She drank another mouthful of water. They sat on the floor, chatting idly in an amiable ambience. Still, the latecomer had not yet shown up.
Where is she coming from? How could she be this late and keep everyone waiting? Even the director kept checking his watch, impatience written clearly on his face.
Nearly an hour had passed since the agreed meeting time.
The four present, including Yan Huan, were all around the same age. Despite starring as the ‘Uncle’, Zhou Zizhe was merely twenty-six, still young and handsome. Mr. Meteors was even younger. He was 24, just one year older than Yan Huan.
“Where on earth is she?” mumbled Zhou Zizhe, checking his wristwatch. It was a multifunctional wristwatch with intact gadgets, including a compass. Doubtless, it was a military watch.
An hour and a half had passed by then. An hour and a half sitting there doing nothing. To them, one hour and a half meant a good deal of money lost.
Yan Huan leaned against a tree, preserving her energy. Thought she had good stamina, this was her first time attending a show like Man Vs. Wild, so every minute of rest could be helpful later on. Given the opportunity, she thought it was best to take a nap.
Two hours passed. The director was cursing by now, his face the shade of a black pot. If she still doesn’t show up, they would have to start the show with the four of them, or postpone the shooting.
Doubtless, none of them wanted the shooting to be postponed, not after they had spent hours on the plane, rushing here from all across the country.
Who the hell is that latecomer?
Even before arriving, she had offended just about everyone.
Just as everyone was about to snap, the sound of a helicopter came from above.
“A private helicopter? How rich,” said Fang Ying, curling her crimson lips. They had all arrived through the same helicopter, following the same procedures. And her? A private helicopter with first-class treatment. God knows how many assistants and nanny she would bring.
The helicopter landed, from which came a row of people. At last, a young woman made her entrance.
This show didn’t want actors who were too old or too young, so they usually chose actors from 22 to 28.
In most cases, only the more well-known actors had the privilege of being invited.
Yan Huan had tried guessing the name of the last guest, but she never expected it to be such a familiar name.
It was a woman, more precisely, her nemesis. To be honest, she wasn’t popular enough to deserve her spot.
Then again, that could be overlooked easily since she had a powerful dad.
In this day and age, if you don’t have a pretty face, you better have a powerful dad.
Without both, it’s best to stay at home and sell red potatoes.
The woman walked to them casually, her hair fluttering in the air as though she was in a shampoo commercial. Standing among the people with little makeup on, her pretty makeup and swaying long dress made her look like a fairy. She made them look like red potatoes.
“Hi guys, I’m Su Muran,” she smiled elegantly. “I’m so sorry,” she bowed apologetically. “There was a little trouble with the helicopter, so I ended up coming late.”
“It’s fine,” said Zhou Zizhe, waving a hand unaffectedly. “We’ll need to look out for each other in the future. Anyway, it hasn’t started yet so it was a good chance for us to get some rest.”
Song Xihua wasn’t one for small talk. He was rather aloof. He simply made a slight nod. Fang Ying curled her lips. Ew, what a drama queen, she cussed internally.
Naturally, Yan Huan didn’t have anything to say to Su Muran. Coming in late was also a way of hogging attention. Helicopter breaking down, what a convenient excuse. She could see people buying it. After all, the helicopter malfunctioning was a problem that no one could have prevented or foreseen. Though everyone was unhappy, it wasn’t as if they would personally attack her. Plus, she was a woman. Most of the people present were men. Who could scold her, a woman?
However, Yan Huan was aware of what kind of power the Su Family had. Even without the airport from the Ye Family, Su Family was powerful enough with its jades and gold.
No one knew how deep the Su Family’s pockets were, which was why Ye Jianguo turned to the Su Family first. If the Su Family intervened, the Ye Family would definitely make it through.
However, the Su Family never planned to help. They wanted the airport for themselves. However, their plan had failed. This soured the relationships between the two families even more. They weren’t exactly enemies yet, but there was hardly any more communication between them.
And for the Su Family, a helicopter was nothing. Even if it was on short notice, the Su Family could send five helicopters without breaking a sweat. What a poor excuse.
Yan Huan sat up straight, packing up her personal belongings—rations, water, compass, watch, clothes, tents, and miscellaneous items.
Su Muran’s items had already been packed for her, but she stood there frowning. This is so heavy, she thought, how am I supposed to carry it?
“Miss Su, please remove your makeup,” reminded the director kindly. “Actresses are not supposed to wear them. That’s our rule.”
“Okay, Director, I got it,” said Su Muran. However, she didn’t move an inch.
To a female actress, makeup was everything to her. Without it, all of her imperfections would be laid bare before the camera. Her rough skin, her large pores, her small eyes, her single eyelid, her sunken nose.
Going makeup-free wasn’t easy for most actresses, those that weren’t gifted with exceptional beauty. Su Muran was one of them.
Then, the director briefed them on some other cautionary points. However, it wasn’t as dangerous as it sounded, since the crew was constantly behind them, camera in hand.
All the talents had to carry their own backpacks. To this, Su Muran protested. How could she carry something this heavy? She could only carry suitcases with rollers.
Clearly, her backpack didn’t come with wheels. Even if it did, they couldn’t expect her to push it all over the mountain, right?
“I’m sorry, Miss Su, but we can’t agree to this,” responded the director upon hearing Su Muran’s request for someone else to carry her backpacks. “We want the show to be as real as possible, so everyone has to be responsible for themselves. I believe we have already established this when we signed the contract. If you have any objections, it would be against our terms and conditions. To stay or to leave, the choice lies with you.”
