Failed to Run Away After Transmigrating as the Scummy Alpha's Wife of the Villain - Chapter 11

Jiang Ci mysteriously pulled Wang Wen and Gu Meng aside, whispering a few words to them.

Gu Meng asked nervously, “Will this really work? Will they agree?”

Jiang Ci licked her dry lips, glancing at Chi Yuan who was watching them eagerly. “It’ll work. They have to abide by their own rules.”

Jiang Ci announced, “Director, I’d like to request using a prop.”

Under everyone’s gaze, she walked to the prop box, bent down, and pulled out—a pink plastic basin with a yellow duck printed at the bottom.

…

What use could a basin possibly be? Trying to hit the ball with it would be even less effective than using hands.

But Jiang Ci seemed oblivious to the confused looks around her. Taking her position, she said, “We can start now, Director.”

As the game resumed, everyone quickly understood Jiang Ci’s plan.

The volleyball landed with a thud, settling snugly in the duck-printed basin. The moment she caught it, Jiang Ci dashed toward Chi Yuan.

“Pass! Pass!” She gave the basin a firm shake, sending the ball flying straight to Chi Yuan.

Reacting swiftly, Chi Yuan silently praised Jiang Ci’s cleverness and punched the ball back with perfect precision.

What kind of outrageous tactic was this?

The production team protested, “You can’t run while holding the ball—that’s against the rules!”

“Against the rules?” Jiang Ci tilted her head with a faint smile. “Which rule exactly? The ball mustn’t touch the ground, and the hitting method isn’t restricted. I caught the ball with the basin—did it touch the ground?”

“If it didn’t touch the ground, then we didn’t lose. Unless… your production team wants to go back on your word?”

“With all these cameras rolling, you wouldn’t dare break your own rules, would you?”

Chi Yuan chimed in, backing her up perfectly, “Oh come on, surely such a big production team isn’t afraid of losing?”

Ouch. That was unnecessarily harsh.

Defeated, the production team had no choice but to concede that this method was allowed.

The director sighed in relief—thankfully there was only one basin in the prop box, and the other three members of the red team showed no intention of grabbing props.

But as it turned out, they celebrated too soon.

When the whistle blew again, Wang Wen and Gu Meng became the main targets this time.

But the next moment, everyone watched as Wang Wen and Gu Meng simultaneously lifted the hems of their T-shirts, using them like nets to catch the ball.

Their goal was the same as Jiang Ci’s—catch the ball.

Once caught, they’d immediately pass it to Chi Yuan.

Seeing the production team’s dark expressions, Gu Meng grinned. He might not be good at hitting the ball back, but just catching it? That cut the difficulty in half—no problem for him.

Now the production team couldn’t even protest. With Jiang Ci’s prop precedent, how could they forbid using clothes as tools?

Technically, it still didn’t break any rules.

As the red team’s score rapidly closed the gap, the director grew increasingly frustrated.

The screenwriter tried to console him, “It’s just one fancy meal—let them have it. The crew can enjoy instant noodles while watching them eat.”

Director: …

By the final stretch of the match, thanks to Jiang Ci’s unconventional tactics, the red team’s score was neck-and-neck with the town team.

Chi Yuan flexed her wrist, eyes gleaming with excitement as she tracked the opponent’s ball. Her punches were getting more precise—she was completely hooked now.

The outcome was already decided, but when the final whistle blew, Chi Yuan still felt a pang of reluctance.

Jiang Ci set down the basin and walked over, blinking at her playfully. “How does victory taste?”

Chi Yuan lifted her chin proudly, then spread her arms to pull Jiang Ci into a tight hug, shouting in her ear: “Freaking amazing!”

Jiang Ci gave her a disdainful look, reaching up to rub his ear. “You’re shouting too loud.”

But the upward curve of his lips and the laughter brimming in his eyes were impossible to hide.

Meanwhile, in the peach orchard, all five guests had completed their picking tasks, leaving only the final weighing and quality inspection.

An aunt in an orange-yellow floral T-shirt walked over with an electronic scale, pouring basket after basket of peaches onto it for weighing. Any substandard peaches were picked out and excluded from the total weight.

