Chapter 25
Pei Kuang chuckled helplessly under the innocent and expectant gaze of his niece and nephew.
Then, with a resigned sigh, he made his way towards the kitchen.
Despite being capable of cooking due to his profession, he rarely had the opportunity to cook for himself.
This feeling of putting his heart into preparing three meals a day was something entirely new to him.
The ingredients provided by the production team were abundant, and after surveying them, Pei Kuang decided to make four dishes and a soup for dinner.
He didn't want to disappoint his niece and nephew, who had placed their trust in him.
Song Anan quietly followed him into the kitchen and took on the task of washing and cutting the vegetables.
As for Song Linchuan, he volunteered to do the dishes after the meal.
Fans in the live chat room couldn't help but sigh, "They're becoming more and more like a real family."
Since realizing his true role that day, Pei Kuang wholeheartedly embraced the role of a chef. For several consecutive days, he prepared meals in various creative ways, as if he wanted to show off all his culinary skills.
The Song siblings were thoroughly satisfied with the delicious food they enjoyed.
Even their neighbor, Qi Mushi, couldn't resist the enticing aroma and joined them for several meals.
The production team members exchanged puzzled glances, while the director sat amidst a pile of camera equipment, looking utterly bewildered.
They had invited a celebrity guest to the show, but this wasn't what they had expected at all.
With Pei Kuang performing so well, would they be able to invite other guests in future episodes?
Doubt filled their minds.
The chosen filming location for this episode was indeed excellent. Far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, it offered fresh air, beautiful mountains, and water.
The villagers in the village were also friendly, and the guests got along well with everyone.
As the second episode of the season "Dearest Family" approached its completion, the production team arranged a group bonding activity: a peach picking event in a peach orchard.
The peach orchard was located at the foot of a nearby mountain, not far from the village. During the peach season, in addition to selling the peaches to local fruit merchants, the owner of the orchard had set aside an area specifically for peach-picking and had developed a farm experience project.
Visitors could come to the orchard and pick peaches themselves, experiencing the joy of hands-on farming.
Song Anan always enjoyed such activities, and she even planned to buy some peaches to send to her family and friends.
On this scorching summer day, the ultraviolet rays were particularly intense.
Outside the peach orchard, everyone found a spot under the shade of a tree and applied sunscreen.
Shi Qing carefully sprayed sunscreen on the exposed skin and waved to her son, who was running around not far away.
"Qi Mushi, come here and let me apply some sunscreen on you."
Qi Mushi reluctantly ran over, saying, "What's the point of a man using this stuff? It's too feminine."
He wasn't afraid of getting a tan; he wanted to be a tough man, so he refused to use sunscreen.
The sound of spraying mist abruptly stopped.
Everyone turned their heads in unison, freezing in place with their sunscreen-laden hands.
This mischievous child!
With one sentence, he managed to unintentionally offend all the male guests present.
And that wasn't even the worst part. Unfortunately, just a couple of days ago, a popular influencer had criticized male celebrities for wearing too much makeup in a blog post.
There was a big discussion online at the time, ranging from criticizing male actors for wearing too much makeup to the idea that male actors shouldn't care too much about their appearance, questioning their masculinity, and so on.
It caused quite a stir, and at a time like this, people in the industry tend to be cautious and not eager to get involved in such matters.
But just when everyone was unsure how to react, there was a sudden sound, breaking the silence in the room.
Everyone turned their heads simultaneously.
It was Pei Kuang, casually applying sunscreen as if nothing had happened.
Facing the gazes of the crowd, he smiled lightly and said, "Just understand that it's all for the sake of livelihood."
This sentence could be considered as expressing the thoughts of all the male actors present.
Guo Xiu, quick to react, pretended to be deeply resentful and said, "Yeah, I really can't afford to get tanned. In the next play, I have to play a delicate pretty boy."
[Hahaha, I'm actually looking forward to seeing Teacher Guo as a delicate pretty boy.]
[I think Pei Kuang's words make sense. Artists are no different from others; they're all trying to make a living.]
[Yeah, I don't know what all the fuss was about online the past few days. After all, their profession is there for all to see, and it's understandable.]
With Pei Kuang and Guo Xiu's banter, this incident was quickly brushed aside.
Shi Qing slapped Qi MuShi on the back, as if punishing him playfully, and sprayed his face with sunscreen, punishing him for his ill-spoken words.
Qi MuShi also realized that he had said something wrong and reluctantly touched his nose, not daring to protest.
