Going to the Countryside as a Slacker

Chapter 19

The production crew's vehicle carried the two of them farther and farther from the city's clamor. The road grew bumpy, and vast stretches of rice paddies came into view. It was not yet harvest season; green stalks had begun to sprout ears, rolling in ripples beneath the wind and slowly spreading toward the distant blue mountains.

Having long grown accustomed to the bustle of the city, Li Wenchuan felt as though he had returned to his past life upon seeing this scene. Back then, he had traveled through many places like this, but he had never seen fields so vast and orderly, nor rice seedlings so vigorous.

Moreover, during his imperial father's reign, countless commoners had been displaced, fertile land left barren and overrun with weeds.

It was not until the fifth year after he ascended the throne, when he privately visited rural farmhouses, that he saw some newly built homes.

"What are you looking at?" Jiang Hansheng leaned closer.

Cameras had been filming throughout the journey, and the directing team would choose the most explosive footage for post-production. Seeing him suddenly draw near, Li Wenchuan shifted awkwardly to the side.

The car window had been rolled up. Though this road was paved with cement, it could not keep out the dust rising from the fields on either side. The passing vehicle kicked up another cloud of dust, and the window immediately became hazy, dimming the view outside.

When Li Wenchuan did not answer, Jiang Hansheng naturally continued, "Have you never been to the countryside?"

According to the information he had looked into, Li Wenchuan, as the eldest son of the Li family, had lived in the city since birth. His family had been city dwellers for three generations.

Yet Li Wenchuan said, "I went before. A long, long time ago."

Jiang Hansheng nodded, then sat back and narrowed his eyes. "I've only gone there for filming too. But rural areas are all developed now. Back when the director wanted to recreate the look of the seventies, it was a real struggle finding a suitable place."

Jiang Hansheng had a pleasant voice. It was not the deliberately affected breathy voice used by some short-video creators; every word he spoke was clear and measured, like pearls and jade falling onto a tray. Even if he rambled on about nothing in particular, people were still willing to listen.

He also used only his original voice when acting. That alone showed the strength of his foundations.

So although he was young, no one viewed him as merely an idol. What idol could nearly sweep every major film and television award?

"Then you must have been to many places," Li Wenchuan said. He had never visited those places before and did not know what the various regions of the country had become after so many years.

"But it was mostly for work."

"So going on variety shows counts as a disguised vacation for you?"

Jiang Hansheng often chose the easiest role on variety shows, cracking sunflower seeds at the side while everyone else worked themselves up.

Watching the man beside him lazily recline against his seat, Li Wenchuan laughed. "But great movie emperor, there aren't any special guests on this episode."

Jiang Hansheng raised a brow. "Experiencing life."

The car stopped, and the driver said they could get out. The moment they opened the door, they saw several cameras and staff members waiting in place. Yet the area was surrounded by field ridges and grass, and only in the distance could they make out a blurry object that seemed to be a house.

Perhaps noticing Li Wenchuan's confusion, the director smiled and explained, "Just wait. You'll understand once everyone arrives."

Before long, two cars arrived one after another. Before anyone even appeared, a bout of gut-wrenching coughing stole the show. A woman got out of the car and stamped her foot in dissatisfaction. She nearly twisted her ankle because she was wearing high heels, which made her even angrier. "What kind of dump is this?! Did you bring me here to live like a primitive?!"

Oh? Someone familiar.

The newcomer was Zhao Shiyao, whom they had met once before. She wore exquisite makeup, a beautiful tight skirt, and delicate high heels, looking completely out of place amid the surrounding earth and fields.

She kept coughing, and just as everyone was about to say something, an unmistakable snort of laughter reached their ears.

"Who's laughing?" Zhao Shiyao abruptly stopped coughing and raised her head, fiercely sweeping her gaze across everyone present. The first person she looked at was Li Wenchuan, but he was expressionless and had not even looked her way.

"Pfft, hahahaha—" The young man in a black hoodie finally could not hold back and laughed even harder.

"What are you laughing at?!" Zhao Shiyao choked with fury.

"No, Sister Shiyao, didn't you say the director told you there were fish here?" He looked around and saw only a large pond filled with lotus flowers, with a few grass carp faintly visible in the water.

These were not the fish Zhao Shiyao had meant.

In the preview, Zhao Shiyao had happily told the camera while watering flowers that this episode might take place by the sea, because the director had revealed that they could even go fishing. For that, Zhao Shiyao had talked at length about her vacation in Hawaii last year and happily shown everyone her various luxury sunscreen products.

The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment. Thinking about her earlier boasts and certainty alongside the current scene made her face sting with embarrassment.

Zhao Shiyao choked at those words as well, but she had always been good at automatically filtering out the foolish things she had done. So she merely snorted and went to retrieve her luggage.

The production crew had invited six guests in total. The two who came with their own buzz were Li Wenchuan and Jiang Hansheng. Before the show had even started, they had repeatedly trended online, and everyone could not help glancing at them a few more times.

There was also the young man who had just laughed aloud. His smile was bright and sunny as he politely greeted everyone. "Hello, everyone. I'm Tang Jingran."

He was one of the hottest young idols. Li Wenchuan's follower count was not even a fraction of his. Several of Tang Jingran's recent dramas were airing simultaneously on two major platforms, their ratings climbing steadily, while his fans were fanatically devoted to a frightening degree.

Tang Jingran followed the genuine-personality route. He dared to speak and act, but he also knew where to draw the line, so he did not annoy people. He also had an excellent sense for variety shows.

Just like earlier, he had merely brought up Zhao Shiyao without targeting her, making everyone instead feel as though they had been tricked by the production crew.

On the other side, a middle-aged man helped Zhao Shiyao carry down her luggage and nodded amiably at everyone.

Xiao Yi was nearing fifty this year, but he looked only a little over thirty, as if time itself had paused for him. He had once been an immensely popular king of pop, but after getting married, he had mostly stepped back from the entertainment industry. Now he only released songs occasionally, posted about his children, and appeared on variety shows from time to time.

The production crew had invited him largely to smooth things over. Everyone knew that Xiao Yi had a good temper and handled matters with great tact. He would neither offend anyone nor show favoritism.

Li Wenchuan attracted controversy, while Zhao Shiyao had a fiery temper. What was more, the two had clashed on a show before. Under these circumstances, the production crew wanted exciting moments, but not an outright explosion.

The last person to walk over was a young girl with a single ponytail. She wore no makeup, dragged her luggage behind her, and looked timidly at everyone with bright, watery eyes. "I'm Su Mingwei." She smiled and nodded at everyone by way of introduction.

Li Wenchuan recognized each of them one by one, lingering on Su Mingwei for a few more glances. If she was not the youngest among this group, she had to be close. She had debuted as a child actress and seemed to still be in high school.

He did not know whether it was his imagination, but he felt that the look the young girl had given him earlier was somewhat strange.

It had lasted only an instant, but when he looked again, she still wore the innocent, bewildered expression she had had when she first appeared.

Once everyone had arrived, the director clapped his hands and pointed at the main road beneath their feet. "Since everyone's here, let's go. The village is farther ahead."

Everyone: ???!!!