Chapter 16
As they walked, she chatted with the female protagonist casually, thinking of getting to know her better. Shen Shuyao was someone favored by Heaven's will, so she had to cling to the thighs of this darling.
"How long have you been in show business?" Ji Nian asked with a smile.
Shen Shuyao thought for a moment and shyly answered, "Just over a year."
In the book, the female protagonist had just graduated from university, debuted for a year, and was only about 23 years old. She was actually 2 years older than her.
"You debuted quite early, you can be considered a senior already," Shen Shuyao said with a smile.
"No no, how can I be called a senior," Ji Nian waved her hand and said, "My acting skills are notoriously bad, and no one recognizes me in show business anyway."
Shen Shuyao was startled, her heart shocked. She didn't know how to respond to this bluntness.
The cameraman following them was about to laugh to death. Was this self-deprecation? Did she really not care about her image at all?
"Didn't you graduate from the School of Media? You must have learned a lot of things. Can I ask you when I don't understand something?" Ji Nian asked earnestly. She had to build up a reason to get close to the female protagonist, right?
Shen Shuyao nodded and answered seriously, "I have a lot to learn too. We can discuss together."
"That's great then," Ji Nian's eyes smiled, shining brightly under the sun. The camera suddenly captured this gorgeous shot.
Even Shen Shuyao was a little dumbfounded. She thought the woman before her was very beautiful, bright and charming, with an aggressive beauty. When silent, she exuded an aura of aloofness. When speaking, she was gentle and approachable.
Walking slowly, the group ahead had long left them behind, only their retreating figures could be seen.
Walking in the fields of the countryside, Ji Nian's feet in slippers were already covered in mud, her pants rolled up to reveal fair ankles.
Shen Shuyao wore water shoes, also covered in mud, making walking difficult and slow.
Seeing the female protagonist frowning, Ji Nian thought to relieve her troubles.
So she thoughtfully asked, "What's wrong?"
Shen Shuyao looked troubled and answered, "It rained heavily recently, the fields are still wet, and the mud is sticking to my shoes, making it a bit hard to walk."
After listening, Ji Nian immediately squatted down, using scattered twigs on the ground to scrape the mud off for her.
Shen Shuyao was shocked, blankly watching the woman sincerely cleaning her shoes.
The camera kept following them, not knowing why, but feeling this scene was full of love. It seemed like good footage had come.
Ji Nian scraped off all the mud, clapped her hands, stood up and smiled, "Better now?"
Shen Shuyao's face was red as she said "Thank you."
"No need to be polite with me," Ji Nian said with a smile.
When they reached the pond, the village chief had already drained most of the water, and several men were catching fish, covered in mud. Liang Jie was fine, holding a bucket waiting for them to catch fish.
Seeing Ji Nian and Shen Shuyao who had just arrived, someone below called, "You came at the right time, we lack manpower, come down and catch fish with us."
Looking at the muddy water in the pond, Shen Shuyao hesitated. As an actress, image was most important.
Seeing the female protagonist's reluctance, considerate Ji Nian faked excitement and shouted, "Sure, I'll go down. Shuyao can just hold the bucket up here."
Before Shen Shuyao could react, a bucket was shoved into her hands, along with Ji Nian's words in her ears.
"Just wait up here, hold this bucket. I'll catch fish and pass to you later, be careful not to stain your clothes." Ji Nian instructed.
The cameraman was bemused. She was so considerate? He suddenly started shipping these two.
After speaking, Ji Nian kicked off her slippers and entered the pond directly. She wore tight jeans and a white t-shirt. Just walking in, the muddy water reached her knees, even higher at the thighs in deeper areas.
Suddenly feeling something moving under her feet, Ji Nian's eyes lit up as she poked the area with her fishing tool. A frightened fish shot out, splashing her with mud.
"Hahahaha," Zhou Sheng laughed out loud.
The shy Shen Yang also smiled. The muddy Wu Hai joked, "Be careful, the fish are big."
Ji Nian also laughed. She didn't mind at all, having grown up in the countryside herself. "Wait for me to catch a big one for you guys," she said.
The camera frantically looked for angles. A great beauty was catching fish in muddy water, shocking yet amusing everyone. They realized this woman who often topped hot search charts was actually very easy to get along with.
Appreciation showed in Zhou Sheng's eyes. To be honest, they had wondered earlier if she and Shen Shuyao would try to push the dirty work onto each other.
But unexpectedly, she had volunteered to go down, even giving Shen Shuyao an easy job of just holding the bucket. They could all see she had done this deliberately.
Shen Shuyao was also confused. This was their first meeting, so why was Ji Nian constantly helping her?
"Ahhhhh......" Ji Nian exclaimed excitedly, having caught an enormous fish.
Wu Hai was shocked and shouted, "Quickly get it out before it jumps away!"
Ji Nian quickly nodded. She carefully walked to the pond's edge where Shen Shuyao came over swiftly with the bucket.
With a "splash", the fish was thrown into the bucket, still struggling due to its large size.
After catching a fish, Ji Nian was pumped up, continuously fishing excitedly in the water.
She caught every try. Having great fun, Zhou Sheng and the others were also energized, chatting and laughing while catching fish.
Seeing the harmonious scene and everyone's miserable yet cheerful appearance, the camera crew felt this was great footage.
Soon, after busy for almost an hour, the village chief spoke for them to stop and rest.
Hearing the words "stop work", everyone relaxed. Really, this was tiring physical labor, and actually everyone was quite tired already.
Ji Nian was a mess, with sweat-soaked and muddy hair. Her jeans and white tee were filthy, still stinking of fish after leaving the pond.
Seeing this, Shen Shuyao felt guilty, thinking things could have been the other way around if not for Ji Nian's willingness to catch fish. As an actress, such an image was taboo.
Seeing the female protagonist Shen Shuyao come over with napkins to wipe her sweat, Ji Nian quickly stopped her and said, "Don't come over! I'm full of sweat and fish smells, it'll stink you up."