CH 12

Chapter 12: Arriving Late

Although the variety show was dubbed by Pan Xiaocheng as “rural tourism”, the location was actually pretty nice. It was a little remote, but there were mountains to one side and water to another. The decorating leaned towards European-style pastoralism. It looked rather stylish.

There was a two-story building. The first floor was the living room. There was a bar counter right by the entrance, wooden floors, and a platform to the side. There was an antique-style piano on the platform. The piano was made entirely of wood.

The lighting wasn’t very good inside, but the owner was very tasteful and created a medieval tavern feel with the environment.

Perhaps because of the show, there was nothing in the house other than necessary furniture.

There were five bedrooms on the second floor. One was the master bedroom, and the others were secondary bedrooms.

The variety show started filming as soon as the guests entered the door. To get a more natural response, there were pretty much only cameras on set. Except for when they were announcing tasks, the staff tried their best not to show up.

Other than the bedrooms and bathrooms, cameras were installed in virtually every hidden corner. The program team was not afraid of making trouble. They were only afraid they wouldn’t be able to get an exciting shot.

In order to reduce the vigilance of the guests, they also deliberately placed two very obvious cameras in the center of the living room and the corridor.

But the program arrangement was indeed innovative. Each episode invited new guests, found different venues, and arranged different activities.

The show crew was waiting for everyone to arrive to start the first segment. At this time, three people had already arrived, all of them in the living room.

The program team was in a room in the corner of the first floor, trying to reduce their sense of presence.

The guests did not know who would be on each episode, but the program team was different.

Two team leaders looked at the guest list and chatted.

"I can’t believe we were able to invite Xie Luyu this episode. I guess the ratings are gonna go up again.”

"That isn’t surprising. I’m just a little confused. Where’d this Gu whatever come from? I haven't heard of him at all, not even a little bit.”

"Sigh, don’t worry about it so much. We’ll just film what we need to. Besides, what else could it be? Either it’s some rich kid coming out to play or it’s a newcomer who took a shortcut.”

"I’m worried he’s gonna cause trouble for the show.”

"I got a phone call just now, the car that went to pick up that Gu whatever broke down.”

The other team leader tapped the guest list and continued.

"Xie Luyu’s coming in his own car, he’ll likely get here soon, so he’ll be the last one to arrive. The ones inside are difficult to deal with, they’re all young and famous, so they’re impulsive, hard to handle. It’s gonna be difficult for him from the beginning. Even if he manages to get a backer, it won’t matter. Don't worry, he won’t be able to cause any trouble."

The three guests who have already arrived were chatting in the living room at this time. All three were young. They were also all pretty popular, being at least B-list celebrities. 

One of the guests was Chen Yueran who was wearing a ponytail. She had a girl-next-door kind of look about her. When she laughed, there was a dimple in her left cheek.

The guest with wavy hair was Zhou Yingying. She was wearing a little skirt and high heels.

There was also a guy called Huang Hanyu, who made his debut through a talent show not long ago. He was covered head to toe in trendy brands.

Huang Hanyu leaned against the sofa and folded his arms, getting a little impatient.

"Hey, just who are the other two guests? They still haven’t arrived."

He just finished his sentence.

The door was pushed open. The person entering pushed open both doors, acting as naturally as he would at home.

"It's so dark in this room, open the door to let some light in."

Chen Yueran let out a small cry of surprise.

"Xie laoshi1!”

All three people stood up.

Xie Luyu walked in with his suitcase. He was wearing a casual outfit, ripped jeans and sleeveless hoodie. There wasn’t anything fancy, except for a pattern on the chest of his hoodie. The outfit showed off his toned arms.

He was dressed like any other young man, very relaxed.

Typically, male celebrities would maintain a certain length of hair in order to style it.

But Xie Luyu shaved his hair into a crew cut for his last movie, and it would be a while before it grew back out. His hair still hadn’t grown out yet, so it was still a crew cut. Xie Luyu's facial features were three-dimensional, so a crew cut looked very cool on him. His aura was stronger than before, and a single glance from him was sharp enough to kill.

At the time, he had even trended because of his new hairstyle and picked up a high-end brand endorsement along the way.

Their designer had been very fond of Xie Luyu’s style. If it wasn’t for Xie Luyu insisting that he would not model, he might’ve ended up on the catwalk for this fashion season’s opening show.

