CSGM - Chapter 163

Chapter 163: Extra - Love Reality Show

It was a night with no cameras, no stars, and only the faintest moonlight.

Chu Xi held Ren Zhi's thin, trembling shoulders, comforting her in a gentle voice.

"Baby, baby… Don't think about it. I'm sorry, it's not your fault… It's my fault. It's my fault I didn't show up sooner. If I had been with you, this wouldn't have happened… I'm here now. No one can bully you. Be good, baby…"

Ren Zhi lifted her head from Chu Xi's embrace, her eyes shimmering with tears as she smiled.

"I know, I'm fine. The dream probably just affected me, made me a little emotional all of a sudden… I didn't scare you, did I?"

She caressed Chu Xi's cheek.

Chu Xi answered honestly, "You did. I was terrified. I feel like I've been slapped in the face."

Ren Zhi asked, "Hm?"

Chu Xi lowered her head. "Just this afternoon, I said I didn't want you to cry…"

Ugh… and then that very night… she had turned her baby into a crybaby.

Ren Zhi chuckled, taking the tissue from her hand to wipe the tear stains from her face.

"Me too. I said I don't cry that easily. Good thing the cameras were off."

Ren Zhi slowly sat up. Chu Xi wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and they leaned against the headboard as Ren Zhi told her a story that lasted an hour.

—Only after this did Chu Xi understand why Ren Zhi never mentioned her school days.

They were truly terrible memories. Ren Zhi should have cut ties with those people completely.

Chu Xi gnashed her teeth viciously, like a dog whose tail had been stepped on.

"If I had gone to the same school as you, I would have beaten them to death!"

Ren Zhi burst out laughing, "Pfft."

Chu Xi turned her head. "What are you laughing at? I'm serious."

Ren Zhi smiled. "How old are you? Still thinking about fighting all the time."

Chu Xi was unfazed, retorting, "Would they even understand if you tried to reason with them? Their parents didn't teach them, their teachers didn't teach them. They need a good beating to learn their lesson!"

Ren Zhi didn't argue with her and simply nodded.

"Alright, alright, you're the tough one."

"Baby, you're just too gentle."

"No, I was just timid," Ren Zhi said with a helpless laugh.

"Uh… then it's my fault. If only I had met you sooner."

Ren Zhi chuckled, finding her what-if scenario interesting, and replied casually, "Maybe."

She really didn't know what someone with Chu Xi's personality would have been like in school.

After chatting with Chu Xi about this and that, Ren Zhi's mood lightened considerably.

In the latter half of the night, the two of them snuggled back under the covers.

Influenced by their conversation, Ren Zhi had another wondrous dream.

The dream felt like a sequel to the one from earlier that night. Her school life had progressed to the ninth grade. In her class at Sicheng Middle School, a transfer student named Chu Xi arrived.

In the dream, Chu Xi was like a little angel sent down by the gods, appearing by her side and saving her.

Although the first half of the night's dream had been unpleasant, this one had a new, exceptionally beautiful ending.

The day before the high school entrance exams, little Ren Zhi and little Chu Xi went to the mountain behind the school. They played in a field of lush green grass and blooming flowers, rolling around and lying on top of each other.

They were both covered in grass, flowers, and dirt, but neither of them cared, as if they were preserving summer in each other's memories.

The next day, as Ren Zhi reminisced about the dream, she said it felt like something that had happened in another, warmer world.

Meanwhile, Chu Xi was lying on the sofa, cackling like a fool.

Ren Zhi walked over and pinched her perfectly straight legs. Chu Xi shot up. "What is it, baby?"

Ren Zhi mumbled, "I feel like your muscles are getting a little soft… Stop lying around, it's time to work out."

Chu Xi was completely baffled. "??!"

"Baby, I was just lying too flat. Try again."

Chu Xi jumped onto the floor, stood up straight, and tensed her leg muscles.

"No need to try. Just go. You've been eating so much sugar and meat lately, you really should exercise."

Chu Xi scratched her head, retreated into the kitchen, and, with her back to the camera, secretly lifted her shirt to check her abs. She felt them, and they still felt fine, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.

But she should probably maintain them… Ugh, so tiring.

