Chapter 51 You Can Trust Me More
Dong Zhu understood Chen Xingzhi's question, explained it, and looked at everyone again. Yan Baiwei still had a cold look on her face, staring at Chen Xingzhi sideways. Chen Xingzhi was the guest here who was most qualified to bargain with the program team. Chen Xingzhi did not make trouble for the program team, so she didn't say anything else.
"There's a flight to Xiangcheng at 4pm today. Let's refund our high-speed rail tickets and change them quickly!"
While Dong Zhu was speaking, Ren Limeng had already turned on her mobile phone to check the ticket. At this moment, she spoke in a calm tone and looked at Shen Xingzhi. She found that he had also picked up the mobile phone on the table. When he heard her words, he paused with his right hand and looked up at her.
"There's one more thing. Director Yao has issued a new notice stating that you all need to pay for your own transportation to Jiangcheng. You must use the start-up capital."
After Dong Zhu finished speaking, Li Qingzi looked at the plane tickets on Ren Limeng's phone that cost over 800 yuan each and frowned. "Is the remaining money from the start-up capital enough to pay for the plane tickets?"
Li Qingzi and Yan Baiwei had spent all their money on a 1,000 yuan a day hotel. Since they'd already assumed the production crew would cover their transportation to Jiangcheng, they'd already spent almost all the money they'd earned from visiting tourist attractions. "If we go to Jiangcheng today, we can save a night's accommodation. Shouldn't the production crew pay us back the 1,000 yuan?"
"The accommodation fees collected from everyone will be returned to your account within ten minutes, but you will also have to pay for your accommodation in Jiangcheng tonight."
Dong Zhu nodded and looked at everyone again, "Does anyone have any questions?"
"Director Dong, is the quiz live?"
Ren Limeng raised her head. "Can the production team lend us some money first? We can pay it back at the second stop. Or is there any mission that can earn money?"
"The quiz won't be broadcast live, but it will be recorded. If there's an emergency with the performance the day after tomorrow, you can request to play the recording. It can be considered as a guarantee. Director Yao specifically said that everyone can borrow money, but the interest is five times the amount. However, your group shouldn't need to borrow money."
Dong Zhu's smile was impeccable and meaningful. She glanced at Shen Xingzhi and others again, then quietly disappeared from the camera.
"Not considering tonight, Bai Wei and I can only get twelve thousand at most."
Li Qingzi glanced at Yan Baiwei, smiled bitterly, and looked at Shen Xingzhi for help.
Due to their low ranking in the initial stage, Ren Limeng and her partner only had a daily budget of 200 yuan each. They had been practicing banggu at this stop and had basically no extra income from visiting tourist attractions. Only Chen Xingzhi, who also had a daily budget of 500 yuan and did not enjoy the luxury hotel, might have some money left.
Let’s not worry about accommodation for now. Once we get to Jiangcheng, she doesn’t believe that the program crew will let everyone sleep on the streets. The most important thing now is the travel expenses.
"Li Meng and I only have a little over 400 left."
Xu Chichi's tone was filled with self-blame, "It's all our fault that we didn't perform well on the first stage. We held everyone back."
Ren Limeng didn't say anything. The problem on the first stage was not the performance, so there was no need to blame herself. It was just that they were the ones who held them back. Even though she and Xu Chichi had intended to keep some reserve funds together, the reality was still so unexpected.
"Borrow some money from the production team."
Ren Limeng made a prompt decision. Time was tight and the task was heavy. No matter how much the second stage would burden her, at least she had to solve the problem at the first stage. Besides, there might be a chance for a turnaround at the second stage.
"No, I have money."
Shen Xingzhi put away his phone and said calmly, "I'll buy the tickets together. Everyone, pack up first and leave at 1:30. Director Dong, the schedule is too tight this time. There is no time to take a taxi to install and debug the equipment. Can we arrange two cars with the production team and pay according to the market price?"
"Can."
"One-thirty, that's too tight! There's no way I can pack!"
Yan Baiwei glanced at her phone and wanted to stop making trouble, but Shen Xingzhi’s schedule was really unreasonable. “It’s less than an hour, and I can’t collect all the things.”
"The plane won't wait for us. Two cars, two hotels, no one's waiting. Let's go straight away once we're done. We'll meet at the airport. I'll send a screenshot of the tickets to the group later."
Lin City is in the mountains, and the hotel is nearly an hour's drive from the airport. However, Shen Xingzhi did not argue with Yan Baiwei. He just calmly finished his narration, continued to make arrangements in an orderly manner, and communicated quickly with the program team. Ren Limeng looked at his calm appearance and suddenly felt that Shen Xingzhi had played a little role as a captain.
It's not just because Shen Xingzhi solved their financial difficulties, the most important thing is that he remained calm. The more urgent the situation, the more challenging it is for people, and they need to remain calm at this moment.
"Okay, Brother Xingzhi, I'll transfer the remaining money to you right away."
Li Qingzi tugged at the corner of Yan Baiwei's clothes. She also realized the urgency of time. At this moment, there was no time to be petty. Xu Chichi looked at Ren Limeng and took out his mobile phone, ready to transfer the money to Shen Xingzhi.
Ren Limeng noticed Li Qingzi's little action, and she suddenly realized that Shen Xingzhi's request for the program team to arrange two cars was a threat in itself. Shen Xingzhi was not threatening Yan Baiwei, but Li Qingzi.
