Chapter 162: Being Improper

“This time, the teams will be decided by a live poll from the viewers. The two people with the most votes will automatically become a pair,” the director explained without keeping them in suspense.

This meant that the team formation would entirely depend on the viewers’ choices.

Compared to the mutual selection between male and female guests, this added an element of unpredictability, since no one could guarantee that the fans’ votes would match their own preferred CP (couple pairing). But compared to random drawing, it also added some certainty, as the most popular CPs had large fanbases, and the voting likely wouldn’t stray too far from expectations.

However, there was one important issue.

Jiang Mi asked, “Director, when does the voting end?”

As soon as she asked, the director smiled and held up three fingers.

Jiang Mi frowned slightly. The one thing she didn’t want to happen was about to happen. “So, fans can keep voting during these three days, which means today it could be AB as a pair, but if tomorrow AC has more votes, it’ll be AC instead?”

The director clapped enthusiastically. “Exactly! As the vote count changes, so will the team formations, in real-time.”

Real-time changes—they were really playing with fire now.

Qin Ling couldn’t hold back and blurted out, “Isn’t this like wife-swapping?”

Wife-swapping?

What a scandalous phrase!

Jiang Mi coughed immediately, her porcelain-white cheeks tinged with a faint blush.

Gu Chuan’s hand gently patted her back, not too hard, not too soft.

Jiang Mi coughed a few more times to catch her breath, then shook her head, muttering softly, “Qin Ling is so improper.”

Gu Chuan responded seriously, “I’m proper. It’s always only you.”

Cough, cough! Just as Jiang Mi had stopped coughing, she started again.

Realizing his mistake, Qin Ling quickly tried to fix it. “I-I mean husband-swapping!”

Wife-swapping and husband-swapping—was there really much of a difference?

The other guests, all dignified people, refused to engage further in Qin Ling’s banter.

The director, initially proud of the creative team formation idea he had come up with, suddenly felt it sound rather inappropriate after Qin Ling’s comment.

Cough, cough. The director cleared his throat and said, “Changing partners, changing partners! So, dear viewers, these are the last two episodes of the show. If you want to see your favorite CPs, hurry up and share the live stream and cast your votes.”

After that, he quickly looked up at the sky.

They had been delayed earlier by Shen Mingxuan, and now the sun was almost directly overhead.

“For today’s midday task, everyone will work together to prepare a traditional rural meal, and then we’ll kick off the fun village life. Alright, let’s get started!”

Upon hearing this, Bai Ruoruo felt a surge of confidence. She was quite skilled at cooking and happened to notice Jiang Mi frowning. A thought crossed her mind.

Jiang Mi, being a pampered young lady, had likely never cooked in her life. When the time came, Jiang Mi would surely struggle in the kitchen, embarrassed and helpless. Bai Ruoruo, on the other hand, would appear graceful and efficient, easily outshining her.

“Director, how about we each make a dish? That way, it’ll be faster,” Bai Ruoruo suggested, intentionally glancing at Jiang Mi, then feigned surprise. “Oh no, Mimi, I forgot you don’t know how to cook. Director, just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“You’ve already said it all, and now you want to pretend you didn’t? Isn’t it exhausting to think of so many different things to say in one sentence?” Jiang Mi replied with a half-smile.

Bai Ruoruo bit her lip, about to play the victim, but Jiang Mi continued, “Let’s not each make a dish. How about you and I compete in cooking? Whoever loses will walk up and down the mountain path we just took ten times in high heels.”

Ten times?

Walking the mountain path just once would be exhausting for her.

Bai Ruoruo was about to refuse, but then she remembered that Jiang Mi couldn’t cook at all, making her victory seem certain. Jiang Mi’s confidence, Bai thought, must be coming from relying on Gu Chuan’s help.

In a rush, Bai Ruoruo quickly said, “Since it’s a competition, it should be fair. You have to do it by yourself—no help from others.”

Jiang Mi lazily curled her lips, about to respond when Lu Yu, unable to hold back, retorted sarcastically, “Bai Ruoruo, are you the director now? Do you get to make all the rules?”

Hearing that, Bai Ruoruo’s face paled, and she hurried to explain, “That’s not what I meant. I just… I just thought…”

At this point, the director intervened, “A cooking competition is fine, and the bet stands, but it won’t just be the two of you. All the guests will participate. However, since the kitchen isn’t big enough for ten people, we’ll do teams of two. You can pick your partners freely, and the villagers will taste and vote.”

None of the guests had any objections, but they all now looked at Bai Ruoruo with cold, disdainful gazes.

Initially, cooking together would have been a heartwarming activity, but Bai Ruoruo, knowing she was good at cooking, had to stir up trouble and challenge Jiang Mi, causing unnecessary tension. It was really annoying.

Bai Ruoruo noticed the others’ cold stares, but she didn’t care about them—only about Mr. Fu.

She quickly turned to look at Mr. Fu, hoping to team up with him. She could cook, and if they partnered up, winning was guaranteed.

However, when she looked over, she saw Mr. Fu wheeling himself toward Jiang Mi.

Inwardly cursing, Bai Ruoruo hurriedly rushed over and blocked his wheelchair. “Mr. Fu, I can cook. You just need to sit in your wheelchair and relax. I’ll make sure we win easily.”

Mr. Fu glanced coldly at her, then turned his head to look at Jiang Mi and Gu Chuan. He saw the two of them whispering intimately, their closeness obvious, and his gaze grew even icier.

Bai Ruoruo, watching Mr. Fu closely, noticed this.

He was her last shot—if she lost him, she had no chance of making a comeback. She couldn’t afford to let him go!

So, she softened her voice and continued to plead.

Meanwhile, on the other side…

Jiang Mi whispered to Gu Chuan, “What should we make?”

Her lips were soft and still warm with her breath. Gu Chuan’s voice tightened slightly. “Miss, whatever you want to eat, I’ll make it for you.”

His voice, already low and magnetic, took on an even more seductive tone as he emphasized the word “Miss,” adding a hint of rebellious charm.

Jiang Mi’s heart fluttered, and her pale cheeks flushed. “Ahem, this is a competition. We should make something the villagers like. As for what I like, we’ll talk about that later when we get home.”

Gu Chuan thought for a moment and then chuckled softly. “Alright. I promise to make something that will satisfy you.”

Jiang Mi looked up at him, her almond-shaped eyes blinking, shimmering with an unusual light.

Gu Chuan didn’t avoid her gaze either, his dark eyes burning as they met hers.

After a while, Jiang Mi playfully scolded him, “You’re just as improper as the rest!”