After Transmigrating as the Villain’s Scummy Alpha "Dainty" Wife, My Escape Failed (GL) - Chapter 11

Jiang Ci mysteriously pulled Wang Wen and Gu Meng aside and whispered a few words.

Gu Meng asked nervously, “Will this work? Will they agree?”

Jiang Ci licked her dry lips and glanced at Chi Yuan, who was watching them expectantly. “It’ll work. They have to follow the rules they set themselves.”

Jiang Ci called out, “Director, I want to apply to use a prop.”

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, she walked to the prop box, bent over, and pulled something out—a pink plastic washbasin with a little yellow duck printed on the bottom.

…

What use could a washbasin be? Using it to hit the ball seemed even less effective than using one’s bare hands.

But Jiang Ci acted as if she didn’t see the confused looks. After getting into position, she said, “We can start, Director.”

The match resumed, and before long, everyone understood Jiang Ci’s intention.

As the volleyball descended, it landed steadily and perfectly inside the little yellow duck basin. The moment she caught it, Jiang Ci sprinted toward Chi Yuan.

“Catch! Catch!” She gave the basin a forceful upward jerk, and the volleyball soared from the tub straight toward Chi Yuan.

Reacting instantly, Chi Yuan inwardly praised Jiang Ci’s ingenuity. She swung a fist and solidly sent the ball flying back over the net.

What kind of slick maneuver was this?

The production crew protested: “Dribbling and running like that is a violation!”

“Is it?” Jiang Ci tilted her head with a shallow smile. “Which rule did I break? You said the hitting style is unrestricted and that it only counts as a loss if the ball hits the ground. I caught the ball with a basin—did it hit the ground?”

“If it didn’t hit the ground, it’s not a loss. Unless… the crew wants to play foul?”

“The cameras are right here. Are you going to go back on your word?”

Chi Yuan added fuel to the fire, perfectly in sync with her wife: “No way, right? A big production like this is actually afraid of losing?”

The crew was left speechless. There was no need to be so cutting, was there? Left with no choice, they raised their hands in surrender, signaling that this method was allowed.

The director breathed a secret sigh of relief. Fortunately, there was only one washbasin in the prop box, and the other three members of the Red Team didn’t seem to have plans to grab more props.

But as it turned out, they had relaxed too early.

The whistle blew again, and this time Wang Wen and Gu Meng became the primary targets. But the next second, the crew saw Wang Wen and Gu Meng simultaneously lift the front of their short T-shirts, using the fabric to scoop up the ball with both hands.

Their goal was the same as Jiang Ci’s—catch the ball. Once caught, they quickly passed it to Chi Yuan.

Gu Meng looked at the dark faces of the staff and chuckled. He really wasn’t good at hitting the ball back, but just catching it? That cut the difficulty in half. He could do that no problem.

The crew couldn’t stop them now. With the precedent of Jiang Ci using a tool to catch the ball, why would using clothes be any different?

Technically, it wasn’t a violation.

Watching the Red Team’s score slowly close the gap, the director felt extremely gloomy. The screenwriter consoled him from the side: “It’s just one luxury meal. Let them eat. The crew can just sit there with our packs of instant noodles and watch them eat.”

Director: “…”

As the match neared its end, under Jiang Ci’s lead of “shady operations,” the Red Team’s score pulled even with the Town Team.

Chi Yuan rubbed her wrists, staring at the ball in the opponent’s hand with hidden excitement. Her punching rhythm was getting better and better; she was truly getting hooked.

The outcome was already decided, but even after the final whistle blew, Chi Yuan still felt like she hadn’t had enough.

Jiang Ci set down the washbasin, walked to her side, and winked. “How does the taste of victory feel?”

Chi Yuan raised her chin proudly, opened her arms, and pulled Jiang Ci into a hug, shouting in her ear: “Frickin’ awesome!”

Jiang Ci gave her a look of mock disgust and reached up to pick at her ear. “You’re shouting too loud.”

But the upward curve of her lips and the smile in her eyes couldn’t be hidden.

In the peach forest on the other side, the five guests had finished their harvest, leaving only the final weighing and quality check.

An auntie wearing an orange floral T-shirt walked over with an electronic platform scale. She poured out basket after basket of peaches to weigh them. Substandard peaches were picked out and not included in the total weight.

