WS - Chapter 70
Chapter 70
Compared to the hastily cooked soup from the night before, meant merely to fill the stomach, the meat broth that had simmered over a low flame all night was clearly far superior.
The richness of marrow and collagen, blended with the tender shredded meat scraped from the cow's head, was so profoundly savory that after one sip you'd be reluctant to open your mouth for a long while.
In this wilderness, meat broth seasoned only with salt far surpassed anything she had eaten in the bustling star systems countless times over.
Several people gathered around the stove, drinking noisily, gulping it down. Only after finishing one bowl and in the pause before refilling the second did they regain the inclination to chat.
Guan Yongyi and Ning Chuyang were always easygoing, but Yu Nianbing and Mu Xingzhou, as soon as they sat down and saw this pot of broth that had clearly been simmering for a long time, guessed that someone had tended the fire through the night.
For Yu Nianbing, the movements of the person beside her during the night suddenly had a reasonable explanation; there was no need to ask.
So only Mu Xingzhou spoke up.
What somewhat surprised Yu Nianbing was that the fire throughout the night had actually been tended by Zhuang Jiachuan and Song Shiyue together.
Speaking of which, Yu Nianbing's impression of Zhuang Jiachuan was a bit complicated.
Although they had not worked together before, Zhuang Jiachuan's story of meteoric rise followed by decline, and then further decline after further decline, was known to everyone in the entertainment industry. Naturally, Yu Nianbing had heard that story as well; without exactly sympathizing with someone she had no connection to, she still felt a touch of emotion.
Then came the program The Wilderness Journey.
From the moment Yu Nianbing started to clearly show her intention not to renew her contract with Senxin Entertainment, Qiu Yishan, an agent who had been passable until then, became increasingly unreliable.
In particular, for the project of The Wilderness Journey that the company had forced onto her, Qiu Yishan didn't even put much heart into it; she was entirely focused on getting Yu Nianbing to renew her contract.
Therefore, it was during her several dealings with the production team that Yu Nianbing herself sensed the program team's intention to create some buzz between Zhuang Jiachuan and herself.
Given Yu Nianbing's status, the production team did not openly state it, only hinted at it — for instance, by discussing impressions of Zhuang Jiachuan, to test Yu Nianbing's attitude.
Since the other side hadn't been explicit, it wasn't convenient for Yu Nianbing to bring it up herself and refuse. Normally, an agent would have been there to mediate such matters, but Qiu Yishan had entered her unreliable phase, so Yu Nianbing could only patiently dance around the issue with the production team a few times, thus making her stance clear.
Yu Nianbing had even decided that if the production team persisted, she would simply bring it up and refuse early, hoping only that they wouldn't have the gall to turn around and claim she had read too much into it.
But in the end, matters didn't reach that point.
Of course, this probably had something to do with Song Shiyue, who had charged in only during the final rounds.
Yu Nianbing could imagine it herself: on one side were two people with no prior connection, on the other side was... all for casually generating buzz — of course they would choose the one with more foundation and more talking points.
Whatever the case, before officially entering the program, Yu Nianbing felt she had come to fulfill the contract and just play a minor role. She wouldn't get involved with Zhuang Jiachuan, and certainly not with Song Shiyue.
But where in the world do things always go as smoothly as one wishes...
With Zhuang Jiachuan, indeed nothing happened — not even a misunderstanding.
But Song Shiyue...
How did it end up like this...
At the beginning, wasn't it just a matter of seeing the other person not eating enough, feeling a bit sorry for her, and then cooking something?
How had it come to this — they had slept together, she had been pinched, clothes grabbed, waist and hips...
Although much of it happened during sleeping mode and wouldn't be seen by the audience, just because others didn't see it didn't mean it hadn't happened.
Was a life-saving debt always something that got more and more complicated like this?
Yu Nianbing was rarely so unable to think things through.
Just as she was thinking this, trying to unravel the threads and find why things shouldn't have developed this way, someone gently touched Yu Nianbing's wrist, interrupting her reflection.
"Why aren't you drinking? It won't taste good once it gets cold," Song Shiyue said with a caring face full of smiles.
The smile that usually looked as innocent and adorable as a young deer seemed today to hold entirely other meanings.
What are you smiling at!
Are you still laughing about me grabbing your clothes while sleeping!
It's not like I was being childish on purpose!
Keep laughing and I'll grab your waist right now, believe it or not!
The bit of calm Yu Nianbing had just managed to collect instantly scattered.
Song Shiyue watched with some surprise as Yu Nianbing, who had just looked slightly melancholic with faintly worried brows, suddenly changed expression — to use a somewhat inappropriate analogy, like a fighting hen suddenly provoked, as if defensive yet defiant, lifting her neck, glaring at someone, before finally burying her face in her bowl.
