TL: Hua
Chapter 35: I don’t want to share a bed with my enemy!
If all the highlights were shown live, then when the main episode aired, all those exciting segments would have already been spoiled by netizens. Who would tune in to the TV station and video platforms then?
The clever director smiled.
The live stream footage must stop at the point where everyone knows something, but not everything, to truly whet their appetite.
After seeing a staff member opposite him give an OK signal, the director slowly motioned for another staff member to wheel out the box containing the props from Lin Yanran’s group.
“If your three groups do not meet the goal today, you will have to find your own dinner tonight, and… you will have to continue working tonight to pay off the debt.”
Although the live camera was off, the recording was still ongoing.
Hearing the director’s newly announced rule, the other four guests, who were unaware of the actual situation, were extremely anxious.
Damn it, what kind of ridiculous rule is that!
If they failed, not only would they have no dinner in this cold weather, but they would also have to go out and continue working to pay off their debt late at night???
Is there no justice or law left in the world!!!
Sun Yuetong was dying of impatience watching the director dawdle. “Director, why haven’t you announced it yet??”
Fu Anqi quickly extended her index finger and began calculating on her left palm.
“197 plus 257 equals…”
Cao Zhengpeng, who had very little experience with variety shows, looked worriedly at Lin Yanran. “Yanran, how much did your group sell? Our two groups sold roughly the same amount, so if your group sold a little over a hundred, that should be enough.”
Since the first two groups had sold over four hundred, which wasn’t too far from the 585 total set by the production team, everyone was very nervous.
The production team had previously told Lin Yanran’s group not to tell the other guests their sales figures for the sake of the show’s effect.
Lin Yanran could only shake his head at Cao Zhengpeng with a helpless smile, “They won’t let me say.”
Good heavens, hearing Lin Yanran’s words made the four of them even more nervous.
“Oh my god, what if it’s not enough!!!”
Gao Zitai, who was in a good mood on the side, suddenly felt like he’d hit the jackpot watching everyone’s worried expressions.
Initially, he didn’t think it was anything special. Since their group made sales, he subconsciously assumed the other groups must have done well too.
But after hearing that they worked so hard and only sold that amount of money, and now they were all extremely worried about the remaining hundred-plus yuan difference…
Gao Zitai suddenly realized…
Being grouped with Lin Yanran seemed quite… beneficial!
Seeing that the guests were sufficiently anxious and the suspense had been drawn out enough, the heartless director finally decided to stop torturing everyone and was willing to announce the sales figure for Lin Yanran’s group.
“Yanran, Gao Zitai, your total sales today are…”
“1,800 yuan!”
Fu Anqi’s counting hand trembled. “W-what??????”
Sun Yuetong blinked in confusion. “Say how much you sold again??”
Ye An looked utterly stunned. “H-how much money???”
Cao Zhengpeng looked at the director and then at Lin Yanran. “Did I hear that wrong just now??”
The director smiled slightly and repeated the number loudly once more.
“Yanran and Gao Zitai’s group’s total sales today are 1,800 yuan. You did not hear wrong.”
1,800…
Is this sales figure even real!!!
Fu Anqi shook her aching, cramped hands in disbelief. “How did you do that?”
The other guests were equally shocked.
“How did you sell so much??”
“That’s seriously too amazing!!”
“The sales of our two groups combined aren’t even as high as a fraction of your group’s!!!”
The four guests’ eyes simultaneously darted towards Lin Yanran and Gao Zitai, filled with curiosity.
From their personal experience, they knew how difficult it was to achieve such a high sales figure.
They were in a foreign country without acquaintances or fans to help, and none of them were professional salespeople.
Moreover, even if professionals were selling these four hundred sets of art supplies, they might not be able to sell this much money in one afternoon…
They had used every trick in the book to try and sell more, but their final sales were still only in the low one- to two-hundred-yuan range.
So they were truly curious how the two of them managed to sell nearly two thousand yuan without external help.
Gao Zitai, who had been a complete slacker throughout and barely contributed, felt a tingling sensation down his spine from being stared at with such expectant and curious looks.
He took a step back and quickly waved his hands. “I… I didn’t… it was all Yanran, he…”
Just as he was about to explain that Lin Yanran had put in all the effort to make the sales, Ye An suddenly clapped his hands and then wore an expression of disbelief.
