Following the directions given by the production team, the guests walked for two minutes with their luggage and found that the road conditions had changed. The originally flat cement road ended, and further ahead was the original dirt road.
The road wasn’t narrow, but it wasn’t very smooth. Sometimes there was a small protrusion of soil or a rock, sometimes it was slightly sunken, and occasionally you could see small puddles. Fortunately, it hadn’t rained in the past few days, so the mud on the road was dry and hard, and you wouldn’t get your shoes covered in mud with every step.
It wasn’t a problem for people to walk on it, but everyone was carrying luggage, and there were a few children who seemed extremely curious about every piece of soil, every pebble, and every small puddle.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu were originally pushing their own suitcases, but when they got here they couldn’t push them anymore. The wheels of their suitcases would get stuck on uneven mud, and they would fall down along with their suitcases.
Although Shang Shuji was aloof and taciturn, and hadn’t interacted much with the two children before, the current difficulties were clearly beyond their ability to solve on their own, so he wouldn’t simply ignore them.
Lifting Shang Jingshu, who almost fell, Shang Shuji took the suitcase from her. As for Shang Jingqi’s suitcase, Shang Shuji looked at Xuan Zhixia.
Xuan Zhixia listlessly lifted his eyelids: “Don’t count on me. It’s already a lot of work that I can hold my own suitcase.”
Shang Shuji: “…”
Seeing this, the viewers in the live stream started discussing—
[Hahaha, the domineering CEO is speechless]
[Is Xuan Zhixia not sleeping well or is he in really bad health? He looks so weak.]
[Xuan Zhixia seems to really want President Shang to help him with his luggage, hahaha]
Xuan Zhixia couldn’t be relied on, but fortunately the two children’s suitcases were slightly smaller than the adults’. Shang Shuji put the two suitcases back to back, grabbed the two handles, and walked forward with the three suitcases in his hands.
With their hands free, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu felt much more relaxed and happily went to play with the other children who were curiously looking around.
Xuan Zhixia glanced at Shang Shuji, who was walking ahead and seemed to be carrying three suitcases without much difficulty, and thought listlessly… Shang Shuji looked like he could carry one more suitcase.
The wheels of the suitcase landed on the uneven muddy ground, which increased the resistance to moving forward. The suitcase was already large and heavy, and after three minutes of this, Xuan Zhixia could no longer move forward.
It’s as if all the exercise I did in a year has been used up.
He stopped, leaning on his suitcase to slowly adjust his breathing. He was a little dizzy, and his originally pale face was now flushed with exhaustion. His lips were still very pale, and his eyes were slightly misty. It was a kind of beauty that made people worry about his short life, but it was also breathtaking, like a stunning beauty blooming on a precarious cliff.
”Are you alright?” Xuan Zhixia was helped up by Lin Zhaoshui, who had been walking behind him.
The protagonist in the original story is the bottom.
Feeling weak and unable to catch his breath, Xuan Zhixia felt too weak to even speak, so he could only offer a helpless chuckle.
Lin Zhaoshui looked at him and said with concern, “My suitcase isn’t heavy, I can take another one without any problem. Shall I help you with your luggage?”
Xuan Zhixia knew his own situation well and never liked to be stubborn, but now he could only shake his head slightly and refuse Lin Zhaoshui’s kindness.
Lin Zhaoshui hesitated for a moment: “Are you sure you don’t need to? You don’t need to be shy, I really can carry it.”
Xuan Zhixia took two more slow breaths, then cheered himself up and explained to Lin Zhaoshui, “Thank you, but it’s not that I’m being polite. I just need a support right now, otherwise I’m afraid I won’t be able to stand up straight. This box is a burden, but I really can’t do without it right now.”
[Oh my god…]
[Hmm, it doesn’t look like acting, but can anyone really be that physically weak?]
[Mr. Shang, even if things aren’t going well in your relationship, he’s still your beautiful wife. Come and see him quickly, don’t let someone else’s wife take care of things for you!]
[Hilarious! Does CEO Shang think he can control him? All the other couples walk together, but these two act like they don’t even know each other.]
[Could it be that he’s feigning illness and weakness to create an opportunity to attract Shang Shuji’s attention?]
[Can conspiracy theorists please open their eyes? Can Xuan Zhixia really act like this?]
[Forgive my bluntness, but once you’ve seen Xuan Zhixia’s acting, you’ll know he doesn’t have that kind of acting skill.]
Gao Feng’s exaggerated voice rang out: “My God, Teacher Xuan, is your health really that bad? You’ve only walked a few steps.”
Although Xuan Zhixia walked slowly, he did not break away from the main group.
