She shouldn't have had the thoughts of a twenty-year-old girl, and she would not make the same mistake twice with the same person. As for the rest, there was no need to worry about it.

The only thing that matters is "Shan Hai".

Ren Limeng left the stairwell as if nothing had happened and walked towards the room where the program team arranged 24-hour duty. After communicating with the staff, she got the video of the banggu practice during the day, and then returned to the room.

Inside the room, Xu Chichi had already gone to bed and was sitting at the head of the bed playing with his phone. Seeing Ren Limeng's concerned eyes, he said, "Limeng, you're back. It's been quite a while. I was just about to send you a message to ask. Lin City is a forest area, and there are wild animals at night. So are the production team. I'm looking for you so late at night. How are you? What's going on?"

"It's okay, thank you, Sister Chi Chi. I'm sorry to have worried you. I asked the production team for the video of our banggu practice this day. Do you need me to send you a copy? Oh, and I just grabbed a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao. Did you twist anything when you fell last night? Do you want some spray?"

Hearing Ren Limeng's question, Xu Chichi immediately looked bitter. Recalling the banggu, her head hurt and she sighed softly.

"No, this medicine has a strong smell when sprayed, even perfume can't suppress it. I'm fine, Li Meng, are you hurt? I'm really sorry for last night. Banggu is too difficult. Learning it makes me dizzy and I really don't want to see anything related to it today! Learning Banggu in such a short time is simply too much to ask! The first season of "Shan Hai" didn't have this segment! Learning singing and dancing in the practice room alone is intense enough. What kind of travel is this season? Who can really pay attention to the scenery? And what about cultural integration? I'm really about to melt. Li Meng, why are we so unlucky! I can't even imagine Sunday now. What if there is a problem with the live broadcast..."

The training intensity of "Mountains and Seas" has long been heard in the industry, and Xu Chichi has been mentally prepared for it. However, the first season was mainly recorded indoors, and the guests' reality show was concentrated in the training room scene, while the second season is completely different. The program crew has almost added all the basic elements of travel variety shows, from the lack of money and room selection, to the differences in attractions. The fast-paced check-in travel is already a special forces job, and it has to be interspersed with practice stages. Xu Chichi is miserable, especially after tonight, she really can't stand it anymore.

"I'm not injured, I just have a little dull pain. I'm afraid it will get worse if I continue training tomorrow. Sister Chi Chi, think positively. We can travel around and experience the local culture, and we can also enjoy the sightseeing with pay. If we get really tired, we can also lose weight. It's a win-win situation. Banggu is not easy, but the teacher has simplified the performance movements a lot. I believe we can do it! Besides, our team is probably not the only one encountering various difficulties. I guess every team has had an easy time these days. If you are afraid of difficulties now, you may just be scaring yourself!"

Ren Limeng said as she walked to the bathroom, quickly finished spraying the medicine, closed the bathroom door, and came out, putting the bottle in her backpack. She yawned softly, took out her makeup bag, and began to quickly remove her makeup. "How about we get up early tomorrow and go help you go over the bang drum and positioning first?"

"Thank you, Li Meng. Sorry for the trouble! So, get up at 8 o'clock? Thank you for your hard work. Let's hurry up in the morning and try to be in the training room by 9 o'clock!"

"Okay, Sister Chi Chi, you're welcome. We're on the same team, it's only natural."

The success of Sunday's performance is not determined by any one person, but requires the efforts of the entire team. Ren Limeng can feel that Xu Chichi is in a bad state, but in addition to blaming and being anxious, what is more important is to help her adjust her mentality and try her best to complete the training.

"By the way, Li Meng, I just posted the first vlog on my account. If you have time, could you please comment on it for me?"

Ren Limeng was stunned for a moment. Then, remembering Xu Chichi's blogger status, it seemed natural. The popularity of "Shan Hai" was indeed worth a dedicated vlog for each episode. But...was Xu Chichi recording the waiting room preparations? They were together for almost the entire show, but it seemed Xu Chichi only whipped out his phone a few times. After all, it was a show, and even if the production team turned a blind eye to phones, the guests couldn't go too far.

"good."

"Thank you, Li Meng! I'm going to sleep first!"

When Ren Limeng came out after washing up, there was only a dim desk lamp left on the bedside. She tiptoed onto the bed and picked up the charging phone on the bedside table. It was already 1:30 in the morning. She connected the Bluetooth headset, opened Weibo and clicked on Xu Chichi's account. The pinned video was the first vlog of "Mountains and Seas" released in the evening.

Ren Limeng raised her eyebrows in shock. In just a few hours, the video had received nearly 200,000 likes, even twice as many as Xu Chichi's other makeup imitation video that was pinned to the top. She didn't know if it was because the program team had too much traffic, and the content recorded in the vlog was richer than expected. Xu Chichi's team should have determined in advance that a dedicated person would be responsible for the filming. Although they were not staff members of the program team, the important content was filmed very well.

The comment section of this vlog video was even more unexpected. There were already more than a dozen V-account comments and interactions from guests of "Twenty Changes of Mountains and Seas". Not only were there guests from the same team like Li Qingzi and Yan Baiwei, she even saw comments from guests like Chen Xi and Hong Qingli. Everyone looked very familiar and warm. Ren Limeng wondered for a moment if she was being isolated, or if she had missed a memory in the recording?

Ren Limeng's finger that was scrolling through the comments suddenly paused, and she returned to the first page of comments. She stared at the upper half of the page and carefully checked the comment that Shen Xingzhi had posted not long ago but had already received a lot of praise.