CSGM - Chapter 153
Chapter 153: Extra - Love Reality Show
"Hey, Xiao Chu, you still haven't told me what you were looking at the footprints for earlier."
"I just thought..." Chu Xi began slowly.
The three people beside her perked up their ears. Even the production staff sitting in the distance stared at her intently, turning their sound equipment to the maximum volume, ready to capture her puzzle-solving explanation.
"My wife's footprints are so cute."
As Chu Xi said this, she seemed to drift off, recalling the pattern she had just seen, and then laughed out loud at the empty air.
A sweet, light laugh filled the air.
The three people and the production crew, who had been listening with rapt attention: "..."
Thud!
Everyone was so stunned by her that they nearly collapsed on the spot.
Chu Xi's train of thought was truly bizarre. They thought she had been deducing something, but it turned out this was the reason?!
The other three wives covered their mouths and giggled. Ren Zhi shook her head and let out an exasperated laugh, sighing, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Chu Xi didn't understand why their expressions had suddenly changed and looked at them, puzzled.
"But I did find some clues."
"Huh...?" Song Xu, who had been covering his face with his large hands, suddenly lowered them and looked at her again.
"My wife's footprints on the beach were clearly deeper on the right side than the left, and this pattern was consistent. That means the item she chose must have been carried in her right hand and had a certain amount of weight."
Yu Shen's previously speechless expression suddenly turned serious. "Not bad, Xiao Chu. You could even figure that out!"
Song Xu exclaimed, "You're so knowledgeable."
Chu Xi was nonchalant. "You'd know if you just watched a few indentation experiments."
So, when it came to the final four new items placed here-a fish tank, a can of cat food, a ceramic mug, and a box of mahjong-she easily identified the only one that matched the characteristics of her deduction.
Such reasoning was simply flawless.
It seemed Chu Xi had found the right item. The three husbands saw that their wives were all looking over with calm smiles, showing no intention of refuting her.
Even if they weren't allowed to speak, their expressions were easy to read.
The others began scratching their scalps and pulling at their hair, trying to figure out which item their own partners had chosen.
In the end, thanks to Chu Xi's helpful hints, the other three also locked in their answers.
All four couples chose correctly, successfully passing the Great Chemistry Challenge!
Everyone got to stay in a detached luxury villa.
After this warm-up segment ended, the four couples dragged their luggage to their respective residences.
The houses were spaced some distance apart, not lined up next to each other like neighbors. Instead, each small, detached house was surrounded by green trees and clusters of shrubs.
Chu Xi liked this feeling. They didn't have to be too close to others; she and Ren Zhi had their own little space.
But the production crew's arrangement wasn't too far apart, either. The four couples had ample opportunity to visit one another. The furthest distance between them was a ten-minute walk, while the shortest was just five minutes around a lawn.
At first, Chu Xi shook her head, thinking she had no intention of visiting and socializing with others.
But... as was said, that was at first.
Her and Ren Zhi's little house was a loft-style apartment with two floors. The largest space downstairs was the living room and kitchen, with a balcony laid with wooden flooring outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Upstairs, there was a large bedroom.
Small but perfectly formed, the decor was a clean and simple Anglo-American style, with most furniture having a white base color. Before they moved in, housekeeping had cleaned the place until it sparkled.
Spotless, it made the little home seem even more chic.
It had the feel of an urban elite living in seclusion amidst bamboo groves and pastoral fields. Far from being out of place, the little home made it feel very cozy.
The two of them carried their suitcases and various bags upstairs. After a quick round of unpacking in the bedroom, Ren Zhi took out the game console and controller set that Chu Xi had packed.
"Xiao Xi, there's a TV in the living room downstairs. Go connect it and see if it works."
Chu Xi looked at her with starry-eyed anticipation. "Will you play with me?"
While playing games alone could pass the time when her wife wasn't around, playing together was what Chu Xi wanted most.
That's why when they decided to come here for their honeymoon, Chu Xi brought the game console along.
Ren Zhi smiled. "Okay, I'll play with you."
But Chu Xi wasn't in a hurry to test the game console's signal. Instead, she set it aside and had Ren Zhi sit on the edge of the bed.
