Xu Qinghe said with annoyance, “No wonder you’re single.”
Qi Xun replied calmly, “My being single is a personal choice, it has nothing to do with anything else.”
Xu Qinghe: “…”
Chen Yuxi silently translated it for him: Shameless!
With the grouping side-blather out of the way, the chit-chat ended, and it was time for everyone to head out.
Surrounded by production staff and cameras, the group split into two paths and moved forward.
On the bitter gourd team, as the permanent resident guest, Wang Lanyin began taking the lead in steering the conversation.
Of the two guest stars, one was a Grand Slam Film King, and the other was a behind-the-scenes singer-songwriter. Even a fool knew where the focus of the conversation and the camera lens should land.
Wang Lanyin was no fool, so she kept tossing topics over to Qi Xun.
“Teacher Qi, what made you suddenly think of joining a reality show?”
“You invited me.”
“…… Haha, with your fame and status, other shows must have invited you too, so why choose Long Vacation?”
“You guys pay more money.”
“…… Haha, Teacher Qi is so humorous,” Wang Lanyin gave a dry laugh. “Surely you aren’t short of that little bit of money.”
Qi Xun was silent for two seconds before saying, “It’s enough for now, but a bit short for raising a partner.”
Wang Lanyin almost couldn’t catch the conversational thread, stuttering for half a day before speaking: “Haha, you don’t even have a partner yet, and you’re already starting to consider things like that? Besides, what kind of partner is so precious that even you can’t afford to raise them?”
Qi Xun answered smoothly: “My partner, of course, has to use the best of everything.”
No matter what it was.
Wang Lanyin: “…… It seems Teacher Qi is truly a devoted, family-oriented good man.”
Before Qi Xun could reply, she turned to the camera: “Let’s all wait and see who will be able to pluck this high-altitude flower of Teacher Qi!!”
Qi Xun glanced at the camera and remained silent.
Wang Lanyin breathed an inward sigh of relief, not daring to press him further, and turned instead to the quiet Chen Yuxi: “How old is Teacher Chen this year?”
Chen Yuxi, who had been observing the whole exchange and secretly giggling, was startled and hurriedly replied, “Teacher Wang, I’m 27.”
“You look so gentle and quiet. Do you usually not go out much?”
“It’s alright, I’m not a total homebody.” Chen Yuxi glanced at Qi Xun and steered the topic away: “Teacher Wang, if we want to trade for meat with the production team, how many bitter gourds do we need to pick?”
Not only did he give a normal response, but he also proactively brought the conversation back to the production process. Wang Lanyin’s smile widened a fraction: “Based on past experience, to collect enough meat for two days of meals, we probably need to harvest about an acre or two of vegetables.”
The staff member following behind added quietly, “Teacher Wang, bitter gourds are quite heavy, just one acre is enough.”
Wang Lanyin sighed with a smile: “See?”
The bitter gourds grew on trellises, requiring neither bending over nor tilling the soil. If someone was used to farm work, the workload wasn’t considered heavy.
But what artist had experience or physical stamina for farm work?
Although Wang Lanyin was a permanent guest, she was part of the older “sister” generation, meaning guest stars usually did the physical labor while she provided emotional value and occasionally chipped in.
In other words, the actual labor force of their group consisted entirely of Chen Yuxi and Qi Xun.
Chen Yuxi was no newcomer; he was well-versed in the routine of this type of reality show.
Guest stars were brought in, thrown into the fields and mountains for two to three hours of physical labor, and once they were exhausted to the point of collapse, they were hauled back to the wooden cabins to film cooking, chores, and various trivial tasks.
At the same time, they had to maintain a continuous, lively conversation without awkward silences.
Continuous labor and continuous socialization completely maxed out the guests’ emotional and physical states, pushing them into arguments or shattering their usual public images to generate conflict and drama.
In the end, the production team got the leisurely rural lifestyle they wanted, along with conflicting talking points—a win-win.
Therefore, as soon as Wang Lanyin finished speaking, Chen Yuxi looked at Qi Xun and asked, “Teacher Qi, how’s your stamina?”
Wang Lanyin tensed up.
The accompanying cameramen also hastily swung their lenses toward Qi Xun.
Qi Xun glanced at the cameras and said in a calm tone, “Not bad.”
Wang Lanyin: “?”
And then? That’s it?
Chen Yuxi: “That’s good then.”
Then he gave a bitter smile, “I just hope I don’t hold you guys back later.”
Qi Xun countered, “Is your stamina bad?”
Chen Yuxi answered honestly, “I started intensive training as soon as I received the show invitation.”
