The Male Lead's Sister Reborn (GL) - Chapter 30

The group consisting of Wan Yue and Fang Yingxu only managed to finish harvesting with the help of Jiang Qian’s team because Fang Yingxu’s efficiency was simply too slow.

Everyone worked together to help the farmers carry the harvested cabbages onto the truck, which finally marked the end of the first task.

The director group announced: “That task was simple, right? It was just a warm-up. Next, we have even more fun tasks!”

After a simple lunch, Shen Xiruo’s group received a very delicious large portion of local specialties—four dishes and one soup. Jiang Qian’s group got something slightly inferior, while Wan Yue and Fang Yingxu only had large steamed buns to gnaw on.

Although the director said they couldn’t eat other people’s food, it was impossible for everyone to actually keep it all to themselves. Taking advantage of the gaps when the cameras weren’t filming, they passed dishes back and forth.

As the camera panned back, it caught a heartwarming scene of Shen Xiruo feeding beef to Jiang Qian. Before Shen Xiruo could retract her chopsticks, Jiang Qian’s mouth was stuffed full, and both looked toward the lens.

The production team turned this moment into a “freeze-frame” effect, complete with a “whoosh” sound effect and a cartoon crow flying overhead to symbolize their awkwardness.

The observation group let out “auntie smiles”: “Hehe, this food is so sweet—wait, no, this ‘sugar’ is so fragrant!”

After a short break, they arrived at the second task location. Everyone was speechless and collectively wanted to have a serious chat with the director team about their life choices.

The second task was actually for them to raise bamboo rats! Bamboo rats had been popular small animals recently with a strong “internet celebrity” effect. These rats belonged to a large farm, and the guests were responsible for their food, water, and waste. Points would be awarded based on the final completion level of the task.

However, although bamboo rats look cute, the stench of the animals on the farm, combined with rotting food and manure, existed in places the cameras couldn’t reach, making the guests gag. It was terrifying, as if the place hadn’t been cleaned in days.

They were still split into two teams: one team to clean the bamboo rat farm environment, and the other to go up the mountain to cut elephant grass and bamboo for feeding.

This time, Shen Xiruo insisted on being in a group with Jiang Qian. The production team, feeling mischievous, put them in a group with Fang Yingxu. Anyone could see there were strange dynamics between Fang Yingxu and Shen Xiruo, and between Shen Xiruo and Jiang Qian; this was definitely intended to catalyze drama for the show.

Because their group had more women, they were assigned the task of cleaning the environment. Honestly, this job was terrible; it didn’t easily create variety show “moments,” so screen time might be limited.

Jiang Qian put on gloves and used a specialized tool to scoop out waste from under the bamboo rat compartments. She spoke to Shen Xiruo through her mask: “Xiruo, are you tired? Why don’t you put that down? I’ll do it later.”

Shen Xiruo was just holding a broom, sweeping the outer courtyard and the wider corridors—a much easier task than Jiang Qian’s. When they were splitting the work earlier, Jiang Qian had been the first to grab the pitchfork used for manure, heading straight for the hardest part. Fang Yingxu had quickly grabbed the second-easiest job of cleaning the backyard, leaving Shen Xiruo with the lightest workload.

But Jiang Qian still felt that someone like Shen Xiruo should be pampered. Occasional cooking was a lifestyle hobby, but swinging a broom on a show was too hard to accept. She felt a bit protective—why did a great person like President Shen have to come to this show and suffer through bamboo rats with her?

As she was thinking, Shen Xiruo said: “It’s fine, I’m not tired at all. I’ll help you as soon as I finish sweeping.”

Jiang Qian noticed a bamboo rat sitting on some trash and refusing to move. When she reached out to move it, the rat ferociously opened its mouth as if to bite. Startled, Jiang Qian yanked her hand back and nearly fell over along with her tools, screaming: “Ahhh, it’s biting me!”

Shen Xiruo suddenly appeared behind her: “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Qian was startled again, but seeing it was Shen Xiruo, she subconsciously threw herself into her arms: “I almost got bitten just now! If I get bitten, will I die? I heard rodents carry many diseases!”

Shen Xiruo gently patted her back without speaking, but her expression was extremely tender. The cameras following them captured this from various angles.

The observation group broke into “rainbow farts” (extravagant praise): “Ah! Female friendship is so wonderful!” “They are so sweet and adorable… being together is just too beautiful.” “I could watch a hundred episodes of their daily lives!”

While Shen Xiruo was holding Jiang Qian to comfort her, a loud shout came from behind: “Oh! I almost got bitten too!”

Jiang Qian: “…” Why is this guy stealing my plot points?

She stood up and looked toward the backyard. She saw Fang Yingxu standing at the junction of the backyard and the farm, shouting and jumping around while holding up a finger: “Ahhh, it almost bit me, I’m so scared, ying ying ying!”

However, Shen Xiruo didn’t move toward him at all; only Jiang Qian went over. Fang Yingxu saw it was only her, and his shouting stopped abruptly. He gave Jiang Qian a perfunctory smile and said: “I’m fine now, let’s keep working.”

Jiang Qian didn’t go back immediately. She stayed and watched him sweep for a while before smiling: “Brother Fang, you’d better work quietly. Xiruo doesn’t like noisy men.”