Because it was the children’s first time in the countryside, they were very curious, and with several like-minded friends together, the rest of the children, except for Gao Shang who was arguing and walking ahead, lagged behind and moved slowly.
The adults were carrying heavy luggage and weren’t in a hurry, so they didn’t rush the children, walking slowly and chatting as they went. Xuan Zhixia, on the other hand, was focused on walking and hadn’t fallen behind.
Xuan Zhixia finally stopped, unable to move any further, and exchanged a few words with Lin Zhaoshui, who had shown concern for him. At this point, the children at the back of the group caught up, and the adults who had been walking in front also noticed the stagnation and turned around to see what was going on.
Gao Feng still remembered that he had questioned Xuan Zhixia, but ended up losing face and making enemies. Now, he seized the opportunity to mock Xuan Zhixia.
Xuan Zhixia was exhausted and didn’t want to pay attention to this person. He leaned on the handle of his suitcase and said to Lin Zhaoshui beside him, “It’s okay, I’ll just rest for a bit. You guys go ahead.”
Lin Zhaoshui still supported him, then hesitated and frowned slightly: “But, you look…”
Shang Shuji looked at Xuan Zhixia without saying a word for a while, then calmly said, “Everyone, please go first. Jingqi, Jingshu, and I will stay.”
Regardless of Shang Shuji and the two children’s attitude towards Xuan Zhixia, they are together on the show now. Since Shang Shuji said that, the others naturally nodded in agreement, and Lin Zhaoshui also breathed a sigh of relief.
Shang Shuji put down the three suitcases he was carrying and then approached Xuan Zhixia.
When he reached Xuan Zhixia, Lin Zhaoshui let go of his hand and returned to his partner Gu Xie.
Gu Xie frowned, looking rather unhappy.
”What’s wrong?” Lin Zhaoshui asked.
Gu Xie shook his head: “Let’s go.”
After saying goodbye to the others, they continued walking forward one after another, and soon only Xuan Zhixia and his three companions, along with the cameraman who was filming, remained in the same spot.
Xuan Zhixia was still leaning on his suitcase, looking listless. Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu looked up at him.
Shang Shuji didn’t urge him, but asked in a serious tone, “With your physique, you thought you could bring Jingqi and Jingshu onto this show all by yourself?”
Xuan Zhixia looked at the road beneath his feet, sighed softly, and didn’t argue with him: “People always have some unrealistic ideas.”
Shang Shuji: “…”
After resting for a while, Xuan Zhixia felt better and asked Shang Shuji, “Can you pull four suitcases by yourself?”
His tone was neither polite nor impolite; it seemed to be a very frank question that came out naturally, leaving Shang Shuji speechless once again.
”I’m grateful that you can walk on your own,” Shang Shuji said, extending his hand.
Xuan Zhixia then handed his suitcase to him.
Having rested well and without the burden of a suitcase, Xuan Zhixia felt much more relaxed and slowly caught up with Shang Shuji.
This time, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu followed Xuan Zhixia and looked up at him several times.
”What are you doing?” Xuan Zhixia asked lazily.
Shang Jingqi: “Um… your health is really bad…”
Xuan Zhixia: “Oh.”
Shang Jingshu touched her hair, feeling a little guilty: “Then… is it because you didn’t drink the medicine last time?”
”Which time?” Xuan Zhixia paused for a moment, then remembered the bowl of medicine with salt added when he first transmigrated to this world.
He smiled and shook his head slightly: “No, it has nothing to do with you.”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this answer.
Glancing at Xuan Zhixia’s pale face, the siblings decided, “Next time you get bullied, we’ll help you!”
Xuan Zhixia sighed helplessly, “Can’t I just hope no one bothers me?”
[Haha, the atmosphere in this family of four isn’t actually that bad!]
[Four suitcases, is this the first time Mr. Shang has done such heavy work in his life…?]
[I don’t know if this was his first time working, but it was definitely the first time he was working while the others weren’t.]
[What did the two children mean when they asked Xuan Zhixia what he didn’t drink?]
After walking for another seven or eight minutes, the group saw the house; it wasn’t hard to find.
Their brick house number five was located near the roadside. Looking back from the brick house, you could see Mu Zhijun’s thatched house number one quite close by, and further back you could see Meng Xiang’s brick house number four.
As for the remaining wooden house number two and stone house number three, they are on the other side of the dirt road, and you have to walk past several abandoned fields that no one cultivates.
In short, the five houses arranged by the production team were not far apart, and each person could see the other four houses by looking around from their own doorstep. However, these houses were also some distance from the other houses in the village, and they did not encounter any villagers along the way.
Although Xuan Zhixia’s brick house is said to be the best, it is only the best among the five houses provided by the program team. It is relatively new and larger, but it is only one-story. In the countryside, where anyone with spare money likes to build two more stories, it is not considered a good condition. Even the front door is the old-fashioned kind that does not come with a lock.