She then squatted down and felt her leg.
Ren Zhi had put a medicinal plaster on her knee last night. She said, "It's nothing, baby, don't worry."
Chu Xi: "I feel like the humidity here is heavier than I expected. Does it really not hurt?"
Ren Zhi smiled. "It's fine in the summer. I usually don't feel anything."
Chu Xi: "Okay, baby. Let me give you a massage first."
Last year, she had learned a set of massage techniques for relaxing muscles and improving circulation. Although she didn't know if it had any real effect on the lingering issues with Ren Zhi's leg, it at least had a psychological one. After every massage, they would both invariably feel that "the condition has eased up again."
Chu Xi sat on the floor, holding Ren Zhi's leg as she worked. Ren Zhi leaned back at a forty-five-degree angle, looking around the bedroom with her hands braced on the bedsheets, then glanced out at the hallway.
"A little house like this isn't bad," Ren Zhi murmured.
"Yeah, baby. Anywhere is good as long as I'm living with you," Chu Xi replied.
Ren Zhi let out a laugh.
"Can you be this sweet when you talk to other people?"
Chu Xi gave her a strange look, glancing up.
"Why? Other people aren't my wife."
Ren Zhi said, amused, "That's not what I mean. I'm just saying you shouldn't always be so disdainful of others, offending people every time you open your mouth."
Chu Xi looked both confused and sincere. "Do I still do that?"
The funniest part was that Chu Xi often felt she had already corrected her ways.
She tried her best not to do the things her baby told her not to.
She even fished for a compliment, saying, "Baby, see? I've barely said anything since we got here today."
Ren Zhi threw her head back, looked at the string of lights hanging from the ceiling, and laughed until her stomach hurt.
She lunged forward and planted a kiss on Chu Xi's forehead.
Chu Xi giggled, "Ehehe," thinking Ren Zhi was acknowledging her good behavior for the day.
Ren Zhi: "Baby, when this episode airs, you're going to be laughed at to death. People will definitely be cursing you out again."
Chu Xi's biggest flaw was her mouth-it was just too shocking. Her train of thought was also exceptionally eccentric. Despite being in the entertainment industry for so long, she had never learned the art of speaking like the other slick operators, remaining as pure as a child.
But aside from a few sharp and paranoid anti-fans, most netizens were understanding about it.
Just as no one in the entertainment industry had learned to be as smart as Chu Xi, despite her being there for so long.
Sometimes, her thinking did indeed seem incompatible with that of ordinary people.
Netizens all said that geniuses were creatures who tended to lack social skills, and Chu Xi's widely envied IQ was definitely obtained at the cost of her tragically low EQ.
Chu Xi was unconcerned. "Hmph, let them curse."
Ten minutes later, Chu Xi released her grip on Ren Zhi's calf and collapsed limply by the side of the bed.
A series of "grumble, grumble" sounds echoed in the air.
Chu Xi tilted her head. "Baby, are you hungry? I just realized I'm starving..."
She had been so busy she'd forgotten. Looking back, she realized she had used a lot of energy today.
Driving to this island resort took effort, gathering and waiting for people took effort, playing the game took brainpower, and carrying the suitcases into the small apartment and unpacking also took effort. Now that her body's energy was severely depleted, she finally realized she was hungry.
She glanced down at her watch. It was five-thirty, time for dinner.
Ren Zhi nodded. "I'm hungry. Let's go find a local restaurant to eat."
At that moment, the director of Love Cultivation suddenly sent a message in the group chat, notifying the four couples to gather at the village entrance immediately.
Annoyed, Chu Xi rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out some wafer cookies. "Forget it, I'll have a little something to tide me over."
"Baby, you eat these sides, they don't have sugar..."
The two of them left while sharing the cookies and arrived at the village entrance.
Unexpectedly, this production crew was a bunch of scoundrels. Before inviting the guests, they had promised everyone was just coming here for a honeymoon.
But upon arriving, they discovered that even their first meal had to follow the production crew's arrangements!
Chu Xi gritted her teeth, shooting an icy glare at Zhang Yuxue.
Zhang Yuxue, sitting among a group of staff members, covered her face and silently chanted: Teacher, I was wrong, Teacher, I was wrong. You can't see me, you can't see me...
