Chapter 44 Fighting
Watching the two kissing in front of him, Gu Qingke's knuckles turned white, his eyes were bloodshot, and his throat felt like it was being choked, unable to utter a single word.
Those few seconds seemed to stretch on endlessly. Even after their lips parted, Su Tangtang's mind was still buzzing, and her cheeks were burning. She suppressed her pounding heart and met his gaze with feigned calmness. "Now you believe me, right?"
A terrifying red churned in Gu Qingke's eyes, and he practically spat out the words through clenched teeth, "Su Tangtang, how dare you let him touch you?"
The lines were so familiar they startled her; they sounded like lines from his domineering CEO drama. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "You should take fewer domineering CEO roles. I think you're seriously addicted to them."
His face contorted for a moment, but in the end he only uttered one word harshly, "Fine."
Before he could finish speaking, he had already turned around and slammed the door shut as he left.
He slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
Su Tangtang stood there, stunned.
She had expected a more intense confrontation with Gu Qingke, but to her surprise, he only managed to utter one word before storming off in anger.
As Gu Qingke left, the air suddenly became quiet, and the atmosphere became subtle.
The image of their kiss flashed through Su Tangtang's mind again, and a tingling sensation instantly spread along her spine, while a variety of indescribable emotions churned in her chest.
She looked up in a panic, only to be caught off guard and fall into his unfathomable gaze.
“Let’s go to sleep,” she said helplessly.
"Did you hate it when I kissed you just now?" he asked at the same time.
The two men were startled the instant their voices overlapped.
Su Tangtang hurriedly lowered her eyes and gently shook her head, "No."
That kiss was originally a performance for Gu Qingke's benefit, but now it has become the burning truth standing between the two of them.
She could feel her heart pounding erratically. She both longed for his next words and feared that he might actually reveal something. This conflicting expectation weighed heavily on her mind, making her even careful with her breathing.
Seeing that she didn't dare to look him in the eye, Huo Yizhou swallowed back the words he was about to say. He was worried that if he spoke, it would make their current relationship uncomfortable and awkward.
But if she didn't speak up, how could she know the turbulent feelings in his heart?
Huo Yizhou's silence made Su Tangtang's heart tighten, and she hurriedly said, "Get some rest."
Before the words were even finished, the person had already run into the main room and practically fled to bed.
The summer night was sweltering, and the short run she had just made her feel even more unbearably hot, as if her breath was burning hot.
Watching her disappearing figure, Huo Yizhou sighed softly in the night and finally followed her inside.
-
When Su Tangtang woke up, Huo Yizhou had already finished his morning run and brought breakfast back to the house.
She quickly washed up. Since participating in the show, Su Tangtang rarely wore makeup and went out without any makeup every day. Fortunately, she had good skin, which was fair and clear, and looked even cleaner and more natural without makeup.
“I bought fried dough sticks and soy milk,” she said, rummaging through the breakfast in the bag.
Huo Yizhou nodded slightly.
Su Tangtang picked up a fried dough stick and ate it in small bites.
Neither of them tacitly mentioned the kiss from the previous night.
After breakfast, they went to the peach orchard to pick peaches, but all the peaches they had picked the day before had already been sold.
Upon arriving at the peach grove, they discovered that Gu Qingke and Shen Yingying were already busy under the trees.
When Gu Qingke looked up and saw them walking side by side, her eyes instantly turned so dark they looked like they were about to spit fire.
He stared at Huo Yizhou, sneering inwardly: A pretty boy like him, does he dare to be so smug in front of me? If I don't teach him a lesson, he'll really think he can be with Su Tangtang?
That's utterly delusional.
Huo Yizhou met his gaze without flinching.
The fire in Gu Qingke's chest burned even brighter. He loathed this man who was arrogant and disdainful of everyone else just because Su Tangtang had a moment of favor towards him.
He suppressed his anger, picked up the yogurt he had prepared earlier, walked up to Su Tangtang, and deliberately softened his tone, "Have you had breakfast?"
Su Tangtang didn't even lift her eyelids, completely ignoring her.
