From mid-November to the end of December, Chu Yinlong's schedule returned to its previous busy schedule, while Jiang Dao continued his regular routine of attending classes, losing weight, and shaping his body. Although the two tried their best to keep in touch every night, Chu Yinlong also had a lot of overseas trips and due to the time difference, if he happened to be at work, he really couldn't call Jiang Dao to chant sutras to put him to sleep.
Fortunately, after a week of adjustment, the hypnotic effect of the e-book gradually recovered, and Jiang Dao was no longer troubled by sleepless nights.
Neither of them mentioned the kiss on Chu Yinlong's birthday again, as if they had tacitly agreed that it was just an accident caused by impulse.
However, the impact of the kiss still remains.
During this period, Jiang Dao and Chu Yinlong spoke much more casually when they called and texted each other, with a tacit understanding that they were "more than friends, but not yet in a relationship".
In early January, a big event happened in the entertainment industry.
Two members of the group GeniUs, which was formed just last year, were reported and taken away by the police for taking drugs at home. After questioning, several small stars were implicated, and countless scandals collapsed overnight.
As soon as the incident happened, Chu Yinlong received a call from Lu Zhengrong.
"Help me in this emergency. Please help me."
Lu Zhengrong's tone was unusually anxious.
"Something went wrong with 'Real Wilderness'. Did you know about the news about the GeniUs group? They were originally our guests, and the production team only invited three people to attract traffic from the entertainment industry. But now neither of them can come, so I can only ask you for help."
"Real Wilderness" is a large-scale outdoor reality show newly launched by Longqi Entertainment. It is expected to be broadcast in two modes: fragmented real-time UP on the Internet and editing and broadcasting on satellite TV. The recording period is from January 15 to February 15. The guests need to follow professional coaches and complete a real wilderness hike in one month.
The guests of this program come from many fields, including entertainers, sports stars, and hiking enthusiasts from other industries. Longqi Entertainment has invested a lot of money and resources in this project, and has also developed new live broadcast technology for it, hoping to open up a new variety show model.
After hearing what Lu Zhengrong said, Chu Yinlong also had a headache: "The program recording will start on January 15th. Today is the 9th. How can I help you if it's so urgent? You know, there are so many evening parties and celebrations on various TV stations around the Spring Festival. Which artist doesn't have a full schedule?"
Compared to various evening parties and award ceremonies where they have the opportunity to show their faces, few artists are willing to turn down these activities and instead go and suffer by recording outdoor reality shows.
Chu Yinlong casually flipped through the calendar on his computer and said helplessly, "I can't do that either. I have to attend Huatai's party on New Year's Eve. The Amelos charity reception will be held on January 25th, and I must be there. There is also an awards dinner on February 8th, and I am the co-organizer, so I can't postpone it."
"I know your schedule is full." Lu Zhengrong said, pausing a little, apologetically, "I mean, can we go to the island?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Yinlong frowned.
Before he could say anything, Lu Zhengrong said, "I know you want him to stay quiet for a while, concentrate on producing works, and then come out for activities after the movie is released... But I have no choice. I have asked all the artists I can find, and only Xiaodao has no conflicts. I have already started contacting the UP host of the live broadcast platform for another replacement!"
Seeing Chu Yinlong remained silent, she added helplessly, "You see, I have personally asked about this matter, and I really have no choice. The program schedule is too tight and the process is too long. Even if there are artists who are willing to come, it is really impossible to arrange them temporarily."
Chu Yinlong certainly understood that the situation this time was indeed too urgent. With Lu Zhengrong's connections and means, if there were any other ways, she would not have come to him for help knowing his plan.
Chu Yinlong sighed, and had no other choice: "I can't make the decision. I have to ask his wishes. If he is not happy, I won't force him."
"I understand." Lu Zhengrong also said straightforwardly, "If he can't do it, I can only take the risk of using an amateur."
The project required such a huge initial investment, and the winter vacation period was chosen specifically to attract more traffic. If ordinary people were to be used to fill in the gaps, and the ratings would not be up to standard, it would be difficult to explain to the sponsors - after all, the entertainment industry is not the art industry, and if you can't make money, people will turn their backs on you much faster than turning the pages of a book.
