This dispute caused quite a stir.
Word quickly spread through the photographer and director groups.
Upon returning to the central island venue, even Yang Weiyang came over to relay the matter to Lin Mushi as a joke.
Her eyes widened, and she found it incredible.
"How can someone be so ordinary yet so confident?"
"She actually wants to switch with you—wait, who does she think she is? And how could Ling Qianhe possibly fancy her..."
"She's really, really a bit too laughable, isn't she?"
Yang Weiyang genuinely found the other person unbelievable.
"Li Mike is also unlucky. Being used as a stepping stone by her..."
"Couldn't he have opened his eyes and seen this woman's true colors? He's still completely under her thumb."
Lin Mushi, however, was looking at the sports venue setup before her. She leaned close to Yang Weiyang's ear and asked.
"How's Fei Siyu's stamina?"
Yang Weiyang looked a little confused.
"Huh? How would I know that? Probably... not great."
It wasn't that she intentionally wanted to diss Fei Siyu.
It was just that.
Fei Siyu...
He plays esports. Compared to them singing and dancing, his stamina might even be worse than hers.
Lin Mushi said "oh" and added.
"Then it's likely going to be a bit grim."
Judging by the program team's intentions, the next round might involve a test of stamina.
...
The program director stepped forward to announce the rules.
"Everyone will first swim to the small boat fifty meters away to retrieve puzzle pieces. Upon return, you will cross an obstacle course and complete the puzzle on the platform—ranking will be based on the order of puzzle completion."
"The first place winner receives a deluxe meal package with iced cola, iced coconut, potato chips, fried chicken, and sushi with salad. They can watch a movie on the island and will be provided with a rainproof mat and a soft blanket."
"Second place wins cola, potato chips, and can watch a movie. A blanket is also provided."
"Third place receives cola, sushi with salad, and a blanket."
"The last place gets nothing."
"Everyone can assign roles; both individuals must participate. One is responsible for retrieving the puzzle pieces, and the other for completing the puzzle!"
This task was quite challenging.
Lin Mushi looked at Ling Qianhe. In less than a second, he immediately made a decision.
"I'll go get the puzzle pieces, and you complete the puzzle."
Lin Mushi nodded. She looked at Yang Weiyang and Fei Siyu beside her. Fei Siyu whispered something in Yang Weiyang's ear, and then Yang Weiyang calmly rolled her eyes at him, the sweet girl instantly transforming into a fiery dragon.
"You can't swim?"
Fei Siyu looked innocent.
"No one told me it was a requirement..."
Yang Weiyang was about to break down.
"But we're filming a reality show on an island... you can't swim?"
Seeing his innocent and pure expression, Yang Weiyang, remembering this guy was just a shut-in who only played games, sighed.
She finally understood.
Why, before boarding the island,
The program team had repeatedly confirmed that she could swim.
She used to be
part of the synchronized swimming team as a child!
"Then you can only count on me."
Yang Weiyang looked at Fei Siyu's ashamed expression, then walked forward and raised her hand.
"I'll go get the puzzle pieces!"
Their two teams quickly finalized their decisions.
Meanwhile, over there, a slight problem occurred.
Ma Yingying gritted her teeth and looked at Li Mike, confirming repeatedly.
"You can definitely win, right?"
Li Mike shrugged, but without much certainty.
"I'm not a professional player."
"I can only try."
Ma Yingying gritted her teeth even harder.
"I don't care! You have to win! I don't want to end up with nothing, that would be too embarrassing... and you're a man!"
"Look over there, someone who came out is actually a girl. If you can't win, you... I'll be so angry with you!"
What she hated the most
was Li Mike's indifferent attitude towards everything.
Meanwhile, Hanks emerged for his swim.
He winked at the hot, blonde top model on the stage, full of confidence.
This was because, back in the day, he had to interact with the sea frequently for filming.
He was quite confident in his swimming abilities.
The starting gun fired.
Four people entered the water simultaneously.
Lin Mushi slowly narrowed her eyes as she watched Ling Qianhe—
In her mind, she recalled
Ling Qianhe's swimming ability.
She seemed to have no idea.
Should she pre-emptively light a cigarette for Ling Qianhe?
Meanwhile, the system was screaming excitedly in her mind.
"Wow, he's so handsome! Look at him in the water, he's like a fish—oh god, his swimming speed is really fast... as expected of someone who once jumped into the sea from a cruise ship, hahaha. He's truly amazing!"
He jumped into the sea from a cruise ship?
What story was that?
She seemed not to know.
The system was also surprised that Lin Mushi didn't know.
"Eh? Wasn't it released in your acting space? How he escaped and was caught by Madam Ling, how he played mind games with Madam Ling, and then how he went from the Ling family to the orphanage... that experience is in your acting space."
Lin Mushi felt a bit guilty.
She had been so flustered by Ling Qianhe
that she forgot to watch it.
"Does it cost points?"
The little system hummed.
"I'll charge a symbolic amount... Oh, I forgot your points for the master alchemist skill were cleared."
