Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Li Bozhong stood aside, coughing tiredly. He felt that his daughter was really naive. How could she ask for an autograph right away? He smiled sheepishly at Jiang Mochen and Yan Qingchi, “Xiao Mo is quite outgoing, don’t mind.”
Jiang Mochen smiled at this, “It’s okay. But Mr. Li, it’s been a long time since we last met.”
Li Bozhong had only worked with Jiang Mochen in a movie the year he debuted. He didn’t have a big role, but they got along very well on the set. Li Bozhong had long since retired from the film industry, and Jiang Mochen was no longer the rising star he once was. So Li Bozhong hadn’t expected Jiang Mochen to actually remember him, and for a moment he felt somewhat relieved. He then sighed, “I’m old and retired, and now it’s the world of you young people.”
Yan Qingchi heard their conversation and asked Jiang Mochen, “Do you know Teacher Li?”
Jiang Mochen nodded, “Yes, the year I debuted, I filmed a crime film. Teacher Li played the psychiatrist in the film, and I played the murderer.”
Yan Qingchi nodded and greeted Li Bozhong, “Hello, Teacher Li.”
“Hello,” Li Bozhong said a little embarrassedly. “It’s all in the past, and Mochen actually still remembers it.”
Li Mo was surprised that her old father had such an experience. Shocked, she asked him, “Why didn’t you tell me? I didn’t even know about it.”
Li Bozhong looked at her and said helplessly, “I already told you. It’s in the past. At that time, I didn’t have many scenes, just 10 minutes. There’s nothing much to say.”
Li Mo thought her father was really too modest. If she could work with Jiang Mochen for ten minutes, she would probably flood Weibo and WeChat Moments with posts, wishing the whole world knew about her and Jiang Mochen’s collaboration.
As they chatted, other people began to arrive. The program director briefly explained that this time’s filming would not be conducted abroad. As a pilot, the first episode would be recorded in China. However, each group’s recording location would be slightly different. The details would be announced after they got off the plane.
Everyone nodded and boarded the plane together. Before turning off his phone, Yan Qingchi posted a selfie with the caption: “Work!”
Jiang Mochen leaned over and happened to appear in Yan Qingchi’s selfie. Yan Qingchi turned to look at him. Jiang Mochen looked innocent and even asked, “Aren’t you going to post this on Weibo?”
Yan Qingchi snorted coldly, saying, “No, don’t even think about it.”
Jiang Mochen sighed. Alas, the road to public disclosure is long and arduous.
The plane landed in G City, where a bus was already waiting. Upon seeing them exit the airport, the driver waved enthusiastically, indicating that he was here.
The contact person in charge of the connection also came over and chatted politely with the director of “Best Partner”.
It was at this time that the host gave the opening introductions and announced the first segment of the filming: the “Best Partner” test.
In this segment, the six pairs of partners were divided among jungles, islands, and mountains to test who would be the best partner. The program team would distribute a backpack to each guest, which contained maps, tents, sleeping bags, compressed biscuits, bread, mineral water and other daily necessities. The partners needed to reach the destination with a victory flag within three days. The ranking would be determined according to the order of arrival. This ranking would affect their budget for their first stop of the overseas travel – the first place would have the most available funds, and the last place would have the least available funds.
Yan Qingchi was a little confused after hearing this. It was supposed to be a travel competition show, so how did it become an adventure show?
However, the host did not give them much time to react but directly took out the lottery box and asked them to draw lots one by one to decide the test location.
Among them, Jiang Mochen had the biggest status, so everyone said in unison, “Brother Jiang, go first.”
Jiang Mochen smiled and refused. He asked Li Bozhong to draw first.
Li Bozhong knew he was showing respect, and he felt both relieved and a little embarrassed. He thus patted Li Mo on the shoulder and said, “Go ahead, draw a location.”
Li Mo walked over to the host, drew from the lottery box, and pulled out a slip of paper. She opened it, and it read, “Island.”
Li Mo handed the slip to the host and returned to the team. “It’s an island,” she said.
Li Bozhong nodded, silently hoping that Jiang Mochen and his team would also get island.
However, Li Bozhong’s wish was dashed the moment Jiang Mochen opened his slip of paper. On Jiang Mochen’s slip was written: “Mountain.”
Like Jiang Mochen, the second team that drew the mountain was the sister duo of Mo Xiaoxiao and Zhang Ningwei. They seemed very happy and even said hello to Yan Qingchi from a distance.
Soon, the lottery was over, and the test locations for Jiang Mochen, Yan Qingchi, and Mo Xiaoxiao, Zhang Ningwei was determined to be mountains.
The groups of Li Bozhong, Li Mo, and Fei Jingyu and Yue Ziming were on the island, while the groups of Yang Xinhe, Yu Haoyuan, and Wei Zhihang and Yu Xiaoyu were going to the jungle.
After the draw, everyone boarded separate buses, each designated for their respective locations. The bus had barely started, and Yan Qingchi hadn’t even had time to admire the streetscape when he saw staff approaching with eye masks in hand.
“For the rest of the day, please wear your eye masks and get some rest. We’ll wake you up when we arrive at our destination.”
