Chapter 23

If this had happened a decade ago, when an artist’s sexual orientation was still a sensitive issue, this trending topic would have been shut down by the economic company within three minutes, to prevent any adverse effects on the artist’s future due to sexual orientation issues. However, since the anti-discrimination law was enacted, societal attitudes have gradually become more open-minded, and laws regarding same-sex marriage are also in progress. Artists who openly come out are now confidently active on the screen, and sexual orientation is no longer a big deal, which means…

Gu Qiu wouldn’t lend a helping hand to Ye Chen. Not only would he not help, he might even gleefully calculate how much money he saved by not buying trending topics!

Fearing damage to his public image, Ye Chen shrank back, too timid to resist, merely retweeting the Weibo post and cheerfully boasting about his cooking skills. Then, he quietly played the role of Shen Ge’s wife.

Apart from the ecstatic CP fans, there were naturally some fans who only supported Ye Chen or Shen Mofeng and felt dissatisfied. However, there were fewer people criticizing Ye Chen, as it was Shen Mofeng who had instigated these incidents each time. At most, Ye Chen would be accused of being a scheming innocent, but since there were plenty of staff members to cook for the crew, there was no need for the artist to cook and fawn over the movie emperor…

However, there were many criticisms aimed at Shen Mofeng. With Ye Chen’s tender appearance and obedient personality, many loyal fans felt genuinely worried about Ye Chen being bullied. Although no one dared to criticize Shen Mofeng in his comment section, there were quite a few expressing their dissatisfaction on their own Weibo accounts.

Among the comments like, “That old pervert must have a lot of dirty thoughts. If he’s clean in his heart, I’ll eat my hat. Last time when Chen Chen said he entered the industry for him, he got all worked up, didn’t he? Chen Chen is so innocent, he never even thought about that.” “It’s fine if the person surnamed Shen is gay. It’s the modern era, I can even accept if Chen Bao likes boys, but the bottom line is to have a good relationship. A thirty-year-old playboy messing around with a nineteen-year-old kid? Sorry, we won’t accompany you.” “Letting that person cook and then posting on Weibo, I can tolerate that, but when someone calls him ‘the little wife’ and he responds with ‘kind of,’ I want to hit someone!”, there was a unique account continuously jumping in, trying to mediate.

Extra Sweet Red Fuji Apples, eight yuan per kilogram, free shipping in Beijing: “I’m a crew member. Actually, Shen Mofeng is very upright. His care for Chen Chen is purely that of a senior looking after a junior, nothing else. Believe me, sis.”

Extra Sweet Red Fuji Apples, eight yuan per kilogram, free shipping in Beijing: “Sis, I don’t think Shen Mofeng is gay. He’s never been involved in any rumors with male stars, but he’s had quite a few rumors with female stars.”

Extra Sweet Red Fuji Apples, eight yuan per kilogram, free shipping in Beijing: “The ‘little wife’ remark was definitely just a joke. Sis, don’t get mad, let me sell you a cute duck~”

—Helplessly watching Dad get scolded with wide eyes is the definition of unfilial.

However…

“Shen Mofeng’s bootlicking dog, get lost!”

“Is that sweet Fuji apple a moron?”

“Reported! Selling a cute act? I’ll sell you a leg!”

Ye Chen was almost bombarded with tears by his own enraged mom fans…

On the other hand, Shen Mofeng didn’t know what he stumbled upon while scrolling through Weibo. Out of the blue during a break in filming, he threw a sentence at Ye Chen, “I haven’t even turned twenty-six yet… Am I considered an old man?”

Ye Chen took a deep breath. “No! Why… Why are you asking that?”

Shen Mofeng lowered his eyes, mocking with a smile, “Just wondering.”

If his birthday hadn’t passed, Shen Mofeng would be only twenty-five now, actually younger than many of his fans. Plus, he had good skin and facial features that didn’t show signs of aging. However, his demeanor naturally carried a hint of the noble young master’s laziness, and he always had a cigarette in hand. Though he was a pure-hearted old virgin on the inside, he inexplicably had the air of a seasoned player in love affairs. Compared to those same-aged male stars with a sunny and fresh style, he seemed several years older out of thin air.

