Chapter 10

It was already autumn. Inner Mongolia was starting to cool down, but the fields were still green. This time, Yuan Ye hadn’t forgotten his camera.

He had always loved the grasslands. That endless and vast green made even one’s spirit feel free. He also liked the honest and simple way of life here. Herds of sheep slowly walked past, bringing with them that gamey smell unique to sheep. Yuan Ye looked into the camera and revealed a somewhat gentle smile. “In the past, I told Teacher Fang before that when we get old, we should retire to the grasslands. We’d be able to eat meat, drink alcohol, and watch the sunset everyday.”

Lin Tian walked past him and chimed in with a giggle, “How did Teacher Fang respond?”

Yuan Ye glanced at Fang Shaoyi who was only a few steps behind him. He chuckled and said, “Teacher Fang said he’s okay with living here with me, but he can’t accompany me in drinking alcohol and eating meat everyday. Teacher Fang’s idol package is very heavy. He refuses to let himself turn into a fat old man.”

Lin Tian said, “If it were me, I would refuse too. Slowly becoming old is part of life, but I still have to be beautiful even when I’m old!”

Yuan Ye nodded. He placed both hands in his jacket pockets and sniffled. “Un, Teacher Fang will also be handsome in old age, just as he is now.”

Fang Shaoyi walked over and said, “I seem to remember that you said I was already old last time?”

“Nope, that didn’t happen.” Yuan Ye patted his jacket and smiled. “You’re both handsome and young.”

Last night, Fang Shaoyi’s single question had left Yuan Ye sleepless for half the night. He couldn’t respond to that question, but nor did he need to. There was no point to having such a conversation between the two of them. And, considering that things were already the way they were, there was no use either. Saying too much would be tedious.

Today, with cameras following them and filming from both in front and behind, that indescribably awkward and dismal atmosphere between the two of them finally slightly dissipated. They could only speak relatively normally to each other in front of the cameras. For lunch, they had a Mongolian meal. It was mostly meat. Yuan Ye only remembered that the bowl of yogurt was really delicious. Considering the whole table, only Yuan Ye and Chen Ru’s wealthy husband ate the most. Each time others chatted during mealtime, the two of them would incessantly eat.

Eventually, Fang Shaoyi gave his bowl of yogurt to Yuan Ye too. Yuan Ye turned over and asked him quietly, “Uncomfortable? How come you aren’t eating anything?”

Fang Shaoyi said while glued to his ear, “Too greasy. I don’t have much of an appetite.”

His cold was pretty bad. When he spoke, even the air that brushed against Yuan Ye’s ear was hot. In a crowd, such a small action was extremely intimate. Yuan Ye’s heart became toasty warm because of Fang Shaoyi’s breaths.

Yuan Ye pushed the yogurt back over to his side. “Drink this. It’s pretty good.”

Fang Shaoyi shook his head. He didn’t want to.

Thus, Yuan Ye drank that bowl of yogurt too. Then, he wiped his mouth and quietly left the table.

He returned after about twenty minutes. Before returning, he had thought that everyone else would probably be done. Who knew that they liked taking their time so much? It had been forty minutes, but they still hadn’t finished lunch. Yuan Ye had already taken a step in after drawing back the curtain, so couldn’t turn back around. Lin Tian asked him, “What did Ye ge go off to do?”

Yuan Ye sat down in his spot again and answered, “Teacher Fang can’t have that much meat. The director told him to go on a diet. I made him a bowl of noodles.”

He couldn’t reveal that Fang Shaoyi had a cold. If he did, the show would definitely make a big deal out of it when editing and the people currently around them would start asking questions too. If this were normally, they would only show some concern and that would be it. But in front of the cameras, they would need to have it constantly on their minds, making sure Fang Shaoyi was okay, caring for him during all situations. He disliked such behavior. He knew Fang Shaoyi did too, even more than him. Regardless of if he was injured or sick, Fang Shaoyi never publicized it. He didn’t like being overly paid attention to. He was used to being strong, so didn’t like being treated as weak. He also never attributed the identity of being weak with himself.

The cameraman wanted to get a closeup of the bowl of noodles. Yuan Ye smiled and covered it up, refusing to let him film it. “Don’t film my poor cooking skills. He’s the only one who can stomach my noodles.”

Yuan Ye pushed the bowl over. Since he had walked in, Fang Shaoyi’s eyes had been glued to his face. Even now, he was still looking at Yuan Ye. Yuan Ye lowered his voice and told him, “I only put in a few small pieces of meat. Eat.”

Fang Shaoyi lowered his gaze; he lowered his speaking volume too. “Thank you.”

