Chapter 6: Schoolgirl, come here
During the quick-answer selection session, the questions the program team gave to the four male guests were not simple. Ren Limeng looked thoughtfully at the large central screen behind the host desk.
For the first question, there are three landscape photos on the left side of the large screen, and the corresponding locations on the right side. You need to connect the two.
It is worth mentioning that the place on the right is not directly given a specific name, but is described by three nicknames - "Asian Gymnastics Hometown", "Hometown of Qu Yuan and Zhaojun" and "Hometown of Osmanthus".
As a native of Jingchu Province, Ren Limeng had a vague guess about these three locations, but from the landscape photo on the left, she could only confirm one of them.
Frankly speaking, there are still too many cities in Jingchu Province that she has not visited. Every time she travels, she always feels that the province is close to home and there will always be a chance to go again. It is easy to ignore the surrounding cities when traveling.
While Ren Limeng was pondering, Chen He had already taken the lead in showing his board and answering. Chen Xi walked over, looked over his board again and again to confirm, and said with some regret, "Unfortunately, two of the lines are reversed."
Zheng Chuanbai was standing on the far right. He seemed to have glanced at Chen He's question board. When he heard Chen Xi's voice, he quickly changed his answer and hurriedly pressed the answer button.
"All correct! Congratulations Chuanbai! Who would you like to choose as your teammate?"
"Sister Chen Xi, can I choose from everyone here?"
Zheng Chuanbai looked at Chen Xi with a smile, and there was a hint of tentativeness in his words, as if he was confirming the selection rules with Chen Xi again, or as if he was just too excited about being the first one to answer the question correctly.
"Of course, except for you four male guests who can't be in the same group for the first stop, everyone else can. No one has the right to refuse."
Chen Xi noticed that Zheng Chuanbai was staring at her intently. She tightened her grip on the black microphone in her hand and pretended to be calm when she suddenly heard Zheng Chuanbai's enthusiastic invitation.
"Then Sister Chen Xi, I want to invite you!"
Chen Xi's face darkened for a moment, and she subconsciously looked at Shen Xingzhi, who was calm beside her. Shen Xingzhi's expression was still indifferent, and Zheng Chuanbai's words obviously did not affect him at all.
Chen Xi thought of the dozens of cameras that were recording, and in the end he could only raise the corners of his stiff mouth, nod slightly, and accept Zheng Chuanbai's invitation with a smile.
"Zheng Chuanbai has struck it rich this time! He's so smart, he even had the nerve to invite Sister Chen Xi to join the team! Sister Chen Xi is so popular, he's taking advantage of her. The rules are so unfair, Sister Chen Xi can't refuse. He's a bit dishonest, too. Li Meng, did you notice just now? He peeked at Brother Chen He's answer. It was clearly Brother Chen He who came up with this question first!"
Xu Chichi sat next to Ren Limeng, complaining softly. Her eyes fell on the tall and graceful Chen Xingzhi, and her eyes were full of worry that could not be hidden.
Chen Xingzhi has always been oblivious to what's happening outside, and unlike Zheng Chuanbai, he's not good at "picking up leaks". This segment tests the guests' understanding of Jingchu culture, which is really a bit embarrassing.
"It's a bit strange that there's no rule requiring two-way selection this season. Everyone's kind of just going with the flow in the first stop."
Ren Limeng did not answer the question raised by Xu Chichi indignantly. She crossed her wrists on her legs and stared calmly at the center of the scene - the answering position where the four male guests were standing.
Just now, Zheng Chuanbai's behavior of "picking peaches" was probably a conflict point designed by the program team.
In such a spacious hall, the four quick-answer positions are placed so close to each other. How could the program crew not have predicted and speculated on the guests' performance in advance?
This debate should be under the control of the program team. Zheng Chuanbai just followed the program team's wishes and earned himself a few shots.
Even though she had some guesses in her heart, Ren Limeng remained calm. She stared intently at the guests in front of the podium and quietly observed the people on the scene.
During the conversation, Ren Limeng simply continued to analyze Xu Chichi's first half of the sentence, "However, the rules of this part are also relatively fair. If the team members are selected through quick response, the difference in strength between each team should be more random."
The so-called strength refers more to popularity and traffic.
In the first season of "Thirty-Six Changes of Mountains and Seas", there was a group of teams that were double-selected on the initial stage. Several high-traffic stars took advantage of a loophole in the rules and locked the teams in place every time they formed a team.
Although relying on fans to maintain performance rankings is not a problem, the entire team is relatively too focused on topics, making the reality show lack a lot of novelty. As a result, one or two less famous groups have almost no shots, and many of the program team's settings are meaningless.
Later in the show, some black fans seized this opportunity to criticize the production team for prioritizing traffic and forming unfair teams. Although the program slogan was "only hard work can win", the reality was that the production team tried hard to give way to fame, and the guests were unable to make a comeback.
The team formation rules of this season are obviously designed to avoid this, but it is a common practice in the circle for big names to play with big names. Chen He, who successfully answered the second question, chose actor Hong Qingli almost in seconds. Everyone present had a flash of understanding in their eyes. Chen He's choice was not unexpected.
Hong Qingli is not only the fourth-ranked guest in the initial stage, but also has a popular CP fan base with Chen He called "Hai Yan He Qing". Their popular workplace drama during the winter vacation has become popular thanks to CP marketing. Ren Limeng vaguely realized that it was no coincidence that Chen He and Hong Qingli appeared on "Twenty Changes of Mountains and Seas" at the same time.
