Chapter 475: Chapter 475: You Didn’t Give a Chance Either
Jiang Xiaoti rested her elbow on the table, cupped her face with both hands, and gazed at Sang Ning with wide, starry eyes full of admiration. "Sang Ning, you’re basically our role model! If anyone dares to say that all entertainment professionals are just pretty faces, I’ll bring you out as proof and scare them to death."
Sang Ning felt a little embarrassed by the praise from everyone and simply responded with a polite smile and a nod.
"Ah!" Qin Feng suddenly exclaimed, "Sang Ning, are you planning to quit the entertainment industry in the future and focus solely on scientific research?"
Sang Ning thought for a moment but didn’t give a definite answer. "I haven’t decided on anything yet. Let’s talk about it later."
Whether it was entering the entertainment industry or preparing for graduate school, she approached both with purpose. Ultimately, surviving in this world remained an uncertain matter.
Today marked the final day of filming in Bing City. Coincidentally, Sang Ning’s graduate exam results were out, showing that she had ranked first in the preliminary test. To celebrate, the program team arranged a high-end hotel for the guests—both as a reward and to mark the occasion for Sang Ning.
According to the original plan, once the Bing City segment wrapped up, the guests would have a day of rest before heading to the final filming location of this season.
It just so happened that the retest date clashed with the filming schedule for the final segment. After weighing her options, Sang Ning decided to approach the director, offering to pay a penalty fee to withdraw from the final filming session.
When the director heard Sang Ning wanted to bow out of filming due to her retest, he considered whether it might be feasible to postpone the final episode for a few days. He even sought feedback from the other guests, but everyone said they didn’t have any urgent plans and were okay with waiting for Sang Ning to finish her retest before filming together.
The filming in Bing City wrapped up by afternoon, and before dinner, the program team had arranged for the guests to leave in staggered groups via cars.
Sang Ning and Lu Yujing weren’t on the same flight, but before leaving, Lu Yujing enthusiastically invited Sang Ning to eat together sometime after returning.
Sensing something was amiss with Lu Yujing, Sang Ning subconsciously wanted to avoid being alone with her. She immediately declined, "Sorry, I’m really busy these days. Besides, we’re not close enough for something like that. If you’re serious about eating together, let’s wait until the next round of filming."
"But..." Lu Yujing tried to say more, but Sang Ning had already walked into the boarding gate, only leaving her with a retreating figure.
"System, what’s happening here? Haven’t my relations with Sang Ning improved significantly? Why does she seem distant again after just one recording? Could it be that the acting boost has worn off?" Lu Yujing asked in frustration, her tone sharp.
The System responded helplessly, "I’m just an AI, so I can’t delicately detect human emotions. However, I’d like to remind Host that the acting boost is ultimately just a way of masking yourself. Since you inherently dislike Sang Ning, even if you’re disguising it well, someone more sensitive can still pick up on it."
Lu Yujing clenched her fists tightly. "So, this so-called golden cheat is pretty useless then, isn’t it!"
Unable to arrange a private meeting with Sang Ning, she began to ponder how to proceed with her plan.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind. Where was the final filming location again? Oh, right—a desert...
While Lu Yujing was secretly scheming, Sang Ning, on the other hand, found her thoughts growing chaotic.
Before boarding, Sang Ning dialed Li Juezhou multiple times, but each call returned the same message: "The subscriber is not in service."
Even after boarding the plane, she couldn’t put her mind at ease. She tried calling again, only to receive the same response.
When she tried once more, just as she was dialing, a tall, fair-skinned flight attendant approached her seat, raised her hand with a smile, and said, "Ma’am, the plane is about to take off. Please ensure your phone is turned off or switched to airplane mode."
Although Sang Ning wore a mask, she still replied with a polite, apologetic smile. After glancing at her phone again and seeing no updates from Li Juezhou, she hesitated for a moment before pressing the shutdown button.
The flight lasted two and a half hours. Normally, Sang Ning would fall asleep right after takeoff, but today, unresolved worries occupied her mind. Even though her body was tired, her brain was unusually alert, leaving her unable to sleep for the entire two-hour stretch.
When the plane landed, it was already the middle of the night. Unable to reach Li Juezhou, Sang Ning suddenly began to feel anxious about the situation at home. Not wanting to disturb Sang Youming and Hu Zhi at such a late hour, she decided against calling them and instead hailed a taxi directly home.
By the time she arrived at the door, it was past 2 a.m. Sang Ning opened the door quietly, careful not to wake anyone at home.
But as soon as the door opened, the light in the living room spilled in through a crack, accompanied by a familiar voice: "Alright, dear viewers, this is the delicate carving section, which requires utmost focus—you can’t even breathe too hard. I’ll stop interacting for now. The session will wrap up in about thirty minutes. If you suffer from insomnia, tune in; I guarantee this will lull you to sleep."
Looking more closely, Sang Ning saw Sang Youming sitting in front of the sofa, having set up a small table with live-streaming equipment. On the table sat a partially finished wooden sculpture. Since she was standing far away, she couldn’t see what he was carving clearly, but he wore peculiar glasses with bulging lenses that made him look like a goldfish.
The sound of the door opening caught Sang Youming’s attention. He looked up, startled. After removing his glasses and realizing it was his daughter, he didn’t greet her right away. Instead, he stood up and solemnly bowed to the camera. "Sorry, dear viewers! My little princess has returned home tonight. I’ll have to postpone the detailed carving session to another time."
While saying this, he quickly ended the livestream. Just as Sang Ning opened her mouth to call out "Dad," Sang Youming jumped up like he’d seen a ghost and dashed toward the bedroom, shouting, "Zhi! Zhi! Wake up now!"
Sang Youming’s commotion was so loud that Sang Ning feared they’d be reported for disturbing the neighbors. Before she could stop him, the instant he pushed open the bedroom door, a pillow flew directly into his face, muffling his voice.
Sang Youming fell silent, but Hu Zhi’s furious voice soon rang out—just as loud, if not louder. "It’s the middle of the night! Are you wailing to mourn someone? Anyone who doesn’t know better might think you’re hosting a funeral for me! Can I sleep or not?!"
Hu Zhi followed quickly behind her voice, stepping out of the bedroom in her pajamas with her hair askew. She pressed her palm against Sang Youming’s chest and forced him step by step out of the bedroom doorway. "You’re killing me! First, you’re livestreaming in the middle of the night. Then, you’re yelling like a banshee. Do you want me to die early?"
Wide awake now and fuming, Hu Zhi grabbed Sang Youming by the collar as she pushed him from the bedroom door to the living room. Suddenly, her gaze landed on Sang Ning. Upon seeing her, Hu Zhi immediately released Sang Youming’s collar, turned, and delivered a solid punch to his chest. "Why didn’t you say it was our daughter coming back?!"
Sang Youming rubbed his nose, looking aggrieved, "You didn’t give me time to explain!"
