Ye Zhinian kept his speechless expression from before, asking with mixed exasperation and amusement, “What is it this time?”
“Seems like it’s because of your in-car interview,” Chen Junlin said deliberately, watching Ye Zhinian’s expression. “And this one’s a high-ranking Hot Search, no less!”
Ye Zhinian displayed a well-timed look of astonishment, laced with pleasant surprise. “A high-ranking Hot Search? Just from those few things I said in the car?”
Seeing his expression, Chen Junlin’s eyes darted slyly, and he grinned. “Yep. Oh hey—do you know which way we’re supposed to go? Is it over there?”
“Probably.” Ye Zhinian played along, following Chen Junlin in the direction the Follow-shot Director indicated, while inwardly marveling—
This little schemer. Absolutely ruthless.
Within five minutes of meeting, the man had dug three pits for Liu Chen. If Ye Zhinian had reacted even slightly slower, the next Hot Search would likely have been #Ye Zhinian and Liu Chen Fake Friends#.
Ye Zhinian didn’t think Chen Junlin was doing anything wrong—or rather, these tactics were long past surprising him.
Chen Junlin was two years younger than Liu Chen, only twenty-two this year. But both had debuted through survival shows, both leaned toward the cute end of the looks spectrum, and both were idol-turned-actors—so from the day of their debuts, they had inevitably been set side by side for comparison.
Liu Chen had risen first; Chen Junlin’s momentum was fierce. Add in their similar looks and nearly identical trajectories, and their paths had collided over resources several times already. The most recent clash had been over the Third Male Lead in the film The Long Night Before Dawn—and it ended with Liu Chen’s scandal erupting and the role landing in Chen Junlin’s lap.
This time on Utopia, before the two had even met, Chen Junlin had planted the RV landmine first, then used the Hot Search to probe Ye Zhinian’s true identity, and finally dropped the insinuation that Liu Chen’s team was suppressing his individual trending topics—buying only the Hot Searches bundling the two of them together.
This industry, honestly…
Ye Zhinian laughed silently and answered the question Chen Junlin had just posed. “No idea who else, either. But online they’re guessing Teacher Ren’s friend is Sister Lin—Lin Siying.”
“That’s my guess too—Sister Lin. Teacher Ren hinted at it pretty obviously. But Teacher Zheng’s friend from another generation, I can’t guess at all.” Chen Junlin batted his big eyes, feigning mystery. “I asked my FPD (Follow-shot Director), and he only leaked me one detail: they’re a BIG deal!”
Ye Zhinian lowered his voice too. “My FPD told me he’s very, very famous!”
The two stared at each other a moment, then burst out laughing at the same time. Chen Junlin heaved a loud theatrical sigh. “And here I thought you’d actually give me something! We’re exactly as clueless as each other!”
Ye Zhinian shook his head helplessly. “Tell me about it. And I thought you had some inside scoop.”
At those words, a flash of smugness crossed Chen Junlin’s eyes. Pointing at a farm compound in the distance, he hollered, “That’s the one, right!” Then he dashed off toward the courtyard in the lead.
Watching his retreating back, a hint of a smile playing on his lips, Ye Zhinian ambled along behind.
This show really is getting more and more watchable.
When Ye Zhinian and Chen Junlin pushed open the door, Ren Li, Zheng Yunqi, and Li Nanshuang were sitting in the courtyard chatting.
After the requisite polite socializing, the two went inside to drop their luggage—and discovered that the two side rooms didn’t contain beds, but northern-style Kang platforms, in other words, one giant shared sleeping platform.
Chen Junlin let out a “whoa,” eyes wide with wonder. “My first time sleeping on a Kang! It’s so long and wide! Think it can fit five people?”
At that, something shifted subtly in Ye Zhinian’s expression. He asked, feigning puzzlement, “Why would five people sleep together? Aren’t there two Kang rooms?”
Chen Junlin’s face stiffened, but he quickly rearranged it into breezy nonchalance. “Well, if Teacher Zheng’s friend turns out to be a man, then there’d be five of us sharing!”
“Fair point.” Ye Zhinian nodded along, eyeing the Kang before him. He suffered from nervous exhaustion—apart from Lu Chen, he couldn’t sleep soundly next to anyone—so he couldn’t care less where he slept or beside whom.
