Against the Light - Chapter 90
Chapter 90: Teacher Yu Has Arrived
Three days passed in a flash.
That afternoon.
Lin Guo squatted by the chicken coop, yawning endlessly as she looked at the Camera Chicken. She had actually grown quite fond of this chicken over the past few days. Now that it was time to part, she felt a little reluctant.
"You have no idea how good I've been to you. I even let you sleep inside at night. These past few days, I've been craving meat so much I drool in my sleep, but I never ate you," Lin Guo said, stroking the chicken's feathers with a sigh.
"Cluck."
"Guozi, let's go." Qin Qiong came out carrying both their suitcases. She glanced back at the bedroom; everything was packed and tidy.
"Did we leave anything behind?" Gu Xinran went inside to check one last time.
"Nope, don't worry."
"Let's go." Gu Xinran and Bai Yilan helped them with their luggage and walked them to the village entrance.
"Hey, remember to act happy," Gu Xinran whispered as a reminder.
"Haha, okay, got it. Well, Sister Ran, Sister Lan, we're off. Enjoy the rest of the show. Cherish these last few days." Qin Qiong winked at them meaningfully.
Gu Xinran raised an eyebrow slightly. This girl… was she starting to get a little mischievous?
After seeing off the guests, the host clapped his hands, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
"So, everyone, have these past few days been tough?"
"So tough. When it was just us, we could scrimp and save. But when you're hosting friends, you have to serve them something decent. Now, our pockets are cleaner than our faces. I have no idea how we're going to survive the next few days. I'm planning to go steal a duck from Sister Lan's house," Wei Zhan complained endlessly.
"I was thinking, if we slaughter that sheep and divide it up, it should last us three days, right? No, wait, those three days would be pure bliss!" Ruan Tang's eyes lit up.
"…" Gu Xinran and Bai Yilan exchanged a look and tacitly took a step away from the other couple.
"Sister Qiuyan, what about you two?"
"We're doing okay. We're quite close with Qihan privately, and she was very understanding, so we still have some money left over."
"Not bad. Making a thousand yuan last this long is really impressive. Sister Lan, what about you? You hosted two people, so you must be in debt by now, right?"
"Not at all. They helped us with a lot of work these past two days. After doing the math, it seems we actually earned a little."
"??? Earned a little?"
"Mhm." Bai Yilan pulled two red bills from her pocket. "Yes, we earned two hundred."
"…"
Even the host was stunned.
"How…?"
"Last night, Guozi and Qin Qiong said they had insomnia, so she went to their room and taught them how to weave bamboo baskets. She watched them weave for half the night, and we sold them to the villagers this morning."
Listening from the side, Gu Xinran broke into a smile and nodded at Yilan.
Everyone was dumbfounded. You could do that!??
"Hey, how do you weave bamboo baskets? Teach us! We could make a fortune!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
The host gave the two of them a thumbs-up. This was something he truly hadn't expected.
"Hey, bro, for the next few days, you should let us enjoy life a little, right? We haven't had a moment's rest since we got here," Wei Zhan said.
"Haha, of course not."
"??? What? What kind of shenanigans are you planning now?"
The host smiled and pulled three cell phones from his pocket, handing them to the teams.
"What's this for? Don't tell me we have to keep inviting people over??"
"That's right."
"This is too much. This is just too much."
"You have a second option," the host said, feigning mystery.
"Oh?"
"Before you leave, you can return the one thousand yuan of principal we gave you at the start, in full."
"…"
Upon hearing that, everyone immediately bowed their heads and started scrolling through their contact lists.
"How about Lu Qing?" Gu Xinran's eyes lit up when she saw Lu Qing's contact information.
"Okay." Bai Yilan nodded. Ever since she had recovered the memories of her past life, she hadn't really had a chance to chat with Lu Qing, who had been a very good friend of hers.
With Yilan's approval, Gu Xinran immediately dialed Lu Qing's number. Unfortunately, it was bad timing. Lu Qing had sprained her ankle two days ago and was currently hospitalized, so she couldn't come on the show.
Gu Xinran was slightly disappointed. She told her to rest well, then hung up and started searching for the next target.
"What about Yan Xi?" She was another mutual friend they had made on the stage of 【A Good Show】.
"Mhm."
Gu Xinran called Yan Xi, only to be told that Yan Xi was filming out of town and couldn't make it back in time.
The two looked at each other and gave a helpless, wry smile.
Gu Xinran scrolled down further, all the way to the end. Suddenly, her finger paused. Bai Yilan also raised an eyebrow slightly. They looked at each other again, and a mischievous grin spread across both their faces.
Gu Xinran dialed the number. After a moment, the other end picked up.
"Hello? Teacher Yu?"
"What, you only thought of me after everyone else was busy? Am I your backup? Don't bother me! Not going, get lost!"
"…"
"Let me." Bai Yilan took the phone.
"Teacher, your persona as the vicious old mother is already set in stone. Don't you want to salvage your image a little?"
On the other end, Yu Hua seemed to fall silent.
"That's right, this is a great opportunity. Let everyone see for themselves how approachable you are in private. It'll change the audience's fixed impression of you," Gu Xinran immediately chimed in.
"Are you two… sure you're not just trying to trick me?"
They exchanged a glance, not quite daring to laugh. "Of course not, don't worry. Besides, Qin Qiong and the others already did all the heavy lifting. You can just come to eat, drink, and have fun," Gu Xinran continued, trying to lure the old lady.
