The alpha, sitting obediently on the stool and letting her fuss over her, suddenly frowned. At the same time, a sudden chill ran down Jiang Hanguang’s back.
A dangerous gaze and the oppressive feeling that came with it.
It was the exact same feeling Cheng Ying gave off on the night of her insomnia.
Her hand paused. She met the alpha’s eyes, but before she could get a closer look, Cheng Ying turned her face away and took the towel from her hand.
“I can do the rest myself.”
The oppressive feeling vanished abruptly. The alpha’s tone was no different from usual, as if the hair-raising moment just now had been a mere illusion.
Jiang Hanguang wanted to say more, but Cheng Ying had already finished wiping her face on her own, moved the ladder to another spot, and climbed up with the paint can.
Jiang Hanguang, afraid the ladder was unstable and she might fall, could only go up and hold it steady, thus pushing Cheng Ying’s odd behavior to the back of her mind.
Cheng Ying continued to paint freely on the wall, scribbling and doodling. Cheng Mantou’s voice chimed in at a very inopportune moment, “You’re passing up the wonderful benefit of having your face wiped, what’s gotten into you now?”
Cheng Ying ignored her but didn’t block her, continuing to paint her wall.
Not getting a reply, Cheng Mantou was quite unwilling to give up. After a few seconds’ pause, she started a new topic, “Did you know? That Director Zhang set up a CP ranking in the show’s livestream chat. You and the great beauty are at the top right now!”
Cheng Ying’s hand paused, but then she started sweeping her brush around even more erratically. “Don’t you have anything better to do all day?”
Cheng Mantou: “The problem is, there’s no progress on the important stuff. Your cousin called his dad earlier and said they have no choice but to activate Chaos now.”
Cheng Ying’s expression remained normal. Just by looking at her face, no one would ever guess she was sharing the details of a secret conversation between a father and son with one of the only two Intelligent Brains in the world. “And then?”
“His dad still disagreed. He meant that Blueprint might be bluffing, and it wouldn’t be too late to wait and see.”
The smile on Cheng Ying’s lips deepened. “That guy Cheng Liang must be pissed off, right?”
Cheng Mantou nodded within the data stream. “You bet. That Hua Ran called him, crying and complaining that you must have used company connections to get on such a good variety show, but she ended up getting scolded by him.”
“Oh?” This was possibly the best news Cheng Ying had heard all day. The thought that she would return from filming just in time to deal with Hua Ran made the corners of her mouth curl up uncontrollably. “Looks like the deal between Cheng’s and Hua’s is settled?”
“Ah, the contract was signed the day before yesterday. The same day it was signed, your cousin went to meet up with his little lover. Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Cheng Mantou’s tone was full of disgust.
“Just a piece of filth.” Cheng Ying wasn’t surprised by this. Although Cheng Liang usually styled himself as a groundbreaking leader in the energy industry, his ideas about gender were stuck at least 500 years in the past. Calling him a zombie would be an insult to zombies. In his mind, an alpha sleeping with multiple omegas was being a casanova, the best way to prove their charm and relieve stress. But if an omega slept with several alphas, they were promiscuous and deserved to be struck by lightning and never reincarnated.
“He also cursed you,” Cheng Mantou said, like a primary school student tattling to their parents, quickly adding, “After Hua Ran finished complaining to your cousin, he searched for the livestream to watch.”
“What did he say?” Cheng Ying knew it wouldn’t be anything good, but she didn’t mind hearing it, lest she forget something when it was time to settle the final score.
Cheng Mantou first clarified, “Let me say this first, these are his words, don’t get mad at me. He said only someone like you would put so much effort into chasing a ‘broken shoe,’ acting all prim and proper. He also said he wished he were Cheng Mo’s son.”
Cheng Ying’s hand holding the paintbrush handle suddenly tightened, and the smile vanished from her face.
After a moment, “Hmph, I wish. Unfortunately, with his intelligence, he probably would have been thrown into the non-recyclable trash bin during Cheng Mo’s first screening.” A trace of mockery flashed in Cheng Ying’s eyes. “After being rejected by Cheng Bai, did he make any other moves?”
“Yes, he’s currently lobbying the other directors with significant shareholdings. He probably wants to team up with them to pressure his dad.”
“What a touching play of a loving father and a filial son.” A smile returned to Cheng Ying’s face. “Keep an eye on them. Notify me when Cheng Liang makes his move.”
“You got it,” Cheng Mantou was about to leave but then remembered her unanswered question. “Wait, you almost sidetracked me. What’s really going on between you and the great beauty?”
“What’s going on?” Cheng Ying thought to herself that the kid was getting older and harder to fool, while continuing her shameless pretense.
“The great beauty is so good to you, and your heart races whenever you’re near her. You expect me to believe there’s nothing going on between you two? Who are you kidding?” Cheng Mantou, dissatisfied with Cheng Ying’s evasive attitude, asked bluntly.
But not only was she not taken seriously, she was even mocked. “You think that just because she’s nice to me, she’s interested in me?”
