That day, Shao Yuye had been in a gloomy mood, though the progress of the challenge was remarkably smooth.
He handled the physical tasks, while Shen Wanwan took care of the mental ones. Even though the two of them exchanged zero words, their speed at clearing levels was top-notch. The livestream comments were buzzing, joking that the producers must’ve leaked the answers just to keep them around.
After clearing yet another level, Shao Yuye didn’t rush ahead but instead walked into a cake shop.
The sweet aroma lingered at the tip of his nose. He stood in front of the display case for a long time, struggling to choose from the dazzling array of cakes.
In truth, he just wanted to pick one at random.
But as if guided by some invisible force, halfway through reaching for one, he changed direction and grabbed a slice of red velvet cake—his sister’s favorite.
After paying, he handed the box of cake to Shen Wanwan.
She had given him a Black Forest cake before.
Now he was returning the favor.
Even though their time as teammates had been full of arguments, now that they were about to part ways, he didn’t want things to end on a sour note.
Ever since he had scolded her that morning, Shen Wanwan had adopted the principle of ‘whoever speaks first is the dog.’ Aside from answering quiz questions or speaking to the staff, she hadn’t said a single word to Shao Yuye.
When he handed her the cake, she simply cast a cold glance at it, then looked away, clearly disinterested.
Shao Yuye didn’t have anything extra to say to her either, he wasn’t the type to owe people anything.
He tried to push the cake into her hands.
But Shen Wanwan wouldn’t take it.
She looked at him coolly, her tone frosty:
“Don’t bother me.”
Shao Yuye : “……”
She was clearly throwing his words from earlier that morning right back at him.
Still, he couldn’t be bothered to argue with this drama queen.
“Take it. I don’t like owing people favors.”
Shen Wanwan gave a sharp little snort, her crisp voice tinged with a bit of sass:
“This cake doesn’t have the little pearls on top. I’m not that impressed.”
Shao Yuye froze as if struck by lightning.
The childish voice from his memories slowly overlapped with the person in front of him.
This wasn’t the first time.
Over the past few days, she’d kept stirring up fragments of his past.
All of it, brushing it off as mere coincidence didn’t sit right anymore.
Shen Wanwan, she…
Just then, the bell signaling the end of the challenge rang out, officially announcing the end of the first stop. The livestream ended as well.
The staff called for everyone to get back on the bus to return to the starting point.
Shao Yuye finally snapped out of it, lifting his head as if waking from a dream, but Shen Wanwan had already gotten on the shuttle and left alone.
The autumn wind brushed his face, a chill in the air.
Standing there in the wind, the dark cloud that had shrouded his chest all morning now felt like it was lit with fire.
On the ride back, 001 suddenly had a revelation: {You’re not hoping your brother will recognize you on his own, are you?}
Shen Wanwan’s face was expressionless. “Is there something wrong with that?”
The little glowing orb seemed to fall into deep thought: {Er… feels like that might be kind of hard.}
Shen Wanwan gave a soft snort. “If he can’t even recognize his own sister, why should I recognize him?”
What stood between her and Shao Yuye wasn’t just a few years apart, it was a chasm of more than a decade. A simple “I’m your sister” wasn’t enough to bridge that gap.
So even though 001 always referred to him as ‘your brother,’ Shen Wanwan usually just called him Shao Yuye.
The clues from their childhood she had thrown at him, those should be enough to awaken memories of his sister.
That is, if he still remembered her at all.
Hearing this, 001 became even more confused.
{That… that kind of makes sense?!}
Su Tingxuan and Jiang Qianfan were the first pair to return.
When Shen Wanwan got off the car, she didn’t spare them even a glance and walked straight back to her spot.
One had to admit, her figure and posture were excellent. Even just standing there casually, she exuded an air of elegance and nobility.
But so what if she looked perfect on the outside?
Jiang Qianfan gloated :
“She came back alone. Probably had another fight with Shao Yuye.”
Su Tingxuan thought so too.
Soon, other groups returned and were all puzzled to see Shen Wanwan alone.
When Shao Yuye finally showed up, everyone had arrived.
Bai Ling whispered to Jin Xiaoyu, “I feel like Shao Yuye’s in a pretty bad mood.”
Jin Xiaoyu whispered back, “Well, duh. He was paired with Shen Wanwan. Who wouldn’t be in a bad mood? But partner selection is coming soon, he’ll be free of her soon enough…”
Director : “Alright, since everyone is here, let’s announce the final results!”
The final progress in the challenge was very clear.
Qi Luozhou and Jiang Yuan ranked first, having cleared 30 levels.
Zhang Yiran and Li Yan came in second with 27 levels.
