The Movie Star Thought He Was So Well-Behaved

Si You had originally planned to air out the bedsheets after waking up, but the moment he opened his eyes, he heard the patter of rain.

You've got to be kidding...

He quietly climbed out of bed without even putting on his shoes. Walking to the window, he pulled the curtains open slightly. A fine drizzle fell outside, but judging by how wet the soil was, it must have rained for most of the night.

Looks like he would have to trouble Jiang Tingxu for a few more days, Si You thought.

"What time is it?" Jiang Tingxu's voice was exceptionally low as he turned over to face Si You.

"Seven thirty." Si You spoke softly. "It's raining outside, so today's task will probably be delayed. Go back to sleep for a while."

"I'm already awake." Jiang Tingxu sat up.

Hearing that, Si You pulled open the curtains.

Jiang Tingxu narrowed his eyes slightly. Even with hair like a bird's nest, he was ridiculously handsome. Then he pointed at Si You. "Put on your shoes. Are you over your cold?"

Si You obediently slipped on his slippers and ducked into the bathroom.

Jiang Tingxu thought about how wildly arrogant Si You had been during the livestream. He was practically a different person now, yet somehow the two sides fit together perfectly.

Many younger artists acted reserved, respectful, or even infatuated around Jiang Tingxu. He had seen enough of that to grow used to it. But Si You kept things contained, and Jiang Tingxu felt he handled that balance extremely well.

Nonsense. Only Si You had seen the world. Otherwise, if anyone else had been reborn in another world and immediately landed in such a desperate situation, they might as well have reincarnated all over again. And Si You was not being obedient, either. He simply assumed Jiang Tingxu cared about him catching a cold, since they were still filming the show and it would be bad if he infected anyone.

So Si You did whatever he was told and cooperated fully.

Just as Si You had expected, the production team sent word that the task would begin after the rain stopped. While Jiang Tingxu went to wash up, Si You checked his phone and found a message from his manager, Yuan Fei.

[Someone selling keyboards wants you to put up a shopping link. Taking it?]

Without a second thought, Si You replied, [No, Brother Yuan.]

He had put up the peaches because he had the ability to help the old man sell some. But he was an artist, not a livestream salesperson. Once he went down that road, it would be difficult to turn back. As for that tiny bit of endorsement money, Si You honestly was not interested. It was not worth sacrificing the reputation he had only just begun to build.

Yuan Fei had not expected Si You to refuse so decisively, and he was rather pleased. He could vaguely grasp Si You's true thinking: if he wanted to turn things around, he had to rely on his abilities, just as he was doing now. Selling products was the lowest possible option.

Not bad, Yuan Fei thought. Teachable.

According to the production team, the rain would likely stop around lunchtime.

Si You wolfed down the bun in his hand and planned to visit the old man, only to be stopped by the director the moment he reached the door. At the same time, the camera shifted away.

Si You raised an eyebrow slightly. Something was up.

"So, you're going to check on the peaches?" the director asked directly.

"Mm."

"You're alone. How are you supposed to move and transport several hundred kilos of goods?" the director asked in a low voice.

"I contacted a delivery company."

"Oh come on, how many people could they send?"

"Director, just say what you mean."

"It's like this." The director smiled. "Considering you're limited on your own, and the shopping link you posted last night made the trending list, the higher-ups were quite impressed. They think our production team could partner with the nearby farmers. We would handle sales and deliveries, while they provide the goods. We would definitely need to promote it, and the names of the production team and company would be attached. What do you think?"

"Oh." Si You suddenly understood. "You're hijacking it!"

"Kid, you..."

"Haha, I'm kidding." Si You's expression grew a little more serious. "Then let me ask: will the company take a cut of the sales?"

"It's barely any money." The director leaned closer and lowered his voice. "What the company wants is recognition."

Si You nodded. "Deal."

Indeed, without help, he would be packing those several hundred kilos of peaches until next month. More importantly, the show's tasks were too demanding. He did not even have enough time to sleep.

