CSGM - Chapter 154

Chapter 154: Extra - Love Reality Show

Ren Zhi had actually chosen rich meat and fish dishes and the staple food, rice, while Chu Xi had chosen all low-fat side dishes.

As fate would have it, their choices completely missed each other, and in the end, only a bowl of "tofu and cabbage soup" was a shared selection.

Seeing the starkly contrasting menus on the two whiteboards, the other three couples laughed and teased:

"I never would have thought your tastes were so different."

Ren Zhi rubbed Chu Xi's head as she leaned against her in frustration, and she couldn't help but laugh.

The other couples had at least three dishes each, and some even had four. The production team had given Yu Shen and Bai Mengyun's family an ample supply of white rice, almost filling a large container.

Soon, everyone suggested they shouldn't eat separately. As the old saying goes, if you have an apple and I have an orange, we can only taste both fruits if we share.

So, everyone carried their dishes to the home of Yu Shen and his wife, which was closest to the village entrance, and held a potluck.

Ren Zhi and Chu Xi, carrying their single bowl of tofu and cabbage soup, joined the potluck.

Everything proceeded according to the production team's anticipated script of neighborly harmony.

Over dinner, the four couples started chatting.

Ren Zhi was the first to speak, thanking everyone with a smile. "We came to share your food with just one bowl of soup. You're all too kind. We're definitely the ones who benefited the most tonight."

Yu Shen, the senior of the group in both age and career experience, was also the host, so he naturally took the head of the table. He raised his glass and said cheerfully:

"Don't mention it. We're all neighbors in the same village now. We should look out for each other. It's only natural."

Song Xu chimed in, his eyes crinkling into a smile:

"It's better to be happy together than to be happy alone. Eating a meal like this with everyone is so much livelier."

Jin Xiao's topics of conversation almost invariably gravitated toward the two most famous people present.

"I have to say, you two are so funny. One of you insisted on choosing rich meat and fish, while the other chose such light dishes. You managed to miss each other perfectly! Hahahaha..."

When addressed, Ren Zhi responded with a polite smile.

"She's used to my diet, and I know her preferences, so we both tried to choose based on the other's tastes. As it happened, our timing was just off."

Jin Xiao said, "Ah, what a shame about that braised pork. And to think you even put a lid on it to keep it warm, all for nothing."

At the mention of braised pork, Chu Xi took a fierce bite of the pig's trotter in her bowl to vent her frustration.

Forget it, this is just as tasty, she silently rationalized.

When we get money tomorrow, I'll go buy meat myself and cook a proper meal.

Ren Zhi, however, was already at peace with the situation.

"It's alright. Isn't this a blessing in disguise? We get to taste all the dishes everyone else chose. We actually came out ahead. I'm starting to think that whatever you get to eat is the most delicious thing."

As she spoke, her eyes curved into a smile, like bright crescent moons in the night sky. Her tone wasn't forceful, but soothing and warm. She seemed like someone enveloped in the warmth of life's small, unexpected blessings, and she naturally radiated that kind of aura.

Tang Rang, who was the same age but a few months younger, praised her. "Sister Zhi, you have such a wonderful outlook. I always feel so relaxed whenever I listen to you speak."

Ren Zhi teased, "Of course it's relaxing. We're on vacation."

"It's still a bit of a pity we didn't get the braised pork today. I'll have Chu Xi make it tomorrow, and I'll bring some over for you all to try. Her cooking is quite good."

Jin Xiao immediately jumped in. "Oh, I know! Wasn't she on a restaurant reality show before? Her cooking must be great!"

"Baby, don't just focus on chatting. Eat something."

Chu Xi, who had been single-mindedly focused on her food for some time, finally spoke.

She picked out some strips of radish from the pig's trotter soup for Ren Zhi, peeled a garlic crayfish, and then, with her plastic-gloved hand, pointed to Ren Zhi's bowl.

Jin Xiao glanced at Ren Zhi's bowl, then shot a look at Sun Chen. "Chenchen, I want some shrimp, too."

Her young husband, a recent college graduate, nodded obediently and immediately put on a pair of gloves to peel them for her.

Bai Mengyun sighed. "You young people are so thoughtful. We old folks never peel shelled food for each other. It's always, 'eat it if you want, don't if you don't.' We're all about self-sufficiency."