Gu Qingke was not discouraged and handed the yogurt forward, saying, "I bought it especially for you."
Su Tangtang still didn't reach out. She thought he would give up after last night, but he acted as if nothing had happened.
Gu Qingke chuckled softly, but her eyes held no warmth. "Don't want it?"
Su Tangtang didn't bother to reply, and turned to Huo Yizhou and whispered, "Let's go pick some up ahead."
Huo Yizhou nodded slightly.
The two walked side by side into the depths of the peach grove, leaving Gu Qingke standing there.
Staring at the two receding figures, Gu Qingke's eyes were so sinister they could drip water.
Shen Yingying, who was standing to the side, took in all of this and sneered inwardly: She really brought it on herself.
After they had gone far away, Gu Qingke suddenly threw the yogurt in her hand into the grass, turned around and grabbed a peach branch hard.
The cameramen exchanged silent glances, none of them uttering a sound, simply holding their cameras steady as they continued recording.
It's so frustrating to have to swallow this huge piece of gossip all by myself and not be able to share it with anyone.
In the afternoon, Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou drove to the county town to sell peaches. They thought they would encounter urban management control, but the road was clear and there were many other vendors selling fruit in their cars on the street, just like them.
They found a good spot, and half a truckload of peaches sold out in one afternoon.
On the way back, Su Tangtang said with some regret, "I should have picked more."
Huo Yizhou looked at the road ahead and said calmly, "There's no such thing as knowing beforehand."
Su Tangtang sighed softly, "That's true, but a lot of people didn't manage to buy any today."
“We’ll come again tomorrow,” Huo Yizhou said.
Su Tangtang nodded.
The days seemed ordinary, but they flew by, and a week passed in the blink of an eye.
On Sunday, instead of selling peaches, they went live to sell the remaining vegetables from their field and the tomatoes from Uncle Shuanzhu's house. The sales were unexpectedly good, even more so than before.
Grandpa Shuanzhu's tomatoes are almost sold out, with only some that are not fully ripe left. He keeps them for his own consumption or takes them to town to sell in smaller quantities.
The group worked in the fields until late at night before returning home.
"The cucumber seedlings are almost withered," Su Tangtang said, gazing at the fields under the moonlight. "I wonder what the director wants us to plant next?"
Huo Yizhou walked beside her, saying, "You'll find out when the time comes."
“Hmm,” Su Tangtang remembered something else, “I was chatting with Sister Yan today, and she said they’ve almost made back their costs. At first, they were worried that they wouldn’t be able to sell them, but they didn’t expect to break even in just one week.”
Huo Yizhou's lips curled up slightly, "Didn't we make it back too?"
“Yes,” Su Tangtang said in a light tone, “If we’re talking about net profit, we make more than Sister Yan and the others.”
"Don't worry," Huo Yizhou said calmly, "the director won't let them suffer any losses, and there should be compensation later."
Su Tangtang nodded, "Although Han Yang is stingy, he is fairly fair in his dealings."
Huo Yizhou chuckled softly upon hearing this.
As they reached the door of their residence, he turned to look at her and said, "Get some rest, it's already one o'clock."
Su Tangtang met his gaze and responded softly.
-
The next morning, the director sent a message to gather everyone.
When Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou arrived, they saw Meng Meng and Ke Tangshu, who had gone on a week-long trip.
Zhou Yan said in a low voice, "It seems they're back from their trip."
Su Tangtang smiled and said, "Yes."
Seeing that everyone had arrived, the director said, "From today onwards, Meng Meng and Ke Tangshu officially join your team."
The scene fell silent. Apart from Shen Yingying, who looked delighted, no one else reacted.
The director cleared his throat and continued, "Meng Meng, Ke Tangshu, you two need to separate for the time being."
Meng Meng readily agreed, "No problem."
"You choose, which team do you want to join?"
Meng Meng didn't hesitate at all, "I'll go to Yingying's team."
The director nodded, "Okay, then Ke Tangshu will go to Qu Xian's team."
Ke Tangshu simply nodded. After a week of travel, his dissatisfaction with Meng Meng had increased, and he was already thinking of not going with her.
