Upon seeing Jiang Tong, Yu Ningzhi’s eyes lit up, as if she had thought of a brilliant idea.
A brilliant smile instantly bloomed on her face: “I remember now, I chatted with Sister Anna this morning. Among those eight guests, Xie An and Xia Yuan are the only two I haven’t gotten to properly know yet.”
“How about this, Sister Jiang Tong, shall we switch?” She smiled at Jiang Tong with extreme sweetness.
“You team up with Sister Aine, and I’ll team up with Xie An, how’s that? I see Xie An’s body is so fit, I want to ask him for fitness advice! Besides, both you and Sister Aine are smart people, teaming up for the treasure hunt will definitely be more efficient!”
[Is Yu Ningzhi an angel?! Such a divine assist! Are my Jiang-Xie CP getting back together tonight?]
[What? What assist? Am I on 2G network? What are you guys getting so excited about?!]
[To the person above, let me tell you quietly: a certain two people used to date.]
[Who? Song Anna and Bai Yu? I know they’re dating, so what did Yu Ningzhi assist with? You bunch of riddle-makers!]
[Never mind… Go join the kids’ table…]
Jiang Tong completely hadn’t expected Yu Ningzhi to pull this sudden move.
Based on her past understanding of Yu Ningzhi, being able to team up with Xie Weiyi should have been something Yu Ningzhi would kill for—why would she proactively give it up? And even swap Xie Weiyi over to her side?
So, putting herself and Xie Weiyi in a group together was what Xie Weiyi and Yu Ningzhi had discussed?
What was Xie Weiyi trying to do?
Countless questions swirled in her mind, and Jiang Tong’s heart uncontrollably began to beat faster, striking clear echoes within her chest cavity.
Being in a group with Xie Weiyi meant having close interactions with her, and perhaps even physical contact.
This realization made Jiang Tong panic; she wasn’t sure if she could continue maintaining her fake amnesia perfectly, nor was she certain she could control her untimely heartbeat and flutters.
Subconsciously, she raised her gaze to look at Xie Weiyi.
Xie Weiyi was also looking at her.
The brief silence of a few seconds was infinitely prolonged. The sea breeze blew with a damp chill, carrying the sound of waves crashing against the shore—one strike, then another, hitting right on Jiang Tong’s heart.
Xie Weiyi just looked at her quietly, without urging or expectation, waiting completely devoid of emotion, as if she simply wanted to see how Jiang Tong would answer.
Jiang Tong knew she had nowhere to hide.
From the moment she stepped onto this show, from the very second Xie Weiyi appeared, certain things were destined to be unavoidable.
“I’m fine with anything,” Jiang Tong heard her own voice ring out.
Not bad, still quite steady.
“Let’s see how the production team arranges it, and what Senior Xie thinks,” she continued.
She deftly tossed the decision right back.
“Mm, I don’t have any objections.” Xie Weiyi gave a light cough, her tone as casual as discussing what to eat for dinner. Then she paused, and added word by word, “Anyway, no matter who I’m grouped with, I’m going to win.”
That was precisely the kind of dramatic tension packed with gunpowder smell that the director and production team wanted. Hearing this, they immediately went with the flow and smilingly banged the gavel: “Since no one objects, let’s respect the guests’ wishes and make a slight adjustment to the groups!”
“The final groupings are: Xie Weiyi and Jiang Tong, Yu Ningzhi and Xie An, Song Anna and Bai Yu, Xia Yuan and Su Leli!”
“Yes!” Yu Ningzhi was the first to cheer, playfully winking at Xie Weiyi.
Then she skipped over to Xie An’s side, familiarly patting his arm: “Brother Xie An, please take care of me from now on! You definitely have to teach me a couple of moves!”
Xie An touched the back of his head with an honest expression and agreed with a smile.
The staff shook the kraft paper in their hands and blew a whistle signaling assembly.
“Let’s go, Anna.” Bai Yu smiled and took Song Anna’s hand, not forgetting to tease, “I never expected you to be so popular.”
Song Anna shrugged helplessly: “They’re just joking with me; sooner or later I’ll drag you over to experience their chaos too!”
Su Leli naturally linked arms with Xia Yuan, pulling along the nearly-ripe-tomato-red Xia Yuan: “Let’s go over too, Yuanyuan.”
“O-okay,” Xia Yuan answered in a daze, her face still crimson, her whole person in a daze as she let Su Leli lead her away.
Only Xie Weiyi and Jiang Tong were left.
After joining the romance show, Jiang Tong had always warned herself to stay away from Xie Weiyi, but that didn’t mean she was willing to let all her actions be dominated by Xie Weiyi.
Since that was the case, she would take a small “revenge” as payback to Xie Weiyi.
Jiang Tong reached out toward Xie Weiyi, who was still pretending to be calm: “Senior Xie, do we need to hold hands and walk over too?”
Xie Weiyi: “Huh?!”
True to form, Xie Weiyi was so startled by these words that she straightened up involuntarily, her eyes darting everywhere except at Jiang Tong.
She stammered, her earlobes gradually dyed with a thin flush of red.
Xie Weiyi felt as if all the blood in her body was rushing to her cheeks and ears, bringing a faint burning sensation. Even the cooling night sea breeze blowing onto her seemed to depart carrying heat.
Watching Xie Weiyi’s appearance, Jiang Tong tried her best to hold back a smile.
She hadn’t expected to harvest an unexpected bonus: Xie Weiyi had lost her composure because of her.
Imitating Su Leli’s expression of injury, Jiang Tong withdrew her hand and sighed: “It was presumptuous of me, Senior Xie.”
Lowering her head, she sighed and walked forward by herself.