Jiang Wan gazed smugly at the heavy bamboo basket at her feet, already fantasizing about receiving the village head’s bonus vote and becoming the most popular contestant.

As expected, the female lead blessed with good fortune always had it easy.

After Momo took the peaches, Jiang Wan had almost given up on the task. After all, she had the excuse of sun allergy to fall back on—maybe she could even gain some sympathy points from casual viewers and boost her popularity.

But luckily, she stumbled upon Gao Yaohui crouching under a tree, meticulously sorting through peaches.

Being a former athlete, he had exceptional stamina and had filled his basket not long after the task began.

However, he was a bit of a perfectionist. Even after picking, he insisted on inspecting each peach, scrutinizing them from every angle. If any didn’t meet his standards—not plump or red enough—he’d hand them off to other farmers and keep picking.

This back-and-forth took a lot of time, yet he still wasn’t satisfied.

Jiang Wan couldn’t understand his mindset, thinking he must be a little odd.

She smoothed her hair, adjusted her clothes, and sidled up to him. “Since you’ve already filled your basket, you can head to the gathering point now.”

Gao Yaohui held a peach in each hand, squinting as he compared them, so engrossed that he didn’t even notice Jiang Wan approaching.

Jiang Wan: “…”

Suppressing her irritation at being ignored, she crouched in front of him. “I’m talking to you.”

When the light in front of him was suddenly blocked, Gao Yaohui frowned and looked up to see Jiang Wan’s sweet, gentle smile directed at him.

As if struck by something, all his attention shifted to the woman before him.

Scratching his head sheepishly, he fumbled like a lovestruck teenager. “I’m just checking the quality. Substandard peaches don’t count toward the total weight—I need to pick the best ones.”

“I think all the peaches in your basket look fine. They should pass.”

“No.” Gao Yaohui’s brow furrowed. “This one’s base isn’t round enough, and that one’s red tip is too small.”

He sighed dejectedly. “I’ve searched half the orchard and still can’t find peaches that meet my ideal.”

Jiang Wan: Seriously? Would it kill you to just leave already?

Her heart bled as she watched him toss several peaches into other farmers’ baskets. Give them to me! Just give them to me!

At that moment, the cameraman following them suddenly received a message and hurried off in another direction, as if something had happened.

Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Wan struck up a conversation. “The village head election is tonight, right? Have you decided who to vote for?”

Gao Yaohui: “Not yet. Everyone wants to be village head, so the competition will probably be fierce.”

Jiang Wan: “But you can’t vote for yourself. The winner will be the most well-liked among the nine of us.”

Gao Yaohui: “We just started the show—no one really knows each other yet. How are we supposed to decide?”

Jiang Wan leaned in closer, whispering into Gao Yaohui’s ear, the faint scent of gardenias making his face flush crimson.

Jiang Wan: “Although I really want to run for village head too, I’ll vote for you tonight.”

Gao Yaohui grinned foolishly, seeing this as a chance to impress his goddess.

“Honestly, I’m not that passionate about becoming village head. If you want the position, I’ll definitely support you.”

Jiang Wan excitedly grabbed his arm and jumped up. “Really? That’s amazing! Thank you so much!”

“No problem. If you ever need help, just call me. My vote will always be yours.”

Jiang Wan nodded eagerly, but after a moment, her head drooped dejectedly. “But… with just your vote, it probably won’t be enough. Sister Jiang and Momo both seem really popular.”

“It’s all my fault for being too introverted. I can’t connect with everyone, otherwise I wouldn’t have to worry about not getting enough votes.”

Gao Yaohui quickly reassured her, “Not at all! You were the first person in Taoli Village to talk to me. You’re wonderful.”

Jiang Wan shook her head, tears welling in her eyes as she sniffled. “Not wonderful enough. Look at my basket—there’s not a single peach in it. Wuwu… I’ll definitely fail the task now and won’t get the bonus vote.”

Seeing his goddess cry, Gao Yaohui panicked and fumbled to comfort her. “Don’t cry! I’ll give you all my peaches.”

