Simon Baker glanced at everyone’s indescribable expressions and said awkwardly, "Treasure hunting is really fun."
What responded to him was a chorus of "Tch!"
Simon looked at the crowd with a headache—were none of them giving him face?
"Ahem, ahem, did everyone understand?" Simon tried to maintain the smile on his face.
This ti, no one caused a scene—they properly focused on Simon.
Simon let out a breath of relief, "If there are no issues, we’ll draw lots and set out now."
"I have one." Adam Piers raised his hand.
Simon looked at him with a headache. "What’s your question?"
"Well, since we’re looking for a treasure map, can you tell us what the treasure is? If we dig endlessly and end up with a pile of junk, what’s the point?" Adam asked, his tone dripping with disdain.
Simon heard this and, miraculously, didn’t get angry. Instead, he grinned at everyone, "Since we call it a treasure, it’s naturally a treasure. Though it won’t be the gold and jewels you’re fantasizing about, but..." Simon deliberately paused and looked at everyone. "If you find the treasure map and manage to unlock it, it will contain the thing you desire the most at this mont."
Having said this, Simon winked at everyone.
The crowd imdiately perked up. Jas Jero laughed and directly questioned, "Director Baker, aren’t you being a bit too confident? Do you even know what I want most right now?"
His implication was clear—how could Simon presu to fulfill everyone’s deepest desires?
Simon smiled, "Since we invited all of you here, naturally we’ve done our howork. Mr. Foster, you’ve been wanting to transition into big-screen films, haven’t you?"
Jas was stunned for a mont before chuckling slyly, "In this industry, anyone with a shred of ambition dreams of hitting the big screen. Simon, you’re teasing !"
Simon didn’t respond and turned to Stella Murray. "Mrs. Murray, you’ve always hoped to shake off the mid-career actress crisis and reclaim your peak by landing lead roles?"
Stella, montarily surprised by being singled out, quickly waved her hands. "At my age, I’m lucky to have any roles at all. Whether it’s a lead or not, as long as I’m playing a woman, it’s fine."
She laughed at her own joke, but the hint of sadness in her eyes was unmistakable to everyone.
Simon didn’t press further and looked at Zoe Thatcher. "You’re aiming for an audition in a new youth drama?"
Zoe nodded absentmindedly, sensing the craftiness of the show’s production team—they seed to have all their details figured out.
"Now, do you believe ? As long as you find the treasure map and unlock the treasure, you might really get what you want most." Simon finished with a mysterious smile.
Adam raised his hand again. "Why did you skip the three of us? Are we just not worth it?"
Simon, "..."
Wasn’t this rich playboy invited just for show?
"Of course, it’s to maintain an air of mystery." Simon forced the response, finding it too tricky to address the three of them, so he decided to fool the rest for now.
Adam shot Simon a dubious look but, seeing how others started to show genuine interest, he didn’t make things difficult for the production team. Instead, he accepted the arrangent and proceeded with drawing lots.
He had coordinated with the production team beforehand, as per David Locke’s instructions, to pair him with Mary Scott. However, sothing went wrong with the lot-drawing process—he ended up getting Zoe Thatcher instead.
Adam glanced at Zoe, who was looking at him with visible excitent. His lips twitched but before he could request a swap, Zoe eagerly reached out her hand. "Master Adam, please guide through the next steps."
Zoe’s words, transmitted directly through the caras to the live broadcast, left Adam with no room to maneuver. He smiled faintly at Zoe and extended his hand politely in return.
Off-cara, Bertha Swift cleaned up the kitchen after breakfast and happened to catch this exact scene. Perhaps out of a shared sense of feminine intuition, Bertha realized she had an unsettling sensitivity to other won’s emotions. She could instantly tell from Zoe’s eyes the faint stirrings of youthful infatuation, mixed with hesitation. Casually sipping her milk, Bertha lingered over the mont, watching until the stream changed focus before she turned it off and checked a few online groups for freelance gigs.
With the live broadcast of the role she had landed last month still a month away from premiering, her advance paynt was frozen in her account, and the remaining balance wouldn’t be paid until filming wrapped. Without a signed agency contract, Bertha needed to figure out how to cover her next three months of rent and living expenses.
As for the man on screen whom she once knew? He was no longer part of her life. As he had so vehently stated to everyone, no fiancée, and certainly no pregnancy rumors.
