The lounge suddenly fell silent, and the atmosphere became somewhat strange.
Qiao Li's assistant, who had been worrying about how to report back, now joined the ranks of the onlookers. While her hands were still pushing the door, her feet seemed to be glued to the floor, unwilling to take a single step away.
...What is going on?
Could it be that the Weibo post wasn't just a random update, and there really is some connection between these two?
Everyone present, without exception, couldn't wrap their heads around it. The little assistant quietly scanned the two of them several times, then heard Ling Ye say, "If there's none left, that's fine, anything else will do."
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Wen Wanning felt a bit uneasy and rummaged through her bag again.
She had prepared enough, but almost all of it was in her checked baggage, and she only had one bottle left on her.
It was floral-scented, and she had already opened it; there was also a bracelet that came as a gift with the spray.
It was a pink printed version from a Cherry Maruko collaboration. Cute as it was, it was also a bit embarrassing; she had originally planned to wear it secretly when she went to sleep.
Wen Wanning gave up on trying to hide it and held one in each hand to show him, "...Neither of these is really appropriate. If you really can't choose, I'll give it to you after we get off the airplane."
Ling Ye didn't hesitate at all, "How do I wear it?"
Wen Wanning: "..."
She really couldn't understand him.
He shouldn't be so afraid of mosquito bites that he'd go this far, unless he was just used to focusing solely on function and ignoring appearance from his time racing cars.
"Are you serious or just messing with me?"
She whispered a reminder, "I'm afraid you'll be photographed after getting off the airplane, so remember to take it off in a moment."
While she hesitated, Ling Ye had already extended his wrist, looking up at her quietly.
His eyes were so beautiful it felt like cheating, with thick, dark eyelashes. He usually looked cold and aloof, but when he looked at her, he was exceptionally focused.
He didn't sit in his perfectly good seat; she didn't know where he picked up this habit.
Wen Wanning pursed her lips, unwrapped the packaging, and lightly slapped it onto his wrist.
The pink circle, slightly small in size, clasped the young man's wrist. His knuckles were distinct, and the veins stretched slightly, looking very out of place.
"There."
Wen Wanning's ear lobes felt a bit hot, and mindful of the others' gazes, she urged him to get up.
Ling Ye, however, didn't care at all and raised his wrist to admire it for a moment, "Looks good."
Qiao Li's assistant saw the interaction between the two clearly and shifted her gaze toward the others.
Teacher Jiang Yun was older and hadn't kept up with the rhythm, while Wei Yinghuai, who was watching the show from the first row, had a completely blank expression, having forgotten to manage his facial expressions.
A whirlwind of dramatic thoughts raced through her mind.
The little assistant tried hard to lower her head so her expression wouldn't look too pitiful.
After taking Teacher Jiang Yun and the other back to the lounge private room and comforting the clearly disappointed Qiao Li, she finally found time to step out and catch her breath.
The first thing she did was take out her phone and frantically spam screaming chicken emojis in her group chat with her friends.
Princess Little Sister: 【Is anyone there? Pause your work and congratulate me. True love exists in this world, and an epic older sister and younger man couple is right beside me 】
Princess Little Sister: 【Who can understand this? Teacher Wen just gave out little gifts to everyone, and after she finished giving them out, my boss's share was gone. Ling Ye was especially scheming; he found an excuse to take away the girlish bracelet Teacher Wen was using for herself 『Going crazy』『Going crazy』『Going crazy』】
Friend A: 【...Is the Ling Ye you're talking about the same Ling Ye I know? No video, no truth, you're making this up, right 】
Friend A: 【Woooo, I'm someone else's assistant, I'd have to be crazy to dare to film it, but I have to say it! Ling Ye with his older sister is so sweet and charming. What kind of cold and aloof border collie is this, bowing his head and acting spoiled to get a collar put on? How can your Little Stepmother be so cold-hearted and such a steel-willed straight woman that she can remain completely calm even with this! 】
Friend B: 【Must be made up +1. Besides, isn't your Princess Qiao always trying to hit on him? I'm warning you on behalf of the boss 】
Princess Little Sister: 【I do the work for the pay, stop worrying about the boss, and enjoy the guilty pleasure 】
Princess Little Sister: 【Everyone watch the first episode, okay? If I can't ship this couple, I'll go to your house and wash my hair while doing a handstand! 】
Friend A: 【Okay, screenshot taken 】
Friend B: 【Looking forward to your wonderful performance 『Flying kiss』『Flying kiss』】
The airplane took off on time at three o'clock.