Haha, so amusing?
Come to think of it, Yu Nianbing's feeling wasn't entirely wrong.
Song Shiyue indeed found particular amusement in Yu Nianbing's various "little cutenesses" from the night before.
Some people are like imperial cuisine: looking magnificent and splendid, but once tasted, you realize the oil has long congealed, and the flavor inside has turned.
And some people are like a bowl of clear broth: looking plain and completely without richness, yet it is a soup full of profound freshness, and with each careful sip, you can discern a unique deliciousness born from the combination of ingredients.
To Song Shiyue, Yu Nianbing was naturally the latter.
The rumored cold heart and cold face, the kindness beneath the bland exterior on Beichen Planet, and in these past few days, an increasingly lively and interesting nature.
She couldn't help feeling that it would get more and more interesting.
Time really is a wonderful thing, Song Shiyue thought, and then quite happily gulped down a large mouthful of soup.
This scene was naturally caught by Yu Nianbing, who was drinking her soup while watching from the corner of her eye. She couldn't help but silently snark, We're live — can't an artist maintain her image a little...
But after her snark, she also felt that such boldness seemed somewhat familiar.
Yu Nianbing swallowed the meat broth in her mouth, tilted her head to think — oh, this boldness was exactly like her own behavior the night before, when she had tried to finish the meat in her bowl before everyone else finished eating.
Only, Song Shiyue's was genuine boldness, while hers had been a forced act out of necessity.
Thinking of this, Yu Nianbing felt rather speechless.
The night before, although she had managed to scrape by using the acting of ravenous hunger, the beef had only been ordinarily cooked, far from the tender falling-off-the-bone state now. Eating that quickly had left her stomach uncomfortable for a long while... even after going to bed, she still felt bloated and uneasy.
She had thought she wouldn't sleep well all night, but who knew that after being massaged a bit and having her feet soaked, she would doze off into such a stupor...
Truly, defeat is Song Shiyue, and success is also Song Shiyue.
Forget it, it was her who yanked someone else's clothes, and now she was the one getting angry at the other person... What kind of logic was that?
With the beef soup as a prompt, Yu Nianbing recalled how kind Song Shiyue had been the night before, her heart softening a little, and she also realized that she, of all people, had been throwing a small, unreasonable tantrum.
But... all these years, she had always been one to pick things up and put them down easily, letting things pass without taking them to heart — how come she even had a little temper now... and the unreasonable kind at that.
Only with a clear and transparent mind can one keep oneself out of trouble.
Having walked so far blindfolded, having finally opened her eyes, it was better to stand steady.
She was already someone who couldn't see people clearly, and the other was also someone unclear; between the two, where was the sense in drawing closer?
The soup bowl in her hands was still warm, but Yu Nianbing's heart had chilled.
Song Shiyue, who had finished her soup first and had already started sorting bones for Dog nearby, had not sensed at all that in the time it took to drink soup, the person still holding more than half a bowl beside her had exiled herself a thousand miles away.
The men didn't drink slowly either; because Zhuang Jiachuan had quietly done work the night before, Mu Xingzhou and Guan Yongyi now showed a somewhat embarrassed eagerness.
Seeing Song Shiyue start to pick out the large bones from the pot, the two vied to extend their hands to help.
Song Shiyue momentarily refused, and explained seriously, "Dog helped us find the cow, so these big bones — I'm fishing them out for it."
Hearing this, the two didn't look surprised; they simply said that Song Shiyue and Dog had worked hard the day before, and it was only right for them to do such chores.
With such eagerness, Song Shiyue couldn't very well insist on doing it herself.
After all, this was just a livestream program; though Song Shiyue didn't fear work, if others wanted to work for face time, she wouldn't stand in their way.
Although it was a small cow, there were quite a few bones. Dog certainly couldn't finish them all in the morning. Song Shiyue also said to fish out the remaining two hooves, rinse them, and give them to Dog to gnaw on in the morning; the other bones needed to be rinsed and dried over the fire. Mu Xingzhou and Guan Yongyi agreed without the slightest reluctance.
Setting aside everything else, although the production team and the captain were a bit unreliable, Song Shiyue was quite satisfied with the guests on this program.
After all, these temporary teammates — not to say how capable they were, but their willingness to work was good enough.
To be blunt, anyone with eyes could see that the cow had been found by Dog and given to Song Shiyue. The task of roasting the bones, Mu Xingzhou and Guan Yongyi did willingly and meticulously, soon producing a stack of dried bones.
While roasting, they quietly discussed that since they hadn't contributed properly the day before, they would split and carry these bones later.
Only, they never expected that later on there would be nothing for them to do.
While this side was roasting bones and chatting, Director Zhang on the production team's side, without activating his private mode, just had a floating screen hanging there, casually watching while drinking his congee.
