Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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They reached the mountaintop marked with flags around noon. Mo Xiaoxiao naturally grabbed Zhang Ningwei and ran a long way, shouting to them, “Brother Jiang, Brother Yan, you guys pull out the flags first, then we’ll go over.”
Yan Qingchi, seeing her overly protective attitude, as if afraid he and Jiang Mochen would yield, reluctantly walked to the flags and pulled them down.
“Can you come over now?”
Mo Xiaoxiao then pulled Zhang Ningwei over, smiling at Yan Qingchi as she reached out and pulled out the other flag.
Yan Qingchi and Mo Xiaoxiao pulled out their flags in succession, the director recorded the time, and everyone took a group photo at the mountaintop. Everyone shouted “Yay!”, capturing their three days of hard work and joy in the photo.
The return journey was much easier than the way there, because a car came to pick them up. When Zhang Ningwei and Mo Xiaoxiao saw the car, they felt like they had seen hope, shouting “Long live modern life! Four wheels change the world!” Then they quickly boarded the car, enjoying the convenience of not having to walk.
Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen were a little slower than them. They weren’t as tired as Mo Xiaoxiao and Zhang Ningwei, so they took one last, reluctant look at the mountain they were testing on before leisurely boarding the car.
The car drove out of the mountains and back to G City. The staff told them that there were no other plans for the day, and they could relax and unwind at the hotel the production team had booked in advance.
The four of them then realized that they were the first to finish the test. Before coming, Mo Xiaoxiao and Zhang Ningwei had assessed the strength of each group and thought that they might easily end up at the bottom. They were stunned to find themselves in second place and kept thanking Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen.
Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen were also a little bewildered. To be honest, they hadn’t really been very competitive along the way; otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken every opportunity during meal breaks to look around and see what was interesting, or even if there wasn’t, to spend some time alone together. More than a test, Yan Qingchi felt that he and Jiang Mochen were on a picnic. He was pleasantly surprised to have won first place, and while telling Mo Xiaoxiao and Zhang Ningwei they were welcome, he couldn’t help but smile.
Everyone had been tired for several days, so after a brief chat, they took their room keys and went to rest. Yan Qingchi swiped his room key to open his and Jiang Mochen’s room. The room wasn’t large; upon entering, he saw two beds— just like a standard double room. He went in, took off his bag, and lay down on the bed.
“Rest for a while, then we’ll go eat!”
Jiang Mochen walked up to him, looked down at him, and asked, “Tired?”
“Not really, but I guess the others must be pretty tired.”
“I guessed so.”
Indeed, as they expected, the other groups were significantly more tired than them; some guests even went back to their hotel rooms and immediately fell asleep, never leaving their rooms again.
When Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen went downstairs for dinner that evening, they ran into Li Mo and Li Bozhong, who were also going downstairs for dinner.
Li Mo greeted them warmly, waving and running over. “Long time no see, brothers! I heard you two came in first place.”
Li Bozhong followed behind her, feeling a bit exhausted. Although he had always maintained a regular exercise routine and was in good physical condition, this ordeal had left him somewhat tired. However, upon seeing Jiang Mochen, he sincerely congratulated them, “Congratulations!”
“Thank you. Teacher Li, what place did you get?”
“We came in fourth,” Li Mo answered for her father. “Aren’t you surprised? Hahaha, my dad and I were both very surprised. This result is much better than we expected.”
Li Bozhong nodded. “Yeah, I thought I would drag Xiao Mo down, but thankfully I didn’t.”
“It’s mainly because we were lucky. Humph, that’ll make Fei Jingyu furious.”
Li Bozhong quickly added, “Xiao Mo, how can you talk like that?”
Li Mo then realized she had blurted out her true feelings and looked at Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen somewhat embarrassedly. “Um, sorry, just pretend you didn’t hear me.”
Yan Qingchi wondered what was going on. Li Mo wasn’t in the entertainment industry, and Li Bozhong had long since retired. Among so many people, the only person they recognized was Jiang Mochen. Why would Li Mo say something like that? He remembered that Li Mo and Li Bozhong’s group was testing at the same location as Fei Jingyu and Yue Ziming’s group. Could it be related to this test?
