CHAPTER 415: CHAPTER 415: THEN BE CAREFUL

Everyone’s eyes unanimously turned to Lu Yujing.

"Sister Jing, do you have a solution? That would be so amazing." Jiang Xiaoti clasped her hands together, pressing them against her chin while looking at Lu Yujing with eyes full of expectation.

Lu Yujing glanced at Jiang Xiaoti, but not before throwing an inconspicuous glance at Sang Ning. Then, the corners of her mouth curved into a proud and triumphant smile: "I often participate in top-tier international tours, and not long ago, I happened to meet a friend from New Island. Maybe we can try asking them for help."

Sang Ning’s damned sharp instincts came back online; from that seemingly careless glance cast by Lu Yujing, she immediately detected an arrogance that screamed superiority.

Determined not to disappoint Lu Yujing, Sang Ning raised her arms high above her head and began to clap—slow, loud, and rhythmic. Against the backdrop of the wave-filled coastline, the sound was glaringly abrupt.

"You truly deserve the title of internationally renowned principal ballet dancer, Jingjingzi. Having you here is nothing short of a blessing for us. This trip? You and I are locked in!" Sang Ning’s tone was extravagantly exaggerated, and at the end, she even made a big heart gesture above her head for Lu Yujing, her smile perfectly tailored into a professional fake grin.

Lu Yujing didn’t feel an ounce of genuine admiration but instead picked up heaps of passive-aggressive sarcasm from Sang Ning’s words and actions.

Aside from letting out a dismissive "heh-heh," Lu Yujing couldn’t quite find a way to rebut Sang Ning in front of everyone: "Oh, Ningning, you must be joking."

The words "Ningning" were practically squeezed out between gritted teeth.

In a bid to show off her global network, Lu Yujing, despite not putting the call on speakerphone, sneakily pressed the side button of her phone before dialing, amplifying the handset’s volume to its maximum before the call connected.

Live chat comments in the stream began praising Lu Yujing, marveling at how artists like her really do have such an extensive global network.

While Lu Yujing was busy seeking help from her friend over the phone, Li Haidong drifted ghost-like to Sang Ning’s side, his face stoic, glaring down at her with contempt and disdain in his eyes, and whispered, "Celebrities can never truly be respectable. Perhaps looking up to someone better than yourself might help reclaim some self-awareness."

Sang Ning didn’t understand what the difficulty of hailing a car in New Island had to do with her status as a celebrity. She looked at Li Haidong, nodding repeatedly, her expression brimming with approval: "Not bad, not bad. It seems Uncle has regained some self-awareness after all. To have reached this age and still have a social circle that can’t compare to a young woman—this entire lifetime has been wasted, hasn’t it?"

Li Haidong’s eyes widened in fury, his temper threatening to burst when Sang Ning considerately pointed out the nearby live-stream camera that had just panned toward them.

In front of the camera, Li Haidong acted as if nothing had happened, his facade seemingly calm, though internally, he was seething and silently making a mental note of yet another grievance against Sang Ning—disrespecting elders.

Lu Yujing’s call didn’t take long, and her request went smoothly. The noticeably excited "thank you" before hanging up the phone meant that the issue of finding a vehicle was resolved.

Sure enough, after ending the call, Lu Yujing turned to the group, her face full of excitement: "It’s all set! A car is coming to pick us up in a while."

Amidst the cheers of the guests, a misplaced sigh of disappointment slipped through—that was Director Zhou Rui’s regretful mutter: "If I had known, I’d have raised the difficulty of the task even further."

Sang Ning, hands in her pockets, slightly turned her body and cast a glance in Zhou Rui’s direction, speaking in a faint tone, "If you push the difficulty level too far, at the very start, I’ll just have to hijack a car."

Hijack a car?

Zhou Rui mulled over this phrase briefly but couldn’t immediately grasp its literal meaning.

[Could Sang Ning’s "hijack a car" mean robbing the show’s vehicle?]

[I think it’s quite possible—it’s her style to maximize resources close at hand to complete the task.]

[Look at the director’s expression; he clearly hasn’t caught on yet. He probably finds it hard to believe Sang Ning would do something so low.]

[Poor Director Zhou, from now on, he’ll have to guard against fire, theft, and his own guests.]

After turning her words over several times, Zhou Rui finally realized that Sang Ning wasn’t joking and hurriedly instructed staff to keep an eye on Sang Ning to ensure she didn’t drive off with the program’s car.

With Lu Yujing’s car readily available, Sang Ning naturally wouldn’t resort to eyeing the program team’s vehicle.

Soon, a seven-seater van emerged from the darkness and stopped in front of the guests.

The car windows rolled down, revealing not only the driver but also a local sitting in the passenger seat.

The local flashed his pearly-white teeth and greeted everyone warmly in accented English.

Lu Yujing looked toward the driver seat, where she discovered a stranger behind the wheel. She asked the local why her friend hadn’t shown up.

The local explained briefly to Lu Yujing, grinning widely the entire time, his infectious enthusiasm lighting up the atmosphere.

Quickly abandoning the thought of verifying things with her friend over the phone, Lu Yujing decided to trust them.

With the driver and passenger seats occupied, the seven-seater van could only fit five additional people, leaving two guests stranded for the time being.

The local suggested squeezing in together, but everyone adhered strictly to traffic rules and refused to violate them so easily.

The driver had to promise that after dropping off the first group of guests, he would promptly return to pick up the remaining ones.

The pressing matter now was deciding which five people would ride first.

The guests had a general understanding of the situation, but with Lu Yujing looking visibly conflicted and seeming reluctant to offend anyone, no one dared take the initiative to request a seat—except Sang Ning.

"Elders and ladies first, then let Song Shiye and Qin Feng stay behind," Sang Ning said bluntly, earning a sharp glare from Li Haidong.

Sang Ning’s apparent lack of any sense of grace or humility was evident.

The question of who would ride first remained unresolved as the local began to urge them to make a decision.

Sang Ning glanced up at the local, who was still baring his toothy grin, radiating warmth and hospitality, though a faint hint of impatience and irritation flickered in his eyes.

The proposal was naturally fine with Song Shiye and Qin Feng; as the only two young men in the group, they had the resolve to endure this minor hardship.

However, it seemed Lu Yujing wasn’t entirely pleased with the suggestion.

"That won’t work. Our luggage is quite heavy, and we can’t just let an elder handle it alone, can we? A male guest should go with us." Lu Yujing’s voice was soft, her lips curled into a smile that made her difficult to argue against.

After glancing once more at the local in the car, Sang Ning replied to Lu Yujing, "Don’t worry, I can handle it."

Lu Yujing’s lips tightened and pressed downward; could Sang Ning really not understand her intimation?

Choosing to ignore Sang Ning entirely, Lu Yujing turned to Qin Feng: "Why don’t you come with us first and help carry the luggage?"

Jiang Xiaoti found herself in an awkward position. Since Sang Ning had already proposed riding first, and Qin Feng was now being requested by Lu Yujing, that meant only she and Song Shiye would remain behind to wait.

Aware of the unspoken rules, Jiang Xiaoti decided to speak up first rather than force others to say it: "I’ll stay with..."

Before she could finish, Lu Yujing interrupted, "Xiaoti, come with us. Sang Ning and Xiao Ye are close, so they’ll have company waiting together."

Having already faced several implicit rejections, Sang Ning couldn’t push herself further. She simply cast another glance at the driver and local once more, then reminded Lu Yujing, "Just be careful."