Chapter 24: Every Move of His Was Honest

Xu Zhaozhao strolled from one end of the market to the other, then back again, before finally arriving at Auntie Fu’s duck egg stall with a stack of delicious snacks.

"Auntie Fu, I bought plenty of tasty things. Let’s eat together!"

As she spoke, she spread a newspaper on the ground and proceeded to pull items one by one from her plastic bags: steaming shrimp wontons, rice noodle rolls, xiaolongbao, taro cake, chicken feet... Finally, she tucked a cup of lemonade into Auntie Fu’s hand.

[Oh my god, Xu Zhaozhao spent seventy yuan in one go. Is she planning to quit the show after today?]
[No way, I think watching her play the villainous female lead is quite interesting.]
[I don't think her heart is in it. Aside from assisting Chen Sisi, she hasn't interacted with any of the male guests at all.]
[What do you mean? Shen Mu has been teamed up with her for two days straight!]
[That was a mandatory program requirement. Even when teamed up, their interaction is minimal—barely better than strangers.]
[Among these guests, I suspect Xu Zhaozhao is the only one who came here with work to do. Always busy with her job, who has time for romance?]
[Suddenly reminded of the days when I had to pull out my laptop to revise proposals while on vacation or squeezed onto the subway... I really empathize with Xu Zhaozhao!]

At this moment, the camera cut to Shen Mu. His expression remained as cold and detached as ever.

[Strange, Shen Mu didn't buy any food. Is he not hungry?]
[He’s been following Xu Zhaozhao the whole time, but he truly hasn't bought anything.]
[At first, he tried to give his money to her, but she wouldn't take it. Could he be angry?]
[Huh? Now that you mention it, that’s possible.]
[Exactly. After she refused the money, his expression became very odd.]
[Yesterday, even though they didn't have deliberate interactions, their dynamic seemed fine. Today, their interactions feel quite awkward.]

"Do you want to try some?" Xu Zhaozhao sat casually on the ground and held out a bowl of rice noodle rolls toward Shen Mu.

Shen Mu glanced at the rolls with a faint look.

***

"Xu Zhaozhao still doesn't understand the Big Boss well enough..."

Sitting on the sofa, clutching his chin and staring at the TV, Wu Wei sighed. He had been with the Big Boss for so long; the Big Boss never ate street food. The fact that the Big Boss had walked the entire market and bought nothing was proof enough.

Yet, just as Wu Wei was grumbling, his "venerable and adorable" Big Boss on screen actually reached out and took the rice noodle rolls.

"Ah!" Wu Wei was so startled he fell off the sofa.

Was that... really his Big Boss? Could he have been replaced by an impostor?

In the next moment, he watched as the Big Boss sat down on another newspaper spread out by Xu Zhaozhao, opened the transparent takeout box, and began eating the rice noodle rolls with disposable chopsticks, clearly enjoying them.

"So..." Wu Wei let his popcorn scatter all over the floor, "the clown was me all along."

He had truly judged the Big Boss based on his own preconceived notions. It wasn't that the Big Boss didn't eat street food; it was just that, given his status, no one dared to invite him to eat it. Since he had never been to a street stall with the Big Boss, how could he possibly know the Big Boss wouldn't eat there?

Wu Wei slapped his forehead. He had handled the Big Boss's divorce far too quickly and carelessly! He hoped that if the Big Boss ran into any trouble on the road to winning back his wife, he wouldn't take his anger out on him.

However, seeing how easily the Big Boss was being handled by Xu Zhaozhao, Wu Wei decided that if danger arose, he would immediately seek help from Xu Zhaozhao—no, from the Boss's wife!

***

At the market, once Shen Mu finished his bowl of rice noodle rolls, Xu Zhaozhao casually handed him some chicken feet.

[Uh, Xu Zhaozhao handing someone chicken feet with her greasy hands is a bit... unsanitary.]
[Haha, our disgust doesn't matter; someone else doesn't mind.]
[I am now 100% certain that Shen Mu fell for Xu Zhaozhao at first sight. Even though you can't tell from his face, every single one of his actions is honest.]
[Exactly. This domineering executive might not be good at expressing his feelings, but his body language has betrayed him!]
[To summarize everything said above: it’s physiological attraction.]
[Ahhh, the sugar we accidentally stumbled upon is the most lethal—I'm done for!]
[I declare this my favorite couple on "Love in the Wilderness."]
[If you combine their names, it happens to be 'Zhaozhao Mumu' (morning and evening/always).]
[Zhaozhao Mumu, knowing and guarding each other.]
[You guys are blowing a tiny detail like eating out of proportion. Your 'magnifying glass' for finding romance is invincible.]
[I think so too. Shen Mu couldn't have that much hidden body language, right? Can't he just be hungry?]
[Yeah, if I were starving, I wouldn't care how someone handed me food.]
[That’s because you’re poor. This is a man wearing hundreds of thousands in haute couture; can they be the same?]

[Stop being so blunt, you're hurting my feelings!]

After a satisfying meal, Xu Zhaozhao washed up at a nearby water source and returned to sit beside Auntie Fu. An hour had passed since they arrived at the market, and Auntie Fu hadn't sold a single duck egg. Seeing Auntie Fu’s demeanor, Xu Zhaozhao knew she wasn't the type to call out to customers, so she decided to help.

She carefully pulled out a clump of reeds that Auntie Fu had been using to line her basket. After tidying them up and trimming them to the right size, the reeds began to dance nimbly in her hands. Occasionally, she would hand the ends of the reeds to Shen Mu, asking him to help hold them steady.

Before long, a lifelike little grasshopper appeared in her palm.

[Wow, that looks like a real grasshopper.]
[How is Xu Zhaozhao so skillful? She was fixing a car earlier, and now she’s making grass-woven animals?]

Auntie Fu was also stunned. She looked at Xu Zhaozhao in surprise. "Little Xu, you know this craft too?"

Xu Zhaozhao smiled and handed the grasshopper to her. "Auntie Fu, why don't you hang this on your basket?"

After saying that, she picked up new reeds and continued weaving. Next came a little butterfly, then a tiny frog, and a little dragonfly... As these vivid, grass-woven creations began to fill the rim of the basket, many people stopped to watch.

Soon, Auntie Fu welcomed her first customer. However, they weren't there to buy eggs, but to ask how much the woven crafts cost.

"They aren't for sale individually," Xu Zhaozhao said. "Buy some duck eggs, and they're free."

The person bought several eggs, and Xu Zhaozhao handed the grasshopper to the little boy the customer was with.

"Little Xu, your method is wonderful. Why didn't I think of attracting customers this way before?" Although she had only sold a few eggs, Auntie Fu was overjoyed.

Xu Zhaozhao said, "Auntie Fu, weaving these is very simple. Would you like to learn?"

"You're willing to teach me?" Auntie Fu's eyes lit up.

"Of course," Xu Zhaozhao nodded. "In the future, if you hang these around your basket, you won't need to shout; people will naturally stop for you."