Yuan Ye froze. A moment later, he burst into laughter. He shook his head and said, “Why are you saying that to me?”

After eating, they all returned to their own tents to rest. Fang Shaoyi took a nap after getting back. Yuan Ye didn’t even go back. He found a local and borrowed a horse.

The little director initially didn’t dare to let him ride alone. If he fell off or had an accident, she wouldn’t be able to take responsibility. Yuan Ye guaranteed again and again that he wouldn’t fall off, then hand wrote a responsibility waiver for her. After, he waved and headed off by himself. The cameras followed for a bit before getting left behind. Yuan Ye told them, “I’ll be back in half an hour. Don’t film this part. Just pretend I went to take a nap.”

How could Yuan Ye fall off while riding a horse? He had played with horses since childhood. When he had been young, there hadn’t been that many cars on the roads at all. Back then, when his grandparents needed to take a trip into the city, they had to hitch up a horse cart to go. His grandpa would be in the back, manning the cart, while Yuan Ye would plop himself on the saddle. Children weren’t big. Sitting so high made him feel majestic and powerful. Yuan Ye patted the horse’s neck and asked it, “King, take me for a run?”

The horse swished its tail. Its beautiful, big eyes didn’t even blink.

Yuan Ye added, “Let’s get the wind in our faces.”

With one hand, he held onto the horse reins, keeping them casually lowered by his side. In the other, he held onto a whip. He folded it up and reached behind himself to gently tap the horse’s rump. He softly urged it forward. This was a large, red horse. The horse slowly increased its speed, then completely let itself go. It started charging through the fields.

Yuan Ye laughed and looked up at the sky, then closed his eyes and felt the wind blowing past his face. He was naturally like this; he dreamed of these things, loved these things. A large portion of the tangle of dark thoughts in his heart disappeared with the wind. Consequently, when he and the horse had had their fun and rode back, there was still a hint of a smile on his face.

Fang Shaoyi was in the middle of conversing with the little director in front of their tent. Yuan Ye tugged on the reins and slowed down, meandering towards them. Fang Shaoyi told the director, “See, I told you he would be fine. Let him do what he wants. Let him be. He knows his limits.”

The little director didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Teacher Fang, you dare to, but we don’t. If anything really happened, my boss would kill me.”

Yuan Ye was still taking a stroll on the horse. Fang Shaoyi looked at him. A distant gentleness appeared in his eyes. He shook his head. “How come you aren’t thinking: if even I can rest assured about it, why can’t anyone else?”

At first, the little director didn’t understand. Soon after, though, she smiled and said, “That’s right. You’re the one who knows him best.”

Earlier, she had felt more and more regretful after letting Yuan Ye go. She felt that she shouldn’t have let him go riding alone. If nothing happened, all would be well, but if even the slightest incident occurred, she would be the first one held responsible. A scrape was even a big deal. Later on, she really couldn’t calm down so went to find Fang Shaoyi. She asked him if he could call Teacher Yuan back. Fang Shaoyi wasn’t panicked at all. He told her to relax. Thinking back now, she realized he was right. The significant other hadn’t even blinked an eye – others’ concern meant nothing compared to that between couples. Fang Shaoyi hadn’t been worried at all, so they probably really hadn’t needed to worry.

Yuan Ye sat on the horse, looking down at them from up above. He asked, “Talking behind my back again?”

The little director stuck out her tongue playfully. “I was scared you’d run too far off and not be able to find your way back. I was so worried.”

Yuan Ye smiled and patted the horse’s neck again. He said, “The horses here have been raised for riding by their owners. They’re super obedient. The horse we owned previously was much more difficult to reign in than this one. Ask Teacher Fang how long it took me to train that horse.”

Fang Shaoyi made a noise of acknowledgment. He caressed the hair of Yuan Ye’s horse too, gently grazing it with the back of his hand. “My horses have never been very obedient.”

Yuan Ye glanced at him. After, he pursed his lips together and jumped off the horse. He walked the horse back to its owner to return it. The little director told him, “We’re about to start filming, Teacher Yuan! Don’t run off again!”

Yuan Ye was holding onto the horse. He didn’t turn around, only lifting an arm and gently waving it.

That afternoon, there were so many things to complain about regarding the show. Though Yuan Ye was extremely speechless, he still needed to do his best to continue filming. It was still the same concept – he had accepted their money, so should try hard to provide content.

The production team made all of them change into sterile suits. After getting disinfected from head to toe, the guests entered the cow farm. Following a complete tour, the climax arrived. Each group needed to pick out a dairy cow. In a predetermined amount of time, the team that managed to get the most milk would be able to stay in the tent with a heating unit. There was only one deluxe room that included a shower and heating.

