CH 53

Ch 53: The Best House

Ignoring Shao Junling's unrealistic expectations, Yin Chang exchanged a polite glance with Huang Han from a distance and said to Shao Junling, "I'll go ahead."

The little guy lowered his head and followed Yin Chang up the mountain path.

It was noon at the time, and the two of them huffed and puffed as they climbed for half a day. They finally saw some smoke and a few scattered mountain houses up ahead.

Yin Chang asked the director beside him, "Is that the destination?"

"Yes, we're almost there." The director's words gave him a glimmer of hope.

Yin Chang pulled his collar to catch his breath. He turned to look at Shao Junling. Seeing him show no signs of being tired or uncomfortable, he picked up his pace and continued forward.

It took another ten minutes or so to reach the meeting point, a spacious flat land that looked like a village square.

In the center of the square was a huge ancient tree surrounded by flower beds. The two groups of guests who arrived earlier were hiding in the shade of the tree to cool off. Wang Chen and Xue Ziwen were among them. They sweated profusely, fanning themselves with their caps.

Xue Ziwen saw Shao Junling and excitedly jumped up, "Shao Junling!"

Not hearing a response from Shao Junling, Xue Ziwen desperately waved his chubby little hands at him, "Shao Junling! I'm here!"

Shao Junling looked at him expressionlessly and still didn't respond.

Wang Chen awkwardly patted Xue Ziwen's back, indicating that he should calm down. Instead, Xue Ziwen rushed out to greet his little friend enthusiastically.

Yin Chang saw that Shao Junling was too indifferent. He patted him on the back and told him to say hello to his classmate. He also lifted his chin at Wang Chen and said, "Hey,"

Wang Chen smiled wryly.

Yin Chang entered the shade of the tree and got to know the other group of guests.

This group was the twin sons of an athlete family, with the older brother and father surnamed Lang, and the younger brother and mother surnamed Guo. They took the characters from "perseverance" to make their names, respectively called Lang Chizhi and Guo Yiheng. Although the two brothers were twins, they didn't look particularly alike. The older brother had a smaller frame and was a bit shorter than the younger brother, so he was easier to recognize.

Upon their first meeting, both of them behaved very politely.

As they were chatting, Huang Han and You Luming arrived, followed closely by the host and other staff members of the program.

Upon seeing them, Yin Chang realized that only four of the six groups had arrived. He remembered there was a pair of sisters surnamed Qin, the daughters of director Qin An.

The staff explained, "Qin Jingshan and her sister's flight was delayed, they probably won't arrive until later tonight. We won’t wait for them."

Everyone nodded in understanding, and then the staff handed out boxed lunches to each of them.

Wang Chen was puzzled, "Are we eating here?"

The host walked over, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Everyone who came to participate in this program had all been pampered from birth, and now they had come to such a remote village where they could only squat under a tree and eat boxed lunch. Everyone found it hard to bear.

Wang Chen glanced at the others and saw that most of them looked unhappy. As the eldest among them, he took the initiative to speak up, "Don't we even have a proper place to eat?"

Xue Ziwen followed suit and expressed his dissatisfaction. The host had a box of lunch in his hand, and he stood there eating and laughing. "Why be unhappy when you have food to eat? Soon you'll realize how lucky you are to have a full meal," he said.

Since there was no room to negotiate, Wang Chen rolled his eyes and took a few bites.

Xue Ziwen and the twins just picked at the food in their boxes. Six-year-old You Luming was the most unruly, perhaps because the food didn't suit her taste. She cried and made a fuss, saying she wanted to go home and eat small cakes.

Huang Han struggled to appease her and didn't have time to eat himself.

Compared to everyone else, Yin Chang and Shao Junling were the calmest. They sat on the edge of the flower bed, holding their boxes of lunch and eating quietly.

Yin Chang ate elegantly, savoring the food as if it were a French delicacy. Shao Junling, on the other hand, wolfed down his food, scanned the surrounding staff and cameramen with his eyes, and finished eating in a flash.

