Transmigrated as the CEO's Top-Tier Stand-in - Chapter 94

Chapter 94

The pace of this variety show was very slow. Besides Ji Yu and Meng Rendong, there were two established veterans in the industry: one was a nearly fifty-year-old movie star, essentially the most recognizable face for the generation of parents in the country, and the other was a famous, now retired, host. The remaining guests were a few actors who had recently played supporting roles in popular TV dramas.

The show invited influential figures in the industry, even those from the “uncle generation.” Many young viewers had grown up watching their programs or variety shows and dramas. Coupled with the inclusion of Ji Yu, a currently hot girl group member, it could be said that—this season’s program was quite unconventional.

Due to Ji Yu’s presence, the show garnered more attention than before. Most popular celebrities tend to prefer exciting variety shows with higher traffic and better ratings. They rarely participate in these “retirement” programs unless they are severely lacking in resources. There were no difficult task settings, and guests weren’t forced to rack their brains for money for their daily meals…

It simply, casually placed the guests in scenic locations, whether by the sea, at a hot spring, or in a villa, and simply filmed their lives. It was an extremely “lazy” show.

However, occasionally, some topics from the show would trend on hot searches. For instance, in the first two seasons, two celebrities were invited. When they drank too much during a gathering, they were asked about their love lives, and the questions happened to be the kind that stirred up trouble… Audiences would be reminded of various rumors within the industry from years past.

The show was also known by names like Boring Tea Party, Discovering Your Idol’s Unknown Habits, and The Slow-Paced Ordinary Lives of Celebrities.

After the shooting began, Ji Yu curiously circled the cameras in the room.

The production team was still very kind to the guests this time, providing them with a sea-view guesthouse. They arranged Ji Yu and Meng Rendong in one unit—a two-bedroom, one-living room cozy layout, where the living room offered a view of the sea. A moist, salty scent drifted in with the occasional breeze.

From the moment Meng Rendong joined the show, Ji Yu suspected that the production team wasn’t as “Zen” as rumored. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have exclusively chosen Meng Rendong to occupy the non-celebrity slot. And they arranged them in the same room. Weren’t they afraid she would come out on camera… and cause the show to be unairable?

Ji Yu finished circling the room, then walked over and sat on a chair, a smile playing on her lips. Meng Rendong had just retrieved a box of tea from her suitcase and began brewing her tea using the beautiful tea set on the coffee table. Her gaze was fixed on Ji Yu, and she smiled as well, then asked her:

“Good mood?”

Ji Yu shook her head, then gestured towards the fixed camera positions: “No, I noticed the production team wants to stir up trouble.”

Meng Rendong glanced at the camera positions but remained silent, seemingly unbothered by their presence—for her, she was simply worried about Ji Yu’s current state and wanted to be close to take care of her whenever possible. Conversely, she had absolutely no intention of displaying affection with Ji Yu in public. Not only would she not show affection, she would maintain a distance.

Meng Rendong only planned to be a regular guest on the show and strive not to contribute a single hot search item.

By then, the tea in Meng Rendong’s hand was ready. Ji Yu smelled it and saw the steeped contents after she lifted the lid, realizing it wasn’t tea leaves. She leaned closer, curiously asking:

“What are you brewing?”

Meng Rendong looked down, focused on her tea ritual: “Tea.”

Ji Yu: “…”

She showed some helplessness, “I mean, I haven’t seen this kind of tea before.”

Meng Rendong kept her eyes down, knowing exactly what Ji Yu was asking but deliberately not explaining. After brewing a cup for herself, she handed it to Ji Yu:

“Try it.”

Ji Yu took it and smelled it, finding the aroma somewhat familiar, but with too many added ingredients, it was hard to distinguish. She took a tentative sip.

It tasted medicinal, but not bitter. It seemed like some kind of herbal tea, like cooling tea, but not any she had tasted before.

Ji Yu savored it for a long time, realized she couldn’t identify anything, and gave up: “Did you… pick up a new flavor you like recently?”

Meng Rendong asked her: “Don’t you like it?”

Ji Yu “hmm”-ed. She actually thought it was quite good. Drinking the tea warmed her stomach, and she felt quite relaxed. Overall, the taste was surprisingly acceptable to her.

But she didn’t understand why Meng Rendong would bring this with her when traveling.

Ji Yu stared at her with confusion for a long time, holding the teacup and wondering what riddle this person was playing, yet not daring to look at Meng Rendong for too long—because the recent, quiet but intense shock from the hotel room had yet to fade from her cerebral cortex.

Meng Rendong herself disliked anything not sweet. Aside from formal occasions and drinking tea with elders, her favorite teas were, of course, sweetened flower or fruit teas. She didn’t tell Ji Yu that this tea was a prescription given to her by an experienced traditional Chinese medicine practitioner after reviewing Ji Yu’s condition, meant for soothing Ji Yu’s stomach.

She just said casually: “If you like it, drink more. If not, just leave it.”

