The room where You Rong and the other boys were staying. Wen Qianyi came to the door, knocked, and Zhou Cheng Nian was the first to look out, asking in confusion, "Sister Qian Yi, why are you here? Is something wrong?"
Wen Qianyi looked at You Rong. "Uh... You Rong, I'm here for you."
You Rong was a little surprised. He put down what he was holding and walked to the door. "May I ask what you need me for?"
Wen Qianyi said, "It's like this, Sister Qing He's shoulder was scraped when she completed the mission with you today. It looked very uncomfortable. I originally wanted to ask the program staff to call a doctor, but Sister Qing He insisted that they were tired after a whole day and didn't want to disturb their rest. I thought you're an actor too, and you'd carry medicine with you when filming in case of injury, so I came to ask you... do you have any medicine for scrapes?"
Zhou Cheng Nian heard this and said with concern, "Why didn't Sister Qing He say she was injured? She even made us dinner just now."
"Sister Qing He said it was nothing and that she'd be fine after a night's sleep, but the scraped part on her shoulder looked quite serious, so I wanted to ask if You Rong had any medicine."
You Rong frowned subtly and said in a deep voice, "I have ointment in my bag. Wait a moment, I'll get it."
Wen Qianyi's face lit up when she heard this. "That's great! You Rong, thank you."
"You're welcome."
You Rong walked back to his bed, picked up his backpack, and rummaged through it. He found a few tubes of ointment and some iodine solution for disinfecting wounds and handed them to Wen Qianyi. "This is the ointment. Apply it to the wound to prevent infection. Have her disinfect it with iodine solution first, then use the ointment."
"Okay, I understand." Wen Qianyi took the medicine. "I'll head back now. Sister Qing He is waiting. See you tomorrow."
Zhou Cheng Nian waved. "Alright, see you tomorrow."
Wen Qianyi turned and left. Zhou Cheng Nian put his arm around You Rong's shoulder and glanced at him sneakily. He whispered, "It turns out that many things really can't be judged by appearances. I used to think you and Sister Qing He didn't get along based on rumors, but it doesn't seem like it... Sister Qing He is also different from how she appears on TV. She's a very nice and down-to-earth person."
You Rong lowered his gaze, pursed his thin lips, and said it was getting late and they should get some rest, then went back to his bed and lay down.
Closing his eyes, You Rong couldn't help but think of Lin Qing He's determined expression when she endured the pain to complete the mission today, and her serious demeanor while making dinner. His thoughts stirred.
Perhaps she had changed over the past two years, no longer as detestable as she was the first two?
But then again, You Rong didn't care at all. He had no interest in knowing what kind of person Lin Qing He was.
On the other side.
Lin Qing He sat on the bed, estimating that Wen Qianyi should have told You Rong about her scraped shoulder. As soon as she thought of it, a system prompt sounded in her mind: "Progress bar increased by one percent, total progress is one percent."
Lin Qing He raised her eyebrows slightly, not surprised by the increase in the progress bar.
It seemed her hard work today hadn't been in vain; You Rong had gained at least a tiny bit of a better impression of her.
Wen Qianyi returned from outside and placed the ointment and iodine solution in front of Lin Qing He. "Sister Qing He, You Rong got this for me. He said to disinfect the wound with iodine solution first, then apply the ointment to prevent infection."
Lin Qing He smiled slightly. "Okay, I understand. Thank you."
Wen Qianyi looked a little embarrassed. "Sister Qing He, you're too polite. You were injured yet you still made us dinner. I should be thanking you."
"It's alright, we should look out for each other on the program."
"Yes! Then I'll help you apply the medicine."
"Okay, thank you."
The night passed quietly. Lin Qing He slept soundly. After getting up and washing up, she went for a stroll outside the courtyard. As soon as she stepped out, she saw You Rong there. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately walked over to greet him.
"You Rong, good morning! You're up early too?"
In front of the cameras, You Rong nodded at Lin Qing He, not coldly. "Mm, good morning. I'm used to waking up early."