The implication was: he had already done his absolute best.
Wang Lanyin was curious: “When did you get the invitation?”
Chen Yuxi: “Late April.”
And today was May 17th.
He had worked hard for a full 19 days!!
Qi Xun: “…”
Wang Lanyin: “…”
Chen Yuxi glanced at the camera, struggling to salvage his dignity: “I exercise normally too.”
Qi Xun: “For instance?”
Wang Lanyin gave him a puzzled look.
Chen Yuxi kept a straight face: “Just some daily exercises, playing some ball games, running, that sort of thing—plus weighted training.”
Qi Xun, however, pursued the matter relentlessly: “What kind of ball games? What’s your running frequency? How many kilometers do you run each time? How many pounds of weight training?”
Wang Lanyin looked at him, then back at Chen Yuxi, deep in thought.
Chen Yuxi didn’t notice.
He hadn’t expected that Qi Xun, who usually hated talking, would be such an ask-questions-about-everything gossip.
Facing the array of cameras shoved in his face, he had no choice and bit the bullet: “Playing some relatively simple ball-related—games, running, uh, picking up express deliveries—my house is really far from the delivery station, and I have to go there often.”
“And the packages are usually very heavy, so that counts as weighted training, right?”
Qi Xun: “…”
Wang Lanyin: “…”
Wang Lanyin sighed and looked at Qi Xun: “It’s up to you now, Teacher Qi.”
Qi Xun: “I think so too.”
Chen Yuxi inwardly scoffed. I just don’t like exercising, it’s not like I can’t do manual labor!
Of course, he didn’t dare snap back.
While talking, they arrived at the bitter gourd field.
Rows upon rows of neat bamboo trellises stood across the ridges, hanging heavy with plump bitter gourds the size of a child’s forearm.
After Wang Lanyin confirmed the boundaries with the staff, the three of them stepped down onto the field ridge and began picking bitter gourds.
The staff even handed each of them a pair of small shears—effortless to use and photogenic on camera.
One ridge of earth, bamboo trellises on both sides. The three of them squeezed inside; Chen Yuxi on the left, Qi Xun on the right, and Wang Lanyin playing assistant—assisting Chen Yuxi.
Feeling awkward and guilty, Chen Yuxi stammered, “I’m young and should be doing more work. You should go help Teacher Qi instead.”
Just as Wang Lanyin was about to speak, Qi Xun, who was leisurely clipping bitter gourds, glanced back over his shoulder: “Are you implying that I’m old, have poor stamina, and need help?”
Scared out of his wits, Chen Yuxi blurted out, “Teacher Qi, don’t let your imagination run wild! I was just showing respect!!”
Qi Xun: “Oh, respecting the elderly. I get it.”
Chen Yuxi: “…”
He hurriedly appealed to Wang Lanyin, who was standing nearby trying not to laugh out loud: “Teacher Wang, save me!”
If this segment aired, Qi Xun’s fans would tear him apart online.
Wang Lanyin: “Hahahaha~ Isn’t this great? It shows Teacher Qi acknowledges your respect!”
She laughed again, “No wonder Teacher Qi likes teasing you, you’re quite cute.”
Qi Xun paused for a moment, tossed the harvested bitter gourd into the bamboo basket on the ground, and said, “Teacher Wang, would you mind helping me grab a bottle of water?”
Still carrying a smile, Wang Lanyin replied, “Sure, no problem. Yuxi, do you want one? Shall I bring you a bottle too?”
She had directly switched to calling him “Yuxi.”
Chen Yuxi quickly followed suit: “Yes, thank you, Sister Lanyin.”
Wang Lanyin’s smile widened: “You’re welcome~”
She turned and walked over to the staff to grab the water.
Qi Xun clipped another bitter gourd and said, as if casually tossing out a remark, “Teacher Wang seems to be over forty, right?”
Seeing that Qi Xun had already filled a small fraction of his basket, Chen Yuxi hurried to speed up his pace, replying as he snipped, “Yes, she turned 44 this year.”
He had done his homework in advance; he had memorized the backgrounds of both permanent guests inside and out.
Qi Xun said coolly, “Oh, 12 years older than me.”
Chen Yuxi: “?”
Why bring that up out of nowhere?
Unable to read the subtext, Chen Yuxi offered a cautious reply: “Well, you’re 32 this year, you can’t tell at all. Just looking at your face, I thought you were my age.”
Flattering him a bit shouldn’t cause any trouble, right?
Qi Xun, however, stopped and narrowed his eyes at him: “I’m only 5 years older than you.”
Chen Yuxi understood.
