With just one sentence "Long time no see, old classmate," Song Linchuan rendered everyone at the scene speechless.
What's going on?
Zhou Wei and Song Linchuan are old classmates!
How come we've never heard about this before?
Moreover, this "long time no see" gives the impression that the two used to be quite close.
After a brief moment of surprise, everyone looked at Zhou Wei differently.
If Song Linchuan hadn't mentioned that they were old classmates, it could still be explained away. But Zhou Wei not having mentioned this was quite unexpected.
Everyone here was part of the circle, and had seen more than a few people use all kinds of shameless means to gain popularity.
There was no choice, in this circle, popularity was king, even if it was notoriety.
These years, Zhou Wei had been neither hot nor cold in the circle, but Song Linchuan shot to stardom as soon as he debuted, and had stood at the pinnacle for years.
If she had any thoughts of riding his coattails, she could have casually mentioned their classmate relationship in any interview, and she would have definitively been able to hitch a ride on that wave of popularity.
After all, there would have been endless topics to discuss. She wouldn't have needed to say much, those marketing accounts could have conjured up all kinds of truthful and fake romantic gossip.
Or, she could have been more subtle, not saying anything herself, but privately leaking the information, and still achieved her aim.
However, Zhou Wei didn't do any of that. Over the years, there hadn't been a peep about this in public, which showed she really didn't want to go that route.
Everyone then thought about Zhou Wei's reputation in the circle - no messy gossip or hype, never attending any circle socials, seemingly just steadily acting.
Looking at it this way, she could be considered a breath of fresh air in the circle.
Just as everyone was lost in thought, the director seemed to recall something. Looking at Song Linchuan on the monitor, he suddenly had a look of realization.
When contacting Song Linchuan earlier, he remembered casually saying none of the guests this season seemed familiar to him, and Song Linchuan had responded - there's someone.
He hadn't thought much of it then, and when he asked for details, Song Linchuan changed the subject, so he didn't pursue it further.
But now, that "there's someone" seemed rather meaningful.
While the people offstage had various thoughts, those onstage were no less distracted.
The cameraman's camera was practically shoved in their faces.
As for the principals involved, Song Linchuan still had an unconcerned look, as if that earlier sentence was just casually uttered.
He was utterly unaware of the huge psychological impact he had caused.
Compared to Song Linchuan, Zhou Wei was clearly less composed currently.
She opened her mouth, and said, "Long time no see."
It really had been a long time. From the last time they met in high school until now, seven years had passed.
Sometimes when Zhou Wei thought about it, she also found it magical. Both had been in the entertainment industry for so many years, and though it was such a small circle, they had never once run into each other.
Not even once.
But on second thought, it made sense. With their vastly different levels of popularity, their resources and circles naturally wouldn't overlap much, so not running into each other was normal.
Speaking of which, Zhou Wei also felt a bit ashamed. Actually in terms of debut timing, she was earlier than Song Linchuan, but in terms of fame and accomplishments in the circle, she fell far short.
However, Zhou Wei was not surprised by this at all.
Song Linchuan had been a celebrity in school during high school. Wherever he went, he attracted gazes.
It was as if he had a natural charm, he didn't need to try to cater to anyone, just being himself attracted a lot of attention.
He seemed born to be dazzling and shining.
Song Linchuan nodded lightly at Zhou Wei, then pivoted the conversation, directly asking, "Do you have any clues, want to team up?"
Everyone: "???"
That's it for "long time no see"?
Shouldn't you catch up a bit, you've gotten us curious! This is not how to play the game!
Zhou Wei was also clearly surprised. Team up?
Her and Song Linchuan?
To be honest, she felt a bit reluctant, but in this situation, rejecting him didn't seem appropriate.
After all, they were the first to meet each other, and he had already shown goodwill. There was no reason to refuse on personal or moral grounds.
Most importantly, she didn't want Song Linchuan to overthink things.
"I just have one task card, no other clues." Zhou Wei directly handed over her task card.
This action clearly signaled her agreement to team up.
Song Linchuan also didn't say much. He lightly hmm-ed, took the task card she handed over and started looking through it.
According to the show's arrangements, the clues on each guest's task card were different, and could be used to find more clues.
But because Zhou Wei had been too frightened earlier, she hadn't looked at finding any clues at all, only wanting to find the other guests first. So now, she had practically no gains.
Comparatively, Song Linchuan as the flying guest* had arrived later, but had already found two key clues.
Looking at it this way, in this team up, Song Linchuan was clearly losing out.
Zhou Wei hesitated, and was about to say forget about teaming up.
But Song Linchuan spoke first, "Let's go."
Zhou Wei responded in surprise, "Go where?"
Song Linchuan turned to look at her, returning her task card, "Back to the first room you were in, there's an important clue you didn't take."
Zhou Wei hurriedly looked at the task card in her hand, and was a bit embarrassed.
It was true!
It was written clear as day in black and white, but because she had been so frightened earlier, she hadn't looked at all, only thought about running away.
So the two retraced their steps back.
The same eerie, enclosed alley, but Zhou Wei was much calmer this time.
