◎ Rural Grand Stage ◎

After breakfast, Lu Sinian went upstairs to get styled. He had clearly received the same task—to dress to the standard of attending a banquet.

When he came downstairs, he was already wearing a sharp suit, a luxury watch on his wrist, and his hair styled to perfection. He was exceptionally handsome.

As a top supporting male character and the eldest son of a male-protagonist family in the male genre, he naturally had excellent looks and physique. Even wrapped in just a bath towel, he could walk a runway. Now, with such meticulous grooming, he exuded an even stronger air of hormones.

“Go?” He asked just one word while raising his arm, signaling for her to take it.

Ren Lu gave him an up-and-down look, then immediately said, “Wait a moment.”

With that, she lifted her skirt and quickly ran upstairs. When she came down, she had a brooch in her hand.

She leaned in close, carefully fastening the brooch to his jacket.

At that moment, the camera zoomed in on them. The man tall and lean, the woman gentle and elegant. Their positioning made it look as though she were nestled in his embrace.

“All done.” She stepped back two paces, gave him another look, and nodded in satisfaction.

“How’s this outfit?” The man asked.

The man’s black suit was very proper but overly businesslike, appearing too plain. For this, she added a diamond brooch shaped like spread wings, each wing embedded with rows of white diamonds—luxurious and high-profile.

Paired with his attire, it did not look out of place. Instead, it became the highlight, making him appear even more distinguished.

Ren Lu took his arm and was about to say something, but then paused strangely before replying with a single word: “Ugly.”

Lu Sinian immediately stopped walking, clearly stunned by her verbal jab.

“What, are you angry?” Ren Lu quickly turned to look at him, her eyes holding a trace of expectation.

“No, it’s just the first time I’ve heard you speak so aggressively. It’s a bit unusual.”

Ren Lu raised an eyebrow. “Then hear it a few more times, and you’ll get used to it.”

Even the cold and indifferent Lu Sinian found it a bit hard to handle her words, and he took the initiative to ask, “Is this your task?”

“No.” She denied it outright. The task card clearly stated they could not reveal their task; otherwise, the difficulty would be increased.

The original task was already hard enough—if the difficulty increased, she feared she’d mess it up.

“Is your task to make me keep evaluating you?” she casually guessed.

“Worse than that—making me ask for trouble.”

Ren Lu naturally knew he was talking nonsense, and she lightly punched him in the chest. “That must be exhausting for you.”

Their back-and-forth conversation was full of gunpowder, yet both of them were calm, showing no sign of actually picking a fight.

—— What does this mean? Are these two always this calm?

—— If it were me and my boyfriend talking like this, we’d have fought eighteen times by now.

—— Ahhh, I’m a CP fan. I find this so shippable.

—— I just want to know, what exactly are their tasks? Their performance is completely different from the first episode—it’s driving me crazy!

—— When will the production team reveal it? I really can’t wait.

Soon, the two of them were seated in the production team’s vehicle.

“Sir, Madam, please sit tight. Our destination is Shengshi Xiangong.”

Just after fastening their seatbelts, the staff member acting as the driver spoke up with a loud announcement.

Honestly, the theatrics were something else.

The further the car drove, the more remote it became. If not for the camera filming them, they might have suspected the production team of planning a scam.

Of course, when they got out of the car and saw the scene before them, they realized the production team did indeed have a scammer’s mindset.

Before them lay a vast stretch of farmland and villages. No one knew where the production team had found this place. It looked exactly like a set built for filming a period drama.

Other guests also arrived one after another, all dressed in formal evening wear, completely out of place with the surrounding environment.

Ren Lu, stepping on the muddy ground, nearly had her heel sink in.

“What’s going on?” Chen Wan couldn’t help asking. She was even wearing a floor-length gown with a trailing hem, and in order not to dirty the skirt, Zhai Jin followed behind holding it up, looking more than a little awkward.

“Welcome, everyone, to Shengshi Xiangong.” The director’s voice, serving as off-screen narration, came in right on cue.

“Director, you call this Shengshi Xiangong?” Peng Hongyu couldn’t help speaking up.

“Of course. This entire pastoral scene is Shengshi Xiangong. Look, there’s even a sign next to it!” The director spoke with firm conviction.

The guests looked toward where he was pointing, and sure enough, not far away at the edge of the field, there was a wooden sign carved with the four characters “Shengshi Xiangong.”

