“I am, I am…”
Xu Mucheng’s eyes were as red as a little rabbit’s, as if she’d suffered some enormous grievance.
Luo Zibai, playing the role of her protector, pulled her behind him and glared furiously at Qin Chaoyue’s face with anger and disdain.
“Can’t you understand human speech? Mumu was just worried you couldn’t keep up with the show’s pace. Otherwise, with her stellar college entrance exam score of 492, way ahead of everyone else, why would she ever need your guidance!”
Qin Chaoyue fell silent for a moment.
“How much?”
“492!”
“And the total possible score on your exam?”
“750!”
“…”
This time, Qin Chaoyue’s silence lasted even longer, under the smug gaze of Luo Zibai, everyone’s mouthpiece—
“6.”
“Now do you see how good Mumu has been to you? Hurry up and apologize to Mumu!”
But Qin Chaoyue just turned her head away, refusing to look at the two of them again: “I can play this game.”
[HAHAHAHAHA]
[I viciously get Qin Chaoyue’s speechlessness]
[750 total and she scored 492—weakly asking, is that score actually high?]
[No idea, but in our province that probably wouldn’t even get you into college. In the entertainment industry, though, that might count as a top student (doge) (doge)]
[Well, at least now I can confirm my wife and Xu Mucheng and Luo Zibai are definitely not from the same family]
[Maybe that’s just how they talk at home though]
[Xu Mucheng, stop riding coattails!]
[Luo Zibai, huh—has he always been this blind?]
The game officially began.
The questions the production team provided ranged from elementary school to university level, with a final competition-level problem that was extremely difficult.
The entertainment industry folks all breathed a small sigh of relief after receiving their questions.
The other side hadn’t pushed things to the extreme—at least they still knew the basic arithmetic from elementary school. As for the systems of linear equations afterward…
Um… ah… ha… haha…
Xu Mucheng, meanwhile, curled her lips with confidence.
Considering the contestants were celebrities, the production team had been quite generous—the questions weren’t too hard. Xu Mucheng’s grades weren’t great, but within the entertainment industry, she still counted as having some “real knowledge and skill.”
Lucky!
She had happened to look at the university-level question just recently, and as for that final bonus problem—
How could anyone here possibly solve that?
Xu Mucheng didn’t give it a second thought.
It seemed even the heavens were on her side this time!
Xu Mucheng immediately started working with full confidence. When the camera turned to her, the fans in the barrage showered her with praise—she was absolutely going to wash away her earlier humiliation.
[Mumu is so confident, so amazing, so beautiful, so beautiful!]
[Our Mumu only scored that 492 because she had to split her energy learning acting. Her true ability is far beyond 492. Haters and paid trolls, just wait to be slapped in the face!]
[Hmph, ungrateful. Don’t cry later]
[Guys, I just checked—Qin Chaoyue actually started reading from the very last competition problem]
[I’m already ready to laugh]
The camera panned to the others.
Some were scratching their heads, others bracing themselves for battle. When it landed on Jiang Lingye, fans and haters alike were momentarily dazzled by his looks.
Then—
[What’s with the act!]
[Aside from the little sister being the youngest, he’s the only one who dropped out of school—he didn’t even finish high school]
[I heard it was because of school bullying too]
[A childhood friend of mine was his middle school classmate. Back then, Jiang Lingye was already running around with a gang collecting protection money, and he often hid in the bathroom smoking]
【A bad seed since childhood—no wonder he’d do something like beating up his own teammates】
【Jiang Lingye, get out of the show! Jiang Lingye, get out of the entertainment industry!】
With that little incident just now, if it had happened to Xu Mucheng or Qin Chaoyue, there would at least have been differing opinions and debate. But when it came to Jiang Lingye, there was nothing left but a wall of curses.
Having harvested enough buzz, the spotlight shifted to Qin Chaoyue.
She was lazily yawning, light falling on her, casting a soft glow over the tips of her jet-black hair, adding a touch of warmth even to her pitch-black eyes.
【Another strong girl!】
Qin Chaoyue raised her hand. “I’m done.”