This time, they had truly entered Yuan Ye’s knowledge blind spot. This was no longer Wild Monkey’s territory. As a child, his grandpa had raised cattle before, but they weren’t dairy cattle. When had he ever milked a cow?

The two girls were only interested in telling each cow how pretty or cute it was. The other group, Chi Xing and Cheng Xun, actually seemed like they knew what they were doing. They deliberated which one to choose.

Yuan Ye said to Fang Shaoyi, “Yi ge, just stand there. You’re a film emperor. The image of a film emperor can’t be ruined.”

He turned around and told the cameraman, “Here, film me.”

Yuan Ye stuck his butt out and bent over, examining each one: which one looked the best, which one looked like it had the most milk, which one had a good temper so would allow for more milking.

“This one looks too skinny, at first glance I can already tell it doesn’t seem very capable……” Yuan Ye’s face was red with blood from having to stay bent over. His nose was stuffed too. When he spoke, his voice sounded muffled. “No matter what, I’m still a thirty-something old man. Making me sprawl out here to observe these things, ah? Does that seem right to you?”

Beside him, Chi Xing couldn’t stop laughing. He said, “Yuan Ye ge, are you done picking?”

Yuan Ye glanced at him. “What do you want?”

Chi Xing answered, “I can tell you’re the most serious. Do you have a second choice? After you finish choosing, we’ll just take your second choice.”

Yuan Ye chuckled. He scolded, “Certainly makes things easier for you.”

This part of the show was purposefully designed to torment them. It needed to be filmed like this. After choosing a cow, they also needed to get it ready. This encompassed thoroughly disinfecting the cow’s important parts, wiping them, then giving them a message. A technique instructor stayed beside them, telling them how hard to squeeze, how to rub, and in what direction.

When they all finished rubbing, the technique instructor gave them a live demonstration. He taught them where to squat and how to use the strength in their hands. Yuan Ye squatted on one side of the cow, holding onto one of the teats. He followed the instructor’s directions and milked. “I’ve been defeated by you guys today. Just keep messing with me.”

Fang Shaoyi squatted on the other side, but he refused to work diligently. He only watched Yuan Ye and laughed. Yuan Ye was muttering who knows what under his breath while squeezing. This image was too amusing. Off to the side, the little director had to keep a hand over her mouth from how hard she was laughing.

“Yeah, keep laughing. Let’s see how long it takes me to squeeze out a whole bucket myself. I want to see if you can still keep laughing tonight when you get cold,” Yuan Ye said after glaring at Fang Shaoyi.

Fang Shaoyi was still laughing. Ever since they had met up with each other this time, Yuan Ye hadn’t seen the other so happy. Yuan Ye sighed, “Fine, keep laughing. I’ll do it. As long as you’re happy.”

Yuan Ye tightened his grip, then loosened it. All the while, his hands moved up and down. The white milk remained on Yuan Ye’s thin, pretty fingers. Fang Shaoyi stared at his hands. His eyes slowly started turning dark.

Yuan Ye glanced at him. A corner of his lips curved slightly upward. He gently chuckled.

At an angle that the cameras couldn’t catch, Yuan Ye used his thumb to slowly scratch the udder. Two drops of creamy white milk landed on his fingertip. As he milked, he purposefully circled with his hand. It was quite a normal move, but he was determined to make it saucy. He and Fang Shaoyi made heated eye contact away from the cameras. Yuan Ye winked, using his eyes to throw Fang Shaoyi a tiny hook.

Fang Shaoyi said something to him. No noise, only mouthed characters. But, Yuan Ye instantly understood.

Everyone else only saw Yuan Ye suddenly sit on the ground and start guffawing in the middle of milking the cow. He laughed so hard that his eyes almost disappeared.

Fang Shaoyi stood up, refusing to join in his antics. He walked away to observe how far along the others were.

Yuan Ye remained on the floor. After his laughing fit, he still needed to continue squeezing. A certain film emperor refused to work, but he couldn’t. If he stopped working too, they wouldn’t have any heating at night. Teacher Fang was still sick; it would be bad if he froze in the middle of the night. Besides, if he happened to feel uncomfortable, resulting in a bad mood, and lashed out at him again, Yuan Ye would remain sleepless for half the night once more.

Yuan Ye shook his head. He thought of what Fang Shaoyi had said to him from out of sight earlier. He still wanted to laugh. Sometimes, Teacher Fang was honestly too cute.

Just now, the other’s gaze had been dark. His expression had clearly been exasperated, but he had needed to pretend like he wasn’t affected. He lightly got out——

——How are you so coquettish?