Ch 164: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Mu Xing took a nap on the plane, and by the time he arrived in Xiangcheng it was already 5:30 in the afternoon.

The show’s car was waiting at the airport. Lin Zhi had sent him there, and pushing his suitcase along, he walked toward the pickup spot.

From a distance, someone approached. “Are you Teacher Mu Xing? Hello, I’m the guide arranged for you by the Dream Pastoral show.”

The newcomer was a female host. Mu Xing found her face somewhat familiar, though he couldn’t recall whether she was Ji Mengmeng or Ji Yuanyuan.

He greeted her politely. “Hello, just call me Mu Xing.”

The host’s name was actually Ji Youyou. Hearing Mu Xing’s words, she immediately smiled. “Alright then, Mu Xing. Honestly, I almost wanted to call you little brother Mu Xing. You look so young—are you even an adult yet?”

Before Mu Xing could respond, she smacked her forehead lightly. “Oh, look at me, I almost forgot—you’ve already passed the legal marriage age.”

In this world, where the original Mu Xing had lived, the legal age for marriage—male or female—was twenty.

Mu Xing’s eyes grew cooler. Ji Youyou was no newcomer; she couldn’t possibly make such a low-level mistake.

Clearly, she was fishing for heat off his divorce.

Mu Xing calmly set his suitcase down before glancing at Ji Youyou, his tone mild but pointed. “Before coming to the program, my manager reminded me several times to memorize all the guests’ information, so I wouldn’t come across as rude by mistake. I always assumed a host’s memory would be better than ours.”

He smiled at her as he said it.

Ji Youyou froze.

Well, that was a test.

This one was no pushover—hard to squeeze.

Her face quickly shifted back into a bright smile. “I’ve just been on back-to-back jobs these days, my reaction is a bit slow.”

She subtly gestured to the cameraman, signaling for this clip to be cut later.

Once in the car, Mu Xing sat in the back row, with an aisle between him and Ji Youyou.

The filming site was still an hour away. Seeing that Mu Xing wasn’t inclined to start conversation, Ji Youyou began herself.

“Mu Xing, you’ve read up about our program in advance, right? Do you have any expectations for the upcoming life experience?”

Mu Xing opened his eyes. “I’m looking forward to it.”

She followed with another question. “Do you know which guests will be joining you?”

Of course he did.

But according to the show’s requirements, Mu Xing was supposed to “not know.”

He cooperated, shaking his head. “No idea.”

Ji Youyou gave a mysterious smile. “Well, you’ll find out soon. There’ll be a surprise.”

Mu Xing asked, “Have the others already arrived?”

She nodded. “You’re the last one.”

*

Meanwhile, at the destination of Mu Xing’s trip, the other five guests had already arrived.

Aside from Qin Song and Jiang Shengyu, there were three others: rising music star Zhou Qiongyu, popular young actor Fu Chen, and traffic-drawing actress Gu Jiani.

They were all sitting in the first-floor living room of the villa.

Because of program rules, the accommodations could only be assigned once all the guests were present, so their suitcases were left to the side for now.

Fu Chen frowned unhappily. “Why hasn’t the last one arrived yet? It’s so late.”

The others exchanged looks.

In truth, they all knew who the last guest would be, and they also knew the cameras in the living room were rolling.

Their gazes drifted, almost in unison, toward Qin Song.

Qin Song acted as if unaware, smiling as he said, “Maybe something delayed him on the road. It’s fine—we can take this time to chat and get to know each other.”

Among them, he was the biggest star.

His stance, in a subtle way, was protective of Mu Xing. The others picked up on it.

Jiang Shengyu glanced at Qin Song, feeling a little sour.

Even though Qin Song had already made it very clear that he and that Mu Xing only had a contractual relationship, with nothing real between them, hearing him speak up in Mu Xing’s defense still made Jiang Shengyu uncomfortable.

He casually rubbed his stomach. “I’m kind of hungry.”

Since everyone had just arrived today, the crew had prepared dinner. But with one person missing, nobody felt right about starting first.

Hearing him speak, Gu Jiani laughed sheepishly. “I don’t mind. I usually don’t eat dinner, I’m scared of gaining weight.”

Fu Chen wasn’t hungry either, so he kept quiet.

Qin Song, however, immediately remembered Jiang Shengyu’s chronic issue—his weak stomach.

Even a little chill made him uncomfortable, so skipping a meal was out of the question.

The balance in Qin Song’s heart tipped decisively.

He asked the staff, “Do you know how much longer until the last guest arrives?”

The staff had already been in contact with Ji Youyou and answered, “About another hour.”

Which meant that if Jiang Shengyu waited for Mu Xing, he’d have to go hungry for another hour.

Qin Song decided quickly. “We’ve all just traveled a long way and we’re tired. Not eating will only make it worse. Why don’t we go ahead and eat now, and save a portion for him?”

Fu Chen frowned. “That doesn’t seem right.”

They were going to spend a whole week together. Eating ahead of the last person would make things awkward when he arrived.

Qin Song responded warmly, “But sitting here doing nothing doesn’t help either. Besides, today’s meal is just something casual to fill us up.”

At the moment, the biggest draws in the group were Qin Song and Jiang Shengyu. With both of them okay with it, the others exchanged glances but didn’t protest further.

For the sake of one Mu Xing, it wasn’t worth crossing them.