Having received a satisfactory answer, the director went back happily to make some calls.

Si You did not mind at all. He had never been doing it for the money to begin with. It could even be said that taking on the peach-selling matter had been a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Si You still went to visit the old man, intending to give him a heads-up.

When the old man heard that Si You had sold two hundred kilos of peaches, he kept asking, "Really?" and "Really?!"

Si You used the simplest language he could to make the old man understand that the production team would help them sell their goods elsewhere. They might need to hold up banners and take photos together later, or something like that. The old man nodded repeatedly. After seeing Si You off, he immediately went to find people from his village.

Sure enough, by lunchtime, the company had already prepared promotional copy and bought a trending topic. They had several popular artists repost it, and with the boost from a hit dating show like Spring Heartbeat, it immediately received waves of praise. The potential profits were immeasurable. Si You could not swallow such a huge piece of cake himself, but he was willing to give it away as a favor. The company appreciated it as well and mentioned that Si You had been the original advocate. Though haters below were still cursing away, it was far better than the previous wall-to-wall abuse. The company had even bought a small number of paid commenters to argue with the haters.

It was very lively.

Si You glanced through it a few times before putting away his phone. Xue Boyu watched him without seeing the slightest change in his expression.

Xue Boyu was simple-minded, and after Si You had looked after him during this period, the unpleasantness from the previous season had long been forgotten. He leaned over familiarly and asked, "Brother Si You, don't you feel anything when you see all those comments online?"

"If I let myself feel everything, I'd have found a rope and hanged myself long ago. You've got to take life a little easier."

Xue Boyu nodded. "Mm!"

At present, Zhang Jianlin's group had the least supplies. The breakfast and ingredients they could exchange for were all the most basic kinds. But Jiang Yao seemed to have undergone some sort of transformation. Compared with Zhang Jianlin's faint unease, she looked calm and composed. Her fans, too, had gone from worried at first to steady, leaving comments that their Yao Yao had grown up.

With such a huge "idol" like Si You standing right there, Jiang Yao thought it over carefully and decided there was nothing to be afraid of.

Soon, the production team came out to announce the task—

The guests had to carry ten kilos of rice or flour to a mountain three kilometers away and exchange it for cured pork or mountain goods of equivalent value. This was a way of life for local farmers. The people living in the mountains raised pigs for cured pork and gathered mountain goods, but because of the terrain, they could not grow wheat or rice. So whenever market day came around, they brought down their stored goods to exchange for rice and flour. The task reward was this: whoever completed the exchange first would receive the highest payment.

In fact, even though market day had just ended, people on the mountain still had a strong demand for rice and flour, so exchanging them would not be a problem. The problem was climbing the mountain! The winding, rugged mountain path was steep, and with the recent rain, it was practically a massive stamina-draining project!

Of course the production team had no humanity.

And this time, every guest was required to participate.

Song Yalin and Jiang Yao swiftly changed into their most comfortable hiking shoes.

Just as Si You was about to sling the basket of rice onto his back, Jiang Tingxu gently pushed him aside.

"I'll do it."

Si You hurriedly said, "Then let me take over when you get tired."

But after walking three kilometers and reaching the foot of the mountain, the first person exhausted to the point of despair was Xue Boyu.

"Oh my god..." Xue Boyu pressed his lips together as he stared at the mountain path.

[Wuwuwu, my Boyu, this is way too much suffering.]

[So dramatic! Everyone else can do it, but Xue Boyu can't?]

[If you don't know the situation, shut up, okay? Boyu has always had a waist injury.]

Although Xue Boyu had acted in several dramas, his main focus was singing and dancing. The Xue Household had seen how much he loved it since childhood and had carefully trained him all along. They planned to spend heavily to get Xue Boyu the center position in a boy group after he finished Spring Heartbeat. But people who sang and danced for a long time more or less developed some health problems, especially those who pushed themselves especially hard. There had been a rather popular singer-dancer before who switched to behind-the-scenes work at twenty-five because he had countless back and leg injuries and simply could not endure anymore. Only those who pursued the truth could taste that bitterness.

