Qiu Chao said it all without missing a beat, but somehow every word out of her mouth seemed laced with some hidden implication.
Ding Yingxue let out an “Ah,” and Liu Song tilted her head, blurting out, “So you two are that close?”
Xi Xi over there didn’t have time to stop her. She instinctively glanced at the live stream cameras around them and called out to Liu Song.
Liu Song was blissfully oblivious, happily skipping over to Xi Xi’s side.
【Why is Liu Song still so clueless after years in the industry?】
【Ding Yingxue’s expression is killing me—pure confusion.】
【I have the same question!!】
【Liu Song, my live chat spokesperson, boo hoo!】
【Doesn’t Qiu Chao seem like one of those straight girls who flirts way too much?】
【Thinking back to that goddess poll—Qiu Chao got first because she’s “straight”… Voters, have some pride! Send them to rehab.】
【More interesting is Yan Muyu’s reaction, though.】
【Why’d she leave?】
Yan Muyu completely ignored Qiu Chao’s teasing. She yawned, strode across the courtyard, stepped over the threshold, and headed straight out.
Pei Wan emerged from the kitchen at just that moment and asked, “Where are you off to?”
Yan Muyu replied, “Chopping wood so everyone can have hot baths.”
Xi Xi sighed, saying she was going to fetch the kettle for hot water. Yan Muyu shot her a blatantly mocking look.
But Yan Muyu had such an open, straightforward way about her that her mockery never really pissed anyone off—especially since her tone dragged out in amused exclamation.
“Sister Xi Xi, that’s not even enough to drink, let alone bathe in.”
“You couldn’t even wash your face with that.”
【I’m scared she’s gonna say it’s not enough to even wipe with.】
【Don’t you dare spout nonsense! Is that what Young Boss Yan is like?!】
【Yan Muyu just rolled her eyes at Qiu Chao, lololol】
【Wahhh, why are the conditions so rough? Can’t you treat the ladies better? Install a water heater or something?】
That was exactly what Yan Muyu was thinking.
She was starting to feel relieved it was summer, at least.
The light outside the earthen house was dim; she probably needed the glow from the streetlights on the winding mountain road nearby to make out what lay along the path.
The variety show’s crew had already set up in another earthen house not far off.
The live stream feed showed bustling staff coming and going, along with Yan Muyu earnestly chopping wood in the yard.
She clearly had zero experience with it. With no one to help, she pulled out her phone to search for a tutorial.
Who knew where the show had gotten the axe—it was an old, well-used thing, the blade honed to a sharp gleam, the wooden handle smooth from years of handling.
Yan Muyu sighed. She’d hastily tied her hair into a messy little bun at the back of her head, but since it was that awkward not-short-not-long length, a few strands still stuck to her neck.
A moment later, Liu Song came running out to help.
The twenty-one-year-old singer was worlds apart in age from Yan Muyu, but stars didn’t age like normal people—the young ones looked even younger.
No matter how you sliced it, Yan Muyu seemed the more mature of the two.
Liu Song was skinny and lanky. She came over asking for the axe.
Yan Muyu eyed her noodle-thin arms and her willowy frame that looked like a stiff breeze could topple it, instantly losing any faith in her.
“Can you even lift it?”
The others took advantage of the water-boiling time to tidy up the yard and check out the vegetable garden.
They noticed the water jar was nearly empty, and the off-camera crew guided them on what to do next.
【Liu Song’s got such a boyish vibe… Not really a sweet girl type.】
【The sweet girl here has to be Ding Yingxue, right?】
【Lmao, who posted that Liu Song’s chest is smaller than Yan Muyu’s? You pervs!】
【Liu Song’s got that genderless hotness!! Wtf, suddenly Yan Muyu feels like the adult version.】
【Get real—our Song Bao’s still young. Yan Muyu’s battle-hardened, seen it all, total vixen turned fox spirit.】
Liu Song had chopped wood as a kid and figured she could manage. But the instant she picked it up, she deflated.
Yan Muyu smoothly took over. She had an off-camera staffer fetch her a pair of gloves.
Assistant Xing Wen hadn’t gone to rest either. The stars’ assistants clustered together like a flock of chattering sparrows, griping away.
Xing Wen was pretty tight with Xia Yuanyuan, and the two stood side by side.
