Dating My Drama Queen Girlfriend On A Slow-Paced Variety Show - Chapter 33

Finally, amidst a roar from Luo Mingzi, everyone worked together to settle the sheep, rabbits, chicks, and ducklings into the animal shed in the backyard.

The newly cleaned backyard welcomed its new residents. Watching Li Yue place the iron cages in the far corner, Luo Mingzi asked curiously, “Did you buy these cages specifically for this?”

“I bought the cages first,” Li Yue replied.

As it turned out, the cages hadn’t even arrived before the original chickens had already ended up in everyone’s stomachs. Wu Xuezhen brought over some hay and remarked, “Li Yue, you really ‘made a whole batch of dumplings just for a drop of vinegar’ (invested a lot for a small reason).”

Li Yue replied calmly, “Goal achieved.”

With the sheep led into the shed and the rabbits and chicks placed in their respective cages, the guests stood outside the shed looking at them with satisfaction. At that moment, Li Yue glanced behind her, tapped Luo Mingzi, and asked, “Did you buy the swing?”

Luo Mingzi nodded, she definitely did!

Li Yue raised an eyebrow, measuring the distance from the big tree to the animal shed, and said softly, “Not bad. In the future, you can sit under the tree and look at the sky, the grass, the chickens, the sheep, and the rabbits.”

Luo Mingzi’s face instantly puckered up as she imagined the scene, wearing an expression of disbelief.

Pi Dajun stood with his hands behind his back, lecturing her solemnly, “This is what you call life.”

“Heh, ‘life.’ Life is: what are we eating tonight?” Luo Mingzi struck the pose of a head of household who controls the purse strings and said, “We’re so poor we can barely afford to eat!”

Wu Xuezhen teased, “It’s fine. If we can’t afford food, we’ll just eat roast lamb.”

“Then I’ll start learning how to cook it now,” Li Yue said with a smile.

Pi Dajun’s calm expression vanished instantly. He panicked, “Little lamb, listen to what they’re saying! How cruel!”

“The little lamb’s leg is already lame, let him go,” Luo Mingzi said heartlessly. “We will remember his sacrifice.”

For example, by letting him fill the stomachs of cruel humans.

“This sheep isn’t that sheep (referring to Pi Dajun’s nickname),” Pi Dajun sighed.

“Stop sighing,” Wu Xuezhen patted him, smiling. “I just remembered something. Since we need to eat, these little guys need to eat too, right? Didn’t you buy any feed?”

Pi Dajun’s expression shifted again, only to hear Li Yue say calmly, “I bought some. Once they grow a bit older, we can mix it with vegetable leaves and roots to feed them.”

Luo Mingzi and Wu Xuezhen nodded at Li Yue in appreciation, then gave the scratching his head. Pi Dajun a look of disdain.

At this point, the three guest stars, who were curiously surrounding the cages, said excitedly, “Then let’s go pull some grass for them! Sheep and rabbits can just eat grass, right?”

The three of them had arrived yesterday afternoon and hadn’t been up the mountain yet, so they were quite excited.

Wu Xuezhen thought about it and decided it was a good idea. They had already eaten lunch, and the plan for the afternoon was to lead the three girls around the neighborhood anyway. The mountain was nearby.

Luo Mingzi couldn’t help but say, “Seeing how enthusiastic you all are, I can rest easy. Li Yue just arrived and needs to rest for a bit, so this heavy responsibility is granted to you!”

The three girls responded enthusiastically, “Okay!”

Standing behind Luo Mingzi, Li Yue looked down at the back of the woman acting like a “conductor” and let out a soft chuckle.

Before long, the five people excluding Li Yue and Luo Mingzi, put on their bamboo baskets, took their sickles, and headed up the mountain to cut grass. To encourage them, the two staying behind gave them a special send-off at the door.

Luo Mingzi shook her head. “Truly, ‘newborn calves are not afraid of tigers.'”

Li Yue teased, “And you’re already a month old?” (Meaning: You’re acting like a seasoned veteran).

“Hey! I have always maintained a deep reverence for the mountains!” Luo Mingzi emphasized, clinging to Li Yue’s arm. Let’s be real back home, if she walked more than two extra steps, she considered it a loss!

But why bring that up now?

Luo Mingzi flashed a brilliant smile and clung to Li Yue like glue. “Have you eaten yet?”

