Dating My Drama Queen Girlfriend On A Slow-Paced Variety Show - Chapter 32

The cameraman, running to keep up, swung his bag behind him and flashed a smile as he raised the camera.

In front of the lens, Li Yue and Luo Mingzi shared a brief hug before Li Yue looked toward the two girls following behind Mingzi. They were two beautiful, yet unfamiliar faces.

“These two are members of the girl group Fly-Over Girls, Fu Bailing and Li Tong,” Luo Mingzi said, patting Li Yue and introducing them enthusiastically. “They arrived yesterday. And this person here.”

Luo Mingzi clung to Li Yue like she was a permanent fixture, wrapping an arm around her and beaming at Fu Bailing and Li Tong. “This is Li Yue.”

Fu Bailing’s eyes flickered, looking as though she were trying to suppress an inner reaction, before she offered a cute smile. “Hello, Teacher Li. I’ve heard so much about you. I really love your work.”

Li Yue reached out to shake both their hands, smiling faintly. “You’re too kind. Just call me Li Yue.”

Luo Mingzi poked her head out and asked, “Does your ‘hearing about her’ have anything to do with me? We’ve been pretty active lately, haven’t we?”

The two young idols hesitated. Li Tong twisted her hands nervously and stammered, “I don’t think ‘pretty active’ is the right word for it.”

Luo Mingzi burst out laughing. The two idols joined in.

Earlier, when Luo Mingzi had run out to greet Li Yue shouting “Girlfriend,” the two girls had been nearly scared out of their wits. After thinking it over, they figured that either the relationship was so genuinely platonic that Mingzi felt comfortable shouting it, or her popularity had reached a level of “doing whatever she wants.”

After a day of interaction, they felt it was more of the former. Luo Mingzi was a top-tier star among the cast, but whether on or off camera, she wasn’t the arrogant diva the internet claimed her to be. She was the same person regardless of whether the cameras were rolling.

As members of an idol group, they were well-versed in “CP marketing.” Fu Bailing offered, “Teacher Li Yue, let us help you with your luggage.”

“Thank you.”

The renovated road was flat and easy to walk on, making the suitcases easy to roll. Luo Mingzi, however, asked curiously, “Why didn’t you bring an electric one?” She had been hoping to catch a ride on it.

Li Yue unslung her guitar and handed it to her, saying softly, “I’m staying longer this time, so I brought more things. Take the guitar to my room. I still have stuff in the car.”

Luo Mingzi nodded eagerly. Seeing this, Li Yue patted her on the head and turned back.

By the water feature in the small courtyard, another girl was washing vegetables with Wu Xuezhen. This was Zhu Ran, another member of the Fly-Over Girls. Just as she stood up to go to the kitchen, a figure “whooshed” past her. Zhu Ran stared in shock.

“I felt a gust of wind blow right past me,” Zhu Ran told the laughing Wu Xuezhen, pointing at Luo Mingzi’s retreating back. “Teacher Luo runs so fast.”

Wu Xuezhen chuckled. “That girl… she only finds the energy to hop around when she’s impatient. Usually, walking two extra steps makes her complain of exhaustion.”

Having finished her sprint, the panting Luo Mingzi shouted “I’m not tired!” before collapsing onto the floor like a piece of dried salted fish.

“I can’t… I’m done…”

Love requires strength! And her legs currently had none.

The guests and the staff under the porch were all laughing. Meanwhile, the two girls at the entrance were trying to figure out how to get Li Yue’s large suitcase over the high threshold. The suitcase was heavy, and having volunteered for the job, they felt too embarrassed to ask for help, leaving them struggling in vain.

Suddenly, a tall shadow fell over them. A warm, magnetic voice gently intervened: “Let me.”

Struck by the depth of the voice, the two girls froze and turned to look at Li Yue. She stood behind them, her fair face matching the softness of her voice. As she leaned down to grab the suitcase handle, the girl on the right noticed the defined lines of muscle under Li Yue’s sleeve. She gasped, covering her mouth as the suitcase was effortlessly lifted and set down.

Barely out of breath, Li Yue chuckled. “Sorry, I should have done it myself. It is quite heavy. Could you help me push it to the door?”

“Oh… Oh!”

Waking from their daze, the two jumped over the threshold, their faces flushed with a mysterious glow. They excitedly rolled the suitcase to the porch. Fu Bailing and Li Tong gripped each other’s hands, whispering in the tone of fangirls: “Teacher Li Yue is so handsome and gentle!”

“My ears are melting!”

Luo Mingzi, still sprawled on the floor, slowly lifted her eyelashes and glanced at them before scrambling up. Teacher Luo thought: The world outside is too dangerous and full of temptations. For Teacher Li’s safety, I better stick to her like glue!

Suddenly recharged, Luo Mingzi ran to find Li Yue just as she set a large iron cage inside the door. Li Yue went back out once more, carrying a cardboard box.

Wu Xuezhen perked up her ears. “Ooh, chicks?”

The cheep-cheep sounds coming from the box excited everyone in the yard. They rushed over to look. Li Yue found a shaded spot and set the box down.

Luo Mingzi leaned in, grabbing Li Yue’s arm, her expression a mix of fear and excitement. The box was full of yellow, fuzzy chicks, mixed with a few grey ducklings and goslings.

“So cute!”

