[Pfft hahaha! No way, he’s actually daring to talk back?]
[Zhang Song, you little brat. Don’t cry later.]
[LMAO! Brother Ye has bulldozed his way through life, but he probably never imagined he’d keep getting outplayed by this kid!]
[Hurry! I can’t wait to see Brother Ye and God Zhou teach Zhang Song a lesson!]
Shao Yuye’s temper flared the moment he saw Zhang Song acting so smug.
—That little brat really is trouble!
But this time, Qi Luozhou didn’t even need to remind him. He immediately pulled out all four Running Cards.
“Perfect. We just finished eating, so we’ve got plenty of energy for a run!”
[Hahaha! Zhang Song: Repeatedly stomping all over Brother Ye’s biggest trigger is so much fun!]
[Zhang Song: Brother Ye, I’m sorry. Brother Ye… I’ll do it again next time!]
[Ahhh, Shen Wanwan is seriously life’s biggest winner! Zhang Song and Brother Ye are both fighting over her! I’m so jealous I’m tired of saying it!]
Holding his milk tea, Zhang Song turned toward Shen Wanwan with an aggrieved expression.
“Sister… Twenty minutes of running will kill me~”
Shao Yuye hadn’t expected him to pull that move.
Now he looked like the petty one who was nitpicking over every little thing. Afraid his sister might dislike him for it, he suddenly didn’t know what to do.
Meanwhile, Zhang Song kept fanning the flames.
“Sister, do you have any cards that can cancel the punishment? You’re the nicest! Please help me!”
Shao Yuye let out a cold snort.
—Heh.
—As if my sister would help this little brat.
—You’re not family. Who do you think you are?
To his surprise, Shen Wanwan answered the very next second.
“Sure.”
She even smiled at Zhang Song.
As expected, she was all bark and no bite.
Zhang Song released his straw and beamed sweetly before throwing Shao Yuye a triumphant look.
He didn’t say a word.
But his eyes clearly spelled out several smug words, “Hehe. See that? Sister is going to save me~”
Sitting beside him, Qi Luozhou curled his lips into a smile as well.
Whenever Shen Wanwan wore that expression, it meant she was about to dig someone into a pit.
Unfortunately, the livestream audience assumed he was simply enjoying Shao Yuye’s misfortune.
After all, the instant Shen Wanwan said, “Sure,” the grin stretching nearly to the back of Shao Yuye’s head froze solid.
[Hahaha! I feel bad for Brother Ye for one second! How did his little sister get stolen away so quickly by this green-tea little brother?]
[My sister! My precious little sister!! Zhang Song, you’re dead!]
[I’m dying! A world where only Brother Ye gets hurt has officially been achieved!]
Under Zhang Song’s hopeful gaze, Shen Wanwan pulled out two Running Cards.
“If you don’t like twenty minutes… then let’s make it a nice round half hour.”
Everyone froze.
Only the smile on Qi Luozhou’s lips widened.
At that instant, both Zhang Song’s and Shao Yuye’s expressions became priceless.
This time, the one bursting into triumphant laughter was Shao Yuye.
“Hahahahahaha!”
He knew it!
There was no way his sister would help this infuriating little brat!
Meanwhile, Zhang Song stared at Shen Wanwan in complete disbelief. His mouth drooped into a pout, looking genuinely wronged.
“Sister!”
The comments exploded with laughter.
[Hahaha! Kid, maybe think about whose brother you offended!]
[That’s her brother! You picked the wrong person to use your green-tea act on!]
[I’m crying from laughter. What is this? A little green-tea’s spectacular backfire?]
[Hahaha, he’s so adorable! I love watching him provoke Brother Ye only to get put in his place!]
Shen Wanwan raised an eyebrow, her tone turning icy, “Or… would you prefer forty minutes instead?”
Zhang Song immediately panicked.
“No, no, no! Thirty is enough!”
Realizing that Shen Wanwan’s heart was as hard as iron, and that acting cute would probably only make things worse, Zhang Song reluctantly got to his feet.
Before heading off to run, he shot Shao Yuye a resentful glare.
Shao Yuye answered with an exaggerated eye roll.
Their mutual hostility amused everyone present, and another wave of laughter erupted.
[I’m starting to think Brother Ye’s most hated person isn’t God Zhou anymore, but Xiao Song.]
