CH 22.2

Time passed quickly, and thanks to the three of them being particularly proactive in searching for food, they had a fruitful harvest. The three bamboo baskets were filled to the brim, and Su Chengyang’s anger dissipated as she filled his basket with meat one bag at a time. Before long, she was laughing so hard that she couldn’t see his own teeth.

The three of them returned with a full load and headed towards Room 1. As expected, they had the most abundant food, which shocked the other two teams.

Jiang Shanqi raised an eyebrow and took a few glances into Su Chengyang’s basket. She caught a whiff of a strange smell and walked up to Su Chengyang, teasing her, “Did you fall into a pit of manure?”

Su Chengyang’s face turned black.

Han Songxue hooked her arm around Su Chengyang’s shoulder, not minding the smell on her body, and described the situation in detail to everyone. After hearing it, everyone laughed so hard and vowed to make Su Chengyang eat her fill tonight.

Su Chengyang stood in the middle, looking numb.

Finally, Tan Qi couldn’t stand it any longer and told her, “Chengyang, go upstairs and take a shower.”

“Thanks, Sister. You’re the best.”

After speaking, she turned her head and glared at Han Songxue next to her. She knew this person couldn’t keep her mouth shut.

Su Chengyang wanted to take a shower upstairs, so she asked Xiao Lu to bring some clean clothes from Room 9. Lin Yu was standing next to Xiao Lu when she spoke, so Su Chengyang didn’t dare to go over in case her smell bothered them. She asked Xiao Lu to go back and bring her clothes.

After Xiao Lu nodded and left Room 1, Su Chengyang planned to go upstairs to take a shower and have Xiao Lu bring the clothes to her later. However, Lin Yu happened to be standing at the staircase. Su Chengyang felt embarrassed and said, “Mr. Lin, could you please move aside? I want to go upstairs and take a shower. The smell on my body is too strong.”

Lin Yu smiled and then pointed at Su Chengyang with his finger.

Su Chengyang looked confused and said, “Huh?”

Lin Yu saw that she didn’t understand his meaning, so he walked slowly towards her.

“Don’t…smell…”

But before he finished his sentence, Lin Yu had already walked up to her.

Su Chengyang instinctively wanted to step back, but she heard Lin Yu say, “Don’t move.”

After all, Lin Yu was her boss, so she stood there motionless when he spoke.

Then, Lin Yu suddenly raised his right hand and slowly reached towards her head. As he lifted his hand, a faint breath rushed into her nostrils, particularly clear amidst the strange and peculiar smells that surrounded them.

Lin Yu smiled throughout and stopped his hand on her head, pulling out a white feather from beneath her black hair.

“There’s something here,” Lin Yu said in a gentle voice.

Su Chengyang was momentarily stunned, then awkwardly scratched her own hair and said, “You could have just told me. I really stink and don’t want to bother you.”

Lin Yu placed the feather in her palm and said with a smile, “It’s okay.”

“Thank you, then I’ll…” Su Chengyang thanked him and planned to bypass him and head upstairs to wash off her smell. Even though Lin Yu didn’t mind, she was almost sickened by her own odor.

“He’s behind you,” Lin Yu suddenly lowered his voice and said.

Su Chengyang was taken aback and confused, “What?”

“He’s behind you, the guy who chatted with you by the pond at noon,” Lin Yu clarified.

Su Chengyang turned around and saw Xingxiu standing not far behind her, staring motionlessly at her.

When Su Chengyang looked at him, Xingxiu grinned at her in his carefree manner.

“He seems very interested in you,” Lin Yu said again.

Su Chengyang remained silent.

Lin Yu continued, “Sorry, I think you know what I mean.”

Su Chengyang nodded.

Of course, Su Chengyang understood what Lin Yu meant. She knew early on that Lin Yu was a meticulous worker, and she had promised not to date before the contract expired.

In fact, Su Chengyang didn’t find it strange at all that Lin Yu said this. Xingxiu was really bold, bolder than all the pursuers she had met before. From the very beginning, he didn’t try to conceal his strong interest in Su Chengyang. But precisely because his emotions were so straightforward and sincere, he never crossed any boundaries. Even when they were chatting, he would carefully observe whether Su Chengyang liked the topic, and if she didn’t, he would immediately change it, so Su Chengyang never felt uncomfortable.

On the contrary, Su Chengyang liked this direct and bold approach because she herself wasn’t someone who liked beating around the bush.

For example, Lin Yu in front of them is definitely a man with ambition and aspirations. When being around people like him, Su Chengyang would feel tired because she had to work hard to keep up with him to truly stand by his side.

After finished tidying up, Xiao Lu also happened to bring the clean clothes over.

Thinking about the food she was waiting for, Su Chengyang quickly changed into clean clothes.

When she came downstairs, all the other guests were gathered at the kitchen door watching. They were basically useless since they didn’t know how to cook, so they could only stand by the door starving, watching the people inside work.

Su Chengyang walked into the crowd and glanced inside. She saw not only Qi Fu, but also a familiar figure in the kitchen.

Han Songxue leaned in behind Su Chengyang, playing with her damp hair, and said, “That handsome guy can cook so well. Why don’t you go in and help?”

