"Are you hungry?" Song Yucheng couldn't help but laugh softly, most likely because they weren't in front of the camera. With his daytime arrogance stripped away, he looked unexpectedly gentle with his lips curved in a smile under the moonlight.
Chu Rong frowned but didn't respond. However, the blush on his face became more obvious, making him appear even more embarrassed. But Song Yucheng was not deterred by his coldness. Instead, he took the initiative to reach out and grab the rope on the water bucket.
"Your posture is wrong, so you won't be able to pull it up no matter how hard you try. You need to follow the direction like this to make it easier to exert force." Song Yucheng taught Chu Rong in a warm voice, and their distance became very close. Although there was no ambiguity between them, it still made Chu Rong nervous.
Unlike the nauseating feeling in Chu Rong's imagination, Song Yucheng's skin was slightly cooler than normal people's, like a top-grade jade. On such a night, occasional contact between the backs of their hands could easily become addictive. Especially when he looked at Chu Rong with indulgent and accommodating eyes, it naturally made him let his guard down.
But the more so, the tighter Chu Rong's eyebrows furrowed. Because in his heart, the relationship between Song Yucheng and Xu Muzhi was always the most difficult knot to unravel. In addition to the current situation, Song Yucheng's calmness only made his distress more apparent.
"Which made his mood even more complicated.
The atmosphere suddenly became particularly cold.
However, for Song Yucheng, silence may not necessarily be a bad thing, and the current Chu Rong was very cute.
In fact, from Song Yucheng's own perspective, the tragedy of the original body had nothing to do with Chu Rong from the beginning, and it was all Xu Muzhi's fault. Moreover, in the original world, although Chu Rong disliked the original body, he also hinted to him during the program filming process that he could lend him a hand. However, the original body refused the olive branch, so Chu Rong became lazy to bother later.
He (Chu Rong) was considered the only person in the original world who had good intentions toward him (Song Yucheng).
Although this kind of kindness was only pity for the weak, Song Yucheng felt that at least it showed that Chu Rong's nature was not bad.
Plus, Chu Rong was now biting his lips with a bit of stubbornness, like a little abandoned kitten, feeling wronged and showing his teeth to appear fierce.
It's also quite cute and inviting to spoil.
But come to think of it, he's usually a pampered young master and a well-loved superstar to the outside world. Now that he's been thrown into the mountains and made dirty and disheveled, who knows how much he has suffered.
Song Yucheng has always liked pretty kids, and now he has lost his temper with Chu Rong.
"Follow me." With a sigh, Song Yucheng helplessly smiled and led him to the kitchen.
"What are you going to do?" Chu Rong couldn't help but ask as he was pulled along. But as soon as he finished asking, he felt like he had said something stupid, so he pursed his lips and stopped talking.
However, the more nervous Chu Rong was, the more Song Yucheng couldn't help but want to tease him.
"Why are you following me like a little miser? You're clearly gentle and reliable during the day." Turning his head to look at Chu Rong, Song Yucheng deliberately teased.
"Isn't that you too? You don't look at people directly during the day." Feeling underestimated, Chu Rong narrowed his eyes dangerously.
Is he going to use his claws? The smile on Song Yucheng's lips deepened, but he thought that if he continued to tease him, it would be too late, and there was still filming tomorrow. He was afraid that he would provoke Chu Rong too much and make him really angry, so he stopped talking and just quickly prepared a few ingredients, started a fire, and began to cook.
Complicated food at night would cause indigestion, so a bowl of the simple egg noodles was just right."
Song Yucheng's craftsmanship may not compare to that of a master chef, but it is definitely above average. Especially now, he puts his heart into it, even the simplest dishes are colorful, fragrant, and delicious.
The soup base made from bean sprouts and white radish naturally has a fresh and delicious taste. With a little bit of sesame oil and salt as seasoning, it is perfect for the noodles that are boiled and added in, making it a refreshing and appetizing dish for summer nights.
Finally, a plump and white sugar heart egg is added on top, along with some pickled small vegetables made by the landlady, sprinkled with scallions and sesame, and a tempting bowl of egg noodles is ready in no time.
