Qiu Chao spoke softly, but it was loud enough for Yan Muyu to hear.
She frowned as she looked at Qiu Chao, hesitating to speak for quite a while.
Just then, there was no close-up camera shot, so the audience could only watch from afar as Qiu Chao pulled Yan Muyu aside to talk.
【What did she say? What did she say?!】
【Yan Muyu looks even angrier now.】
【I’m losing it—why can’t we hear the audio right now?】
【Why not mic everyone up like other shows~】
Yan Muyu had almost blurted out, “Are you crazy?” but she realized it fit Qiu Chao perfectly, so it hardly counted as an insult.
She could only take a deep breath before turning around and prying Qiu Chao’s hand off her. “What does it have to do with you?”
Yan Muyu strode straight inside, where she ran right into Pei Wan, who was coming out to fetch firewood.
Pei Wan glanced at Ding Yingxue, who was still standing there looking dazed. “Aren’t we supposed to be chopping wood? You slacking off?”
Ding Yingxue lifted her chin, gesturing for Pei Wan to look over there.
But Yan Muyu spoke up first. “I’ll help you carry it.”
With that, she scooped up an armful of the split logs and headed to the kitchen.
The atmosphere grew awkward in an instant. From the shower area, Xi Xi called out to Liu Song again. “I forgot to grab my clothes—can you get them for me?”
Liu Song let out an “oh.”
【I’m dying of curiosity—what did they say?!】
【”None of your business!” Hahaha, she sounded kinda fierce.】
【I thought they got along great sharing popsicles at lunch.】
【It’s gotta be about that song, right? But why is Qiu Chao beefing with Xuan Zhelu over it?】
【Nah, what standing does Qiu Chao even have to care? Don’t tell me she actually likes Yan Muyu!】
【Hard disagree! Lesbian crushing on straight girl is basic trope—why straight girl crushing on lesbian?!】
【Who can prove Qiu Chao’s straight anyway? Can straight girls even prove they’re straight?】
【Yan Muyu’s definitely not straight, though.】
Yan Muyu wore a T-shirt, with loose pants on the bottom that hung slack around her hips because the drawstring wasn’t tied properly. As she bent to pick up the firewood, her shirt rode up, and a camera mounted on the doorframe gave viewers a perfect shot of the waist that Liu Song had once praised.
【Hard not to thirst.】
【Reminds me of Director Shen—that judge from the last variety show, Shen Tianqing, who commented on the official account that Yan Muyu serves with her looks, lol.】
【These girls all seem kinda off.】
【Someone save me—I wanna kiss Qiu Chao right now. That lip bite is too pitifully cute.】
【Meanwhile, Xuan Zhelu is still trending, hahaha…】
【Her fans are going nuts too—don’t want Teng Huang New Star losing another idol’s persona to a variety show.】
Pei Wan watched her hoist the firewood with a “uh” and hurriedly asked, “Can you handle that? You don’t have to go so…”
Yan Muyu didn’t even glance her way. “Better than your sister.”
Ding Yingxue let out an “ah,” then solemnly asked Liu Song, “Is she dissing me?”
【Lmao.】
【Feels like we’re hitting the classic variety show spat segment.】
【Scripted?】
【Qiu Chao pulling it off, but Yan Muyu? Nah.】
Liu Song replied, “Doesn’t sound like a diss.”
The blue-haired singer seemed to ponder it seriously for a moment, then patted Ding Yingxue’s shoulder. “Probably thinks your waist isn’t up to par, Yingxue.”
【This waist joke won’t die, huh?】
【Song Bao, is your waist even that great?】
【Pei Wan’s horrified face is hilarious.】
【Wahhh, Yan Family blacklisted regardless of gender—making our Sister Qiu so sad.】
Yan Muyu simply took over starting the fire in the kitchen for Pei Wan.
There was a small wooden stool by the fire pit in the kitchen, and Yan Muyu sat on it with her knees sticking out sharply.
She noticed the water on top was boiling and fetched another potful.
