Chapter 61 – Wang Family Village

In the entertainment industry, even those with ordinary appearances still surpass the average person’s looks by a wide margin. If the other actors had removed their disguises, the village chief’s family might have thought they were gods descending from heaven rather than mistakenly entering a fairyland themselves.

To be fair, among all the beauties present, Shen Fubai’s appearance stood out the most. He was handsome, refined, unforgettable to those who beheld him. Winter snow was not as pure as he was, and summer flowers did not match his brilliance. Born to captivate the world, unparalleled.

But he was a man.

So the village chief and his son directed more of their attention towards Yu Xiaoxiao and Yang Yingying.

The village chief looked at Yu Xiaoxiao, while Xiao Hui was entranced by Yang Yingying.

In terms of appearance alone, Yang Yingying was prettier than Yu Xiaoxiao, but her beauty was too seductive. She wore a dress with a halter neckline, revealing deep collarbones, and her fox-like features could entice young men like Xiao Hui. However, in the eyes of the conservative older generation, her allure was seen as unruly and indecent.

Yu Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, conformed more to the image of a “well-bred lady.” Her persona was exactly that – she was portrayed as the type of woman elders would adore as a virtuous wife and mother.

Regardless, after seeing the remarkable appearances of these outsiders, the village chief changed his mind.

It would be wonderful if he could marry someone as heavenly as them…

As the only household in the village with a television, the village chief and his wife spent their free time watching local channels and CCTV. The signal here was poor, so there weren’t many channels available. They couldn’t name any well-known celebrities, nor did they recognize anyone familiar.

For people living in such isolated mountain villages, it was difficult for them to connect with the outside world.

Xiao Hui, however, had gone to school outside the village. Although it was just a third-rate university in a small provincial city, it still exposed him to the stark differences between life in the city and the village.

He recognized several faces among the group.

Yu Xiaoxiao, in particular, was highly recognizable.

Xiao Hui felt like he was dreaming. In this impoverished and backward mountain village, where even sparrows wouldn’t linger, how did a flock of phoenixes come to roost?

The village chief agreed to their request to stay overnight. Since there were too many guests for his house, the village chief convened the villagers to explain the situation and asked each household to spare a room for the guests to temporarily reside in.

The villagers managed to scrape together enough space, ensuring that everyone had a place to stay.

There were a total of thirteen women, among whom Yang Yingying and Yu Xiaoxiao were invited by the village chief to stay at his home. His house was the best in the village, and it was reasonable to have the two main actresses stay there.

The others were accommodated in pairs, with women staying together and men staying together. After all, there were no couples in the production team, so it wouldn’t be proper to have men and women share a room.

…There was a couple, but they were both men.

The villagers showed significantly more enthusiasm towards the women than the men, warmly inviting the women to stay in their homes. Men were relatively less welcomed; unmarried girls found it awkward to invite them, married women were unsuitable to host men, and the older men didn’t welcome them either.

However, they maintained a facade of hospitality. There were plenty of left-behind children and elderly people in the village, so there was no shortage of places to stay.

In the end, the women stayed in pairs, with Yang Yingying and Yu Xiaoxiao residing at the village chief’s home. Most of the others stayed in households with three members and children. For safety reasons, they wouldn’t stay in homes with only strange men.

Only Mu Yao stayed alone, sharing a room with an unmarried man – there simply weren’t enough rooms. She was skilled and brave, unafraid to be on her own.

The men stayed wherever available, also in pairs, with one room accommodating three people.

Jiang Heng and Shen Fubai were assigned to an old house. It was said that originally, only a left-behind child and his grandmother lived there. The parents had gone out to work, and after the grandmother passed away, the parents never returned. So, two rooms in the house remained vacant.

One of the rooms was given to students who came earlier, and the other was empty, suitable for Jiang Heng and Shen Fubai.

Of course, Xiao Hui didn’t provide such detailed information. He merely mentioned that a few students were also staying in the village and might cross paths with them.

“Students?” Hearing Xiao Hui mention this, someone from the production team became curious. Besides them, who else would come to this place?

