Chapter 27: Si Chenli: Turn your hand around, facing me

Meng Wange, under the gaze of onlookers eager to watch the drama unfold, gritted her teeth and unfolded the whole note.

It read: Gain the approval of villagers near the homestay and have them willingly invite you to dine with them (at least two households).

"...Is this even a punishment? Surely the villagers aren't so stingy that they wouldn't share a meal, right?" Yao Hui spoke disdainfully, thinking the punishment was far too simple.

"Pay attention to the fine print below; the villagers must be the ones to invite you to dine. You can't bring it up, suggest it, or bribe them."

The director just loved the attitude of people like Yao Hui who thought everything was simple.

After all, the more he boasted now, the more spectacular his downfall would be later.

"I think it probably won't be tough." Meng Wange had no sense of the severity of the situation.

[From the director's expression, I knew this task would be anything but simple. Yao Hui and Meng Wange are just too young!]

[Normally, no one would randomly invite strangers to dine with them. Yao Hui and her group are doomed; they'll probably fail to complete this task even by tomorrow.]

"Then off you go," said the director, expressionless, moving the box filled with punishment notes behind him and holding another box with reward notes.

Then, looking benevolently at Sang Qiao, he said, "Your team, come up and draw a reward."

To be honest, Sang Qiao had no expectations for the reward and whispered to the man beside her, "Why don't you go?"

Si Chenli was amused by her cautious little manner and couldn't help but chuckle softly, "Afraid of a reward, too?"

"I always feel like the director's up to no good," Sang Qiao confessed, her palm-sized face serious.

Her eyes seemed to pierce through the box directly at the notes inside.

Director: "..." There he was, a full-grown man standing right there, and could they please keep their voices down when speaking!!!

[Hahaha, the director's speechless expression is killing me. Director: I'll be driven mad by you sooner or later!]

[I'm more and more into them. Brother Li always looks at Sang Qiao with a smile in his eyes, especially gentle. When dealing with others, it's just a stone-cold 'don't mess with me' attitude!]

[To be honest, I'm also curious about what kind of rewards the production team will come up with, since everyone knows this director has never really given the guests any genuinely pleasing rewards.]

"No harm in trying, let's see," Si Chenli's smile deepened unconsciously, and he strode forward to take a piece of paper from the box.

It read: Romantic Couple's Retreat for a Day.

Sang Qiao took in those words, her eyebrows slightly raised, "Is this a house?"

"Yes, the house is equipped romantically, perfect for a date. You two can follow our staff and start enjoying your reward," answered the staff member.

"Okay."

The two of them followed the staff out of the venue, with not a hint of surprise or excitement on their faces.

Director: "..." At least pretend a little, no need to be so obviously disappointed.

"The remaining two couples are free to use today however they wish."

"Alright."

-

-

The so-called romantic retreat was a fully equipped couple's entertainment venue, complete with everything from dual attractions to a bed all in pink.

There were double swings, a double sofa, a large-screen television, a table with figurines biting a shared candy, and a whole stack of candies in front.

Next to it was a set of equipment for making your own clay sculptures, complete, and the walls were plastered with other couples' sticky notes, densely packed.

[The atmosphere's all set! Hurry up and give us a kiss!]

[I bet they'll start with sculpting clay first since they both seem quite shy; they probably won't dare eat the candy together.]

[Sitting on the swing would be so lovely, plus they could watch the seascape from the window.]

Sang Qiao's gaze swept over the room's amenities and headed straight for the bed where she lay down to rest.

Si Chenli glanced over without speaking, then sat down on the sofa and started sculpting with clay. His actions seemed playful but were surprisingly skillful.

The two maintained this non-interfering posture for a long while.

An hour passed by.

Sang Qiao was still sleeping.

Two hours went by.

Sang Qiao was still sleeping.

Three hours had passed.

Sang Qiao was still snoozing away.

[? Just came back from the next room's live stream, what's happening here?]

[Summary for this live stream: Sang Qiao slept all morning, Brother Li shaped mud all morning.]

[With such a carefully prepared atmosphere, are they just wasting time like this? Come on, shy away for me, hold hands for me, give each other a little kiss!]

[Forget it, they didn't even make eye contact. Had I known, I'd have gone next door to watch Yao Hui pick cow dung.]

[Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter, Meng Wangge isn't much better. She was helping plant rice seedlings and accidentally fell over, flattening all the seedlings.]

[Whoa, is it that thrilling? Sang Qiao, you keep sleeping, mommy will come back to check on you later.]

[Hiss~ Sisters, isn't that a bit too hardcore?]

When Sang Qiao woke up, it was already noon, and as their reward, the production team had arranged a sumptuous lunch.

After eating, Sang Qiao accidentally saw several mud figurines on the table, all of them already colored and baked.

She picked up a small mud figure, extremely ugly, looking nothing like her, and yet, it was her.

"Did you sculpt me?"

"Doesn't it look alike?" Si Chenli sat down beside her without a change in expression, picking up another mud figure, his thumb gently caressing the rosy cheek of the figurine.

"It does." Sang Qiao felt aggrieved. The mud figure was truly hideous, but you could tell at a glance it was supposed to be her.

He had sculpted a total of six mud figures, only two looked good, the others were image-destroying, "What do you plan to do with this later?"

"Take it home and display it."

Sang Qiao felt numb upon hearing this, "Display where?"

"In the room, living room."

"...I think this one is more suitable for being stored away deep in a chest." Sang Qiao said stiffly, she certainly did not want others to see her ugly mud figurine on their first visit to the Si Family's house.

"Is it?" The man's lips curved up, his gaze involuntarily falling on her.

"Yeah, it's not suitable to display human figures. Why don't you sculpt something else?" Sang Qiao nodded vigorously.

Although she suspected that Si Chenli sculpted her this way out of retaliation, what could she do! It was just a mud figure; she was magnanimous.

"Don't feel like sculpting anymore."

"I'll help you sculpt!" Sang Qiao quickly spoke up, fearing his next words would be: The human figure is passable for display.

"Okay."

So, Sang Qiao resigned herself to sculpting with mud. She really had no clue about mud sculpting and could only follow the instructions in the booklet.

The sea breeze outside the window gently blew in, causing the wisps of hair on her forehead to fall forward. With her hands covered in mud, she could only blow upwards with her mouth to push the hair back.

However, this could only temporarily prevent the hair from obscuring her eyes. She reached out to tuck her hair behind her ears with her wrist.

Before she could touch it, a pair of large hands lightly brushed her cheek, tucking her hair behind her ears.

Only then could Sang Qiao focus on sculpting the mud, even though what she held in her hands was unidentifiable.

She glanced at Si Chenli guiltily, "Is this shape okay?"

The man looked down at her delicate, fair fingers covered in mud, and what she had sculpted was so indistinct that you couldn't even tell what it was supposed to be.

"Turn your hand towards me," he said slowly, his voice deep and gentle.