Li Yue had taken an early flight, eaten airplane food, gone to the market to buy chicks after landing, and then sat in a car for two hours to get back. She was indeed a bit hungry. She raised her hand to drape it over Luo Mingzi’s shoulder, and the two walked toward the kitchen.

“I saw Sister Xuezhen and the guests washing vegetables when I came in.”

“Those are wild greens sent over by a grandma in the village. We’re going to make pancakes with them!” Luo Mingzi said. “And the menu for dinner is decided, we’re having hot pot! The meat and veggies were all brought by the guests.”

She gave a thumbs-up, looking up at Li Yue with a grin.

Li Yue looked at the clean wild greens in the basket and let out a soft sigh.

“Director Liu doesn’t trust me at all, she interrogated me as soon as I got out of the car.” Li Yue lowered her eyelashes, propping her arms on the table, looking a bit forlorn. Luo Mingzi’s gaze instantly “swished” over to Director Liu.

Director Liu folded her arms, looking cold.

She had to interrogate her.

Did you bring money? How much? You aren’t planning on paying to work here again, are you?

Li Yue chuckled and put on a pink apron. Luo Mingzi reached out to roll up Li Yue’s sleeves, then put on an apron herself and sat down opposite Li Yue. She rested her face in her hands, staring intently at Li Yue as she chopped vegetables and kneaded dough.

“Chief Chef, the guest wants to eat soft, fluffy pancakes.” When speaking only to Li Yue, Luo Mingzi’s voice would unconsciously drop, sounding like it was laced with honey. Li Yue looked up slightly, gesturing for Luo Mingzi to look at her own arm.

Luo Mingzi smiled and lifted her arm, locking eyes with Li Yue. She opened her mouth and playfully “bit” her own arm, making an “aw-woo” sound.

The two of them laughed at the same time.

The cameraman: “Hehehe.” The Director: “…” Manager Su: “…”

Director Liu pulled out the script, staring at the title Late Life in the Countryside, looking back and forth. She didn’t see any other words there. After a moment, she whispered, “This is getting a bit… mushy (cloyingly sweet).”

A staff member nearby said, “Well, the dough for pancakes has to be thin and mushy to be good.”

Director Liu: “…”

When Luo Mingzi went to the bathroom, she was caught by Manager Su and given a stern lecture. Luo Mingzi returned nodding “mm-hmm” while inwardly “humphing,” then went back to watch Li Yue fry the pancakes.

It was a hot afternoon, so Li Yue also made watermelon juice and lemon mint tea, adding plenty of ice cubes before bringing them to the living room.

After finishing the chores, she finally carried her suitcase up to the second floor. Luo Mingzi followed her immediately.

Compared to last time, Li Yue’s luggage was significantly more substantial. Sets of clothes were hung in the wardrobe, some still had tags on them. Luo Mingzi organized them by style and color, asking casually, “Did you bring the new pajamas?”

Li Yue happened to pick up the pajamas she liked from the bottom layer and said, “I’m going to take a shower. I’ll leave this to you.”

“Got it!”

Luo Mingzi’s eyes followed Li Yue as she went into her room to shower. The bow-tied puppy hanging on the door swayed, sticking its tongue out at her. Luo Mingzi stuck her tongue back at it, zipped up Li Yue’s suitcase, tucked it aside, made the bed for her, and even ran to the living room to grab Li Yue’s guitar and set it up in the room.

“Perfect.” She clapped her hands and stood with her hands on her hips, admiring her handiwork for a moment.

Luo Mingzi stole a glance at the camera.

Well… Manager Su told her not to take things too far at least to act a bit reserved. I’m being pretty reserved, right? Luo Mingzi circled the room and ended up at her own door, thinking: Going back to my own room can’t be called unreserved!

So, she pushed the door open.

Then she thought: I’ve been busy all morning; taking a nap can’t be called unreserved!

So, she took her pajamas out of the closet.

Then she thought again: It’s so hot, I should take a shower before I sleep!

What? Someone is using the bathroom? Oh well, we’re all girls, showering together shouldn’t be an issue, and it even saves water.

So, Luo Mingzi walked over, knocked on the door, and said, “Li Yue, I want to take a shower too.”

The bathroom door opened faster than expected. Li Yue, already changed into clean clothes, pulled the door open with an air of composure. A snow white towel draped over her head, with a few damp strands of hair clinging to her pale skin. her eyes were misty, looking like an ink wash painting where the mountains, forests, and lakes after a rain were shrouded in a vast haze of white.

