Chapter 10: Overstepping one's authority
I don’t know if it was Ren Limeng’s sincerity that moved the turntable, but the first destination that Shen Xingzhi finally drew was Lin City.
Linshi is a city full of natural beauty and mysterious culture. The forest coverage rate is extremely high, with numerous peaks and towering ridges. It is mysterious and majestic, dangerous and steep. It is home to the "World Geopark" and has an elegant environment and pleasant climate. It is an authentic summer resort.
Ren Limeng was satisfied with the result. Just as relief appeared in her eyes, she heard Yan Baiwei and Li Qingzi complaining softly.
"Why is it Lin City? There are only desolate mountains and wilderness there. What's fun there?"
"Yes, and there should be a lot of mosquitoes in Lin City. Bai Wei, did you bring mosquito repellent? Let's ask our assistant to prepare some now!"
"There's still time to go to Lin City and buy more. These are just trivial matters. I'm so annoyed. Can we change this place?"
Yan Baiwei waved her hands and was about to ask the production team when she saw the camera not far away. The sharpness in her agent's eyes almost shot out a solid line. Yan Baiwei puffed up her lips, but finally endured it and only gave her agent a perfunctory smile.
Forget it, just bear with it and leave Xiangcheng immediately. She can finally get out of her agent's sight and don't have to feel so depressed.
After the twenty guests finished recording the departure shots for the first stop, they separated directly at the hotel. Based on their ranking in the initial stage, they will take four modes of transportation: airplane, high-speed train, express train and car to rush from Xiangcheng to their team's first destination.
Almost all the members of Chen He's group ranked at the top in the first stage, and directly won the first place in the team. What surprised Ren Limeng was that their group's overall votes were three votes higher than Zheng Chuanbai's group, ranking second.
Not surprisingly, they chose to travel by high-speed rail. Together with the staff, most of the carriages were booked by the program crew, and the cameras were naturally everywhere.
"Brother Xingzhi, let's divide the money first. We'll be in Lin City soon, and we'll have to buy some water or something. We can't go home empty-handed."
Yan Baiwei sat in seat D of the train, looking at Shen Xingzhi in seat C across the aisle of the train, supporting her head with a smile.
When she spoke to Shen Xingzhi, the arrogance in her tone subsided a bit, but she still had some habitual toughness.
Shen Xingzhi raised his head and glanced at her, "How do you want to divide the money?"
Ren Limeng, who was sitting in Seat A, almost didn’t think about it, and immediately understood the implication of Shen Xingzhi’s words.
Due to their different rankings in the initial stage, each of them received a different amount of pocket money. Obviously, there are now two ways of distribution.
One is to hand it over to the team and then redistribute it, and the other is to return the money to each person.
Both of these views have their own merits and are correct, but Ren Limeng is more inclined to the first one without hesitation.
On the one hand, they are a collective. As a reality show, especially a team competition variety show, "team spirit" is an illusory yet extremely important thing. It represents the entire team and will inevitably be scrutinized by the audience.
On the other hand, this pocket money includes daily expenses such as accommodation and meals. Even if there are additional subsidies at the task points on the station, the overall amount is unlikely to be too large. If everyone calculates it separately, there will naturally be no overall unified planning and more careful budgeting.
"Brother Xingzhi, hasn't the production team already divided it up?"
Yan Baiwei seemed not to understand what Shen Xingzhi said, her eyes wide open in confusion, she had played silly and sweet roles in many idol dramas, so this aspect was easy for her to do, not to mention that she had always given fans the impression of a straightforward and silly beauty.
Ren Limeng wanted to interject a suggestion, but she and Xu Chichi were both making 200 yuan a day, and compared to Shen Xingzhi and the other two, it was not a good time for her to speak.
Even if they really care about the team, they can easily be led by some malicious fans during the broadcast and become vocal just to covet the other guests' 500 yuan daily pocket money.
"The production team gave me the money for the team expenses...Does everyone want to split the money?"
Shen Xingzhi noticed that the others were silent at the same time. He suddenly changed his original cold words, looked around, and his eyes fell on Xu Chichi and Ren Limeng.
Facing Shen Xingzhi's inquiring gaze at such a close distance, Xu Chichi subconsciously pursed her lips and tightened her throat. Before she could say anything, she heard Li Qingzi's voice from the other side.
"Actually, either is fine. Bai Wei meant that since we don't have much money, we're bound to be tied down and not be able to enjoy our trip. With so little start-up capital, the program team will definitely let us earn more money through subsequent tasks. Why don't we divide this money up first to give everyone peace of mind? Does anyone have any other ideas?"
Li Qingzi's eloquent and gentle voice with a smile slowly broke the cold atmosphere around them, and made Ren Limeng unable to help but look at her through the others.
After being in the same group with Li Qingzi, her presence has always been weak. Most of the time, she just stood beside Yan Baiwei, responding to her complaints, and not many of her own opinions were heard.
But these few words were not that simple. They not only pointed out Yan Baiwei's opinion and explained it, but also cleverly eased the atmosphere and proposed solutions. His neither humble nor arrogant words made people feel comfortable listening to him, as if other ideas at this time were just personal problems.
Although Li Qingzi has always been remembered only as "Chen Xingzhi's junior sister," as a rising star of Hanxing, one of the four major entertainment companies, her overall quality is clearly above average among the guests. Her sudden, powerful remarks on camera gave Ren Limeng more pause for thought: Will Li Qingzi be content to be Chen Xingzhi's "leg pendant"? Or does she have her own ambitions?