Pei Wan said, “I picked up Qiu Chao this afternoon and grabbed some veggies from the night market along the way.”
Yan Muyu let out an “oh.” She worked the bellows, and the viewers could tell she was in a foul mood, yet she adapted quickly.
Compared to Xi Xi, who came from a similar wealthy background, Yan Muyu had barely complained at all.
She got the fire roaring and asked Pei Wan, “Was she already sulking when you picked her up?”
Pei Wan waited for the water in the pot to boil so she could blanch the chicken legs.
While rolling out the dough for noodles, she echoed, “Sulking?”
Yan Muyu was the same age as her.
But Yan Muyu didn’t quite look her age in her early thirties. Pei Wan, having played the big sister role for years, carried a natural air of mature poise.
Xi Xi’s maturity had the bloom of a woman in full flower.
Qiu Chao’s came from the forge of growing up. Yan Muyu alone hadn’t endured real hardship. Her family wasn’t perfect, but she never had to be the pillar holding it up.
Yet her teenage years had been equally lonely, and she’d tried playing the scoundrel to draw people close.
From her birth father, she’d learned selfishness—to put her own joy first.
From her birth mother, she’d been forced to learn tolerance and cleaning up messes, so she always greeted people with a smile and seemed to have an endlessly good temper.
Pei Wan said, “She was fine, actually. I never knew she was so easy to get along with before.”
Unlike Ding Yingxue’s obvious youthful immaturity, Pei Wan spoke with refined gentleness, like the untouchable campus beauty from student days.
And yet here she was in the steamy kitchen of a rustic mountain village home, cooking under the dim old lights.
Yan Muyu chuckled. “Easy to get along with? Did you see her just now?”
The kitchen had its own dedicated camera, drawing plenty of viewers to watch the drama.
Pei Wan was deft at handmade noodles, while Yan Muyu sat on the low stool, chatting sporadically.
Pei Wan asked, “Didn’t she go with you to deliver those goods? Did you two argue on the way?”
Yan Muyu figured it had to be about Xuan Zhelu’s song—Qiu Chao was meddling too much.
But she wasn’t about to name names. She sighed. “Who knows what’s going through her head.”
Pei Wan let out an “oh.” “Did you know you’re trending?”
Yan Muyu didn’t look up. “Bought, probably.”
【Shocker! Whale Entertainment CEO confirmed buying trends!】
【Hahaha, I bet Yan Muyu doesn’t even know who she’s trending with.】
Pei Wan said, “Take a look yourself.”
Yan Muyu glanced at Pei Wan, but the other woman had lifted the pot lid to drop in the chicken legs for blanching.
Yan Muyu’s head was still fuzzy from all the driving. She closed her eyes for a moment, then pulled out her phone.
YanMuyuXuanZhelu#
Friends#
The first related official account was Xuan Zhelu’s.
@XuanZhelu lulu: Of course she and I are good friends—who said we were done? [cute]
The second was a clip from some netizen’s livestream capture—the part where Yan Muyu said things with Xuan Zhelu were in the past.
Talk about getting slapped in the face by one of the parties involved.
Now Yan Muyu felt her own face stinging.
She stared at her phone speechlessly for a long time, unsure how to respond, and simply put it away.
Pei Wan asked, “All done? How’s the mood?”
The woman wore gold-rimmed glasses that clashed a bit with her otherwise moonlit elegance—you’d expect silver frames.
But right then, the gold rims lent Pei Wan a touch of aloof sharpness.
She seemed like a calm lake at first glance, but really, she was the boiling water in that iron pot.
Bound to erupt fully someday.
Yan Muyu sensed Pei Wan was a little too eager for the gossip.
She hesitated to speak for a while, then sighed helplessly. “What can I do? It’s not like I can control it.”
The words carried over the crackle of firewood, and Yan Muyu’s brows held a hint of resignation that was plenty to fuel the viewers’ imaginations—making them think it was lingering affection.
