[Hahaha, I can’t take it anymore, guys! Brother Ye’s bad luck is truly unmatched!]
[My Brother Ye is destined to rise through sheer strength, sigh… 🤦♀️]
“Ah, my apologies, but please hand over ten Speed Tokens!”
The staff member finished speaking but couldn’t hold back their laughter.
—Brother Ye really had the worst luck imaginable!
Shen Wanwan: “…Heh.”
Her voice was soft, almost like a breathy sigh.
Shao Yuye silently gritted his teeth.
Why did he feel like he was being mocked?!
He awkwardly rubbed his nose and muttered,
“I’ll earn it back in the next level.”
Shen Wanwan let out a light “hmph,” her tone teasing.
“You’d better.”
“You don’t believe me?”
Shao Yuye raised an eyebrow. “I’m super skilled, okay?”
So arrogant.
Shen Wanwan narrowed her eyes slightly. She was in a good mood and decided to tease him on purpose.
“Ah, yes, yes, of course.
“Out of the entire wheel, there was only one debuff slot, and you actually managed to land on it. That’s pretty impressive.”
She even chuckled after speaking, her crescent-shaped eyes curving into a bright smile. Her fair face looked particularly radiant and charming.
“You…! @#￥%……&（）*”
Shao Yuye was fuming. He wanted to argue back, but after opening and closing his mouth several times, he couldn’t think of a single good retort.
[LOL, Shen Wanwan’s sarcasm is at max level!]
[Brother Ye is about to explode from anger, hahaha!]
[Shen Wanwan is seriously something else! She didn’t lift a finger during the challenge, and now she’s adding salt to the wound. So annoying!]
[Hang in there, sisters! This round is almost over. As long as Brother Ye makes it through and isn’t eliminated, he can pick a new partner, and things will be smooth sailing!]
[Ugh, I just feel so bad for Brother Ye… TAT ]
[Feeling bad for Brother Ye +10086]
The weather was great today. The sun bathed the earth in warm light. It was a refreshingly crisp autumn day.
But while Shao Yuye and Shen Wanwan breezed through the challenge, Jiang Qianfan suddenly felt immense pressure. Even the sunlight seemed harsher, making it impossible to aim properly, causing another missed shot.
“What do we do?! We’re in last place now!”
Jiang Qianfan couldn’t help but panic.
“I don’t know either.”
Su Tingxuan was also getting anxious.
He had joined this variety show for Bai Ling. He couldn’t afford to get eliminated before he even had a chance to team up with her!
Jiang Qianfan glanced at Shao Yuye and Shen Wanwan’s departing figures and bit her lip.
“Should we take a gamble?”
Su Tingxuan looked confused. “What do you mean?”
Jiang Qianfan reminded him, “We have a ‘Substitute Card’, don’t we?”
The Substitute Card, as the name suggested, allowed them to summon a substitute to complete the challenge in their place.
But the outcome, whether good or bad, depended entirely on the substitute.
If the substitute intentionally sabotaged them, it could backfire completely.
Plus, they only had three attempts. If all three failed, the card would be wasted.
This was an R-level item card, meaning they couldn’t pick their substitute. It was decided by a random draw.
Because of this huge risk, Jiang Qianfan and Su Tingxuan had been hesitant to use it.
If they drew a weak player, the card would be completely useless.
Now that the idea was on the table again, Su Tingxuan hesitated. “It still seems too risky…”
Before he could finish, Jiang Qianfan impatiently cut him off. “Then what do you suggest?! We’ve been stuck on this level forever, and multiple teams have already moved on! I’m trying to strategize, and all you do is nitpick, so what’s your brilliant plan?”
Su Tingxuan, a wealthy young master, was rarely spoken to this way. He felt awkward and annoyed, his face darkening.
“Why are you taking your frustration out on me? Fine, if you want to use it, use it!”
Jiang Qianfan realized she had been too harsh. She composed herself, clasped her hands together, and started praying.