Yan Qingchi: “…is it too late for him to get off the bus now?” This didn’t feel like a show recording; it felt like he’d boarded a black car by mistake!
He glanced helplessly at Jiang Mochen, who also looked frustrated.
“Since we’re here, let’s make the best of it.” Jiang Mochen patted his hand, obediently taking the eye mask, handing one to Yan Qingchi and putting one on himself. Yan Qingchi had no choice but to put the mask on himself.
“Go to sleep,” he reassured himself. “When you wake up, we’ll have arrived.”
By the time Yan Qingchi woke up and was called off the bus, they were already at the edge of the mountain. He looked at the mountain before him, then at the cameraman and director following them. Finally, he waved his hand with a dashing gesture, “Let’s go into the mountains.”
Mo Xiaoxiao and Zhang Ningwei didn’t part ways with them. As Mo Xiaoxiao followed them, she said, “Those who know, know we’re participating in ‘Best Partner,’ but those who don’t probably think we’re participating in ‘Follow Brother Jiang on an Adventure.'”
Yan Qingchi was amused by the phrase “Follow Brother Jiang on an Adventure.” He glanced at Jiang Mochen and said, “Then Brother Jiang, please lead us well.”
Jiang Mochen looked at him and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely lead our comrades towards the Republic!”
The two girls couldn’t help but chuckle. They felt that even though Jiang Mochen was already a triple-Award winner, he wasn’t as unapproachable as they had imagined.
Yan Qingchi called out to Jiang Mochen, asking him to help him get the map from his bag. Jiang Mochen opened his backpack, took out the map, and handed it to him.
Yan Qingchi opened it, and everyone leaned over to take a look. They saw a small red flag drawn in the center of the map. “It looks like we’re in the center of the mountain.”
“But it’s already afternoon,” Mo Xiaoxiao said, checking the sky. “We can walk for another three hours at most before it gets dark, and we also have to set up the tent before it gets dark.”
“Right, so we have to hurry and walk faster now.” Yan Qingchi looked at the two of them. “Are you two going to come with us?”
Mo Xiaoxiao nodded. “We two aren’t very good at this, so it’s better for us to follow you. Besides, there’s strength in numbers.”
“Alright, let’s go,” Yan Qingchi said, and he and Jiang Mochen walked forward side by side.
The mountain path here was difficult to navigate, and insects popped out from time to time. Zhang Ningwei, having been raised in pampered conditions, was a bit delicate, so she was inevitably a little scared and kept holding onto Mo Xiaoxiao. They walked for over two hours. Zhang Ningwei was feeling a little tired, but she was too embarrassed to say it. So Mo Xiaoxiao supported her and whispered encouragement to her. Yan Qingchi heard Mo Xiaoxiao’s encouragement and looked back to see that Zhang Ningwei was clearly exhausted.
He thus glanced at the sky and asked Jiang Mochen, “Why don’t we just walk till here first and find a flat spot to set up the tent?” He gestured calmly to Zhang Ningwei, and Jiang Mochen followed his gaze and saw that Zhang Ningwei indeed looked tired.
He nodded, “Okay.”
Seeing that he agreed, Yan Qingchi turned to Mo Xiaoxiao and said, “You stay here with her, and we’ll go see where to set up a tent nearby. We won’t leave tonight. There are still two days left anyway, so we can recharge our energy and adjust our condition today.”
Zhang Ningwei could tell that it was because of her. She felt full of apologies and said guiltily, “Or let’s walk a little longer.” She said, “I can still walk for a while.”
“No need.” Yan Qingchi said gently, “Look, it’s getting dark soon, and the mountain road is not easy to walk on. It will be more trouble than it takes to set up the tent. Besides, it will take some time to set up the tent.”
Zhang Ningwei nodded and said sincerely, “I’m sorry to have dragged you down.”
“It’s okay,” Yan Qingchi smiled, “We are all here to record the show, and we should take care of each other.” After he settled Mo Xiaoxiao and Zhang Ningwei, he and Jiang Mochen walked to the side to see where it was suitable to set up the tent.
As they walked, Jiang Mochen asked him, “Can you pitch a tent?”
“Yes,” Yan Qingchi said, “I’ve done it before.”
Jiang Mochen looked at him helplessly, “I was afraid that you’d say you could, but you actually can. Do you lack any other skills besides singing?”
Yan Qingchi smiled at his words, “Then let me repeat myself,” he said accommodatingly, “I’m not very good at it, so I might need a lot of your help later.”
“Then you still can do it.” Jiang Mochen sighed, “Because I really can’t.”
This time Yan Qingchi really laughed.
Jiang Mochen looked at him, “You’re laughing at me.”
“I’m not.”
“What are you doing?”
“I just think it’s a little cute when you say that seriously.”
Jiang Mochen looked at him suspiciously.
Yan Qingchi nodded solemnly, “Really? I swear.”
“I’ll believe you this time,” Jiang Mochen said, then added a bit reluctantly, “It’s not that I don’t know how to do it. I’ve just never done it before. If you teach me, I’ll definitely be able to do it.”
“Of course, you’re so smart,” Yan Qingchi said.