However, the sign was not inserted deeply into the ground, leaning slightly to one side, looking like it had just been made.

“Often surrounded by skyscrapers, busy with all kinds of human relationships and burdens, you haven’t been able to rest well for a long time, have you? Here is nothing but pastoral scenery, surrounded by fresh air, everywhere filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers…”

No one knew who had written the script, but the director began reading it in an oddly theatrical broadcast tone, making people’s teeth ache from listening.

This was clearly intentional, as the audience found it amusing. While some cursed them as lunatics, more people were just here for the fun—wanting to see these glamorous social elites covered in dust and dirt from farm work and chores.

The program team was still just as good at stirring things up, deliberately making them dress very formally, and even saying they were here to attend a dinner banquet.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a grand feast of working in the fields.

“All the ladies are wearing high heels, so they probably won’t be able to work in the fields. Then we’ll have to trouble the male guests to go down into the fields to pick cotton. Once you’ve picked five catties, you can exchange them for a pair of liberation shoes. For this episode, the food, clothing, shelter, and transportation will all be determined by the total weight of the cotton you pick.”

The program team was clearly adept at stirring trouble, directly starting to hand out tasks without leaving any room for negotiation.

“Director, you’re really crazy for the sake of the show’s effect!” Peng Hongyu was the first to lose patience and directly voiced his protest.

However, the other three men exchanged glances, all silently accepting their fate and directly stepping into the field.

Lu Sinian’s strides were long, but when the cotton branches scraped against his suit, producing an extremely harsh sound, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

He did not feel any distress over the suit at all; he just disliked the noise.

“Ladies, come and rest over here.” Chen Wan was indeed worthy of being called a film queen; even at such a time, she had a good temperament. Not only did she not complain, but she also calmly began to enjoy herself.

She directly tossed the long trailing hem of her dress onto the ground and sat down without a care, then beckoned for the others to join her.

The others all declined a few times, but Chen Wan did not mind.

“Come on, this dress is already dirty anyway, so it should be put to good use. Few of them have ever done farm work before; they still don’t know how long it will take to pick enough for five catties.”

Ren Lu was the first to respond to her call. She had been living a good life for the past few years and truly could not endure even the slightest hardship.

Damn program team.

The first to buy shoes was Yang Zhi. As an athlete, he had endured hardships since he was young. To cultivate their endurance and resilience, the state would even arrange for them to undergo military training or work in the fields.

“Wife, that dress of yours isn’t very convenient. How about I carry you?” Yang Zhi squatted down, pretending to be ready to carry her.

Zhou Shanshan immediately refused: “You’re here to work; how could you still carry me? Just pick more cotton later.”

The couple walked away after their discussion, appearing extremely harmonious.

The other three female guests were all very envious.

Lu Sinian endured it again and again, but in the end, he still couldn’t tolerate the noise. He simply was not someone who could do this kind of work.

He directly tossed the basket for holding cotton onto the ground and went over to chat with the elderly men and women nearby who were watching the fun.

The second to return and buy shoes was Zhai Jin. Chen Wan even praised him a few times, but Zhai Jin seemed a bit embarrassed and couldn’t help scratching his head as he confessed.

“I just ran into a fan who gave me some cotton, so that’s how I had enough weight.”

Chen Wan immediately stopped walking and asked the director: “Director, does this count as breaking the rules? If it’s against the rules, please say so in advance.”

“It’s not breaking the rules. Zhai Jin just performed for the fans, so this counts as earnings from labor. As long as you’re not directly paying money to buy it, all other normal methods of obtaining cotton are counted.” The director waved his hand, not only saying it wasn’t a violation but even encouraging this kind of behavior.

Chen Wan went to pick cotton, and her “sofa” dress naturally left as well, leaving Ren Lu and Xu Shiqing staring at each other.

Xu Shiqing suddenly felt a bit nervous. After the first episode, whenever she faced Ren Lu, she always felt lacking in confidence and somewhat short of breath, as if she could never win against her.

“Director, can the female guests obtain cotton like Brother Zhai did?” Xu Shiqing raised her hand to ask.

“You can. How do you plan to do it?” The director readily agreed.

“Hmm—” She hesitated for a moment, her gaze involuntarily shifting to Ren Lu.

