Chapter 59

The recording work at the first shooting location concluded perfectly. The next morning, the production team set off for the next filming location.

Ye Chen had been forced by Shen Mofeng to draft and sign the “Thirty Articles of Rights and Obligations of Prospective Boyfriends” late into the night. After signing, he was then relentlessly pinned down by Shen Mofeng on the bed, sweetly kissed and teased until the end, with Shen Mofeng complaining that Ye Chen was too good to cuddle.

Ye Chen had been played with until late at night, and early in the morning, he got up without enough sleep. His stamina was not as good as Shen Mofeng’s, and he felt extremely uncomfortable due to lack of sleep, yawning incessantly in the car.

There was a camera in the car. After several yawns, Shen Mofeng pretended to be worried and asked, “Ye Chen, did you sleep well last night?”

Ye Chen forced a smile, “Uh, yeah.”

Shen Mofeng gently reproached, “You stayed up too late playing with your phone.”

A few seconds later, Ye Chen, who hadn’t touched his phone all night and had been thoroughly played by the old pervert, managed to squeeze out a nasal sound, “Uh…”

Shen Mofeng, playing the part of a concerned elder, said seriously, “From now on, put your phone aside before bed. It’s not good for your eyes to lie down and play.”

“…” Ye Chen’s fist itched, wanting to punch someone.

Shen Mofeng continued, “Did you hear that, little buddy?”

Ye Chen obediently nodded, “I heard you, Shen Ge.”

Shen Mofeng smiled with satisfaction and suggested, “You can rest your head on my shoulder for a while.”

“Thank you, Shen Ge.” Ye Chen appeared compliant on the surface but inwardly felt annoyed as he rested his head.

As the car bumped along the country road, he drifted off to sleep.

After a three-hour journey, the production team successfully arrived at the second filming location—a special black pig breeding farm.

The owner of this farm had previously successfully introduced a breed of special black pigs that were not raised elsewhere in the country. This initiative had helped local villagers to escape poverty and become prosperous. Because of the program “Road to Prosperity” that had aired on CCTV 7, this farm was well-known locally and had grown into the largest breeding farm in the surrounding area.

… How much do the planners love pigs! Ye Chen couldn’t help but silently complain.

However, returning to a filming location related to pigs actually suited Ye Chen’s preferences. He still remembered the incident where he trended on hot searches due to pigs last time. This time, he could handle the pigs well and turn the tables, gaining confidence and success. He had already thought of the key trending topic for this time—#Ye Chen Mastering the Art of Pig Handling#

Gathering at the entrance of the pig farm, Zhang Qin gave a brief introduction to the farm that had been featured on CCTV, then led the guests inside to announce their first task: “Next, each of you will embark on a very lovely task… Take a look around and see if you notice anything interesting.”

Ye Chen looked around.

Several meters away on the muddy ground, a chubby black piglet lay on its back, its four tender piglets sticking up, its pink belly exposed defenselessly under the sun.

“Keng keng…” The piglet hummed contentedly.

Not just one, Ye Chen focused and saw that this relatively enclosed courtyard was filled with black piglets playing and sunbathing.

“The ground is full of piglets,” someone answered.

“Yes, this is a special entertainment area for piglets to play and relax,” Zhang Qin explained. “So, the first task for each guest today is to adopt a piglet and take care of its ‘daily life’ for the whole day.”

These piglets were in the brief and adorable stage of their lives, about the length of Ye Chen’s forearm. Their four slender legs supported their solid cylindrical bodies, their fur neatly groomed by the caretakers, shiny black as if polished, all looking quite charming. The guests, who had been tense, all sighed with relief and were eager to try.

—The planners hadn’t forgotten they were making a show, meticulously balancing relaxation and challenges. Continuous stressful tasks would exhaust the guests and bore the audience, so some relaxed tasks were necessary to create unexpected comedic moments. Taking care of the piglets now was to ease the pace of the program.