However, he didn’t want to ask too much, so he simply asked, “Want to eat? Chen-ge and I are going to eat.”
“Eat, eat, eat!” Li Mo quickly urged them, “Come on, I’ve already found out which dishes are the best here, and I’ve even thought of the menu.”
Seeing her so energetic, Yan Qingchi couldn’t help but sigh at how wonderful youth was and followed Li Mo into the hotel’s private room.
Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen ordered the dishes, and Li Mo ordered for herself and Li Bozhong. Bored, Li Mo shared the information she had just gathered with them.
“Did you know? Out of our six groups, there’s one group that didn’t complete the trial. But we said before we set off that the time limit was three days, so they were brought back before dark. However, both of them are unhappy now, and they even had a fight just now.”
“Which group?” Yan Qingchi asked curiously. “How did you know?”
“I overheard it just now. It’s the group of senior and junior student, Wei Zhihang and Yu Xiaoyu. Apparently, Wei Zhihang thinks Yu Xiaoyu is spoiled and only held them back, while Yu Xiaoyu thinks Wei Zhihang is stubborn and won’t listen to advice, so they argued.”
Yan Qingchi nodded. “You’re quite well-informed.”
“I just happened to run into them. By the way, brother, how was your test? Was it difficult?”
“It was alright,” Yan Qingchi said. “How about you guys?”
“It was definitely a bit difficult for me, but as I just said, I was lucky, so I managed to pass.”
“You’re really lucky.”
Li Mo nodded with a smile.
The group ate dinner together, parted ways in the corridor, and went back to their respective rooms. Because of the cameras in the room, Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen kept a low profile, chatted briefly, and then washed up and went to bed. Jiang Mochen felt that this was worse than being in the mountains. In the mountains, at least he was next to Yan Qingchi and could get a goodnight kiss before going to sleep. Now, he had nothing.
He lay helplessly on the bed, hoping that he would get a large bed in their room abroad.
However, realizing this wish was destined to be difficult.
The next day, the guests recording “Best Partner” flew directly from G City to E Country. Everyone, still exhausted, fell asleep as soon as they boarded the plane. Yan Qingchi, relying on his good stamina, watched the clouds outside the window for a while before getting bored and falling asleep.
After the plane landed, everyone collected their suitcases. The production team also distributed the money to everyone according to the previous test. Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen’s group received the most money because they were in first place, while Wei Zhihang and Yu Xiaoyu’s group received the least money because they were in last place. Yan Qingchi noticed that the atmosphere between the two wasn’t good. In fact, after Yu Xiaoyu received the money, she immediately gave half to Wei Zhihang and then put her own away. This was unique among the six groups of guests.
After the staff distributed the money, the host began explaining this segment. This segment was called “Team Up,” and the six groups of guests would stay in the city they landed in for four days. The first two days would be for sightseeing. The production team would choose one guest from the twelve present to be their tour guide. The guide would be responsible for taking care of everyone’s daily needs and designing the travel itinerary. The production team would give the guide a separate allowance for these two days’ travel and living expenses, and the guide had to use this money wisely to ensure everyone could survive for the two days.
“Can we use this money for these two days?” Yan Qingchi asked.
“Yes, you can use it if you want to buy anything yourself. However, the team-up matching game on the third and fourth days might require money, so you’d better use it carefully.”
“How much will we need? A lot?” Li Mo asked.
“I can’t reveal that.”
“Can we use our own phones in this segment?” Mo Xiaoxiao asked.
“No, your phones will be confiscated by the staff when you leave the airport. During this process, only the tour guide will have a phone to check information and help him plan the itinerary.”
Mo Xiaoxiao nodded.
“If you don’t have any other questions, let’s start choosing a tour guide.”