“I used to see people selling chicks at the school gate when I was in elementary school. I haven’t seen them in years, childhood memories unlocked!” Li Tong said happily, running back to grab her phone for a photo.

“It’s my first time seeing a chick,” Luo Mingzi said curiously. “My school had peacocks, but never chicks.”

The two girls squatting nearby looked up and went “Wow.”

Li Yue asked, “Didn’t you have biology in kindergarten? Raising small animals? I remember feeding rabbits back then.”

“Nope, I didn’t go to kindergarten. Before I was six, I had tutors at home. Damn it, I missed out on so much childhood fun!” Luo Mingzi pouted, peeking at the chicks. She looked like she wanted to reach out but didn’t quite dare. “They don’t bite, do they?”

Li Yue smiled and rubbed her head. “I’ll go get some millet; you can feed them.”

Just as Luo Mingzi was about to experience “childhood joy,” she saw something in the box. Her face transformed. She grabbed Li Yue’s hand and bolted, screaming, “AHHH! Chicken poop! So dirty, so dirty!”

The other two guests squatting there looked bewildered, unsure if they should join in the screaming since Mingzi’s reaction was so intense.

Wu Xuezhen laughed loudly. “You eat eggs, don’t you? Are eggs dirty?”

Li Yue took a quiet breath and looked at Luo Mingzi, whose face was contorted with horror. Mingzi held her hand out like a claw, protesting, “I’m never eating eggs again!”

Wu Xuezhen added, “The vegetables the neighbors give us are grown with manure. Do you know what manure is?”

Li Yue: “…” Luo Mingzi: “AAAAHHHHH!” Luo Mingzi: “I’m going on a hunger strike!”

“Mom,” Li Yue said helplessly. “Let her be.”

“Hahaha!” Wu Xuezhen pointed at Luo Mingzi and told the camera director, “Please clip that part and send it to me. I think she acted that out perfectly, the inner terror, the panic, the agony!”

“Li Yue…” Luo Mingzi looked at Li Yue with teary eyes. Li Yue pulled her in for a hug and patted her, smiling. “Eggs have shells, they get washed before cooking.”

“The vegetables in the market are mostly mass-produced using chemical fertilizers,” Li Yue explained.

“Exactly,” Wu Xuezhen chimed in. “Manure-grown veggies are pure organic food. They’re way more expensive. You don’t know how lucky you are.”

Luo Mingzi rebelled: “You never cook! You don’t even buy the groceries!”

Wu Xuezhen asked, “Weren’t you a science student? You know what chemical fertilizer is, right? There’s one called..”

“AHHH!” Luo Mingzi covered her ears.

Li Yue also raised her hands because Luo Mingzi had grabbed Li Yue’s hands and pressed them against her own ears.

The three guest idols squatting by the box felt like the chicks small, pitiful, helpless, and completely left out of the conversation.

Finally, Li Yue said, “If you keep arguing, we’re having plain rice, pickles, and plain water for all three meals this week.”

The yard went silent. Luo Mingzi reached out, Wu Xuezhen opened her arms, and the “mother and daughter” hugged and wept, declaring they were the best family in the world and nothing could tear them apart.

The three onlookers thought about it and gave a silent round of applause. A truly happy ending.

Just as they were preparing to wrap dumplings, Pi Dajun returned on his tricycle from the market. He shouted over the wall, “I could hear you guys from outside! What’s going on? Oh, Li Yue’s back! Look what I got at the market!”

“The rural market is great! We should all go tomorrow!”

Li Yue turned to greet him, then paused. “Is that the sound of a sheep?”

Everyone, including the director, stood up and peered out. Pi Dajun laughed and led two small lambs off the tricycle.

“So, I saw someone selling sheep at the market. Since our You Yang’s nickname is ‘Little Sheep’ and he’s going to be away for a while, I thought I’d buy a sheep to replace him. But I thought one would be lonely, so I bought two.” Pi Dajun carried the bleating lambs into the yard. He gave a sheepish grin. “The seller saw me buy two at once and thought I was a big shot, so he threw in two rabbits for free!”

He ran back out and brought in a cage. “See? A white rabbit and a grey one. A pair!”

Li Yue: “…” She crossed her arms.

Luo Mingzi asked coldly, “Uncle, weren’t you just supposed to check vegetable prices? How much did the sheep cost? I recall we only have less than 5,000 yuan left in the budget.”

Pi Dajun froze, slowly looking up at the sky. “Well… money… it was actually quite cheap.”

“Two of them. Three thousand.”

Li Yue touched her lip and took a step back.

Everyone: “…”

“Three thousand yuan!” Luo Mingzi pointed at the sheep, fuming. “Return them! We can’t afford this!”

Pi Dajun tried to plead, “But one of them is a little lamb!”

Luo Mingzi’s finger snapped toward the cardboard cutout of the absent You Yang. “That cutout is enough for him. One thousand five hundred? He’s not worth it!”

“Also, from now on, I’m in charge of the money. Every expense must be approved by me!” Luo Mingzi said solemnly.

Li Yue found the words familiar. She rubbed her ear, her eyes falling on the two lambs. After a moment, she said, “Uncle. The sheep… pooped.”

In that instant, everyone’s eyes went to the floor. Pi Dajun looked down in surprise and let out a laugh. “So they did.”

Li Yue opened her arms and caught the charging Luo Mingzi. She patted Mingzi’s back and looked up at the swaying locust tree outside the wall, smiling.

It certainly was lively.