“Yes, high school students,” Xiao Hui replied vaguely. “They’re here during the summer break for some life experience.” He wondered what kind of life they wanted to experience here.

A day or two would be novel, but any longer would be sheer hardship.

Xiao Hui explained that the village was very remote, with its name not even appearing on maps or navigation systems. In fact, the village didn’t even have a name. Many residents were unregistered due to overpopulation.

Because most families in the village bore the surname Wang, it was called Wang Family Village. Xiao Hui’s real name was Wang Hui.

Here, you’d find not only Uncle Wang next door, but also Little Wang next door, Big Wang next door, and Elder Wang next door… Ninety percent of the village had the surname Wang.

Indeed, they were descendants of royalty.

Wang was a common surname, and a staff member from the production team with the same surname couldn’t help laughing. “I guess I’ve finally found my roots.”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Talking about surnames reminded Shen Fubai of Wang Xiaoran. By the time he returned, her surgery should be completed. The operation carried high risks. He had asked Wang Xiaoran’s father to convey his message that if she survived, her idol would fly to her side.

He hoped this glimmer of hope would help Wang Xiaoran pull through.

The atmosphere on the first day was relatively pleasant, with people gathering at the village chief’s home, chatting and smiling leisurely. But when they arrived at their accommodations for the coming month, their smiles gradually faded.

…Compared to this place, last night’s makeshift inn took on another name.

Heaven on Earth.

Jiang Heng and Shen Fubai’s residence was on the other side of the village, opposite the village chief’s home, spanning the entire village.

As they walked over, they observed the conditions of Wang Family Village.

Few women appeared in public, either staying at home or going out to work. The children were malnourished, rolling around in the dirt, poorly dressed. Some elderly people sat outside on small stools, basking in the sun. Few young men were seen; those who could leave probably never wanted to return.

Most prevalent were unkempt middle-aged men or elderly gentlemen.

If a household raised chickens, ducks, or pigs, their economic status in the village was considered quite good. Because most households didn’t even have that. Houses cracked due to disrepair, lacking running water, requiring them to fetch water from wells.

Just looking around, Shen Fubai already felt despair about the coming month.

Inside a bare room, a child looked up, his voice clear and crisp. “Big brother, what does this character read?”

The young man bent down, writing a sharp character on the paper with a pencil, his voice cold yet melodious. “Tree. What’s planted at the gate is a tree. This is also your name.”

Wang Xiaoshu looked at the character on the paper in surprise. “So this is how my name is written!”

“Mm, I’ll teach you how to write it.” The young man’s hand holding the pencil was slender, pale, and long, writing the character slowly once again. “Do you see clearly?”

Wang Xiaoshu wanted to say no, but dared not.

The young man noticed and wrote it repeatedly, tirelessly.

Finally, Wang Xiaoshu clumsily scrawled the character “tree,” asking the young man earnestly, “Big brother, did I write it right?”

The young man stroked his head. “Yes.”

“Yay! I can write my name now!” Wang Xiaoshu cheered, then clutched his stomach. “Big brother, I need to pee!”

The young man nodded. “Go ahead.”

Wang Xiaoshu hurriedly ran to the toilet.

Wang Family Village wasn’t large; walking from east to west took only a few minutes. Shen Fubai and Jiang Heng reached their destination. In front of the banyan tree stood an old, dilapidated wall. A low, silent window and a wooden door, whose paint had peeled, were open, revealing a faded character “Fu” upside down. But it was clear that good fortune had never visited this family.

This household was visibly poorer than the others in the village. With the house in such disrepair, whether it could even accommodate basic living was questionable.

But for Shen Fubai and the others, there was no difference; everything was equally dilapidated.

Moreover, the house they deemed uninhabitable had indeed been lived in by an old man and a young boy for many years, and even today, it was still occupied by a child.

Xiao Hui told them that the household where they would stay was inhabited by a single child who lived alone, relying on chopping firewood, catching fish, and gathering pig feed for survival. Shen Fubai felt heartache, conjuring an image of a skinny, sallow, pitiful, and timid little boy in his mind.

