Time passed day by day, and before long it was time to begin filming the variety show.
After that, Su Qinghe received another call from the program’s director. She gave them her agent’s contact information and let them coordinate directly.
Her agent even praised her for managing to get onto such a show.
The variety show had considerable popularity. In its first season, it had even launched a highly popular on-screen couple. After the show ended, the cast’s popularity surged, bringing in a flood of new job offers.
Our Little Courtyard began filming on its first day.
10 a.m. in the morning.
After a bumpy ride, Su Qinghe’s car finally arrived at the village entrance.
The program crew’s vehicle was parked there. Su Qinghe got out of the car dragging a large suitcase, with a camera crew following behind her.
Today she was dressed very simply, in a loose cotton-linen shirt, black sports pants, and a pair of canvas shoes slightly dusted with dirt. Her hair was casually tied into a messy bun, and she wore no foundation at all, only sunscreen.
“So this is the courtyard?” she asked, her eyes lighting up as she looked at the small rural courtyard made of blue bricks and gray tiles.
Someone was already inside the yard.
A young man was squatting by a well washing vegetables. Hearing the noise, he looked up.
He was in his early twenties, with refined features and a gentle temperament, smiling in a slightly naïve, harmless way.
Su Qinghe recognized him immediately, Zhou Yichen, a rookie who had debuted through an idol survival show last year. He was known for his good personality and was the type people joked they could easily “bully because he was too nice.”
“Hello!” Zhou Yichen stood up, still with wet hands, and enthusiastically greeted her. “You’re Sister Su Qinghe, right? I’ve watched your vlog! The one with the douzhi, it was hilarious!”
Su Qinghe replied, “…Thanks?”
Zhou Yichen helped carry her luggage while walking inside and introduced the others. “Sister Yinuo and Brother Muyan are here, Brother Shen Ci hasn’t arrived yet, Sister Jiang Nian is upstairs unpacking, and President Lu might arrive in the afternoon…”
When she heard “President Lu,” Su Qinghe’s expression did not change at all.
It had nothing to do with her.
She was here to farm.
After entering the house, Jiang Nian just happened to come down from the second floor.
She wore a white cotton-linen dress, her long hair loose over her shoulders, her makeup delicate and refined, looking like a heroine who had stepped straight out of an art film.
The two of them met each other’s gaze.
Jiang Nian smiled slightly, polite yet distant. “Hello, Teacher Su.”
Su Qinghe also smiled. “Hello, Teacher Jiang. Just call me by my name, no need to be so formal.”
Jiang Nian nodded and did not say more, turning toward the kitchen.
Su Qinghe did not mind. She carried her luggage upstairs, casually picked a room, tossed her bag inside, and went back downstairs.
In the courtyard, Zhou Yichen was still washing vegetables.
Su Qinghe walked over and squatted beside him, glancing at the basin.
“Is this lunch for today?”
“Yes,” Zhou Yichen replied with a naive expression. “The program said ingredients are limited, and for this period we have to grow and eat our own food. It shouldn’t be too hard, right?”
Su Qinghe fell silent for two seconds.
She recalled the original plot of this variety show. It was marketed as a slow-life farming program, but in reality most guests just chatted, strolled around, cooked, and ate. Occasionally they would go to the fields, pull out a couple of weeds for show, and return for filming.
Actual farming?
That basically did not exist.
But Su Qinghe had no intention of pretending.
She was really here to farm.
Just as she stood up and stepped into the courtyard again, movement came from the entrance.
A car stopped at the village gate, and the door opened to reveal a pair of elegant high heels stepping out first.
The woman wore a perfectly tailored silk blouse, the collar slightly open to reveal a delicate collarbone. Her features were bright and striking, with a hint of lazy allure in her eyes. As she walked over in heels, she moved with graceful confidence, turning a rural path into a runway.
Su Qinghe was stunned.
Zhou Yichen exclaimed softly beside her, “Sister Liu Yinuo!”
Only then did Su Qinghe react. So this was Liu Yinuo, the low-profile powerhouse actress from the original novel.
Wasn’t she supposed to be thirty?
She looked like she was twenty-five at most.
Liu Yinuo reached the courtyard gate and smiled at the people inside.
In a soft, slightly Taiwanese-accented voice, she said, “Aiya, you all arrived so early, am I the last one?”
Her voice was sweet with a hint of charm, like glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in honey, making one’s bones feel weak just from listening.
Zhou Yichen immediately greeted her. “No, no! Sister Liu, you’re not late! President Lu hasn’t arrived yet!”
Liu Yinuo curved her eyes into a smile and looked around the courtyard, her gaze briefly pausing on Su Qinghe.
“You are Su Qinghe, right? I’ve watched your vlog, the douzhi one. I laughed so hard.”
Su Qinghe blinked. “You watched that too?”
“Of course,” Liu Yinuo replied as she walked closer, looking her up and down. “You look much prettier in person. Your skin is really good.”
Su Qinghe felt slightly embarrassed. “Thank you, Teacher Liu…”
“Don’t call me Teacher Liu, just call me sister,” Liu Yinuo waved her hand. “I’m quite a bit older than you, calling me sister is just right.”
Zhou Yichen muttered beside them, “Sister Liu, you don’t look that much older… you look about the same as us…”
Liu Yinuo laughed. “Such a sweet mouth. I’ll give you candy later.”
Watching this scene, Su Qinghe felt slightly dazed.
The original novel had not described Liu Yinuo in much detail, only mentioning she was a low-profile, skilled actress. But the person in front of her was clearly a charming and slightly playful beauty.
Her voice was soft, her smile sweet, yet she carried a mature feminine allure.
That contrast was incredible.
By 10:30 a.m., all the guests had arrived.
Zhao Muyan, twenty-six, a rising young actor with increasing popularity. He was 185 cm tall with long legs and a sunny smile. According to the novel, he was actually a hidden culinary expert. His parents were busy when he was young, so he learned how to cook on his own. Later, to prepare for roles, he even trained in professional kitchens and ended up becoming obsessed with cooking.
Zhou Yichen, twenty-two, an idol debut from a survival show. Fresh out of university age, still carrying the innocence of a new graduate entering society.
Shen Ci, twenty-eight, a model-turned-actor, 188 cm tall, outgoing personality, the classic “handsome but a bit clueless” type.
Lu Zhiheng arrived last.
He wore a black casual suit over a white shirt, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing a clean, defined wrist line. When he stepped into the courtyard, sunlight fell across his profile, making him look almost radiant.
The courtyard fell silent for a second.
Zhou Yichen muttered softly, “He’s way too handsome…”
Squatting by the well, Su Qinghe did not even lift her head. She continued washing the radishes in her hands.
Lu Zhiheng’s gaze swept across the courtyard and paused briefly on her.
She was dressed plainly, her hair slightly messy, hands covered in soil as she carefully scrubbed the dirt off the radishes. She did not even notice his arrival.
Completely unlike the Su Qinghe he remembered, who had worn heavy makeup and acted as if she wanted to throw herself at him every time they met.
Lu Zhiheng withdrew his gaze and calmly greeted the others before heading inside to put away his luggage.