He gently shook Ji Chi's arm, trying to wake him.
"Ji Chi, we're here."
"Mm..." The boy's Adam's apple bobbed as he gave a nasal murmur. Ji Chi slowly opened his eyes, worked the joints in his neck, then stood and got off through the rear door.
Wen He moved slowly. Sitting still for so long had left his legs a little weak... and his bottom a little numb. It seemed he had been sitting too long.
He hopped off the bus and headed straight for the sponsors' products on the left. There was soda water there, which could ease his dry mouth.
His throat still felt a little uncomfortable, but there didn't seem to be any mineral water here, so Wen He could only choose soda water to moisten it.
Ji Chi followed behind Wen He and took out a bottle of soda water. They weren't the only two who were thirsty; the others were too.
The production team said, "Everyone, feel free to stretch a little. We'll be spending the rest of the day in this orchard. Take a look at the peach orchard behind you. We have around seven hundred mu of land in total-it's huge. In a moment, we'll give each guest a back basket. Your task for the first part will be picking peaches."
The production team said, "We'll provide boxed lunches around two or three in the afternoon. Finally, toward evening, we'll play a game, and that game will also be related to tonight's dates."
The production team said, "We'll separate you all shortly, and you'll walk through the orchard on your own. Remember, the first guest you encounter will be your teammate!"
The production team said, "We'll place some cards deep in the peach orchard. You'll need to pair up and complete the tasks on the cards. The amount of fruit you collect will also determine your advantages and disadvantages in the afternoon's game!"
The production team said, "We hope you have fun~"
At the directors' command, the staff swarmed over. Ji Chi was a little displeased and dodged a staff member's arm.
"Just lead the way."
Before leaving, Wen He also enjoyed a round of sun protection from Jiang Yu for his time in the sun.
Holding a bottle of soda water, he left with a member of the production team.
Ji Chi took one last note of the direction he had left in, then followed the production team.
After walking for about five minutes, a production staff member left Wen He in a plot of land. A woven bamboo back basket sat before him, with nothing else beside it. Wen He put the soda water he was holding into the basket, then began picking peaches along the way. These peach trees weren't tall, nor were they planted close together. Under the sun, Wen He strolled slowly beneath the trees.
The only drawback was probably that most of these peaches were fuzzy, and he had no gloves. Picking them left his hands covered in fuzz, which felt especially uncomfortable.
He looked at the cameraman following him. "Do you know where the restroom is?"
Whether it was psychological or something else, Wen He felt uncomfortable all over too. Perhaps he had gotten fuzz on himself.
Wen He followed a staff member to a restroom not far away. It was a public restroom, and the inside wasn't particularly clean... but the facilities were limited. Wen He rinsed the fuzz off his hands at the tap outside, then scratched the slightly itchy back of his neck.
Before long, deep red marks appeared on the pale skin at the back of his neck.
The cameraman couldn't quite bear to watch. He couldn't stand that fuzz himself either, so he offered a suggestion.
"Wen He, why don't we head in another direction and pick nectarines instead? Nectarines have no fuzz. They're nice and smooth."
Wen He thought his suggestion was excellent. He nodded, rinsed himself off once more, then headed east with the basket on his back.
[Ahhhh~ Just watching this is giving me an allergic reaction.]
[Help, just let a bunch of handsome guys stay home and date! Production team, do you really have to drag them out into the sun to suffer?]
[Look at our Xiao He. His little face is all red from the sun.]
[So itchy, so itchy! Watching this feels awful.]
[This is giving me goosebumps. Places like this get a hundred nos from me! No way~]
After a brief break, Wen He set off again. He chose somewhere farther east, because the peaches over there looked glossy and smooth. They definitely wouldn't have any fine fuzz; at most, the leaves would be a little annoying.
The midday sun was fierce. Fortunately, the green leaves provided shade, keeping it from being quite so blinding. Wen He walked slowly, picking a few peaches from time to time and putting them in his basket.
Xie Zhengci spotted Wen He coming toward him from a distance. He had been planning to visit the restroom and hadn't expected to run into him here. But it seemed Wen He hadn't noticed him?
"Wen He?" Xie Zhengci straightened and called to Wen He a short distance away.
"Hm?" Wen He raised a hand to block the glaring sun and looked toward the voice.
A tall figure stood in the distance, backlit by the sun. He was also wearing a straw hat from who knew where, making it a little difficult for Wen He to see his face.
But judging by his height and build, he should be Xie Zhengci...
Xie Zhengci?!
Wen He hurriedly covered his eyes and backed away, pretending not to see him as he fled the scene at top speed.
He didn't want to team up with Xie Zaici... not at all...
Everything in the dream seemed to be right before his eyes. Wen He didn't like Xie Zhengci, so he didn't want to be on his team.
The trip there had taken five minutes, but he ran back in just one.
Xie Zhengci stood where he was and looked helplessly at the camera. "Am I that scary?"
Although employees at the company were often afraid of him behind his back... that was during work, when he wore a stern expression.
Xie Zhengci looked down at his outfit. A very simple tracksuit, with a straw hat on his head. He couldn't see anything scary about it...
Yet the little figure who had been in the distance just now had already vanished into the vast orchard.
[Hahahahahahaha, I'm dying, hahaha.]
[Xiao He might as well have "no thanks" written on his face.]
[It's already written on his face. But seriously, who is this native on camera?]
[Please give us back our handsome big boss.]
[Oh, my baby, how did you disappear so fast?]
[Doesn't this look like the tall green crop fields back where we live? Hide deep enough and nobody will find you.]
[Tall green crop fields? What are those?]
[Uh... something really bad.]
"I don't know anything... I can't see anything." Wen He jogged away without looking back, muttering nonstop.
But rules were rules. They were the first guests each had encountered, so they were already destined to be teammates for the day.
The cameraman behind him reached out to steady Wen He as he swayed again, reminding him, "Wen He, you don't need to run anymore. You're already a team now. Running to the ends of the earth won't help. You'll just have to walk back to meet up with him."
Hearing this, Wen He sat down on the dirt without much care, panting lightly.
Sweat was already dripping from his forehead, and his neck itched. It was anything but comfortable.
His face red, Wen He sheltered beneath a fruit tree to rest. The intense sunlight dazzled him and made him dizzy.
The cameraman handed Wen He some water and told him to get some proper rest.
[God... it looks so hot. My heart hurts for him...]
[After a whole round of this, Xiao He will turn into a black snow mochi!]
[Xiao He only just recovered from a fever. Is it really appropriate to make him do so much work today?]
[Is he really not going to get heatstroke? His whole face looks bright red.]
[Aren't young people these days too weak? They can't even do this little bit of work. I was much tougher than this as a kid.]
[Not everyone had to do strenuous work as a child. Everyone is different.]