The production team cleaned and decorated the house in advance. There were three cameras on the eaves that could be seen at first glance. The door of the house was closed, and the lock and key were hanging loosely on the door. Pushing the door open, the main room was square and there were two cameras hanging diagonally opposite each other.
Once they arrive here, the cameramen who have been filming all along can take a break and will resume filming when they go out later. The live broadcast of the activities inside the house will be coordinated by the production team.
The house was in average condition, neither particularly good nor bad, and the production crew cleaned it very thoroughly.
Upon entering, Xuan Zhixia saw the recliner placed against the wall in the main room, and he instantly felt even more tired.
So Xuan Zhixia walked straight to the recliner without saying a word, touched it to make sure it was clean and dust-free, and then sat down comfortably, fitting perfectly in.
Shang Shuji arranged the four suitcases and turned around to see this scene. Xuan Zhixia’s eyes were almost closed.
Shang Shuji: “…It’s not lunchtime yet.”
Xuan Zhixia heard it, but had no desire to reply. He was in a state of indifference to the world, lying down very flat.
Shang Shuji had been in charge for many years, and it was rare to encounter such a “hopeless” yet calm and composed person. Moreover, he couldn’t even manage to arrange things for this person. After a moment of silence, Shang Shuji simply gave up and stopped caring.
Shang Shuji led Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu on a tour of the house.
The main room is equivalent to a “living room”, and on the right-hand side of the entrance, which is the lower right side of the main room, there is a bedroom door. Pushing the door open, you will find a bedroom inside.
The bedroom is neither too big nor too small. It has an old-fashioned double bed with a frame, and the bedding and mosquito net are already in place. There is no air conditioning, but there is a fan above the bed.
Next to the bed was a three-door wardrobe, which contained two quilts and two sets of bedding, probably as spares and replacements.
There’s a table about a meter in front of the wardrobe, with a stool tucked underneath. Above it is a window, letting in plenty of sunlight. There’s no dedicated curtain track, and no curtains have been installed.
However, there were nails on both sides above the window, with thread ends still stuck to them. Shang Shuji recalled that he had previously inspected projects in rural areas and had seen the interiors of some old houses. Based on this, he guessed that the two nails must have originally been used to hang a rope, which served as a curtain.
Perhaps the production team felt the curtains were too dirty and old when they cleaned them, or perhaps they just didn’t look good, so they removed the curtains along with the ropes. Since it was inconvenient to install new ones afterward, they simply didn’t install any more curtains.
Regarding privacy issues—
Although there was no camera installed in the bedroom, there was one on the wall outside the bedroom door, which could capture at least most of the bedroom interior when the door was open. Even when the door was closed, the camera could still capture some of the interior through the ventilation window above the door.
In the current program, the bedroom is not considered a private space at all, so whether there are curtains or not does not have much impact. At night, when it is dark, there is no need to worry about being dazzled by sunlight.
Shang Shuji glanced at it but didn’t pay it any mind.
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu are now curious about everything. They used to live in an orphanage, but that was in the city, and the rural scenery was still very new to them.
”There are no curtains! Does that mean I can’t sleep in?” Shang Jingqi said.
”No need to set an alarm!” Shang Jingshu also leaned against the window. “I’ll get up when it’s light!”
The two children were exploring the bedroom when they found two “living allowance red envelopes” that the program crew had mentioned. They examined the envelopes closely, turning them over and over, when they looked up and saw Shang Shuji had already left. They quickly followed.
Inside the main room, Xuan Zhixia lay quietly on the recliner, his eyes completely closed, motionless, as if he had fallen asleep.
Shang Shuji walked past him.
To the right front of the main room is a short corridor. At the end of the corridor, there is a camera on the wall. To the left is the door to another bedroom, which is very similar to the previous one.
At the end of the corridor, directly in front of the bedroom door, is another door leading to what could be considered a backyard. Although it wasn’t enclosed by a wall, the ground was paved with a section of concrete. There was a clothes rack made of wood and long bamboo poles for drying clothes.
Shang Shuji stood in the backyard and looked around. He guessed that the production team probably didn’t install cameras facing the backyard because it’s inevitable that there would be private items when drying clothes.
Inside, starting from the passageway and turning right at the closest point to the main room, you’ll find the kitchen door. Nowadays, many rural areas have access to natural gas, but not every household does; for example, this family doesn’t.
There was no natural gas stove; they used a traditional earthen stove. Two large iron pots and a soup pot were placed on the stove, and firewood was placed against the wall behind the stove.
