Chapter 028 The Young Master – “Here it comes, the exclusive news is here!” (28/35)
The second group went up.
Meng Yisong was in the third group and came over to seek advice from the young master. The young master didn’t look too pleased, so Meng Yisong decided to start with some flattery.
Flattery worked every time, right?
“Your balance is seriously impressive!” Meng Yisong exclaimed.
“Hmm.” Shi Jingge nodded, muttering, “I’m good at rollerblading.”
Meng Yisong: “Huh?”
What did that have to do with rollerblading?
“Rollerblading builds balance.” Shi Jingge shot him a suspicious look. “If you want to look cool, you gotta pull off some tricks, right? And if you’re doing tricks, how could you not need balance?”
Meng Yisong: “…”
That seemed logical. But he could rollerblade too.
Why was his balance so terrible?
Probably because he didn’t try to look cool.
After three seconds of contemplation, Meng Yisong changed the subject. “Your reaction speed is insane.”
“Oh, that comes from climbing trees and scaling walls,” Shi Jingge said indifferently.
“Climbing trees…and scaling walls?” Meng Yisong repeated.
“Aren’t those the three staples of a spoiled rich kid?” the young master declared with righteous indignation. “Climbing mountains and trees to catch birds, diving into fields and water to catch fish. What if your family won’t let you out? Climb over the wall! What if you get caught climbing? Sit on the wall and cry!”
Meng Yisong: “…”
Help me—This was nothing like the spoiled brats he’d heard about!
“But what if you can’t get down from the tree?” Meng Yisong couldn’t help asking. “Cry sitting up there?”
“Wouldn’t that be insane?” The young master shot Meng Yisong a surprised look—a look that made Meng Yisong feel like the young master was questioning his intelligence.
“Of course you send your friends back to get help! What good is crying? Can you cry yourself down? Crying on the wall is to soften my brother’s heart and let me off. What good is crying in a tree? Can a tree soften its heart and let me down?”
Meng Yisong: “…”
Right. Crying is useless. Obviously, you go home and call your parents.
Wait—
Realizing what he was thinking, Meng Yisong stiffened.
…Was he being looked down upon for his intelligence?
…He was actually being looked down upon for his intelligence!!
The viewers in the livestream chat were laughing themselves silly.
>> “I, Shi Jingge, am a unique spark among the spoiled brats.” <<
>> Or a mudslide among the spoiled brats? Hahahaha. <<
>> Hahahaha, the young master is literally a conversation-killer! How could this even continue? <<
>> Damn, why is the young master so different when talking to Meng Yisong compared to when he talks to Brother Wen? <<
>> Duh, how could talking to your significant other be the same as talking to a coworker? <<
>> What the hell, there’s no way they’re a couple. <<
>> That familiar double standard hahaha. <<
Seeing Meng Yisong silent, Shi Jingge asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…” Meng Yisong shook his head slowly, sincerely replying, “I just took your advice and fell deep in thought.”
“Then keep pondering,” interjected Wen Xusheng casually, waving his hand at the young master.
Meng Yisong: “?”
Then Meng Yisong watched as the young master walked past him, utterly clueless, without so much as a glance his way.
Sure enough, this must be the difference between being loved and not being loved, Meng Yisong thought wistfully.
Wen Xusheng opened the basket, sharing the joy of their harvest with the young master. Unfortunately, the joy lasted no more than three seconds.
“Does the production team really have no intention of being human?” Shi Jingge asked with a stony expression.
Wen Xusheng patted his shoulder. “Before we leave, let’s go trick them into saying something stupid. That way, they won’t be able to trick more people.”
Shi Jingge nodded in deep agreement.
Meng Yisong leaned in and asked, “What’s going on? What’s going on?”
Shi Jingge pushed the basket toward him. “See for yourself.”
Three seconds later, Meng Yisong sucked in a sharp breath. “The production team has no heart!” His voice was shrill, each word dripping with anguish.
The other contestants crowded around, asking what was wrong.
Meng Yisong wiped his face and passed the basket to them. “See for yourselves.”