Overall, Xie Luyu dressed very casually this time.

But even if Xie Luyu dressed like this, it didn’t matter. With his height and proportions, as well as his face, he still looked like he belonged on a magazine cover.

"What are you guys standing for? Go ahead and sit."

Xie Luyu actually wasn’t that much older than them. He was only older than them by four or five years at the most, but their positions in the industry were very different. Plus, he had a very strong aura, so there was a natural sense of oppression.

The three of them became noticeably more behaved. The most obvious one was the one who was trying hard to act cool in the beginning, Huang Hanyu. He had refused to sit on the sofa earlier, opting to stay standing and lean against it, but now he was obediently sitting down.

Xie Luyu looked as comfortable as he would in his own home. He found a sofa and flopped down onto it.

Chen Yueran’s face was bright red.

"Xie laoshi, I'm a fan of yours——"

Xie Luyu made a gesture.

"I know, you grew up watching my dramas, didn’t you? Don’t bother with all that, I'll sign an autograph and shake your hand. You guys act as if I’m as ancient as Old2 Guo."

Xie Luyu emphasized.

“I belong to the new generation of actors. He and I are friends despite our age difference."

The Old Guo that Xie Luyu mentioned was also an actor. He was in his forties, nearing his fifties. He was an experienced actor and was fairly knowledgeable. They were somewhat “bad” influences on each other. Old Guo was a slick talker so, when the two of them were together, it looked like a crosstalk3 performance.

After that, the atmosphere became more relaxed. The other three people also became livelier and started joking around. After all, it was a variety show, and the cameras were still rolling. They would need to put on at least a little bit of a performance for audiences to remember them.

Soon after, a staff member entered and whispered something to the staff member in charge of arranging tasks.

The staff member in charge of arranging tasks wore white gloves and held the task card. He then announced.

"The last guest ran into some trouble on the road and will arrive in about half an hour. We will proceed to the next segment first."

He gestured with his hand and invited the guests up to the second floor.

"It's time for room selections."

There was a total of five rooms on the second floor, one master bedroom and four secondary bedrooms. Two of the secondary bedrooms faced the sun and two of them faced away from the sun. One of the bedrooms facing away from the sun was also close to the toilet.

The staff introduced the rooms one by one. He opened the door to the master bedroom first.

"The master bedroom faces the sun and has the most space. It has a king-size bed and a private bathroom."

Before Xie Luyu could even speak, the other three people had already piped up.

“Obviously, the master bedroom belongs to Xie ge."

Xie Luyu didn't refuse. If he declined, the other three people were bound to compete for the master bedroom and cause trouble.

Plus, he heard the staff member specifically mention that this room had a private bathroom. He could already guess that some of the other rooms may not have their own bathrooms. 

Xie Luyu didn’t have any other requirements. It didn’t matter how big the room was, but he had to have a private bathroom.

He couldn’t share a bathroom with someone else. It’s impossible for him in this lifetime.

The staff member continued to introduce the other rooms.

"The layout of the two rooms that are facing the sun are basically the same, they both have their own private bathrooms. The two rooms that are facing away from the sun are also about the same, but they don't have private bathrooms."

Huang Hanyu took the initiative to give way and generously spoke up.

"Ladies first, a private bathroom would be more convenient for you two. I'll just take that one over there."

He was referring to the room that was farther away from the toilet.

The room closest to the toilet was right next to the corner. He didn’t even need to look to know which one to choose.

A staff member came running from the first floor.

"The last guest has arrived. You guys can go downstairs for the second segment."

Xie Luyu went downstairs first. He didn’t really think anything of it.

As soon as he left, Zhou Yingying put away her smile. Her expression wasn’t very good and said, "I can’t believe they only just now arrived, they sure are full of themselves.”

The other two didn't speak, but their expressions seemed to agree.

Footnotes:

1 "Laoshi" may sometimes be used as a polite reference to a more highly educated person, who may not necessarily be a teacher. ↩

2 Old(老). An honorific prefix for people one respects. ↩

3 Xiangsheng, also known as crosstalk or comic dialogue, is a traditional performing art in Chinese comedy, and one of the most popular elements in Chinese culture. ↩