"Hey? You really have to hand it to them, the builds of these two actually look quite similar! And it's a man and a woman, too!"
"This woman, judging by her figure, why does she look a bit like Li Xueqin?"
"Li Xueqin? Could it be the Maoxueying combination?"
Accompanied by the lively discussion in the comment section, the car on the live broadcast screen slowly came to a halt. The two people inside opened the doors and got out.
Their faces appeared on the livestream for the very first time.
They were none other than the singer Maomao and the talk show actress Li Xueqin.
"Look, I told you it was Li Xueqin!"
"I guessed right! It really is Maoxueying! The Back to Field production team is really something else—the duo they mentioned turned out to be a variety show duo! I kept thinking it was a singer duo the whole time!"
"Not me! They said they both had their own songs, that they were both very popular, and that it was a male and female duo. No matter who heard that, their first thought would be Phoenix Legend, right?"
Soon, the guest list for the first episode of Back to Field was trending on Weibo.
Weibo trending rank six: The duo mentioned by the Back to Field production team turns out to be Maoxueying.
Meanwhile, Maomao and Li Xueqin had already made their way to the outside of Mushroom House.
Huang Lei was already up, busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
Hearing the commotion outside, he glanced over and spotted the two of them standing outside the door, peeking in.
"Oh my, if it isn't Maomao and Xueqin!"
With that, Huang Lei walked out of the kitchen to greet them.
The two of them dragged their suitcases and pushed open the door to walk in.
Maomao gave a shy smile. "Hello, Teacher Huang."
Li Xueqin, beside him, was much more natural, grinning widely.
"Oh my, Hello, Teacher Huang! I've missed you to death. I finally get to feast to my heart's content this time!"
As she spoke, she even stretched her neck to peek into the kitchen.
"Teacher Huang, are you cooking?"
Seeing her like this, Huang Lei couldn't help but smile knowingly.
With someone as carefree as her around, the atmosphere for the first live broadcast shouldn't be too awkward.
"I'm afraid you aren't missing me—you're missing my cooking!"
Hearing this, Li Xueqin let out a cheeky chuckle.
"It's all the same, it's all the same. Loving your cooking is basically loving you, too."
The two of them chatted and laughed, while Maomao didn't say a word, just standing nearby with a beaming smile and listening.
Seeing him like this, Huang Lei smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's wonderful that you two are here. Come on, let's head inside and chat."
"I asked Wang Zhengyu about this yesterday, but he kept it from us and refused to say a word no matter what."
Huang Lei placed Li Xueqin's suitcase in another room, and the three of them walked into the living room.
"Where is Teacher He?"
Li Xueqin looked around in all directions and asked, puzzled.
Hearing this, Huang Lei jerked his chin toward the inner room.
"He's sleeping inside, hasn't gotten up yet."
Seeming to hear the voices outside, He Jiong called out from the inner room, "Who says I haven't gotten up? I've been awake for a long time, okay? I just haven't gotten out of bed yet."
"Wait for me a moment, everyone. I'm just going to wash up briefly."
Hearing He Jiong's words, Huang Lei couldn't help but smile.
"Actually, last night the two of us were guessing what time you would arrive today. But after discussing it for a long time, we finally agreed that the production team wouldn't be so inhumane to the guests. Since the live broadcast starts at 8:00, we figured it would probably be calculated from the moment you started heading over here."
"That's why Teacher He ended up sleeping in today. Never in our wildest dreams did we expect the broadcast to start the moment you got out of the car, and now you've caught him right in bed. Haha."
Maomao gave a shy smile.
"Actually, we arrived in the neighborhood yesterday afternoon, we just didn't head over here until this morning."
At this, Li Xueqin chimed in indignantly, "You said it! And they wouldn't let us contact you, nor were we allowed to leak the news. They had us acting like secret agents."
While the few of them were chatting, the viewers in the livestream room were also engaged in lively discussions.
"Haha, Maomao still can't let go of his shyness. Look at Xueqin, she's chatting just like she's sitting on a brick kang in Northeast China."
"Maomao is so funny, he blushes just saying a couple of words to Teacher Huang."
"Hey, do you guys know what Maomao's current state proves?"
"Proves what?"
"Haha, it proves that Maomao hasn't been drinking this time, otherwise he'd be talking a lot more than he is now, and his face would be white."
At this moment, the production crew members watching the bullet comments in the livestream room couldn't help bursting into laughter.
After chatting for a while, He Jiong finished washing up and walked out.
"Maomao, Xueqin."
With that, He Jiong went over and gave both of them an affectionate hug.
"Jiongjiong, keep them company and chat for a bit. I'll go make breakfast first, it'll be ready soon."
Seeing He Jiong come out, Huang Lei dropped those words and turned to walk outside.
Before long, Huang Lei finished making breakfast. It was very simple: noodles.
Maomao ate in small, dainty bites, looking very refined.
Li Xueqin, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. She dug in with huge mouthfuls, finishing one bowl and immediately asking for another, without a shred of embarrassment, completely ignoring the fact that they were on a live broadcast.
"Xueqin, you do know that we're being broadcast live this time, right?"
He Jiong teased with a smile.
Yet his words didn't slow down Li Xueqin's eating speed by even a fraction.
"I know. Whatever, I'm already like this, what else is there left for me to lose?"
As she spoke, she even brought her rice bowl right up to the live broadcast camera and kept eating with an expression of pure bliss.
"Teacher Huang's culinary skills are top-notch! These noodles are insanely delicious, oh my, simply the best."
"Oops, sorry, sorry, I forgot you guys can't eat any."
He Jiong and Huang Lei were kept in stitches by Li Xueqin's antics.
At this moment, the viewers in the livestream room were also somewhat overwhelmed by Li Xueqin's display.
"Is she really this shameless in real life?!"
"Pfft, you've got Teacher Huang, I've got Master Tong."
"Oh? Old pickled cabbage flavor is worth having, complete with the authentic foot odor of a 50-year-old maiden."
"Ugh, upstairs, damn you to hell, I'm eating instant noodles right now!"
Mushroom House.
After finishing their meal and tidying up, the group sat down to chat once more.
Huang Lei looked at the two of them with a smile.
"What would you two like to eat for lunch?"
Hearing this, a strange expression flashed across He Jiong's face, but it quickly returned to normal.
Maomao and Li Xueqin exchanged glances.
Li Xueqin was the first to speak up. "Teacher Huang, could I order some braised pork belly?"
Huang Lei smiled. "Sure, small problem. What about Maomao?"
Maomao gave a shy smile and said rather bashfully, "I'd like to have Teacher Huang's lion's head meatballs."
Huang Lei gently patted his chest.
"No problem."
Then his tone abruptly shifted.
"However, the rules of our program have changed a bit this time, slightly different from before."
Hearing this, Li Xueqin and Maomao instantly felt a bad premonition in their hearts.
He Jiong extended his hand, his thumb gently pinching the tip of his pinky finger, revealing only the very tip of the pinky.
"That's right, just a tiny little bit different."