Luo Xi saw everyone escape and cheered, “Congratulations to everyone for successfully escaping the escape room within two hours—”
The staff even brought out confetti cannons, but the shimmering confetti filling the sky couldn’t block the guests’ gazes full of resentment.
Luo Xi turned a blind eye. “After filming all day, everyone must be tired. I’ll give you all a day off tomorrow to enjoy a relaxing holiday and delicious meals.”
Everyone: “….”
Luo Xi clapped his hands. “That’s a wrap.”
Everyone: “….”
: Director Luo running so fast—is he afraid of getting beaten?
: If it were me, I’d be scared too, haha…
: No live stream to watch tomorrow, boo hoo.
: Though it’s a shame, they deserve it. Every guest suffered this whole night.
: They went in all beautiful, came out a total mess. That before-and-after contrast—who wouldn’t call it tragic.
: Luckily Director Luo knows how to handle people and gave them tomorrow off, or the guests would’ve torn him apart.
: Today’s live stream is over. See you all the day after tomorrow.
: See you the day after tomorrow.
….
The exhausted group boarded the bus and left the school. The trip back to the villa took an hour and a half. Everyone closed their eyes to rest; some were so tired they started snoring, sleeping soundly.
Zhai Yi sat in the back row, along with Ning Yao and Luo Weizhi.
The three of them each kept a seat between them.
Zhai Yi closed her eyes and leaned her head against the window to rest.
Suddenly, she felt someone sit down next to her. Zhai Yi wasn’t asleep; she was just resting with her eyes closed.
She knew who it was beside her and merely sighed silently in her heart.
Yu Lanting had originally been sitting alone, but Mu Li insisted on sitting with her. Yu Lanting glanced at Zhai Yi in the back and let Mu Li take the inside seat.
Halfway through the drive, everyone in the bus had gradually fallen asleep, including Mu Li beside her, whose tired snores soon started up.
Yu Lanting looked at the sleeping crowd, then slowly got up and moved to sit next to Zhai Yi in the back.
She saw Zhai Yi with her arms crossed, head leaning against the window, her hair strands tousled a bit by the AC breeze.
Zhai Yi had deep brows and eyes, a high nose bridge, fair and delicate skin. From the side, her features were sharply defined yet softened with a touch of gentleness—heroic without losing purity, with brows and nose blending seamlessly.
Yu Lanting reached out with a finger and gently tucked away the strand blowing across Zhai Yi’s nose tip. Her movements were light and tender, afraid of waking her.
She just quietly watched Zhai Yi’s sleeping face like this, her heart feeling unprecedentedly calm and content. This sensation was always especially clear and vivid whenever she was with Zhai Yi.
Yu Lanting didn’t know what was wrong with her. Her feelings for Zhai Yi didn’t seem like those of ordinary friends.
She had very close girlfriends too, and holding hands, hugging, even kissing cheeks with them never brought the kind of heartbeat or steadiness she felt with Zhai Yi.
Yu Lanting took out her phone and opened Baidu to search.
Seeing Baidu’s answer, she felt no panic or surprise—just her heart pounding hard in her chest.
Yu Lanting put away her phone and turned to look at Zhai Yi, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.
Perhaps from the moment she opened Baidu Encyclopedia, from the instant she typed in the term, her heart already had the answer.
She seemed to have fallen for Zhai Yi.
The bus reached Changning District, with about half an hour left to the villa area.
Zhai Yi felt a weight on her shoulder and sighed lightly as if she had anticipated it, then opened her eyes to look at Yu Lanting on her shoulder.
She must have been exhausted; her mouth was slightly open as she breathed, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush.
From Zhai Yi’s angle, her lashes looked long and curled, paired with her large, grape-like eyes—bright and lively, like an anime character.
Her features were delicate and beautiful, a sweet prettiness that wasn’t bland.
Her lip beads were plump, her lip color naturally rosy.