After Xing Wen handed the gloves to Yan Muyu, Xia Yuanyuan glanced at Qiu Chao sweeping in the distance and muttered softly, “I have a feeling this show’s gonna be a nightmare.”
Xing Wen agreed, “Yeah, look—my boss is out here chopping wood.”
She even pulled out her phone. The promo team was ruthlessly evil, slapping a banner on the feed of Yan Muyu right then.
Worse, Shen Tianqing—a mentor from Yan Muyu’s previous show and a friend—had reposted the program’s banner with a devilishly on-point comment:
Who doesn’t love watching a rich kid’s Metamorphosis?
It racked up a flood of laughing reposts.
Yan Muyu had no time for Weibo drama. She slipped on the gloves, and the second camera crew gave her a close-up.
The woman with mid-length hair bowed her head, one glove in her mouth as she tugged on the other, then said to the girl standing nearby, “You just say ‘chop’ and I chop?”
Liu Song had an innocent face but dressed in a way totally at odds with it—nothing like her manager Xi Xi’s elegant, opulent style.
Hers was straight-up punk: jeans that looked spliced in two, layered tank tops.
It made you question her fashion sense at first, but then you realized good-looking people could pull off a burlap sack.
She murmured an “Mm.”
Yan Muyu swung—and nailed it on the first try.
Xi Xi, back from patrolling the veggie garden, said to Qiu Chao—who was still sweeping—”I thought we’d be queuing for baths till midnight.”
The wind atop the mountain was actually getting chilly; cold showers could lead to colds easy.
Qiu Chao and Pei Wan tidied the yard and unearthed a dusty stone table and benches, which they dragged out together.
Over there, Yan Muyu called out splits while Liu Song chopped—or rather, they had surprising chemistry.
From Qiu Chao’s angle, she could only see Yan Muyu’s back as she swung the axe.
The woman was tall with long legs and a solid build. Chopping in her loose shirt was awkward, so she shrugged it off. Underneath was a tank top that revealed her muscle lines shifting with each motion—pure, raw physical beauty.
Qiu Chao seemed to think of something and chuckled. “Little Yan’s pretty handy.”
Xi Xi glanced at her. The yard lights were plentiful—likely for the fixed camera positions in the live stream.
“Sounds like you two go way back.”
The show’s mics were top-notch. Even with the outdoor wind and the rhythmic thwacks of Yan Muyu’s axe, viewers caught every word.
【Here we go again.】
【These guests are more curious than we are.】
【Sister Qiu, that look in your eyes…】
【Never thought Young Boss Yan would be the first to flaunt it in episode one. Help, she looks slim and not busty but shirtless she’s stunning.】
【Some athletic type…】
【Check out Yan Muyu’s college photos—total vibe in the lens.】
Qiu Chao’s gaze never left Yan Muyu.
A long gust lifted her hair strands, stripping away the polished smile from her stunning face.
Touched by something, she murmured instinctively, “Of course.”
Off-camera, assistant Xia Yuanyuan’s heart skipped—terrified her artist was about to spill everything.
The old Qiu Chao was the perfect idol: zero headaches for the studio.
She just naturally stirred up scandals, even rumors of affairs with men from mere shared frames.
But back then, she was cool and fearless—nothing like this impulsive streak.
Her secret feelings were plain as day, yet years of image-building made it hard to buy that she had emotions for another woman.
Xi Xi let out an “Oh,” saying, “I thought you’d fallen out. Weren’t you two almost sisters-in-law once?”
Xi Xi was taller than Qiu Chao, with more presence—most people’s eyes went to her first in a pair.
Yet she slipped in the question smooth as silk, like asking what you had for dinner.
【Bold as hell. Is this show scripted?】
【Per Qiu Siyuan’s style back then, probably not.】
【Outline at least, to steer things.】
Qiu Chao admitted, “We did fall out.”
She nodded, shrugging helplessly.
She’d ditched her outer jacket for sweeping.
Moonlight mingled with the lights, making her exposed skin gleam snow-white. Compared to Yan Muyu’s vibrant energy, Qiu Chao seemed like a display-case ornament—or a bedroom treasure to admire.
Xi Xi had never met Qiu Chao before but knew her reputation well.
Qiu Chao’s breakout years overlapped with Xi Xi’s marriage and career launch. Different lanes, but Qiu Chao dominated the headlines.
Few in the industry lasted forever, and double wins of fame and fortune were rare.
