Chapter 80: World Two [50]

Netizens with a god’s-eye view were already howling, but the onlooking guests’ hearts were still in their throats, worried Shao Qing would choose the wrong person.

“Are you sure, Teacher Shao? You only get one chance to choose. If you pick wrong, you’ll have to pay an extra price to get your gear,” Director Qin said, unable to stop herself from sweating slightly.

Good heavens, she actually recognized her? Her original plan had been to play a harmless little joke and then logically switch up the challenge format.

“I’m sure. This is Jing Ke,” Shao Qing said. She wasn’t going to change her mind based on a few words from Director Qin; her conviction was absolute.

“Alright, then let’s have Number Six remove the headpiece.” Director Qin could only give up struggling, seeing her last trick had failed.

The Frog Number Six took a step back at these words, then bent at the waist slightly and leaned its head forward.

Shao Qing gave a soft laugh, reached out to hug the frog’s head, and with a soft pop, pulled the headpiece off.

Jing Ke’s amber eyes and deep brown hair were exposed to the air. Fine strands of hair were stuck to her forehead from the thin sweat trapped under the costume.

“Why are you sweating?” Shao Qing set the headpiece aside and reached out to touch Jing Ke’s forehead.

“It’s a bit hot, not breathable,” Jing Ke said, catching Shao Qing’s wrist with a frog claw. “The costume zipper is in the back.”

“No rush. Let me take a picture first. It’s rare to see you dressed like this.” A smile lifted the corner of Shao Qing’s mouth, making her features even more captivating.

[It’s clearly a normal conversation, but somehow I already feel full.]

[Maybe that’s what a real couple is like. Just standing together makes pink bubbles pop and fizz everywhere.]

[I never thought she’d actually guess right. If there really were no hints, then even I, a total non-shipper, might start shipping them. Could there really be such a thing as destined love?]

[Personally, I think there were no hints. There was more than one camera, after all. And from the other guests’ angles, there were no clues either. So I’m on the side of them being a match made in heaven!]

Amidst the netizens’ commentary, Jing Ke and Shao Qing snapped quite a few photos together. After some simple retouching, Shao Qing posted an update, and her fan comments section was instantly overwhelmed.

Unable to use her prepared backup plan, Director Qin could only use the Telepathy Challenge to test the other four guests. She increased the number of questions and stipulated that all ten questions had to be answered correctly to succeed.

Yao Lan and Qin Zheng fared alright. Both had been in the industry for a while and had some understanding of the production team’s tricks. They passed the Telepathy Challenge, though not without a few scares.

Liu Chang and Xu Yi weren’t so lucky. Both had rather average memories, and their usual hobbies and habits were completely different. Even after earnestly trying to be honest with each other, they only got seven questions right.

“It’s a pity, both teachers didn’t pass the Telepathy Challenge. To get your gear, you’ll have to complete three punishment tasks,” Director Qin announced through a megaphone.

Director Qin continued, “The specific punishment tasks were all collected from the internet. Their difficulty varies; you have to do whatever you draw. If you fail to complete even one of the three tasks, then you two teachers might just go hungry tomorrow.”

In truth, she’d originally prepared these punishment tasks for Jing Ke and Shao Qing. Some included things like kissing any body part for thirty seconds, or one person sitting face-to-face on the other’s lap for three minutes.

In Director Qin’s expectations, these tasks, if used on Jing Ke and Shao Qing, would have been like madly throwing dog food at the audience, making them squeal with delight.

But now the people drawing the tasks were Liu Chang and Xu Yi…

Well, then she’d just wish them good luck. Hopefully they’d draw some of the milder, more euphemistic ways of showing affection.

It turned out, Liu Chang and Xu Yi’s luck was indeed terrible. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been in last place twice in a row.

The first draw was Xu Yi’s. It required pressing their faces together for one minute, which thoroughly embarrassed the two grown men.

The second draw was Liu Chang’s. It required maintaining eye contact for three minutes. The timer would reset the moment their gaze strayed. It took them over ten minutes of fussing to finally complete it, leaving them with a psychological aversion to each other’s faces.

Liu Chang’s third draw was also Liu Chang’s. He directly pulled a task requiring kissing for three seconds, causing both self-proclaimed straight men to break down completely.