Visually, she looked young, several years younger than Zhai Yi, though in reality she was three years older.
Zhai Yi withdrew her gaze and looked out the window.
Tuantuan suddenly said: 【I got it.】
Zhai Yi said, “What did you get?”
Tuantuan said: 【I finally figured out what felt off?】
Zhai Yi asked, “What?”
Tuantuan said in surprise: 【First Sister, does the Female Lead like you?】
Zhai Yi raised a brow. “Mm.”
She had suspected it before, but from their interactions afterward, it was clear the Female Lead liked her.
Seeing how calm Zhai Yi was, as if she’d known all along that the Female Lead liked her, Tuantuan said: 【First Sister, did you know already?】 Thinking of Zhai Yi’s earlier behavior, 【So you’ve been deliberately keeping your distance from the Female Lead before?】
Zhai Yi said, “I was thinking of pushing the male and female leads back onto the world’s main storyline.”
Tuantuan understood Zhai Yi’s approach. 【Now that the Female Lead likes you, First Sister, what are you going to do?】
Zhai Yi said, “Play it by ear.”
At least the Female Lead liking her hadn’t affected her mission.
In this [Save Cannon Fodder] mission mode, changes to the world main storyline were normal. Neither the Main System nor the Main God would judge the mission-taker’s performance based on such deviations.
Tuantuan asked curiously: 【First Sister, do you like the Female Lead?】
Zhai Yi glanced at her. “Do you think I like her?”
Tuantuan carefully observed Zhai Yi and Yu Lanting, then shook its head. 【No. So, First Sister, will you like her?】
Zhai Yi watched the roadside lamps flash by, their dim yellow halos swiftly passing through her pupils. “No.”
Mission-takers inevitably encountered unexpected issues beyond their control during missions, and Zhai Yi couldn’t always avoid them.
During missions, she’d had male leads fall for her, and female leads too.
These people went crazy trying to get her, disregarding their original heavenly dao-set personas and main storyline, doing things wildly out of character. In the end, Zhai Yi had killed these deranged world hosts, causing the task world to collapse. She’d been deducted points and sent to the Punishment Hall for penalties.
Thinking of those missions that should have been perfectly completed, ruined by the world host suddenly going mad with obsessive pursuit of her, leading to world collapse and point deductions, filled Zhai Yi with resentment.
Seeing the bus about to stop, she pushed the Female Lead away, turned her head to the other side, and got off first.
The people in the bus gradually woke up. Mu Li noticed no one beside him, shot up looking around, and spotted Yu Lanting asleep in the back.
He thought he’d crowded her while asleep, forcing her to the back.
Mu Li went to the back and gently woke her. “Lan Ting, we’re home. Wake up—go sleep in your room, okay?”
Yu Lanting groggily woke and saw Mu Li in front of her. Recalling the scene before sleep, she turned to her side and found it empty, the seat cold to the touch.
Yu Lanting’s eyes dropped in disappointment.
“Not awake yet?” Mu Li saw her low mood and assumed she hadn’t slept well. “Get off; we’ll go back to our rooms and sleep.”
Yu Lanting rubbed her face and saw everyone else had already left the bus, leaving just her and Mu Li.
“Okay, let’s get off.”
The two got off and returned to the villa.
Yu Lanting entered the villa and looked around but didn’t see Zhai Yi.
She grabbed Fu Liang. “Where’s Zhai Yi?”
Fu Liang munched an apple. “Godfather went back to her room to sleep. Looking for her?”
“Nothing, just asking.”
“Oh.” Fu Liang bit into his apple and headed upstairs.
Mu Li saw Yu Lanting looking for Zhai Yi and asked curiously, “What do you need her for? I’ll call her for you.”
Yu Lanting stopped him. “No need, it’s too late. Everyone’s tired—rest early.”
“Good night.”
Ignoring Mu Li’s reluctant gaze, Yu Lanting bid him farewell. She went up to the second floor, glanced at Zhai Yi’s room, suppressed her emotions, and continued to the third floor.