“Anyone is fine, just please, please don’t let it be Shen Wanwan.”
Earlier, Shen Wanwan hadn’t even attempted a single throw. She was probably useless.
Su Tingxuan had nothing more to say.
“Let’s just leave it to fate.”
“Director, we’re using the Substitute Card!”
Soon, all the remaining contestants’ names were written on slips of paper and tossed into a draw box, shaken thoroughly.
Jiang Qianfan silently chanted “Please, please,” in her head before reaching in and pulling out a paper.
Su Tingxuan anxiously asked, “Who is it?”
Jiang Qianfan lowered her head, staring at the three characters on the slip. She suddenly found it hard to breathe.
—Crap.
She had jinxed it.
They had drawn Shen Wanwan.
Jiang Qianfan clutched her head.
“…We’re doomed.”
The staff over there was asking Shen Wanwan and Shao Yuye if they wanted to take a ride to the next level area.
Other than the shuttle in the morning that transported contestants to the level areas, any additional rides throughout the day required a payment of 5 Speed Tokens.
Shen Wanwan and Shao Yuye’s team was already lagging behind, and Speed Tokens were not only hard to accumulate but would also be needed later on. The live chat was filled with viewers urging them to endure and save their tokens.
[Ah, don’t take the ride! It’s only a ten-minute walk to the next level area. Brother Ye and Wanwan just lost 10 Speed Tokens. Now they only have 5 left, right?]
[Yeah, they should save their tokens!]
But clearly, Shen Wanwan hadn’t changed her spoiled ways.
She gestured for Shao Yuye to pay. “I want to take the ride.”
[It’s just a ten-minute walk! Does Shen Wanwan really need to take the ride?]
Luckily, Shao Yuye had never been one to care about money. Passing a level quickly had put him in a great mood, so he agreed to her request without hesitation.
“Let’s ride.”
Thankfully, he wasn’t stingy.
Shen Wanwan mentally gave him a five-star rating.
Just as the two were about to get into the vehicle, a staff member came running over in a hurry.
“Wait! Jiang Qianfan and Su Tingxuan’s team has used a Substitute Card.
“Shen Wanwan, you need to head to Level 11 to assist them!”
When Shen Wanwan and Shao Yuye returned to the basketball challenge area, Jiang Qianfan and Su Tingxuan were in the middle of a heated argument.
The argument had started because Jiang Qianfan wouldn’t stop complaining.
“Shen Wanwan definitely won’t help us. I even argued with her yesterday. And with her skills, she wouldn’t make a single shot anyway!
“Ugh, how can you, a grown man, be so bad at shooting? Look at Shao Yuye! He never misses!”
Su Tingxuan had been holding back but finally snapped.
“It’s not just me who can’t score. You can’t either, so shut up.”
Jiang Qianfan, already on edge, exploded.
“Haven’t I carried us through most of the previous challenges? And now you’re blaming me?!”
“Only the incompetent blame their teammates. Look at Shao Yuye, he’s carrying Shen Wanwan just fine!”
As the argument escalated, neither of them noticed Shen Wanwan and Shao Yuye had arrived.
At that moment, Shao Yuye let out a deliberate cough.
Both Jiang Qianfan and Su Tingxuan turned their heads. Jiang Qianfan’s flushed face showed a hint of embarrassment, while Su Tingxuan simply scowled without saying a word.
Shen Wanwan watched with amusement. “Why stop? Keep going.”
Jiang Qianfan, thoroughly annoyed, waved her off. “Just go. No need for your sarcastic comments.”
Shen Wanwan smiled. “Weren’t you the ones who called me here to help?”
“Tch.” Jiang Qianfan sneered. “As if you could even make a shot.”
Something stirred in Su Tingxuan’s mind.
Maybe… maybe Shen Wanwan actually could do it?
*Cough.*
Su Tingxuan coughed awkwardly. “Help us out.”
To his surprise, Shen Wanwan rejected him outright.
“No.”