With that, Meng Rendong glanced at the room, stood up to boil and sterilize the kettle in the room, then checked the humidity of both bedrooms and inspected the cleanliness of the bedding. She was intimately aware of Ji Yu’s recent health reports, knowing that her gastrointestinal health was poor and that her knees were sensitive to cold due to years of dance training, showing signs of rheumatism.

In short—Ji Yu was sensitive to cold. Both inside and out.

Meng Rendong worried that the guesthouse might not provide thick enough blankets or that the material might not be skin-friendly. If the sea breeze picked up at night and the room got cold, Ji Yu would certainly be uncomfortable sleeping.

Fortunately, the blankets, sheets, and pillows seemed adequate.

However. It was early winter now. There was no heating in the southern room. Running the air conditioning would make the room too dry. Meng Rendong frowned at the temperature difference, stepped out, and asked Ji Yu:

“Shall we go to the supermarket? I want to buy some things.”

Ji Yu was holding the teacup, secretly refilling her fourth cup of tea—because she found the flavor of Meng Rendong’s tea quite unique. It wasn’t anything special at first, but it became quite flavorful after a while.

Hearing the question, she looked back: “Huh? Sure… Oh, right, do you want seafood? The production team said everyone is gathering for dinner tonight at the most famous night market food stall nearby.”

Meng Rendong nodded, indicating she knew, but didn’t comment on the matter of “eating seafood.”

Ji Yu put down her cup and followed her out. Outside the guesthouse was an asphalt road. They could rent tandem or triple bicycles, and the coastline offered excellent views. Walking to the end led to a large supermarket, convenience stores, and a bustling area with restaurants.

Ever since she saw the tandem bicycle, Ji Yu found it difficult to move. Her pace inexplicably slowed.

Meng Rendong, whose attention was focused on her, stopped. The camera crew behind them also stopped, the lens nearly thrust into their faces for material.

Meng Rendong: “Do you… want to ride one?”

Ji Yu stared at the simple yet cute bicycle for a long time, speaking reluctantly: “No, no. The color of this bicycle is too faint. If it were brighter and cuter, I might want to ride it.”

Despite her words, her feet hadn’t moved an inch.

Meng Rendong looked at the handlebars, which were brightly painted red, clearly knowing that the bicycle actually matched Ji Yu’s preference. However, the world in Ji Yu’s eyes still hadn’t restored to normal color discrimination.

Initially, she didn’t want to do anything intimate or misleading with Ji Yu on the show, but at this moment, she felt inexplicably distressed. She suddenly said: “I want to ride one.”

Ji Yu looked at her in surprise: “Ah?” She hadn’t expected Meng Rendong to have this hobby.

Meng Rendong added: “I just checked the navigation. It’s 1.5 kilometers to the supermarket. Riding a bicycle would be faster, right?” Saying this, she headed towards the rental spot.

Ji Yu hadn’t fully reacted, following reflexively. While she hesitated, Meng Rendong had already paid the deposit and was standing among the single, tandem, and triple bicycles, asking Ji Yu:

“Do you want to try the fun tandem one with me?”

Ji Yu rationally thought she should choose a single bike, but her brain was constantly occupied by emotional impulses. She just wanted to be close to Meng Rendong, so she silently nodded towards the tandem bicycle.

The system, which was about to advise her, sighed heavily.

Ji Yu heard the sigh in her mind and felt a little embarrassed. After sitting in the back seat, she started furiously pedaling. Meng Rendong in the front nearly lost her footing and looked back at her in confusion.

Ji Yu felt inexplicably guilty, so she stared at Meng Rendong’s back, slowed down, and then basically started slacking off, only lightly touching the ground with her toes. Meng Rendong in the front was pedaling sometimes lightly, sometimes heavily, feeling utterly helpless. A dignified CEO with private cars for transport was now doing manual labor to please the person she loved. It was pitiful.

Yet, Ji Yu mumbled from the back:

“The weather is nice today. Riding a bike is quite enjoyable.”

Meng Rendong nearly missed a pedal stroke—she looked up at the sky. It was clearly overcast, and even the noon sun looked sluggishly weak. But she didn’t dare refute it.

She was afraid Ji Yu would be unhappy or overthink things, and start obsessing over her illness again.

Meng Rendong only firmly agreed: “Mhm!”

“The weather is nice!”

The two had no idea that from this very first episode after moving in, the production team edited a peculiar atmosphere—

The Movie Star and Host were in the “Intergenerational Friends Group,” the two drama actors were the “Friendship Flower Group,” and Ji Yu and Meng Rendong…

“Something is wrong! There’s something off about those two!”

“Do normal best friends really act like this?! I don’t believe it!”

“Damn! President Meng, you’ve been blinded by the lard of love… why are you both telling such blatant lies?”

“It’s common knowledge… the tandem bicycle is an exclusive vehicle for couples!”

“You guys haven’t seen the rest! Dinner tonight is even more suspicious!!”

“Seriously… why is even variety TV starting to sell lesbian romance now?”

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