At 8 PM, everyone gathered in the quad room. In the center was a round table, and this meeting was also known as the Hua Shao Group's first round table conference.
Yi Xing, the initiator of the meeting, was late. When he appeared in the adjacent room, changed into his pajamas and a jacket, the six people all cast resentful glances his way.
He first gave an awkward smile, then his expression gradually became serious as he said, “Sorry, I’m late. Um, since everyone is here, I’ll explain the theme of this meeting.”
Someone, hearing Yi Xing speak like this, couldn't help but laugh out loud, immediately drawing his attention. He looked in that direction and saw that it was Li Feier who had laughed.
Zheng Peipei, sitting next to her, quickly clapped a hand over her mouth to prevent her from disrupting the normal progress of the meeting: “Continue, I’ll manage her.”
Seeing that no one was interrupting him anymore, Yi Xing continued the topic from before: “The main purpose of this meeting is to discuss how to allocate money going forward. I feel like there are some places where we unnecessarily spent money.”
“Brother Han, let me ask you something, do you think you had fun today?” He turned his gaze to Zhang Han, who was standing by, drinking water. If even the tour guide himself didn't feel happy, then what he said next would be more effective.
“Not very happy.”
“Young Master, I understand the contributions you made to the team along the way, constantly worrying if the budget would be enough and wanting to save money for everyone. But we are a collective, and doing that makes us feel bad too,” Zhang Kaili continued, picking up the conversation.
The supposed round table conference quickly turned into a session to counsel Zhang Han. His actions could easily make some people feel annoyed, for example, Xu Qing felt exactly that way. From the moment they rented the audio guides, she had felt a bit of dissatisfaction, and this was a good opportunity to vent it.
“That’s right, Zhang Han, if there’s anything, let’s discuss it together. There’s no need to make all the decisions by yourself; you don’t even know if we like it.”
Next, the older sisters spoke one after another, each with some dissatisfaction in their hearts, whether towards Zhang Han or others. Only by speaking out could they resolve these knots and find good solutions.
If they kept it bottled up inside, they would eventually break down. At that point, it wouldn't be something that could be solved by simply sitting down and chatting; it would likely be a fierce and brutal showdown.
After all the older sisters had finished speaking, Zhang Han finally opened his mouth: “Dear older sisters, I am indeed very unqualified as a tour guide. I only considered my own feelings for many things and didn't take you into account. I promise, I will not make mistakes again.”
Yi Xing saw that it was almost done, basically at the stage of being open and honest. So he clapped his hands and announced that the meeting was adjourned. His goal had been achieved; discussing the budget issue was merely an excuse, although it was also important, it was not as important as resolving the conflicts among everyone.
“Alright, alright, you’ve all been out all day, get some rest early.” With that, he walked towards his three-person room, took off his jacket, and quickly burrowed under the covers. He was truly exhausted today and soon fell into a sweet sleep.
Led by Yi Xing, everyone dispersed. Those who needed to apply face masks did so, those who needed to read read. Zhang Han sat on the bed, staring blankly at the floor. He had originally wanted to have a heart-to-heart with someone who was already asleep, but since they were already asleep, he didn't want to disturb them.
Recalling what everyone said at the meeting, he realized he had been a bit too arbitrary in the past. It was time to make a change and stop being so uncommunicative with others as before.
The hotel at night was exceptionally quiet. Besides a figure working on the itinerary in the hallway, all the other members had long since fallen asleep with expectations for tomorrow.
The next morning, Yi Xing woke up from his sleep, skillfully reaching out to feel around. After not feeling the familiar shape for a long time, he felt something was amiss. He suddenly sat up and surveyed his surroundings.
He had slept too comfortably, causing him to somewhat forget he was filming. That action just now was him looking for his phone. After changing clothes and getting out of bed, he had been the earliest to sleep yesterday and was also the earliest to wake up today.
He quickly washed up. Except for the first day of filming upon arrival in Rome, every member had appeared without makeup for the rest of the time, and naturally, they didn't plan to use skincare products or anything like that.
He tiptoed out of the room, not wanting to wake Zheng Peipei and Zhang Han, who were still asleep. He went down the stairs to the lobby, called the follow-up cameraman who was nearby, then left the hotel and strolled outside.
Compared to going out with everyone, he still preferred the feeling of freedom alone, without so many restrictions, without caring about others' opinions and views, doing whatever he wanted.
After wandering for about fifteen to twenty minutes, he returned to the hotel. By this time, Zhang Han was already up. He was brushing his teeth in the bathroom. Hearing the sound of someone opening the door, he looked over and, seeing it was Yi Xing, greeted him indistinctly.
“Morning, Brother Han!”
“Morning, Brother Han.”
After greeting him, Yi Xing sat in a chair, spacing out. After his phone was confiscated, he didn't know what to do to pass the time. He was tired of playing the Snake game that the production team had put on the phones, and there was no one else in his bunk, so it was very boring.
Soon, Zhang Han came out, finally giving him something to do.
“Xiao Xing, you’re up quite early today. Did you just go out for a stroll?”
“Yeah, just walked around a bit, got familiar with the surrounding roads.”
The two chatted idly. Someone walked over from the adjacent room; it was Liu Tao. She had come to wake people up. This family would easily fall apart without her.
“Oh, you two are actually up. Good, saves me the trouble of waking you. Once you’re ready, hurry downstairs. Pei Ma is waiting there.”
“Alright, I’ll go down and join Pei Ma now.”
Yi Xing quickly agreed and then headed downstairs. Through their interactions yesterday, Zheng Peipei had been promoted from older sister to a mother figure for the younger ones.
“You rascal, where did you run off to?” When Zheng Peipei saw Yi Xing, she quickly walked over and playfully hit him hard, her tone full of reproach.
After she woke up, she found no one on the bed next to her. She thought he had already gotten up and was waiting downstairs. She quickly got up, went to the bathroom to wash up, and after finishing her preparations, went to the lobby but didn't find Yi Xing.
Her heart immediately became a little flustered. She asked a staff member sitting nearby where he had gone, and when she learned he was wandering outside, she also went out, wanting to find this mischievous boy. He was truly worrying; how could he go out alone? What if he got lost? This was why she hit him.
“Ning Jing, you’re also up early. I’m going downstairs to accompany Pei Ma. Brother Han, you should go down too after you’re done.”