That evening, it was time for the guests to write letters to their crush. Gu Zhi naturally wrote to Xu Muyan.
[You dressed beautifully today. I just realized you are beautiful every day.]
Gu Zhi thought this was too cheesy and changed the letter.
[The braised pork you made was really delicious.]
Xu Ranzhi couldn’t write to an omega, and she wouldn’t write to anyone else. So she decided to write to Ji Mo.
[Keep up the good work in the future!] Go after Gu Zhi!
Ji Mo happily wrote to Gu Zhi.
[You seem different from before. I can’t figure out how, but I’ve noticed you’ve become more charming.]
Gu Zhi nearly got stuck in the bathroom after reading that letter.
There was one more letter—from Xu Muyan to her. At that moment, Xu Muyan was by the window, reading the letter Gu Zhi wrote her. It was just a single sentence. Xu Muyan smiled faintly. Apart from cooking for her mother, Gu Zhi was the only other person she had cooked for. That braised pork was the first time she had made it. It didn’t taste very good, and no one else would eat it, but Gu Zhi did.
Gu Zhi’s hand trembled as she opened the envelope. There were only two graceful, elegant words.
[Thank you]
Gu Zhi’s heart skipped a beat. Why did she say thank you?
Spring Heartbeat had changed a lot from the previous two seasons. Not only did the guests have to interact with each other, but they also had to complete tasks to earn money for groceries. The second day was just introductions of age and occupation. The third day would be the task day.
The weekend was a perfect time for a task. The production crew woke everyone up at six in the morning. Gu Zhi groggily washed up. It’s only six. Anyone who didn’t know would think this was a survival show. She looked at her dark circles. She was so excited that Xu Muyan said she was comfortable sleeping with her that she couldn’t sleep last night.
“Each of you now has twenty yuan. You need to buy ingredients for today’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner with that twenty yuan,” the chief director announced. Gu Zhi looked at the twenty yuan in her hand. What can I even buy with this?
“Now, a man and a woman will pair up and choose a team.”
Ji Mo flipped his long hair and walked over, smiling seductively. “CEO Gu, I’ll go with you.”
Gu Zhi forced a smile. A man and a woman? Can’t it be an alpha and an omega, and just let the two betas have their moment?!
“Ranzhi,” Wo Aini reached out enthusiastically. “Want to go shopping with me?”
Xu Ranzhi glanced at Xu Muyan and hummed in agreement.
Their house was located in the suburbs, right next to a large village called Dachuan. Yes, the same place where Xu Muyan had filmed a variety show before. The production crew also forbade them from driving their own cars, so they could only use public transportation. It would be too expensive to take a car to the city to buy groceries. So, they decided to go to the market in the big village of Dachuan.
Xu Muyan and Wang Yang got on the village’s sightseeing vehicle.
“Wait a minute!” Seeing this, Gu Zhi ran over, pulling Ji Mo with her. She ran so fast that Ji Mo’s slippers nearly flew off.
After getting on the bus, Ji Mo looked at his worn-out slippers and huffed. “CEO Gu, you’re not very gentle with the ladies.”
Gu Zhi kept staring at Xu Muyan ahead. She casually said, “You’re too delicate.” She suddenly realized that this didn’t fit the persona she was trying to create. “It’s okay. I can buy you a new pair, no, how about ten pairs?”
Ji Mo was ecstatic. Rich people are just different. Xu Muyan, in the front, pricked up her ears. Gu Zhi had said something similar to her, too. She turned around to see her say it to someone else and felt a little uncomfortable.
Xu Muyan and Wang Yang maintained a distance from each other. Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Xu Muyan turned around to see it was Gu Zhi.
“What?” Her tone was slightly cold.
Gu Zhi was taken aback. She smiled playfully. “Sister, isn’t the scenery pretty?”
“It’s alright.”
Gu Zhi didn’t know why Xu Muyan was so distant. Maybe she was mindful of the cameras.
“CEO Gu, what should we buy?” Ji Mo asked excitedly. “Pork knuckle, poached chicken, tripe slices?”
Gu Zhi glared at him. “Do you think we can afford those?”
Ji Mo chuckled. “I was just kidding.”
Gu Zhi clenched her jaw. Is this guy really a host? He has no sense of the room!
They arrived at the entrance of Dachuan Village. There were a lot of tourists, so it was crowded.
“CEO Gu, why don’t you hold my hand? What if we get lost?” Ji Mo looked around and saw Gu Zhi walking with Xu Muyan and Wang Yang. Ji Mo cried out and ran over. “CEO Gu, why didn’t you wait for me?”
“Huh? Weren’t you following me?” Gu Zhi was confused.
Ji Mo: “…”
Xu Muyan walked a distance. Even though she was dressed modestly, the surrounding tourists seemed to recognize her. “Are you Xu Muyan?” As soon as she said that, most people turned around and surrounded Xu Muyan, asking for autographs. Signing autographs at a time like this would waste too much time. Xu Muyan didn’t rush and signed them one by one.
“As expected of the Film Queen, she’s different from other big stars. So down-to-earth.”
“I’m not down-to-earth. I’m just an ordinary person, like all of you,” Xu Muyan said with a smile.
