Chu Rong ate a few mouthfuls, smiling, "It's delicious."
Quan Jiu blew on the hot congee in the spoon and fed it to Chu Rong's mouth again, remaining silent.
Soon, the bowl of congee was finished, and the film crew and guests who had been recording all day returned to the camp.
Zhang Xin was the first to rush over to inquire about Chu Rong's condition. Upon learning that he had stabilized, his hanging heart finally relaxed.
Other guests also came forward one after another to express their concern. Even Meng Pinglang put aside his past grievances, his words filled with genuine care.
While everyone was gathered around Chu Rong, Quan Jiu returned to her tent and made a video call to Wang Feifei, chatting with the two children for a while before hanging up.
There was no more sound from Chu Rong's side. The guests were all sitting around the campfire. Seeing Meng Pinglang preparing to cook, Quan Jiu decided to help.
Mai Su saw her come out and smiled, "Sister Quan, you really hit the jackpot today. You have no idea how tiring our cave exploration was. I was covered in dirt, and I fell into the water a few times. You're so beautiful, you definitely wouldn't like those dirty places."
Quan Jiu merely smiled faintly and came to Meng Pinglang's side, "You've had a tiring day. Go rest."
Before Meng Pinglang could speak, Mai Su called out loudly from the other side, "Meng Pinglang, come here. Sister Quan definitely feels guilty for not participating in the recording today. If you don't let her do something, she'll be very uncomfortable. What ingredients do we have today? Is it all vegetarian again? We've been recording all day."
Meng Pinglang glanced displeasedly at Mai Su, not wanting to talk to her further. He said to Quan Jiu, "Don't mind irrelevant people. You go rest, I'll cook. I like cooking."
Quan Jiu saw that his collar was wet and advised, "Go change your clothes. It's cold at night. Don't catch a fever tomorrow, or the director might cry himself to death."
Meng Pinglang couldn't help but smile, "I'll go change. You can put it aside for now, and I'll stir-fry later."
Mai Su, seeing the two of them chatting and laughing, clenched her fists in anger, her words becoming increasingly sarcastic, "Sister Quan, are you interested in the CEO or the lawyer? Didn't you say you didn't like anyone? I'm so confused. Do you find both of them appealing now? I envy you so much, I wish someone would let me choose."
After two days of interaction, everyone knew what kind of person Mai Su was – gossipy and annoying. Therefore, after she finished speaking, no one paid her any attention, treating her words as if they were farts.
Quan Jiu's gaze was faint, "What did you eat at noon?"
Mai Su looked suspicious, "Bread, why?"
Quan Jiu said "Oh" with a blank expression, "I thought you ate garlic because your words were a bit smelly."
"Pfft..." A female guest who was drinking water directly spat out a mouthful of water, choking and coughing incessantly.
The other female guests also pursed their lips and smiled. One even chimed in, "A smelly mouth is due to poor digestion. You should see a Chinese medicine doctor when you get back and get it regulated. Otherwise, the speaker will be embarrassed, and the listener will suffer."
How could Mai Su not detect the sarcasm in their words? She said angrily, "Why are you speaking so passive-aggressively? What did I do to offend you to be treated like this?"
The female guest who spoke snorted, "Who is speaking passive-aggressively? I am truly impressed by your ability to play the victim."
"How am I speaking passive-aggressively? Am I not speaking the truth? Didn't she say she wasn't interested in the CEO, and wasn't interested in any male guests, and that she valued character?
What happened? She's playing both sides. I despise people who say one thing and do another. They're pretentious. Those who appear pure on the surface probably have methods that we innocent girls have never seen, otherwise, how could they play two men around their fingers?" Mai Su yelled in extreme anger.
"Which company are you from?" a cold voice suddenly sounded from the darkness.
Mai Su's anger instantly dissipated. Without thinking, she reported her company, even adding, "It's a Fortune 500 company. I manage over twenty people there and am the youngest supervisor in our company."
Unfortunately, Chu Rong didn't listen to her nonsense. Instead, he turned and made a call to Wang Xiao. Not long after he hung up, Mai Su also received a call.
It was from the company's human resources department.
Why would the company's human resources department call so late?
Mai Su was puzzled. She answered the phone, and before she could ask anything, the person on the other end directly stated their purpose concisely: You're fired.
Mai Su was shocked and disbelieving. She grabbed the phone, glanced at the people around her, and then hid in her tent, asking in a low voice, "What's going on? Why am I being fired so suddenly? What did I do wrong?"
The voice on the other end was very cold, "You were absent from your post during work hours to participate in a variety show, which seriously affected work progress and caused serious losses to the company. The company is now reasonably dismissing you. After the show recording is finished, come to the company to complete the procedures."
Mai Su couldn't help but exclaim, "I had taken leave, and it was only for three working days. I haven't even used my annual leave yet..."
"Don't you understand yet?" Perhaps sensing her genuine ignorance, the HR manager on the phone said, "Some people are not to be offended. Losing your job is a small matter, but if it escalates, it will be unsightly."
Mai Su thought of Chu Rong's call just now, and her heart turned cold to her feet. But in an instant, her anger shifted to Quan Jiu.
Bitch, she really knows how to pretend. Without making a sound, she got her fired. She must have been whispering in the CEO's ear while everyone else was away.
Damn it. Clenching the phone, she rushed out of the tent and stood before Quan Jiu, cursing, "You really are a scheming bitch. I called you sister, treated you sincerely, and you stabbed me in the back.
If you have any dissatisfaction with me, tell me directly, and we'll clear things up. But finding connections to get me fired is too vile. How can your heart be so black? You're not even human. Give me back my job."
As she cursed, she grabbed the vegetable basket beside her and angrily threw it at Quan Jiu's back.
In the nick of time, Meng Pinglang, who had just changed his clothes, saw it and instinctively stepped in front. The vegetable basket hit him in the face, and his nose bridge immediately scraped open.
"Are you done making a scene? This isn't your home, it's not a place where you can go crazy at will," Meng Pinglang said to Mai Su with great seriousness.
Mai Su cried and shouted, "You're all bullying me, all ganging up on me. Clearly, she's playing both sides, and you don't like it when I speak the truth?
Everyone, look, I only said a couple of sentences, and one man got me fired for her, while another man cursed me as crazy for her. Who is the scheming bitch here? Don't you see it yet?"
The other three female guests had long been fed up with her and now spoke out to condemn her.
"This show is like this. Everyone is in the stage of getting to know each other. You're sour because you can't have it, and you speak sharply and sarcastically. Do you really think we can't tell? We were just trying to save you some face."
The male guests were not good at this kind of verbal sparring and could only offer a token劝阻, then remained silent. Honestly, they didn't like Mai Su either.
Mai Su took in everyone's gazes, feeling as if she were being fried in hot oil.
She transferred all this hatred to Quan Jiu, disregarding everything, "You're the crazy one. You've deceived everyone, but you can't deceive me. Don't think your charming, fox-like face can fool me. I saw your scheming nature at first glance. You're just an ugly country sparrow who wants to fly up a branch and become a phoenix. I'm telling you, don't be delusional. People like you can never marry into a real wealthy family."
"Are you finished?" Quan Jiu put down the spatula and walked slowly towards Mai Su, a dangerous and cold smile curving her lips. In the next instant, with lightning speed, under the astonished gazes of everyone, she grabbed Mai Su by the neck, dragged her to the edge of the camp, forced her to her knees, and said coldly, word by word, "To be honest, I dislike pretense the most."