"Try my cooking." Song Yucheng put the bowl in front of Chu Rong. He had bought these ingredients with the landlady before going to bed, originally prepared for fear of getting hungry. It happened to be given to Chu Rong now.
Chu Rong hesitated for a moment, but still picked up his chopsticks and took a bite.
The taste was unexpectedly good. Chu Rong was stunned for a moment, looked at Song Yucheng with a little surprise, and then, urged by him, quietly ate his noodles.
Delicious food always has a way of calming one's emotions, and a quiet environment can also tempt people to relax. Chu Rong's originally complicated thoughts also became much calmer as a result.
Song Yucheng didn't idle either. He took advantage of Chu Rong's mealtime to tidy up the kitchen.
With every movement and stillness, the small kitchen had a warm atmosphere. Chu Rong looked at Song Yucheng's busy figure and felt inexplicably moved.
But it only lasted for a moment. He couldn't help but have another thought: was Song Yucheng so skilled at taking care of others because he was like that with Xu Muzhi on a daily basis?
This sudden thought made the once delicious noodles taste bland. But then, Chu Rong felt that his idea was abrupt and strange, and quickly forced it down, although he still felt uneasy.
"Thank you." Every time he met Song Yucheng, he would become uncomfortable. After finally finishing the last bite of noodles, Chu Rong thanked Song Yucheng in a low voice and wanted to stand up and leave as soon as possible.
He was really uncomfortable, whether it was being taken care of by Song Yucheng in the way he took care of Xu Muzhi, or being seen by Song Yucheng in such a miserable state, it made Chu Rong feel at a loss.
However, because the day was too hard, tiredness surged up now, and his legs also felt weak and soft, and Chu Rong suddenly couldn't stand up for a while. Song Yucheng looked at him and quickly supported him from the front.
Song Yucheng was a little shorter than Chu Rong. He was also tired after a day's work, so his hands were not very stable. Coupled with Chu Rong's weight, the two staggered, and Chu Rong subconsciously hugged Song Yucheng, holding him tightly.
"!!!" Rarely in such close contact with someone, Chu Rong's body suddenly stiffened, and his ears quickly turned red. Like a kitten suddenly picked up by the back of its neck, even the hair on its tail was about to explode. From any angle, it looked too innocent.
But Song Yucheng was amused by his naive reaction, and couldn't help reaching out to play with Chu Rong's ear like a pet.
How could he just touch him like that?
Chu Rong looked at Song Yucheng in surprise. But Song Yucheng calmly hinted with his eyes at Chu Rong's hands that were still around his waist. Now the furiously exploded kitten immediately turned into a pufferfish, taking two steps back subconsciously and turning around to run.
"Hahaha." Song Yucheng looked at his back and couldn't help laughing softly against the table. His clear voice became particularly gentle with laughter, like a thread that could hook people's hearts.
Chu Rong heard it clearly and felt his face become even hotter. After returning to his own room, he immediately buried himself in the blanket.
He just felt that Song Yucheng was really frivolous! He still hated him after all.
Chu Rong thought so in his heart, but his eyes couldn't help but sneak a peek at the situation in Song Yucheng's room through the window. It was unclear what was in his mind, but he kept looking until Song Yucheng turned off the light, and then he fell asleep in a daze.
As for Song Yucheng, after Chu Rong entered his room, he also returned to his own room and continued to work on those silk flowers.
Sure enough, teasing a pretty child can improve his mood. He was already sleepy before, but now he was much more energetic.
That night was too difficult for Chu Rong. Whether it was because of the thoughts during the day or the dreams at night, the last smile and unexpected hug between him and Song Yucheng kept replaying in his dreams all night, making Chu Rong unable to sleep.
But when the day came, with the camera present, Song Yucheng's intentional arrogance made the interactions from the night before seem particularly unreal. Chu Rong knew that Song Yucheng had a script for his established character and that the previous night's playful and childish behavior was probably just an act. He was likely actually more aloof.
However, Chu Rong still felt as though he were in a dream. He couldn't understand how someone like Song Yucheng, who had two completely opposite personalities, could act so perfectly, even better than Chu Rong himself, who was known as a "little actor."