All eyes converged, and the grader arranged by the production team immediately stepped forward.
Luo Zibai’s face was ugly, his tone sour. “Hmph, just grandstanding to steal the camera!”
“Don’t say that.” Xu Mucheng kindly stopped him. “Maybe she just got tired of doing it…”
Luo Zibai’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Don’t tell me she handed in a blank paper.”
Obviously.
As a popular idol, Luo Zibai looked decent enough, but his brain—even among the not-particularly-bright celebrities of the entertainment industry—was in a state of “cerebellum underdeveloped, cerebrum not developed at all” = =
He genuinely believed Xu Mucheng’s score of 492 was very high, and he genuinely couldn’t do the problems himself—he’d gotten stuck and frustrated.
So he assumed everyone else was just like him, and couldn’t wait to take a jab.
The director announced: “Qin Chaoyue—all ten regular questions correct, plus the bonus question solved. Total: 150 points!”
“Impossible!”
Xu Mucheng’s smiling lips froze; Luo Zibai reacted even more strongly, lunging to grab the test paper.
Qin Chaoyue didn’t stop him.
“Can you even read it?”
“If you’re bad at it, practice more. Sadly, a brain isn’t something you can take out and swap for a new one.”
Then she turned her head again.
“Director, he grabbed the test paper to cheat.”
“Shouldn’t something like this be handled with a score of zero?”
Qin Chaoyue’s paper was literally the answer key. Since Luo Zibai had looked at it, there was no way he could go back and do the problems himself.
So the director signaled for staff to collect Luo Zibai’s paper—whatever he’d written up to that point was what would be graded.
A zero was definitely out of the question; it would look too bad. He had to keep some face.
The result:
“Luo Zibai, 24 points.”
【Uh…】
【I could call my little brother and he’d do better than Luo Zibai’s score right now. Who’s my brother, you ask? He’s in fifth grade :)】
【Except for that last bonus question, the rest really can’t be that hard—the elementary and middle school parts are basically free points】
【The show only gave half an hour. More than ten minutes have passed and Luo Zibai is still stuck on the middle school system-of-two-equations problem. Earlier he wrote 9×8=70??】
【The entertainment industry is just too forgiving】
【I have mixed feelings】
【I actually liked the character Luo Zibai played, and now you’re telling me this man doesn’t even know his times tables? Instant turn-off】
【Fine, I admit it—having liked Luo Zibai is part of my cyber criminal record (lights cigarette) (lights cigarette)】
With Luo Zibai’s shameful example before them, everyone else answered their questions with considerably more seriousness than before.
Xu Mucheng was affected too—she nearly failed to solve the final college-level question, and only remembered how to solve it at the very last second, so anxious that beads of sweat seeped from her forehead.
Finally, the scores were announced.
Qin Chaoyue: perfect score, everything correct. 150.
Xu Mucheng: 88. She lost a few points earlier due to carelessness, and she even used the wrong formula on the last question.
Cen Xuyi: 82.
Tang Yeli: 60.
Jiang Lingye: 60.
Zhuo Xi: 57.
Zhuo Jiahan: 41.
Luo Zibai: 24.
【Leaving everyone in the dust! My wife is amazing!】
【Thank you for reassuring me that I too can be a sapiosexual (dog head rose)】
【You just covet her body, hehehe, I’m trash too】
【The education level of your fandom is as hopelessly despairing as expected】
【These questions don’t look that hard to me. All that hype about an entertainment-industry academic goddess, and this is it? This is it?】
【Mumu was just affected by outside factors, she wasn’t in a good state, she underperformed this time…】
【The little sister and Jiang Lingye both got 60 points, barely scraping by, not a single point off】
【The two of them are two years apart, yet both only ever learned up to middle school level. Anything beyond that and they’re completely in the dark, can’t do a thing (bear shrugging)】
【And both of their papers are covered in draft formulas, neat and tidy—classic elementary school kids 2333】
【Problematic celebrities shouldn’t think they can whitewash themselves like this!】
【Qin Chaoyue is truly despicable—handing in her paper early to mess with Mumu’s mindset, and getting the show’s staff to confiscate Baibai’s paper beforehand. A scheming witch through and through!】
【Huh??】
【Sis, I get you! Because I’m also a petty person—I often blame the latrine pit when I can’t poop!】
【It’s all my fault, all my fault. The wife I picked is too outstanding—she makes all these 208s in the entertainment industry look like 250s】
【A whole 42 points more, hey. They should be thanking us later】
【Side note: if Luo Zibai had gone along with Qin Chaoyue and had his score wiped, would he not be so embarrassed right now?】
【She’s so real, I’m crying】
【Why? Because she’s kind!!】
After finishing the first round of mini-games, they drew identity cards in order of their rankings.
