Upon hearing Fu Kaile say "no," Long Cheng immediately shifted his target. He walked over to Di Jiaxun and pitifully said, "Brother Di, do you have any extra points vouchers? Can you spare me a little? I just had a leg cramp, and it hurt so much I couldn't walk. It's only just gotten better."
Long Cheng thought that using the excuse of a leg cramp would make the viewers feel sorry for him.
After all, the cameraman wasn't around him just now, so the viewers wouldn’t know whether he had a cramp or not.
But what he didn’t know was that, although the production team had told them there was only one live-streaming window, in fact, they had opened a live window for each of them. Even if there wasn't a cameraman following them, it was possible that hidden cameras had been installed where they were.
Unfortunately for him, there were quite a few hidden cameras exactly where he was just now.
So, all his actions were seen by the viewers in the live broadcast room, and whether or not he had a leg cramp was something they were all very clear about.
Although his fans have always been lenient with him - as long as he doesn’t break any laws - this time, his behavior made even his fans unwilling to defend him. "You’re lazy, I’m lazy too, whatever. If the worst comes to worst, I'll just listen to fewer of his songs."
Di Jiaxun felt awkward refusing Long Cheng, so he gave him a few points vouchers.
Long Cheng happily accepted the vouchers, but after seeing the number of points on the slip, he muttered softly, "That little?"
"If you think it's too little, then don't take it," Wu Pandan, who overheard him, said bluntly.
Long Cheng wanted to ask others for more vouchers after that, but learning from the earlier example, no one else gave him any.
Since they had spent a lot of time and energy looking for points, each person used ten points to exchange for lunch.
But Long Cheng, with only five points, could only watch them eat.
In the end, it was Fu Kaile who softened up and asked Wu Pandan for five points to give to Long Cheng, allowing him to finally have lunch.
Instead of thanking Fu Kaile after getting his meal, Long Cheng gave him a fierce glare once he found out that Fu Kaile had points all along but didn’t give him any earlier.
Soon, everyone finished eating the last meal provided by the production team.
Why is it the last meal? Because from then on, they planned to buy ingredients from the production team and cook their own meals.
They discussed it and concluded that, in the long run, cooking for themselves would cost fewer points.
There were definitely going to be many areas where they would need points in the future, so they had to spend them wisely.
For anything where they could save points, they absolutely couldn't waste them.
Those who had worked to earn points had no problem cooking for themselves, but Long Cheng, who had done nothing and just lay around, wasn’t happy about it.
Since he wasn’t happy about it, nobody indulged him. They directly told him that, because he didn’t have any points, he wasn’t even qualified to join, even if he wanted to. Whenever he has saved up enough points, then he can give his opinions, and it won’t be too late.
Seeing that everyone had excluded him, Long Cheng started trying to get Fu Kaile on his side.
For some reason, ever since they came here, Fu Kaile, who used to obey everything he said, was now unwilling to pay him any attention. Could it really be just because he lied about being allergic to cat fur? Was it that big of a deal?
Fu Kaile realized that the best way to deal with certain people was to simply ignore them.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Long Cheng decided to stop caring. He didn’t believe that after they finished cooking, they wouldn’t give him any food. As long as he had thick enough skin, he could be fearless. This was also the unique persona his manager had crafted for him.
Then, his leg “suddenly cramped” again and, now, besides lying on the couch, he couldn’t do anything.
Once they decided to cook for themselves, each person put in five points, and the group headed to the supermarket set up by the production team.
Shang Jingwei and Yong Xinyi were in charge of buying kitchenware with 20 points, Mu Zhengqing and Lu Yiwei were responsible for buying seasonings with 8 points, and Fu Kaile, Wu Pandan, and Di Jiaxun were responsible for buying ingredients with 7 points.
Mu Zhengqing followed Lu Yiwei to the seasoning section, and when he saw the prices, he was completely stunned.
A bottle of oil cost 5 points, and a bag of salt cost 3 points. If they bought these two things, their points would be gone.
In the end, Mu Zhengqing took out 3 of his own points to buy a bottle of Weidamei soy sauce. [it’s a popular name brand]
High-quality ingredients often require the simplest cooking methods. But for a cooking novice like Mu Zhengqing, cooking without Weidamei soy sauce was like cooking without a soul.
By the time Mu Zhengqing and Lu Yiwei came out with the things they bought, the group of three who went to buy ingredients had also come out.
They spent 5 points to buy a bag of rice, and then 2 points to buy a Chinese cabbage.
The three of them had completely run out of points. Otherwise, they would have definitely bought some glass noodles as well.
