Chapter 242 Falling into the Water
The photographer wondered, "Why are you two out here so late at night? Are you here for a reflection and summary meeting?"
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang strolled around for a while, but they couldn't come up with a single word about the conflict between Li Zhibai and Meng Li.
Li Zhenzhen sat in the workroom, watching them and listening to their conversation, feeling somewhat helpless.
“Those two really don’t trust me at all,” Li Zhenzhen said to Chen Biqiu helplessly.
“Trust between a director and an actor cannot be built with just a few words. There’s a lot to learn here, so don’t rush it,” Chen Biqiu told Li Zhenzhen. “We were lucky that the whole thing between Mengli and Li Zhibai was resolved smoothly today. Chen Ziyan was able to secure sponsorship from Xueyou APP in time. Otherwise, we would still have a lot more to deal with Mengli.”
Li Zhenzhen asked, "Brother Qiu, if Chen Ziyan hadn't brought in sponsorship from Xueyou APP, would you have agreed to Meng Li's request to let Lu Yanhe leave?"
"How could that be? If such a request could be granted, how could this program be recorded? It would just become her monologue." Chen Biqiu's attitude was very clear in his denial.
Looking at Chen Biqiu's attitude, Li Zhenzhen couldn't really believe that Chen Biqiu would do such a thing.
Preparing for the program "The Days of Youth" made Li Zhenzhen truly feel the pressure of being a director. When she was an assistant director, there was pressure, but it wasn't overwhelming; it was mostly the pressure of specific tasks. This time, however, the pressure came from all directions, omnipresent.
Chen Biqiu's image in Li Zhenzhen's heart also underwent a huge transformation.
In the past, Li Zhenzhen would have believed Chen Biqiu's words without hesitation, but not now.
Previously, Li Zhenzhen could only make one judgment: whether a person was telling the truth or lying.
Li Zhenzhen is now increasingly realizing that whether a person tells the truth or lies depends not on the person speaking, but on who they are speaking to.
Whether Chen Biqiu would truly uphold his principles and bottom line as he claimed, or whether he was merely saying this to convince her that he was a person who would adhere to principles and bottom line, Li Zhenzhen couldn't judge at the moment.
-
Lu Yanhe took a shower, opened his laptop, and began working on the "Jump Up" project.
With Jiang Yuqian's submission, all the manuscripts have been collected.
Chen Siqi and Yilong designed the entire manuscript and sent the electronic version to Lu Yanhe's email, asking him to review it in the next couple of days.
After downloading the electronic version, Lu Yanhe made himself a cup of coffee.
-
In the production crew's workroom, Chen Mo, who was watching the monitor, was somewhat surprised to see this and asked, "Making yourself coffee so late? Or is it instant coffee? Aren't you going to sleep?"
Hearing Chen Mo's words, Li Zhenzhen walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Lu Yanhe just made himself a cup of coffee and opened his laptop. Is he planning to do a live stream right now?"
"Probably not." Li Zhenzhen knew Lu Yanhe to some extent and knew that he wasn't the kind of person who was so diligent that he wouldn't waste a single moment. Besides, live streaming wasn't Lu Yanhe's job. So far, the live streaming room was just a channel for Lu Yanhe to keep in touch and communicate with his fans. Lu Yanhe probably wouldn't do a live stream while recording a program.
Li Zhenzhen looked at it intently for a while and said, "What is he looking at, a script?"
She asked someone to zoom in on Lu Yanhe's laptop screen, and saw that it was covered with dense text.
"What is this?" Everyone else was puzzled.
Li Zhenzhen suddenly realized, "This must be the magazine he made, right?"
"ah?"
“Probably,” Li Zhenzhen said. “You guys don’t need to stay here tonight, go and rest. The camera in his room is on 24 hours a day, so you don’t need to watch over it. They’ll probably go out tomorrow.”
Once outside, everyone in each group had to run out after them.
Chen Mo didn't rush to get up and leave. Instead, he said thoughtfully, "Director, I've been watching Lu Yanhe all day. I feel like he's just an ordinary person with no particularly distinctive personality traits. Apart from being labeled as a top student, I don't see anything particularly special about him. Why did you want him to participate in this program?"
Li Zhenzhen has always emphasized that the most important thing in reality shows is people.
When the people are right, every photo looks good. When the people are wrong, no amount of effort will help.
Chen Mo couldn't see what made Lu Yanhe suitable for this reality show, hence his question.
Li Zhenzhen said, "At first it was for the sake of hype, but later it was for the three of them, Li Zhibai, Yan Liang and Lu Yanhe. I decided on them together. To be honest, Lu Yanhe alone is not really suitable for variety shows. He and Yan Liang both have this problem, they are not very open. But have you noticed? Whenever Li Zhibai is there, the atmosphere between the three of them becomes very lively."
"Doesn't this prove that Li Zhibai is the most important person? He is indeed very suitable for recording the show."
“No, I thought so at first too, but later I realized that Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang are interesting. They have their own unique qualities, but they need to be brought to life and become familiar with each other,” Li Zhenzhen said. “The audience needs to become familiar with them, and they also need to become familiar with our production team and the camera. Li Zhibai has been on the show a lot, so he is very experienced and has an open and uninhibited personality, so he is good no matter how you look at him. Lu Yanhe is more cautious and reserved, and most of the time his material is not very interesting, but there are a few segments where, without him, you can’t see the real Li Zhibai, and you can’t feel the friendship between true friends.”
Chen Mo fell silent.
"Besides, don't underestimate Lu Yanhe. Someone who can turn his life around through his own efforts in his senior year of high school, someone who was picked up by Luo Yuzhong and Jiang Yuqian to act when he was almost forgotten, he must have something special about him, we just haven't found it yet." Li Zhenzhen patted Chen Mo's shoulder, "Don't worry, it will happen."
-
Lu Yanhe carefully read the entire book from beginning to end, marked every place he felt could be revised, saved it, and sent it to Chen Siqi's email. When he looked up, he found his neck was sore.
He checked the time and it was already 1 a.m.
He yawned.
I'm really exhausted.
He washed his face and got ready for bed. Before going to sleep, he checked his phone to see if there were any messages he hadn't replied to.
Upon inspection, it was discovered that Song Linxin and Xiao Yun were still chatting in their "Days of Youth" group chat.
Song Linxin: I'm afraid to sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see images of coffins and women chained up.
Xiao Yun: Me too.
Song Linxin: How about I come find you? We can sleep together tonight?
Xiao Yun: Okay, okay.
Song Linxin: I'm here!
Lu Yanhe smiled and said in the group chat: Is it that scary?
Song Linxin: Why aren't you asleep yet?
Lu Yanhe: I had other things to do just now.
Song Linxin: What time is it?
Qin Zhibai: So, after all this time, none of you are asleep?
Lu Yanhe was startled and asked in surprise: Why aren't you asleep yet at this late hour?
Qin Zhibai said: I go to bed late, I can't fall asleep so early.
Lu Yanhe: Night owl.
Qin Zhibai posted a picture of a "night owl".
Qin Zhibai is much more active when chatting online than when speaking face-to-face.
Xiao Yun said: "We've all stayed up so late. Will we be able to meet at eight o'clock sharp tomorrow morning?"
Qin Zhibai: It feels uncertain.
Lu Yanhe: Struggle to get up.
Song Linxin: How about we postpone the meeting time?
Lu Yanhe: It's not up to us to decide; everyone has already agreed on a time.
Song Linxin: That's true.
Lu Yanhe: Go to sleep, go to sleep.
-
When people become familiar with each other, without any particular reason, it is often through the gradual development of feelings over time.
Li Zhenzhen's idea of putting a group of young people on a show and making them good friends in just over ten days is inherently unreliable.
Li Zhenzhen never thought it could actually be done, unless it was an act.
Therefore, Li Zhenzhen never intended to make this show a program about friendship from the very beginning.
At least, that wasn't the initial plan.
Li Zhenzhen wanted to film the process of people going from strangers to acquaintances and then to closeness.
People always put on a show in front of the camera. Not just in front of the camera, but in front of people in general, no one can truly be themselves wholeheartedly.
To have even a fraction of genuine intention is already an extraordinary achievement.
Lu Yanhe, Li Zhibai, and Yan Liang are true friends, and their friendship is based on a strong emotional bond.
Li Zhenzhen spent a few days with them and was touched by the way they got along. She really hoped that it could be broadcast on the show.
But if other people could become friends, Li Zhenzhen would certainly be happy to see that happen.
Li Zhenzhen only slept for four hours that night and woke up very early the next morning.
She went straight to the workroom without makeup, just wearing a hat.
