Seeing that Su Huaiming still looked bewildered, Sun Siyuan felt a flash of anger, as though he were dealing with a clueless straight man, and patiently explained it to him.
"Look, Ning Lei stole your endorsement deal, but he acted all weak and vulnerable, as if he'd suffered some terrible injustice. If you dared blame him, you'd be the one in the wrong."
"And an endorsement deal is a good thing. Who would hold a knife to his throat and force him to take it? But Ning Lei acted as if he'd been forced into it, as if other people had done all the bad things."
Su Huaiming nodded and went over the logic in his head. He understood immediately.
He should have been able to see through it at a glance, but his radar hadn't gone up around Ning Lei.
Sun Siyuan found it strange too. "You never suspected Ning Lei, not even once?"
Su Huaiming shook his head. "No. He really seemed so pitiful that I didn't think much of it."
Sun Siyuan nodded in agreement. "Green teas are always very good at acting pitiful. Now that you know, make sure you watch out in the future. Don't fall for that again."
Su Huaiming nodded and replayed the scenes from earlier in his mind. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
Ning Lei's acting really was excellent!
Su Huaiming knew his own limitations. Though he was trying to act as though he was in love with Fu Jingfan, his acting was mediocre, and he even forgot about it from time to time.
Fu Jingfan hadn't noticed yet, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't in the future. To keep from giving himself away, Su Huaiming needed to hone his acting skills as soon as possible.
At that moment, Ning Lei became someone Su Huaiming wanted to learn from, a teacher who could teach him how to act.
Su Huaiming wasn't about to miss such a good opportunity. He immediately left the kitchen with Sun Siyuan and sat down on the sofa not far from Ning Lei.
Ning Lei: "..."
He could feel Su Huaiming's intense, impossible-to-ignore gaze. After enduring it for a full five minutes, he had goosebumps all over his back and was about to explode.
Unable to take it anymore, he turned to Su Huaiming and gave him a little smile.
Su Huaiming was taken aback, and his eyes grew even brighter as he looked at him.
Ning Lei felt he couldn't let himself fall behind. He immediately walked over and said with a smile, "Huaiming, you're so thoughtful. Not only did you not blame me, you even helped me come up with ideas. You're the kindest, most sincere person I've ever met. I really like you so much, and I hope we can be friends."
Su Huaiming didn't answer. He just stared fixedly at Ning Lei, his gaze seemingly capable of piercing through his skin and seeing his soul.
The two remained at an impasse for a full half minute before Ning Lei finally couldn't keep it up.
Su Huaiming was on a whole other level. Ning Lei couldn't handle any of his moves.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Ning Lei pressed his lips together, his eyes dimming. "Are you still angry with me? You have every right to be angry. After all, I'm the one who wronged you. Whatever the reason, I'm the one who hurt you."
After Ning Lei finished speaking, he kept his head down until his neck ached, but Su Huaiming still didn't answer.
"..."
What exactly was Su Huaiming trying to do?
Was he planning to make some passive-aggressive remarks and then put Ning Lei in his place, proving that he could ignore these tactics and telling him not to try them again?
Ning Lei imagined Su Huaiming to be even more inscrutable, while Su Huaiming's face lit up with sudden understanding.
As Ning Lei spoke just now, he'd lowered his head slightly and cast down his eyes, hiding the emotions in them. When he got to the sad part, his voice had trembled, and he'd even bitten his lip subconsciously... The key was not to lift his head after finishing, which reduced the risk of giving himself away.
His acting really was good. He really was brilliant!
Su Huaiming thought it would be impolite, so he refrained from pulling out a notebook and jotting down all those key points on the spot.
He repeated them twice in his head to make sure he'd memorized them.
Once he got back, he'd put on a performance for Fu Jingfan. It was sure to work well.
At that moment, Fu Jingfan, who was in a meeting, suddenly stopped speaking and stared coldly ahead.
Several executives looked at him in confusion when he suddenly fell silent. A few couldn't help shrinking back, thinking they'd made a mistake and upset him.