Jiang Dao had just finished a set of training and was sitting on the ground stretching.
Hearing the knock on the door, he looked through the mirror in the training room and smiled at Chu Yinlong: "Are you in the studio today? I didn't see you at noon."
"Just got back this afternoon." Chu Yinlong answered casually and went straight to the point, "Are you interested in participating in an outdoor reality show? One that involves hiking in the wild, which might be quite arduous."
Jiang Dao raised his face and said, "Hiking in the wild? I can do that, no problem."
Chu Yinlong added: "The schedule is a bit tight. The recording will start on January 15th. The location is abroad and it will last for a month. You can't come back until mid-February. If you are sure to participate, you have to start preparing today. You need to apply for an expedited visa and get several vaccines..."
"So urgent?" Jiang Dao was very perceptive. "Did something happen suddenly? Are you looking for someone to fill in?"
"Yes." Chu Yinlong nodded, "It just happens to span the Spring Festival period, so it's a bit difficult... Otherwise, I wouldn't want you to take the lead."
Hearing him say this, Jiang Dao smiled: "Didn't I tell you that I can accept work other than filming? Since you have no other choice and have come to me, there must be no other way. How can I not help... It's fine with me, don't worry."
Chu Yinlong muttered in a low voice: "I'll be away for a month, and it's the Spring Festival..."
His voice was too soft for Jiang Dao to hear clearly: "What?"
Chu Yinlong smiled and said, "Nothing, I'll ask Xiao Yang to prepare it."
…
In the next few days, Jiang Dao, accompanied by his assistant, applied for a visa and went directly to Dr. Mu's private hospital for a comprehensive physical examination and vaccination against common infectious diseases and wild parasites in the target area. Afterwards, he underwent a series of physical tests and participated in the preliminary theoretical course training arranged by the program team. After finally confirming that you can participate in the recording, you have to shoot a series of promotional photos for the program.
The four-day schedule was extremely tight and fulfilling. Early in the morning on January 14, Jiang Dao arrived at Longqi Entertainment with his assistant, gathered with the entire team, and prepared to take the business jet chartered by the program crew to the filming location.
Chu Yinlong had just finished a schedule and immediately called Jiang Dao.
"Everyone hasn't arrived yet. We still have to take a few group photos and have lunch at noon, and then go to the airport in the afternoon." Jiang Dao said with a smile, "Aren't you too diligent in checking on them these past two days?"
These days, Chu Yinlong called and texted him whenever he had free time. They hadn't seen each other often in the past few days, and he didn't know what had irritated him these days.
"I'm not checking up on him." Chu Yinlong said helplessly, "It's just... well, I'm a little nervous."
"I'm recording a show, why are you so nervous?" Jiang Dao laughed, "Don't worry, I won't cling to other people behind your back."
On the phone, Chu Yinlong was silent for a moment, but did not refute: "Well, just remember it. You have already sold yourself to me. Before the money is paid back, you are not allowed to cling to other people's thighs."
Jiang Dao couldn't help but laugh: "Understood, Mr. Creditor."
The photographer waved to Jiang Dao from a distance. Jiang Dao nodded and said to Chu Yinlong, "I'm going to take a group photo. We'll talk later. Bye."
Chu Yinlong said quickly: "Also, be careful."
Jiang Dao: "Don't worry."
This was the first time that Jiang Dao was out of Chu Yinlong's sight and completed another filming job on his own.
Even though he knew that this was the norm for romances in the entertainment industry, Chu Yinlong still felt empty inside, and began to regret why he had refused on his birthday... He had said it righteously at the time, but now that he regretted it, he couldn't bring himself to take back what he had said.
However, after calming down and thinking about it carefully, Chu Yinlong felt that even if the situation on that day happened again, he would still say those words of refusal - Jiang Dao's concept on that kind of thing was already distorted, and he couldn't make it more distorted with his own hands, otherwise he would probably regret it even more in the future.
Jiang Dao didn't think about the invitation that was rejected that day. He was still very free and easy about that kind of thing. If it was successful, it was successful. If it was rejected, he would just cultivate the relationship and ask again when the atmosphere was good in the future. It was no big deal.