[Girl, you can drop the ‘starting to think.’ That’s definitely the case!]
[Brother Ye probably thinks God Zhou isn’t so bad now. After all, God Zhou helped him teach that brat a lesson today! Damn it, I’m shipping these ‘Rivals’ CP again!]
By the time Zhang Song finished his thirty-minute run, the other guests had already finished tidying up.
The director then began explaining how to upgrade the villa and its facilities.
Although this was a deserted island, a major wilderness romance reality show had developed the island two years earlier, building a small plaza and several villas.
As a result, one side of the island remained untouched wilderness, while the other was fully equipped with facilities and even various activity areas for the guests to enjoy.
Since the island had originally been designed for a dating show, its overall style leaned toward beauty and romance.
After all, this wasn’t a true wilderness survival program, they weren’t expected to build their own shelters.
So while the production team had provided everyone with a villa, it was completely unfurnished.
There wasn’t even something as basic as a bed.
“How are we supposed to sleep tonight?”
Zhang Yiran stared at the eight completely empty bedrooms in disbelief.
“Director… don’t tell me you’re expecting us to sleep on the floor?”
The director shook his head mysteriously and signaled the staff to hand everyone a map.
Every piece of furniture was marked at different challenge locations.
“If you want something, clear the levels and earn it. Good luck!”
“Damn it! We have to get a bed this afternoon! Otherwise we’re literally sleeping on the floor tonight!”
Zhang Yiran looked at the map, ready to curse.
“You’re way too ruthless! We’re over here, but the bed challenge is all the way on the other side of the island! Why don’t you just send us into space while you’re at it?”
The director smiled smugly and produced the latest purchase catalog.
“You can always buy one.”
Beds were indeed listed.
The only problem…
The price was absurdly expensive.
“Seriously? Seriously? You actually think this price is funny?”
Zhang Yiran laughed out of sheer frustration.
Standing beside him, Jiang Yuan sighed quietly.
“Has it occurred to anyone… that the 888 price tag might actually mean ‘bye-bye-bye’? As in… you’re not worthy?”1
Zhang Yiran: “…My apologies.”
[Damn, the director is such a jerk! This episode doesn’t even give out any Speed Tokens, and he still raised the prices! I’m seriously convinced he’s just trying to drain everyone’s wallets of every last Speed Tokens!]
[Exactly! If one team gets unlucky and can’t win a bed today, won’t they have to pay that ridiculous price?]
[Hahaha, the director is so evil!]
Normally, everyone could at least take a break in their rooms after lunch.
But now, staring at completely empty rooms…
How the heck were they supposed to rest?!
Zhang Yiran shoved Jiang Yuan.
“Hurry up already! Why are you still standing there? Go get us a bed!!”
“O-Okay!”
Snapping out of his daze, Jiang Yuan hurried after him as the two rushed toward the bed challenge.
Bai Ling, having eaten lunch by herself, finally had an excuse to rejoin the group. After thinking it over, she decided to let bygones be bygones.
“Shao Yuye, should we get going too?”
Time waited for no one. They couldn’t afford to delay any longer.
Shao Yuye glanced at Shen Wanwan. Seeing no objection on her face, he nodded.
“Yeah. Let’s move.”
As the two left, Jin Xiaoyu started feeling anxious.
Qi Luozhou was still calmly studying the map, looking completely unhurried.
Unable to hold back, Jin Xiaoyu called out, “God Zhou?!”
After a brief moment of thought, Qi Luozhou pointed to a location in the middle of the map.
“Let’s go here first.”
Jin Xiaoyu followed the direction of his finger.
He was pointing… to the lamp.
[Difficulty: ★★★★★]
The bed challenge was only ★☆☆☆☆!
Sure, they could survive a night without lights…
But they definitely couldn’t survive without beds!
“God Zhou… are you serious?”
She made one last attempt to persuade him.
“Mhm.”
Qi Luozhou curved his lips into a faint smile. His gaze drifted past her shoulder and rested briefly on Shen Wanwan for just a second.
“Let’s go.”
Since he looked so confident, Jin Xiaoyu didn’t argue anymore.
“…Alright.”
That left only Shen Wanwan and Zhang Song.
Having just finished running, Zhang Song stood there with his hands on his hips, still trying to catch his breath.
The viewers felt sorry for him and flooded the chat with advice, telling him to stop showing off and provoking Shao Yuye and Shen Wanwan.