Li Yue calmly pulled the door wide open and said very politely, “Please.”

With her back to the camera, Luo Mingzi pouted.

Li Yue added, “I also need to borrow your bathroom to blow-dry my hair.”

Luo Mingzi’s lips curled up uncontrollably again. She said reservedly, “Sure.” She stepped inside and closed the door. Before long, the whirring sound of a hairdryer began.

Downstairs, the “Grass Cutting Team” returned from the mountain, placing the grass they had worked so hard to harvest into the animal shed. The backyard was quite cool with occasional breezes blowing through, the two half-grown lambs huddled together on a pile of hay in the corner for a nap.

The animals’ water bowls were filled with clean water. Wu Xuezhen took off her hat to fan herself and said with a smile, “Li Yue is still the most thoughtful one. We forgot to give them water before we left.”

Pi Dajun nodded and called for the three guests to head inside and rest. The three female guests, who had felt the “majesty” of the great mountains, had gone from being full of enthusiasm to not wanting to say a single word, dragging their feet as they walked back.

“I want water…” Li Tong said.

Fu Bailing murmured, “I feel like a little blade of grass in autumn, dry and shriveled!”

Zhu Ran nodded in agreement.

The three dejected girls came out of the backyard and swapped into their slippers under the porch. Li Tong, head down, was about to pull the door open when she heard a “clack.” The cool air from the air conditioner and a sweet fragrance wafted out simultaneously. She instinctively looked up and met a pair of cool, calm eyes.

A flash of surprise crossed those clear eyes, but the indifference quickly melted into a gentle smile. Li Yue said softly, “You’ve worked hard. There’s food and drinks in the living room, come in and rest.”

Li Tong’s face turned a bit red as she nodded shyly. Beside her, Fu Bailing glanced at her, laughed, and pulled Li Tong and Zhu Ran into the living room. Before long, cries of surprise erupted from inside.

“Teacher Li, did you make all of this?” Fu Bailing asked loudly.

Li Yue turned back with a smile and went to the backyard to find Wu Xuezhen and Pi Dajun. The couple happened to be strolling over leisurely.

Pi Dajun spoke up like a village elder with his hands behind his back, “Oh, here’s our daughter.”

The “daughter” waved and stood waiting for them. Wu Xuezhen leaned in close, her eyes crinkling as she whispered, “Daughter, you’re covered in the scent of Mingzi’s body wash and shampoo.”

“Mm,” Li Yue nodded. “I took a shower.”

“No wonder. I was wondering why your lips were so red,” Wu Xuezhen smirked.

How does taking a shower translate to red lips?

Li Yue replied calmly, “There’s watermelon juice inside.”

Wu Xuezhen: “Hahaha, thanks!”

The three of them entered the house. The interior was incredibly cool, so comfortable it made people sigh with relief. The three girls who had entered first were either sitting or lying on the floor, hearing someone enter, they quickly sat up.

Wu Xuezhen waved them off. “Don’t be formal, treat it like your own home.”

The guests felt even more bashful. Just then, someone came running “thump-thump-thump” from upstairs. A pink figure moved swiftly and stopped at the top of the stairs.

“Hello! Everyone’s back?” Luo Mingzi raised a hand to toss her freshly dried hair. Her beautiful cheeks seemed to glow, and her smile was dazzling. “You’ve worked so hard, you should get some good rest.”

Just as everyone started to respond, they saw her wave and beckon to Li Yue, who was standing behind Wu Xuezhen. “We’re going to rest, too. Li Yue, come up, let’s go to sleep.”

“Mm,” Li Yue nodded calmly. Wearing light blue pajamas, she walked up the stairs under everyone’s gaze with an air of effortless grace, taking Luo Mingzi’s hand as she reached the top.

Luo Mingzi smiled as she looked down, not forgetting to wave. “Bye-bye!”

“…”

The expressions of the three guest stars were a complete blank. On the other hand, the couple beside them was exceptionally calm. Pi Dajun glanced at the table and said in surprise, “Li Yue already finished frying the pancakes?”

“Come on, everyone, have some?”

Fu Bailing, holding a large, empty cup of watermelon juice, murmured, “Thanks, but I’m already full.”

Burp.