I'll take your oranges

Director Guo glanced at the two men standing far apart and smiled meaningfully. "Don't think these points aren't important. Tonight's accommodation and dinner ingredients will all have to be exchanged for points."

The assistant director beside him picked up a tablet and gave them a full tour of the accommodation options, ranked from best to worst.

The first was a country villa with quite a nice interior. It had three floors and several guest rooms, decorated in a warm, simple rustic style, complete with a lovely indoor garden swing. However, there was only one photo of the bedroom. It wasn't very spacious, with two twin beds and a private bathroom.

Underneath, bold red lettering read: Price: 90 points.

The second was a single-story redbrick house. The decor was basic, but at least it had all the necessary furniture, two beds, and one bathroom. The price was 70 points.

The third was where things started getting ridiculous: a standalone wooden cabin with barely any furniture, just a single bed, a crude table and chair, and a cramped bathroom. The price was 50 points.

The fourth option hadn't been revealed. Its picture showed only a huge question mark, with a price of 40 points. Since it ranked last, it could only be worse.

Song Yunxing stared at the pictures, deep in thought. With their measly points, were they going to end up sleeping on the street tonight?

If that really happened, tomorrow's trending headline would be: "Popular singer Song Yunxing caught sleeping at village entrance-is this the corruption of human nature, or..."

"Today, you'll have to exchange points for both accommodation and ingredients. Of course, we're a production team with a conscience. We won't let our guests end up on the streets, so we're giving you a chance to earn points."

The assistant stepped aside, revealing large backpack-style bamboo baskets, waterproof boots, gloves, and picking tools prepared by the props team.

"This village is known for its oranges, and this is the perfect season for harvesting ripe fruit. The villagers are short-handed, so you'll help them pick ripe oranges to earn points for tonight's accommodation and ingredients."

"The orchard is on the right. These are your picking tools. The rental fee is 10 points per person for the day." The director held his scoreboard with a beaming smile, waiting for the guests to come up and pay.

[Look at that sneaky capitalist face! Just kidding... or not!]

[What a crook! Our Mutual-Dislike CP only has 35 points! Ten points each, and they'll only have 15 left!]

[Director Guo is famous in the industry for stirring up trouble! Trust you to turn a dating show into a survival show!]

[I hope the Mutual-Dislike CP gets a place to stay. I want to see tonight's bed... scene!]

All the guests froze at the director's announcement. They'd thought they were here for a romantic getaway, not farmwork.

For a moment, the guests wore an impressive assortment of expressions, especially the women. They had all gotten up early and dressed carefully so they could look beautiful in photos. Being told they had to do farmwork instead was far too much of a letdown.

Sharp gazes shot toward Director Guo from every direction, as though they wanted to murder him on the spot.

"Ahem. We have a temporary changing room over here. The female guests can change into athletic clothes before heading out to work." Director Guo guiltily avoided their eyes.

When they realized the director wasn't joking, the guests resigned themselves to their fate.

The women dragged their luggage into the temporary tent to change into suitable clothes.

The men, who didn't need to change, went ahead to exchange points for tools.

Song Yunxing immediately rented his tools, changed his shoes, strapped on a bamboo basket, and hurried away from the village entrance.

No way am I sleeping with Shen Yanci! Only rooms one and two have twin beds! That means even if I don't eat or drink anything, I still need to earn at least 55 points! I have to hurry!

"Song Yunxing, why are you running so fast?" The man wore a dress shirt and trousers with a large bamboo basket on his back. It clashed somewhat with his elegant, refined air, making for a rather odd sight.

Yet once the camera panned up to his sharply defined face, everything suddenly looked harmonious again.

"Go pick some fruit already! Why are you following me?"

Shen Yanci raised his eyebrows. "There's only one path to the orchard. Besides, we're on the same team now. Can't I follow you?"

Song Yunxing: ...

Momentarily speechless and unable to find an argument, he could only turn around and stride ahead.

Sunlight spilled down over him. Beneath his bleached silver hair, his pale ears had taken on a faint pink tint.

Shen Yanci lowered his gaze with a smile and followed him with light steps.

Their figures quickly passed the piles of dry, yellow straw, their silhouettes overlapping. Perhaps the sunshine was simply too gentle, but the man's unapproachable chill faded, taking on a layer of warmth.

