Part 3 of Chapter 72
Please Like Her 23
Zhang Qian is very kind and friendly. Upon learning that there were chicken droppings and vomit in Meng Li’s room, she voluntarily cleaned it up and also placed some oranges and lemons in his room to mask the smell. She looked apologetic and promised to be more mindful when cleaning the chicken coop tomorrow.
If she didn’t know the truth, Shang Lu would never have guessed that the woman in front of her had also been abducted. She would have simply seen the woman as a gentle woman with a well-behaved son and a husband who treated her fairly. The woman’s father-in-law was the village chief, and they didn’t even need to go out and work like their peers to make a living. In such a village, they could be considered a happy family.
This was the most tragic part.
The victim had almost forgotten the pain she felt when she first arrived here, even come to love her abuser, thinking that ‘he doesn’t treat me too badly.’ Especially after giving birth to a child, maternal instincts make her more willing to stay.
What could Song Zeqian do?
What more could Shang Lu do?
Song Zeqian had once said that they could save one person at a time.
Could they save the woman on the third floor?
These questions troubled Shang Lu.
Although Song Zeqian had once comforted her, she could never stop empathizing with these sufferings.
This family in this abnormal environment including the second son who contacted Song Zeqian.
And what secrets did the child Ah Zhi hide?
Shang Lu felt a headache coming on.
It seemed like there was a thread that should connect all of this, but for now, she couldn’t find the answer and felt a bit confused.
Nevertheless, Song Zeqian was the one accompanying her to rescue Xiao Mi, so she believed in him.
The next morning.
Everyone was sitting in the living room having breakfast when they noticed someone was missing.
Lin Yanyan asked, puzzled, “Where’s Meng Li?”
Song Zeqian replied, “He went to the chicken coop.”
Everyone : “???”
Song Zeqian explained that it was because Meng Li had a germaphobia and was working on overcoming it.
Jiang Jing, looking concerned, suggested, “Let’s go find him. We should at least have him come back to eat together.”
“Okay,” Song Zeqian actually appreciates Meng Li’s attitude of overcoming difficulties when faced with them, so he plans to take others to learn from it.
They had only eaten half of their meal when Shang Lu and Lin Yanyan each took a large steamed bun in hand and followed along.
Led by Zhang Qian, everyone arrived at the chicken coop.
At this moment.
A group of chickens surrounded Meng Li, and the ground was covered in chicken droppings. It seemed like it hadn’t been cleaned for a long time. Meng Li stood in the middle.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Meng Li asked, “You guys…”
He didn’t finish his sentence. It seemed that he couldn’t continue speaking and broke the silence, bending over and continuing to retch.
He hadn’t eaten much to begin with, and now he had thrown up everything.
Even the chickens kept their distance from him, huddled in the far corner of the chicken coop.
Watching this scene, everyone fell silent.
Lin Yanyan had a piece of steamed bun in her mouth, unable to swallow it or spit it out. Eventually…
*Vomit*
On the other side.
Everyone’s life in the countryside continues, and they have spent several days almost cut off from the outside world. Meanwhile, <The Most Hated Her and Him> updated their Weibo.
@The_Most_Hated_Her_and_Him(V) : [Teacher Shang Lu, Lin Yanyan, Jiang Jing, Xu Ze, and Song Zeqian will be absent from this recording due to work reasons.]
Netizens : [???]
Some clever netizens had already guessed.
[Is it because <Evil> has started training? I saw a video posted by Lin Yanyan’s studio.]
[Five out of six guests are absent. Is this even reasonable? Hahaha.]
[Will I lose my happiness?]
[Tomorrow is the recording day. Why hasn’t the production team announced a broadcast delay?]
[@Ye_Lu, what do you think?]
[I just realized that Ye Lu used to mock Lin Yanyan for being excluded, but it turns out he’s the one being excluded (suddenly enlightened).]
However, soon after, Ye Lu retweeted the Weibo.
@Ye_Lu(V) : [So, please follow the perspective of the reporter Xiao Ye to find them!]