She went to the yoga mat and did some ab wheel rollouts, training and resting for half an hour.

Then she used resistance bands to work her legs and back. Grunting and puffing, she was drenched in sweat after twenty minutes.

She went upstairs to change into a clean set of clothes. When she came back down, Ren Zhi had assembled the fascia gun she had brought.

Ren Zhi pointed to the yoga mat and said, "Honey, lie down. I'll give you a massage."

Chu Xi immediately went over, spread her limbs, and lay there like a salted fish.

The fascia gun buzzed against her body.

"Ow, ow… Baby, that kind of hurts!"

"Bear with it."

Chu Xi: "…" A useless protest.

After less than a minute of silence.

"Baby, lighter, lighter! You're going to cripple me."

"Endure it. Otherwise, I'm worried your muscles will be sore, and it won't get better even by the day after tomorrow."

Hmm…? Chu Xi felt like she had just heard something with a hidden meaning.

She asked in surprise, "We have to work out the day after tomorrow too? Aren't we here on vacation?"

Ren Zhi grabbed her hand, put it inside her shirt, and had her feel her own abs.

Ren Zhi coaxed her, "Feel for yourself."

Chu Xi felt them.

"Ehehehe, feels great. Let's work out, let's work out."

After three days of filming the observational program, it was universally acknowledged within the production team—

The "ChuChu dong Ren" couple was the most stable and sweet. They never fought, not even a single tense retort. In contrast, the other three families had their fair share of minor conflicts in daily life.

Ren Zhi was emotionally stable, and Chu Xi was a rare, ultimate love brain. The harmonious atmosphere between them made some of the post-production staff envious.

One staff member even had a wild thought: "Can I be reincarnated as their baby? I'd be willing even if it meant I get to drive luxury cars and live in a mansion."

A colleague rolled their eyes. "Are you saying you don't want to break up that family, you just want to join it? Go ask Xixi if she agrees."

Another colleague laughed. "Don't even think about it. Sister Xi definitely only acknowledges one 'baby'."

"Okay, I'm the third wheel." The imaginative staff member accepted reality and went back to their miserable work.

However, the trouble-making production team couldn't possibly let the four celebrity families live so peacefully.

Since they were filming a show, they had to find some explosive moments in the families' lives, right?

On the fourth day, the first person from each family to wake up or leave the house was quietly approached by the production team.

The team assigned a "secret mission" to each of the four members they had summoned.

After receiving their "secret missions," everyone returned home looking a little worried.

—What kind of production team was this? So evil, so fond of stirring up trouble!

Yu Shen's mission was to ask Bai Mengyun to make him breakfast, and then, after she finished, suddenly say he was full and wouldn't eat.

Sun Chen's mission was to pretend to break Jin Xiao's foundation compact. The production team gave him an identical one to make it convincing.

Tang Rang and Ren Zhi's couples were both younger, so their missions were to intentionally sabotage Song Xu and Chu Xi during a game later that day.

When Yu Shen got his mission, he held his forehead and complained, "Oh my god, you're sending me on a suicide mission in front of my wife… You're a bunch of scoundrels, all of you."

Sun Chen smiled politely but awkwardly. "This is asking me to dance on Xiaoxiao's last nerve. She loves her makeup more than anything."

Tang Rang shook her head helplessly and let out a pained "Ah." "My husband values Honor of Kings more than his own life, seriously, no exaggeration, especially during ranked matches."

The production team said that any family who could successfully complete the mission and then "extinguish the fire" without getting into an argument would receive a one-thousand-yuan prize.

Ren Zhi smiled at the camera, a charming yet dangerous look in her eyes. "If she gets fierce with me, I'll make her go out and busk to earn that one thousand yuan back."

The post-production department cut to a shot of the dark bedroom, drawing a simple outline of a bed and Chu Xi, with a caption:

【Low Status in the Family】

Chu Xi, who was sleeping soundly, was completely unaware that Ren Zhi had gone out to receive a mission.

Ever since they started their nightly activities, her sleep quality had improved dramatically.

She was no longer a light sleeper who would wake at the slightest disturbance.

Now, she even loved to sleep in, reverting to her childhood self who clung to her pillow like a sloth.

When Ren Zhi returned, she made breakfast for two before calling her to get up.