…Oh no, they must have seen what my fans said… Ye Chen boldly speculated the divine intention and nervously approached his father-like figure, flattering him from various angles, discussing extensively about how young, handsome, and charismatic Shen Mofeng was, and his psychological and physiological reactions when in close contact with him made it hard for him to breathe. By the end, Ye Chen felt he had surpassed the limits of flattery.

This wasn’t flattery anymore, it was a precision-guided missile against flattery, using a J-16 fighter jet…

After a bombardment of rainbow-colored flattery, Shen Mofeng finally showed a hint of a smile on his face.

Ye Chen sighed in relief and opened the Weibo comments, only to be bombarded by mom fans again, thinking he was a bootlicker.

Why am I attracting so much attention… Ye Chen mechanically pocketed his phone, looking lost and bewildered, resembling a henpecked husband caught between his mom and his wife!

The entertainment industry is too deep; I’d better go home and farm… After finishing the morning shoot, Ye Chen, wrapped in a military coat provided by the crew, exhaustedly took the divine beast cubs to plant Winter Velvet Grass in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

In the separate space of the east wing room, thousands of sparkling bubbles floated in the velvety black background. With a thought, Ye Chen summoned the grass seeds for Winter Velvet Grass. A bubble emitting a pearly halo, the size of two adult fists, gently descended from a height beyond sight and landed in Ye Chen’s outstretched palm. This bubble contained countless tiny black grass seeds, said to be about ten thousand of them, according to the Spirit.

After taking the seeds, in a daze, Ye Chen saw that the bubble containing the soul of Fenghuang Cub, which had gradually expanded over this period, seemed about to burst. The bubble’s surface was covered with fine cracks, indicating that Fenghuang Cub could wake up at any moment.

There’s going to be another mouth to feed at home… Sighing softly, like a poor old father, Ye Chen took out two cloth pouches and stretched their mouths wide. Using his nails, he punctured the bubble containing the grass seeds and poured the seeds into the two cloth pouches.

After distributing the seeds, Ye Chen handed one pouch each to Hundun Cub and Qiongqi Cub, who were responsible for sowing. They were now in their human forms. Taking the seed pouches, they remained in human form but sprouted small wings from their backs. Flying in parallel lines above the snowy land of the Mountain and Sea Realm, they scattered the seeds in two straight lines.

Pulu Cub and Hou Cub followed behind Hundun Cub. Each of them held a small dipping dish instead of a shovel, using it to scoop up the soft snow on both sides of the planted seeds and cover them. Ye Chen followed behind Qiongqi Cub, using a shovel to cover the seeds with snow.

The Mountain and Sea Realm was mostly plains, and although the wind wasn’t particularly strong today, it was relentless, giving a sensation of being slashed in the face. After shoveling snow for a while, Ye Chen’s forehead was covered with thin sweat, feeling as if the wind had penetrated his knitted hat. He didn’t have a hat that could better block the wind, so he simply lifted his military coat up to his head, covering his whole head with it except for his face, making him look like he didn’t have a head from a distance… For the sake of warmth, Ye Chen continued to work while maintaining this ridiculous appearance.

Due to clear division of labor, the efficiency of several people planting grass was very high. After an hour, the Winter Velvet Grass had been planted in four long rows. For the next eight days, as long as they spent an hour each day planting grass, they could easily complete the task. If they planted a little more on any given day, they might even finish ahead of schedule. However, considering the possibility of weather changes, Ye Chen decided to make the most of this afternoon when there was no filming. He didn’t want the newly planted Winter Velvet Grass to fail to take root if the snow melted clean in a few days.

After planting for another ten minutes or so, Ye Chen took off his cotton gloves, warmed his frozen red cheeks with his warm hands, then hoisted the shovel over his shoulder and shouted loudly, “Everyone… No, kids, go inside and warm up. Let’s take a ten-minute break and then come back!”

The group returned to the farmhouse and had just settled on the heated brick bed when Xiao Gao suddenly knocked on the door and entered with a small basin of frozen pears. “Chen Ge, a fellow villager sent a basin of frozen… pears…”

Ye Chen, still feeling the chill, was sitting on the edge of the heated brick bed wrapped in a military coat and two pairs of cotton pants. His knitted hat was rudely removed, his hair was messy, and his handsome face was red from forehead to chin, especially his two cheeks, which were so red they looked festive. His cotton shoes were covered in dirty melted snow, and his hands were tucked into his sleeves, assuming the posture of a typical farmer.