Only three or four people were still awake in the work area; the others had simply pulled up cots and were sleeping.
When someone saw Li Zhenzhen arrive, they quickly prepared to greet her.
Li Zhenzhen made a shushing gesture, indicating that they should keep quiet and not disturb everyone's rest.
She sat down in her seat and quietly asked the person who had been standing guard next to her, "Did anything happen last night?"
The person guarding the place was none other than assistant director Zheng Hesong.
"Hehe, you have no idea how amazing it was."
Li Zhenzhen was taken aback.
Zheng and Song pulled up a video and said, "Watch it for yourself."
-
The time displayed is 3:00 AM.
Li Zhibai went to the toilet at night, but perhaps because he was too sleepy, he didn't find the right room when he came back and went directly into Qin Zhibai's room next door.
He lay down on Qin Zhibai's bed, pulled the blanket off Qin Zhibai and covered himself with it, completely unaware that there was someone else next to him.
Then, Qin Zhibai woke up with a shiver.
Under the night vision camera, Qin Zhibai's expression was very clear even in the darkness.
He was stiff all over, afraid to move, and his eyes cautiously darted to the side.
Li Zhenzhen could tell from that expression that Qin Zhibai was probably frightened.
"Who is it?" Qin Zhibai asked in a low voice.
Li Zhibai was already half asleep when he suddenly heard someone ask, "Who is it?" He instinctively replied, "Your dad."
Then, he himself was suddenly startled.
who?
He sat up abruptly.
Qin Zhibai suddenly seemed to have been greatly frightened, and let out a loud scream, "Aa ...
He actually rolled off the bed, yelling, "A ghost! Help me—"
That shout nearly blew Li Zhi's skull open.
At the same time, the other rooms also reacted.
Seeing this, Li Zhenzhen realized that Zheng and Song had actually edited together footage from other rooms.
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang turned on the lights almost simultaneously, looking bewildered and confused.
Peng Zhixing immediately got out of bed, opened the door, and called out, "What's wrong?"
The girls upstairs.
Song Linxin and Xiao Yun woke up at the same time and instinctively hugged each other, their faces full of fear.
"What is that?"
"Did I just hear a scream?"
"ghost?"
Don't scare me.
The two little girls spoke in trembling voices as they fearfully searched their surroundings.
Of everyone, only Mengli, because she was sleeping with earplugs on, didn't hear anything and didn't react.
Then, five minutes later, everyone except Meng Li gathered in Qin Zhibai's room.
It was the middle of the night, and everyone looked sleepy, as if they hadn't woken up yet.
Qin Zhibai snapped out of his daze and reverted to his usual expressionless demeanor.
After the two of them explained the whole story, and learned that the trouble was caused by Li Zhibai going to the toilet late at night and returning to the wrong room, the group of people didn't know what to say.
Peng Zhixing sighed helplessly.
"Alright, everyone go back to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow."
"Why don't we not get up early?" Song Linxin suggested weakly.
Li Zhibai: "I second that."
Lu Yanhe also yawned.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Peng Zhixing nodded, "Then let's meet again at ten o'clock."
"Yay!" Song Linxin happily gave a thumbs-up.
Xiao Yun smiled happily.
Yan Liang yawned and glanced at Qin Zhibai, who remained silent. He really hadn't expected that this aloof young man was actually so timid.
The roar that seemed to tear the sky apart still echoes in my ears.
Looking at him now, wow, he's back to being that expressionless, aloof young man.
Before Yan Liang could even finish thinking about it, Li Zhibai immediately retorted, "Xiaobai, are you such a coward?"
Qin Zhibai's eyes were filled with resentment, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't.
Xiao Yun said, "You still have something to say? If you hadn't gone into the wrong room, Xiao Bai wouldn't have been so scared."
“I wasn’t scared,” Qin Zhibai said.
The others watched him silently.
Qin Zhibai emphasized, "Really, I was just having a stress reaction and trying to scare the ghost away."
Even Peng Zhixing couldn't help but smile.
"Let's go, let's go, let's go to sleep."
Seeing that no one paid any attention to him, Qin Zhibai moved his mouth as if he wanted to explain himself again, but no one else seemed interested in listening, so he had to give up in frustration.
-
After watching the video, Li Zhenzhen looked at Zheng and Song with an incredulous expression.
Zheng and Song spread their hands, smiled, and said, "Didn't expect that, did you?"
