Soon after, Cheng Ying received the materials for 《Little Little Farm》 from Qin Guanyu.
《Little Little Farm》 was a lifestyle live-broadcast variety show. The specific content involved dropping the participants onto an abandoned farm, where they would need to restore the farm to normal operation within the one-month filming period.
Cheng Ying nodded as she flipped through the materials. The government currently wanted more people to become farmers in undeveloped areas, while young people in big cities held a strange yearning for a life of working from sunrise to sunset. A variety show with this theme had a high probability of becoming a hit.
As a veteran director, Zhang Zeyun had prepared all sorts of settings thoroughly. The selection and construction of the variety show’s location and the initial publicity were mostly complete. All that was left was to officially announce the participants and start filming. The number of slots Zhang Zeyun had set was four, and considering the need to hype up CPs, two Alphas and two Omegas would be best.
The other pair could be decided by Zhang Zeyun, but who would be a good match for Jiang Hanguang?
Cheng Ying mentally reviewed the Alphas in the industry who were suitable in terms of age and fame, writing down seven or eight names on a piece of paper. After filtering them over and over, she still felt something was off.
This one had just been rumored to be with another Omega, that one was too greasy and would look like a villain forcibly taking a good woman if he stood next to Jiang Hanguang…
After much deliberation, Cheng Ying still couldn’t make a decision. She could only mentally scorn the current state of the entertainment industry—what kind of people were these, couldn’t they uphold some Alpha decorum?—while carrying the tablet displaying the information and knocking on Jiang Hanguang’s bedroom door.
The past two days, their lives had been quite peaceful. Aside from the mistaken story time on the first night, they had resumed a dynamic of treating each other with the respect due to guests. The only slight regret was that because the kitchen at home was fully automated, it lacked the old-fashioned stove tops found in older residential complexes, so she couldn’t eat Jiang Hanguang’s cooking.
Cheng Mantou had been overjoyed these past two days, constantly possessing the robot butler to give Jiang Hanguang hugs, kisses, and lift her high. Cheng Ying had accessed its hard drive once and discovered it had already created a dedicated folder for Jiang Hanguang, filled with all sorts of candid beautiful photos.
If not for the line in its core programming she had written—”shall not invade the private spaces of others without permission”—Cheng Ying was genuinely worried that Cheng Mantou would be deranged enough to secretly film Jiang Hanguang bathing.
After knocking twice, Cheng Ying took two steps back. In less than two seconds, the door opened from the inside. Jiang Hanguang was still in her plaid home clothes, just in a different color. Cheng Ying wondered if she had bought all these pajamas wholesale during a big mall sale.
The baggy cut of the pajamas concealed most of the woman’s fine figure, which Cheng Ying found a bit of a pity.
From a purely aesthetic point of view, Jiang Hanguang would be very suited for a long, silk nightgown, preferably with a cinched waist…
“Xiao Ying?” Jiang Hanguang asked, looking quizzically at the Alpha who was staring at her with a scrutinizing gaze.
“Oh, this,” Cheng Ying quickly banished those indecent thoughts from her mind and handed over the tablet. “A variety show is willing to sign you, but you might have to be in a CP. They said you can decide on the person.”
“Oh, okay.” Jiang Hanguang hadn’t expected Cheng Ying to be so fast. She paused for a moment before taking the tablet. She wasn’t opposed to being in a CP; she would just treat it as acting.
After Jiang Hanguang had given it a rough look, Cheng Ying asked, “Do you have anyone in mind? If you do, I’ll contact them. This variety show has a good investment, so most people would probably agree.”
Jiang Hanguang shook her head. “You can decide.”
She had just filmed one movie, 《South Wind》, before leaving the industry midway. The show she filmed upon her return, 《White Robe》, was also cut short. She barely knew anyone in the industry.
As for Alphas she was relatively familiar with, Lang Wenxing was one, but Jiang Hanguang was reluctant to even consider that possibility.
Actually, there was one other person…
Jiang Hanguang subconsciously looked at Cheng Ying. Was Cheng Ying considered part of the industry? Her number of followers on Flying Pigeon was greater than most celebrities.
