Due to the exhausting flight, Lin Ya understood that nothing significant would happen on the first day. Therefore, after asking 123 to take the night shift, he fell asleep with He Yu.
The next day, it wasn’t until noon that the director made another appearance, announcing that filming would start in the afternoon and that they would head to a cruise ship to capture their travel experiences at sea.
“It feels a bit strange; do other variety shows do this?” He Yu, who was participating in a variety show for the first time, was completely perplexed. They had previously discussed filming in Europe, but now it had changed to shooting on a cruise ship.
Another person who looked particularly unwell was Lv Ci. He had suffered from seasickness since childhood, regardless of the size of the boat, and if they were filming onboard the cruise, it would certainly not be pleasant for him. The worst part was that he couldn’t afford to pay a breach of contract fee.
“I’m also new to this variety show, so I don’t really understand,” Bai Yuxi said, shaking her head with a hint of anxiety. She turned to look at Lin Ya, who was sitting steadily, and couldn’t help but ask,
“Brother Shen, what do you think?”
“Hmm?” Lin Ya put down his coffee and replied casually, “If I could cancel the contract, I would leave right now. I just have a feeling that things won’t go well from here.”
Unfortunately, this subtle suggestion didn’t have any effect at all.
In the afternoon, everyone packed their belongings and prepared to board the cruise ship. The logistics team came over to gather prohibited items one by one.
“All electronic devices must be surrendered, including spare phones in your suitcases. We hope everyone will cooperate.”
The others had been informed early in the morning, so there weren’t any questions asked. They obediently handed over their phones, and their suitcases were opened for inspection. The remaining items consisted of snacks, clothing, shoes, and toiletries.
“Brother Shen, why did you only bring clothes? And your suitcase isn’t even big enough. Also… are those biscuits?” Bai Yuxi was surprised to see his suitcase was about half the size of hers; she hadn’t noticed it earlier.
“Yeah, biscuits.” Regardless of how much was packed inside, all belongings would eventually be thrown into the sea, except for the backpack provided in the room.
Lin Ya replied while glancing at the now disorganized suitcase. He showed no emotion, bent down to close it, and followed the director’s group up the stairs to the ship. The others followed behind.
“I have a bad feeling about this…” He Yu murmured softly, struggling with his thin arms and legs as he carried the suitcase up the stairs.
Shi Hua, who was behind him, couldn’t bear to watch and lent him a hand, which earned her an expression of deep gratitude from He Yu.
After finally boarding, the director assigned their rooms. The cabins on the ship were relatively luxurious double rooms with ample space and great facilities.
This cruise ship had a total of 13 decks, with the lowest three decks housing standard cabins for ordinary tourists and unique guests. Above those, there were three floors of luxury cabins, and each floor had a restaurant. Additionally, there were various recreational areas, swimming pools, a viewing area, a bar, upscale dining, a library, and entertainment halls spread across several upper decks.
The director’s team assigned them to a luxury cabin on the fourth floor.
At first, everyone was very excited because they had never been on such an upscale cruise ship for leisure before.
“Brother Shen, don’t you want to go out and take a look? There’s plenty to do on this ship…” He Yu, having organized his belongings, was ready to join the others to explore. He glanced at Lin Ya, who was seated on the sofa reading.
“I’ll pass; you all go enjoy yourselves,” Lin Ya declined.
There was only a few days left for them to have some fun.
“Well, okay then.” He Yu changed his clothes and left to find the others.
With a long blast of the horn, the ship departed from the port.
Lin Ya closed the book with his long, well-defined fingers, picked up the cruise brochure from the table, and it vanished from his hands in the next moment.
He stepped out of his room, glanced at the door number, which was a gold-trimmed plaque with the number 439.
Walking through the corridor of cabins, he reached the upper deck and spotted the familiar director speaking with some crew members. Lin Ya coldly glanced at them and climbed the stairs, making a circuit around the ship.
The lowest three decks housed some ordinary tourists and special individuals.
After positioning the live-streaming equipment, Lin Ya went down to the storage area, reaching the lowest level, where he was unsurprisingly stopped.
“Sorry, sir, this area is off-limits.”
Lin Ya nodded at the bearded man in a chef’s uniform and leisurely left under his scrutinizing gaze.
“Hey! Brother Shen! Come over here! The director is calling us for a gathering! I didn’t see you when I returned to the room and wondered where you went…” He bumped into He Yu and two other quiet entertainers on his way back to the room.
“I was just out for a stroll, getting some sea breeze. Is it time to gather?”
“Yes, we need to meet in the restaurant first. They said they’ll be taking individual interviews later,” Wen Wenxu, a singer with a beautifully husky voice, replied.
“However, I remember them saying that filming was only for ten days, but can this cruise reach its destination in ten days?” As they walked, He Yu voiced his doubts.
Lv Ci’s face was somewhat pale. Earlier, when he felt unwell, he went out to ask if there were any seasickness medications available. He happened to run into a couple of compatriots staying on the same floor, who were swayed to buy tickets by the cruise’s promotional materials.
“I heard from fellow tourists that this trip is headed to Selves, and it seems like it takes about half a month to get there.”
“Let’s discuss it when we get back; we’re on the ship now…” Even if things were different from what was promised in the contract, there was nothing they could do. They were unfamiliar with the place, and as for English… to be honest, only Wen Wenxu spoke it well.
Lin Ya, fluent in multiple languages, didn’t count, but even if he couldn’t understand, he could cheat using the system.
However, he preferred to rely on his own learning. After all, his ability to earn scholarships and go to university, while living quite well, demonstrated that he was intelligent.
Just like when he had once been overly passionate, practicing gambling skills after watching a film about a gambling god. Although he couldn’t claim to be particularly skilled, he could manage to fool some people just well enough.