Chapter 27: I Also Declare That the Breeze on the Front Seat of the Little Scooter Is the Most Pleasant

The village chief, with tears of gratitude, rushed over to grasp the hands of Le Xi and Wang Sisi, expressing his thanks, “Thank you so much, both of you. I nearly thought that, under my leadership, our village would become barren of descendants.”

Gu Xiaomo and Cui Meiying, drenched in sweat, hurried into the director’s van seeking help, complaining about the character of those people and demanding their removal from the set. But when they looked at the director’s monitor, they saw Le Xi being thanked, and behind her, men and women behaving intimately. Jealousy and the feeling of being played surged inside them.

“Damn system, what are you trying to do?”
“Hey, system, answer me…”
Where has it disappeared again?

Gu Xiaomo’s mind was a torrent of curses.

“Xiaomo, listen to the director,”
Cui Meiying twisted herself in front of the director, catching the assistant director’s gaze and making him drool, but the director didn’t spare her a glance, nor did he help her solve the problem. Disappointed, Cui Meiying tugged at Gu Xiaomo.

Gu Xiaomo paid her no mind, shook off Cui Meiying, left the van, and found a secluded spot. She tried calling out to the system in the polite tone it seemed to prefer.

#Host, don’t be anxious.

“How can I not be anxious? Is Le Xi going to win again? I want to unbind. Before I was bound to you, everything went smoothly—online everyone praised me and criticized Le Xi. After binding, it all reversed. You’re useless. I don’t want you anymore.”

#Check your phone first.

Le Xi got her phone back. To be fair, the show returned all phones to the guests.

“Oh, AA brand ambassador,”

Gu Xiaomo rubbed her eyes, reread the invitation her agent had sent, and couldn’t believe it. She called her agent to confirm before accepting it as true. Previously, she had borrowed clothes from this brand for years, but they always refused, claiming she would damage their image. Now they were inviting her as their ambassador.

#More opportunities like this will keep coming. Are you sure you want to unbind?

Gu Xiaomo immediately softened, speaking gently,

“I know you’re a very useful system.”

On the beach, Le Xi and Wang Sisi lay watching the dancing couples. Wang Sisi had lost the urge to compete and was now thinking about matchmaking.

“The village chief was crying. We have to match at least three, four, five, six, seven, eight couples for him.”

“I think we should consider their feelings,”

The village chief could cry if he wanted—he’d finished anyway. Le Xi had no intention of making others cry every day after a rash decision.

Having just escaped her own cage, she would never advise others to crawl into one.

Le Xi got up and went to collect more crabs. Meddling in other people’s affairs was nowhere near as interesting as cooking and eating crabs.

“Sisi, do you want grilled crab, steamed crab, or raw crab?”

Seeing the plump crabs, Wang Sisi also thought crab-cooking sounded more fun.

“I want crab stew, preferably with chicken feet and rice cakes. The chicken feet should be so tender the bones break with a gentle bite.”

Le Xi smiled softly.

“Then let’s buy chicken feet and rice cakes.”

Le Xi caught a few fat crabs, borrowed a bamboo basket from a villager, and tossed them in. She then borrowed an electric scooter from the village chief, patting the back seat.

“Hop on.”

Even though her phone was returned, Le Xi refused to spend any of her own money. She’d gotten onto the show through her own merit, and if the show didn’t provide funds, she’d use its resources to get what she wanted.

For filming here, the show paid the villagers. So, crabs belonging to villagers could be gotten for free—Le Xi would use these freebies to trade for other free items.

Crabs for chicken feet, crabs for rice cakes—it couldn’t be easier.

“This is awesome,”

Wang Sisi sat on the back seat with arms wide open,

“I declare the wind on the back seat of the scooter is the coolest ever.”

Le Xi declared the wind on the front seat was the most comfortable.

During her years of marriage, Song Qi forbade Le Xi from riding a scooter.

Even though scooters don’t get stuck in traffic, can weave through alleys, and stop anywhere—perfect for someone like her, who needed to go to specific shops on certain streets for fish maw, or to particular market stalls for spotted grouper…

But Song Qi insisted she drive a sports car. He claimed it wouldn’t embarrass him.

Yet, where was his pride? It had been trampled to pieces at Song family gatherings long ago.

Not only did he lack dignity, but Le Xi had suffered endless traffic jams.

[I love scooters too—riding them in summer is so comfortable.]
[Your hairlines are impressive. All that wind and still intact.]
[This is a bit sweet, I love it.]
 
Le Xi felt an electric shock in her thigh, lasting twenty minutes without pause. By the time they reached the market, her leg was numb.

“Sisi, you go ahead and trade. My leg’s numb—I’ll join you later.”

Only Le Xi’s family could call her so persistently without pause. They were all impatient.

Le Xi pressed the speakerphone, and a frantic voice burst out,

“Le Xi, help! Send money home—your grandparents are starving!”

The eternal opening line.

[Le Xi hasn’t sent money home yet? How dare she?]
[This whole thing’s blown up and she’s still done nothing. Amazing.]
[Can’t believe it’s still possible for someone to starve in this era. If her grandparents really starve to death, she’ll be the number one villain in the country—no, the world.]
[‘Protect Princess Xi Xi’—don’t pick sides too early, there might be a twist.]

Le Xi:

“Didn’t you say you don’t want my money?”

“Le Xi, Song Qi is a liar! He promised us that if we did as he said—badmouthed you—he’d pay us. Now he’s gone back on his word,”

Her father shouted,

“Viewers, you’re all good, righteous people—help me collect the debt! The wealthy Song family, Song Qi—I’m his former father-in-law, he—”

Le Xi’s father’s words were cut off as he hung up.

[Why did he hang up? What’s going on?]
[What does Le Xi’s father mean? He says Song Qi paid him to slander Le Xi, but now Song Qi’s reneging?]
[The Song family is rich, but who knows? Maybe Song Qi really did go back on his word. Or is Le Xi and her dad stirring up drama together?]
[So annoying—always leaving things half said.]
[‘Protect Princess Xi Xi’—with Song Qi and Le Xi divorced only days ago, and her current partner already visibly pregnant, Song Qi could very well renege. People with bad character will do anything.]
[@‘Protect Princess Xi Xi’ I agree with you. Le Xi’s father hung up, maybe because Song Qi saw himself exposed online and contacted Le Xi’s father, trying to pay him off.]