She knew her Teacher loved good food more than anything. Back then, she had only been accepted as a disciple because she had bribed her with a grand takeout feast from a hotel.
The director explained the reason for gathering everyone, which, in short, boiled down to two things.
First, from now on, during the filming of Love Cultivation, the guests could only use the funds allocated by the production team. Starting tomorrow, each couple would have a daily base budget of five hundred yuan.
Second, the production team had already prepared dinner for tonight. All guests could enjoy it for free in the production's cafeteria.
Just as everyone finished listening and headed toward the cafeteria, full of excitement and gratitude, Chu Xi let out a cold sneer from within the crowd.
Bai Mengyun asked her, "Xiao Chu, what are you laughing at? That laugh of yours always makes me feel like something's off."
With the cold smile of someone who had seen through the vanities of the world, Chu Xi said, "How could it possibly be free? If there wasn't a catch, they would have told us earlier."
Hearing this, the others had a sudden realization, one by one. That seemed to be the case...
However, the cafeteria was very close, and before everyone could discuss it further, the staff had already led the four couples there.
It seemed to be the same old trick. The four "Player B"s were quickly led into the cafeteria, while the "Player A"s were stopped outside.
"Wives, please wait outside," a staff member said politely to the four "Player A"s.
Tang Rang looked completely baffled. "What are they doing?"
Bai Mengyun: "Damn, you guys are so sneaky. You won't even let people eat in peace. I'm starving."
Jin Xiao: "The production team has so many tricks."
Ren Zhi thought for a moment. "Don't tell me they're going to test our chemistry again?"
Zhang Yuxue chuckled and, from her seat, gave a thumbs-up, mouthing "Madam, you're smart."
The only rule for tonight's free dinner was this: one member of the couple would go in and choose five dishes, then the other member would go in and choose five dishes. The dishes that both members chose-the intersection of their choices-would be kept, becoming that couple's dinner for the night.
In other words, if the partners chose the same dish, it was kept. If they chose different dishes, they would unfortunately not get to eat them.
Chu Xi, on her side, also heard the same rules.
Her first thought was to complain that the production team was full of crap.
Her second thought was one of relief. Thankfully, she knew what dishes her baby liked to eat. She cooked most of their meals at home, so she knew Ren Zhi's tastes like the back of her hand.
The cafeteria was like a small buffet, or a village banquet. Several round tables were laden with various dishes in plates and bowls of all sizes.
Sichuan and Hunan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Jiangsu cuisine, Fujian cuisine, Shandong cuisine...
Red broths and clear broths, sweet and savory, cold and hot, tossed, braised, and stewed-they had almost everything. The selection of dishes was truly comprehensive.
Chu Xi swept her gaze over it all and estimated there were at least 120 dishes.
She turned her head and asked the staff member behind the camera:
"So many? What happens to the leftovers after we choose?"
A staff member's voice drifted over.
"The rest is the production crew's meal."
Chu Xi said, "Oh," and then gave a solemn reminder.
"Just make sure you don't waste it. Conserve food; wasting is shameful."
After saying that, she lowered her head and began to slowly pace around the edges of the round tables.
She looked as she walked, occasionally stopping to think.
At home, Ren Zhi always ate low-fat foods. Even when they were out and conditions weren't ideal, her three meals would lean toward low-fat dishes.
Chu Xi still remembered a time when they were on set and a colleague brought over some homemade braised pork belly. It was rich but not greasy, glistening and translucent, coated in a fragrant, oily sauce. The aroma was enough to make one's mouth water. Chu Xi ate two convenience store rice balls with it, but her baby, despite smelling the fragrance, was completely unmoved.
Her self-control was so strong that Chu Xi thought her baby could become a nun-and she was thankful her baby hadn't sworn off sex.
Looking at a fragrant bowl of braised pork belly on the table, Chu Xi smelled its sweet aroma, pressed her lips together, and forced herself to look away.
Sigh. Meat, it is what I desire, but what my wife desires not.
Chu Xi knew without even thinking that there was no way Ren Zhi would eat this.
She covered her nose with her hand, blocking the seductive aroma of the braised pork.