Jiang Wan looked at the heavy bamboo basket at her feet with a heart full of smugness. She began to fantasize about receiving the Village Head bonus vote and becoming the top-ranking popular guest.

As expected, a female lead with “protagonist luck” just has a blessed life.

After Momo had taken her peaches earlier, Jiang Wan had originally planned to give up on the task. She had the excuse of a sun allergy to brush it off; she might even have garnered some pity from casual viewers to boost her popularity.

But she had luckily run into Gao Yaohui, who was crouching under a tree constantly sorting through peaches. As an athlete, his physical stamina was high, and he had filled a basket shortly after the task began.

However, he was a bit of a perfectionist. After picking, he had to check them all. If a peach didn’t look right—not plump or red enough—he’d give it to another farmer and keep picking. Sorting back and forth took a lot of time, and he still wasn’t satisfied.

Jiang Wan couldn’t understand his logic and thought he probably had a screw loose. She adjusted her hair and clothes and approached him. “Since you’ve filled your basket, you can head to the meeting point.”

Gao Yaohui held a peach in each hand, squinting to compare them. He was so focused he didn’t even notice her.

Jiang Wan: “…”

Suppressing her annoyance at being ignored, she crouched in front of him. “I’m talking to you.”

The light was suddenly blocked. Gao Yaohui looked up with a frown, only to see the beautiful and gentle Jiang Wan giving him a sweet smile. It was as if something had suddenly struck him; all his attention shifted to the woman in front of him.

Gao Yaohui scratched his head sheepishly, looking like a shy schoolboy meeting his crush. “I’m checking the quality. Substandard peaches won’t count toward the weight. I need to pick the good ones.”

“I think your whole basket looks great. They should all pass.”

“No,” Gao Yaohui knit his brows. “The bottom of this one isn’t round enough, and the red area on that one’s tip is too small.” He sounded discouraged. “I’ve wandered through half the orchard and still haven’t found the ‘ideal’ peach.”

Jiang Wan: Totally unnecessary! If you have this much free time, can’t we just get out of here?

She watched with a bleeding heart as Gao Yaohui took several peaches and tossed them into another farmer’s basket. Give them to me! Give them to me!

Just then, the cameraman following them suddenly received a message and hurried off toward the other side as if something had happened.

Jiang Wan seized the opportunity and began to negotiate. “Don’t we have to elect a Village Head tonight? Have you thought about who to vote for?”

Gao Yaohui: “Not yet. Everyone wants to be the Village Head, so the competition will be fierce.”

Jiang Wan: “But you can’t vote for yourself. The one elected must be the most popular person among the nine of us.”

Gao Yaohui: “We just started the show and aren’t familiar yet. How do we vote?”

Jiang Wan leaned closer, whispering into Gao Yaohui’s ear. The faint scent of gardenia made his face turn beet red.

Jiang Wan: “Although I really want to be Village Head too, I’ll vote for you tonight.”

Gao Yaohui smiled foolishly, thinking this was a chance to prove himself in front of his goddess. “Actually, I’m not that keen on being Village Head. If you want to be it, I’ll definitely support you.”

Jiang Wan grabbed his arm excitedly and jumped up. “Really? That’s wonderful! Thank you so much!”

“It’s nothing. If you have any trouble, just call me. My vote will always be yours.”

Jiang Wan nodded excitedly, but after a moment, her head drooped sadly. “But… I’m afraid your one vote won’t be enough. Sister Jiang and Momo seem very popular with everyone. It’s my fault for being too introverted and not being able to chat with everyone. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have to worry about no one picking me.”

Gao Yaohui hurried to comfort her. “Not at all! You were the first person to talk to me in the village. You’re wonderful.”

Jiang Wan shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears as if she were about to cry. “I’m not good enough. Look at my basket—there isn’t a single peach in it. Sob… I definitely won’t finish the task and won’t get the bonus vote.”

Seeing his goddess crying so sadly, Gao Yaohui panicked. “Don’t cry! I’ll give you all my peaches!”

Jiang Wan covered her face, a successful smirk flashing across her lips before being replaced by a weak expression. “Is that… okay? What about you?”

“I can pick more. These are high quality; they’re more than enough to beat the others. I’m sure you’ll get the bonus vote.”

Gao Yaohui swapped baskets with Jiang Wan and plunged back into the trees without looking back, leaving behind a silhouette of a silent hero.

