As the live chat turned into a heated argument, the atmosphere in the courtyard also became tense.
Aaron felt upset witnessing Simone’s attack on Jodie. He believed she was intentionally causing trouble. Just as he was about to speak up, Simone averted her gaze, appearing disinterested in their argument. Aaron swallowed his words, but he couldn’t help feeling annoyed. He never realized his sister could be so bothersome.
Simone turned to the director and questioned, “Did you forget to provide the bed accessories? Even if we try to find some or exchange with the villagers, it’s too late. And it’s not like the villagers have what we need. We require a significant amount of supplies.”
This village was remote and underdeveloped. They would be fortunate to have enough provisions for themselves, let alone any surplus. The other guests, aside from Aaron and Jodie, agreed with Simone. Bartering was impossible, so they had to request supplies from the production team.
Leon spoke up, “She’s speaking on behalf of all of us.” He wanted to be friendly towards Simone, but she didn’t even acknowledge him, much to his disappointment.
Zac chimed in, “We aren’t asking for much. Just one set of accessories for each of us.” Then, remembering something, he added, “Oh wait, Jodie and Aaron won’t need them, so we only need six sets.”
Aaron didn’t expect Zac to continue pestering them. What an irritating man. He sneered. “Why aren’t you giving us any?”
Zac raised an eyebrow. “You said you could handle things. You claimed you would do as the director instructed. I thought you were going to get through this without the supplies, so why the sudden change in attitude? I can’t believe you would change your tune so quickly.” Clearly, he was insinuating that Jodie and Aaron had no integrity.
Jodie and Aaron had no response to that. Aaron had said he could manage, and Jodie had said she could endure. Since Aaron couldn’t win an argument against Zac, he turned to the director. “See what you guys can do.”
He would protest if they didn’t provide any supplies for him and Jodie. He couldn’t endure the hardship, let alone Jodie.
The director had a few thoughts running through his mind. It’s a good thing I agreed to have these two as guests. It’s creating dramatic tension on the first day of shooting. The premiere is going to generate a lot of buzz. He wasn’t planning on leaving the guests without any bedding supplies. If any of them were to fall ill, they would be in trouble. This was just a small challenge they had set up for the guests. Once the guests realized this, they would exchange their own supplies or work for them. However, the director didn’t anticipate the fight between Simone and Jodie.
He smiled. “Of course we can provide them for you.” He then added, “But not for free. You have to earn them. If we give everything away for free, it would deviate from the theme of the show.”
The guests fell silent. This guy is up to something.
Leon asked, “So what’s the condition?” The production team is being honest… If they hadn’t done this, Simone and Jodie wouldn’t have started fighting.
The director smiled. “It’s simple. Prepare one dish for us during dinner. Each of you should make one dish. It’s for the production team. Then we’ll give you a set of supplies.”
Leon pondered the terms for a moment. “Should the dish be raw or cooked?”
“Cooked, of course,” answered the director.
Zac was left speechless. I’m a terrible cook. How am I supposed to do this? “Do I have to cook it myself, or can someone else do it for me?” He added, “I just don’t want you guys to get food poisoning from my cooking.”
Amused, the director said, “I understand. Just provide one cooked dish.” In other words, they didn’t have to cook anything themselves.
“We have pots, pans, and seasonings in the kitchen, but we don’t have any other ingredients.” The director checked the time. “It’s around two o’clock now. We should have enough time to buy the ingredients.”
At that moment, the guests realized that the shortage of bedding supplies was a setup by the production team.
“Sure. We’ll do our best.”
Since it was part of the show, no one objected.
The director then mentioned, “We only have four rooms here, so you’ll have to share a room with another guest. Do you want to form your own teams, or should we draw lots?”
Zac quickly responded, “We’ll form our own teams. I don’t want to share a room with any troublemakers.” He glanced in Aaron’s direction.
Aaron sneered. “The pot calling the kettle black. I don’t want to stay with you either.”
“That’s great,” said Zac.
The director was more than surprised. The show had just begun, and the top two guests were already feuding with each other. This is going to make for a successful show. None of the other top celebrities in the industry would do this. Only them. Everyone else would just keep quiet no matter how annoyed they were. I’m glad I pulled some strings and got Zac on the show. He’s the real deal, and he has a sharp tongue. It’s worth the favor. We’re going to trend today, baby.
Zac looked at Eric. “Want to be roommates?” He chose Eric because he didn’t like Leon.
Eric wouldn’t refuse, and he smiled. “Sure.”
Aaron knew Leon, and he preferred to be roommates with him. “So, we’ll share a room, Leon?”
