Chapter 185: The Third Episode Begins Recording

Chapter 185: Chapter 185: The Third Episode Begins Recording

Just as the guests and audience had guessed.

The production team had chosen a hotel near the airport as the meeting point because their next filming location wasn’t in Yanjing. Instead, they would all be flying together to Guisheng Province, a journey of over three hours.

Only after crossing range after range of mountains would they reach their destination—

A small village tucked away in the remote mountains.

[OMG, the production team is really going all out. I know that area they’re going to—it’s seriously poor, like, one of the poorest in the whole country!]

[I was just complaining last season that with Nan Zhi, it was like she had cheat codes on. Everyone else just coasted along with her, and we didn’t see any real hardship... I can’t believe the production team hit us with something this intense, haha!]

[I love it, I love it! More, more!]

[I’m really curious if everyone will be able to stick it out. The conditions here are definitely way worse than the shantytown Nan Zhi lived in during the first season!]

[Hmm, I just remembered, Nan Zhi relied on her cooking skills to dominate the first two seasons. Now that she’s going to a poor, mountainous region, there won’t be many patrons to spend money on her food. What’s she going to do?]

[You’re only worried about Nan Zhi and no one else, huh? Is she the only person on this show or something?]

[I’m more curious if that socialite will be able to last...]

[Hey! It’s time for the moment everyone’s been waiting for—the drawing!]

...

「Airport VIP Lounge」

There was still some time before boarding, so Xu Lin took the opportunity to have everyone draw lots to determine their roles for the upcoming task.

The four guests, including Nan Zhi, all sent their kids to draw the role cards.

Xu Lin made sure to remind them,

"Once you’ve seen your role cards, just keep it to yourselves. We’ll do the big reveal when we get there!"

Hearing this, Nan Zhi deliberately angled herself away from the camera before turning her card over.

After reading the card, she let out a soft hum, her expression unreadable—it was hard to tell if she was pleased or not.

Nan Yi, who was draped across her lap, craned his neck to see.

"Mama, what’s this?"

He was a good boy. Remembering Director Xu Lin’s reminder, he didn’t read it aloud for the livestream audience to hear.

Not that he would have understood the role even if he had read it aloud.

He recognized the last two words, but what did the first two mean?

"It’s a good one. Our Yiyi is so clever."

Nan Zhi was never stingy with her praise.

Qi Pei’er, sitting next to her, grew curious and leaned over.

"Zhizhi, can I see yours?"

"Of course."

Nan Zhi readily showed it to her.

After seeing it, Qi Pei’er also furrowed her brow and hummed thoughtfully.

"So... is this a good one or a bad one?"

"It’s great."

At least, that’s what Nan Zhi thought.

Qi Pei’er scratched her cheek and, in turn, showed Nan Zhi the role card she’d drawn.

A moment later, Fu Chao and Xie Yu also came over to compare notes—

"Yours looks pretty good."

"I don’t know, it seems like it’ll be a lot of hard work."

"Doesn’t mine look like the best one?"

"..."

They were all mindful of Xu Lin’s instruction to keep things secret, so their hushed conversation was full of mystery.

The livestream audience: ...

[AHHHH! Is there anything a paying VIP like me isn’t allowed to hear?!]

[Damn it, Xiao Xu! What’s the harm in revealing it now! He just loves to keep us in suspense!]

[I’m dying of curiosity! Let me see, let me see!]

[What on earth are they talking about? I can’t understand a single word!]

[Um, don’t you guys think they’re kind of excluding the new guest by huddling together to talk like that?]

[What is this, middle school? Are people still forming cliques and ostracizing others? How pathetic.]

...

Some people were really overthinking things.

It wasn’t that Nan Zhi and the others were excluding Chang Mu; they simply didn’t know her well yet.

It was Nan Zhi who looked past the people gathered around her toward Chang Mu, who sat apart from the lively group, looking as elegant and impeccably poised as ever.

"Miss Chang, did you not draw a role card?"

Chang Mu explained with a smile,

"I’m a Life Experience Officer, so I don’t need to draw a role card."

She went on to explain the "Life Experience Officer" role, which everyone had been curious about from the start.

It turned out this season was a collaboration with a certain charitable foundation.

And Chang Mu happened to be a director of this very foundation.

Therefore, she was representing the foundation on this trip, immersing herself in local life to help facilitate the foundation’s subsequent poverty alleviation efforts in the area.

In a sense, "Foundation Representative" and "Life Immersion" were her role and task.

As she spoke, Chang Mu gave a playful wink.

"Don’t worry, I’ve been here before and know the locals well. If you have trouble adjusting, you can stick with me!"

Nan Zhi and the others nodded politely.

Whether they actually agreed or not was another story.

[I feel like there was a subtle dig in what the rich girl said. Is she implying that a bunch of celebrities are more pampered and less able to handle hardship than she is...?]

[Can some of you stop reading too much into it? Miss Chang is beautiful and kind. As a director of a charity foundation, she’s personally going into the mountains to do poverty alleviation work. She’s truly outstanding, okay?]

[Wow, I have zero resistance to gentle, kind-hearted beauties like her. Compared to her, the other guests just seem...]

[Stop putting others down to praise her! I’ll come for you if you drag anyone else into this!]

[Her charity work alone is enough for me to see her through rose-colored glasses! As long as she doesn’t break the law, I’ll support her for life!]

[The guests haven’t even arrived yet, have they? Let’s not make baseless assumptions. I’m sure they’re all kind people!]

[This season is so meaningful! Props to the production team!]

...

Soon, it was time to board.

As they walked out of the lounge and through the airport terminal, they were spotted by quite a few people.

The most popular, naturally, was Fu Chao, the A-list, award-winning actor who had been famous for years.

A close second was Nan Zhi.

In fact, looking around, the number of people asking Nan Zhi for photos and autographs was surprisingly on par with the crowd around Fu Chao!

"Oh my gosh, you’re so beautiful! I absolutely love your cooking!"

"Boss Nan, I’ve been to your little restaurant! I wish you’d open another one!"

"Wow, Yiyi, sweetie, you’re so cute!"

"Everyone, don’t push! Be careful not to hurt our little Yiyi!"

"..."

Nan Yi, who had been getting a little impatient with the surging crowd, was caught off guard when people started calling him "sweetie" and "little one." He looked slightly dazed.

Seeing eyes in the crowd filled with genuine delight and kindness, he suddenly looked a bit flustered.

In the end, he could only press close to his mom and bury his little face in her clothes.

"Aww! Is little Yiyi getting shy!"

Nan Yi’s back went rigid, and he quickly hid his reddening ears too.

Nan Zhi held him close, a faint smile on her face.

After navigating the bustling crowd, they finally reached the boarding gate and hurried onto the plane.

Thanks to numerous advertising sponsors, the production team—which had since undergone a massive upgrade—splurged on booking the entire first-class cabin. Half of the cabin behind it was also filled with their staff.

Only then did things finally quiet down.