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As Wen Shijin and Lin Qingqing’s team were the first to untie their ropes, they followed the drone’s instructions to head to the dinner preparation pavilion.
“You really can’t do it, huh? How about this apprentice teaches you, master?”
Ning Qingyan couldn’t miss such a good opportunity to gloat. She had endured so much teasing from Gu Si in the mud pit that she had lost count of his remarks.
Gu Si’s expression remained lazy and unhurried, showing no intention of asking Ning Qingyan for help untying the ropes. However, his pace visibly sped up, clearly irritated by her smug demeanor.
On the side, Xu Ruanruan noticed Gu Si’s quickening hands and glanced at Sheng Mingzhu, who had already been untied. Looking down at her own still-bound wrists, a pang of jealousy hit her heart.
Clearly, Ning Qingyan liked her more; otherwise, why would she blush and insist on helping with her luggage? The person who should have received such attentive care was her, not Sheng Mingzhu!
Adding to her frustration, her delicate frame had gone hungry all afternoon. She had been standing with her hands raised for so long, yet the knot still refused to budge. Feeling aggrieved, she turned to Ning Qingyan and, with a hint of provocation aimed at Sheng Mingzhu, said in a pouty voice:
“Brother Qingyan, do you really need to gloat like this? I believe that if Gu Si is given a bit more time, he’ll definitely untie it. Besides, I’m the one tied up here, so why are you in such a rush? Oh, and by the way, I’ve already formed a CP with Brother Gu Si, so I can’t reciprocate your concern for me…”
She trailed off, but the implication was clear—Xu Ruanruan believed Ning Qingyan harbored feelings for her and was mocking Gu Si out of jealousy.
Ning Qingyan froze momentarily, surprised at Xu Ruanruan’s exaggerated reaction. Watching her act so protective of Gu Si, Ning Qingyan’s mind raced with memories.
In her previous life, she hadn’t placed first in this challenge and had been paired with Xu Ruanruan through a random draw by the production team.
Back then, aside from Wen Shijin, everyone else had been slow at untying their knots. Ning Qingyan, with her patient and gentle movements, had been the most considerate teammate. Yet, Xu Ruanruan had shown her nothing but disdain, constantly urging her to work faster. When she finally untied her rope, Xu Ruanruan didn’t say a word of thanks but immediately dragged her to help Gu Si, ignoring her own teammate.
At the time, Ning Qingyan didn’t understand why. Now, it was clear—because she was merely a passerby in the narrative, while the others were main characters. Pairing with her had been an inconvenience to Xu Ruanruan, who naturally treated her poorly.
This realization hit Ning Qingyan all at once. Tilting her head with feigned innocence, she asked Xu Ruanruan in a pure and confused voice:
“I’m younger than you, right? And we’re not a CP, so why are you calling me ‘brother’?”
Her words left Xu Ruanruan visibly embarrassed, her face flushing bright red. Sheng Mingzhu nodded in agreement and chimed in:
“Exactly! I’m younger than you, and I call him ‘little brother.’ Why would you call him ‘brother’?”
Furious, Xu Ruanruan was about to retort when Ning Qingyan spoke up again, his tone blunt and straightforward:
“I happen to have the highest female rescue authority, don’t I? If I wanted to form a temporary CP with you, as someone ranked last, you wouldn’t even have the right to refuse. So why would you think I’m interested in you?”
Green Tea System Alert: “Gu Si’s favorability +1.”
As soon as Ning Qingyan finished speaking, Sheng Mingzhu burst out laughing. Even Gu Si raised an eyebrow, his voice dripping with lazy amusement:
“My dear apprentice is just teasing me. Don’t you think you might be overthinking things?”
With Gu Si also siding with Ning Qingyan, and Sheng Mingzhu laughing openly, Xu Ruanruan wished she could crawl into a hole to escape. Her lips trembled, her eyes turned red, and she muttered pitifully as if pleading for sympathy.
Unfortunately, this tactic didn’t work on Gu Si. Tiring of untying knots altogether, he simply pulled out a sharp knife from his boot and sliced through the ropes in a few swift movements.
The production team director, still monitoring the filming: ???
“Isn’t this straight-up cheating?” the director thought to himself, glancing at Huo Qi, who was still struggling with his knots. This provided a slight sense of solace—until, in the next moment, the tomboyish Qiao Li decided to take matters into her own hands. With the ropes already loosened by Huo Qi, she forced them wider and slipped her wrists free.
The director, now on the verge of a breakdown: O_o?!
Meanwhile, Gu Si swiftly sheathed his knife and casually slung an arm around Ning Qingyan’s shoulder, walking off towards the dinner pavilion. Left behind, Sheng Mingzhu and Xu Ruanruan could only stare at each other, awkwardly.
From afar, Gu Si’s relaxed banter could still be heard:
“Cook for me. I’ll let you win first place next time.”
“Do you take me for a fool?”
“Hahaha, this time, I mean it.”
The young man suddenly turned his head, looking back at Sheng Mingzhu. His voice was light and gentle:
“Catch up, sis.”
Delighted, Sheng Mingzhu chirped a quick “Okay!” and followed eagerly.
Meanwhile, Xu Ruanruan was left standing awkwardly, muttering tearfully to herself, “You’re all bullying me!”
Huo Qi and Qiao Li were already heading toward the dinner pavilion as well, leaving Xu Ruanruan to stomp her foot in frustration before scrambling to catch up.
Watching Huo Qi’s brisk, cold demeanor and Qiao Li’s flustered attempts to keep up, Xu Ruanruan found a sliver of comfort.
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By the time everyone reached the pavilion, the top-ranked teams were already enjoying their doubled portions of higher-quality ingredients. As the afternoon’s exertions left everyone famished, they eagerly set about preparing dinner.
Xu Ruanruan, playing the delicate princess, had no idea how to cook, and neither did Gu Si, the pampered young master. After glancing at her, Gu Si asked lazily:
“Do you know how to cook?”
“A little…” Xu Ruanruan stammered.
“Alright, you cook, I’ll handle the rest.”
Washing, chopping, and preparing, Gu Si worked efficiently. But when Xu Ruanruan finally cooked the dish, the result was a blackened mess with a pungent odor.
One look at the dish, and Gu Si promptly left, heading straight for Ning Qingyan’s pavilion. Xu Ruanruan stood there, eyes welling with tears: “Boohoohoo!”