The others looked bewildered. Xi Juan strode over, looked at the fish flapping its tail on the bank, and bent down to pick it up.
Watching Bai Ruanruan make a fuss across from him, Nan Qing felt more and more that this world was downright bizarre.
Who on earth had made Bai Ruanruan the protagonist?
This thing was supposed to be an all-beloved little white flower?
He was clearly a brain-dead moron!
Nan Qing scoffed.
"You're noble, you're passionate. Lunch is all made from living things, so don't eat it."
"The grass under your feet is alive too, and your shoes are made of lambskin. You'd better take them off and put them on an altar, then get on your knees and give them a couple of good, loud kowtows."
"Oh, and that T-shirt-"
"If I'm not mistaken, that's silk, right? Those poor little silkworms worked so hard to spin that tiny bit of thread, and it all went into making your clothes. How many silkworms did you rob of the fruits of their labor for that one shirt?"
"Someone as compassionate as you wouldn't keep wearing it, would you? Hurry up and strip, then embrace nature with your bare ass!"
Bai Ruanruan's face flushed red, then white. "Th-that's not the same..."
He still wanted to argue, but Nan Qing ignored him, turned, and walked away.
The comments erupted again. Director Xu, who had witnessed everything, covered his face and complained to the assistant beside him,
"Has Huading Entertainment lost its mind? They went to all that trouble just to squeeze him in."
"Is this kid's persona really this bizarre?"
The assistant reached out and snatched away the apple Director Xu had taken a bite out of, lowering his voice.
"Stop talking, Director. This is a life too!"
"Look, the corpse of the apple you murdered is right here!"
Director Xu: "..."
Unbelievable!
After that little incident, everyone was even less willing to bother with Bai Ruanruan.
In the sweltering heat, Professor Chen and the others worked for nearly an hour before finally getting lunch ready.
There were greens dressed with hot oil, pork belly stewed with mushrooms and potatoes, braised carp, and steamed rice with sweet potatoes.
The food was simple, but its fragrance filled the air.
After such an exhausting morning, everyone was already hungry. They gathered around the table and started serving themselves rice.
A cool mountain breeze stirred the young man's hair.
Bai Ruanruan brought over a little stool too and shamelessly sat down beside Xi Juan.
Xi Juan's fans sprang into action as if facing a formidable enemy.
"What the hell? Why does this Ruanruan keep sticking close to our Brother Xi?"
"Get lost, Bai Ruanruan. Can you stay away from Xi Juan?"
"LMAO, after that eloquent speech, Brother Life decided to eat after all!"
"What little genius invited Brother Life onto the show? Why is everything about him so funny?"
"Incredible. Before Brother Life showed up, Nan Qing, Yu Xingyan, and Lin Tang were all rivals. Now that he's here, those three are practically on the same side!"
"I can't. I'm a Xi Juan fan, and I really couldn't stand Nan Qing, but now that Brother Life's here, I feel like Nan Qing's not bad!"
"Are Xi Juan's fans all moms raising a crown prince? Does everyone have to love your Xi Juan? Didn't you hear Qingqing say he has a boyfriend?"
The comments kept fighting from the moment they started eating until they finished.
After lunch, the teams were reshuffled, with new partners to be drawn by lot.
As if he couldn't stand it anymore, Lin Tang was the first to step forward and draw one. His expression looked as though he had swallowed a fly.
Professor Chen stepped up and drew one too. He smiled at the camera, looking quite pleased.
Only one remained. Nan Qing casually picked up the tag engraved with a name, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
The production team held back their laughter as the new teams were revealed to everyone.
Lin Tang had drawn Yu Xingyan.
Professor Chen had drawn Xi Juan.
In an ill-fated encounter, Nan Qing had drawn Bai Ruanruan.
The "hahahahaha" flooding the bullet comments covered all the guests' faces.
Bai Ruanruan reluctantly walked over to Nan Qing, then instinctively glanced toward Xi Juan again.
What a shame. He hadn't done a single task with Xi Juan today and hadn't even had a chance to spend time with him.
Otherwise, he definitely could have won Xi Juan over today.
The afternoon was less sunny than the morning, and the wind had even picked up.
The tasks were updated as the production team made their announcement.
