Chapter 99
Chapter 99
The next morning at eight o’clock, the livestream started right on time.
Ning Xi had finished getting ready. Carrying her small bag, she addressed the camera, “Bad morning, everyone! And a reminder to the Program Team: no one who has finished washing up, doing their makeup, and coordinating their outfit to be ready to head out by eight in the morning thinks it’s a ‘good’ morning!”
Director Qin: …
[Bad morning, humanity!]
[I really love waking up early; it feels like my soul is leaving my body.]
The other guests arrived at House No. 4 one after another.
“This is the three thousand yuan shopping fund and the task cards from the Program Team.” Fu Zhi handed the items he had collected earlier that morning to Ning Xi.
Ning Xi’s eyes instantly turned into the shape of currency symbols.
Good heavens, spending three thousand in a single day? Is this a test of my character?
One look at Ning Xi’s expression and Fu Zhi knew exactly what she was thinking. He reminded her, “This is the money for everyone’s meals today! Plus, it has to cover the snacks and tea we’re providing for free to the villagers during tomorrow night’s performance!”
“Tell me, what can we even eat with three thousand yuan? Doesn’t that mean we can eat everything we want at the mall?” Ning Xi stroked her chin, deep in thought.
Fu Zhi felt like he was having a breakdown. Who on earth insisted on making Ning Xi the Team Leader?!
At the same time, the guests received a message from the Program Team.
[Youai Village Chief: The nearest large-scale shopping locations to Ling Village are Xiangcheng Plaza and the Ling Village Farmers’ Market. The eight guests can split into two groups to visit these two locations.
Tip: If the three thousand fund is insufficient, you can earn more by completing tasks. Each task is worth 150 yuan.]
Ning Xi’s gaze finally fell upon the task cards.
She counted them; there were twenty in total. If they could finish them all, wouldn’t that mean an extra three thousand yuan?
“Come on, everyone draw a few task cards.”
Ning Xi started by handing the cards to Jiang Sheshe, who was standing beside her.
Jiang Sheshe elegantly reached out a finger and pulled one card. Then, she blinked innocently and pouted at Ning Xi. “I’ve taken one. You guys go ahead.”
Ning Xi: “…At your age, acting cute isn’t working anymore. Everyone has to take at least two tasks today.”
“Hmph!”
Reluctantly, Jiang Sheshe drew another task card.
When she opened them and saw the contents, she felt like her world was ending.
Task Card 1: Pretend to be a food vlogger filming a review and interact with the shopkeeper.
Task Card 2: Go to a supermarket and check out with only a single grain of rice.
What kind of bizarre tasks were these?
Could she just forfeit the tasks and give Ning Xi three hundred yuan out of her own pocket right now?!
Following her, Fu Zhi drew three task cards, while Wei Xuan, Ning Mingyue, and Qin Se drew two each.
Nine task cards remained.
Ning Xi looked at Shen Yibai and Xie Lanchen, who hadn’t taken any yet. “Then the three of us will take three each…”
In the next second, Xie Lanchen reached out and took four task cards without the slightest hesitation.
Shen Yibai was a step slower, but he also took four cards.
That left Ning Xi with only one task card in her hand.
[Holy crap, that was so cool!]
[Men who take initiative with the task cards like this are truly heart-stoppers.]
[Fu Zhi: Oh no, these two are coming for me.]
[Hahaha, who told the ‘Prince’ to be so silly and rush forward to be the second one to take cards? If he had a bigger brain, he would have thought to wait until the end. That way, if everyone else wasn’t being proactive, he could have covered for the Team Leader, Ning Xi.]
[Fu Zhi: You two are so noble, so amazing. You even play 4D chess just to pick up a few task cards.]
“Four cards? Then they’re going to lose a lot of face today.”
Jiang Sheshe was gloating.
She had been feeling a bit crushed by her own cards, but seeing others about to face double the embarrassment and double the breakdown made her feel much better.
Sure enough, what Ning Xi said before was true: as long as others are suffering more than you, your mood will improve significantly.
“Brother Xuan, what’s your task…” Jiang Sheshe turned toward Wei Xuan.
