Upon arriving at the Saudi Cultural Office in China, it was clear that the shared experience in the elevator had helped, as the five individuals, though still a bit reserved, were at least able to chat comfortably.
Zhao Hao: 'It's definitely not because I, a stranger, am here! Definitely not!'
Outside the door, Qin Hailu, being the eldest and most senior among the five, was pushed forward by everyone to knock on the door first.
She then led the way into the room, with Zhao Hao and the others following her.
Upon entering, they saw a room that looked very much like a classroom, except there was no blackboard; instead, a movable whiteboard was placed in the northeast corner of the room.
At this moment, apart from the fruits, snacks, and tea placed on the table in front of the whiteboard, there was nothing else in the classroom.
In other words, Zhao Hao and his group of five were the first to enter this classroom.
This, in turn, allowed the five people present to relax a bit.
However, it must be said that Reba's nickname, Fatty Di, was not for show; she immediately noticed the food laid out on the table and went over to pour several cups of hot tea from the teapot.
Zhao Hao picked up a cup, said thank you, felt the warmth of the cup, and took a small sip.
Feeling the heat emanating from the cup, Zhao Hao couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort; perhaps this was the feeling hot tea gave to Chinese people.
“Hey! Are these our Arabic names?” Hu Xianxun looked at the eight name tags on the table, read the card prompts in front of the name tags word by word, and then said,
“Please find the name tag with your Saudi Arabian name (do not use your phone to search), choose your seat, and sit down.”
Zhao Hao had also seen all the name tags by this time, but:
Variety Show Strategy for Gaining Exposure – The Fourth Stratagem, Hiding One’s Talents, states: In a variety show, you cannot be good at everything.
While that would indeed make you stand out, it would overshadow others' brilliance.
Such a person does not last long in the Entertainment industry, or eventually, no one will be willing to be friends with you.
The Entertainment industry is called a 'circle' precisely because of the complex relationships within it!
The person you offend today might reappear tomorrow as the nephew or niece of a director of a TV series or big movie you are starring in!
Therefore, Zhao Hao did not rush forward at this moment to say that he knew Arabic.
He merely stood in a position within the crowd that could be captured by the camera.
As for speaking, he would naturally wait for a suitable opportunity, and this opportunity would appear when the eight-person group was assembled, or when someone actively cued Zhao Hao.
“This one seems to be two characters, is it Zhao Hao?” Wang Anyu reached out and took the name tag in front of him, asking Zhao Hao.
“Hmm, no.” Zhao Hao hadn't expected Wang Anyu to suddenly cue him.
He glanced at the name tag, which clearly had two characters on it.
However, although it was two characters, it was Qin Lan's name, so he explained, “This is Qin Lan Jie's.”
“This one is Reba's, this one is Xian Xun's, this one is mine, and then this one is Hailu Jie's.” Zhao Hao, at this point, could no longer be a transparent presence, as he had already been cued.
So, it was time for Zhao Hao to show off! (Step back! I'm about to show off!)
Zhao Hao quickly found each of their name cards and handed them to the corresponding people one by one, finally tidying up the remaining name tags, just waiting for the arrival of the remaining three study tour partners.
-----
Behind the monitor, Liao Ke watched Zhao Hao, who had distributed the name tags remarkably quickly, with an astonished open mouth.
After all, knowing Zhao Hao's name, Liao Ke had already investigated him.
It was very clear! This Zhao Hao was just an ordinary handsome young man.
If there was anything different about him, it was only his tragic background!
But clearly, the investigation materials contained no information about Zhao Hao knowing any foreign language other than his native tongue!
Of course, local dialects were an exception.
“Did he choose correctly?” Liao Ke couldn't help but turn to the script supervisor beside him and ask.
“He chose all of them correctly.” The script supervisor's mouth had just closed from being wide open.
Hearing Liao Ke's words, he repeatedly dragged the video clip of Zhao Hao distributing name tags on the monitor, then confirmed it repeatedly before saying to Liao Ke.
“Okay.” Liao Ke was stunned for a moment when he heard the script supervisor's words, but he had no other reaction, just lowered his head in thought.
After a while, which was actually only a minute, Liao Ke had already looked up and continued watching the monitor.
Having one more person familiar with Arabic was not unacceptable for the overall flow of the program; it just meant that certain modifications would need to be made during the later exams involving the study tour funds.
Although Flower is Young was not a budget travel variety show, too much funding was also not ideal.
-----
“Wow! Do you understand Arabic!” Reba held her name tag, curiously looked at her Arabic name, and immediately reacted with surprise, asking.
“Well, for a while, I was particularly interested in Saudi history and culture, so I systematically studied it.” Zhao Hao also followed the topic and explained; there was absolutely no way he would tell the whole truth.
Could he possibly say that he learned it specifically to show off in Flower Youth 5!
The other four were also very surprised to hear Zhao Hao's words, as Arabic truly cannot be considered a common language, let alone the third most difficult language in the world to learn (Chinese is the most difficult, ps: there is no basis, you can understand it as the author believes it, or that it's ranked this way in a parallel world).
Therefore, not many people are willing to learn this language, as universally speaking, English is, in some sense, globally convenient.
“Amazing. You learned it just out of interest?” Hu Xianxun exclaimed in surprise when he heard Zhao Hao's words, then looked behind him, “Someone's coming.”
Just as everyone heard Hu Xianxun's words and looked towards the door, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside.
Zhao Hao didn't need to guess to know that it was Qin Lan, Xing Zilei, and the youngest sister, Zhao Zhaoyi!
With that, the Flower Youth 5 eight-person study tour group officially assembled.
As with the first gathering of personnel in any other variety show, a period of greetings was indispensable.
Even if these greetings were a bit awkward, they were a necessary path for every variety show; although awkward, they were very effective.
The awkward pleasantries quickly passed.
Although the seven-person study tour group was very curious about who Zhao Hao, this seemingly heaven-sent guest, truly was, now was not the time to delve into that.
They simply greeted each other, slightly surprised by the existence of Zhao Hao, who was comparable to the three peak beauties, and there was nothing else to be surprised about.
Then came the scene of classroom humility: 'I only deserve to sit at the back,' followed by 'Please take the front seat!'
Just after Zhao Hao helped the name tags find their owners, a foreign person with typical Saudi characteristics walked in, dressed in a white robe and wearing a pink headscarf adorned with white spots.
“Hello everyone!”