The recording location for the bamboo rat program was still the same as last time.

When Ning Qiuxiu arrived, Song Chu, who had been a bit late last time, was already there.

The cameras weren’t rolling yet, and Song Chu was lounging with his legs crossed, playing on his phone and tapping his foot.

Ning Qiuxiu walked over and mischievously said, “The cameras are rolling over there.”

Song Chu instantly changed to a demure posture like a little wife and looked around modestly, but he was still quick to respond, “Where? Which jerk turned on the cameras without telling me?”

“Just kidding,” Ning Qiuxiu sat down beside him, “Bro, aren’t you tired of pretending?”

“Scared me to death,” Song Chu patted his chest and then resumed his cocky posture, bragging, “Actually, the longer you pretend, the more fun it becomes. Every day, I’m amazed by my own superb acting skills.”

“… Wake up, will you?” Ning Qiuxiu felt like everyone around her was shameless.

Could it be that she was too shameless, attracting like-minded people?

Song Chu hummed proudly, indicating he was content living in his dream world.

After a while, he said, “Hey, Xiao Qiuxiu, we look so good together and often appear in the same frame. Why doesn’t the production team pair us as a couple?”

Pairing us would eliminate any potential drama, conflict, or even the buzz from today’s big sponsor.

Ning Qiuxiu wasn’t sure if Song Chu was genuinely clueless or just pretending, but she still gently said, “You’re still too young to be paired up. Just take care of the bamboo rats, dear. Mommy loves you.”

Song Chu: “…”

With a proper sponsor, the production team’s confidence was evident.

When Ning Qiuxiu arrived, she noticed the courtyard had undergone a small renovation, looking brand new with many new props and plenty of flowers and plants brought in for decoration.

Not only had the location improved, but the number of staff had also doubled, reflecting the show’s newfound wealth.

While the recording hadn’t started yet, Ning Qiuxiu took a few photos and sent them to Zhan Qingyue to tease him.

[Ning Qiuxiu: Look, the new sponsor really splurged. The recording location looks so upscale now.]

Back when Zhan Qingyue invested 1 million, it only managed to get the show an internet presence.

Now, with the sponsor’s money, the place had been renovated, and so many new things were added.

The difference was clear.

[Black-Hearted Onion: (smiling)]

The smiley face emoji with the crescent-shaped mouth expressed Mr. Zhan’s current feelings of dissatisfaction and helplessness.

Ning Qiuxiu found it amusing and felt refreshed, thinking, “You’re always finding ways to mess with me!”

[Black-hearted Onion: Are you happy now?]

[Ning Qiuxiu: Definitely very happy. Sponsor Dad is great.]

[Black-hearted Onion: (Smiling)]

Seeing Zhan Qingyue send her this emoji again, Ning Qiuxiu felt extremely pleased and wanted to reply with something teasing like “Bring it on…” but she didn’t dare, fearing he might hold a grudge.

[Black-hearted Onion: I’m glad you’re happy. I’m sure your Sponsor Dad will be happy too.]

“……” This message seemed a bit strange.

Ning Qiuxiu re-read it, wondering if Zhan Qingyue was upset about her calling the sponsor “Sponsor Dad.”

Cough, Ning Qiuxiu had just typed it casually, without any intention of claiming the sponsor as her “father.”

In the industry, it’s common to refer to sponsors as “Daddy” or “Dad” in a playful or sarcastic way.

She wouldn’t actually say that in conversation.

While she was considering whether to explain, the director called everyone to get ready for filming.

Ning Qiuxiu had to put away her phone and focus on the shoot for now.

The same five people were there.

Ning Qiuxiu greeted the three who arrived later.

The makeup artist touched up her makeup, and when she was ready to go out, Song Chu, the most enthusiastic one, was already recording.

He was looking around the set and said to the camera, “I’m so moved; it feels like moving into a new house. Sniff.”

“……” More acting.

It was strange; even though he acted sleepy and a bit affected, making him seem like he hadn’t fully woken up, and despite being somewhat pretentious, he wasn’t at all annoying.

After the first episode aired, he managed to gain a lot of “mommy fans,” making him the third hottest participant after Fang Jinran and Ning Qiuxiu.

As the show started, they first visited the bamboo rat babies they hadn’t seen for a while.

While they were away, the bamboo rats had been taken care of by someone experienced from the village.

Over the long period, the few baby bamboo rats had become chubby and white.

When they entered, the bamboo rats made collective “yīng yīng yīng” sounds.

If anyone dared to reach out to grab them, they would show their big front teeth in warning, appearing very fierce.

After spending some time with the bamboo rats, the production team began to announce the tasks.

“Today we have prepared five tasks,” the director took out five task cards, “Everyone will draw lots to determine which task you will complete.”

They exchanged glances, realizing the game had changed!

“I’ll go first! I’m the lucky little prince,” Song Chu ran up first and picked a task card. Everyone hurried over to see.

Song Chu opened it and read aloud, “Please prepare some elephant grass for the baby bamboo rats. Note: Aunt Wang in the village grows elephant grass, but it’s not given away for free. Coincidentally, her cows need milking. Please milk her cows to exchange for the elephant grass.”

“… ” The crowd fell silent for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Lin Jin patted Song Chu’s shoulder, “Lucky little prince, your luck is indeed very blessed.”

