CH 69

Ch 69: Placing a Bet

After Old Luo finished explaining the additional rules, Yin Chang pumped his fist at Shao Junling encouraging him to keep up the good work.

Shao Junling sat but glared at him and turned around, pretending not to see... he was probably still angry about what happened in the morning.

Yin Chang smiled, thinking, "Hmm, maybe I went a little too far with teasing."

Once the five groups of guests drew their maps in order, they received a basic equipment pack from the staff, which only contained a compass, a Swiss army knife, two water bottles, and a rope. There was nothing else inside.

Afterward, they were dispersed to their respective starting points and received instructions from the host before officially setting off.

Yin Chang, of course, wouldn't get angry with Shao Junling because of his childish reaction. He knew that Shao Junling wanted the trophy—he was practically drooling over it earlier—so Yin Chang would do his best to fight for it on his behalf.

He believed that with Shao Junling's competitive personality, he would perform well.

At this moment, a row of televisions had been set up in the temporary viewing booth in the village. The chief director, producers, writers, and a few staff members sat together, attentively watching the screens in front of them.

For this episode, they specifically invited a local jungle trekking expert to provide them with activity planning guidance and professional analysis.

The expert, surnamed Zheng, was sitting next to the chief director. Although he had planned survival challenges imitating the wilderness for the production team, the director had said that these little guys were all from wealthy families and couldn't afford to get injured. So, they also gathered a team of armed support and medical professionals, just in case.

When Director Zheng first arrived and saw the grand preparations made by the production team, he felt a bit pressured, afraid that he had set the routes too difficult for those kids.

The five starting points were located at different positions on the edge of this forest. The guests set off from their respective locations toward the central destination in the jungle. The lengths of the paths were all similar. If they followed the map, the chances of meeting each other were very low. This would reduce competition among them and allow for better observation of their individual performances.

However, perhaps because it was the first time they were conducting such a long project, the atmosphere in the viewing booth was more solemn than previous shootings. Director Zheng saw the chief director completely focused on the screen and held his breath, also afraid to relax.

In addition to the camera crew following each of the five guest groups, cameras had also been installed throughout the jungle by the staff.

At this moment, the TV screen began to show the appearances of the various guest groups one after another.

The director made a move and waved his fan, saying, "Finally... here we go. Let's make a bet. Let's bet on which group will win!"

Director Zheng: "..."

A group of staff members began to chatter.

"I bet on Shao Junling!"

"I'm betting on Yin Chang and Xue Ziwen."

"This time, Qin Jingshan's in the same group as Shao Junling. Since Jingshan is a girl, I think she will slow down Shao Junling's pace."

"I think Huang Han and Guo Yiheng are good as a team. After all, they have the advantage of age."

After placing their bets and doing a tally, the chief director wondered, "No one is betting on Wang Chen and You Luming to win?"

"Hahaha, just think about it with your toes. Their group can't possibly win. Wang Chen can't handle You Luming at all!"

"Their pairing is truly unfortunate..."

The atmosphere quickly eased down as everyone engaged in a lighthearted discussion.

The chief director asked, "Director Zheng, which group do you think has the highest possibility of winning?"

Director Zheng shook his head and said, "It's still hard to tell."

After more than half an hour passed, he finally pointed at Yin Chang, "This young man looks quite professional. I guess he has experience in wilderness hiking. His way of walking is different from others."

The chief director asked, "What do you mean by a different way of walking? I see him walking quite slowly."

Indeed, Yin Chang and Xue Ziwen were not moving fast.

Director Zheng explained, "He walks slowly mainly to accommodate this child. The child's stamina can't compare to his. Wilderness hiking requires adjusting the pace based on one's own condition. In other words, they need to ensure a consistent average speed, take regular breaks to replenish energy, and have enough endurance. He allowed the child to rest at this spot, which shows good awareness. It's okay to walk slowly as long as the direction is correct."

As he was explaining, Director Zheng pointed to another pair and said, "These two are not doing well. Look at them, they have deviated from the direction."

The negative example he used was Wang Chen and You Luming's group.

Everyone: "..."

One of the staff members, upon hearing Director Zheng's words, chimed in, "Yin Chang is really impressive. Last night, he led Qin Jingshan's group to find water and they found it quickly. In comparison, Huang Han and Wang Chen took a whole hour and a half to find water. Later, they had to walk five miles to the village well to get water. After carrying the water back, they were all exhausted."

After chatting for a while, the chief director asked again, "Apart from Yin Chang's group, who else do you think is slightly more capable?"

Director Zheng hesitated for a moment and pointed at one of the children, saying, "This child."

Everyone followed his direction and looked, only to discover that it was Shao Junling.

The chief director became interested and asked, "What do you mean?"

Director Zheng smiled and said, "This child has a wildness to him. He doesn't look like a city kid but more like someone from our village. Like he grew up in the mountains, surrounded by wilderness."

Two hours passed since the departure time, and Director Zheng's guess was right. The advantages of Yin Chang and Xue Ziwen were gradually showing. They successfully collected a designated item and found a food supply pack. In terms of overall speed and efficiency, they were leading the pack.

