Chapter Twenty-Three: The Taste of Such Indulgence

The bumpy, uneven road nearly made Yu Zhi vomit her breakfast. By the time she arrived at the market, feeling dizzy and disoriented, the other two groups had already begun hawking their goods.

Yu Zhi and Li Ze happened to pass by the stall run by Zhou Su and Shi Hailing, and both sides exchanged greetings.

"Sister Ling, is the business going well?"

Shi Hailing had never done anything like this in her life, so she found it quite novel. Although they hadn't sold a single item yet, thanks to Zhou Su’s formidable social skills, they had gathered plenty of interesting news.

"Not really. We might have arrived a bit late. The old man selling fruit next to us said that if we want to sell vegetables, we need to arrive at least two hours earlier. There aren't many shoppers left at this hour."

"Good produce doesn't fear the wait. As long as there are people, we can make a sale. Young people wake up late anyway; it’s not an issue." Yu Zhi’s tone was gentle, offering comfort as she sensed the anxiety hidden beneath Shi Hailing’s composure.

Li Ze, who had been acting as a background prop the whole way, finally showed a different expression upon seeing the market environment. "Yu Zhi, can we change locations?"

Stepping over a small puddle on the ground, Yu Zhi didn't even turn her head as she replied firmly, "If you don't want to participate, you can go back. No one forced you to be on this show, Professor Li—or should I say, 'precious' Professor Li."

The underlying sarcasm made Li Ze’s eyes darken. He couldn't help but huff, "Don't think you can use such tactics to pressure me. Since I decided to accompany you to finish this show, I will never back down."

Yu Zhi didn't dwell on Li Ze’s petty thoughts; if she actually took him to heart, that would only be the greatest encouragement for him. Right now, she was preoccupied with how to sell off the vegetables in her hands. Firstly, their stall was poorly located in the deepest corner of the market; secondly, with three other groups already established, how could she convince customers to choose their goods?

[This place is terrible. Will anyone actually buy vegetables here?]

[I don't even know who to feel sorry for. Li Ze is dressed so handsomely today, only to end up acting as a 'grandpa' selling vegetables in a produce market. Not to mention Yu Zhi—wearing high heels as if she’s trying to add another ten centimeters to her height.]

[Does Yu Zhi really not own a pair of flats? Why? She’s not short.]

[She’s still worrying about looking beautiful at a time like this. You deserve to have such a bad location.]

[I know about the high heels!]

[It is said that when Yu Zhi first started in the industry, she attended a dinner party with Shen Jiayu. There was a big shot there with special proclivities—the kind who preyed on both men and women... Given Yu Zhi’s combat skills, escaping wouldn't have been a problem, but the issue was that Shen Jiayu was a complete dead weight. It was impossible to slip away with the two of them together.]

[Yu Zhi couldn't find any suitable self-defense weapon in the room, so in desperation, she had to forcefully break her own wrist to stay clear-headed enough to subdue that big shot. Since then, whenever Yu Zhi goes out, she always wears high heels, with the height of the heels depending on her mood that day. According to fan statistics, the heels she’s wearing today suggest her mood isn't very pleasant...]

[...]

[Insider? State your name! How do you know such private matters? Isn't Yu Zhi just trying to put on an act? Are the whitewashers here already? I knew celebrities didn't join variety shows for pure reasons...]

After Jiang Weicheng no longer had to busy himself with other work, he had much more free time, so he spent every spare moment glued to Yu Zhi’s show. From time to time, he would provide some background information to the people in the live stream, preparing to subtly reshape a new image of Yu Zhi for the netizens. He wanted to ensure that when Shanming announced the termination of her contract in a couple of days, Yu Zhi wouldn't suffer an even more violent backlash.

Though it might be futile, he was idle anyway, and what if this little fish actually cared? After finishing another long paragraph of text, he picked up his phone and began scrolling through the connections he had cultivated over the years.

This one won’t work—that one won’t work—the glitzy world of fame? It was all just an illusion. Jiang Weicheng looked at one option after another, only to discard them. Over the years, Yu Zhi had offended everyone she possibly could. The only reason she could still survive in the industry was because of her ties to Shanming.

However, ever since the CEO who was on good terms with her resigned two years ago, things had become increasingly difficult for her. The new General Manager, Mr. Ling, had been decent to her at first, but after his advances were rejected, his love turned to hate, and her position in the company became increasingly awkward.

One thing was true: Yu Zhi really was a magnet for trouble.

"Take a look, come see! Fresh vegetables, fresh vegetables just dug out of the dirt! Anyone want some?"

Yu Zhi and Li Ze had borrowed small stools from another stall owner in the market and were sitting in a corner shouting, but there were very few customers coming to buy vegetables. The pile in their basket hadn't gone down in ages, and Yu Zhi began to feel anxious. The director had said that once they finished selling, they would be free to arrange their own time—wasn't that just a blatant lure?

So cunning. Dropping them in this godforsaken place and avoiding peak traffic hours; no one would believe it wasn't intentional.

Twenty minutes later, seeing the crowd thinning out, Yu Zhi prepared to come up with some tricks to attract customers. With Shi Hailing’s help, Zhou Su had long since started a performance-based sales approach; Shen Jiayu was a singer, so he could attract plenty of people just by warming up his voice; even Bai Fuyuan was helping people with dating fashion advice under the pestering of Gu Qing.

If she didn't do something now, this market would become her prison!

[Seeing the progress of the other guests, I’m really worried for Sister Yu. What do you think she’ll do?]

[Li Ze is so useless. He can’t let go of his pride at all. It’s all Yu Zhi doing the hawking. Is he just a background prop?]

[What can Yu Zhi do? Yu Zhi can go crazy! If she starts acting insane now, a bunch of people will definitely come over to watch her.]

[We’re trying to attract buyers, not lunatics! If she acts crazy now, everyone will just send her to the hospital, won't they?]

"Li Ze, you..."

A flash of inspiration struck Yu Zhi, and she tilted her head to look Li Ze up and down.

"Go stand in front and bring me some customers. If we don't sell out by this morning, you don't have to come back."

Li Ze nearly died laughing listening to her orders. Bring in customers? She actually thought of that. But he would forgive her this once. After all, she was working hard for their date. "Zhizhi, you really like me."

Yu Zhi: ???

She frowned, speechless, looking at Li Ze. She had no idea what he had cooked up in his head, but since he had agreed, he must have his own ideas.

[Professor Li is not only sick, but he’s also self-delusional!]

[I like it. A cultured man like that really shouldn't be staying in a place like this!]

[The director is a slap in the face, and the producers are another. They take a beautiful man and woman and force them to do farm work.]

[I don't believe love can bloom in an environment like this.]

[If they don't have mutual resentment, they should be praying to the heavens that their partner has a good temper.]

"Yes, yes, yes, good boy~ Professor Li, work hard so we can have more fun this afternoon!"