Wen He sat where he was, recovering, while Xie Zhengci approached from behind. His basket was already nearly half full of peaches.
Xie Zhengci glanced at the sun overhead, took off his straw hat, and placed it on Wen He's head.
"Are you okay?"
"Mm... I'm all right."
Wen He wasn't really all right... He felt very hot... and a little dizzy.
Remembering that Wen He had only just recovered from his fever, Xie Zhengci suggested that he rest over by the toilets.
Wen He didn't refuse. This wasn't the time to push himself. He adjusted the straw hat and followed Xie Zaici, and the two headed toward the toilets again.
Wen He washed his face with water from the tap, then found a shady spot a little farther away and sat down to rest...
Xie Zhengci wasn't at all disappointed to have Wen He as his teammate. This orchard was so big, and everyone took different routes. He hadn't held out much hope of running into Zhou Siyu anyway. Since it wasn't Zhou Siyu, anyone else was all the same.
After Wen He slowly steadied his heart rate, the two set off together. Xie Zhengci didn't pick any peaches along the way, only occasionally helping Wen He pick a few. They barely spoke.
Whenever Xie Zhengci asked whether he needed a rest, Wen He shook his head.
Soon, they came across a spot marked with a sign from the production team.
Was this a task station?
They went over, and Wen He set down his basket. His shoulders were already starting to ache...
There was a card on the table.
Xie Zhengci picked up the card and read it aloud.
"Please form pairs and complete twenty tandem rope jumps together. You have three attempts. If you fail the challenge, please leave ten peaches."
There wasn't a single peach on the table... Either no one had been here yet, or someone had already completed the challenge.
Xie Zhengci picked up the jump rope from the table and looked at Wen He with concern in his eyes.
"Can you manage?"
Wen He nodded... "I can..."
After handing Wen He one end of the rope, they got into position.
"Three, two, one, jump!"
The rope caught squarely on Jiang Ye's knees, while Ji Chi had already jumped cleanly over it.
"Can you do this or not?"
This was already their second attempt, and Ji Chi had run out of patience entirely. He couldn't understand why he'd had to run into Jiang Ye, someone so stupid!
And he even had to team up with him?!
Jiang Ye rubbed the tip of his nose awkwardly... When it came to jumping rope... he really didn't have a clue. Ji Chi kept complaining beside him. Jiang Ye rubbed his throbbing temples, tilted his face toward the sky, and let out a long sigh.
The sight of him like that only infuriated Ji Chi. With a cold snort, he dropped the long rope in his hand, hopped onto the table, and sat there to rest, though his thoughts drifted farther and farther away.
I wonder who Little Wooden Head is with right now...
[Help hahahahahahahaha]
[I can't, I'm dying laughing hahahahaha what do I do hahahaha]
[Who understands Lawyer Jiang's helplessness? And who understands Ji Chi's suffering? Hahahahahahahaha]
[Actually, these two aren't impossible to ship... are they?]
[This rule from the production team is absolutely brilliant!!]
[Love rivals to lovers? Ooh... interesting]
[That's a little cursed hahahahaha]
[Oh man, this is too funny. These two have given me a whole day's worth of laughs]
[Screenshots, I need so many screenshots. There's our matching couple icons!]
[Unhinged. Send me a copy, person above hahahaha]
Jiang Ye took twenty peaches out of his own basket, placed them on the table, and headed off.
Why had he taken all twenty out of his own basket? Because Ji Chi hadn't picked any at all...
Seeing him leave, Ji Chi picked up his empty basket from the ground, put all twenty peaches on the table into his own empty basket, and followed in his direction.
It wasn't that Ji Chi hadn't considered going his own way, but the production crew insisted they stay together. As a result, wherever he went, he would run into Jiang Ye. Gradually, Ji Chi gave up rebelling.
[? What kind of move is that?]
[Uh... unbelievable. You can do that?]
[That's our Demon Dragon. Smart. The production team never said he couldn't]
[Doesn't that break the rules?]
[When have you ever seen Demon Dragon follow the rules? Have you ever seen anyone ditch the other person outright on a date with a fellow guest?]
[And earlier, didn't neither of them want to stay together? Every time, Demon Dragon picked the opposite direction from him, but they still ended up together thanks to the production team's behind-the-scenes maneuvering]
[He's Demon Dragon. Rather than expect anything from him, you might as well wash up and go to bed]
Finally, despite being utterly sick of the sight of each other, they made it to the afternoon meal provided by the production team.
Everyone gathered again in a large clearing. Ji Chi spotted Wen He coming out of the peach grove from a distance. He dropped his basket and walked straight toward him, his daylong irritation easing as he drew closer.
Ji Chi reached out and removed the straw hat from Wen He's head, looking slightly disdainful. "Where did this ugly thing come from?" Seeing the redness on his fair face, he poked his cheek with a pang of tenderness. It was very hot.
"How did your face get this sunburned?"
Wen He licked his slightly dry lips and raised a hand to cover his hot cheek. It hurt a little and felt very hot and itchy.
"I don't know..."
Ji Chi pressed the straw hat back onto his head to shield him from some of the sun, then went over to collect two boxed lunches and handed one to Wen He.
In the middle of the clearing, the production team had pushed two tables together and provided an enormous fan to cool everyone down.
To keep anyone else from sitting beside Wen He, Ji Chi crowded him straight into the last seat, then settled comfortably beside him.
Ji Chi opened both boxed lunches. They contained the same dishes. He only ate a couple of mouthfuls to tide himself over before stopping. This food was practically inedible.
Some distance away, Jiang Ye found a random seat with his boxed lunch and began eating. Unlike Eldest Young Master Ji, who had spent the whole time strolling around, Jiang Ye was a little tired. He needed to replenish his carbs.
Without good stamina, he wouldn't be able to contend with him.
Seeing the person beside him stop after only two mouthfuls, Wen He gave him a disapproving look. "Why aren't you eating anymore?"
Wasting food is bad...
Ji Chi picked out the untouched pieces of lean meat from his container and placed them in the compartment Wen He had already emptied.
"I'm not hungry. You eat it."
Wen He pressed his lips together, then put the lean meat Ji Chi had given him into his mouth, bite by bite.
Seeing that he liked it, Ji Chi transferred all the other untouched dishes from his container into Wen He's as well. Wen He reached up and caught his chopsticks.
He shifted the food from one side of his mouth to the other before finally swallowing. "No more. It's too much. I can't finish it..."
Wen He didn't want to waste food, but Ji Chi had given him too much. He couldn't finish it.