Even an old Chinese doctor couldn't say they would go just like that.
After parting ways with Granny at the intersection, Jiang Lingxi estimated her physical limits and persevered, briskly walking for a while before wiping the sweat off her face and returning to the countryside villa.
As soon as she entered, she saw Tong Yue waiting in the living room.
"Tong Jie."
The words Tong Yue was about to say got stuck in her throat when she saw Jiang Lingxi's hair on both sides of her face already wet with sweat. She immediately handed over a glass of water.
"You don't need to push yourself so hard, even if you're trying to sharpen your skills. What if the program hasn't even started and you collapse?"
Jiang Lingxi took the water glass and drank in small sips. After swallowing a mouthful of water, she replied, "I know my limits."
She was definitely not joking about her own body.
After two seconds of silence, Tong Yue took a deep breath. "Anyway, take it easy. Don't make me worry after I leave. And don't forget that Zheng Zheng is also watching over you for me."
After giving some more advice, Tong Yue looked at her watch and stood up. "It's almost time, I'm leaving now. No need to see me off. The other guests should be getting up soon too. You hurry back to your room to freshen up and change clothes."
Jiang Lingxi escorted Tong Yue to the villa gate, waved goodbye, and watched Tong Yue get into the car before turning back to her room.
After taking a quick shower, changing clothes, and putting on a bit of makeup, mainly to conceal her somewhat pale complexion and lip color, she heard the voices of other guests outside the corridor, so she got up and went to open the door.
In the corridor, She Man and Xu Yin were walking side by side towards the living room. When they heard the sound of the door opening, they instinctively turned their heads and, upon seeing Jiang Lingxi coming out, a look of surprise flashed across their faces.
Among the four female guests in the villa, in terms of appearance, even if they were unwilling to admit it, they had to acknowledge that Jiang Lingxi was undoubtedly the first.
Her appearance was delicate and charming. With heavy makeup, she was stunning, but with light makeup, she looked tender and delicate. It was hard to believe she was a high school student.
They still remembered the most popular set of stills from last year when Jiang Lingxi played a high school girl in a school uniform. It was immediately praised as the campus goddess by countless viewers online. They didn't know how many teenagers had used it as their phone or computer wallpaper.
Unfortunately, after the TV series aired, as stunning as the stills were, her acting in the series was equally eye-catching.
Because of this stark contrast, someone seemed to have hit the hot search for two days, ending up with mixed reviews in the end.
Previously, when Jiang Lingxi came to record the program, she always wore heavy makeup at the beginning of each recording. It looked good and dazzling enough, but it didn't match the slow variety show's tone. It even overshadowed others, making her seem less comfortable than Lin Xuefei, who wore light makeup every day.
They thought they would see Jiang Lingxi wearing heavy makeup today, but they didn't expect to see a face with only a little lipstick and blush.
The whole face looked rosy and delicate, and coupled with those seemingly clearer and brighter eyes, it was truly eye-catching.
"Teacher She, Teacher Xu, morning."
She Man reacted faster. After recovering from her astonishment, she nodded slightly. "Morning." Thinking of the camera she saw in the corridor just now, she added, "Xiao Xi got up quite early today."
"Not bad, after all, the morning is the best time of the day."
Xu Yin smiled and said, "Xuefei should be getting up soon too. It's Kaisource, that little boy, who probably stayed up playing games again last night. Let's call him after we finish breakfast and let him sleep a bit more."
Jiang Lingxi looked at the two senior colleagues who had changed their quiet and indifferent attitudes from yesterday and raised her eyebrows imperceptibly.
Sure enough, in front of the camera, no matter what the relationship was like in private, they had to show a harmonious attitude.
She was familiar with this rule!
In her past life, during her time in politics, there were people she disliked in the court. After all, people could have various flaws. The lighter ones might just lack hygiene, while the serious ones might even allow their subordinates to commit murder and arson without restraint.
But as long as a person had enough ability to be used by her, she could still address them as ministers.
Of course, if they really crossed her bottom line in the end, settling scores afterwards was her specialty.
The three of them chatted and laughed as they walked to the living room, where the breakfast table had already been set up.
In addition to breakfast, there was also a task card sent by the program team.
She Man picked up the task card and read, "Today's tasks: First, climb Xiao Cui Mountain and take a group photo. Note: No one can be missing. Second, camp at the foot of the mountain and each person must prepare their own food. Note: No seeking help from others."
"Xiao Cui Mountain, well, it's not too high. But after breakfast, we'll have to change clothes and shoes first."
"The difficult part is the food. What should we prepare?"
After their discussion, their eyes glanced at Jiang Lingxi, who was standing quietly beside them without speaking.
Why wasn't she cooperating with the discussion this time?
Jiang Lingxi was looking towards the kitchen.
The guests rarely cooked their own meals, so the frequency of using the kitchen was naturally low, which meant that the ingredients were scarce.
Meeting the gaze of the two in front of her, she said, "I'm wondering where the ingredients will come from."
She Man and Xu Yin were suddenly aware of the problem.
Xu Yin complained in a low voice, "The program team is really ruthless. If there are no ingredients, do they expect us to go buy them from the villagers ourselves?"
"No need for that," Jiang Lingxi took the task card that She Man had just put back on the table, flipped it over, and saw the words written on the other side, "Lucky ingredient cards will be dropped randomly on the way up the mountain. You can exchange the corresponding ingredients with the lucky ingredient card. Those without a lucky ingredient card need to figure out how to prepare their own food."
She Man huffed, "As expected, it's the program team's usual style!"
"Is there a new task, Manman Jie?"
Lin Xuefei covered her mouth and yawned delicately as she walked out of the bedroom. Noticing the task card being put back again, she picked it up to read. But as her gaze swept to the side, she froze.
She resisted the urge to frown and quickly assessed Jiang Lingxi's dramatically different makeup and outfit today.
It was the transition between spring and summer, and although the temperature in the mountains was a bit low, she had brought quite a few cute dresses this time. Today, she was wearing a peach-pink one.
Coincidentally, Jiang Lingxi was also wearing a light pink bubble-sleeved shirt on top, coupled with complementary light makeup. Even though she didn't have the eye-catching dress Lin Xuefei had on, the similar style naturally favored the one who looked better.
With the task card in hand, Lin Xuefei bit her lip. She couldn't go back to change now.
After reading the contents of the task card, she sighed in relief.
Since they were going to climb a mountain, she would definitely have to change out of her dress later.
She could endure being in the same frame for just this breakfast time!
She Man patted Lin Xuefei's shoulder. "Let's all sit down and eat first."
They set aside the portion for Jiang Kaiyuan and each of them sat down to have breakfast.
This time, Lin Xuefei didn't want to sit with Jiang Lingxi, so she deliberately sat between She Man and Xu Yin.
But this arrangement meant that she and Jiang Lingxi were facing each other, and she could see how Jiang Lingxi was eating with her head held high.
After only drinking half a bowl of porridge, Lin Xuefei couldn't help but look up again.
She didn't even feel like eating anymore!
Did this person have to pretend even when eating?
It's just breakfast, why are you trying to act so elegant and noble!