22: Morning Sunshine Needs a Spokesperson

“Was it blown away by the wind?” Zhao Jin asked, puzzled.

Suddenly, two beams of white light appeared in the small pavilion not far ahead. Chen Fang squinted and saw that it was Xie Yunxuan and Pan Pengpeng.

Xie Yunxuan was smiling brightly, shaking a phoenix tree leaf in his hand. “That’s right, it was blown into our hands!”

Chen Fang smiled and said, “Congratulations.”

“You guys are so fast,” Zhao Jin on the side said calmly.

Xie Yunxuan seemed a little displeased by their calm reaction, raising an eyebrow. “Can’t you give us some emotional value?”

Zhao Jin crossed her arms over her chest and said with a hint of sarcasm, “Oh my god! I really didn’t expect you guys to be so fast! To be able to sprint through the mountains like assassins on such a dark, moonless, windy night where you can’t see your hand in front of your face, and pick this one and only maple leaf symbolizing a warrior! Oh my goodness, you guys are too amazing!”

It was all emotion, no value.

But Xie Yunxuan was quite pleased with it. He straightened his back, and the smile on his face grew wider.

That’s right, he won! He finally won against Chen Fang once!

He had run with the spirit of a marathon runner, pulling Pan Pengpeng forward quickly. They had arrived 20 minutes ago!

Ah, he felt like he was stealing the show tonight!

He really wanted to go back and check his phone to see how everyone was praising his superior physical fitness!

Tian Gangwu walked over, carrying two bags of things, and said with a smile, “All four of you have successfully completed the task, but in the first round, Little Xie and Pan Pengpeng were faster. So our gift package goes to the first group.”

“Thank you, Teacher Tian,” Xie Yunxuan and Pan Pengpeng took the two large insect repellent gift packages.

Chen Fang stood by, waiting for the filming to end, and caught a glimpse of Zhao Jin out of the corner of his eye. She was secretly glancing at the insect repellent gift packages, her eyes full of envy.

Following her gaze, he saw that the insect repellent gift packages contained mosquito nets, mosquito repellent spray, pink food covers, and red and green window screens that seemed to be printed with peonies.

Uh, the post-production team is very down-to-earth.

If they don’t have it, then they don’t. Just open the doors and windows during the day to air out the room, close them at night, and sweep once with an electric mosquito swatter. It shouldn’t be a big problem. If all else fails, just light mosquito coils in the evening.

After distributing the gift packages, Tian Gangwu tightened his trouser legs, took a deep breath, looked at the camera, and forced out a slightly nervous smile. “Audience friends, our live broadcast for today ends here. Tomorrow morning at 9 AM, I will take the four of them, and everyone in front of the screen, to experience the second stage of the corpse driving apprentice test—the strength test. We will sweat together and feel the limits of our physical strength. See you tomorrow morning, don’t be late.”

As soon as this closing remark came out, the barrage in the live broadcast room instantly surged.

[Oh, a corpse driving needs enough strength to transport corpses, right?]

[These young male celebrities nowadays can't even lift female celebrities when filming. Teacher Tian looks very strong, so it's clear that Corpse Driving requires a lot of strength. Can they do it tomorrow?]

[They'll definitely reduce the intensity.]

[Look at Pan Pengpeng’s bewildered expression, hahaha.]

[What about Xiao Zhao? Her strength is definitely not as good as the other three, right?]

[Chen Fang probably can't either, right? He looks so frail.]

[Didn't he just catch a snake?]

[That was because he was familiar with snakes, relying on skill, right? He's a singer, always staying indoors.]

[Did the production team mute a lot of people? Where is my organization?]

After the audience chatted for a while, on set, Tian Gangwu gave a simple and honest smile to the camera and waved. The other four also waved, ending today’s filming.

The cameraman turned off the camera, and Chen Fang also relaxed, yawning. After a short rest, he followed Tian Gangwu along a path frequently used by villagers to go up and down the mountain, returning to the village.

As they were about to reach the village entrance, Zhao Jin, who was walking at the front of the group, slowed her pace and came closer. “Brother Chen, that…”

“The electric mosquito swatter, right?”

Zhao Jin nodded like a pounding garlic.

Pan Pengpeng’s and Xie Yunxuan’s equipment had been shown in the live broadcast. Even if they didn’t need so much, if she borrowed one or two items, she might be criticized.

“I’ll get it for you when I go back.”

“Thank you. If yours breaks, I’ll return it to you immediately.”

“Half a month, it shouldn’t break.”

“Thank you.”

After expressing her thanks, Zhao Jin walked a few steps faster and joined a village aunt, chatting with her as they descended the mountain.

Chen Fang followed the group back to the guesthouse. Just as he was about to return to his room, the director’s voice came from behind him, “Please wait a moment, all four of you.”

Chen Fang turned around and saw the director walking over, followed by four staff members carrying large boxes.

The director waved his hand, and the staff members placed a large box in front of each of them.