Leon nodded. “Sure.”
On the ladies’ side, Leyla asked Jodie, “So we’ll be roommates, Jo?”
Jodie knew Leyla had her sights set on Aaron, and it displeased her. She held nothing but disdain for this woman. Aaron would never fall for someone like her, and Jodie wouldn’t allow it. Still, compared to the annoying Simone and the complete stranger Keira, she would rather stay with Leyla. At least Leyla was her follower, and Jodie could easily control her.
Jodie nodded, smiling sweetly. “Sure.”
Keira breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to share a room with either of those two. One was a gold digger, while the other was a fake and malicious person. Both of them were difficult to handle. Simone was better. She smiled at Simone. “That means it’s just the two of us. Want to share a room?”
Simone nodded. “Sure.”
And then it was time to choose their rooms. Keira and Simone didn’t mind which room they stayed in, so they let everyone else pick.
Aaron suggested that Jodie and Leyla should have the first choice. The ladies feigned reluctance, but when Leon instructed them to make a selection, they opted for the one adjacent to the living quarters.
The men graciously offered Keira and Simone the other room, which was in close proximity to the living room. Keira and Simone accepted without hesitation.
Zac swiftly claimed the room near the courtyard’s entrance, leaving the one beside the kitchen for Aaron and Leon. Aaron felt frustrated that he had been a step too slow.
The rooms’ ownerships had already been assigned. The director glanced at the guests and suggested, “Would you like to form teams? You can dine together and work together. Unity is strength. If you need to search for things, ask the villagers for assistance, or trade items for food, having a team will make it easier. And it can be a mixed-gender team as well. Men and women can team up together. It will make things smoother.”
Originally, there was no plan for the guests to form teams. However, considering Zac and Aaron’s rivalry and Simone and Leon’s broken friendship, allowing the guests to team up would create more drama. That was why the director proposed the idea.
Leyla’s eyes lit up, and she agreed, “That’s a great idea. Count me in.” She turned to Jodie and said, “We’re roommates, Jo. Let’s team up.” Knowing how much Aaron cared for his sister, he would join their team. Leon seemed easy to get along with, and he had many fans watching the show. If she teamed up with them, she would gain a lot of exposure, and the viewers would be talking about it.
It was a shame that Zac would never join their team. He had a sharp tongue and didn’t know how to treat women properly. It was for the best that they wouldn’t be on the same team. Jodie actually wanted to team up with Zac. If they spent time together every day, he would eventually see how amazing she was. She was confident that he would fall for her. Or at least, that’s what she hoped for. However, it could never happen since Zac and Aaron were at odds. Nonetheless, teaming up with Leon was a good choice. She would steal him away from Simone. Jodie replied, “Sure.”
Aaron suggested, “Leon and I will join you ladies, then.”
Leon wanted to team up with Simone, so he was speechless. He had planned to resolve the misunderstanding with Simone. This guy is holding me back. “I’m fine with either option.”
He joined this variety show to clear things up with Simone and take care of Jodie. Teaming up with Jodie would make it easier to achieve one of his goals.
One team was formed. Zac looked at Eric and said, “Hey, those guys just teamed up with some ladies. Why don’t we do the same?”
Eric was easygoing and replied, “No problem. I wonder if the ladies would accept our offer, though.” He smiled at Keira and Simone. “So, would you like to team up with us?”
Keira and Simone exchanged glances. They knew what the other was thinking, and they both said, “Sure.”
Alright, now we have two teams of four. There will definitely be clashes in the future. The director was pleased with how things were starting. “And now, it’s time for you to take charge.” The director and some members of the production team retreated to a corner of the courtyard. Only the live stream’s cameraman followed the guests.
After descending the mountain and feeling exhausted, they decided to rest before starting their work for food. The teams went into separate rooms to discuss their plans.
Zac sat down lazily and looked at his team members. “Should we go straight to the village and ask the villagers one by one if they need help with anything?” He had no idea what to do. He had never participated in a variety show like this before.
Eric agreed, “We don’t know the villagers, so that’s our only option.”
Keira shared the same opinion. “I agree.”
Simone spoke up, “I have a suggestion.”
Her team members turned their attention to her. “What is it?”
“We can visit the village head and learn more about the village. Then we can find out which families need help and go directly to their houses. That way, we can save a lot of time. We can also ask if the village committee needs our assistance.”
Simone’s team members’ eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea.”
Why didn’t we think of that? The proposal was unanimously agreed upon. They assumed that Leon’s team would go door-to-door like they planned. They didn’t want Leon’s team to steal their idea, so they chatted and only left after Leon’s team had departed as well.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.