Acting Out of Character (GL) - Chapter 13

The afternoon’s filming schedule was packed. The eight guests each had to take farming tools and a bamboo basket to dig up taro.

The farmhouse courtyard was some distance from the taro field, so the production team planned to film them as they walked.

The first three groups had already departed. Qian Yu waited at the entrance for ages, but Luo Jingyi was nowhere to be seen.

“What is Sister Luo doing?” With nothing else to say, Qian Yu spoke to the camera. “Is Sister Luo touching up her makeup? She seems extremely refined. I feel like she must also be someone who strives for perfection in her daily life.”

He talked until his mouth was dry, yet Luo Jingyi still did not come out.

Feng Yunxin went inside to find her.

“Grandmother, what are you doing? Good grief, do you really need to wrap yourself up this tightly?”

The moment Feng Yunxin entered, she saw that Luo Jingyi was fully armed from head to toe.

Apart from a straw sun hat, she had covered her mouth and nose with a small square scarf from Brand C, not to mention her long trousers and UV-protection sleeves.

With sunglasses added to the ensemble, she was wrapped so thoroughly that it was impossible to tell whether she was human or a ghost.

Feng Yunxin complained, “Don’t give yourself heatstroke just to avoid the sun.”

Luo Jingyi said, “Will you compensate me if I get tanned?”

Feng Yunxin said, “What’s wrong with getting some sunlight at our age? Sunlight helps you absorb calcium.”

Luo Jingyi swung the small shovel in Feng Yunxin’s direction and nearly struck her face.

“Are you trying to disfigure me?”

“I’m giving you plastic surgery. You don’t need to expose your whole body to sunlight. Holding one hand in the sun for ten minutes is enough. Besides, sunlight doesn’t directly replenish calcium. It helps produce vitamin D.”

Feng Yunxin: “…”

Luo Jingyi headed outside. “Why is everyone gone?”

“Why do you think everyone is gone? Of course they already left. What, did you expect someone to carry you there in a sedan chair?”

The two bickered all the way to the courtyard entrance. When the camera turned toward Luo Jingyi, Feng Yunxin immediately moved out of the frame.

“Sister Luo, you’re finally here.”

Qian Yu had been crouching on the ground. The moment Luo Jingyi appeared, he sprang energetically to his feet and flirtatiously swept his bangs aside.

Luo Jingyi recalled what Feng Yunxin had said about pairing a queen with a little puppy.

So this was the little puppy Feng Yunxin had arranged for her?

He was not sweet. He was rather greasy.

Throughout the walk, Qian Yu kept forcing conversation. He asked what Luo Jingyi normally did and what her hobbies were.

As the questions continued, he began prying into whether she was married, whether she was currently dating, and how many relationships she had experienced.

At first, Luo Jingyi did not resist. It was for the sake of the show, after all, which she could understand. They could not remain silent throughout the entire journey. Even dragging out the dullest topic for conversation still counted as content.

But his questions gradually became increasingly private, and Luo Jingyi no longer wanted to answer.

Qian Yu’s mouth never stopped. He continued chattering endlessly until Luo Jingyi became irritated and decided to silence him once and for all.

“I’ve never dated anyone. I devote myself to writing books and swindling people out of money,” Luo Jingyi said.

“Writing books? So Sister Luo is an author!”

“You could interpret it that way.”

“What novels have you written, Sister Luo? We seem to have quite a connection. I actually love reading novels! Maybe I’ve read something you wrote before!”

“I write agricultural science books.”

“Huh? What?” Qian Yu stared blankly. “Agricultural science?”

“Mm. Learn to Run a Pig Farm with One Book, Raising High-Quality Piglets, and When You Raise Pigs, What Are You Really Raising? I wrote all of them.”

Qian Yu was dumbfounded. “…Sister, are you a professional pig farmer?”

“What? Do you look down on professional pig farmers?”

“No, no, of course not. I just feel…” Qian Yu looked her up and down for a long time. “You don’t seem like one.”