"I'll think about it."
"Don't think about it, just…"
"What, I can't play hard to get?"
"You can, you can." The two didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
On Weibo, the audience was a little disappointed to see Lin Guo and Qin Qiong leave. Just as they were complaining, they heard that the person taking their place would be Director Yu Hua, the actress who played the recently popular "vicious old mother"! The internet instantly erupted again!
Even Yu Hua's own Weibo was flooded with comments of encouragement and support from netizens.
Many netizens also remarked that the show's producer was a true genius, using the guests' personal connections to invite flying guests. They could get all sorts of big-name stars without spending a dime. It was a win-win for fame and fortune—a true business mastermind!
…
The next day, early in the morning, everyone was waiting at the village entrance again.
When they saw Yu Hua get out of the car, thunderous applause immediately broke out. This was truly a heavyweight guest; her reputation as an ace director was renowned.
Today, Yu Hua was dressed in casual attire and had deliberately combed her hair neatly. She was slightly plump, but it was easy to see that she had been a great beauty in her youth.
"Welcome, Teacher Yu." The host led the group in a slight bow of respect.
"Welcome, welcome."
Yu Hua beamed, waving to everyone and greeting them.
"Teacher." Gu Xinran and Bai Yilan ran over to help her with her luggage.
The other two new guests also briefly introduced themselves, and then the large group headed back to their respective residences.
Qi Qiuyan's trio had worked with Yu Hua many times and were very familiar with her. So, they naturally followed Gu Xinran to their little wooden cabin for a visit.
"Teacher, it must have been a long journey. I woke up extra early to grind some soy milk for you. Would you do me the honor of trying a sip?" Gu Xinran said.
Yu Hua raised a hand nonchalantly. "Permission granted."
Gu Xinran immediately scurried away.
Qi Yuwei sat next to Qi Qiuyan, secretly observing Yu Hua. She hadn't worked with Yu Hua much, and her knowledge of the director came from what she'd heard from other actors.
"I heard Teacher Yu is a very stern person, extremely strict with people and her work. But she doesn't seem like that?" she whispered, nudging Qi Qiuyan with her elbow.
"Huh? How could that be? Teacher Yu is clearly a very cute old la— uh, teacher." Halfway through her sentence, Qi Qiuyan sensitively detected a malicious gaze and seamlessly corrected herself.
"Cute?"
"Mhm, she once fangirled over Yilan on Weibo, didn't you know?"
"Eh?"
"Oh, speaking of which…" Qi Qiuyan paused, turning to Yu Hua with a curious expression.
"Teacher Yu, there's something I'd like to ask you."
"Hm?"
Just then, Gu Xinran walked in carrying several bowls of soy milk.
"Do you remember that comment you posted under Yilan's Weibo post?"
The moment Qi Qiuyan's words fell, Gu Xinran's steps faltered, and her eyelid twitched.
"What was it?"
"Yilan posted a selfie, and you commented below it, 【Ahhhhhh so gorgeous it's explosive!】"
"That happened?" Qi Yuwei was shocked and immediately looked at the old lady.
The mere mention of this made Yu Hua's blood boil. She rolled up her sleeves, and just as she was about to speak, Gu Xinran timely offered the bowl of soy milk to her lips.
"Teacher, have a taste and see how it is~" Gu Xinran said, her back to the camera. She looked at Yu Hua with a pitiful expression, frantically signaling with her eyes, begging her to keep her secret.
Yu Hua's brows furrowed into waves. Finally, she sighed.
"I want to eat something good for lunch."
"Of course you will!"
"I also want to sleep on a wool mattress," Yu Hua said, propping her cheek on her hand.
Gu Xinran choked. After a long hesitation, she gritted her teeth. "Okay."
"Hiss, my back has been hurting these past two days. How about you get me a rocking chair to rock in?"
"…No problem!!!"
"It would be even better if someone could give me a massage every day."
"Of course… you can!"
Gu Xinran practically ground her teeth as she agreed. She regretted it, regretted it, regretted it! Why did she have to invite this ancestor of all people? Wasn't she just reaping what she sowed?!
Bai Yilan, Qi Qiuyan, and the others were completely bewildered, frequently exchanging glances and shaking their heads.
【Why is Sister Ran so afraid of Teacher Yu?】
【I have a half-baked theory. Is it possible that Teacher Yu wasn't the one who posted that comment? Was it Xinran? Teacher Yu took the fall for her, which is why she's at her beck and call! Look at me, sisters, doesn't that sound plausible!!】
【Holy crap, now that you mention it, that seems likely. Ranran's guilty reaction is way too suspicious.】
【??? What do you mean? Sister Ran used Teacher Yu's Weibo account to comment on Teacher Bai's selfie? So it was actually Sister Ran who replied to Teacher Bai's selfie and was totally fawning over her?】
【Holy crap! I think I'm shipping it! Even if it's just crumbs of sweetness, I'm totally shipping it!!】
【Hahahaha I think this theory is very plausible. I used to really think it was Teacher Yu who posted it. Teacher, you've suffered, hahaha.】
【Ahhhh I really want to see Ranran clutching her phone and going ahhhhhh!】
【Teacher Yu, if I were you, I would not let these two off easy. You know what I mean, right? [smirk]】
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