damn shabby!

They had reached their destination, and the car stopped. To keep Fu Yanci from saying anything else shocking, Chi An quickly opened the door and jumped out. As soon as he looked up, he saw a long wooden table set out in the clearing ahead.

Staff members already stood all around the table, while in a corner outside the cameras' view, the other staff and camera operators had gathered, a whole crowd crammed into one small space.

Inside the car, the moment Chi An left, Fu Yanci reverted to his irritable self.

"Motherfucking piece of junk, that fucking ride bounced me to death!" he cursed angrily, then slammed his fist into the seat cushion with a dull thud.

The sudden movement made Chi Shuran, who was unbuckling her seat belt, shudder all over. She dared not move again, afraid of provoking this irritable man.

Then she remembered they were still livestreaming and the cameras were still rolling. To maintain her persona, Chi Shuran could only steel herself, sit up straight, and give Fu Yanci a seemingly composed glance before saying scornfully, "Hah. Simp."

Then, remembering how Fu Yanci had behaved in the car earlier, she added, "And a poser."

She then stepped out in style, shut the door with flair, raised her head confidently, and strode forward.

Fu Yanci: ...

[Seriously, bro, you really know how to put on an act. You were all meek and wounded a second ago, and now you're raging?]

[Does this guy have invisible mania or something?]

[Wait, is Chi Shuran trying to kill me with laughter? A simp and a poser. She nailed that description, hahaha!]

[Other people throw insults, but this girl actually sums things up. Doesn't Fu Yanci only simp for Chi An and act all well-behaved around him?]

[So that's how you use those two words. Learned a new usage today.]

Fu Yanci wanted to keep cursing, but the moment he opened his mouth, a voice suddenly came through the car's receiver.

"Mr. Fu, we're still livestreaming. Please watch your language."

Fu Yanci said, "Motherfudger!"

It was just swearing. Who said soundalikes were off-limits? If you won't let me curse outright, I can do it another way.

Swearing was just swearing. That sort of skill took no technique; people from Z Country were born with it.

Just like how, when picking their noses, they knew to first make a "six" hand gesture, as if to say, "I'm awesome at picking my nose," then switch to digging with their index finger once they were nearly done.

That curse did nothing to quell his anger. He stormed out of the car and slammed the door shut.

Just as the door was about to close, Fu Yanci suddenly stopped. Seemingly remembering something, he stuck his head back inside.

"damn shabby!"

Only after letting out another curse did Fu Yanci finally shut the door and turn to leave. His steps were somewhat hurried and angry, as though he could not bear what had just happened.

Meanwhile, the director who had been cursed at sat frozen in his chair, while the staff around him exchanged looks.

They knew Fu Yanci had a bad temper, but he clearly wasn't like this around Chi An. Was he playing favorites?

Even if he was, surely this wasn't how you did it? They had seen people treat one person differently, but never someone treat an entire group differently just to please one person.

[He got hard-CC'd, folks. The raging simp has been forcibly muted, hahaha!]

[Who gets it? You come out to work this shitty job, and they won't even let you swear. Nobody gets to live. Let's all die together.]

[It's all about matching the raging simp's mental state. Making me work already pisses me off. You control my working hours, and now you want to control my mouth? Might as well quit.]

[As if our raging simp is the obedient type. Telling me not to swear? I'm mocking you to your faces, you bunch of "shabby" shitheads.]

[I might not dare curse anyone else, but I dare curse you, the puppet master behind the scenes, hahaha! Holy coooow~~~~]

With both hands on his hips, Fu Yanci took deep breaths. Only after calming himself down did he walk over to Chi An.

By then, following the staff's instructions, Chi An had randomly drawn a mission card. It read:

Please help Grandma Wang pick six baskets of apples and deliver them safely to her home.

"Who's Grandma Wang?"

After reading the words on the mission card, Chi Shuran turned to look at the villagers watching behind them and suddenly felt a headache coming on.

There were so many people, and the director hadn't even told them who Grandma Wang was. How were they supposed to find her?

Behind them, once Fu Yanci had gotten out, staff members boarded the car to unload their luggage, then drove it away.

"What's the rush? Let's get things straight first."

Chi Shuran grabbed him and spoke in a low voice.

If they started the mission without understanding things clearly, what if there were loopholes?

Turning his gaze to the staff member standing there, Chi An held the mission card up in front of her. "What reward do we get for completing this mission?"

The staff member glanced at the mission card in Chi An's hand and answered, "Mission cards are drawn at random. Whatever mission you draw, you have to complete it. Once you finish, come back here to draw a new mission card. Mission cards cannot be replaced or exchanged with members of other teams."

"The team that completes the most missions today will have first pick of the houses. Also, you must complete a mission before coming back to draw your next mission card."

It was a contest of numbers. No problem. They had already arrived before everyone else.

"What about food? If we only get somewhere to stay tonight, where do we put our luggage now? And what are we doing for lunch?"

Taking his place beside Chi An, Fu Yanci listened to the staff member and raised the most crucial questions.

Surely they couldn't make them work all day on empty stomachs. They might not have a place to stay, but they at least needed somewhere to eat.

Even at work, people weren't made to keep working without being allowed to eat.

"That also depends on the number of missions. As of one in the afternoon, the team ranked first in completed missions will get first choice of food. It is now 10:13 a.m., so you still have nearly three hours."

With the rules clear, only one question remained.

Chi Shuran folded her arms and asked, "Where is Grandma Wang? Where should we go to find her?"

"You can ask the villagers here. They'll help you. Or you can check the mission card. There's a map tucked inside the envelope."

"You can leave your luggage here for now. Staff will look after it temporarily, and you can take it with you after choosing your houses tonight."

Chi Shuran lowered her head and glared. So they had given them a map after all.

Feeling guilty, Chi An raised a hand and rubbed his nose to hide his embarrassment.

He had been so focused on taking out the card. Who knew there was another sheet of paper tucked inside?

Following the map's directions, Chi An picked a direction, and all three of them headed that way. Only after they had walked off to the side did Chi An notice something was wrong.

"Why are you following us?"

Had he forgotten he had a teammate?

Fu Yanci said, "To do missions."

"...Your teammate is Song Wenjing. You two are a team."