Chapter 371 - Spokesperson

Avaleigh was always a diligent person, so she ended up arriving nice and early for dinner. The director arrived around the same time and he quickly led her into a private room that he had booked at the restaurant. Inside, there were three round tables and some crew members were already sitting around one of them.

"These are all the cameramen," the director introduced as he pointed to a table of fairly strong looking men. It was hard to carry a camera around all day, so they were naturally a little built.

Avaleigh smiled and waved at the men. One particular man stood up and walked over to her, "I am assigned to follow you. I look forward to working together."

Avaleigh shook the man's hand thankfully. She knew how important the camera crew were, especially this man that was assigned to her. If he didn't capture her properly, he could either make her look bad onscreen or have her parts completely edited out.

Soon, the producers, writers, and the rest of the cast arrived.

When Avaleigh saw the first cast member walk through the door, her eyes almost flew out of their sockets. She knew who this man was; practically everyone in China knew who he was. It was, Herbert Fang, he was a legend in variety shows and was the host of many popular programs. Never had she imagined working with him. 

But then again, based on the popularity of the same show in Korea, it was only fitting for the director to find someone of this calibre to lead the cast.

Following closely behind, another 5 men gradually made their way into the room. Avaleigh didn't know all of them, but they seemed to all know each other. After all, she was brought up in Hong Kong and spent most of her career in Korea, so the Chinese entertainment industry was a little foreign to her.

The night started off a little awkward at first. Avaleigh was the youngest one there and she was the only girl so the conversations were a bit hard for her to join in with, but the men were extremely friendly and did not exclude her. 

"Avaleigh, can you tell me a little about yourself. I'm old and not very trendy, so I must admit that I've never seen or heard of you before," the oldest member of the cast said. This man was a senior in the industry but he had an easygoing and honest personality.

The other men laughed. "Brother Na, you must have been living under a rock. Avaleigh's one of the most popular Korean idols," one of the younger men said. Avaleigh recognized the younger man, he was a singer in China. She had heard a few of his songs so she quickly said politely, "I'm nothing compared to Brother Xie though. Your songs have helped me through many difficult times."

Brother Xie quickly smiled, "No need to be so polite. You can call me Andy from now on."

Avaleigh smiled and briefly introduced herself to the table in case anyone else didn't know who she was. She also told them honestly about her current state and how she was only signed for 3 episodes, "I'm still unsure about how the audience will respond to me. I will try my best, but please don't be disappointed if you don't see me for a 4th episode."

Herbert Fang looked at the young woman and patted her comfortingly on the shoulder. He had been in the industry for almost 30 years and had been through many ups and downs so he knew how she felt to be currently in a slump. But, he also knew there were blue skies ahead as long as she got over the current hurdle. "Don't worry, you seem like a genuine person. The audience will see that. As long as you be yourself, we will help you stay on for a 4th, 5th...100th episode..."

Avaleigh looked around the table as the men all smiled at her. Their smiles were kind, like older brothers looking at a younger sister and it made her feel warm. Oddly enough, it felt like she had returned to Macaron, except, all her members had now turned into men and she no longer had the stress of being a leader.

Soon, the food arrived and everyone began to eat. Avaleigh looked at all the dishes and gradually filled her plate. Cleo did not give her a restricted diet, but she did explain to her what a healthy portion looked like. "Half your plate should be filled with non-starchy vegetables, a quarter can be filled with grains, pasta, and starchy vegetables, and the remaining quarter should be left for meats and legumes," Cleo's voice played in Avaleigh's mind.

The men looked curiously at Avaleigh as she filled her plate and she explained to them that her dietitian had taught her how to eat healthily. The men looked at each other and started following her. "We are a team. We should stay healthy if we want to film many episodes together," Herbert said. The other men quickly agreed.

Avaleigh laughed and grabbed her phone to take a photo of the plates. She then placed a post online with the words that Herbert had said, 'We are a team. We should stay healthy if we want to film many episodes together'.

...

Over in Guiyang City, Halia was looking at Avaleigh's social media account when she suddenly saw a new post pop up. It was a simple photo of dinner but comments and likes immediately flooded in. Halia was shocked. Every time she refreshed the page, more comments and likes showed up.

"A team? Is Macaron reforming?"

"Where are you eating? The food looks so good!"

"Is that a standard portion at that restaurant?"

"I want to be healthy like you, Avaleigh. Can you teach us?"

Halia looked at the comments and smiled just as Natalie walked in to remind her that it was home time.

"What's with the smile on your face?" Natalie asked.

Halia turned her phone to show Natalie what she was looking at. In a confident tone, she said, "I think I found our spokesperson..."