At this moment, Yin Chang and Xue Ziwen were sitting together, leisurely eating and replenishing their energy.

Observing the footage of the cameraman following them, it seemed like they were walking effortlessly. However, the staff members who heard Director Zheng's explanation from earlier understood that this apparent ease was based on Yin Chang's genuine abilities.

Furthermore, everyone noticed that Yin Chang and Xue Ziwen worked well together, unlike the other groups that needed to adjust. As soon as Xue Ziwen teamed up with Yin Chang, he obeyed him, letting Yin Chang make all the decisions. Even for today's project, Xue Ziwen didn't need to worry about anything; he just had to follow Yin Chang.

"I always felt that Xue Ziwen was quite willful and arrogant. Why is he so well-behaved in front of Yin Chang?"

"Some rebellious kids are like that, acting obedient in front of others but deliberately challenging their own people."

"I have a different thought. I think Xue Ziwen truly admires Yin Chang, which is why he listens to him."

"That's also because Yin Chang has a charismatic personality, right?"

Indeed, most of the staff members of the production team felt this way.

For example, Wang Chen, despite being the eldest among the group of children, was not very mature himself.

If it weren't for well-trained professional actors, this variety show would have been quite a challenge for their public image.

In the first episode, they could still pretend and hide, but as the filming progressed under the extreme conditions set by the production team, these young children were easily pushed to reveal their true selves, and that's what the audience wanted to see—authenticity. So, in reality shows, sometimes you don't need a script at all. Just put together people with different personalities, and sparks will easily fly, creating natural conflicts.

In the previous episode, Wang Chen couldn't hold back and got into an argument with Xue Ziwen. This scene would definitely stir controversy once it aired.

No one is perfect, and it's only natural for a celebrity to have flaws and be unable to control their temper. As long as they become aware of the problem and make the necessary improvements, it will make their image more vivid and lively in front of the audience.

Speaking of Yin Chang, compared to Wang Chen, it was only in these two episodes that Yin Chang gradually revealed his charm.

As an example, his attitude towards Xue Ziwen showed that even though Xue Ziwen was just a child, Yin Chang would consider his feelings, respect his opinions, and as Director Zheng said, he would even pay attention to whether Xue Ziwen could keep up with his own pace.

All these details reflected that Yin Chang was truly a gentleman and an  understanding older brother.

On this topic, the group couldn't help but discuss Yin Chang's state.

"To be honest, Yin Chang wasn't very relaxed in the first episode, and he didn't enjoy performing."

"I agree. He seemed tense overall, not only strict with himself but also demanding of Shao Junling."

"Do you remember that evening when Shao Junling had a conflict with Lang Chizhi? Yin Chang angrily brought him back. Do you recall that scene?"

"Wow, I was so scared at that time. I thought Yin Chang was going to abuse him!"

"Haha, that episode will be aired as soon as we finish shooting and return. I'm looking forward to seeing the audience's reaction..."

"But after two episodes, he felt that his state had improved a lot."

"Did you all see the part where he carried Xue Ziwen and Shao Junling to play in the creek yesterday?"

"Yeah, I saw it. Yin Chang was so charming. He's like the 'brother from another family.' I'm a thirty-something aunt, and when I saw the photos the photographer sent yesterday, I wanted to cover my face... Qin Jingshan was standing on the side and was also stunned. It's definitely going to be funny in the post-production."

"Who noticed this pair of brothers? They have great taste!"

"It's Director Xu, right? They didn't want to come at first. Director Xu talked to their manager multiple times, and Yin Chang only made the decision a month before we started shooting."

"But I heard that when they were recording the song, they almost drove vocal coach Qi to the point of having a breakdown. Later, they had to hire several audio engineers and spend a lot of money to fix the song while keeping their original voices... Qi criticized and said that this pair of brothers would definitely embarrass themselves in the show."

"If he watches the program, he'll be in for a surprise."

"Yeah, well, I'm already loving it..."

Currently ranked second are Qin Jingshan and Shao Junling.

One of the crew members exclaimed, "Yin Chang and Shao Junling are really strong as a pair! If they hadn't been separated, wouldn't it be obvious that they would take first place?"

Upon hearing this, Director Zheng frowned and said, "This kid doesn't cooperate well with the girl. The girl lacks stamina and can't keep up with him." When Director Zheng referred to the "girl," he meant Qin Jingshan. That's how the locals referred to girls.

He was right. From the very beginning, everyone only saw Shao Junling engrossed in reading the map and walking ahead, while Qin Jingshan was trying to catch up from behind.

At this moment, Qin Jingshan was already exhausted and panting, but Shao Junling didn't feel it at all.

Just then, Qin Jingshan didn't notice a stone under her foot. She stumbled and exclaimed, "Ah!" as she fell to the ground.

The crew members who were gossiping in front of the screen immediately stood up in nervousness.

"Qin Jingshan sprained her foot!"

Yin Chang: If I don't show my true abilities, you all would think I'm just living off my little brother, huh? (Coldly smoking a cigarette)