Chapter 62
Chapter 62
“You nutjob! You’re wasting my time!”
Ning Xi slapped Fu Zhi on the head.
Fu Zhi immediately covered his head with both hands and squeezed his eyes shut, looking exactly like a meme of Tom the Cat in pain after getting hit.
“Ning Xi, do you want to die?!”
Ning Xi giggled. “Hehe.”
“Alright, the game is about to begin. Male guests, please tie the blindfolds for your female partners,” Director Qin began cueing the process.
Only then did Ning Xi look at Xie Lanchen with a serious expression.
She handed the ribbon to him and closed her eyes. “Go ahead.”
Xie Lanchen took the ribbon and looked at Ning Xi, who was less than two hand-spans away. He paused.
This was the first time they had been this close since reaching adulthood.
At this moment, he felt as if a bird were trapped in his chest.
Every heartbeat felt like the bird fluttering its wings to take flight.
The sound was deafening.
He was terrified she would hear it and discover his wretched feelings.
“Hmm?”
Ning Xi’s eyelashes fluttered as she tried to peek at what Xie Lanchen was doing.
The next second, she felt her eyes being gently covered by the ribbon.
A pleasant, cold woody scent brushed past her nose, lingering for a long time.
“Wow… I’m kind of shipping them.”
Jiang Sheshe didn’t want to look at Wei Xuan and Ning Mingyue, so she focused all her energy on Ning Xi and Xie Lanchen.
The more she watched, the more she sensed a certain ‘CP’ chemistry between them.
“If you’re shipping them, go see a doctor,” Fu Zhi snarked from the side.
Jiang Sheshe’s face instantly turned cold. “Was I talking to you?! You’re the one who’s grumpy, so why are you snapping at me?”
“Who said I’m grumpy? I just can’t stand people who ship everything. Your head is filled with nothing but romance.”
“You!”
“Fu Zhi.” Shen Yibai frowned and called out his name.
By now, people had already guessed Fu Zhi’s real-world identity. If he went too far on the show, it might affect the reputation of the Fu Family.
Reminded by Shen Yibai, Fu Zhi calmed down and stopped bickering with Jiang Sheshe.
He turned his gaze back to Ning Xi and Xie Lanchen, who were about to start the game.
“Three, two, one, start!” Director Qin gave the signal.
Ning Xi had been claiming she had “improved” and “reflected,” but the moment she heard the word “start,” her competitive drive kicked in. She rapidly shoved the watermelon toward Xie Lanchen’s “mouth.”
“Eat, eat, eat, eat, eat!”
Xie Lanchen was incredibly cooperative, completely ignoring the watermelon juice dripping down his chin and neck.
He actually managed to perfectly match Ning Xi’s frantic pace.
In the neighboring lane, the Ning Mingyue and Wei Xuan duo were clearly more passive.
Thinking about Jiang Sheshe’s previous attention toward Shen Yibai, Ning Mingyue didn’t dare to be too proactive with Wei Xuan.
As for Wei Xuan, he was very resistant to the idea of getting watermelon all over his face. He only ate slightly faster than usual, maintaining a slow and methodical pace overall.
Finally, the game ended.
“Ning Xi and Xie Lanchen’s team has completed the challenge! Time: twenty-one seconds!”
“Ning Mingyue and Wei Xuan’s team has completed the challenge! Time: thirty-eight seconds!”
“We won! You’ll have food to eat in a bit!”
Ning Xi looked at Xie Lanchen with elation and gave him a high-five.
Originally, she had been worried that with Xie Lanchen’s personality, he would be as stiff and reserved as Shen Yibai and Wei Xuan.
She hadn’t expected Xie Lanchen to be only one second slower than Fu Zhi, whom she had “force-fed” earlier.
“It’s we who have food to eat,” Xie Lanchen corrected, the corners of his lips curling up.
“Teacher Ning, would you be willing to accept my invitation and have breakfast with me?”
[How is this any different from a marriage proposal?]
[I’m the Civil Affairs Bureau and I’ve arrived on my own. Should I just stamp the certificate now?]
[Who else is smiling like a proud auntie right now?]
“Yay!” Ning Xi was delighted.
“Wait a minute, shouldn’t the first-place winner choose first? I had the shortest time, so why did Xie Lanchen get to choose first?”
Fu Zhi watched Ning Xi’s happy face with cold eyes and questioned Director Qin with dissatisfaction.
Director Qin scratched his head. “Wasn’t the atmosphere just right?”
The two of them were chatting and suddenly an invitation for a meal came up; how was he supposed to be clairvoyant and stop Xie Lanchen from speaking?
“Besides, I never said the choice had to follow the ranking order,” Director Qin added as an excuse.
Fu Zhi was choked with frustration.
He irritably tried to run a hand through his hair, only to realize that because Ning Xi had butchered it earlier, he now had a buzz cut. There was nothing to grab.
He became even angrier in an instant!
“Were you originally planning to invite me to breakfast?” Ning Xi asked Fu Zhi directly, seeing him obsessing over the order with Director Qin.
Otherwise, there was absolutely no point in fussing over the sequence.