In the courtyard were precisely nine piglets placed. The guests scattered to catch them, and the piglets, seeing strangers trying to catch them, squealed and ran away wildly. Zhou Yu had long limbs but lacked coordination, running clumsily, tripping over a piglet that darted across from the front. Other guests burst into laughter, filling the courtyard with joyous squeals and laughter…

Ye Chen locked onto the piglet sunbathing with its belly exposed, took a few steps towards it, and pretended to coax, “Good piglet, let Gege catch you.”

The piglet, wary, quickly scrambled to its feet.

Ye Chen, with a clever plan in mind, intended to have the camera capture the piglet approaching him voluntarily. Secretly, he released an aura of dominance towards the piglet, silently saying, “Come here.”

Having had previous experiences with pigs, Ye Chen thoroughly enjoyed this feeling of mastering them…

“…Huh?” Ye Chen abruptly snapped out of his fantasy of commanding a legion of pigs— the piglet remained unmoved, unaffected by his aura of dominance, just staring at Ye Chen with its round black eyes fixedly.

Ye Chen unleashed the aura of dominance once again, commanding like a domineering CEO, “Pig, come here!”

“Oink!” The piglet swiftly turned around, lifted its piglet buttocks toward Ye Chen, and wiggled provocatively.

“Hahaha, it knows how to tease!” Zhou Yu, holding the piglet he caught like a cat, trotted over to join the fun.

Ye Chen: “…”

Refusing to believe he was being mocked, Ye Chen desperately exerted his dominance over the piglet, threatening under his breath, “Come here! If you don’t, I’ll stew you!”

“Keng!” The piglet turned its head, squinting its small black eyes into cunning slits, staring back at Ye Chen fiercely.

For a brief moment, Ye Chen felt as if he could read mockery and irritation in the piglet’s expression!

Ye Chen: “…”

Are you freaking serious?

Since when did a pig have such rich emotions?!

By now, the other eight guests had successfully caught their piglets. Ye Chen, getting impatient, decided to abandon all attempts at commanding the pig with his aura. With a swift move, he lunged to catch the piglet bare-handed. The piglet joyfully squealed and, twisting its cylindrical body at an impossible angle, evaded Ye Chen’s grasp…

Ye Chen lunged again, the piglet dodged again, and thus began a chase between man and pig in the courtyard. The piglet moved with alarming agility, its tender hooves pattering on the hard ground, sprinting, turning sharply, weaving around trees… It dodged effortlessly, more like playing with Ye Chen than evading his pursuit. In no time, Ye Chen was sweating profusely, panting with hands on his knees, his cheeks flushed red like cherry tomatoes.

Initially, the other guests thought Ye Chen was playing dumb for the show’s effect, given his versatile image over the past few days. They assumed the tasks set by the production crew wouldn’t faze him. But as they hesitated whether to intervene, Ye Chen wiped his sweat with his T-shirt, turned to Shen Mofeng for help, and pleaded, “Shen Ge, lend me a hand.”

Shen Mofeng handed his piglet to Zhou Yu, patted two other members of the boy band, and said calmly, “Help Ye Chen catch one.”

Gu Youyou also handed her piglet to Jiang Xiyue for safekeeping, rolled up her sleeves, and joined the fray, five people converging on one pig. The piglet was incredibly cunning. Just as Ye Chen was about to strategize with them, Gu Youyou bent down and, as if playing, pinned the piglet down.

Ye Chen looked horrified as if he had seen a ghost. “You…”

Gu Youyou also looked puzzled. “It bumped into my leg on its own…”

After struggling to catch a piglet for so long without success, seeing others catch one so easily made him feel inadequate. Ye Chen gritted his teeth in frustration, snatching the piglet from Gu Youyou’s hands.

Unexpectedly, the gentle and obedient piglet in Gu Youyou’s hands started squealing like a slaughtered pig the moment it touched Ye Chen’s hands. “Ah—! Ah—!”

“Stop screaming!” Ye Chen was exasperated, releasing another wave of his aura, but the piglet continued its ear-splitting cries.

“Pig Ge, Pig Ge I was wrong, can’t we make up?…” Ye Chen was at a loss, the squealing tormenting him, holding the piglet up in surrender.

