"I heard from Hai Ge today that you'll be switching artists soon?" Ling Fenghan asked Li Mengxiao with a smile.
"Yes, that's right." Li Mengxiao was a little surprised when Ling Fenghan suddenly brought up the matter, then she said, "After Qing Tian's work arrangements were adjusted, she doesn't really need an assistant for the time being."
"Do you want to come to me?" Ling Fenghan said, "My assistant gets pretty good treatment, and I'm quite kind as long as they don't make any major mistakes. I should be considered easy to get along with."
Li Mengxiao couldn't quite believe her ears for a moment.
Was Ling Fenghan serious?
"But I'm still a newcomer, and I don't have much experience, so..." Li Mengxiao's words were interrupted before she could finish.
"Everyone starts as a newcomer." Ling Fenghan said, "My workload has increased this year, and Hai Ge is also considering adding another assistant for me. If possible, I'd still prefer someone trustworthy. What do you think?"
"Someone trustworthy..." Hearing Ling Fenghan's evaluation of her, Li Mengxiao felt a bit overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.
"You can consider it, no need to rush your reply. This shoot will take a week anyway, so you can answer me next week." Ling Fenghan said with a smile.
Li Mengxiao later couldn't remember how she left. She only remembered that Ling Fenghan saw her out of the flower room and even walked with her for a distance.
She was in a daze, and Ling Fenghan's smile kept reappearing in her mind, making her heart beat erratically.
The next morning, Ji Meina and Tong Nianze returned by the program team's car.
After resting at the hospital for a night, Ji Meina looked much better.
Xia Qingtian had received a call from Tong Nianze last night, knowing that Ji Meina's examination had no problems, but only after seeing her in person did Xia Qingtian feel completely relieved.
After some playful interactions, the program team officially announced the week's activities.
This was the final week of "First Step of Heartbeat."
[Through the previous interactions, the guests have begun to get to know each other.
This time, you will directly choose the person you wish to spend time with. You will have another chance to choose after three days.
Six days later, on the last day, the final heart-confession and brave first step segment will officially begin.
There are eight guests and eight slips of paper, but only four slips have numbers 1 to 4 corresponding to them.
Those who draw the numbered slips will choose the opposite-gender guest they wish to spend time with for the next three days, according to the order of the slips.]
The electronic voice emphasized "opposite-gender," and everyone silently glanced at Xia Qingtian, who pouted a little aggrievedly.
This last week of filming was not live, also to create a sense of mystery for the pre-recorded episodes.
The signing began on site, with the slips being verified immediately.
"Number 1, my luck is pretty good~" Ji Meina chuckled, unfolding her slip and looking at Tong Nianze, "It'll be... him."
Being chosen by Ji Meina, Tong Nianze's lips curved upwards. It was worth staying by Ji Meina's bedside all night to take care of her.
"Number 2," Ji Jun unfolded his slip and his gaze fell on Lin Yirou, "Lin Yirou."
This was the final week. If he didn't choose Lin Yirou now, he didn't know when he would have another chance to spend proper time with her. After leaving this show, they would probably get busy again.
Being chosen by Ji Jun, Lin Yirou raised her hand to awkwardly brush her long hair from her shoulder and lowered her gaze slightly.
Qiu Xin Xue saw that only she and Xia Qingtian were left. She had peeked earlier and saw that both she and Xia Qingtian had blank slips. Immediately, a spirit of not accepting defeat surged within Qiu Xin Xue.
She wanted to be the one chosen, not the one left behind who had to make a choice.
"I'm number 3," Lu Songtao held up his slip.
Upon seeing this, Qiu Xin Xue's eyes lit up. Before she could express anything, she saw Lu Songtao's gaze pass over Qiu Xin Xue, "I choose Xia Qingtian."
Xia Qingtian was also a little surprised by Lu Songtao's choice.
She didn't seem to have much contact with Lu Songtao before...
"Then I don't need to choose, right?" Ling Fenghan chuckled, shaking the slip marked with "4."
Hearing this, Qiu Xin Xue clenched her fists at her side.
This was too much!
However, since Lu Songtao and Xia Qingtian were paired, it would be much easier for her to have Lu Songtao steal Xia Qingtian's phone or find Mobius's contact information than for her to act herself.
Thinking of this, Qiu Xin Xue felt a little better. Everything was for the greater good.
After the teams were formed, they would draw tasks for the three days as a unit.
[Having been guests here for so long, in this final week, we hope our four pairs of guests can do something for the villa owner. There are a total of four task cards, and we hope the guests can work together to complete them.]
Xia Qingtian's group drew the task of making jam through Lu Songtao.
There was an orchard here, and strawberries were bearing fruit at this time. Although they were not as red and large as those sold in markets, they were perfectly sufficient for making jam.
"Good luck," Xia Qingtian smiled and nodded.
Moreover, there was ample time, so this task was very easy.
If she was lucky, she could even bring back two bottles of homemade jam for Xia Qingyu and Aunt Liu to try.
Lu Songtao merely curved his lips, not replying, but his eyes scanned Xia Qingtian's profile.
"Oh, right, I didn't get to thank you for your testimony yesterday," Xia Qingtian said, turning to Lu Songtao as if remembering something. "Was everything smooth at the police station last night?"
"Yes, it was quite smooth. That diving instructor wasn't a first-time offender. He had previously been sued for joking around and turning off someone else's oxygen tank while diving during a conflict at a club," Lu Songtao then explained the events at the police station to Xia Qingtian.
When they arrived at the police station, the diving instructor complained of a headache, then nausea and dizziness, claiming he was being bullied and denying what he had done, saying he couldn't remember.
However, the police completely disregarded his claims. After receiving the evidence provided by the program team, they directly summoned the club owner.
The club owner was a reasonable person. He fired the instructor immediately, applied for the revocation of the diving instructor's license, and submitted a statement to the World Underwater Federation requesting a lifetime ban for the instructor.
After all, in the ocean, an oxygen tank was a lifeline.
If he could turn off someone's oxygen tank over a minor conflict, such a person would eventually cause a fatality if not stopped.
Seeing that the situation had escalated, the diving instructor finally realized his mistake. He cried and apologized profusely, lamenting his impulsiveness and how difficult his life was.
However, the program team completely ignored him, reserving their right to appeal and taking photos for evidence.
This matter was temporarily concluded, and later, Ji Meina's work team would take over handling it further.
"...After that, I came back to rest." Having roughly explained the matter, Lu Songtao did not mention calling Vice President Song after his return.
Previously, Vice President Song had told him that Xia Qingtian was cunning, greedy, and would stop at nothing to achieve her goals, and would not hesitate to use others.
But during the entire ordeal of Ji Meina's near-drowning during the dive that day, Xia Qingtian didn't seem like that kind of person at all...
What exactly was going on?