Mount Pingqiao boasted beautiful scenery and had been the secluded home of a great Confucian scholar several centuries ago. Besides experiencing its natural produce, they had come here today to promote Mount Pingqiao's cultural heritage.
The director announced that each team would film a promotional video for Pingqiao. Of course, they would also have to complete other small tasks to obtain the props needed for filming.
After receiving their respective themes, the three teams headed up the mountain separately.
After repeatedly getting nowhere with Nan Qing earlier, Bai Ruanruan stayed quiet as a mouse along the way. Other than occasionally showing off his beauty to the PD's camera, he didn't cause any more trouble.
The higher they climbed, the rougher the mountain path became.
However energetic Nan Qing was, he had already spent the whole day wearing himself out.
He found a stone step and sat down to rest. Bai Ruanruan trailed behind him in a sorry state, his clothes soaked through.
According to the plan Huading Entertainment and his manager had drawn up beforehand, they should already have released trending topics about the real and fake young masters and a cuckoo occupying another bird's nest by now.
Bai Ruanruan came over to sit down and smiled at Nan Qing.
"Qingqing, after we finish filming, you-"
"Shut up."
Nan Qing cut him off without hesitation.
Unwilling to give up, Bai Ruanruan tried speaking again.
"Big Brother personally brought me here for the show today. He said he watched you grow up and knows you're impatient and have a bad temper, so he asked me to keep an eye on you..."
He delivered those words hesitantly, both showing that their relationship was unusual and covertly putting Nan Qing down.
Nan Qing shot to his feet. Bai Ruanruan quickly dodged to the side, only breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that Nan Qing wasn't holding a manure basket.
But for some reason, Nan Qing walked straight past him and headed farther up.
Bai Ruanruan was happy to be ignored, so he continued.
"Actually, when I first came home, I was really worried. But Mom and Dad are both wonderful, nothing like the people you described before. They love me, respect all my ideas, and treat me like the apple of their eye..."
"I don't know why you misunderstood Mom and Dad like that before. Maybe you're used to being spoiled since childhood, whereas I'm completely satisfied if someone shows me even a little kindness..."
"Where did Nan Qing go? Why does he look so serious?"
"Wait, what is Brother Life rambling about? Does he normally go crazy anytime, anywhere like this?"
"It's clouding over really fast. It's almost dark already. I even spotted lightning in a corner of the shot just now, but they've climbed too high. This isn't looking good!"
"This really is a little dangerous. Mountains in a thunderstorm... hurry down, Qingqing..."
As those warnings appeared, Nan Qing hurried back and looked at the PD and the assistant beside him.
"The weather's really bad. There'll probably be a downpour very soon. Call the director and organize an immediate evacuation down the mountain for all the crew!"
The PD froze for a second. Nan Qing's finely shaped brows furrowed.
"Hurry! If there's a mudslide or landslide, everyone will be in serious danger!"
The assistant hurriedly began contacting the director. Bai Ruanruan glanced at the darkening sky and curled his lip dismissively.
"Come on, Nan Qing. Aren't you being way too alarmist?"
"It's just a little overcast. Do you really need to scare people like this?"
"And do you know how much manpower it takes to move all this equipment back and forth? One word from you, and the crew down below will have to run themselves ragged-"
Before he finished, a clap of thunder boomed.
Immediately afterward, torrential rain came crashing down from the sky, accompanied by flashes of lightning that tore across it.
Within mere seconds, the sky went dark. Beyond the flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, there was only the howling wind and pouring rain.
Bai Ruanruan froze, his face filled with disbelief.
The other crew members had already started running downhill. The rain made the mountain path especially slippery. Nan Qing quickly followed for a few steps, then glanced back.
Lightning illuminated Nan Qing's face. As though finally waking from a dream, Bai Ruanruan hurried to catch up.
The heavens opened, and wind and rain lashed down together.
Every step against the storm was especially difficult. Amid several thunderclaps, Bai Ruanruan slipped in the cascading rain. He cried out as he fell onto the mountain path and grabbed Nan Qing's trouser leg.
Rain struck Nan Qing's eyelids, turning everything into a white blur. Bai Ruanruan's grip threw him off balance, and the two fell together, tumbling down the cliff.