Chapter 70: Advertising

Su Wan-ning knew that pineapples were notoriously difficult to store; in the local heat, once they ripened, they had to be harvested quickly or else they would rot in the fields. There was no way she could handle such a vast pineapple plantation on her own, which was why she devised a plan to bring along the other three unfortunate souls.

So, that afternoon, the show’s schedule was set: everyone would go to the pineapple fields to pick pineapples. After the wedding, the group headed to the banquet hall, and Feng Rui, Yu Xin, and Yin Shan-shan clustered together.

“In this scorching weather, we have to go out in the afternoon, and there’s not a single shade in those pineapple fields. We’ll probably get heatstroke,” Feng Rui was the first to complain.

High temperatures were always a nightmare for female celebrities; they couldn’t go out without an assistant holding an umbrella. Yet Yin Shan-shan had endured in such an environment for hours, and the foundation on her face had even darkened a shade. She had cursed Su Wan-ning a thousand times in her heart, but now she simply smiled, pretending to be magnanimous, “Wan-ning has no choice. There are so many pineapples, she can’t handle them all herself, so she wants us to help.”

Yu Xin sighed beside her, “It’s not a big deal for me, but Da Xi has had poor appetite these days. I’m really worried she might get heatstroke this afternoon. How could I explain that to her parents?”

The three of them walked along, voicing their complaints subtly for the cameras, but inwardly they had already decided to muddle through and shirk as much as possible.

After lunch, while everyone was still napping, Su Wan-ning’s knocking woke them. Her first stop was Yin Shan-shan’s room.

Su Wan-ning knocked loudly, “Shan-shan, time to get up! We have to go pick pineapples!”

Yin Shan-shan, roused from her nap, opened her eyes; her face was dark, a shadow flickered in her gaze, as if she wanted to devour Su Wan-ning on the spot.

Su Wan-ning had come alone. When Yin Shan-shan opened the door, she couldn’t even force a smile.

“Why are you alone? Where are the others?” she asked.

Su Wan-ning blinked, “They’re still sleeping. I came to get you first, Shan-shan. Let’s go.”

Her innocent and enthusiastic demeanor left Yin Shan-shan with no grounds for complaint. Yet as their eyes met, both could see a familiar hostility in the other’s gaze.

“What about the kids?” Yin Shan-shan asked as they went to find the others.

Su Wan-ning smiled, “It’s so hot today—I was afraid something might happen to them like when we went sand-sledding last time, so I told them to stay home.”

Her words were clearly pointed. Yin Shan-shan’s eyes flickered, and she said nothing more the whole way, which only confirmed Su Wan-ning’s suspicions.

Soon, the four of them arrived at the pineapple fields. It was indeed sweltering, and the pineapples were covered in spines; even with gloves on, a careless move could easily result in a prick.

Feng Rui was complaining nonstop. With the children absent, Yu Xin had no one to put on a show for, so she could only pretend to be busy, occasionally getting up for water or to wipe sweat, but not picking many pineapples at all.

Yin Shan-shan could hardly bear such hardship and intended to loaf around, but Su Wan-ning kept a close eye on her, sticking by her side, bending over to pick pineapples while chatting.

“Shan-shan, you’re amazing. Even as such a big star, you bring your child to experience rural life. Yang-yang’s childhood must be so rich and wonderful.”

Yin Shan-shan had no interest in Su Wan-ning’s attentions. She bent over, letting sweat drip, and wiped it away angrily.

“By the way, you were the brand ambassador for Ming Shang before; now the brand reached out to me, which was a surprise. Still, for such a big brand to choose someone young like me, I couldn’t say no. Shan-shan, you aren’t upset about this, are you?”

Su Wan-ning deliberately mentioned what should not be mentioned, and as soon as the topic of the stolen endorsement came up, Yin Shan-shan’s anger flared. She stood up, hands on her hips, and forced a smile.

“Of course not. It’s fair competition. You finally landed such a major gig—you must do your best. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. But… why bring this up now? Did I do something to make you misunderstand?”

Yin Shan-shan played the victim at the right moment, subtly passing the ball back to Su Wan-ning.

She expected Su Wan-ning to be speechless, but Su Wan-ning simply smiled, looking even more aggrieved.

“It’s nothing, really. It’s just that lately, both Ming Shang and my social media have been flooded with people claiming to be your fans, saying some really nasty things, so…”

Those internet trolls had been arranged by Yin Shan-shan herself, hoping to show Ming Shang the price of losing her as their spokesperson.

But no one expected Su Wan-ning to call her out in public.

“Is that so? I’m not sure. But with so many fans defending me, they probably just mean well. I hope you don’t mind. I’ll talk to them when I get back.”

“That would be best. Oh, Shan-shan, I’ve already picked two baskets—are you on your third? So fast!”

The basket at Yin Shan-shan’s feet held only three or four pineapples; that was all she had picked all afternoon.

[No way, is Yin Shan-shan slacking off?]

[She’s picked less than a third of what the others have…]

Looking at Su Wan-ning’s earnest smile, Yin Shan-shan could only grit her teeth and swallow her frustration, bowing her head under Su Wan-ning’s watchful gaze and picking pineapples all afternoon, until her back nearly gave out.

Su Wan-ning selected the two largest, ripest pineapples and set up a board beside the field.

“I’ll make some pineapple tea to cool everyone down. The weather today is unbearable. First, you cut the pineapple into chunks, then some into small cubes to mash, and leave the rest as is…”

She explained as she worked, but pineapple tea was more complicated than regular fruit tea, and many viewers in the livestream began to protest.

[Is it really this hard? Sister Su, think of us clumsy folk!]

[Can’t learn it +1]

“Is it difficult? Well, if you think it’s troublesome, you can go to Chang Xiang Jian, that’s a new product coming soon.”

[Wonderful! Just hop on the subway and you can get real pineapple tea.]

[We can order delivery at home, Sister Su is awesome!]

[Put it on sale, hurry up…]

The website team watched the livestream closely, and when they saw Su Wan-ning openly advertising her shop, they were displeased.

“Wan-ning, you need to focus on the broadcast and the show itself. Try not to mention unrelated topics,” Wang Zan said, barely containing his anger.

Su Wan-ning frowned at first, but understood Wang Zan’s position as director.

“I understand. The audience just asked, so I mentioned it casually, nothing more.”

It was the first time she spoke to Wang Zan in such a gentle manner. He was momentarily stunned and returned to his seat without another word.