Ren Lu immediately understood, smiling as she said: “I’ll go wait under the tree’s shade. You two can talk.”

It was obvious that Xu Shiqing had come up with her own idea but did not want Ren Lu to know, for fear she might copy it.

She led her own director team toward the shade of the trees, and on the way, she casually picked up an old burlap sack, spread it on the ground, and sat down on it.

“The happiest thing today is finding this sack—misfortune turns into blessing.”

She was clearly in a good mood, even having the leisure to joke with the camera.

“It’s boring to just sit here doing nothing. Can I borrow a phone to interact with the audience in the live broadcast room?” she suggested.

The director seemed a little hesitant, discussing it for a moment before agreeing, but first gave a warning.

“Interacting with the audience cannot be counted as earnings from labor, and cotton cannot be exchanged for it.”

Ren Lu waved her hand, completely unconcerned.

She took the phone, opened the live broadcast room, and almost got dizzy looking at the flood of scrolling comments.

“I’m not worried about that. President Lu will handle everything.”

After she said this, the comments scrolled even faster, almost all of them mocking her.

—No way, who gave you that confidence, sis?

—Stop talking, you’re still counting on your husband? He was the first to give up.

—Gotta admit, truly worthy of being the young master—can’t handle manual labor.

—LOL, President Lu only picked three pieces of cotton before tossing the job aside. Totally unreliable. You’d better save yourself.

“He really can’t do manual labor, but he also won’t give up.”

Seeing the full screen of mockery, Ren Lu was not angry at all. Instead, she explained slowly, always maintaining a gentle attitude.

—Tsk tsk, stop being stubborn, okay?

—He’s gone off to chat idly with the elderly villagers watching the fun. If that’s not giving up, what is?

—Could it be he’s trying to get cotton with his good looks?

—Even if President Lu wanted to rely on his face, he shouldn’t go to the elderly villagers. Older folks prefer sweet talkers, and with his stern face, he’s definitely not winning any favor.

“It’s just about getting a little cotton. He’s not the type to toss the job aside.” Ren Lu was amused by the comments.

—Is this your blind faith in President Lu?

“It’s not blind faith. Let’s put it this way: since I met him, he’s never failed. No matter how big the deal, if President Lu wants it, President Lu gets it.”

—President Lu is indeed impressive in bidding. This is something industry peers all acknowledge. But right now, we’re in a cotton field—no connections, no funds, and President Lu definitely won’t lower himself to perform. A clever woman can’t cook without rice, you understand?

—Exactly, even a dragon has to curl up when stranded in shallow water. This isn’t about ability—it’s that no matter how capable you are, there’s no room to use it!

—The villagers don’t care what kind of “President” you are. Even a dragon has to coil up here.

There were still dissenting voices among the comments, as the current situation was simply too embarrassing.

“Looks like we can’t convince each other. Let’s talk about something else, okay?” Ren Lu decided to drop the subject.

—Do you know what Xu Shiqing is planning to do?

When Ren Lu saw this comment, she immediately read it aloud softly, pretending to be puzzled as she said: “Are you asking what method she’s planning to use to get cotton?”

“I’m not looking at the comments, so don’t spoil it for me. But I can make a guess.” As she spoke, she put the phone down, showing her determination not to look at spoilers.

“Shiqing and Xiao Peng are a couple bloggers with a huge following online. The cotton here is growing well, but since it’s in a remote area, I’m not sure how well it sells. I guess they might consider putting a shopping link in the live broadcast to sell cotton.”

“But whether my guess is right or not, I don’t know.”

After rattling off her thoughts, she lowered her head again to look at the comments.

—Xu Shiqing is making a big mystery over there—contacting the village officials, whispering with the director so we can’t hear, still keeping us in the dark.

—Hahaha, this “HongQing” couple is the best at marketing. They can hype up the smallest thing into a legend. Even flushing the toilet can be made into a “flood release.” This time it’s definitely more hot air.

—Those two are all about showing off their love and putting all their brainpower into that. With just eight people competing and everyone else doing their own thing, her being secretive like this is ridiculous. Anyone who didn’t know better would think the whole nation had come to pick cotton, with such high secrecy. If Ren Lu really guesses it right, that would be hilarious.

—What do you mean by “if” she guesses right? Of course, she will guess right. With the limited ability those two have, all their brains are in showing affection. What else could they come up with besides selling goods?