Since it was the first round of the challenge, the six participants didn’t care about the order and remained seated as they were.
“Alright, let’s start with our Little Chu.” The PD took the first image and displayed it toward Chu Xingyun. “3, 2…”
“…Yu Yan!” Chu Xingyun blurted out the correct answer just before the buzzer.
The next image was released immediately.
Cen Jing answered in a split second: “Su Le.”
The third image—
Ye Hancheng leaned forward so far he nearly fell off his seat: “…Wu Ning! An Wu Ning!”
The fourth—
Lin Shen squinted to look closely: “…Isn’t this Little Cen? Cen Jing.”
The fifth—
Chen Shu let out a light breath: “Fang Yuan.”
The sixth—
Jiang Xun’s eyes widened: “…Holy crap, who the hell is this?”
Ding—
【I admit, I briefly fantasized about them succeeding on the first try.】
【I was most worried about Jiang Xun before we started! A guy who spends all day immersed in games. How many people in the entertainment industry could he possibly recognize?】
【Look closer at the picture. Is that person from the entertainment industry or the e-sports world?】
【Damn it, isn’t that Su Yue?】
【Jiang Xun, isn’t that your favorite support, Su Yue!!! What are you doing!】
The PD smiled and showed the image to the others. “Does anyone recognize him?”
The four on the right shook their heads in unison.
Chen Shu gave Jiang Xun a “kind” smile. “Please give me one reason for not recognizing your own support.”
Jiang Xun, who only realized after hearing Chen Shu’s question, looked horrified: “Is… is this freakingSu Yue?”
Chen Shu’s tone was cold: “Who else?”
“…This.” Jiang Xun scratched his head awkwardly. “This photo is way too photoshopped. I’ve only ever seen him bare-faced and covered in acne. It’d be a miracle if I recognized him like this.”
【Su Yue’s reputation has been slandered.】
【Say what you want, but this is your favorite support!】
【Actually, it’s not.】
“When you can’t even recognize a teammate you live with day and night, our Jiang Xun will have a lot of explaining to do when he gets back.” The PD’s schadenfreude was palpable. “Alright, now it’s time to discuss which dish to remove.”
After some discussion, the six fairly easily decided to remove the staple carb dish from the eight specialty dishes.
For the second round, they chose “Drawing Relay.”
Lin Shen, who had some confidence in his artistic skills, volunteered for the first leg. However, after passing through several people, what started as a fierce tiger gradually turned into a soft little kitten.
Thus, the second round: Failed.
With heavy hearts, the six removed a steamed fish from the menu.
Third round: “Idiom Solitaire” (Chengyu Jielong).
“The scenery of our destination is beautiful… so the first idiom is—” The PD drawled, “Yi Shan Bang Shui (Nestled against mountains and near water).”
The small pointer aimed at the first contestant.
“Shui Luo Shi Chu (The water recedes and the rocks emerge/The truth comes to light).”
“…Chu Lei Ba Cui (Outstanding/Stand out from the crowd)!”
“Cui… