Wang Chengran's striptease was only the beginning. After Xia Zhiyi and Xue Ranran joined forces to coax him back into his seat to keep eating, the young man sat quietly for barely a moment before standing up again.
He started singing.
Still, Wang Chengran was an idol, and his singing and dancing fundamentals were solid. Though his head was a little muddled, his singing wasn't bad and made decent background music, so nobody stopped him.
Then Wang Chengran sang a few of his own songs, followed by a medley of old songs, and things started to feel off.
He had barely begun when Xia Zhiyi's brow started twitching.
Xue Ranran hadn't caught on yet. She murmured to Qin Yue beside her, "Wang Chengran actually has a pretty good voice. He's much better than those people who lip-sync at the drop of a hat. Too bad..."
She had just sneaked a sip of the village chief's baijiu. She wasn't drunk yet, but it had gone to her head a little, and she nearly let something inappropriate slip out.
Qin Yue cut her off. "Whose song is Wang Chengran singing now? I don't listen to much music, so I can't place it."
Xue Ranran instinctively listened closely, but before she could figure anything out, Xia Zhiyi had covered Wang Chengran's mouth.
Wang Chengran: "Mmph, mmph, mmph..."
Xia Zhiyi smiled very gently. "Brother Chengran, you've been singing for quite a while. Are you thirsty? Have some water."
Of all the songs you could sing, you chose Peerless Little Shou during a livestream. Wang Chengran, you really are something!
If he remembered correctly, that song was either already on the music authorities' blacklist or about to be. Either way, it wasn't suitable for public performance. Had Wang Chengran gotten drunk specifically to bring the show down?
After saying that, Xia Zhiyi let go, picked up the plain water beside him, and poured a cup down Wang Chengran's throat.
Wang Chengran: "...Mmph, cough, cough. Thank you, kind stranger."
Xia Zhiyi: "You're welcome."
The fact that Wang Chengran no longer recognized him after getting drunk left Xia Zhiyi rather speechless too.
Perhaps because he had been interrupted, Wang Chengran couldn't remember what he had been doing either. After thanking Xia Zhiyi, he stared blankly at him for a while, then seemed to suddenly recognize him and raised both hands happily. "Oh! I know who you are! You're Hero Xia!"
Hero Xia: "..."
Xia Zhiyi turned to the village chief with a very sweet smile. "Chief, I think everyone's pretty much finished eating. Everyone's worked hard today too. How about we turn in early?"
The village chief: "Mm, yes."
Actually, the village chief was a little speechless by then too.
He knew they were filming a show, so although he had brought out liquor, he hadn't actually intended to get the guests drunk at the table. It was just a token gesture; one cup per person would have been enough.
He had even originally planned to serve rice wine. It was Wang Chengran who had sworn that he could really hold his liquor and that rice wine didn't count as alcohol, prompting the village chief to switch to baijiu to entertain his guests.
Then all three guests went down after one cup.
Yes, three people, and each had drunk only one cup.
Not one of them had made it to a second.
The village chief, who could normally knock back a jin of liquor with others, was truly speechless.
Xia Zhiyi was truly speechless too.
On the way back, Fu Yunyi wasn't much trouble. Xue Ranran and Qin Yue watched him from the side and gave him a few verbal directions, and he obediently followed along on his own. He was especially easy to manage.
Zhou Kai... Zhou Kai was only pretending to be drunk. He kept veering off course as he walked, but he wasn't actually drunk. Xia Zhiyi didn't need to bother with him; he could just let him perform for the two sober female guests.
Wang Chengran was the sole exception.
Wang Chengran kept calling him "hero" and wouldn't behave, tugging at Xia Zhiyi and wanting to take to the skies.
Literally take to the skies.
Wang Chengran: "Hero! Do you take disciples? Can I become your disciple? I'll definitely be filial to you!"
Wang Chengran: "Hero Xia, are you taking me flying? Am I flying right now? Hahahaha..." Then he ran off on his own and nearly flew straight off the roadside, only for Xia Zhiyi to yank him back.
The others got a fright, but Wang Chengran himself hadn't sensed any danger at all and kept giggling. "Hero Xia, teach me martial arts! Once I learn, I'll be able to fly when I dance. My fans will definitely love it!"
Wang Chengran wobbled into a pose, then said, "Wow! I'm so cool!"
Walking behind them, Xue Ranran couldn't bear to watch. "I wonder if Wang Chengran will black out. But he only had one cup, so surely he won't, right? If he wakes up tomorrow and remembers what he did tonight, will he be so embarrassed he could dig out an entire castle with his toes?"
Qin Yue said, "Never mind tomorrow. Right now, he looks... pretty happy."
Xue Ranran said, "Yeah. Teacher Xia doesn't even need to respond. He's just standing there giggling to himself."
As she spoke, Xue Ranran noticed Fu Yunyi heading down a side path and hurriedly said, "Brother Fu, wrong way. We're going this way."
Fu Yunyi paused before slowly murmuring an acknowledgment, then slowly returned to the right path.
Seeing this, Xue Ranran couldn't help saying, "Our Brother Fu really is a well-behaved drunk."
Qin Yue's eyes flickered. She looked at Fu Yunyi's back, then lowered her gaze to Xue Ranran's hand resting on her arm, and suppressed the thoughts rising in her heart again.
Fu Yunyi did seem very approachable right now, but with Xue Ranran clearly keeping her distance, even if Qin Yue wanted to use helping him walk as a chance to bring them closer, it wouldn't be appropriate in front of the cameras.
It would be too obvious.
Qin Yue hadn't yet been pushed to the point of having to take the infamy-for-fame route. There was no need.
In any case, all six made it back to the cottage after a few scares but no mishaps.
Though things had been a little chaotic, with Xia Zhiyi keeping watch over Wang Chengran, their biggest problem, he hadn't caused any major trouble.
Well, if Xia Zhiyi couldn't handle him anymore, at worst he could simply strike Wang Chengran's sleep acupoint.
Fortunately, Wang Chengran was exhausted that day too. He had still been excited on the way back, but after returning to the cottage and sitting for a while, he was soon fast asleep.
Then a new problem arose.
As mentioned earlier, the house's soundproofing was mediocre.
If someone spoke a little loudly in the kitchen, Zhou Kai and Fu Yunyi could hear some of it from their room.
And only a single wall separated Xia Zhiyi and Wang Chengran's room from Zhou Kai's.
So when Wang Chengran started running his tractor, not only was Xia Zhiyi stunned, but Zhou Kai in the room next door was jolted awake too.
Even Qin Yue, with a kitchen between them, heard the noise. After a brief silence, she slowly sat up and, in the dark room, slowly produced a question mark.
Xia Zhiyi: "..."
The room had only one bed, but there was a wooden sofa long enough for one person to lie on.
Wang Chengran was on the bed. Afraid he might mistake Wang Chengran for an enemy and beat him up while still half-asleep, Xia Zhiyi had chosen the sofa.
And now, lying on the sofa, Xia Zhiyi felt Wang Chengran's snores shaking dust loose from the wooden boards overhead, sending it showering onto his face.
The point was, this wasn't his imagination.
Dust really was being shaken loose.
Xia Zhiyi: Ah, this is so hard.