Jiang Wan covered her face, a triumphant smirk flashing briefly before being replaced by a fragile expression. “Is… is that okay? But what about you?”

“I can pick more. These peaches are all good quality—more than enough to outdo the others. I believe you’ll definitely get the bonus vote.Gao Yaohui swapped baskets with Jiang Wan and, without looking back, plunged into the peach orchard, leaving behind a silhouette of silent heroism.

Jiang Wan scoffed. “Idiot!”

She skipped cheerfully toward the gathering point.

Now, the position of village head is mine for sure!

The quality inspector weighed each basket one by one, and unsurprisingly, Jiang Wan’s had the highest quality, with nearly every peach meeting the standard.

The assistant director raised a megaphone to announce the results. “First, due to Gu Lin’s dangerous behavior of climbing trees to pick peaches, the production team unanimously agrees that he is disqualified from the village head election tonight. Let this serve as a warning to others.”

In the crowd, Gu Lin buried his head in embarrassment, wishing he could vanish into the ground. He had only climbed for a moment before the cameraman yanked him down—the whole scene had been mortifying.

After the warning, the assistant director continued, “Next, we’ll announce the task results. Everyone performed exceptionally well in the fruit-picking challenge. Through your hard work and bountiful harvests, we’ve truly experienced the labor and joy of orchard farmers.”

“Regardless of who wins, this has been a valuable experience for all.”

Jiang Wan grew impatient. The assistant director was rambling, dragging out the announcement instead of getting to the point.

“As for the winner, let’s give her the warmest applause for exceeding the task requirements. Congratulations to Momo—she has earned the bonus vote for village head!”

Jiang Wan’s expression twisted in shock as she gaped at Momo, who was smiling and bowing in gratitude.

What the hell? How could the winner not be me?!

The assistant director pointed at the peach-filled basket in front of Momo. “This is Momo’s fourth full basket. After completing the required task, she didn’t stop but chose to continue picking.”

Jiang Wan stomped her foot angrily, pointing at Momo. “She’s cheating! The task was to pick one basket.”

Momo looked at her with teary eyes. “The production team never said we couldn’t pick more. I saw those aunts and uncles working under the scorching sun, so I thought I’d help as much as I could. Sister Jiang, please don’t be mad at me.”

Jiang Wan internally cursed: Damn, that sounds even more manipulative than my own act. I’ve met my match!

In stark contrast to the tea-scented peach grove, the red team’s atmosphere was harmonious.

The promised feast from the production team was no joke. With the town backed by the sea and abundant seafood, the freshly caught fish, shrimp, and crabs tasted several times better than any five-star hotel’s seafood banquet.

Wang Wen slurped the tender meat from a crab leg while sympathetically eyeing the staff eating instant noodles at the opposite table. “You’re really eating instant noodles? Why not just order another table?”

“Peach and Plum Hometown” maintained stable ratings, occasionally spiking in popularity, becoming many netizens’ fixed summer variety show. Thus, sponsors for each episode were generous, with no budget constraints.

Of course, this was precisely why the production team loved stirring up drama—too much money to burn.

Chi Yuan peeled shrimp while waving at Wang Wen. “Don’t pity capitalists. They definitely didn’t expect us to win. Those instant noodles were meant for us.”

True enough. Without Chi Yuan’s miraculous strength and Jiang Ci’s borderline rule-breaking “dribbling,” they’d be the ones miserably eating instant noodles now.

Gu Meng slurped his noodles, thinking the show’s official Weibo should have released the preview by now, so he pulled out his phone to check.

But the more he scrolled, the graver his expression became. After a long pause, he slowly looked up at Chi Yuan. “Sister Chi, you and Teacher Jiang are trending.”

Qiuqiu blinked, then suddenly pressed a drool-covered finger to the screen, babbling, “Mama, Mama.”

Chi Yuan: “…”

Beside them, Jiang Ci chuckled softly, kissing Qiuqiu’s forehead. “Such a good baby for Mama~~”

Chi Yuan pounced over: “I want kisses too!”