That pair of siblings was not someone he could afford to mess with!
As Shen Wanwan studied the map, Zhang Song leaned over.
“Sister, where are we going?”
[Where will Wanwan go?]
[I don’t think she’ll go for the bed. She always comes up with something unexpected.]
[She and God Zhou are always on the same wavelength. Is she choosing the lamp too?]
Just as everyone was making guesses, Shen Wanwan suddenly took out a Broadcast Blocking Card.
It was another SSS-rank prop card.
If there was something they didn’t want the livestream audience to see, they could use it to block the broadcast for thirty minutes.
[Hey! Don’t manufacture suspense like this!]
[Damn it! The director was already bad enough, and now you guys too…]
[Aaaah! Thirty minutes without seeing Wanwan?! I’m going to lose my mind!!]
The livestream screen immediately went black.
Shen Wanwan and Zhang Song walked forward together.
Zhang Song had no idea why she had blocked the livestream. After all, although the audience couldn’t see anything anymore, the cameramen on-site were still filming the two of them.
Still smiling brightly, he stayed beside her and acted spoiled.
“Sister, you’re so mean. You actually teamed up with your brother to bully me earlier!”
“Zhang Song.”
When Shen Wanwan called his name, her voice was exceptionally gentle, “You’ve really improved a lot.”
Zhang Song froze.
He felt as though there was another meaning behind her words, yet convinced himself it must be his imagination.
His smile remained bright.
“Wow, Sister praised me!”
The very next second, her cool, crystal-clear voice shattered the fake smile on his face.
“—But you shouldn’t have used my Brother as your stepping stone.”
“Sister… what are you talking about…?”
A trace of panic flashed across Zhang Song’s eyes before he quickly composed himself.
“I… don’t understand what you mean…”
“Do you really not understand?
“Or are you pretending not to?”
Shen Wanwan smiled. But the smile never reached her eyes.
“You know how to create sensational topics.
“I know how to deal with them, too…”
She deliberately stopped there.
She didn’t finish the sentence.
Leaving it unsaid was already her way of showing him mercy.
She ended the conversation there.
The young man opposite her clearly understood exactly what she meant.
If he angered her…
The huge wave of attention he had stirred up earlier would rebound against him, turning his own scheme into his downfall.
He would only have himself to blame.
Zhang Song rubbed the back of his head in frustration.
“I’m sorry.”
Shen Wanwan wasn’t moved in the slightest.
With an indifferent expression, she replied, “Apologize to my Brother.”
He’d been irritated by Zhang Song all day.
Her Brother was probably feeling miserable by now.
Zhang Song had never imagined that his carefully concealed intentions would be seen through so easily.
Regret and panic welled up inside him.
The carefree, composed young man who had effortlessly handled everything all morning finally showed the confusion and anxiety fitting someone his age.
Looking at Shen Wanwan, he hurriedly added,
“But, Sister… that one thing, I wasn’t lying to you.
“I was genuinely grateful.”
When someone who has already broken another person’s trust tells the truth…
Even the truth sounds like a lie.
Shen Wanwan didn’t believe him.
She merely looked at him with a faint smile.
The smile was gentle… yet ice-cold.
“Do you know why, despite all your hard work, you’ve always been stuck as a second-tier celebrity and never managed to break through?”
“W-Why?”
Zhang Song turned toward her urgently.
“Awareness2.”
She answered with just one understated word.
Yet that one word completely shattered the carefully built confidence inside him.
He stood there, stunned.
The cold wind roared past, leaving his hair in disarray.
His eyes remained fixed on Shen Wanwan.
She was still as ethereally beautiful as ever.
It was as if she possessed some special kind of power—
Even the howling wind seemed to soften and lose some of its force by the time it reached her.
- In Chinese internet slang, “88” is often used for “bye-bye” because the numbers sound similar. Jiang Yuan is jokingly interpreting “888” as a triple “bye-bye” to imply that the people involved are being dismissed or are not “worthy” of staying. ↩︎
- 格局 (géjú) literally means pattern/structure. When used to describe someone’s character, it refers to a person’s perspective, breadth of mind, or “big-picture” awareness. It is essentially a measure of someone’s emotional and intellectual “capacity.” A person with a large géjú isn’t easily rattled by small setbacks and considers the long-term impact of their actions. ↩︎