"Sure, Li Meng and I have no problem with that. We totally agree."
Xu Chichi responded to Li Qingzi almost instantly. She avoided Shen Xingzhi's gaze, and with a flick of her eyes, her affectionate words had already made a decision for Ren Limeng, showing her generosity and sincerity.
Ren Limeng stared silently at the half-profile of Xu Chichi beside her. She was sure that Xu Chichi was interfering in her affairs this time. It seemed that this might not be the first time...
As a "little host", it is not surprising that she does not speak. In addition, she and Xu Chichi have almost been together since the recording, so Xu Chichi can indeed speak directly on her behalf to a certain extent.
Was it her negligence?
"Since everyone thinks so, let's split it up."
Chen Xingzhi expressionlessly withdrew his gaze from Ren Limeng. His voice was still cold, but it seemed to lower the temperature in the car by several degrees.
“Is Shen Xingzhi always this cold?”
After the money was distributed, the carriage fell silent again. It takes five hours to get from Xiangcheng to Linshi by high-speed rail. Everyone felt a little bored as the train shook slightly.
Yan Baiwei covered her other earphones and couldn't help but tilt her head to gossip in Li Qingzi's ear, "You two are from the same company, so you should know something, right? Is he so cold in front of the camera?"
no.
Li Qingzi pulled the corner of her mouth and looked at Chen Xingzhi, who was dozing on the chair not far away, with a slightly complicated look. He had his legs together, broad shoulders and narrow waist. Even though he was motionless, he had a kind of indifference and alienation, which unconsciously attracted other people's attention and made people subconsciously stop and move forward.
"Brother Xingzhi may seem a little cold, but he's actually warm-hearted. Once we get to know each other better, you'll realize he's a very kind person!"
Li Qingzi's answer disappointed Yan Baiwei. She stared at Li Qingzi, said "Oh" lightly, and looked at Xu Chichi and Ren Limeng on the inside of Shen Xingzhi, with a trace of contempt flashing in her eyes.
On the other side, Ren Limeng was staring at Xu Chichi. She suddenly asked directly, "Sister Chichi, I don't think we talked about dividing the money, did I? Am I mistaken?"
In front of the camera, being cautious in what you say and do is the first principle, but being cautious in what you say and do does not mean swallowing your anger and giving others the opportunity to become even more aggressive.
Ren Limeng does not allow anyone to act on their own and represent herself.
Hearing Ren Limeng's questioning voice, Xu Chichi was obviously stunned for a moment. She subconsciously avoided Ren Limeng's eyes that were looking straight at her, and her gaze drifted in the air, "Ah? Limeng, we... talked about it this morning. You're a bit forgetful!"
As she spoke, Xu Chichi's tone became firmer, and there was also some familiar complaint in her voice. Her flickering eyes slowly looked at Ren Limeng, with a silly smile on her face.
"Oh? Really?"
Ren Limeng's voice was somewhat meaningful. She smiled lightly and did not argue with Xu Chichi about this issue. It should be said that the second half of her question was to give Xu Chichi a way out. Her purpose in questioning Xu Chichi was not to review the so-called truth, but to warn and remind him.
They knew what was going on when they looked at each other, but they just smiled in front of the camera, as if it was just a casual remark during a chat and no one cared.
Since the journey had just begun at the first stop, the nature of the team reality show and Ren Limeng's status meant that this matter could only be reduced to a small matter.
Compared with the other three, even if Xu Chichi has some ulterior motives, he is already the best partner that Ren Limeng can choose. Even if they are not in harmony with each other, they both know after thinking about each other that there is no need to be unhappy over such a small matter.
Chen Xingzhi raised his eyelids, glanced at the scene outside the window on the right, then slowly curled his lips and continued to rest with his eyes closed.
After arriving in Lin City, the five people changed into the business car prepared by the program crew.
Ren Limeng was a little scared when getting on and off the train, afraid that the production crew would suddenly ask for the car fee. She only had 200 yuan in cash on her and had no idea where to stay for the night. She carefully checked several commonly used accommodation and travel apps such as Meituan and Ctrip on the high-speed rail. The prices of hostels and B&Bs on weekdays were not bad, basically 150 to 200 yuan per room. If she chose to share a bed with Xu Chichi, she could have good meals all three times.
When we arrived at Senmu Town, Lin City, the program crew was not as stingy as expected and arranged a special hot pot meal first. The aroma of stewed local chicken with dried bamboo shoots brightened the eyes of the hungry people.
"The free-range chickens at this farmhouse are so delicious! And there are potatoes in them? Amazing! Thank you, director!"
Xu Chichi took the lead and walked into the hotel box. She sat down on the left side of the door. Yan Baiwei and Li Qingzi walked past her and sat down as well.
Shen Xingzhi walked behind Ren Limeng, watching Ren Limeng sitting quietly on the right side of the door. He paused slightly and sat next to her.
Yan Baiwei noticed her C-position seat, and a hint of satisfaction flashed in her eyes. It was worth it that she had been arranging seats since entering the restaurant and deliberately walked in front of Shen Xing.
"Before dinner, let's discuss tonight's accommodations. We need to contact and set up the cameras first."
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