Wang Daming, who liked to stick close to Director Zhang, was drinking pumpkin congee from his bowl but had long been eyeing the meat broth on the guests' side with envy.
The beef had been stewed until it fell off the bones; one could well imagine how fragrant and tender it was, making one swallow saliva just watching.
According to Wang Daming, while the pumpkin congee, red bean buns, and flower rolls from the thermal storage box were also fine, without something savory and meaty in the morning, he just craved it.
In the end, the guests eating was one thing, but even Dog got two beef hooves that had simmered all night...
Truly, a man is worse off than a dog, worse off than a dog.
Now Wang Daming, watching a top-tier popular singer and a former galactic fencing champion both crouching on the ground roasting bones for Dog, couldn't help but acidly remark: "In just one day, that dog has been raised too well by that side; I'm afraid it can't even remember who we are anymore..."
Director Zhang slowly took a sip of congee, then raised his eyes to Wang Daming and drawled, "Not 'we' — just you."
Wang Daming, whose remark had isolated him, didn't dare argue with Director Zhang, and just angrily gulped down his congee soup.
Nearby, Ni Jinghe, who had spent the night in the same tent as Feng Qianqian and grown a bit more familiar with her roommate, was also drinking congee and standing together with her. After glancing around, holding an untouched red bean bun, she hesitantly asked in a low voice, "It seems there are only six portions of breakfast today — shouldn't we share some with Captain Yang?"
Feng Qianqian shook her head. "Director Zhang said: we only needed to take care of Captain Yang's meal last night; after that, we don't need to bother."
"So we just let him starve? That won't do..." Ni Jinghe, being a doctor after all, instinctively thought first about health concerns.
"Later there will be a segment to add ingredients for the guests," Feng Qianqian calculated, then added, "Barring accidents, he'll probably be able to eat by noon. Missing one breakfast shouldn't be a big deal."
The truth was, Feng Qianqian had rather neutral feelings toward both Director Zhang and Captain Yang. For her personally, it was just a meal, not worth arguing with Director Zhang over Captain Yang, nor worth sacrificing her own meal just to maintain the production team's relationship with the captain.
After all, missing one meal wouldn't kill him, and hadn't those two also planned to let the guests go hungry?
Hearing Feng Qianqian say so, Ni Jinghe felt relieved. As long as he wouldn't go hungry forever, a meal or two — a grown man could surely endure it. Thinking this, she promptly popped the red bean bun into her own mouth.
Captain Yang, stomach growling with hunger, figured that this was everyone's breakfast time, so he didn't even leave his tent or get up. He merely hoped that in the audience's eyes, he had overslept and missed breakfast, rather than neither side having prepared any for him...
Hateful people also have pitiable aspects.
Unfortunately, although Captain Yang's plan was good, the production team's following cameras had long ago exposed his cover.
Some people were having a hard time, while some dogs were eating until their mouths were slick with oil.
The hooves from the night before had been chewy, and this morning's were tender and sticky, making Dog blissfully happy.
Most importantly, this was something that the very formidable person had personally prepared.
Dog couldn't tell what "the cooperation ends once the cow is divided" meant; it only thought that its long, hard work of crossing mountains and streams had finally been recognized, and for a time it was steeped in the joy of deliciousness and not being abandoned.
No wonder Dog thought so.
After all, after two meals, there was still a big gift waiting for it.
Back to the bones: once roasted, they were being fanned cool with a rush-leaf fan, divided into two piles. They had also asked Ning Chuyang, who temporarily had nothing to do, to find some large leaves and vines to bundle them up and carry on Dog's back.
The bones were divided; Ning Chuyang brought the leaves; they were just starting to wrap the bones when Song Shiyue also came over with a pile of vines.
As soon as Song Shiyue arrived, she looked pleasantly surprised: "Wow, great — how did you know what I was going to make? You've already divided them into two piles?"
The three who had been busy wrapping bones were praised into a bewildered state.
Guan Yongyi stammered, wanting to say something, but luckily Song Shiyue spoke first.
"But carrying both piles might be a bit too much; let's let it see how much is suitable," Song Shiyue said, speaking words no one could understand. Amidst the three baffled faces, she called over Dog, who was still gnawing on a hoof.
And so, everyone present, and everyone watching via the livestream, was stunned by what Song Shiyue did next.
The vines Song Shiyue had dragged over were split into thin strips, not whole.
After spreading them out, everyone realized that this pile, ostensibly a woven net bag, was more accurately described as...
Two smallish net pouches, connected by a middle section resembling a fishing net — and when placed on Dog's back, it formed a perfectly fitting... dog backpack.
Not to mention the people watching, even Dog itself, which had the net draped over its back, was baffled.
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