The note on top of the basket read:
~Two sets of tableware
~One set of kitchen utensils
~Various seasonings
~500g random vegetables
~100g random meat
~200g random staple food
After three seconds of silence, a chorus of curses at the production team erupted. The production team, however, felt utterly blameless.
They never imagined anyone could actually complete this task!
Since no one could possibly complete the task, no one would get the basket, and naturally, no one would know what was written inside.
So why bother writing anything at all?
Everything being random was perfect. Who could’ve predicted this development would turn out so differently from what they’d imagined?
So how on earth did Wen Xusheng and Shi Jingge manage to pass the challenge?!
Just then, a shriek pierced the air followed by a loud thud.
Both contestants on the plum-blossom poles tumbled down. When they stood up again, they were covered in mud and transformed into mud figures.
The surrounding contestants exchanged pitying glances, unable to bear looking too closely.
“So pitiful,” murmured the young master.
“Indeed.” Wen Xusheng ruffled the young master’s hair. Meeting Shi Jingge’s annoyed gaze, he slowly broke into a smile. His eyes crinkled with warmth, radiating a gentle charm that was exceptionally pleasing to the eye. “Thanks for saving my skin, Xiao Ge.”
“Hmph.” The young master turned his head away in a huff, muttering, “I didn’t save you.”
Wen Xusheng’s smile grew even broader. The stubborn young master simply ignored the hand Wen Xusheng was resting on his head. Wen Xusheng closed his eyes, savoring the moment.
The feeling was truly satisfying.
Meng Yisong, watching nearby, wore a complex expression. But soon, his attention shifted elsewhere—it was his turn on the plum blossom poles.
Meng Yisong and his partner stepped onto the poles, complaining bitterly. They didn’t last long before tumbling down together.
The two blamed each other, bickering back and forth like two elementary school kids.
In the end, Meng Yisong still wasn’t convinced. He turned to the young master. “You be the judge!”
The young master was deep in thought and hadn’t even registered the commotion. He was startled by Meng Yisong’s loud voice and snapped his head up to look at him.
The camera operator even gave the young master a close-up.
He was truly beautiful, his features like a divine masterpiece, flawless in every detail. Especially those almond-shaped eyes, clear and luminous, now filled with bewilderment and a hint of fright, like a startled, innocent little animal.
Meng Yisong instantly clutched his chest, suddenly unsure what he’d been so angry about. “Mom, I’m in love,” Meng Yisong declared sincerely.
The next second, Wen Xusheng and Meng Yisong’s partner both stepped forward, one shielding the young master, the other pulling Meng Yisong back.
Only the young master replied earnestly, “My brother said I’m still young and should focus on my studies.”
Wen Xusheng nearly burst out laughing and reached out to ruffle the young master’s hair.
Meng Yisong: “?”
Wen Xusheng, what the hell are you laughing at?! Don’t you want to pursue him?!
The comments were exploding with laughter.
>> Hahaha, the life of Meng Ge, the rejected one. <<
>> Why is Wen Ge laughing so hard? <<
>> I feel like there’s definitely a secret here!! <<
>> Wen Ge! Wen Ge, tell me! I’ll help you pursue the young master!! <<
>> I’ll write you a little romance story!! The kind with the young master!! <<
>> ??? Madam, why wait for the right moment? Let’s just do it now! <<
Meng Yisong and his partner were covered in mud and needed to wash up.
But before leaving, Meng Yisong whispered to Wen Xusheng, “Why does the young master seem a bit down?”
He’d tried so hard to entertain the young master earlier, but the boy hadn’t seemed truly amused. Last week, the young master would’ve jumped up and played with him by now.
Wen Xusheng nodded. “Go wash up. I’ve got it.”
Meng Yisong said nothing more and pulled his partner away.
Wen Xusheng watched Meng Yisong’s retreating figure, then glanced at Shi Jingge who’d run off to the side. A hint of tenderness flickered in his eyes.
See, Xiao Ge, everyone knows how wonderful you are.
