If The Persona Is Wrong, Everything Else Is In Vain - Chapter 11

When Gu Ning wasn’t acting like a total goofball, he was actually incredibly reliable. In just a single night, his team had rolled out multiple public relations strategies.

The teamwork was seamless and highly organized, a literal assembly line of PR that guided the narrative of yesterday’s trending topic toward “Lin and Zhou are real.”

Sometimes, Lin Luo genuinely couldn’t figure out how their entire company, including the boss Gu Ning himself, managed to achieve the sheer efficiency of a massive corporation with a staff of barely over ten people.

Nevertheless, scrolling through the various online posts that favored him today, he couldn’t help but admire Gu Ning. He just felt bad for his colleagues who had to pull an all-nighter.

Fortunately, Gu Ning was a firm believer in sharing the wealth. When he made money, he never hoarded it. The company benefits were excellent, the bonuses were hefty, and the team respected him deeply. On the rare occasions they had to work overtime, there were almost never any complaints.

Only after combing through all the updates on his social media apps did Lin Luo finally put his phone back into his pocket with peace of mind.

Lifting his head, he spotted Gu Ning at the front of the bus, chatting up one of the local guides the village had provided for the production crew.

There were two guides, an elderly man with white hair, and a young man.

Of course, while Gu Ning might not have had much in the way of moral restraint, he certainly filtered his targets by looks and age.

The young man had deeply tanned skin, but he was handsome, tall, and his short-sleeved T-shirt perfectly accentuated a frame of well-toned muscles.

Aside from his absolute lack of facial expression, maintaining a poker face that hadn’t budged since he boarded the bus, one couldn’t find a single flaw in him.

Gu Ning chattered away endlessly to hook his interest. The collar of his floral shirt was unbuttoned so low it practically reached his belly button, and his mouth ran a mile a minute. Even though the young man barely uttered a single word for every three questions asked, Gu Ning remained utterly tireless.

Beside them, the old man’s face had turned as black as charcoal. Gu Ning simply assumed he was tired from farm work and sunburned.

The entire bus of people had just arrived in a new place and had presumably slept poorly last night. The entire cabin was dead silent, with everyone yawning and half-asleep.

Only Gu Ning, who was used to the wild lifestyle of working from dawn to dusk, maintained a constant state of high energy.

The drive took about thirty minutes, heading toward Shuihe’s largest tea mountain. Today’s task was to experience tea plucking, tea processing, and tea sales.

Lin Luo scanned the bus but couldn’t find Zhou Wan anywhere. When he woke up this morning, Zhou Wan had already gone back, and he hadn’t seen him since boarding the vehicle.

He nudged Xiao Li, who was dozing off beside him. “Have you seen Zhou Wan?”

Xiao Li blinked heavily. “Who?”

“Zhou Wan,” Lin Luo repeated.

“Huh?” Xiao Li was clearly not awake yet; Lin Luo’s words weren’t registering in his brain at all.

“Zhou…”

Lin Luo sighed, closed Xiao Li’s eyes for him, securely pushed his head back into the U-shaped travel pillow, and gently patted his cheek. “Forget it, just sleep.”

Old houses slipped past the window row by row, and rolling mountain ranges swept by in the distance. Gazing at the endless expanse of green within his field of vision, Lin Luo was weighed down by heavy thoughts. After a while, drowsiness hit him. Thanks to those two last night, he had been waking up in fits and starts and hadn’t slept well either.

He had just let out a yawn and was preparing to nap for a bit when he suddenly shivered for no apparent reason. He felt as though someone was watching him. Sitting up straight, he looked around. The moment he raised his head, his eyes collided directly with a stealthy glance from the young guide Gu Ning had been flirting with.

As soon as their eyes met, the guide reflexively averted his gaze. He even enthusiastically replied to a few of Gu Ning’s words to cover up his guilt.

Lin Luo frowned. He carefully searched his memory but couldn’t place this face at all. Dismissing it as a mere coincidence, he didn’t dwell on it. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and he fell fast asleep.

