Showbiz Scandal: The Official Announcement of My Ex and Myself

The challenge was quite perilous. As Yu Xia and Xie Qingci walked back to the little building, she asked him:

"If our answers to that last question were different, would we have had to sleep in the big dormitory? What then?"

Xie Qingci glanced at the camera, then bent down to whisper in her ear, "I’d sneak you out at night to find that lounge chair. We could pull through for three days that way."

"...You really have a plan."

He even knew to avoid the camera while whispering. Was he afraid the crew would hide the lounge chair in advance?

Once they got back, there were loud noises coming from next door. Judging by the sounds, it seemed Zhou Yu was packing up, followed by Liu Yicheng’s solo voice.

Unlike before, this time, Zhou Yu was the silent one.

Soon, the gate of the next courtyard creaked open, and Zhou Yu walked out with her luggage, looking carefree, while Liu Yicheng followed a few steps behind, trying to win her back.

Unfortunately, Wang Xuchun probably didn’t have the courage to face these ex-couples head-on, so he didn’t come to help Zhou Yu with her luggage, which took away half the drama from the scene.

Just as Yu Xia was watching intently, Xie Qingci came up behind her.

"What’s so interesting about other people’s affairs? How about we go for a stroll together?"

Yu Xia turned her head to size him up: "What’s so interesting about their territory?"

"...The scenery outside is beautiful, aren’t you fond of it? I can take photos for you."

Having someone willing to be her personal photographer was rare, so she thought it over and agreed.

Considering that a dramatic "she runs, he chases, and they all find it inescapable" drama was playing out, they deliberately went in the opposite direction, away from the filming crew’s accommodation.

Few cars passed by on the road, and there were hardly any people walking, as the locals were busy in the fields along the road.

Behind the fields swaying with golden rapeseed, there were several plots of vegetable gardens. Someone was weeding, wearing a straw hat. Alongside was a vineyard supported by long bamboos, where green, fuzzy grapes were gingerly twined around bamboo poles, learning to climb.

When they wandered further, there was a pretty large reservoir, with a strip of paddies below it. When filled from the reservoir, it could turn dry land into shallow seashores.

A family of three was tending to green seedlings in one paddy, while runoff from the reservoir swept down two fish and some other things, apparent in the clear water jet.

Yu Xia immediately grabbed Xie Qingci’s arm, excitedly pointing below.

"There are fish! And shrimp! I see them!"

Xie Qingci: "Want to eat them?"

"Kind of, can you cook?"

Leading her towards the paddies, confident in his actions, he said, "I haven’t cooked crawfish before, but I can look up a recipe online."

Yu Xia held him back.

"One or two shrimp wouldn’t be enough for your culinary prowess. The fish are small, and we haven’t finished our chicken from lunch yet."

"No worries, I’ll ask them first." He had already reached the lower slope and effortlessly picked her up from the height.

Standing by the paddy, Yu Xia remained at the sluice gate while Xie Qingci went across to chat with the family and then returned.

"They said there are a few kids fishing for crawfish by the reservoir, likely many. We should check it out."

From the reservoir to the paddies, they spoke with directional terms like above and below, rather than compass points.

Yu Xia glanced up towards the reservoir.

Amid the lush vine plants, there appeared to be a small white bucket.

Xie Qingci inquired, "Want to have a look? Didn’t you miss out on the shrimp yesterday? Now you can feast all at once."

Yu Xia stared at him intently for two seconds, then beckoned him with her hand.

"So considerate, come here, you deserve a reward."

Xie Qingci raised an eyebrow, lowered his head, and felt a soft touch on his lips.

The "mua" sound resonated, loud enough for even the staff to hear clearly.

Xie Qingci straightened up, touching his lips as if savoring it.

Before he could utter something cheeky, Yu Xia pulled him upwards.

"The reward’s been given, and if we can’t get the crawfish, be prepared for compensation."

Lazy and trailing behind, he seemed quite intrigued by the concept of compensation.

"How so? Ten times compensation? I wouldn’t mind accepting that."

"Dream on."

Walking back a bit along the road, then down the slope, they actually found two boys, about fourteen or fifteen, fishing for crawfish.

They weren’t using professional fishing rods, just a stick and a line, with some unknown bait on the hook that the crawfish adored. The bucket beside them was already more than half-full.

Xie Qingci approached to discuss a trade, while Yu Xia stood nearby, watching one of the boys fish.

She didn’t quite see how it happened, but the boy gave a pull on the line and a green-shelled shrimp came up. With a pinch between thumb and forefinger, the shrimp "landed" in the bucket.

It all seemed simple.

The boy, feeling slightly embarrassed, grew a bit awkward as he cast the line again.

The other boy was more outgoing, even adding a special service after negotiating with Xie Qingci.

"Pretty sister, want to try fishing yourself? The ones you catch taste even better!"

Yu Xia was tempted.

Watching the boy fish looked effortless, giving her the illusion of "I could do this too" and "maybe I can become a shrimp fishing genius."

So, she paid a little extra and sat down with Xie Qingci to personally experience the shrimp fishing game.

The shy boy prepared the frog meat for bait, while she merely held the stick to cast the line, then sat quietly and waited.

Two small stools were set on the uneven ridge, not too comfortable to sit on. Yet her heart burned, full of "I’ll catch a giant shrimp any moment now," and she sat straight and unmoving. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

After a while of nothing happening on the line, Xie Qingci, taking this as playtime, found it boring and tried to chat.

"How would you like your shrimp cooked? Do you want some vegetables..."

"Shh!"

Yu Xia gestured for him to zip it, diverting a bit of attention from the water, and whispered, "You scared away my shrimp."

Xie Qingci: "..."

Alright, the bucket of shrimp he had bought her wasn’t as important as this elusive one.

Patiently waiting a bit more, Yu Xia finally felt a slight tug on the line.

It was a subtle sensation, indescribable, although she outwardly seemed calm, she just knew she must have hooked a big, plump, and beautiful shrimp!

Grasping the stick tighter, she simultaneously pulled up with force.

The imagined strenuous pull didn’t come; the hooked creature gracefully drew a curve through the air, landing outside the expected area —

A small green-shelled shrimp landed onto Xie Qingci’s lap.

Even a small shrimp has two big pincers, and getting pinched is quite painful.

Thus, Xie Qingci instinctively jerked back, his stool wasn’t steady, and he fell right onto the ridge, with the shrimp still waving its claws on his clothes.