Facing the camera, everyone, whether genuinely or falsely, wore an expression of instant, familiar warmth.
Xu Jiashu drank two glasses of champagne and joined the conversation on Qi Jiujiu's side.
From his part-time job experiences while studying abroad to the meteor shower that might appear tonight, he went all out, just to secure more screen time in the raw footage.
Except for Ling Ye, all the male guests were from Capital City, naturally possessing a talkative gene, which made Teacher Jiang Yun laugh non-stop, creating a very lively atmosphere.
Wen Wanning was positioned on the edge of the crowd; aside from occasionally responding to the jokes Qi Jiujiu threw her way, she spent the rest of the time listening to others talk.
The director in charge of her was anxious on the opposite side; they scribbled on an A4 sheet of paper and held it up for her to see:
【Teacher Wen, speak! Say a few more words!】
Wen Wanning felt quite ashamed. She rested her hand on the edge of the table and quietly made a gesture of begging for mercy.
It wasn't that she didn't want to, but she really couldn't squeeze into the conversation.
If there were a coordinate system between a social butterfly and a social phobic, she would be the type of reserved person leaning to the right. She could joke around among a group of friends, but once she encountered these true variety show stars, she could only admit defeat.
After the meal, Wen Wanning didn't have much of an appetite, but the footage captured her eating the whole time.
She didn't even dare to think about the reputation after the show aired, so she could only comfort herself that wasting food was bad, and she picked up the last piece of lobster on her plate and put it into her mouth.
No matter how delicious food is, it's just the same once it gets cold.
Wen Wanning was chewing slowly when she suddenly saw the table flower in front of her move. Very abruptly, a champagne glass filled with warm water was pushed over.
By the time she looked up, the hand that had reached over from diagonally opposite had just withdrawn. Wen Wanning's gaze followed upward and collided with Ling Ye's calm eyes.
As memories and reality overlapped, Wen Wanning was a bit dazed. "For me?"
Ling Ye gave a hum.
The movement wasn't large, but the effect was quite significant.
The cameraman who had been filming Wen Wanning was almost falling asleep, but seeing Ling Ye lean over slightly, he excitedly zoomed in for a close-up.
The feeling of being monitored in every move was too eerie. Wen Wanning swallowed the question she had originally wanted to ask and very politely said thank you.
The social death of being bundled with Ling Ye on the hot search was still fresh in her memory; she certainly hadn't forgotten.
Wherever Ling Ye was, there was attention. The group of people at the table could talk until their throats were sore, and it might not be as pleasing to the editor as one quiet side-profile shot of him.
If she asked "Why give this to me" now, setting aside how Ling Ye might reply, once it was broadcast, she would definitely be labeled as a scheming woman who clings to others.
The man diagonally opposite nodded slightly.
He seemed to be hungry too. Aside from that moment when he pushed the glass, he was almost in sync with her, and the knife and fork in his hand hadn't stopped.
Wen Wanning turned her face away, forcing herself not to pay attention to that particularly eye-catching pink bracelet, and while it was still warm, she picked up the glass and drank the water first.
Aesthetics are a matter of personal preference.
Who knows, maybe Ling Ye really likes Cherry Maruko and wanted to use this glass of water to return a favor. Who knows.
After dinner was two hours of free exploration time.
Wen Wanning and Qi Jiujiu rode a small electric scooter along the coastline for over half an hour before regrouping with the main team and lying on the beach to watch the meteor shower.
The island air was fresh, and the stars were exceptionally bright.
Seeing a real meteor for the first time since she was born, Wen Wanning wanted to use eight hundred poses to take videos, and she even forgot to make a wish.
《Spontaneous Travel》 had a mobile phone sponsor this season. The planning team had racked their brains for months for product placement, and this meteor shower was an unexpected bonus.
Seeing the guests spontaneously holding up the sponsor's advertisements, the director was happy to enjoy the results. He was especially appreciative of Wen Wanning, who looked the most hardworking, and gave her several thumbs-up in a row.
Wen Wanning didn't understand and thought he was praising her photography skills, so she smiled quite embarrassedly.
Xu Jiashu didn't like taking photos much; he just shoved the new phone into his pocket and never took it out again.