"Oh, so that's how it is..." Lin Qing He said, "Right! Thank you for the medicine last night. Qian Yi told me all about it. I feel much better today after applying it. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. I happened to have it with me, so it's best that you could use it."
"So, what are we having for breakfast later?" Lin Qing He thought for a moment. "We still have flour. How about I make some scallion pancakes for you all? Do you eat scallions, You Rong?"
You Rong's gaze swept over Lin Qing He's shoulder, and he said in a deep voice, "I'm not a picky eater."
"Great! Then I'll go knead the dough and make scallion pancakes for you!"
Just as Lin Qing He was about to head to the small kitchen, You Rong stepped ahead of her. Under her confused gaze, he didn't turn around and directly said, "Kneading dough is physical work. I'll do it."
Lin Qing He smiled, her eyes curving. She jogged to catch up with You Rong's pace and said with a smile, "Okay, you knead the dough, and I'll prepare the scallions by washing and chopping them."
By the time Zhou Cheng Nian, Zheng Yi, and the others got up, Lin Qing He and You Rong had already prepared breakfast. The five of them ate breakfast together and waited in front of the courtyard for the program team to assign them new tasks.
The program staff put up the task board. "The tasks above correspond to ingredients and appliances you are lacking. You can choose what you want to complete the tasks, and you will receive corresponding rewards once you finish."
Lin Qing He and the others discussed it and decided they wanted a water heater to make showering easier, and to complete another task to get some ingredients for tonight's dinner.
After deliberation, Zheng Yi, Zhou Cheng Nian, and Wen Qian Yi decided to form a team and go up the mountain to dig for winter bamboo shoots. If they dug fifty catties of winter bamboo shoots, they would get the water heater.
Zhou Cheng Nian said, "Sister Qing He and You Rong did the more strenuous tasks yesterday. It's our turn today, especially since Sister Qing He was injured yesterday. She can just do some simpler tasks at home today."
Wen Qian Yi nodded in agreement. "That's right! Sister Qing He, you choose some simple tasks today and rest well at home. As for the water heater... leave it to us!"
Lin Qing He and You Rong stayed behind. She was naturally willing, but... she glanced at You Rong stealthily. He seemed unwilling.
You Rong pondered for a moment and then stepped forward. "I'll go up the mountain with Cheng Nian and Zheng Yi to dig for winter bamboo shoots. Let Qing He and Qian Yi, the two girls, do some simple tasks at home."
Lin Qing He sighed inwardly.
It was as she expected... You Rong absolutely did not want to be with her.
They were on a program now, and although she really wanted to be in the same group as You Rong, she couldn't be too obvious.
So, before Wen Qian Yi could say she didn't mind, Lin Qing He spoke first. "I think You Rong is right. Qian Yi, let's stay home. Let the three boys complete the task of digging for winter bamboo shoots. We'll... just shell the corn and clean the chicken coop, which should be enough to exchange for some pork and greens for us to make a simple two-dish meal."
Seeing that Lin Qing He had spoken, Wen Qian Yi didn't insist and agreed to stay with her.
You Rong and the other two boys went up the mountain to dig for winter bamboo shoots. Lin Qing He and Wen Qian Yi sat down to shell corn kernels. They used hand-cranked corn shellers, and soon both were tired.
Wen Qian Yi slumped on the ground, rubbing her hands, her face contorted in distress. "Sister Qing He, my hands are so sore, and there's still this big pile of corn to shell. When will we finish?!"
Lin Qing He was also tired. She narrowed her eyes, and suddenly had an idea. She said to Wen Qian Yi, "Come on, let's stop for now. Let's go for a walk. We've been in this village for two days, and we haven't gone out for a stroll yet."
Wen Qian Yi looked at Lin Qing He, puzzled. "We're going out for a walk? Then... aren't we doing the task?"
Lin Qing He smiled enigmatically. "Of course we're doing the task! I didn't say we weren't."
"Then Sister Qing He, you..."
Before Wen Qian Yi could finish speaking, Lin Qing He pulled her out of the courtyard and walked straight to the neighbor's house.