So he asked Chen Junlin directly, “Where do you want to sleep?”
Chen Junlin’s eyes darted, and he pointed at the middle spot. “I’ll take the middle—it’s warmest!”
Mountain day-night temperature swings were big, and the nights did get a bit chilly. Ye Zhinian nodded and set his suitcase at the innermost spot by the window.
“Then I’ll sleep here.”
With sleeping arrangements settled and the other rooms toured, Ye Zhinian and Chen Junlin joined Ren Li’s trio’s chat circle to wait for the remaining guests together.
Around noon, Liu Chen and Lin Siying arrived simultaneously, and the little courtyard instantly came alive.
Lin Siying’s public image had always been the carefree tomboy—warm, personable, a little scatterbrained. The moment she entered the courtyard, she fluttered around like a social butterfly, even giving her industry rival Li Nanshuang a hug.
Compared to her breezy generosity, Li Nanshuang maintained only the most basic courtesy—smiling without warmth, polite but distant.
Set against each other like this, the Bullet Comments instantly multiplied.
[Heh. Character is truly the one thing you can’t compare—because the moment you do, the gap is obvious]
[Our Baby Ying is gracious and polite. Some people’s hearts are only as big as a pinhead, I guess]
[If you don’t want to smile, don’t. Who’s the dead fish face for?]
[Li Nanshuang really is a bit rude. Lin Siying was that warm, and she didn’t react at all]
[I’m confused. Did my girl pull a face, or ignore anyone? She smiled, she hugged—still not warm enough for you? What now, should she perform a dance to count as a rousing welcome?]
[Li Nanshuang was never the warm-and-fuzzy type. Out of everyone here, Chen Junlin’s the only one she’s close to]
[Are you all only watching Lin Siying and Li Nanshuang? Nobody noticed Liu Chen didn’t greet Chen Junlin?]
[Liu Chen didn’t greet Ye Zhinian either. Ye Zhinian walked up to him himself]
[Since when is today the first we’ve heard that Liu Chen has no manners? What’s surprising here]
In fairness, he hadn’t entirely failed to greet them—he had merely raised a hand and nodded from a great distance. Liu Chen was the quintessential spoiled Young Master; if not for the seniority and status of the others present, he wouldn’t have deigned to acknowledge them at all.
Once this round of greetings wrapped up, the show’s Chief Director abruptly appeared before the crew manning the fixed camera positions, megaphone in hand, to announce the next activity—making lunch together.
“One more guest won’t arrive until around 5 p.m. due to work, so the production team will provide the ingredients for lunch. Dinner ingredients, however, must be earned by completing tasks this afternoon. Specific tasks will be announced after lunch—for now, come collect your lunch ingredients!”
With that, the Chief Director waved grandly, and several staff members carried out a long table laden with fresh ingredients—vegetables and meat, looking fairly abundant, except the quantities were extremely limited, clearly calculated down to the last bite: exactly one meal’s worth.
Ren Li stepped forward, lifted a chunk of meat roughly the size of his palm, and fell silent a moment. “I can see the production team has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep us from saving any ingredients for the next meal!”
The Chief Director rubbed his beer belly, beaming like the Laughing Buddha. “Oh, you flatter me, you flatter me~”
“I wasn’t complimenting you!” Ren Li huffed, then turned to the others. “Anyone else here who can cook? Let’s see what we can make.”
Zheng Yunqi and Li Nanshuang stepped forward, leaving Ye Zhinian, Liu Chen, Chen Junlin, and Lin Siying staring at one another.
After a brief conference, the trio of Ren Li settled on a menu and turned to call out, “Stop standing there like statues—if you can’t cook, come help prep!”
Ye Zhinian immediately relaxed and stepped forward brimming with confidence. He couldn’t cook—but he was an excellent sous-chef.
And so the division of labor was settled: Ren Li, Zheng Yunqi, and Li Nanshuang on the woks; Ye Zhinian, Liu Chen, Chen Junlin, and Lin Siying on prep.
At a glance, the prep team looked well-staffed—but by the end, only three people were actually working.
It began with Ye Zhinian teaching hands-on—which vegetables to trim and how. After learning for a little while, Lin Siying hollered that it was too complicated to remember, and finally parked herself to the side, all eyes and no hands.
