Su Yu, Si Chen, and Pei Ming did not return until evening.
The director looked grimly at the day's livestream traffic. No! Since we were short of people during the day, we'll make up for it tonight.
The sky gradually darkened. Shen Ting was already getting ready to return to his room and surf the internet when a gong rang out at the entrance, so deafening that everyone could not help covering their ears.
Shen Ting walked into the courtyard in confusion, only to see the director and Assistant Director standing straight in its center, smiling at everyone.
"During the day, we couldn't hold any interactive games because some of our guests were absent. After discussing it together, we finally decided to move the game to tonight," the Assistant Director explained, striking the gong again.
"That's right. You should all have seen the dense Small Woods beside our little village. There are plenty of mushrooms growing there, and tonight's game is mushroom picking. You'll split into pairs, and the Production Team has invited a plant expert to explain in detail which mushrooms each group needs to pick." The director picked up a little stick and tapped the whiteboard beside him.
[Wow, wow! Thank goodness it's Saturday and I didn't go to bed early. Otherwise, what an amazing segment I would've missed.]
[I hereby give our great informant, the director, credit for this.]
[A dark and windy night is the perfect time for something to happen...]
[You above, you should be glad I know this is an outdoor activity. Otherwise, sooner or later you'd drag my mind into the gutter...]
[Let me see whose faces have changed color. What color have those little faces turned? Hehehe.]
[You bunch of dirty-minded girls!]
"Let me assign your groups. Shen Ting and Pei Ming, Yan Yi and Wen Nuannuan, Si Chen and Su Yu, Shen Rui and Su Weiwang, and finally, Meng Yun and Bai Yuanyuan." The director arranged the portrait stickers on the whiteboard into pairs.
"Now? What if we get lost?" Shen Rui frowned and glanced at the pitch-black sky.
"Don't worry, Mr. Shen. The Production Team's staff have surrounded the entire Small Woods, and every guest will wear a tracking watch provided by the Production Team." The director waved smugly again, and a staff member beside him obligingly uncovered the tray they were holding. There were ten trackers in total.
"Exactly, exactly. If any of you lose your way, we don't know whether anyone else will be able to find you, but the Production Team will definitely find you right away." The Assistant Director also looked extremely smug, quite the picture of someone borrowing another's authority to throw his weight around.
Shen Rui wanted to say more, but Shen Ting stopped him.
"All right, let me explain the rewards and penalties for this game. The winning pair will get the chance to choose their own partners for tomorrow's date segment. The losers will have to help the villagers carry water tomorrow." The director wrote "Choice Card" on the whiteboard and drew a bucket beside it.
"There are some tools in here that can help you. Of course, along with the good ones, there are useless ones too. Each pair gets only one chance, so it's all down to your luck." The director pushed out the gift box behind him. A large black cloth covered it, making it impossible to see what was inside.
Shen Ting curiously reached inside and pulled something out.
Clack, clack...
A smiley-faced hand clapper rattled a few times as it shook.
Shen Ting stared blankly at the children's toy in his hand. Is this one of the useless things in there?
Yan Yi curled his lips at the sight of the stunned Shen Ting, then reached into the box himself and took something at random.
Holding his hand clapper, Shen Ting stared curiously at the hand Yan Yi was about to pull back.
An old-fashioned flashlight made its grand appearance.
"Wow! A flashlight has to be the most useful thing in the dark, right?" Wen Nuannuan jumped up happily. She had been a little worried and scared of the dark, but now things were fine. They had a flashlight. They had light.
Shen Ting looked at the flashlight, then at the children's toy in his own hand. Damn! Does the difference have to be this huge? Am I carrying this thing to keep myself from getting lost? If I get lost, do I clap it twice so my partner can find me?
Shen Rui pulled Su Weiwang forward and quickly grabbed something at random from inside.
It was a headlamp.
Su Yu drew a Child Safety Leash.
Meng Yun drew a jump rope.
Meng Yun looked at the jump rope in his hand, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear. Am I supposed to jump rope while picking mushrooms? This thing looks just as unreliable as whatever Shen Ting drew.