After finishing her homemade cheese bread roll and milk, Chu Xi asked:

"Baby, where do you want to go play today?"

Ren Zhi pressed her shoulders and sat down on the sofa.

"I don't really feel like going out today. Let's just stay home. You can do the dishes later."

"Okay! Then can we play video games?"

Chu Xi had been wanting to play games with her for a long time. Single-player games were nowhere near as fun as two-player ones.

Playing hard to get, Ren Zhi said, "We'll see later."

The behind-the-scenes staff, who were watching this family closely, couldn't help but give a thumbs-up.

As expected of Teacher Ren, last year's Best Actress winner. Her acting was superb, utterly natural. When they heard Chu Xi's question, which was like walking right into a trap, they thought Ren Zhi would immediately agree.

But Ren Zhi didn't. This way, it would be easier to clear herself of any suspicion of intentionally sabotaging her later.

Who knew Ren Zhi had some acting skills in her daily life too.

Life is like a play, tsk tsk tsk.

Watching the oblivious Chu Xi on screen, happily washing the dishes and thinking she would get to play games with her wife soon, the staff felt a strange mix of pity and amusement.

Chu Xi diligently washed all the dishes, tidied up the kitchen, and wiped the dining table clean.

Finally, she walked over to the sofa, her eyes sparkling, and asked Ren Zhi reverently.

"Baby, would you like to play games with me today?"

Ren Zhi looked at her and smiled naturally.

"Sure. But I don't really know how to play the games you like. You can't blame me if I'm terrible."

Chu Xi shook her head repeatedly.

"I won't, I won't, I definitely won't."

Since Ren Zhi agreed, Chu Xi happily went to the television and connected the game console.

Her game library, filled with dozens of titles, appeared on the screen—a true sign of wealth.

Chu Xi sat back down on the sofa, cross-legged, and used the controller to move the cursor.

"Baby, all of these can be played by two people. Let me introduce them to you…"

Ren Zhi listened perfunctorily, then stopped the cursor randomly as if playing a game of pass the parcel.

"Let's play this one," she said, looking at the enlarged game icon for Overcooked 2.

Behind the scenes, the staff, who were enjoying the show, applauded enthusiastically.

Excellent, excellent, what a great choice of game! Overcooked was also known as "Breakup Kitchen."

This meant that many couples who played this game ended up getting angry, having disagreements, blaming each other, and ending their relationships.

And Teacher Ren had picked this one right away.

One word: Perfect.jpg

"Oh, okay." Chu Xi, however, accepted it calmly.

She used a tutorial level to explain the game's rules to Ren Zhi:

The two of them would be on opposite sides of a kitchen, each responsible for different steps in the cooking process. They had to cooperate to complete customer orders and earn enough coins to pass the level.

It sounded very simple.

For the first two levels, Ren Zhi, though slow, managed to keep up, and they passed the levels by the skin of their teeth.

However, out of a possible three-star rating, they only got one star for both.

Chu Xi held the controller, hesitating for a moment instead of immediately starting the next level.

Ren Zhi looked at her quizzically.

"You don't want to play anymore?"

Chu Xi said, "No… Baby, do you want to play something else?"

Ren Zhi: "Are you saying I'm bad?"

Chu Xi: "No, no, I'm just worried you're not having fun playing this."

Basically… Chu Xi was worried that if someone was bad at a game, they wouldn't find it fun.

But Ren Zhi refused. "No, I think it's really fun. I want to play this one."

So Chu Xi dismissed her concerns, nodded, and smiled. "Oh, okay. Let's continue then."

In this level, Chu Xi and Ren Zhi's characters were separated on two sides of the kitchen, which were two distinct spaces. The characters couldn't cross into each other's areas, so this time, they had to rely on strict division of labor to complete the dishes.

But Ren Zhi's performance was as if she hadn't had a Snickers bar. She was completely dazed and out of it, handling ingredients like a headless fly. In no time, she had set the kitchen on fire.

Game over.

Chu Xi looked at her. "Baby, your side seems too hard. Let's switch controllers. You play my side, you just have to chop vegetables and toss them to me."

"Okay." Ren Zhi readily agreed.

