The Boss Is the Absolute Best!

The recording location was set at a villa halfway up the mountain. Only one barely passable road wound its way up, and after reaching a wooden signpost, they still had to walk some distance. Since it had rained that morning, the ground was extremely muddy. Wen Shuang carried his own backpack, trudging along with one foot deep and the other shallow, while Chen Zong and Zhu Lian complained endlessly behind him. Zhu Lian, on the other hand, did not say a word.

After the last episode aired, Chen Zong had become the target of widespread mockery. He and Wen Shuang had gone to completely opposite extremes. His online reputation was poor now, and after becoming popular years ago, he had gotten a little full of himself, leaving no room for compromise in anything he did. As a result, he had hordes of haters. With such a great opportunity before them, how could those people possibly let him off? Even when Chen Zong reposted the official account's post last night, his comment section had been flooded. His fans did not even dare show their faces.

Chen Zong was already holding in a bellyful of anger, and with the mountain path so difficult to walk, he began grumbling that he should never have agreed to this recording in the first place. The little assistant beside him was so frightened that he kept sneaking glances at Zhu Lian's expression.

Zhu Lian stared thoughtfully at Wen Shuang's back. Chen Zong's words went in one ear and out the other; she did not take them to heart at all.

The day before yesterday, Zheng Yuanfei had approached Zhu Lian and revealed that Lu Li would soon return to the country. The meaning between the lines had been obvious: he wanted Zhu Lian to take Lu Li on.

Honestly, Zhu Lian was not too willing. Lu Li looked like someone who yielded in every matter and endured everything, but whether it was due to some incompatible aura or something else, he had an exceptional talent for attracting trouble. Compared to him, she preferred Wen Shuang. Zhu Lian had not agreed right away and was currently at an impasse with Zheng Yuanfei.

Chen Zong had been yammering on for ages, only to realize that Zhu Lian had not reacted at all. Following the woman's gaze, he spotted Wen Shuang's figure, and his expression grew even uglier.

The white tiles at the villa entrance had already been churned into muddy slush. Wen Shuang slipped the moment he stepped on them. Luckily, Jiang Ning appeared in time and reached out to steady him. "Slow down."

"The soles aren't slip-resistant." Wen Shuang smiled. The moment his eyes met Jiang Ning's, a sense of like-mindedness seemed to emerge between them.

The cameraman immediately got a close-up. Footage!

They were the last to arrive. The other guests had mostly already gathered. Wang Yuze and Peng Shanshan knew each other, and Jiang Ning's little assistant had been injured last time. The production crew said he had been eliminated and sent back to recover, so they had brought in a new civilian contestant instead, a rather handsome young man assigned to Peng Shanshan. Wu Tan was paired with Chen Zong. Wen Shuang was beginning to understand: the production crew was throwing the two people with the worst reputations together in the same nest. Any conflict would be a highlight. As for the model Lin Nuan, she had taken over Han Ling's civilian contestant. The two women were huddled together chatting about manicures.

Lin Nuan was tall and slender, with a narrow waist and long legs. Her face leaned toward the innocent type, but for some reason, her eyes were always glancing about, giving off an intentionally seductive air.

Her gaze landed on Jiang Ning, seemingly intentionally yet unintentionally. She occasionally lowered her head, making it impossible to tell what she was planning.

Filming had begun the moment they started assigning people. Once the assignments were done, everyone took their room placards and headed off, followed by cameramen. Whether the production crew had done it deliberately or not, Jiang Ning and Wen Shuang were holding the placard for the same room. The two looked at each other, neither entering despite standing at the door. The assistant director immediately came over to explain, "Ah, we're short on rooms. But this is the biggest one in the whole villa. It faces the sun, so the first ray of sunlight will definitely shine on you two. It's a twin room. Is that okay?"

Jiang Ning looked at Wen Shuang, who nodded.

Things were already like this. Even if they said no, nothing would change.

The room really was large, with a separate walk-in closet. Jiang Ning had a lot of belongings and quickly filled the upper shelves to the brim. Then, belatedly realizing something, he shouted toward the outside, "Wen Shuang, where's your stuff? Bring it over and I'll put it away for you."

"No need." Wen Shuang's voice drew closer, and then he appeared in the doorway, waving the backpack in his hand. "Just one change of underwear."

