Xing Wanshuang had long since expected Xing Yichen to arrive, so the moment she noticed the flashlight from a distance, her dejected expression disappeared completely and was replaced with anticipation.
At this moment, the program had already turned off the three individual livestream rooms and had switched over to a larger single live broadcast. The comments on screen exploded in excitement once again.
"I bet one pack of hot spicy strips that one of the guests is definitely CEO Xing! That's cuz I noticed that big sister Ruohuan had a lovestruck expression just now!"
"Right, right, right! CEO Xing must be coming since Shuang Shuang looks so excited as well!"
"Oh my god, if it's President Xing, then this episode's lineup is just too powerful!"
"Since one of them is CEO Xing, then the other must be a big name as well. Just recently, the program team said that neither of the male guests have ever participated in an entertainment reality show. So then, the other guest can't be Emperor Ye, right?"
"Maybe not? Why would Film Emperor Ye participate in a reality show? Although we're also excited to find out who the guests are, it's impossible for him to join…"
"cries I'm begging you, Film Emperor Ye!"
"If it's Emperor Ye, I'll immediately take a snapshot!"
"To the commenter above, we have a screenshot!"
...
At this time, the flashlight drew closer and closer until a person appeared.
However, the person who came out was the village chief. He had come to lead the way while carrying a lot of things with him. After placing the items down, he said, "I brought three pots for everyone and also some seasonings! Let's have a good time, since the two distinguished guests have arrived as well!"
After speaking, he stepped aside. Underneath the light, two men appeared into the view.
Xing Yichen was still dressed in his usual business attire with a white long-sleeve shirt, pants, and shiny, leather shoes. Despite his walk up the mountain, not a speck of dust can be seen on his footwear.
Upon entering the scene, he nodded towards Xing Wanshuang and Qiao Ruohuan, the depths of his eyes remaining reserved and indifferent.
Beside him, Ye Peicheng dressed more casually.
He wore jeans and a white T-shirt with a black logo, which gave him a youthful and fashionable appearance. However, there was a deep apathetic look in the depths of his eyes, as if the dark night itself was his show.
Two men carried their own striking auras. The moment they appeared, all of the guests present were stunned.
Qiao Moyu stared at Ye Peicheng with a similar expression of shock. It was truly unexpected for him to participate in a reality show! She recalled how in her previous life, when she avidly read the novel, the author clearly stated that Ye Peicheng never once participated in an entertainment program such as this!
As if sensing Qiao Moyu's stare, Ye Peicheng slowly turned and gazed straight back at her. He paused for a moment before turning away and taking a look at his surroundings.
After a brief moment of shock and confusion, the viewers of the livestream broke out in a frenzy. "Oh my god, it's really them! To the commenter above who prophesied this, I kowtow to you! "
"My hubby Film Emperor is actually participating in a reality show! I can't fall asleep tonight!"
"Haha, am I the only one wondering if CEO Xing will choose to help his sister or his wife?"
"Oh yeah, someone commented before saying she'll blow up if Emperor Ye appeared. Where'd she go?"
At this time, the teams by the river bank also burst in excitement. Zhou Yunchuan and Wang Kunming were only second-rate actors. Upon seeing Xing Yichen and Ye Peicheng appear at the same time, their eyes were filled with elation as they hurried over to greet them.
After the greetings were over, the host said, "Since the two male guests arrived a bit late from their flight today, the only task left for the teams to do is to help with cooking this evening. Please freely choose one of the three teams and join them for their meals!"
With that, the host continued to tease, "Everyone must have gathered plenty of ingredients for tonight, right? There are plenty of ingredients in the mountains. Along the way, we saw ferns, mushrooms, some fruits, and even fish in the river. We are looking forward to a feast!"
As the sound of the host's voice trailed off, there was a strange silence.
"Why is the atmosphere so bleak? Are we going to starve tonight?" The host smiled: "Alright, then to the male guests, please go ahead and choose your teams!"
All of a sudden, everyone's attention focused on Xing Yichen. They were all curious as to whether he treasured his sister more, or his girlfriend.