Saying “thought you were my age” had struck a nerve.
He immediately corrected himself: “Then you’re truly young!! Achieving so many awards at such a young age is incredible! At an age when others are still struggling, you can already retire. It’s so enviable~”
Praising someone’s career path couldn’t possibly be wrong, right?
Chen Yuxi looked at Qi Xun with full confidence.
Qi Xun’s expression, however, only grew worse, and he even glared at him.
Chen Yuxi shrank his neck back.
What did I say wrong?
T_T I’m terrified!!
Just as Qi Xun looked like he wanted to say something, Wang Lanyin walked back holding several bottles of water.
She handed a bottle to each of them, opened one for herself to take a couple of sips, and asked casually, “What are you two chatting about? I could hear you muttering all the way from over there.”
Qi Xun unscrewed his bottle with one hand, took a sip, tossed it into the basket, continued clipping bitter gourds, and replied, “We were experiencing Teacher Chen’s linguistic art.”
Chen Yuxi: “…”
Wang Lanyin: “?” she asked with curiosity, “What kind of linguistic art?”
With a miserable expression, Chen Yuxi briefly recounted: “Giving Teacher Qi a commercial-grade hype job, blowing smoke so hard Teacher Qi gave me a death glare.”
Wang Lanyin: “Hahahaha~”
Qi Xun let out a soft hunch.
Gripping a freshly clipped bitter gourd, Chen Yuxi raised his hands to bow repeatedly to Qi Xun in a gesture of surrender and begging for mercy.
Wang Lanyin laughed even louder.
Qi Xun glanced at her, freed a hand to tap the bamboo sun hat on Chen Yuxi’s head lightly, and rebuked, “Hurry up and work.”
That meant he wasn’t holding a grudge, right? Immensely relieved, Chen Yuxi straightened his back: “Will do! Thank you, Teacher Qi, for sparing my life!”
Qi Xun: “…”
Frowning slightly, he turned his head back to clip more bitter gourds.
Chen Yuxi didn’t pay attention; he had already turned back to his own bitter gourds—he couldn’t afford to offend either of them, so he’d better just shut his mouth and bury himself in manual labor.
Having finally finished laughing, Wang Lanyin joined in on the bitter gourd harvesting, chatting and teasing him as she snipped: “Yuxi, I want to hear your linguistic art too.”
Chen Yuxi: “…Sister Lanyin, your achievements cannot be described in mere words! Spare me!!”
Nearby, Qi Xun scoffed, “Isn’t he pretty good at flattery?”
Wang Lanyin laughed so hard she nearly doubled over: “Hahahaha~”
Chen Yuxi: “…”
Big Brother, spare him! T_T
Wang Lanyin wiped away a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye and said, “Yuxi, I—”
“I’ve filled one basket,” Qi Xun interrupted, “Teacher Wang, give me your back-basket.”
“Oh, oh.” Wang Lanyin hurriedly took off her basket and handed it over, preparing to lift the heavy basket of bitter gourds sitting on the ground.
Qi Xun blocked her and said, “I’ll carry them all out together in a bit, just help me clip.”
Not fighting him for it, Wang Lanyin agreed: “Alright, I’ll leave it to you guys.”
Without saying anything further, Qi Xun resumed harvesting bitter gourds.
Chen Yuxi kept his mouth shut too—among the three of them, he was supposed to be the main labor force, so he needed to pick up the pace.
With Wang Lanyin helping clip a few, combined with his own head-down rapid harvesting, his back-basket was finally full.
Seeing that Qi Xun’s new basket wasn’t even half full yet, Chen Yuxi hoisted his own basket onto his back and reached out to grab the one in front of Qi Xun—
“What are you doing?” Qi Xun tapped his hand with a newly picked bitter gourd and reprimanded him.
Chen Yuxi: “Ah? I’ll carry these two baskets out first.”
Wang Lanyin, who had just snipped another bitter gourd, chimed in, “That’s right, we have to carry them out first, or there’s no way to load them.”
Qi Xun frowned: “On the strength of your express-package-carrying weight capacity?”
Chen Yuxi: “…”
He’s looking down on me!
He bent over, lifted both hands, and grunted, “Heh, look, no problem at all!”
Qi Xun: “…”
Wang Lanyin clapped: “Young man is truly formidable!”
And so, carrying one basket on his back and hauling another with his hands, Chen Yuxi wobbled unsteadily all the way to the roadside, dumping them into the large crate prepared by the staff.
Qi Xun frowned as he stared fixedly at him, only looking away and speeding up his bitter gourd harvesting once Chen Yuxi came to a stop.