Seeing the cameras all filming toward Wen Wanning, he interrupted and asked, "Almost forgot, when will our work assignments for tomorrow be released?"
The production crew was incredibly quiet; there wasn't even anyone to answer him.
The program group was exceptionally experienced in coaxing investors; if the money was enough, the screen time was also enough.
Within a few seconds, everyone's sponsor phones vibrated one after another, and messages popped up frantically.
Travel Assistant: 【Sorry to keep everyone waiting. These are our randomly drawn group results. The small group chat has been set up. Wishing everyone good fortune and wealth~】
【Barbecue Group: Qiao Li, Wei Yinghuai】
【Flower Shop Group: Ling Ye, Qi Jiujiu】
【Beach Sports Group: Jiang Yun, Wen Wanning, Xu Jiashu】
Once the groups were announced, some were happy and some were sad.
Qiao Li: "God, my family has never let me enter the kitchen."
"What's wrong with barbecue?" Jiang Yun, who had the highest seniority and wasn't afraid of offending anyone, said bluntly, "You don't have to worry about the taste when setting up a stall at a tourist spot; as long as it's cooked, it's fine. But for this beach sports group, I really have no ideas at all."
"It's not like Jiashu can go surfing in the sea while Wanning and I make the young girls who want a photo opportunity line up and collect money one by one."
He had mentioned being able to surf at the dinner table himself, but now that he was actually picked, Xu Jiashu felt a bit unhappy, thinking that doing such heavy lifting was a loss no matter how he looked at it.
He couldn't disregard the senior's face, so Xu Jiashu curled his lips and smiled, "Teacher Jiang thinks too highly of me."
"The scope given by the director is so broad, we can still discuss it. There is more than one sport we can do on the beach."
People in each group expressed their stance. Qi Jiujiu looked left and right but didn't see Ling Ye, so she poked Wen Wanning, who was searching for beach sports items.
"Where is your good younger brother?"
The sea breeze was too comfortable, and Wen Wanning forgot to correct Qi Jiujiu's address for a moment. She also looked up and searched, "I don't see him. Maybe the racing team has an urgent matter."
Actually, she wasn't sure either. She only vaguely remembered her younger cousin mentioning that race car drivers had a lot of work to do during the off-season.
Leaving the racing team to record a show and occasionally stepping away to answer a phone call was normal. In any case, it definitely wasn't an intentional absence.
Their voices weren't loud, but the guests were close to each other, and everyone heard them.
Qiao Li pursed her lips, "Is Sister Wanning Ling Ye's biological sister?"
This was the first time the little princess had taken the initiative to talk to her. Wen Wanning was quiet for two seconds before she remembered the explanation she had used for Teacher Zhong.
"We are not related by blood. Ling Ye is my neighbor's younger brother."
As soon as she finished speaking, Qiao Li's expression visibly brightened, and the inexplicable hostility she had been carrying disappeared.
"No wonder," even Wei Yinghuai had a look of sudden realization. Not knowing what he had recalled, he leaned over, "I also thought you were biological brother and sister before, because you don't look alike at all, so I didn't dare to ask."
"I'm so envious. The area where our courtyard house is located is full of old men and women; there isn't a single person my age, and the kids all call me Uncle."
The relationship of being neighbors is close, yet distant. Even if it is broadcast on TV, there won't be too much controversy.
Wen Wanning replied cautiously, and while the person himself was away, she secretly tried to whitewash the Weibo post Ling Ye had made earlier.
On the way back to the homestay, Wen Wanning took over riding the small electric scooter.
Qi Jiujiu secretly muted the microphones on both their collars and leaned into her ear to whisper, "Is this the love of an older sister? It's really cold-hearted."
"When you sent him abroad to race, you threw money at him without blinking an eye. Now that he is confessing to you in front of the whole country, you didn't blink an eye when you distanced yourself."
Wen Wanning was still worried about making money tomorrow and was distracted, "...If you post this online, neither of us will be able to survive."
"And that 300,000 wasn't for charity, okay? When I go back for New Year's Eve, the first thing I'll do is collect the debt."
Qi Jiujiu glanced at her exquisite side profile from the rearview mirror and clicked her tongue twice, "Really cold-hearted."
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