Xiao He and his group weren't particularly interested in learning more about the program crew's situation.
They just wanted to get to the island quickly.
After the boat rental owner called to notify them they could board, Xiao He put on his hat and mask, then squeezed through the crowd with Liu Rulan and Xiao Chen.
Well, there really was no other way—many variety show fans knew about today's filming, so the beach was especially crowded. Some were fans, while others were simply passersby. Although the program crew had cordoned off a large area to keep people from getting closer, those on the periphery kept pushing inward, creating an impenetrable wall around the vicinity.
For Xiao He's group to reach the boarding point, they had to push through the crowd to get to the very front.
Because there were genuinely so many people, most holding up phones to film inside, their shuffling progress was extremely slow.
Finally, with no other options, the taller Xiao He took charge. The three swapped positions, with Xiao He leading the way upfront, followed by Xiao Chen and Liu Rulan.
At last, after enduring complaints from several people, they finally squeezed through to the boarding point!
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Xiao He glanced back at the crowd that resembled an advancing army, shook his head, and muttered quietly to Liu Rulan, "I think if Director Feng ever runs out of inspiration for movies, he should come here for reference."
Who says China doesn't have good zombie films? This place is... ahem, just kidding.
Liu Rulan shot him a warning glare. "Keep your comments to yourself. You'll offend people."
Xiao He immediately zipped his lips.
Since there were so many people renting small boats today, they didn't have the luxury of choosing. They directly boarded the smallest-sized speedboat and prepared to head toward the island.
Xiao He put on his life jacket, looked up toward the ocean, then squinted his eyes. "They've actually rowed that far already?"
At the edge of the ocean, several boats that looked rather flimsy were wobbling and circling in the distant center of the sea.
That location was already very far from shore, with few following boats around. That patch of ocean surface was almost exclusively occupied by the program's few guests.
Liu Rulan also glanced over and explained, "Their game rule is a rowing competition to see who can complete a round trip on this ocean surface first."
Xiao He frowned. "But this is already their second lap, right? With such a long distance, even trained athletes would be exhausted, let alone artists."
Moreover, this was a competitive event—everyone's stamina would deplete faster than usual.
"Aren't they worried about accidents happening in this situation?" Xiao He asked.
"Accidents have already happened." Liu Rulan replied calmly.
Xiao He was stunned and immediately looked at Liu Rulan.
The speedboat had started moving slowly, but Liu Rulan's gaze fell on a certain sunshade set up on the beach, her expression carrying a hint of sarcasm. "I don't know if you've heard about Fearless Journey changing directors a few years ago."
Xiao He shook his head.
"The one who took over is the current Director Liu." Liu Rulan tilted her chin toward that direction, and Xiao He followed her gaze.
Under the sunshade, a man wearing a hat and enjoying a fan was currently speaking while staring at the instrument screen in front of him.
He appeared to be in his fifties, with average looks, a bloated posture, and a particularly round beer belly.
"During this Director Liu's tenure, Fearless Journey has experienced several safety incidents. There was even a not-so-famous artist who was nearly blown to death at their filming site."
Xiao He gasped. "Something like that actually happened?"
"Mhmm." Liu Rulan crossed her arms. "It's just a pity that although this matter caused quite a stir at the time, it eventually fizzled out. That artist accepted hush money and slunk away from the industry, while Director Liu's program continued as usual, completely unaffected."
"And during later filming sessions, artists getting injured, even crew members getting injured, became quite normal. As long as no one died, everything could be suppressed." Liu Rulan spread her hands. "First, because of the program's reputation, these people don't dare offend the production team. Second, this Director Liu himself is not simple—the program team is practically his dictatorship, with extremely strong authority. Resistance is useless anyway."
"But why? There are clearly safer alternatives."
Xiao He couldn't understand it.
After so many safety incidents, Director Liu showed no restraint at all, which felt unreal to Xiao He.
"Because audiences love watching real stuff." Liu Rulan curled her lip. "Even if the plot is fake, the victories are fake, and the competitive relationships are fake, their desperate efforts are real."
Xiao He could only scoff internally.
"But you don't need to worry about encountering such a director yourself." Liu Rulan turned the topic to Xiao He. "There are only a handful of people crazy enough to act like this."
Xiao He: A handful... Well, thanks for that.
Soon, their speedboat slowly approached the program's filming area near the island.
Just then, a gust of wind came from nowhere, and the sea suddenly began to churn.
Large waves crashed toward them, unexpectedly lifting the speedboat on a crest before rapidly dropping it down with the wave. Everyone on board instinctively grabbed the seat armrests to steady themselves.
It was then that Liu Rulan remembered something and turned to look at Xiao He. "Do you know how to swim?"
She hadn't considered this question before, since it's basically assumed that everyone can swim. It would also be more convenient for filming any underwater scenes later.
However, holding onto the armrest, Xiao He smiled somewhat awkwardly at Liu Rulan. "Not really..."
Xiao He himself wasn't afraid of water—otherwise he wouldn't have been jumping around on the boat's bow using wire work during Thief Catcher filming, or traveling back and forth between the island and shore on small boats with Liu Rulan and the others.
But he didn't know how to swim!
Actually, Father Xiao and Mother Xiao had sent Xiao He for swimming lessons before.
Back then, Xiao He was about seven or eight years old with a quiet personality. Father Xiao thought his child should have a sports-related hobby, so he used connections to send Xiao He to the city team's children's training camp, hoping he could receive more professional training.
Unexpectedly, not only were the other children younger than Xiao He, but they had also been cultivating this skill since early childhood—almost all had been paddling in water since age three, possessing solid foundations far superior to a complete beginner like Xiao He.
Almost every time Xiao He struggled to learn, the coach would call a little girl two or three years younger than him to demonstrate again in front of him, then point at the girl and say to Xiao He, "Look at this little girl—she swims so well at such a young age. Why can't you learn it?"
Then the other children around would join in mocking him.
This routine happened almost daily. Children have thin skin and simply couldn't endure such treatment. Eventually, Xiao He refused to learn swimming no matter what, insisting he'd learn anything except swimming!
Fortunately, Father Xiao and Mother Xiao respected Xiao He's feelings. After understanding the situation, they switched him to badminton, starting with basic classes before advanced training, without forcing him to continue swimming.
So to summarize: Xiao He wasn't afraid of water—he simply disliked the "process of learning to swim."
This was why Xiao He remained a landwalker to this day.
Liu Rulan didn't know about Xiao He's background. Hearing he couldn't swim, she was about to say something when suddenly shouts came from the ocean—
"Help! A boat capsized!"