In the end, Director Qin stepped in and proactively relaxed the condition to just a three-second kiss on the cheek.

But even so, Liu Chang and Xu Yi had to do a lot of psychological preparation before barely managing to fulfill the requirement of kissing the same gender.

–

“If this is the punishment for failing the challenge, then maybe not picking you wasn’t such a bad thing?” Shao Qing, who had been sitting on the sidelines eating fruit and enjoying the show, remarked.

For her, this wasn’t a punishment at all; it was a perfect opportunity to assert her status.

“If you want, we can do that anytime. We don’t need a draw,” Jing Ke said very reasonably, turning her head to look at Shao Qing. “May I kiss you?”

“You may, but I’ll be the one kissing you,” Shao Qing stated.

Noticing everyone’s attention was drawn to the thoroughly embarrassed Liu Chang and Xu Yi, she directly wrapped her arms around Jing Ke’s neck and gave her a firm kiss on the lips.

[Whoa, is this something I’m allowed to see? Good thing I stuck to my dear wife Qingqing’s livestream! Otherwise, I would’ve missed this spectacular moment!]

[Xu Yi, Liu Chang: What, are we part of your play too?]

[Hahaha, this cracks me up. If I’m not mistaken, Director Qin definitely prepared those punishment tasks for the real couple. But she never imagined their chemistry would be so strong, so she ended up having to torment the unlucky duo instead.]

[But doesn’t this just prove that Director Qin never intended to give Shao Qing a hint! Being chosen so resolutely like that is so romantic. Jing Ke must have been absolutely thrilled when she was picked!]

[No more words, just start shipping. JingQing CP is the absolute best! Let us ship JingQing to our hearts’ content!]

[No! ShaoKe is just as shippable! Just now, it was Qingqing who took the initiative! It should be ShaoKe!]

Just like before, with a dominant CP fanbase, no matter what the topic, the conversation inevitably devolved into an argument about who was top and who was bottom.

=w=

The evening’s livestream came to a close amidst Liu Chang and Xu Yi’s constant transition from blushing red to grimacing black, officially entering break time.

After the broadcast ended, Director Qin called all six guests together to give them a heads-up about things to look out for the next day.

“Although we have a yacht, we’ll only go out about ten nautical miles at most. The island owner only secured rights up to twelve nautical miles out. Beyond that is international waters, which is relatively more dangerous.”

Director Qin’s tone became much more serious. “For sea fishing, everyone can do as they please. But if you go underwater, you must absolutely follow the instructor’s directions. I’ve seen the forms you six filled out; you all know how to swim, correct?”

The six of them nodded together. They all understood the ocean’s merciless and lethal nature. No one would falsify information on something concerning their own safety.

“Good. Our production team has only managed to hire six diving instructors total. Our plan is at least two instructors per guest, so only three people can be in the water at a time. It’s best to experience diving in small groups. The safety factor is much higher that way.”

Director Qin had put in a lot of effort to run this show smoothly.

She spent a full ten minutes or more just on the precautions for going out to sea the next day, even emphasizing key points three times or more, fearing the guests would get too excited and toss her instructions to the back of their minds.

Thus, the Telepathy Challenge that started at seven o’clock officially ended around nine o’clock.

Because the island’s jurisdiction highly valued human rights and privacy, the production team couldn’t install too many fixed cameras inside the cabin. They could only set up a tripod and blatantly place the camera there for fixed shots.

The kitchen and living room were within recordable range, but the bedroom and bathroom were absolutely off-limits. Even the bedroom door was not allowed to appear on camera.

This rule narrowed the production team’s options for gathering footage, but it was quite friendly to the guests staying in the cabin.

After another shower, Jing Ke relaxed and lay down on the bed. Just pulling back the curtains was enough to see the coastline in the distance.

She had carefully chosen this cabin. Of the three cabins the production team provided, this one had the best view.

If she had to name a flaw, it was that the cabin had two rooms and two beds, which meant the bathtub was a bit too small for the two of them to soak in together.

“Jing Ke, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you swim. If we go diving tomorrow, will you be okay?” Shao Qing, having also showered again, lay down beside Jing Ke.