“I just did the math. Drawing books are three yuan, sketchbooks two yuan, colored markers seven yuan, crayons six yuan… that’s a total of eighteen yuan, and one hundred sets of each… So… you sold all four hundred sets???”
What the heck??
Sold everything???
Even the hardest-to-sell crayons were sold???
After hearing Ye An’s realization, the other three guests were completely speechless.
Fu Anqi was closest to the production team’s box, so she quickly squatted down and pulled the box open.
Inside, Lin Yanran’s group’s cart only held the small table and small stool. All the other items were indeed completely sold out!!
The four guests: …
This was an incredible feat that truly defied description!!!
“Are you two devils????” Ye An asked a loaded question.
Gao Zitai, who had unexpectedly won big and felt strangely guilty, quickly waved his finger and pointed to Lin Yanran next to him, “I’m not; he is!!”
No sooner had he opened his mouth than the director’s voice rang out.
“Congratulations to all the guests! Through your joint efforts, you have exceeded the goal today. You don’t have to go out to work tonight, and you can now enjoy your luxury dinner.”
Upon hearing the director promise a luxury dinner, everyone’s previous tension instantly relaxed.
With Fu Anqi letting out a lively cheer, everyone happily walked out of the villa.
This time, the production team arranged a large bus for them.
Having been tricked twice during the day, all the guests were much wiser this time.
Cao Zhengpeng, who was walking at the front, had one foot on the bus step but stopped and turned back to ask the director, “Are you going to make us ‘buy a ticket after getting on the bus’ this time too?”
Realizing his wording was slightly off, Cao Zhengpeng cleared his throat. “Ahem, are you going to make us pay after we’ve sat down in the car?”
The few people behind him also nodded and looked at the director, all with the expression that said, I must ask, or I absolutely will not get on the bus.
The director, who had originally planned to use the same trick to skim a little more of their hard-earned money, awkwardly nodded, “I promise, absolutely, absolutely no charge.”
Lin Yanran, having been burned by a promise once before, clearly didn’t trust him and added, “At any time.”
The director hadn’t expected Lin Yanran’s rapid progress. He took a sharp breath, gritted his teeth, and agreed, “Any time! I promise. If I charge you, I’ll bark like a dog.”
Cao Zhengpeng nodded with satisfaction, then strode into the bus, commenting, “That’s better. People should be honest with each other!”
After the six people boarded the large bus, they felt much more comfortable and cozy as they enjoyed the warmth of the car after a hard day’s work.
However, they didn’t choose to sleep. Instead, they returned to the question they were asking Gao Zitai and Lin Yanran.
After all, the annoying director had interrupted them several times when they tried to ask what had happened.
Gao Zitai, seeing everyone’s curiosity, felt too embarrassed to take any credit himself, so he described what Lin Yanran had done that afternoon.
Fearing he wasn’t clear enough, he used many exaggerated words, describing the scene as a jaw-dropping, earth-shattering event.
If you didn’t know the background, you might have thought he was a fanboy of Lin Yanran’s.
Sun Yuetong, who finally understood the whole story, gave Lin Yanran a thumbs-up. “Yanran, you are truly amazing! Seriously!”
Fu Anqi, rubbing her sore shoulders, was full of envy. “Why didn’t I think of that method?”
Ye An laughed at her. “Do you speak French? Can you draw?”
Fu Anqi stuck out her tongue. “No, I can’t!”
Then she stood up and leaned on the back of Lin Yanran’s seat in front. “Brother Yanran, I think you should take me with you next time. I’ll be your assistant.”
Gao Zitai’s first reaction was: Is she trying to steal my job??
Before he could process why he had that thought, the other guests had already moved to reserve Lin Yanran before he did.
“I can be your assistant too.”
“I can even help you collect the money.”
Seeing that everyone wanted to team up with Lin Yanran, Cao Zhengpeng laughed, “Stop fighting, stop fighting. Next time we’ll team up, and maybe all twelve hundred sets can be sold out together.”
Sun Yuetong agreed, “Then we’ll be rich.”
No one noticed that as a result of their chat this time, all of their relationships had become much closer.
