Chapter 46: World Two [16]

Keeping it a secret was impossible. Because of the stimulating Q&A segment, the production team knew the guests were all very concerned about public opinion, so they didn’t interfere with the guests using their phones in the evening.

Adhering to the principle of leniency for confession and severity for resistance, Jing Ke preemptively confessed everything she had done before Shao Qing opened her phone and saw the trending topics.

[I’m very sorry, I couldn’t just stand by and watch them invert black and white, so I used some slightly extreme measures.] Jing Ke’s tone was somewhat hesitant.

[I originally thought the netizens would focus on them buying paid trolls. That way, when I later released information about the charity work you’ve done, I could smoothly reverse your image. But I didn’t expect the netizens’ focus to go completely off track and never come back…]

After hearing Jing Ke’s words, Shao Qing was stunned for a moment. She then opened her phone to look at the trending topics. Upon seeing the name of the top trending search term, her expression became a mix of amusement and exasperation.

“It’s fine, thank you for helping me,” Shao Qing said, an involuntary warmth spreading in her chest.

After spending these past few days together, Shao Qing already had an answer in her heart as to whether Jing Ke was genuine or not towards her. She couldn’t bring herself to treat an existence that constantly thought of her well-being as a mere tool to be used.

Stepping back, even if all of Jing Ke’s actions were premeditated, Shao Qing would accept it, considering the flawlessness of the act.

[I’m just glad you don’t blame me for acting on my own. After the netizens’ focus went awry, those male artists just started playing dead, intending to handle this by doing nothing.]

“It’s alright. Netizens’ memories update and change very quickly. At most, they’ll just issue an apology letter,” Shao Qing had seen plenty of the open and secret struggles within the industry. Buying paid trolls was practically a basic operation; every celebrity had done it.

Including Shao Qing herself. When marketing was needed, she would also buy paid trolls to guide public opinion.

[Is there anything you need me to do? I can make this strange search term disappear from the first place spot.]

“Forget it. Netizens have a pretty strong rebellious streak. If you really remove the trending topic, many even stranger search terms will climb the trending charts.”

Shao Qing’s index finger swiped across the screen, scanning the latest posts under the related topics at a glance. As she read, she couldn’t help but laugh.

[Then, should I release the news about you sponsoring underprivileged students and building Hope Primary Schools?] Jing Ke asked.

Shao Qing slowly shook her head. “Let things take their natural course. If it gets out of hand, some netizens will get serious and start digging for information. I just hope those who receive aid can go to a wider world and have more choices. I don’t want them to be disturbed by netizens because of me.”

[Alright, I understand. I will encrypt their information to a certain degree to prevent netizens from tracking them down through various means.]

After Shao Qing browsed her phone for a while, a call from her agent came in.

After zipping up the tent flap, Shao Qing lowered her voice and answered the phone. “Hey, Sister Ke, I’m in the tent right now.”

“That hacker fan… she did chat with me, but I’ve never met her and don’t know her name.” Shao Qing said.

“She initiated contact with me. I don’t have her contact information. She might contact me tomorrow or the day after. Sister Ke, just tell me directly what you need me to do.”

“Okay, I understand. If she contacts me, I will tell her.”

Shao Qing: “Understood, I know handling it this way is more advantageous for me. But I don’t want to use sponsoring students to whitewash myself. I did those things simply because I wanted to.”

After chatting with her agent, Sister Ke, for over ten minutes, Shao Qing finally hung up.

Seeing that it was almost ten o’clock, Shao Qing efficiently switched her phone to Do Not Disturb mode and slipped into her sleeping bag.

[It seems you didn’t put on your face mask today.] Jing Ke reminded her. [Aren’t you going to do your skincare routine?]

“It’s no big deal. Slacking off once in a while is fine. After all, my looks are pretty formidable,” Shao Qing said with a smile. “Jing Ke, do you know any foreign languages?”

[I know most mainstream languages. If it’s something more obscure, I’ll need a bit of time to find resources and learn.]

“What about French? Can you recite some romantic poems in French for me? I want to use it to help me sleep.”

After acknowledging Jing Ke’s existence in her heart, Shao Qing was noticeably more relaxed when communicating with her, and her requests became increasingly whimsical.

[Alright. Do you have a specific poetry collection in mind? If not, I’ll just pick one at random?]

“Pick anything. I actually can’t really understand French,” Shao Qing admitted truthfully. “I just remember that back in university, it sounded really beautiful when my roommate recited French poems.”

[I understand. Let me prepare something.]

Jing Ke immediately began searching through her own database. After a minute of careful selection, she picked a relatively classical collection of French poetry.

French pronunciation is very rich. Paired with deliberate rhythm and intonation, it sounds extremely soothing and gentle, truly conducive to sleep.

Shao Qing had long since gotten used to Jing Ke’s voice. As Jing Ke recited words in a language she barely understood, it didn’t take long for drowsiness to wash over Shao Qing.

“It’s very beautiful, Jing Ke. Goodnight.” After drowsily leaving behind these seven simple words, Shao Qing entered dreamland and had a pleasant dream.

–

The seventh day, which was also the last day of filming for Wilderness Survival.

