Chapter 31
Xiao Li made noodles for Tang Yao. There was a saying, "Dumplings before departure, noodles upon arrival," and it seemed Xiao Li had mastered the essence of this.
A rich, white bone broth as the base, snow-white, curly noodles paired with bright green vegetables, and a sprinkle of chili oil.
Simple yet incredibly fragrant.
Eating it made her feel warm and cozy.
After the meal, Tang Yao felt completely revitalized.
She went to the backyard, checked the vegetable seeds she had previously sown, and then sowed some more seasonal vegetables.
In the orchard, she planted some more fruit trees.
Fruit was selling like hotcakes right now, and the amount they'd planted earlier isn't enough.
After moving his own things, Xu Haocheng quietly helped Tang Yao.
The flamboyant hair was now neatly plastered to his forehead, making him look quite different from the arrogant rich kid he used to be.
Although Tang Yao forbade him to call her "elder sister," he still happily called her "elder sister".
After finishing, Tang Yao gave Xiao Yue trio the gifts she'd bought from the capital.
She then went to Aunt Li's small shop across the street.
Aunt Li's fruit baskets had just sold out and there were far fewer people now. She was cleaning up.
The little girl was there too. After seeing Tang Yao, she smiled shyly at her.
"Just go enjoy, why bring me a gift? I'm so old, it's not appropriate for me to wear such a pretty necklace."
Despite saying that, Aunt Li was overjoyed to see Tang Yao still thinking of her after going out.
"Auntie, did you ask this girl to help?" Tang Yao asked, seeing the young girl busy inside.
"Yes, a relative's child. I've been so busy selling fruit baskets lately and can't manage it all by myself, so I asked her to come and help."
"She looks quite young," Tang Yao added.
"Yes, she's had a tough life. She has three older sisters and a younger brother. They're so poor they can barely afford food. They're determined to have a son, so her sisters were all married off early, leaving her at home to take care of her good-for-nothing younger brother." Aunt Li sighed. "I went to her house recently, and her parents told me they're planning to marry her off to a bachelor in the next village for a dowry. The girl is only seventeen, while the bachelor is almost forty. I can't bear to see her like this, so I offered to find her a job and brought her here. I also needed to find someone to help."
Tang Yao couldn't believe that parents like this still existed in this day and age. Her gaze fell on the thin figure.
Perhaps not all parents could be called parents.
Aunt Li inquired again about the young man she had recently seen at the guesthouse.
Tang Yao gave a brief explanation.
Aunt Li pursed her lips: "If you ask me, one bad, the whole nest is bad. Yao Yao, you'd better be careful."
"Okay, Aunt Li."
As she left, Aunt Li took a pork knuckle from the pot and packed it for Tang Yao to take with her.
The pork knuckle was quite large, enough for them few girls. Aunt Li originally intended to pack another one, but Tang Yao refused.
After comfortably staying at home for a few days, Tang Yao received a friend request from a stranger who claimed to be Chen Yuxuan.
Tang Yao remembered that this person was Xu Wan's fiancé. Several friend requests had been sent, saying he wanted to chat with her.
However, Tang Yao didn't accept any of them. However, the other party persisted, sending friend requests almost every day, along with a few sarcastic remarks.
This disgusted Tang Yao.
Xu Anguo had also called, this time his tone no longer arrogant, but much gentler, trying to appeal to her emotions.
Sun Yulan also spoke a few words to her. Her tone was still stiff and her words sounded like she was reciting lines.
On the other end of the line, they were still reminiscing about the joy they felt when Tang Yao was born, while Tang Yao yawned listlessly.
“If I didn’t know so many powerful people, would you still be looking for me? Aren’t I your family’s ‘adopted daughter’? Don’t call again, or I don’t mind using those connections to destroy the Xu Family.” Tang Yao scoffed.
After this, there was silence on the other end of the line. Before Xu Anguo could start his sentence, the call was disconnected
The atmosphere in the Xu Family villa was heavy. The servants tip-toed around, afraid to make a sound for fear of displeasing the Xu Family.
Xu Anguo slammed the phone to the ground: "She's gone too far! What good will it do her after the Xu Family falls?! Not a single penny of the Xu Family's assets will go to this rebellious daughter!"
"Maybe she really doesn't care about our little bit of inheritance," Sun Yulan, who had been staring at her phone at the side, suddenly said.
She then handed the phone to Xu Anguo. The screen displayed the value of the flowers in the guesthouse's garden.