Thus, there was a momentary silence on the set.
In the midst of this silence, Ye Peicheng was first to speak: "I choose Qiao Moyu and Qian Qian."
After saying so, he slowly walked over and stood beside Qiao Moyu and her teammate.
Seeing that Ye Peicheng had made his choice, the host smiled and said to Xing Yichen, "Well, Director Xing's choice is now very important."
"Brother, you and Sister Ruohuan should work together!" Xing Wanshuang was first to speak up to help him. At the same time, she expressed her support for her brother and sister-in-law!
Xing Yicheng spoke: "Alright, I'll join Ruohuan's and Brother Wang's team!"
"Since everyone is in their assigned teams, let's start preparing dinner now!" After the host's announcements, the cameraman took out a light source he had prepared beforehand and used it to light up the area.
"Let's see, what ingredients have the three groups gathered for today?" The host went over to Qiao Ruohuan's side for a look. Noticing that there were only a few fruits left, he couldn't hold in his laughter as he said, "Director Xing, I'll have to trouble you today!"
Xing Yichen replied with a suave smile: "It's no big deal."
"Did group one get anything as well?" However, when the host saw the small palm-sized fish, he was left speechless.
He then walked up to Qiao Moyu and said: "It seems that I no longer have any hope for dinner tonight…"
Before he could finish his words, Qin Qianqian opened the bag that was tied to her back, immediately revealing six lively fish right before the camera.
"Heavens, where did this come from!" The host was shocked.
"All of these were caught by Qiao Moyu!" Qin Qianqian proudly boasted.
"So it seems that Moyu is our master fisherman! Peicheng, you've chosen a good team!" The host smiled and waved at the other two teams: "Sorry, but our program team's rule is that even if a team has plenty of food while another starves, no one can share their food with other teams. Alright, everyone, please begin your tasks!"
Right when he said 'start,' Qiao Moyu had already picked up a bag and walked towards the river.
However, before she could go forward two steps, the man beside her took the bag from her: "It's too heavy, I'll help you."
The two of them walked towards the edge of the water and began to prepare the fish. At this moment, the audience over at the livestream were quite lively.
"Hahaha, I just saw CEO Xing's expression when he saw how many fish were collected in his group. Check it out on Weibo!"
"Director Xing must be regretting his decision. If he had known about this earlier, he would've chosen the third group!"
"No, no, no. Director Xing will definitely choose the second group, even if it means he has to starve!"
"Wow, have you guys noticed just how compatible Film Emperor Ye and Brother Yu are? They both went to the riverside to handle the fish!"
"Aaaaahhh seriously! Why do they both have such tacit understanding of each other?"
"I think my Brother Yu finally looks like a girl when standing next to Ye Peicheng!"
...
Qiao Moyu was somewhat surprised that Ye Peicheng could deal with gutting a fish. Although he wasn't as proficient as her, it was still a difficult task for someone from a rich family, especially one who is a second young master and also a Film Emperor.
The two of them worked together and quickly cleaned up the six fishes.
The firewood was provided by the program team and the logistics department. Soon, Qiao Moyu's team had already set up a fire. She placed oil in a wok, and once it heated up, she immediately coated the fish in flour and started to fry it.
The firelight cast flickering shadows on her face. Beside her, Ye Peicheng held a plate. As soon as Qiao Moyu finished frying a fish, he would place the cooked dish on the plate and prepare another one for her.
Due to the limited amount of seasonings, Qiao Moyu only planned to cook three kinds of dishes; two fishes were used for frying, two were used in a stew, and the last two will be grilled over the fire. She found a branch and prepared to grill the fish.
On the other side, Qiao Ruohuan's group caught nothing, so the three members each had a green peach to snack on.
Meanwhile, Xing Wanshuang's group also lit a fire. A palm-sized fish and two green onions floated on their pot, nothing else.
Qiao Moyu had frequently cooked for her brother in her previous life. Both brother and sister loved to eat fish, so they were very skilled at preparing these into dishes.
She took the fishes that she marinated and fried all four sides until it turned yellow.
