Chapter 9 What He Never Expected

• Backstage, the chief director had already flown into a rage. The whole dressing room looked like it had been through a storm.
• "Director, you were looking for me?" Man Yu swept a glance over the messy dressing room. It looked like someone had hastily left, and that person also seemed to be harboring quite a bit of resentment. Even the clothes rack had been knocked onto the ground.
• "Perfect timing!" The director said, waving the screenplay and splattering his split everywhere, "Take a look at this Xia Ning, she quit and left just like that. We're now short on one person. You fill in her place!"
• Xia Ning left?
• "Why? Is there a problem with her schedule or is there something else she's unhappy with?" When Man Yu was on the stage just before, she saw clearly that after Nie Suhuan appeared, the expression on Xia Ning's face hadn't looked good even once.
• "What reason is there besides that-" The director suddenly broke off mid-sentence. Man Yu then heard a soft voice say, "What reason?"
• Nie Suhuan had followed Man Yu into the dressing room, taking Kou Yan along with her. She didn't seem to feel that she had come at a bad time, and asked with a smile, "Miss Man, may I ask where my contract is?"
• Man Yu hadn't expected Nie Suhuan to follow her into the dressing and was even more surprised that Kou Yan had also come with her.
• "Miss Nie, your contract is at the office. A small issue has suddenly popped up." Man Yu patiently explained but it appeared that Nie Suhuan had no intention of letting the matter rest.
• "What happened? Can I be of help?" She smiled faintly. Her fingers were interlocked with Kou Yan's the whole time.
• "It's..." Man Yu wasn't sure how to answer.
• The director coughed, helping Man Yu out, "A performer couldn't fit the show into her schedule so she left at the last moment. But don't worry, it will still be a group of five as originally planned. We will just have Man Yu to take her place."
• After he said that, not only did Man Yu frown, even Kou Yan's face turned a bit stiff.
• "Miss Man?" Nie Suhuan was startled for a moment and then smiled politely, "Perhaps that's not too appropriate, right? Miss Man Yu is the screenwriter-director. If she participates in the program as a guest, who will be able to take up her job responsibilities?"
• Man Yu awkwardly pulled up her lips, because she saw that the director's complexion had turned noticeably ugly.
• "Man Yu has almost finished planning the whole show, and she's not just going to abandon her responsibilities either." The director's voice was chilly. He pushed up his black frames, "Man Yu isn't just an editor at Aimei Culture, she's also a popular novelist at TY, so whether it's in terms of reputation or fan-base, there's nothing for her to be ashamed about."
• The implication in the director's words was clear. Nie Suhuan hadn't expected the director to be so blunt. After all, she had just come back from overseas. If you considered her fan-base within the country, she really wasn't in the position to say anything.
• Everyone was only courteous to her because of Kou Yan.
• Nie Suhuan's face was sullen, and the smile on her lips was stiff, "I never... would have thought, Miss Man is really low-key."
• Man Yu's forced her twitching lips up into a smile. She could feel a pair of sharp and keen eyes drilling into her, examining her closely. Within that gaze was surprise, hesitation, and mostly some other unfathomable emotion.
• She knew that those eyes belonged to Kou Yan.
• He was probably so shocked because he never expected that she actually had her own good job.
• Man Yu didn't know why but she didn't feel that him finding out was a good thing at all.
• She coughed, attracting everyone's attention, "It's just a trivial matter. Miss Nie, please come with me to sign your contract."
• It looks like from now on, this show will only get livelier and livelier.
• Night melted into day.
• They set off the next day as planned. Everyone boarded the plane before day broke, heading for a wild natural reserve in an island on the sea coast of South Africa.
• After ten hour plus plane ride, which was fully recorded on camera, they finally arrived at Sobia Island.
• The island was more beautiful than everyone imagined. The sky was blue and cloudless. There was a salty moisture in the air. Along with the sound of the waves, the seabirds soared wildly in the sky. Freedom could be smelt everywhere. The island was a small area of tropical rain-forest. The production crew had already set up an antenna days before. Carrying the equipment on their backs, everyone started to prepare for their first night of camping.
• The hot midday sun blazed down on their heads. Kou Yan took the lead and took everyone to find an open space for camping. They started building shelter with the few tools they had with them. In this tropical rain-forest, even a tent couldn't guarantee their safety.
• To survive on this island, the most important thing was naturally finding a fresh water source. On the first night, Kou Yan nimbly shot down a pheasant of an unknown breed, effectively sorting out their dinner. Besides a medical kit, they didn't even have any food. They even only got a hold of some salt after drying out seawater the next day.
• Nie Suhuan wasn't as delicate as everyone imagined. Not only did she help everyone gather wild fruit, she even actively took on the medical-related responsibilities. She and Kou Yan, one was responsible for outdoor matters, and the other was responsible for indoor matters. They coordinated very well with each other. In addition, Kou Yan constantly unconsciously looked after Nie Suhuan. The audience shipped them as a perfect couple and the show's popularity instantly rose.
• On one hand, Man Yu was busy with production crew matters, on the other hand, she needed to solve their fresh water issue because their fresh water source was gradually running out. The show had just started and all of the matters she needed to deal with appeared all at once. She had more responsibilities than anyone else there, and felt terrible and hard-pressed.
• Fortunately, these were all just trivial matters. As long as she had patience, everything could be easily solved. In order to first shed some of the burdens at hand, she decided to take the KK Duo, an idol group that consisted of two young male heartthrobs, to look for fresh water.
• "Hey, Sis, can you handle it?" Big K looked at Man Yu, who looked good but had no strength to speak of, with slight concern.
• "I'm stronger than you." Her head snapped up after she finished tying the bottom of her trouser legs. She spoke like an expert, "It rained at noon today, in order to protect against mosquitoes and blood-sucking insects, please cover up and tie up everything that you should be covering and tying."
• "You and Nie Suhuan should stay behind. I'll go with them to look for water," Kou Yan said and put down the wood. His eyebrows were lightly knitted.
• "What? Are you worried about me?" Kou Yan was speechless. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. Seeing him fall silent, Man Yu lost the mood to tease him. She subconsciously patted the person next her, Small K, who was emitting the aura of a natural airhead, and reminded him, "Button up your collar!"
• "I am a woman who can survive even if I landed in the Amazon rain-forest. Wait for our victorious news!" Man Yu smiled sweetly. There seemed to be a faint golden glow in the mottled sunlight, dazzling Kou Yan's eyes.
• "Let's go!"
• Brimming with energy, Man Yu entered the dense rain-forest, taking the two boys with her. Even though she was a woman, at this moment, she already surpassed those two strong young men in every aspect. Firmly holding a stick in her hand, she led the way, searching for a path.
• The film crew followed behind them, making lefts and rights as they forged ahead, and before they knew it, they were the ones being looked after instead. They were a bit shocked and impressed. Furthermore, Man Yu methodically guided them the entire way, and even accurately found an underground water source. This time the two pretty boys of the KK Duo were also besides themselves in admiration for her.
• There was more to this woman than meets the eye...