She had barely taken two steps when Xie Weiyi grabbed her cuff from behind, firmly locking their fingers together in an interlocked grip.
“All the other groups are doing it; we can’t put on airs and be the exception,” Xie Weiyi explained. Without waiting for Jiang Tong to react, she pulled her along toward the assembly point.
Xie Weiyi’s fingers were long and pretty, with distinct knuckles, and she gripped very tightly, as if afraid Jiang Tong would run away.
[Jiang Tong is so good at hooking, she even hooked Aine dumbfounded!]
[What the heck, is this the legendary dog-training? Sister-puppy, I’m eating this up, machi machi]
[They’re holding hands!!! Will they be kissing tomorrow mouth-to-mouth?!!!]
[What should I do when every couple is so good to eat (wiping nosebleed)]
Led by Xie Weiyi hand-in-hand toward the gathering spot, Jiang Tong could clearly feel the temperature of her palm, as well as her somewhat stiff grip.
Xie Weiyi walked very fast, her pace carrying a trace of disorder even she hadn’t noticed. She marched in lockstep for a few steps, which was accurately captured by the camera, drawing a wave of “Hahahaha” and “Aine, you have your moments too” in the bullet chat.
Looking at Xie Weiyi’s feignedly calm profile, the triumph in Jiang Tong’s heart sparked by her successful “revenge” quietly melted away.
She remembered the free time during the talent show years ago when Xie Weiyi used to walk the streets hand-in-hand with her just like this.
Walking hand-in-hand, they had already crossed seven years of time where things had changed and people were no longer the same.
Jiang Tong’s gaze landed on their intertwined hands, and she gently squeezed back.
It wasn’t until they reached the assembly point, where the gazes of the other guests and staff gathered around, that Xie Weiyi reluctantly let go of Jiang Tong’s hand.
Clearing her throat, she quickly resumed that poised and effortless demeanor, as if the person who had just panicked into walking in lockstep wasn’t her.
“Ahem, we’re here,” she said briefly to Jiang Tong, her gaze drifting elsewhere.
Withdrawing her hand, Jiang Tong gently rubbed her fingertip that still retained the warmth, responding softly: “Mm, thanks for leading the way, Senior.”
The production team had already set up lighting and camera equipment on the beach, and the evening live broadcast began amidst a delicate atmosphere.
Soft, warm-yellow string lights linked into a Milky Way across the canopy of the dining area, echoing the real stars in the deep blue night sky far away.
The salty dampness of the sea breeze, mixed with the aroma wafting from the barbecue grill, felt exceptionally romantic and full of domestic life flavor.
After passionately reading her opening speech, Liang Xin announced the rules of the beach treasure hunt game.
“The rules are simple: each group gets a fragment of a map and an initial clue. Everyone needs to search for treasure according to the clues in the beach and coconut grove areas to piece together a complete map.”
“The complete map points to the location of the final treasure. The first to find the final treasure wins and enjoys priority choice of the luxury dinner.”
Xie Weiyi and Jiang Tong stood together once more.
This time, the distance was a bit farther than when they had been forced to hold hands earlier, separated by about half a person—neither appearing overly distant nor bearing any resemblance to closeness.
Xie Weiyi pinched the piece of kraft paper map with its rough edges, studying it absentmindedly under the light, her profile sharp and clean under the interplay of light and shadow.
Jiang Tong lowered her gaze slightly, her eyes falling on the fine white sand grains right in front of her shoes, clearly feeling awkward about the idea of “stepping forward to study the clues together.”
“Teacher Jiang,” Xie Weiyi suddenly spoke up, her voice carrying her unique seductive quality amidst the chaotic background noise and wave sounds, like a feather brushing across an earlobe, “come look at the map too.”
As she spoke, she very naturally handed over the kraft paper, her fingertips inadvertently grazing the back of Jiang Tong’s hand as Jiang Tong reached to take it.
The cool touch flashed past, and Jiang Tong’s motion of taking the map paused.
Raising her eyes to look at Xie Weiyi, her gaze was clear and calm under the reflection of the string lights.
The game began, and the groups dispersed.
The first clue Xie Weiyi and Jiang Tong received was: “I listen to the whisper of the tide, the echo lies at the feet of the ancient watcher.”
Without thinking much, Xie Weiyi’s gaze accurately locked onto a huge, elderly-profile-shaped rock on one side of the beach.
“Tide’s whisper should refer to the sound of the waves, and the ancient watcher is probably that rock.” Her speaking speed was fast, carrying her habitual certainty. Finishing her sentence, she started walking toward that side with an executiveness that gave no room for discussion.
Jiang Tong blinked.
She was long used to this decisive and swift style of Xie Weiyi’s; it was just that after not experiencing it for many years, experiencing it again now made her somewhat stunned.
The lighting near the rock was very dim, illuminated only by a hazy moonlight. Xie Weiyi turned on a flashlight, its beam sharply slicing through the darkness.
Searching the base and crevices of the rock carefully, Xie Weiyi suddenly squatted down and pulled out a small wooden box bearing the production team’s logo: “Here.”
Standing up, she took out the new map fragment and clue slip from the box, reading the new clue under the flashlight’s beam: “Moonlight passes through the fingers of leaves, illuminating the sleeping shell.”
This time, before Xie Weiyi could interpret it, Jiang Tong spoke softly: “The shadows of the coconut leaves look like fingers, and the sleeping shell might be a shell-shaped marker, or literally, shells hidden in the coconut grove.”
Xie Weiyi turned her head with some surprise, the halo of the flashlight sweeping across Jiang Tong’s calm face.
She had thought Jiang Tong wouldn’t get involved tonight; after all, over these past two days, she had been so resistant to her approach.