Chu Xi shot Bai Mengyun a look of incomprehension.

Then she lowered her head and went back to eating.

Amid the lively atmosphere, the conversation turned to the topic of how couples get along.

—In truth, the topic had been provided by the production team on a whiteboard. Since this was a show about the lives of couples, it was only fitting to discuss relationship matters.

Bai Mengyun took the lead. "Since we're all here, why don't we share how we all met?"

Since it was her suggestion, she went first, recounting how she and Yu Shen met. They had been classmates in middle school, went to different high schools, but then ended up in the same major at the same university...

Jin Xiao and Sun Chen had met at a private party thrown by a friend; according to them, it was love at first sight.

Song Xu and Tang Rang had met on a film set and fallen in love during production.

When it was her turn, Ren Zhi explained that she and Chu Xi had first worked together on a reality show.

"It was called Our Restaurant, season one," Ren Zhi said, holding up one finger with a smile.

Jin Xiao exclaimed, "Wow, that show is so popular now! A lot of my friends love it. It looks like you two laid the groundwork for its success!"

Chu Xi lowered her head and stared at her chopsticks, clicking her tongue in her mind. What a suck-up.

She had always been aloof with strangers, her entire expression cold and distant.

After finishing her compliment, Jin Xiao snuck a glance at Chu Xi's expression. She was completely unmoved, her brow frosty. This person is really hard to get along with, Jin Xiao thought.

Ren Zhi replied, "Oh, that's definitely not it. The credit really goes to the director."

Tang Rang raised an eyebrow, ready for some gossip. "And then what? How did you two hit it off?"

At this question, Ren Zhi fell silent and seemed to be thinking seriously.

When she didn't hear an answer for a long moment, Chu Xi turned her head and looked at her with a slight pout.

Surely Baby hasn't forgotten the story of how we fell in love, has she?

Bai Mengyun laughed. "What's the matter? Is it hard to define?"

That wasn't it at all.

It was just that thinking about the past had caused Ren Zhi to get lost in her memories for a moment.

Then, with a sudden snort, she burst out laughing.

"To be honest," she said, "I didn't like her at all in the beginning. In fact, I found her rather annoying."

Chu Xi's pupils dilated instantly. Her eyes went wide as she stared at Ren Zhi in utter astonishment, her expression like someone who had just been shot with an arrow.

Chu Xi: "!!!"

They had been together for so long, yet she had never heard Ren Zhi say anything like this before.

It was completely beyond her expectations; she couldn't seem to believe that had been Ren Zhi's initial impression of her.

This, however, sent the other three couples into fits of laughter, as it was a familiar story for how some relationships begin.

After her bout of laughter, Tang Rang pressed on.

"Sister Zhi, in what way was she annoying? You have to tell us."

Ren Zhi said, "When I first met her on Our Restaurant, you know what my first impression was? It was—Who does this person think she is, acting so high and mighty?"

The table erupted in laughter again, as everyone felt her description was spot on. The impression Chu Xi gave off even now was pretty much the same.

Ren Zhi continued, "And in the beginning, she was standoffish with every single cast member. I still remember it clearly. The first time we were running the restaurant, we made a small mistake. I called everyone together for a meeting, and she—even though she was part of the team—just stood off to the side laughing at us. I thought at the time... Hiss, this person is so punchable."

As she reached the end of her story, she actually made a teeth-gritting expression, but the smile in her eyes made it clear she was only feigning fierceness.

Chu Xi turned her head back toward her bowl and puffed out her cheeks, thinking:

Didn't I end up being the one to solve that mistake? How could Baby not remember my good deeds!

Ah, I feel so wronged.

Ren Zhi went on, "And she was so snarky. She'd often walk over to us and go—"

She imitated the look of regal disdain Chu Xi used to wear—

"'You guys can't even do this?'"

"'Is this supposed to be hard?'"

"'Maybe you should use your brains.'"

Chu Xi: "..."

Listening to Baby roast her like this, how could she dare say a word?

Everyone was laughing so hard their stomachs hurt, and someone even let out a honk. Bai Mengyun commented:

"Okay, that is pretty punchable."

After her laughter subsided, Ren Zhi added, "Right, Sister Yun? At first, I was hoping the show would give her a mute button."

