sovbooks Chapter 597:
Chapter 597:
It wasn’t until noon that Xiao He finally came down from the snowy mountain and returned to the hotel near the scenic area’s center.Liu Rulan had already prepared lunch.
“How did it go?”
She first asked about Xiao He’s morning work situation. “Any injuries? Can you finish this afternoon’s tasks?”
Xiao He waved his hand dismissively. “No problem.”
“But I’m really curious, though.” He looked at Liu Rulan with eager anticipation. “How did the negotiation turn out?”
When this topic came up, Liu Rulan broke into a smile and held up four fingers in front of Xiao He.
“Four million? That’s ridiculous?” Xiao He was stunned. “I’m joining halfway through, and they’re still willing to pay that much?”
Xiao He hadn’t participated in the first half of this episode’s recording, yet this appearance fee far exceeded what ordinary guest stars received. It was even absurdly high—enough to cover an entire season’s pay for a mid-tier regular cast member on a normal variety show.
“Come on, you’re a top-tier actor with your own heat and buzz now! Do you even understand your own worth?”
Liu Rulan lowered her hand.
“They calculated it based on a full episode rate and didn’t cut our fee at all. They probably want to build a good relationship with us for future collaborations. Plus, skiing is a dangerous activity for you—it’s practically a stunt performance. Part of that is high-risk insurance, and you’re also a special cultural tourism ambassador with a promotional role... All those factors drove the premium.”
In short, Hu Pei still wasn’t giving up. He wanted to pull Xiao He into the show as a regular for the second season.
And this S+ variety show? It was seriously loaded!
Xiao He thought for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, we can owe them this favor for now.”
When the time came, he’d try to be more proactive on the show and create some buzz. As for whether there’d be another opportunity, that depended on how things played out.
Liu Rulan glanced at her phone. “It’s almost one now. Eat first. The program team’s first half of recording starts around two. Do you need some extra rest?”
“No, I’m fine. Since they paid me, I’ll do the job properly.”
For such a generous patron, Xiao He naturally chose to cooperate fully.
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In the afternoon, the several guests of "Journey Across Mountains and Rivers" had all changed into sleek ski suits and were standing on the ski slope.
By now, the area was already packed with people. Aside from the program team’s staff, there were also many fans brought along by the guests themselves.
"Journey Across Mountains and Rivers" had a total of five regular cast members: four men and one woman. Following the typical structure of variety shows, they could be roughly divided into one host, two comedians, one all-rounder player, and one beautiful face who brought couple dynamics and traffic.
Among them, the host role naturally went to Teacher Qiu Hua, who had years of experience as an MC and possessed exceptional emotional intelligence and a vast network. As for the comedic roles, one was Xiao He’s acquaintance, Liang Cheng, and the other was also someone Xiao He knew, Zhou Nanye.
Zhou Nanye was a regular on "Ace Reasoning." Back then, he’d drawn the killer card, but because he’d encountered Xiao He’s “MAX” version of a killer persona, many people hadn’t suspected him. So Zhou Nanye won from the start as the killer, successfully evading capture.
This incident had been joked about by many fans, but since Zhou Nanye’s own positioning leaned toward a goofy, comedic character, he joined in the teasing, using a playful tone to “reconcile” with Xiao He.
Overall, he was an interesting guy too.
The remaining two were naturally the heavyweights for the show’s traffic: one was the popular rising flowerlet, Xin Yiran, and the other was a young powerhouse actor, Wu Chuyi.
Both had blown up through idol dramas with massive fan bases. In the traffic circle, they were considered artists of considerable scale. Even when they came out to record a variety show, huge crowds of fans and paparazzi caught wind of it, making the arduous trek up the snowy mountain, even crouching around the ski slope with their long-lens cameras just to get first-hand videos of their idols.
Clearly, in the remaining slots, Wu Chuyi was the “all-rounder player,” while Xin Yiran was the “beautiful face.”
