The camera was recording from a distance, unable to capture the sound, only the distant figures of the two people.
Duan Fulin gritted his teeth, wanting to continue speaking, but Qiao Xi suddenly looked ahead. "Wait."
He frowned and turned his head.
A janitor was passing by.
"Someone's coming to collect the trash. You should hide; I don't want them to accidentally throw you in the bin," Qiao Xi's voice came from behind.
Duan Fulin almost exploded with anger!
He pulled out his trump card, "I thought we shared a wonderful time together, Qiao Xi. You've disappointed me! I never imagined we'd meet again under these circumstances!"
"Mmm, mmm, mmm," Qiao Xi nodded absentmindedly. She rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a piece of paper from somewhere. "Let's settle this relationship then. Alipay or WeChat? Bank transfer or credit card?"
She flung the paper at him.
On it were the words "IOU."
It was the only IOU left on the original owner, amounting to just one hundred thousand, written when Duan Fulin borrowed money the first time. The rest of the money taken didn't even have IOUs.
Duan Fulin panicked. He hadn't expected Qiao Xi to bring this out in public. He quickly snatched it away and stuffed it into his pocket!
Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, Qiao Xi pulled out dozens of similar IOUs.
"Hehe, the one just now was a replica, to prevent theft." She grinned, waving the IOUs in the air. "Kids, guess which one is the original?"
Duan Fulin: "..."
He was on the verge of insanity!
Taking a deep breath, he said, "I don't have money right now! Don't act rashly. Since I wrote the IOU, I'll definitely pay you!"
Qiao Xi: "I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it. Whoever listens is a nutcase."
"Qiao Xi! Are you crazy?"
"I'm crazy, I'm crazy. Little Lin's life will flash before his eyes tonight!"
Duan Fulin: "..."
He trembled all over, finally deciding to use his looks to seduce her.
"Xixi, I know you're still mad at me for ignoring you before. It wasn't intentional; I was filming in the mountains then..."
He stepped forward, forgetting about the cameras, and reached out to grab Qiao Xi.
The next second, he frowned.
So firm? When did Qiao Xi build muscle?
Looking up, he saw a pair of amused eyes watching him.
"Actor Yu?"
He quickly withdrew his hand. "Sorry, I didn't see..."
"Thud!"
The man suddenly collapsed to the ground, furrowing his eyebrows slightly and unemotionally uttering, "Ah."
Then he looked up, his eyes fixed on Duan Fulin.
Duan Fulin: ?
Qiao Xi's face darkened, "Did you push him?"
I've been holding back from hitting him, and you dare to push him?
Duan Fulin quickly waved his hands, "I didn't! I didn't even touch him!... No, Actor Yu, say something!"
Yu Si Nian got up from the ground, his whole body trembling, and looked down, "It's nothing. Mr. Duan might not have meant it."
"You see! Even Actor Yu said... Huh?"
Duan Fulin's eyes widened.
What?!
Qiao Xi sneered, slapping an IOU on Duan Fulin's head. "If I don't see the money by midnight, see you in court!"
She pulled Yu Si Nian away.
The cameraman just arrived and caught the final scene.
[Whoa?!]
[IOUs??? Are these IOUs real? So many?!]
[And Duan Fulin's name is on them!]
[Duan Fulin pushed Actor Yu! Duan Fulin pushed Actor Yu!]
[You seem to know Lun Yue]
[What's going on? I used to like Duan Fulin, but why push our Nian Nian?!]
[It was an accident! Who hasn't made a mistake?]
Qiao Xi pulled Yu Si Nian aside, lifting his clothes to check, but Yu Si Nian stopped her.
Their hands touched, and warmth instantly passed between them.
Yu Si Nian quickly withdrew his hand.
"I'm fine," he said.
Cheng Xi looked up at the sky.
Heaven! Is this the "battle" the young master mentioned?! This, this...
"You can't be fine after such a fall." Qiao Xi circled around him, seeing that he moved freely, and then looked at his face. "Forget it, let me see your face."
Yu Si Nian avoided her intense gaze.
He thought she was too obvious!
He whispered, "Be careful, don't..."
"The most valuable thing on you is your face. What if it gets hurt?" Qiao Xi muttered.
Yu Si Nian: ?
The little bit of gratitude he felt earlier evaporated.
He gritted his teeth, about to leave.
Just as he stood up, Qiao Xi pushed him back into the chair.
The next second, her long hair brushed against his face as she leaned in, cupping his chin.
"Are your eyes okay?" Qiao Xi asked. "I saw them twitching earlier."
Yu Si Nian was furious; he had been winking at her!
But as he looked up, he found himself speechless.
Under the blazing sun, her pale skin stood out. Being so close, he could see her long, curled eyelashes fluttering.
[What are you two doing! What are you two doing!!!]
[I'm full of questions? What kind of scene did I just stumble upon?!]
[No, no, no, it can't be true!!!!!!]
[They even touched hands! Ah, I'm dying, I'm dying, I'm dying!]
[I'm losing it!!!!!!]
[Qiao Xi, let go of him! Let go of my precious baby!]
[Oh, oh, oh, Yu Si Nian's ears are red! Photographer, zoom in for this VIP member!]
[We're doomed. Our Nian Nian's OCD must be acting up! He doesn't let anyone get this close!]
"Answer me." Qiao Xi's fingers tightened a bit.
Yu Si Nian's eyes flickered.
The fragrance of her hair was the same as his, the one Aunt Zhao had bought on sale at the supermarket, but for some reason, it smelled especially good.
"It's... not painful." Yu Si Nian's voice lowered.
"What about your nose? Did you hit it?"
"No."
Qiao Xi stood in front of Yu Si Nian, blocking the audience's view.
The audience exploded.
[Damn!!!!!!! My scalp is tingling!!!!!!]
[Nian Nian's nasal voice... ah, it's so sexy!]
[I want to ship this, someone stop me!]
[Oh my god! Oh my god!]
[The key is Yu Si Nian didn't push her away! Before, you could explain it as Yu Si Nian being afraid of Qiao Xi, but how do you explain it now?!]
[Yu Si Nian, calm down! You absolutely cannot be with a crazy person!]
[I disagree!]
[Disagree +! Anyone else is fine! Just not Qiao Xi! I'd rather it be Cheng Xi! (Single word salute)]
Qiao Xi let go, and Yu Si Nian came back to his senses.
No way! This woman must have used some trick, added some strange ingredient to the shower gel to seduce him! He can't fall into this trap!
He stood up immediately.
Just as the director's team called for everyone to gather, Yu Si Nian walked over and bumped into Duan Fulin, who was also heading to the gathering.
Their eyes met, and Duan Fulin's face darkened.
He was about to speak to the camera to explain.
Yu Si Nian put a long finger to his lips, "Shh, no need to apologize, I forgive you."
Duan Fulin: "..."
The director called out, "The competition is starting, gather up!"
Duan Fulin's face looked grim, but he had no choice but to return to his team.
The area was already surrounded by villagers, at least ten of them.
The director explained the rules, "Each team will perform a show. You can sing, dance, or do a skit, anything you like! Afterward, the villagers will score your performance, and the team with the highest score will have the smallest plot of land to work on tomorrow! The rest will be ranked accordingly!"
Upon hearing this, everyone got excited.
After all, the show's main attraction was farming!
Not only did they have to produce crops, but they also had to sell them themselves! The money from selling these crops would be used for building in impoverished areas! It was both charity work and good for their reputation.
Each team began discussing what they would perform.
"What should we perform?" Fan Zhiying asked Qiao Xi. "Singing or dancing?"