Chapter 58: Bidding Farewell to the Old and Welcoming the New Part 2

【Saying it like this, it’s kinda cool.】

Yan Muyu gave Xuan Zhelu a meaningful look. “Looks like you and Ding Yingxue both really admire Qiu Chao.”

Xuan Zhelu: “I do NOT!!!”

Yan Muyu: “Let’s get going. I’ll see you off here—the road ahead will have someone better to walk it with you.”

They bantered back and forth as they made their way to the bus stop.

Xuan Zhelu: “What better person? Sis can walk the flower road solo just fine!”

Yan Muyu nodded vigorously like a pestle pounding garlic, clutching the white foam cooler to her chest. With her messy hair right now, she blended perfectly into the rustic village backdrop.

“Yes, yes, off you go—no one’s stopping you.”

The car from Xuan Zhelu’s artist’s studio pulled up, and Yan Muyu watched her climb aboard.

Once the door shut, Xuan Zhelu poked her head out again with a shout.

Yan Muyu was already turning to leave but glanced back. “What now?”

Xuan Zhelu: “Shouldn’t you wait till I’m gone before you go?”

Yan Muyu: “You’ve shot idol dramas—you know that’s all for show.”

【Ouch.】

【Want to call Yan Muyu unromantic, but yeah, no need with an ex.】

【She’s so carefree! (pointing fingers)】

Xuan Zhelu huffed.

Yan Muyu smiled but said nothing more, truly turning away this time.

Xuan Zhelu shut the window in disappointment, not daring to meet her manager’s gaze beside her.

But she didn’t catch Yan Muyu glancing back—the very send-off she’d hoped for.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

The car vanished around the corner. Yan Muyu secured her breakfast on the back seat and tied it down with nylon rope.

The sky had shifted from hazy dawn to a touch brighter, faint light piercing the clouds. In the live stream, Yan Muyu roared off on her motorcycle—the complete opposite direction from Xuan Zhelu.

As the split-screen shot faded, post-production text slowly overlaid it:

Every encounter has its reason. They just lack a reason to keep walking together.

【Why so bittersweet!】

【Getting all emotional at dawn?!!】

【Nailing career goals is fine too—look at Qiu Chao. She’s got hers…】

【I almost feel bad saying Qiu Chao seems here for Yan Muyu.】

【Xuan Zhelu is still too green.】

When Yan Muyu returned, most everyone was up.

Sure enough, Xi Xi was still stubbornly munching cucumber, but Liu Song—the ultimate hype woman—kept raving about how tasty the green tea cakes were, shoving one right under Xi Xi’s nose.

Xi Xi had no choice but to take a bite.

Yan Muyu sat across from them sipping water, arching a brow in a way that perfectly matched the live chat’s “ooh” vibe.

One bite for you, one for me—it was just too intimate.

Qiu Chao sat to the side, nibbling a tofu bun. She had zero interest in Liu Song’s ploy to trick Xi Xi into eating and turned to Yan Muyu instead. “Sent her off?”

【Qiu Sis, that question’s weird too!】

【Feels like the lady of the house checking if the guest left.】

【You two the only ones living here?】

【Hard not to notice Qiu Chao’s thrilled. Sis, at least pretend.】

【It’s fine—Qiu Chao shared acting tips during the fish lamp bit. Some folks shouldn’t toss around terms they half-learned.】

【Yep, sent off—very reluctantly.】

Yan Muyu nodded. “Her schedule’s packed.”

Qiu Chao went, “Oh. Mine too.”

Yan Muyu didn’t bite. She munched half a cucumber, and the next second, Qiu Chao grabbed her hand, nearly launching her off the stool.

Ding Yingxue jumped beside them.

Qiu Chao: “Let me check your cut.”

Yan Muyu: “Don’t grab like that outta nowhere—you scared me to death.”

Xi Xi, who’d been coaxed into eating a green tea cake by Liu Song, rolled her eyes. “Scared to death? Such a drama queen.”

Yan Muyu: “Eat your breakfast. You said you wouldn’t, but here you are.”

The two of them bickered now and then, and the other guests were used to it.

Everyone was a bit groggy first thing in the morning, like Pei Wan, who was neurotically shucking corn kernels one by one.

She called it her method for eating corn—liking them individual.

Yan Muyu couldn’t agree; by the time you finished shucking, the sun would’ve baked you alive.

Xi Xi: “You said you wouldn’t sleep with Qiu Chao, but you did. Planning to move back down?”

【Xi Sis, killer line!】

【Xi Xi’s shipping hard, but says it so crudely.】

【This is hot—the poised beauty who’s actually got a fiery temper and loves ribbing people… Liu Song’s got it rough.】

【New guest incoming!!!】

Yan Muyu: “I’d love to, but the second floor’s a pain to climb, and the production team…”

She jerked her chin. “Said a new guest arrives tomorrow.”

The variety show was already halfway done.

Most viewers were hooked on checking the live stream first thing each day; without the official blog, it’d be hard to track time passing.

Pastoral Idyll was a smash hit, crushing rival shows in buzz. Every celeb’s mentions skyrocketed.

They’d shattered public stereotypes, revealing stars as real, lively people through tiny details.

And nothing to hate—they actually worked.

Tied to ancient villages and ethnic customs, rivals had to think twice before nitpicking.

You couldn’t touch something that boosted the local economy!!

Qiu Siyuan’s style shone even brighter on Pastoral Idyll. The weekly edits emphasized human stories.

Be it Liu Song bonding with the tea-picking aunties, Xi Xi chatting with the cow-herding uncle, or the pig farm boss reminiscing on her startup…

Villagers’ glances and idle chit-chat—cut from other shows—became highlights.