The piglet snorted arrogantly, “Keng chi ^[1]To puff and blow.”

It seemed to accept the apology.

The courtyard fell silent for a moment.

Suddenly, Gu Youyou remembered something. “I remember in Season 1 of ‘Leisure Vacation,’ didn’t Ye Chen… also get pushed by a pig?”

Ye Chen wanted to cry but had no tears. “…Yes.”

“You, capable of farming, fishing, selling vegetables, cooking—can do anything, but you can’t catch a pig.” Gu Youyou laughed. “Are you cursed by pigs or something?”

Ye Chen forced a chuckle, wishing he could roast a suckling pig right there and then.

He had never imagined that, possessing the aura of Fuxi, able to command beasts and determined to redeem himself on the show, he would encounter a Waterloo again with a pig…

Could it be that the aura of Fuxi was failing him? Ye Chen wondered nervously, turning to look at the piglet in Shen Mofeng’s arms, silently commanding, “Move your left ear.”

The piglet in Shen Mofeng’s arms immediately obediently twitched its left ear.

Ye Chen: “Move your right ear.”

Shen Mofeng’s piglet followed suit.

Ye Chen then looked down at his own piglet, exerting his aura once more and commanding, “Move your left ear.”

The piglet’s ear didn’t move, it just made a soft sound, “Hmph…”

That sound strangely resembled a “pfft” noise that humans make when trying to stifle laughter.

Ye Chen took a deep breath to steady himself. “…”

Are you a freaking pig demon?!

Next, the production team arranged a series of tasks for the guests to take care of the piglets, including feeding them by hand, playing games with them, and grooming them. While everyone else’s piglets were relatively obedient, Ye Chen’s piglet was particularly mischievous. It would go west when told east, stand when told to lie down, poop when fed, and urinate when given water…

“What did I do to offend it…” Ye Chen was in agony.

Shen Mofeng also noticed that Ye Chen’s piglet was exceptionally naughty. When no one was looking, he quietly dragged Ye Chen into a blind spot of the camera to exchange pigs with him.

“Forget it, this pig… it will just bully you again,” Ye Chen sighed weakly. “I can’t even save you later. Let it bully me alone. Anyway, my image of being cursed by pigs is probably set now.”

Shen Mofeng turned his head away, chuckled, and teased, “Look down on who? I could even let the pig bully me.”

Ye Chen teased him with a glance, softly saying, “Even fish bully you…”

Shen Mofeng: “…”

The nine guests each had a small pig bathtub, lined up in front of the camera, washing their own piglets. Ye Chen’s piglet, rolling and splashing in the bathtub, soaked him completely. He growled lowly, “Sit down! Don’t move!”

“Keng keng?! Keng chi!” The piglet stared back with its small black eyes, unexpectedly showing some fierceness!

Ye Chen suppressed his anger, speaking calmly and kindly, “Sit down.”

“Keng!!” The piglet suddenly stood upright!

“Ge, Pig Ge…” How could a pig stand on its hind legs? Ye Chen was instantly intimidated, fearing his piglet might do something outrageous in front of the camera. He quickly pressed the piglet down, lowering his voice to coax, “Little brother is sorry, I know I was wrong.”

The piglet arrogantly glanced at him, lying back in the tub, raising one of its pig hooves.

“…Ge, what are your orders?” Ye Chen asked humbly.

The piglet actually gestured with its eyes. “Keng.”

Ye Chen vaguely understood its intention and, from the king of beasts to being a younger brother, endured his humiliation and massaged the pig.

“Is that what you mean, Ge?” Ye Chen asked.

The piglet nodded its head. “Keng.”

Ye Chen: “…”

This damn piglet has definitely become sentient!

The author has something to say:

If anyone’s mind wandered when they saw the summary of this chapter, please step forward and confess…

TN: Chapter Summary: The length was approximately Ye Chen’s arm.

Niohuru Chen could only stop at this point; after his rebirth, he once again fell into the hands of pigs…