As the sun climbed higher and higher, villagers began gathering around the edges of the farmland, watching the strange group of city guests with open curiosity. And at last, the remaining alphas finished their tilling.
Second place went to Qin Yuran, who was covered in dirt from head to toe from the dirt war. Close behind her came Zhao Yichen, equally filthy. The last to finish, as expected, was Gu Chengze. Although he worked quickly, the endless stones that had plagued his plot slowed him down considerably.
Between his shoulder blades a clear muddy print remained—evidence of the compact soil Su Wanyan had thrown earlier. He strode toward the staff area with barely contained anger.
The moment he drew close, Lin Xuanyu practically flew to his side, moving so fast it was almost comical. He immediately began fretting over Gu Chengze, hands moving restlessly as he tried to brush away the dirt.
"CEO Gu!" Lin Xuanyu cried, his voice full of genuine worry.
Seeing that anxious, soft expression, Gu Chengze’s hard features could not help but soften. His eyes lingered on Lin Xuanyu, and the corner of his mouth curled upward the slightest bit. But the instant Lin Xuanyu looked up at him, Gu Chengze pressed the smile down and returned to his usual indifferent mask.
"I’m okay," he said simply. Even so, a trace of unmistakable tenderness remained in his gaze—something Lin Xuanyu did not fail to notice.
"CEO Gu...." Lin Xuanyu breathed, eyes sparkling.
Gu Chengze held that gaze. Within seconds the two of them were wrapped in a soft pink atmosphere of their own making.
Su Wanyan, watching the entire exchange from a short distance away, visibly cringed. A small shudder ran through her, then grew into a full-body shake of pure disgust.
"Yuck," she murmured under her breath, referring to the sticky pair.
"What’s yuck?" Mo Xingxue asked beside her.
Su Wanyan turned, smiled, and waved a dismissive hand. "Nothing."
Mo Xingxue hummed in understanding and did not press further, but her eyes followed the direction Su Wanyan had been looking. The moment she saw Gu Chengze and Lin Xuanyu still lingering close to each other, she paused, then grimaced openly, making no effort to hide her own disgust.
"Yuck," she muttered, and deliberately turned her attention anywhere else.
Su Wanyan heard the soft complaint and chuckled. She shook her head and stepped behind Mo Xingxue, wrapping her arms around the omega’s waist from behind. She hummed quietly as she began swaying them both gently from side to side.
While one pair floated in their own pink bubble of mutual concern and the other pair shared a moment of matching disgust and quiet affection, the live viewers lost their minds in the usual way.
[ACKKK!! SU WANYAN AND MO XINGXUE ARE SO CUTE!]
[KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!]
[AND SU WANYAN INSIST THEY’RE JUST FRIENDS??]
[Friends? Is this the bff premium people were talking about? Where can I subscribe to this membership? I’m willing to take a subscription for one hundred years.]
[I can confirm that I too do this with my friend. And that friend and I have been married for fifteen years. But she’s just a friend. So, Su Wanyan, don’t be afraid and marry your BEST FRIEND. It’ll be the greatest thing you’ve ever done. Mark my words.]
[...I thought you was an enemy at first. Props to you, sistah/brotah.]
[I’m a sistah. And I’m just doing my job.]
[W for that. W.]
While the chat continued its chaotic campaign to convince Su Wanyan to marry her "best friend," the cold-faced man stepped in front of the pairs who had not yet chosen their houses.
He looked at them with complete indifference, then turned on his heel.
"Follow me," he said in his usual monotone, and began walking ahead without once checking whether anyone was keeping up.
The remaining guests blinked in mild confusion, then simply shrugged and followed. They had already exhausted every last drop of energy; thinking any further was beyond them.
Su Wanyan reluctantly released Mo Xingxue—much to the omega’s soft dissatisfaction—and could not help noticing, once again, how the man always turned on his heel and issued orders without looking back.
She narrowed her eyes, imagining him with longer hair, dressed entirely in black, wearing a dramatic black cape that would swish whenever he spun around.
Hmm, he has the potential to be a real-life version of a certain potion professor, she thought, amusement flickering in her eyes as she fell into step beside Mo Xingxue.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+
"Remind me, why do we have to follow them?" Su Wanyan asked as she walked slightly ahead, deliberately positioning her taller frame so that her shadow fell across Mo Xingxue and shielded her from the worst of the afternoon heat. In a way she succeeded—her figure easily towered over the omega, casting a long, cool patch of shade.
"I don’t know," Mo Xingxue replied, though her attention was clearly elsewhere. She was focused on the quiet, almost unconscious protectiveness Su Wanyan was showing. A small smile curved her lips as she glanced toward the camera, subtly showing off the gesture as if to say, y’all seeing this? A soft, triumphant smirk followed.
The viewers, of course, noticed every detail.