Suppressing the sneer forming on her lips, Bertha concentrated on browsing options for part-ti jobs.
anwhile, on the stream, Adam reluctantly tead up with Zoe. Mary Scott ended up paired with Jas Jero, while Stella Murray joined forces with Brian Joule.
If Zoe was pleased but seed to restrain her emotions, Stella let loose completely, grinning ear-to-ear over being partnered with soone like Brian—the dashing, courteous young star.
Mary stood beside Jas and teased, "Mrs. Murray, laugh a little more and you’ll get wrinkles around your eyes."
"Partnered with Joule? Who cares about a few wrinkles!" Stella didn’t hold back at all.
Jas cast her a forlorn glance. "You sure didn’t act this way when you were partnered with . This preferential treatnt really stings for us middle-aged folk."
After speaking, Jas dramatically clutched his chest.
Stella looked up at him theatrically clutching his chest and chuckled. "Middle-aged folk? I thought Mr. Foster was already transitioning into senior status, considering you kept saying yesterday about respecting the elderly and the young."
"Hahaha..."
Stella’s quip had everyone laughing uncontrollably.
Jas, feeling utterly defeated, "..."
Mary privately admired the veteran actor’s willingness to play the fool for excellent codic effect and consoled Jas, "Mr. Foster, don’t be sad."
"Little Mary is the best—not like soone else over there." Jas glanced at Stella and huffed in mock arrogance.
Only to hear Mary mildly respond, "I haven’t finished yet."
Jas imdiately looked wary at Mary’s words.
Mary gave a serious answer, "I’m just saying we might truly feel sad when climbing the mountain later on."
Her remarks ca with a concerned look at Jas’s older physique, cautiously asking Simon Baker, "Should we consider getting tickets for Mr. Foster to ride a sightseeing cart?"
There was a brief three-second silence before everyone burst into laughter.
If there was anyone skilled at sharp quips today, it had to be Mary, especially since she asked her question with such sincere conviction, completely devoid of any teasing—that’s what made it codic gold.
Jas stared at her, torn between loving her and being irked by her remarks, which only made everyone laugh harder.
This light-hearted banter eased the tension as they prepared to climb.
Unexpectedly, Simon entertained Mary’s idea. "Miss Scott’s concerns were indeed considered by the production team. We’ve stationed staff at every resting checkpoint. If soone physically cannot continue and chooses to quit, it’s feasible. As long as one person in your team presses on until the end, you’ll still be considered as having achieved victory. However, the reward remains unchanged, but those who quit midway will face penalties. What does everyone think?"
This setup was quite humane, earning a chorus of "Yes!" from the group.
Simon seed satisfied, and he began narrating the story setting, providing clues while explaining that hint cards would be dropped randomly along the way. These might contain real clues or deliberate misdirection, and opening them would trigger specific penalties.
Clearly, the program wasn’t intent on letting anyone earn their paycheck easily.
With everything planned out, the climbing comnced promptly at 10 o’clock. For safety, each team was accompanied by both a dedicated cara operator and a professional safety instructor—individuals familiar with South Mountain’s terrain and experienced in outdoor expeditions.
Alongside Mary and Jas’s team, their assigned safety instructor was Lambert Norman.
As she noticed the man following them, Mary sensed the awkward gazes from others. She looked at Lambert, tall and handso in his athletic gear, and hesitantly suggested, "Maybe you should..."
"When you convinced to sign the agreent before, what did you say?" Lambert interrupted.
Mary, feeling guilty, averted her eyes and didn’t reply.
"You said we’d always remain friends. As your friend, accompanying you on a climb isn’t an issue, is it?" Lambert returned her gaze and questioned.
Mary couldn’t argue, simply shaking her head.
"Then let’s start climbing. Don’t worry—the caraman won’t film or create trouble for you." Lambert’s tone was calm as he signaled the production staff in the distance to resu filming them.
Noticing the cara lens refocused on her, Mary no longer dwelled on Lambert’s presence—only hoping he truly ant what he said about being just friends.
Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what the other man off-cara might be thinking.
Perhaps it was the ti they had spent together recently, but Mary found herself increasingly concerned about David Locke’s opinion. Especially after his childish behavior earlier that morning, she glanced at Lambert and tentatively imagined it might be a long night of placating to co. She impulsively glanced toward the South Mountain direction and changed David’s contact na to sothing new.
anwhile, off-cara, David was indeed sulking.
