Chapter 40: The Infuriating Task

The first day passed safely, or perhaps one could say soundly. By the second day, Ye Xiruo was full of energy, bouncing around without even taking her medicine, her complexion growing increasingly rosy.

The audience might have thought the production team had secretly bought her medicine, since after all, if something really happened to the guests, the show couldn’t possibly bear that responsibility. But the other guests, such as Li Wanbai, knew perfectly well that the production team hadn’t had the chance to intervene yet—Ye Xiruo had already insisted she didn’t need anything, drank her porridge, and went downstairs to eat with everyone else.

Everyone present had been in the entertainment industry for quite a while; they were all shrewd enough. Ma Xu’s attitude was less enthusiastic than on the first day, but Ye Xiruo didn’t care in the slightest.

The first day was over, and then came the second and third. The third day would be easy enough—they only had to get through half the day, and in the afternoon, each would return home, back to their own managers. But the second day required a full twenty-four hours.

Quan Hao glanced at the wrinkled one-hundred-yuan bills in his hand, tempted to crumple them further. Li Wanbai, seeing this, teased, “Stop squeezing them! Even if you crumple those four hundred yuan a hundred times, you won’t get an extra hundred out of it.”

After a moment, she added offhandedly, “You’re really odd. Most people would be counting their money, but you just crumple the corners of every bill. It reminds me of someone I used to know.”

Quan Hao’s movements paused; he looked at her with an unreadable expression, as if he couldn’t fathom why she’d bring this up out of nowhere. Li Wanbai had only spoken casually, and as she looked at the four bills, she felt a twinge of worry herself.

Strictly speaking, four hundred yuan was more than enough to buy groceries and easily last a day and a half. The problem was, they were on a reality show—and it would be out of character for the production team not to stir up trouble!

The director greeted them with a smile, “Dear guests, here’s the situation: last night, we opened the mission voting system online, allowing the audience of ‘Us’ to vote for today’s task. If you fail to complete it, your funds will be cleared tomorrow. So we hope everyone takes this seriously and faces today’s mission with energy and focus.”

Li Wanbai looked at the director’s sly, amused grin and felt a chill of foreboding. Something was definitely up.

“According to the voting results, today’s top mission is: spend five hundred yuan on the second day!”

“What the hell? Spend five hundred yuan! Do you even know how much money we have left?” Quan Hao shot to his feet, cursing. “How is this any different from outright robbery? And don’t blame it on our fans!”

“Mr. Quan, please calm down. This really was the result of the online vote. Everyone just wants to see you all enjoy yourselves and have a carefree day, so that’s why this task was chosen,” the director stammered, unconsciously backing away a couple of steps.

Quan Hao had once played a general, and his performance was so intense that now, when he got angry, it was easy for people to picture that iron-blooded commander.

No one else dared to speak; only Li Wanbai, utterly oblivious to the tension, patted Quan Hao on the shoulder. She’d never seen his dramas. “It’s not worth getting so worked up. Think about it—maybe it’s not such a bad thing.”

“A good thing?! We only have four hundred yuan, and they want us to spend five hundred? How is that a good thing?” Quan Hao ground his teeth.

The production team could have just taken their four hundred yuan, but instead blamed it on a fan-voted mission.

[We didn’t know you only had four hundred left!]
[This is awkward. I really thought they were being too stingy yesterday and just wanted them to splurge today, so I voted for this mission! The show set me up!]
[Come on, anyone could see this task was doomed from the start! They barely had any money left from yesterday! Why didn’t you vote with me for Yu Yubai and Quan Hao to dance? Everyone should have voted for mission eight!]
[Now I really regret it. What’s so good about this? The one above is right, they should’ve just danced.]
[Come on, seeing Yu Yubai dance would be normal, but Quan Hao? The guy’s all arms and legs—he might end up fighting himself onstage.]
[Fighting himself, literally.]
[……]

“So we only have four hundred yuan, and the task is to spend five hundred. No matter what we do, it can’t be completed?” Li Wanbai laughed. “Then just give up! Either way, the money will be cleared tomorrow.”

Quan Hao nearly choked. “That’s your idea of a good thing? If we run out of money, how are we supposed to get through the third day?”

Judging by the production team’s usual tricks, they’d probably even make them pay for their own rides home.

“I have a question for the production team,” Ye Xiruo interjected, frowning. “Is there a reward for completing the task?”

The production team nodded. “That’s right! If you complete today’s mission, we’ll cover your transportation costs tomorrow.”

Clearly, they realized the second day’s task was a bit much. Even if it was the fans’ idea, the blame would ultimately fall on them, so they hurried to offer a tempting reward to pacify the audience.

Quan Hao snorted. “You’ll cover our transportation, huh? Tomorrow I’ll hire a cruise ship back to Haicheng!”

“Calm down. It’s called Haicheng, but it doesn’t actually have a sea,” Li Wanbai replied, exasperated but amused.

“Do you think I’m that clueless? I went to Haicheng Middle School for a year or two myself.”

Li Wanbai looked surprised. “Really? Then how come I never saw you? Which middle school did you attend?”

Quan Hao’s expression froze; he turned away and muttered, “None of your business.”

[Ha! Our Quan is as fierce as ever, never giving those fame-seeking women a chance!]
[Li Wanbai seemed decent yesterday, but today she’s back to her old self. A leopard never changes its spots.]
[If you really wanted to make small talk, couldn’t you find a better reason? You can find out where he went to kindergarten on Baidu; how could she not know which middle school he attended?]
[Oh, come on, don’t be so harsh on Li Wanbai. She just wants some attention. Quan Hao didn’t lose anything. Why so mean?]
[Could Quan Hao’s fans stop hyping him up? Honestly, even I don’t know which middle school he went to, and unless you’re a die-hard fan, you wouldn’t either.]
[You can’t compare ordinary people to celebrities! Quan Hao is an A-list star. His colleagues see each other all the time—how could she not know? I think Li Wanbai is just playing dumb!]