[Those gorgeous silhouettes! Give the camera operator an extra drumstick tonight!]

[I'm dying over this ship. They really look like a sulking couple after a fight, with the husband quietly trying to make peace.]

[Ever since I caught on to their subtle sweetness, I've been obsessed. Who else in this world could make Shen Yanci personally offer them a way out?]

The two soon reached the orchard. Under a fruit farmer's guidance, Song Yunxing rolled up his sleeves, checked an orange for ripeness, then snipped through the stem with his scissors, harvesting the first orange he had ever picked himself.

Gradually, he got the hang of it and picked up speed. Before long, he had picked all the ripe fruit on one tree.

Song Yunxing admired the fruits of his labor with satisfaction, then happened to glance at Shen Yanci opposite him.

He was already ahead, picking oranges from his second tree.

Song Yunxing: Great! Now I'm feeling the pressure!

He immediately hoisted his bamboo basket and kept moving.

The other guests gradually entered the orchard, too, and it soon grew lively.

"Wow! Nianzhi, there's so much fruit here!" Lu Ran entered the orchard and, seeing so many oranges hanging from the trees at once, casually picked a plump one.

Lu Ran's nose twitched as she caught the rich citrus scent. She couldn't help swallowing. "Can I eat one for free?"

Beside her, Gu Nianzhi couldn't help chuckling. "It's not like I starve you. Take it back and wash it before you eat it."

Lu Ran nodded and furtively tucked the big orange into Gu Nianzhi's pocket.

The number of live comments soared again.

[Aaaaaah! You're not mistreating her! You're mistreating us singles!]

[These two are definitely real! Just kill me with sweetness already!]

[This two-girl alpha/omega romance is such a good ship!]

Beside the young couple were Yu Wan and Shi Jinyan, the "old married couple" rumored to have secretly married.

Yu Wan wasn't particularly interested in oranges. But she rarely put this much effort into her makeup, and the surroundings looked decent, so she needed to take a few more photos.

She instinctively handed her phone to Shi Jinyan and posed with an orange in her hands.

Shi Jinyan took it with practiced ease and crouched halfway down to take ten shots in a row, the phone clicking nonstop.

Shi Jinyan handed the phone back. Like a robot, Yu Wan rapidly deleted the failed shots, keeping only a few passable ones.

[Hahaha, is this the unspoken understanding of an old married couple?]

[Not a single unnecessary movement, not a word exchanged. They understood each other perfectly.]

The camera cut to a row of orange trees, where a man stood on either side, harvesting oranges at lightning speed.

Both men were strikingly handsome and looked out of place with the bamboo baskets on their backs, yet their hands moved like those of farmers with ten years of experience.

Each worked his way down a row of fruit trees without exchanging a word. The only sound in the audio was their slightly hurried breathing.

[Wait, you're actually just picking fruit?!]

[Did I accidentally wander into some farming competition?!]

[Hahahaha, look at the contrast. That's my ship for you-always different!]

[They're the only team taking the competition seriously. At that speed, are we sure they aren't staff here?!]

[That's a top star for you. Even picking oranges, he has to be the best in the business!]

Song Yunxing soon reached the last tree. He glanced at Shen Yanci, who had already finished his row and was stretching, then set down his bamboo basket, panting.

He had debuted in a boy band. This amount of exercise was nothing to him! But he had injured his back before and couldn't carry heavy loads for long.

Song Yunxing bit his lip, wiped the sweat from his neck, and looked around.

His bamboo basket was already full. He needed to take the fruit to the production team to exchange it for points.

The production team had set up the points exchange station at the far end of the orchard, about a kilometer away.

Song Yunxing gritted his teeth and grabbed the basket straps. Just as he was about to hoist it onto his back, a clear, cool voice suddenly sounded above his head.

"There's a bug in your hoodie."

Song Yunxing's expression changed slightly. He hurriedly straightened up and shook out his hood.

But no matter how much he shook it, there was nothing inside except a small leaf.

"Is there still a bug in my hood?" Song Yunxing anxiously asked the camera operator.

The camera operator shook his head, suppressing a laugh.

Puzzled, Song Yunxing looked ahead. Shen Yanci was strolling along in front of him with one bamboo basket on his back and another in his hand.

"I'll take your oranges~"