Looking around, they could see they were fortunate compared to the team of cameramen and staff working tirelessly in the scorching sun.

After the meal, the staff collected the lunch boxes. The host clapped his hands and walked over, gesturing for everyone to line up.

The camera crew took their positions, and the host cleared his throat, "Welcome to the first episode of 'Superstar Life' for the four families who have arrived. I am your host, Lao Luo, and I will be your temporary guardian. We are currently in an extremely ordinary village in Huisheng Province. I think if it weren't for participating in this program, you might not have had the chance to experience this kind of life."

He smiled and continued, "Over the next three days, I will assign you some tasks periodically. Depending on the completion of each group's task, you will receive different food allocations. This will also be the only way for you to obtain food for the next three days."

Everyone was shocked by his words. After all, the script they received only mentioned "experiencing life" and did not mention such harsh details.

The host continued ruthlessly, "So now, we need to check everyone's luggage and ask you to hand over all the food you brought from outside!"

The scene immediately turned into chaos. Several underage children refused to compromise and held onto their luggage. The older brother of the twins even protested righteously, "This is unreasonable! You are abusing us!"

Xue Ziwen also stamped his feet in defiance, "Exactly! What kind of program is this? I'm not shooting anymore!"

Wang Chen and Huang Han, being older than the other children, were more composed, but they were still also agitated.

The host laughed and clapped his hands. A group of camouflage-clad "special soldiers" appeared behind him.

The children were shocked when they saw these burly men approaching them, wondering if they were actors or real soldiers. They couldn't believe that the production team would be so ruthless in trying to force them to follow the rules.

Xue Ziwen, who had hoped to satisfy her cravings with snacks, was now screaming with her luggage, "Uncle! Uncle!"

The host said, "Give it up, Xue Ziwen. Even if you call your father, it's no use! Ahahaha..."

Everyone was speechless. The staff forcibly opened and searched everyone's luggage, and confiscated a mountain of snacks, including chocolate, potato chips, small cakes, and Chupa Chups.

You Luming cried even louder when she saw her cream puffs being taken away from her small backpack.

Yin Chang didn't bring snacks, and only had a bottle of mineral water. He calmly asked the staff, "Can I drink it now?"

The staff was so captivated by his looks that they blurted out, "…Yes."

Then Yin Chang opened the lid and started drinking slowly.

Shao Junling also had his bag of beef jerky confiscated. He looked at Yin Chang for help, and Yin Chang signaled him to stay calm, even pointing the mineral water bottle toward him and asking if he wanted a drink.

Shao Junling shook his head and stood beside him, feeling a little lost.

But perhaps Yin Chang's calmness was reassuring, for Shao Junling did not show much emotion compared to the others. The two of them leaned their heads to the side and watched the chaos around them.

At this moment, Yin Chang sighed inwardly, finally understanding what the host's words to Wang Chen meant at the beginning.

...It seems that these few days wouldn't be easy.

After taking away their snacks, the host didn't give the guests any time to adjust their moods. He clapped his hands and said, "Alright, guys, cheer up. Next up, we're going to prepare for a competition. The outcome of this competition will determine who gets to stay in the 'best room' here."

Everyone: "????" What? Do we even have to compete to decide where we stay?

However, the two very competitive twins immediately got fired up at the mention of a competition and excitedly rubbed their hands together.

A staff member appeared from afar carrying a flagpole, which was placed fifty meters away from them and had three red flags attached to it.

The host pointed to the flagpole and said, "Do you see that flagpole? In a moment, you'll race to see who can get to it first..."

He didn't finish his sentence before Shao Junling rushed out first.

The twin brothers saw what was happening and, unwilling to fall behind, took off running as well.

Seeing that three people had already run out Xue Ziwen felt anxious. "Uncle, if we don't hurry, there won't be any flags left." He started running forward, and Wang Chen, seeing his chubby figure that couldn't run very fast, quickly caught up too.