After washing up, Zhai Yi saw messages in the WeChat group—the ING Team’s chat. Someone new had joined.
Lin Ranjiao.
Lin Ranjiao: Hi everyone, I’m your new coach, Lin Ranjiao. Please take care of me.
Ning Yao: Hi Coach Lin #clapping#
Weixing Yan: Hi Coach Lin #cheering#
Luo Weizhi: #smile#
Mu Li: Hi Coach Lin #grin#
Zhai Yi dried her hair and replied: Hi Coach Lin.
Lin Ranjiao: Since you’re all still filming the variety show and can’t return to the club yet, I’m still handing over work here. In a couple days when I have time, I’ll visit. We can chat then for some basic understanding.
Lin Ranjiao: Also, remember to complete this month’s live stream hours. I’ll have someone deliver the streaming gear to the villa area.
Ning Yao: Got it.
Luo Weizhi: Mm.
Mu Li: Understood.
Zhai Yi: Okay.
Seeing the group go quiet, Zhai Yi was about to turn off her phone and sleep when Lin Ranjiao sent a WeChat voice message.
Zhai Yi guessed Lin Ranjiao would call her—after all, Zhou Zhu wouldn’t hide from her who had gotten Lin Ranjiao to become ING’s coach.
“Good evening. I didn’t disturb your rest, did I?” Lin Ranjiao spoke first, her tone carrying a hint of embarrassment.
Zhai Yi set her towel aside. “No, Coach Lin. What is it?”
Lin Ranjiao got straight to the point. “About Zou Kai—I want to thank you.”
Zhai Yi understood. “What goes around comes around. Someone like Zou Kai was a cancer in the ING Team. Even without me rooting him out, someone else would’ve eventually.”
In the original plot, Lin Ranjiao had spent years gathering all evidence of Zou Kai’s crimes, exposing it online, ruining his reputation, forcing him out of ING Team, and landing him in jail.
She’d then received an offer from Glory Club to become ING’s new head coach.
Zhai Yi had merely advanced that plot, letting the male lead meet the second female lead earlier.
Lin Ranjiao took Zhai Yi’s words as comfort. After all, her grudge with Zou Kai had been private; few truly knew. For years, she’d diligently collected evidence of his crimes to seek justice for her mother and her own suffering.
But she hadn’t expected the truth to come out so fast, so suddenly, so overwhelmingly—she’d been caught off guard, weeping with joy.
Someone had come to her internet cafe, given her the documents, and hired her with a high salary to become ING’s new head coach.
Lin Ranjiao had thought it was a joke, Zou Kai mocking her. But opening the files, she had no reason to refuse. She agreed to whatever that person asked, as long as Zou Kai got his comeuppance.
“Regardless, I still want to thank you,” Lin Ranjiao said gratefully. “I don’t even know how to repay you.”
Zhai Yi said, “Can you shorten my live stream hours this month then?”
The original host hadn’t streamed a single hour this month—full 120 hours. The others had at least done some, but with so much happening, there’d been no time. Plus, past streams were flooded with insults, scaring the host off-streaming entirely, and Zou Kai hadn’t cared.
Lin Ranjiao: “….”
Lin Ranjiao firmly refused. “No.”
Zhai Yi pouted. “That’s not a very grateful heart you’ve got.”
Lin Ranjiao laughed. “One thing at a time.”
Zhai Yi tsked but didn’t push. She liked Lin Ranjiao’s responsible, steadfast character—only she could take ING Team to greater heights, a brighter future.
Lin Ranjiao said, “When you all get back, dinner’s on me.”
Zhai Yi said flatly, “You got money? We wrap this show by month’s end, and your salary doesn’t hit till the tenth next month.”
“Plus, from what I know, your internet cafe’s always been in the red.”
Lin Ranjiao: “….”
How’d the chat veer into hitting where it hurts?
