Chapter 4

“Haha, I didn’t expect Xiao Chen to be a fan of Jing Shan too.” Mo Bin laughed, smoothing things over. Xie Yichen was the last one to introduce himself. Once he finished, the round of introductions was officially over. And as if on cue, Shen Tianzong arrived late. “President Shen is here!” the host joked, waving him over. “Come on, have a seat.” The excuse that he’d been held up by work might not have been entirely true. But Shen Tianzong was the heir to the Shen family, and he’d invested a considerable amount of money in the show. Naturally, he could afford to be late. When he saw that the seat beside Bai Xiaoxu was already occupied, Shen Tianzong didn’t react. He simply took the only empty seat, beside Mo Bin. But the moment he spotted Jing Shan, he gave a cold, mocking laugh. What the hell is wrong with him...? Bored, Jing Shan leaned back in his chair, revealing the person sitting beside him. Only then did Shen Tianzong notice Xie Yichen. A flash of astonishment immediately crossed his eyes. “Hello, everyone. I’m the president of Superstar Entertainment.” Shen Tianzong adjusted the collar of his suit and began his introduction. Superstar Entertainment was one of the Shen family’s companies and one of the most prominent entertainment agencies in the industry. Shen Tianzong had never been the type to keep a low profile, so everyone present already knew who he was. They applauded enthusiastically. Jing Shan glanced at the male lead sitting there in a suit for a show about experiencing rural life. In his mind, he stamped a giant word across Shen Tianzong’s forehead: Show-off. And the more he noticed Shen Tianzong repeatedly glancing toward Xie Yichen, the more irritated he became. At this stage of the story, Shen Tianzong could only be said to have some feelings for Bai Xiaoxu. They weren’t particularly deep yet. Even his hostility toward Jing Shan was driven more by possessiveness than genuine affection. Before Bai Xiaoxu came along, Shen Tianzong had been notoriously promiscuous. For all Jing Shan knew, he was already being fickle again—and had simply taken a liking to Xie Yichen’s face. Seeing that the man beside him seemed completely oblivious, Jing Shan simply sat up straighter, blocking Shen Tianzong’s line of sight. At the same time, he sighed inwardly. He really is exactly as naïve as I imagined. He doesn’t know how to protect himself at all. “All right. Now that everyone’s here, we can get started with today’s game,” Director Liu said with a smile. It was almost time for dinner, and the guests would have to form pairs and compete in a game to earn ingredients for the meal. As for who they partnered with, they were free to choose. Jing Shan remembered that, in the novel, the first challenge involved farm work. And not the easy kind, either. The Xie Yichen beside him looked refined and pampered. There was no way he knew how to do this sort of thing. Fortunately, Jing Shan did. The original Jing Shan had spent years living a hard life. His parents had died in a car accident when he was only a few years old, after which he was raised by his elderly grandmother. When he was in his teens, his grandmother became seriously ill, forcing him to drop out of school and take on all kinds of jobs to make money. He had started out doing odd jobs on film sets and working as an extra, seizing every opportunity that came his way. With no family connections and no one to rely on, he had clawed his way upward one step at a time until he became an award-winning actor. He was practically the textbook definition of an inspirational success story. If things had continued developing along that trajectory, the original Jing Shan’s future should have been limitless. Unfortunately, he had encountered the so-called protagonists... According to his memories, the original Jing Shan had once played a rough farmhand in a production and had spent several months seriously immersing himself in rural life for the role. So when it came to farm work, he knew exactly what he was doing. Since he wanted to take better care of Xie Yichen, Jing Shan was just about to take the initiative when the man beside him spoke first. “Jing Shan, let’s team up.” Jing Shan readily nodded. Didn’t this count as being on the same wavelength? As for everyone else, Bai Xiaoxu naturally teamed up with Shen Tianzong. Mo Bin and Ou Fangfang had already been on the show last season and were fairly familiar with each other, so they paired up as