The host stammered, "Wait, I haven't finished explaining the rules yet!" He pointed behind the guests who were still standing there, "Whichever team first retrieves both the red AND blue flags and returns here will have the right to stay in the 'best house'!"

Yin Chang turned around and saw a flagpole set up fifty meters behind him with three blue flags flying.

Since five people had headed towards the red flagpole, and Huang Han was left standing there holding onto You Luming, looked bewildered, nobody competed with Yin Chang for the blue flag. He easily ran over and retrieved it.

He turned around, and found one of the twins and Wang Chen gasping for breath as they returned with their red flag. Both of them looked upset to be fooled.

Yin Chang waved his flag at Wang Chen, who was so angry that he almost rolled his eyes - it was all because of Xue Ziwen's foolishness!

As for Huang Han, he was still holding on to You Luming and pacing around. He was muttering, "No more flags left, no more flags..."

The results of the competition showed that Yin Chang and Shao Junling had fortunately come in first place. The twin brothers came in second, while Wang Chen and Xue Ziwen came in third.

The twins were dissatisfied with the results and accused Shao Junling of cheating. "He cheated! He started running before the host said start!"

Shao Junling glared at them and hmphed as he gripped his two flags. The twins were so angry that they reported to the host, "He violated the rules! The official game needs the referee to blow the whistle before anyone can move."

The host laughed and said, "But you guys saw him run and followed him, right?"

The twins remained silent.

Not only them, but Xue Ziwen and Wang Chen as well...

The staff who had been watching from the sidelines burst out laughing.

The show was about entertainment effects, not fairness and justice. Although the guests didn't follow the instructions, their reactions were amusing, so the host accepted this outcome.

Seeing that the twins were still upset, the host comforted them with a smile, "Don't worry, even though you lost the 'best house,' you can still get a better one."

The host retorted, "Isn't the best the best? Is there anything better than the best?"

At the time, no one understood the joke until they were led to visit Yin Chang and Shao Junling's house.

It was a dilapidated thatched cottage that had been uninhabited for a long time. It was completely empty inside. There wasn't even a stool, just hay covering the ground and a piece of old bed sheet that could be used as a bed…

There were cracks in the roof that even let in sunlight.

The reason it was called the "best house" was because there was a plaque hanging on the entrance to the courtyard with those two words written on it. There were also two vertical scrolls posted on both sides, which read, "The sky is the roof, and the earth is the seat." "This is a humble dwelling, but my virtue is great."

Everyone pointed at the plaque and laughed hysterically: "Hahahaahaha!"

Yin Chang: "...this production team."

Although he was frustrated, Yin Chang had already figured out when they arrived at the foot of the mountain that all the rules in this place were made by the production team and the guests could only be played around with. So he adjusted his mindset and calmly accepted the result.

Yin Chang noticed that Shao Junling was unhappy, so he took his hand and walked in. He comforted him, "It's only three days, it doesn't matter where we stay."

Fortunately, this room was probably originally used to store hay or other dry goods, and not for raising livestock, so there was no strange smell.

Yin Chang unpacked his suitcase and explored the space. He found that there was a simple washroom next door, a toilet, and a large tub of water for washing up...

Yin Chang breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that the production team wasn't overly harsh.

He took out a towel from his suitcase and went to wash his face with some water. He had climbed the mountain earlier and competed for the flag, and was covered in sweat, feeling uncomfortable all over.

The staff were surprised to see him just washing his face with water. He asked, "Yin Chang, you don't use skincare and sunscreen?"

"Huh? Use what?" Yin Chang asked, while calling Shao Junling over to wipe his face for him too.

"Your skin is so clear..." The staff exclaimed.

After washing their faces, they faintly heard some noise outside the door. When Yin Chang went out to take a look, he saw Huang Han and You Luming, who were assigned to the neighboring house by the program group. Even though they hadn't managed to grab any flags, they ended up being assigned to a nicer house than them - at least it had a door and the roof didn't leak.