Chen He’s first choice was Hong Qingli, just like Shen Xingzhi’s first choice would be Li Qingzi. Ren Limeng could guess it with her feet. Rather than saying that they chose their teammates, it would be better to say that “other factors” controlled their decisions.
The former is to advance his career to the next level, while the latter is to carry out tasks for the agency.
Zheng Chuanbai answered another question correctly. As expected, he chose Yue Qian from Chen Xi's agency. How many of the guests who could participate in the recording were naive? Even if the so-called selection of people was somewhat a random coincidence brought about by one's own wishes, more factors must be considered and weighed.
The "go with the flow" she mentioned is not random, let alone casual.
This reality show has all guests aged 25 and above, and they are all adults who have been beaten by society. Even for a semi-outsider like Ren Limeng who went straight from school to the agricultural field, it is not as simple as it seems.
Just as Ren Limeng lamented in a popular post she saw, the key to reality shows is "show."
After Guan He on the far left also answered a question correctly, Shen Xingzhi on the left middle position finally answered a question first. Ren Limeng looked at the big screen with a bit of interest in her eyes.
Which of the following excerpts is a representative opera work originating from Meishi?
Huangmei Opera "The Legend of the White Snake".
Ren Limeng answered this question without hesitation. There was no other way. As a native of Meishi who had learned Huangmei Opera since childhood, some things had been engraved in her bones, whether she was willing or loved it or not. After many years, she could still clearly remember all the lyrics of "The Legend of the Cowherd and the Butterfly".
Along with the serious expression of her mother Wu Murong in her memory, every detail of Huangmei Opera is interwoven with the sweat and tears of her “ten years of hard work off stage”.
Later, she finally couldn't bear it anymore, and secretly changed her application in her senior year of high school without telling anyone. She had obviously passed the opera art exam and only needed to pass the first-tier score to be admitted to university, but she blocked her own "shortcut" with her own hands.
When Ren Limeng thinks about it now, she is a little bit impressed with herself. Just by relying on her unremitting practice, she created a new path for herself. Her college entrance examination score was 626 points. Relying solely on her academic scores, she still managed to be admitted to the Communication University.
At that time, she seemed to have no pursuits or ideals. Apart from avoiding the opera major, she checked a lot of boxes on the application form. That summer, Ren Limeng only remembered that she and her mother quarreled over and over again. She didn't want to be her mother's puppet anymore, and her mother hated her rebelliousness and deception.
She was quite immature back then, but she had made it through all these years. She had long lost the posture she had practiced hard for opera, but when she heard Shen Xingzhi's fluent response to "The Legend of the White Snake", Ren Limeng still couldn't help being dazed.
If she can return to Mei City during this journey of "Twenty Changes of Mountains and Seas", she... hopes to do her part to promote the culture of her hometown, especially Huangmei Opera. After the mixed feelings of love and hate, she ultimately hopes for it to get better.
"Xingzhi, congratulations! Which guest did you choose?"
Shen Xingzhi's gaze turned to the guests. He quickly fixed his eyes on someone and noticed that she was staring at Chen He beside her. The loss in her eyes was so obvious. Shen Xingzhi's eyes darkened, and without hesitation, he suddenly said, "School girl, come here."
Shen Xingzhi's schoolmate?
Everyone present was stunned. Chen Xi subconsciously looked at Li Qingzi, who was smiling and showing her most beautiful posture, thinking that Shen Xingzhi had said something wrong and accidentally said "junior sister" instead of "school sister".
But Chen Xingzhi didn't correct himself for a long time. He stood behind the answering position as tall and straight as a green pine, gazing at the guest seats with a smile on his face. Casting aside the biting coldness around him, his handsome face seemed to be naturally radiant with the glow of the moonlight, possessing the charm of a natural C position.
The scene fell silent for a moment, and the female guests exchanged glances silently, waiting for the "schoolmate of Chen Xingzhi" who was hiding among them to stand up.
Sensing the unusual, stagnant atmosphere in the hall, Ren Limeng's thoughts had just been pulled away from the Huangmei Opera when she heard Xu Chichi whisper in her ear, "I'm supposed to take care of not only my junior sister but also my junior sister? How miserable! Who is the lucky person who gets to be Brother Xingzhi's junior sister? Brother Xingzhi is... a top student at Chuanxi University. Could it be Yao Ruonan from Jiayang Entertainment? She seems to be from Chuanxi University as well?"
"Sister Chi Chi, there's no need to guess."
The quiet air seemed to have stopped time. Ren Limeng's right hand clenched her left hand so hard that it hurt. She slowly raised her eyes and said calmly, "I am the lucky one."
Her thoughts rose and fell like the tide. The moment she looked up and met Chen Xingzhi's dark and cold eyes, even though there was not a single extra word, Ren Limeng immediately understood that his "schoolmate" was referring to her.
Without looking at Xu Chichi's eyes that were about to pop out of their sockets in surprise, Ren Limeng tightened her lips, loosened her hands with a wry smile, and slowly stood up. Facing the sudden increase in the number of focused cameras around her, she kept a constant smile on her face.
Ren Limeng walked gracefully and slowly towards the answering position at the front of the stage. "Senior, it's been years since we last met. I thought you had forgotten me! I didn't even have the nerve to say hello to you just now!"
These two simple sentences calmly explained the two people's pretense of unfamiliarity just now. The familiar tone was just right. The person in front of him had indeed made much progress compared to before.
Chen Xingzhi stood quietly there, looking at Ren Limeng who was approaching slowly. He gently curled the corners of his mouth, and the almost imperceptible arc made his cold and indifferent face a little warmer, and then, as if it was a flash in the pan, he regained his nonchalant attitude.
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