Chapter 218: The Season of Love
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Mu Sheng raised her head and glanced at Li Hanchen. Although he seemed cold, Mu Sheng inexplicably detected him laughing at her inside.
Mu Sheng recalled Jiang Tian desperately reminding her what she had to watch out for during filming before she came. She nodded and said calmly, “Hi.”
Li Hanchen nodded slightly before returning to his previous spot. It felt as though something would explode the moment they spoke more.
Mu Sheng had a slightly cool vibe while Li Hanchen seemed utterly glacial.
The two of them were equally cold and it promptly felt as though the filming location was the North Pole.
The director looked up into the sky depressingly. Ever since he arrived here, he had regretted putting Li Hanchen and Mu Sheng on the same team for the umpteenth time.
The audience was dumbstruck as well.
[Hahaha! Oh god. I have been watching entertainment programs for years, I have never seen such an awkward situation. I think the two of them will never be on talking terms even after the filming has ended.]
[I can’t stop laughing. They are just too cold and distant. Hahaha! This is killing me. Would they lose a pound of flesh if they spoke a little more?]
[Mu Sheng was so rude. I don’t know what to say. Li Hanchen had already reached his hand out to shake hands, but Mu Sheng did nothing. Does she think he isn’t good enough? ]
Meanwhile, Su Ran smiled slightly with his silver hair glinting in the sun. He slowly walked over to Wen Lan and sat down in front of her as she sat upright.
“Miss Wen, long time no see.” Su Ran gave off a sensual vibe and even his voice sounded frivolous, lazy, and casual as he looked at her with his sexy eyes smiley.
Su Ran smiled even more brightly and seemed dazzling under the sun. “Your acting is getting better by the day.”
Wen Lan went quiet. Uneasiness distinctly swept across her face, but she kept up a courteous smile thanks to her fine manners. “You are too kind, Mr. Su.”
[Oh god! What’s wrong with Su Ran? He keeps talking about her acting skills. Is he trying to make her angry? Has he forgotten what he said about Wen Lan’s non-existent acting skills a few months ago?]
[I can’t believe Su Ran is acting this way. Is he a man? He doesn’t have any manners at all and he is so petty. How could he become a top celebrity with this attitude? Ptooey!]
[Although I am Su Ran’s fan, I think he was too much. You never know. Perhaps Wen Lan privately did something to piss off Su Ran. Su Ran can get willful sometimes, but he has basic courtesy, so he would never openly attack anyone.]
Things at the filming location felt awkward as the viewers commented online.
Ye Zhipei was usually a courteous man, but he did not take the initiative to greet Chu Rao. Instead, he stood where he was without budging like a statue standing in front of an ancient Chinese academy.
Chu Rao kept looking at the tips of her shiny high heel shoes with her head lowered. Her talent agent’s howling could be heard from over the earpiece and it was making her deaf.
Chu Rao eventually succumbed to the talent agent’s pressure and walked over to Ye Zhipei.
Even though Chu Rao had the tendency to do as she pleased, she seemed intimidated for once as she walked over to Ye Zhipei reluctantly in her 15-centimeter high stilettos.
‘Hi, Prof Ye.” Chu Rao finally went over to greet him as her talent agent bombarded her over the earpiece.
Ye Zhipei raised his head and glanced at Chu Rao as if out of charity. Chu Rao could feel her hair standing when he looked at her. He glanced at her minidress and said, “Since you are appearing on a show, you should wear the right clothes for it.”
The audience felt Ye Zhipei was simply speaking the truth.
In Chu Rao’s opinion, she felt Ye Zhipei was out to make trouble for her! She raised her head and glanced at Ye Zhipei.
The stupid man must be envious of her beauty!
Chu Rao instantly felt intimidated when she saw the look on Ye Zhipei’s eyes and pursed her lips as she said, “Prof Ye, this is the most decent outfit I own.”
Even the production team laughed in a stifled tone when they heard what she said. Ye Zhipei promptly looked annoyed, and Chu Rao instinctively felt terrified and hurriedly waved her hands as she said, “Fine. I will wear something else tomorrow!”
Chu Rao ran up to Mu Sheng and held her arm and said, “Sheng, don’t you think Prof Ye is being unreasonable?”
Mu Sheng spoke her mind. “I think he was right.”
Chu Rao went speechless. She glanced at Mu Sheng’s flawless features. Never mind. Since Mu Sheng was pretty, she would not argue with Mu Sheng.
After the awkward introduction was over, the production team and even the audience heaved a sigh of relief inside.
“Now that the introductions have been made, please hand over your phones and other electronic devices. Every team will get $200 start-up funds.”