Even Xiao Gao, who was already accustomed to Ye Chen’s antics, couldn’t help but be momentarily speechless at the sight.

“Chen Ge, why…?” Xiao Gao licked his lips nervously. “Where are you going? If you need to run errands, just tell me. There’s no need for you to go yourself.”

Ye Chen smiled innocently, his neat little white teeth contrasting sharply with his red face. “It’s nothing. Just going out for a stroll, to breathe some fresh air.”

Xiao Gao nodded awkwardly. “Oh, okay…” Then, he stiffly placed the small basin of frozen pears on the table, took two steps back, turned around, and slipped away like he was escaping.

Just going out for a walk… Can it really turn a person into this? Xiao Gao pondered as he walked. It didn’t feel that cold today! It seems you have to stay outside for quite a while, and with a bit of sweating and getting hit by the wind, you could end up like that.

After a moment, Xiao Gao suddenly remembered Ye Chen’s purchase of the courtyard specifically for farming, and his expression gradually became blank. Damn, Chen Ge wouldn’t secretly be helping villagers with farming, would he?!

…

Ye Chen placed the basin of frozen pears on the heated brick bed and called out to the babies, “Each of you take one and suck on the juice inside. It’s delicious.”

The babies eagerly picked up the frozen pears and started sucking on them. Meanwhile, Ye Chen opened the Mountain and Sea Realm app and read the article about Winter Velvet Grass, his mind gradually becoming active.

Winter velvet grass, as a low-level spiritual plant, grew relatively fast. Ye Chen had calculated that the Winter Velvet Grass he planted could sprout in about a day, grow to ten centimeters in three days, bloom in ten days, and bear seeds in half a month. The small flowers of Winter Velvet Grass had some practical value. If there was a channel, he might be able to use it to make money.

Thinking about using spiritual plants to make money, Ye Chen consulted Jing Ling about some details. “As long as I don’t let ordinary people know that what I’m selling is problematic, it doesn’t count as leaking secrets, right? For example, if I use Winter Velvet Grass to make pillows and sew it into the pillow core so that ordinary people can’t see it, it wouldn’t be considered leaking secrets, would it?”

Jing Ling replied calmly, “That’s correct.”

Ye Chen wanted to ask more, but Jing Ling suddenly interjected, “My suggestion is to sell spiritual plants to divine beasts as much as possible. This can effectively eliminate the risk of leaking secrets from the source.”

“Sell to divine beasts?” Ye Chen was puzzled. “Aren’t all the divine beasts sleeping in your little space?”

“Who said that?” Jing Ling responded calmly. “What I told you before was ‘in the war against Chi You, ninety percent of the divine beasts perished,’ which means that ten percent are still alive…”

The author has something to say:

Ye Qiongqiong’s accounts for today:

Today’s income: a basin of frozen pears.

Shen Mofeng’s accounts for today:

—Realizing I’m not happy, he racked his brains to cheer me up.

Shen Mofeng’s favorability +20.

Current favorability: 30/500, three stars.

—Someone drew a comic in the CP Super Topic, and Chen Chen in the comic is really cute.

Shen Mofeng’s favorability +10.

Current favorability: 40/500, three stars.

Next, please enjoy the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law drama—

Biological mom* surname Shen don’t think of marrying into the Ye family* Fans: Do you want your biological mom, or do you want that little unrestrained hussy?

Shen* Little unrestrained hussy| Pretty and flirtatious slut* Mofeng: Do you really love me? Aren’t you bothered when they curse me?

Ye* Spineless husband | Caught in the crossfire* Qiongqiong: Aaaaah… I’m going to jump off a building to calm down…

Hehehe, it’s just that ninety percent of the divine beasts perished, but one percent of the divine beast big shots didn’t die at all~ Surprised, huh? .jpg

PS: The old man calculates, and it’s about time to reach V status tomorrow…

In advance, thank you to the buddies who support the genuine version~ (づ￣3￣)づ

TN:

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I was able to stock some chapters more chapters and will be able to continue the 5 chaps a week. I will upload 5 chapters today for the missed updates. The chapters haven’t been proofread so if you spot any mistakes kindly inform me. There are also advance chapters for those interested in reading ahead.