Fang Yingxu looked up and met Jiang Qian’s gaze; he inexplicably felt a chill down his spine. Since the cameras were there, he could only giggle foolishly to maintain his “silly-sweet” persona: “Hehe, I got it, little princess.”

Jiang Qian went back to cleaning. The CP fan in the observation group noted: “Did anyone notice Fang Yingxu’s nicknames? Great Queen X Little Princess, I’m shipping it again!”

After a while, Jiang Qian piled all the manure and grass scraps into a large mound, then prepared to shovel it into a cart to take to the manure disposal field. Fang Yingxu was still dawdling; he was either clumsy or slow at work and couldn’t be relied upon. Shen Xiruo came over to help, but she had never done this kind of work before. After a few shovelfuls, she was a bit unsteady, and the waste spilled on the ground.

Jiang Qian simply pushed Shen Xiruo aside: “Go rest over there!” Then, she heroically raised the shovel that was taller than herself, stepped into a firm lunge, stood steadily, and began shoveling with her upper body in rhythmic strokes.

Shovelful after shovelful, fast and steady. Shen Xiruo, watching from the side, widened her eyes. The camera gave Shen Xiruo a close-up; her eyes were round, her lips slightly parted, and her surprise was quite cute—she looked almost nothing like her usual self.

When Jiang Qian finished shoveling the whole pile into the cart in one go, Shen Xiruo bounced up from her small stool, clapped for Jiang Qian, and shouted from the bottom of her heart: “Good! So impressive!”

Jiang Qian wiped the sweat from her forehead, laughed loudly, and said to Shen Xiruo: “Thanks for the compliment, hahah! Am I handsome?”

Shen Xiruo nodded seriously: “Handsome!”

Jiang Qian: “Then, little lady, are you willing to go back with this handsome hero and be my ‘bandit queen’?”

The moment the words left her mouth, she thought, Oh no. Why did she say that on the show? It was too flamboyant, and it might make people misunderstand the relationship between President Shen and her. Unfortunately, the words were out, and the cameras had recorded them faithfully. Such a high-impact moment would never be edited out.

Jiang Qian stuck out her tongue and made a cute face, about to say “just kidding” to make up for it.

Shen Xiruo suddenly said: “I am willing.”

Jiang Qian froze on the spot. Shen Xiruo’s eyes looked very gentle, and her expression was serious, her lips firm, making people feel she truly meant it.

The observation group: “!!!” “I’m dead.” “It’s official, they’re married, enter the bridal chamber immediately!”

The atmosphere turned stagnant for a moment. Although this was truly not a romantic setting—surrounded by the stench of bamboo rats and a cart full of filth, with bodies sticky with sweat—Jiang Qian still felt something surging deep in her heart, spreading through her body like an electric current, bringing a spiritual tremor.

This person is so lovely. How can she be so cute?

Fortunately, Fang Yingxu’s voice came just then, breaking the tension: “Oh, what are you guys doing? Why have you both stopped moving?” He walked over, looked at Shen Xiruo then at Jiang Qian, and waved his hand in confusion: “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Jiang Qian snapped out of her daze and immediately ran to the cart. Perhaps fueled by the surging impulse in her heart, she grabbed the handles, applied force, and the huge, terrifying-looking cart full of trash was actually pushed into motion!

Once it started moving, it couldn’t stop. Jiang Qian was pulled along by the cart, involuntarily pushing the massive vehicle onto the main road outside. Some local old men were watching on the road. Seeing Jiang Qian’s fast pace and vigorous movements, they gave her thumbs-up: “Ho ho, this young girl has a lot of strength! She’s stronger than a grown man!”

The camera focused on the honest smiles of the old men. On the screen, a few words were specifically superimposed over Jiang Qian’s retreating figure: Stronger than a grown man…

This scene immediately made the observation group burst out laughing: “Hahaha, it seems little Qianqian really is very strong if she can push such a big cart.” “I guess she won’t be able to shake off this ‘strong’ label in the future!” “What’s wrong with being strong? Our Xiruo just likes the strong type, humph!”

Finally, Jiang Qian left the cart at the trash heap. After dumping the trash, she was near collapse and almost wanted to lean against the filthy cart for a nap. But looking at the years of grime stuck to the cart, she struggled to stand up, walked a few steps, and sat down slowly against a small tree by the road.

Just then, several people walked out of the nearby woods—Wan Yue, Cheng Yue, and Jiang Zixi—carrying bundles of grass longer than themselves or dragging bamboo. Wan Yue saw Jiang Qian and waved to her. Cheng Yue shouted from a distance: “Are you guys finished?”

Jiang Qian stood up and brushed the dirt off herself, suddenly hearing a creaking sound behind her. She turned around to see that the small tree she had been leaning on had a large crack in its trunk; it was hollow inside, likely eaten away by insects long ago. Now, it was falling… falling… falling!

Jiang Zixi said in bewilderment: “She knocked the tree over just by leaning on it? Is she that heavy? I can’t tell; a girl’s weight truly is a mystery.”

Jiang Qian: “…” It’s not me, I didn’t do it! I didn’t know the tree was hollow! Why is this tree trying to frame me!