The entire process was joyful, full of laughter and conversation. The barrier and sense of strangeness that existed between them when they met in the morning had completely disappeared.
In the evening, the production team finally acted like human beings for once and didn’t set traps for everyone, allowing them all to eat a peaceful dinner.
Because they finished selling their goods at seven o’clock, plus the time spent on the road and the time spent eating dinner, it was almost eleven o’clock when everyone returned to the villa.
Although it was very late, the production team still had no intention of letting the guests rest.
The director gathered everyone in the lobby again.
“It was mentioned in the previous rules that the champion team would receive a special privilege.”
The already somewhat exhausted guests had actually forgotten about this, but now that they heard there was a privilege, the director had piqued their interest again, and they all perked up.
“What privilege, what privilege? Tell us quickly!”
Although it had nothing to do with her, Fu Anqi was still very enthusiastic and curious.
It was a privilege, after all!!
Gao Zitai also felt a sense of anticipation ignite in his heart when he heard this. It was the first time he had been lucky enough to encounter something that could unlock a special privilege.
The director didn’t keep them in suspense and told them directly.
“Yanran and Gao Zitai are today’s sales champions, so the two of you will each have one special privilege.”
Lin Yanran saw the director’s face look like he was about to cause trouble again and immediately felt a sense of dread. He quickly asked, “What does the privilege mean? Are there any restrictions?”
The director laughed. “You can make one request to the production team, and we can fulfill one wish for you.”
After hearing about this privilege, the other few guests were intensely envious.
What wish did they have right now!
The biggest wish was to get back the things that had been confiscated by the production team!!
Seeing that the production team gave the first-place team such a big privilege, the four guests whose sales were not good regretted it even more.
They should have followed Yanran all along!!!
Gao Zitai’s thoughts were highly consistent with everyone else’s: get their things back first.
So, the simple-minded and straightforward Gao Zitai immediately told the production team, “Then I’ll exercise my privilege right now. Please return all the things you confiscated from us this morning!”
After speaking, he very righteously pointed to the other five guests and deliberately emphasized, “Return all of them to the six of us!!!”
Upon hearing what Gao Zitai said, the other guests clapped happily.
“Zitai, well done!”
“Director, return them quickly.”
The director didn’t move an inch and even smiled slightly. “No way ^_^ These are six privileges!”
The flames of hope that had ignited in the guests’ eyes were instantly extinguished by a bucket of cold water.
Especially Ye An, who instantly wilted.
His comfort scarf was still with the director’s team. He had previously thought that no matter what, the director team would eventually return it to him.
But no one had mentioned it to him until now, and Gao Zitai’s proposal was vetoed!
That actually meant he had no hope of getting the scarf back…
Thinking of this, Ye An instantly felt uneasy and began to feel anxious.
If he didn’t have it, he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.
Gao Zitai didn’t expect the production team to be so heartless and tried to bargain with the director again.
However, the other party still wouldn’t budge. Unable to do anything, he could only settle for the next best thing, “Okay, if six people’s things aren’t allowed, at least returning my things is fine, right?”
The director nodded, “Of course, returning your things is fine.”
Gao Zitai heard this and took a step forward with his right leg, preparing to retrieve his things.
“But… your privilege has been used up.”
With his right leg suspended in the air and unable to find stable footing, Gao Zitai almost fell.
He looked at the director speechlessly, “What do you mean??? Didn’t you say I had one privilege? I haven’t used it.”
The director explained unhurriedly, “But your request was just made, wasn’t it?”
After speaking, he innocently blinked his small eyes twice, “Actually, I hadn’t finished my sentence just now. Guests who have the privilege cannot make overly excessive requests or gain without effort; otherwise, the privilege will be voided.”
Gao Zitai, who was on the verge of a breakdown, felt incredibly annoyed…
He took a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger in his heart, “Pleaase, can you not keep us in suspense when you talk in the future!!!”
Director: “Immpossible ^_^”
Darn it, if I film a few more episodes, I’ll definitely be driven crazy by this genius director!
Seeing that Gao Zitai’s opportunity had been wasted, the others could only look eagerly at Lin Yanran.
“Yanran, think carefully before you speak, don’t waste it again.”