The director held a loudhailer as he told the production team to confiscate everyone’s electronic devices before splitting them into three groups. “For the next week, all you will get is $200.”
The moment the director finished his sentence, Chu Rao protested, “$200? Is that all? Are you for real?”
The director cleared his throat. “That’s right. $200 is all you will get. You are encouraged to generate your own income, but you will only start with $200. The team with the most amount of funds on the last day is the winner.”
“Fine. You must have at least prepared cooking ingredients for us, right?” Chu Rao compromised. She had to at least ensure she could fill her stomach.
“Nope.” The director shook his head. “The money is intended for all expenses.”
Chu Rao was gobsmacked. Was it too late for her to leave now? Chu Rao seriously suspected her talent agent of giving her this assignment as an act of hate. Her talent agent had made her appear on the show with her ex-boyfriend and forced her to live in poverty.
The guests were not alone, and even the viewers were confounded by what they were seeing.
The show was already on its fourth season. Even though the director was tough on its guests, he had never gone as far as giving them a starting fund of only $200.
The funds had to last seven days and were intended to cover all expenses. The viewers felt it was mission impossible just thinking about it.
[I suspect the director is messing with them. What can you possibly do with $200 in this time and age?]
[My family’s daily expenses already add up to $200. I think these celebs spend 100 times more money on cooking ingredients. Even the money they accidentally lose is more than $200.]
[Even though I feel bad for them, I am very tickled. Oh no. Although this is an unusual episode, I can’t help laughing. The guests are really having such a hard time.]
Everyone kept talking about the show online.
Meanwhile, at the filming location.
The guests had handed in all their digital devices and were left only with their clothing.
“Alright. Now you can go to the market and get some necessities.”
The guests headed for the market one after another.
Mu Sheng pretended to keep her distance from Li Hanchen and kept 2 meters of space between them as they walked. Li Hanchen did not mind and simply followed behind her unhurriedly.
Since it was early spring, there were all kinds of fresh flowers in the market. The warm afternoon sun left a gold light on the flowers.
People sat by the roadside in small groups as they chatted. They did not get too excited when they saw Mu Sheng and the others. Since the locals did not have much access to the internet, they did not know they were celebrities. They were simply awestruck by their good looks.
Mu Sheng had never been to a small town like this before. She followed the map and found her way to the market and was instantly stunned.
The people were dressed in brightly colored folk costumes. Hawkers were selling their wares in small stalls, and all kinds of goods were laid out on the streets.
Even though there were a lot of things for sale, Mu Sheng did not recognize a single item.
Jiang Tian had told her ten things to avoid while she was filming, and she wondered if asking her partner for help was a part of those rules.
Mu Sheng halted before looking at Li Hanchen nearby. “Han… Mr. Li, do you know what we need to get?”
Li Hanchen glanced at Mu Sheng and said nothing. He simply walked with Mu Sheng following behind him quietly.
Since the two of them stuck out like sore thumbs in the market, the hawkers forgot to peddle their wares and kept staring at Mu Sheng.
For some reason, Li Hanchen suddenly stopped and changed spots with Mu Sheng. “Walk over there.”
“Okay.” Mu Sheng walked on the right side instead.
Mu Sheng saw Li Hanchen walk to a shop selling rice and noodles, so she followed him into the shop.
“5 kilograms of rice and 5 kilograms of flour.” Li Hanchen glanced at the racks and told the shopkeeper what he wanted.
“Sure thing! The rice is $17 and the flour is $30. That’s a total of $47.” The shopkeeper tapped on the calculator loudly.
Li Hanchen was about to pay when his eyes landed on the snacks on the cashier counter. “Why don’t you give me three more lollipops to make it a nice whole number?”
After coming out of the shop, Li Hanchen went to the minimart to buy salt and oil. Li Hanchen bought two bags of biscuits so that he could make a nice whole number again.
[I seriously think Li Hanchen has some kind of OCD. No matter what he buys, he wants to make it a whole number.]
[Is this really the time to have OCD? He only has $200 between them. He should really stop being fussy so that he doesn’t keep wasting his money, ]
[I think so too. Candy and biscuits are a complete waste of money. Li Hanchen and Mu Sheng don’t eat sweet snacks to begin with.]
They promptly saw Mu Sheng put a lollipop into her mouth.
The viewers were flabbergasted.
Since they were in a small town, most of the candy was made of maltose and tasted quite different from the candy she was used to, but it was good.
Maltose could get quite sticky, so Mu Sheng had some trouble chewing. Her cheeks were slightly bulging as she chewed. Her long dense eyelashes fluttered as she ate the candy.
