Chapter 62.2

The next afternoon, they set off to a city in S Province to record the show.

There’s a saying that arranging a honeymoon before marriage seems more appropriate; traveling together is the best way to see a person’s character and determine compatibility.

Since the show focuses on the interactions of couples, it was natural for them to go traveling.

This shoot was going to be longer than the last, lasting nearly a week to film enough content for two episodes.

C City was a place Xu Yuan had always wanted to visit; the food there was very much to her taste.

Before they left, Yu Yu even specifically called her to remind her to bring back local specialties.

For Xu Yuan, C City was the true culinary capital. Once they got off the plane, the production team humanely didn’t start filming right away but gave the three couples plenty of personal time.

Since the production team was covering the expenses, they treated it as a leisure trip.

The veteran actor couple hadn’t traveled alone together in a long time, so they naturally went off on their own. They had been here before and were looking to rekindle memories from their youth.

Song Chaowen and Shen Li, both artists, were often apart, so this show also gave them a chance to enjoy some time together.

Meng Zhengrong couldn’t have been happier to skip group activities; he just wanted to stick close to Xu Yuan.

Being considerate of Meng Zhengrong’s stomach, Xu Yuan first accompanied him for a not-too-spicy dinner. Once he was full, they headed to a hot pot restaurant to indulge themselves.

The hot pot in C City was leagues better than that in A City.

As Xu Yuan ate, she snapped photos to send to Yu Yu, who was currently dieting for a new role and nearly flipped the table in frustration.

Now that they had gained some fame, they were fortunate that, at the hot pot restaurant, everyone was too busy eating to notice Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan.

After finishing their hot pot, Xu Yuan linked her arm with Meng Zhengrong’s as they strolled down the unfamiliar streets, catching a whiff of spicy aromas. Even though they were stuffed, she couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.

If she stayed in C City any longer, she’d probably become overweight.

“Look at me! Don’t I look like a pregnant woman?” Xu Yuan joked, playfully sticking out her belly.

Meng Zhengrong humorously reached out to touch her stomach. “It must be about three months along, right?”

Ever since they had both confirmed their readiness to have children, they often joked about it.

As they grew more excited about the arrival of that little life, their hearts were filled with warmth.

They walked slowly to aid digestion, chatting about trivial matters. Time seemed to pass both quickly and slowly. As they passed a shop, Meng Zhengrong glanced at his reflection in the glass. He smiled contentedly; at his age, there were already some wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He never expected he would have a wife, and perhaps soon he would become a dad. On this somewhat chilly night, Meng Zhengrong felt particularly calm.

Time was passing, and the labels on him were increasing; ultimately, something was left behind.

Xu Yuan looked down at her hand tightly clasped with Meng Zhengrong’s. She felt that her life had been changed by some magical hands over half a year ago.

This change in fate, she loved very much.

==

The next day, they got up around eight and had breakfast in the restaurant’s buffet.

The morning shoot was simple and went smoothly. Many passersby recognized them and started taking photos.

Fortunately, everyone was well-mannered and didn’t disturb their filming. Before long, there were behind-the-scenes photos circulating on Weibo, and the people of C City were excited!

This shoot was in C City!

It was indeed fitting; winter was the time to eat hot pot!

Since it was a weekday and not a peak tourist season, the production team had planned to visit the giant panda base to see the national treasure. It wasn’t close to get there by bus.

Sitting on the bus, Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan were bored. With the camera pointed at them, it wasn’t appropriate to chat, so they lowered their heads and messaged on WeChat, occasionally chatting with Song Chaowen and his wife.

The atmosphere was well-controlled.

Meng Zhengrong: “I’ve never liked going to the zoo since I was a kid.”

Xu Yuan: “I always felt it wouldn’t be very fun. Have you ever seen a giant panda?”

Meng Zhengrong: “Never seen one, but it’s probably not much different from other animals. Kids find it interesting at the zoo, but adults find it just okay.”

Xu Yuan: “Do you like giant pandas?”

Meng Zhengrong: “It’s okay. How about you?”

Xu Yuan: “I’ve never seen one, and I’m not that fond of animals.”

Meng Zhengrong: “So boring—what do a bunch of adults do at a giant panda base?”

Xu Yuan: “Don’t show that you’re not interested! The whole nation will be watching! Mind your expression!”

Meng Zhengrong: “Yes, dear.”

Overall, the couple wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the itinerary, while the veteran actor couple and Song Chaowen’s couple seemed quite interested, talking about how cute the pandas were.

Cute? Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan exchanged glances, seeing the helplessness in each other’s eyes.

When they arrived at the giant panda base, the weather was decent, with the sun shining warmly. The production team had made arrangements with the base beforehand.

Reading the introductions about giant pandas, everyone was commenting on how such fierce creatures ended up living off their cuteness.

Initially indifferent, Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan soon found themselves unable to move from the sheer cuteness of the pandas.

The newborn panda cubs were adorably clumsy.

The little ones were taken out to bask in the sun. No matter how popular Song Chaowen was, he couldn’t compare to the adorable pandas.

At least, everyone was too busy to notice the production team, all shouting about how cute the pandas were, crying from the cuteness, and having no time to pay attention to the male lead nearby.

Among the group of pandas, there were one or two with fur that looked gray and faded, like they hadn’t been inked properly—especially cute.

Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan whipped out their phones, completely entranced, afraid of missing any of the little pandas’ antics.

Unexpectedly, the couple that initially didn’t want to come and deemed the itinerary boring ended up being the ones who didn’t want to leave.

Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan genuinely didn’t want to go. Even when Song Chaowen came over to remind Meng Zhengrong several times, he ignored him, saying, “Just a little longer, just a little longer. We’re not in a rush.”

Xu Yuan was not much better than Meng Zhengrong, snapping pictures incessantly, especially of the round little cubs with their chubby bottoms facing them, their short legs struggling to push themselves up—it was beyond adorable.

“Exactly, we’re not in a hurry; let’s look a little longer,” Xu Yuan agreed.

The other couples and the production team couldn’t help but feel helpless watching the pair.

Now they finally understood why so many people loved pandas.

They were just too cute.

Clumsy and silly.

In the evening, after returning to the hotel, Meng Zhengrong and Xu Yuan followed several Weibo accounts, all posting about the pandas, feeling quite unsatisfied.

The two engaged in a deep discussion—

Meng Zhengrong hugged Xu Yuan and sighed, “Giant pandas are truly national treasures.”

Xu Yuan nodded vigorously, “Right? Especially the ones with faded ink; they’re so adorable.”

“Let’s go again after the show wraps up.”

“Okay.”

Meng Zhengrong thought of another matter, “When we have a baby, we should bring the baby to see them. Kids love pandas; you saw how happy the children were today.”

“Sure.”

As a new fan of the pandas, Meng Zhengrong became a bit fervent, “Actually, we can name our future baby. The English name could be Panda.”

Xu Yuan listened and found it quite nice, “What about the name?”

“Since we don’t know if it’s a boy or girl yet, it’s too soon to name,” Meng Zhengrong felt it was a bit extravagant to name a baby that hadn’t even been conceived yet. However, since they were already on the topic, they couldn’t just drop it, “We could give a nickname, like a pet name.”

“What should it be?” Xu Yuan asked while looking at the panda pictures on Weibo.

Meng Zhengrong thought seriously and replied without hesitation, “Let’s call him Panda.”

It sounded adorably clumsy and easy to care for.

Thus, even before they conceived, their baby was already bestowed with a nickname and an English name by his parents.

Yes, Meng Panda would indeed be easy to take care of.