After everyone was ready, each of them carried a specially made bamboo basket and entered the peach garden.
The peach trees in this garden were of the nectarine variety, rosy and tempting to look at.
The camera zoomed in for a close-up shot.
Amidst the lush greenery, juicy and plump peaches hung from the branches, making people's mouths water.
[Oh my! The cameraman sure knows how to find the perfect shots. You're making me drool.]
[Ah, those big, sweet, and tender peaches. Show them off to me!]
[Waaah, the joy of summer is not just about watermelons; it's about the juice-dripping peaches too.]
Once they entered, everyone delved into the peach orchard.
Sometimes they took selfies, sometimes they picked peaches, busy and enjoying themselves.
In no time, each of them had filled a large basket.
Song Linchuan handed his full basket to Song Anan and asked, "Auntie, is this enough?"
Song Anan glanced at it and nodded, "Yes, it's enough. Mark your basket so that you don't mix them up later."
At this moment, Pei Kuang also approached with a basket full of peaches and handed it to Song Anan.
Last night, Li Sirui and the others were chatting in their dormitory group chat, and when they found out that Song Anan was going to pick peaches today, they all expressed envy and even cried about it.
She thought she could send some peaches to them today. There was a courier service at the entrance of the peach garden, so she planned to pack them up at the entrance and send them directly.
When Li Sirui heard that Song Anan was going to send her peaches, she immediately asked for peaches picked by her favorite idol.
After spending these days together, Song Anan and Pei Kuang had become quite familiar with each other, so she went to ask Pei Kuang about it, and he readily agreed.
As she shared the news with her roommate Li Sirui in their group chat, the other two roommates saw this and one of them immediately expressed their desire to have the peaches picked by Song Linchuan. The other said they wanted to share and proposed that they each take half.
This led to the scene just now. Song Anan marked the peaches picked by each person to avoid confusion later.
Li Yu didn't understand what Song Anan was doing when she saw her marking the peaches. She asked with a puzzled look, "Anan, what are you doing? Are these peaches different?"
If she remembered correctly, all the peach trees in this peach orchard were of the same variety.
Song Anan shook her head, but then nodded slightly midway through shaking her head. "The people who picked them are different."
Everyone looked puzzled.
Song Anan didn't hide anything and explained about sending peaches to her friends.
The people in the live broadcast room were envious to the point of tears.
"I can't believe it! I envy Xiaoyima's roommates so much."
"I'm so sad. Why am I not Xiaoyima's roommate?"
"I also want to be Xiaoyima's roommate, but I know it's impossible because I can't get into B University!"
"Yiyiyi~ I also want peaches handpicked by my brother. I feel like crying."
Song Anan did come to the orchard today with a mission. In addition to sending peaches to her roommates, she also had to send some to her older brother and sister-in-law. As for her brother and sister-in-law's share, Song Anan could pick them herself.
After picking for a while, the three of them carried the peaches to the orchard's entrance, weighed and paid for them, and then sent them out on the spot.
When they returned to the peach orchard again, Song Anan finally felt relieved without any task at hand. The scenery of the peach orchard was really good, and everyone started picking peaches while playing.
Qi Mushi was making a fuss on the side, insisting on pulling people to compete in peach-picking and see who was faster. Everyone was too lazy to compare with him, but Song Linchuan suddenly got competitive for no reason and actually started to compete with him.
So the two of them quickly dashed through the peach forest, making everyone helpless and amused.
Song Anan felt a little tired, so she found a place to rest nearby. There happened to be a patch of dogtail grass next to her, and she plucked a few strands and started weaving them.
After a while, Song Linchuan finally came back.
"Auntie, what are you doing?"
Song Anan had just finished weaving a grasshopper and handed it over to Song Linchuan with a smile. "Do you want it?"
Song Linchuan naturally wanted it. It was woven by his aunt, how could he not want it? He took the grasshopper happily and walked towards Pei Kuang, who was not far away.
"Look, my aunt specially made this for me," he said proudly.
Pei Kuang looked at the grasshopper in Song Linchuan's hand and raised his eyebrows in amusement but didn't say anything.
Song Linchuan didn't care about his reaction at all and sat down next to Pei Kuang with a thump.
He held the grasshopper made of dogtail grass in his hand and shook it back and forth.
So cute!
At this moment, Qi Mushi's voice echoed through the entire peach forest.
"Wow! It's a grasshopper! Auntie, you're so talented. Did you make this for me? I really like it."
