(Jiang Wantang and Ji Shiyu are written here to serve Yuanyuan's necessary characterization as Yue Lao, not as a secondary couple. There are no secondary couples in the main story.)
Meng Xu came up the stairs, phone in hand and a smile on his face.
He stood in the middle of the living room and cleared his throat. Only once everyone was looking at him did he speak. "I have an announcement. Qiguan Yuan will be joining you for filming over the next few days as a special guest."
The moment he finished, the livestream comments doubled in speed.
Most came from Qiguan Yuan's fans, who had been hopping between the six guests' livestreams, searching everywhere for even a glimpse of his clothes.
Standing by the door, Qiguan Yuan tilted his head and glanced at Pei Yubai when he heard the words "special guest."
Shen Yuzhou was the first to react. He stood up from the couch, nearly dropping the flatbread in his hand again, though he caught it this time. "Really? Brother Yuan is filming the show with us?" His face was all smiles, his eyes narrowing into slits.
Qiguan Yuan nodded. "Yes."
Shen Yuzhou laughed even louder and turned to Cheng Yanqiu. "Did you hear that, Sister Qiu?"
Holding her cup of water, Cheng Yanqiu raised it toward Qiguan Yuan. "Welcome."
Lin Yanru closed her notebook and nodded at Qiguan Yuan too. "Welcome, Xiao Yuan. You don't mind me calling you that, do you?"
She thought Qiguan Yuan looked relatively young.
Qiguan Yuan said, "That's fine."
Jiang Wantang sat by the window. Looking at Qiguan Yuan, she moved her lips, a little nervous, her voice not particularly loud. "Welcome, Mr. Qiguan..."
Ji Shiyu came over from the kitchen doorway, wiped his hands, and said with a smile, "Welcome."
Qiguan Yuan gave them a slight nod. "Thank you."
The comments were still going wild, but Meng Xu had already hurriedly assigned Qiguan Yuan a cameraman and had his microphone fitted. The moment Qiguan Yuan's livestream went live, fans poured in without pause.
Judging by the numbers, his audience was actually no smaller than Shen Yuzhou's and the others'. However, casual viewers might very well have made up a large proportion.
Ji Shiyu turned back into the kitchen, brought out the pot of congee, and set it on the table.
Shen Yuzhou helped carry out the bowls and chopsticks, while Cheng Yanqiu went into the kitchen to bring out the dishes.
The congee was plain rice congee. Pickled cucumbers had replaced the pickled radishes, the stir-fried pickled mustard greens remained, and boiled eggs had replaced the peanuts.
Pei Yubai picked up an empty bowl and filled it with congee.
He handed the first bowl to Qiguan Yuan.
Qiguan Yuan took it, his fingers touching the hot side of the bowl. He set it on the table and waited a while.
After serving the other guests, Pei Yubai filled another bowl and placed it beside Qiguan Yuan. That one was his own.
Qiguan Yuan lifted his bowl, lowered his head, and took a sip.
The congee was very hot. He blew on it and took another sip. The rice grains were soft, melting in his mouth.
He was a god who had already stepped down from his post. Though he could no longer use his divine powers, he still had his lifespan and did not need to eat.
Qiguan Yuan rarely ate anything.
Mostly, he found it troublesome. He was too lazy to bother eating and rarely went out. Besides, he easily got lost whenever he did go out, which was quite a nuisance.
So he only stopped at a teahouse for something to eat during his yearly visit to the Yue Lao Temple.
But rarely eating did not mean he disliked food.
Quite the opposite: he was interested in many kinds of food.
And so Qiguan Yuan was in a fairly good mood as he drank his congee.
No one at the table spoke.
Holding his bowl, Shen Yuzhou took a sip of congee, picked up some pickled mustard greens, chewed twice, and swallowed.
His gaze flicked toward Qiguan Yuan before he looked away again. He wanted to say something, but although he opened his mouth, he could not find the right words.
The same went for Cheng Yanqiu. She was not normally shy around strangers and could make conversation in any setting. But faced with Qiguan Yuan, she did not know what to say first.
It was not that Qiguan Yuan was frightening. His expression was calm, his lips curved slightly, and he answered anyone who spoke to him. He did not say much, but he never left anyone hanging.
Yet there was an indescribable sense of distance about him. It was not that he pushed you away; you simply did not dare get too close.
Qiguan Yuan noticed none of this. He kept his head down and drank his congee, taking two sips before picking up some pickled cucumber.
The cucumber was thinly sliced, crisp from pickling, sour and spicy. He chewed twice, his eyes brightening slightly, then picked up some more.
Sitting beside him, Pei Yubai saw how much he liked the pickled cucumbers,
and pushed the dish closer to Qiguan Yuan. Qiguan Yuan glanced at him, the corners of his mouth shifting slightly. Without speaking, he picked up another piece.
Partway through his second bowl, Qiguan Yuan set down his spoon. He was full already and did not need to eat too much, but he had eaten quite a bit, more than he had expected.
He leaned back in his chair, picked up the glass on the table, and took a sip of water, his gaze settling across from him.
Jiang Wantang sat opposite him. She had her head lowered as she drank her congee, holding her bowl so high that he could not see her expression.
Qiguan Yuan watched her for two seconds, then glanced at Ji Shiyu beside her.
Ji Shiyu was drinking his congee too, very slowly. His body leaned slightly to the left, leaving a gap two people wide between him and Jiang Wantang on his right.
When Jiang Wantang reached toward the dish of pickled cucumbers with her chopsticks, Ji Shiyu happened to reach over as well.
Their chopsticks touched above the dish. Ji Shiyu drew his hand back. Jiang Wantang picked up a piece of cucumber and placed it in her bowl without looking at him.
Qiguan Yuan withdrew his gaze. He lifted his glass and took another sip, his expression unchanged.
As Jiang Wantang ate, she kept feeling that someone was watching her.
She looked up and met Qiguan Yuan's gaze. He was looking at her calmly, as though examining an object.
His gaze made Jiang Wantang a little uncomfortable. She lowered her eyes and finished the congee left in her bowl.
A few seconds later, she looked up again and glanced at Qiguan Yuan. He was no longer watching her and was talking to Pei Yubai.
Pei Yubai was trying to serve Qiguan Yuan another bowl of congee. Qiguan Yuan shook his head at him. "I've had enough."
Qiguan Yuan turned to look at Ji Shiyu. "The congee was very good."
Everyone finished eating one after another. Shen Yuzhou gathered the bowls and chopsticks to wash them, and Cheng Yanqiu helped him wipe the table. Lin Yanru picked up her notebook and continued writing. Jiang Wantang returned to her seat by the window, took her round fan out of her sleeve, and laid it on her lap.
Meng Xu came up the stairs again with a folder in hand, this time also carrying a drawing box.
The cardboard box was small and red, with a round opening cut into the top.
"Everyone, in addition to your daily tasks, there's a new task today." He held up the task card and read, "Learn the Miao language spoken in the Village Above the Clouds. A village elder will teach you. Before that, you need to draw lots to form teams."
Shen Yuzhou poked his head out of the kitchen. "How are we splitting up?"
Meng Xu patted the drawing box. "There are slips of paper in here with numbers on them. People who draw the same number will be on the same team. There will be three teams in total. Once a task is completed, each team's score can count toward both team points and individual points."
"And these teams will remain the same for your fifteen days in the Village Above the Clouds. Future team tasks will use the teams drawn today."
"Your team points will determine how comfortable your upcoming tasks will be."