They weren’t expecting to have pork stewed with cabbage, but cabbage stewed with glass noodles would have been fine, too.
The wealthy Mu Zhengqing, with a grand gesture, took out another 3 points and gave them to Wu Pandan, telling her to go buy the glass noodles. No matter what, they were going to eat cabbage stewed with glass noodles today.
When Mu Zhengqing handed her the points, Wu Pandan was so happy she almost hugged him.
Why "almost"? Because just as she reached out her hands and before she could take the next step, someone stepped in front of Mu Zhengqing.
As for who it was, who else could it be but Lu Yiwei?
However, seeing Lu Yiwei block Mu Zhengqing, Wu Pandan became even more excited than if she had actually hugged Mu Zhengqing.
Shang Jingwei and Yong Xinyi were the last ones to come out. They each spent 10 points to buy a rice cooker and a wok.
Originally, the marked price for each of these items was 15 points, but Shang Jingwei and Yong Xinyi had bargained with the production crew for a long time, eventually getting them both for 10 points, which was why they were the last ones to come out.
When the others heard they had been able to bargain, Mu Zhengqing and the rest felt like they had lost a fortune. Each of them wished they could return what they bought and buy everything over again.
Liang Qi saw what they were doing and quickly issued an emergency notice: from now on, no more bargaining when buying things. Anyone who tries to haggle will lose 1 point.
After they finished buying everything, it wasn’t time for dinner yet, so the group started brainstorming ways to earn more points.
You could say the production crew was really stingy—they didn’t even take the initiative to give them opportunities to earn points, instead leaving them to figure it out on their own.
When it came to earning points, the group coincidentally all thought of picking up trash.
The reason they thought of picking up trash was because there were no traffic lights here, nor were there any elderly grandmas for them to help across the road.
But after they looked around, they found that not only was there no trash on the ground, but in this vibrant spring season, there wasn’t even a single leaf on the ground.
“Who says there’s no trash? Wasn’t the treasure chest we opened by the beach earlier basically garbage?” Mu Zhengqing suddenly had a bright idea and said.
Everyone agreed that was true. Without wasting any time, they immediately headed toward the beach.
Liang Qi opened his mouth to say something as they walked away, but in the end, he said nothing. Considering they were newcomers, he decided to let them off this time. He quickly called the staff responsible for cleaning up the treasure chests by the beach and told them to dump out the cleaned-up chests again.
However, after the group left Liang Qi’s sight, they didn’t head straight to the beach. Instead, they each returned to their respective residences.
Picking up trash at the beach was secondary, their main purpose in going to the beach was to have some fun.
They had already skimped on their meals, so when it came to their mental well-being, they definitely needed to relax and enjoy themselves.
Liang Qi waited at the beach for a long time, but only one person showed up, and it was none other than Long Cheng, who had previously complained about his leg cramping.
“Where are the others?” Long Cheng asked in confusion when he didn’t see anyone else.
He didn’t really want to come either, but without showing up, he wouldn’t get any screen time. So, after his "leg got better," he came.
"I’d like to know the answer to that myself," Liang Qi said through gritted teeth.
Of course, he knew where they were, but knowing was one thing, and being angry was another.
To increase the difficulty for them, he had the staff throw treasure chests everywhere. Now that they didn’t show up, some of the chests that had been tossed into the sea had to be fished out by the staff immediately.
If the show’s recording caused marine pollution, no matter how many sponsors he had, there would be no way to ensure the show’s continuation.
By the time Mu Zhengqing and the others arrived in their comfortable vacation-style outfits, the production crew had almost finished cleaning up the treasure chests.
There was no way they were going to throw the chests out again, so in the end, Mu Zhengqing and the others didn’t manage to earn any points by picking up the treasure chests.
However, since they had already changed clothes and showed up, how could they not fully enjoy themselves? How could they waste the time they spent walking over and the effort of changing their outfits?
Points? They didn’t care about that. After all, they had a bag of rice—at worst, they’d just drink porridge three times a day. They had food, a place to stay, no work to do, and still got paid. Where else could you find such a great deal?
Liang Qi watched them slack off, so angry that his mouth twisted. Since that was the case, he decided not to go easy on them. He gave a few instructions to his assistant, and soon after, the assistant left with a few people.
In such a leisurely moment, even just walking barefoot on the soft sand could lift one’s spirits.
Not to mention, they even played a series of childish games like water fights and tag—games that even eight-year-olds find too childish.
Hmm, eight-year-olds might think these games are too immature, but for these twenty-somethings, it felt just right.