By the time they reached the destination, the camera setups were all in place, the entire crew was ready, but Zhou Wan still hadn’t shown up.

“What are you looking at?” Gu Ning adjusted Lin Luo’s hair, which had been ruffled by the wind.

Lin Luo withdrew his wandering gaze. “Nothing.”

“3, 2, 1, action!” the director shouted.

The host began introducing the show. When it came time to introduce the guests, Lin Luo took the microphone and greeted everyone warmly with a meticulously practiced smile.

Immediately after, the host announced, “In addition to Xiao Luo today, we have also invited two special guests. Both are elites in their respective industries…”

As Gu Ning and Ming Songqin walked out from behind the cameras, Lin Luo’s temples throbbed.

He finally understood the real purpose of these two bosses showing up.

Gu Ning adjusted his flamboyant floral shirt, fastening a few of his unseemly top buttons, and completely lost himself in reciting his resume the moment he took the microphone. He was desperately trying to project an air of sophisticated charm, not forgetting to throw a playful wink at the young guide at the end.

Flawless in his execution, he put his persona as a passionate, playboy young master on full display.

Compared to him, Ming Songqin was far more conventional. Dressed in a perfectly crisp suit, he embodied the textbook stereotype of an unromantic business executive. Anyone who didn’t know better would think he was here on a blind date.

Aside from his naturally fierce face, the rest of his demeanor was reasonably humble.

“Today, our guests will follow the villagers to complete the tasks of harvesting and processing tea leaves. At the same time, a certain reward and punishment mechanism will be implemented,” the host explained.

“In the end, the tea leaves processed by everyone will be evaluated and scored by representatives of the villagers. The score ranking will be directly tied to tonight’s dinner. The highest scorer can dictate the menu, while the lowest scorer will be responsible for serving dinner.”

After explaining the stakes, the host asked everyone to declare their competition manifestos to channel a spirit of positive sportsmanship.

Lin Luo said, “I will do my best. Thank you all for taking us to pluck tea.” His smile was appropriate, humble, and polite.

Gu Ning declared, “I have never lost.” He looked toward the young guide boastfully, like a wild peacock desperately flaunting its feathers.

Ming Songqin stated, “While Shuihe Village aggressively develops its cultural tourism industry, its tea culture must also be preserved. We must not let Yunzhou’s largest green tea base go to waste…”

As he spoke on and on, the microphone was tactfully taken away from him. If they had let him finish his lecture, they probably wouldn’t have had time to do any tasks today.

In the end, only the village chief nodded in approval with lingering enthusiasm, before being pulled back by others just as he was about to step forward to join the speech.

“How do you pluck this? I haven’t figured it out yet.”

Gu Ning had pulled some strings to get the young guide assigned as his instructor, initiating a barrage of subtle physical gestures every single minute.

A woven straw sun hat on the young guide made him look like a rugged, down to earth country youth doing honest farm work, on Gu Ning’s head, it looked more like some kind of roleplay prop.

As the young guide taught him, he wished he could stay eight hundred meters away. He was sweating profusely from the sun and simultaneously dying of secondhand embarrassment from Gu Ning’s antics. It really goes to show how hard it is to earn a living.

Lin Luo honestly couldn’t bear to listen to it anymore. Since they were still in front of the cameras, he couldn’t bring himself to cut loose like Gu Ning. He covertly nudged Gu Ning several times with his elbow.

But to Gu Ning, it felt like nothing more than an itch, and he showed absolutely no reaction.

Lin Luo had no choice but to silently distance himself from him, praying that after the show aired, no one would dig up the fact that Gu Ning was his boss.

The young guide’s gaze drifted toward Lin Luo almost imperceptibly. He quietly shifted his stance closer to Lin Luo’s side and silently handed him a tea leaf bud. “Plucking them like this is better.”

Lin Luo looked at what he had been given, then looked at the ones in his own hand, letting out two awkward laughs. “Thank you.”

He thought to himself that although this guy didn’t talk much and carried no expression, he was actually quite kind. With a quick movement, Lin Luo dropped the bud into his own basket.

