"Tomorrow's task can be summed up as preparing lunch with enthusiasm and diligence while finding clues about the next guest from various details you encounter."
Clues to the guest's identity, huh? Everyone nodded thoughtfully... Wait a minute.
"Prepare lunch ourselves?!" Li Yang shrieked.
The director nodded with a smile.
Li Yang was shocked: "But I can't cook!"
Beside him, Shu Ran smiled with a charming but troubled look, "I can't really cook either."
Guan Yu pondered the notification again and, rubbing her chin, said, "Preparing lunch isn't particularly hard as long as it's edible. The hard part is having enthusiasm and diligence. Mainly, I don't know how to cook; how can I pretend to be enthusiastic and diligent?"
"..." Mu Qiu looked at her wordlessly.
Li Yang and Shi Yuhuai were intrigued by her focus and looked at her bewilderedly: "Is that really the focus?"
Is the focus not on cooking but how to pretend to cook?
The comment section, usually filled with excited 'brother, brother, ha ha ha,' momentarily froze.
[…I actually think that makes sense]
[Oh no, my logic is starting to follow Guan Yu's way]
[Hey, it's Guan Yu, not Guan Yu! And my brain is still following Zhuge Liang!]
[So, I've been troubled for so long because I was thinking in the wrong direction?]
[Such novel ideas, such unique thinking, she's a great comedic material]
Guan Yu didn't think there was anything strange about her logic; she was innocently and honestly letting Li Yang and the others stare at her.
Cheng Zhirang maintained his perpetual slight smile, looked around, and finally said, "I can cook a bit, but I can't guarantee it will taste good."
"No, no, Brother Cheng, you can cook? That's impressive." Shu Ran immediately tilted her head, starry-eyed, at Cheng Zhirang.
From the side, those long, curled, dark lashes, that shiny eye makeup, and the multiple layers of lipstick made her look as exquisite as if filming a romantic drama.
But Cheng Zhirang seemed like a piece of wood.
At most, a slightly polished one.
His lashes lowered a bit; he didn't meet Shu Ran's eyes directly, nodding as though responding to distant relatives who came to greet him during the New Year, saying flatly, "It's okay."
"That's more than okay, Brother Cheng, you're too modest," Shu Ran continued with her awkward praises, "Always busy filming here and there, not even having time to practice cooking. Look at us, none of us can cook, only Brother Cheng can."
Cheng Zhirang didn't even offer a verbal response this time, only politely nodded to show he heard the words.
Shu Ran couldn't continue, her face stiffened a little.
Mu Qiu felt embarrassed for her, lightly coughed, and asked the director, "So, are the ingredients for cooking ready, or do we need to find them ourselves?"
"They are ready, but you still need to find them. During the process of finding the ingredients, someone will give you clues about the guest. Everyone must pay close attention."
This sounded like plots similar to other variety shows, and anyone who had watched a bit of these shows had no desire to explore further.
Briefly announcing the rules for tomorrow, they could have dinner now.
After dinner, they removed the cameras, and everyone spent the first evening peacefully.
With celebrities living both upstairs and downstairs, to avoid suspicion, Mu Qiu didn't leave the room once she entered and went downstairs in a not too early nor too late order in the morning.
After a simple breakfast, the director told everyone to bring their gear and leave the villa.
Mu Qiu prepared a hat, while outside, Shu Ran was thoughtfully helping Guan Yu and Li Yang with sunscreen, standing silently with the adorably tall and manly Shi Yuhuai and Cheng Zhirang, patiently waiting for them.
Staying in the villa didn't make it noticeable, but stepping outside, the hustle and bustle felt a bit strange.
Outside the villa's big iron gate, the forest road had turned into a lively market, with rough stalls set up along the roadside, and old men and women sitting on small stools behind them, shouting loudly.
"Cabbage! Radishes!"
"White radishes, red radishes! Tomatoes, on sale!"
"Leafy greens! Ten kinds of leafy greens, full of vitamins!"
"Beef is good for you! Buy beef!"
"Do chicken, duck, pork chops! Find this stall!"
Everyone was dumbstruck by the lively scene unfolding before them.
Guan Yu exclaimed, "This is immersive; it's quite lively."
"Are those the ingredients we'll use today? So many." Shu Ran wrinkled her delicate brows, a hint of disdain in her eyes.
Li Yang finally closed his astonished jaw, saying, "They should be. The old folks are all selling here, and there's nowhere else with ingredients."
"So, are we supposed to buy with money?" Shi Yuhuai, who had been somewhat grumpy and dazed since waking up, suddenly asked.
Though very tall and a famous model with a huge following of 'mom fans' due to his contrasting personality, his mix of imposing stature and adorable demeanor made him popular among female fans.
Mu Qiu's gaze inadvertently wandered to his long legs, then pretended nothing happened, and with a gentle tone directed at his handsome face, said, "I don't think so; the director already paid yesterday when we got here, and didn't give us any money."
Guan Yu's eyes lit up with a sudden idea: "So, do we need to exchange something? Surely, we can't just walk over and take them, right? Could it be..."
Everyone turned to look at her.
"... that we have to exchange one of us?"
Mu Qiu wore a thunderstruck expression.
Is human trafficking even allowed on the show?!
Even more shocking, someone actually believed it.
Li Yang yelped and jumped back, "I won't agree to be traded for labor!"
Shi Yuhuai also jolted, retreating back.
Mu Qiu opened her mouth, realizing just judging by appearances doesn't work.
She gently said, "I think the production team wouldn't arrange that… I guess?"
Suddenly uncertain, she recalled how the director's arrangements were different from her original script, thinking it best not to be too sure, or it could backfire on her.
Standing behind her, Cheng Zhirang laughed softly, a slight sound catching her attention. She suspiciously turned her head, only to see Cheng Zhirang's superior profile and attractive lips.
His lips weren't even curved.
Cheng Zhirang lowered his head, his eyes inquiring; she smiled cleverly, said nothing, and turned back.
Cheng Zhirang's gaze swept from her hair whorl, looking towards the camera operator ahead, ultimately resting on the bustling scene of sale pitches up front.
"Let's go and ask them first."
The group ventured into the lively "roadside market," looking around. Guan Yu crouched, picked up a radish, and tentatively asked the nearest elderly lady.
"Aunty, can I take this radish?"
Aunty, smiling sweetly, snatched the radish from her hand.
"Why do young people always want to take advantage of the elderly?"