Even at her peak, Qiu Chao couldn’t escape the usual digs at female stars’ love lives.
Seemed like all women got it.
Marry young? No ambition. Marry rich? Gold-digger. Date a jerk? Didn’t see the red flags.
Don’t marry? Leftover woman.
Everyone had their say.
And in the whirlpool, it was hard not to let the noise get to you.
Even though Xi Xi wasn’t exactly a celebrity, and despite her prominent family background from a young age, a failed marriage had left her utterly drained of vitality.
The kind of domestication she had imagined—with herself in the dominant role—didn’t seem all that easy after all.
She truly admired Qiu Chao. The woman had clawed her way out of the mud alone, fought tooth and nail to reach the peak, and then turned back around under the stunned gazes of others.
Was this falling from grace?
Qiu Chao had never truly been enshrined as a goddess; she was more like a devout follower circling the idol in prayer, worshipping a deity that was perhaps nothing more than an obsession buried deep in her heart.
Over there, Yan Muyu was urging Liu Song to light the fire and boil some water.
The two women, a decade or so apart in age, celebrated like old friends. They high-fived and leaped into each other’s arms over successfully getting the stove fired up.
Yan Muyu’s smile was radiant, as if no shadows clouded her sky.
Yet the instant her peripheral vision caught Qiu Chao’s gaze, that joy vanished in a flash—like a boat slamming into waves, like a vessel striking rocks in a sea of bitterness.
Qiu Chao stuck in her throat like a fishbone.
Beneath the lamp’s glow, Qiu Chao offered a hazy smile. In the dim yellow light, she made no effort to hide the affection shining in her eyes.
No one would believe it anyway. The audience would only praise her beauty.
As long as Yan Muyu felt uneasy. As long as Yan Muyu was different because of her.
Then her goal was achieved.
When would Yan Muyu finally admit that she was special in her heart?
Or perhaps they were simply made for each other, destined to be tossed by crimson waves into endless tides—fulfilling that seventeen-year-old promise to offer herself body and soul.
Satisfying the yearning in the hand she had extended to her.
Letting her plunge into the depths, her throat swallowing the bittersweet nectar of desire that had eluded her all these years.
Xi Xi: “Then how did she end up signing her back?”
【Why is she still asking! She wouldn’t let Liu Song ask, so she’s sneaking it in herself?】
【LOL, this sister is so straightforward too!! Remember when people said Liu Song rambles in interviews? Xi Xi, are you sure Xiao Song isn’t just like you?】
Qiu Chao looked a little helpless. “Is this really something you ask in a setting like this?”
Xi Xi let out an “oh.” “Just asking off the cuff, but everyone’s curious. Plus, the producer mentioned you dodged the question in the car.”
【As expected, it’s the production team’s doing!】
【I felt the undercurrents between Yan Muyu and Qiu Chao right there in the car… but shouldn’t it be one total straight girl and one iron top? How does that even…?】
【Everyone knows entertainment circle CPs are fake… Just have fun shipping them, folks.】
【Shipping a CP is fine as long as I believe it’s real. What they actually are doesn’t concern me.】
Pastoral Idyll, the manager-meets-artist variety show, hadn’t even aired its official episodes yet, but anonymous forums were already buzzing with bets locked in.
At first glance, it resembled a slice-of-life variety show, but it carried the twisted vibes of a romance program.
The fixed cameras combined with follow shots produced killer results. In just one night, several iconic clips had already gone viral.
Qiu Chao: “It’s not a tough question to answer, though. I’m just afraid no one will buy it.”
Xi Xi: “Buy what?”
Qiu Chao tilted her head slightly, her gaze landing on Yan Muyu as she poured water from the kettle into the bucket.
Yan Muyu’s naturally upturned almond eyes brimmed with seductive charm in films, yet right now they held a pure innocence that clashed beautifully with that allure.
“Too much was given.”
It wasn’t enough, but she trusted more would come later.
Xi Xi followed her line of sight. Yan Muyu was nudging Liu Song out of the way, seemingly worried the younger woman might get scalded by the hot water.
This woman’s thoughtfulness really was meticulous, packing a punch in the smallest details with lingering impact.
Liu Song looked immensely grateful as Yan Muyu patted her head.
Xi Xi let out another “oh.” “I figured it was because of some favor owed.”
Qiu Chao: “Naturally.”
She wanted the person. And the affection too.
