Acting Out of Character (GL) - Chapter 13

The afternoon filming was physically demanding. The eight guests each had to take a set of farming tools and a bamboo basket to the fields to dig up taro.

The farmhouse was a fair distance from the taro patch, so the crew planned to film them as they walked. The first three groups had already set off, and Qian Yu had been waiting at the entrance for ages without a sign of Luo Jingyi.

“What is Sister Luo doing?” Qian Yu filled the silence for the camera. “Is she touchng up her makeup? Sister Luo seems so sophisticated; I bet she’s a perfectionist in every aspect of her life.”

By the time his throat was dry from talking, Luo Jingyi still hadn’t appeared. Feng Yunxin finally went inside to find her.

“My lady, what are you doing? Good grief, is it necessary to wrap yourself up this tightly?”

Feng Yunxin walked in to find Luo Jingyi fully armored from head to toe. Aside from a straw sun hat, she had a small square silk scarf from Brand C covering her nose and mouth, not to mention long pants and cooling sleeves. With her sunglasses on, she was wrapped so airtight you couldn’t tell if she was human or ghost.

Feng Yunxin teased, “Don’t get heatstroke just to avoid a tan.”

Luo Jingyi retorted, “If I get tan, are you going to pay for it?”

“What’s wrong with a little sun at our age? It provides Vitamin D and helps with calcium.”

Luo Jingyi brandished the shovel in her hand toward Feng Yunxin, nearly swinging it into her face. “Are you trying to disfigure me?”

“I’m trying to give you a makeover. You don’t need your whole body exposed to the sun; ten minutes with your hands out is enough. And the sun doesn’t directly provide calcium; it provides Vitamin D.”

Feng Yunxin: “…”

As they walked out, Luo Jingyi asked, “Where is everyone?”

“What do you mean ‘where is everyone’? They’ve all left! What, did you expect people to carry you there on a litter?”

The two bickered their way to the courtyard gate. As the cameras turned toward them, Feng Yunxin ducked out of the shot.

“Sister Luo, you’re finally here.” Qian Yu, who had been squatting on the ground, stood up immediately and flirtatiously brushed back his bangs.

Recalling Feng Yunxin’s words about a “Queen and a Puppy,” Luo Jingyi wondered if this was the “puppy” she had arranged. Not a puppy; just greasy.

On the way there, Qian Yu chatted incessantly, asking Luo Jingyi about her job and hobbies. Eventually, he started prying into whether she was married, in a relationship, or how many times she had been in love.

Initially, Luo Jingyi didn’t cross him—she understood it was for the show’s “effect.” They couldn’t be silent the whole way, and even a boring topic provided content. But as the questions became increasingly private, she grew tired of answering.

Qian Yu’s mouth wouldn’t stop, so Luo Jingyi decided to shut him up once and for all.

“Me? I’ve never been in a relationship. I spend all my time writing books to trick people out of their money,” Luo Jingyi said.

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

“You could put it that way.”

“What kind of novels do you write? We really have a fate; I actually love reading novels! I might have even read your stuff before!”

“I write agricultural science books.”

“Huh? What?” Qian Yu was dumbfounded. “Agricultural science?”

“Mhm. One Book to Learn How to Manage a Pig Farm, Breeding Superior Piglets, and What are You Actually Raising When You’re Raising Pigs?—I wrote all of those.”

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

“What? You look down on pig farmers?”

“No, no, not at all. It’s just…” Qian Yu looked her up and down. “You don’t look the part.”

“You can’t judge by appearances. It’s just like selecting piglets—it’s a precise process. You want piglets with long waists, short snouts, full hindquarters, and thick limbs. The mouth should be tight; those piglets won’t mess with their food and save on feed. The legs should be long…”

Luo Jingyi rattled off a stream of pig-farming knowledge until Qian Yu went silent, never mentioning her private life again.

Outside the camera’s range, Feng Yunxin approached her. “You’re so mean. The young guy wanted to talk to you about life, and you talked to him about piglet selection?”

“What part of him is ‘young’? He seems a bit ‘salty’ to me.”