【How did she and Xuan Zhelu even get together?! Dying to know!!】
【Kinda matches in status… unlike Xi Xi, who’s into charity cases.】
【Xuan Zhelu, living her deranged happy ending.】
【So when do these two share a frame?!】
【Don’t get played, guys! Haven’t you heard Yan Muyu never eats her leftovers?】
【What leftovers? She eats roadside flowers.】
Inside, Yan Muyu and Pei Wan chatted idly, while outside, Qiu Chao simmered sour plum soup.
Xi Xi had finished her shower and now lounged outside in the breeze, wearing fresh clothes.
Ding Yingxue, reeking of cow dung and sweat, bolted to take her turn in the bath. Liu Song split wood alone, perfectly content, humming the mountain song she’d picked up while tea-picking that day.
Qiu Chao was her perfect foil, staring intently at the pot as she slowly added the ingredients they’d bought at noon.
Xi Xi sprawled in the cool mountain breeze at this hour—it felt far nicer than the fan inside.
She asked Qiu Chao, “What’s all in there?”
Qiu Chao had just explained it to Liu Song, but she patiently repeated herself without a hint of annoyance.
Xi Xi went, “oh.” “Dried mulberries, even? And roselle flower… what does that look like?”
【Xi Xi and Liu Song are kinda the same type…】
【Qiu Chao has such a good temper—except when it comes to Yan Muyu…】
【Xuan Zhelu right now is replying to fans hyping them up—go check it out!】
【She’s saying she wants to join too, save me…】
Qiu Chao said, “Like this.”
She showed Xi Xi, then remembered the embroidery she’d done that day and pulled the hair ribbon from her bag on the chair back.
Xi Xi’s hair was still damp. The young lady always had her image to maintain on camera—she’d even gone back in to touch up her eyebrows.
Xi Xi let out a “whoa,” gazing delightedly at the peony hairband. “You made this?”
Qiu Chao nodded. Glancing at Liu Song, who kept peeking over, she said, “This one’s for Liu Song.”
Liu Song dropped her axe and trotted over gleefully.
She never seemed down for long. “Morning glory for me? Nice.”
Then she sighed. “But my hair’s too short. Save it for after I get extensions next time.”
Qiu Chao smiled. “As long as you like it.”
By the end of the day, the personalities of all the guests had become quite clear.
Only Qiu Chao remained shrouded in a veil of mystery, making it hard to pin down her true character.
Liu Song was squatting beside her, clumsily trying to wrap the Morning Glory Hairband around her wrist.
Normally, anyone would step in to help, but Qiu Chao made no move to assist. She simply watched.
Over on the other side, Xi Xi called out, “Come here.”
Liu Song bounced over eagerly.
Qiu Chao continued adding firewood to the little stove while Xi Xi tied the hair ribbon neatly for Liu Song. Then Xi Xi turned to Qiu Chao. “I thought you weren’t into this kind of thing.”
Qiu Chao smiled. “Everyone’s into sharing their daily life these days, right? This counts as sharing.”
Xi Xi’s version of sharing always involved luxury goods and lavish routines.
She had been born at the top, and while she wasn’t haughty about it, she didn’t hide her love for dazzling jewelry either.
Even now, fresh out of the bath, she was fastening an impossibly expensive bracelet onto her wrist.
Xi Xi asked, “I heard from Pei Wan you’re making rice noodles? How do you do that?”
Qiu Chao replied, “We’ll do it after dinner. Right now, I’m cooking for Pei Wan.”
Xi Xi sighed. “Is it really okay for me to keep mooching meals like this?”
【You know it!】
【LOL, for some reason Xi Xi comes off as a big lovable fool to me.】
【But she’s really putting effort into picking losers.】
【Poor Song Bao.】
Qiu Chao said, “Then learn how to make it yourself.”
Xi Xi replied, “I can boil noodles.”
A moment later, Xi Xi asked, “Did you embroider one for everyone?”
Qiu Chao hummed in affirmation.
Xi Xi pressed, “Can I see them?”
Qiu Chao pulled them all out.
