Feng Wan had always disliked being late, so she made sure to arrive half an hour early at the airport. There, she smoothly met up with the program staff waiting outside.
Xiao He, the staff member who received her, briefly explained the current situation: including Feng Wan, only two guests had arrived so far. They would still need to wait for four more.
Feng Wan simply nodded in understanding. As for the rest of the guest lineup, the original host had little memory, except vaguely recalling that Yuan Huihui had once joined the show. The others remained unfamiliar, especially since she hadn't participated in the previous timeline.
The Delicious Arrivals production team liked to keep things mysterious — even the guests weren't told who else was cast, to better present a "genuine" experience to viewers.
Once she entered the waiting area, Feng Wan noticed a burly middle-aged man clutching his luggage nervously, glancing around. Cameras were already rolling on him — clearly, he was the earliest to arrive.
Pulling her suitcase closer, Feng Wan took the initiative to greet him — full professional etiquette on display. As the junior, it was only right to say hello first.
"Hello, I'm Feng Wan, a food blogger. Please take care of me going forward."
"Oh, no need to be so polite. I'm Zhang Yuan, a chef with twenty years of experience."
After the brief exchange, the two stood quietly to the side. Both were introverted by nature, and with a generational gap in between, there wasn't much to say.
Just as the atmosphere was starting to stagnate, two guests arrived at once. One of them turned out to be none other than Fruit Channel's star host — Zhang Ruonan — and beside her stood a tall, stunning woman with a model's figure.
After a round of greetings, Zhang Ruonan skillfully eased the mood and got everyone chatting casually while they waited.
Feng Wan quickly learned that the striking woman was model Xu Lijun, who seemed cheerful and easygoing — someone who'd be pleasant to work with. Xu Lijun, for her part, was also glad to meet new people. In her field, the competition was cutthroat, and real friends were rare — mostly rivals.
While the group chatted, Feng Wan sneaked a glance at her watch. They had already passed the agreed meeting time, but the staff informed them that two guests were still on their way.
Feng Wan's mood soured. She particularly disliked waiting — especially when she knew that one of those guests was a manipulative green tea girl.
Another fifteen minutes slipped by before two young people, one man and one woman, strolled in — fashionably late. The woman, Yuan Huihui, wore a flowing white dress, and behind her was a young man with bright red-dyed hair.
As soon as they approached, Yuan Huihui let out a sweet, syrupy apology:
"So sorry! There was a traffic jam on the way here. I really didn't mean to keep everyone waiting~"
Hearing her sticky baby-doll voice made Feng Wan's skin crawl — but she had to hold it in.
Despite their internal thoughts, everyone put on a polite front and accepted the apology with vague smiles.
At least Yuan Huihui gave a passable excuse. The man behind her, however, simply introduced himself,
"Hi, I'm Zhou Zhengkang. I'm a singer."
That was it.
Feng Wan internally rolled her eyes — clearly someone with low emotional intelligence. Best to keep distance.
Eventually, Zhang Ruonan couldn't bear the awkwardness and stepped in to smooth things over:
"Well, now that everyone's here, let's get going!"
Once the first meeting footage was uploaded to the platform, the internet exploded with discussion:
"Aside from Zhang Ruonan, none of the other guests are big names."
"You're just not well-informed. Xu Lijun's an international runway model. Zhou Zhengkang won first place in a singing competition. Yuan Huihui starred in a web drama."
"The other two? A blogger and a chef? Guess they're just there to cook."
"Excuse me? Feng Wan has millions of followers as a food content creator. If you don't know her, stay quiet."
"Did anyone else find those last two showing up late a bit rude?"
"Come on, it wasn't on purpose. Huihui already apologized, didn't she?"
"…"
In truth, Yuan Huihui's real motive for joining the show was to prove herself to her company's CEO, Murong Bo — to show that she could succeed in the industry without relying on his support.
Of course, her true goal was far more ambitious: to win his heart and become the boss's wife.
The show was filmed in a place called Wuyan Village, where most locals shared the surname Yan. Nestled in the mountains with scenic rivers, the area was picturesque but underdeveloped. Though a rural tourism venture had been started with government aid, low visibility kept profits minimal. So, the village partnered with the show to boost awareness.
The production team wasted no time: as soon as the group arrived, they were told to head out and pick fresh ingredients themselves, then cook dishes that would earn the villagers' approval that evening.
Thankfully, all six had eaten airplane meals. Otherwise, it would've been worse.
To make it tougher, the crew emphasized that only self-picked ingredients could be used — no shortcuts. Failing to complete the task meant a 50% cut in their episode budget.
Feng Wan took it in stride. She had mentally prepared for hardships and even wore practical athletic gear.
Yuan Huihui, on the other hand, looked as if she'd seen a ghost. She had assumed the show would be all chatting and cooking indoors with prepped ingredients. One glance at her flowy fairy-like dress and she nearly gagged.
She tried a diplomatic approach:
"Director, could we change clothes first? These outfits really aren't suitable for fieldwork."
She was smart enough not to say it was just her — framing it as a group concern to avoid backlash.
But the director only laughed inwardly. An 18th-tier actress daring to negotiate? Let her work in a dress — that's the kind of drama we want.
Out loud, he replied cheerfully:
"Sorry, once tasks are announced, they must be completed as-is. It's in the rules."
Yuan Huihui had no choice but to swallow her frustration and obey.
One of the assistant directors, overhearing, was baffled — When were those rules set? He had no idea.
Sure enough, once the episode aired, footage of Yuan Huihui struggling to work in her white dress caused an uproar. Especially when compared to the competent Feng Wan and Xu Lijun, her incompetence was magnified.
Later, Feng Wan learned that Xu Lijun had grown up in the countryside and was very comfortable with manual labor. She had also worn work-appropriate overalls for the occasion.
Netizens couldn't get enough of Yuan Huihui's meltdown moments.
Imagine her screaming just because she saw a bug on a cabbage leaf.
And that wasn't even the worst. During the lotus root digging task, the group assigned Yuan Huihui to simply rinse the harvested roots onshore, taking her outfit into consideration.
But she moved like a snail, and when a splash of mud dirtied her dress, she all but stopped moving altogether.
To viewers, it looked like a blatant excuse to slack off, hiding laziness behind a fake case of OCD.
In her previous life, Yuan Huihui's flaws had been overshadowed by another even more pretentious influencer. But this time? She stood out in all the wrong ways.