Unexpectedly, even after switching roles, Ren Zhi managed to be terrible on a whole new level.

Chu Xi was in charge of directing the whole operation: "Baby, cook the rice, put it on the conveyor belt… Baby, give me the beef, give me the fish… Baby, you didn't chop this fish… Baby, wash the plates, we're out of plates…"

"So many things to do! How am I supposed to keep up?" Ren Zhi frowned.

Chu Xi glanced at her expression and shut her mouth.

A moment later, Chu Xi said in a soft, gentle voice:

"Baby, could you give me a chopped fish, please?"

"Baby, could you please wash the plates? I have nowhere to put my dishes."

Two minutes later, the result was still game over.

Not a single star.

Chu Xi had never suffered such a crushing defeat in a game before, and she fell silent for a few seconds.

She seemed to be seriously contemplating something, and the atmosphere in the living room grew tense.

The behind-the-scenes staff held their breath in the studio, their gazes anxiously fixed on the monitor screen.

Is Teacher Chu going to get angry now?

Are they about to have a fight?

Hiss—

They were somehow both worried and a little excited.

After a brief yet seemingly endless five seconds, Chu Xi suddenly spoke.

"Baby, are you not feeling well today?"

Ren Zhi was taken aback. "No, I'm not."

"Really? You seemed really out of it while we were playing just now." Chu Xi said worriedly, "If you're not feeling well, you don't have to play with me. You should just rest."

As she spoke, Chu Xi reached out and touched Ren Zhi's forehead with the back of her hand, even suspecting she might have a fever. She looked at Ren Zhi with a nervous expression.

The staff, who had been waiting for this reaction for a long time: "…………"

What kind of love brain was this?

Even Ren Zhi herself was so surprised she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

She waited for Chu Xi to finish, then pulled her hand down, saying with a helpless laugh, "I'm really not sick."

After another moment of silent contemplation, Chu Xi asked, "Then did your period come early?"

Ren Zhi found this even funnier.

"No, it wouldn't be that early."

Chu Xi let out a partial sigh of relief and asked again and again.

"Are you really, really okay?"

"I'm really fine. Stop worrying needlessly."

"No, I feel like you're a bit dizzy. I'm worried you're getting sick." Chu Xi scratched her head and advised, "Why don't we stop playing? You should rest for a bit and see how you feel."

"I want to play."

"No more playing." Chu Xi was firm this time. "Rest for a while. You probably didn't sleep well last night."

Ren Zhi, whose controller had been taken away, was at a loss for words. "Can't I just be genuinely bad at this?"

"It's not that you're bad. I noticed your reaction time was very slow just now."

Chu Xi looked extremely concerned. "Sometimes you pressed the right button, but your reaction was delayed. Didn't you notice?"

Ren Zhi: "…………"

She was, as always, incredibly observant.

The behind-the-scenes staff: "…………"

Teacher Chu, you could tell that Teacher Ren was intentionally slowing down, and after thinking about the cause for so long, it never once occurred to you that she might be acting?

They just wanted to say, if the show I Am the Brain King ever had a special edition called I Am the Love Brain King, they absolutely had to invite Chu Xi to participate! Thank you! Don't let such talent go to waste!

The production team, who had thought the two would have a fight, now confirmed that their wicked hopes had been dashed.

It seemed that couples who broke up over Breakup Kitchen didn't break up because of the game, but because of the people.

Several staff members wanted to ask: What does Teacher Chu usually eat to cultivate such a love brain? We need the recipe! We want to feed it to our partners too!

Chu Xi insisted, "Anyway, no more playing. Why don't you take another nap? Play again after you've had some rest?"

Ren Zhi couldn't help but laugh several times before finally laying her cards on the table. "I'm not sleeping. I'm not sick. I was acting."

Chu Xi's eyes widened. "?!"

Ren Zhi smiled. "Let me ask the director if I've passed the mission."

She looked at the camera and said, "She won't even let me play anymore. Is that good enough?"

The assistant director's voice came through the earpiece: "That's enough. OK, you passed."

This was definitely a pass!

Amidst Chu Xi's utter confusion, Ren Zhi finally told her about the "secret mission" she had received that morning.