Qi Jiujiu had an itinerary and arrived very late; the boarding stairs were almost retracted when she boarded. She talked to Wen Wanning for a while and fell asleep shortly after.
The others were much the same.
Most artists' schedules were reversed between day and night. The cabin was dimly lit, and everyone took the opportunity to catch up on sleep. Ten minutes later, few eyes were open.
Wen Wanning didn't feel sleepy. She pulled the eye mask and blanket over her friend and stared at the clouds outside the porthole, lost in thought for a moment.
She had done some homework over the past few weeks, and after chatting with the director team at noon, she had a general idea of everyone's role in the show.
Excluding her and Ling Ye, whose presence meant traffic, there were five other guests.
Teacher Jiang Yun was highly respected and was the elder sister who held the fort.
Qi Jiujiu was very familiar with the routines of this kind of reality show; she was an experienced pro who could liven up the atmosphere.
There were many challenging tasks on the island. Although Xu Jiashu filmed more historical dramas, he had no idol baggage and had always used his young master background and rugged personality as a selling point, which the director team had high hopes for.
Wei Yinghuai had a straightforward personality and no ulterior motives; he was like a human Samoyed. He had previously performed comedy sketches with Qi Jiujiu on other variety shows and had a harmless, variety-show-friendly vibe.
There was one more, Qiao Li, whose persona given by the program group was also appropriate: a down-to-earth, wealthy girl.
In summary, each had their own highlights.
Although some relationships were a bit awkward, she had room to play with her interactions with everyone, so the filming over the next few days shouldn't be too difficult.
The airplane landed in the evening.
Everyone changed their clothes and went to collect their luggage. As soon as they stepped out of the terminal, the humid tropical air rushed toward them, faintly carrying the salty scent of the sea breeze.
The weather on the island was clear, and the sunset was exceptionally beautiful. The distance near the horizon was a blur of pink and purple, dreamlike and illusory.
Wen Wanning stopped to take two photos. As she was adjusting the focus, she vaguely heard a thunderous sound of footsteps. Qi Jiujiu, who was beside her, tugged at her sleeve, "...This is really exaggerated."
She turned her head at the sound and looked behind her.
In just a few seconds, the walkway in front of the terminal was instantly packed with fans wearing Mercedes-Benz team uniforms.
This was probably what they meant by winning the genetic lottery.
Taking off a helmet on the racetrack could make him handsome enough to go viral, and now, even separated by several layers of human walls, his height advantage was significant, and he could still be spotted at a glance.
Wen Wanning was startled, and from this second on, she truly realized Ling Ye's popularity.
Today, as soon as they came out of the security channel, there was a scattering of blue and black support colors among the crowd. Most of them were girls with foreign faces, who were excitedly whispering while following them from a distance, with an astonishing sense of order.
There was no lack of traffic among their group, but their influence overseas was still limited.
Everyone saw it, but no one thought these fans had anything to do with them.
As a result, just a few steps out of the terminal, seeing the program group preparing to leave by car, the originally loose crowd seemed to have triggered some kind of switch, swarming up and surrounding Ling Ye, who was walking at the end of the line, layer by layer.
"Damn," Wei Yinghuai leaned against the car door and looked over there, his face full of shock, "I just realized, that's the livery color of Brother Ling Ye's team, right?"
"With this kind of popularity for a non-public itinerary, if they had announced it two days ago, this island would have been trampled flat."
"It's fine, that's just how it is for people in competitive sports."
Xu Jiashu put his hands in his pockets, "Not many people watch TV dramas after they go overseas, but sports competitions are different. Even a three-year-old knows which car is fast, and everyone can comment on it."
The sunset was a bit dazzling. Wei Yinghuai raised his hand to shield his eyes, his tone quite sincere, "Brother, you were watching F1 when you were three? I was still watching Peppa Pig when I was three."
Xu Jiashu: ...
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