She laughed as she gently stroked Chu Xi's head.

Though her words were a roast, her eyes were filled with affection, as everyone could clearly see.

Tang Rang was charmed by the affectionate look and grew even more eager to hear the rest of the story.

"And then? And then what, Sister Zhi? When did your opinion of her start to change?"

Ren Zhi smiled. "It happened before I even realized it."

Tang Rang went, "Ooh...?"

Bai Mengyun couldn't help but comment, "You must be the one who wears the pants in your relationship, right? Chu Xi has such a good temper. You were just roasting her, but I noticed she didn't get angry at all. With other couples, if one partner aired the other's dirty laundry in front of friends, some young people would immediately lose their composure."

Chu Xi commented lightly:

"The fact that my wife hasn't poisoned me into silence is already a blessing of the highest order."

Ren Zhi knew she wouldn't get angry over something like this. Amid the group's laughter, she affectionately squeezed Chu Xi's ear, and the tip of it quickly turned a faint red.

Jin Xiao was laughing so hard she could barely catch her breath.

"Hahahahaha... No wonder I saw people online saying that the only thing keeping her from being the perfect idol is a potion to make her mute! Hahahaha..."

Ren Zhi smiled. "Perhaps. But she's actually quite good. If she suddenly couldn't speak, I'm afraid I'd feel heartbroken."

"Hahaha, I can see that," Bai Mengyun said.

A little later, the conversation moved to the next topic: Is there one thing about your partner that you just can't stand?

In response to this question, Ren Zhi shook her head.

"No. If there were, I would tell her directly, and she would change it. And I would do the same for her."

Chu Xi, however, found the question very strange.

It's full of holes and lacks logic.

If you have flaws you find unbearable in each other, then why are you together in the first place? It's truly strange.

She shook her head, her gaze clear, and stated concisely:

"There are none."

Song Xu laughed. "You're not just saying that because you're afraid of making your wife angry, are you?"

Chu Xi replied, "There just aren't any."

However, when the other three couples answered, they each pointed out a small fault in their partner.

For instance, one couldn't stand the silent treatment; another couldn't stand how their partner wouldn't offer a way to de-escalate an argument, leaving them in an awkward position; another couldn't stand that some things were done without any prior discussion...

And so on and so forth. As they aired their grievances, they often became quite verbose.

After that, the way Chu Xi looked at the other couples changed slightly.

When dinner was over, the four couples returned to their respective houses.

Chu Xi and Ren Zhi took a walk to the beach and watched the sun slowly set behind the mountains. In the distance, the drifting clouds turned the color of salted duck egg yolk.

It was then that Chu Xi finally spoke.

"Baby, they're so strange."

Ren Zhi turned her head to look at her.

"Hm?"

"How can they feel their partners have so many flaws? Are they really in love?" Chu Xi asked.

"Of course they are. It's just that every couple has a different dynamic," Ren Zhi said, laughing at her question.

"You mean other people's relationships aren't like ours?"

"No, Baby. It's you who's different from other people."

"But I don't think there's anything wrong with you... Quick, look! A little crab!"

Catching something in her peripheral vision, Chu Xi suddenly pulled Ren Zhi to a stop.

Looking down, they saw a tiny, thumb-sized crab scuttling in the sand.

Ren Zhi glanced at it, picked up two twigs someone had discarded, and used them to gently pick up the crab and carry it to the water's edge.

"Go on, go get something to eat."

She teased the little crab, giving its backside a gentle nudge with a twig.

The two of them sat down on the sand. Ren Zhi, in her long skirt, sat with her knees bent and held together in front of her, while Chu Xi stretched her long, straight legs out like a pair of chopsticks.

Chu Xi suddenly shouted into the sea breeze:

"Baby, I like you! Baby, I love you!"

"Shhh..." Ren Zhi covered her mouth. "There are other people here. Keep your voice down."

A few locals were scattered along the beach, and her shout drew their eyes. They glanced over at the two of them for a moment.

Ren Zhi felt a little embarrassed.

Chu Xi pulled her hand away and intertwined their fingers.

"I didn't know other people's relationships were like that. Brother Yu and Sister Yun don't even peel shrimp for each other."

Chu Xi was still amazed by that fact.

Ren Zhi said, "Everyone has a different way of living."