"Hey, we're neighbors now," Huang Han greeted Yin Chang with a wry smile. He looked completely exhausted, with none of the spirit he had when he first got off the car.

"Hello," Yin Chang glanced at the little girl who had no energy left to fool around. He sighed in his heart. This big brother had it really tough...

After greeting each other, Huang Han carried You Luming into their house.

After resting for half an hour, the program group sent them their first mission - finding dinner.

The mission statement said that the staff had hidden eight treasure boxes in the village, each with food inside, but the food in each box was different.

Starting now, the guests could go out and search for the treasure boxes. Each group could only collect a maximum of two dinners, but if they found better food in other boxes, they were allowed to swap out what they had already found.

After the program messed with them at noon, no one dared to be picky about food anymore. After receiving the mission, everyone immediately started to act.

It only took five minutes for Yin Chang and Shao Junling to find the first treasure box, which contained a sandwich and a bottle of milk.

But the second one was extremely difficult to find. It took them a full twenty minutes before Shao Junling saw a box under the corner of a wall of a building.

However, when Shao Junling ran towards that direction, Lang Chizhi and Guo Yiheng appeared. They were closer to the treasure box and, following Shao Junling's gaze, they rushed to it first.

Shao Junling didn't give up and increased his speed.

Yin Chang felt anxious and hurried to catch up. He saw that Shao Junling arrived at the treasure box at the same time as the twin brothers.

But there were two of them on the other side and only one Shao Junling. Lang Chizhi stood in front of Shao Junling and successfully shielded Guo Yiheng while he opened the treasure box to grab the food.

Shao Junling was so angry that he was fell into a fighting stance.

"Shao Junling!" Yin Chang shouted loudly.

Shao Junling seemed not to have heard, glaring fiercely at the brothers. Lang Chizhi, the leader, was stunned by his glare. However, being a young man, Lang Chizhi could not resist the provocation and glared back fiercely.

If it were not for Yin Chang arriving in time and grabbing Shao Junling, the two would have started fighting in minutes.

"Let's leave it!" Yin Chang pulled him away, surprised to find that this kid had quite a bit of strength. If Shao Junling had not relaxed his body voluntarily, he would not have been able to pull him away.

Shao Junling gave Lang Chizhi a fierce glare from the corner of his eyes. Although unhappy, he obediently followed Yin Chang and left.

The two finally found another treasure chest, but it only contained a plain steamed bun, an egg, and a bottle of water – probably a dinnee that someone else didn't want.

A while later they still had not found another box of food. Yin Chang didn't want to waste any more energy. He persuaded Shao Junling, "Let's go back and just eat this."

Back at the thatched hut, the two sat cross-legged on a torn sheet and shared the two pitiful bags of food.

Yin Chang originally wanted to give Shao Junling the milk, egg, and sandwich, but Shao Junling shook his head and pushed those things back, grabbing the cold steamed bun and biting into it instead.

"This one's for you to eat." Yin Chang insisted on giving the egg and milk to Shao Junling.

"I don't want it." Shao Junling shook his head.

"Really?" Yin Chang knew this kid was being modest and was also somewhat moved. If there had been plenty of food, how could he not want to eat anything?

Shao Junling was extremely stubborn, turning his back and insisting he didn't want it.

Yin Chang had an idea and said, "If you only eat steamed buns, you won't grow tall."

Shao Junling was startled at his words.

Holding the egg in his hand, Yin Chang played with it while urging him, "You're still growing, and you need to drink milk and eat eggs for the protein. Don't think that skipping one meal won't matter. Each time you miss out on nutrition you might miss out on a few millimeters... Added up, you may end up much shorter than others in the future."

Before Yin Chang finished speaking, Shao Junling quickly turned his head and took the egg and milk from his hand. But his eyes still flickered with hesitation, as if he was worried that Yin Chang wouldn't have enough to eat.