well. That left Cheng Zimeng and Meng Letian as the final pair. Once everyone had found a partner, the staff led them out of the house and toward the location where the challenge would take place. The moment they saw the enormous stretch of farmland before them, everyone went blank. “Aren’t we supposed to be playing a game? Why did you bring us here?” A sense of foreboding rose in Cheng Zimeng’s heart. He silently prayed that the production team wouldn’t be this inhumane on his very first day. At the very least, couldn’t they let him sleep properly tonight and make him work tomorrow? Unfortunately, the heavens did not hear the young man’s plea. Director Liu immediately had the staff bring over a bucket full of hoes and shovels. With a beaming smile, he announced, “This is today’s game challenge: digging potatoes!” The guests immediately burst into groans of despair. ــــــــــــــــــــــﮩ٨ـ ❤︎ 【HAHAHAHAHA, Director Liu is being inhuman again!】 【Classic Pastoral Life. Suffering is practically the brand.】 【At least give them a few flatbreads first! I remember Season One gave everyone some food before making them work.】 ــــــــــــــــــــــﮩ٨ـ ❤︎ But apparently, there would be no flatbreads this time. Some of the guests were already regretting how they’d handled the introductions. They had been too busy talking for the cameras and had only drunk a little water, while they hadn’t touched a single one of the snacks on the table. “We literally just got here, we haven’t even had dinner, and now you’re making us work? Director Liu, aren’t you being a little cruel?” Meng Letian complained miserably, making Director Liu laugh. But that was exactly the reaction he wanted. “Of course I know. That’s why I brought you here to earn your dinner ingredients!” “You have half an hour. During that time, the team that digs up the most potatoes will receive the best ingredients for dinner. “We’ve already prepared the baskets and tools. The better you do, the better your ingredients will be. As for the last-place team... Well, I can’t guarantee what they’ll have to eat.” “So everyone, you’d better hurry up and get started!” Director Liu continued smiling as he spoke, making it obvious that there was no room for negotiation. Then again, this was exactly the sort of thing Pastoral Life would do. In the first episode of the previous season, all the guests had been sent into the fields to plant rice. They weren’t allowed to eat until they had finished their assigned plots, leaving the entire group exhausted. Once you came on this show, slacking off was simply not an option. The problem was that some of the current guests had never even seen a farm up close. No matter how much mental preparation they’d done, they were still completely dumbfounded. Ou Fangfang, however, reacted quickly. She immediately ran to the bucket, grabbed two hoes, handed one to Mo Bin, and dragged him toward their assigned plot. The others quickly followed suit, abandoning their spots and getting to work. Jing Shan didn’t fight over the tools. He waited until everyone else had taken theirs before calmly walking over. He picked up the last two shovels and handed one to Xie Yichen. Then he went into the field, raised his hoe, and quietly got to work. For most of them, digging potatoes was a first. Their movements were clumsy and awkward, but at least everyone was putting in the effort. Take Cheng Zimeng, for example. He was very slow, but extremely careful, gently digging around each potato without damaging a single one. Meng Letian, on the other hand, thought he was moving far too slowly. He also felt that the shovel wasn’t fast enough, so he decided to pull the potato vines by hand, hoping he could yank out an entire cluster at once. He tugged and tugged. Nothing came out. Instead, the vine snapped, and Meng Letian went sprawling face-first into the dirt. He simply sat there afterward, spitting dirt out of his mouth. “Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!” ــــــــــــــــــــــﮩ٨ـ ❤︎ 【HAHAHAHA, my boy is being an idiot again!】 【Meng the Husky, what are you doing?!】 【It’s fine, it’s fine. His fans are used to it by now.】 