Aside from having an extra person by her side, the main reason was her mind was completely on Song Linchuan, obviously unable to think about anything scary.
Zhou Wei still felt it a bit unbelievable. Earlier when Jiang Qiong had guessed the flying guest this season was Song Linchuan, she had categorically dismissed it as wishful thinking. Who could have expected her guess to be spot on.
However, she still couldn't figure out why Song Linchuan would appear on this show.
But that was clearly none of her business. In any case, no matter why Song Linchuan was here, it definitely had nothing to do with her.
This was undoubtedly certain.
Zhou Wei still had a clear understanding of herself.
Even if Song Linchuan had...but so many years had passed, it had long ago faded away.
Moreover, who didn't have some impetuous history from their youth? The past was the past.
They were both adults now, continuing to dredge up the past would be rude.
So for her interactions with Song Linchuan going forward, she just needed to treat him the same as the other guests, this was surely what Song Linchuan expected as well.
The two walked side by side, neither speaking, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward for no reason.
Weren't they old classmates? In this situation, shouldn't they be catching up?
Seeing the two not following common sense, the production team members scratched their heads in frustration.
In the end, the director couldn't take it anymore. He picked up the walkie talkie and gave instructions to the cameraman following behind the two.
If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.
You won't speak up, huh, then we'll take the initiative to ask, that's fine right?
Thus, the cameraman received the director's instructions in his earpiece, transforming from his earlier "mute" state to take on this important task.
But after all, the cameraman didn't have experience in asking leading questions. He hesitated and agonized for a good while before finally speaking up, "Um..."
The cameraman was right next to Zhou Wei. His sudden utterance greatly startled Zhou Wei.
She reflexively dodged to the other side, then tripped, and just so happened to fall into Song Linchuan's arms.
The air froze in an instant.
In a split second, Zhou Wei's survival instinct exploded. She grabbed the cameraman's sleeve, using the force to steady herself.
Then she also consciously retreated several steps back, swiftly opening up distance with Song Linchuan.
"Sorry, sorry, are you alright?"
Song Linchuan looked at her avoiding him, his brows faintly knitted. After a long pause, he lightly responded, "It's fine, be careful."
Zhou Wei nodded profusely.
He didn't say anything, and she would also be careful. After that, whether it was scaring her to death or injuring her, such things definitely could not happen again.
Otherwise, after the show was broadcast, she would definitely be scolded for trying to gain popularity.
But for Zhou Wei, no matter whose popularity she was trying to gain, she didn't want to rely on Song Linchuan's.
However, the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Who could have expected her to be walking properly and suddenly have this happen?
Zhou Wei turned her head to look at the culprit, "Weren't you not speaking?"
Just now when she was scared to death, he had played dumb. And now he suddenly spoke, making her seriously suspect he did it just to frighten her.
The cameraman scratched his head. He didn't want to speak either, wasn't this the director's order?
After this episode, the director's attempt to draw them into conversation was dropped.
The problem was, judging by their attitudes, they probably wouldn't be able to ask anything for now, so they'd have to wait longer.
Soon, they arrived at Zhou Wei's original foothold. According to the clues on the task card, Song Linchuan easily found the lead.
Coincidentally, the clues the two of them got were miraculously connected. Next, following this lead, they came to an abandoned workshop.
According to the decoded clues, this workshop contained something very important.
As for what this thing was, it was still unknown for now, but they vaguely felt that it should be directly related to the final mystery.
So the two of them went into the workshop and started looking around separately.
But after searching the entire workshop they didn't find anything. They had no choice but to put the clues together again, hoping to find something from them.
As Zhou Wei looked at the clues Song Linchuan had pieced together, she suddenly realized something. She immediately walked inside.
Song Linchuan didn't ask much and followed her directly.
Zhou Wei came to a pile of old equipment, rummaging around, then her eyes lit up as she pointed to a place and said, "Could it be here?"
Song Linchuan looked in the direction she was pointing and happened to see a small wooden box in the corner.
Just as he was about to squat down to get it, Zhou Wei went over first.
Song Linchuan thought about it, and didn't compete with her. That box didn't look big, she could bring it over herself.
But just then, he suddenly heard a squeaking sound coming from above, very soft, as if coming from above.
Song Linchuan looked up along the sound and saw a device above Zhou Wei's head swaying back and forth, looking like it could fall at any time.
But Zhou Wei was completely unaware of the situation above her head, and was engrossed in rummaging for clues over there.
"Zhou Wei, watch your head!" he said as he quickly walked over.
Hearing Song Linchuan's warning, Zhou Wei reflexively looked up and saw a device crashing down straight at her.
Her mind buzzed, it had happened so fast she didn't have time to react at all.
Seeing the device crashing down on her, Zhou Wei reflexively closed her eyes.
Just when she thought things were going badly, the next second, her body was suddenly hugged and pulled to the side.
Then, with the sound of something heavy falling to the ground, a muffled grunt reached her ears.
Then the cameraman's voice came over, "Teacher Song, are you alright!"
Zhou Wei's heart tightened, instantly understanding what had happened.
