In the Gu Family’s bamboo forest area.
“Back already, baby? Did you have fun playing over at Xuxu’s side?” Su Ziyu asked gently.
Gu Mohan, though small, kept a cold expression on his face. “She just kept digging and digging, her hands were full of mud, and she ignored me!”
After saying that, he wrinkled his brows in disgust.
Su Ziyu was momentarily stunned. Seeing her son’s unhappy expression, she quickly pulled him into her arms and comforted him, “Xuxu is busy, she didn’t mean to ignore you. Once the competition ends, go find her again and she’ll definitely pay attention to you, alright?”
Only after seeing her precious son’s expression improve slightly did she feel relieved.
But ultimately, because even Xuxu was busy over there, she felt a trace of guilt in her heart.
She turned to look at Qin Yize, who was drenched in sweat and working hard with his head lowered.
“Xiao Ze, thank you for your hard work. That father and son really aren’t suited for this kind of labor. As for me, my hand is injured, so we can only rely on you.”
So that made him the one suited for this kind of work?
Qin Yize thought to himself.
The families he had hoped to be assigned to were the high-traffic An Family and Ye Family.
Being assigned to the Gu Family, he had already been persuading himself to accept it.
The Gu Family’s popularity ranked in the middle—not bad—and they were wealthy. Building a good relationship with them would bring only benefits.
But he had not expected this family to be so bizarre!
Even a family with an imperial throne to inherit wouldn’t dare act so arrogantly, would they?
Gu Lin, a grown man in his prime, had the nerve to just stand there doing nothing—this was a live broadcast!
Su Ziyu had said she would help, but after getting a tiny cut, she immediately quit.
She even made a big fuss and drew all the staff over.
Gu Lin at least stopped standing idle, but he didn’t even help put on a bandage. Instead, he held Su Ziyu and started losing his temper at the director.
And that child did nothing either—while he was digging bamboo shoots, the kid looked at him with disgust and said his hands were dirty!
Was this entire family treating him like a servant?!
If it weren’t for the live broadcast cameras pointed right at him, he would have long lost control of his expression!
He forced a fake smile. “It’s fine, it’s fine.”
Forget it. The netizens would definitely be displeased with this family’s “royal” behavior. If he maintained the image of a hardworking and obedient person, he might gain some popularity instead.
Seeing that Qin Yize’s attitude had softened, Su Ziyu let out a breath of relief.
Then she looked at the two large baskets full of bamboo shoots and praised him, “Xiao Ze is really capable. With so many bamboo shoots, it should be enough to pay back the director team for breakfast. Cameraman, hurry and focus on filming this!”
She completely failed to notice the stiffness at the corners of Qin Yize’s mouth.
—Is this the Qing Dynasty? Does Gu Lin think he’s the emperor, and Su Ziyu the empress? Do they think they’re being approachable? Someone else worked hard for so long, and you made a fuss over a tiny cut—who’s “our family” with you?
—The Gu Family is way too overbearing. Earlier, during the children’s introductions, because Xing Rumei introduced herself first, Su Ziyu directly guided that little girl to apologize.
—If you can’t stand it, then don’t watch. This is how rich people live. They’re usually served by others—should they lower themselves just to cooperate on a variety show?
—Unbelievable. What kind of people are licking up to the Gu Family in the comments? Are they even carbon-based lifeforms?
—Only the Ye, An, Lin, and Xing families are relatively grounded.
—Ye and An are alright. That kid from the Lin Family is really introverted—just plays by himself and barely interacts even with his dad. Xing Rumei is lively and cheerful, but she’s not very sensible. Her mom told her to dig bamboo shoots properly, but she refused and kept digging around the soil of one shoot, not knowing what she was looking for. It’s quite annoying.
—I agree. She even took the initiative to introduce herself first, before our Little Angel Xuxu. Feels like low EQ and a bit scheming.
—Xuxu is undeniably the group favorite. A little rich prince like Gu Mohan doesn’t like any other kids, only our Xuxu. He even went over specially during the competition to check on her—so sweet!
The VJ looked at the barrage of comments and sighed.
Could he switch families to film?
The Gu Family was simply too uncooperative.
Each family had one cameraman, but Gu Mohan kept running over to the Ye Family’s side, constantly going in and out of frame. Every time, the angle had to be readjusted, making things very difficult.
Sigh. At least, due to the criticism—and the pairing of Gu Mohan and Ye Xuxu—the popularity had risen a bit.
He would just endure it.
Time passed second by second, and finally, it was time for the competition to end.
The An Family’s VJ, upon hearing the notification through his earpiece, was still frantically searching for a better angle to film An Shijiu digging bamboo shoots.
Though drenched in sweat, he didn’t mind at all. His smile stretched almost to his ears.
The livestream room he was managing had the highest popularity!
What could be more exciting than that?!
After receiving the notice, he still felt reluctant, but responsibly informed the An Family.
“Time’s up.”
An Shijiu immediately stopped. Without even glancing at the half-dug bamboo shoot, she stood up directly.
—Ahhh, dig it out! Finish it! Don’t force me to beg you!
—My OCD can’t handle this. It’s already halfway dug and she can just stop? An Shijiu is ruthless!
An Shijiu looked at the bamboo shoots scattered across the ground and began picking them up one by one, placing them into the basket.
An Zhe also carried his half-full basket over to his mother, bent down, and started picking them up.
Shen Yanjing should have been focusing on An Zhe.
However, in reality, his gaze involuntarily drifted toward An Shijiu.
Even while simply picking up bamboo shoots, her expression was extremely serious. Her lips were tightly pressed together, her brows slightly furrowed beneath her hair.
Her cheeks carried a healthy flush, and a few strands of orange-pink hair clung to the side of her face with sweat.
His Adam’s apple moved uncontrollably.
Then, in an instant, he clenched his hand in self-disgust.
There was something inexplicably contradictory about An Shijiu.
From her life trajectory, her conduct as an internet celebrity, and the circles she moved in—including her bold scheme against him six years ago—
She should have been a vain, cold-hearted, and ruthless fool.
But after actually interacting with her, he inexplicably felt a kind of pure gentleness from her, and occasionally, a sharp, almost piercing intensity in her gaze.
This temperament felt very similar to the person in his dreams. That was why, rationally, he despised her, yet his eyes were always drawn to her against his will.
Was it all an act?
Was her connection to his dream… just a coincidence?
In a short while, the two had filled their baskets, yet there were still bamboo shoots left on the ground.
Shen Yanjing saw An Shijiu stand up. His slightly furrowed brows deepened further as he stared at the scattered bamboo shoots on the ground, unmoving.
Was she spacing out? Upset because the basket couldn’t hold more?
He let out a deep breath and clicked his tongue softly.
Pushing those inexplicable thoughts aside, he walked over to the VJ.
“Give feedback to the director team. Either send tools to carry the bamboo shoots, or have staff come clean this up. Let’s see how Director Li arranges it.”
At the village entrance, the tables set up in the morning were still in place. The guests returned here with hands full of mud.
Qi Xin said, “Director, we’re back. What about those bamboo shoots?”
Director Li stood in the center. “All the families’ harvests have already been collected by the staff.”
“We will bring them up starting from the smallest amount for each family!”
“Which family will be the champion of this competition? Let us witness it together!”
—Oh ho, exciting! The first one brought up will be so embarrassing! I guess it’s the Gu Family—after all, only one person was working!
—I think it’s the Lin Family. Lin Fei wasn’t very active, and Liu Momo didn’t really work either, just wanted screen time. Lin Qinghe just played by himself and ignored everyone.
—This is completely unfair. Out of six families, four are single-parent households. That’s such a disadvantage.