Since leaving the production site, he had kept his eyes glued to the live stream. When Mary’s figure disappeared from view, he got a sense of what was happening. However, irate as he was, his leg injury ant he was physically restrained, stuck rely simring with frustration.
That frustration turned to agitation when he saw Mary paired up not with Adam but Jas, his eyebrows furrowing deeply. Monts earlier, when he got interrupted by a phone call, the group division must have occurred— and now Mary was partnered with Jas instead of Adam. Unable to contain himself, he nearly dialed Adam’s number, only for Adam to text him first. "Sothing went wrong during the draw, but I’ll stick close to your little lady. Relax—also, even if I can’t keep her safe, that rival of yours out there won’t let anything happen to her either."
David read the ssage and was left speechless. He specifically wanted Adam beside Mary for more than safety concerns; it was also because Lambert Norman was present. Now this guy had delivered such irritating remarks!
Staring at the text, David gritted his teeth and edited his response to four words, "Kissing scenes, bedroom scenes."
"Ha, rest assured—while Director Locke is injured, I’ll guard your little lady like a knight," Adam snarkily replied with equal venom, then glanced at Mary and Jas ahead before waving at Zoe. "Co on, let’s catch up to them."
From the mont the draw fatefully paired her with Adam, Zoe had been basking in pink-hued fantasies. Despite desperately trying to rein in her emotions, any observer could see through her bashful deanor. Unfortunately for her, Adam cared nothing about her feelings; his mind was entirely fixated on Mary and Lambert, fearing he’d lose track of the two, which would surely result in David deliberately creating problems for him.
West Mountain was steep but strikingly beautiful. Despite initial complaints about the climb, everyone eventually grew enchanted by their surroundings. Even the caran focused on capturing the awe-inspiring scenery.
Earlier, viewers who joined the livestream just to mock the treasure hunt as outdated quickly held their breath upon seeing West Mountain’s majesty. Overwheld by the beauty, they admitted their ignorance, swearing they could watch the mountain views alone for an entire day.
The chat window filled with praises. anwhile, Charlotte Leigh, watching the stream, slamd her phone onto the table. Anger coursing through her body caused tremors. Last night, she spent a fortune leaking everything she had on Mary. She tid it ticulously, choosing the mont Mary and David’s buzz was at its peak with the goal of catching Mary off-guard while the news spread uncontrollably. Yet within half an hour of the leaks, Mary had completely handled the situation.
All that money wasted without creating even the faintest ripple. Charlotte couldn’t endure it. She kept finding ways to push more incriminating information about Mary, only to learn no one dared accept her proposals this ti. Worse yet, she discovered that her previous collaborators—all her Twitter contacts—had been permanently banned.
But what burned Charlotte the most was learning from Reporter Erson that the effort to snuff out Mary’s drama last night wasn’t only commanded by David’s faction but by another—possibly from the "Detectives and Wilderness" production team itself.
Charlotte couldn’t wrap her head around this. From her multiple assessnts of "Detectives and Wilderness," the program was clearly profit-driven. While Mary’s dirt would’ve been bad PR, it could still generate viewer interest. So why prolong Mary’s disastrous reputation instead of exploiting the buzz?
This question lingered in Charlotte’s mind, tight as a knot, fueling her frustration. Watching the ever-growing popularity and acclaim for "Detectives and Wilderness," coupled with her own career stagnation since being removed from "Secret Room," Charlotte’s mood soured completely.
Grinding her teeth, she glared at Duke Blue seated across from her. "Did you handle what I asked for?"
Duke shot Charlotte an insidious look, his lips curling into a sinister smile. "Naturally, everything’s in place."
"Really?" Charlotte eyed him with overt skepticism.
Though she considered probing the "Detectives and Wilderness" crew for an opening, she found their operations frustratingly tight-knit. Despite being a seemingly cheap knockoff show, their vigilance blocked her every move. But Duke—he claid to know soone on the inside.
His laugh grew colder. "You’ll see by the afternoon. But rember the figure you promised... hm?"
He made a visible gesture implying a sum.
"That figure is impossible, but I can still give you one million upfront. Another million once everything’s done. But you *better* get this right!" Charlotte replied, sneering at Duke’s greedy expression, her tone dripping with haughty entitlent.
Duke’s face darkened imdiately.
Reviews
All reviews (0)