Chapter 32: The Continuity of Missions

Li Wanbai hung up the call with Su Orange and hopped cheerfully to open her door. She beamed at Yu Baichuan, who had come to fetch her downstairs. “You came to get me? Looks like our revolutionary friendship still stands!”

Yu Baichuan looked a little awkward, rubbing the tip of his nose as he nodded. “Enough with the jokes, let’s go down.”

Li Wanbai was the second-to-last to arrive. Su Orange had clearly noticed Quan Hao starting to move earlier, but it wasn’t until Li Wanbai had picked her seat and sat down that Quan Hao finally strolled down from the second floor.

This made Ye Xiruo, who had wanted to say something to Li Wanbai, shut her mouth awkwardly.

“Now that everyone’s rested, can the production team finally tell us what we’re supposed to do?” Quan Hao crossed her arms, sweeping an unfriendly glance at the crew.

They had all gone back to their rooms for a break. The beds had all the sheets and covers one could need, but most other daily necessities were missing—only a single roll of toilet paper in the bathroom, no toothpaste, no towels, no facial cleanser.

“These must be things we’re supposed to buy ourselves,” Ma Xu said with a helpless smile, half-laughing, half-crying into the camera. “The production team is really ruthless. Not leaving us a single path to take.”

While he played up his frustration for the camera, Yu Baichuan simply began searching the living room for the task cards the crew might have hidden.

Ye Xiruo nearly laughed but held back, murmuring, “Mr. Yu, is that really necessary? If the crew wanted to give us task cards, they could just hand them out. Why hide them?”

“There’s always a chance,” Yu Baichuan replied coolly, not willing to say more.

Li Wanbai nodded in agreement and joined the search.

Ye Xiruo pursed her lips but said nothing more.

They were indeed at a loss, with no idea what to do next. It made sense that the crew might have slipped task cards onto the first floor while they were resting upstairs.

Soon, everyone was searching, and as expected, the task cards were found in a box under the coffee table.

Yu Baichuan glanced over them. “The production team’s instructions are: each person draws a task card from this box, completes the task, and earns a certain amount of money. The money earned from today’s tasks will be our survival fund for the remaining three days.”

Calling it a survival fund was no exaggeration. All of them were pampered celebrities, unused to hardship.

It’s easy to go from simple to luxurious, but hard to go from luxury to simplicity.

To have them live in this small villa for three days with no preparation was almost as bad as a death sentence.

Li Wanbai, however, was different. Just yesterday she’d been a diligent, thrifty high school student, not someone accustomed to a decade of celebrity extravagance.

But being ordinary didn’t make her invincible. There wasn’t a scrap of food in the kitchen; making a living was about to become a pressing concern.

According to the unspoken rules of showbiz, there was an order to drawing task cards: Yu Baichuan, Quan Hao, Teacher Wang, Li Wanbai, Ye Xiruo, and finally Ma Xu.

Everyone looked at each other; no one said anything, but it was clear they were waiting for Yu Baichuan to go first.

Just as Yu Baichuan was about to reach out, Quan Hao unabashedly drew a task card from the box and read it aloud: “Work at a construction site carrying bricks for three hours.”

Everyone’s expressions shifted—not because of the task itself, but because Quan Hao had upended their unspoken order. It was a little jarring.

Yu Baichuan didn’t seem to mind and calmly drew a card as well.

After that, aside from the switch between Quan Hao and Yu Baichuan, everyone else followed the unspoken rules when drawing their cards.

Quan Hao’s task was three hours of brick-carrying at a construction site. Yu Baichuan’s was to be an art teacher at a nearby elementary school. Teacher Wang was to stay home and fold clothes for the production team. Ye Xiruo was to work at a flower shop. Ma Xu drew a task at a steel plant.

Everyone announced their assignments. When Li Wanbai read hers, her brow twitched, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Can I draw again?”

[Here we go, I knew it! The classic evil supporting actress move from TV dramas!]
[Can someone please do something about her?]
[This is a reality show, not her personal stage. Can she stop being so dramatic?]
[Why does she get to redraw when no one else did? Is she afraid the task is too hard?]
[Ha! As if her task could be harder than my idol’s! Three hours of carrying bricks at a construction site—are they trying to work him to death?]
[What’s wrong with carrying bricks? Plenty of workers do it day after day. Is your idol so precious?]
[Enough arguing. No one’s looking down on the laborers, and it’s clear that saying the task is hard is just acknowledging how tough their jobs are. Still, Quan Hao didn’t ask to redraw, so why is Li Wanbai so fussy?]
[Maybe she doesn’t think her task is too hard but just wants to be closer to the two male stars.]
[Good point! Earlier, this woman fought with Ye Xiruo over a second-floor room. Ye Xiruo just liked the big balcony, what’s wrong with that? But this woman refused to switch—who knows what she’s up to. Probably just wants to be near Baichuan and Quan Hao!]

As Li Wanbai finished speaking, the others all looked at her. She just shrugged. “I was only speaking offhand.”

To be honest, she really didn’t want to do this task.

Li Wanbai flipped her card and read aloud, “Sell boxed lunches at the construction site for three hours.”

Selling lunches and working at the construction site weren’t obstacles for Li Wanbai. The real issue was that her task was closely tied to Quan Hao’s, meaning they’d be working together that afternoon.

If it had been before, it wouldn’t have mattered. But she’d just heard from Su Orange about the complicated history between herself and Quan Hao—it would be awkward to meet again so soon.

[???]
[To those who said she just wanted to be close to Yu Baichuan and Quan Hao—turns out her original task already put her near Quan Hao. No need to redraw just for that!]
[Told you so—no matter how foolish she might be, she’s not foolish enough to openly challenge the show’s rules.]
[Honestly, with a face like hers, she could rewrite the rules and I’d have no objections!]
[I don’t want to be your online friends next life! How do you all change sides faster than flipping a page?]
[Whatever the reason, she wanted to change her task. Her fans should just stop making excuses.]

Yu Baichuan’s gaze flickered, his expression darkening as some thought crossed his mind.

Before leaving, Li Wanbai leaned in and whispered, “Don’t worry, when I come back, I’ll still love you.”

Yu Baichuan snorted, gritting his teeth. “Who wants your love? Remember, we’re about to get divorced.”

Li Wanbai paid him no mind and turned to leave with Quan Hao, boarding the production team’s van.

She’d been nervous at first, afraid of an awkward conversation, but soon realized she worried for nothing. Quan Hao closed her eyes to rest as soon as she got in, and once they reached the site, their paths didn’t cross.

It was only after Li Wanbai finished selling boxed lunches with the construction site kitchen that the two of them saw each other again.