Third place went to Bai Ling and Jin Xiaoyu. Shao Yuye and Shen Wanwan placed fourth. Jiang Qianfan and Su Tingxuan turned the tide just in time and narrowly secured fifth place. Unfortunately, Jia Lu and Chi Tian were in last place and became the team to be eliminated.
Shao Yuye didn’t say a word; his eyes burned as he looked at Shen Wanwan. “I have something to say to you.”
But Shen Wanwan still ignored him.
Her posture was as haughty as a cat’s.
In the past, Shao Yuye would’ve been annoyed already.
But this time, the more he looked, the more she reminded him of his little sister when she used to get sulky. It was the exact same proud and pouty expression.
A certain question kept swirling on the tip of his tongue, uncertain whether it should be asked.
As he grew increasingly agitated, someone suddenly called his name.
It was Chi Tian giving her farewell speech after elimination : “Honestly, being eliminated doesn’t feel too bad. I just regret not getting to team up with Brother Ye. I really wanted to experience what it’s like to be carried by him~”
The other girls all smiled politely.
The livestream comments (bullet chats) were full of support:
[Aww don’t be sad, Sister Chi Tian! There’ll be other chances to team up in the future!]
[That’s right, the future is long~]
Shao Yuye was momentarily stunned, then seriously said to Chi Tian, “You can team up with me, but don’t hold me back.”
Everyone : “……”
Chi Tian : “……”
A young girl’s heart shattered into pieces.
[Hahaha I can’t! Seriously, Brother Ye is single purely because of his personality.]
[In this industry, anyone could get into a scandal, except for Brother Ye! That mouth of his!!!]
[Poor Chi Tian, don’t cry! Brother Ye is just a total straight guy. All he sees is winning or losing, no wonder people always say he’s overly competitive!]
[Brother Ye, please just stop talking!]
Even Shen Wanwan curled her lips into a slight smile.
After Jia Lu and Chi Tian left, the production team tallied up the rankings for this round.
Once that was done, it was time for the most highly anticipated moment, the partner selection round.
“Now, I will announce the rules for self-selection.
“Only when both parties choose each other will the pairing be considered successful.
“If the two guests who pair up successfully are already the same team as this round, they will receive a [Love Stronger Than Gold] bonus card.
“Guests who fail to mutually select each other will be reshuffled into new teams, and their challenge progress will be recalculated based on a combined score!
“Now, please pick up your phones and send an invitation to the person you want to team up with!”
At that moment, the livestream screen went black.
[What the hell?! Just when it got good, it’s over! Director, I beg you to be human, please!!!]
[Show it to me now! Aaaah I NEED to know who Brother Ye will choose!!!]
This segment had become one of the biggest cliffhangers and highlights of each episode.
The female lead, Bai Ling, showed off her charm. Starting with only three votes, and eventually turning into a universally beloved fan favorite—all thanks to this segment.
001 asked excitedly : {Who are you going to choose?}
Shen Wanwan quickly finished composing and sending her text, then asked 001:
“Who do you think everyone will pick?”
{Uh, in the original novel you and your brother were cyberbullied and eliminated, so I did know how the choices went. But now that the story has changed, you and your brother stayed, and Jia Lu and Chi Tian were eliminated, I honestly don’t know how the teams will turn out!}
Shen Wanwan gave a small smile. “Who do you think I will pick?”
{Ugh, I’m more worried about whether anyone will pick you, honestly!}
If no one chose her, it’d be super embarrassing, totally uncool.
Shen Wanwan just smiled nonchalantly.
“I don’t care.”
She didn’t need others choosing her to prove how popular or desirable she was.
Why would she need that kind of validation? It’s not like she’s money.
Just as she said that, her phone buzzed unexpectedly.
It was a message from a number ending in 0085:
“Wanna team up for the next round?”
001 let out a dramatic ‘Oho!’ and twirled in the air : {Who sent that?}
Shen Wanwan replied calmly : “Obviously not Shao Yuye.”
{Doesn’t matter, at least someone chose you, haha! Who’s the kind soul? That’s nice!}
Just then, Shen Wanwan’s phone buzzed again.
Jin Xiaoyu beside her couldn’t help glancing over.
Was she hearing things?
Did the phone just buzz twice?
{Whoa! Someone else texted you again!}
Shen Wanwan opened the new message.
138****0002 : “Maybe we’d make a good team.”
Clearly, this wasn’t from Shao Yuye either.
{Wow! I didn’t realize you were this charming! Two votes, two votes!}
The little glowing orb bounced excitedly on Shen Wanwan’s shoulder.
If it had hands, it would’ve been beating on two gongs right now.
Oh yeah.
Its host is amazing!
Once everyone finished sending their messages, the staff quickly handed the director the cue cards with the tallied results.