In the end, only Shi Jingge and Wen Xusheng completed the game. But the countless hilarious moments during the challenge sent the livestream’s popularity soaring.
After all, it wasn’t actual broadcast time, so the production team wouldn’t be that ruthless. Except for the last-place team, all others received ingredients, just slightly reduced portions.
The last-place team, however, had to continue livestreaming in the village, striving to earn ingredients. And that last team happened to be Shao Zechen and Wei Zhiyun.
“I’ll go,” Wei Zhiyun declared, patting his chest. “I’ll get the ingredients, then you can cook.”
Shao Zechen wasn’t comfortable with that. “Let’s go together,” he said with a smile. “It’d be awkward if you went alone.”
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? You can cook later. This is clear division of labor. We’ll conserve energy so we each get a few extra hours of rest. We’ll need to outsmart the production team tomorrow,” Wei Zhiyun teased with a smile.
“You have a point, but two people moving together would be faster.” Shao Zechen still felt uneasy.
“What, you don’t trust me?” Wei Zhiyun raised an eyebrow and patted his shoulder. “Relax, I won’t let you go hungry.”
With that said, if Shao Zechen refused, it would look awkward for everyone. He had no choice but to agree.
This live stream was a bit different.
Instead of having a camera crew follow them, they had to do it themselves, like small-time streamers struggling to broadcast outdoors with just a selfie stick and a phone.
As they walked, Wei Zhiyun vented about the production team. “The production team is so stingy! I keep feeling like this selfie stick is about to break.”
“This selfie stick is so short! Do I look exceptionally ugly to you guys?”
“I bet these ingredients are impossible to find. The production team must’ve rigged it. They wouldn’t let us find them this easily.”
“So, the simplest solution is to borrow them.”
“Meng Ge gives me some rice, Wen Ge lends me a few greens, Qian Ge shares some salt—and dinner’s sorted!”
“Huh, looks like Wen Ge and the Young Master’s place.”
“I’ll pop in to borrow just a pinch of salt. I’ll pay him back fivefold, sixfold later. As thanks for lending a helping hand in our time of need.”
Wei Zhiyun naturally steered the conversation toward the young master, piling flattery upon flattery until he painted him as an unparalleled saint, his eyes gleaming with admiration.
Was Wei Zhiyun genuinely praising the young master?
Of course not!
This was merely the sacrifice required to expose Shi Jingge’s true colors! What good could a spoiled, idiotic rich kid like him possibly be?
Those online exposés were absolutely true—exactly the kind of thing Shi Jingge would do!
It was just that his brother had handled them.
That’s how these rich kids are—they rely on their families’ money and don’t even consider people without connections as human beings.
Every last one of them is scum.
Shi Jingge’s face was so grim today. Clearly something bad had happened. If he didn’t go check on him now, when would he?
But he didn’t know if Shi Jingge was still fuming, so he had to prepare excuses first. He needed to be absolutely friendly and polite. That way, if he failed to uncover Shi Jingge’s true colors, he wouldn’t get dragged down with him.
Besides, doing this would also allow him to ride the coattails of Wen Xusheng and Shi Jingge’s popularity, boosting his own visibility and attracting viewers to his livestream. So, why not?
Upon arriving at the courtyard, Wei Zhiyun found no one present. He called out several times but received no response.
“Where is he?”
Muttering to himself, Wei Zhiyun headed toward the kitchen. The door was ajar, and faint sounds drifted out.
The moment Wei Zhiyun drew near, a startled voice abruptly rang out.
“Why?!”
It was Shi Jingge!
Wei Zhiyun froze instantly, putting on an awkwardly startled expression. But deep down, he was incredibly excited.
Here it comes, here it comes! The exclusive scoop is finally here!
—— ——– —– ——
Author’s Note: Wei Zhiyun: Here it comes, here it comes! I’m here to eat my boxed lunch[mfn]Filming tradition where, after a character has a death scene, they get a boxed lunch from the crew to ward off bad luck. Developed into getting a boxed lunch after finishing a role.[/mfn] now QAAAQ
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Edited: Krone
Proofread: Choux_choux