Her voice was clear and cool, carrying an air of distance and finality.
Su Tingxuan was stunned. He looked up in disbelief.
She had never refused him before.
Was she still mad about him making her return the hot spring pass to Bai Ling yesterday?
How petty! She was being so dramatic!
“Tch. As if you could help anyway.”
Jiang Qianfan scoffed, full of regret.
If she’d known her luck would be this bad, drawing Shen Wanwan with the Substitute Card, she wouldn’t have used it at all!
Now the card was gone, and they were still stuck!
“I’ll help you, on one condition.”
Shen Wanwan gave a slow, lazy smile. “Twenty Speed Tokens per shot.”
“Twenty?!”
Jiang Qianfan’s eyes widened, his voice rising. “Are you robbing us?!”
Five shots would cost 100 Speed Tokens.
100 Speed Tokens was no small amount!
“Skipping the challenge costs only 200!”
Shen Wanwan replied indifferently, “Then skip it.”
Jiang Qianfan choked, his frustration evident. “Where do you even get the confidence that you can clear the challenge for us?”
“If I fail, I won’t take a single coin.”
Her voice was crisp and composed, with a touch of arrogance. It was a challenge in itself. “The choice is yours.”
The live chat went wild at her bold statement.
[Where is Shen Wanwan getting this confidence from?]
[She only has three attempts with the Substitute Card. Does she really think she’ll make it in three attempts?]
[If it were Brother Ye saying this, I’d believe it. But Shen Wanwan? What makes her so sure?]
Even Shao Yuye raised an eyebrow in amusement.
Shen Wanwan looked delicate and frail, but she was confident she could sink five shots in a row?
That was no easy feat.
Jiang Qianfan didn’t believe a word of it.
“Hah! And if you miss all three shots?
“Then you give me 100 Speed Coins. How? Do you dare to bet?”
Shen Wanwan cooperatively let out a laugh and kindly suggested:
“Given your current situation, it doesn’t seem like you’re in a position to negotiate with me.”
Jiang Qianfan & Su Tingxuan : “……”
That… seemed to be the case.
They had used a Substitute Card and drawn Shen Wanwan. Whether their ‘substitute’ would help them clear this round depended entirely on Shen Wanwan’s willingness.
Jiang Qianfan hesitated for a moment before shrugging nonchalantly.
“Go ahead and shoot. It’s not like we’re losing anything. Some people just love to talk big, but if they can’t even land a single shot later, that would be embarrassing.”
Shen Wanwan ignored his taunt and gestured for Jiang Qianfan to hand her the ball.
—Such a princess. Even needs someone to serve her when shooting a ball.
Jiang Qianfan grumbled as he handed the ball over, clearly displeased.
Meanwhile, Shao Yuye stood nearby, arms crossed, watching with amusement.
He had been on a team with Shen Wanwan for three days now and seriously doubted that this pampered girl had any real skills.
But seeing how boldly she boasted, looking so confident… could she actually do it?!
Su Tingxuan whispered to Jiang Qianfan, “We only have 100 coins left. If we give them all to her, we won’t even have money for transport.”
Jiang Qianfan dismissed his concerns. “No way she makes it in.”
Shen Wanwan hadn’t even tied her hair up, looking nothing like someone ready for a game. Anyone who didn’t know better might think she was just posing for a photoshoot.
Su Tingxuan stared at Shen Wanwan’s back and quietly thought to himself: Not necessarily.
At that moment, Shen Wanwan made her first shot.
The ball followed a steady arc but wobbled slightly as it neared the hoop, spinning around the rim.
All eyes locked onto the ball as it spun one more time and then—
*Pa!*
It bounced off the rim and dropped outside.
The first shot missed.
And so, the first attempt was gone.
“See? No need to worry about money.” Jiang Qianfan spread her hands. “She’s not making it.”
But Shao Yuye’s eyes lit up. Unlike the others, he was strictly results-oriented. Even though he didn’t particularly like Shen Wanwan, their brief truce from last night to this morning made him comment fairly:
“Her aim is solid.