When she opened her eyes, she met Song Linchuan's face, gritting his teeth to endure the pain.
"Song, Song Linchuan, where are you hurt?" Zhou Wei asked in a trembling voice, "Say something, where exactly are you hurt?"
After saying that, she pushed Song Linchuan away to check his injuries.
Song Linchuan grabbed her shoulder, "Don't move, my leg is injured, let me lean on you for a while."
Zhou Wei froze, only then did she belatedly react that Song Linchuan was relying on her for most of his weight.
"Okay, okay, I won't move, I won't move."
Just then, the two cameramen also came over, putting down their equipment and worked together to move the device off Song Linchuan.
After that, they didn't dare move him, they could only wait for the medics to arrive.
They couldn't determine the exact situation yet, but judging from the blood stains on Song Linchuan's pants, the injury didn't seem minor.
Zhou Wei was instantly anxious, "I'm sorry."
Song Linchuan forced a smile, "Don't say sorry, this was an accident, it had nothing to do with you."
Although he said that, Zhou Wei knew clearly that this accident originally had nothing to do with Song Linchuan. If not for saving her, he wouldn't have gotten injured either.
Luckily, the program team reacted quickly and the medics arrived soon, along with the director and his team. The scene suddenly became crowded.
Soon, Song Linchuan was taken away in an ambulance. Zhou Wei had wanted to go with him but there was limited space in the ambulance, so she had to give up.
The filming was also suspended for now.
Such a big accident had occurred at the shooting location, the director didn't dare continue either. Who knew if there were any potential dangers left, they had to re-check everything first.
Not to mention, the director couldn't care less about these things now. Song Linchuan getting injured was no small matter, they all followed to the hospital.
After returning to the hotel, Zhou Wei sat on the sofa absentmindedly.
Jiang Qiong patted her shoulder to comfort her, "Don't worry, the assistant director went along, he said he'll notify us if there's any news."
Zhou Wei nodded slightly in response, but from her expression, she clearly hadn't registered it.
Jiang Qiong couldn't help sighing, thinking to herself, just what kind of fate did Zhou Wei have?
You say, she had finally gotten paired with a top celebrity like Song Linchuan on a show, they should have gained a lot of hype and popularity before the show even aired. But who could have expected something like this to happen during filming?
With the guest injured leading to filming being suspended, a large part of the footage shot would be unusable too.
Sigh, it was all fate.
Forget it, those things weren't important now. The main thing was that Song Linchuan would be alright, Jiang Qiong thought.
She hadn't been on set when they were filming today, having just rushed back. She only heard the assistant director say on the phone that Song Linchuan got injured saving Zhou Wei.
As for the specifics of what happened, she still wasn't too clear, but seeing Zhou Wei's reaction now, it seemed to be closely related to her.
As Zhou Wei's agent, Jiang Qiong understood her artist well. If anything happened to Song Linchuan, Zhou Wei would feel guilty for life.
Luckily, the assistant director called them soon, saying that although Song Linchuan was seriously injured, the surgery went smoothly and he just needed to recuperate properly.
Hearing this news, both Zhou Wei and Jiang Qiong breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as he was alright.
That afternoon, Zhou Wei went to visit Song Linchuan at the hospital. But when she got to the ward, Song Linchuan happened to be asleep. Zhou Wei met his aunt instead.
Although she didn't get to speak with Song Linchuan, seeing for herself that he was fine allowed Zhou Wei to completely relax.
But she still hadn't thanked him face to face, so she decided to go to the hospital again the next day.
However, Zhou Wei never expected that Song Linchuan would be transferred that very day.
Knowing Song Linchuan had returned to S City, Zhou Wei felt much more at ease. Medical conditions in S City must be better than here.
Jiang Qiong heard about it from the assistant director and couldn't help marveling, "I heard he went back on a private jet, Song Linchuan's agent is so capable!"
Although agents of top celebrities were very capable, they were still employees. To be able to arrange a private jet showed impressive connections.
But compared to her curiosity about Song Linchuan, Jiang Qiong was more concerned with something else at the moment.
Zhou Wei and Song Linchuan were old classmates?!
This is something she has never mentioned before, Jiang Qiong thought to herself. If it wasn't for the associate director subtly trying to find out more about this earlier, she still wouldn't know.
Zhou Wei glanced at Jiang Qiong and said lightly, "Old classmates are just pleasantries people say on shows. Actually, back in school, we weren't close at all."
Jiang Qiong paused for a moment. That makes sense, she thought. It's for appearances on the show after all.
After all, the more famous you are, the more gossip there is. Even if they hadn't crossed paths, now that they have, some small talk is expected to avoid people saying she's gotten arrogant after becoming famous.
They're in the same circle, so Jiang Qiong understood after thinking about it briefly. She also felt like she was overthinking things earlier.
Wow, she had even wondered if something was going on between the two just now.
However, Jiang Qiong overlooked one crucial point. Zhou Wei had said earlier that they were not in the same class and did not know each other, but now they were suddenly former classmates who weren't close.
These contradictory statements...
Tsk, it's obvious something is going on!