“You can’t judge a person by appearances. Choosing piglets isn’t something done casually either. When selecting piglets, you want long waists and short snouts, full hindquarters, and thick, sturdy limbs. Their mouths should remain closed. Piglets like that are less likely to root through their feed or troughs, saving a considerable amount of food. Their legs should be long…”

Luo Jingyi began pouring out endless facts about pig farming.

She talked Qian Yu into complete silence. He never asked another question about her private life.

Outside the camera’s frame, Feng Yunxin approached Luo Jingyi and said:

“You’re truly wicked. A handsome young idol was trying to discuss life with you, and you talked to him about selecting piglets?”

“What’s handsome about him? I find him a little salty.”

“I’m begging you. Please have mercy and speak like a normal person.”

“How was I not speaking normally? I specifically researched this. Reality shows need entertaining moments. Only with memorable jokes can the program become interesting. I’m providing you with material, yet you’re biting the hand that feeds you.”

Feng Yunxin: “…”

There was no reasoning with her.

A screenwriter’s mouth was a liar’s ghost.

She could turn black into white and spray white into every color of the rainbow.

Still, considering the entire day’s filming, the most outstanding performer truly was their great screenwriter Luo.

By the time Luo Jingyi’s group reached the taro field, the previous three groups had already dug up quite a bit.

Sun Ruibin and Yin Yin each held a hoe and were working enthusiastically.

Song Ruyu and Chen Ge were beside them. After swinging the hoe twice, Song Ruyu began complaining and said to Sun Ruibin:

“Look at us, two weak women. Why don’t you help us? Tonight, we’ll have our future Best Actress treat you to something delicious!”

“Best Actress?”

Sun Ruibin and Yin Yin both looked at Chen Ge in surprise.

They carefully studied her face, apparently unable to remember where they had seen this Best Actress before.

Song Ruyu giggled and patted Chen Ge’s shoulder with a hand covered in dirt.

“She might not be a Best Actress yet, but our Chen Ge is obsessed with acting! She downloads scripts herself, then compares them with the actors’ performances in the films and analyzes every detail! If someone as hardworking as Chen Ge doesn’t become a Best Actress, who deserves to become one? Right?”

Chen Ge: “…”

Please shut up.

Chen Ge immediately moved to the other side to work, putting some distance between herself and Song Ruyu.

After several swings of the hoe, she uprooted the weeds and taro leaves together, turning over a patch of taro.

For some reason, however, every taro she dug up was broken. She had smashed them all into pieces.

Confused, Chen Ge was about to pick one up when someone beside her said:

“Don’t touch it.”

Those two words immediately froze her in place.

Chen Ge looked up. Who was this person wrapped up like an alien?

“Sister Luo?”

“Don’t pick up taro with your bare hands,” Luo Jingyi said. “You’ve smashed them apart. If you touch them directly, you’ll get calcium oxalate all over your hands. They’ll itch terribly afterward, and you’ll scratch until you peel off a layer of skin.”

Chen Ge immediately withdrew her hand.

Luo Jingyi asked, “Where are your gloves?”

Chen Ge said, “There weren’t enough props. Our group only received one pair.”

The implication was that her partner, Song Ruyu, had taken them.

“Use mine.”

Luo Jingyi handed her gloves to Chen Ge.

“Huh? That wouldn’t be right. What will you use?”

“I’m not going to smash the taro into pieces.”

Chen Ge: “…”

Luo Jingyi instructed her, “When digging taro, don’t swing the hoe directly beneath the leaves. Move about ten centimeters to the side before digging. That way, you can turn the whole thing over without breaking it. Watch.”

Luo Jingyi demonstrated, and everyone gathered around.

She raised the hoe and brought it down. With one turn of the soil, a whole, plump taro appeared before them.

“Wow—how does Sister Luo know everything?”

Ren Yan, the delicate influencer who wore a princess dress even while farming, looked at Luo Jingyi with great admiration.

“Sister Luo knows so much.”

“Fortunately, I didn’t pick one up directly either. Otherwise, would I have already scratched off a layer of skin?”