The more Xu Anguo read, the uglier his expression became.
He hadn't just bet on the wrong horse. He'd clearly lost the watermelon for a sesame seed.
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: if he had genuinely wanted his daughter to come back, would things have turned out differently?
Eavesdropping upstairs, Xu Wan bit her lower lip. A sense of fear creeped into her heart, as if something was about to leave her.
She took out her phone and opened her chat with Chen Yuxuan. Lately, Chen Yuxuan's replies had become infrequent and perfunctory. The message she sent was in the morning and now it was almost evening and she still hadn't received a reply. Even if she were naive, she knew the Chen Family's attitude had changed.
Thinking of everyone fawning over that real heiress from the countryside, Xu Wan bit her lower lip.
...
Soon, the next episode of the variety show began.
Xu Wan had been suspended from variety shows by Xu Anguo, so the production team replaced her with a guest star, and had started promoting it on Weibo a few days earlier.
This raised everyone's expectations to the max.
Shen Wentao, Du Meijuan, and Zhang Qing arrived together, followed by Qiao Yunyun and Sun Yi, and finally Lu Bei.
The live chat quickly became lively, with everyone calling out for their favorite idols.
And their expectant gazes shifted to the entrance of the guesthouse, wanting to see who the last person would be.
A black sedan slowly drove into the audience's view. Then, the door opened, revealing first a pair of long, beautiful legs, followed by a tall figure.
Exclamation marks filled the entire screen. Everyone said their anticipation hadn't been in vain.
Because the person who came was none other than Cheng An, the recent hot topic.
"An An, my darling! Love you!"
"They actually managed to get Cheng An!"
"Is it to form a CP with Lu Shen? I can't wait!"
"Ahhh, this is the kind of 'prestige' a variety show should have!"
"Cheng An came back to the country and immediately participated in this variety show that wasn't very popular before. Everyone understands the deeper meaning behind that, right?"
The comments section was filled with all sorts of speculations, but the happiest were the fans of the Cheng An and Lu Bei CP.
Dressed in a sporty skirt suit, Cheng An looked young and energetic, reminding netizens of the campus dramas she filmed when she first debuted and evoking a wave of nostalgia.
Watching the show's unprecedented popularity, Huang Yong almost cried. This show had been incredibly demanding, but thankfully, the final reward was excellent.
Cheng An greeted each of the guests.
"Long time no see, Cheng An. Be prepared to work hard here!" Du Meijuan replied with a smile.
The two had acted in a movie together before and seemed more familiar with each other than the others.
"I specially brought two sets of sportswear and will try not to hold everyone back," Cheng An replied with a smile.
She treated everyone the same, offering no special treatment. This made netizens anxious, wishing they could find some sweetness for themselves.
Cheng An, dressed in a sporty skirt suit, looked young and energetic, reminding netizens of the campus dramas she filmed when she first debuted, instantly evoking a wave of nostalgia.
Then, everyone began today's task: serving a few regular guests in the glass restaurant.
Since this format became popular with netizens, Huang Yong planned to continue it.
The men were naturally assigned the heavier tasks, while the women were responsible for washing and preparing the vegetables.
It was indeed a rare sight for them to sit together on small stools.
Everyone chatted while working, the atmosphere relaxed and pleasant.
"Cheng An and Lu Bei grew up together, right?" Du Meijuan asked.
Cheng An didn't try to hide anything, nodding, "Yes, we're neighbors, but I'm a bit older than Xiao Bei, so I play with his elder brother more."
"Childhood sweethearts! That's wonderful. I'm a fan of your and Lu Shen CP," Qiao Yunyun chimed in.
Cheng An smiled, her eyes softening as if she was thinking of something.
The CP fans were instantly thrilled, like it was New Year's.
"Actually, I clarified a long time ago that Xiao Bei is like a younger brother to me, and I also have someone I like, someone I've liked for many years." Then, Cheng An's next sentence shattered the CP fans' fantasies.
"Ahhh, I don't believe it!"
"This must be fake, waaaaah..."
"Am I the only one who cares about the person An'an says she likes? This is the first time she's mentioned it on a show. Who is this person that An'an has liked for so long?!"
"I don't care. They're such a perfect match. How can it not be real?"
"Aren’t you too obsessed with this CP? They already clarified it back then. It's just the CP fans who can't get over it. It's just a TV show. Do they have to be a pair in every show?"