When he met the child, he would show concern and care, making the unfortunate child feel the warmth of home.

Then Shen Fubai arrived at the door.

The young man inside also looked over.

He was an exceptionally good-looking young man. His features were like a painting, his skin pale, his expression indifferent, and his stature tall and slender.

It was nothing like what Shen Fubai had imagined.

Shen Fubai was incredulous. “Left-behind child?”

Was this left-behind child so outstanding? This young man was single-handedly raising the average attractiveness level of the entire mountain village!

The young man looked at them quietly, half-closing his eyes, his tone polite yet perilous. “Uninvited guests?”

Shen Fubai was still stunned that the pitiful child he had envisioned turned out to be a young man nearly six feet tall. “Goodness, he’s actually a left-behind child.” He tried to find traces of the young man’s left-behind status, successfully hypnotizing himself. “Oh, how pitiful. He’s wearing a white t-shirt that costs less than twenty dollars, his pants have many holes, and he’s wearing shoes that expose his toes…”

Shen Fubai said this to Jiang Heng.

Thinking about it this way, this was a talented but impoverished young man; he was still a pitiful child. He hadn’t even reached adulthood yet, but he had to live alone here, bearing the burden of life.

Shen Fubai was too shocked to the point of being impolite. He couldn’t accept that a young man with such noble elegance was raised in such an environment. He made a decision on the spot.

“I’m going to sponsor him,” he whispered to Jiang Heng.

Jiang Heng calmly brought Shen Fubai back to reality. “The logo on his t-shirt is Versace, the ripped jeans are Dior’s new design for this year, and the sandals are from Balenciaga. He’s covered in luxury items; he probably doesn’t need your sponsorship.”

Shen Fubai was confused. “…Then why is he here?”

Jiang Heng reminded him, “Don’t you remember what the village chief’s son said about high school students coming here for life experiences recently?”

Shen Fubai was still puzzled. “Why is a high school student so rich?”

Jiang Heng’s answer was straightforward. “Either he’s very capable, or his father has money. If it’s the latter, it has nothing to do with whether he’s a high school student or not; he was born rich.”

Jiang Heng’s realism was always… realistic.

“Have you finished chatting?” The young man’s tone was polite, but his voice was still cold, like a layer of thin snow covering him.

Cold like ice. Whether it was his appearance, temperament, or intelligence.

When the village chief allocated the accommodations, he mostly chatted with the villagers and gave notice, but apparently, they overlooked this household. No one believed that they needed to consult a child, so they simply tossed Jiang Heng and Shen Fubai into this place.

To the young man inside the house and the true owner of this dwelling, Shen Fubai and Jiang Heng were indeed uninvited guests.

“Big brother, I’m done! Hey, who are they?” An eight or nine-year-old boy ran out from inside, looking at the two strangers at the door, somewhat timid.

“Shen Fubai, Jiang Heng,” the young man said their names calmly.

Jiang Heng stated matter-of-factly, “You know who we are.”

To be so calm despite knowing they were celebrities was unprecedented. Normally, even if someone wasn’t their fan, encountering a celebrity in real life would still elicit excitement.

But someone who could afford such a collection of designer brands… Their usual living environment likely wasn’t short of celebrities.

“Of course. You exist in every TV channel, every news headline, every street, every advertising board of chain stores, and even in the posters in my sister’s room,” the young man tapped his knuckles lightly on the table. “You’re everywhere.”

Shen Fubai was speechless. “I’m sorry…” To those who didn’t follow celebrities, their presence was probably as invasive as a virus.

“No need,” the young man replied. “Someone is destined to capture the public’s attention; at least you’re pleasing to the eye.”

Shen Fubai looked at the young man, whose elegant demeanor belied his maturity. His appearance was outstanding enough to excel in the entertainment industry, and his aura didn’t seem like it could be cultivated in an ordinary household. He was curious. “Your name?”

The young man turned his head, revealing his slender neck. “Xie Chian.”