“I…”
Fu Zhi started to speak instinctively, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Shen Yibai. He paused, and the words ultimately died in his throat.
Ning Xi threw up her hands, then pointed to her own head and then to Fu Zhi, hinting to the viewers watching the livestream that something was wrong with Fu Zhi’s brain.
“Now that Fu Zhi has the chance to choose, which of the remaining two female guests would you like to invite for breakfast?” Director Qin asked.
Fu Zhi’s gaze swept over Ning Mingyue and Jiang Sheshe.
“Then… Jiang Sheshe it is.”
As soon as he said this, everyone was shocked.
Fu Zhi actually chose Jiang Sheshe, the person he didn’t get along with?
Ning Mingyue was the most visibly shaken. she had originally taken it for granted that Fu Zhi would choose her; after all, they had known each other for years and had always stayed in touch.
Yet Fu Zhi had bypassed her to choose Jiang Sheshe, whom he had only known for a few days?
Ning Mingyue shot a subtle glance at Jiang Sheshe, her eyes growing increasingly complex and dark.
“Oh? Fu Zhi, could you tell us why you invited Jiang Sheshe?” Director Qin was shocked.
“Because I guessed that Ning Mingyue might prefer to dine with Shen Yibai, so I didn’t want to break them up,” Fu Zhi said with a casual air.
This reason instantly smoothed over all the previous awkwardness.
Ning Mingyue pursed her lips and smiled, looking at Shen Yibai beside her.
Ning Xi, however, looked at Fu Zhi with suspicion.
That brat Fu Zhi was not the kind of person to be so considerate.
The fact that he chose Jiang Sheshe just now only proved that between Jiang Sheshe and Ning Mingyue, he found Jiang Sheshe more tolerable.
But hadn’t Fu Zhi always been very kind and close to Ning Mingyue since they were children?
Even during the many years Ning Mingyue was abroad, whenever their group gathered, Fu Zhi would make a point to bring up news about her, subtly implying that if she hadn’t gone abroad, she would have been the one engaged to Shen Yibai.
That was why, when Ning Xi suddenly gained foreknowledge of the future plot, she hadn’t doubted for a second that Fu Zhi liked Ning Mingyue.
But looking at things now, it didn’t seem to match the predicted plot at all…
“The four guests-Ning Xi, Jiang Sheshe, Fu Zhi, and Xie Lanchen-can enjoy the luxurious breakfast meticulously prepared by the Program Team.
Ning Mingyue, Wei Xuan, and Shen Yibai will have to find their own solutions.
Note: Today, no guests are allowed to spend their own money. You must rely on your own efforts to obtain food,” Director Qin announced through his megaphone.
Hearing this, Ning Xi immediately sped up her eating.
She had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, after they finished their meal, Director Qin raised his little megaphone again:
“Welcome, seven guests, to Ling Village! Today, we will experience true mountain village life and a guest competition! The guest who ranks first each day can assign the sleeping arrangements for all seven guests that night, and the second-place winner will receive a random privilege!”
“We have to change houses every night?”
“A random privilege? What kind of privileges?”
The guests looked at each other in surprise.
[Holy crap, changing houses every night? Doesn’t that mean the first-place guest can arrange to stay with the person they like?]
[I love this Ling Village special edition! Bring on the drama! More, more!]
Director Qin was very satisfied with everyone’s reaction.
“Our mission today is: Helping Farmers! We have set up tasks in the homes of villagers who have a pink flag placed at their door. You can earn different wages by helping villagers cook, clean, feed pigs, tutor children with their homework, or sell agricultural products!
These wages will cover all your living expenses for the next few days in Ling Village!
At nine o’clock tonight, the Program Team will rank everyone based on their remaining balance. The top two guests will receive exclusive benefits!”
“Now, the competition begins! guests, you may start your tasks!”
As soon as the words fell, Ning Xi was the first to bolt out.
She quickly discovered a small pink flag planted at the door of the house right next to the one where she and Fu Zhi had stayed yesterday.
“Ning Xi!”
Fu Zhi hadn’t expected Ning Xi to slip away so fast. In the blink of an eye, she was out the door and nowhere to be found.
He felt a bit dejected.
But the next second, he noticed that Xie Lanchen had already knocked on a door and entered a villager’s house to start a task. Fu Zhi immediately felt a sense of crisis.
He had to do more tasks today and take first place!
That way, he could continue to arrange for himself and Ning Xi to live in the same house tonight!
“Big sister, do you know how to cook?”
Ning Xi looked at the little girl in front of her who was missing a front tooth. Recognizing her voice, she realized this was the same little brat who had said yesterday afternoon that Fu Zhi’s laughter sounded like a hen.
“Cooking…” Ning Xi scratched her head.
Does the kind that doesn’t taste good count?
“Sister, here’s this for you. The Program Team told me to give this to you as your wage.”
The little girl handed a red envelope directly to Ning Xi.
Ning Xi peeked inside and saw there was actually two hundred yuan!
“I do!” Ning Xi said decisively.
“My family owns an instant noodle factory. Those instant noodles you eat? I weave them all out of regular noodles, so of course I know how to cook!”