He didn't have any special feelings about participating in the reality show recording independently. Since the work task was given to him, he would do his best to complete it.
When he arrived at the photo-taking location, the first thing Jiang Dao heard was a series of loud dog barking.
"Hey? There's a dog?" Jiang Dao looked at the field in surprise and found a man in a smart windbreaker holding a majestic wolfhound in his hand.
The wolfhound was now staring at Jiang Dao's direction, with its tail slightly tucked between its legs, but it stood in front of the man to protect him, baring its teeth and growling at Jiang Dao.
The man frowned and squatted, stroking the wolfhound's ruffled neck hair: "Eleven, be quiet!"
The wolfhound named "Eleven" immediately fell silent, but still stared vigilantly in the direction of Jiang Dao with its tail between its legs and teeth bared. It even took half a step in front of the man and protected him firmly behind it.
Seeing his partner so alert, the man looked at Jiangdao scrutinizingly.
He found that the other person was an overly pretty young man who didn't have any aggressiveness. He smiled and extended his hand, saying, "Hello, I'm Zheng Yaojun."
"Hello, I'm Jiang Dao."
Jiang Dao just stretched out his hand to shake hands with the man when he saw the wolfhound suddenly grab Zheng Yaojun's trouser leg and pull him back with all its might, making a warning sound in its throat and its tail was pressed tightly against its belly in fear.
But even so, it still didn't run away on its own.
Jiang Dao took a look at the wolfhound, took his hand back, and asked curiously, "This dog doesn't look like a pet."
Zheng Yaojun also withdrew his hand and nodded: "Eleven is a retired military dog. He has fought in the border battlefield and made meritorious service... He is rarely so wary of ordinary people."
"Oh, maybe there's something weird about me." Jiang Dao scratched his hair pretending to be confused. "Many animals are afraid of me and run away when they see me. I don't know why... Does it want to participate in the recording of this program too?"
"Yes." Zheng Yaojun patted Shiyi's head, tried to comfort him, and replied, "In fact, he is the guest invited by the program team. He became famous for a long time after he retired after making meritorious contributions. This time, I am his partner."
Seeing that Eleven was still very nervous, Jiang Dao smiled apologetically, took a few steps back, away from the man and the dog, and walked to the other side of the venue.
After the group photo was taken, when everyone was having lunch together, Jiang Dao found out that Zheng Yaojun was a retired special forces soldier who had fought against terrorist organizations on the border, and Shiyi was his partner in the army.
In addition to Zheng Yaojun, the guests invited to this program include a doctor Zhao Yuhong, a newly retired women's gymnastics world champion Zhu Huayun, a well-known male star Lin Chu, and Yuan Shu, a UP host of the travel section of the live broadcast platform under Longqi Entertainment.
Six people and one dog are the main cast of this reality show.
In addition to them, there are hundreds of staff members including professional consulting team, medical team, rescue team, communication team, etc.
Seeing this scene, Jiang Dao understood why Long Qi would rather find him than postpone the recording. With such a large team, once there is a change in schedule, it is inevitable that too much will be involved.
At around 2:00 p.m., the program crew’s business jet took off from Yan City with the entire team and filming equipment. Five hours later, the plane landed safely in the country where the filming was located. It took another two hours for the team to finally arrive at the starting point of this outdoor reality show hike - Talor Grand Canyon.
Seeing that there were no signs of man-made buildings around, Lin Chu couldn't hide his surprise: "Are we going to live in a tent today? Don't we start recording tomorrow?"
The program leader smiled and replied, "We have to adapt to it tonight. If we find that we are missing something, we still have time to remedy it. If we want new supplies after we go deeper into the canyon, we can only wait for helicopter resupply."
At this time, Yuan Shu raised his hand: "Is there any signal in the canyon?"
He had heard that this program could be broadcast live on the platform and thought that it would be a hike around the city. However, when he arrived he found that it was actually in the wilderness. He was a little worried whether the legendary live broadcast could be done.
