As he spoke, Crown Prince Shen imperiously stuffed the little flowers in his hand into Xie Linchuan's arms.
[Xie Linchuan: Whose wife gives him pretty flowers? My wife.]
[He even remembered to hunt on the way back. Kitty Xingcan really is the best kitty in the world!]
Shen Xingcan couldn't manage overly complicated dishes, but watching the pot so the congee wouldn't burn on the bottom and whipping up some smashed cucumber on the side posed no problem.
By the time Xie Linchuan had freshened up, the congee was nearly ready.
The lamb had become a little salty, but it went perfectly with the plain rice congee. With the refreshing, tasty cucumber as well, the meal wasn't lavish, but Shen Xingcan enjoyed it very much.
Jiang Yifeng even came over halfway through to mooch a bowl of congee.
At eight sharp, an announcement rang out over the loudspeaker.
"All guests, please gather at the camp entrance. All guests, please gather at the camp entrance."
Song Tiantian said, "Today is our second day on the island. Our task today is to pick mangoes in the mango orchard. Let's set off!"
The orchard entrance wasn't far from the camp, and they arrived before long.
A sightseeing cart big enough to seat a dozen or more people was already parked at the entrance.
"Come on, let's get on."
Jiang Yifeng asked curiously, "We need a sightseeing cart to pick mangoes? Or is this for hauling our mangoes?"
Song Tiantian said, "The sightseeing cart will take us to the designated mango-picking spot. As for hauling them, the production team has prepared other transportation for everyone."
As she spoke, she took out a key and unlocked the chain around Shen Xingcan's and Xie Linchuan's wrists, which had been on duty for less than an hour.
Soon, they boarded the sightseeing cart one after another.
The sightseeing cart had five rows in total, with three seats in every row except the first.
To make filming easier, the six of them took the last two rows.
Jiang Yifeng very naturally sat with Shen Xingcan and Xie Linchuan.
Shen Xingcan said, "...Has the production team found it in their hearts to release Xie Linchuan and me early?"
Song Tiantian said, "Of course not. This is to help you complete the task. Once it's finished, you'll still have to serve out your time in the chain."
Shen Xingcan grew wary. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this... You aren't planning to split up my crown princess and me, are you?"
Jiang Yifeng protested loudly, "Why can everyone else be split up, but not you and your crown princess?!"
Shen Xingcan gave Jiang Yifeng beside him a disdainful look. "My crown princess is delicate and soft, so of course he needs tender care. Do you think he's a crude brute like you?"
The crude brute Jiang Yifeng was enraged. He lunged at Shen Xingcan, flailing his arms. "Today, I'll show you what a crude brute can do."
Crown Prince Shen swiftly ducked behind his delicate, soft crown princess and immediately said, "Crown princess, protect me!"
Jiang Yifeng laughed wildly. "Your crown princess has the delicate-and-soft persona. There's absolutely no way he's a match for me."
Crown Prince Shen replied without thinking, "But a wife becomes strong! He'll definitely get strong for me!"
Xie Linchuan: "..."
When Xie Linchuan said nothing, Shen Xingcan reached out and poked the man beside him. "Crown princess, hurry up and thoroughly subdue this brute who dares offend your husband."
Xie Linchuan: "..."
When he still didn't answer, Shen Xingcan grew even more dissatisfied. "Xie Linchuan, is this how you act as a crown princess? Do you know the people who want to be my crown princess could circle the earth a hundred times?!"
Deserting in the face of battle. How despicable!
A hundred times? Hah.
Xie Linchuan said flatly, "What tremendous charm you have, Crown Prince Shen."
Shen Xingcan said earnestly, "Exactly, so you should appreciate me all the more. After all, so many people are waiting to take your place... But you don't need to worry. No matter how many beauties surround me, you'll always be my most important former close friend."
As though trying to emphasize something, Shen Xingcan placed particular stress on the word "friend."
"So I should feel honored?"
The crown princess clearly wasn't particularly impressed by that "most important former close friend."
Ignoring Xie Linchuan's sarcasm, Shen Xingcan nodded emphatically. "Yes, you should feel honored."
Xie Linchuan said, "Heh."
Jiang Yifeng asked curiously, "Why former friend?"
Shen Xingcan said, "Because we're sworn enemies now, of course."
Ye Ran asked cautiously, "You still haven't made up?"
Shen Xingcan nodded gravely. "That's right. We still haven't made up."
Jiang Yifeng asked, "Then what am I?"
"You're a bad friend."
Jiang Yifeng complained indignantly, "You won't even add 'close' in front of it!! Shen Beichen, I hate you!"
Like a scumbag, Shen Beichen pretended not to hear.
[Sworn enemies who give each other flowers? Sworn enemies who button each other's clothes? Sworn enemies who cook for each other? You two really get creative.]
[Thinking back carefully, it seems every major emotional reaction from Best Actor Xie has been because of labels like friend or good buddy.]
[I have reasonable grounds to suspect Shen Xingcan is deliberately provoking him.]
Song Tiantian said, "Now I'll announce the mango-picking rules. Ripe mangoes are very delicate, so our guests will need to work together to pick them. Next, the three guest pairs will be split into groups A and B. The guests in group A must pick fifty kilograms of mangoes.
"The guests in group B must drive three-wheeled vehicles from the farthest reaches of the orchard to where the guests in group A are. Once the two guests reunite, they must work together to transport the mangoes to the orchard entrance.
"In addition to points, whoever takes the least time will also win the right to redeem six items from their suitcases."