First dish, Chu Xi pointed to a cold-tossed mushroom platter. "This one."
The staff member nodded and recorded it on a whiteboard.
For the second dish, Chu Xi hesitantly chose the stir-fried okra with chicken breast.
Among the few low-fat stir-fries, she reluctantly chose this one, but she wasn't very confident that Ren Zhi would pick the same thing.
For the third dish, she pointed to the boiled broccoli with a confident look in her eyes.
This was her baby's favorite dish, favored even more frequently than she was.
Fourth dish, tofu and cabbage soup.
This bland, watery soup made Chu Xi sigh and shake her head. She couldn't help but complain to the camera:
"My wife is like an ascetic monk every day, just eating this kind of stuff. I don't think she's fat, really, she's not."
For the last dish, she chose boiled prawns, something she also liked to eat and which would also meet Ren Zhi's needs.
She pressed her palms together and prayed piously:
"Baby, you have to choose this plate of prawns for me."
The other four dishes were all things they had eaten at home, especially the mushroom platter, the broccoli, and the tofu and cabbage soup. Given her understanding of Ren Zhi's tastes, she wasn't afraid Ren Zhi wouldn't choose them.
Chu Xi thought to herself: When I get the living expenses tomorrow, I'm definitely going to a restaurant for a proper meal to make up for this.
Her selections were recorded by the staff.
【Couple Number One.
Player B's selected dishes:
Cold-tossed mushroom platter.
Stir-fried okra with chicken breast.
Boiled broccoli.
Tofu and cabbage soup.
Boiled prawns.】
After all four "Player B"s had finished choosing, they were led out the back door to wait on a public bench by the entrance.
At their feet was a lawn, surrounded by coconut trees. Chu Xi looked up at the round coconuts above her, wondering if they were sweet.
She let all her weight sink into the back of the bench. One moment she was pressing her stomach, the next she was picking at the cracks in the wooden seat with her fingers, and then she wrapped her arms around herself, staring blankly ahead.
Her thoughts were written all over her face.
The post-production team added a caption for her inner thoughts: Wifey, hungry, food-food.
Meanwhile, the camera in the cafeteria recorded Ren Zhi, who was stroking her chin in thought.
Upon seeing a bowl of braised pork belly on one of the tables, Ren Zhi's pensive expression was immediately interrupted. She walked over quickly and confirmed:
"I want this bowl of braised pork belly."
It was one of Chu Xi's favorites. With near-instantaneous chemistry, Ren Zhi thought that Chu Xi would definitely have chosen this.
After choosing it, a look of satisfaction, relief, and luck flashed across her face for a second.
Jin Xiao came over and asked, "Wow, you like this? Can you even eat it? I love braised pork too, but I usually don't dare to eat it, only the lean parts."
She was a chatterbox. Ren Zhi waited for her to finish before smiling and saying, "Chu Xi loves this. She eats both the fat and the lean parts."
Jin Xiao "wow"-ed again. "And her figure is still so good? How does she maintain it?"
Ren Zhi: "She uses her brain a lot, so she burns more energy. Plus, she's always working out, so it's fine for her to eat a little."
Jin Xiao: "It's mainly because she has a good constitution, the type that doesn't get fat easily."
Ren Zhi smiled, not denying it. "Yes, I'm envious too."
After they finished chatting, Ren Zhi started looking for the second dish.
Chu Xi's tastes ran toward strong flavors, whether sour, sweet, bitter, or spicy. Conversely, what she disliked most were bland, lightly salted cuisines. In her own words, which she used when complaining about Zhejiang cuisine: "It tastes like chewing wax, no different from murdering my mealtime."
Ren Zhi couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. She still remembered the stiff expression on the face of the boss who had treated them to that table of Zhejiang cuisine while asking for a favor, right after he heard that comment.
Of course, Chu Xi had also been given a stern lecture by her when they got home that night.
After choosing the braised pork belly, Ren Zhi had a flash of inspiration that opened up her train of thought.
There were two other dishes that appeared on their table quite frequently at home-
The stir-fried lamb with scallions that Chu Xi often cooked.
And the spicy crucian carp that Chu Xi loved for her to make.