ــــــــــــــــــــــﮩ٨ـ ❤︎ Cheng Zimeng, standing beside him, twitched at the corners of his mouth. He was trying so hard not to laugh that his entire face had become distorted. As for Ou Fangfang and Mo Bin, Ou Fangfang didn’t know how to dig potatoes either. Fortunately, Mo Bin did. He was older than the others and had grown up in the mountains. There was hardly a piece of farm work he couldn’t do. Something as simple as digging potatoes was nothing to him. He dug while giving Ou Fangfang instructions. The two of them worked together surprisingly well and were among the faster teams. But the fastest of them all was still Jing Shan. He was younger and stronger than Mo Bin, and because he wanted to secure the best possible ingredients for Xie Yichen, he was putting in even more effort than usual. Before he started, Jing Shan had been a little worried. Even though he possessed the original Jing Shan’s memories, what if he couldn’t actually perform the tasks himself? But after he started working, he quickly discovered that he apparently hadn’t inherited just the memories. He had inherited all of the original Jing Shan’s skills as well. His hoe moved with astonishing speed. Compared with the other guests, who occasionally stopped to interact with the cameras, Jing Shan’s side was remarkably quiet. Xie Yichen also acted as though the cameras didn’t exist. Instead, he kept stealing glances at Jing Shan beside him. Whenever the man bent over, the movement emphasized the solid line of his back beneath his shirt. Once his sleeves were rolled up, the smooth, defined muscles of his forearms were impossible to ignore. Xie Yichen found himself staring. Not wanting Jing Shan to shoulder all the work himself, he also tried his best to dig. Unfortunately, he really didn’t know what he was doing. Looking down at yet another potato he had accidentally chopped clean in half, Xie Yichen’s expression darkened. Jing Shan saw it and wanted to tell him to go rest. But they were still filming. If he let Xie Yichen sit around doing nothing, the internet would tear him apart. So Jing Shan could only move closer and quietly say, “It’s fine. I should be able to dig enough on my own. Just pretend to help.” Xie Yichen blinked at him. “But I can’t just let you do all the work by himself. I’d feel guilty.” Jing Shan had no choice. “Then... just do a little.” He pointed at the potato Xie Yichen had failed to dig up. “When you dig, choose a spot about forty centimeters in front of or behind the plant. That’s where you’ll find the cluster. “And see these vines that have already turned yellow? The potatoes will usually be about ten centimeters down. “Dig a little farther away from the vine, and put some force into it. Once you’ve opened up the soil, twist the hoe slightly. That makes the soil easier to turn over, and the potatoes will come out intact.” As he spoke, Jing Shan demonstrated the technique, explaining everything in meticulous detail. Xie Yichen followed his example. At last, he successfully dug up a whole potato. A brilliant smile immediately spread across his face. His eyes sparkled as he looked at the man in front of him. “Jing Shan, you’re amazing!” Being stared at by such a beautiful pair of eyes, Jing Shan inexplicably felt his face grow warm. He cleared his throat and lowered his head, returning to work. The atmosphere between them had somehow become... rather ambiguous. ــــــــــــــــــــــﮩ٨ـ ❤︎ 【Is it just me, or is there something going on between these two?】 【What do you mean, something? Stop shipping people for no reason. Our Yichen just likes Jing’s acting.】 【A harasser and a plastic-surgery freak. What a disgusting pair of weirdos.】 【If you don’t like it, then leave. The trolls are the disgusting weirdos here!】 ــــــــــــــــــــــﮩ٨ـ ❤︎ Neither of the two people actually involved paid the slightest attention to the good or bad comments online. But if there was one truly bizarre team, it had to be Bai Xiaoxu and Shen Tianzong. Neither of them had ever done farm work before. And neither of them wanted to suffer. Bai Xiaoxu’s main reason for coming on the show was that Pastoral Life had been hugely popular the previous season. He wanted to ride the show’s popularity and gain some exposure. As for actually working? He had no intention of doing that. As far as he was concerned, as long as he generated enough buzz, it didn’t matter how much work he actually did. So while he randomly hacked at the soil, he made sure to interact with the audience as much as possible whenever the cameras were pointed his way. He talked plenty. He just didn’t dig many potatoes. Shen Tianzong was even more outrageous. He simply stood around like a hands-off boss, apparently with no intention whatsoever of lifting a finger. He refused to believe