Mu Sheng always looked serious when she ate. It seemed as though she was doing her utmost to sample the candy.
The viewers promptly swallowed saliva as they watched her.
Mu Sheng felt it was good, so she automatically wanted to share it with Li Hanchen. The moment she turned around, she recalled they had to pretend to be unacquainted. Since she could not take the initiative to speak to him, she was briefly at a loss.
Li Hanchen knew what she was thinking, so he made small talk. “You don’t look like the sort who likes candy.”
Mu Sheng licked the candy. “This is quite good. Do you want some?”
Li Hanchen’s eyes landed on Mu Sheng. “Okay.”
The moment he finished his sentence, Li Hanchen took the candy from Mu Sheng. They continued shopping as they ate, leaving the audience bewildered.
[What am I watching here? Even though they don’t look like the sort who eat candy, Mu Sheng loves it.]
[They were probably trying not to waste any money. After all, they only have $200. In hindsight, Mu Sheng seems to be rather sensible.]
[Why are all the guests so strange? You should check out Chu Rao and Ye Zhipei. Hahaha! They are really killing me.]
The scene changed, and Chu Rao and Ye Zhipei appeared on the screen.
Things were initially peaceful between them as they walked into the market with miles of space in between them.
The first thing Ye Zhipei purchased was not rice or noodles. Instead, he spent $10 buying a pair of floral cotton shoes.
The old lady selling the shoes glanced at Chu Rao when she learned the shoes were for her and promptly recommended the most brightly colored pair of shoes she had.
“Here you go. I think these will do great. They look perfect for you.” The old lady looked at Chu Rao’s face and sighed when she saw how pretty she was.
Chu Rao glanced at the pair of old-fashioned floral cotton shoes fit for traditional performances during the Chinese New Year and felt resistant.
After paying for the shoes, Ye Zhipei noticed Chu Rao standing there without budging, so he adjusted his spectacles and said, “I heard you used to study at Metropolis University as well.”
Chu Rao went quiet. Other people might not know what Ye Zhipei was trying to say, but Chu Rao could certainly detect the threat.
Chu Rao was not from Metropolis University, but she often went over because Ye Zhipei was a student there. She often went to Metropolis University and sat in for his classes.
Chu Rao snapped out of her thoughts and frowned. Why did she suddenly think about those things?
Damn that Ye Zhipei! The stupid man must be trying to embarrass her!
Chu Rao was worried that Ye Zhipei would say the wrong things on camera, so she swiftly walked up in front of the old lady and said, “Granny, your work is simply beautiful! I love it! It goes perfectly with my address!”
Chu Rao hurriedly took off her 15-centimeter high stilettos and put on the floral cotton shoes.
The unsophisticated floral cotton shoes and her sexy dress made an awfully strange outfit.
Chu Rao felt as though Ye Zhipei was trying to mess with her, so she kept cursing to herself. However, she failed to notice the shoes were a perfect fit.
[Wow! Prof Ye is so well-mannered. He probably bought Chu Rao a pair of shoes because it was too hard to walk in her stilettos.]
[Chu Rao left me speechless. She is nothing but a troublemaker. They had to waste $10 because she did not come dressed in the right shoes. This is inconceivable. What was she thinking when she came wearing a pair of 15-centimeter high heels?]
[I can’t bear watching this. Chu Rao is such a princess and keeps causing trouble.]
Before the viewers were done dissing her, Ye Zhipei had already come back with the rice, oil, and other toiletries.
Chu Rao was still bearing a grudge for being forced to wear the floral cotton shoes, so she decided she was not going to lift a finger to help.
A red cartoon figurine slipped out of his pocket slightly when Ye Zhipei bent over.
Chu Rao felt mortified.
She instantly recognized the figurine since it was a birthday gift from her to Ye Zhipei.
Why was Ye Zhipei showing her the figurine? Chu Rao opened her eyes wide at him as he carried the shopping.
Stupid man! How dare he threaten her!
Chu Rao hurriedly ran over and gritted her teeth as she took the stuff. “Prof Ye, you are an educated man, so you shouldn’t do all this heavy lifting. Why don’t you leave it to me?”
Before Ye Zhipei could react, Chu Rao had placed the rice and flour on her left and right shoulders respectively. She took the bag of oil and condiments with her left hand and the ingredients with her right as she said, “Let’s go, Prof Ye.”
Ye Zhipei seemed surprised by Chu Rao’s behavior and pondered before he said, “Why don’t you leave the stuff to me?”
Chu Rao smiled. “Prof Ye, don’t worry about it. Why don’t you just let me carry them? I love doing the heavy lifting.”
