Chapter 37 – Feeling
Qiao Huaiyao was taken aback for a moment, then he raised an eyebrow playfully and asked, “Can the kindergarten senior class have a glass of milk?”
It was obvious that the person in the ‘kindergarten senior class’ was also a child. Bai Jinyan caught a hint of teasing in his eyes, raised his hand, and ruffled his hair as he casually said, “There are some snacks in the box. If you’re hungry, have a snack and then rest.”
“Huh?” Qiao Huaiyao looked puzzled. “Didn’t the director say we had to turn in everything before? I remember the director came and took all the food.”
He remembered that the director had taken away all the food when he came in. It was the photographer who was filming while collecting.
Why was there still food left?
At this thought, Qiao Huaiyao suddenly paused for a moment and burst into laughter. Director Zhao Jiamo probably could never have dreamed that Bai Jinyan would hide snacks.
It was already quite late, so Qiao Huaiyao didn’t open the snacks. Instead, he held the glass of milk and sat on the bed reading. He had hung a coat over the room’s camera. When it wasn’t a specific recording time set by the director, they were allowed to cover it up as they pleased.
Qiao Huaiyao sipped the lukewarm milk, and by the time he reached the end of the cup, the milk had cooled down. He turned a few pages of his book and placed a bookmark inside. Setting the cup down, he turned to see that Bai Jinyan was still reading the script.
Noticing his movement, Bai Jinyan asked, “Tired?”
Qiao Huaiyao shook his head. If he said he wanted to sleep, his older brother would surely turn off the light. Directly resting was fine, but if he hadn’t finished reading the script, Bai Jinyan would definitely turn on a small lamp to continue reading, and that would strain his eyes.
Qiao Huaiyao grabbed some clean clothes and said, “Brother, I’m going to take a shower.”
“Sure,” Bai Jinyan replied calmly. “Remember to adjust the water temperature.”
Qiao Huaiyao nodded and said, “Okay.”
Because they had filmed late into the night the previous day, the shooting for the next day’s content was scheduled to start at noon. The guests didn’t rush to get up; they rested in their respective rooms. However, early in the morning, footsteps could be heard outside, accompanied by faint voices.
Qiao Huaiyao woke up relatively early and had a fragmented sleep. When he woke up and saw the empty bed next to him, he knew that Bai Jinyan had gone out for a morning run.
Standing by the window, Qiao Huaiyao looked down and saw a person speaking. The person’s face was somewhat unfamiliar, but they were carrying luggage and a room key card. Qiao Huaiyao guessed that this person was the last guest who had encountered problems on the way and hadn’t made it to the filming location in time.
Qiao Huaiyao took only a quick glance before averting his gaze and sitting back on the bed. He picked up his phone, scanned the messages in the group chat, and saw that the instructor had reminded the students to stay safe. There were no other messages. However, Director Zhao Jiamo had sent him many messages.
Zhao Jiamo: [Everyone worked hard last night recording! Thank you all for your cooperation; the shooting was very successful.]
[After lunch today, everyone gather in the studio; the afternoon’s tasks will be here. Don’t be late! Emphasizing, do not be late!]
[Late arrivals will receive penalty points. Points are hard-earned; everyone should treasure them.] …
Following these words were the points awarded to each group. The long list of points flooded the screen. Qiao Huaiyao only looked at the first name, which was his brother’s, and didn’t continue scrolling down.
He had taken out the clothes he needed to wear today from his suitcase and ironed them. No matter how big the suitcase was, clothes needed to be neatly folded inside; even a single fold could leave creases. Bai Jinyan must have ironed them before he left. The clothes hadn’t been hung up before they went to bed last night.
After changing into clean clothes, Qiao Huaiyao went downstairs. He had intended to prepare something for Bai Jinyan to eat. When he reached the kitchen door and looked through the glass, he was surprised to see Bai Jinyan inside.
“Brother?” Qiao Huaiyao’s surprise was evident. “Are you hungry?”
Seeing him, Bai Jinyan cut a partially cooked slice of something and handed it to Qiao Huaiyao. “Have a bite. It’ll be ready soon.”
Qiao Huaiyao took it but didn’t eat it. He turned around and placed it on the table. He said, “I just wanted to see what ingredients we have in the fridge and maybe prepare lunch.”
The leftover meat and seafood from the barbecue yesterday were in the fridge. The production team didn’t provide daily meals or ingredients; they had to handle those themselves.
Bai Jinyan chuckled upon hearing this and then quickly concealed his amusement when he saw Qiao Huaiyao looking at him. He made seafood congee and used the available seafood ingredients he had in hand.
He had put the pot on the stove and then handed two bowls of congee over, saying, “Let’s eat.”
Ji Zhenqi cut in with a chuckle upon hearing them. “You guys are too fast. No one has even come down yet, and you’ve already cooked.”
“Did the production team provide these ingredients?” Ji Zhenqi scratched his head and asked, “Or did you buy them from that small market? The prices the director gave for the items are way too high. The budget we saved up from previous games probably won’t be enough.”
The prices at the director’s small store were either part of the show’s concept or were intentionally set high to challenge the guests. The prices quoted were practically daylight robbery. They could have just taken the money directly, but they still gave them a piece of mind. The reality was…
Qiao Huaiyao put down the slice of meat and said, “These are the leftovers from yesterday’s barbecue. We didn’t go to the market.”
The prices the production team set were too outrageous. Qiao Huaiyao had looked at them but hadn’t planned to spend any money there. Even if they didn’t have the leftover seafood and meat from yesterday, he wouldn’t have bought anything from the store.
Since the production team was controlling the money tightly, it indicated that there would be many expenses later on. The more crucial this was, the more he needed to save money for unforeseen situations. He didn’t know what would happen in the future, so for now, he would cut out unnecessary expenses and save as much money as possible.
Ji Zhenqi suddenly remembered that the meat from yesterday could have been saved for today. However, their family of three, two adults and a child, along with the fish they caught yesterday, wasn’t much. There wasn’t much leftover, so he didn’t keep it in the fridge.
He sighed, “Well, at least you guys have foresight. I should’ve caught a few more fish yesterday.”
He realized he needed to go buy groceries now, and he had to prepare lunch before the child woke up, so he didn’t stay long. He just said, “I’m heading out now. You guys are busy.
After Ji Zhenqi left, more guests came down one after another. They all came to the kitchen, exchanged a few words, and then quickly left.
The market might be small, the prices might be high, and the items might be scarce, but they needed those things now. If they arrived late, everything would be sold out, and they couldn’t let their family go hungry while they were recording the show. When the time came, they wouldn’t be able to buy anything and would have to watch helplessly.
Qiao Huaiyao ate the seafood congee, silently calculating how much money they had left. There was no need to worry too much. They had exchanged ingredients for food yesterday, and they might have similar exchanges in the future. The seafood congee mostly contained peeled shrimp and clam meat, with very little rice. This meal was a combination of breakfast and lunch, and the scheduled recording time was still far away.