Gu Zhi watched, realizing why Xu Muyan’s fans were so devoted and why her reputation was so good. As an actress, she was professional, skilled, and had integrity.
Wang Yang was very socially anxious and kept a distance. At that moment, a group of people surged forward again, completely surrounding Xu Muyan. This was too dangerous.
Gu Zhi pushed through the crowd and, with some difficulty, hugged Xu Muyan tightly. Xu Muyan was stunned and looked back at her. “Excuse me, everyone. We are currently filming a variety show and have a task to complete. Miss Xu can’t sign autographs for everyone right now. Thank you for understanding.” Gu Zhi embraced Xu Muyan, worried that someone with ill intentions might try to touch her.
It wasn’t until the production crew received Gu Zhi’s request and called in a few bodyguards that the crowd dispersed. Fortunately, it was only morning, and the crowd wasn’t as large as it usually was. Someone said, “Why does that person look so familiar?”
“Isn’t that Gu Zhi? The rumored sugar daddy of Xu Muyan.”
“Those two are always in the news, right? They said Gu Zhi was cunning and vicious, but she seems quite polite right now.”
Gu Zhi led Xu Muyan away from the crowded area and headed straight for the market.
“I wasn’t being publicly threatened. Why were you so nervous?” Xu Muyan’s tone was much warmer than it had been on the sightseeing bus.
“There were so many people. What if something happened?”
Xu Muyan chuckled and looked down. “Let go.”
Gu Zhi: “?”
“You’re holding too tight. It hurts,” Xu Muyan said, lifting their tightly clasped hands.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
They walked around for a bit but still hadn’t bought any vegetables. “What should we buy?” Vegetables in the countryside were half the price of those in the city, and even pork was only a little over ten yuan per catty.
“Do you know what that is?” Xu Muyan, in a playful mood, pointed to a vegetable and asked Gu Zhi. She had expected Gu Zhi, being from a wealthy family, to not even recognize common vegetables, let alone obscure ones.
But surprisingly, Gu Zhi answered without hesitation, “Chicken feather vegetable.”
Xu Muyan was surprised. She even knows chicken feather vegetable. “What about that one?”
“King oyster mushroom.”
“That one?”
“Garlic moss.”
“That one?”
“Shanghai bok choy.”
“Alright, CEO Gu. You know everything,” Xu Muyan said in astonishment. Even the cameraman was slightly open-mouthed.
Gu Zhi smiled. It’s time to clear my name. “Not only do I know them, but I also know…” Gu Zhi went on to talk proudly about which vegetables were best to eat in which season and which ones were better for stir-frying or soup. After she finished, she smugly brushed her hair back from her forehead.
Xu Muyan clapped for her enthusiastically, looking like a devoted wife. Gu Zhi blushed and bit her lip. How wonderful would it be to come to the market with her every day? Ideally, one of them would be carrying a grocery basket, one hand holding her wife’s hand, and the wife would be holding the hand of their daughter, who was less than three years old.
Xu Muyan started buying groceries. She was very frugal, buying a bag of bean sprouts, a bag of lettuce, a carrot, and six yuan worth of chicken breast. She still had eight yuan left.
Gu Zhi wanted to buy the same things, but she thought the netizens would talk if they bought the exact same ingredients. So, she bought some scallions, a bag of green vegetables, two bamboo shoots, and some chicken breast, leaving her with six yuan. She felt like having seafood.
She wandered over to the seafood section and saw a pile of crayfish. Curious, she reached into the water. As luck would have it, a crayfish pinched her. “Ahhh!”
Hearing the scream, Xu Muyan rushed over and saw Gu Zhi pull the crayfish off, her eyes red and her face flushed as she said to Xu Muyan, “Sister, it hurts so much.”
The accompanying staff had brought a bandage. Xu Muyan led Gu Zhi to the sink to clean the wound where the crayfish had pinched her. It was just a small scratch, but Gu Zhi was howling in pain. It reminded Xu Muyan of a joke she saw online: If you don’t go to the hospital, the wound will heal itself.
Xu Muyan used a clean paper towel to wipe the water off. The slight bleeding had stopped. Gu Zhi exhaled. “Sister, you don’t know how much that scared me.”
Xu Muyan said casually, “You scared me too.”
Gu Zhi looked down and smiled. “Were you worried about me?”
Xu Muyan carefully put a bandage on her. “Do you want to eat crayfish?” Xu Muyan didn’t answer her question.
Gu Zhi went along with it. “Yes, I do.”
“Those are river prawns. They’re cheaper than crayfish, but they’re still ten yuan a catty.”
“But I only have six yuan. I’ll get half a catty then.”
“Half a catty is only a few.” Xu Muyan handed her some money. “Here.”
“What about you? What will you eat?”
“Actually, for filming and dieting, I can go a day without eating, and even if I do eat for the show, I’ll only have a little, let alone meat.”
“Really? Then I’ll go buy them.”
“Go ahead,” Xu Muyan said calmly, her eyes filled with affection. Not only her eyes, but the fact that she gave her money without hesitation made Gu Zhi feel like she was being spoiled. It feels so good to be spoiled by Sister.