After the teams were divided into groups, the director announced, "Let's all have dinner together tonight."
After everyone agreed, they went their separate ways to do their tasks.
Meng Meng affectionately took Shen Yingying's arm, but glanced at Su Tangtang, "I'll ride back in your car."
Shen Yingying nodded, "Okay."
Su Tangtang was taken aback when she heard this. She had thought that Meng Meng would be in the same car as Shen Yingying.
Meng Meng raised an eyebrow at her, "You don't want to?"
Su Tangtang was speechless. "When did I say I didn't want to?"
Meng Meng snorted and raised her chin. "It's your honor to be with me."
Su Tangtang rolled her eyes at her, too lazy to reply.
Before getting into the car, Meng Meng patted Shen Yingying's hand and whispered confidently, "Don't worry, I won't let you suffer these injustices for nothing. I will definitely get revenge for you."
Shen Yingying nodded gently.
Seeing that Meng Meng was taking so long to come over, Su Tangtang called out urging, "Meng Meng, are you coming or not?"
Meng Meng turned her head and glared at her, "What's the rush!"
Then she turned to Shen Yingying and said softly, "Then I'll go first."
Only after receiving a response from the other party did she reluctantly get into Su Tangtang's car.
As soon as she sat down, Meng Meng said sarcastically, "By the time I've been here, the peaches in the car won't have gone bad, will they?"
Su Tangtang chuckled, "Don't worry, Peach is much stronger than you."
Meng Meng was taken aback, then said angrily, "Su Tangtang, you're really mean!"
Su Tangtang looked back at her frankly, "I'm not as bad as you. At least I won't do anything underhanded."
Meng Meng immediately connected the dots to the sales fraud. She had long suspected Su Tangtang was behind it, and now she was absolutely certain. "You've gone too far! I still had a sliver of hope that you weren't behind it, but I didn't expect you to admit it so readily!"
Su Tangtang was taken aback at first, then realized what she meant and couldn't help but sneer, "You're allowed to set fires, but others aren't allowed to light lamps?"
Meng Meng glared angrily, "You didn't suffer any losses? On the contrary, you even made a profit! If it weren't for me, would you have made a profit?"
Su Tangtang was amused by her logic. "According to you, I should thank you?"
Meng Meng raised her chin, "Of course!"
Su Tangtang nodded readily, "Thank you."
Meng Meng, "..."
As the two were locked in a heated argument, the car slowly came to a stop.
Su Tangtang looked at Huo Yizhou in the driver's seat and followed his gaze to an old man in front of her asking about the price of peaches.
After Huo Yizhou quoted the price, Su Tangtang and Meng Meng got out of the car to help. The old man picked out a few peaches, and other villagers at the village entrance gathered around. Before long, several orders were placed.
After the crowd dispersed, the three continued driving to the next village.
Looking at her harvest, Meng Meng couldn't help but say, "I've earned over a hundred yuan in just a short time. Selling fruit in the countryside is quite profitable."
Su Tangtang responded objectively, "It depends. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's just average."
Meng Meng gave a soft snort and didn't reply.
If it weren't for the fact that they're on the same team now, she would have really wanted to sabotage this business.
At 7 p.m., the various groups returned to the production team one after another.
After chatting for a while, everyone started eating, and the new episode of the variety show was also broadcast on time. The content recorded throughout the day made each episode nearly four hours long, which was much richer than before.
The director seemed to be in a particularly good mood tonight and even prepared some wine.
Qu Xian asked curiously, "Is this for everyone to have a drink?"
The director smiled and nodded, "Yes, we won't be filming tonight. Everyone, drink and chat freely."
The crowd immediately cheered.
Qu Xian smiled and looked at the director, "Why are you so happy today?"
Director Han Yang raised his glass and smiled, "The ratings have hit a new high, of course I'm happy!" Then he turned to everyone and said, "I'd like to toast everyone, the success of the show is inseparable from everyone's hard work!"
Everyone raised their glasses to drink together, and then they chatted and ate in small groups.
