Yu Xingyan wanted to kill Bai Ruanruan.
He was an idol whose fanbase consisted of girlfriend fans. What the hell had that idiot Bai Ruanruan just been insinuating?
Was he implying that he and Nan Qing had an improper relationship between men, that they were dating in secret?
Yu Xingyan's head buzzed. He did not even need to think to know that this one remark alone would give the entertainment industry's gossip accounts more rumors to spread, and he would start hemorrhaging fans again.
Rage welled up inside Yu Xingyan. "Bai Ruanruan, are you sick in the head?!"
Bai Ruanruan timidly ducked behind the others and mumbled an apology, but inwardly, he was delighted.
His remark had killed two birds with one stone. Neither Yu Xingyan nor Nan Qing would get away.
Sure enough, the livestream chat exploded again:
"Just yesterday, Nan Qing got exposed taking his girlfriend to obstetrics, and today a newcomer reveals that he's close to Yu Xingyan. This guy sure keeps busy!"
"He swings both ways. Your industry is such a mess!"
"Nan Qing, you flop, stay away from him. Get lost!"
"Do Yu Xingyan's fans have brain atrophy? Nan Qing wasn't even the one who said it. This Bai Ruanruan is obviously stirring up trouble."
"Ngl, Nan Qing probably wouldn't be interested in Yu Xingyan, right?"
"Our Xingxing wouldn't be interested in him either! Are you blind?!"
"Ugh, our Brother Xi really shouldn't have joined this variety show. He's going to get shit dumped on him too."
The cameras captured the tense standoff. Yu Xingyan was furious, but he still did not dare lay a hand on Bai Ruanruan.
Huading Entertainment clearly intended to promote Bai Ruanruan. If he did anything out in the open, he would suffer for it again when he got back.
Yu Xingyan's face flushed red as he forcibly swallowed his anger.
He was just about to deliver a threat when someone behind him abruptly shoved his arm aside and pushed him away.
Nan Qing's excessively beautiful face suddenly appeared on camera, brightening the entire frame.
Dressed in a white outdoor jacket, his striking features vivid and bold, he flashed into the frame like a beam of light. He reached out and hauled Bai Ruanruan out from behind Professor Chen.
Bai Ruanruan panicked and hurriedly opened his mouth. "What are you-mmph-"
The next instant, a woven bamboo basket swung over and slammed squarely into his face.
As Nan Qing pressed the basket into Bai Ruanruan's face, he cursed,
"If you love spreading rumors so much, go lick a toilet when your mouth has nothing to do. Stop yapping here."
Everyone descended into chaos. Countless follow cameras crowded in. The production crew did not move; only a group of people tried to break up the fight.
Who knew how they had tried to separate them, but by the time they pulled Nan Qing's basket off Bai Ruanruan's face, there was even more filth on it.
All sorts of dirty colors mingled together. Bai Ruanruan's face, no longer delicate and handsome, was practically unbearable to look at. His clothes were wrinkled, and his hair was a mess.
Bai Ruanruan bent his head and kept retching.
"Nan Qing-ptui-what is this-ptui-"
Bai Ruanruan had just spat two grass-covered bits of dirt out of his mouth when he heard Nan Qing answer leisurely,
"You like licking toilets so much, I'm granting your wish."
He raised the basket in his hand again. Half its bottom was filthy, smeared with what might have been cow or sheep dung.
Bai Ruanruan vomited violently, frantically wiping his mouth with tissues someone handed him.
"Are you sick, Nan Qing? It was just a joke! Can't you take a joke?"
Nan Qing was thoroughly amused. Then he abruptly put on an innocent expression and mimicked Bai Ruanruan's earlier tone.
"I just wanted to liven things up!"
He tilted his radiant face, looked straight toward the camera, and raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Sorry, this isn't something I can joke about, is it?"
"I was wondering why that sounded odd. Isn't that what Bai Ruanruan just said?"
"Bai Ruanruan is definitely a green tea. He was obviously trying to smear someone, and he still had the nerve to call it a joke."
"It's only a joke if the person you're joking about finds it funny, okay? Bai Ruanruan, do you find it funny now?"
"Serves him right! Who told him to spread sexual rumors about someone for no reason?"
"Aaaaaah, Nan Qing is so cute! Baby, how is that little temper of yours so lovable?!"
"Hahahahahahaha, I'm dying. It's so satisfying that Nan Qing refuses to let anyone bully him! I'm becoming a fan!"
Xi Juan, who had been standing to the side watching the show, curved his peach-blossom eyes in a smile. His lips curled as he began smoothing things over.
"All right, since everyone was joking, let's not make such a fuss."
"We have limited time for our tasks. We'd better get moving."
Nan Qing picked up his woven bamboo basket and walked on. The others followed closely to complete their tasks.
Only Bai Ruanruan remained, spitting things out with repeated "ptui"s while rinsing his mouth with water borrowed from the production crew.
Watching Xi Juan follow right behind Nan Qing, he clenched his fingers-
He had actually spoken up for Nan Qing. He could forget about winning him over easily in the future!
Let him go through a wife-chasing crematorium! Make him kneel on a washboard!
He certainly would not forgive Xi Juan easily!
Let him experience the power of a long, long road to winning his wife!!!
Mount Pingqiao was shaded by lush green trees, its mountains and streams setting one another off.
Though it was still summer, the branches and leaves of towering trees stretched across the sky overhead, blocking out the blazing sun. Even the breeze was cool.
Of course, this was also the result of the production team's careful arrangements.
If the weather really was too hot to go outside and the guests' makeup and styling were ruined, it would affect how the show looked on air.
After reaching a fork in the road, the three teams went their separate ways.
Professor Chen and Yu Xingyan were going to dig sweet potatoes. They shouldered their hoes and headed downhill.
Nan Qing and Xi Juan were going mushroom picking. Following the production team's signs, they headed into the dense woods.
Bai Ruanruan, who had finally managed to catch up, looked at Lin Tang and reluctantly entered the apple grove.
As the guests split up, the PDs followed them, and the livestream's camera feeds were separated into individual frames.
Xi Juan was the most popular, and with Nan Qing, who had just shoved a dung basket into someone's face, their feed had the most views and the liveliest discussion.
"Isn't the production team being way too obvious about playing favorites? Is this the treatment a film emperor gets? Who doesn't know how to pick mushrooms? That's way too easy."
"Can the person above stop trying so hard to hate? These aren't greenhouse-grown mushrooms. Can you tell which ones are edible and which ones are poisonous?"
"Picking apples takes strength, digging sweet potatoes takes finesse, and picking mushrooms takes brains, okay? If they pick poisonous mushrooms and eat them, they're done for."
"Lmao, how would a rich capitalist family's young master like Nan Qing know anything about picking mushrooms? He's not going to poison everyone, is he?!"
"Careful, Director Xu. You'll have to pay out your pension!"
While the livestream chat was having a field day, Nan Qing, basket in hand, hitched up his trouser legs, revealing a stretch of slender, beautiful calf.
He crouched down and rinsed the basket he had carried all the way there in the clear stream, washing it spotlessly clean.
Behind him, the tall man also walked over, his extraordinary proportions rivaling an international supermodel's, his manner languid and relaxed.
His figure was reflected in the water. Xi Juan bent down, his voice smiling.
"Qingqing, are you planning to date anyone anytime soon?"