Chapter Fifty-Eight: Awkwardness Returns

All of these people lived under Li Weiwei’s watchful supervision, so there was no chance anyone could sneak alcohol in, and Wen Jingxing himself was never particularly fond of drinking. So, she instantly knew that the wine could only have been brought by Song Wanning.

She stretched out her hand toward Song Wanning, palm up, clearly asking for the item. Song Wanning pouted slightly, casting a plaintive glance at Jiang Mingzhao, looking utterly aggrieved. Clearly, she was reluctant to part with the bottle.

Wen Jingxing quickly explained, “The restaurant we dined at today gave us this wine—it wasn’t something we deliberately bought. Since we’ve already brought it back, and everyone is free tonight, Director, why not just let them have a drink? It’s only one bottle; it won’t affect tomorrow’s filming.”

He met Li Weiwei’s gaze as he spoke. His expression was unchanged, and yet Li Weiwei sensed that Wen Jingxing was urging her to give her approval quickly.

Was this just her imagination?

Moreover, when the production crew was rushing to edit the main episode that morning, Li Weiwei had watched as well. After Song Wanning got drunk, she’d surprisingly called Wen Jingxing “Ah Xing.” At the time, Li Weiwei had nearly thrown her phone in shock at the sight.

Unfortunately, when they had to apprehend that scoundrel later, the camera used for filming was taken away. So, everyone only heard the single “Ah Xing” and saw Song Wanning clutching Wen Jingxing’s arm; as for what happened afterward, only the two involved knew.

That incident had left Li Weiwei itching with curiosity, desperate to know what happened next. But with these two, she had neither the opportunity nor the right to ask for details.

So she edited the entire sequence into the main episode, just to make the online viewers as tormented and curious about what happened next as she was. This move of Li Weiwei’s could only be described as wickedly clever.

After a moment’s thought, and under Wen Jingxing’s silent pressure, Li Weiwei finally nodded her agreement.

“All right, but just so it’s clear—those who can’t hold their liquor shouldn’t drink, and even those who can shouldn’t drink too much. Don’t let it affect tomorrow’s filming.”

“Yay!” Everyone cheered; Jiang Mingzhao was happy just to be allowed to drink, Nan Yan was excited about having fun, and Song Wanning’s goal was, still, the wine.

But Wen Jingxing and Yun Ze were the unlucky ones; both had imagined going boating with their partners, but both women seemed to have other things on their minds—one was focused on food, the other on fun. There wasn’t a trace of partnership in sight.

The lake was nearby, so they all walked there, Song Wanning naturally unwilling to leave her precious bottle behind, clutching it to her chest as if it were a treasure.

The trio who tended to be left out followed silently at the rear, not uttering so much as a word or an opinion along the way.

Once they arrived, they discovered tickets were required—and expensive: five hundred each. Song Wanning generously patted her purse. “No worries, I’ll treat you all!”

She bought eight tickets, handed out four, but hesitated with the remaining three, eyeing the trio who’d been left out.

Jin Jianyi, having recently been subtly slighted by Wen Shao, was embarrassed to accept Song Wanning’s money. Shen Yue and Jian Anan, out of their own sense of pride, stubbornly refused to accept anything from Song Wanning.

Song Wanning understood exactly what these two were like. She had no desire to make a gesture they’d resent—if they were going to take her money begrudgingly, then they might as well not have it at all. She’d sooner give the tickets to strangers than to those two.

She’d bought eight tickets to show the livestream viewers that she’d prepared spots for everyone—she wasn’t trying to form a clique or intentionally exclude anyone. By not taking the initiative to offer the tickets, she was making it clear to all that it was the others who refused to come forward.

Nan Yan, feeling it would be wrong to leave the three out, spoke up: “Why are you just standing there? Why not go get the tickets from Song Wanning?”

Jiang Mingzhao chimed in, “Exactly. We all went over ourselves to get them. Don’t you have legs? Or are you expecting us to bring them to you?”

He was speaking to Shen Yue. Jiang Mingzhao had disliked her from the start, though he’d kept silent. But as time passed, he found her more and more foolish, and worse, she stared unabashedly at other people’s partners right in front of him.

So Jiang Mingzhao had begun to snipe at Shen Yue, intentionally or not. He’d always acted on impulse; at first he’d given her some face, but later realized that such courtesy was exhausting. Far better to speak his mind.

Now, whenever Shen Yue slipped up, Jiang Mingzhao would call her out. The livestream audience had grown used to this; some thought it was petty for a grown man, but his fans felt it was simply in his nature.

Some deeply invested shippers believed Jiang Mingzhao and Shen Yue were the classic bickering couple—the more he scolded her, the more he must like her. Truly, the world is full of all kinds.

With Nan Yan’s words and Jiang Mingzhao’s echo, all eyes turned to the trio, making them the center of attention.

[I used to think Song Wanning’s group bullied the others by sheer numbers, but now I see the problem lies with Jian Anan’s group.]

[Exactly. She even bought their tickets—what more do they want?]

[Honestly, it’s tough to please people these days. Song Wanning buys the tickets, brings the wine, and still can’t satisfy them. Their standards are too high.]

[It’s clear Jian Anan’s group just doesn’t want to join in. That’s on them.]

Jian Anan noticed the increasingly strange looks from the others. She ground her teeth in frustration, malicious thoughts swirling. She lowered her head, then looked up with a gentle smile. “Ningning, thank you so much for today, and sorry to trouble you with the expense. Once filming wraps, let’s add each other on WeChat and I’ll transfer the money to you.”

Jin Jianyi, who had recently spoken up for Jian Anan, felt awkward facing Song Wanning. “Mine… I can pay you back too.”

Shen Yue was about to speak, but Song Wanning raised her hand to cut her off. “No need. The money was earned from today’s tasks, and the ingredients were provided by the production team. So the money rightfully belongs to the show, not me. There’s no need to bother me after the program—if you’re really that concerned, pay the director back instead.”

With that, she strode straight into the boating park without a backward glance.

The other guests quickly followed, and once the cameramen went in as well, the bustling entrance was suddenly left with just six people.

Shen Yue nudged Jian Anan’s arm and whispered, “Anan, should we go in?”

Jian Anan’s expression shifted. “Of course, why wouldn’t we?”

“All right…” Shen Yue didn’t care much for boating; she just wanted to share a boat with Wen Jingxing.