Jiang Wan sneered, “Idiot!” and skipped happily toward the meeting point. Now, the Village Head position is practically mine!

The quality-check auntie weighed the baskets one by one. Sure enough, Jiang Wan’s basket had the highest quality—essentially every peach met the standard.

The assistant director held a megaphone, ready to announce the result. “First, in light of Gu Ning’s dangerous behavior of climbing trees to pick peaches, the production team unanimously agrees that he is disqualified from being Village Head. Thus, in tonight’s election, Gu Ning cannot be a candidate. We hope others take this as a warning.”

In the crowd, Gu Ning lowered his head, wishing he could sink into the ground. He had only climbed a little bit before being yanked down by a cameraman who rushed over. The scene at the time was as embarrassing as it could get.

After the warning.

Assistant Director: “Next, we will announce the task results. Everyone performed exceptionally well in this fruit-picking session. Through your hard-earned sweat and the bountiful harvest, we felt the busy labor and the joy of the farmers.”

Jiang Wan was getting impatient. This director was so long-winded, with so much preamble without getting to the point.

“As for the winner of this task, we must thank her with the most enthusiastic applause. Because she went above and beyond the mission. Let’s congratulate Momo—for winning the Village Head bonus vote for this task!”

Jiang Wan’s facial expression management suddenly failed. She stared with an open mouth at the smiling and bowing Momo, her face full of disbelief.

Is this rigged? How could the winner not be me!

The assistant director pointed at the peaches in front of Momo. “This is Momo’s fourth full basket. After reaching the mission requirement, she didn’t stop and chose to continue the harvest work.”

Jiang Wan was so angry she jumped, pointing at Momo. “She’s cheating! The mission said to pick one basket!”

Momo looked at her piteously. “The crew didn’t say we couldn’t pick more. I saw those aunties and uncles picking under the big sun and just thought I’d help as much as I could. Sister Wan-Wan, please don’t be mad at me.”

Jiang Wan: Fuck, she sounds even more ‘Green Tea’ than me. I’ve met my match!

Compared to the “tea-scented” atmosphere of the peach forest, the Red Team’s side was perfectly harmonious.

The “luxury feast” the crew promised was no joke. Backed by the sea, the town was rich in aquatic products. The fresh-caught fish, shrimp, and crab tasted several times better than the seafood feasts in five-star hotels.

Wang Wen slurped the tender meat from a crab leg while looking sympathetically at the staff eating instant noodles at the next table. “Are you guys really eating instant noodles? Just order another table’s worth, it’s fine.”

The viewership for Home of Peaches and Plums had always been stable, occasionally hitting viral status. It had become a staple summer show for many netizens. Thus, the investors for each episode were very generous; funding was not an issue at all.

Of course, the reason the crew loved making trouble was exactly that—they had money to burn.

Chi Yuan peeled a shrimp and waved a hand at Wang Wen. “Don’t pity the capitalists. They definitely didn’t think we would win. Those noodles were specifically prepared for us.”

True. If not for Chi Yuan’s Herculean strength and Jiang Ci’s “dribbling and running” on the edge of the rules, they would be the ones miserably eating noodles right now.

Gu Meng slurped some noodles, thinking that the official Home of Peaches and Plums Weibo should be releasing the pilot episode about now. He pulled out his phone to check.

But as he scrolled down, his expression became more and more serious. After a long while, he slowly looked toward Chi Yuan.

“Sister Chi… you and Teacher Jiang are on the Hot Search.”

Author’s Note:

Mini-Theater: A glimpse of daily life raising a kid after Chi and Jiang got married.

“Is Mommy Cool?”

Chi Yuan was holding one-year-old Qiuqiu, pointing at her own agile figure playing beach volleyball on the iPad screen.

“Qiuqiu, look, this is Mommy. Isn’t she cool?”

Qiuqiu blinked and watched for a while, then suddenly poked her drool-covered finger at the screen and said in a milky voice, “Mummy, Mummy.”

Chi Yuan: “…”

Jiang Ci, on the side, chuckled softly. She leaned down and kissed Qiuqiu’s forehead: “Mummy’s good baby~~”

Chi Yuan pounced over: “I want a kiss too!”

Author: Thank you for the support. There will be more mini-theaters to come!