that after investing so much money in the show, the production team would actually dare treat him like an ordinary guest. As far as he was concerned, merely agreeing to accompany Bai Xiaoxu onto the program was already beneath his dignity. Once the thirty minutes were up, the staff began counting the potatoes each team had dug up. Jing Shan and Xie Yichen had the most—five full baskets. Mo Bin and Ou Fangfang weren’t far behind, with three baskets. Even the chaotic duo of Meng Letian and Cheng Zimeng had managed to dig up a basket and a half. But when it came to Shen Tianzong and Bai Xiaoxu... They didn’t even have half a basket. The host stared at the results. He wanted to say something polite to smooth things over, but for once, he genuinely had no idea what to say. Then came the ingredient distribution. As the first-place team, Jing Shan and Xie Yichen received a large slab of pork belly, a whole chicken, a small basin of shrimp, and unlimited vegetables. Mo Bin and Ou Fangfang received a chicken and some vegetables. Meng Letian and Cheng Zimeng got one cabbage, several eggplants, and some potatoes. And when it came to Bai Xiaoxu and Shen Tianzong... They got exactly two potatoes. Shen Tianzong stared at the two lonely potatoes in front of him, his expression turning ugly. Bai Xiaoxu clearly hadn’t expected the production team to be this ruthless—to actually treat their major investor this way. Yet Director Liu continued smiling cheerfully, as though he couldn’t see Shen Tianzong’s murderous glare at all. After that, the guests returned to the kitchen at their lodging to prepare their own ingredients. Jing Shan had originally planned to keep Xie Yichen from doing any work. Unexpectedly, Xie Yichen simply walked over and stood beside him. “Jing Shan, I’m so hungry! Let’s do it together. It’ll be faster.” There was a hint of childish sweetness in Xie Yichen’s voice, almost like he was acting spoiled. Jing Shan found himself completely unable to refuse. Fortunately, Xie Yichen turned out to be surprisingly skilled at preparing food, so Jing Shan relaxed. After a while, everyone brought their finished dishes to the table. Mo Bin and Ou Fangfang had made stir-fried chicken along with two vegetable dishes. Their meal had a cozy, home-cooked feel to it. Neither Meng Letian nor Cheng Zimeng was particularly good at cooking, so they had simply thrown all their potatoes, eggplants, and cabbage into one pot and stewed everything together. It looked like a chaotic mess, but the smell suggested it probably tasted all right. Then there was Jing Shan and Xie Yichen’s spread. Glossy, mouthwatering braised pork belly. Fragrant stewed chicken. Golden, crispy fried shrimp. A refreshing cold vegetable dish. And steaming bowls of white rice. It looked so delicious that it practically made people drool. ــــــــــــــــــــــﮩ٨ـ ❤︎ 【Wow, that looks amazing. Are we sure I’m watching a variety show and not a food show?】 【I never knew Chenchen could cook this well! Chenchen made the braised pork belly and fried shrimp! Chenchen is the best!】 【I’m starving. I’m ordering takeout.】 【Waaaah, I’m broke at the end of the month. Guess I’ll have to eat steamed buns while watching them eat.】 ــــــــــــــــــــــﮩ٨ـ ❤︎ Shen Tianzong caught the aroma wafting over from the other tables. Then he looked down at the single plate of badly charred shredded potatoes in front of him. His expression grew darker and darker. Bai Xiaoxu had actually practiced cooking specifically before coming on the show. The problem was that they only had two potatoes. No matter how good his cooking was, there was very little he could do with that. And with Shen Tianzong beside him constantly giving him the cold shoulder, Bai Xiaoxu felt increasingly aggrieved. He got distracted for a moment. And burned the entire dish. A single plate of shredded potatoes was obviously nowhere near enough for two grown men. Bai Xiaoxu pursed his lips, then instinctively turned his pitiful gaze toward Jing Shan, hoping he would share some of his food. In the original story, Jing Shan really had done exactly that. He had handed over the rewards he’d worked so hard to earn to Bai Xiaoxu. But this time, Jing Shan simply acted as though he hadn’t noticed. Bai Xiaoxu then looked toward Meng Letian, whom he had a fairly good relationship with. Unfortunately, Meng Letian was too busy staring at the braised pork belly in front of Jing Shan and drooling to notice his gaze at all.