Silence fell.
Qiu Yan's face twisted as her sore spot was hit.
She did not know if Jiang Xuxu got along well with her teammate, but that relationship would definitely be better than the one Qiu Yan had with her teammate.
Soon, the referee blew the whistle, and the ten teams instantly dashed forward from the starting line.
Tong Luo, who had already retreated to the shade to rest, soon bore witness to a marvelous show being performed on the field.
"Pfft!"
She could not help but laugh as quickly pulled Qi Wu over. "Look, Qi Wu."
Qi Wu's gaze followed Tong Luo's finger.
The competition had just begun, and most of the teams had arrived at the first obstacle.
With what they learned from the previous groups, the teams of this group were able to cross the log bridge much faster than the other teams. All of the teams except for Tong Fei and Qu Yan, obviously.
After all, they had already started arguing and fighting with each other before they even stepped onto the wooden bridge.
Tong Fei crossed her arms and arrogantly glared at Qiu Yan. "Can you just stand still? What if you make me fall?"
A superficial smile spread across Qiu Yan's lips. "O great lady, why don't you think about what we should do if you're the one who loses their balance?"
Tong Fei raised her eyebrows in disdain. "This game is so simple that there's no way I would fail."
However, just as they stepped onto the logs, Tong Fei suddenly shouted. "Aah!"
The next thing anyone knew, the teams around her watched as she panicked while falling to the side. She also grabbed Qiu Yan as she fell, causing Qiu Yan to fall as well even though Qiu Yan was capable of keeping herself standing.
Both of them ended up in a tangled heap of limbs on the ground.
"What are you doing?"
Qiu Yan was so angry that her face had turned ugly.
She could have pulled Tong Fei back and prevented her from falling off, but Tong Fei had to drag her down before she could even do that.
Naturally, Tong Fei would never admit to having made a mistake. She also refused to back down when questioned by Qiu Yan and shouted back, "I must have fallen because you keep losing your balance!"
Outside the obstacle course, Qi Wu smiled as she watched them fight.
"Is this what it means to go through thick and thin together?"
"... I would have believed Tong Fei if she hadn't been so obvious when she dragged Qiu Yan down with her."
"They're certainly redefining the phrase 'through thick and thin,'" Tong Luo jeered.
There was no way Tong Luo would ever miss out on a chance to laugh at Tong Fei.
Tong Fei had humiliated Tong Luo countless times in public and in private just because she was the daughter of the Tong family.
If Tong Luo had not held herself back and just endured until she found this opportunity, she would probably have lived out the rest of her life under Tong Fei's oppressive thumb.
After the incident, the teams around Tong Fei and Qiu Yan consciously distanced themselves from the duo. After all, they did not want to be dragged into a mess they were not part of.
For once, Jiang Xuxu did not join in the fun and just focused on clearing the obstacles with Ke Lu.
Tong Fei and Qiu Yan's humiliation was not over yet. They constantly entertained the audience with their many failures at every obstacle they had to overcome.
Among the production team, many of them were already on the brink of bursting out loud with laughter.
If not for Song Qi's rules, they would be filling the air with laughter by now.
As Song Qi's long-time colleague and friend, Hu Mofei did not care that much about the rules. He had not stopped laughing since the start of the group's run.
"Oh, these two women! I nearly thought we had given them a script to act out, but no. They're just being themselves!" Hu Mofei exclaimed.
Song Qi's face was very dark. With a cold snort, he instructed, "Put this in the trailer."
"Oh?"
Hu Mofei turned around in surprise. "This very segment? Will the Tong family not say anything?"
Song Qi snapped his eyes shut as if he did not want to look at the frustrating scene playing out before him any longer. "Letting Tong Fei join in the show is the most leniency I can show. Now, it is time for us to make use of the only value she has."
Respect and tolerance from Song Qi were not qualities anyone could easily demand from him.
Sometimes, not even the employees from the three giants of the industry could demand respect from him.
Furthermore, the Tong family had no connections in the industry.
"Very well. You are the executive director. What you say, goes."
Hu Mofei grinned. The moment Song Qi gave him the command, he already had an idea in mind on how to use this segment to create a trailer that would go viral.
After the three-legged race was over, the LED screen nearby displayed the time it had taken for every team to finish the obstacle course.
Qi Wu and Tong Luo had the shortest clear time, so they were awarded ten points, the highest number of points available.
The remaining teams each received a gradually decreasing number of points while the thirty slowest teams did not receive any points.
As Song Qi solemnly announced the final results, the LED screen behind him displayed a scoreboard that updated in real-time.
When the sixty contestants saw that they had gotten zero points, they all wailed in agony.
They did not realize it would be so difficult to earn a single point in the competition.
"Now, you may go back and rest. The outdoor barbecue party we have prepared for you will start when night falls."
As soon as Song Qi finished speaking, everyone burst out into cheers.
"This production is so rich! They're actually throwing us a barbecue party!"
"This place is so pretty. It would have been a real pity if we didn't spend some time under the stars."
The contestants soon dispersed. Once all the contestants had left, Song Qi turned around and signaled for Qu Man to start.
Qu Man nodded and immediately led her subordinates to get the place ready.
*
When Qi Wu and Tong Luo returned to the villa, they bumped into Yao Ning and Yin Yueyue.
Yao Ning and Yin Yueyue had been sulking silently in frustration until they spotted Qi Wu and Tong Luo.
They could not help but look embarrassed.
Yao Ning and Yin Yueyue did not receive any points from the race. Looking at Qi Wu and Tong Luo now, they were reminded of how they treated Tong Luo with disdain when it was her team who won ten points.
Yao Ning wished she could just slap her past self in the face.
She had not expected Tong Luo to be able to turn the tide. If she had known earlier, she would not have been so cruel and persistent.
If she had not done that, she might be able to have a few frames of an episode to herself by hanging around them.
She awkwardly smiled at the two women. In order to make herself stand out, she decided to just break the stalemate despite the humiliation. "Oh, you're back…"
Before she could finish her sentence, Qi Wu grabbed Tong Luo's arm and pulled her further into the villa. "I'm exhausted, Tong Luo."
"Let's hurry back to our room and rest."
Tong Luo shot Yao Ning and Yin Yueyue long looks with eyes that shimmered with a trace of derision, making them feel very uncomfortable.
Upon returning to the bedroom, Tong Luo relaxed and sat down on her bed.
She then looked at Qi Wu with eager eyes. "Were you defending me just now?"
However, the only response she received was the sight of Qi Wu staring blankly at her jar with only three lemon drops left in it.
Although Qi Wu looked calm and composed as usual, Tong Luo strangely felt a sense of grief and distress from her body language.
"What's wrong?"
Tong Luo had silently walked over to Qi Wu.
Qi Wu heaved a heavy sigh and replied in a miserable and soft voice, "There are only three lemon drops left."
When would Jin Si buy her more?
Tong Luo stared in silence.
The only thing she knew right now was a loud voice shouting in her mind, I'll buy you some! I'll buy you all the lemon drops you can ever want!