The dinner party lasted until 10 p.m., and everyone was slightly tipsy and relaxed.
Su Tangtang had also drunk quite a bit, and her cheeks were flushed and her head was spinning. Huo Yizhou looked down at her and said, "Let's go."
She nodded softly, "Okay."
As soon as she stood up, her legs went weak, and she swayed and almost fell. Huo Yizhou quickly caught her around the waist.
Su Tangtang buried herself in his arms, her voice soft and sweet, "My head is so dizzy..."
She didn't expect that standing up would make her feel dizzy.
Gu Qingke, who had not yet left, saw the two embracing. His long-suppressed anger was instantly ignited by alcohol. He no longer cared about his dignity and rushed over.
He reached out to pull Su Tangtang, but Huo Yizhou grabbed his wrist and flung him away. A dull pain shot through his arm, and Gu Qingke stared at the man in disbelief, never expecting him to have such incredible strength.
"Let her go!" Gu Qingke roared.
The group of people who were about to leave stopped in their tracks. Zhou Yan asked in confusion, "Gu Qingke, isn't it normal for young couples to hug and cuddle? What are you doing?"
Gu Qingke glared at her fiercely, "What I do is none of your business!"
Zhou Yan was taken aback by the choking and also became angry, "I was just asking out of kindness, what's wrong with you?"
Gu Qingke turned to Qu Xian, "Mind your own business and mind your own business!"
Zhou Yan was so angry she couldn't speak.
Just as Qu Xian was about to speak, he saw Gu Qingke suddenly throw a punch at Huo Yizhou!
Everyone immediately held their breath.
Just as the fist was about to land on Huo Yizhou's face, he nimbly dodged to the side while holding Su Tangtang. Gu Qingke missed her target and staggered a few steps, almost falling over.
Su Tangtang sobered up considerably from the fright and quickly leaned out of Huo Yizhou's arms, asking, "Are you alright?"
Huo Yizhou shook his head slightly, "No."
This scene further spurred Gu Qingke on.
He lunged at him again without regard for the consequences, and Huo Yizhou no longer held back. Since the other party was determined to fight, he would no longer be polite.
The two immediately started fighting.
Surprisingly, every punch and kick from Gu Qingke missed its mark, while every counterattack from Huo Yizhou hit its target precisely. The outcome of the contest was immediately clear, and everyone watched in fear, yet no one dared to step forward to stop them.
Meng Meng quietly tugged at Chen Yingying's sleeve, "What should we do? Gu Qingke keeps getting beaten up..."
Shen Yingying watched coldly, "He deserves it."
Meng Meng asked worriedly, "Huo Yizhou is too powerful, isn't he? He won't kill Gu Qingke, will he?"
Shen Yingying carefully observed the battle. "He is very measured. He avoids vital points with every punch. Don't worry, no one will die."
Meng Meng felt a little relieved, but couldn't help but sigh, "This Huo Yizhou is really amazing, like he's trained."
Shen Yingying's lips curled into a meaningful smile, "What do you think... how about I become Huo Yizhou's sugar daddy?"
These words were like a thunderbolt, and Meng Meng turned her head sharply, "What did you say!"
“Isn’t he Su Tangtang’s kept man? I’ll pay double the price,” Shen Yingying’s eyes flashed with a sinister light. “Didn’t Su Tangtang steal Gu Qingke? Then I’ll take her man away.”
Meng Meng pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded, "That... isn't necessarily a bad thing."
Just then, the director returned from the restroom and saw the two men wrestling. He hurriedly shouted, "What are you doing?"
Meng Meng answered quickly, "They're fighting."
director:"……"
Can't he see it?
"Stop it, all of you!" the director roared.
However, the two showed no sign of stopping.
Helpless, the director had no choice but to step in and break up the fight. Gu Qingke was already furious and in great pain all over his body. Huo Yizhou's punches were accurate and ruthless, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.
He threw a final punch with all his might, thinking he would finally hit his opponent, but unexpectedly...
"Gu Qingke!" The director's scream was deafening.