In order to maintain her own image, Li Qingzi will most likely find ways to take Yan Baiwei on the plane.
"No, I have money. Let's go. Don't delay."
Chen Xingzhi and Ren Limeng took a car back to the hotel together. Ren Limeng quickly planned her packing plan in her mind and looked out the window. The layers of mountains in the distance seemed to have been fast-forwarded. Their outlines quickly shrank in her field of vision and gradually blurred, as if they were smoke and clouds blown away by the wind, disappearing in a flash.
It started to drizzle outside again, and the sound of it hitting the car window made people feel even more anxious.
"Brother Xingzhi, you made a lot of money in the bar last time, right?"
Ren Limeng suddenly spoke. She looked at the back of Shen Xingzhi's head in the front row. Xu Chichi on the side was completely confused. Her pupils shrank slightly and she turned her head to look at Shen Xingzhi.
"You guessed it."
Shen Xingzhi turned his head, his cold eyes had a little warmth, and when their eyes met, he immediately understood Ren Limeng's thoughts. This recording in front of the camera was to give the audience an explanation.
He didn't expect that in order to help him clarify the source of the money, she would take the initiative to bring up this topic in front of Xu Chichi. He thought that her recording strategy was to hide her edge.
During the first recording session, she was very quiet and hardly fought for anything, as if all she wanted was to get ready for the performance.
Ren Limeng also noticed the surprise in Xu Chichi's eyes. She smiled at him and continued, "Brother Xingzhi, thank goodness you left this emergency fund. It really solved our urgent need this time."
Ren Limeng didn't know what Chen Xingzhi's original plan was, but he had never taken out the money, and hadn't even revealed a single cent in the past few days. In view of their current cooperation, she was merciful and helped him set a tone for the money, so that no audience would accuse him of having no sense of collective honor as a captain and of eating alone.
"Li Meng, as the captain, you can trust me more."
Chen Xingzhi stared at Ren Limeng with deep eyes. Ren Limeng's smile froze for a moment, and then she raised the corners of her mouth even deeper, as if she was moved by Chen Xingzhi.
But when she lowered her eyes, all she could think about was how dedicated Chen Xingzhi was. The exam was almost imminent, yet he was still thinking about hyping up their relationship. If she hadn't reacted quickly, they would have been exposed.
"Li Meng, when did Brother Xingzhi go to the bar? Is there something going on between you and Brother Xingzhi?"
Back in the hotel room, Xu Chichi couldn't wait to look at Ren Limeng, his eyes full of inquiry and his tone full of scrutiny.
"Nothing, just Wednesday night."
Ren Limeng picked up her makeup bag, walked into the bathroom, and quickly checked her things on the sink. She had no intention of explaining anything further to Xu Chichi.
Xu Chichi watched Ren Limeng's busy voice and the camera in the room, and suddenly said half-seriously, "This time we are all indebted to Brother Xingzhi for this money. Limeng, do you know how much money Brother Xingzhi made? It's a lot, isn't it? The way he paid without blinking today was so handsome! Brother Xingzhi is really something. If he has so much money, why didn't he tell everyone earlier? I haven't even bought a bottle of mineral water these past two days to save money!"
Ren Limeng's ears moved slightly, and when she walked out of the bathroom, she met Xu Chichi's gaze. Xu Chichi was obviously blaming Shen Xingzhi, but she seemed to want to blame her for concealing the truth more, as if she was deceived by a good friend, with some grievance and sadness in her eyes.
Because it was his money.
Ren Limeng thought coldly in her heart, but spoke softly in front of the camera, with a hint of helplessness and bewilderment.
"Sister Chi Chi, I'm not sure, that's Brother Xingzhi's money."
Ren Limeng walked over to the locker, opened the suitcase, and continued, "Although the five of us are now a team, 'Mountains and Seas' is an individual competition. We have to regroup after each performance. We must continue to work hard and complete the performance well. Only by getting a higher ranking will we not be so passive in the next stop. Luckily, Brother Xingzhi stepped forward to help us this time. We are so lucky!"
Ren Limeng's tone was filled with relief. In just a few words, she made Shen Xingzhi's behavior of hiding money sound sanctimonious. Even though she knew that Ren Limeng was doing it on purpose, Xu Chichi had no way to stop her. A trace of anger flashed in her eyes, but her face was still aggrieved. She hesitated and said, "Limeng, you have changed a little recently. When you mention Brother Xingzhi's affairs, your attitude is so strange..."
Xu Chichi was very annoyed and felt aggrieved. Everyone saw how special Chen Xingzhi treated Ren Limeng today. She didn't know when Ren Limeng had gotten close to Chen Xingzhi. No wonder she pretended not to understand her suggestion to broadcast live this morning. It turned out that she had other plans.
Xu Chichi connected all the things together, feeling a mixture of envy, jealousy and hatred. At this moment, she couldn't even think about the nervousness and anxiety of the quiz. She just wanted to tear off Ren Limeng's hypocritical disguise in front of the camera. She thought she was a dignified and generous host, but she didn't expect that she just didn't notice her flirting!
The most important thing is that Ren Limeng actually succeeded! With Chen Xingzhi by her side, Ren Limeng will have a lot of shots, and then she will have even less presence in the whole team!
Xu Chichi secretly clenched her fists and held the clothes in her hands tightly. She could not allow such a thing to happen. She had to find a way to make Ren Limeng reveal her true colors!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
