Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Ning Xi was instantly energized by Xie Lanchen’s words. She raised her hand and gave him a high-five, nodding like a woodpecker.

“Yes!!!”

Xie Lanchen looked at the sparkling joy in Ning Xi’s eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously.

He wasn’t usually an emotional person, but every time he saw Ning Xi smile, he seemed to catch her infectious energy.

However, Xie Lanchen’s smile faltered when he saw the “little tail,” Fu Zhi, following behind Ning Xi.

[Good grief, is Fu Zhi really treating himself like Ning Xi’s dowry?]

[He’s not going to insist on being in a group with Xie Lanchen and Ning Xi, is he?]

[It doesn’t matter if he insists; Xie Lanchen is the one with the power to pick the team.]

“There are two spots left, one male and one female. Who do you want to choose?” Xie Lanchen looked down at Ning Xi.

Ning Xi hadn’t expected Xie Lanchen to actually consult her.

Her gaze swept over the faces of the remaining guests, and then she covered her mouth and whispered to Xie Lanchen, “I think…”

Xie Lanchen leaned down, listening intently to what she had to say.

“I think we should pick Qin Se. Our group played this game before.”

In a game like Telephone, the better the chemistry between the guests, the higher the success rate. After all, she and Qin Se had lived and worked together in the same group for two years; their rapport was bound to be better than that of the other female guests.

Xie Lanchen nodded, looking as if everything Ning Xi said was right. “Okay.”

“As for the male guest…”

Ning Xi looked at Fu Zhi, Wei Xuan, and Shen Yibai. After a second of hesitation, she looked at Xie Lanchen.

“Between someone who has a mouth but doesn’t use it, someone whose mouth and heart aren’t in sync, and someone who doesn’t have a mouth at all-which of these three do you think is better suited for this game?”

Heaven help them, it seemed Xiao Xie was the only one in this entire variety show who knew how to use his mouth properly.

“Ahem, ahem, ahem!” Fu Zhi coughed loudly from the side, trying to make his presence known.

To his dismay, Ning Xi and Xie Lanchen only gave him a brief glance before continuing their discussion as if no one else were there.

Fu Zhi could only glare at the two of them resentfully.

[I should be under the car, not in the car~]

[Three’s a crowd in love; Fu Zhi, you should just bow out.]

[Fu Zhi: Mind your own business.]

“The other two guests we’ve chosen are Qin Se and Fu Zhi!”

In the end, this was the result of Ning Xi and Xie Lanchen’s discussion.

Compared to Shen Yibai and Wei Xuan, Fu Zhi was at least not afraid of losing face and could let loose during the game.

Once the groups were finalized…

Qin Se looked up slightly, her expression unreadable as to whether she was happy or not.

Fu Zhi, on the other hand, wore his heart on his sleeve. He desperately tried to suppress the upward curve of his lips and huffed, “At least you have some taste.”

The remaining guests-Ning Mingyue, Shen Yibai, Jiang Sheshe, and Wei Xuan-automatically formed the other group.

“We’re definitely going to win!”

Jiang Sheshe looked at Wei Xuan and Ning Mingyue standing beside her, feeling quite smug. The three of them were so close, and with Shen Yibai added in, they would surely beat Ning Xi’s mismatched assembly!

The competition was about to begin.

The two groups of guests took their turns stepping onto the circular platforms in the mud pit.

The order for Ning Xi’s group was: Qin Se → Xie Lanchen → Ning Xi → Fu Zhi.

Qin Se glanced at the sentence on the whiteboard and said blandly to Xie Lanchen, who was wearing headphones, “You’re a good person.”

Qin Se spoke with very little expression, and her mouth movements were smaller than most.

[Can he even guess that?]

[Xie Lanchen is in trouble!]

To everyone’s surprise, Xie Lanchen repeated it perfectly to Ning Xi behind him: “You. Are. A. Good. Person.”

Ning Xi focused intently on Xie Lanchen’s lip movements, then nodded seriously. “Free. Food. Bar-be-cue?”

Xie Lanchen watched Ning Xi finish her repetition and then gave her a small, indulgent smile, signaling that she was right.

And so, Ning Xi confidently repeated to Fu Zhi, “Free food barbecue!”

Fu Zhi was determined to make Ning Xi see him in a new light, so he concentrated so hard he didn’t even blink while she spoke.

Finally, he gave a disdainful smirk and said to the camera, “Free-style bar of glue!”

[…………]

[I’m struggling so hard not to laugh.]