The little girl was completely dazed by Ning Xi’s nonsense, her eyes filling with admiration.
“Wow!”
The Program Team had already prepared the ingredients.
Ning Xi took a look and saw they were just simple tomatoes and eggs. She immediately felt like she had this in the bag.
Earning these two hundred yuan was almost too easy!
“Little sister, look at this!”
Ning Xi gave the pan a boastful toss, a flair she had specifically practiced just to show off.
“Wow! You’re amazing, Big Sister!”
The little girl’s eyes sparkled.
Bathed in the little girl’s endless stream of praise, Ning Xi gradually lost herself in the moment.
During one particularly flashy toss, she used a bit too much force and sent the entire dish flying right out of the pan.
Ning Xi: “…”
Well, damn. She’d gotten a bit too cocky.
[Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!]
The little girl rubbed her eyes. “Big Sister, are you a magician? I just blinked, and you already washed the pan!”
“But where’s my stir-fried tomatoes and eggs?”
Ning Xi stared at the pan, which was so clean it looked like no food had ever touched it, and let out a couple of dry laughs.
“Let me just… check and see what happened there.”
Then, under the little girl’s bewildered gaze, Ning Xi dutifully made another batch of stir-fried tomatoes and eggs.
This time, nothing went wrong.
Two hundred yuan secured!
On the other side.
Xie Lanchen finished cleaning a villager’s house and earned his two hundred yuan.
Just as he stepped out to say goodbye to the villager, a bicycle screeched to a halt in front of him.
“Hi.”
Ning Xi greeted him with a beaming smile.
She positioned her bike in front of Xie Lanchen, low-key yet undeniably showing it off.
“Ling Village is actually quite big; walking everywhere gets exhausting. But what could I do? The family I was just helping insisted on lending me their bicycle. Sigh, I guess I just can’t help being so popular.”
[I don’t even want to expose you.]
[Hahahaha, what a smug little puppy.]
[You clearly traded a lollipop with that little girl for a one-day rental!]
“Teacher Ning is naturally very popular.”
Xie Lanchen nodded, smiling as he played along.
“Ahem, well, I wouldn’t say I’m that popular.”
Ning Xi hadn’t expected to run into someone so earnest.
Moreover…
She looked at Xie Lanchen. His clothes and hair were a bit disheveled, clearly showing he had put in a lot of effort to complete his task and earn his pay.
After a moment’s thought, Ning Xi reached into her bag, pulled out a small mango, and handed it to him.
“This is a thank-you gift for the breakfast you treated me to this morning.”
[Holy crap, Ning Xi is being this generous?]
[Whatever you do, don’t let Fu Zhi see this, or he’ll die of jealousy.]
[Fu Zhi: Am I some kind of joke to you?]
[Ning Xi’s attitude toward Xie Lanchen is really something else…]
The Xi-Lan Flower shippers were having a field day.
Xie Lanchen was also a bit surprised.
He took the small mango, cradling it in his palm, his expression seemingly touched.
The next second.
Everyone in the livestream-and Xie Lanchen himself-watched as Ning Xi somehow fished a mango larger than her own face out of her bag.
“Hehehe, I’ll eat this one!”
Xie Lanchen looked at Ning Xi’s giant mango, then at the tiny one in his hand. The contrast was glaring.
He couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle.
[My silence is deafening.]
[Ning Xi: ‘Xie Lanchen, you eat that. I don’t eat… small ones.’]
[The fact that Xie Lanchen can still laugh at this… he really has a great temperament.]
The two of them stood by the roadside and finished their mangoes completely.
Afterward, Ning Xi felt a bit thirsty.
As luck would have it, there was a main road just around the corner, home to the village’s only Mixue Ice Cream & Tea.
Ning Xi gritted her teeth and spent a whopping 5.4 yuan on a drink.
She took a sip and smiled at the camera.
“A clean social circle, a disciplined life, and a cup of my favorite Mixue Ice Cream & Tea every day. P.S. The original price is six yuan per cup. I didn’t use a group-buy voucher. I really didn’t. How could I possibly buy a 5.4 yuan voucher? Everyone, please don’t misunderstand-I’m not flaunting my wealth; I’m just used to this lifestyle. Let’s all strive for better.”
She took another sip, looking entranced. “I know you’re all curious about what Mixue Ice Cream & Tea tastes like, but it’s hard to explain. Its flavor has layers; it can’t be summed up in a single word.
“I can sense the longing in your envious gazes. Tell you what, if I get the chance later, I’ll hold a giveaway for you all on Weibo. No prizes, just the giveaway itself.”
[These words aren’t just low-fat anymore; they’re completely zero-calorie.]
[Thank you. I was feeling sad, but after watching your stream, I suddenly started laughing at my own speechlessness in my room.]
[When people are truly speechless, they really do start insulting themselves. Fine, I’m the one who’s crazy, okay?]
And just as Ning Xi was rambling to the camera with her Mixue Ice Cream & Tea in hand…
Xie Lanchen suddenly appeared in the frame holding a cup of Luckin Coffee.
Ning Xi: “?”