Ning Qiuxiu, with a motherly smile, said, “Good luck, little one~”

Song Chu clutched his chest, trying to suppress his urge to curse aloud.

He said to the director, “But I don’t know how to milk cows. What if something goes wrong? Shouldn’t we…”

With Song Chu giving an “you know what I mean” look, the director, stern as always, said, “There will be someone to teach you, so don’t worry.”

“… ” Song Chu couldn’t complain, and his companions seemed to enjoy his misfortune even more.

He was extremely frustrated, “Maybe this is the best one! You guys hurry up and draw!”

Lin Jin suggested, “How about we each take a task card and open them together? Let’s see if anyone has a worse task than Chu Chu.”

Everyone agreed with this idea.

The four of them took the remaining four task cards from the director and opened them, each showing different expressions.

“Haha, Qiuxiu, look at what you have to do!” Song Chu, standing next to Ning Qiuxiu, burst out laughing when he saw her task card.

He read it aloud, “Prepare a song and dance program for the village’s ‘Harvest Festival.’ The content should be suitable for the villagers’ tastes, both elegant and popular. Haha, I suggest you go do the Yangge dance!”

Song Chu laughed so hard he could hardly breathe.

Ning Qiuxiu, expressionless, reminded him, “Little Prince, you’re about to lose a fan.”

“……” Song Chu seemed to hit pause on his increasingly wild laughter, and winked at her. “Can’t wait to see your performance, baby.”

Ning Qiuxiu thought, ‘Can I just strangle him now?’

After sharing her own task, Ning Qiuxiu looked at the others’ tasks.

She refused to believe hers was the worst!

Lin Jin read out his: “Mine is to clean the bamboo rat house and check the physical and mental health of the baby bamboo rats. Wow, I suddenly feel so happy doing this. Labor is the most glorious.”

Song Chu and Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

So petty.

Bai Ying: “My task is also super simple—prepare a meal of rice bran for the baby bamboo rats.”

Song Chu, feeling defeated, grabbed her task card and looked at it: “It doesn’t say you need to use your own labor to get the rice and bran.”

“No, I saw the rice and bran already prepared in the yard.”

Song Chu: “……”

He had to use all his self-control to stop himself from cursing.

The unfair treatment was blatant.

Fang Jinran: “The second graders from the local primary school want to visit the bamboo rats. Please be responsible for hosting them.”

Song Chu covered his face: “That’s it. I can’t take it anymore.”

Each task was better than the last.

The production team didn’t allow task swaps, so after everyone consoled and complained, they went off to complete their tasks.

Ning Qiuxiu was deeply resistant to her task.

Just thinking about the situation made her feel short of breath.

Now, she was about to embarrass herself in front of the public.

The person who planned this task must be a genius, Ning Qiuxiu thought she would need to have a serious talk with them afterward and maybe even demand some compensation for emotional distress.

But resistance or not, the task had to be completed.

Since she drew the short straw, she decided to first visit the village secretary to find out the evening’s program list and see how to prepare.

With only one day to put together a show, it was quite a challenge.

Although she wasn’t too bad at singing and dancing, and her body, being from a girl group background, was well-suited for performing, it still felt like an uphill battle.

The village secretary, who had watched the bamboo rat show recorded in his hometown, was very enthusiastic toward Ning Qiuxiu.

She easily obtained the list of today’s performances, which weren’t organized by the villagers but by an art troupe performing in the countryside.

Ning Qiuxiu sighed as she left the village secretary’s house and said to the camera, “I’d rather chop bamboo.”

But complaints aside, the task had to be done.

Ning Qiuxiu looked through the program list she got from the village secretary, hoping to find some inspiration.

Meanwhile, at the Zhan residence:

“Have some tea.” Zhan Qingyue slowly made two cups of tea with his not-so-flexible hands and gestured for the man sitting opposite him to go ahead.

The man opposite was dressed elegantly, with glasses perched on his nose, clearly an upper-class individual.

He took the cup of tea and said, “It’s quite something that you didn’t let me know you were coming to G City. You only remember me when you need help. Can we still be friends?”

Zhan Qingyue had asked this friend in G City to help with the matter of Ning Qiuxiu being tagged in a Weibo post.

The friend, named Yu Haiping, was also from A City and had known Zhan Qingyue for several years.

Recently, he had moved his business focus to G City.

Zhan Qingyue expressed just the right amount of guilt and said, “I wanted to wait until I was better to visit you, but it seems I ran into some unexpected trouble and caused you inconvenience.”

“Oh, it’s a small matter,” Yu Haiping waved his hand dismissively, but his expression then turned ambiguous. “So, what’s the relationship between that female celebrity and you? A little lover?”

“No,” Zhan Qingyue took a sip of his tea before casually replying, “an illegal cohabitation.”

“???”

Yu Haiping nearly choked on his tea.

Zhan Qingyue’s startling remark was typical of him.

Yu Haiping blinked, and from Zhan Qingyue’s implication, “illegal cohabitation” seemed to mean they were in a relationship.

“Wow,” Yu Haiping was taken aback, saying with a hint of jealousy, “When will it become legal then?”

Zhan Qingyue replied, “The timing isn’t right yet.”

Yu Haiping laughed and set down his cup, “Seems like you’re still waiting for your prey to take the bait. I really should offer three minutes of silence for that female celebrity.”

“…” Zhan Qingyue paused, reflecting on whether his character was really that bad.