Shao Qing’s breakfast was simple: a coconut and a small cake, resolved in less than ten minutes.

Since it was the last day, there was no longer any need to hoard the supplies collected earlier. So the production team discussed it with the six guests.

If all six guests planted six trees together, they would receive a hotpot feast provided by the production team.

This deal seemed very worthwhile from the get-go. In front of the live cameras, all six agreed with beaming smiles, putting on a show of working together to plant trees and afforest.

The production team was quite well-prepared this time. A little before eleven, they had the hotpot and ingredients ready.

The pheasant and seashells that Shao Qing hadn’t eaten weren’t wasted either. After being processed by professional chefs, they returned to the dining table, becoming part of the soup base and hotpot ingredients.

In front of the cameras, the six guests chatted and laughed, all wanting to film the final scene well and avoid leaving any loose ends for criticism.

Shao Qing thought the same. So, even knowing that Xu Yin had deliberately arranged that question the night before, she maintained her smile and answered his question.

“Teacher Shao, I just realized we haven’t exchanged contact information yet. How about we swap phone numbers now?” Xu Yin seemed like a changed person, starting to greet Shao Qing with a smile.

Shao Qing’s eyelid twitched. Her intuition told her that Xu Yin was definitely plotting something shady behind the scenes.

“Sure. After we finish the hotpot, we can add each other on WeChat,” Shao Qing said, keeping a degree of wariness in her heart and not taking out her phone immediately.

“That works too. Teacher Shao, don’t forget later,” Xu Yin smiled, acting as if he had just suddenly thought of it. He mentioned it briefly and then changed the subject.

Eating hotpot while chatting could take a very long time, especially for some guests who hadn’t had a proper feast in a long time. Hotpot was a rare delicacy.

Paired with some post-meal fruit, the last lunch on this island stretched on until nearly one o’clock.

After cooperating to promote a few sponsor products, the six raised their smiling faces, held a banner, and finally shouted the closing slogan together.

“Thank you to the six teachers for your hard work and dedication over these seven days. The filming of this season’s Wilderness Survival has officially concluded,” the Director announced through the loudspeaker.

“The supplies distributed earlier are also gifted to the six teachers. If you need them, you can take them with you directly.”

“If it’s inconvenient, you can also leave them here. We’ll have professional staff come to handle them later.”

After rambling on for about three minutes, the Director finally lowered the loudspeaker and began directing the camera crew to pack up the equipment.

As soon as the fixed camera positions were dismantled, four of the six smiling faces instantly dropped their smiles.

Xu Yin left the fastest. As a flight guest, his connection with this show was just for this one season. Since he hadn’t made any reliable friends here, every extra minute he stayed was a waste of time.

You might ask why Xu Yin left without getting Shao Qing’s contact information?

Naturally, because he had some self-awareness. He knew that without the cameras rolling, Shao Qing wouldn’t give him any face, so he chose not to seek humiliation.

Liu Chang, on the other hand, bid farewell to the remaining four one by one before shouldering his bulging backpack and leaving on a yacht with his team.

Zheng Xingxing and Li Liming both planned to stay a bit longer, saying they wanted to take some photos as souvenirs and would leave the island with the production team later.

Shao Qing and Yu Hongjun chose to travel together. The former had only her little assistant with her, while the latter also had just one assistant who doubled as a bodyguard. After briefly tidying up the things they had used, they boarded a yacht and left the island together.

–

“Little Shao, would you like to go for tea with me later? A few old friends of mine have already reserved a spot at the tea house. I’ll introduce you,” Yu Hongjun extended an invitation as soon as they boarded the yacht.

“Since Sister Hong is inviting me personally, I’ll shamelessly tag along for some tea,” Shao Qing stood on the deck, answering Yu Hongjun’s invitation with a smile.

Yu Hongjun smiled too. “Little Shao, you’re a rare clear-sighted person, quite uncommon in this circle.”

“Why does Sister Hong say that?” Shao Qing blinked.

Yu Hongjun: “You can calmly accept a sense of setbacks, you haven’t strayed down the wrong path, and you haven’t given up on yourself. Very few people in this circle can do that. Over all these years, I haven’t seen many with that kind of temperament.”

Shao Qing was stunned for a moment, then let out a soft laugh, her brows and eyes softening. “Perhaps I’m not as good as Sister Hong thinks. It took me a long time to slowly come to accept the facts.”

“Rather than saying I calmly accepted it, it’s more accurate to say reality forced me to accept it.” As Shao Qing spoke, she shrugged and looked out at the vast, endless sea.

“Don’t sell yourself short. Sometimes you need to learn to accept compliments,” Yu Hongjun patted Shao Qing on the shoulder. “Little Shao, I hope that no matter when, no matter what you encounter, you recognize one fact: you are an excellent person, you’ve accomplished things many others can’t, you are very impressive.”

Yu Hongjun spoke with a trace of wistfulness in her tone that wasn’t easily noticeable.

When she was young, she could only watch helplessly as that person was pulled down from their pedestal by capital and ultimately left the stage they loved.

Now that she had become a veteran senior in the industry, if she still couldn’t manage to lift up a junior being targeted by capital, wouldn’t she be truly incapable?