Liu Chen and Chen Junlin were at least working diligently, but Liu Chen was clearly impatient—either stripping off too much or leaving the old leaves on.
Looking at the vegetables in Liu Chen’s basin, Ye Zhinian couldn’t help sighing. “At the rate you’re trimming, we’re down one dish from the menu.”
At that, Liu Chen flung the vegetables down. “If you’re disgusted, don’t make me do it!”
Ye Zhinian pulled a genuinely disgusted face and waved his hands. “I’m begging you—don’t. ‘Kay?”
“Like I even want to!” Liu Chen shoved the basin away and rose to storm off—but Ye Zhinian, quick as a flash, thrust a colander into his hands.
“If you won’t trim, then washing is yours. You can wash vegetables, surely? Turn on the water and start rinsing. Careful with the leaves…”
Before he could finish, Liu Chen snatched the colander and shot him a venomous glare. “Who are you looking down on!”
With that, he marched off with the colander and cranked open the faucet.
Ye Zhinian chuckled twice. It looked like banter with Chen Junlin, but he was really speaking to the livestream camera. “That’s just how A-Chen is—his mouth says one thing and his heart another. He comes across sharp-tongued with a nasty temper, but he’s actually a straight shooter. Simple-minded and easy to understand.”
Liu Chen whirled around and roared, “I can HEAR you!”
Ye Zhinian shrugged carelessly. “Then listen~”
Chen Junlin watched from the sidelines, eyes flickering, offering no comment—but the Bullet Comments were already howling at the moon.
[Brother Ye’s right, that really is our A-Chen, which is why he’s always being misunderstood TAT]
[Thank you, Brother Ye, for clearing our A-Chen’s name (wailing)]
[Finally someone understands our A-Chen! He’s just a baby!]
[Thank you, Brother Ye. I will support every single one of your works from now on!]
[Can’t say whether Liu Chen is really like that, but you can tell these two really are friends]
[Plainly put, Liu Chen is just a tsundere!]
[Damn, why does Liu Chen suddenly seem kind of adorable after Ye Zhinian put it that way?]
[Is it only me or is this ship delicious? What is this—an exquisite big-brother type X an ultra-spoiled little cutie!]
[Just passing through, politely taking a sip of this ship]
Six people cooking together proved astonishingly efficient. In under half an hour, seven dishes hit the table, and the guests circled around the big round table in the main hall, finally getting a hot meal at one in the afternoon.
After eating and drinking their fill, nobody around the table moved—half dazed in a food coma, half idly chattering.
“I only noticed when I went to put my luggage away—we’re sleeping on Kangs here!” Lin Siying propped her chin on her hand and said with a smile. “I was pretty surprised.”
“Siying, aren’t you a northerner? You must have slept on a Kang before?” Ren Li asked.
Lin Siying hummed in affirmation. “I have. My grandma’s house had one—very comfortable. I’m just a little worried southerners won’t be used to this kind of big shared platform. Like bathhouses—plenty of southerners don’t dare enter those either.”
Quite a few southerners were actually seated at the table, but Li Nanshuang was the only woman among them. Propping herself on her chair, body angled half-sideways, she laughed lightly. “No worries. Before coming here I’d just finished filming North City Past—slept on a Kang the whole time. I’m used to it.”
She paused, then lifted her eyelids slightly toward Lin Siying. “If I remember right, Siying’s Decree of Lingering Fragrance also just wrapped?”
Two flowers of the same generation: one shooting a period drama to chase awards, the other still grinding out costume idol dramas. Which career was pulling ahead was plain to see.
Lin Siying’s expression flickered, and it took her a while to manage an “mm.” Chen Junlin, seated beside Li Nanshuang, jumped in with great enthusiasm instead.
“Sister Lin, yours just wrapped too? I came straight to Utopia the moment mine did—what a coincidence!”
Lin Siying glanced at Chen Junlin, then flicked her eyes toward Liu Chen, and suddenly broke into a radiant smile. “Oh really? I remember you’re filming Director Ma’s The Long Night Before Dawn, Junlin? Already wrapped?”
Chen Junlin nodded. “Mm. B-team wrapped early. A-team wrapped this morning, I believe.”
At Chen Junlin’s words, Ye Zhinian’s brow furrowed.
Wrapped? Didn’t Lu Chen say filming was being delayed a month?