Yes, the theme of this episode is still ‘visiting workplace,’ but this time it’s just Ye Lu visiting everyone alone.
Usually, the recording lasts for two days and one night, but this time it has been reduced to just one day in terms of duration.
This is the result of a discussion between Song Zeqian and the production team, trying to find a balance.
The recording time for the show is one week after they have been living in the village, and Song Zeqian also wants to take the opportunity to let netizens evaluate everyone’s changes. This is like an ‘exam’ for them.
It wasn’t until the second day that the production team’s staff were already on their way that Song Zeqian informed everyone of this news.
Everyone : “?!?”
Meng Li said slowly, “This has nothing to do with me, right?”
He is not a part of this variety show.
Song Zeqian : “I’ve already contacted your agency.”
Meng Li : “…”
Forced to become a guest.
And at this moment, Ye Lu is already on the road.
In the live broadcast room, there is a preview of a vote that hasn’t started yet.
【After a week of training, who is the one that has changed the most in your heart】
Song Zeqian also conveyed this ‘vote’ to everyone on behalf of the program team.
Everyone got up early and waited for Ye Lu according to the time given by the programteam.
Half an hour passed, but they didn’t see his figure.
However, two children ran past the door, shouting, “A star has come to the village! A big star!”
Everyone : “?”
Song Zeqian : “Well… I’m not sure what’s going on, but let’s go over.”
So everyone set off to the village gate to find Ye Lu.
And then they saw a strange scene.
A dozen or so elderly men and women were surrounding Ye Lu, bombarding him with questions.
“How old are you, young man?”
“How much do you earn in a year? Is your job stable?”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“What kind of girls do you like?”
And Ye Lu, who was surrounded in the middle, was wearing a troubled expression on his face.
Upon seeing his companions arrive, he frantically gestured with his eyes : Save me!
Because the production team had informed Ye Lu in advance that the identities of the others were concealed, he naturally couldn’t directly seek help from them or even reveal that he knew them.
In the eyes of the villagers, Ye Lu was the only star here.
His facial features were exceptionally good, and he had recently changed his hairstyle, even shaving his head to improve his hair quality, making him look a bit more ‘honest’ than usual, which endeared him to the older folks.
[Ye Lu looks so helpless.]
[Ye Lu! The hot commodity in the dating market!]
At this moment, one of the older ladies finally asked, “Mr. Star, what’s your name?”
Without thinking, Ye Lu replied, “My name is Ou Yi.”
The lady responded, “Ou Yi? That name sounds quite auspicious, not bad, not bad.”
Everyone who knew the truth : “…?”
Outrageous.
[Ou Yi? Oh yeah!]
[Well, after all, Ou Yi is Xiao Taoyan’s seventh member.]
[Ou Yi : Please settle the appearance fee.]
Regardless of her natal family and friends, I think that ZQ’s reasons to stay is more than maternal instinct and Stockholm Syndrome.
1. If she had strong maternal instinct, she wouldn’t want to be separated from her son. Either she stay or run away with her son.
2. If she somehow successfully escaped the village and the search from the neighborhood town police, she would be a young single parent with a son of unknown father and without marriage certificate. We know how harsh society treat single mothers and widows. Most of people wouldn’t care for them or wouldn’t want to have contact with them. The evil ones treat them as if they’re plaything or a mistress. Only a handful of people would treat them well with good intentions. ZQ and her son would need a very strong heart, immense hard working and luck to life well by then.
3. ZQ’s health was compromised after she gave birth to Ah Zhi and her prognosis is she can’t have more children in her life. ZQ might think that no man would want an infertile woman as a wife while she’s still hoping to have a family of her own.
Whether it’s brainwashing, Stockholm Syndrome, or both, the village chief’s family and the villagers have undermined ZQ’s will to stand up against all of those challenges.
I felt that it was hinted to that she behaved since anything else would make her life worse. She could be biding her time.
Ah. They’ll expose them through vlogs.