“What else could it be? With your notorious reputation, a reputation that’s hit rock bottom, if she wasn’t interested in you, would she dare be so nice to you? And let’s get this straight, you’re not allowed to mute me, or I’ll go on strike!”
“…This is why you’re just an AI.” Cheng Ying pressed her temple with the hand not holding the paintbrush, stopping the thought of muting her. Her tone held a hint of loneliness. “She’s not like those other people. She doesn’t care about things like reputation. She’s nice to me simply because she thinks I’m a good person, someone trustworthy.”
It was the first time Cheng Mantou had heard Cheng Ying speak to her in such a tone. Faced with this person who could clearly do whatever she wanted with the world but was exceptionally unhappy at this moment, she rarely refrained from retorting and simply asked softly, “And what about you?”
“Me?” Cheng Ying gave a perfunctory smile, as if she’d heard a bad joke. “I haven’t even known her for a month. What kind of deep feelings could there be? My heart races because Miss Jiang is simply gorgeous, has a great figure, and is thoughtful and considerate. But that’s nothing special. There are plenty of people like that in the world… I’m not stupid enough to fall head over heels for that. If she can treat me as a friend, why can’t I treat her as a friend?”
“But…” Cheng Mantou still felt something was off, but before she could press further, Cheng Ying impatiently cut her off. “I’ve answered your question. Now hurry up and get to work. Are you waiting for me to come back and spank you?”
“I know, you cheapskate.” Cheng Mantou muttered and disconnected from Cheng Ying.
Silence returned to her mind. Cheng Ying, with her perpetually fixed smile, continued her work.
At least, just now, she should be thankful for the excellent self-control she had cultivated through years of pretense. Otherwise, she might have really done something drastic.
However, this also served as a wake-up call. Last night, she was thinking of letting nature take its course, but now she had to seriously consider her relationship with Jiang Hanguang.
She was falling for her far faster than she had imagined, and she seemed to lose control especially easily in front of Jiang Hanguang. If she didn’t set an uncrossable bottom line for herself, it would be too late when something really happened.
The name of this bottom line was—Jiang Hanguang’s friend and agent.
A little physical contact between friends was perfectly appropriate; there was no need to blush or let her imagination run wild. And as an agent, she needed to ensure Jiang Hanguang’s interests were maximized. At least until Jiang Hanguang became a top artist with her own say, she could still protect her.
This alone was enough, Cheng Ying thought. At least until she resolved the matter with Cheng Mo and came back alive, this would be enough.
Painting was a bit easier than cleaning, and since all four of them worked very hard to avoid the black bread, they managed to get their dinner without any mishaps. And it came with unlimited refills.
Xie Chengcheng ate her second sandwich with tears in her eyes. “This is great, Wanwan, woo woo woo…”
Li Wan, so tired she couldn’t even lift her head, didn’t give her so much as a perfunctory nod, listlessly sipping her soup with her head down.
Zhang Zeyun pushed a video display board into the dining room, stopping in front of the table. She said with a smile, “Everyone did a great job with their work today! Let’s begin our special evening program now.”
As she spoke, she turned on the screen. The four of them looked up in unison. The display was divided into two sections. One was titled “Little Little Farm Employee Popularity Ranking,” and the other was “Little Little Farm Best Pairing Popularity Ranking.”
On the employee popularity ranking: Jiang Hanguang was in a league of her own at number one, her popularity score almost equal to the sum of the other three. Cheng Ying was second, with more than three times the score of the third-place Xie Chengcheng. The most pitiful was Li Wan in fourth place, whose score was surprisingly a good deal lower than Xie Chengcheng’s.
And on the popular pairing ranking, first place was the Guang Ying CP of Cheng Ying and Jiang Hanguang, with more points than the next five pairings combined. What was even funnier was that second place was Jiang Hanguang paired with Xie Chengcheng, and third place was, surprisingly, Jiang Hanguang paired with Li Wan.
From this, it was clear that Jiang Hanguang was indeed the undisputed popularity queen of the show so far, to the point where she even influenced the trend of the pairing ranking.
Jiang Hanguang probably hadn’t expected her popularity to be so high and smiled, a little embarrassed.
Cheng Ying had already heard about this from Cheng Mantou, so she was calm and collected inside, but she remembered to put on a surprised expression. Xie Chengcheng didn’t care about these things at all. Among the three, the one with the ugliest expression was Li Wan.
She looked at her pitifully low number of votes again and again, unwilling to accept it.
She came to this godforsaken place and suffered so much, wasn’t it all to experience what it felt like to be famous?
In the end, she hadn’t done any less work, nor had she endured any less frustration, yet her popularity was even lower than that good-for-nothing Xie Chengcheng?
Jiang Hanguang hadn’t done much more work than her either, so why did so many people like her?
Zhang Zeyun gestured for the cameraman to get close-ups of the four’s faces while continuing with her job. “Next, we will show everyone the top ten comments from today’s livestream platform.”
She pressed a button on the remote in her hand. The two rankings disappeared, and ten comments appeared in their place.
Comment 1: Where on earth can I find a wife like Jiang Hanguang? Feng Nan, you really don’t know what’s good for you.