[No, I mean, at least what Ning Xi said was a coherent phrase. Does Fu Zhi really not think ‘free-style bar of glue’ sounds ridiculous?]]
The second word was “bouncing and hopping.”

Qin Se’s mouth movements still possessed a sort of lifeless beauty.

Xie Lanchen hesitated for a moment before saying to Ning Xi, “Bouncing and hopping.”

Ning Xi understood immediately. She turned around and faced Fu Zhi, who was standing on the round platform. “You, jump! Jump!”

Fu Zhi: ?

Netizens: ?

Director Qin: ?

Fu Zhi was the most bewildered of all. “Isn’t this a game of telephone? Why are you suddenly telling me to jump down?”

Below the platform was a mud pit. What would he look like if he actually jumped in?

Ning Xi was also confused as she watched Fu Zhi’s long string of mouth movements. She had only said three words-why was Fu Zhi repeating so many?

But time was of the essence, so she didn’t care.

“You, jump! Jump!”

Seeing Ning Xi repeat the command to jump, Fu Zhi hesitated for a split second. Finally, wearing the expression of a hero facing execution, he jumped off the round platform with crisp decisiveness.

He was so fast that Director Qin didn’t even have time to step forward and stop him.

Mud splashed everywhere.

Ning Xi watched the suddenly airborne Fu Zhi, her brain stalling.

Oh my god. The game was going perfectly fine-why did Fu Zhi suddenly go crazy and jump?

Great Lord of Clear Soup! This has nothing to do with me!

[Oh my god, another comedy sketch is unfolding.]

[You guys really have some guts letting Ning Xi pass the message.]

[The key is that Fu Zhi actually believed her and really jumped. I’m literally crying for him.]

[I always said that where there’s one genius, there’s always a fool right beside them.]

The game was paused for all the guests because of Fu Zhi’s explosive behavior.

“Hahahaha! Fu Zhi must have gone crazy and jumped into the mud because he couldn’t guess what his teammates were saying and felt embarrassed!” Jiang Sheshe laughed, clutching her stomach.

It looked like their team was definitely going to win!

Seeing Jiang Sheshe’s silly, happy face, the netizens felt a bit conflicted.

[At least on Ning Xi’s team, Xie Lanchen could actually hear what was said. On Jiang Sheshe’s team, not a single person got it right.]

[And they all committed to their mistakes until the very end. Not one of them doubted themselves.]

[I’m laughing so hard I’m gonna puke.]

The telephone game soon came to an end.

Jiang Sheshe’s team got 3 out of 10 questions right, while Ning Xi’s team got 4 out of 10, winning by a narrow margin.

“Impossible! There’s absolutely no way we only got four right!”

Ning Xi’s pupils shook. She had played so hard!

Director Qin’s mouth twitched as he pulled up the video replay. Only then did Ning Xi finally settle down.

Fu Zhi wiped the mud off his body while looking at the world with a face full of resentment, occasionally shooting a sneaky glare at Ning Xi.

Director Qin raised his megaphone to move to the next segment.

“The fun telephone mini-game has concluded. Do you all have a better understanding of your teammates now?”

“Next, let us officially begin today’s competition: the Round Platform Photo Battle!”

“There are eight round platforms over the mud pit. Once the Program Team starts the countdown, the guests need to find the platform the cameraman is currently filming. The team that successfully stands on the platform with the most members showing their faces in the photo will receive one point.”

Hearing these rules, the expressions of Ning Mingyue, Shen Yibai, and Wei Xuan all changed simultaneously.

They had already gotten quite a few mud spots on them just getting from the pit to the platforms. If they played this Round Platform Photo Battle, wouldn’t they get even dirtier?

Compared to that team’s hesitation, everyone on Ning Xi’s team looked like they had been injected with chicken blood, entering a state of combat readiness.

Ning Xi cheered the other three on. “Don’t worry, everyone! We are a professional team with a clear division of labor!”

She pointed at Xie Lanchen. “This is the tiger that guards the mountain.”

Xie Lanchen gave her a slight smile.

Then she pointed at Fu Zhi. “The wolf that loves to fight.”

Fu Zhi’s movements in wiping the mud off himself sped up a bit.

And Qin Se: “The eagle with foresight.”

Qin Se’s lips moved, but she ultimately remained silent.

Finally, Ning Xi pointed at herself. “But I am different. I am the King of the World, the Majestic Monarch! Hahahahahahaha!”

Everyone: “…”

In the end, it was a netizen who pointed out the truth:

[No, you are the Tipsy Qiang.]