"Let me make one thing clear first. I'm nearsighted, and my night vision is even worse. Everyone, try to stay away from me if you can. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what might happen. When I can't see clearly, I won't recognize anyone, not even my own family." Shen Ting raised his hand to make his point.
Hearing Shen Ting's words, Su Weiwang looked curiously at Shen Rui beside him.
Shen Rui keenly noticed Su Weiwang sneaking a glance at him and lowered his head to look at him.
"What's wrong?" Shen Rui asked in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Your younger brother is nearsighted?"
"Yes. To be precise, everyone in our family is nearsighted, including me." Shen Rui nodded.
"You're nearsighted too?" Su Weiwang covered his mouth in surprise. He had thought someone as demanding of himself as Shen Rui surely would not be nearsighted, and he had never seen him wear glasses, either.
"Yes. Wear this headlamp properly. I'll be relying on you to guide me." Shen Rui gently placed the headlamp in his hand on Su Weiwang's head.
Su Weiwang felt a little awkward and wanted to shrink back, but looking at the serious face of the man before him, he could not help straightening his neck again.
[I'm here for the gossip. Their relationship seems to be getting better and better.]
[I took a screenshot! I took a screenshot! A gorgeous shot of their shining moment.]
[I took one too. This will be the reference for my next drawing.]
[Post it and I'll give you a like, a coin, and a favorite.]
[Me too, me too! I want it as my phone wallpaper.]
The plant expert invited by the Production Team explained to everyone the appearance and characteristics of the mushrooms they were to pick, as well as the precautions to take while picking them.
"All right, now that everyone knows, put on your blindfolds. Our staff will take you to different places to start picking." The director waved his hand grandly once again. Five tall people dressed in black appeared, each leading a pair of guests to a different location.
Shen Ting took off his blindfold and looked around. Everything was dark, and he could only make out the little patch of grass at his feet.
Pei Ming stood beside Shen Ting. "Which way do we go?"
"How would I know? Just pick a direction." Shen Ting did not want to deal with Pei Ming beside him at all. One of the characters Shen Ting had thought well of in the original novel was Xia Qing. The novel described Xia Qing as a top fashion designer who was gentle and refined, reserved and tender, with delicate, handsome features. If the man before him had not been so blind that he mistook someone else for his savior, Xia Qing, the only normal person in the novel, would not have gone abroad in disappointment. As the only man who had emerged unscathed and withdrawn from the battlefield of the original novel, Shen Ting still thought quite highly of him.
"You can't stand me?" Pei Ming looked at the undisguised disdain in Shen Ting's eyes, utterly baffled. Do we even know each other? And you already can't stand me?
"You're the one I can't stand." Shen Ting crouched on the ground, digging at the soil without even lifting his head.
"Why can't you stand me? Yesterday was our first time meeting, wasn't it?" Pei Ming looked indignant.
"I can't stand how blind you are. You can't see the truth, you get completely taken in, and then you turn around and shower a scumbag with gratitude." Shen Ting would not make himself suffer in silence. He openly voiced the dissatisfaction in his heart.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Pei Ming's brows furrowed even more tightly.
"When you were fifteen, someone pushed you into a swimming pool." Shen Ting said this as a statement, not a question.
Pei Ming nodded. "That's right. How did you know?"
"If Yu hadn't saved me back then, I probably would've died there." Pei Ming's face was full of gratitude as he said this.
[So that's what happened. He saved his life. No wonder Pei Ming treats Su Yu so well.]
[Could this be the legendary repayment of a life-saving debt by offering yourself in marriage?]
[Baby Su Yu really is a kind person. I was right to become his fan.]
[Our Su Yu has such a nice personality. The last time we visited the set, he bought milk tea for all of us and even reminded us to go home early.]
[Exactly, exactly. When Shen Ting excluded Su Yu back then, we wanted to stand up for him, but he even told us not to take it to heart.]
Seeing the expression on Pei Ming's face, Shen Ting looked exasperated at his hopelessness. He raised the hand clapper he was holding and smacked him in the face with it.
Smack!
Before you continue