Comment 2: I used to think Cheng Ying and Xie Chengcheng were the same breed. Now I must punish myself with a drink for my rashness. Thank you, Boss Cheng, for saving my wife.
Comment 3: Meme: If your wife looks like this—[Jiang Hanguang picture]—then she’s not your wife, she’s my wife.jpg
Comment 4: She’s obviously Cheng Ying’s wife. Look, she was so tired after cleaning, but she still rushed to help Cheng Ying carry things. If that’s not love, what is? By the way, I want to pinch Miss Jiang’s face too.
Comment 5: Guang Ying is real. This is the first time Cheng Ying has ever accompanied one of her artists on a show.
Comment 6: You all want Jiang Hanguang as your wife. I’m not as unrealistic and prone to daydreaming as you all. I just want Boss Cheng to top me.
Comment 7: Cheng Ying: Ugly, so no.jpg
Comment 8: Li Wan is so scheming. She tries to trick people into revealing things during chats. Hanguang kindly helped her with her work, but she deliberately dragged her feet and didn’t help. Today she was forced to do a bit more work, and her face was so dark she could play Judge Bao. It’s scary to look at.
Comment 9: Unlike Xie Chengcheng, she’s just a simple, silly dog.
Comment 10: And a good-for-nothing.
“I’m not a good-for-nothing!” The first to jump up was Xie Chengcheng. She impatiently sought encouragement from her lover. “Isn’t that right, Wan… Wan?”
But she saw Li Wan’s face twisted with emotion, her eyes red-rimmed. She did indeed look very scary.
Xie Chengcheng’s voice instantly dropped an octave, turning into a mumble.
Jiang Hanguang, for her part, showed no joy on her face. She glanced worriedly at Li Wan and was about to speak when someone grabbed her wrist.
Cheng Ying shook her head at her, signaling her not to speak.
She knew people like Li Wan all too well. If Jiang Hanguang spoke up now, it would 100% be seen as showing off, and she would be resented for a lifetime.
At this moment, Zhang Zeyun was like a ruthless robot. Ignoring the heavy atmosphere at the dinner table, she continued with her script. “I’m sure that through these comments, everyone has felt the support and love from the netizens. At the same time, in response to the overwhelming demand from our audience, I’ve temporarily launched a small segment.”
The woman’s smiling gaze fell upon Cheng Ying and Jiang Hanguang. Cheng Ying instantly had a bad feeling.
“The number one pairing on the popularity ranking, if you are willing to complete our ‘ambiguous challenge,’ you will receive a case of iced sparkling water provided by the production team.”
Speak of the devil. Cheng Ying was cursing inwardly, but her face had to show a look of pleasant surprise.
“There’s such a good deal?”
Zhang Zeyun nodded. “Today’s ambiguous challenge is: face each other with your knees touching and maintain eye contact for 30 seconds. If you can resist kissing, you win. Are you two willing to accept?”
“Xiao Ying?” Jiang Hanguang thought it was a pretty good deal. An iced drink after a busy day in this weather would be very refreshing, and it was just making eye contact. But for some reason, she detected a hint of reluctance in Cheng Ying’s smiling face, so she didn’t decide on her own and looked at Cheng Ying instead.
Cheng Ying looked at the woman’s pure, untainted eyes and could only force a smile and agree, “No problem.”
What kind of friend would pass up a freebie just because they were afraid of making eye contact with a friend?
So, the two of them moved their chairs away from the dining table, sat down together, their knees touching, and their gazes met.
Zhang Zeyun started the stopwatch. “Begin.”
Cheng Ying held her breath, trying not to smell the captivating rose scent on the woman. Her gaze was fixed straight on Jiang Hanguang’s eyes, but her expression was vacant, completely unfocused.
Don’t look, don’t smell, don’t be subdued by Jiang Hanguang again.
Zoning out is an easy thing to do, but only on the condition that there is no one and nothing you care about nearby.
Cheng Ying didn’t know how long she had held on, only that these short 30 seconds seemed to have stretched into 30 hours.
Her breathing quickly failed her, captured by the faint scent of roses. Her eyes, enticed by the fragrance, subsequently regained their focus.
Cheng Ying blinked, reluctantly bringing Jiang Hanguang’s face into clear view.
Because they had to keep their knees touching, both of their upper bodies were involuntarily leaning forward.
They were very close, so close they could feel each other’s breath.
Jiang Hanguang was slightly shorter than her, so Cheng Ying’s perspective was angled slightly downwards, taking in the woman’s entire expression.
She saw Jiang Hanguang’s dense eyelashes, her smiling eyes, her flawless skin, and those red lips that looked like they would feel incredibly good to kiss.
The woman was like a tamed fawn, looking smilingly at her master, waiting for her to play, waiting for her hand to stroke its newly grown antlers.
Completely unaware that her master wanted to skin her, break her bones, and devour her whole.
For Jiang Hanguang, this was just a game.
But for Cheng Ying, it was a challenge.
The alpha gripped the edge of the chair beneath her.
She told herself over and over again.
Don’t kiss her!
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