If Cheng Ying went with her, it would actually be quite good. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about… anything real happening.
Cheng Ying was scratching her head in frustration. If Jiang Hanguang couldn’t suggest anyone, she would have to pick from this bunch of crooked melons and split dates. For Cheng Ying, who was something of a perfectionist at work, this was undoubtedly a challenge.
Then she noticed Miss Jiang looking at her, her eyes filled with a mix of hope and hesitation.
Did she have someone in mind?
Cheng Ying, desperate for a solution, immediately looked at Miss Jiang with hopeful eyes. “Have you thought of someone you want to go with?”
“I…” Caught off guard by the sudden question, Jiang Hanguang didn’t have time to think and blurted out, “Can’t you join me?”
Cheng Ying: “…”
She really hadn’t thought of that.
Before Cheng Ying could recover from her shock, she saw Miss Jiang cover her mouth, her face blushing a shade redder.
“I didn’t mean it like that…” Jiang Hanguang explained futilely, but her brain had already crashed. She didn’t know how she could have blurted out her true feelings after just one simple question.
This was too impolite. Since Cheng Ying had chosen to be an agent, she surely didn’t want to be in the spotlight too much.
But before she could finish her sentence, the Alpha opposite her suddenly laughed.
“You’re right, why didn’t I think of that?” The Alpha, who was half a head taller, leaned in with a smile, her woody pheromones enveloping her. Her light blue eyes were full of mischief. “Since Hanguang wants to be in a CP with me, it would be my pleasure to oblige.”
Cheng Ying clearly watched as Miss Jiang Hanguang’s previously fair face flushed red at an astonishing speed. She looked like a frightened little deer, wanting to say something but not daring to look at her.
She smiled with satisfaction. Firstly, because the problem was smoothly resolved. Although her own reputation wasn’t great, she didn’t have many die-hard fans, so she wouldn’t pose a threat to Jiang Hanguang. Her appearance was also passable, making her perfect for a CP. Secondly, because she had once again successfully teased Jiang Hanguang.
Actually, although she had maintained a devil-may-care persona in front of others before, she rarely joked with her own artists, mainly because she was afraid they would overthink things.
But Jiang Hanguang was different. Because she was, quite simply, too cute.
Zhang Zeyun and Sun Zhao were very fast. The day after Cheng Ying sent the list, 《Little Little Farm》 began its pre-broadcast promotions.
Although the production team only officially announced Jiang Hanguang as one member, stating that the other three members would be revealed by everyone after the broadcast began, Jiang Hanguang’s popularity was enough to land them on the hot search list for quite a while. The audience was mostly full of anticipation.
The day before filming, Cheng Ying received a notice from Zhang Zeyun: they were to assemble at Yunjing Airport tomorrow and take a private jet to the filming location.
It seemed Qin Guanyu had provided quite a substantial amount of funding, Cheng Ying nodded in satisfaction.
Because Zhang Zeyun had said that they would have to hand over all their belongings upon arrival, Cheng Ying injected a microchip into her arm so she could maintain contact with Cheng Mantou. She couldn’t possibly live a primitive life; who knew what kind of trouble Cheng Liang might stir up during this time.
That day, Cheng Ying and Jiang Hanguang arrived at the VIP lounge of Yunjing Airport.
The production team had already arranged with the airport to rent this lounge. The four farm members would meet here for the first time.
Cheng Ying and Jiang Hanguang walked into the lounge one after the other, both dressed in long-sleeved sportswear convenient for exercise, carrying small backpacks and traveling light.
Cheng Ying had looked up information on the filming location: Longmen City, which had just been included in the government’s redevelopment map.
Before the Blazing Crystal Stone energy revolution, Longmen City was an isolated small agricultural town with fertile land but extremely inconvenient transportation. Eighty percent of the city’s land consisted of privately operated small farms.
After the Blazing Crystal Stone revolution, the city was quickly abandoned due to low profitability. Now, as the population in other areas gradually became saturated, restarting these abandoned fringe towns was imperative.