Yin Chang rubbed his head, "You eat it. I'm not hungry."

After dinner, the program staff gave them a new mission.

This time, the crew brought them paper and pen and asked them to write a sentence each. It could be a message to each other or something they hoped to gain from the show. These messages would be played in the final episode of the program.

Under the supervision of the staff, the two wrote their wishes back-to-back.

The staff folded the papers, put them in envelopes, sealed them, and said to Yin Chang, "If your wishes for each other are similar, it means you have a great understanding. You may receive a reward from the program group at the end of the show."

Yin Chang smiled, not expecting much. He knew that Shao Junling was still young and wouldn't write the kind of things he wrote.

After writing the wishes, the day's filming came to an end.

The staff removed the cameras from the bedroom and the microphones from their bodies, and let them rest.

There were no lights in the thatched house. After washing up, Yin Chang lay down on the bed made of dry hay to sleep.

Shao Junling finished washing up too and lay down next to him. He played with the hay.

Both of them didn't feel particularly sleepy. Yin Chang turned to ask Shao Junling, "Are you bored?"

Shao Junling said, "No."

Yin Chang asked again, "Do you feel tired after today?"

Shao Junling replied, "Not tired."

Yin Chang remembered that Shao Junling grew up in an orphanage and had experienced a lot of hardship, so maybe this kind of work wasn't much for him. He felt a little sad for him.

He tried to find some topics to talk to Shao Junling about, but Shao Junling didn't know how to express himself.

After struggling to make conversation for a while, Yin Chang started to feel tired. The night in the countryside was very quiet. Yin Chang crying of the grasshoppers and felt the gradual dropping of temperature. It really gave him a pleasant feeling.

In a daze, he unconsciously reached out to Shao Junling, hugged him close, and slowly fell asleep.

After a long time, when Yin Chang had completely fallen asleep, Shao Junling gently lifted his brother's hand. He quietly got up, and left the room.

There were camera crew and staff on night watch in the yard. When they heard noise, they instinctively grabbed their cameras and followed.

Shao Junling ran for a while before realizing that two people were following him. He abruptly stopped and turned to look at them.

The staff asked, "Where are you going so late?"

In the darkness, Shao Junling's eyes shone like a young wolf as he wordlessly scrutinized the two.

The staff asked, "Is there anything we can help you with? You can tell us."

Perhaps hearing the kindness in their tone, Shao Junling hesitated before replying, "Looking for food."

The staff was surprised, "Are you still hungry?"

Shao Junling shook his head, "For my brother."

Feeling touched, the staff tried to persuade him gently, "But the boxes are empty now."

Shao Junling indicated in a direction, "There's somewhere else."

The staff and the cameraman exchanged a glance and said to Shao Junling, "We'll go with you, since it's not safe outside. Don't worry, we won't tell your brother."

Shao Junling nodded to the staff, "You can come with me." He looked pointedly at the cameraman, "Not you."

The cameraman felt rejected, "...".

Shao Junling: "Couldn't find enough food, so nervous! So anxious! (Q︿Q)"

No, his brother couldn't survive on just this tiny bit of food. He needed to find a way to get more food for him.

After the twins successfully stole some food, Lang Chizhi paced back and forth in the room.

Guo Yiheng asked his brother, "What are you doing?"

Lang Chizhi impatiently replied, "Didn't you see the look in that kid's eyes? He wants to fight me!"

Guo Yiheng said, "He's so small, he can't beat you."

Lang Chizhi retorted, "No! The look in his eyes makes me feel like...he can!"

Guo Yiheng reassured him, "You're overthinking it...He's afraid of his brother, the tall and handsome one. His brother will keep him in line."

Lang Chizhi relaxed, "True..."

Xue Ziwen called out to Shao Junling so enthusiastic that it made Wang Chen feel uncomfortable.

He felt like he'd already lost the competition before it even started! Why!

He needed to win against Yin Chang! He must remain aloof in front of Yin Chang!

Yin Chang: ???