To ensure her safety, she had Ye Tiao put on a wig she’d saved for a long time, and only after confirming that she wouldn’t be recognized did she stealthily sneak out from the bed-and-breakfast.
It wasn’t that she was overly cautious; the thing was, Shi Lingyan was just too sneaky – utterly unpredictable!
Had he arranged for someone to be on the lookout here, both of them would be screwed.
Fortunately, Shi Lingyan didn’t seem to be that terrifying at this point, and they managed to leave unscathed.
They took a taxi to the previous recording location, which was the meeting spot for everyone.
A bus would take them all to the train station, and after arriving, they would need to gather again for another bus ride.
The final destination was up in the mountains.
In a remote and impoverished mountain village lived the most simple-hearted residents and people, who warmly welcomed this group of visitors.
The local children, with their skin darkened by the wind and sun, were thrilled to see a bunch of fair and pretty "big sisters" and surrounded them excitedly, cheering in a language they could not understand.
Shi Mei had been to environments before.
When she followed her father to volunteer in the mountainous regions, she had seen many such children and people.
She had even taught at a school there; the children were so curious about everything that the two guitars she brought were nearly worn out from being handled so much in just a month.
"For the upcoming month, we will be living here. We will record videos of your interactions with the children and villagers. Just be yourselves and don’t feel any pressure!" the producer shouted while handing out candy to the children.
But these pampered girls hadn’t imagined coming to such a place; each of them looked disgusted.
The recognized fairest female singer among them, named Ma Jiaojiao, was the first to complain, "Why do we have to stay in a place ? We’re here to compete in singing, not to be on some reality show. Where are the judges? Where’s the audience? How could anyone find good singing talent in a place ? And stay for a month? I don’t even want to stay a day!"
"Exactly," someone else quickly agreed, "What a dreadful place. Once we become famous, coming here could be spun as a PR stunt, showing stars interact with the common folk. But now, we’re just auditioning. Besides, the production team didn’t inform us about this. Shouldn’t we be paid more?"
"Never mind the lousy accommodations, the food will certainly be nothing worth mentioning. Had I known we were coming to a place , I wouldn’t have continued to participate!"
The producer was also in a tough spot.
Who would have known they would end up here?
They too were surprised when they received the notice.
But all this was mandated from higher-up, complete with a script; he was just following orders.
Hearing the endless complaints, the staff hurried to soothe everyone.
They’d already come all this way; they couldn’t just leave, could they?
Mu Nanke quietly approached Shi Mei and whispered, "Senior Sister, doesn’t this feel odd? Do talent shows normally come to a place ?"
Shi Mei shook her head too, "I’ve never heard of it. Ma Jiaojiao was right; such programs are generally variety shows or commercial performances, and it’s only the already famous celebrities who would choose to participate in them."
But now, the production team hadn’t even given them the option to choose; they had simply been brought here directly.
"Oh dear, my cell phone signal is so weak!"
"Mine too, the signal is so bad, it’s so hard to send out a WeChat message."