The Fake Daughter Want to Be Villainess - Chapter 11

The old person was hunched over, their back severely bent, with almost completely white hair and a face full of deep wrinkles.

They held a rope in their hand, the other end of which was tied around a dog. The dog was a common rural breed, yellowish-brown, and currently had its tail between its legs, baring its teeth, and eyeing her warily.

Jiang Shu almost jumped up from the ground, and in her haste to retreat, she missed a step!

She fell backward, and all she saw was the roof flashing before her eyes, then her vision settled on a vast expanse of clear blue sky. A hand steadied her back firmly.

The rural dog rushed to the door, barking wildly.

The hunched old person gently tugged on the rope, calling out slowly: “Yuanbao!”

The dog barked a couple more times before wagging its tail and returning to the old person’s side. The old person bent down, patted its head, and then squinted suspiciously at Jiang Shu and Pei Wang: “Who are you?”

Jiang Shu quickly regained her balance, glancing at the jacket that the little dog had stepped on, and shyly averted her gaze. She introduced herself: “Hello, Grandma!”

Worried that the old lady might not hear clearly due to her age, Jiang Shu raised her voice and said loudly: “We are participants from the show’s production team. Grandma, do you have any tasks you need help with?”

The old lady furrowed her brows in confusion.

Production team? Show participants? She understood the last sentence, though.

The old lady squinted, lifted her hand, and pointed to several bags of trash by the door: “Can you help me throw out the trash?”

A task! It’s a task!

Jiang Shu’s eyes lit up.

She quickly agreed and walked over to the door, bending down to pick up the trash bags. But before her fingers could touch the bags, the dog named Yuanbao barked loudly again!

Jiang Shu swiftly withdrew her hand and pressed herself against the wall.

“Yuanbao—” The old lady tugged on the rope again, calling out in a complaining tone. Yuanbao wagged its tail, ignoring the old lady’s voice, and continued to bark persistently at Jiang Shu: “Woof! Woof! Woof!”

The old person helplessly wound the rope around her hand, trying to keep Yuanbao within a smaller range: “I’m so sorry, little girl.”

She apologized: “Yuanbao thinks you’re trying to steal something from the house.”

The old lady tied the half-wound rope to the doorknob and bent down to pick up the trash bags: “I’ll just throw them out myself.”

Just as she picked up two bags, she saw a hand suddenly appear in her field of vision. Jiang Shu’s voice trembled as she spoke again: “It’s okay.”

Jiang Shu took the bags from the old lady’s hand and stole a glance at Yuanbao. Taking advantage of the moment when the dog wasn’t looking, she quickly grabbed the other trash bags and retreated several steps: “Grandma, we’re leaving now!”

The old lady leaned against the doorframe and slowly nodded: “Alright.” She thanked Jiang Shu again: “Thank you, little girl.”

Jiang Shu didn’t think there was anything to thank her for; she was just after the points the old lady could give.

She carried the trash and walked a few steps, then suddenly realized something and turned to look at Pei Wang.

Before she could say anything, she saw him willingly extend his hand towards her.

Pei Wang’s hand was beautiful, with a slender strength reminiscent of a pine tree or bamboo, perfectly suited for artistic pursuits.

Jiang Shu tilted her head to look, then shoved the few bags of trash into Pei Wang’s artistic hands.

There was a garbage station at the village entrance, where they threw the trash and washed their hands at a nearby faucet.

Without anything to dry their hands, Jiang Shu frowned and looked around, then turned to the cameraman following them not far away.

“Brother,” she smiled sweetly at the cameraman, “can you lend me a tissue?”

The cameraman instinctively patted his pocket, then embarrassedly smiled and showed Jiang Shu his empty hand.

He hadn’t brought any tissues with him.

Disappointed, Jiang Shu withdrew her gaze, but then she caught a glimpse of Pei Wang taking a pack of tissues from his pocket.

She blinked her eyelashes in surprise and quickly walked over, using the same sweet tone to call out, “Brother—”

One must be flexible. Capable of playing a Vicious Supporting Female Character while also shamelessly using connections.

Pei Wang paused his motion of opening the package, glanced at Jiang Shu, and then continued to pull out a piece of tissue, handing the remaining tissues along with the pack over to her.

Jiang Shu took them, wiping her hands while turning to ask the cameraman, “Is one task worth one point?”

The cameraman nodded.

That meant she already had one point. Jiang Shu arched her brow, preparing to call out for Pei Wang to help find another task when she noticed the cameraman looking at her, seemingly hesitating.

She suddenly felt a foreboding sense: “What’s wrong?”

The cameraman waved his hand, and then the director’s voice echoed in their earpieces: “Just a reminder, when receiving tasks, the villagers will give a point coupon. After completing the task, the villagers will stamp the coupon as proof.”

Point coupon?

Jiang Shu glanced down at her empty hands, then hesitated before looking up at Pei Wang.

With a glimmer of hope, she asked, “Did that grandma forget to give us the coupon? Should we go back and check?”

Pei Wang didn’t refute her; he softly agreed, “Let’s go then.”

They turned back and quickly found the house where the old lady lived.

The door was already closed. Jiang Shu approached the door and leaned against the peephole to see inside, but it was an inward-viewing type, so she couldn’t see anything.

Feeling a bit uncertain, she asked, “Should we knock?”

Pei Wang walked over, his dirty coat neatly folded and resting in the crook of his arm: “Let’s not disturb the old lady.”

After pausing for a moment, he continued, “Besides, this is probably the grandmother’s private task.”

Pei Wang’s words were very tactful, and Jiang Shu jumped down the steps feeling downcast: “I understand.”

She sighed and said, “I was mistaken.”