Ren Zhi found both dishes on the tables. After a moment's hesitation, she made her choice with relative confidence.
She could also eat the crucian carp, so Chu Xi would probably choose it. If not that, then... Her gaze lingered on the boiled prawns for more than ten seconds.
Xiao Xi probably prefers spicy food more.
Bai Mengyun came over to ask about her selection strategy. Ren Zhi smiled and said, "I'm guessing the freshwater dish she'll pick is either the boiled prawns or the spicy crucian carp. It can only be one of those two; we both love them."
Bai Mengyun nodded and smiled. "You two really have great chemistry. How long have you been together?"
Ren Zhi: "Over three years."
Bai Mengyun: "Not bad, not bad. When my Lao Yu and I had been together for over three years, I was still fuzzy on his dietary restrictions! Haha."
Bai Mengyun: "So, are you going to pick a vegetable dish? Your three choices are all heavy meat and fish dishes."
A doting expression appeared on Ren Zhi's face as she said, "She just loves to eat these things, heavily flavored meats. If she had to eat vegetarian food right after arriving, she definitely wouldn't be happy here."
Speaking of which, this was already the third year that Chu Xi had been complaining about the food on the Three Kingdoms set.
Bai Mengyun: "You know her so well, you've even figured out her innermost thoughts."
Ren Zhi was smiling when she suddenly covered her mouth and exclaimed, "Oh, there's one thing I almost forgot!"
She hurried over to the bowl of braised pork, grabbed the lid from a soup pot, and cleverly placed it on top, muttering to herself:
"Xiao Xi will be eating this later. Can't let it get cold. I'll keep it warm..."
For the fourth dish, Ren Zhi chose the tofu and cabbage soup.
Three dishes and one soup, a relatively standard menu for two people.
For the last dish, Ren Zhi chose the staple food: rice.
Even though she didn't eat staple foods, Chu Xi loved rice. She thought about it from a different angle: after choosing four dishes, Chu Xi would definitely add rice as a staple.
The staff finished recording Ren Zhi's selections as well.
【Couple Number One.
Player A's selected dishes:
Braised pork belly.
Stir-fried lamb with scallions.
Spicy crucian carp.
Tofu and cabbage soup.
White rice.】
The staff member glanced at the board behind them and began to doubt if these two were even a couple. Did they really eat at the same table often?
Oh, maybe it's because they're too busy with work. They're probably in different cities a lot of the time.
All four "Player A"s finished their selections. The four spouses waiting outside the back door were called in by the staff, and everyone filed in one after another.
Chu Xi came in with a little skip in her step, a brilliant smile on her face as she looked at Ren Zhi.
She walked over, took Ren Zhi's hand, and smiled. "Baby, quick, let me see what dishes you chose."
The director interrupted through a megaphone, "We will now reveal the answers for everyone."
Ren Zhi intertwined their fingers, hooking her finger and asking gently, "Hungry?"
"Yeah, a little... There are a lot of coconuts here. Should we come pick some tomorrow?"
"Sure, but we'll have to talk to the owner here..."
After chatting for a bit about miscellaneous plans for the next day, they saw a staff member bring out the two whiteboards from before.
One was for the "Player A" selections, and the other was for the "Player B" selections.
Production team: "First, we will reveal the board for the Player A selections-"
The whiteboard, covered in black writing, was turned around, prominently displaying half of each couple's menu.
Chu Xi's bright, clear eyes fell on the section for "Couple Number One."
As she looked, her expression gradually changed.
O.O... -.-|||... QAQ!!!
Around her, she could hear the other three husbands sighing in relief, exclaiming in pleasant surprise, and applauding with amusement.
As someone in the background blurted out "Yes!", Chu Xi turned and silently buried her face in Ren Zhi's shoulder, wanting to cry but having no tears.
Ren Zhi noticed her strange reaction and frowned slightly. "Xiao Xi...?"
What's wrong? Could it be that the dishes I chose are very different from the ones she chose?
At that moment, a hundred different emotions welled up in Chu Xi. Her mind was playing an image of a bowl of braised pork belly sprouting wings and flying away.
"Baby, how could you have chosen those dishes..."
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