Meng Zhen had not expected to take first place. She laughed, her round, bright eyes curving into crescents. Sitting across from her, Gu Ting took in the young woman’s appearance, involuntarily pressing his thin lips together.

“Alright, the first segment is over. The second segment will be completed by you six guests together, using ingredients from He’an Village to prepare a table of delicious dishes.”

Upon hearing the host’s words, Jiang Lianqin’s eyes flickered slightly and her breathing became a bit more rapid. Across from her, Xiao Lan’s fingertips trembled slightly, though her expression remained largely unchanged.

“Guests, please go collect the ingredients first. The longer you delay, the lower your ranking will be. The last place will have to accept the show’s punishment.” Ming Zhou gently reminded.

After the host left the living room, Jiang Lianqin glanced at Meng Zhen and said casually, “There are six of us collecting ingredients so we should divide the tasks. Zhenzhen, I noticed there are quite a few vegetables on the farm to the west. We can buy some from the local villagers. Sister Lan and I will go to the store to buy seasonings, and as for Teacher Gu and the others, they can go a few kilometers away to the meat market to buy some.”

Meng Zhen recalled the conversation she had overheard upstairs earlier. She looked up and met Jiang Lianqin’s gaze. “I’d like to switch with you. You go to the west and I’ll go to the store with Sister Lan. Is that okay?”

Jiang Lianqin suspected she had misheard. In her impression, Meng Zhen was quite introverted and never questioned others’ arrangements. That’s why she had set this trap, waiting for Meng Zhen to step in and be utterly ruined, never to recover.

But now things were different from what Jiang Lianqin had expected. Her face turned deathly pale in an instant, and she shook her head abruptly. “Zhenzhen, Sister Lan and I have already discussed this. Don’t be stubborn, just follow the arrangement, okay?”

Xiao Lan stood up, walked over to Meng Zhen, and turned off the microphone. Leaning close to Meng Zhen’s ear, she whispered, “Even though we’re not exactly at each other’s throats, our relationship isn’t great either. I don’t want to team up with you. Can you have a little self-awareness and not be so shameless?”

Xiao Lan spoke harshly to help Jiang Lianqin, ensuring Meng Zhen would be led smoothly to the west side of He’an Village. There, Meng Zhen would be bitten by a vicious dog, ruining her alluring face, and hopefully, even plastic surgery couldn’t restore it. That way, Meng Zhen would have no chance of competing with her for resources.

Meng Zhen wasn’t foolish. Taking in the woman’s expression, she could naturally guess the other party’s intentions. It was nothing more than to collaborate with Jiang Lianqin to completely ruin her life.

Ignoring Xiao Lan, Meng Zhen turned directly to Jiang Lianqin and asked, “Lianqin, you don’t want to be separated from Sister Lan?”

At this moment, besides the six guests, the living room also included cameramen, the director, and other staff. Jiang Lianqin didn’t understand what Meng Zhen was up to. Suppressing the sense of unease in her heart, she slowly nodded her head.

“If that’s the case, you and Sister Lan can go buy vegetables to the west, and I’ll go to the store alone. There aren’t many seasonings needed anyway so I can handle it myself. Besides, everyone knows I grew up in an orphanage and learned to cook a long time ago. I won’t make any mistakes.”

As Meng Zhen spoke, dimples appeared on her cheeks, but in Jiang Lianqin’s eyes, it inexplicably sent a chill down her spine.

Did Meng Zhen figure out her plan? Otherwise, why would she insist on swapping tasks with her?

Cold sweat seeped through Jiang Lianqin’s back, soaking through her white clothes. She kept her head down, gritting her teeth tightly, and remained silent for a long while.

Xiao Lan, having started her career as a child star and immersed herself in the entertainment industry for over a decade, naturally had a more refined mind than Jiang Lianqin. Right now, she gripped the latter’s wrist firmly, shrugged, and forced a reluctant tone, “Since Zhenzhen wants to switch, let’s do it. Lianqin and I will bring back the vegetables.”

Xiao Lan had assumed the director and producers wouldn’t allow Meng Zhen to act out, but to her surprise, as soon as she finished speaking, Meng Zhen glanced at her watch and said, “It’s getting late now. Let’s hurry up and get going.”

After saying that, Meng Zhen grabbed a copy of the ingredients list and left the farmhouse.

Seeing this, Jiang Lianqin was dumbfounded. She wanted to rush forward and pull Meng Zhen back, but Xiao Lan had already spoken about swapping tasks. If she tried to intervene now, it would surely raise suspicion among everyone present.

Helpless, Xiao Lan and Jiang Lianqin had no choice but to accept this arrangement. But before leaving the farmhouse, they went to the restroom one after another. Jiang Lianqin turned off her earpiece and asked through gritted teeth, “Sister Lan, you know how dangerous it is on the west side of He’an Village. Why did you agree to swap with Meng Zhen? If we get hurt, it could affect us for a lifetime!”

Jiang Lianqin hadn’t expected things to escalate to this point. Blood vessels bulged in her eyes, and she trembled with anger.