“Please, have some mercy. Talk like a normal person.”

“How am I not talking like a person? I specifically checked—what you need for a reality show are ‘hooks’ and ‘gags.’ I’m providing the gags for you, so why are you biting the hand that feeds you?”

Feng Yunxin: “…”

When Luo Jingyi’s group reached the taro field, the other three groups had already started digging.

Sun Ruibin and Yin Yin, the two boys, were hacking away with their hoes. Next to them were Song Ruyu and Chen Ge. After a few swings, Song Ruyu started complaining and said to Sun Ruibin:

“Look at us two weak women. Could you help us out? We’ll have our ‘Film Queen’ treat you to something good tonight!”

“Film Queen?” Sun Ruibin and Yin Yin both cast surprised glances at Chen Ge. They studied her face but couldn’t recall ever seeing this “Film Queen.”

Song Ruyu giggled, patting Chen Ge’s shoulder with a dusty hand. “She might not be a Film Queen yet, but our Chen Ge is a total acting geek! She even downloads scripts and compares them to movie performances, analyzing every little detail! If someone as hardworking as her doesn’t become a Film Queen, who will?”

Chen Ge: “…” Shut up.

Chen Ge immediately moved to the other side of the field to get away from Song Ruyu. With a few swings of her hoe, she cleared the weeds and leaves, turning over a batch of taro. However, for some reason, the taro she dug up was all smashed to pieces.

Puzzled, she went to pick one up to check it when a voice beside her said: “Don’t move.”

Those two words made her freeze instantly. She looked up to see the person wrapped like an alien. “Sister Luo?”

“Don’t touch the taro directly with your hands,” Luo Jingyi said. “You’ve smashed them. If you touch them barehanded, the oxalic acid will make your skin itch like crazy. You’ll scratch yourself until you lose a layer of skin.”

Chen Ge immediately retracted her hand. Luo Jingyi asked, “Where are your gloves?”

“There weren’t enough props; our group only got one pair.” The implication was that her partner, Song Ruyu, had taken them.

“Take mine.” Luo Jingyi handed over her gloves.

“Huh? I couldn’t. What will you do if I use them?”

“I’m not going to smash the taro.”

Chen Ge: “…”

Luo Jingyi taught her, “When digging taro, don’t aim directly under the leaves. Move about ten centimeters to the side and then dig. You’ll flip it right up without breaking it. Watch.”

As she demonstrated, a circle of people gathered around. With one swift motion of the hoe, a whole, plump taro appeared.

“Wow—Sister Luo, is there anything you can’t do?” Ren Yan, the delicate influencer who insisted on wearing a princess dress even in the fields, was full of admiration.

“Sister Luo knows so much.”

“Luckily I didn’t touch them either, or I’d be losing skin right now!”

“Sister Luo is a walking encyclopedia!”

Qian Yu watched from the side, even more puzzled by this woman. She knows so much about farm work… maybe that pig farming stuff wasn’t a lie? Does she actually raise pigs?

Feng Yunxin, meanwhile, was frantically filming with her phone. My god, Teacher Luo—the legendary troublemaker—is actually hoeing a field! Even if her face isn’t visible, it’s a crime not to post this to my social circle.

Luo Jingyi remained unfazed. After teaching them how to dig taro, she sent everyone back to work. After a while, seeing everyone suffering in the heat without any effective direction from the crew, Luo Jingyi felt her back was about to be cooked. She walked over to Feng Yunxin with her hoe.

“Are you just going to let them do manual labor? Imagine how boring the editing will be.”

Feng Yunxin: “So, what does the Great Screenwriter suggest?”

“You have to do something.”

Feng Yunxin immediately had an inspiration. “Like a competition?”

“No… didn’t the script you wrote with your feet mention any filming details?”

“It did,” Feng Yunxin said. “I originally planned a competition. I just didn’t mention it because I was afraid you’d all faint from the heat. But you’re right; if we just do manual labor, it’ll be too boring for post-production, and the investors won’t be happy.”

“…So I just brought this trouble on myself, didn’t I?”