“She just needs more power in her shot.”
Shen Wanwan nodded. “Got it.”
Meanwhile, the live chat was full of ridicule:
[LOL, some people really talked way too big.]
[That shot? I could do better!]
[At least Shen Wanwan had some sense and didn’t bet the 100 coins with Jiang Qianfan. Otherwise, she’d be left with nothing but regrets.]
[Wake up, dude! If she had any sense, she wouldn’t have talked herself into this embarrassment in the first place!]
Jiang Qianfan had already written off their chances of clearing this round and was just watching for fun, arms crossed, smirking.
“You sure you got it?”
Just as she was about to answer, Shen Wanwan threw another shot.
The ball sliced through the air, stirring up a faint breeze that lifted a few strands of her hair.
In the blink of an eye—
*Pa!*
It landed smoothly.
The basketball traced a perfect arc, falling cleanly through the hoop without even touching the backboard, nothing but net!
Jiang Qianfan : ?
Did… did she see that right?
Shen Wanwan : “Ball.”
Without thinking, Jiang Qianfan handed her another one.
*Pa.*
Another perfect shot!
Must be luck, right?
But before she could ask, Jiang Qianfan automatically picked up another ball and handed it over.
*Pa!*
*Pa!*
The third shot. The fourth shot. Both went in!
In just a few heartbeats, they had already reached match point.
“Holy crap!”
Jiang Qianfan’s eyes widened. Her and Su Tingxuan’s best record was only three successful shots.
“Fine, 100 coins it is…” Jiang Qianfan hesitated before saying, “As long as you get us through this round, I’ll pay!”
But Shen Wanwan shook her head, her tone regretful.
“The price just went up. 120.”
Jiang Qianfan : “Hah?! Where did that extra 20 come from? You jacking up the price?!”
[Exactly! 100 coins was already expensive! How is Shen Wanwan like this?!]
Shen Wanwan glanced at her and explained indifferently,
“That’s the emotional damage fee for all your earlier insults.”
Jiang Qianfan : “……”
Crap. Was it too late to take back what she said?!
Su Tingxuan clenched his teeth, trying to suppress his frustration.
“Shen Wanwan, don’t push it!”
Shen Wanwan didn’t even look at him. Her voice turned colder.
“130.”
Su Tingxuan snapped, “You—!”
Shen Wanwan : “140.”
Shao Yuye : “……”
Damn. He had to respect her hustle.
Jiang Qianfan quickly cut in before things escalated further, “Alright, alright! 120 it is… but we don’t have that much on us right now. Can we owe you 20?”
“Deal.”
Shen Wanwan casually tossed the ball.
*Pa!*
The fifth and final shot—
Went in.
The barrage of comments on the screen was completely flooded with countless [666661]
[I can’t believe my eyes!]
[Shen Wanwan is actually pretty impressive!]
Even the director’s team was utterly shocked.
Shen Wanwan had this kind of skill?
It was completely at odds with the delicate and spoiled persona she had always portrayed!
Jiang Qianfan was so moved he was nearly in tears.
The challenge that had tormented them for so long was finally cleared!!!
Shen Wanwan waved the hundred coins she had won in front of Shao Yuye.
Her skin was a cool, fair shade, and the small red mole on her pale wrist was surrounded by an extremely faint hint of pink.
“Am I amazing?”
Shao Yuye chuckled.
“…Yeah, you are.”
Maybe it was because he’d noticed the little red mole on her wrist yesterday—
But for some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she seemed strangely familiar.
The more he looked at her, the more he felt that her features bore an uncanny resemblance to his own.
A ridiculous thought popped into his mind out of nowhere…
—Could she be the child that cheap old man had left behind from some fling years ago?
But he quickly shook his head, pushing away the absurd notion.
Impossible.
It had to be just an illusion!
- the number 6 in Chinese is a slang for cool/amazing/awesome ↩︎