Look at that blue sky and those white clouds, that sea of flowers, those distant mountains. It was so beautiful!
And it was free, with no crowds to jostle through. Where else in the world could you find a deal like this?!
Wen Feiran had been on edge and terrified before, but now his attitude had done a complete one-eighty. Not wanting to waste the lovely day, he continued walking farther afield while it was still light and unexpectedly discovered some task locations set up by the production team.
The tasks were all simple, like "water the flowers" and "pull the weeds." The production team was effectively his employer, and Wen Feiran had a strong worker's spirit, so he completed them one by one.
When dinnertime came, Wen Feiran remembered the empty refrigerator and made a point of pulling up a few vegetables.
How nice. He even got to experience farm life.
Meanwhile, the five celebrity guests were cooking at Dreamy Cottage.
Dreamy Cottage was in the center, closest to the Treasure Chest. Ning Tingyu had taken the lead in taking plenty of ingredients from it, then called the others over to eat together.
Mu Qianyu looked around and didn't see Wen Feiran. "We're still missing one person. I'll go get him."
Of those who remained, only Ning Tingyu could cook. Duan Haoran had quietly slipped away, while Zou Yuxing and Su Shangting were not only unable to help but also getting in the way.
"I need to protect my voice lately. Don't make anything spicy."
"I'm making it anyway."
"Be more careful. You splashed water all over me."
"You're awfully fussy."
To show how considerate he was, Ning Tingyu rushed to play peacemaker and tried to ease the tension, but he made one cardinal mistake: he spoke up for both of them without taking a side.
The young master Su Shangting couldn't stand it and immediately snapped back. His fans charged into battle for him, and when Zou Yuxing's fans saw what was happening, they joined the fray too. The atmosphere in the livestream turned toxic, leaving casual viewers with a worse impression. Ning Tingyu was caught in the crossfire as well and earned the label "green tea."
Ning Tingyu couldn't afford to offend either of them, so he didn't dare utter a word of objection. He still had to keep smiling as he worked himself to exhaustion making dinner on his own.
Starry Cottage was so far out of the way that the bowls and chopsticks were already set out by the time Mu Qianyu returned.
"Qianyu, why are you alone? Where's Feiran?" Ning Tingyu was the first to speak, maintaining his considerate, gentle image.
Mu Qianyu said helplessly, "He wasn't home. I looked all around but couldn't find him."
Ning Tingyu wrinkled his nose cutely. "What do we do, then?"
Su Shangting had a short temper. "If he's not coming, forget him. Why do you care?"
He turned his head to avoid everyone's gazes and pointed at random. "It looks pretty average. I can't finish it, so I'll leave some for him."
Ning Tingyu froze for a second, then lowered his head slightly, hiding the hurt in his eyes. "I only wanted to show him a little concern. Sorry, I'm talking nonsense again."
The group then sat down at the table, but just as they were about to dig in, a sudden ding-dong sounded in their ears, startling them so badly they nearly dropped their chopsticks.
[Please note: You opened the Treasure Chest without authorization and did not pay the points. Please do not dine and dash.]
[Please note: Your room fees must be paid in full within one hour, or you will be evicted.]
Everyone: ???
What points?
As if in answer, the screen before them suddenly lit up.
[Each person's daily room fee is ten points. Each opening of the Treasure Chest costs ten points, and only three items may be taken.] Points ranking: Wen Feiran: 50 (-10) Zou Yuxing: 0 Su Shangting: 0 ...
Apart from Wen Feiran, every name had a big red zero next to it.
The living room fell silent. Ning Tingyu was dumbfounded, staring blankly at the screen.
Was there some mistake? Wen Feiran was here to make me look good, so how was he so far ahead on the points ranking?!
Zou Yuxing was the first to react. "What points? How come I didn't know about them?"
[Points are earned through daily and special tasks. They are used to pay room fees and purchase daily necessities and can be exchanged between members. Please keep track of your points each day to avoid mishaps.]
Ning Tingyu forced down his jealousy. "Then why does Wen Feiran have 50 points, and why were ten points deducted afterward?"
A toneless mechanical voice sounded:
[Wen Feiran was the first to complete a daily task and has already paid today's room fee.]
Zou Yuxing spotted the issue. "If he didn't buy ingredients, isn't he eating dinner?"
[The farmland on the back mountain belongs to you. You may pick its produce freely without any points being deducted.]
Zou Yuxing was about to speak again when Su Shangting cut him off irritably. "What are we supposed to do now? Are you going to let us go hungry and kick us out too?"
[You can go earn points now]
"Now?" Su Shangting's voice rose an octave. He looked out the window in disbelief and snorted. "I'm not going!"
With that, he folded his arms in a huff and ignored everyone else.
Constrained by his carefully maintained persona, Ning Tingyu could only say, "It's all right. The rules allow members to trade points privately. Shangting, stay home and rest. I'll go earn points for you."
Su Shangting glanced at him but didn't thank him, merely lifting his chin proudly.
Dinner was right in front of them, but they couldn't eat it. The four of them trudged miserably outside in search of task locations, but the night was dark and visibility was poor. They took many wrong turns and somehow ended up circling around to Starry Cottage.
The delicious aroma of food wafted around them. Zou Yuxing stared at the window glowing with warm yellow light, his eyes fixed on it. "I'm so jealous of him."
The others held back from saying it aloud, but their faces showed the same longing.
Duan Haoran was full of regret. "If I'd known, I would've gone out for a walk this afternoon. Then we wouldn't be unable to find a single task location."
He'd only said it offhand, but Ning Tingyu was sensitive and felt Duan Haoran was taking a jab at him.
He was the one who had decided to take ingredients from the Treasure Chest, and he was also the one who had suggested cooking together. What else could that have been but a complaint?
Ning Tingyu's smile nearly slipped. "The production team couldn't possibly have set the task locations too far away. We'll find one soon."
But reality dealt him a hard slap. They wandered aimlessly through the open countryside under the vast darkness for another ten-odd minutes before finally finding the first task location.