“Not at all. You inspired me to harden my soft heart and finish the job.”

Luo Jingyi: “…”

Feng Yunxin immediately organized a competition for the whole group. The rules were simple: the four groups would compete to see who could dig up the most taro by weight within a set time.

Song Ruyu asked, “Director Feng, is there a reward for the winning team? We can’t work for free, right?”

“There’s a reward! Of course there is!”

Everyone focused on Feng Yunxin. She climbed onto a small dirt mound and held up a bottle of yogurt. “The reward is—a bottle of ‘Youtian’ digestive yogurt from our sponsor!”

Everyone: “…”

Qian Yu: “That is so stingy.”

Sun Ruibin whispered: “That yogurt is fcking terrible. I had a bottle yesterday; it was so sour I questioned my life.” Yin Yin: “They even have a cilantro-radish flavor.” Ren Yan: “I can testify—this yogurt tastes worse than sht.”

Everyone: “??”

Regardless, the competition had to happen. In the end, whoever wanted the nasty yogurt could have it. At the director’s command, the four groups began digging. Because the reward felt like a punishment, no one was particularly enthusiastic. Between the heat and the lack of motivation, only their pride kept them from quitting on the spot.

Sun Ruibin, being an athlete, had great stamina. He plowed ahead while Yin Yin followed behind to gather, soon filling half a basket. Chen Ge followed closely, with Song Ruyu cheering her on. Cheering was fine, but Song Ruyu was shrieking right in her ear. Between the physical exertion and the ringing in her ears, Chen Ge finally snapped:

“Could you just go rest for a bit?”

Song Ruyu immediately put on a piteous face for the camera: “Waaah, Chen Ge is yelling at me again! Chen Ge is so mean!”

Chen Ge: “??” What is wrong with this girl?

They were in the same company but had never interacted much. Now that they were on a show together, Chen Ge realized Song Ruyu was completely out of line. Is she trying to subtly sabotage me? Chen Ge made a mental note to be more cautious.

The competition finally ended. Sun Ruibin’s group dug the most taro and “won” the bottle of yogurt.

Sun Ruibin and Yin Yin quickly declined: “Sorry, we’d like to live a few more years. Why don’t you keep it for yourself?”

Feng Yunxin: “…You youngsters, show some respect to our sponsors.”

After an afternoon of work, all the guests were too tired to speak. Their clothes were soaked in sweat, and their heads were swimming. The worst part wasn’t the digging—it was carrying the baskets of taro back. The group trudged back toward the farmhouse like zombies.

Luo Jingyi walked at the very back, moving slowly. Her back was killing her. Years of sitting at a computer had left her with chronic muscle strain. Usually, it was fine with rest, but she couldn’t sit or stand for long, let alone do heavy labor. The hoeing had caused a sharp flare-up of pain.

But she was stubborn. Everyone else was digging, so she had no reason to slack off. She wanted to do her best at everything, and the result was this agonizing pain. She didn’t tell anyone, planning to find a way to get a spa treatment or something once she got back to the hotel.

With the heavy basket of taro on her back, every step felt like her spine was being snapped. But gradually, the weight on her back grew lighter.

Luo Jingyi looked back and saw Chen Ge taking taro out of her basket and putting it into her own.

“What are you doing?” Luo Jingyi asked.

Chen Ge was just trying to help lighten the load, but being caught by Luo Jingyi made her feel like she’d been caught doing something wrong. She immediately ran off. With more than half of Luo Jingyi’s taro now in her own basket, Chen Ge had underestimated the weight. As she ran along the narrow ridge of the field, her foot slipped.

Luo Jingyi’s heart jumped into her throat. “Hey!” she cried out.

To her surprise, Chen Ge’s balance was extraordinary. She managed to steady herself even with the heavy load. With her arms spread out like a little airplane, she regained her footing. Without looking back, she bolted away.

Under the setting sun, Chen Ge’s swinging high ponytail remained etched in Luo Jingyi’s eyes. Feng Yunxin quietly captured this unscripted moment with her GoPro. She watched it back, admiring the warm scene: “Beautiful.”