So the best thing you two can do is make a complete mess of your lives together

When Zhuang Luo and the others hurried to the wasteland to get to work, this was the scene they found:

Xu Su, who should have been working on his own plot, was brazenly lying at the edge of the tilled ground, a blade of wild grass between his lips, his left foot crossed over his right and his hands pillowing his head, looking utterly carefree;

Meanwhile, Huo Yuchen, who should also have been working on his own plot, was bent over Xu Su's wasteland, his face to the earth and his back to the sky, toiling away without pause.

"Did Xu Su hire Mr. Huo?"

Lu Jing was the first to voice the question.

A flicker of jealousy crossed Zhuang Luo's eyes. "...What could he possibly offer to hire him?"

What Zhuang Luo really wanted to say was: Who the hell does he think he is? What does he have that could possibly afford the heir to the Huo Group?

But with the cameras there, he did not dare speak so bluntly.

Li Weizhou, standing beside him, said nothing, but his gaze was full of contemplation as he watched Huo Yuchen.

"Stop standing around." Shen Chuanzhu, the only one with a clear head and clear eyes, reminded them mildly:

"Get to work."

If they did not get started, dawn would be upon them.

[Senior Shen only has eyes for the work [covering mouth and laughing.jpg]]

[Shen Chuanzhu: I'm ignoring you!]

Some people, however, simply refused to heed their elders and could not rest until they went over to make their presence felt-

"Mr. Huo, why are you plowing here? Xu Su, he..."

Zhuang Luo walked lightly over to Huo Yuchen's side, his innocent, clear gaze moving between the two of them. His hesitant tone brimmed with confusion, as though he really were merely curious.

Unfortunately, Huo Yuchen still ignored him, as though he could not see him at all.

"..."

The atmosphere grew awkward once again.

Watching from the corner of his eye, Xu Su could not help laughing. "Obviously, the Crown Prince is willing to serve the people."

Xu Su abruptly sat up, resting his right elbow on his right knee while his left foot dangled naturally. His left hand gently twirled the foxtail grass between his lips, and a mocking yet alluring smile appeared on his exquisite, beautiful face.

"What? Got a problem with that?"

As though he had been wronged, Zhuang Luo immediately protested in an aggrieved voice, "Xu Su, that's not what I meant. Don't put words in my mouth."

He immediately turned to Huo Yuchen again. "Mr. Huo, I don't have a problem with anything. I just wanted to check on you both..."

"Check on us-both?"

Xu Su cut off that hypocritical excuse and challenged him, stressing the word, "Where did 'both' come from? Did you ask me anything just now?"

"I... I was going to ask you after I finished asking Mr. Huo."

Zhuang Luo thought remarkably quickly this time. Having explained himself, he immediately asked innocently:

"Xu Su, I only wanted to ask a question. Do you have to be so aggressive?"

[Well, there goes the West Lake Longjing tea act again.]

[Don't say that. Maybe Zhuang Luo really was just curious.]

[Oh my god? Seriously?? It's already 2024, and some people still can't recognize a fake innocent bitch???]

There really were such people-and Li Weizhou, who had been in love with Zhuang Luo for two years, was one of them.

Although yesterday's events had left them on very bad terms, they were, after all, lovers who had once loved each other deeply, and they had not broken up. Seeing Zhuang Luo looking so fragile, helpless, wronged, and innocent, Li Weizhou truly could not help feeling sorry for him.

He pressed his lips together slightly, then stepped forward and put an arm around Zhuang Luo, calling gently, "Luoluo."

He said little, but it was enough to convey his desire to comfort him.

At the same time, he glanced up at Xu Su, a habitual trace of reproach entering his eyes.

Seeing this, Xu Su could not help reflecting inwardly: No wonder this book's ending went to shit. With these two assholes, who the fuck would want to read it?

"You're right. I like being aggressive. Got a problem with that? If you do, please write to the United Nations and see whether they'll handle it."

Xu Su stood and slowly walked toward Zhuang Luo. "If they won't, I'll just keep being aggressive."

The best way to deal with someone so skilled at fake-innocent talk and scheming was to confront them head-on-just go for it!

"That hesitant little question of yours was meant to drive a wedge between Mr. Huo and me, damage my image in front of the audience so you could win back their favor, and improve Mr. Huo's opinion of you while you were at it. Right?"

Hearing this barrage of "slander," Zhuang Luo opened his mouth to deny it. "No, I didn't..."

"Yes, you did." Xu Su immediately cast his interruption spell.

Zhuang Luo grew frantic. "Xu Su, how can you accuse me like this? I never did any of that. You... you..."

The tears followed right on cue.

It had a certain Molan feel to it.

Seeing this, Li Weizhou immediately wanted to rebuke Xu Su, but just as the words reached his lips, he remembered something and swallowed them back down.

Instead, he turned to comfort Zhuang Luo. "Luoluo, don't be upset. You don't need to care what anyone else thinks. To me, you're the best..."

"That's right. To him, you're the best."

Always happy to stir up more drama, Xu Su smiled as he picked up where Li Weizhou left off. "So the best thing you two can do is make a complete mess of your lives together."

Zhuang Luo: "..."

Li Weizhou: "..."

[Exactly, roast him to death, roast him to death, roast him to death.]

[Ahahahaha, this little shit really has a way with words.]

[His whole thing is never letting a remark go unanswered.]

[I came here from the trending searches and was just wondering why the Crown Prince wasn't defending Xu Su. Were the rumors false? Now I get it. There's absolutely no need [laughing through tears][laughing through tears][laughing through tears]]

[Xu Su: Why trouble the Crown Prince over something this small? I can handle it all by myself!]

After toiling away until eleven at night, the exhausted guests gathered up their hoes and tools, ready to head back to sleep.

Halfway back, a group of people suddenly jumped out onto the country lane in the dark, windy night-

Every one of them wore a baseball cap and a face mask, making their faces completely unrecognizable. They also held glow sticks in their left hands and flashlights in their right, lighting Xu Su and his group up glaringly bright.

Unable to bear the harsh light, Xu Su raised a hand to shield his eyes while squinting over at them. In the end, he really could not tell whose fans they were, so he pointed at them and turned back to ask, "Whose fan support group is this?"

Just as baffled, Lu Jing scratched his head like a dope. "No idea. They don't look like mine."

Uncertain but sensing hostility, Zhuang Luo said, "They probably... aren't mine either."

With that, he looked at Li Weizhou.

Beside them, the clearheaded, worldly-wise Shen Chuanzhu leisurely waved his old palm-leaf fan. "What decent fan group would come to show support at a time like this?"

And what sort of support were they showing, anyway?

Leaving everything else aside, with those furtive outfits that hid them from view and that utterly disrespectful way of shining lights at people, never mind showing support-no one would have doubted for a second if they were called robbers.

Li Weizhou glanced at Zhuang Luo, then warily looked toward the strangers staring fixedly at them and asked outright, "Who are you?"

"..."

Utter silence.

No one answered him.