No one was just background anymore.

Embroidery workshop, streamside, cow shed, duck coop, pig pens, tea fields.

Traces of life from this soil, every close-up conveying the show’s gentle vibe.

Even the viral clips were pure healing.

Funny live moments hit different on rewatch.

This turned the cooperative store’s Wu Xiaoqing and outgoing tea-picker Hong Long into the show’s star NPCs. Fans begged the team to get Hong Long an account.

Too bad Boss Hong wasn’t into it.

Her refusal clip, paired with Yan Muyu’s meltdown after losing at mahjong, had newbies mistaking Yan Muyu for the local.

After Xuan Zhelu’s farewell, trends speculated on the next flying guest.

—Xi Xi and Liu Song share friends… probably Xi Xi’s?

—No, Yan Muyu and Qiu Chao might not know Xi Xi’s circle.

—Gotta be a celeb anyway.

—Petty me hopes it’s the ex-hubby.

—This show’d be donezo.

After Yan Muyu spoke, Xi Xi glanced off-screen.

Liu Song had eaten her fill and was pondering if pounding rice cakes today would snap her arms.

A producer chimed in timely: “We’ll announce tonight.”

Xi Xi went, “Keeping it secret? What big shot?”

Liu Song: “Guy or girl?”

Xi Xi: “No guys—bad luck!”

【So blunt!!】

【Will Xi Xi ever date again? She seems to hate men.】

【Classic straight girl energy.】

【Don’t want Liu Song with Xi Xi—that’d make Liu Song even more pitiable.】

【Don’t take shipping seriously!! All fake!】

【Qiu Chao’s the real deal tho lol.】

But the director refused to spill the beans. It wasn’t until the afternoon, when Yan Muyu was herding cows by the stream and a gentle drizzle began to fall, that she finally got the message.

Qiu Chao had just herded the ducks back into their shelter and now stood beside her, taking shelter from the rain.

She leaned over to peer at Yan Muyu’s phone. “Who is it?”

Yan Muyu replied, “A singer. Liu Song’s old rival she beat.”

There was a thick note of glee in her voice—pure schadenfreude. The singer was a few years older than Liu Song, and back during that music competition show, fans had shipped the champion and runner-up CP like crazy.

Everyone in the industry knew the truth: the woman had genuinely been into Liu Song.

Seeing Yan Muyu grinning like a Cheshire cat, Qiu Chao glanced at the name on the screen.

Li Xi.

She didn’t recognize it and frowned in confusion. “Which company is she with?”

【Aaaah, my dead ship just stabbed me right in the heart!!】

【Help! Didn’t Li Xi quit the industry? Why’s she on a variety show?!】

【She didn’t really quit, right? I think she’s been singing at her own bar, and she drops new songs every now and then.】

【To me, she’ll always be that wild, free-spirited leader of a broke indie band… She and Liu Song were a match made in heaven. Her rally speech back then was legendary.】

【Everyone shipping Xi Xi and Liu Song right now, chill!! The fierce top who dominated music comps is back!!】

Yan Muyu said, “No company. She’s the owner of a bar.”

Yan Muyu’s expression turned subtly amused. “You don’t know her? From that day…”

The only shelter by the stream was this rickety cowshed.

The cows were still out grazing. The sky hung low and gray as raindrops pattered onto the slender stream, sending a thousand tiny ripples dancing across its surface in endless waves.

Yan Muyu had been thrilled at first, eager for the gossip. But Qiu Chao just wasn’t keeping up, her eyes wide with innocent confusion.

With the follow-up cameras rolling, she couldn’t exactly blurt out that it was the bar where they’d hooked up.

All she could do was furrow her brow and hint, “The bar that hosted the masquerade ball.”

【What masquerade ball?! I’ve only ever read about that stuff in novels.】

【When did you two…?】

【I knew there was something between them.】

“Oh, that day,” Qiu Chao said with sudden realization.

She turned to Yan Muyu. “The boss is her?”

The rain drummed dully on the dilapidated thatch roof, but the shelter was far from watertight.

A fine mist leaked in from outside, quickly forming a small puddle on the ground. Qiu Chao didn’t even notice the water beading on her shoulder.

Yan Muyu tugged her to the drier side and nodded.

She had no idea how the production team had gotten hold of her contacts—or rather, everyone’s contacts. For instance, viewers had already dug up that Li Xi had written the theme song for Ding Yingxue’s hit drama. The OST had been such a smash that Ding Yingxue had been asked to perform it at every promotional event.

As for Liu Song, they were a massive CP from back in the day. She hadn’t appeared on any variety shows since debuting from that music competition. Rumors swirled that Li Xi had confessed, and the two had a bitter falling-out afterward.

Rumors remained just that, but they’d gained traction because Liu Song had never so much as mentioned Li Xi again.

Yan Muyu started, “So how did you manage to get them to swap…”

She trailed off, but the look she exchanged with Qiu Chao—heads lowered close together—conveyed the rest perfectly.

Qiu Chao shrugged. “I have connections.”

Yan Muyu snorted. “You and your secrets.”

Qiu Chao didn’t mind the teasing tone at all. Instead, she leaned into it with a playful wink. “Having secrets keeps you intrigued, doesn’t it?”

She had a knack for piquing Yan Muyu’s curiosity without even trying too hard.

Just like now. “Like the one you’re dying to know.”

Yan Muyu perked up. “What?”

“Another me,” Qiu Chao said.

Yan Muyu didn’t deny her interest. Qiu Chao turned her face away, gazing out at the misty rain over the verdant hills and waters. A note of wistful nostalgia colored her voice.

“The most pathetic version of me—the one my first love once saw.”