Song Linchuan's hand paused and his expression cracked for a split second. It was easy to guess what had happened. The air suddenly grew still. Song Linchuan cleared his throat and tried to save face. "Um, well, I'm the first one to do it."
Not the only one, but at least the first one.
Pei Kuang glanced at him and slowly pulled out the exact same grasshopper made of dog-tail grass from behind him. It was obvious who gave it to him.
Song Linchuan: "..."
The cameraman next to them was struggling to hold back his laughter, and the camera shook violently. The barrage in the live broadcast room was instantly flooded with "hahaha."
"Oh my god! I'm really going to die laughing at Song Linchuan. What kind of childish behavior is this?"
"It's just like a little kid showing off his favorite toy."
"Ahahaha, I'm really going to laugh myself to death. Is Song Linchuan planning to become a comedian?"
"I'm going to die laughing in this live broadcast room sooner or later. The Song family is responsible for my death!"
"In just a few minutes, Song Linchuan's acting gradually progressed from showing off and being proud, to disbelief, and then to feeling disheartened and questioning the meaning of life. His emotional progression was impressive."
"The person above me is making me laugh to death. There's no acting, it's all real emotions!"
"Song Linchuan: Auntie, you've changed. You actually have so many nephews outside!"
"Auntie: They are all my nephews. I want to be fair and give everyone a chance!"
...
Song Linchuan and Pei Kuang's interlude was unknown to Song Anan. After giving the newly made grasshopper to Qi Mushi, she continued to pull some dog-tail grass, ready to make another one for herself.
At this moment, Ji Qiubai suddenly walked up to Song Anan.
Song Anan looked up and was surprised to see him.
Ji Qiubai asked, "Is this difficult to make?"
Song Anan shook her head and replied, "No, it's easy to make."
Ji Qiubai nodded lightly and asked, "Can you teach me how to make it?"
Song Anan looked at him puzzled.
Ji Qiubai smiled and explained, "The character I play in the next play knows how to make this. I want to learn it first."
"Okay," Song Anan said.
In fact, because of Ji Qiubai's identity as the original male lead in the book, Song Anan had always respected him from afar and they had almost no interaction on the show.
However, these days, she had been observing from the side and it seemed like Song Linchuan and Ji Qiubai got along well. They weren't very close, but there was no conflict either.
Song Anan felt relieved about this. In addition, with Jiang Kai, the variable in the original book's plot, gone, she felt even more at ease.
She felt like she had already deviated from the original book's plot with Song Linchuan, but at least he was safe.
*
In the morning, they picked peaches in the peach orchard, had a local meal at a nearby farmhouse for lunch, and in the afternoon, they decided to take a leisurely stroll around the area.
There happened to be a mountain stream next to the peach orchard, with clear water and various unknown wildflowers nearby, making it very charming.
The water in the mountain stream was so clear that you could see the bottom. Qi Mushi was catching fish barefoot in the stream, and everyone else was gathered around, enjoying themselves.
Song Anan found a smooth rock on the side and sat there, playing in the water.
"Pei Kuang walked over and handed her a flower crown made of wildflowers.
Song Anan took the flower crown, somewhat surprised. "Is this for me?" she asked.
Pei Kuang nodded lightly and smiled. "It's a gesture of reciprocation."
After a few seconds, Song Anan finally understood that his "gesture of reciprocation" referred to the grasshopper incident from earlier that morning.
Pei Kuang glanced at the cameraman standing nearby, pondered for a moment, and then turned and headed towards the flower bed.
A while later, he returned with two similar flower crowns and approached Shi Qing and Li Sirui.
Both of them happily accepted the flower crowns. Li Sirui chuckled and said, "Wow, they're so beautiful. Pei Kuang, your future girlfriend will be so lucky."
So romantic, so thoughtful, and so handsome.
After speaking, Li Sirui turned her head towards Guo Xiu and said, "Take a look at them. You should learn from them."
Guo Xiu immediately looked at Pei Kuang with a wry smile and said, "Brother, please spare me. I still want to go home."
Everyone present burst into laughter and joined in the teasing.
"I can't believe it! Did I see it wrong? At first, Pei Kuang only intended to give a flower crown to Little Anan. It seems like he thought of something later and made two more flower crowns for the other two ladies present."
"I guess he wanted to avoid any negative comments. After all, Little Anan is still young, and Pei Kuang probably didn't want to cause her any trouble."
"Well, I confess. I actually ship Little Anan and Pei Kuang. Sob, sob, sob, I'm guilty!"