Chu Xi said, "Oh," finally understanding. She let out a breath of relief, which quickly turned into a relieved smile.

"As long as you're not sick, that's all that matters. You scared me to death."

Having won the one-thousand-yuan prize, Chu Xi and Ren Zhi went to browse the handicraft shops in the resort village.

Chu Xi fell in love with a set of purely handmade wooden ox and gliding horse combinations. It was no exaggeration to call it a work of art. The old carpenter in the village had been in the trade for fifty years, and this set was a testament to true craftsmanship that she couldn't surpass in an instant.

Chu Xi really wanted this set, but it was the old master's prized collection and cost three thousand yuan.

Ren Zhi said, "If you like it, I'll buy it for you."

But with their finances controlled by the production team, they were a bit short. Ren Zhi came up with an idea: they could buy some food ingredients, prepare them, and set up a stall at the village entrance, since there was a night market just outside the village.

Through a mix of coercion and persuasion, Zhang Yuxue rented them a stall. They took the small cakes, cookies, and handmade milk tea they had made to the market, and their business was an explosive success.

Forget one night—their food was snatched up within an hour, and one thousand yuan smoothly turned into three thousand.

Ren Zhi knew what was happening and smiled sheepishly. "We're using our fame again today."

Chu Xi, however, didn't care whether she was using her fame or not. She used the three thousand yuan to buy the thing she loved, feeling utterly delighted.

That night, she excitedly said she would take Ren Zhi to dig for sweet potatoes in the fields. On the way, they encountered a hissing "spicy strip" that flicked its tongue. She shrieked in panic, dropped the sweet potatoes, and threw herself into Ren Zhi's arms, making a fool of herself.

Ren Zhi remained relatively calm, covering Chu Xi's eyes and standing still. She whispered a reminder, "Shh, don't say anything and it'll be fine."

The spicy strip slithered away. Afterward, Ren Zhi walked in front, leading a pale-faced Chu Xi home.

Chu Xi repeated for the third time, "I just think that thing is disgusting. It makes me nauseous to look at."

Ren Zhi was amused by her cuteness. "I know, I believe you, I believe you. And even if you were really scared, it's not embarrassing."

On the eighth day, after Chu Xi had played with her wooden ox and gliding horse for only two days, one of them was crushed by a primary school student from the village's public classroom.

Chu Xi's face was dark, cold as frost.

Ren Zhi patted the child's head. "It's okay, Auntie knows you didn't do it on purpose. Since you've sincerely apologized, we'll forgive you. You don't have to pay for it this time, but be more careful when you're running around in the future. Go back to class now."

On the ninth day, the four families went out on the sea. Ren Zhi had a strong reaction to seasickness, and that night, Chu Xi carried her home on her back.

On the evening of the eleventh day, the four families had a group activity. Ren Zhi danced wildly to the music on the beach, her hands raised seductively above her head, her sexy waist swaying. The camera captured Chu Xi's eyes, which were glued to her, shining brighter than all the stars in the sky that night.

On the thirteenth day, it was the Qixi Festival. Each partner had prepared a surprise gift for the other.

Chu Xi and Ren Zhi had the same idea—both had created a photo wall for the other, documenting their memories.

But there was almost no overlap in their chosen photos, showing that they had some differences in aesthetic taste.

Chu Xi left a handwritten note on the wall she had arranged—

【I love you, Baby. (Smiley face)】

On the wall Ren Zhi decorated, there was also a heart-shaped sticky note with her writing—

【I know you love me~ I love you too, Xiao Xi. May we be like this every year, every season. (Heart)】

On the fourteenth day, after her shower, Chu Xi insisted on lazing on the sofa to play games. Eventually, she yawned and fell asleep while playing. When Ren Zhi came out after finishing her face mask, she found that Chu Xi hadn't even dried her hair.

She turned off the television connected to the game console and decided to ban Chu Xi from playing games for three days.

Then she picked up the hair dryer, ran her fingers through Chu Xi's hair, and silently dried it for her.

In truth, Chu Xi had been woken up halfway through by the warm stream of air. She quietly opened one eye, peeking at Ren Zhi through the gaps in her hair.

The moon had reached its zenith. Another ordinary day was about to pass, but countless more days and nights like this awaited them.

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