Among the rational fans in the comments, there were also agitated ones and was having a hard time accepting this sudden news.
Huang Yong was a little surprised. He thought Cheng An's company agreed to participate in this show to profit from the CP hype, but Cheng An's first thing was to clarify.
It seemed there really was nothing between the two.
While the CP fans were crying over the BE, netizens were also curious about who the man Cheng An liked was.
They tried to find clues on Cheng An's various social media accounts, but found nothing.
After saying that, Cheng An continued chatting with everyone and preparing vegetables.
Three hours later, lunch was ready thanks to everyone's combined efforts.
Without various oddballs causing trouble and dragging their feet, the efficiency was indeed much faster.
The guests brought the dishes to the dining room one after another. Lu Bei followed Shen Wentao into the dining room. He paused slightly upon seeing one of the people sitting there before walking straight over.
"Elder Brother, what brings you here?"
The person who came was Lu Nan, who was supposed to be working in the capital.
This one sentence caused another uproar among netizens.
"Did I hear that right? Elder Brother?"
"You heard right, it really is! This is Lu Shen's elder brother?"
"Wow, look at his looks! That slim waist and long legs! I can do!"
"Are all the Lu family members this good-looking? Lu Shen is the aloof type, while elder brother is the ascetic type. I want to rip that suit off him."
"Hey, you upstairs, what kind of suggestive talk is that!"
"Say, could it be that Cheng An like Lu Shen's elder brother?"
Such comments flashed across the screen.
"I took a few days off to come and have a look. Not welcome?"
"No." Lu Bei put down the meal in his hand. "Have fun."
"Haha, Lu Shen seems like a child in front of Elder Brother, so cute!"
"Elder Brother's voice is so magnetic. It's making my ears pregnant."
Comments like these continued to scroll by.
Cheng An followed the group in, nearly dropping the soup bowl in her hand when she saw Lu Nan.
Before anyone could react, Lu Nan darted over and caught the bowl.
"Did you burn yourself?" Lu Nan frowned slightly.
Cheng An honestly shook her head.
"Still so clumsy," Lu Nan said, turning to place the bowl on one of the tables.
Unnoticed by anyone, Cheng An's ears subtly turned red.
Because of Lu Nan's presence, the day was exceptionally lively. Everyone sat together, eating, drinking, chatting, and laughing, and time flew by.
As evening approached, the live stream ended as usual.
Today, the topics of Cheng An's clarification and Lu Bei's elder brother directly trended on social media, sparking heated discussions among netizens.
After dinner, Lu Nan didn't intend to leave but instead went directly to Tang Yao and booked a room.
"I've been busy with work for so many years and want to take a break for myself," Lu Nan explained.
"The air in our town is so fresh. It's perfect for relaxing," Tang Yao said.
After entering the guesthouse, Lu Nan noticed a difference. His neck, which often ached from sitting at work all year, was much better after breathing in the guesthouse's air.
It seemed his younger brother's condition had improved because of this guesthouse.
Thinking of this, Lu Nan's expression softened even more when he looked at Tang Yao.
Because of Lu Nan's arrival, Tang Yao invited Lu Bei and Cheng An over. The four of them enjoyed a hot pot on the rooftop of her small house.
Tang Yao had brought out the peach blossom wine she had taken from the ancient world. It had been buried in the ground for almost ten years before being unearthed. The wine was fragrant, mellow, and even had a sweet peach blossom aroma.
The wine was indeed well-received by everyone, especially Lu Nan, who praised it a few times.
In the end, Tang Yao and Cheng An's faces were flushed from drinking.
After Lu Bei and Lu Nan helped clean up, they took their leave. Cheng An refused to accompany them. Instead, she chose to stay on the rooftop to continue to savor her peach blossom wine and let the night breeze caress her face.
Tang Yao had noticed Lu Nan frequently glancing at Cheng An before leaving, as if he wanted to say something, but said nothing.
Tang Yao sat on the stool next to Cheng An, poured herself a glass of wine, and gazed at the clear night sky.
"This place is truly beautiful. I've never seen a sky like this in the capital or Country M," Cheng An suddenly remarked.
Tang Yao smiled. "If you like it here, you can come and stay longer after the show ends."
Cheng An tilted her head back and drank the rest of her wine, reaching out to pour herself another glass.
But Tang Yao stopped her: "This wine seems mild, but you'll still get drunk if you drink too much. We have a show to record tomorrow."
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