Starlet Taotie Chapter 8
Chapter 8 Food Delivery
The next morning, after everyone finished breakfast, Director Zou announced the day’s tasks.
Planting trees, carrying water, and repairing roads.
After yesterday’s painful lesson, the guests were much more cautious and didn’t dare make decisions lightly.
Director Zou said, “Today, dinner choices will be based on the order in which you complete your tasks. Dinner is divided into three tiers: top, middle, and bottom. And just so you all know, the top tier is a luxurious feast!”
The moment Jiang Tao heard ‘luxurious feast’, she couldn’t sit still anymore. “Then let’s get going!”
“No rush,” Director Zou said. “We’ll form teams first.”
“To avoid what happened yesterday, where too many people crowded into one task, each task today only has two slots. First come, first served.”
“To keep things fair, we’ll be using rock-paper-scissors!”
Jiang Tao had never expected that after dominating the world for so many years, she would end up losing at something like rock-paper-scissors.
She and Tang Yuxia were forced to choose road repair.
Tang Yuxia was still upset about Jiang Tao’s actions yesterday. And last night, when she chatted with Le Hui, Le Hui told her quite a bit of Jiang Tao’s rumors.
Since she had been training overseas, Tang Yuxia wasn’t very familiar with the domestic entertainment industry. She hadn’t expected Jiang Tao to be such a person, and her impression of her worsened even further. The entire way, she didn’t speak to Jiang Tao at all, remaining cold and distant.
However, Jiang Tao’s mind was completely occupied with the luxurious feast waiting that evening. She didn’t pay Tang Yuxia the slightest bit of attention.
Tang Yuxia sulked for quite a while, yet didn’t even get a single glance from Jiang Tao, which only made her feel even more frustrated.
When they arrived, the production team first handed them safety helmets, masks, and gloves. Their task was to transport sand and gravel.
Seeing the dirty little wheelbarrow and the mud-stained work uniforms, Tang Yuxia instinctively frowned.
But Jiang Tao had already changed into the work clothes at lightning speed and started loading sand and gravel onto the wheelbarrow.
One bag, two bags, three bags…
Before long, the wheelbarrow was stacked with cement bags up to half a person’s height.
A worker nearby kindly advised, “Miss, it’s very heavy. Don’t carry so much at once.”
“It’s fine, I can handle it.” As she spoke, Jiang Tao casually lifted the wheelbarrow and jogged off with it, as if she were pushing a cart full of cotton rather than cement.
The workers were all stunned by this.
They had thought she was just a slender, pretty girl, but when it came to working, she was comparable to a burly man.
Seeing that Jiang Tao had already started, Tang Yuxia, no matter how unwilling she felt, didn’t want to be outdone by her. Gritting her teeth, she changed into the work clothes.
Watching Jiang Tao effortlessly move a full cart of cement, she assumed it would be easy. But after struggling for quite a while, the sack of cement didn’t budge at all.
Meanwhile, Jiang Tao had already returned for her second trip.
Tang Yuxia: “……”
Is she even human?!
Transporting sand and gravel was both exhausting and monotonous, especially for celebrities like them, who were usually pampered and had never done manual labor.
But Jiang Tao didn’t complain at all. Carrying cement bags heavier than herself, she went back and forth tirelessly.
Dust smudged her small face, yet it didn’t diminish her beauty in the slightest. Instead, those eyes filled with anticipation, shining like stars, gave her a unique charm.
Zhang Ce was deeply moved by the sight.
After seeing Jiang Tao exploit loopholes in the rules yesterday, he had assumed she would do the same today. He never expected her to work this hard–it made him see her in a new light.
He noticed that Jiang Tao had been muttering to herself the whole time. Curious about what she was saying, he moved closer with the cameraman.
Then he heard Jiang Tao muttering under her breath, “Loading luxurious feast: 10%… 20%… 30%…”
Zhang Ce: “……”
And that was when I took an arrow to the knee!!
By the time lunch rolled around, Jiang Tao had already completed most of the task.
For lunch, they ate together with the workers.
After a whole morning of getting familiar, the regular workers were no longer as reserved, chatting while they ate. As the conversation went on, the topic gradually shifted to food.
The foreman remarked, “A few years back, a wild boar ran down from the mountain. It got into the fields, ate the crops, and almost hurt someone. The town had to send a lot of people to deal with it, and after they finally killed it, the whole village had a wild boar feast.”
Jiang Tao: (?﹃?)
Zhang Ce coughed lightly. “Wild boars are also protected animals.”
Jiang Tao: “…………”
One nap was all it took for all her food to become protected animals. Is this world even livable anymore?!
The other workers joined in the discussion as well.
“Hasn’t it been years since anyone saw wild boars in the mountains?”
“Who says? Not long ago, the forestry station even issued a notice saying there were signs of wild boar activity. They told every household to be careful.”
After that, the conversation drifted away from food.
Jiang Tao lost interest. She quickly finished her meal, stretched a little, and went straight back to carrying cement.
After working the entire morning, Tang Yuxia felt more exhausted than after ten straight hours of dance practice.
She had originally thought she could rest a bit at noon, but didn’t expect Jiang Tao to go this hard.
She had heard from Le Hui that Jiang Tao, in order to regain popularity, had bribed the production team to set up a prop table, using a table-eating stunt to build a foodie, tough-girl persona.
Combined with what happened yesterday, Jiang Tao was already someone who would stop at nothing to get famous in Tang Yuxia’s eyes.
Tang Yuxia gritted her teeth.
Don’t show weakness!
You can’t lose to someone as fake as Jiang Tao!
Driven by that determination, Tang Yuxia unleashed a surprising burst of energy.
With both of them working hard, they finished all the tasks in less than an hour.
