Chapter 234 Zhongyi
When Xia Mian returned triumphantly with six quilts and an electric tricycle, the guests in the courtyard seemed to have seen an angel, and cheered, "It's Xia Mian, we're saved!"
Of course, they were more curious about how Xia Mian managed to get the bedding for free.
Xia Mian smiled shyly: "It's not like we got a freebie. The production team paid for everyone's meal."
"Huh?" Yu Xingtong asked in confusion, "I thought you borrowed it by using your facial recognition."
Xia Mian waved her hand: "Hey, I don't have that much fame. Besides, it's not easy for the villagers to earn money by working hard in the fields. We've already caused a lot of trouble by filming here, so we can't take advantage of them any further."
He never intended to get something for free. Personally, he would never reuse clothes or bedding that someone else had used.
He didn't know if his fellow villagers had similar obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness. If they did, they would throw away bedding used by outsiders and have to spend money to buy new ones.
So initially, he planned to use the money first and then secretly give it to his fellow villager after filming ended. But then he thought that since the production team had dug such a big hole, he had to get revenge to vent his anger, so he came up with the idea of "the boss settling the bill".
"No matter how it came about, something is better than nothing. Since Xia has set a good example for us, let's go out and find some food."
Zhao Xiaohui suggested going out to find something to eat. After a long day, the other guests were also a bit hungry, and they all nodded in agreement.
Xia Mian originally wanted to go with them, but Yao Yao said that he was a hero and could rest at home for a while.
Because they were unfamiliar with the village, the remaining five people split into two groups: one group looked for vegetables, and the other group looked for meat.
After they left, the courtyard fell silent. Xia Mian filmed several clips of herself leisurely watching the sunset and playing with cats and dogs, as requested by the production team, before finally starting to rest.
He retreated back to the main house, slumped into a chair, closed his eyes to rest for a while, and then took out his phone.
The notification bar remains empty.
...You heartless bastard!
Xia Mian was furious. She found Zhou Pingchuan's profile picture and wrote: "[I said don't miss me, and you really didn't miss me?]"
After sending the message, he started counting in his head. He was relatively quick; when he reached six, the other person replied: "I thought you were busy, so I didn't want to bother you."
Excuse me? Did I say I was busy?
You didn't even ask the question properly, did you?
Summer: [Okay, fine, I'm really busy, I can't talk to you anymore, bye!!!]
After saying that, Xia Mian slammed her phone down on the table.
The sullen tone of those words was quite obvious. Even though Zhou Pingchuan was unfamiliar with the intricacies of relationships, he could tell that Xia Mian was angry.
Dating a young, energetic boy is like this: you have to put up with his tantrums, you have to coax him, you have to be mindful of his emotions at all times, and you have to always put your feelings first.
It's actually quite troublesome.
But the other party was Xia Mian, and Zhou Pingchuan was happy to cooperate. Over time, he began to savor the experience and even developed a sense of sweetness and enjoyment in it.
Zhou Pingchuan smiled, gestured to his partner, and walked aside to call Xia Mian.
Whether the young couple was being stubborn or simply busy, they called three times, but no one answered.
The chairman of the partner company rushed over from Germany that morning and was scheduled to fly back that evening. Time was tight and the task was demanding; they needed to quickly reach a mutually satisfactory solution. Zhou Pingchuan couldn't keep making calls, so he called once an hour at a fixed frequency.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard, the guests had already returned laden with their spoils.
Everyone divided the tasks and began preparing tonight's dinner.
Zhang Yuno was definitely the head chef, with Liang Qiuhong and Yu Xingtong assisting her. Xia Mian and Yao Yao were sent out to collect firewood, while Zhao Xiaohui was in charge of starting the fire and tending the stove.
A small incident occurred during this time. Because Xia Mian had never collected firewood before and knew nothing about it, most of the branches she collected were damp and unusable.
“I used to burn fireplace wood in England, the kind of thick wood. I searched for ages in the woods just now, but I couldn’t find any, only these thin branches,” Xia Mian tried to justify herself.
"Where did you get the wood for your fireplace?" Zhao Xiaohui asked.
"I bought it."
“That’s right,” Zhao Xiaohui laughed. “You bought a finished product that the timber company had cut down and processed from the tree. You definitely couldn’t find it by picking it up!”
Everyone was amused by Xia Mian, and Yao Yao said, "Now I finally know why there's the term 'young master'!"
Fortunately, the villagers had stockpiled a lot of straw. Zhao Xiaohui shamelessly asked his neighbor for some, and after an hour and a half of frantic activity, everyone finally got to eat.
As the afternoon passed, the guests became more and more familiar with each other, and the atmosphere was not as awkward as it was at the beginning. They were even able to chat while eating.
They chatted about life, hobbies, and music, and the atmosphere became increasingly relaxed and harmonious. Suddenly, the topic shifted to Xia Mian's marriage.
"Xia, I just found out you're married. How did you and your husband meet?" Liang Qiuhong asked—women of their age love to be interested in other people's marital lives.
Xia Mian opened her mouth, about to answer, when her phone in her pants pocket started buzzing for the umpteenth time today.
He knew who it was, and the show was being recorded. He couldn't answer, nor could he take out his phone to turn it off, so he had to fumble through the fabric of his pants and tap the reject button.
Unfortunately, my intuition was wrong, and my finger accidentally touched the answer button!
"Xia?" Seeing that Xia Mian didn't answer, Liang Qiuhong thought he hadn't heard her and asked again, "How did you and your husband meet?"
"We met at a relative's engagement party," Xia Mian said truthfully.
Yao Yao: "Which of you pursued whom?"
"Well... I guess you could say I got it myself."
"Good courage! So how is your married life?"
"It was a completely different experience, and it was quite enjoyable."
“Happiness proves your relationship is good.” Zhang Yuno, who has never been in a relationship, analyzed logically.
"Are he and Zhou Pingchuan on good terms?" Xia Mian still remembered the "Don't worry" incident, and with the camera pointed at his face, he was too embarrassed to show affection in front of everyone in the room, so he mumbled, "Oh well, it's fine as it is."
After she finished speaking, Yu Xingtong, who had barely spoken since the start of the meal, suddenly became excited, like a wolf that had smelled blood.
“What do you mean by ‘just like that’?” she turned to Xia Mian. “Xia, don’t you like your husband?”
Yu Xingtong has been living abroad in recent years, and her work is mostly at fashion weeks and shows. She rarely appears on domestic variety shows, so she can be considered a semi-celebrity.
In the public eye, she has a cheerful and straightforward personality, unlike people in the entertainment industry who are more cautious and tactful in their dealings, so asking this kind of question won't get her any criticism.
“I just saw a picture of her husband,” Liang Qiuhong said, feeling the question was a bit pointed, and helped Xia Mian laugh it off, “Such a handsome young man, of course he’d be interested.”
Even if Xia Mian was dissatisfied with Zhou Pingchuan and unwilling to show affection in public, she couldn't deny the things that were almost overflowing.
“Teacher Liang is right, I do… like him,” Xia Mian’s ears burned, “Otherwise, why would I pursue him?!”
We ate and chatted, and by the time the table was cleared away, it was already 9:30 p.m.
Xia Mian helped Zhang Yuno clear the dishes, and only after entering the kitchen did he remember the missed phone call from earlier.
He secretly unlocked his phone, and unlike before, this time there were finally numbers in the notification bar: eight missed calls and a WeChat message.
Xia Mian casually opened WeChat.
Zhou Pingchuan sent him five words: 【I like you too】
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