As his hand reached halfway, Bai Jinyan grabbed it and placed it on the handle of the snack box. Bai Jinyan said, “Hold tight.” Qiao Huaiyao could only hold onto it, saying, “Then let’s switch when we get inside.” He didn’t expect his brother to carry both suitcases and voluntarily suggest they swap.
Bai Jinyan neither agreed nor declined, he just said, “Let’s go, don’t stand here in the wind.”
“Sure.” Qiao Huaiyao held onto the snack suitcase with his left hand. Looking around, he saw no one on the road except for the camera crew.
They had searched online for information about this village; it seemed to have a farmhouse restaurant. Since no one was around, the director might have cleared the area of visitors for this time period. After all, they needed to shoot for several days here. At the very least, they needed to shoot four to five episodes’ worth of content before the start of the new semester.
Qiao Huaiyao sneakily glanced at Bai Jinyan, who was looking ahead, and then reached out his right hand tentatively. Bit by bit, he placed his hand on the handle of the suitcase between them. Bai Jinyan paused in his steps, then turned his head to look at Qiao Huaiyao calmly.
Qiao Huaiyao and Bai Jinyan gripped the handle of the suitcase together. Qiao cleared his throat, “Let’s do this together. It’ll be easier.”
He offered a reasonable analysis, “The shooting has just begun. If we exhaust ourselves here, what will we do for the games and tasks later?”
Qiao Huaiyao felt that his argument was sound, so he asked Bai Jinyan, “Right, brother?”
The director’s team seemed to be up to something.
Bai Jinyan chuckled lightly, then pinched Qiao Huaiyao’s cheek. “Hmm… Brother.”
With both hands occupied by the suitcase handles, Qiao Huaiyao couldn’t free his hands. Bai Jinyan released him, and even though he hadn’t used much force, Qiao Huaiyao’s cheeks turned slightly red. Bai Jinyan’s fingertips curled and accidentally brushed against Qiao Huaiyao’s hand as he let go. Bai Jinyan then grabbed the handle again and said, “Let’s go.”
Qiao Huaiyao raised his voice, “Sure!”——
As they walked along the road, the director, Zhao Jiamo, was waiting at the end. Seeing them as the first to arrive didn’t surprise him at all. Zhao Jiamo waved, “Good noon! This red house is the guest reception area. Once the other guests arrive, they’ll all go in. We’ll start today’s tasks when everyone is here.”
“Oh, the cards on the table correspond to the rooms upstairs. When you come in, you can pick up your card.”
Zhao Jiamo added, “Rooms vary in quality, so be cautious when choosing.”
Qiao Huaiyao nodded, “Okay, got it.”
“Come on, pick a ball from inside.” Zhao Jiamo patted the lottery box on the table. “The color of the ball corresponds to the color of the card you’ll pick up.”
The opening of the hole was small, so Qiao Huaiyao randomly picked one, “Red ball.”
“Good.” Zhao Jiamo glanced at the time, “It’s about time. In another half an hour, everyone will be here. I’ll be waiting outside. You can go in.”
Saying that, Zhao Jiamo pushed open the door beside him, signaling for them to enter. Bai Jinyan lifted the curtain and made way for Qiao Huaiyao to enter. This seemed to be a small two-story building with a duplex layout. The first floor was spacious, and Qiao Huaiyao estimated it could accommodate around twenty to thirty people with its large sofa.
The table with various colored cards caught his attention. JQiaooe Huaiyao glanced and saw they were all solid colors. Trying to distinguish between good and bad rooms based on the back of the card was impossible.
JQiaooe Huaiyao picked up the red card; the room number on it was written in bold black letters. The word was placed in the upper right corner, quite close to the edge and leaving a large blank space in the middle. “Brother, look at this card…” Qiao Huaiyao raised it towards the window, and faintly visible was the word in the middle.
Bai Jinyan also noticed the card and said, “Keep it, it might be useful for post-production.”
“Yeah, okay.” Qiao Huaiyao pocketed the card, then stood up and pulled the suitcase closer. “Let’s put the luggage back in the room.” This would also give them a chance to see the room they had drawn.
Carrying the suitcase upstairs, they found the floor covered in thick carpet. The red card acted as a room key; after swiping it on the electronic lock, they entered a room that was like a regular hotel room. It was a bit larger than a standard double room, with twin beds on either side. It wasn’t luxurious, but it wasn’t too shabby either. Qiao Huaiyao felt that this was the director’s prepared room—neither too fancy nor too plain.
There were many cameras placed around the room, likely for impromptu live broadcasts during recording. Bai Jinyan placed the suitcase against the wall; this small room didn’t have space for hanging clothes. He only took out the snacks and left them out in the open.
Qiao Huaiyao wouldn’t think to search through his suitcase for snacks himself; he only remembered to eat when he saw them.
Bai Jinyan said, “We’ll start the tasks once everyone is here. We’ve been in the car for quite a while, so take a rest.”
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t feel tired; perhaps due to watching videos throughout the car ride, he wasn’t feeling the fatigue. He sat on the edge of the bed, considering checking out some livestreams.
He had just taken his phone in hand when he heard a cry from outside, “Ah——” followed by the sound of a child choking back sobs.
The child’s father apologized, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to step on you.”
Qiao Huaiyao paused for a moment, then remembered that among the guests, there was a person with a child. His name was… Ji Zhenqi? Qiao Huaiyao had done some research on the entertainment industry before; one should never be unable to put a name to a face when in the industry.
Ji Zhenqi had gained popularity in the industry, often playing lead roles. He had become famous for portraying antagonistic characters in his thirties. He was quite popular on the internet.
Qiao Huaiyao felt that the soundproofing here might not be very good. He walked over to the window, and this side faced the area designated for guests. He could clearly see Ji Zhenqi soothing the child in his arms.
Perhaps the families of the participating guests hadn’t arrived yet, so Ji Zhenqi had to handle the child himself.
Bai Jinyan saw this and also stood up, positioning himself next to JoQiaoe Huaiyao. The child cried nonstop, behaving well without causing a scene. Ji Zhenqi tried to console the child for a while, but eventually picked the child up when he ran out of ideas. The child continued to cry.
In the end, Ji Zhenqi was sweating profusely, holding the child with one hand and rummaging through his clothes with the other. After searching inside and out several times, he finally found a piece of candy. The moment the child saw the candy, it stopped crying immediately.
Qiao Huaiyao watched the child, who had stopped crying after just one bite of candy, and couldn’t help but laugh. “What kind of candy is that? Is it that delicious?”
Certainly, the candy worked incredibly fast.
Bai Jinyan glanced outside and said, “Huaiyao.”
“Yeah?” Qiao Huaiyao turned around, puzzled, but suddenly felt Bai Jinyan’s grip tighten on his wrist, turning his palm upward.
Bai Jinyan extended his hand, placing something in Qiao Huaiyao’s hand. Qiao Huaiyao was momentarily stunned and looked down. In his palm lay a strawberry-flavored lollipop.
Qiao Huaiyao blinked in confusion, then looked at Bai Jinyan with wide eyes. “Brother…?”
“Give it a taste,” Bai Jinyan said casually. “See if you like the flavor.”