"I really didn't expect Qin Zhibai to be so frightened; it's quite a contrast."
Zheng and Song said, "This part is interesting, much more interesting than the games they played all night."
Li Zhenzhen said, "Nothing else happened after that, right?"
“That’s all.” Zheng and Song shook their heads.
Li Zhenzhen said, "Go and rest, I'll watch over things here."
Zheng and Song yawned, picked up the half-eaten coffee, and said, "I'll have breakfast before I go back to sleep. When will breakfast be delivered?"
He turned to ask another person.
"I've already bought it, it's on its way."
After watching the video edited by Zheng He and Song, Li Zhenzhen finally felt a little more at ease.
Last night, Li Zhenzhen finally saw something real and soulful in those people.
This kind of immediate reaction is the hardest to fake.
Zheng and Song were happy because they had filmed some interesting material, but Li Zhenzhen was happy because she saw that these young people were finally no longer using "reality show" to "speak and act".
-
Lu Yanhe woke up at 7:30.
Despite going to bed late and waking up briefly in the middle of the night, his biological clock still dictates that he should wake up at this time.
After washing up, Lu Yanhe glanced out the window.
The weather is great today, sunny and bright, another sunny day.
There was an unread message on his phone from Chen Shiqiu, his counselor whom he had just added yesterday.
Chen Shiqiu sent him an invitation to join a group chat.
The group chat is for freshmen of their grade.
Lu Yanhe replied "Okay" and joined the group chat.
Chen Shiqiu said with considerable surprise: You got up very early.
Lu Yanhe: Teacher Chen gets up even earlier.
Chen Shiqiu: I have to check the dormitories this morning.
Lu Yanhe was somewhat surprised. "Ah, do universities still check dormitories?"
Chen Shiqiu then asked: When do you plan to report for duty?
Lu Yanhe said: September 2nd.
Chen Shiqiu: Okay, I'll wait for you to come.
Lu Yanhe: Thank you, Teacher Chen.
-
Lu Yanhe read for a while, and went downstairs at 8:30. The first floor was still empty, with no one around.
There was no activity in the group.
The meeting time is 10 o'clock, and I guess everyone is still asleep.
Lu Yanhe prepared to make himself breakfast.
I'm a little hungry.
The refrigerator is quite well-stocked; it has almost everything.
Lu Yanhe was too lazy to make a fuss, so he decided to cook himself a bowl of noodles. He turned on the stove to boil water, took out the noodles, and fried an egg for himself in another pan.
The granules came down at this point.
Lu Yanhe heard footsteps and turned around to look.
When Mengli saw him, she greeted him, "Good morning."
"Good morning." Realizing his smile was a little stiff, Lu Yanhe quickly added with a smile, "Sister Mengli woke up so early?"
"Wasn't it supposed to be 8 o'clock? I woke up at 7 o'clock and then I saw that the meeting time had been changed to 10 o'clock."
"Everyone was woken up last night."
"Huh?" Meng Li was the only one who hadn't woken up and didn't know what had happened. "What do you mean?"
Lu Yanhe briefly explained what happened last night.
Mengli: "I slept with earplugs on and didn't hear anything at all."
Lu Yanhe: "Are you a light sleeper?"
"Yeah, I have to wear earplugs when I sleep, otherwise I can't sleep soundly," Meng Li explained.
Seeing that the water had boiled, Lu Yanhe asked, "Sister Mengli, have you had breakfast? I'm going to cook some noodles, would you like some too?"
"Thank you, but I don't want any more. I don't dare eat carbs." Mengli waved her hand, walked to the refrigerator, opened it, and looked inside. "I'll just have an apple."
Lu Yanhe was astonished and said, "Is one apple enough?"
"It's not enough, but there's no other way, I can only eat like this," Meng Li said. "I have to join another film crew later, I can't gain weight."
"Okay." Upon hearing that he was going to join the production team, Lu Yanhe fell silent.
Will you be joining a production team later?
"meeting."
Mengli asked, "Which group should I join?"
"It hasn't been made public yet," Lu Yanhe said.
Lu Yanhe didn't want to announce it himself before the production team made the official announcement.
Chen Ziyan once said that before filming officially begins, everything is subject to change.
What if I say it now, but it's not him anymore? How embarrassing would that be?
Besides, Chen Lingling also said that he couldn't be told to the public beforehand about his role in "Phoenix Terrace".