Chu Xi said, "But I want to do those things for you."

Ren Zhi smiled. "I know."

Chu Xi added, "And you're willing to let me."

Ren Zhi rested her left arm on Chu Xi's shoulder, her nimble fingers brushing back a wisp of hair that the wind had blown loose and tucking it behind her ear.

"Of course I am."

Chu Xi asked, "And when you're Sister Yun's age, will you still be willing?"

Then she added, "Do people adopt a new way of life once they reach a certain age?"

Ren Zhi shook her head, amused.

"No. You sound so earnest when you ask, Baby."

Chu Xi fiddled with the ends of her hair, sighed, and concluded:

"It's still them. They're the strange ones."

Ren Zhi's shoulders shook with laughter.

"That's just how you are. You see anyone who's different from you as a weirdo."

Chu Xi didn't comment, simply feeling that in this moment of leisure, being able to listen peacefully to Ren Zhi's voice was a true pleasure.

"Even though we've only been here for one day, I already want to come back for every season."

The production team was overjoyed to hear that, secretly gloating to themselves, Yes, yes, that's great.

Ren Zhi said, "If you like it, we could buy a small house here and come for vacation every year when we have time off."

Chu Xi hummed, took the twig from Ren Zhi's hand, and began to draw in the sand with its sharp tip.

"What I like is living with you. You've been so busy with work lately, you haven't had much time for me."

"Is that why you've broken the records on your game console several times over?" Ren Zhi said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Yeah. Someone even contacted my account to ask if I wanted to be a coach for their club. It's hilarious."

The club managers who saw the username "Heaven-Sent Genius" on the game's leaderboards probably never imagined that the person behind it was Chu Xi.

Her appearance fee for a single commercial event was more than a club coach's annual salary, yet many people online thought the salary being offered to this user was already quite generous.

"Sigh, it's not about the money. The only problem is that their boss isn't you."

"So you wouldn't mind working for me for free, then."

"Volunteer Chu Xi, at your service, permanently free of charge. Hehe."

Chu Xi's eyes curved into a fawning smile.

The post-production team added a meme sticker for her: Look at your shameless face. Disgusted.jpg.

After Chu Xi finished her chattering, the light of the setting sun fell upon her glossy black hair, draping it in a soft radiance.

Her eyes reflected the sparkling surface of the sea, like crushed diamonds glittering in a glass display case.

In that moment, even the wind seemed to fall silent.

The wind carried a faint, gentle dampness, a tenderness that seemed to well up from the sea itself.

Ren Zhi tilted her head, resting it on Chu Xi's taller shoulder.

She said softly, "I've just realized it feels like it's been a long time since we've sat together like this."

Chu Xi seized the opening, letting out a faint note of complaint. "You're only just realizing now..."

Ren Zhi's shoulders shook with laughter.

Holding the twig in her right hand, Chu Xi held up her left and began to count on her fingers for Ren Zhi—

"The company."

"The company's artists."

"TV dramas, movies, and reality shows."

"And then, finally, me."

"Isn't that right, Baby? See, for me, you're right here..."

Chu Xi opened her hand again and pressed down her thumb, showing Ren Zhi that she was number one.

Then, holding the other four fingers still, she said:

"There's nothing else. Nothing else can even be compared to you."

Ren Zhi let out a soft laugh, reached over, and took hold of Chu Xi's thumb.

"Chu Xi is here for me, too."

Chu Xi hummed contentedly.

Ren Zhi couldn't stop smiling.

"Baby, stop flirting with me. We finally have this chance to sit here. Let's just enjoy the breeze and watch the sea. If you keep this up, I won't be able to control myself."

Chu Xi asked, "Control yourself from what?"

Ren Zhi replied, "From wanting to take you home and turn off all the cameras."

And do things that outsiders aren't allowed to see.

Chu Xi understood instantly. "Hehe, then let's go back in a little while."

"The last time we sat by the sea together was two years ago, I think," Ren Zhi said.

"This is better. Those trainees were so noisy," Chu Xi replied immediately.

"If your students knew you were bad-mouthing them again, they'd be heartbroken."

"I'm just stating the facts."

Ren Zhi lowered her gaze to the sand in front of her feet. "What did you draw?"