Chen Fang bent down to examine it.

The director explained, “These are Morning Sunshine outfits. Except for scenes where you need to wear corpse driving attire, please try to wear Morning Sunshine clothes. For example, when we go to chat with villagers, you can wear them. There are several styles inside. If you really don’t want to wear them, you can change the top, but please wear the pants. It’s best to wear the hats too.”

On the box in front of Chen Fang, his name was written with a marker, and a list was taped to the opening, stating that it contained three jackets, two long-sleeved shirts, two T-shirts, two pairs of pants, and two pairs of sneakers.

Next to the list were four large characters: Morning Sunshine.

This was a very famous old sports brand.

He remembered that when he was a child, his family had many old clothes of this brand. At that time, it was still called “Dawn.” But he couldn’t buy new ones, it seemed to have gone out of business.

Later, when he was in elementary school, his parents happily took him to buy “Morning Sunshine,” saying that this brand was the former Dawn, and the quality was excellent.

After that, the name became more and more famous, and now it has developed into one of the top three sports companies in China, and it even sells very well throughout Asia.

The director sighed, “Please try to wear them as much as possible. They haven’t found a suitable spokesperson recently, which is why they’re advertising in various shows. In the future, if we want to wear them, we might not even have the chance.”

“Looking for a spokesperson?” Xie Yunxuan looked up and asked.

The director, relaxed after a busy day, became more talkative. He lit a cigarette and sat on a rattan chair next to a square table. “Yes. They said they interviewed hundreds of models and celebrities, but none were suitable; they just lacked a certain quality.”

Xie Yunxuan pressed on, “Director, what kind of quality is it?”

The director snorted, “How would I know? But they’ve recently invested in outdoor sports and extreme sports programs, so I guess they might be looking for an athlete type. But they didn’t go to the national team to invite people; instead, they came to the entertainment industry. I guess they want someone with a relaxed demeanor, a high-level amateur enthusiast, and also require outstanding looks, and a tough guy style. Of course, this is just my guess.”

Xie Yunxuan continued to ask, “What kind of people did they interview?”

“How would I know? But I heard that a fitness blogger with tens of millions of followers also went, but was still eliminated.” The director, with a cigarette in his mouth, stood up. “Alright, everyone get some good rest. Gather at Old Si’s doorstep by 8:30 tomorrow morning. You need to wear the corpse driving apprentice attire. Tomorrow will be a significant test of stamina and endurance. But you don’t need to worry too much; just complete 60% of a professional corpse driving’s intensity. Everyone, don’t visit each other tonight; get some good rest.”

Chen Fang and the others nodded in agreement.

After the director left, Chen Fang squatted down, picked up the box, and returned to his room.

He placed the box in the corner, opened his suitcase, took out an unopened electric mosquito swatter, and walked out of his room.

The guesthouse had five rooms on the first floor. He stayed in the leftmost room, and to his right were: Xie Yunxuan, Pan Pengpeng, producer Sister Zhuang, and Zhao Jin.

Chen Fang walked to the other end and knocked on the door.

Soon, pattering footsteps came from inside the room.

The door opened, and Zhao Jin slowly poked her head out, furtively looking left and right.

Chen Fang took half a step back, shielding himself with his hands. “What are you going to do?”

Zhao Jin straightened up and whispered, “Nothing. Did you bring the item?”

Chen Fang frowned and handed her the electric mosquito swatter. What was she doing? Making it seem like a black market deal. “The production team allows using this, right? Can you stop acting like a thief?”

Zhao Jin glared at him and pulled out a box of pastries from behind her back. “Thanks for the electric mosquito swatter. This box is for you.”

Chen Fang instantly understood why she was acting like a thief. She didn’t want to owe a favor, so she gave a box of pastries. But she was also afraid of being seen and sparking rumors.

Chen Fang decisively accepted it. “You’re welcome.” It was polite to reciprocate; if he didn’t accept it, she would feel bad.

“Go to bed early, bye-bye.” Chen Fang waved his hand and turned to leave.

As soon as he turned around, he heard her mumble, “Ah… bye-bye, it really looks like four skewers.”

Chen Fang turned back in confusion, and the door slammed shut with a bang.

He didn’t think much of it, turned back, and quickly walked back to his room with the pastries.

But as soon as he entered, a head peeked out from the crack in the door of the adjacent room.

Xie Yunxuan squinted, looking suspiciously at Chen Fang’s door, then at Zhao Jin’s door, and stroked his chin.

Why did Zhao Jin give him food? Is he trying to pick up girls?

The wise do not fall in love; drowning is not their responsibility. He’s almost drowning and still trying to pick up girls?

Hmph, no ambition, what a waste of that face.

Xie Yunxuan pouted and slipped back into his room.

Closing the door, he lowered his head and sniffed his T-shirt; a sour smell rushed into his nostrils. Too impatient to check the long-awaited online praises, he grabbed his wash basket and headed straight for the bathroom.