After seeing the scene in the kitchen, Shang Shuji felt troubled, hoping against hope that the delicate Xuan Zhixia might be able to cook.
He then checked the kitchen. The only good news was that the production team had prepared a rice cooker, so as long as they could buy rice, they wouldn’t have to worry about not having food.
The kitchen was empty, lacking not only rice but also any condiments or other food items with expiration dates. It contained only pots, pans, and paper towels.
There is another door inside the kitchen, leading to the toilet of the house.
The good news is that the house was probably not too old when it was built or last renovated. Although the homeowner didn’t plan to install curtain tracks, the bathroom isn’t a traditional earthen toilet; it has a flush toilet.
The bad news is that this house doesn’t have natural gas, so naturally there’s no water heater for natural gas, and the homeowner hasn’t installed an electric water heater either. Taking a shower will likely require heating the water, which will be quite inconvenient. Fortunately, it’s summer now, so the problem isn’t too serious.
That concludes the tour of the entire house.
Shang Shuji already had a list of items he needed to buy before going out.
While looking at houses with Shang Shuji, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu found three more living allowance red envelopes, leaving them with five more to find.
”The two of you will share this bedroom.”
Shang Shuji took the two children’s suitcases to the bedroom they had first looked at.
”Although there is a difference between men and women, you are both still young, and given the current special circumstances, you will have to make do with sharing a room. There are three quilts available, so you can each have one, and place another quilt in the middle as a divider, each sleeping on your own half of the bed to avoid any conflicts.”
After hearing Shang Shuji’s arrangements, Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu both nodded obediently.
”Huh…” Shang Jingshu tilted her head. “In that case, Dad, will you and Xuan Zhixia… Uncle Xuan be sleeping in the same room?”
There are only two bedrooms in total.
The three of them, Shang Shuji and Xuan Zhixia, were talking in the bedroom, but because they were close together and the environment was quiet, Xuan Zhixia, who was resting with his eyes closed in the main room, could hear their conversation clearly.
Upon hearing this, Xuan Zhixia opened his eyes and frowned slightly.
Then, he listlessly closed his eyes again, continuing to feign sleep. Anyway, there weren’t any extra rooms or beds; he’d figure out what to do when it was time to sleep.
Inside the bedroom, Shang Shuji did not answer Shang Jingshu’s question, but said, “Xuan Zhixia and I are going out to shop next. You two stay here and continue looking for red envelopes. Be careful.”
Having already found five red envelopes and received two hundred yuan in living expenses, Shang Shuji decided to split into two groups and proceed simultaneously.
Although there are no servants to take care of Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu here, there are many live broadcast cameras, so there is no need to worry about leaving the two children alone for a while.
Inside the live stream, viewers were still discussing Shang Jingshu’s question—
[It’s confirmed: President Shang and Xuan Zhixia don’t sleep in the same room at home.]
[Otherwise, children wouldn’t specifically ask.]
[Hmm, does that mean they haven’t slept together since they got married? That can’t be…]
[Mr. Shang, tell me the truth, are you impotent…?]
[What will they do then? There’s only one room left.]
[We don’t need a room yet, let’s do some shopping first. But is Xuan Zhixia still able to walk?]
[Sob, let my wife get some rest!]
Shang Shuji and the two children came out of the bedroom, while Xuan Zhixia remained calm and composed on the recliner.
”Xuan Zhixia,” Shang Shuji called out to him.
Xuan Zhixia had overheard Shang Shuji’s arrangements to the two children earlier, and now he lazily opened his eyes, but did not get up.
Shang Shuji glanced at the time and urged, “Let’s go out and buy some supplies.”
Xuan Zhixia lazily raised his arm, covered his eyes with the back of her hand, and said in a weak voice, “The sun is too strong outside.”
Shang Shuji said coldly, “If you’re afraid of getting heatstroke, you should take off your coat now.”
“No, I mean, the sunlight is too bright and it makes me uncomfortable,” Xuan Zhixia said matter-of-factly.
Shang Shuji: “…”
Shang Jingqi and Shang Jingshu: “…”
Xuan Zhixia lowered his arms, revealing his eyes again, which were shimmering like water: “Besides, I’m really tired right now, both hungry and exhausted. You helped me bring the suitcase, and I can’t help you carry things while shopping. Taking me out will only cause trouble.”
This time, Shang Shuji was unmoved by reason. He insisted, “It’s okay. You can’t work, but you can still talk. You need someone to talk to when you buy things. Even if I don’t care about you, the production team won’t abandon you. Your safety is guaranteed.”
Xuan Zhixia: “…”
After a silent three-second eye contact with Shang Shuji, Xuan Zhixia quickly closed his eyes and blurted out, “The fortune teller said I shouldn’t go out today.”