Seeing that he didn't answer, Meng Li pursed her lips and didn't press him. Instead, as if she had suddenly remembered something, she asked, "Do you like acting?"
"I like it, I really like it."
"You've only acted in one movie and you already have these feelings?"
"Yes." Lu Yanhe nodded. "I was very lucky. Filming my first movie made me fall in love with acting."
Meng Li's expression was somewhat surprised and complicated at this moment.
Lu Yanhe sensed that she seemed to have something to say, but of course, Meng Li ultimately said nothing.
Lu Yanhe put the noodles into the pot to cook, and then made a bowl, his movements very skillful.
Seeing this, Mengli asked, "Do you usually cook for yourself?"
"I rarely cook, but I often boil noodles," Lu Yanhe said. "That's the most convenient way."
"Isn't ordering takeout more convenient?"
"I don't have much money, so it's cheaper to do it myself," Lu Yanhe frankly admitted.
Mengli once again showed a puzzled and surprised expression.
"You've been in the industry for years, and you don't even have money to order takeout?" Meng Li subconsciously assumed that Lu Yanhe was just pretending to be pitiful in front of the camera and questioned him.
Lu Yanhe sensed her doubt.
He smiled helplessly and said, "Before June of this year, I had almost no work."
-
Lu Yanhe didn't want to play the victim, but after careful consideration, he felt it was the right thing to do to tell the truth about everything he had experienced.
He has an uncle who might suddenly jump out and criticize him at any time.
He also has one or more enemies whose identities are unknown.
Making others believe that his past was happy and wonderful is lying and does him no good at all.
Lu Yanhe knew that his personality flaw lay in being too serious—he couldn't act as freely as Li Zhibai.
So let everyone know clearly about his past.
The weak are always more likely to garner sympathy from the audience than the strong.
The strong are always more likely to gain the admiration of the audience than the weak.
Lu Yanhe is only nineteen years old, so he is more likely to get the former.
Chen Ziyan once said that as an artist, you can be aloof, but don't be aloof in front of the audience.
Everything you do is up to the audience.
They had discussed that if a suitable opportunity arose, Lu Yanhe might as well talk about his past.
-
“I wasn’t famous back then, and the fans I gained from the competitions gradually left,” Lu Yanhe said. “I don’t know if you’ve seen the videos of me participating in competitions and shows later. Back then, I was the kind of person who didn’t dare to say a word.”
Mengli: "Before you came here, I did see some of them. Were you quite insecure at that time?"
“A little,” Lu Yanhe nodded. “But my state at that time was not due to inferiority complex, but rather because I often couldn’t understand what you were saying, couldn’t fit in, and could only stay alone.”
Meng Li watched as Lu Yanhe put the cooked noodles into a bowl, mixed them well, and sat down at the table.
She sat down on a chair next to her and asked, "So how did you change? You are indeed very different from before."
“If we don’t change, we’ll only face certain death.” A glimmer of light appeared in Lu Yanhe’s eyes. “We had already reached that point, so we had no choice but to force ourselves to change.”
Meng Li looked at Lu Yanhe thoughtfully.
-
Chen Mo was prejudiced against Lu Yanhe.
If you were to ask why Chen Mo entered this industry and became a variety show PD, she would say it's because she has loved watching these shows since she was a child.
This is not a lie, but it's not entirely true.
The real reason was that Chen Mo's grades were terrible, and he dropped out of school before finishing high school.
Such an educational background is simply not enough to help her find a decent job.
She worked in many places, but none of them lasted long. Later, she joined Chen Biqiu's team.
Making a TV show doesn't require academic qualifications; all you need is to sacrifice your life and dedicate yourself entirely to it. There are no days or nights; your schedule is completely reversed.
When Chen Mo learned she would be working as Lu Yanhe's producer, she was actually quite reluctant. She disliked Lu Yanhe because he was too positive. Chen Mo disliked this type of artist—hardworking, proactive, and embracing mainstream values.
In Chen Mo's mind, this kind of artist has no humanity.
Chen Mo likes artists who have attitude and a strong sense of self.
Even if it's just a speckled particle.
Meng Li is selfish, acts crazy, and has a lot of flaws, but she is dramatic enough and never tries to portray herself as a perfect goddess.
This is what Chen Mo finds most disgusting.