Still, Fu Chen rolled his eyes behind the cameras. He’d read plenty of gossip before—Qin Song’s fans always claimed he looked down on Mu Xing, that he never truly cared for him. Now it seemed they were absolutely right.

6:40.

Mu Xing pushed his suitcase into the villa.

The five people sitting inside all turned their eyes toward him.

They all knew who Mu Xing was and had seen his pictures and video clips circulating online.

But seeing this tall, handsome young man in person still left them surprised.

This was Mu Xing?

He looked completely different from what they had imagined!

Fresh black hair fell softly over his forehead, below it a delicate, gentle face with bright, lively eyes. When he smiled, two small dimples appeared at his cheeks, adding a touch of boyish charm.

Good-looking and full of spirit.

Gu Jiani’s eyes instantly lit up: he was exactly her type!

Mu Xing looked at the five of them, seemingly unaware of the glances exchanged between him and Qin Song, and greeted with a smile, “Everyone’s here, right? Hello, I’m Mu Xing.”

Fu Chen’s eyes were fixed, a little jealous, on Mu Xing’s long legs—he estimated the guy was at least 180 cm tall.

That was a happiness a 175 cm man like him could never know.

Hmph.

Feeling sour, his tone turned curt: “I was the latest before you came. Everyone’s been waiting two hours just for you.”

Mu Xing paused, then sincerely said, “I’m sorry. The program team told me I just had to arrive before ten tonight, so I didn’t come earlier.”

His open, straightforward manner left little room for complaint.

Only Fu Chen secretly rolled his eyes again: idiot, just because the program team said that, you really came so late?

The others quickly introduced themselves, and the group was officially acquainted.

Afterward, Jiang Shengyu was the first to stand, speaking gently: “The program rules said we can’t pick rooms until everyone’s here. Now that Mu Xing has arrived, let’s go ahead and choose where to stay.”

Since the rooms weren’t much different, no one objected. Jiang Shengyu chose the far-left room on the third floor, Qin Song immediately chose the one next door.

Gu Jiani and Zhou Qiongyu, the two girls, picked the suite on the right side of the third floor.

That left Fu Chen and Mu Xing, who casually took two rooms on the second floor.

As everyone rolled their luggage toward their rooms, Jiang Shengyu suddenly paused, as if remembering something.

He said apologetically, “Oh, right. Mu Xing, since we all came early this morning and didn’t really eat lunch, we were starving and ended up having dinner first without waiting for you. Sorry about that.”

His expression was warm, his tone polite, leaving no fault to be found.

Mu Xing glanced at him and shook his head: “Don’t worry, do what suits you.”

When everyone headed upstairs with their suitcases, the first teaser for the new season of Dreamy Countryside was finally released.

It was basically a montage of the guests’ arrivals.

Qin Song, Jiang Shengyu, Fu Chen, Gu Jiani, Zhou Jieyu.

Each was shown stepping out of their car, smiling with delight at the sight of the beautiful mountain villa.

Then the camera shifted indoors.

The five sat on the sofa, talking about the final guest.

Jiang Shengyu looked expectant: “I wonder who the last one will be?”

Gu Jiani smiled playfully: “Hopefully a super handsome guy. I love watching handsome guys.”

Fu Chen said lazily, “Based on past seasons, I hope it’s someone with real life skills.”

Gu Jiani laughed out loud: “So when something unexpected happens you can cling to them for help?”

An hour passed.

Qin Song stayed calm.

Fu Chen kept checking his phone.

Jiang Shengyu said he was hungry.

Finally, a figure pushing a suitcase appeared.

“Hello, I’m Mu Xing.”

*

As soon as this teaser dropped, fans who had already heard rumors that their idol might appear and had been refreshing nonstop couldn’t hold back their outrage.

All the fire turned toward Mu Xing.

[Mu Xing? You mean that washed-up nobody who divorced Qin Song?]

[What kind of idiot is this? All these seniors waited hours for him, and he dares show up so late?]

[So rude. My Xiao Yu has stomach issues from staying up late training, and he had to go hungry because of him.]

[This Mu Xing is annoying even before the show starts.]

[Qin Song’s fans here—let’s light a firecracker to celebrate my brother finally shaking off this mess.]

[Why did the show invite him? Just looking at him pisses me off.]

Mu Xing himself had no idea that the program team had edited such a manipulative teaser, stirring viewers into a frenzy of insults.

After unpacking in his room—already cleaned and set up for him—he went downstairs to find the staff.

They had saved him a dinner portion. Mu Xing shook his head: “After sitting in the car so long, I don’t have much appetite. Do you have raw ingredients? I’ll just cook some noodles myself.”

The staff member was startled and offered to help.

Mu Xing shook his head again: “It’s late already, no need to trouble anyone. I’ll do it myself.”

No guest had ever asked to cook for themselves on Dream Pastoral. Surprised, the staff led him to the kitchen.

Opening the fridge, he found it fully stocked.

He thanked them, grabbed some ingredients and noodles, clearly planning to cook for himself.

Meanwhile, the assistant director frowned as he watched the teaser comments skyrocket past ten thousand, many furious. “Director, isn’t this promo a little too extreme?”

The director narrowed his eyes with a smile: “What’s the rush? It’s only the beginning. Tomorrow we’ll cut something more positive. Controversy brings heat.”

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