Cheng Ying used a satellite to check the current situation in Longmen City. The original city buildings were dilapidated from years of being uninhabited, and the grass on the roads was almost waist-high.
Zhang Zeyun wasn’t trying to film farm life; this was practically wilderness survival.
She sent the photos to Jiang Hanguang, expecting this delicate Omega to show a worried expression.
To her surprise, Jiang Hanguang was much calmer than her. Not only did she quickly accept the fact that she was about to return to an agrarian era, but she also reminded her to wear long sleeves and long pants, as there were bound to be countless biting insects in such tall grass.
Her words made Cheng Ying feel itchy all over. She washed with insect-repellent shower gel three times that day and still felt itchy.
The two sat down and gave a simple self-introduction to the camera according to the procedure Zhang Zeyun had given them.
Jiang Hanguang: “Hello everyone, I’m Jiang Hanguang. I’m an actress and one of the members of Little Little Farm.”
Cheng Ying watched her finish recording with a smile, then stepped forward and tapped the camera, her own smile particularly rakish. “As for me, I’m Miss Jiang’s agent, here to accompany her. I hope everyone will take good care of us.”
Jiang Hanguang: “…”
Is she getting into character this quickly?
The debut of these two, with their distinct personalities, budding ambiguity, and things left unsaid, immediately excited the viewers in the live broadcast room.
Comment 1: Miss Jiang Hanguang, how is it that you can be so close to the camera and still have no visible pores? You must be a spirit, sob sob sob.
Comment 2: Hanguang baby, let mommy pinch your cheeks.
Comment 3: Cheng Ying is so greasy, but… am I smitten?
Comment 4: Her looks are so deceptive. I feel like even if she pinched someone’s chin and said, ‘Woman, you’re playing with fire,’ she’d still look like a mischievous, handsome Alpha joking with her lover.
Comment 5: So Cheng Ying really signed Jiang Hanguang? What about Xu Ning?
Comment 6: Xu Ning announced her new agent two days ago. Probably an amicable split?
Comment 7: Tsk tsk tsk, I used to ship Cheng and Xu, but now… is there a fan group for Guang Ying? These two faces are just too perfect for R-rated fanfic.
As the discussion in the live broadcast room continued to heat up, the door to the airport lounge suddenly opened.
A head of multi-colored hair peeked in. “Is this the place?”
Cheng Ying looked at the familiar head and said in surprise, “Chengcheng?”
The multi-colored head looked over at the sound of her name, her face blooming into a smile as she rushed over to give Cheng Ying a bear hug. “Ying-jie, long time no see~”
Cheng Ying deftly sidestepped the colorful hug, grabbing the back of Xie Chengcheng’s collar to pull her back and steady her before she could fly past.
Just then, another person entered through the door—an Omega with above-average looks and a somewhat pitiful and helpless expression.
It was Xie Chengcheng’s girlfriend, Li Wan.
One of them was dressed in a gaudy Hawaiian shirt and shorts as if going on vacation, while the other wore a snow-white long dress as if heading to a fashion show.
Cheng Ying’s head immediately began to throb.
These were the teammates Zhang Zeyun had chosen for her? What was the difference between this and taking two pigs to survive in the wild?
No, these two were worse than pigs. At least you could slaughter pigs for food.
Xie Chengcheng, having missed her hug, wasn’t discouraged. She looked up and saw the bewildered Jiang Hanguang.
“Oh, so this is the new sister-in-law. I haven’t met you before. You’re so pretty.” With that, she grabbed Jiang Hanguang’s hand. “Hello, my name is Xie Chengcheng. I’m Ying-jie’s good friend. From now on, we’re all good friends!”
Jiang Hanguang was momentarily unsure which part to respond to first. “I’m not…”
Cheng Ying slapped Xie Chengcheng’s hand away with a sharp smack, her expression unfriendly as she shielded Jiang Hanguang behind her. “Have you touched her enough?”
Jiang Hanguang: “…”
Is Cheng Ying hyping up their CP or…?
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