"There is definitely no cell phone signal." The team leader shook his head. "Strictly speaking, our program is not a live broadcast. Instead, the communications team collects and captures images every day, then does the simplest clip editing and uploads them to the live broadcast platform at a fixed time the next day - the same principle as when you make video UP."
Yuan Shu looked a little disappointed. He was forced to come in to fill the position. He originally thought that he could do live streaming to boost his popularity. But the other party gave him a lot of money, so if he can’t live broadcast, then he can’t live broadcast. He won’t lose anything anyway.
After the two asked their questions, the program leader's eyes fell on Jiang Dao's face.
Jiang Dao blinked, his face full of confusion: "Huh?"
Leader: “Don’t you have anything to ask?”
Jiang Dao shook his head: "No."
What he wanted to ask was what he had asked during the previous training. During the recording of the program, personal belongings and mobile phones can be brought, and the program team will provide charging services together with GoPro. This has solved Jiang Dao’s biggest concern - sleep problem.
The team leader turned to Zhu Huayun and said, "You are the only girl among the guests. If you need anything, please communicate with the staff in time."
Zhu Huayun looks small, but has a carefree personality: "No problem."
Next, it is time for the team to conduct on-site operation training.
When we were in Yan City before, the program team’s training only gave some rough theories. When it came to actually starting to practice, they taught us in detail how to set up a tent, how to use an outdoor stove, how to use ropes... everything.
Because of the time difference, after studying for a few hours, everyone was yawning and dusk was just beginning to fall.
Apart from Zheng Yaojun who already had these skills, Jiang Dao was the fastest learner. Even though he had never come into contact with such exquisitely crafted things in the apocalypse, he was able to quickly understand their functions and learn the techniques to use them.
Zheng Yaojun really liked this child who was very insightful. After the training, he walked over to Jiang Dao and sat down. "Not bad, you learn so quickly..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Eleven, who had been lying obediently on the side, suddenly rushed over, grabbed his trouser leg, and pulled him away from Jiangdao.
Jiangdao: ...
Zheng Yaojun: …
"Eleven, lie down and stand by." Zheng Yaojun said seriously.
"Woo woo..." Eleven pulled his ears back and lay obediently on the ground with great unwillingness, baring his teeth at Jiangdao and making a warning sound in his throat.
"This won't work." Zheng Yaojun frowned. "We need to act together from now on. It's always on guard against you, and there will be problems. Jiang Dao, you come."
"Huh?" Jiang Dao was puzzled.
"Come here, I'll help you get familiar with it." Zheng Yaojun stretched out his hand, held the back of Jiang Dao's hand, and led him towards the direction of Eleven.
Eleven looked a little restless, but without any orders and with the master doing it himself, no matter how aggrieved he felt, he could only tuck his tail between his legs and let Jiang Dao's fingertips rest on his head.
Touching the wolfhound's warm forehead, the furry texture between his fingers made Jiang Dao's heart soften instantly, and he couldn't help but pull out a smile at the corner of his mouth.
He looked into Eleven's eyes and called softly, "Eleven."
Eleven bared his teeth at him.
Zheng Yaojun led Jiang Dao to continue caressing Shiyi until Shiyi seemed to relax a little. He bared his teeth and put his nose close to Jiang Dao's wrist to smell his scent.
"Good boy." Zheng Yaojun let go of Jiang Dao's hand, took out a piece of dried meat the size of a fingertip from his waist bag and gave it to Eleven as a reward.
After a friendly exchange, Jiang Dao was extremely excited. He immediately picked up his phone and sent a message to Chu Yinlong while there was still signal: "I finally touched the dog!!!"
Although it was late at night in Yan City, Chu Yinlong still replied immediately: "Congratulations."
At the end, he added: "What kind of dog doesn't run away when it sees you?"
Jiang Dao asked Zheng Yaojun, took a photo of him and Shiyi, and sent it to Chu Yinlong.
"The military dogs that Brother Zheng brought have been to the battlefield before, so they are very brave."
"I originally wanted to ask Brother Zheng if I could adopt the dog, but Brother Zheng said that the dog was his comrade-in-arms, so he probably wouldn't let anyone take it away."
"I wonder if I'll have the chance to visit Brother Zheng's house after I return to Yan City."