And according to Zhang Ce’s reliable information, they were the first to finish.
Jiang Tao: “Yay! Luxurious feast!!”
Beside her, Tang Yuxia was so exhausted she couldn’t even lift her fingers.
But then Zhang Ce delivered a piece of bad news. In order to make way for the cement transport vehicles, the car that had brought them here had already left. They would have to walk back on foot.
Tang Yuxia: “!!!”
However, with both follow-camera directors completely unmoved, Tang Yuxia had no choice but to force herself to start the long walk back on her own two feet.
Meanwhile, Jiang Tao was in a very good mood just thinking about the luxurious feast waiting for her.
If Zhang Ce hadn’t said they had to check in together in order to claim dinner, she would have already run all the way back to their base camp by now.
She glanced at Tang Yuxia, who was barely moving step by step, and, in order to get to the feast faster, suggested, “How about I go ask the foreman to borrow a small cart and push you back?”
Tang Yuxia: “?!!”
Looking at Jiang Tao’s earnest expression, her heart tightened.
She didn’t believe for a second that Jiang Tao was trying to help her. Instead, she only felt that this was another attempt to use her to build her own persona, so she firmly and righteously refused.
Jiang Tao furrowed her brows. “But you’re walking too slowly.”
“I’m not!” Tang Yuxia immediately sped up.
Jiang Tao also followed suit, increasing her pace.
The two of them chased each other like this, and before they knew it, they were actually speed-walking down the road.
Zhang Ce and the others, who had been left far behind: “…桥头麻袋 (qiáotóu mádài)!!!”
(TLN: Lmao cause it sounds like ‘ちょっと待って (chotto dàitte)’, which means ‘wait up’ in japanese. Gif below is a variation, but refers to the same japanese line.)
…
Completely focused on their race, the two didn’t hear Zhang Ce and the others calling after them. Only when they finally snapped back to reality did they realize they were lost.
The snow-white cement road stretched all the way into the mountains. On both sides, dense thickets rustled, occasionally interrupted by birdsong. Not a single person could be seen, making the surroundings feel eerily quiet.
The mountain air was cool. A light autumn breeze swept across their sweat-dampened skin, sending a chill that raised goosebumps.
Tang Yuxia shivered and rubbed her arms.
Her resentment toward Jiang Tao deepened even more. If it weren’t for competing with her, she wouldn’t have ended up in such a damn place.
Suddenly, a rumbling sound seemed to come from the mountain.
Tang Yuxia jumped in fright and grabbed Jiang Tao. “Did you hear that?”
“Mhm!” Jiang Tao’s nostrils flared slightly as a slow smile spread across her face. “I heard it. It’s the sound of food delivering itself to me.”
Tang Yuxia: “???”
At that moment, she saw a dark figure rush down from the mountain at incredible speed. Some of the low shrubs were directly knocked aside as it charged through without slowing down. In the blink of an eye, it appeared right in front of them, completely unimpeded.
A wild boar!
This was Tang Yuxia’s first time being so close to a wild boar. She was so frightened she couldn’t even make a sound.
It was then that she heard a steady voice.
“Get behind me.”
Tang Yuxia’s mind was already blank. She instinctively obeyed the command.
The slender figure in front of her felt, at that moment, like an immense mountain—unexpectedly reassuring and solid.
Facing the charging wild boar, Jiang Tao didn’t retreat. Instead, she stepped forward and rushed straight toward it.
At that moment, Zhang Ce and the others finally arrived and just so happened to witness the scene. Their voices cracked in sheer panic. “NOOO!!!”
Yet just as everyone thought Jiang Tao was surely doomed—
The wild boar, that had already charged up close, suddenly acted as if it was about to crash into something terrifying. It screeched and desperately tried to brake with its hind legs.
But its massive body was far from agile. It flailed about like a headless fly, trying to escape in all directions, before finally slamming headfirst into a cement wall and killing itself instantly.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Zhang Ce hadn’t even finished closing his mouth.
After a long moment of stunned silence, everyone finally reacted. The other follow-camera director immediately called the police, while Zhang Ce and a cameraman carefully approached Jiang Tao and Tang Yuxia.
The moment Jiang Tao saw Zhang Ce, she immediately remembered about the ‘nationally protected animals’ and quickly pulled her hand back from the wild boar, hurriedly explaining, “I didn’t kill it! It smashed into the wall on its own!”
Zhang Ce: “……”
You think I didn’t see the saliva at the corner of your mouth?!
He didn’t even have the energy to question how the wild boar died. His voice was hoarse as he asked, “Ar–Are you alright?”
Jiang Tao nodded her head. “I’m fine.”
Behind her, a faint voice came out.
“I’m not fine.” Tang Yuxia said, feeling embarrassed, “I… I twisted my ankle.”
Who would’ve thought the one standing in front didn’t get a scratch, while the one who had hidden behind her ended up injured instead.
The police and Director Zou’s team arrived shortly after.
No one had expected such a dangerous situation to occur.
Wild boars were extremely dangerous creatures. Not only were they tough and heavily built, their impact force was tremendous, and their bite strength was terrifying. Even a few strong men would struggle against one, let alone two girls like Jiang Tao and Tang Yuxia.
Although the follow-camera director had reported that there were no injuries, the police still brought an ambulance.
Upon arrival, they found the wild boar completely gone, stone cold dead. Meanwhile, the two girls were completely unharmed. Well, except for Tang Yuxia, who had twisted her ankle, but even that didn’t look serious. It wasn’t anything close to a fracture; at most, a bit of medicated oil for a night or two would fix it.
How inconceivable!
And after Zhang Ce finished recounting what had happened, the listeners fell silent.
That’s even more f*cking inconceivable, okay?!
ED Note: Reminds me of the princess bride ahahha