Jiang Ning's eyes widened. "We're filming for two days. You're only wearing this one set?"

"Mm-hmm." Wen Shuang found it light and convenient.

Jiang Ning was speechless. No wonder his assistant always looked like life had lost all meaning whenever he packed his things.

At noon, the production crew treated them to a meal. By the time they finished organizing and came out, the table was already packed with dishes, fragrant enough to make their mouths water. Everyone was hungry. After taking their seats and exchanging a few casual pleasantries, they began eating. Wen Shuang was slim, but he had a huge appetite. The bowls provided by the production crew were too small, so he had no choice but to serve himself two bowls of rice. Over there, Lin Nuan delicately wiped her mouth and said softly, "Sorry, I'm full."

Wen Shuang glanced over. More than half the rice was still in her bowl.

Chen Zong also put down his chopsticks with restraint. "I'm done too."

Before Jiang Ning came, Jiang Suqing had stuffed him full of snacks, so he had not been hungry to begin with. Seeing this, he chimed in, "Same here."

Once they did that, everyone else, for the sake of their image on camera, put down their bowls and chopsticks with a clatter, wearing expressions that said, "Thank you for the meal, we're very satisfied." Only Wen Shuang remained with his cheeks slightly puffed out and a ring of oil around his lips, reluctant to put down his chopsticks. Zhu Lian stood behind the directors and shook her head vigorously at Wen Shuang, signaling for him to stop eating!

Wen Shuang swallowed the food in his mouth and looked at the large pork knuckle on the table that had barely been touched. It felt far too wasteful.

"What, Wen Shuang, aren't you full?" Chen Zong suddenly asked.

Jiang Ning looked over too. "How is it?"

Wen Shuang spoke in a tiny voice. "The bowl's too small."

Jiang Ning stared at him for several seconds before bursting out laughing. Then he covered his lips and discreetly nudged Wen Shuang's arm. He was at least a celebrity; he had to watch his image.

With no other choice, Wen Shuang finally put down his bowl and chopsticks, heartbroken. "I'm full too."

He simply did not understand. What was wrong with people who loved eating? Did male artists really have to have bird-sized appetites? In that case, he thought being a civilian contestant was pretty good too.

Once they confirmed that no one was eating anymore, the directors had the staff swiftly clear away everything on the table, as if the plates would explode if they were one second too late. Seeing the way they were acting, Wen Shuang had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, the director spoke. "Here's the deal. Filming will continue until the afternoon after tomorrow. Starting now, other than tap water, we won't provide any food. You can use the kitchen however you like, but you'll have to figure out the ingredients yourselves. Do you understand?"

Wen Shuang's vision went dark.

He wanted to go home!!!

Seeing Wen Shuang's expression, Zhu Lian wanted to laugh. She took a picture and sent it to Xuan Zhe. [Didn't get enough to eat. Can you see the resentment buff, President Xuan?]

Wen Shuang's "heartache" practically pierced through the screen, and Xuan Zhe could not help smiling at the sight.

Cute.

"Wow!" Jiang Ning was genuinely impressed by the production crew. He complained to Wen Shuang, "If I'd known, I would've eaten more."

Wen Shuang looked deeply aggrieved. "Then why didn't you let me gnaw on that huge pork knuckle?"

"Bro! My dear bro! What kind of occasion was that?" Jiang Ning lowered his voice and earnestly advised him, "Skipping a meal or two won't kill you." Years ago, when he had been filming a drama and needed to fit the character's image, he had lost twenty pounds in a short time. He ate cucumbers every day until his face nearly turned green. Jiang Ning could hold out until tomorrow just fine, but Wen Shuang could not. Missing one meal left him starving.

Although the guests wore helpless expressions that said, "Well damn, you played us," none of them planned to go outside looking for food. Wasn't it nice to stay indoors where it was warm on a rainy day? If this continued, there would be no highlights for the show. The directors had anticipated that and already had a countermeasure. At five in the afternoon, the smell of hot pot drifted everywhere. These people were utterly heartless! The girls were doing a little better, but the boys burned energy quickly. Even Jiang Ning had started swallowing.

Wen Shuang could not sit still anymore. If he did not erupt in silence, he would perish in silence. He put on his shoes, slipped into a raincoat, and prepared to head out.

