Second floor of Gwangjang Market.
Having completed the first two tasks, the group climbed the narrow stairs.
The second floor is a large open platform with rows of long tables and plastic benches.
This area, usually a place for vendors to eat and rest, has been temporarily requisitioned by the production crew, who have set up a few lights and a large camera.
The PD stood in the center of the platform, holding a mission card in his hand.
"The third task," she said, glancing at the six people, "Is to prepare a market dinner in pairs and invite thirty ordinary citizens to taste it. The pair with the best reviews will get a free hotel stay tonight."
Zhou Yuan immediately raised his hand. "And what about the loser?"
The PD smiled but didn't answer.
Zhou Yuan's expression fell. "Stop keeping me in suspense, PD, where will the loser live?"
"There are tents along the Han River," the PD said. "The production team is ready."
Su Jianqiu gasped, "What's the temperature in Seoul at night now?"
"Minus three degrees Celsius."
Zhou Yuan clasped his hands together and said, "PD, I called you 'sister,' and you're telling me you were joking?"
The PD ignored him and waved to the side.
A worker carried a box up and placed it on the table in the middle of the platform.
The box was a regular cardboard box with a strip of colored paper pasted around its edge.
There are six holes in total: three on the front and three on the back.
Three ropes came out of the hole, each rope was dyed a different color at each end, for a total of six colors.
The ropes were tangled up inside the box, and from the outside, no one could tell which colors were connected to which.
"The rules are simple," the PD said. "Three people stand facing each other, and three people stand facing each other. Each person chooses a rope end. After choosing, pull in order. When you pull, whoever's rope on the other side moves is your partner."
Zhou Yuan was the first to go over and look at the box. He squatted down and studied it for a few seconds, then stood up and said, "PD, I have absolutely no idea how it was placed here."
The PD chuckled, "That's good, you didn't notice."
The PD begins arranging the positions.
Han Zheng, Cheng Che, and Huang Ming stood facing each other.
Zhou Yuan, Su Jianqiu, and Ning Qing stood at the back.
Han Zheng stood on the far left of the front, straightened his trench coat collar, and glanced at Ning Qing behind him.
Ning Qing stood on the far right, her expression indifferent, her hands in her pockets, not looking at anyone.
Han Zheng withdrew his gaze, a slight smile playing on his lips.
He had a well-thought-out plan in mind.
Although Ning Qing is not as pretty as Yan Ruanning, she is also a famous singer with a unique aloof temperament.
If I could team up with her, I'd definitely get more screen time.
Take extra care of her when doing tasks, create a romantic pairing between them, and the show's popularity won't be low after it airs.
What if things turn out to be real...?
He cleared his throat and said, "PD, I'll go first."
The PD nodded.
Han Zheng reached out and chose the rope end from the leftmost hole on the front.
He didn't rush to pull her away, but first glanced in Ning Qing's direction and said with a smile, "I hope I'll be in a group with Teacher Ning Qing."
Ning Qing didn't look at him, as if she hadn't heard him.
Su Jianqiu chimed in from the side, "Teacher Han, your blatant behavior is way too obvious."
Han Zheng smiled, unconcerned, and then pulled hard.
The rope slid inside the box, making a very soft rubbing sound.
On the other side, Zhou Yuan looked down at the end of the rope in his hand.
It was pulled by a force, slid a little further, and then straightened.
Zhou Yuan held up the rope. "It moved! Mine is yellow!"
Looking down at the rope in his hand, Han Zheng glanced at the front of his head.
The red rope, with its end taut, points into the box.
The PD walked over and glanced inside the box, then nodded:
" Han Zheng, red rope. Zhou Yuan, yellow rope. The red rope and the yellow rope are one."
Han Zheng's smile froze for a moment.
"Brother Han! We're on the same team!" Zhou Yuan had already walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said with an unexpected enthusiasm, "What a coincidence! I knew it, we were bound to have something going for us."
Han Zheng forced a smile, "Yeah, it's fine."
Zhou Yuan put his arm around Han's shoulder. "Don't worry, Brother Han. I'm not very good at cooking, but I can keep cheering you on. You cook, and I'll shout the instructions."
Han Zheng didn't reply, put the rope into his pocket, and stood aside.
His gaze swept in Ning Qing's direction, but Ning Qing still didn't look at him.
Then came Ning Qing and Su Jianqiu.
Su Jianqiu couldn't wait any longer. She reached into the second hole on the back and grabbed a green end of a rope.
Ning Qing stood to the side, reached out and selected the rightmost hole on the back, the blue one.
Su Jianqiu glanced at Ning Qing and asked, "Shall we pull together?"
Ning Qing hummed in agreement.
Two people exert force at the same time.
Looking down at the end of the rope in his hand, Cheng Che was facing forward.
Blue.
It was pulled by a force, straightened, and pointed in the direction of its back.
Cheng Che raised his head in the direction of the rope.
The rope in Ning Qing's hand was swaying gently. It was blue, exactly the same as the one in his hand.
The two people looked at each other.
Ning Qing paused for a moment, then quickly looked away and put the rope into her pocket.
