CH 11

Chapter 11: Not Familiar

“Yo~ Zaizai!”

“He called you Zaizai!!”

Once the call was hung up, the surrounding guests began to tease him.

Xu Tangzhou’s ears were still red. Zaizai was his nickname, almost no one else aside from his fans called him that.

How did Ling Che know?

Xu Tangzhou quickly thought of Situ Ya. Since Huang Qian would make preparations for him in advance, it goes without saying that the more experienced Situ Ya would similarly prepare. Upon thinking of this, his blush slowly faded away.

The purpose of the phone call had been achieved. Whether it was for the show’s publicity or in genuine concern about Ling Che’s whereabouts, this segment that was deceptively frightening passed by quickly and could be considered done. The two would still face many trials, and any words and actions they do will be recorded by the camera.

Xu Tangzhou told himself to relax.

It wasn’t long before Xia Yue and Xia Xing began to complain about wanting to touch up their makeup.

While they were doing their makeup, to pass the time, the program group asked Qi Mu to interview the couple, Lu Chengan and Mi Fei, at a quieter location regarding some of their daily sweetness for the extras.

When Ling Che entered the recording studio, he saw Xu Tangzhou sitting by his lonesome.

Xu Tangzhou put on another sweater.

Perhaps because his temperament was too frigid, the stylist paid extra attention to choosing warm materials and colors for his clothing to prevent him from looking too standoffish and make him appear more welcoming.

However, the feeling Xu Tangzhou gave off while sitting there was still too distant.

No one could find any faults with his appearance.

Even without makeup, he already overshadowed the gorgeous Xia Yue and Xia Xing.

“Che shen arrived!”

The scene suddenly became chaotic. Some people whispered excitedly, causing the scene to be very noisy for a while.

Xu Tangzhou looked up.

He only saw a tall man calmly walking over while dragging a single suitcase and followed by a camera.

“What?” Ling Che ignored everyone, walked up to Xu Tangzhou, and rubbed his head, “Is no one paying attention to you?”

Seeing those words and actions, no one would believe it if anyone said they were not familiar.

Aside from the camera, there were countless eyes secretly watching their interactions.

“They’re all busy.” Directly facing those gazes, Xu Tangzhou’s heart was beating erratically as he revealed a small smile. Saying awkwardly, “It’s good that you arrived.”

The recording clearly hasn’t officially started yet, but once Ling Che appeared, the cameras all began rolling. Any clip could be used in the extras.

Ling Che wore a black jacket and dressed up in a retro style, looking like a waiter. Their two appearances were different, but there was a sense of harmony as if they’d agreed on what to wear in advance.

Everyone knew that their group was the core of the show.

Xu Tangzhou’s palm suddenly began sweating.

Ling Che willfully sat down beside Xu Tangzhou with his arm over the chair. He leaned over with a smile and quietly said: “Xu Tangzhou, are you an idiot?”

His tone and appearance completely didn’t match up. He was completely cold.

Xu Tangzhou: “......”

As expected, this was the true Ling Che.

Ling Che’s smile didn’t waver. They looked as if they were having a friendly conversation, but the words spoken taught a ruthless lesson: “Someone dug a pit and you just jumped straight into it. Use your brain more when doing things and don’t be led on by others. I might not be able to save you next time.”

Xu Tangzhou’s eyelashes trembled, and he turned his head around. His eyes were as black as a drop of ink, and his beautiful lips parted: “I got it. I will try my best so you won’t have to save me next time.”

He felt a bit angry.

He also felt dumb.

“As long as you know.” Ling Che looked at him, “Be good, don’t give me trouble.”

“You two, what are you whispering about?”

Before Xu Tangzhou had a chance to retort, Qi Mu and Lu Chengan’s group came back. They cheerfully interrupted the undercurrents between the two people.

When Ling Che sat, he was still a bit taller than Xu Tangzhou. Without changing his posture, the angle made the two of them seem a bit close. He aptly replied: “Since we were whispering, we obviously can’t let you know.”