Since the cabin had two rooms, the bed was only 1.5 meters wide. Spacious for one, it felt a little cramped for two.

Of course, if the two were a couple, it wasn’t a problem at all.

Just like now, after climbing onto bed, Shao Qing leaned sideways against Jing Ke.

“No problem. In principle, I’m proficient in all kinds of skills. I’ll just need a moment to adapt,” Jing Ke said. “Didn’t you see the certificates I brought? My diving certification is among them, and it’s for deep diving.”

Hearing Jing Ke’s words, Shao Qing set her mind at ease. “Okay, then we’ll go down together tomorrow. I want to see what the real seabed looks like, how it’s different from the aquariums I’ve been to before.”

“Alright. If you want to explore more, we can stay here a bit longer after filming wraps,” Jing Ke added. “If you don’t have any other plans, that is.”

“Hmm? You want to stay here as a tourist?” Shao Qing tilted her head up to look at Jing Ke.

Jing Ke tilted her head slightly, asking a seemingly unrelated question. “Shao Qing, do you remember the name of this island?”

“Ah? Let me think. Wasn’t it written in the contract? Hildeya Island, I think?” A flicker of confusion appeared in Shao Qing’s eyes.

Jing Ke sighed helplessly. “Did you not read the documents I sent you before?”

“Documents? What documents?” Shao Qing’s eyes widened. Jing Ke had sent her so many documents; she couldn’t recall a specific one right then.

“The one listing my personal assets. Hildeya Island is currently under my name. I don’t usually use it, so I entrusted it to a professional management company,” Jing Ke explained.

“If someone like a production team wants to rent the whole island, they get priority. The rest of the year, they sell tickets to other tourists. These cabins were actually built for them.”

Shao Qing let out a soft sound of realization and sat bolt upright. “So all that rent from the production team went to you?”

“About half of the amount went into my personal account. The other half covers the island’s maintenance fees and the management team’s commission,” Jing Ke said.

After taking a moment to digest this news, Shao Qing chose to lay her head down on Jing Ke’s lap, looking up at her. “Got it. So you’re someone who can make money in your sleep.”

“After the filming is over, want to stay and play a bit longer? The island’s building complexes are fully open to us.” Jing Ke casually stroked her girlfriend’s smooth black hair.

“Yes! My contract with Zongheng Entertainment is over. The next thing is signing with your New Life Entertainment. As a partner, taking a little long vacation isn’t too much, is it?” Shao Qing said, burying her face into Jing Ke’s abdomen.

Her voice came out a bit muffled. “Rich girl, I don’t want to work hard anymore. Want to be my sugar mommy?”

“Gladly. I’m willing to use all my assets to take care of you,” Jing Ke said with a smile. “But my terms are forever.”

“Alright, deal~”

–

The next day was another clear, sunny day.

The livestream hadn’t started yet, so the guests could get breakfast relatively easily. They just needed to go through the motions of three rounds of charades to get a sandwich and milk.

Thanks to yesterday’s hard work, Jing Ke and Shao Qing’s breakfast was a bit more lavish than the others’, featuring some remarkably delicious smoked grilled fish.

After Director Qin tirelessly reiterated the key safety precautions three times, she finally directed the camera crew to start the livestream, officially beginning the day’s filming.

There were two yachts docked at the pier. Motivated by the thought of getting her money’s worth, Director Qin made a sweeping decision to bring both yachts and all available equipment.

Behind the exorbitant rental price was professional service from the management team.

The yacht operators and the two extra security guards on board were provided by the management team. She’d heard they were long-term employees of the island owner. Including those remaining on the island, there were twenty security personnel in total, all with experience in special forces units.

[Here I am, here I am! Setting out to sea right as the stream starts? This is too cool!]

[Wow, so this is the boundless ocean. An inland person turning into a lemon here. I’ve never even seen the real sea.]

[You gotta treat yourself well sometimes. Work is endless, but the good times you can enjoy are limited. If you don’t go see the world while you’re young, you won’t be able to move around when you’re old.]

[I get the logic, but I don’t have the cash. I’m still a student!]

[Oh, not a corporate slave, huh? Never mind then. Just plan a graduation trip later~]

As barrage comments streamed past, the yacht quickly reached its designated spot, killing the engine and stopping for the time being.