“Are you tired?” Ming Songqin handed over a handkerchief.

Lin Luo startled. His group was in the middle; by staying away from Gu Ning, he had naturally ended up closer to Ming Songqin.

He waved his hands repeatedly to indicate he didn’t need it.

What a joke. He possessed excellent ship etiquette, okay? How could he accept a stray man’s kindness while his canon ship partner wasn’t around!

Crack-shipping was strictly forbidden, absolutely forbidden.

To his surprise, instead of taking back the handkerchief, Ming Songqin took advantage of his daze and directly began wiping the sweat from Lin Luo’s brow.

The movement was so practiced that if anyone claimed he didn’t do this regularly, Lin Luo himself wouldn’t believe it, let alone the audience.

Still being in front of the camera, Lin Luo was caught in a dilemma. Forcing a strained smile, he took the handkerchief himself to finish wiping his sweat.

The local master guiding Lin Luo glanced at the two of them, his expression complex.

Lin Luo hurriedly tried to focus on his work. Bending his waist to pluck a basketful of tea leaves, he felt as if he had been beaten up when he finally stood straight. He twisted his waist slightly to stretch, but ended up losing his balance and tumbling forward.

Before he could fall, the quick-witted young guide darted forward and caught him securely in his arms.

In doing so, the guide’s own hand was scratched with several bloody marks by the tea branches.

His reaction time was even faster than Ming Songqin’s, who was standing much closer. He had practically taken a massive leap over to save Lin Luo. Ming Songqin’s outstretched hand remained frozen in mid-air, his gaze growing increasingly profound as he watched the young man.

The abrupt commotion left everyone stunned for a moment.

Lin Luo almost bared his teeth in pain, completely ruining his image in front of the camera. Regaining his composure, he thanked the young guide repeatedly.

The young man awkwardly withdrew his hand and returned to his spot to keep working, acting as if nothing had happened just now.

Lin Luo’s cameraman happened to bring the lens up close, and the host asked, “Xiao Luo, how does today’s tea plucking experience feel?”

Large beads of sweat unfortunately rolled into his eyes just then. Lin Luo wiped them away carelessly, feeling a sharp sting.

He struggled to open his eyes, adjusted his expression, and said with a smile, “We’ve only experienced it for half a day and already feel exhausted. The tea farmers who repeat these tasks day after day are truly remarkable.”

The host nodded. “Everyone’s life has its difficulties, but being able to carry those ‘difficulties’ through to the end is a form of courage to fight against the wind.”

“So Xiao Luo, do you have any experiences of turning the tables against the wind that you could share to inspire those currently facing hardships?” the host inquired further.

“I…” Lin Luo looked toward the director behind the camera.

They hadn’t mentioned this segment before. Did they change the script?

Seeing the director nod, he realized this specific beat had been prepared solely for him.

Lin Luo organized his thoughts briefly in his mind and said, “When I first debuted, I had good luck and a fairly high starting point, so I thought I would definitely become successful. I didn’t expect that later…”

He paused, lowering his head. “Later, due to some reasons, I left the public eye, and I thought I would never be able to rise again in this lifetime.”

Ming Songqin’s face grew rigid, his fists clenching silently where no one could see.

“But things are good now,” Lin Luo lifted his head again, flashing a brilliant smile. “Because of my fans, I was given a second chance to appear before everyone once more.”

“I am truly grateful to the fans who never gave up on me. Life is made of ups and downs, so please don’t lose heart when you are in a valley. You will surely be reborn after your nirvana.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Gu Ning giving him a thumbs-up from the back.

The host expressed deep agreement. Once Lin Luo’s speech ended, the host moved on to interview the next guest.

Lin Luo lowered his head again and mechanically resumed plucking tea leaves.

Memories from a long time ago surged up like a rising tide, unknowingly stirring up massive waves meters high.

He laughed mockingly at himself. What a load of absolute nonsense he had just spouted. What right did he have to offer advice to others as someone who had allegedly survived great storms and made it safely to shore?

Thinking back to the year his father passed away, his mother was sometimes normal and sometimes completely unstable.

When she was normal, she was devastatingly lucid. When her illness flared up, she was terrifyingly unhinged.

Once, she had directly turned on the gas valves and shut all the doors and windows tightly. That day happened to be the exact day Lin Luo was officially notified that all his commercial activities were terminated, losing his job, and losing the very first dream of his life.

When he rushed home, Luo Wenying only had a single breath left in her. After being sent to the hospital and regaining consciousness, she managed to torture away another half of it.

Tormented to the brink of utter despair, Lin Luo had immediately grabbed two knives. He handed one to Luo Wenying and held one himself, saying, “If you truly want to die today, then I’ll keep you company.”

He pressed the blade against his own throat. “If you dare to cut, I will follow immediately. Slicing here is much faster. Even though I’ll be a step behind you, I guarantee I can catch up.”

That day, the knife his mother had placed on her wrist the moment she grabbed it merely pressed out a red mark, failing to go any deeper.

As for Lin Luo, his neck was only grazed with a tiny scratch, it wasn’t a big deal at all.

It was the least damaging outcome since the mother and son had started taking out their frustrations on each other.

Lin Luo himself was nothing more than a solitary canoe in a sea of suffering, adrift without anchor, utterly alone, and liable to be capsized by the waves at any given moment.

His own obsessions had yet to be resolved, so how could he possibly possess positive energy to preach to others? It was nothing more than shouting slogans while consciously drowning.

“Lin Luo?” Gu Ning had drifted to his side at some point, nudging him.

Lin Luo snapped out of it. “What’s wrong?”

Gu Ning jerked his chin toward the front.

Lin Luo looked in the direction he pointed and heard Gu Ning whisper in his ear, “The opportunity has arrived.”

He saw Zhou Wan sitting outside the camera frame, his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers laced together to support his chin as he looked over.

Lin Luo’s gaze swept across Zhou Wan’s lower body, and his brow furrowed slightly.

“Alright, thank you for your hard work, everyone! We’ll continue after lunch!” the director yelled.

The crew members instantly relaxed. The noise of chatter erupted, and the aroma of boxed lunches began to spread.

Lin Luo was pushed by Gu Ning right up to Zhou Wan. Gu Ning shot him a suggestive look with his eyes before making up an excuse to slip away first.

Lin Luo lowered his gaze and asked, “What is this?”

Zhou Wan leaned back, looking up at him. “Isn’t it obvious?”

A plaster cast was wrapped around his leg, and he was sitting in a wheelchair, clearly having just rushed back from the hospital.

“I’m asking how you managed to do that to yourself,” Lin Luo said patiently.

“Thanks to a certain someone last night,” Zhou Wan remarked nonchalantly.

Lin Luo’s mouth twitched. He felt as though he finally knew exactly where he had kicked Zhou Wan last night when he was curled up into a ball.

Zhou Wan waved his hand, signaling Lin Luo to bend down and get closer to him.

Lin Luo asked warily, “What for?”

Without speaking, Zhou Wan waved his hand again. Lin Luo tentatively moved closer, only to have his neck suddenly wrapped in a firm embrace.

The back of Lin Luo’s neck was held tightly in Zhou Wan’s arms. Zhou Wan’s warm breath brushed lightly against his ear, sending a ticklish sensation through him.

“Good thing your kick missed the mark,” Zhou Wan’s voice was syrupy, his tone flippant and laced with heavy seduction. “Otherwise, the happiness of your remaining life…”

Lin Luo’s eyes widened in shock. Just as he was about to pull away immediately, Zhou Wan swiftly planted a quick kiss on the tip of his ear before leisurely letting go.

Clutching his bright red ear, Lin Luo was rendered completely speechless for a long moment.

Was I just flirted with?!

His gaze involuntarily drifted downward again, glancing at the plaster cast on Zhou Wan’s thigh. While his expression remained normal on the surface, his mind was frantically calculating how on earth he had managed to miss the target last night!