Su Chengyang withdrew her gaze from the kitchen and shook her head, “No, I probably wouldn’t be much help anyway.”

Han Songxue pouted but didn’t say anything.

Qi Fu and Xingxiu worked in the kitchen for an hour, using all the food they had gathered.

They had originally planned to have Xingxiu eat with them, but he insisted on going home. He said goodbye to Su Chengyang and gave them a jar of homemade rice wine before leaving.

There were only nine people at this meal, and they ate much more comfortably than at noon.

Su Chengyang didn’t feel guilty for not knowing where Lin Yu and Xiao Lu went. She ate heartily with everyone else. After all, there were still several episodes left until the end of the program. Even if she ate a little less later, her weight shouldn’t increase too much.

After spending a day together, everyone had become closer than they were yesterday.

Even a very introverted girl among the guests could laugh and talk with them.

In fact, after getting to know each other, everyone’s personalities had more or less flaws. Although they didn’t know if they could become friends, they definitely wouldn’t be as scheming and competitive as people outside thought.

After they finished eating and drinking, they had Qi Fu go rest first, and then they all cleaned up the dishes together.

Maybe because they had a small status, except for the title of ‘celebrities’, they weren’t any different from ordinary people.

After dinner, they borrowed mahjong from a villager and played until almost ten in Room 1.

Activities like gambling and other forms of entertainment couldn’t be shown on camera. Without the attention of the camera crew, they talked about their day’s journey. Su Chengyang didn’t know how to play mahjong and had originally wanted to go home and rest with Jiang Shanqi, but she didn’t want to leave early and seem unsociable. So she sat behind a few people who knew how to play and tried to learn, although she couldn’t even recognize who was who.

Finally, when they finished filming and the tired camera crew rested, they filmed their way back to their lodging.

When Jiang Shanqi and Su Chengyang returned to the small courtyard, the program team gave them each a flashlight for illumination. Su Chengyang saw a burning object resembling incense placed outside their room.

Xiao Lu walked beside the camera crew and saw Su Chengyang and Jiang Shanqi looking puzzled. He explained, “This is what Boss Lin asked me to find – mosquito-repelling grass. There is no mosquito incense in the village, only mosquito-repelling grass.”

Su Chengyang nodded, thinking that Lin Yu was more thoughtful than the program team.

Xiao Lu continued, “He also asked me to find some realgar powder to sprinkle around, as well as lime powder to prevent moisture and mold. The smell in your room should dissipate by now. Rest early.”

“Okay, where will you stay tonight?” Su Chengyang asked.

Xiao Lu grinned, “Room No. 1 still has a few rooms left. I’ll sleep there tonight.”

Su Chengyang: “…”

“Well then, you and the camera crew should go back and rest,” Xiao Lu said.

“Goodbye.”

After the others left, Su Chengyang walked around the yard and noticed a wooden bucket near her room with a lid on top. She approached and lifted the lid, revealing that it was filled with clean water that the program team had prepared.

Su Chengyang sighed and realized she needed to thank them tomorrow. Turning to Jiang Shanqi, who was standing at the door, she said, “There’s water here.”

Jiang Shanqi shone her flashlight on the black cloth hanging in front of the door, but the light seemed to be blocked and unable to penetrate.

Thinking of sleeping in such a room for the night, Jiang Shanqi felt her scalp go numb. The night wind seemed to seep into her bones, making her shiver involuntarily.

“Jiang Shanqi?”

Su Chengyang walked over to her with a look of confusion when she didn’t respond. He patted her shoulder and noticed that the two of them were staring blankly at the black cloth covering the door.

A cold wind blew by, causing Su Chengyang to shudder. She silently withdrew her hand and asked, “Are you okay?”

Seeing Jiang Shanqi’s empty expression, Su Chengyang’s heart began to race. Images of horror movies that she had seen for work flooded her mind. Even though she knew they were all fake and fictional, she had even played the role of a ghost in a horror movie before. But in this kind of environment, even the most determined materialist would involuntarily think in impossible directions.

Moreover, the only person alive beside her was acting as if possessed.

“Hey…”

Su Chengyang lightly pushed her, “Are you okay?”

Jiang Shanqi stumbled a bit, but eventually looked back at her.

“Aren’t you scared?” Jiang Shanqi regained her senses, her eyes filled with fear.

Su Chengyang hesitated before saying, “Do you want to hear the truth?”

“Yes.”

“I wasn’t scared at first, but now that you’re so paranoid, I’m starting to feel a little scared too.”

Jiang Shanqi seemed surprised that Su Chengyang was afraid. From the beginning, Su Chengyang had acted as if she had no fear. She thought Su Chengyang was not afraid at all, but now that she unexpectedly found out that Su Chengyang was afraid, she had a feeling that she couldn’t lose to Su Chengyang.

She sneered, “How old are you? You’re not stupid enough to believe in ghosts, are you?”

Without giving Su Chengyang a chance to retort, she gritted her teeth and rushed into the room.

Su Chengyang watched her back in silence. If you’re not afraid of ghosts, why do you have to sleep with the lights on at night? She couldn’t understand where Jiang Shanqi’s strange desire to win or lose came from.