Using the twig, Chu Xi had sketched two upper-body stick figures in the sand. "Us. Isn't it obvious?"

One figure was a woman with shoulder-length hair, the other a woman with long, wavy curls. One wore the round collar of a T-shirt, while the other had the shoulder strap of a dress.

Both had smiling faces, their curved brows and the corners of their eyes etched into the sand.

Chu Xi thought for a moment. "I'll add our hands, holding."

She then decisively added a few more strokes.

Ren Zhi nestled against her shoulder, listening to the soft scratching sound of the twig moving through the sand.

"When is this supposed to be us?" she asked.

"Huh?" Chu Xi paused for a moment.

Then, she said.

"Let's say it's us when we're over fifty."

Past fifty, we'll both be old ladies.

Ren Zhi chuckled. "Draw a shrimp. I'll peel it for you."

Chu Xi immediately added a few more strokes, and the rough shape of a crayfish, just about recognizable, appeared.

"Baby, you're the best."

Ren Zhi gazed at the drawing, lost in thought for a moment before asking:

"Do you think our hair will still be this thick when we're old? Me, perming my hair after I've passed my fiftieth birthday... isn't that a bit too trendy?"

Chu Xi scratched her chin. "Then what hairstyle would you want?"

Ren Zhi thought for a moment. "Maybe tied up in a bun."

With a soft scratching sound, the twig erased the previous hair and drew a new style.

Chu Xi mumbled, "Then I should change my hairstyle, too. If I perm my hair all the time, I might really go bald when I'm old. I should take better care of it..."

She changed her own drawing to have soft, short hair.

Ren Zhi let out a laugh and mused aloud.

"We'll definitely have some gray hairs by then."

Chu Xi was silent for a moment, then suddenly said.

"Baby, I want to grow old with you."

"Me too."

Their intertwined fingers tightened instantly. Both of them couldn't help but squeeze the other's hand harder, the warmth of their palms seeming to burn with the rhythm of their heartbeats.

Ren Zhi's voice, full of reliance, was carried softly to Chu Xi's ear on the wind.

"When we're old, we have to hold hands just like this, too."

"We will, Baby. I'll never leave you..." As she spoke, a thought suddenly occurred to her. "But will I get dumber when I'm old? What if I become bad with words and my mind isn't as sharp anymore? What then?"

A person's brain cells decline with age; an older person's mind is never as agile as it was in their youth.

She scratched her head in great distress, her brow already furrowed with worry.

Ren Zhi giggled.

Chu Xi sighed.

Ren Zhi said, "Baby, you're quite self-aware."

She even knows she's bad with words.

She ruffled Chu Xi's hair and comforted her with a smile. "Don't worry. I'm older than you, so I'll get old first. I'll help you get used to reading glasses ahead of time. When it's time to pick a cane, I'll have experience and will choose the one that's most comfortable for you. I'll make a cookbook of foods that won't chip your teeth. I'll learn the most practical wellness exercises for early risers and teach them to you... I'll wade through all those pitfalls for you first. By the time you get old, you'll be an experienced, clever person."

Chu Xi asked in a low voice, "Then what will I do?"

"You'll hold my hand."

Ren Zhi lifted their tightly clasped hands and gently kissed the back of Chu Xi's.

"Do you remember that one night, when we were sleeping in the hotel, and you hummed a few lines of a song in your sleep next to me?"

Chu Xi often woke up in the middle of the night and would quietly sing to herself, so for a moment, she couldn't recall which song Ren Zhi meant.

Not until Ren Zhi began to hum it.

"'So many once adored your youthful face, but who would bear the cruel changes of the years...'"

"'So many have come and gone throughout your life, but know that I will be with you, by your side, for all of mine...'"

The last rays of the setting sun burned away the final wisp of cloud, and a mist began to rise from the sea, suffused with the colors of twilight.

Chu Xi was suddenly in a bit of a daze.

Wasn't that from three years ago? That night, Ren Zhi had been completely drunk.

"I only sang it that one time, and you actually remember. Baby, you have a great memory, too."

"Of course I remember. You sang it beautifully. That night, I remember thinking, Will I ever meet someone like that?"

Chu Xi's gaze fell on their joined hands. She scratched her head and mumbled shyly.

"I think you have..."

"Yes," she laughed softly. "I have."

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