“Right.” Xu Tangzhou unexpectedly also replied, even letting out a smile, “After all, we were talking bad about the show.”

After speaking, the two looked at each other as if it was the truth.

Xu Tangzhou’s eyes showed he wasn’t willing to be outdone.

The others quietly laughed because of their joke.

At this time, the two sisters Xia Yue and Xia Xing also returned. The moment they saw Ling Che, they let out a shriek and rushed to be the first one to shake hands with him. The two spoke a mix of lies and truths as they chatted with exaggerated smiles.

After they warmed up, the director announced the start and Qi Mu picked up the microphone. The show officially began.

As a well-known host for three consecutive seasons of the show, Qi Mu’s skills weren't half-baked. Even without looking at the script, she knew all the rules and directions for the show, and she even occasionally added some humor from time to time making the ‘pitfall’ content sound high and mighty.

[Our Perfect Trip] is a travel and a competition variety show.

There were three groups in total. Each group begins with the same amount of funds before departing, although the specific amount varied depending on the destination each season. The competition officially began when the guests set off. The guests would have to travel and live at the destination location for a week, and the competition ends when they returned to the recording studio. The group with the most funds left over will win.

Of course, given the rules and “help” from the show, the prize wasn’t easy to win. But every year, the prizes given to the winning guests were enough to make anyone jealous, so everyone would try their utmost to win -which was also one of the highlights of the show.

And the grand prize for this year was even more attractive than the previous years.

Qi Mu excitedly announced: “The winner this season on [Our Perfect Trip] will become - the global spokesperson for Bao Fenni!]

The guests were boiling.

Even Lu Chengan exposed an expression of surprise

Bao Fenni was the world’s top-class luxury brand. Starting with (selling) jewelry, they’ve enticed many world-renowned designers. Their perfumes and handbags were already popular around the world.

Most importantly, Bao Fenni already had a top-class global spokesperson: the president’s only son, Ling Che.

No matter which country it was, Ling Che’s billboards were everywhere.

And this spokesperson, who the world would have its eyes on, wasn’t just a title or being able to get the same treatment as Ling Che, perhaps it’s an opportunity to appear on endorsements together as well as getting a sky-high endorsement pay. This first-class resource was actually obtained by the show team.

“Many thanks to Bao Fenni being an exclusive supporter for the show this season.” Qi Mu politely said to the camera lens. She then mischievously said to Ling Che, “Of course, we have to thank Ling Che for support. If Ling Che didn’t come, I believe that Bao Fenni definitely wouldn’t even glance at us. After all, the gap is too wide.”

Ling Che lazily spoke: “As long as you know. Call me dad.”

Qi Mu dragged out her words: “Sugar dad*!”

TN: As a bit of explanation, literally tled would be “financial backer dad”, but uhh… the more accurate term for it is sugar daddy so… (sighs)

Everyone was laughing.

In fact, Ling Che only recently found out about this matter. He only knew about it the day before when he went back home, and it came up in a conversation with his mother.

When it came to doing business, no one is more powerful than Ling Zhi. She wouldn’t even let her own son’s popularity go wasted.

Mi Fei said: “Then Che shen definitely doesn’t want to win. At any rate, this prize would be wasted in your hands. Why don’t you admit defeat now and give us the chance?”

His words spoke out the inner thoughts of everyone.

Xu Tangzhou followed everyone’s gaze to look at Ling Che.

Ling Che’s face looked like his mother who was of foreign blood. His handsomeness gave off a sense of distance, and he usually doesn’t speak too much. In front of everyone, he only lifted his chin towards Xu Tangzhou: “How could I? The chance is for our Zaizai.”

“……”

Xu Tangzhou was suddenly cued out of the blue and his phoenix eyes widened.

No, I don’t want it!

Speaking big will cause others to hate!

Also, friend, are you sure you don’t have schizophrenia?

