Over a dozen large round wooden tables were lined up in the courtyard, laden with farmhouse dishes. The kitchen was still serving food, and the villagers in their seats were chatting and laughing continuously.
Children were running around everywhere, but before long, they would be called back by their parents and pressed firmly into their seats.
There were some kid-friendly dishes on the tables. A few children stared at them intently, and when the adults nearby weren't looking, one of them sneakily grabbed a sweet potato ball.
Just as the child was about to stuff it into his mouth, the auntie next to him caught him.
Furious, the auntie slapped him on the back of the head. "Nobody else has started eating and you're already digging in? Do you have any manners at all? Are you the reincarnation of a starving ghost?"
The child burst into loud wails, and the people around them immediately tried to comfort him.
"It's fine, Auntie. Kids get hungry easily, let him have a sweet potato ball to tide him over," Ye Mubai quickly urged.
The auntie was still fuming. "Hungry my foot! He ate a lot when he got here, he just can't keep his hands to himself!"
The child's crying grew louder, resulting in another smack from the auntie, which finally quieted him down.
On the other side, the director and the village party secretary had already started drinking.
The two of them drank until their eyes were brimming with tears.
"Director, at first I thought it was just celebrities coming to experience life, and it wouldn't be that much help to the village, but I never expected..."
The village secretary's tears flowed even more. "I won't say any more, I won't say any more. Let's eat."
The director also got emotional. He threw an arm around the secretary's neck and choked up, "Secretary, to be honest, our show went so smoothly really because of your help."
"When we first came, we didn't expect to be able to help everyone either. It's all fate."
When he first arrived, he merely wanted to see these celebrities struggle to complete tasks, all for the sake of the show's ratings. He hadn't expected to accidentally end up helping the farmers.
Moved, the village secretary shook his head and slapped the director on the back so hard that the director almost threw up yesterday's dinner.
"You must take good care of yourselves."
The two drank until it went to their heads. By the end, they were so drunk they couldn't walk straight, even claiming they were going to head up the mountain to become sworn brothers.
Jiang Yanchen and Ji Zhaoxi sat together.
Jiang Yanchen was still eating his steamed egg custard; he still couldn't stomach anything else.
He didn't talk much to the others; it was mostly Ji Zhaoxi doing the talking.
The children across from them were eating, but their eyes kept darting between Ji Zhaoxi and Jiang Yanchen, occasionally whispering to each other.
"Tagalong!" a child started shouting randomly.
The child next to him joined in: "You're a tagalong."
"Tagalong, tagalong, tagalong..."
It started with one or two, and then the other children echoed them like parrots.
Ji Zhaoxi, who was eating, couldn't help but interrupt them. "He's not a tagalong, he's a big star."
A child retorted, "But he's always following you around."
Ji Zhaoxi raised an eyebrow. "So what if he follows me? That just means we have a good relationship. You guys are always following me too, so you must be my tagalongs."
Unable to out-argue Ji Zhaoxi, the child made a face at Jiang Yanchen and ran off.
Jiang Yanchen's ears turned a bit red, and the corners of his lips curled up involuntarily.
In truth, he didn't care what those kids said about him.
He couldn't be bothered to argue with creatures whose IQs hadn't fully developed yet.
But seeing Ji Zhaoxi defend him so fiercely made him feel incredibly good inside.
After lecturing the kids, Ji Zhaoxi realized that everyone at the table was staring at her. Her face instantly flushed red.
"Let's eat..."
The auntie's gaze kept darting between the two of them, and she teased, "So protective, huh?"
Ji Zhaoxi's face turned even redder, and she buried her head in her food.
She had really been impulsive just now.
[I said before that they were together, but the solo stans refused to believe it. Now they must have given up hope, right?]
[Jiang Yanchen go to hell! How can you face the fans who like you?]
[The director is dead! The production team is dead! Jiang Yanchen is dead!]
[Am I the only one shipping Ji Zhaoxi and Lin Yichen...]
[Even if Jiang Yanchen dies, he'll be Ji Zhaoxi's dead ghost!]
People nearby were proposing toasts. Jiang Yanchen shifted his seat slightly toward Ji Zhaoxi, and the back of his hand accidentally brushed against her skin.
Looking at the chicken soup on the table, Jiang Yanchen's Adam's apple bobbed nervously. Holding his breath, as if by accident, he placed his hand over her pinky finger.
"Sister, are you going to act in the future?" the auntie asked curiously.
Ji Zhaoxi had suddenly skyrocketed in popularity, and it was all positive buzz, which actually made her a bit unaccustomed to it.
"Yeah, if there's a suitable script."
At this moment, Jiang Yanchen couldn't hear a word. He was only thinking about when he could finally hold her hand.
Ji Zhaoxi didn't move her hand away. After a long internal struggle, Jiang Yanchen covered her hand with his.
His heartbeat was deafening. Jiang Yanchen quickly turned his head away, pretending nothing had happened, his face burning bright red.
Her hand was very soft, with a hint of coolness. He didn't dare to grasp it or squeeze it; he just rested his hand on top of hers, his own hand trembling slightly.
They had already done such intimate things; holding hands was perfectly normal, Jiang Yanchen kept explaining to himself in his mind.
He thought back to Ji Zhaoxi's expression yesterday when she said she was willing.
Resting his fist against his lips, Jiang Yanchen coughed lightly, his ears beet red.
The fact that Ji Zhaoxi agreed meant she liked him a lot, that she would be with him forever, and that they would get married in the future. He wondered when she would be willing to take him to meet her parents...
Would her parents like him? If her parents didn't approve, would she still be willing to marry him?
Jiang Yanchen's face paled slightly at the thought.
"Zhaoxi, Lin Yichen is heading back by himself this afternoon. He's not leaving with us," Ye Mubai said to Ji Zhaoxi while eating.
"Did he tell the director?"
Ye Mubai shook his head. "He asked me to tell him."
By the later stages of the show, hardly anyone talked to Lin Yichen anymore. He must have been suffering quite a bit on this program.
Jiang Yanchen was still letting his imagination run wild beside her, when the very next second, he felt Ji Zhaoxi open her hand and interlock her fingers with his.
Jiang Yanchen instantly froze.
As if she had found a new toy, Ji Zhaoxi chatted with Ye Mubai while pinching the soft flesh at the base of Jiang Yanchen's fingers. Jiang Yanchen's face grew visibly redder.
Ji Zhaoxi squeezed his palm, gently rubbing her fingertips against his. Jiang Yanchen sat stiffly beside her, his breathing becoming ragged.
The auntie nearby noticed Jiang Yanchen's expression and asked with concern, "Little Jiang, what's wrong? Your face is so red. Do you have a fever?"
Jiang Yanchen's mind was incredibly dizzy right now, and he shook his head.
Ji Zhaoxi came to his rescue: "He just had a little wine."
"Oh, Little Jiang drank too? I thought he hadn't."
Ye Mubai sitting opposite them: ...
He couldn't watch this anymore, he really couldn't.
Ji Zhaoxi suddenly laughed out loud, and Jiang Yanchen stared at her blankly.
Just as Ji Zhaoxi tried to pull her hand away, Jiang Yanchen gripped it tight.
But he only held it, not daring to make any other move.
He realized that Ji Zhaoxi had just been teasing him, leaving him feeling both delighted and a little indignant.