Fu Jingfan frowned slightly.
Was it his imagination?
For a moment just now, he'd felt a chill run down his back, as if someone were thinking about him.
And it wasn't anything good.
Seeing that everyone had settled into life there, the director finally introduced the theme of this episode and the rules for what came next.
"For the next seven days, everyone will live a secluded life in this cabin. All supplies must be obtained through labor. Money can no longer be used as currency; you can only receive supplies."
The director paused. Having learned from the previous episode of the variety show, he added, "You also can't sell the production team's things, or sell the things you've earned through your own labor to other people... or to the other guests."
At that, Ji Mingzhe and Sun Siyuan both turned to look at Su Huaiming.
Su Huaiming said, "Oh, got it."
Director: "..."
He cleared his throat and continued, "There's a small village at the foot of the mountain. You can obtain the supplies you need for today by helping the local villagers. Including Sun Siyuan, you'll be divided into five groups. One group will be led up the mountain by a local woman to pick mushrooms. The other four groups will help out in the village at the foot of the mountain, mainly by chopping firewood, fetching water, and repairing roofs."
"Please discuss it among yourselves before making a decision."
Hearing this, Sun Siyuan frowned slightly.
Fetching water, chopping firewood, and repairing roofs all required physical strength, and Su Huaiming was in such poor condition that he might not be able to handle them.
If he worked himself to death on the show, whose fault would that be?!
A terrifying scene appeared before Sun Siyuan's eyes. He gasped and immediately said, "Su Huaiming, take Xiao Xiao up the mountain to pick mushrooms."
Sun Siyuan was so far removed from ordinary life that, in his mind, picking mushrooms was just like it was in fairy tales: you carried a little basket, picked any mushrooms you liked, and happily went home after gathering a few.
But he overlooked the fact that this was a mountain and matsutake mushrooms were hard to find. Under these conditions, picking mushrooms was more tiring than carrying water or chopping firewood.
At his words, Ji Mingzhe and Yu Ruicheng looked at Sun Siyuan with complicated expressions, visibly surprised.
What grudge did he have against Su Huaiming? Was he trying to work him to death?!
Without waiting for Su Huaiming to agree, the director announced the result. "All right, Su Huaiming's group will go up the mountain to pick mushrooms. The other four groups will go down to the village to help."
Ji Youyou remembered scenes from fairy tales and liked the idea of wearing a pretty dress to pick mushrooms. She looked at Fu Xiaoxiao with shining eyes and said enviously, "Mushrooms are super good!"
Fu Xiaoxiao hadn't yet reacted, but after hearing Ji Youyou praise it, he too thought picking mushrooms was a wonderful thing. He stood by the door, eager to get going, and wanted to charge into the mountains on his own before the local woman even arrived.
Ji Mingzhe stood at the door, looking at Su Huaiming with concern. "If you get tired, sit down and rest for a while. Don't push yourself. Your health is the most important thing."
Su Huaiming nodded.
Yu Ruicheng also walked up to him and said with a cold expression, "If you can't manage it, wait until I get back. I can finish the task in your place."
Su Huaiming knew Yu Ruicheng was cold on the outside but warmhearted underneath, and thanked him very sincerely.
Sun Siyuan looked utterly puzzled as he watched this.
He'd picked the easiest task for Su Huaiming, so why did Yu Ruicheng and Ji Mingzhe both look worried that Sun Siyuan would tire himself out?
Sun Siyuan had a vague sense that his earlier decision had been wrong, and pondered it.
Even by the time he reached the foot of the mountain, Sun Siyuan still hadn't figured out what was so difficult about the task.
Meanwhile, the woman who would lead the mushroom-picking trip arrived at the cabin.
She saw Su Huaiming and his son from a distance and froze, staring at them.
She'd never seen such a handsome young man and child before!
People were visual creatures. When Fu Xiaoxiao wasn't making trouble, he was as cute as an angel, and Su Huaiming's appearance made him seem rather well-behaved. On their first meeting, the woman's favorable impression of both of them maxed out. She walked over enthusiastically and said, "I'll take you up the mountain to pick matsutake today. If you want to rest or need help with anything else, just tell me. Don't stand on ceremony."