Lu Chengan jokingly mentioned another matter: “Maybe there truly is an inside story. You might not know, but Xu Tangzhou used to be a model. He walked on Bao Fenni’s show when he was a teenager.”

All the guests shouted “shady”.

Only Qi Mu acted differently: “Was Zhouzhou a model at that time? No wonder your legs are so long… wait, I found a blind spot. I know! Che shen and Zhouzhou knew each other from that time right?! Zhouzhou, I want to hear your response! Not a single one of Che shen’s words is truthful.”

Xu Tangzhou didn’t have any recollection of those years. He remembered his childhood and a bit of time afterward, but he couldn’t remember those few years.

He could only go down the hole, leaving some way out for himself in case he slips up later: “Right, we met at that time, but we weren’t familiar at all back then.”

Ling Che’s smile somewhat faded, and his tone became colder: “Yes, we weren’t that familiar.”

Afterwards, Ling Che didn’t speak too much.

Even if the topic was deliberately about him, he doesn’t appear to be willing to respond. The others only said that he was used to other big names, so he wouldn’t care about this small screentime. Only Xu Tangzhou who was next to him knew that he seemed to be upset.

Ling Che’s pheromones were already restrained in public, but that scorching sun scent seemed to drill into the back of Xu Tangzhou’s neck, making his skin itch.

Xu Tangzhou couldn’t hold himself back from scratching it, thankful that he took his medicine on time.

He already hasn’t dreamed of the desire to be bitten by Ling Che for many days already… While he was inwardly complaining about the other person, his body wanted to be marked by the other, making him feel confused.

This secret needed to rot in his stomach.

After they finished sidetracking, Qi Mu returned to explaining: “This time, our destination is Surilan Island. Surilan Island is in the eastern part of Africa*. The natural landscape is gorgeous, and rich people favor it because it is naturally quiet. They’ve begun developing it into a vacation island these past few years. In other words, the money spent there to live isn’t cheap.”

TN: Reminder that Surilan Island is a made-up location, no need to go looking QAQ

The show released a few pictures of Surilan Island at that time.

Light blue sea, silky white beach, a horizon line in the background. It was truly breathtakingly beautiful.

It made everyone long to be there.

Xu Tangzhou, who usually rarely took the initiative to speak: “It’s so beautiful… so, how much money will you give us?”

His question broke the mood.

Qi Mu was amused and announced the number: “After careful discussion by the program team, we have decided to give each group of guests 20,000 RMB.”

TN: almost 3,000 USD

Each group was whispering about this number.

Mi Fei and Lu Chengan said: “With this much money, living there for seven days is a piece of cake.”

Xu Tangzhou felt there was something off.

Ling Che, who hadn’t spoken a word, said expressionlessly: “However—“

“However,” Qi Mu picked up where he left off and cheerfully spoke, “This 20,000 yuan has to include paying for your round-trip tickets, food, lodging, and all expenses on the island.”

A field of silence covered the scene.

They seemed to have been shocked silent by the program’s shamelessness.

The round-trip plane tickets for two people could use up almost more than half of the total expenses.

“We have provided everyone options for three different flights in the next three days.” Qi Mu said, “Everyone could choose according to the ticket price. The first group to arrive at Surilan could choose their stay and obtain three days of free lodging and food. The second place could also choose where to stay, as well as choosing to waive the room fee or the water and electricity fee. The third place… you could only take the room no one wanted. But don’t worry, every group has excellent quality original rooms.”*

TN: Alert! the web version and the print simplified version are slightly different here from the audio drama! Audio drama mentioned something along the lines of, “Second place has 2 days of free lodging and food while third place… has to pay for everything themselves.”

During the commotion, Qi Mu added: “However, before everyone takes flight, we must first check your luggage. The attachment sent yesterday should have been received by everyone. It clearly states which items are prohibited from being brought. For the sake of fairness, in addition to throwing out the prohibited items, we will also give punishments. For each item we discover, we will deduct 100 RMB from the corresponding group.”

She looked at the crowd which has quietened.

“Are you all ready?