As a result, Chu Rong began to pay even closer attention to Song Yucheng. The little details that Song Yucheng didn't reveal on his face also began to make him very concerned. Especially the silk flowers they found in the corner of the yard before they went out, which could be used to decorate the straw hats, made Chu Rong even more suspicious that they might have been placed there by Song Yucheng to secretly help them.
In fact, Chu Rong had secretly watched Song Yucheng last night and knew that around two o'clock in the morning, Song Yucheng had come out of the house and seemed to have put something here. And upon further recollection, they had actually found the straw hats while Song Yucheng was sitting here playing with something. Additionally, Chu Rong noticed that they seemed to have forgotten a very important question: how did Song Yucheng earn so much money on the first day?
Based on all of these details, the only answer was that the straw hats they currently had were all personally hand-woven by Song Yucheng.
So why did he go to such lengths? After all, the five of them were all rather rude to Song Yucheng. Was it just a casual act of kindness or was he being ordered to do things they didn't want to do?
Either answer didn't seem very pleasant. Chu Rong's heart sank suddenly, feeling uneasy. He took a glance at Song Yucheng's tightly closed door from afar, and he had the feeling that there was a mystery behind it, waiting to be uncovered.
But it clearly wasn't the best time, he had to first solve his own problems of food and shelter.
With that in mind, Chu Rong withdrew his gaze and left the courtyard with Li Zhao and the others.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. With the help of Song Yucheng, Chu Rong and his four companions finally earned enough money to get through the initial difficulties. Then, the real challenge came as the production crew finally took them to the village.
However, this was not a cause for celebration. Even Song Yucheng never expected that the production crew's tricks would run so deep. Unlike previous seasons where they were directly separated and stayed with farming families, this time since they had earned enough money to pay rent, the entire group was simply dumped into a small courtyard that looked like it was about to collapse from the outside but was even worse on the inside. They were left to fend for themselves and given new storyline tasks.
"Due to limited funding for the program, you cannot stay with a farming family, so you will have to stay here. As for the missing daily necessities, you will have to buy them with the money you currently have on you."
Fuck! Everyone was confused. Even with Song Yucheng's money, they had less than three hundred yuan in total. And there were six of them who had to survive here for a month.
In addition, there was one more important issue: the courtyard they were in didn't even have a pot.
On the other end of the live broadcast, the audience burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, the production team is so ruthless!"
"I can't help but laugh, even though it's very pitiful."
"Hug my Chu Rong. I feel like he turned pale the moment he heard the request."
"Little tsundere is still cute. Don't you think Song Yucheng and Chu Rong look alike from a certain angle? They look like real brothers when they stand together." The last sentence was posted in Song Yucheng's own livestream. After all, those gossip bloggers who wanted to speak up for Song Yucheng had not finished editing their video clips, and it would be easy for them to be scolded if they spoke out in the main livestream room. But it was no problem to say whatever they wanted in their own space.
While they were in a lively atmosphere, on the other side, Song Yucheng was in a desolate mood.
There was no other reason. These teenagers were still in shock and couldn't recover for a long time. The key was that he didn't know whether it was because the fact that he was the first to earn money had too much influence on them, but the remaining ones, including Chu Rong, looked at him subconsciously with pleading eyes.
"..." Song Yucheng was speechless. He had agreed to come to give green hats, but now he felt like he was taking care of children.
Nevertheless, he realized that he could not just stand there staring at the sun. At the very least, he had to fix the windows first. Otherwise, they would not even be able to guarantee their safety at night.
Thinking this way, Song Yucheng decided to take action first.
Therefore, in the end, he used the same "encouragement" method as before to get Lai Zhao and the others to start working. When the sun finally set, although the house was still very dilapidated, at least the bed and windows were fixed, and it wouldn't affect their rest at night."
Dinner was bought by spending money and nearby villagers. The price was clearly marked by the production crew, and the cost of this meal was far more expensive than when they were in the small county. As a result, they only had a little over two hundred yuan left in their pockets.
But the real blow came later, which was the most devastating for them. They never expected that the production crew would be so heartless and inhumane. For such a dilapidated house, they were being charged five hundred yuan in rent for a month.
If they couldn't pay before midnight tomorrow, they would be completely homeless and destitute, wandering the streets.
Now, the young people who had just filled their stomachs were once again struck dumb by the enormous bad news before them.