Following Lu Yanhe and watching the footage of him from yesterday to today, Chen Mo felt a deep sense of repulsion.
Until Lu Yanhe said, "If we don't change, there's only one way out: death."
He Zhong, the photographer in her group, was sitting next to her, munching on a bowl of instant noodles.
He Zhongye was wearing headphones when he heard what Lu Yanhe said.
He Zhong curled his lip and said, "These eighteen or nineteen-year-old kids really dare to say anything. They'll only be dead wherever they go."
Chen Mo glanced at him but didn't say anything.
If Chen Mo dislikes Lu Yanhe because of his own upbringing, He Zhong simply can't stand these artists.
He disliked all entertainers.
Many people have the misconception that people who work in this industry like it.
But that's not actually the case.
Everyone is just here to make a living and earn money. In many cases, it's not a matter of liking or disliking; they don't have the right to choose a job based on their own preferences.
-
Perhaps because so many unexpected things happened on the first day of filming, both the production team and the artists were somewhat worried that something might happen at any time. However, nothing happened, and the subsequent filming suddenly became very normal.
Meng Li stopped going crazy, and Li Zhibai also controlled his temper and stopped arguing with Meng Li.
We went out to the supermarket together, ate and drank, and played games and chatted in the "Young People's House".
Peng Zhixing acted as a facilitator, and many topics were discussed.
Lu Yanhe never expected that chatting would become the main content of this program.
Because there are no main storylines or burdens like in typical shows, everyone in the Young People's House finds things to do, plays all sorts of games, and chats between games, which becomes the main content of the show.
The information density is very high.
Spending so much time together, it's hard not to get to know each other quickly.
However, such interactions can easily lead to exhaustion, because it's always just the same few people, and after two or three days, the things they should say and can say will dry up.
A program needs to be informative; it can't be a group of people each doing their own thing, nor can it always be doing the same thing repeatedly.
The first recording lasted five days, and by the third day, everyone was already running out of things to do.
Without a main questline, everyone gets bored spending all day in this house.
On the morning of the fourth day, everyone sat together, but there was really nothing to do, so they each grabbed their phones and did their own thing.
It was only at this moment that Li Zhenzhen finally reappeared.
During the previous few days of recording, Li Zhenzhen basically did not appear. As per her request, the production crew was to disappear from the world of these artists as much as possible, leaving them to rely solely on themselves.
Li Zhenzhen said, "In the past few days, we have allowed everyone to get to know each other. You may be wondering why we haven't given you any tasks or scripts and why you don't know what to do on the show. Actually, we have always emphasized the concept of giving all the initiative to the guests. We only do the filming."
Li Zhibai said, "But now everyone is pretty bored and there's nothing to do. Every day is just eating, drinking, and playing games."
Li Zhenzhen nodded and said, "Yes, so from now on, our production team has decided to change our approach."
"Huh?" The others were taken aback.
Li Zhenzhen said, "Starting today, we will assign tasks to everyone, and you will need to complete these tasks to earn a living."
Everyone was stunned, staring at Li Zhenzhen in astonishment.
Li Zhenzhen said, "We didn't want to do this originally, but now it seems that if we don't do it, we won't be able to shoot any usable footage later."
Li Zhenzhen's words left the artists looking at each other in bewilderment.
As soon as Li Zhenzhen left, Peng Zhixing helplessly spread his hands and said, "It seems they've noticed how boring we are too."
Lu Yanhe had never recorded a reality show before, and he didn't know what the recording site of a reality show was like. Without comparison, he thought that reality shows were like this.
Li Zhibai was not surprised at all.
“If they don’t adjust their filming strategy, the show will run out of content.”
Clearly, Li Zhibai had long felt that the current recording format was problematic.
-
Half an hour later, they will meet again on the first floor, where Li Zhenzhen will announce the tasks assigned to them by the production team.
The production team reminded them to change into clothes that would be more suitable for working outdoors.
This reminder surprised everyone.
Working? What kind of work?
Despite their doubts, everyone obediently went to change their clothes.
Actually, there's not much for guys to change. They're basically wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, with sneakers, and they can do whatever they want.
But Lu Yanhe was just about to pick up an email.
Xin Zixing messaged him, saying she had sent him an email with a recording proposal for the next episode of "City Travelogue".
Lu Yanhe opened his laptop to download email attachments, but it showed a weak network signal and wouldn't download for a long time.