Afterwards, she sprinkled the stewed fish with some spring onions. The meat had already begun to whiten.
On the other side, Xing Yichen hadn't eaten since he wasn't used to airplane meals. Now that he smelled the scent of fish soup, his Adam's Apple couldn't help but roll in his throat.
He stared at the girl who was less than ten meters away from him, and felt absent-minded all of a sudden when he saw her focused gaze while cooking.
For some reason, a certain memory entered his mind from long ago.
At that time, Qiao Moyu was only sixteen years old and was the only daughter of the Qiao family. Even though her fingers have never touched dishwater, she invited him one time to her house and insisted on cooking sweet and sour pork ribs for him.
At that time, the pot was accidentally overturned and she was scalded by oil that splashed on her hand. He was about to leave, but she forcefully kept him there. Finally, she completed cooking a pot of Sweet 'n Sour Ribs.
He gave it a taste, but it was only mediocre. After two bites, he didn't want to eat it anymore.
Perhaps she failed to understand his refusal, because ever since then, she would always bring a lunch box to see him, saying that she had made it herself. She insisted that he taste it, and that it must be better than last time.
But there was one thing she didn't know; everytime, he would tell her to put down the lunch box beside him, but as soon as she leaves the room, he dumps it in the trash.
Xing Yichen didn't know why he recalled such a memory right now. He looked up and saw Qiao Moyu holding up a spoon as she handed it over to Ye Peicheng.
She smiled at him, her bright eyes reflecting the firelight: "Film Emperor Ye, would you like to check if it tastes okay?"
Ye Peicheng took the spoon and took a sip. His lips curved up into a faint smile, and his eyes were filled with gentleness: "Yes, it tastes good."
"Then we can start cooking with it!" after saying so, Qiao Moyu was about to raise the pot of fish when Ye Peicheng suddenly stood up and said: "That pot is too heavy. Let me do it."
He picked up the pot, took the large bowl that Qiao Moyu passed to him, then poured the fish soup into it.
"The grilled fish over there is almost done!" Qiao Moyu said before heading over to the grill.
She took a look and noticed that each of the fish had already browned on both sides. She then sprinkled some salt and cumin, which caused a fragrant aroma to waft into the air.
"Oh my god, that's making me so hungry!" Qin Qianqian's eyes lit up. Except for Xin Wanshuang, all of the guests shifted their gazes this direction, their eyes turning green with envy.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Qiao Moyu turned around and asked Qin Qianqian and Ye Peicheng: "Do you eat chilies?"
"Yes," the two of them answered simultaneously.
Qiao Moyu began to sprinkle her chili concoction all over the dish. At that moment, a breeze blew from behind her, causing her long hair to sweep towards the bonfire!
Startled, she was about to jump back when in that split second, a pair of long, slender hands with distinct joints reached over. Ye Peicheng's hands bundled up Qiao Moyu's long hair to prevent it from sweeping towards the fire.
At the same time, he turned to Qin Qianqian beside him and asked, "Do you have a hairband?"
"Oh, yes." Qin Qianqian quickly removed one that she wore herself.
Ye Peicheng took in and ran his fingers through Qiao Moyu's long hair, then tied it up into a ponytail.
On the opposite side, Xing Yichen's gaze narrowed. For some reason, there was a poem that came into his mind–
"A habit only stays a happy memory until you lose the means to do it again." ***
(**T/N: the actual poem was 赌书消得泼茶香,只道当时是寻常.
To explain the first part 赌书消得泼茶香, normally a husband and wife would boil tea after a meal, and to determine who drinks first, they agree to quiz each other on an excerpt…whoever can say which book and page it's from correctly wins and gets to drink the tea first….However, when someone wins, that person gets so happy that the person accidentally tips the tea over, splashing it all over themselves….
the second part, 只道当时是寻常, says that the event is still a happy memory. The poet sighs and laments that is was a common occurrence back in the day, and that he's sad, perhaps because those times are now long gone.) P.S. the poem was so deep that I had to use an English idiom to replace it.