Never mind whether this “all-rounder” truly lived up to the title, at least in the first few episodes, Wu Chuyi’s performance had been solid. His cooking had earned unanimous praise, he’d won most of the small games the program team set up, and during the journey, the more difficult physical activities were mostly completed by Wu Chuyi.
It was clear that both he and the program team were intentionally reinforcing his all-rounder persona.
This skiing session was also the stage Wu Chuyi had been looking forward to.
Although his skiing skills weren’t as good as professional athletes, he was still far better than ordinary people. He went skiing every winter, so when he learned about the program team’s theme this time, Wu Chuyi couldn’t wait to show off his talents.
But everyone had already arrived at the scene, so why hadn’t the recording started yet?
The regular cast members stood in place, somewhat puzzled. However, since the three guest stars who had come with them were also standing nearby, they didn’t voice their confusion first. Instead, they joked around to keep the atmosphere lively.
After waiting another five or six minutes, Hu Pei finally walked out.
“Hello, everyone! Welcome to our fun activity today.”
Everyone immediately shifted into work mode and began applauding enthusiastically.
Following convention, Hu Pei first introduced the scenic area’s development and the ski slope’s layout before finally getting to the point and revealing the day’s theme.
“Next, we’ll be playing a fun game. Based on your results, we’ll allocate the evening’s hot spring accommodations accordingly.”
Then, amid the guests’ exaggerated expressions of shock, a staff member pulled off the cover draped behind them.
The next moment, a small pool appeared behind them!
The pool had been dug directly into the flat snowy ground. It was about ten meters long, five meters wide, and roughly thirty centimeters deep. The bottom and sides were lined with thick protective pads, and it was already filled with water that faintly steamed.
“Wow!”
“Weren’t we supposed to be skiing? Why is there a pool here?”
Zhou Nanye put on a timely look of alarm, while Liang Cheng planted his hands on his hips with a grim expression. “Damn it. I think I know what this is.”
The other guests also looked confused. “What is this?”
“In this freezing weather, we’re supposed to play in the water?”
Sure enough, Hu Pei continued explaining the rules. “This is a water splash pool. Next, all guests can start from the top of the slope, naturally slide down along this track, and use the speed from skiing to cross this pool. If you can make it across and stand steady on the opposite side, it counts as a success. If you fail to cross the water, you’ll be ranked by the farthest distance you traveled.”
After reading the rules, Hu Pei didn’t forget to reassure the group for the program team. “Don’t worry! The pool is only thirty centimeters deep, and the bottom is fully covered in impact-absorbing pads. The water temperature is kept around 15 degrees Celsius. We’ve set up tents on both sides where you can change gear anytime. Our coaches and medical staff are also on site, so you can participate safely and have fun.”
“Oh no, it really is this game!”
After understanding the rules, Liang Cheng clutched his head in anguish. “What am I, a total skiing rookie, supposed to do?”
“Damn it, I’m not good at skiing either.”
“What? What?”
Some people knew how to play, but others genuinely didn’t. After some playful banter, everyone’s eyes collectively turned to the director, seeking an answer.
Finally, Qiu Hua stepped forward to ask, “Director, can you have someone demonstrate for us?”
“We’ve got several skiing newbies here who probably didn’t fully understand the rules. Can you find a coach or someone to teach us first?”
While Qiu Hua was asking, Wu Chuyi already had a confident look on his face.
But just as he was about to step forward and showcase his “all-rounder” side, the program team responded to Qiu Hua’s words. “Sure, Teacher Qiu.”
Then Hu Pei raised his megaphone again, a smile on his face. “To better demonstrate the charm of skiing sports, the program team has been fortunate to invite a special guest this time—”
“A special guest?”
Everyone was shocked, exchanging glances. They clearly hadn’t been notified in advance by the program team.
The guest stars also looked surprised. “Huh? Is someone else coming?”
They hadn’t heard anything about this!
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