“Sister Luo is a walking encyclopedia!”

Qian Yu watched from the side, finding this woman increasingly difficult to understand.

She knew so much about farmwork. Could everything she had said about raising pigs have been true rather than nonsense?

Did she genuinely raise pigs?

Meanwhile, Feng Yunxin stood nearby frantically recording videos on her phone.

Good heavens. Teacher Luo—the great troublesome Luo—was actually hoeing a field!

Even if her face could not be seen, how could Feng Yunxin live with herself if she failed to record such precious footage and post it to her Moments?

Luo Jingyi remained calm despite everyone’s praise. After teaching them how to dig up taro, she told them to return to work.

After digging for some time, everyone was suffering beneath the sun, yet the directing team still had not organized any effective filming content.

Luo Jingyi felt as though her back was being cooked. Carrying her hoe, she walked over to Feng Yunxin and asked:

“You’re simply making them work mindlessly? How boring will this footage be once it’s edited into the episode?”

Feng Yunxin asked, “Then what does the great Screenwriter Luo suggest?”

“You need to do something.”

Feng Yunxin immediately found inspiration. “Such as a competition?”

Luo Jingyi said, “Wait… Does that script written with someone’s feet genuinely contain no filming details?”

“It does,” Feng Yunxin said. “The original plan was a competition. I was afraid you would all faint from the heat, so I didn’t mention it earlier. But you’re right. Simply making everyone work mindlessly is far too boring. The editors won’t have anything to use, and the producers certainly won’t approve.”

“…So I’ve come here solely to make my own life miserable?”

“How could that be? You’re inspiring me and urging my warm, tender heart to become cold and ruthless so I can complete my work.”

Luo Jingyi: “…”

Feng Yunxin did not continue arguing. She immediately organized the entire crew and began arranging the competition.

The rules were simple. The four teams would compete to dig up taro within a fixed period.

The group whose taro weighed the most would win.

Song Ruyu asked curiously, “Director Feng, does the winning team receive a reward? You can’t make us work for nothing.”

Feng Yunxin said, “There’s a reward! Of course there is!”

Everyone turned their attention toward her, waiting for the answer.

Feng Yunxin climbed onto a small mound of packed earth and raised a bottle of yogurt high above her head.

“The reward is—a bottle of our sponsor’s slimming and digestion-aiding Youtian yogurt!”

Everyone: “…”

Qian Yu said, “That’s far too stingy.”

Sun Ruibin whispered, “That yogurt tastes fucking terrible. I drank a bottle yesterday, and it was so sour that I questioned the meaning of life.”

Yin Yin said, “They even have cilantro-and-radish flavor.”

Ren Yan said, “I can confirm that the yogurt tastes worse than shit.”

Everyone: “??”

Regardless, they still needed to compete. Whoever wanted that disgusting yogurt could drink it.

At Director Feng’s command, the four groups began hoeing.

Since the reward was essentially a punishment, no one showed much enthusiasm.

Working reluctantly in such hot weather was miserable. Had their pride not kept them going, everyone would have abandoned the competition on the spot.

Sun Ruibin truly lived up to his status as an athlete. His stamina was excellent. He furiously turned over the soil in front while Yin Yin collected the taro behind him. They quickly filled half a basket.

Chen Ge followed closely behind, while Song Ruyu stood beside her cheering.

Cheering was not necessarily a problem, but Song Ruyu shouted directly beside Chen Ge’s ear. Chen Ge was using all her strength with her hands while her head buzzed from the noise. Finally unable to endure it, she said:

“Could you go rest somewhere else?”

Song Ruyu immediately turned toward the camera with a miserable expression.

“Boohoo, Chen Ge scolded me again. Chen Ge is so fierce!”

Chen Ge: “??”

What was wrong with Song Ruyu?

Although they worked for the same company, they had barely interacted before. Only after joining this program together did Chen Ge discover how unreliable everything she said was.

Why did it feel as though she was subtly putting Chen Ge down?