The grandmother wasn’t someone arranged by the Program Team at all.Jiang Shu felt a bit disappointed. She looked around and then turned her head toward Pei Wang, saying, “Shall we continue forward in this direction?”

Pei Wang nodded. He walked over to Jiang Shu’s side and accompanied her for a while before gently furrowing his brow.

Jiang Shu’s disappointment was too apparent. After pondering for a moment, he rummaged through his coat pocket and softly said, “Jiang Shu.”

Pei Wang’s voice suddenly sounded, causing Jiang Shu to instinctively turn her head.

Before she could look over, she felt something brush against her fingertips: “Because you completed a private task for the grandma, here’s a reward for you—”

A piece of chocolate.

Jiang Shu paused for a moment, quickly wrapping the chocolate in her palm and leaning a bit closer to Pei Wang, whispering, “How do you have chocolate?”

“I brought it this morning,” he explained. “I came from the company and didn’t have breakfast, so I took some chocolate with me.”

Jiang Shu turned her head, stealing a glance at the cameraman, and then subtly moved to block the camera, quickly unwrapping the chocolate and lowering her head to bite into it.

Afterward, she carefully folded the wrapper and tucked it into her pocket, whispering, “Thank you.”

The young girl’s spirits visibly lifted, and Pei Wang lowered his gaze, realizing she was still a child; a little kindness always worked wonders.

The path had opened up a bit, and people began to move about. She noticed a man in a straw hat sitting by the road with a basket of fish in front of him. He frowned and sighed loudly.

Jiang Shu blinked and glanced over at Pei Wang, then cheerfully ran up to him.

“Uncle,” she bent down to make eye contact with the man, “What’s the matter?”

The man looked up; his skin was deep brown, clearly the result of years of sun exposure. “Little girl.”

He pointed at his entire basket of fish. “I can’t sell these fish, and I’m really worried.”

Jiang Shu gasped lightly and squatted in front of the basket, puzzled. “Can’t sell them?” After thinking it over, she added, “Is it because they’re priced too high? Or is the quality of the fish not good?”

“It’s because this is a fishing village,” Pei Wang explained from behind her.

The fishing village is by the sea, where seafood supports the entire village. Everyone goes out to fish; no one comes into town to buy fish at all.

He squatted down in front of the basket as well, pressing his fingertips against the edge of the basket and gently asking, “How many do you need to sell?”

The uncle held up one finger. “One.”

He pulled out two blue slips of paper from his pocket, stared at them for a moment, and then took one out. “I want to sell it for ten yuan.”

Pei Wang didn’t take it; his gaze flicked up and landed on the other slip. “What’s the task for that one?”

The uncle scratched his ear, saying, “That one, oh.”

He broke into a grin. “With that ten yuan, you can help me buy some vegetables.”

The uncle complained, “In this broken place, vegetables are really hard to get—”

“Hmm.” Pei Wang naturally responded and stretched out his hand. “Then I’ll help you.”

The uncle was taken aback for a moment. “Huh?” He clutched the two blue cards, shaking his head vigorously. “No, I need to have ten yuan first before I can give you the card to buy vegetables.”

Pei Wang held the two cards between his fingers. “Let’s do both tasks together.”

The uncle hesitated for a moment, then released his grip, watching as Pei Wang took the two points coupons. “You need to be quick.”

He added a time constraint to the task: “My wife has dinner at six; I need to get back by five to cook for her. If you’re late, I won’t wait for you.”

The uncle glanced at Pei Wang and pushed the fish basket over. “Just take the fish.”

Jiang Shu nodded, trying to lift the basket but quickly withdrew her hand, whispering, “Pei Wang.”

Pei Wang acknowledged her.

He shook out his coat, wrapped the fish basket inside, bent down, and picked it up.

The fishy smell hit him head-on, and he tilted his head slightly to meet Jiang Shu’s concerned gaze.

“You said it’s hard to sell fish in a fishing village, right?” Jiang Shu asked anxiously. “Are we supposed to take the fish to another village to sell?”

Pei Wang shook his head, finding a shaded spot to set down the fish basket. He turned his head to explain to Jiang Shu, “Generally, there are traders who come specifically to buy the fish in the fishing village.”

These traders typically come at fixed times, and the collection spots are also fixed, with villagers knowing when they would be there.

Jiang Shu squatted beside Pei Wang, tilting her head to look at him. “So, should we go look for the traders now?”

Pei Wang shook his head again. “They might not be in the village right now.”

Jiang Shu blinked and then turned her head to sneak a glance at the uncle still sitting in place. “Does the uncle know when the traders come?”

She didn’t wait for Pei Wang’s answer before rejecting the thought herself. “He knows, but he won’t tell us.”

The villagers surely knew when the traders arrived, but since they were contracted by the Program Team, they probably wouldn’t disclose that information—

Suddenly, Jiang Shu paused.

Not all the villagers were contracted by the Program Team, after all.

“The grandma must know,” Jiang Shu whispered. “Let’s go ask her.”

She tugged at Pei Wang to invite him along, but as soon as she pulled, she halted, grabbing his arm. “Actually, I’ll go ask. The fish basket is too heavy for you; just wait for me here.”

Jiang Shu turned to leave but felt someone tugging at her sleeve.

Confused, she turned back to see Pei Wang handing her two fish.

The fish in the basket were already strung together, and Pei Wang took two out and handed them to Jiang Shu. “Take two fish for the grandma.”

He patted his coat pocket and then produced a piece of candy. “This is the last piece.”

It was a fruit-flavored hard candy, the wrapper semi-transparent, looking colorful in the sunlight, with a hint of the orange candy visible inside.Pei Wang placed the beautifully wrapped candy in Jiang Shu’s palm, saying, “This is your reward for your hard work