Gu Qingke then realized he had accidentally injured the director; the director's left cheek was already swollen. He stood there stunned, "I'm sorry..."
The director covered his face, heartbroken, "What on earth happened? Why did they have to fight all of a sudden?"
He shouldn't have intervened rashly; he was truly wronged to take that punch.
Both parties remained silent. Seeing that they had finally stopped, Su Tangtang hurriedly ran to Huo Yizhou's side, "Are you hurt?"
Huo Yizhou, who had been exuding a sharp aura, instantly softened his demeanor, even appearing somewhat aggrieved, "My hand hurts."
Su Tangtang carefully took his hand in her arms. "It's all swollen."
He then gently blew on the red and swollen area.
The gentle breath brushed against his skin, and Huo Yizhou's heart skipped a beat, a fine itch rising in his heart as if ants were gnawing at it.
Seeing this, Gu Qingke pointed to her unharmed face and angrily said, "I'm the one who got hit, can't you see that, Su Tangtang?"
Su Tangtang glanced at him coldly, "What does your injury have to do with me? My boyfriend's hand is swollen from your beating, and I haven't even settled the score with you yet."
Gu Qingke: "..."
He was trembling with anger, but more so from the unbearable pain.
Zhou Yan and the others exchanged bewildered glances. What had happened that they didn't know about? Why did they suddenly start fighting? And why was Gu Qingke, who had always disliked Su Tangtang, actually trying to make friends with her?
In the end, they didn't get an answer because the director chased them all away. After Zhou Yan and the others left, only Shen Yingying, Gu Qingke, Su Tangtang, Huo Yizhou, and the director remained on set.
The director asked with a stern face, "Tell me, what happened?"
Shen Yingying spoke first, "What else could it be? Gu Qingke has fallen for Su Tangtang, broke up with me, and is now pursuing her. He drank a little today and got so jealous when he saw Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou hugging and kissing that he went crazy with jealousy and started hitting people first, but ended up getting a beating instead."
The whole incident can be summarized in just a few words.
Gu Qingke's face turned ashen.
The director frowned. "Gu Qingke, what's wrong with you?"
Gu Qingke said indifferently, "Director, don't worry about it, this is my own business."
The director pointed to his pale face, "How can I not care if something happens on my show? I won't interfere in your personal feuds, but I absolutely will not allow it to happen again!"
"I understand," Gu Qingke said in a muffled voice.
The director then looked at Huo Yizhou, who nodded slightly.
Gu Qingke was in excruciating pain all over her body. She struggled to her feet and said, "I'm leaving now."
After saying that, she glared coldly at Huo Yizhou and left without looking back. Seeing this, Shen Yingying silently followed.
After they left, the director looked Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou up and down, "What's going on with you two? Why are you hugging each other?"
Su Tangtang's cheeks flushed slightly. "It was an accident... I was so dizzy that I couldn't stand properly, and Brother Zhou helped me up."
Han Yang keenly noticed the form of address, "Brother Zhou?"
Su Tangtang smiled awkwardly.
Han Yang sighed, "Forget it, I won't ask anymore. Just don't let anything happen on my show."
Su Tangtang quickly assured her, "Definitely."
"Do you want to apply some medicine?" she asked with concern.
Han Yang glared at her, "Of course I want to!"
After saying that, she covered her face, turned around, and left.
Now only Su Tangtang and Huo Yizhou remain.
Huo Yizhou said softly, "Let's go back too."
Su Tangtang nodded, "Okay."
On the way back, Su Tangtang couldn't help but ask, "Did he hit you anywhere else?"
Huo Yizhou shook his head. "No."
In fact, Su Tangtang already knew that Huo Yizhou was exceptionally skilled, so she didn't stop him earlier. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't have.
"You were amazing today," she praised sincerely.
Huo Yizhou suddenly called her name, "Su Tangtang".
Su Tangtang looked up. "What's wrong?"
Meeting her bright eyes, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, but he ultimately just shook his head gently, "It's nothing."
Su Tangtang looked at him and said, "Brother Zhou, just tell me what's wrong. If you don't tell me, I'll never know."
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