She found Wei Xuan leaning in, whispering something to Mingyue, his expression refined and gentle. Jiang Sheshe’s smile froze, and a wave of bitter sadness surged in her heart again.
“Mingyue just asked if we should go to the Farmers’ Market together later. She feels that the four of us from yesterday’s Mud Pit Battle have a better rapport, so it’s better to stick with yesterday’s guest groupings.”
As soon as Jiang Sheshe spoke, Wei Xuan’s attention shifted to her. He patiently explained what Ning Mingyue had just said.
“But if we had rapport, we wouldn’t have lost so miserably yesterday,” Jiang Sheshe said slowly after hearing this.
Wei Xuan was slightly taken aback. “Sheshe…”
“Besides, Ning Xi is the Team Leader. She should be the one to decide the groups, right? Otherwise, Brother Xuan, why did you choose her as the Team Leader yesterday?” Jiang Sheshe asked again.
Wei Xuan stared at Jiang Sheshe. Although many netizens found her willful, pampered, and annoying, Sheshe actually restrained her temper when dealing with friends. Even if a friend did something wrong, Sheshe would usually take their side.
But with those words just now, Sheshe was clearly standing in opposition to him and Ning Mingyue…
“Sheshe, would you rather go shopping at Xiangcheng Plaza? I only suggested that grouping because I thought today’s procurement task might be heavy. After yesterday’s game, I thought you, I, Yibai, and Wei Xuan would have better chemistry. I chose the Farmers’ Market because the prices there are cheaper than at Xiangcheng Plaza, and it’s closer to where we’re staying. Once we finish the task, we can come back early to prepare for the performance.”
Ning Mingyue took Jiang Sheshe’s hand, her tone smooth and gentle as a breeze.
Yet Jiang Sheshe felt a sense of powerlessness. This wasn’t about which market or plaza they went to; it was the fact that whenever she was in a group with Mingyue and Brother Xuan, she felt miserable and insecure. It made her very unhappy!
But she didn’t want to vent these terrible emotions on Mingyue. She knew Mingyue was innocent, and Brother Xuan was innocent too…
She was the one who insisted on liking someone who didn’t like her back…
“I understand. What you said makes sense,” Jiang Sheshe finally lowered her head, sounding somewhat dejected.
Ning Mingyue gave a faint smile and ruffled Jiang Sheshe’s hair. Then she looked at the others and proposed following yesterday’s groupings for the shopping trip.
No one seemed to have any objections. Ning Xi also thought it was easier this way; after all, if they regrouped, certain drama queens would surely start whining again.
“Then I’ll split the money into two portions. You guys go to the Farmers’ Market, and we’ll go to Xiangcheng Plaza.”
Shen Yibai took the money. Seeing the 1,200 yuan in his hand-a mix of large and small bills-and the 1,800 yuan in Ning Xi’s hand, he fell silent for a moment.
Ning Xi met Shen Yibai’s gaze without blushing or a racing heart, completely devoid of guilt. What, they made her the Team Leader, and she couldn’t keep a bit more of the cash? Besides, 1,200 wasn’t exactly a small amount!
[Good heavens, she’s redefined ‘splitting it in half.’]
[Ning Xi: My math isn’t great, please bear with me.]
[Ning Xi: Life is short; I can wrong others, but I can’t wrong myself. [Rose]]
The corner of Shen Yibai’s mouth twitched slightly before he calmly tucked the money away.
For the sake of her image and the netizens’ comments, Ning Mingyue couldn’t say anything either. After all, Ning Xi was the Team Leader and had the right to allocate the funds. She looked at Jiang Sheshe and Wei Xuan, hoping one of them would speak up.
But Wei Xuan was already terrified of Ning Xi; why would he take the initiative to contradict her? Jiang Sheshe, unusually quiet, didn’t say much either, lost in her own thoughts.
“Alright, let’s head out!”
Ning Xi was the first to board the car prepared by the Program Team. Xie Lanchen and Fu Zhi followed closely behind.
Just as Qin Se was about to get in-
“Move, move, move!”