Jiang Mochen smiled, glanced at him, and said nothing.
The two of them quickly chose a suitable spot to set up their tents. Yan Qingchi asked Jiang Mochen to go get Mo Xiaoxiao and the others while he set up his tent. Jiang Mochen naturally had no objection and went back to bring the two girls over.
Mo Xiaoxiao and Zhang Ningwei arrived and saw Yan Qingchi already busy setting up the tent. They thus hurried over to help. Yan Qingchi explained the setup to them and demonstrated it to them.
Jiang Mochen assisted him from the side.
When he finished teaching, the two girls started setting up their own tents, while his own was almost done.
Yan Qingchi clapped his hands and asked Jiang Mochen, “Is everything okay?”
Jiang Mochen clapped his hands and said sincerely, “Great.”
Yan Qingchi was very satisfied and wondered if it was time for dinner.
He hadn’t decided whether to walk around and see what was nearby, when Mo Xiaoxiao and the others encountered difficulties in setting up the tent and came to him again.
Yan Qingchi simply went over and helped them set up the tent. The two girls thanked him repeatedly, saying that thanks to him today, otherwise they would have had to use the sky as a blanket and the ground as a bed.
Yan Qingchi didn’t think it was a big deal and asked them, “Are you hungry? What do you want to eat?”
Zhang Ningwei was a little confused as to why he asked that, and said naturally, “Just eat the food provided by the production team.”
Yan Qingchi nodded. Yes, that’s what normal people would think.
Seeing that he didn’t say anything, Mo Xiaoxiao asked him, “What do you want to eat?”
“We’re not that hungry, so we just want to look around.”
“Do you want to hunt some game?” Mo Xiaoxiao was shocked, “It doesn’t look like there is game in this mountain.”
“It’s not that we want to hunt game, it’s just that we’re idle and have nothing to do, so we want to look around.” Yan Qingchi said truthfully, “It’s okay, you guys take a rest first, I’m just thinking about it, I’m not sure yet.”
Mo Xiaoxiao nodded. Although she was brave, she was not brave enough to wander around in the mountains after dark, so she politely said to Yan Qingchi, “Okay, then we’ll rest first, and you should rest early too.”
“Yeah.” Yan Qingchi said and returned to Jiang Mochen.
He told Jiang Mochen his idea. Jiang Mochen searched in his backpack and actually found a flashlight. “Take it, we’ll take a look in private. We’re free anyway.”
“Okay.”
“But…” Jiang Mochen looked at the crew’s cameraman and the directors following their two groups and asked, “We’ll take a look around. Do you still need to follow us?”
The director was actually a little tired, but since it was related to work, she could only say professionally, “Logically, we have to follow your activities.”
“Forget it.” Jiang Mochen advised, “You’ve worked hard all the way, and it’s not convenient for you to shoot now because it’s so dark. We won’t go far. We’re just bored and want to see what’s around.”
“But if we don’t follow you, what if something happens and we can’t contact you?”
“Give us one of the walkie-talkies. If something happens, we can contact each other through the walkie-talkies. Don’t worry, nothing should happen.”
Seeing that he was determined, the director agreed. She handed the walkie-talkie to Jiang Mochen and warned, “Don’t go too far, come back as soon as possible, don’t pick wild fruits to eat, and be careful.”
“Don’t worry.” Jiang Mochen smiled. “Director, you treat us like children.”
The director said helplessly, “I’m just worried that something will happen to you.”
“No.” Jiang Mochen smiled.
“It’s eight o’clock now. What time will you two be back?” the director asked.
Jiang Mochen looked at Yan Qingchi, who thought for a moment. “Before nine o’clock, maybe.”
The director looked at Jiang Mochen, who gave a “hmm,” indicating that was the plan.
The director then agreed. “If you’re not back by nine, I’ll contact you on the walkie-talkie.”
“Okay,” Jiang Mochen said, removing his microphone. “Then let’s not bring this one.”
The director asked, “…or should we bring it first?”
Jiang Mochen smiled. “Let’s not bring it.”
Seeing him remove his microphone, Yan Qingchi also removed his own.
The director had no choice but to let them go.
Jiang Mochen and Yan Qingchi then grabbed their flashlights and walkie-talkies and prepared to leave.
Yan Qingchi, for safety’s sake, decided to carry a backpack. That way, if anything went wrong, they’d have water, food, and tools. However, before he could even put it on his back, Jiang Mochen reached out and took it.
“Let’s go,” he slung the backpack over his shoulder.
Yan Qingchi was used to being taken care of by him, so he didn’t think anything of the gesture. He just said “Okay,” and the two of them walked forward together.
The director, who was watching this scene, was left a little surprised, thinking to himself, “I didn’t expect Jiang Mochen to be so attentive and considerate to his friends. He’s truly a gentleman, without any of the airs of a movie star.”
The author has something to say:
Sun Xun: No!!! Director, you’ve been deceived! He’s not like that! He’s never even carried my bag!
Mr. Jiang: Ha!
Mr. Jiang: From now on, it’s just Qingchi and I, just the two of us. No cameras, no microphones, it’s perfect~
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