“Now, we will announce the results of this selection round. We’ll start with the female guests.”
The director’s gaze swept across everyone. The first name he called was Bai Ling.
“Bai Ling. One guest chose you.”
001 said curiously : {Huh? In the original plot, the female lead clearly got three votes, why is there only one now?!}
Shen Wanwan smiled, “Who chose her?”
{Su Tingxuan, Jin Xiaoyu, Jiang Qianfan.}
{That’s strange, why didn’t the other two choose her again? This doesn’t match the plot of the book!}
Shen Wanwan smiled slightly.
The problem must have stemmed from that hot spring card.
Unlike in the book, she didn’t refuse the card. Instead, she accepted it.
Just like the slight flap of a butterfly’s wings can set off a chain reaction, Jin Xiaoyu, as a teammate, began to feel a grudge toward Bai Ling, and Jiang Qianfan, unable to get help from her ‘good bestie’, also formed an unfavorable opinion of Bai Ling.
“Bai Ling, let’s go together to the next stop, okay?”
Under the curious gaze of everyone, Su Tingxuan took a step forward.
He looked deeply at Bai Ling and repeated the same words he had sent her in the message.
Everyone turned to look at Bai Ling.
Her expression turned awkward.
Zhang Yiran slapped his thigh in excitement: “Oh my god, this announcement part is too intense!”
The director looked at Su Tingxuan: “Sorry, Bai Ling’s first choice isn’t you.”
Su Tingxuan was briefly stunned, but quickly understood.
Bai Ling probably chose Jin Xiaoyu, since they worked well together during the first stop.
But then the director quickly shattered his assumption: “Bai Ling, the partner you chose is Qi Luozhou.”
Su Tingxuan looked at Bai Ling in disbelief, and the expressions of the others became subtly complex at that moment.
Only Shen Wanwan and Qi Luozhou remained the calmest.
Bai Ling looked at Qi Luozhou, her ears turning red:
“God Zhou, I’ve been your fan for so many years, you’re my idol.
“I knew you wouldn’t pick me, but like Chi Tian said, when you have the chance, you should make your feelings clear, so you won’t have regrets.
“I just wanted to tell you, I want to choose you and be in a group with you.”
The camera zoomed in on Qi Luozhou’s exquisitely handsome yet indifferent face.
He merely gave a faint nod and said mildly:
“There will be opportunities in the future.”
Director : “Now, everyone who chose Qi Luozhou, please step forward.”
Jin Xiaoyu and Jiang Qianfan both stepped forward.
Zhang Yiran and Li Yan were practically dying of envy.
Out of the four girls on the show, aside from Shen Wanwan, all of them had chosen him!
God Zhou was truly God Zhou, just his looks and personality crushed the whole field.
If it were either of them, being chosen by so many girls would have made them ecstatic.
But Qi Luozhou still wore a calm expression, maintaining his polite yet distant demeanor.
Director : “Sorry, the partner Qi Luozhou chose is not among you three.”
He chose Jiang Yuan.
But clearly, Jiang Yuan didn’t choose Qi Luozhou, he wasn’t among the ones who stepped forward earlier.
What kind of ultimate love polygon is this?!
“Jiang Yuan, who did you choose?”
Being called on, Jiang Yuan stepped forward. When he looked at Qi Luozhou, he had the same awkward expression as Bai Ling.
“Uh…”
Everyone widened their eyes.
Who was the person Jiang Yuan gave up God Zhou for?!
Jiang Yuan covered his face briefly, looked at Shen Wanwan, and said the exact same words he sent in the message:
“Shen Wanwan, maybe we’d make a good team, what do you think?”
Shen Wanwan met his gaze calmly.
—So he was the one who sent the second message.
Director : “Now, everyone who chose Shen Wanwan, please step forward.”
The second person to step forward was Li Yan, who winked at Shen Wanwan with a grin: “Let’s have fun together on the next stop!”
Zhang Yiran whistled : “Li Yan, you dog, you’re doing well!”
Li Yan stuck out his tongue and made a face : “Right back at ya.”
The girls at the scene wore complicated expressions. Shen Wanwan, with her princess syndrome and constant need for others to fuss over her, was actually chosen by two guys.
It proved once again that in the eyes of these shallow men, nothing mattered besides beauty, other virtues were worth nothing.
Just as they were grumbling internally, Shao Yuye, who had been standing off to the side with his hands in his pockets, suddenly took a long stride forward—
And stood shoulder to shoulder with Li Yan and Jiang Yuan.
He looked at Shen Wanwan intently, like he was gazing at a long-awaited hope now within reach.
Everyone was stunned.
Wait, did they see that right?!
Shao Yuye actually chose Shen Wanwan??????