Everyone looked at each other, unanimously agreeing that Jiang Mochen would be the most suitable first tour guide. After all, he was the most senior and had the most authoritative. If someone else was chosen, it would be awkward if someone disobeyed the tour guide’s instructions and argued with him. Moreover, Jiang Mochen’s age was just right, and he seemed very reliable. Choosing him was the least likely to go wrong.
However, unexpectedly, the production team gave the first tour guide position to Li Bozhong and Li Mo’s group. The host took the money and phone from the director and handed it to Li Bozhong, “From now on, Mr. Li Bozhong will be our first tour guide.”
Everyone was a little puzzled, but no one showed it, just silently applauded.
Jiang Mochen glanced at Li Bozhong and breathed a sigh of relief. Like everyone else, he had also thought the production team would choose him. Thank goodness they didn’t; it was a close call.
The host, having completed his task, concluded, “Now, everyone, please get on the car. The driver will take you to the house where you’ll be staying for the next four days. Have a pleasant trip.”
The group filed into the car, whispering amongst themselves and wondering what their accommodations would be like.
Only Li Bozhong and Li Mo exchanged worried glances. Li Mo patted her father’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll help you.”
Li Bozhong looked at her and said very honestly, “But you don’t seem very reliable, Xiao Mo.”
Li Mo was unconvinced. “Didn’t you rely on me on the island before?”
“That was because you were lucky.”
“Dad, I’ll teach you a famous saying today— luck is also part of strength.”
Li Bozhong said seriously, “Then I hope you can continue to have good luck.”
Yan Qingchi listened to the conversation between the father and daughter and found it quite interesting. And whispered to Jiang Mochen, “I thought the production team would choose you.”
“I thought so too.”
“I didn’t expect it wouldn’t be you.”
“That’s good,” Jiang Mochen looked at him, “This way, we can have more private time.”
Yan Qingchi nodded. Although he felt very sorry for Teacher Li Bozhong, he was also glad that Jiang Mochen wasn’t the tour guide. Otherwise, they would have to serve everyone wholeheartedly, and where would they find the time to secretly enjoy some time alone?
Both of them were happy that Jiang Mochen hadn’t been selected, and in that mood, they finally arrived at the house that the production team had arranged in advance.
The house was large, grand, and beautifully decorated— everything was great, except for one thing: not enough beds. There were only five rooms in total, including the master bedroom and guest bedrooms. One of the guest bedrooms had a single bed, and the other three guest bedrooms, while not having single beds, only had beds that were 1.5 meters wide. Only the master bedroom had a 1.8-meter double bed.
So, upon entering the house, the first problem they faced— assigning rooms— problemed Li Bozhong.
He looked at the men and women in front of him and mentally calculated that Li Mo, Mo Xiaoxiao, and Zhang Ningwei could share the 1.8-meter double bed in the master bedroom, Yue Ziming and Yu Xiaoyu could share a guest bedroom, and of the remaining men— Jiang Mochen, Yan Qingchi, Yang Xinhe, Yu Haoyuan, Fei Jingyu, Wei Zhihang, and himself— only four could sleep in the 1.5-meter guest bedroom. The remaining three would definitely need two people to squeeze into the double bed and one person to sleep on the sofa.
Li Bozhong glanced at the sofa in the living room. It wasn’t large, even narrower than a double bed. Feeling that he was older and, as a tour guide, had a responsibility to take care of the children, he decided to sleep on the sofa himself, so the remaining men could sleep in the beds.
This was the best solution he could think of, so he earnestly proposed it to discuss it with everyone.
Li Mo was the first to object. “I’m the youngest, so I’ll sleep on the sofa. Dad, Brother Jiang, and Brother Yan will sleep in the master bedroom. Sister Xiaoxiao and Sister Ningwei will share a guest room, as will Sister Ziming and Sister Xiaoyu. Brother Yang and Brother Yu will sleep in the guest room with the 1.5-meter bed for now. Brother Fei and Brother Wei can squeeze into the single bed for now. Tomorrow you can switch with Brother Yang and Brother Yu, the day after tomorrow you can switch with Brother Jiang and Brother Yan, and the day after that, it’s my dad and me.”
