Salted Fish Draws Lots

Chapter Twenty-One

That "putt-putt-putt" sound was remarkably soulful; every burst struck straight at the soul like a club.

Once they got closer, they discovered that it not only lashed at their souls, but also continuously spewed gray fumes that swept over their bodies. Everyone waiting instinctively took several steps back, covered their noses and mouths, and frowned at the two approaching tractors.

The tractors could not carry many people, and Tang Jingran and Zhao Shiyao refused to sit in the back where the hay was loaded. Of the three, two had to squeeze together.

When Zhao Shiyao got off the tractor, she was completely dazed. There was still a little soot on her face, and after being jolted around irregularly by the "putt-putt-putt" all the way here, her hair was a mess.

Several strands hung loose. If not for her exquisite designer outfit, people might have thought she was fleeing a famine.

Her eyes were hollow. She had ridden in Rolls-Royces, driven Ferraris, and even looked down on BMWs. How had she ended up riding a tractor?

Her whole persona had collapsed!

Tang Jingran was no better off. He had squeezed in with Xiao Yi. At first, he had wanted to maintain his poise in front of the cameras, but once he got on, he realized just how terrifying the ride would be. The entire way, he clung to Xiao Yi like a koala, terrified that he would fall off if he let his guard down for even a moment.

Xiao Yi was the only normal one. His family had never been particularly well-off, so he adapted to this kind of life quickly.

He was now comforting the pale-faced Tang Jingran, patting his back to help him catch his breath. "Take a moment, take a moment. Just treat it as experiencing life."

Tang Jingran could not hold it in any longer and ran to the roadside to dry heave.

He had brought plenty of snacks. When the production crew had driven him here, he had been eating and drinking the entire way. Since he was not someone who gained weight easily, he had been especially reckless.

The price of that recklessness was his stomach churning like a stormy sea. His delicate fairy-boy image could not collapse, so he reached out desperately toward the camera crew. "Don't film me, don't film me. Please, leave me some dignity."

Ever since joining this show, everything had been developing wildly in an uncontrollable direction.

But most viewers wanted to see exactly this. Ordinary things became hilarious when celebrities did them, and people never got tired of watching.

Li Wenchuan could not bear to watch any longer. He walked over with a bottle of water and handed it to him. "Rinse your mouth. The flight attendant gave it to me on the plane. I haven't drunk from it."

As he spoke, he twisted it open in front of Tang Jingran to show that it was new.

Tang Jingran blinked, took the water, and said, "Thanks." Then he began gulping it down.

They were not very familiar with one another, and some things were hard to anticipate—especially with water or drinks. Only sealed bottles could ensure nothing had been added to them.

Staring at the water in his hand, Tang Jingran's churning stomach gradually settled. From the corner of his eye, he studied Li Wenchuan standing nearby and suddenly felt that this person was not as annoying as everyone said.

He had not deliberately tried to curry favor with him either. He had simply handed him some water and stepped aside.

With Tang Jingran's level of popularity, people with less buzz and a weaker fan base usually tried to linger near him whenever they saw him.

He had suffered because of that before. On a variety show, a female guest had stood beside him the whole time and occasionally struck up a conversation. At the time, he had not thought much of it. She was a girl, so he had simply taken a little more care of her.

Who would have thought that once the show aired, press releases would flood the internet? The editors fabricated things out of thin air, played dirty behind the scenes, and forcibly dug up romance where there was none, creating a trending topic about an "immortal CP." Tang Jingran lost a huge number of fans and was annoyed to death.

Over on Zhao Shiyao's side, Su Mingwei was comforting her. Zhao Shiyao had a sharp tongue, talked a lot, and was terribly fussy. It was probably because there was a little princess in her heart who expected to live to a hundred and needed to be coaxed.

Su Mingwei spoke softly as she handed Zhao Shiyao a wet wipe. "Sis, wipe your face. It won't be good if they film you like this later."

The contract had already been signed, and she could not break it. It was not as if she could run away, right?

But why had Li Wenchuan not noticed that such a pretty woman as her needed water? She shot the man a vicious glare. "No awareness at all."

Li Wenchuan: ???

Li Wenchuan: No, ma'am, how did you manage to have that mindset? It was as though you were not the one making things difficult for me.

Jiang Hansheng thanked the two men who had driven the tractors for them. Seeing that everyone had more or less gotten themselves sorted out, he gathered them together and asked the production crew, "Now that we're all here, what do we do?"

This production crew was very good at stirring things up. The arrangements differed from episode to episode, and what came next depended on the director's plans.

The director smiled pleasantly, which always made people feel that nothing good was coming. Sure enough, he said, "First, hand over the 'contraband' you brought with you."

"Contraband?"

"That's right. For the days ahead, you'll have to rely entirely on your extraordinary abilities to experience life. So hand over snacks, loose change, and the like."

"..."

"And your phones."

To prevent them from exploiting the loophole of "virtual currency" in their apps, the production crew had prepared sponsor-provided phones for everyone, and they could swap their SIM cards into them.

Tang Jingran leaned close to Li Wenchuan and whispered, "The production crew is stupid. I already have my SIM card. Can't I just download an app and log in to use my money?"

As he spoke, he started fiddling with the phone. Then, when he tried to download something, he froze—the phone showed that app downloads had been disabled.

Director: "Heh heh, so naive. How could things possibly be that easy?"

"Your phones are specially customized, privately customized by OVVO. Are you satisfied?"

Tang Jingran clutched his chest in anguish. "I'm not satisfied!"

Li Wenchuan said, "As expected of the brand sponsor."

They were made to open their own suitcases and take out the items forbidden by the production crew. Most people kept their money on their phones now, and there were only a few snacks in their luggage anyway. There was no need to play tricks here, so they obediently handed everything over.

Anyone who knew Tang Jingran knew that he was very greedy when it came to food and loved eating.

Look, he was already bickering with a staff member.

She was a young woman. Just as she was about to take away his snacks, someone grabbed the other end of the packet. When she met those watery peach-blossom eyes, her heart nearly melted.

The two tugged back and forth. If they had not been clutching a bag of spicy strips, people might have thought they were watching a heart-wrenching tragic romance.

In the end, the director stepped in and snatched it away without another word.

"You're trying to kill me, you black-hearted production crew!" Tang Jingran accused.

The director remained unmoved and said kindly, "We're helping you maintain your figure."

Summer evenings came later, and though it was nearly six, the sky was still bright. A new challenge followed—where would they stay?

"Where are we staying during this time?" Tang Jingran was tired and very concerned about where he would rest that night.

"We've prepared three houses. You'll need to draw lots to form teams, then compete to decide," a staff member explained at the right moment.

Li Wenchuan raised his hand. "Are the houses the same, or...?"

"Of course there are differences." The director smiled again. That was rather telling.

"The winning team gets to choose first?" Tang Jingran asked.

"That's right."

Because of the time, tonight's competition was very simple and designed to be settled quickly—You Draw, I Guess.

After the teams were divided, one person from each team would go to the director's group to draw a prompt. They would place a sheet of paper on the other person's back and draw on it with a pencil. The other person would then draw on the board in front of them based on what they felt. Finally, they would be ranked by how similar their drawings were.

Tang Jingran rubbed his hands together. "This is easy. Back when I was competing for QQ Red Packets, I even drew the Mona Lisa."

That sounded way too abstract, little brother. Was it really wise to be so confident?

"Come draw lots for your teams!"