Chu Yinlong: ...
Very good, he already started to regret it on the first day of letting the person escape.
…
That night, the program leader announced how the tents would be allocated: "Yunyun is a girl, so she will live in a separate tent. We have a two-person tent and a four-person tent. Teacher Zhao, can you take Lin Chu and Yuan Shu to live in the four-person tent, and Brother Zheng take Xiaodao to live in the two-person tent?"
Everyone expressed no objection.
The team leader continued, "Since we need to keep an eye on the bonfire at night, the six of you need to take turns on duty, in groups of two. Yunyun and Yuanshu will watch from 10am to 1am, Zhengge Xiaodao will take the hard work and watch from 1am to 4am, and finally, Doctor Zhao and Lin Chu, you will take over and watch until morning. Any questions?"
There was still no objection from everyone, and the shifts began to be implemented that evening.
At ten o'clock in the evening local time, everyone finished their simple tidying up and went into their tents to rest.
Jiang Dao snuggled into his sleeping bag skillfully, played the e-book he had downloaded long ago, closed his eyes and was about to fall asleep quickly when he heard Eleven whimpering outside the tent expressing his dissatisfaction.
Zheng Yaojun ordered: "Lie down and sleep!"
Eleven grabbed a corner of his sleeping bag and pulled it out.
Zheng Yaojun raised his finger and Eleven obediently let go. He lay down at the door of the tent with a wronged look and looked inside with squinted eyes. Zheng Yaojun reached out to close the tent door, and heard Eleven groan twice again. Then he pressed his ears tightly against the tent and lay there motionless.
"Tsk, I don't know why I'm on guard against you." Zheng Yaojun was really puzzled, "I don't think you have any violent temper..."
Jiang Dao smiled and said nothing.
At around one in the morning, Jiang Dao was awakened by Zheng Yaojun and stood up to take over the night shift.
In fact, there is no danger at the entrance of the canyon. Even inside the canyon, there are no large predators because it is a forest area with hiking programs. The night watch is just to watch the campfire and keep it burning in case of unexpected situations.
Jiang Dao was actually quite used to doing nothing for three hours.
Unlike staying at home, when he is out in the wild, he doesn't feel bored when he has nothing to do. It seems that this kind of idleness is part of his "job" and his job is to wait.
Zheng Yaojun looked at Jiang Dao and suddenly became curious: "Have you ever done field training?"
Jiang Dao blinked: "No."
Zheng Yaojun smiled and said, "You seem to be used to having your sleep interrupted in the early morning. This is the most difficult time to stand guard, but you don't seem to feel sleepy. When I was a new soldier, I would probably have started to feel groggy and nodding my head."
Three hours later, Doctor Zhao got up to change shifts. Lin Chu followed him out with sleepy eyes, and started yawning as soon as he sat down.
Jiangdao returned to the tent, took off his coat, got back into his sleeping bag, and opened his e-book again.
"Are you used to listening to music before falling asleep?" Zheng Yaojun was surprised.
"Yeah," Jiang Dao admitted, "I can't sleep without hearing the noise."
"Same as one of my comrades." Zheng Yaojun said casually, "He was sent to the war zone for two years. After he came back, he became like this. He couldn't sleep without listening to the sounds. The doctor said it was something like that, post-war disorder..."
Jiang Dao was slightly startled: "Post-war obstacles?"
Zheng Yaojun hummed, "Maybe he was used to being on guard on the battlefield, and suddenly returned to a quiet environment, so he couldn't adapt. But he recovered later."
Jiang Dao was curious: "How did you cure it?"
Zheng Yaojun laughed: "He got better after he got married. He told us that he felt very at ease sleeping with his wife in his arms every night. I guess he subconsciously knew that he was safe because there was someone watching over him."
Hearing this, Jiang Dao lowered his eyes and thought.
He had slept well a few times before, apart from the effect of Chu Yinlong chanting for him, the first time he could fall asleep without hearing any sound seemed to be the day when he lost his headphones while sleeping on the Taoyuan production team...
He still hasn't forgotten that when he woke up that day, he was holding Chu Yinlong's arm.
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