CHAPTER 399: CHAPTER 399: FAMILIAR FACES

After bustling around for almost an entire day, the temptation of food far outweighed the allure of live streaming.

Just thinking about delicious dishes made Sang Ning’s mouth water uncontrollably, and her empty stomach twisted with waves of spasms.

Before her stomach could start growling, Sang Ning pressed her hand firmly against it, pushing down hard, and said with an unchanging expression, "I don’t care about live streaming. Can you let me eat right now, immediately?"

Thinking about how the other three were probably starving as well, Sang Ning turned to look at them and asked, "Are you three also thinking about heading to eat first?"

Huang Chengzi was just about to raise her hand, but after catching Qin Jiaxiang out of the corner of her eye, she froze mid-motion: "Not super hungry. For female celebrities, maintaining our figure is the priority."

Skipping one or two meals wasn’t a big deal; the allure of live streaming was undeniably greater.

Small-time actors like them desperately needed exposure—keeping a sufficient level of visibility was the only way to land better roles.

Sun Bangyu and Wei Lejun had the same thought. They exchanged glances but didn’t dare to voice their true thoughts in front of Qin Jiaxiang.

Sang Ning naturally caught their silent communication. She was genuinely starving—she had to eat no matter what.

"Director Qin, the live streaming slots allocated from the start were only three. With four of us, it’s hard to divide, so why not let them handle the stream while I enjoy the gourmet meal on their behalf?" Sang Ning suggested to Qin Jiaxiang, earning grateful looks from the other three.

Qin Jiaxiang waved his hand dismissively, looking heartbroken, "Fine, fine, you go eat. I’ll take them to stream."

And so Sang Ning secured herself a glorious feast.

Although Qin Jiaxiang led the others away, he wasn’t too harsh on them and had them eat a light meal before starting the stream.

The three—Huang Chengzi, Sun Bangyu, and Wei Lejun—couldn’t have been happier. The director himself had taken them out to stream; this kind of honor wasn’t something everyone got. Today felt like winning the lottery.

Later on, the male students returning from the field heard about this unwritten rule and beat their chests in regret. Had they known, they would’ve crawled back to the camp no matter what—but now it was too late, the streaming slots were already taken.

Sang Ning had thought that the gourmet meal arranged by the production crew was an exclusive treat, but upon arriving at the canteen, she discovered that it was filled with an array of specialty dishes.

Hotpot, barbecue, stir-fry, Western cuisine... everything one could possibly want—it was evident this wasn’t an exclusive setup but rather catered to all the students.

Sang Ning’s eye twitched. The production crew was definitely being deliberate—today’s meal, supposedly reserved for the "first-place winner," turned out to be available for everyone, making it nothing more than a gimmick.

The dishes were all served buffet-style. Sang Ning, who felt like she was about to ascend to food heaven, grabbed a bit of everything she could see.

Though she intended to eat to her heart’s content, her professional standards and rationality still prevailed at the very last moment, forcing her to painfully return quite a bit of food.

The training had been hard on all the students—this treat was the crew’s way of rewarding them. But no matter how good the rewards were, greed was out of the question. Maintaining one’s figure still mattered.

Once Sang Ning had eaten her fill, she finally began to welcome other students into the canteen.

Most of them had been hungry all day. The moment they saw so much tasty food, their eyes lit up like wolves ready to devour prey—it was a ferocious spectacle.

Sang Ning had just finished eating and was preparing to leave her seat when Lian Qi sat down right in front of her with a tray in hand. He glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then cupped his hand near his lips and whispered, "Sang Ning, what exactly is Wei Lejun’s deal? I can’t believe things have escalated to the point where she’s staring at me like I’m her nemesis. It doesn’t seem that serious, does it? I’m genuinely baffled."

Sang Ning choked on air, sat back down, grabbed the last half-glass of water on the table, and downed it in one go. Only after her chest felt less tight did she slowly lift her head with eyes full of disdain and reluctantly mutter, "Hopeless. Hopeless! Figure it out yourself. And don’t ever ask me about Wei Lejun again—I might not be able to stop myself from punching you!"

When Sang Ning finally stood up, Lian Qi was ready to follow her, but a single death glare from her forced him to stay put.

As she left, Sang Ning overheard Lian Qi grumbling in utter confusion, "Are women really that petty?"

Sang Ning didn’t even look back but silently responded in her heart: Are men really that dumb? Lian Qi is truly beyond saving!

After today’s wilderness competition concluded, this training camp was basically coming to an end. The next few days consisted of regular classes, with the students performing as usual—except for one dark horse suddenly surging ahead.

Wei Lejun had always been an average trainee in terms of performance, but in these final days, her scores across all courses shot to the top as if she were on steroids. Her acting skills also experienced an explosive improvement, as though she had unlocked a hidden potential and taken a quantum leap.

From observing Wei Lejun, Sang Ning realized one thing: emotional trauma isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If nothing else, it occasionally gives careers an unexpected boost. Maybe she should try breaking up with Li Juezhou and see what happens?

One week later, the training camp officially came to an end. The production crew granted the students two days off before starting the official filming schedule.

With the camp wrapped up, the students finally collected their luggage. Dressed in casual clothes, they packed their belongings and wheeled their suitcases away from the dormitories.

The production crew arranged shuttle buses for the departure, and while most students opted for this convenience, a few chose their own means of travel. The training camp’s main gate saw a busy gathering of various vehicles.

Sang Ning didn’t tell Li Juezhou that her camp was ending—she felt it wasn’t worth troubling him over something so trivial. She planned to return via the production crew’s shuttle bus.

Among the other three women from her dormitory, only Sun Bangyu chose to take the shuttle; the others made their own travel arrangements.

Wei Lejun and Huang Chengzi suggested giving Sang Ning and Sun Bangyu a ride, but their offers were politely declined.

First, the routes didn’t align. Second, despite their time spent together, Sun Bangyu retained her shy and socially awkward personality—she preferred avoiding inconvenience wherever possible.

Wei Lejun and Huang Chengzi didn’t press further and left first.

The production crew’s shuttle bus would only depart once fully loaded, so Sang Ning and Sun Bangyu decided to board and wait.

The luggage compartment door was already open. Sang Ning wheeled her suitcase over, ready to load it inside.

Just as she gripped the handle and was about to push it back down, a well-defined hand placed itself on top of hers. "So the camp ended, and you didn’t even give me a call? Do you really think of me as just a decorative boyfriend?"

A deep voice sounded in her ear. Sang Ning looked up to meet a familiar face.

Sun Bangyu was still standing next to her, her expression one of sheer panic as she stared at Sang Ning.

Sang Ning felt a wave of guilt, like a kid caught dating by their parents. After an awkward chuckle, she sheepishly said to Sun Bangyu, "Xiao Yu, sorry about this. I’ve got something to take care of, so I can’t ride the bus with you."

Then, dragging her suitcase with one hand and pulling Li Juezhou with the other, she hurriedly fled the scene.