The sun shone brightly. Xi Xi adjusted her sunglasses, her eyes dazzling when she smiled—like a peony in full bloom.
She hadn’t withered in the storm of her marriage; if anything, she was more captivating than ever.
Xi Xi gave Yan Muyu a once-over, then glanced at Qiu Chao behind her and chuckled. “You can just bike Qiu Chao to work.”
“Bye bye~”
The woman with shoulder-length curls sped off on her tricycle.
Yan Muyu murmured, “She’s surprisingly badass.”
Just then, Qiu Chao approached.
She had changed into fresh clothes, her seaweed-like long hair pulled back into a simple ponytail.
Her makeup was lighter than the day before—just a touch of red on her lips.
Qiu Chao said, “Let’s go. Want me to ride and take you?”
Yan Muyu’s destination was a little over three hundred meters away: the delivery center in the town this village belonged to. She would be helping rural families ship their goods—a rustic take on urban logistics.
Yan Muyu shook her head. “Forget it. With your build? Do you even work out?”
Even without a skirt, Qiu Chao’s figure was impressive. Those tie-dye pants with their ethnic flair hinted at her curves, and the barrage was already spamming [Challenge: Don’t Look There].
Qiu Chao protested, “Who says I don’t? I exercise.”
Yan Muyu pulled on her hat and slipped into a sun-protective jacket. She tugged on her gloves as she spoke.
It was unclear whether the production team understood the appeal of bosses serving with their looks, but they certainly gave those hands a close-up.
Viewers found them pleasing to the eye—not that Qiu Chao needed convincing. After all, she had tasted those hands intimately, stirring her from within.
She hopped sidesaddle onto the bike and wrapped her arms shamelessly around Yan Muyu’s waist, whose feet were still planted firmly on the ground.
“Little Yan, you know I can keep going all night without stopping.”
~~~
This variety show was all about slow living.
On the second day of the live broadcast, the official channel released a slew of scenic highlights.
From the misty mountain peaks at dawn to the sunset-draped village in the evening—they all begged to be screenshotted and saved.
The guests’ initial struggles in the Little Mud House somehow looked idyllic in stills.
Less than a day in, the topic exploded, spawning endless related tags.
XiXi’s Day Starts with Skincare#
QiuChao’s Wolfish Words#
LiuSong and My Resentful Manager#
DuckHerdingYay#
TianOForceNoSponsor#
…
QiuChao’s Wolfish Words# had started as casual viewer barrage complaints, but someone dug it up and made a clip from the replay.
Everyone realized Qiu Chao’s lines were all aimed at Yan Muyu.
It was probably Yan Muyu’s openly lesbian image that stuck, while Qiu Chao—as the definitive straight-girl sister-in-law—was equally ingrained.
The planners had figured the show might draw CP fans, but they’d flock to Liu Song.
There was never any intention to limit it to one pairing!
Sure, you couldn’t ship cousins, but viewers would find something—maybe pull some girls together.
Like Ding Yingxue and Liu Song; Ding had a drama featuring Liu Song’s OST.
Or Xi Xi and Qiu Chao—both glamorous types, a visual feast when side by side.
Yan Muyu? Young Boss Yan was a flirt for the ages. Pei Wan, with her cool aloofness, seemed perfect to tame that wild one.
All calculations missed the mark. The dynamic was set from day one.
Liu Song and Xi Xi’s pillow moment had fans rallying in secret.
Back then, it might have taken a shout of “If only Liu Song were a guy.” Now? The possibilities had opened wide. Who needed guys? Give us girls. Xi Xi was loaded—what was a marriage abroad?
[Me before clicking: Farming? Boring. Now: Beauties yay.]
[Director Qiu fan here… officially hooked, she directs domestic variety?! Thanks Whale! Thanks Young Boss Yan!]
[So many women… Pei Wan, my wife. I really hate Ding Yingxue. Why’s a PhD like Pei Wan your manager?!]
[Liu Song on variety is so rare. When will she share the screen with Li Xi again? My dead CP…]
[This one’s got more life than the neighbor’s experiential show. They claim ‘rural living,’ but it’s all renovated and artsy…]
[Conditions are brutal. Watching Yan Muyu grind soy milk wore me out… But are her hands from a hand model? Gorgeous!]
In the live stream now, Qiu Chao perched on the back of Yan Muyu’s bicycle, traversing mountains in the summer morning rush to work.
The follow vehicles kept a discreet distance. Under her sun hat, Qiu Chao scrolled her phone.
She was reading real-time jabs from the show sent to the ailing Mai Chen.
—Qiu Chao, amp up the energy!
—Ugh, tone down the thirst. It’s not like you haven’t slept with Yan Muyu.
—How come you didn’t get a character script? I hear domestic shows hand those out.
—Stop saying weird shit!
—[Pic]
The screenshot showed comments speculating Yan Muyu was a hand model.
Qiu Chao quoted Mai Chen with her own pic:
—I offered to squeeze it for her, but she said my grip was too weak.
—Her hands do look good grinding soy milk.
—But when she touches me, that’s plenty to make me happy.
Mai Chen: [Cracking up]
Mai Chen: Okay, drop it. You’re biking and gaming on your phone.
The mountain roads twisted on. Pedaling alone was hot enough; carrying a passenger made it worse.
Yan Muyu didn’t mind Qiu Chao’s weight, but the heat was killer.
A gust of mountain wind blew through. Yan Muyu exhaled heavily and pulled over in the shade at a bend.
Qiu Chao looked up in confusion.
With her arms around Yan Muyu’s waist, she looked nothing like the sultry vixen from the rumors.
Her gaze flowed gently, still radiant with lingering happiness. Yan Muyu nearly forgot her words in that sudden eye contact.