"Then you'll have to wait until the later tasks refresh."
It was—so frustrating.
Truth be told, Lin Mushi was also curious about what little Ling Qianhe had done back then.
Moreover, his friendship with Franklin
was also quite appealing to Lin Mushi.
What she wanted now was to understand Ling Qianhe's past better.
In the short time she had been chatting with the system, Ling Qianhe had already reached the shore, much faster than the second-place person.
The second place currently was Hanks.
And behind him,
was Yang Weiyang following closely!
The director and photographers were astonished.
After all, she was just a slender, big-eyed cutie.
Moreover, there was a natural gap in stamina between males and females, yet she was keeping pace so closely?
Ling Qianhe got out of the water and easily jumped over the obstacles, then leaped in front of Lin Mushi.
He glanced at Lin Mushi, raising an eyebrow.
Then he handed the puzzle pieces in his hand to Lin Mushi.
"Here."
"Can we start?"
Lin Mushi nodded, then opened the puzzle.
There were many puzzle pieces, scattered almost all over the platform, but she quickly began assembling it.
The little system spoke up in her mind again.
"Do you want me to help you cheat?"
"I can directly mark the correct positions of the puzzle pieces for you."
Lin Mushi thought...
it wasn't necessary.
Ling Qianhe had already secured such a significant advantage for her, she really wasn't so foolish as to mess it up.
She quickly completed the puzzle.
Then the director pressed the stopwatch.
"Lin Mushi and Ling Qianhe, first place!"
Lin Mushi and Ling Qianhe could now watch the show with peace of mind. Ling Qianhe leaned close to her and asked.
"Yang Weiyang's swimming is too fast. No wonder she didn't let Fei Siyu go. She's almost catching up to Hanks."
Lin Mushi said.
"She seems to have been a professional swimmer as a child before switching to the arts, so I think she has great potential. Look at her, she's clearly a beginner, but she can still keep up with our stage performances."
Lin Mushi was entirely approaching it from an idol's perspective.
"Besides, practicing dance is already very high intensity and requires a lot of stamina."
"If she practices dance with us, she definitely wouldn't be useless."
Ling Qianhe chuckled and leaned close to her ear, asking.
"So you're satisfied with me? After all, as an idol, I'm number one."
He was number one everywhere he went, wasn't he?
Just, a total top.
Lin Mushi deliberately avoided the topic. She turned to look at the others.
"They've landed."
"Fei Siyu is about to compete with Vivian in the puzzle."
Li Mike hadn't reached the shore yet.
He was indeed a bit disgraced, as he hadn't even managed to beat the girls.
He stumbled ashore, gasping for breath, and across from him, Ma Yingying's eyes were red with anger.
"Useless!"
Judging by her lips.
She was indeed cursing.
She frantically grabbed the small bag containing the puzzle pieces and quickly shook it open.
The puzzle pieces fell onto the ground with a clattering sound, crisp and unsettling, creating a sense of panic.
Ma Yingying's eyes were intensely red.
She quickly picked them up, but the more anxious she became, the worse she was at piecing them together.
Fei Siyu overtook them.
They finished second.
Vivian was also done.
But her side was lagging behind in completion.
In the end, she realized she was last and even gave up directly.
She swept the messy puzzle pieces aside and crouched on the ground, bursting into tears!
Her crying filled the entire venue, unrestrained and unlovely.
The situation became extremely awkward.
Yang Weiyang and Lin Mushi exchanged glances.
The director had no choice but to go comfort her.
She said they should compete again.
In something else.
But no one paid her any attention.
Li Mike, however, mustered his courage and looked at her, scolding her!
"Enough! You're affecting everyone. We lost, we accept it, what else do you want?"
Ma Yingying jumped up and poked his chest with her finger.
"You're blaming me? You can't even beat a girl, are you even a man?"
The scene was chaotic.
Lin Mushi glanced at Ling Qianhe. He looked unfazed.
Then he opened his mouth to explain to Lin Mushi.
"In this industry, there are all sorts of people. It's not surprising."
Lin Mushi: "..."
Even if there were all sorts of people in the industry.
This was just too... speechless.
Yang Weiyang had already gone to get the rewards.
She skipped back happily, opening the iced cola.
"Refreshing!"
"Let's go, we're going back to enjoy~"
She had a meal package to eat and could watch a movie.
However, she winked at Lin Mushi.
"Pick a good movie, okay~"
Lin Mushi turned to look at Ling Qianhe. He seemed to have already decided which movie to watch.
He smiled.
"I choose 'Passionate Love'."
That was...
a famous,
explicitly romantic film.
Lin Mushi's face immediately turned beet red. The director coughed and swallowed.
"That way, it'll be difficult for us to broadcast. We might have to use mosaic later... Are you sure you don't want to change it?"
Lin Mushi looked back at him. Ling Qianhe hummed.
"Since we're here, of course, we should watch something that adults should watch."
"I think Xiao Ci will like it too."
Lin Mushi thought: Bullshit!
It's clearly him who wants to get into something... something spicy!
She wasn't going to take the blame for this!