Her face flushed slightly, but she quickly suppressed it.
Su Jianqiu had already run over, glanced at the rope in Ning Qing's hand, then at the one in Cheng Che's hand, and then let out an exaggerated scream.
Ning Qing! You're on the same team as Cheng Che!
Ning Qing glared at her. "What are you shouting for?"
"You're blushing!"
No. The light is too hot.
Su Jianqiu laughed so hard he bent over, then leaned close to Ning Qing's ear and whispered something.
Ning Qing ignored her, but the tips of her ears were still red.
Cheng Che stood opposite Ning Qing and nodded. "Sister Ning Qing, it's a pleasure working with you."
Ning Qing glanced at him and gave a soft "hmm".
On the other side, Su Jianqiu looked down at her rope, which was green.
Huang Ming, who was facing the other, also had a green one in his hand. The two exchanged a glance.
Su Jianqiu shrugged. " Teacher Huang, let's be on the same team."
Huang Ming gave a simple, honest smile, "Okay, I'm alright at cooking."
Grouping complete.
The PD clapped his hands. "Each group goes to the market to buy ingredients. The budget will be deducted from the previous funds. Return here in forty minutes and start cooking."
Cheng Che and Ning Qing went downstairs.
The market was bustling with noise, and the aromas of various foods mingled together.
The two walked side by side, with a half-step between them.
"What can you do?" Ning Qing asked.
Cheng Che thought for a moment, "Spicy stir-fried rice cakes, seafood pancakes, and soybean paste soup. The ingredients are readily available at the market, so they're quick to make."
Ning Qing nodded. "I'll chop the vegetables."
"Good."
The two walked up to a vegetable stall. The stall owner, an older woman, saw Cheng Che, her eyes lit up, and she greeted him warmly.
Cheng Che spoke a few words to the woman in Korean, and she smiled and packed him a bag of vegetables, adding two extra scallions.
Ning Qing stood to the side, watching him talk to the older woman, and tilted her head slightly.
How come your Korean is so good?
"Self-taught."
How long did you study?
"Not long after."
Ning Qing paused for a moment.
She wanted to say, "You're really amazing," but when the words came to her lips, she felt they were too direct.
She changed her tune, saying, "You're better than me. I only know a few phrases."
Cheng Che glanced at her. "Sister Ning Qing has studied this?"
"I once studied for a month to record a Korean song," Ning Qing said, "But my pronunciation was still not standard."
"Then sing a couple of lines for me to hear."
Ning Qing paused for a moment, then turned her head away. "I won't sing."
Cheng Che smiled and didn't force him.
She's still a proud and aloof person.
The two continued walking forward.
Ning Qing walked half a step behind Cheng Che, watching him walk in the crowd. He had broad shoulders and a steady gait.
She didn't look at his face again, but simply followed him.
Outside.
The staff, accompanied by a translator, searched for people in the market.
They need thirty ordinary citizens to participate in tasting and scoring.
The translator walked around the market holding a sign and quickly recruited more than a dozen people.
Then the staff saw two girls next to the candy stall.
She was wearing a hoodie, had her hair in a ponytail, and wasn't wearing makeup, but her features were very delicate.
Another person stood next to her, who looked like her best friend.
The two people were standing in front of the stall, looking around warily.
The staff member's eyes lit up, and he walked over.
"Hello, we're from the ' Walking the Flower Road Together ' program team, currently working on a task," the translator said in Korean. "There's a dinner tasting event upstairs where you can sample food for free and even rate the guests. Are you interested?"
The two girls exchanged a glance.
The girl in the hoodie was still wary, but her gaze lingered on the program title " Walking the Flower Road Together " for a moment.
Then she asked, "Who are the guests?"
The translator said, "The guests are Cheng Che, Su Jianqiu, Ning Qing, Han Zheng, Zhou Yuan, and Huang Ming."
The girl in the hoodie's eyes lit up. This was quickly noticed by the staff.
" Cheng Che," she asked in Chinese, "Is he here too?"
The translator nodded.
The girl in the hoodie and her best friend exchanged another glance.
This time, they both meant the same thing.
"Let's go," said the girl in the hoodie.
The staff member nodded, walked around the market again, and recruited a dozen more people.
After collecting thirty, he led everyone out of the market.
Pei Jingshu followed in the crowd, her heart beating faster and faster.
She wanted to appear directly in front of him.
When he came over with the dishes, I suddenly saw him and wanted to see his reaction.
Pei Jingshu quickened her pace to catch up with the group. Jin Zhixiu glanced at her from the side and whispered, "What are you laughing at?"
"It's nothing," Pei Jingshu said, but she couldn't hide the smile playing on her lips, "I just found it quite interesting."
The staff led thirty people into a small restaurant next to the market.
The restaurant wasn't big, with five or six round tables set up; the production crew had booked the entire place in advance.
The first dozen or so people who arrived had already sat down and were all whispering among themselves.
Pei Jingshu found a seat near the back, facing the door.
When Cheng Che brings the dishes in later, he'll see her first thing.
She rested her chin on her hands, her eyes bright, staring in the direction of the door.