Chapter 45: Sucking a Finger

She blinked several times, but no tears fell. Rong Si took off her baseball cap, set the medical kit aside, and sat down beside Jinzhi. She reached out and ruffled Jinzhi’s hair. Jinzhi wrapped her arms around Rong Si’s neck and buried her face in Rong Si’s shoulder.

Many viewers, after seeing this segment, flocked to the official Weibo of “The Great Challenge” to comment.

“These actresses are terrifying! A friend visiting the set, and they made it look like a lover visiting!”

“Friend, have you heard of Persimmon?”

“??? Where’s the prank we were promised? Why are they stealing jobs from dating shows? These challenge shows just throw out couple bait out of nowhere [waving goodbye].”

When this episode aired, even a micro-expression expert reposted it. “So much chemistry.”

This micro-expression expert had previously analyzed “celebrity couples” on dating shows. When the “Watermelon Couple” was all the rage, many people tagged him to provide commentary. He’d made a five-minute analysis, using micro-expression theory to determine whether the Watermelon Couple was real or just for show and whether there was potential beyond the show. For them, he’d used their subtle expressions when alone together to conclude they could only be friends, adding that if anyone had chemistry, he felt Cheng Jinzhi and Rong Si—that pair of special guests—had more than the Watermelon Couple. The expert’s repost later sparked a lot of excitement, with people asking him to do a dedicated analysis of the Persimmon CP.

On screen, Rong Si stroked Jinzhi’s back soothingly, like comforting an injured “little cat.” The “little cat” curled into her arms, relaxing under her touch. The scene was overwhelmingly warm and pink.

After a long moment, Jinzhi lifted her head from Rong Si’s arms but didn’t leave her embrace. “How did you get here?”

“The crew called me, so I came.”

“Don’t you hate variety shows?”

“They paid a lot of money.”

“They still haven’t paid me!”

Rong Si rubbed Jinzhi’s head and glanced at the camera, as if just noticing it in the room. “We’ll ask the crew for it later.”

The editing team added a special sparkle to Rong Si’s eyes and put a cold sweat emoji on the camera. Anyone who’d watched “Hi, Lover” knew Rong Si was a “wife-spoiling maniac” on the show.

Jinzhi pouted and leaned against Rong Si a while longer. Rong Si covered the camera with something and helped Jinzhi apply the medicated plasters. Rong Si massaged Jinzhi’s lower back. “Feeling better?”

“A bit hot, but much more comfortable.” Jinzhi sat up and held out the back of her hand. “Look, it’s red.”

Frying crullers today had nearly cooked her hands. Rong Si carefully held her hand, took out burn ointment from the medical kit, and gently applied it. When she finished, she blew on it softly. Jinzhi felt a cool sensation spread over her hand.

“How did the crew arrange for you?” Jinzhi asked.

“They asked me to come check on you and soothe your emotions.”

The “Great Challenge” crew was too good at stirring things up. Last time, they’d subtly pushed young male actor CPs. Probably sensing the lingering heat of Persimmon online, “The Great Challenge” had jumped on the trend.

They had to get up early for work the next day, so after a few more words, Jinzhi could only crawl into bed.

Rong Si tucked the blanket around Jinzhi and only rose once Jinzhi was nearly asleep. She covered the cameras again before slowly leaving the room. At 2:30 AM, the alarm went off. She had to be at the breakfast shop by 3:30 AM, and Jinzhi was afraid she’d oversleep, so she’d set the alarm early. She lazed in bed until 2:45, then got up and dressed. Bathroom, wash up, makeup. At 3:20, she arrived at the shop. It was already open.

Coming early should earn some praise, right? Jinzhi felt her performance yesterday had been mediocre, afraid the boss would dock her pay at the end. She walked in and, instead of praise, was called over to clean. Working was tough—no praise for arriving early, but guaranteed criticism for arriving late. Last night, she’d helped out at the night shop for two hours and sold quite a bit of beer. She’d thought she’d earn a lot, but it turned out she only got 0.25 yuan per bottle sold. The work period was three days, and within those three days she had to earn 500 yuan. Forget 500—if she had her wallet, she could pull out 5,000. But the crew had confiscated her wallet and phone and designated special places for her.

By afternoon, the boss settled her pay for two days: 100 yuan. It was generous, since it included room and board. Adding the night shop money, she only had 220 now. With only one day left, she was still short 280. Some customers had given her tips, but the boss and the crew intercepted them all. The crew deliberately raised the difficulty—after all, they wanted to strip away celebrity aura and physical privilege. Ordinary people working at such a shop couldn’t expect tips.

That evening, Jinzhi didn’t go back to sleep. She stayed at the shop, making dumplings for the breakfast place. She and the boss lady wrapped dumplings all night. The boss lady said she usually didn’t sleep at night—she caught up during the afternoon. As they chatted, Jinzhi brought up skin care. The boss lady was fairly easygoing, and Jinzhi wanted to get on her good side.

“‘The Great Challenge’ is a well-made show. I like watching it when I’m free—it’s quite fun,” the boss lady said. “When the crew came to discuss it before, my husband wasn’t willing at first. He was afraid it would delay business.”

“Isn’t this publicity for you?”

“Haha, what publicity? We’re in a small town—who’d come all the way from somewhere else just to taste our food?”

