I'm a web novelist, and you want me to work in the entertainment industry?

After breakfast, the six guests boarded the production crew bus parked outside the villa.

The car drove away from the seaside villa and continued along the coastal highway.

Cheng Che sat by the window, watching the scenery outside rush by.

The sky was exceptionally clear today, and the sunlight shattered on the sea surface, breaking into a dazzling expanse of silver scales. Occasionally, fishing boats could be seen in the distance, looking as small as paper cutouts pasted onto a blue canvas.

[Isn't the environment in Mihai City amazing? I can almost feel it through my phone screen!]

[One of the most livable cities in China, what do you think?]

Where are we going? It's been so long and we haven't arrived at our stop yet.

"Dear teachers, we will arrive at our destination in about twenty minutes." Wang Zheng turned around from the front row.

"Let me give you a brief introduction—the place we're going to today is a seaweed-thatched house village on the easternmost edge of Mihai City," he said.

Xia Ziyi immediately raised her hand: "What is a seaweed house?"

"Seaweed houses are houses with roofs thatched with seaweed. They are warm in winter and cool in summer, and are a very distinctive traditional dwelling in Mihai," Wang Zheng explained.

Using seaweed as a roof? Won't it leak?

I was fortunate enough to see a seaweed-thatched house once; it was truly unique, looking like a cottage from a fairy tale from afar.

The production team really has great taste in choosing this location.

Everyone nodded thoughtfully.

Wang Zheng continued, "Recently, the fishing moratorium is about to end, and the fishermen have become busy with various tasks, such as building fishing boats and repairing fishing nets."

"So our task today is to help them repair their fishing boats?" Yan Lei asked.

"It's not just about repairing fishing boats." Wang Zheng shook his head. "Later, we will draw lots to divide the groups, and each group will be responsible for helping one family."

"What we need to do specifically might be repairing fishing boats, mending fishing nets, or helping sort seafood... In short, our task today is to help the fishermen solve their immediate difficulties as much as possible."

[This is a great task; it allows me to appreciate the seaweed houses while also doing a good deed.]

[Wang Zheng: This is so positive, friends!]

"No matter how well we do, the production team will give everyone 100 yuan as a reward after we finish work today," Wang Zheng added.

Everyone immediately perked up.

Unexpectedly, Wang Zheng then changed the subject: "Of course, you teachers will have to take care of your own lunch and dinner today."

The crowd, who had just perked up, deflated again.

[666, I was only halfway through typing that Wang Zheng had actually undergone gender reassignment surgery and was suddenly being so open about it, but then the next sentence I stopped pretending.]

If Wang Zheng were a demon on the journey to the West, he wouldn't need a demon-revealing mirror; he would reveal his true form on his own.

[Fun fact: We cannot be certain that Wang Zheng is not a monster.]

"Next, we'll start dividing into groups." Wang Zheng clapped his hands twice to bring everyone's attention back. "Today's task is to work in pairs, divided into three groups, each responsible for three households."

As he spoke, he picked up a small box from beside him.

"Grouping method—" He shook the small box in his hand, "by drawing lots."

"but."

He paused deliberately, his gaze sweeping around the carriage before finally settling on Cheng Che.

"Given that Chef Cheng Che won first place in yesterday's cooking competition, the production team will grant him a small privilege in this segment."

Cheng Che raised an eyebrow.

privilege?

This doesn't sound like a good thing...

"Teacher Cheng Che doesn't have to participate in the draw." Wang Zheng's smile gradually turned "perverted." "Instead, he can choose his own teammates."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air in the carriage seemed to freeze for a fleeting moment.

Tian Xiwei was sitting diagonally in front of Cheng Che, and was looking out the window, seemingly very interested in the salt fields by the roadside.

Then Cheng Che noticed that Wang Zheng was winking at him and gesturing towards Tian Xiwei.

The extent of the action was so great that it couldn't be described as sneaky; it was more like open and aboveboard.

Cheng Che: ...?

[Hahahaha, Wang Zheng, what are you doing? You're not even going to act anymore, are you?]

[I guess he saw Cheng Che and Xiao Tian getting along quite well in the monitoring room yesterday, so he came over to stir things up.]

[The director himself is pairing up couples? You still say this show isn't called "Heartbeat Diary"?]

[666 Wang Zheng, you've completely abandoned all shame for a few clicks... but I like it!]

"Teacher Cheng Che," Wang Zheng said, after making a series of expressions, then coughed formally, as if nothing had happened, "What is your choice?"

Cheng Che looked at Wang Zheng and remained silent for a few seconds.

In those three seconds, Wang Zheng's smile visibly stiffened a little.

His eyes changed from expectant to apprehensive.

Is this kid going to say something dangerous again?

Don't be ungrateful!

After the live stream ended last night, he specifically checked the backstage bullet screen statistics and Weibo keywords, and found that the interaction between Cheng Che and Xiao Tian was unexpectedly popular.

He figured that since the audience was always joking about their show being called "Heartbeat Diary," it wouldn't be a big deal for the official team to join in the meme for the sake of viewership!

Cheng Che was very satisfied with the change in Wang Zheng's expression.

To be honest, what the production team gave me was less of a "privilege" and more of an opportunity to team up with Tian Xiwei.

After all, among everyone present, he was only a little familiar with Tian Xiwei, and he probably spoke more with her than with all the others combined.

But looking at how Wang Zheng just acted—shouldn't we leave him hanging for a few more seconds and scare him a little?

"I choose—" Cheng Che finally spoke.

"Teacher Tian Xiwei," he said.

Wang Zheng finally felt relieved.

In a corner where no one was paying attention, Xu Anan's eyes lit up the moment she heard the name "Tian Xiwei".

"Does Teacher Tian have any opinions?" Wang Zheng asked symbolically.

Tian Xiwei, who had been staring out the window the whole time, finally looked away and gently shook her head.

"I have no objection, then I'll trouble Teacher Cheng Che to give me a lot of guidance today." She smiled slightly.

Cheng Che ultimately chose Xiao Tian.

It would be strange not to choose Oda, after all, he's a complete novice, and I'm only slightly more familiar with him here.

[It seems like Xiaotian doesn't mind being around Cheng Che... This is a good thing!]

I'm about to start stirring things up, I'm really going to start stirring things up!

Seeing that Tian Xiwei agreed, Wang Zheng handed the lottery box to his assistant with satisfaction: "Then the remaining four teachers will draw lots to decide who will be grouped."

The draw ended quickly.

Yan Lei and Shen Han were drawn as a pair.

The two looked at each other and fell silent, their eyes each filled with deep emotions.

Shen Han's smile remained unchanged, but he was thinking to himself: I need to stay away from this old man during the meal today.

Yan Lei picked up his thermos and took a sip of hot water, thinking: Should I go and find out some dirt on this kid?

[Hahaha, the two of them gazed at each other with deep affection.]

[It is indeed a deep affection, but whether that affection is love or hate is none of your business!]

Whether it's love or hate isn't really important, because some hate resembles love, and some love resembles hate.

The other pair is naturally Xia Ziyi and Xu Anan.

"Great, Nan Nan!" Xia Ziyi hugged Xu An Nan's arm. "We're in the same group!"

Xu Anan was so shaken by her that she almost lost her balance, and smiled helplessly: "Yeah, we're in the same group."

[Bestie Team Showdown!]

[Xia Jie and Nan Nan's group is just for eye candy; their task isn't important.]