---
They returned to the courtyard a little after five in the afternoon.
After a day of playing, Song Anan, Song Linchuan, and Pei Kuang were all quite exhausted and slumped onto the couch.
The three of them originally intended to close their eyes and take a short nap, but unexpectedly, they all fell asleep.
About an hour later, Pei Kuang woke up first.
Seeing that it was already getting dark outside, he woke up the other two as well.
Song Anan and Song Linchuan groggily opened their eyes, and it took them a while to fully wake up.
Pei Kuang looked at them and asked, "What do you want for dinner?"
Song Anan was also at a loss. They had a hearty lunch, and now she couldn't think of what she wanted to eat.
"I feel like having dumplings again," Song Linchuan suddenly said.
Dumplings? Song Anan was taken aback.
With Song Linchuan's mention, she also started craving them.
Especially because of the dumpling filling Pei Kuang made that day—it was really delicious.
The program would end tomorrow, and as a guest, Pei Kuang would have to leave too.
She wondered if they would have a chance to eat them again in the future.
"Never mind, we're tired from the whole day. Let's have something simple," Song Anan said.
Pei Kuang looked at Little Anan, who clearly wanted to eat dumplings but still appeared considerate. He couldn't help but smile.
"Then let's have dumplings," Pei Kuang said. "I'm also craving them."
The person in charge of cooking had spoken, and the rest of them, the ones waiting to eat, naturally had no objections.
So, they unanimously decided to make dumplings again.
After getting the ingredients from the production team, the three of them started their respective tasks.
Song Linchuan confidently took charge of kneading the dough, leaving the rest to Pei Kuang.
As for Song Anan, once again, she didn't receive any specific assignment. They just told her they would call her if they needed anything.
Pei Kuang, while chopping the filling in the kitchen, caught a glimpse of Song Anan standing neatly by his side, as if she was ready to assist at any moment. It made him chuckle."
"There's really nothing to help with here. Go outside and have fun," Pei Kuang said, shaking his head.
Song Anan shook her head and insisted, "It's okay, I just want to watch."
What if there's something I can help with?
Anyway, she couldn't just sit around and wait to be served, feeling uneasy.
Helpless, Pei Kuang could only shake his head and let her be.
During this time, he also noticed that his little niece was really well-behaved.
Judging from Song Linchuan's behavior, it seemed that the Song family doted on her.
Song Linchuan called her "Auntie," but anyone with keen eyes could see that he treated Song Anan like a younger sister, showering her with affection.
Yet, there was no trace of being spoiled on Song Anan.
If he had a sister like her, Pei Kuang thought, he might be even more indulgent than Song Linchuan.
After Song Linchuan finished kneading the dough, he remained calm and composed.
It was only when Pei Kuang almost finished chopping the dumpling filling that Song Linchuan leisurely entered the kitchen.
Song Linchuan took the flour and mixing bowl, preparing to go outside just like last time.
But the cameraman had experience now. As soon as he saw Song Linchuan going out, he immediately followed, deciding to document the whole process.
The viewers in the live stream room were instantly excited. They had been wanting to witness the scene where water was added too much, or the dough was kneaded with too much flour.
Song Linchuan glanced at the cameraman, immediately understanding his intentions.
He snorted lightly, maintaining a calm demeanor.
However, he was actually quite nervous. Honestly, he didn't have much confidence in himself.
Helplessly, he carefully followed the steps based on his previous experience.
Seeing his demeanor, the audience in the live stream room burst into laughter, saying they could predict the outcome.
But no one expected that in the end, he actually succeeded on the first try!
Netizen: Is that it? I've already prepared my mocking stance.
Song Linchuan himself was also surprised for a moment. Then he turned towards the kitchen and shouted, "Auntie, come over here quickly!"
Song Anan was startled and thought something happened, so she hurriedly ran out.
Song Linchuan turned to look at her, a wide smile on his face, "Auntie, look, I succeeded on the first try. I'm so..."
Before he could finish his sentence, his nose suddenly itched, and he sneezed.
"Ah-choo!"
He happened to be holding a bowl of flour, and the flour was instantly scattered in the air.
Song Anan's vision turned white, and she subconsciously closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, she felt something heavy on her eyelashes, her nose itching, and her face covered in something.
Song Linchuan looked at Song Anan, her face covered in flour, and was first stunned.
The next moment, the courtyard echoed with his hearty laughter.
"Ahahaha..."
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