A commercial van stopped downstairs of Huangqi Entertainment.
Lin Mo sat in the back seat of the car with her eyes closed, resting.
In the front seat, the accompanying director Zeng Ke kept glancing at his watch again and muttered in a low voice:
“Five minutes left. I knew she’d be late. All this fake glamor and diva behavior—no basic professionalism at all.”
Zhang Bi silently fiddled with the camera equipment. From yesterday’s pre-filming discussion, he remembered that Song Wenxi had arrived almost exactly on time, so he felt Zeng’s judgment was a bit premature.
And as expected, three minutes later, a silver-gray Bentley smoothly pulled up beside the production car. Song Wenxi stepped out from the back seat.
She wore loose blue wide-leg jeans and a purple-rose oversized T-shirt, the front casually tucked into her waistband, hair tied into a low messy bun. Slightly tousled strands framed her face, giving her a clean, relaxed, and lively look.
Lin Mo looked away from outside the window. This was her second time seeing Song Wenxi. The other woman had once again arrived in a luxury car—and clearly not the same young man from the previous time. And those three children…
After Uncle Tang finished putting down the luggage, Song Wenxi stepped onto the bus exactly at the last minute. Seeing Zhang Bi’s camera pointed at her, she asked:
“Are we filming already?”
Zhang Bi smiled politely and nodded.
Alright. From this moment on, the guests were the focus, and the filming crew were just “tools”—they would not interfere unless necessary.
Song Wenxi glanced at the person next to Zhang Bi. She originally intended to greet them, but the other seemed focused on filming and didn’t acknowledge her, so she didn’t mind.
She walked toward the back seat. Lin Mo, sitting on the left, smiled gently. Song Wenxi smiled back and extended her hand:
“Hello, I’m Song Wenxi.”
“Hello, I’m Lin Mo.”
They shook hands briefly.
After a simple exchange, the car fell into silence.
Both Song Wenxi and Lin Mo were permanent guests of the variety show “Xi Lin Has a Home”. Since both lived in Nancheng, the production arranged for them to travel together.
In the entertainment industry, Lin Mo was known for being low-key, quiet, and calm. Song Wenxi was almost her opposite. The production had expected sparks between the two, which was why they started filming from their first meeting.
Instead, the two “professionally filmed” their journey—complete with intermittent naps.
An hour and a half later, they arrived at their destination.
Dragging two large suitcases, Song Wenxi looked at the winding mountain path and silently suspected the production team had sent them here for survival training.
A newly built bamboo-and-wood courtyard halfway up the mountain looked picturesque—but dragging luggage up there was anything but.
Lin Mo was already taking photos, praising the pastoral scenery.
Song Wenxi glanced back and saw only two filming staff. She turned to Zhang Bi:
“Director Zhang, can you help me carry one suitcase?”
Zhang Bi nodded.
She handed him the lighter one and thanked him. Meanwhile, Zeng Ke offered to help Lin Mo, but she politely refused, insisting she could manage.
The mountain path was rough, and dragging suitcases was difficult. Song Wenxi simply lifted hers and walked uphill. With steady strength, she leaned slightly and climbed quickly, almost effortlessly.
She reached the courtyard halfway up without even catching her breath. Zhang Bi was still 200 meters behind and began to suspect her suitcase was empty.
After placing her luggage down, she immediately went back down. Lin Mo was still halfway up, struggling with her suitcase. Song Wenxi took Zhang Bi’s remaining suitcase and headed up again.
Zhang Bi hesitated, then quietly tried lifting one himself.
It was heavy.
He was stunned—her strength was comparable to a man’s.
Technically, they were supposed to help each other for “friendly interaction” and better on-screen chemistry. But Song Wenxi showed no intention of doing that. Instead, she sat on a stone stool and shouted downhill:
“Come on, Lin Mo! You can do it!”
Zhang Bi: “…”
He couldn’t even argue with her logic.
Lin Mo, already halfway up, felt regretful—but still insisted on finishing alone to maintain her “strong, independent” image.
After finally reaching the courtyard, she learned she and Song Wenxi were the first arrivals.
After brief introductions and rule explanations from the production team, they learned the premise of the show:
Four fixed guests, one semi-regular guest, and guest appearances. They would live as farmers—working in vegetable gardens, tea fields, and flower gardens, earning “energy points” to exchange for supplies, experiencing rural life, and showing their real selves off-camera.
The village, Tianxi Village, was small—under 200 residents, mostly living downhill, with some on the mountainside. The nearest town was about ten kilometers away.
Song Wenxi and Lin Mo shared a room.
Just after placing their luggage, another guest arrived.
Before they saw the person, they heard him first:
“Director, you guys are amazing. How did you even find such a paradise?”
“But this road is brutal.”
“Hello? Anyone here? Am I the first?”
Lin Mo went to open the door first, quickly recognizing the newcomer.
“Ah, it’s you! Xiaobei, I love your songs!”
The young singer Huang Shibei introduced himself politely, then noticed Song Wenxi and greeted her with a smile. She shook his hand calmly.
He was energetic, curious, and excited about everything in the courtyard—touching tools, inspecting garlic strings, tapping stone mills like everything was new and fascinating.
An hour later, two more guests arrived.
After greetings and introductions, everyone exchanged polite smiles, each with their own thoughts, before heading inside to settle in.