“Of course they would! Your stir-fried noodles smell amazing.”

“Just home cooking. You were just too hungry.” The boss lady said. “You’ve worked hard these two days too.”

“It’s nothing compared to what you do every day. The food is so good and so cheap—you’re truly kind-hearted sellers.”

The boss lady looked a bit embarrassed. “No one has it easy. When you work away from home, you watch every yuan. If it’s expensive, they might not eat—they’d rather go hungry until noon. It’s better to keep prices low so everyone’s happy.”

The editing here was quite touching. “The Great Challenge” always had a special chicken-soup-for-the-soul segment for celebrities. For this part, the crew specially recorded Jinzhi’s reflections.

By eight or nine in the morning, Jinzhi’s hands and feet were weak. Last night she’d helped at the night shop and made dumplings for the breakfast shop, and with the daytime work, she’d toughed it out for over thirty hours straight.

Just then, the camera zoomed in. A figure walked to the entrance.

Jinzhi looked up while frying. “Here… customers can’t come in—”

Rong Si walked in through the door, took the long chopsticks from her hand, and supported her arm. “Go rest for a while. I’ll help.”

“The oil is really hot. I’m afraid you’ll get splashed.”

“I won’t.” With a flick of her fingers, Rong Si untied Jinzhi’s apron.

Jinzhi only dozed off for a bit. When she went back to the breakfast shop, she thought she’d walked into the wrong place. The shop had a line out the door?!

“Director, what’s going on? You didn’t give me this script.” Jinzhi quickly grabbed the show’s director. She thought the crew had hired fake customers.

Before the director could answer, the assistant director, chewing on a cruller, clapped his hands nearby. “Miss Rong is amazing! She can fry crullers that taste like they’re from a chain store.”

??? She hadn’t eaten many crullers in her life, but could someone tell her what “chain store taste” meant?

She saw a long line forming at Rong Si’s cruller station. The boss was grinning like a flower, no longer selling steamed dumplings, helping Rong Si by bringing dough. Jinzhi had always thought the boss’s facial expressions were malfunctioning—she’d hardly seen him smile in two days. She’d consoled herself that it was probably because the boss kneaded dough all night, never slept, and was depressed.

“Miss Cheng is awake!” Even the boss’s tone toward her had become warm. “Hey, have the boss lady fry you two portions of noodles.”

“…”

The “life winner” persona was too much. Did she win over literally everyone? Jinzhi squeezed into the small window. The cruller station had its own window, extremely cramped, barely enough for two people to turn around. She looked up and saw beads of sweat on Rong Si’s forehead.

Behind them was an old fan with weak airflow but noisy blades. As soon as Jinzhi came in, Rong Si stepped aside to adjust the fan, aiming it at Jinzhi. “Awake?”

“Mm…”

“Money’s enough.” Rong Si said.

After she spoke, the crew beside them nodded, teasing: “More than enough. Miss Rong’s ‘earning ability’—we almost forgot we were recording a show and not making money.”

The crew had never encountered this situation: a guest helper clearing the entire mission. After discussion, they assigned Jinzhi a new challenge.

The challenge was to be blindfolded and reach into a box. The box often held strange things—a few episodes ago, there was a hibernating python. “Didn’t we already complete the mission? Why is there a punishment round?”

“This isn’t a punishment. It’s a very interesting… very lively little fruit, a gift from the crew to Miss Cheng.”

“…Can I refuse?”

“You can take a bite.”

“I have to eat it too?”

“How about this: Miss Rong is right here. She’ll take it out, and you take a bite. How’s that?”

Jinzhi said nothing, gripping the table. She was a little scared inside. It wasn’t some living thing, was it? The crew was too mean, deliberately using words like “lively.”

“Miss Rong has taken it out. Miss Cheng, open your mouth…” the crew said beside her. “Gently…”

Jinzhi opened her mouth and, sure enough, gently sucked… But the crew pulled another trick. They offered up Rong Si’s finger instead. Jinzhi opened her mouth and sucked on Rong Si’s finger.

Jinzhi was stunned. Her tongue moved unconsciously, licking Rong Si’s finger.

Rong Si’s hand was quickly withdrawn.

“You all… are too mean…” Jinzhi’s ears turned red.

What Jinzhi ended up tasting was a pear, specially carved by the crew into the shape of the Warner Film Festival trophy—a golden pear. It was to promote “Girls’ Fortress,” which Jinzhi and Rong Si were taking to the film festival next year.

After recording ended, the crew asked Jinzhi to record a separate reflection.

“These three days of life were very hard. For us, it was just an experience, but for them, it’s life… challenging life, everyone is a big star…” This part was the chicken-soup segment, which required acting skills the most. For Jinzhi, these three days had genuinely moved her. Stepping off camera, her eyes were still a little wet.

Anyone would be moved! It was finally over! Reality shows were so exhausting… Acting at least had a script, but “The Great Challenge” could raise the difficulty at any moment.

She went back with Rong Si. Rong Si bought a glass of juice and handed it to Jinzhi. As Jinzhi took it, her fingers brushed Rong Si’s.

Rong Si’s hand was a little cool.

Jinzhi took a sip of juice. It wrapped around her tongue—a little sweet, a little cold.

Rong Si’s finger.

Cold.