The requirement given by the production team—not too excessive—was too broad, and no one knew where the boundary of “excessive” lay.
But Gao Zitai’s second request—to get his own things back—was agreed to by the production team.
So, the careful Sun Yuetong reminded Lin Yanran, “Yanran, why don’t you choose to get your own things back? That way, we can borrow a little if there’s anything useful.”
Sun Yuetong’s suggestion was undoubtedly the best solution for everyone. Lin Yanran’s belongings were numerous and comprehensive. If he could get his things back, everyone could use something in an emergency.
Even if the production team continued to be unreasonable tomorrow and didn’t give them food, they could at least manage with the seasoning packets, Lao Gan Ma, and other items he brought.
Thinking of this, Cao Zhengpeng, Fu Anqi, and Gao Zitai all nodded in agreement.
But Ye An didn’t say anything.
Because he felt very insecure without his scarf, he really wanted to ask Lin Yanran to help him get the scarf back.
But he thought that doing so would be too selfish for the team, and it wouldn’t look good when it aired.
So he moved his mouth but ultimately held back and didn’t dare to speak.
Lin Yanran glanced at everyone’s expressions, a slight curl at the corner of his mouth, and nodded at them.
However, just when everyone thought he had decided to retrieve his own things, they heard him say something that surprised everyone—
“Then I want to use our excess sales amount from today to exchange for items of equal value from you.”
After saying this, the smile on the corner of Lin Yanran’s mouth became even more obvious, and he explained to the director very thoughtfully, “This request of mine should be very reasonable, right? We have 1669 left from the money we earned today, so we’re not gaining without effort, and we are exchanging all the items with you for an equal value.”
Lin Yanran then continued to block the director’s other possible refusal, “You can set the price, just don’t exceed the market value too much ^_^”
The director, Zhang Shanfeng, who had always had a tight grip on the guests and the audience, instantly lost the luster in his smile. ???????
Why isn’t he playing by the rules!!!
Didn’t he already agree with the other five to just get his own things back??
How did he come up with this crazy idea!!!
Zhang Shanfeng, who had racked his brain to set traps and believed that the guests could never outsmart him, felt the frustration of being intellectually crushed by a guest for the first time!!
Damn it!!!!
How am I supposed to answer this, Yanran?? And he won’t allow me to set a high price!!
So sly!!
Zhang Shanfeng covered his face with his megaphone in despair and, with trembling hands, reluctantly agreed, “Fine…”
Ugh! A miscalculation!
With the director’s despairing “fine,” a synchronized cheer erupted from the guests in the villa for the first time.
“Aaaah, Yanran, you are so smart!!!!”
Under the expectant gazes of the guests, the director, who had been completely outsmarted by Lin Yanran, could only helplessly return the 1669 yuan he had just warmed in his pocket to Lin Yanran.
He had originally been thinking of a way to embezzle the money…
In the end, he tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice, and now he even had to return the confiscated items.
After getting the money, Lin Yanran divided all of it among everyone.
Ye An was deeply moved when he suddenly found 111.5 yuan in his hand.
He had already prepared to stay up all night tonight, but who knew Lin Yanran would be so smart and generous…
The key was that the other party was also very straightforward. He didn’t resort to those fake attempts to win screen time, like saying, “I’ll use this money to buy back the guests’ things.”
Instead, he directly distributed the money to everyone, letting them negotiate with the production team for what they wanted to exchange it for.
This move was truly beyond his expectation.
He had actually heard about Lin Yanran’s affairs from people in the circle. There were various versions, and there were even some obscene rumors.
But because he didn’t know him well and had heard too much negative news about him, he was somewhat prejudiced and didn’t like the person from the start.
Even when he recently became popular again, those existing impressions made him wary of Lin Yanran and led him to believe his recent fame was just luck.
He even felt particularly disappointed when he saw the other person as the surprise guest that morning.
But after a day of interaction, he realized that his previous perception of Lin Yanran was indeed narrow and one-sided.
After exchanging his scarf from the production team for the enormous sum of 80 yuan, Ye An used the remaining money to buy some milk.
He turned on the stove and heated a cup for everyone, but he poured a little extra for Lin Yanran.
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