However, there was one exception: Long Cheng, dressed in a high-end tailored suit, sat not far from them, looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle.
With his elegant demeanor and melancholic gaze, how could he not utterly captivate the viewers in the livestream?
Reality in the livestream: "Long Cheng, could you move over a bit? You're blocking the camera."
As a celebrity, making money is indeed fast, but the pressure is also real. They have to be mindful of every word and action, and it's been a long time since they relaxed like this.
Even Shang Jingwei and Yong Xinyi, who were over fifty years old, looked at them and laughed along.
It wasn't until the tide started coming in that they reluctantly left.
After considering the features of various accommodations, they ultimately decided to set up the kitchen at Fu Kaile, Shang Jingwei, and Di Jiahun's place. After all, it was a three-person residence, so it had the largest space, and having more people wouldn't make it feel crowded.
Since their ingredients were too simple, there wasn't even enough to divide among everyone, even if they wanted to help.
In the end, they decided that Shang Jingwei and Yong Xinyi would cook this meal.
As for the others, they didn’t stay idle. They each found some tools and decided to go foraging by the sea.
When they arrived at the beach, it was like they had discovered a new world—there were sea snails, starfish, oysters, and everything else one could hope for.
It was everyone’s first time foraging by the sea, and whenever they found something tasty, fun, or beautiful, they would exclaim in surprise.
Originally, Mu Zhengqing, Lu Yiwei, and Fu Kaile were together, but at some point, Fu Kaile was pulled away by Wu Pandan, so now only Mu Zhengqing and Lu Yiwei were left.
Of course, the cameraman following them was still there the whole time.
The viewers in the livestream, seeing how much fun they were having foraging, started flooding the chat with comments.
"Pause the bricklaying, I want to go foraging by the sea."
"Pause the class, I want to go foraging by the sea."
"Pause the game, I want to go foraging by the sea."
...
Before long, Lu Yiwei's container was full, but seeing that Mu Zhengqing was still having fun, he took off his own jacket and let Mu Zhengqing put his findings inside.
Luckily, he had worn a jacket when he came out, otherwise, the livestream might have had to be cut off.
The livestream viewers also noticed this and commented in disappointment. They were this close to seeing the ‘model gentleman class leader’ bare-chested.
And so it went, Mu Zhengqing foraging ahead while Lu Yiwei packed everything up behind him.
By the time Mu Zhengqing turned around, Lu Yiwei's jacket was nearly overflowing.
It was only then that Mu Zhengqing noticed Lu Yiwei had taken off his jacket. Hurriedly, he took off his own jacket and gave it to Lu Yiwei.
Although Lu Yiwei really wanted to wear the jacket that Mu Zhengqing had just worn, he was worried that Mu Zhengqing might catch a cold, so he placed the things he was holding on the ground and helped Mu Zhengqing put his own jacket back on.
"I'm not cold, let's head back," Lu Yiwei said after making sure Mu Zhengqing had put the jacket on.
He truly wasn't cold—whenever he was around Mu Zhengqing, his body was always brimming with excitement.
Mu Zhengqing glanced around but didn’t see Wu Pandan and the others, so the two of them decided to head back first.
When they returned, they found that Wu Pandan and the others had already gotten back.
Their timing was perfect - it was almost time to eat.
Long Cheng had appeared at some point. Since everyone was here, they couldn't just kick him out, so they simply added an extra pair of chopsticks.
As it was getting late, they decided to save the things they’d collected from the sea for tomorrow’s meal.
Mu Zhengqing and the others had long known what dinner would be, so when a large pot of cabbage stewed with vermicelli was served, they all ate with great enjoyment. After all, they had nearly been stuck with only cabbage to eat.
Long Cheng, who had originally come expecting a grand feast, had an expression that matched the dish on the table.
Plain.
But no one cared about his expression—not even Fu Kaile spared him a glance.
Although there was only one dish, Shang Jingwei and Yong Xinyi’s cooking skills were excellent. The cabbage stewed with vermicelli turned out to be especially delicious.
Long Cheng, who initially looked down on the fact that there was only one dish, found that by the time he wanted to grab a bite, all that was left for him was an empty pot.
This time, Long Cheng wasn’t pretending—he was genuinely shocked. Are they still celebrities? Do they not need to watch their figure? Then again, he hadn’t done anything all day besides lying on the couch and sleeping.
Mu Zhengqing and the others, on the other hand, had been busy hunting for treasure chests, playing water fights, and foraging by the sea—they were exhausted.
And when you're that tired, not only do you eat a lot, but your appetite is even better.
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