Jiang Ning hurriedly called after him. "Hey, wait! Where are you going?"

Wen Shuang met his eyes, determination etched in his gaze. "To find food!"

Jiang Ning froze. "In the middle of these deep mountains and old forests, where are you going to find food?"

But Wen Shuang would not listen. Seeing him like this, Jiang Ning was worried too, so he put on a raincoat and followed him.

Behind the villa was a small hill. Beyond it lay a basin, with rolling mountains on both sides. It was rare for the production crew to find a place like this.

The rain was not heavy at the moment. The plants had been refreshed by the rain, birdsong rang clear, and the air was exceptionally fresh.

Wen Shuang searched through the grass with clear purpose. Jiang Ning followed behind him with a frown. Just as he could no longer hold back and was about to ask a question, Wen Shuang cried out, plucked a mushroom, and held it up before Jiang Ning. "Found one!"

Holy shit! Jiang Ning's whole body jolted. "Can you eat that?"

"Of course." Wen Shuang lowered his head and continued searching. "When I was little, I often went into the mountains to gather things. I won't mistake it."

Jiang Ning found it fascinating, so he followed behind Wen Shuang and helped. He quickly learned how to identify them. Before nightfall, the two had found a huge pile. They could not hold them all in their hands, so Wen Shuang even contributed his raincoat, wrapping the mushrooms in it and carrying them back.

"We're just eating mushrooms?" Jiang Ning was not entirely sure.

Wen Shuang shook his head. "Don't think about today. Tomorrow morning, I'll figure something out. Since the production crew set the location here, they must have ways to deal with it."

Jiang Ning readily accepted that. "Mm-hmm."

When the director saw Wen Shuang return carrying such a huge bag of mushrooms, his jaw nearly hit the ground. Forgetting about the cameras, he rushed over at once, dumbfounded. "Where did you get those?"

Wen Shuang said, "I picked them out back."

His tone was calm and breezy, completely unaware of how devastating his words were.

The director looked at the cameraman behind him. The cameraman frowned and nodded.

Ridiculous! the director roared inwardly. They had arrived at the villa the night before. One of the female planners had said the area had not been developed or polluted, so there would definitely be plenty of wild mushrooms and vegetables. As a result, they had eagerly headed out, only to return drenched and miserable from the rain. Forget mushrooms—even a single wild vegetable leaf had been nowhere to be seen. Then he looked at the clump of green vegetables wrapped in Wen Shuang's transparent raincoat, and the director did not fucking want to speak.

Yet Jiang Ning misunderstood. Thinking the director was curious about those, he blurted out, "There are tons of wild vegetables out back. Wen Shuang and I thought they wouldn't taste as good as the mushrooms, so we only pulled a little."

The director waved a hand, feeling like his lungs hurt.

The things Wen Shuang and Jiang Ning had found naturally belonged to them. If they did not share, no one else would get to eat. The two went upstairs. More than an hour later, Wen Shuang received a message. His face was full of disbelief as he read it, then his eyes widened slightly, joy spilling from the corners of his eyes and brows. Jiang Ning was taking a shower. Wen Shuang casually walked over to the wardrobe, pretending to grab his backpack. His fingertips brushed the corner, and sure enough, they touched something warm.

Xuan Zhe's text read: [Didn't get enough to eat? Take a look inside your wardrobe.]

Wen Shuang: "!" The boss was the absolute best!

There was a camera in the room. Wen Shuang had no idea how Xuan Zhe had managed it, but if he said so, then it definitely would not be discovered. Wen Shuang was already eagerly anticipating what good thing it was.

The sound of water from the bathroom stopped. Wen Shuang had already used his body to block the camera and tucked the item into his backpack. It was soft and limp, impossible to identify by touch. He pretended he was going to shower. Jiang Ning had just emerged from the bathroom when Wen Shuang dragged him back inside.

Jiang Ning: "?"

Wen Shuang said, "Good stuff, good stuff!" He did not know what it meant to guard against others; he simply trusted Jiang Ning.

The moment the backpack was opened, Jiang Ning looked delighted. "Boneless chicken feet!"

They were still warm, in sweet-spicy and hot-spicy flavors, along with potstickers. Under the camera's watch, the two stayed inside the bathroom for at least fifteen minutes. When Jiang Ning came back out, his lips were noticeably red.