Chapter 8 Seen Through

There are few women like Catherine nowadays, tough and intelligent, not to mention she's so beautiful and agile. Noel smiled as he talked with Catherine, but his mind was elsewhere. A woman as beautiful and strong as her, I can't let any other man get close to her. Not far away, a tall man in a black trench coat had been observing for quite some time. Seeing both of them noticing him, the man clapped his hands and focused on Catherine, saying, "Beautiful miss, you possess enviable talent." Before Catherine could speak, Noel, already wary, interjected, "Who do you think you are? You're like a jar of medicine." Catherine looked at Noel in surprise. She had never seen him speak so harshly to anyone before. The stranger didn't get offended. Instead, he pulled out an elegant gray handkerchief from his pocket and coughed softly. "Well, at least I'm better than you. How many times have you been here and still can't skate?" the man said with a smirk. Noel immediately started coughing loudly. Catherine became intrigued. "Really? Noel can't skate?" The man smiled and introduced himself, "Indeed. I'm Ivan Eiflin, the owner of this ski resort and a friend of this guy." Catherine shook the man's hand and said with a smile, "Hello, I'm Catherine Bisaccio, Noel's sister." Ivan, gentlemanly, released her hand and asked, "Miss Catherine, calluses on your hands are rare for such a beautiful lady." As a mercenary, Catherine naturally needed extensive training in combat, firearms, languages, etc., leaving calluses on her hands. Not only were there calluses from practicing shooting, but also from practicing with swords. Catherine raised her head slightly. Ivan, a few centimeters taller than Noel, looked down at Catherine, his deep blue eyes seeming to hold other meanings, a smirk playing at his lips. "Yes, I quite enjoy practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu," Ivan raised an eyebrow. That explanation could pass, but something still didn't seem quite right. This level of calluses wasn't something you could get from hobbies. As the conversation between the two prolonged, it seemed to create a separate atmosphere. Noel felt a sense of crisis rising in him and quietly took off his coat, draping it over Catherine's slender shoulders. With a turn, he separated the two. Catherine didn't notice anything and thanked Noel for the coat. Ivan still wore a smiling expression, but his gaze wandered back and forth between the two. Finally, it settled on Catherine. "Why are you here? You always get sick in winter. Can your mother really let you come out?" Noel casually draped his arm around Catherine's shoulder and walked with Ivan into the lounge of the ski resort. "Manager wanted to see me," Ivan replied. "Isn't your body a liability for that show? Going there would be asking for trouble," Noel asked, concerned for his friend's health and wary of his friend making moves on Catherine. In the end, friendship prevailed. "Why don't you join our group? This time the show allows some degree of freedom in forming teams," Ivan suggested. Although the words were said like that, Noel still hoped his friend's social laziness would kick in and refuse. "Sure," Noel was speechless. ? Where's your germophobia? What about your laziness? "Survival in the Wild" starts filming in a week. The director's team requires the guests to arrive four days in advance. At this moment, at the Orlis Manor, the Orlis family gathered in the living room on the first floor of the villa. A small light green suitcase lay open on the floor, and Daelin was putting some clothes in it. Marsha put a pile of expensive jewelry into her own suitcase. Daelin sighed, "Mom, you can't wear these on the show." "It doesn't matter," Marsha said casually, taking out a blue gem necklace from the jewelry cabinet. "If you can't wear it, wear it before the start of the shooting. The face of our Orlis family must not be lost." Daelin couldn't convince Marsha, feeling somewhat frustrated. Turning her head, she saw Jake packing snacks into his suitcase, feeling impatient. But she forced a smile. Jake reassured her, "Sis, these snacks are a must! I've seen that show, there's nothing to eat on the island. If you secretly stash some for those big stars who want them, you'll surely get better resources." "Thank you so much, little brother Jake." Daelin felt tired. With teammates who didn't listen to advice and treated the show as a vacation, how would they film the show? To perform better on the show and gain more popularity, relying solely on herself seemed insufficient. She needed to make more effort. After hesitating for a few seconds, Daelin went back to her room and made a phone call. As soon as the call connected, Daelin immediately put on a sweet voice, "Hello, Mr. Oswald, it's me, Daelin." "I'm packing right now, and I don't know what strange ways the production team will come up with to torment us this time. Mr. Oswald, you're an old hand at this. I really don't know what I should bring. Can you give me some advice?" The deserted island was located in a small island group in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to Q country's territory. The director, with the camera crew, had set up their working tent under the big trees on the deserted island long ago, while the host stood at the port of the small island, welcoming the guests of the show. Although they were required to arrive four days early, filming began on the first day of the guests' arrival. This was also the routine of "Survival in the Wild". The footage from these four days would be edited as the highlights and shown at the end of the show. Daelin, carrying her luggage, carefully disembarked from the ship with Marsha and Jake. They were among the first to arrive. Besides the three of them, only two other people had arrived so far. Daelin discreetly glanced at the tent and thought about how to strike up a conversation, but she heard a scream from the woman in front. "What? We have to carry our own luggage to the villa?" After witnessing how the woman, who threw a tantrum, was firmly rejected and scolded by the director, Daelin's group fell silent. Despite the dense vines and countless insects flying in the forest, and the rugged terrain. After pleading with the staff for a while, Daelin finally got a map and gritted her teeth, leading Marsha and Jake towards the villa.