[DAMN! No need to show off, Mo Xingxue!]
[Jeez! Pipe down, Mo Xingxue. We get it, your alpha is a green flag, smh (ignore me, I’m just jealous... I WANT WHAT THEY HAVE!)]
[Sigh... Watching how Su Wanyan treats Mo Xingxue raised my standards fr. I’m on a date with my alpha right now, and let me tell you, he has an umbrella, right? A BIG ONE AT THAT! But you know what he did?]
[What he did, Queen/King?]
[Do spill, do spill.]
[HE ONLY USED IT TO COVER HIMSELF UP!]
[OOP—]
[Oh that’s... Daz a red sistah/brotah.]
[I KNOW! He so lucky I love him, because if I didn’t.. man I am leaving his ass. In contrast to him, Su Wanyan not only wants to protect Mo Xingxue from the sun, she’s even using her own body for it! I need to train my man fr.]
While that particular viewer ranted about long-held frustrations and the rest of the chat hyped the complaint, the group of guests finally arrived in front of the next house.
"Here," the man said, gesturing toward the building in front of them.
The house exterior showed its age immediately. The wooden walls had faded to a warm, muted brown, and several sections had been repainted over the years, leaving subtle differences in color between the older and newer boards. The tiled roof had darkened with time; a few tiles had been replaced here and there, yet the entire structure remained solid and carefully maintained.
A small covered porch stretched across the front, supported by weathered wooden posts. Two simple chairs sat beneath it, their surfaces polished smooth from years of use. Beside the front steps stood a few clay pots containing hardy plants—some growing slightly wild, but all clearly still cared for.
"Come," the man said, already pulling out another key as he walked closer to the aged house.
The guests followed, eyes wandering over every detail of the weathered but well-kept exterior as they examined what might become their home for the next two weeks.
While the other guests followed the man into the aged house, Su Wanyan and Mo Xingxue remained outside, content to linger in the open air.
Su Wanyan gazed at the surrounding landscape with quiet appreciation. "You rarely see this in the big city," she murmured, eyes tracing the dense trees, the stretches of greenery, and the birds that flew past singing soft, clear notes. She paused, taking in more of the scenery, then continued in a voice full of genuine awe, "The countryside is.. beautiful."
Beside her, Mo Xingxue smiled and nodded. "I agree."
Yet she was not looking at the scenery Su Wanyan had pointed out. Her gaze rested solely on Su Wanyan herself, eyes shining with a soft, steady tenderness.
Unaware of the attention, Su Wanyan chuckled. "It would be nice if we could all continue to live here after the show ends," she said, then sighed as her thoughts drifted toward the future.
She pictured the children and Mo Xingxue’s busy schedule. I have a one-year break, she reasoned. I can take care of the children while Xuexue works. But after my break ends.. who will look after them? She thought, a quiet anxiety began to bubble in her stomach.
Worse still was the thought of Shen Guoxing’s reaction if she and Mo Yan were ever separated for long periods. After all, the child already saw the baby as her true meimei. Su Wanyan sighed again and shook her head in quiet worry.
Then she suddenly gasped under her breath. Wait—my plans!
Alarm flickered through her. The schemes she had carefully set in motion—stealing Gu Chengze’s future business opportunities, diverting Lin Xuanyu’s projects toward Mo Xingxue, and quietly saving certain important figures who were originally meant to be rescued by the main couple—all of it still needed careful handling. Her shoulders slumped.
What to do.. what to do.. she thought, her stomach churning from anxiety.
Then Mo Fangyue’s face flashed across her mind. That’s right. I can rely on her. I’m already relying on her for so much. Why not just dump the rest on her too? Su Wanyan nodded to herself, the decision settling comfortably into place.
At that exact moment, far away in a modern office, the very person Su Wanyan was thinking about suddenly shuddered while typing.
Mo Fangyue froze, eyes wide with a flash of irrational fear. She looked around the room, scanning every corner. What.... What was that? She thought, a strong sense of unease settling over her. She checked her surroundings once more, still unable to shake the bad feeling.
Beside her, Chen Yaoyuan tilted her head slightly as she observed her boss’s sudden paranoia. Not wanting to risk offending her, the secretary only coughed lightly—just enough to remind Mo Fangyue that she was not alone.
Mo Fangyue snapped out of the strange mood and turned a cold gaze on Chen Yaoyuan. "Keep what you just saw to yourself," she ordered flatly, then returned to her work without another word.
Chen Yaoyuan bowed at a precise forty-five-degree angle. "Understood." She said, her voice remained perfectly composed, the result of long practice dealing with Mo Fangyue’s icy temperament.
When she straightened, she glanced out the window, only one quiet thought circulating in her mind.
I want to go home.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
I am late af, but at least I posted. ALSO! I HAVE A SUPRISE FOR Y’ALL LATER!