Her suggestion was purely because she couldn’t bear to see her elderly father sleeping on the sofa, and because Li Bozhong was older and there was bound to be a generation gap with the younger generation. She was worried that Li Bozhong wouldn’t get along with the others, so she thought of arranging for him to sleep with Jiang Mochen, since Li Bozhong only knew Jiang Mochen.
However, to others, it sounded like she was trying to curry favor with them. After all, Jiang Mochen and Yan Qingchi were the two most popular among them and having Li Bozhong share a room with them was like letting Li Bozhong sleep alongside their popularity. Fei Jingyu sneered inwardly, thinking, “Aren’t you afraid of getting too much attention and burning your dad up?”
Li Mo, naively considering her father’s feelings, hadn’t thought of this. Li Bozhong couldn’t bear to see his daughter sleeping on the sofa, and the father and daughter started arguing about who should sleep on the sofa.
At this crucial moment, Jiang Mochen spoke up, saying, “How about this, Yang Xinhe, Yu Haoyuan, and Teacher Li, you three are all quite thin, so you can sleep in the master bedroom, which is 1.8 meters big. Fei Jingyu and Wei Zhihang, you two can share a guest room. Li Mo, you can share a guest room with Mo Xiaoxiao and Zhang Ningwei for now, and tomorrow you can share another guest room with Yue Ziming and Yu Xiaoyu. Qingchi and I will sleep in the guest room with the single bed, is that alright?”
As soon as he said this, Li Mo and Li Bozhong refused to come. “How can that be? It’s too cramped for the two of you to sleep there.”
“But there definitely needs to be two people sleeping there. Won’t it be cramped for the others to sleep there?”
“I agree with what Brother Chen said. We two can sleep in that room, and that solves all the problems, right?” Yan Qingchi also said.
Mo Xiaoxiao and Zhang Ningwei exchanged a glance. Zhang Ningwei nodded. Mo Xiaoxiao was about to speak, but then she remembered that this was an opportunity to build rapport and should be left to Zhang Ningwei. So she nudged her and said, “Go ahead.”
Zhang Ningwei and Mo Xiaoxiao were always together, and Zhang Ningwei usually let Mo Xiaoxiao speak first, so she would just chime in. Now that Mo Xiaoxiao was asking her to speak, Zhang Ningwei, though a little confused, still voiced their thoughts: “Two guys sleeping in a single bed is really too cramped. Jiang-ge, Yan-ge, how about Xiaoxiao and I switch with you? We’re both thin, so a single bed is fine for us. When I was in school, when friends came to visit, we’d share a dorm bed, and I never felt cramped.”
“Right,” Mo Xiaoxiao said, “Weiwei and I will sleep in that single bed, and you and Yan-ge can sleep in ours.”
Yue Ziming also chimed in, “Li Mo can come and sleep with me and Yu Xiaoyu. The next day, Yu Xiaoyu and I can switch with Mo Xiaoxiao and Zhang Ningwei. That works too.”
She was so focused on expressing her own ideas that she didn’t notice Yu Xiaoyu’s cold smile. But Yan Qingchi saw it, so he knew Yue Ziming’s idea wouldn’t work.
“Let’s do as Brother Chen says for now,” Yan Qingchi said gently. “If it doesn’t work, we can adjust it later. Let’s leave it at that for now. We still have a lot to do today, so let’s get started.”
“Okay, then Qingchi and I will go upstairs to put our luggage away first. Teacher Li, that’s fine.” Jiang Mochen said, and went upstairs directly, with Yan Qingchi following closely behind.
Seeing that the two of them had made up their minds, Li Bozhong and Li Mo had no choice but to exchange glances and compromise, “Then let’s do as Mochen says for now.” He said.
“Okay.” Everyone responded and went upstairs one after another. However, although everyone had a smile on their face, their thoughts were completely different.
The author has something to say:
Director: There are no double rooms, only single beds.
President Jiang: I want this bed!
Qingchi: ……
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