Wendy Lawson laughed and backed up to the doorway. She handed the umbrella she’d brought from the room to Joanne Warren and Tanya, then walked over to Jessie Sterling. "My lady, over here!"
Jessie Sterling glanced at her. "Don’t tease . Just use my na."
Wendy Lawson said, "Alright, Jessie."
"Did you two know each other before this?" Jade Moyer asked curiously, walking over to Wendy Lawson while carrying his suitcase.
Wendy Lawson nodded. "We do."
Jade Moyer couldn’t help but glance at Jessie Sterling, who was standing under the umbrella. She was dressed casually today, though the scarf around her neck seed a bit mismatched. With Wendy Lawson holding the umbrella over her, she really did look a bit like a pampered young lady being waited on.
He had originally thought she was just an artist from so obscure website, but after arriving, he was surprised to find that quite a few people seed to know her.
Moreover, Jade Moyer noticed that even though Jessie Sterling had barely spoken on the way over, no one had overlooked her.
’Interesting,’ he thought.
The luggage from the vehicle was quickly carried inside by the three n present. Outside, hail continued to patter noisily against the house.
The living room was filled with suitcases. Presumably, those who arrived earlier knew the rooms hadn’t been assigned yet, so they had all tacitly agreed to leave their luggage there for the ti being.
The production team provided a free dinner for the evening, ordering Tibetan hotpot to be served on the first floor.
After the eight of them gathered together and introduced themselves, the conversation turned to how they would divide up the rooms.
"There are eight of us and five rooms. The second floor has two single rooms, and the rest are doubles. Oh, there’s also a large room on the first floor that sleeps three and has its own bathroom. So, how should we split them?" The speaker was Jade Moyer. He was very extroverted and had already managed to match all the faces with their nas.
"Does anyone want a single room?" Ron Ford asked first.
"Hahaha, Mr. Ford, isn’t that a bit of a rhetorical question? I’m sure everyone wants one," said Jade Moyer.
Tanya raised her hand slightly. "I don’t."
She was on her own and preferred to room with another girl; she’d be a little scared otherwise.
"Pfft—"
Jade Moyer rubbed his nose, a bit embarrassed. Perhaps it was because everyone had just t and felt shy, or perhaps it was because they all really did want a single room. In any case, after Tanya spoke up, no one else said they wanted to share.
"How about this," Joanne Warren proposed. "Since there are two single rooms, let’s have all eight of us write down a na to nominate soone to have one. Whoever gets the most votes gets a single room. What do you think?"
"I agree with Ms. Warren."
" too."
"Sounds good."
A chorus of agreent went around the dinner table, and just like that, the thod for assigning the single rooms was settled.
Tanya dashed off and quickly returned with paper and pens.
Two minutes later, Joanne Warren had collected all the votes.
"Alright, I’ll read out the votes," Joanne Warren announced.
Jade Moyer produced a small whiteboard from sowhere and, with mock seriousness, prepared to tally the nas.
"Joanne Warren, one vote." Joanne Warren herself laughed. "Who’s so thoughtful, voting for !"
As she was the oldest of the eight guests, it wasn’t particularly surprising.
"Jessie Sterling, one vote."
"Jessie Sterling, one vote."
"Jessie Sterling, one vote."
Even Jessie Sterling herself was a little surprised, and she raised an eyebrow.
"Joanne Warren, one vote."
"Jessie Sterling, one vote."
"Haydn, one vote."
"Joanne Warren, one vote."
The vote count finished quickly. On Jade Moyer’s whiteboard, it was clear that Jessie Sterling alone had received four votes.
"Then congratulations to our Jessie for winning a single room," Joanne Warren said, looking at Jessie Sterling with a smile.
Jessie Sterling still looked a bit dazed. She hadn’t even written her own na and had no idea where those four votes had co from.
But just now, everyone had seen the nas on the ballots with their own eyes. Half of the group had really voted for her.
Jessie Sterling pondered for a mont. ’If I had to guess,’ she thought, ’Tanya and Joanne Warren probably wrote my na. After all, I am the boss of Apex. And another vote must have co from Wendy Lawson. But that’s only three votes. I can’t imagine who else would vote for on the very first day, when we’ve only just t.’
Before she could dwell on it, the second round of voting began.
There were two single rooms in total. In the second round, Joanne Warren received the most votes.
"There are three rooms left—a large triple. Why don’t the three of us guys take the triple? That would leave a single room for one of you ladies?" Jade Moyer asked.
Ron Ford said, "I can stay anywhere. I got used to living in dorms during training, so I’m fine with anything."
The other man, an erhu artist nad Haydn, was the second-oldest of the group but seed just as easy-going. "I’m fine with whatever, too. You all can decide."
Wendy Lawson glanced at the others. There were exactly three won left, including herself. ’I’m fine with whatever,’ she thought. ’Tanya is probably pretty close with Jessie, which just leaves the hanfu shop owner, Shao Wei. If the three of us split up, we might accidentally end up isolating her.’
"Tanya, what do you think?" Wendy Lawson asked.
After all, Tanya was the one who had voluntarily said she didn’t want a single room.
Tanya let out a small "Ah." "Why don’t we take the triple room?" As she said this, she glanced in Shao Wei’s direction. "What do you think, Shao Wei?"
Like Jessie Sterling, Shao Wei wasn’t very talkative. But unlike Jessie, she was easy to overlook when she was quiet. That’s why Tanya was deliberately including her in the conversation to hear her opinion.
Upon hearing this, Shao Wei smiled, her lips pressed together. "Sure. This is my first ti eting everyone, so I don’t know anyone well. If we room together, we should get familiar with each other quickly, right?"
Tanya then asked, "What about you, Wendy?"
"I have no objections," Wendy Lawson said.
Tanya looked at Jade Moyer. "Then the three of us girls will take the triple. You guys can figure out the remaining two rooms yourselves?"
Of course, the three n weren’t going to argue with the won. Besides, this ant an extra single room for one of them, which was a great outco.
"Alright then. How about Mr. Hale takes the single room?" Ron Ford asked, looking between Haydn and Jade Moyer.
Jade Moyer was one of the younger mbers of the group, and he imdiately raised his hand in agreent. "I have no objections."
And just like that, the rooms were assigned.
After everyone finished the hotpot, mbers of the production team ca over to collect so items.
They were mainly collecting everyone’s cash. For the entire duration of the show, the guests were expected to be self-sufficient and would not be allowed to use any money they had brought with them.
Once that was done, everyone returned to their rooms to unpack their luggage.
Jessie Sterling, Joanne Warren, Jade Moyer, and Ron Ford all went up to the second floor.
Upstairs, Jessie Sterling’s and Joanne Warren’s rooms had similar layouts and their own bathrooms, while the double rooms did not. Fortunately, there was a shared bathroom on the second floor, which could serve as a dedicated bathroom for the n’s double room.
After they went upstairs, Jade Moyer winked at Jessie Sterling.
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