Shen Yu was unfazed. "Let me take you to meet the village chief first. Our house is small, and since you’re an outsider and a man, it’s not really appropriate for you to stay with us. If I introduce you to the village officials, you’ll feel more at ease."

Xu Liang said helplessly, "You two, brother and sister... are you both just incredibly perceptive?"

Shen Yu chuckled. "I’d be nervous too if I went to a strange new place. Don’t worry, our family’s got the old, the weak, women, and children—we’ve got it all. We’re definitely no threat to you."

As Xu Liang chatted with Shen Yu, he found the young man quite interesting. When he spoke, he was full of spirit, his whole being radiating a vibrant energy.

Shen Yu led Xu Liang to Fifth Uncle’s house and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Fifth Uncle, are you home?"

Fifth Uncle was indeed home. He came out wearing a large undershirt. "What is it? I just fell asleep and you kid had to wake me up."

Shen Yu pointed at Xu Liang. "This is Teacher Xu. My sister invited him here to film a video. I thought I’d bring him to meet you, and Teacher Xu also wants to check out the scenery here..."

After Shen Yu explained the situation, Fifth Uncle understood. Still speaking in his heavily accented Mandarin, he said, "You must be Teacher Xu? Shen Yu has already told me about you. If you don’t mind, you can stay at my place, or I can take you to stay in town..."

Xu Liang smiled. "I’ll be troubling you, then."

Xu Liang didn’t give a definite answer about where he would stay. In any case, his wariness of this place hadn’t completely dissipated. Perhaps he would only relax completely after he had fully assessed the situation.

Fifth Uncle was old and shrewd; he didn’t press the matter. He simply found two twelve or thirteen-year-old boys from the village to accompany Xu Liang and Shen Yu up the mountain.

Seeing that his escorts were all students, Xu Liang’s guard dropped considerably.

The two students were lively. "Brother Yu, Grandpa and Grandma both say Sister Ali is beautiful. I’ve been back for a while but still haven’t seen her. Is she really that pretty?"

Shen Yu chewed on a blade of grass. "Yup. My sister is the most beautiful. When we come down from the mountain later, you all can come to our house for dinner."

"Okay! Brother Yu, just how beautiful is Sister Ali? Is she prettier than Zhao Xiaotian?" the chubbier boy asked. At the thought of Zhao Xiaotian, he even did a little girl-group dance on the spot.

Xu Liang, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up. "Prettier than her."

"Whoa, then how pretty must she be?" The chubby boy’s eyes lit up. "If she’s really that beautiful, why would I even be a fan of Zhao Xiaotian? I can just be a fan of our own sister!"

Shen Yu was not pleased. "Hey, that’s *my* sister!"

The other boy chimed in, "It’s the same thing. Brother Yu, you’re our big brother, so your sister is naturally our sister too."

The kids were all speaking Mandarin to make it easier to communicate with Xu Liang. Of course, if communication went smoothly, he would also understand that they meant him no harm.

As expected of kids who grew up in the mountains, they knew every nook and cranny and explained everything clearly. Trailing behind them, Xu Liang indeed learned a lot.

"Is that... your house over there?" Standing on a hillside and looking into the distance, they could see a few houses at the foot of the mountain. Wisps of smoke were already rising from the chimneys of some.

Shen Yu glanced over. "Yeah. See that person bustling around in the courtyard? That’s my sister."

Shen Xiaochuan’s already round eyes grew even wider. After a long moment, he clapped his hands. "Sister Ali is so pretty! Even though I can only see her silhouette, she just looks beautiful."

Xu Liang glanced at the chubby Shen Xiaochuan. "Are your eyes a pair of binoculars? All I can see are the houses. I can’t make out anything else."

Shen Xiaochuan said proudly, "Hehe, I’ve got good eyesight. Everyone in our village knows it."

Shen Le chimed in to support him, "Little Chuan has been training his eyes with his grandpa since he was a kid. Little Chuan’s grandpa used to be a hunter."

Xu Liang understood. ’So the little fatty has a family legacy of sorts, huh?’

Shen Yu looked at the sky. "Let’s head down the mountain. By the time we get home, dinner should be ready."

Shen Xiaochuan glanced at the winding mountain road. "Brother Yu, your parents are on their way."

Shen Yu squinted, trying to see. "Where?"

Shen Le retorted, "Just trust what Little Chuan says. Anyway, I never doubt him. Teacher Xu, let’s head down. It’ll be harder to walk if it gets any later."

When the four of them came down the mountain, Xu Liang was a bit disheveled, but the other three were as fresh as ever.

Tan You had already learned of their movements from the Beauty System, so she came out of the house just as they reached the gate. "You’re back?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Shen Xiaochuan and Shen Le. The two teenagers were staring at her, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads. Tan You gently pushed the chubby one’s chin up. "You’re about to drool."

Shen Xiaochuan subconsciously wiped his mouth. After seeing the smile on Tan You’s face, he let out a cry and threw his arms around her waist. "Sister..."

Not to be outdone, Shen Le also took Tan You’s hand. The two of them called out "Sister" again and again, with even more genuine emotion than Shen Yu.

Tan You couldn’t help but laugh. She ruffled Shen Xiaochuan’s hair. "Your eyes are very bright. They’re very nice."

Standing, Shen Xiaochuan was already as tall as Ji Li’s shoulders. He nuzzled his cheek against Tan You’s shoulder. "Sister, you’re so pretty!"

Shen Yu’s eye twitched as he watched. "Alright, how old are you, still hugging? Don’t you know men and women should keep their distance?"

Shen Le was quick to retort, "We’re related to Sister Ali! Why do we need so many rules between relatives?"

Despite his words, he still pulled Shen Xiaochuan back, clearly feeling that hugging a girl like that wasn’t quite right—it wasn’t serious or proper enough.

Shen Xiaochuan did as he was told and let go of Tan You. He completely forgot about Xu Liang now, orbiting Tan You like a little puppy. "Sister..."

Uncle Shen and his wife had arrived long ago and just smiled at the scene. Uncle Shen made small talk with Xu Liang, "Teacher Xu, since this is your first time visiting, you must try our local specialties..."

That evening, sitting in the Shen family’s large courtyard, surrounded by other guests like Fifth Uncle and several other village elders, Xu Liang’s last bit of wariness finally vanished.

So after dinner, Xu Liang went back with Fifth Uncle. For the next few days, he would be staying at Fifth Uncle’s house, which meant sharing a room with the boy, Shen Le.

With his personal safety guaranteed, Xu Liang could now turn his mind to filming. After seeing Tan You dance in person, it was as if he’d been shot full of adrenaline. He spent his days venturing into the mountains with the three teenagers, determined to find the perfect filming location.

On this point, Xu Liang and Tan You’s philosophies were perfectly aligned: if you’re going to do something, do it right in every respect. The hard work was certainly worth it. In just three days, Xu Liang finally settled on a location.

Meanwhile, Tan You’s second dance costume was finally finished. However, she wasn’t thinking about filming just yet. She wanted to practice her fundamentals more, since she couldn’t just perform relatively simple dances for the rest of her life.