Chen Ge became more cautious.

Qian Yu and Luo Jingyi each worked one side of their plot. Once the taro from both sides was added together, they would probably have a considerable amount.

Dong Shenghong and Ren Yan’s group had dug up the least. Their basket barely had enough taro to cover the bottom.

Dong Shenghong was an emerging entrepreneur. Wearing a crisp dress shirt with a bamboo basket on his back, he looked somewhat out of place.

Originally, he used the hoe to dig out the taro while Ren Yan collected it and placed it inside his basket.

But after only a few swings, Dong Shenghong could no longer continue. He leaned against the hoe, panting.

Ren Yan asked sweetly, “President Dong, are you tired?”

Dong Shenghong looked deeply aggrieved. “This work is genuinely exhausting.”

Ren Yan whined and pointed toward the other teams ahead.

“But everyone else is still digging. They’ve collected so much taro. We can’t lose either, can we?”

“Hey! It’s only a variety show. Are you actually taking it seriously?”

Ren Yan: “…”

Dong Shenghong stood there slacking off. Unexpectedly, Ren Yan stepped forward and snatched the hoe directly from his hands.

Dong Shenghong: “Huh?”

Abandoning her previous delicate and affected demeanor, Ren Yan let out a rough shout. She dropped into a horse stance and slammed the hoe into the ground, nearly splashing soil across Dong Shenghong’s face.

Dong Shenghong: “??”

Ren Yan said, “Get out of the way! Don’t interfere with this old lady’s farming!”

Dong Shenghong: “???”

Who are you?!

After exhausting everyone half to death, the competition finally ended.

Sun Ruibin’s group dug up the most taro and won the prize: one bottle of yogurt!

Sun Ruibin and Yin Yin immediately declined.

“Sorry for the disturbance. We’d like to live for a few more years. Why don’t you keep it for yourself?”

Feng Yunxin: “…You young people should show more respect to our generous sponsor.”

After an entire afternoon of work, all the guests were too tired to speak.

Their clothes were soaked through with sweat, and their heads were spinning.

The most frightening part was not digging up the taro—it was having to carry all of it back.

Everyone sighed and groaned, shuffling toward the farmhouse courtyard like a group of zombies.

Luo Jingyi walked at the very back and moved slowly. Her lower back hurt.

Years of sitting in front of a computer had left her with chronic lumbar muscle strain. Her lower back was particularly fragile.

It was better when she had rested properly, but she could not sit or stand for extended periods, much less perform work requiring force from the waist.

The earlier digging had quickly caused her pain to flare up.

But she had a personality that refused to admit defeat.

Everyone else had worked, so she had no reason to be lazy.

Whatever she did, she wanted to do it as well as possible. The result was that she now felt unbearably sore.

She did not tell anyone. She planned to think of a solution once she returned to the hotel. Perhaps a spa treatment might help.

She still carried a large basket of taro on her back. With every step, she felt as though someone were bending her waist in half.

Gradually, however, the weight behind her became lighter.

Luo Jingyi turned around and discovered Chen Ge removing taro from her basket and tossing them into her own.

“What are you doing?” Luo Jingyi asked.

Chen Ge had been helping lighten her load and doing a good deed. But when Luo Jingyi suddenly questioned her, she reacted like someone caught committing a crime and immediately ran away.

Chen Ge had taken more than half of Luo Jingyi’s taro but had underestimated the weight she now carried. As she ran along the ridge, her foot slipped.

Luo Jingyi’s heart leaped into her throat, and she cried, “Hey!”

Unexpectedly, Chen Ge had excellent balance. Even while carrying such a heavy load and slipping sideways, she managed to recover.

She spread both arms to steady herself like a small airplane, regained her balance, and fled without looking back.

Beneath the setting sun, Chen Ge’s swaying high ponytail remained reflected in Luo Jingyi’s eyes.

Feng Yunxin secretly used the GoPro to record the moment that had occurred outside the official shot. Afterward, she replayed it and admired the warm scene.

“Absolutely beautiful.”