Su Huaiming nodded and thanked her.
To show that he was a very capable little boy, Fu Xiaoxiao hurried to take the bamboo basket, which was fully half his height, and clumsily hoisted it onto his back, copying the woman.
The bamboo basket reached down to just above Fu Xiaoxiao's knees. He had to stick out his little bottom to prop it up as he trudged along with his head down, grunting with effort like a little calf.
At first, the woman wanted to stop him, afraid he'd tire himself out, but seeing how energetically Fu Xiaoxiao walked, she couldn't help laughing. "What a wonderful child! He's already helping out at such a young age. Not every child can do that."
Hearing this, Fu Xiaoxiao gave two smug little snorts, his nose practically pointing at the sky.
The woman looked at Su Huaiming, who was standing quietly to the side, and asked, "I didn't expect you to be so good at raising a child when you're so young, Mr. Su. Look how deftly he does it!"
Su Huaiming said, "You can just call me Su Huaiming."
The woman nodded, immediately becoming more familiar with him. "All right, I'll call you Huaiming, then."
Fu Xiaoxiao was bursting with energy and wished he could use it all at once. Seeing that Su Huaiming and the woman were still standing behind him, he turned around and urged them on. "Stepdad, can't you walk a little faster?"
Su Huaiming nodded, but continued walking at a leisurely pace.
Hearing him say "stepdad," the woman looked at Su Huaiming in surprise, a hint of tenderness appearing in her eyes.
The mountain path was difficult to navigate. Only with the woman leading the way could Su Huaiming and Fu Xiaoxiao avoid getting lost.
The path up the mountain was rough, and they often stepped on loose stones. Sometimes the slope was especially steep, and Su Huaiming had to haul Fu Xiaoxiao up first before laboriously climbing up himself.
Moreover, the path had been made by people going up the mountain, but since they only went up occasionally, all kinds of shrubs had grown along both sides over time. Branches jutted across the path every which way, and there was a constant risk of getting "whipped in the face."
After they'd walked for a while, the woman skillfully crouched down and felt around on the ground.
After doing this three times, the woman explained, "Our luck isn't very good today. Normally, we should have found something by now."
The woman looked troubled, afraid the child would lose patience and want to go back down the mountain.
But once Fu Xiaoxiao got onto the mountain, his true nature was completely unleashed, and he turned into a little monkey. If Su Huaiming hadn't kept grabbing hold of him, there was no telling where he would have run off to by now.
Fu Xiaoxiao didn't want to go down the mountain at all, nor was he discouraged by their failure to find matsutake. Standing ahead of them, he looked at Su Huaiming and the woman with sparkling eyes and waved them over. "Hurry up!"
Su Huaiming and the woman laughed helplessly and followed Fu Xiaoxiao.
Knowing that Su Huaiming and Fu Xiaoxiao had never climbed a mountain to pick mushrooms before, the woman wanted to find matsutake quickly and take the two of them back down.
But they wandered around for over an hour without finding a single thing.
The woman gave a rueful laugh and said awkwardly, "We came up the mountain rather late. A lot of people from the village came up looking for matsutake earlier, so there are basically none left in the places where they're easy to find. If we want to find any, I'm afraid we'll have to go farther up."
The two adults and the child continued up the mountain. Su Huaiming had a weak constitution, and a thin layer of sweat covered his body. The collar of his T-shirt was damp, with a dark ring spreading across it.
Soft strands of hair clung to his forehead, and his skin was slick with sweat, as if it had been washed. Even his thick, curling eyelashes were dotted with droplets.
Su Huaiming's lips were naturally pale, but now they were bright red and moist. He subconsciously bit his lip and stopped walking.
Su Huaiming was a little short of breath. He raised a hand to pound his chest and tilted his head back slightly.
His slender neck stretched out in a graceful line, and his slightly protruding Adam's apple bobbed twice.