According to Director Gong's explanation... well, Director Gong himself said that this was originally meant to be a little hidden surprise, but because Seventh Uncle didn't do things the usual way, the surprise had been uncovered on the very first day.
Seventh Uncle declared, "I just really like this kid. Didn't you say I could just give it to my favorite kid? He's definitely my favorite!"
Director Gong: "..."
Director Gong was helpless.
Director Gong: "Anyway, there are fifteen logos in the village. For every five you collect, you get one chance to make a wish to the production team."
Director Gong truly hadn't expected someone to get the first logo from a villager NPC on the very first day, before the guests had even sorted out their accommodations.
Xue Ranran: "Wow, a wish! Can we wish for anything?"
Director Gong: "Yes, as long as it's something the production team can do, like discounts at the shop..."
Xue Ranran turned toward Xia Zhiyi, who looked deep in thought. "Then let's find a way to collect five first and wish for everything in the shop to be free."
Before anyone else could speak, Director Gong hurried to patch that loophole. "There are still certain restrictions. If it involves money, the total value of the items obtained through your wish can't exceed five thousand yuan."
Xue Ranran: "...Tsk."
Xia Zhiyi, however, felt that these logos probably wouldn't be that easy to collect. Judging by Director Gong's expression, he would go patch things up with the other villagers who still held logos afterward. At the very least, he wouldn't let the guests get them this easily again.
That was indeed the case. Director Gong immediately sent someone to tell those villagers that the guests had to complete the tasks they assigned and satisfy them before they could receive a logo.
Well, Director Gong didn't hide this from the viewers either. He simply had a cameraman follow along and film it all, giving the livestream audience plenty to enjoy-there were quite a few people watching who were just there for the laughs.
After that little interlude, it was soon time for their appointment with the village chief. In the meantime, Qin Yue, Xue Ranran, and Wang Chengran had all taken showers, ultimately borrowing the bathroom at Seventh Uncle's house next door.
Xia Zhiyi, Fu Yunyi, and Zhou Kai planned to wash up after coming back from dinner.
Dinner at the village chief's house was a generous spread, with chicken, fish, and vegetable dishes, all home-style cooking. They could smell the food from far away. When they entered the main room and saw the table covered in dishes, Wang Chengran couldn't help swallowing.
The village chief was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties or fifties, with a square face and a thoroughly upright appearance. They'd heard he was a veteran. When he saw them arrive, he gave a faint smile. "You're here! I was just about to send Gangzi to fetch you. Perfect timing, the food's almost ready. Sit, sit, sit."
The six guests exchanged glances. After a brief pause, Fu Yunyi was still the one who stepped forward to speak to the village chief. "Sorry for imposing."
Xia Zhiyi couldn't help turning to look at Director Gong, who was squatting outside the courtyard, silently watching the camera feed.
The oldest of the six of them was only twenty-five: Zhou Kai.
Whoever stepped forward at a time like this was essentially accepted as the leader of the six. If someone had been notably older, there would have been no need to deliberate; they could simply have let that person do it.
But their ages were all close. Zhou Kai was twenty-five, Qin Yue twenty-four, Fu Yunyi twenty-three, and Xue Ranran twenty-three. Wang Chengran seemed to have just celebrated his twenty-third birthday not long ago, too. Xia Zhiyi was the youngest, at eighteen.
Xia Zhiyi was clearly the baby of the group. As for the others...
It was awkward.
When their ages were close, the default was generally to go by celebrity status. Unfortunately, the biggest name among them didn't look like someone willing to handle these social interactions.
Yes, that meant Fu Yunyi.
Seeing Director Gong's meaningful smile, Xia Zhiyi thought, So the guests' awkward handling of social situations is one of the highlights the production team wants to film, too?
Fu Yunyi really wasn't good at dealing with these things. Or rather, on the surface, all the guests seemed quite... green.
So, after dinner began, the village chief warmly asked, "Do you drink? It's your first day here. If you do, let's have a few drinks and get to know each other."
Fu Yunyi: "...A little."
Zhou Kai: "I can hold my liquor fairly well."
Qin Yue and Xue Ranran exchanged a glance and both said they would sit this one out.
Wang Chengran was extremely enthusiastic. "I do! I can really hold my liquor!"
Xia Zhiyi: "..."
Before Xia Zhiyi could even speak, everyone unanimously excluded him-what business did a kid have drinking?
Xia Zhiyi: "..."
He started to speak, then stopped.
He was an adult.
Forget it.
Since the other three male guests were all drinking, it was just as well that he wasn't. If they drank too much, he could get them back afterward.
Xia Zhiyi's prediction proved correct. Over the course of the meal, under the warm hospitality of the village chief's family, all three male guests successfully got tipsy.
Fu Yunyi and Zhou Kai weren't too bad.
Once Fu Yunyi was drunk, he just sat there and did whatever anyone told him to do. Told to drink water, he drank water; told to eat, he ate. He instantly became a well-behaved little darling. Even Xia Zhiyi, who felt some aversion toward him deep down, thought he looked... quite cute like this.
It didn't take much thought to know that his fans watching would eat this up.
Zhou Kai looked drunk, too. He seemed to have become extremely talkative after the alcohol went to his head, speaking in a torrent and chatting about anything with everyone around him. Every so often, he even dropped a famous quote, looking quite cultured yet understated.
But Xia Zhiyi could tell at a glance that he was pretending to be drunk to build his public persona.
But whether those two were truly drunk or faking it, neither was anywhere near as wild as Wang Chengran.
This one was a real heavyweight.
As Wang Chengran drank, he suddenly got up and walked into the open space in front of the dining table. He reached back and started taking off his clothes, shouting, "It's fate that brought us together here today! I, Wang Chengran, don't have much to offer, so let me dance for everyone!"
Everyone: "!?"
Xue Ranran hurriedly put down her chopsticks. "Wait, why are you taking your clothes off to dance?"
Xia Zhiyi was closer and reacted faster. He stood and practically teleported over, pressing down Wang Chengran's hands before he could take his clothes off.
Wang Chengran's eyes sparkled, making him look as though he wasn't drunk, but from up close, Xia Zhiyi could see at a glance that his gaze was completely muddled. He was utterly drunk.
But Wang Chengran still had a little awareness left. His reactions were a bit slow, and after Xia Zhiyi stopped him, he froze for a moment before asking, "Huh? Who are you?"
Xia Zhiyi: "...Xia Zhiyi."
Wang Chengran: "Who's Xia Zhiyi?"
Xue Ranran walked over. "He's drunk, isn't he?"
As she spoke, Xue Ranran stared at Wang Chengran for a while, then couldn't help saying, "He doesn't look drunk, though. His eyes are even brighter than usual. They're pretty nice."
Xia Zhiyi: "He's drunk."
Something in Wang Chengran's DNA instantly stirred. "I'm not drunk! I can really hold my liquor! Let's keep drinking!"
Xia Zhiyi: "..."
Ah, sure enough, he was drunk.