The show’s post-production layered in a clear, ethereal flute during the wordless moment.
Yan Muyu’s route climbed upward.
The mountain soared impossibly high, as if they rode among the clouds. On the other side lay the valley village, where distant clouds cast long shadows. Farther still was a scenic spot, cleaved like an axe’s bite—shrunken in the distance to the size of a perfect slice of toast.
In the shot, Yan Muyu wore her hat. Her face was sharply defined, unlike Qiu Chao’s, which was all soft curves without a hard edge.
Qiu Chao was the quintessential water-town beauty—her every glance tinged with damp melancholy, like moss brushing a docked boat.
Fate’s hold had shattered her, scattering that moss into the water. She had thought herself doomed to sink.
The sun filtered through, distant as the moon.
Yet she had encountered Yan Muyu—a sun that melted into water, unwittingly fishing her from the depths.
Now she sailed on the wind, suspended in the sky, forgetting she had once shone upon that moss.
Yan Muyu snapped back to herself. “Hey,” she said. “It’s hot. Don’t hug me.”
Qiu Chao let out an “oh” and instinctively loosened her grip.
But there were still a good ten minutes of riding left—not far, but awkward.
Yan Muyu took a swig from her water bottle.
It was the wellness rose tea Xi Xi had made that morning, the petals blooming in the glass amid the gentle sunlight.
As Yan Muyu tilted her head back to drink, Qiu Chao stared at the unfurled roses in the cup.
A sudden longing hit her: She wished Yan Muyu would consume that flower whole, just like the night she had taken Qiu Chao into her mouth—leaving sheets soaked in sweat, fingers clutching fabric, sobs turning to cries of ecstasy.
【This vibe is so weird.】
【Why am I sweating with the AC on…】
【What are they even filming? Yan Muyu chugging water feels kinda steamy.】
【It’s Qiu Chao’s look. She seems ready to devour her.】
【Aunt-sis-in-law, aunt-sis-in-law—definitely sis-in-law as the 0.】
【Scenery is stunning. Shot like an anime… Village is high up.】
【When did Qiu Chao grab on? I forgot.】
【Yan Muyu’s waist is killer. That follow shot caught the wind lifting her jacket—crop top, abs on point srsly.】
【A 1 stays bold lol.】
Yan Muyu took a sideways glance at Qiu Chao as she drank her water.
The next second, she wiped her mouth sloppily with the back of her hand. “What are you staring at? Thirsty too?”
She didn’t even give Qiu Chao a chance to respond. “Haven’t you got your own cup?”
Qiu Chao tilted her head slightly. “Yours looks tastier.”
【Sister Qiu, how old are you?! Aaaaaah!】
【The other two pairs look totally normal. No clue why there’s this weird vibe between straight-girl Sister Qiu and Little Yan the total dyke in their sister-in-law duo.】
【It’s not exactly awkward, not quite flirty either… just… it’s got me scratching my head. Who gets it?】
Yan Muyu snorted. “Are you a kid or something?”
She stuffed her cup into her bag, gave the bike pedal a spin with one foot, and sighed. “Let’s go.”
“Just grab my clothes—no need to hold my waist.”
There was a faint trace of gentleness in those words. Qiu Chao savored them, only to find they paled in comparison to even a ten-thousandth of what they’d shared back then.
But wasn’t this still a good beginning?
The live stream had cameras everywhere, including drone shots overhead.
They started off on a smooth cement road, but somehow the production team had routed them onto a mountain path for the final stretch to the Embroidery Workshop.
It was brutally bumpy. Yan Muyu let out a string of “fucks” under her breath.
Qiu Chao switched back to hugging her waist.
She seized every opportunity to get close like this—and in a moment like that, it didn’t come off as too over-the-top.
Her cheek pressed against Yan Muyu’s back through the fabric of her shirt, feeling the scorching heat of the body beneath.
Then, amid Yan Muyu’s stream of curses, she closed her eyes and patiently soaked it all in.
【What’s going on here? I swear Qiu Chao has a thing for Yan Muyu.】
【No way—she’s into Yan Muyu’s brother.】
【Sister Qiu’s just scared of falling off. That road’s way too shaky, especially downhill.】
【Boss or guest star? Does Yan Muyu get paid for this? Feels like we’ll all need mega insurance just to survive this variety show.】
They made it there in the end, more or less unscathed.
The Embroidery Workshop was a stilt house tucked deep in the village mountains, though it clearly saw its share of tourists—the local hosts greeted them with practiced ease.
Yan Muyu pulled her bike up to the building below and called out, “Qiu Chao, you can get off now.”
Qiu Chao finally released her grip. She climbed off slowly, eyeing the structure. The greeters were all locals dressed in traditional ethnic attire.
Of course Yan Muyu knew the production team had coordinated everything ahead of time.
Yet Qiu Chao kept glancing back every few steps, looking flustered and a little lost.
It suddenly reminded Yan Muyu of that look in her eyes during their earlier break—the way she’d gazed up at her.
As if Yan Muyu made her feel safe somehow.
But Yan Muyu was far too self-aware to believe she could offer anyone that kind of security.
She was just about to pedal away when she spotted Qiu Chao’s little bag still sitting in the bike basket. She called out again—
“Qiu Chao!”
Qiu Chao whipped her head around on instinct. Yan Muyu jogged over and handed her the bag, stuffed with the water cup and other odds and ends.
“Don’t forget it. I’m not making another trip.”
Qiu Chao took the bag, her fingers brushing lightly over the back of Yan Muyu’s hand—dragonfly-skimming-water light.
She looked straight at Yan Muyu and asked, her tone earnest, “Will Little Yan come pick me up for dinner at home?”
