She looked at He Jinyuan sincerely. "Do you need to go to the hospital? Your face is so pale—you must be seriously hurt."
Meeting Chu Xiyue's gaze, He Jinyuan didn't know why, but he always felt as though she could see right through him. It made him feel like he had thorns at his back.
He looked at Chu Xiyue warily and said, "Thank you for your concern, Junior Sister Chu, but I'm fine. I just need to rest for a while."
Seeing how insistent he was, Chu Xiyue could only choose to respect his wishes and wish him well.
She shook her head and took her basket to pick plums first.
But after only two steps, Chu Xiyue suddenly heard the system shout, [Woohoo! They're fighting over there!]
Chu Xiyue stopped and looked back. "Who's fighting with whom? Where? Could Xu Wenchong have finally discovered Wan Zhen and He Jinyuan's affair and started arguing with Wan Zhen? Let me see!"
[No, it's Li Fan'er and Zhao Xizhou! The director for their group just asked a question about first love, but Li Fan'er's answer had absolutely nothing to do with Zhao Xizhou. Zhao Xizhou got jealous, and they turned off the livestream to argue!]
Chu Xiyue said, "A former couple's battlefield?! Oh my god! This is exciting too! I want to see!"
As she spoke, Chu Xiyue turned and headed toward Li Fan'er's group. As she walked, she casually explained to the camera, "The plums over there look better. I'm going there to pick some."
Following the system's directions, Chu Xiyue arrived at a spot where she couldn't see Li Fan'er and Zhao Xizhou, but could faintly hear their argument.
Chu Xiyue pretended to pick a few plums, then strained her ears to listen to the questioning voices drifting over.
But they were a little too far away, and the voices came through in broken fragments. If she went any closer, Li Fan'er and the others would notice her.
Fortunately, the system gave Chu Xiyue a vivid live commentary—
[Zhao Xizhou is getting a little emotional. He's asking Li Fan'er who her first love really was!]
[Li Fan'er coldly told him it was none of his business! What a clean, decisive answer!]
[Zhao Xizhou seems hurt by Li Fan'er's indifference. His eyes are red, and in a hoarse voice, he asks Li Fan'er, "Then what were all those years between us?"]
[Li Fan'er keeps a cold face and says nothing!]
[Oh my god! Zhao Xizhou pins Li Fan'er against a tree and kisses her with red eyes! Li Fan'er slaps Zhao Xizhou!]
Chu Xiyue:!
She accidentally plucked off a still-unripe plum, her breathing quickening. "It's that intense over there?"
A scene from some red-eyed, waist-grabbing, pin-her-against-the-wall kissing romance immediately sprang into her mind. She only regretted that she couldn't become the tree on the scene and witness it herself!
[What is Chu Xiyue doing? Why does she look so absentminded?]
[She doesn't want to work, so she's just putting on an act and slacking off.]
There were very few people in Chu Xiyue's livestream. Aside from He Jinyuan's fans who disliked her, there were only casual viewers drawn in by her looks. Therefore, the viewers didn't notice her unusual behavior.
Meanwhile, after resting for a while, the pain in that unspeakable part of He Jinyuan's body eased somewhat. Only then did he find Chu Xiyue under another camera's guidance and pick plums with her.
Because of the pain there, He Jinyuan had no mind to create entertaining moments for the show. He only wanted to finish the task and go down the mountain as soon as possible, so their group was the first to complete the mission.
Wan Zhen's group came next, while Li Fan'er and Zhao Xizhou's group took third place. Everyone noticed that Li Fan'er seemed somewhat agitated, but they were all adults. Since Li Fan'er said nothing, it wasn't appropriate for them to press her.
Chu Xiyue's gaze lingered on Zhao Xizhou's face longer than anyone else's. Though he was wearing makeup, a faint handprint could still be seen on his face upon closer inspection.
They headed down the mountain. None of them had done farm work before, and now they were all starving, completely devoid of the cheerful mood they had when climbing up.
As they passed a pond at the village entrance, they saw a large snow-white goose lying on the grass beside it.
He Jinyuan casually remarked, "That goose is really fat."
The goose, which had been preening its feathers by the roadside, stopped and raised its head, staring darkly at He Jinyuan with its pair of black-bead eyes.
Unaware of anything amiss, He Jinyuan continued, "It would definitely be delicious stewed in an iron pot."
As though it understood the words "stewed in an iron pot," the goose abruptly stood up and honked several times. Its gaze at He Jinyuan carried a hint of murderous intent.
Chu Xiyue quietly took several steps back, but He Jinyuan still didn't realize anything was wrong. He continued, "Cantonese roast goose is good too. I had roast goose once in Guangdong, and it tasted amazing."
Chu Xiyue had already sensed that something was off. She pulled Li Fan'er several steps aside, away from the main group.
Just as Li Fan'er was wondering why, a flock of glossy-feathered geese suddenly charged out from the small path nearby. They lifted their heads and honked, spread their wings, and rushed in unison toward the group.
The scene became extremely chaotic. People ran ahead while the geese chased behind them, and amid the panic, someone knocked off He Jinyuan's shoe.
Later, after everyone realized that the geese were only targeting He Jinyuan, they stopped. At the front of the flock, He Jinyuan staggered forward, bobbing up and down as he ran.
The livestream was still on, and everyone saw He Jinyuan's figure rising and falling. The comment feed was empty for a long while before one comment slowly drifted across—
[Is this the legendary one-foot-one-point-seven-meters, one-foot-one-point-eight-meters?]
A Goose-Triggered Disaster 2
The comments fell silent again for a while before the screen was flooded with [Hahahahaha]. They had seen the scene in the main livestream. The viewers there were a mixed bunch, and even if the River Fans wanted to control the comments or offer explanations, their messages were drowned out by those of random viewers.
The system explained to Chu Xiyue: [He Jinyuan's official height is 1.83 meters, but his actual barefoot height is only 1.75 meters. He wore shoes with five centimeters of built-in lifts, then falsely added another three centimeters, making himself 1.83 meters.]
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