Qin Chaoyue went up first.
She drew one, came back, and opened it.
【Hahahaha】
【Money can’t fix bad luck, and paying can’t change fate】
【Look at what all your effort got you!!】
Second-place Xu Mucheng drew restaurant musician, while last-place Luo Zibai drew wedding officiant.
When the two compared notes, Luo Zibai’s tail perked right up again.
“What’s the use of being good at questions? This game still comes down to luck in the end!”
Xu Mucheng looked at him with apologetic eyes and said, “I didn’t know it would turn out this way. But I suppose my luck has always been pretty good, ever since I was little…”
“Mumu, why are you explaining so much to her?”
Luo Zibai put on a domineering air and said snidely, “Some people never accumulate any good karma, so now even the heavens won’t side with them!”
Qin Chaoyue: “Please turn your head around.”
“You can’t even handle the truth.”
He didn’t move, but Qin Chaoyue had already turned her head away first: “I’m allergic to idiots and dog fur.”
“You—!”
【That mouth of my wife’s—truly venomous!】
【The idiot part has been verified. As for the dog… isn’t Luo Zibai exactly Xu Mucheng’s loyal little dog? Great, great】
【Reality shows are demon-revealing mirrors. Luo Zibai, a mere traffic idol, is really losing all dignity here】
【Don’t you dare insult our gege! Luo-ri-cheng-xi is the realest, sweetest ship ever!!】
【Oh wow… so Luo Zibai’s fans actually like sister-in-law fiction? Fast-forward to the next step: CP fans purging the ranks—the male lead isn’t allowed at the table!】
【Wife, my wife, dammit, why did you have to reward him?】
【Defying Heaven】
【No one’s more twisted than you husband-and-wife shippers】
By this time, Qin Chaoyue had already walked up to Jiang Lingye.
“What did you draw?”
Her tone was cool and casual, making it sound as if the two of them barely knew each other—which, in fact, they really didn’t.
The young man looked up, revealing a pair of deep, pitch-black eyes, his gaze landing on Qin Chaoyue as if by chance.
Even though she was supposed to be his “older sister,” because of the restrictions of that rule, the two of them had barely exchanged a word since the show began.
Now Jiang Lingye didn’t say anything either—he just coolly waved his identity card.
Qin Chaoyue smiled, a rare occurrence.
In that instant, it was as if peonies of national beauty had burst into brilliant bloom across the ground, threatening to steal the souls of every viewer watching through their screens.
“Perfect.”
Qin Chaoyue reached straight for the little card in Jiang Lingye’s hand, swapping it with her own and placing hers down.
“I happen to have an occupation that suits you perfectly. Let’s trade.”
【Ahhh, these two are definitely the peak TOP1 of looks on this show—perfectly matched, neither giving an inch】
【Looks-stans are fed! Hello, hurry up and get married!】
【Come on, their eyes and noses look kind of alike—what if they really are siblings?】
【Incest ship? Wouldn’t that be even more thrilling!!】
【Jiang Lingye’s fans, stop defending him】
【…Pure looks-stan here, tired of hearing it all, give us some new drama】
【I’m just saying, don’t trade with her, ahhhhh!!】
Jiang Lingye lowered his head, stray strands of hair falling down, slightly veiling those eyes that fans had once exaggeratedly described as brilliant as stars.
Yet even in fragments, they still seeped out countless rays of upward, dazzling light from within the darkness.
The identity card.
—Sanitation Worker.