[Wuwuwu, He Qing, when are you coming back?]

Si You stepped forward and beckoned gently at Xue Boyu. "Give it to me first."

Xue Boyu said, "No, no need!"

"Don't." Si You directly took it off his shoulder. "I'm worried you'll lose your footing and fall later, and then I'll have to fish you out."

Xue Boyu was speechless. Why did that sound so familiar?

[Heh heh, isn't Si You just trying to suck up to Xue Boyu? How embarrassing!]

The haters took every chance they could get.

Xue Boyu's fans had been holding back just now, but they did not want to endure it anymore after seeing this.

[Even if he is sucking up to him, at least Si You actually stepped in. We haven't said anything, so what are you yapping about?]

[Seriously, it's only a matter of time before Si You's haters keep getting slapped in the face. Haven't Horror Livestream and Piano Room Challenge taught you anything? You kept saying he couldn't do this or didn't understand that, and what happened? He practically served you a full imperial banquet and dumped it on your heads.]

[Whoever helps Boyu gets my support. I'm just that unreasonable.]

The group headed up the mountain. Without grabbing onto the vegetation at the side, they would slip with every three steps. The cameramen carrying their equipment had clearly come prepared, wearing the kind of cleated shoes used for football. They left solid footprints with every step, then stood higher up and grinned at them.

Even Jiang Tingxu felt a little like hitting someone.

"Brother Si You, are you tired? Let me take over?" Xue Boyu felt terribly embarrassed and hovered around Si You.

"Watch where you're walking." Si You said, "Save your strength. We might have to climb even higher."

"Oh!"

They were lucky. As soon as they came across a household, an auntie who had come outside to pour out water waved at them.

"Movie Emperor Jiang, you..." Si You had only just spoken when Zhang Jianlin strode forward in large steps.

Si You sighed.

To his surprise, the auntie shook her head when she saw Zhang Jianlin. Then her gaze leaped past him and landed on... Jiang Tingxu.

Everyone was speechless.

Si You teased, "Movie Emperor, is she your fan?"

Jiang Tingxu looked at him. "Do farmers here have time to follow celebrities?"

No, but that did not stop the auntie from picking the handsome one.

Suppressing his laughter, Si You thought this man really was incredibly charming, and the auntie truly had good taste.

Zhang Jianlin stood nearby with an awkward expression.

"I'll go look farther up with Boyu," Si You said.

Jiang Tingxu hummed. "All right. Don't go too far."

Xue Boyu truly treated Si You like an older brother now. He could tell whether Si You was motivated by profit or not. Without the ten kilos of rice weighing him down, Xue Boyu moved quickly, eager to find farmers and exchange their goods as soon as possible.

Si You followed behind him at an unhurried pace. To be honest, carrying it for so long had tired him out, but he could not show it.

"Brother Si You! There are several households up there!" Xue Boyu jumped three feet into the air.

"I'm coming. Watch the road," Si You emphasized. "The vegetation around here is thick, so don't..."

Before he could finish, Si You's relaxed focus snapped taut in an instant.

Xue Boyu had clearly stepped into empty air. His entire body tipped backward, his face still wearing a slightly confused expression. Si You did not even know how fast he moved. Though they had been four or five meters apart, he threw aside the rice basket and sprang forward, catching Xue Boyu by the wrist just in time.

But the force of an adult man falling was far too great. Si You only had time to look back, and it was also the first time he had seen what true panic looked like on Jiang Tingxu's calm, composed face. Accompanied by Jiang Yao's scream, Si You and Xue Boyu vanished into a mass of green shrubs and vines, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

As they rolled down without any sense of direction, Si You's back slammed hard against a thick tree branch. His vision immediately went black.