However, Chu Rao almost wanted to explode inside her heart.
Stupid man! He kept saying he wanted to help, but he certainly did not lift a finger! He was all talk! She was simply unlucky to be on the same team as him! If he did anything to offend her, she was going to give him a piece of her mind!
Chu Rao angrily left carrying the stuff. From behind, even though she was dressed in a designer mini dress, she blended in well and looked completely like a local.
[Just look at this! Doesn’t Chu Rao put on makeup even to collect takeout at the door? Is she still the same woman? Or did she get possessed?]
[Doesn’t it look weird? This is hilarious. I thought that vixen was going to push Prof Ye around. I didn’t expect the opposite to happen and Chu Rao to end up bullied. Hahahaha! Well done. Even though she is very slim, she is able to carry so much stuff. I am deeply impressed.]
[Oh my. Even though Prof Ye looks like a quiet cultured man, he seems to have total control over Chu Rao. Am I imagining things or something?]
In comparison, Su Ran and Wen Lan’s team seemed the most normal of the lot.
Wen Lan was probably so calm that even Su Ran had trouble picking a fight.
Wen Lan was in charge of shopping.
It was public knowledge that Wen Lan was beautiful and came from a wealthy family, but she ended up very good with household work. Su Ran followed her frivolously like a privileged brat without lifting a finger as she purchased everything they needed.
Fortunately, they did not have any conflict. Although Su Ran did not help to purchase anything, he helped Wen Lan carry the stuff.
Meanwhile, at the base at Continent M.
Since most of the employees were Chinese, they watched Chinese entertainment programs whenever they were homesick.
“A Journey Through Food” was about food and countryside life, so the show was naturally a hit among them.
The moment the new season started to air, everyone watched the show over dinner.
“What are you watching?” Shen Lin yawned as he walked in through the door lazily.
“We are watching a show.” Other than the core members of the group, no one else had seen Li Hanchen’s face before, so no one reacted when they saw him appear on the program.
Shen Lin happened to glance at the screen and his pupils instantly expanded. He promptly suppressed his shock and said, “Don’t you have any work to do? Why do you keep wasting time watching shows? I am going to deduct your bonuses.”
“Boss, can you stop picking on us?” His staff wailed miserably. Shen Lin waved his hand and replied, “Never mind. Just keep watching it.”
Shen Lin casually glanced at the title of the show before swaggering back to his office. The moment he closed the door, he ran over to his desk to search for “A Journey Through Food”.
Shen Lin went into deep thought as he looked at the gorgeous face on the screen.
He tapped on the show and watched it briefly and felt astonished.
His boss hated flowers, but here he was discussing whether peach blossoms or pear blossoms were prettier with Mu Sheng.
His boss detested fish, but why did he go to the market and buy fish?
Also, the thin metal bracelet which Li Hanchen wore all the time was nowhere to be seen. However, the woman beside him was now wearing a new bracelet.
Shen Lin felt as though everything he had known for his entire career had changed drastically, so he had to call Qin Kai.
Qin Kai was working on a proposal when he clicked to answer. “I have a meeting in three minutes. You have one minute to speak.”
“You stuffy old fool! Do you have to be so harsh?” Shen Lin rolled his eyes. “Remember the woman we were talking about? The one who was capable of changing our boss? I know who she is.”
“So?” Qin Kai felt Shen Lin had nothing better to do than to talk about this.
“Oh god! She is simply gorgeous. She has the perfect figure, a pretty face, and a cool vibe! Even I would have fallen for her!” Shen Lin could not help feeling impressed by Mu Sheng.
Qin Kai checked the time. One minute was already up, so he said, “I have recorded what you said. I will send it to Mr. Li when he comes back.”
The moment he finished his sentence, Qin Kai added, “Let me remind you that the last man who had designs on Young Madam got maimed by Young Master and is still in the ICU.”
Oh god! Shen Lin looked at the phone in disbelief. “Qin Kai, are you still human?”
Meanwhile, at “A Journey Through Food”…
After everyone finished buying things, they headed towards the compounds prepared by the production team.
Since they were in a small town, all the residences were built by the locals and came with the main compound and a yard.
The compound Mu Sheng and Li Hanchen were assigned to was relatively small, but very clean. More importantly, there were all kinds of flowers and fruit trees growing in the yard.
In her past life, she had read about such plants in books only, and they felt completely different when she saw them in person.
Everyone watched as Mu Sheng walked into the compound with her lofty aura as though she were a queen inspecting her realm. The audience felt blown away by her majestic aura.
She walked up in front of the kumquat tree brimming with fruit and turned to ask the production team. “Do I have to pay if I want to eat this?”