“I originally thought the director wouldn’t agree to Meng Zhen’s arrangement, but I didn’t expect them to turn a blind eye and let her mess around like this. Don’t worry too much. While the west side is dangerous, as long as we keep our distance and buy vegetables from the villagers’ houses, we won’t encounter that vicious dog. Why are you so worried? This show has high ratings, so don’t expose any weaknesses in front of the national audience. Otherwise, no one can save you!” Xiao Lan threatened coldly.

Confused and unsettled, Jiang Lianqin could only nod in agreement, unsure of what else to do. She followed Xiao Lan closely while carrying a shopping bag and headed outside.

Along the way, Xiao Lan tightly held Jiang Lianqin’s wrist. If anyone who doesn’t know saw them, they would surely think these two female stars had an exceptionally close relationship, otherwise, they wouldn’t be so inseparable.

Not long after the two of them walked out of the farmhouse, Xiao Lan spotted another household nearby with a variety of seasonal vegetables in their garden. She walked directly into the yard and asked with a bright smile, “Excuse me, can we buy some vegetables from your garden?”

But just after Xiao Lan finished speaking, Jiang Lianqin saw a jet-black dog staring straight at them with mouth open wide. Its eyes were bloodshot, and saliva dripped continuously from its jaws, making it look extremely ferocious.

Jiang Lianqin was terrified. Unable to control herself, she screamed at the top of her lungs and bolted away. However, the moment she moved, the dog seemed to have been provoked and lunged at her, viciously biting her calf. The excruciating pain made Jiang Lianqin struggle even harder, tears streaming down her face as her pristine white clothes became stained crimson with blood.

Standing nearby, Xiao Lan was completely stunned. When she finally reacted, her first instinct wasn’t to help Jiang Lianqin, but to swiftly leave the yard.

Seeing this from afar, the crew members immediately abandoned their filming equipment and rushed forward. With the help of the homeowner, they eventually managed to restrain the dog.

At this moment, Jiang Lianqin looked utterly miserable. Her face was streaked with tears and mucus, and her carefully applied makeup was now a mess. She was normally meticulous about her appearance but she couldn’t care less about such trivial details now. All she felt was the intense pain in her ankle. Despite being supported by the crew members, the stabbing pain continued unabated.

“How can your dog just bite people like that? Do you know it’s against the law?” Seeing the situation under control, Xiao Lan turned back and started criticizing the homeowner.

The homeowner, a man in his early thirties with a clean and scholarly appearance, wore thin-framed glasses on his nose. Seeing Jiang Lianqin’s calf covered in blood, he first called for emergency assistance and then calmly explained, “Firstly, I did not invite you into my home. It was the two of you who pushed open the wooden gate and entered. Secondly, it was the other lady’s scream that startled the dog and led to this outcome.”

Xiao Lan didn’t know how to argue back and glared fiercely at the homeowner.

With the situation escalating into chaos, the cameraman hurriedly used his walkie-talkie to inform the director of what had happened. Shortly after, all the crew members rushed to the courtyard. Witnessing Jiang Lianqin’s bloodied and distressed state, each of them stood uncertain, unsure of what to do next.

Before filming this variety show in He’an Village, the director had already coordinated with the village chief. Now, the village chief approached and, after assessing Jiang Lianqin’s injury, visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although she was bleeding heavily, Jiang Lianqin hadn’t been bitten critically by the dog. As long as she received timely medical treatment, there shouldn’t be major issues. However, the village chief wasn’t aware that Jiang Lianqin was known for her exceptional dance skills as an idol. Even the most advanced medical treatment might not be able to completely eliminate all the sequelae.

The thought overwhelmed Jiang Lianqin, causing her vision to darken and a profound sense of despair to wash over her like crashing waves, making it hard for her to breathe.

He’an Village was less than five kilometers away from the city center and soon, the ambulance arrived. Paramedics quickly lifted Jiang Lianqin onto a stretcher and began treating her wounds.

Watching the ambulance drive away, the assistant director broke out in a cold sweat. The director had already boarded the vehicle, so he had to stay in He’an Village to handle the situation. After all, Jiang Lianqin was currently one of the hottest female idols, and if anything serious happened to her, fans would devour the entire production team alive.

“Heishan^[1]Black Mountain is a stray dog but it’s never bitten anyone in the village. Today, thinking there was a production team filming, I specifically asked Xiao Zhou to keep Heishan indoors. Who knew the young ladies would rush into Xiao Zhou’s house, shouting loudly and startling Heishan, which led to the bite.” The village chief sighed, looking troubled.

The assistant director scratched his head, staring at the dog locked in the woodshed, feeling bitter. He couldn’t believe Xiao Lan and Jiang Lianqin had actually trespassed into a villager’s home, despite He’an Village’s efforts to accommodate the production team by keeping the dog confined.

“Teacher Xiao, weren’t you supposed to go to the west side farm to pick vegetables? Why did you enter the Zhou family’s house?” The assistant director asked, suppressing his anger.

At that moment, Xiao Lan’s expression wasn’t very pretty either. While she mentally cursed Jiang Lianqin, outwardly she put on a concerned look. Taking a deep breath, she replied in a subdued voice, “Lianqin and I saw that there are a lot of vegetables planted in this yard, so we thought to buy some from the owner. At that moment, the owner was feeding the dog. Lianqin was too scared and her screams startled the stray dog, leading to this unfortunate incident. I couldn’t stop it either!”