Lu Yanhe could only let it flow here for the time being.
Half an hour later, the email attachment still hadn't downloaded.
Lu Yanhe had no choice but to give up and go downstairs to meet up with everyone.
Almost everyone changed into shorts and sneakers, but Mengli insisted on wearing a delicate short skirt and high heels.
"Mengli, are you sure this is okay?" Peng Zhixing asked. "Didn't the production team just say that we should change into clothes that are suitable for work?"
Meng Li shook her head immediately and said, "I won't do it. I'm not here to do the work; I'm here to make things look pretty."
His words left everyone speechless.
When Li Zhenzhen came out and saw Meng Li's clothes, she was obviously stunned and looked somewhat surprised.
Li Zhenzhen asked, "Is this all you're wearing?"
Mengli: "I'm wearing this outfit, so what?"
Li Zhenzhen shook her head and didn't say anything more, since she had already reminded him anyway.
"Your task for today is to go fishing," Li Zhenzhen said. "There's a reservoir nearby. We've arranged for someone to teach you how to fish. You need to catch twenty fish on your own to earn your living expenses for tomorrow."
Lu Yanhe asked, "What if we don't catch twenty fish?"
"Then everyone will only have steamed buns to eat tomorrow," Li Zhenzhen said.
Lu Yanhe: "..."
That way, we can still survive.
"Okay then." Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought you weren't going to give us any food."
Yan Liang nodded and said, "The steamed buns sound pretty good. We'll only be eating them for one day. Our first recording will end tomorrow, so we won't need to eat them for too long."
"That sounds true. Even if it doesn't taste good, you only have to endure it for one day," Song Linxin said.
The artists' reactions were completely unexpected by Li Zhenzhen.
In Li Zhenzhen's expectation, these artists would never be able to stand eating only steamed buns.
So now everyone's saying we can tolerate it?
Li Zhenzhen smiled helplessly.
Peng Zhixing said, "We will still try our best to complete the task and eat better. I don't want to only eat steamed buns."
"I don't want to eat steamed buns either." Fortunately, Xiao Yun pitifully raised his hand, "Let's all try our best to catch twenty fish."
Under the arrangement of the program team, the group left the house for young people and went to a nearby reservoir.
Their photographer hurriedly followed.
Chen Mo did not follow.
She told Zheng and Song, "I'm going to change the batteries and memory cards for the cameras in Lu Yanhe's room. He Zhong just said that the batteries for those cameras in Lu Yanhe's room will only last until 9 p.m. tonight."
Zheng He and Song nodded.
Chen Mo then went upstairs with his toolbox.
-
Lu Yanhe didn't know what was so interesting about filming him fishing in the reservoir.
However, Mengli created the biggest laugh.
While everyone else was learning fishing techniques from the instructors found by the program team, she was the only one posing for photos by the reservoir.
She said matter-of-factly, "I definitely can't catch anything if you ask me to fish. You guys go ahead and fish."
Everyone was indifferent to her attitude; as long as she didn't act crazy like she did on the first day, she could do whatever she wanted.
A group of people were fishing by the reservoir. The sun was shining brightly and the temperature was very high. Lu Yanhe felt sweat pouring down his body.
Just then, my phone rang.
Lu Yanhe answered the phone immediately.
"Hey, Sister Zixing, the email you just sent me... my internet connection is terrible, the attachment hasn't downloaded yet," Lu Yanhe said. "I haven't seen it."
Xin Zixing said, "It's okay, there's no rush. I just wanted to tell you that the Jiang Zhi episode is about to be released online."
Lu Yanhe was surprised and asked, "Is the post-production so fast?"
"Yes, we want to get online before summer vacation ends," Xin Zixing said.
Her idea was actually to attract a group of tourists to Jiangzhi through this film.
For a documentary like "City Travelogue" to be successful, word-of-mouth is one thing, but bringing tangible financial benefits to the city is another.
The success of the Langhua episode lies in its ability to generate significant interest in the city, leading to a surge in various search metrics.
Whether "City Travelogue" is just a flash in the pan or can truly be done long-term, the Jiangzhi chapter is crucial.
"We'll still need you to share and promote it then. Also, we'd like to collaborate with your livestream to do a promotional livestream program, is that alright?" Xin Zixing said. "Jiangzhi Cultural Tourism has some agricultural product support projects, and we'd like to do an event to coincide with this program's launch."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe said, "Sure, but I've never done anything like this before."
