Chapter 27: The Movie Star’s Pet Black-Hearted Vixen

The group continued their trek, soon encountering Wen Tian, who was crouched on the path ahead. Chang Qinghua was startled by her appearance and hurriedly stepped forward, leaning down to check on her. "Xiao Wen, what’s wrong?"

At the sound of his voice, Wen Tian looked up, her eyes rimmed with red. "Where... where did you all go?"

"We went to chase the pig. Are you alright, Sister Tian?" Su Tang also approached, scanning Wen Tian’s body. She found no injuries, only that her pants were soiled from the fall.

Wen Tian remained crouched, shaking her head. "I'm fine..." she said, sniffling.

She certainly didn't look fine. The others exchanged glances, sensing that Wen Tian was putting on another performance. Everyone saw through it clearly, but Wen Tian seemed oblivious.

Shen Lü stepped up and looked down at her. "Are you alright after that fall? If you’re okay, let’s keep moving; hunting is the priority."

As soon as Shen Lü finished speaking, tears welled up in Wen Tian's eyes and spilled over. "I... I..."

No one expected her to start crying at that moment, so they had no choice but to gather around and comfort her. Eventually, having lost too much time, they had to abandon the hunt and head back down the mountain.

Once back, Wen Tian sat gloomily under the gazebo. Song Heqing, as the team leader, and Chang Qinghua, as the senior, could only stay there to console her. Unable to watch any longer, Shen Lü dragged Su Tang away to practice with their slingshots.

At lunch, the director informed everyone that the show's premiere was about to begin. Although it was filmed live, they also aired edited episodes, which were often more entertaining. Consequently, everyone ate lunch inside the house.

This was only the first episode, and before it even began, Su Tang knew she was bound to be roasted by the public. However, while they ate, they realized that the audience was actually criticizing Wen Tian much more.

[Checking in.]
[Good heavens, I never realized Wen Tian was such a "green tea" character before.]
[Looks like everyone is here for some archeology.]
[So annoying, Wen Tian's fans in the live chat are the absolute worst.]

As they watched the recorded broadcast, the cameras were focused on their faces, so the audience didn't know they had the live comments enabled. The viewers could only infer what was being shown by observing the cast's reactions.

Everyone present managed their expressions well, except for Shen Lü, whose expression was quite intriguing. Sharp-eyed netizens had already guessed that they were reading the comments.

That night, the trending topics were dominated by "Survival Battle."
#SurvivalBattlePremiere
#ThoseGreenTeaBehaviorsOfWenTianWeNeverKnew
#SuTang

Most of the audience had watched the live stream and were now watching the recorded version to relive the moments, with the majority focusing on Wen Tian’s past antics. In an instant, calls for Wen Tian to withdraw from the show climbed to the top of the charts.

The production team was pleased with the engagement; they had been prepared for this when they dared to invite Su Tang. However, no one expected that the target of the public's ire would shift from Su Tang to Wen Tian.

Su Tang was surprised by the positive turn of events and spent the night bouncing happily on her bed.

Su Tang: "001, you didn't have a hand in this, did you?"
001: "Not at all. We are strictly prohibited from providing extra assistance to our hosts."
Su Tang: "Oh, really? Could it be that I'm actually relying on my own talent?"
001: "Likely. My data shows that compared to the fragile, delicate starlet archetype, audiences prefer someone down-to-earth like you."
Su Tang blinked. "Am I... down-to-earth? I always thought I was the 'little fairy' type."
001: "As long as you're happy. But I must remind you, the show has over a dozen episodes, but the actual filming only lasts about ten days."
Su Tang: "I understand."

The next day, when everyone woke up, Wen Tian’s mood was clearly low. However, she was much more active in her chores than before. Su Tang raised an eyebrow; she had likely been reprimanded by her manager. Since their last argument, that manager hadn't appeared again, but Su Tang felt the agency itself was a potential threat and resolved to stay vigilant.

Because of yesterday's events, they hadn't gone hunting. Instead, Shen Lü had spent the entire afternoon practicing with his slingshot with Su Tang. Consequently, he was exceptionally eager today, constantly urging Su Tang along.

"Su Tang, hurry, hurry!"

Su Tang followed him, helpless. "Why are you walking so fast? The pheasants aren't going to run away."

Shen Lü waved his slingshot. "That won't do; I'm in a real hurry."

Song Heqing, following behind them, narrowed his eyes and quickly moved to Su Tang’s side. "It seems Xiao Shen has learned quite a bit since yesterday?"

Shen Lü nodded smugly. "I think I’m almost ready to graduate."

Song Heqing pulled out his own slingshot. "That’s good. Then Xiao Su can focus on teaching me today; I want to graduate quickly, too."

Su Tang immediately nodded. "Sure, sure! I’ll be at your service today!" she said with a cheeky grin.

Shen Lü was stunned. How did he end up getting sidelined?

Chang Qinghua and Wen Tian walked over. Chang Qinghua looked surprised. "What? Xiao Shen has already learned? That won't do! Xiao Su, you have to teach me, too."

Song Heqing pointed at Shen Lü. "To speed things up, let’s divide the tasks. Let Shen Lü teach you first."

Chang Qinghua didn't mind and, failing to notice anything, nodded and put an arm around Shen Lü's shoulder. "Sure, sure."

Wen Tian bit her lip, walked over to Su Tang, gave a shy smile, glanced at Song Heqing, and then looked at Su Tang. "Um, could you teach me too?"

Su Tang glanced at Song Heqing and reluctantly agreed. "Sure."

Shen Lü was only a half-baked expert, so it would look bad if she refused to teach Wen Tian. But at the same time, she lost her chance to be alone with Song Heqing.

Song Heqing paid no attention to Wen Tian’s gaze, acting as if he hadn't seen it at all, and continued to walk closely beside Su Tang. Seeing no gap between them, Wen Tian had no choice but to walk on Su Tang's other side.

They soon reached the mountain. Su Tang, as usual, picked up stones as she walked. Just as she was about to hand a pebble to Song Heqing, she saw him pull a handful of stones from his own pocket.

Su Tang looked at him in surprise; she had assumed he would have thrown away yesterday's stones. After all, carrying small pebbles around seemed entirely useless.