Chapter 11: Si Chenli: Is the mission more important than me?

Quickly, Si Chenli was led out of the Ghost House by staff members, and Lu Tianxin's team also returned after completing their task.

Si Chenli strode over and grabbed Sang Qiao's arm, heading to the side as his unfathomable eyes stared at her, "So you just left me behind?"

Sang Qiao's heart skipped a beat as she felt slightly embarrassed being questioned, "I did it for our task."

"Is the task more important than me?" The man narrowed his eyes, his tone, though cold, clearly expressing his displeasure.

Sang Qiao's heart raced. What did he mean by that? Since when were they close enough to ask such a question?

She turned her head and saw the camera pointed directly at them, instantly realizing that they were filming a romance reality show where small flirtations were normal.

She reached out and tugged on his sleeve, "I was wrong, I should have come to rescue you right after finding the card."

"Find the card first?"

"No, rescue you first." Sang Qiao flashed a sweet smile, showing her sincerity.

Men! They are so hard to please.

"Hmm." Si Chenli finally let it go and stood quietly in the line.

[Help, I just felt a sudden rush, they are really sweet, although it's currently a one-sided love from Brother Li.]

[Si Chenli: Is the card more important than me? Then you can be with the card!]

"Now let's announce the completion of this morning's tasks. Only the team of Sang Jiao and Gu Nanmo didn't achieve their task, everyone else completed theirs!"

"Director, I have a question, we searched all the swings, and there was no card at all. Could it be that the staff forgot to place it?"

Gu Nanmo felt disgruntled, his and Jiaojiao's first task had failed.

"No, the card was right under the cup next to it."

"This..." Gu Nanmo felt annoyed, wondering why he hadn't thought to lift the cup and check.

"Except for Gu Nanmo's team, the other four teams can enjoy a luxurious lunch at a five-star hotel, followed by a romantic date in the afternoon."

"Wow!"

"That's amazing."

The group followed onto the bus, heading towards the hotel. The four guest couples all went to the top floor, while Sang Jiao and Gu Nanmo were left on the first floor to enjoy a simple fast food meal.

Sang Jiao looked at the fast food in front of her and felt utterly uninspired. For the first time, she thought of Gu Nanmo as useless, utterly unworthy to be her partner.

He even got weak knees on the high swing, limping after a ride, and fell so embarrassingly.

She had to change partners eventually.

Top floor

Eight people sat around a square table, which was covered with delicious dishes.

Among them, the two dishes nearest to Sang Qiao were shrimp and chicken wings. She raised her eyebrows slightly, had the production team been so considerate? They even checked the actors' preferences.

"Let's eat, let's eat!" Meng Wangge was excited; having vomited most of the contents of her stomach on the roller coaster earlier, she was now famished.

The other guests were also tired from the morning, not feeling well overall, only Si Chenli hadn't moved his chopsticks yet. Instead, he took a pair of disposable gloves from beside the table and began peeling shrimp.

Soon there was a small pile of shrimp meat in his plate which he gently pushed towards Sang Qiao.

Sang Qiao paused with her meal and turned to look at him, was he taking this role too seriously? "Eat it yourself, I'll peel some later."

"Not into peeling shrimp?" Si Chenli didn't retract the plate but instead elegantly removed his disposable gloves and picked up his chopsticks, leisurely eating his meal.

"How did you know?" Sang Qiao was even more surprised. She remembered that she enjoyed eating shrimp but was too lazy to peel them so rarely touched them, a fact that no one knew about.

The man's grip on his chopsticks paused slightly but he quickly recovered, his tone indifferent, "You mentioned it."

"Did I?" Her delicate eyebrows furrowed. She and Si Chenli had definitely not discussed this before, other than the last time at the hospital, she had only seen him the day they broke off their engagement.

"Forget it then," Si Chenli chuckled softly, not dwelling on the topic any longer.

Sang Qiao gazed at the shrimp on her plate, her feelings complicated. Had she really said that?

Everyone enjoyed their meal, but Sang Qiao was still wracking her brain trying to think if there were any other occasions she might have met Si Chenli apart from their engagement cancellation and that time at the hospital.

Unable to recall any, Sang Qiao decided to give up. Perhaps Si Chenli had remembered wrongly?

After the meal, everyone gathered outside, the director holding a megaphone.

"Everyone's had their fill, and this afternoon, our dating venue will be set in a place known for its romance, the peach blossom forest. The scenery there is exquisite, and along the way, there are various challenges."

"…I knew the date was real, but it definitely isn't just a simple date."

Meng Wangge tugged the corner of her mouth, already accustomed to the producers' enticing ploys.

"The first person to reach the end will receive a card that allows them to bypass a challenge the next time they face a difficult task. Don't think the tasks from the production team are just minor punishments if not completed; in reality, we tally everyone's completion rates, and the first and the last person will receive a surprise and a punishment from the production team when the second season starts."

The director's face wore a meaningful smile, thinking... these people were too lackadaisical, and without a push, they wouldn't strive to be first.

"Can't the surprise and punishment be revealed?" Lu Tianxin was extremely curious.

"No, but I believe no one will like this punishment," the director hinted darkly. Now that he'd hinted so much, should these celebrities not aim for progress?

"Is there a chance that everyone might not like the surprise either?" Sang Qiao raised a doubt.

It was evident from this romantic date setup that what the production team called a surprise might not even be surprising.

Director: "..." Sang Qiao was really adept at spoiling the mood.

He forced a smile: "The production team will take into account the suggestions from fans to decide the punishments and surprises, trying our best to ensure that the surprises are satisfying."

[Hahaha why do I feel like the director's face turned green from annoyance because of Sang Qiao?]

[Sang Qiao, I beg you, if you can talk, just say more, it's so real!]

"If there are no more questions, let's head to the first challenge in the peach blossom forest!"

"No problem!" They answered in unison.

Gu Nanmo and Sang Jiao were thoroughly exhausted. Right after they finished their fast food, the production team had them do a punishment of a hundred frog jumps. Right now, both of their legs were sore.

"Jiaojiao, are you alright?" Sang Shen looked at his sister walking and felt a pang in his heart.

"I'm fine." Sang Jiao forced a smile. She wished she could give up the task and just go back to her room to rest but she had always portrayed a tenacious character.

She absolutely wouldn't give up a task, especially since she was on this variety show to win over more fans.

If she didn't do the tasks... she would miss out on a lot of screen time.

"Don't force yourself, if you really can't stand it then give up the task. Your health comes first, understand?"

"I understand, Second Brother." Sang Jiao smiled sweetly, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards Sang Qiao.

She thought she would see resentful, jealous looks from her, but surprisingly, not even a glance came her way. Was she truly letting go, or just pretending?