Xin Zixing said, "If you're okay with it, I'll find a team to do it, and I'll contact your live streaming platform."
"OK."
Xin Zixing: "Yan He, thank you so much. This program has been a lot of trouble for you."
"Sister Zixing, let's not be so polite. I also really like this show. Let's work together to make it last a long time."
After hanging up the phone, Li Zhibai, who was standing next to him, asked, "Should Xin Zixing call you?"
"Yes, the second episode of 'City Travelogue' is about to air," Lu Yanhe said.
Li Zhibai: "Do you plan to continue making this show?"
"I'm planning to," Lu Yanhe nodded. "I've already told you, I really like this show."
Li Zhi asked, "What about 'The Days of Youth'? You've been recording that program for a few days now, how do you feel about it?"
Lu Yanhe pondered for a moment and said, "I don't have much of a feeling yet."
Is it as you imagined?
“It’s not quite the same,” Lu Yanhe said. “I originally imagined this program would be like a group of people going on an outing, where they could meet a lot of new friends, but after arriving, I’m basically still with you and Yan Liang, just like usual.”
“Yeah, because we’re all acting as a group,” Li Zhibai said. “After recording these past few days, it hasn’t been very interesting.”
Lu Yanhe: "However, I think there is actually another very important reason."
What's the reason?
“You and Meng Li caused such a big scene on your first day. Although you two inexplicably reconciled later, we still feel a bit awkward. We don’t know how to face the two of you. Whenever the two of you are present, we will consider your feelings.” Lu Yanhe sighed and said, “At least that’s how I feel. I suddenly became a little nervous and didn’t know how to deal with everyone.”
Li Zhibai glanced at Lu Yanhe and said, "What's the rush?"
"I haven't even asked you yet, how come you suddenly reconciled with Meng Li?"
"If you don't reconcile, why don't you keep arguing?" Li Zhibai gave Lu Yanhe a look, indicating that Lu Yanhe should turn on his microphone.
Lu Yanhe silently shut his mouth.
After a while, Li Zhibai said again, "I really didn't enjoy the recording. Let's hang in there and finish this recording. Then we won't come back to record next time."
"Nonsense! They've all signed contracts, how could they not come to record?" Lu Yanhe said.
Li Zhibai: "I really don't want to record anymore, but there's always a way."
“Don’t be so impulsive. This is our first time filming a reality show, after all. We can’t just stop filming like that,” Lu Yanhe said. “Let’s keep filming. Actually, I’m not unhappy about it.”
"Ah—" Mengli screamed.
Everyone looked on in surprise, only to see that Meng Li, seemingly unaware of what was happening, lost her balance and fell into the reservoir.
"Mengli!" Peng Zhixing was the first to throw down his fishing rod and jump in.
Li Zhibai was the second.
He jumped in after him and dived into the water.
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang hurriedly ran towards the place where Mengli had fallen into the water.
The production crew was stunned.
The reservoir is very deep; falling in is no joke.
Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Li Zhibai and Peng Zhixing catch Meng Li.
The production team didn't prepare life jackets, but luckily there were long bamboo poles and a boat nearby.
After being rescued, Mengli was pale and trembling.
There was no way they could continue fishing, so the group returned to the "Young People's House".
Chaos reigned.
The girls went to keep Mengli company and comfort her.
Li Zhenzhen was also there.
Lu Yanhe and the others sat in the downstairs living room, looking at each other in bewilderment.
"How did she suddenly fall?" he asked Qin Zhibai.
When Mengli fell into the water, Qin Zhibai was the closest to her.
Qin Zhibai said, "It seems like I stepped into thin air."
Lu Yanhe said, "Fortunately, she's alright; we rescued her in time."
Yan Liang nodded and said, "Yes, thankfully nothing happened."
Two hours later, Mengli's agent, Li Xia, arrived.
Li Xia was furious, like a raging lion.
She immediately became furious with the production team upon arrival.
"How could your production team be so careless? You actually put Mengli in such danger!"
"If something really happens to Mengli, can you take any responsibility?"
"We're not recording anymore! We're absolutely not recording this show!" Li Xia roared. "If we keep recording, will I have to go to the hospital to see Meng Li next time I see her?!"
Li Xia took Meng Li away with a very firm attitude, this time without any hesitation or intention to negotiate.
(End of this chapter)
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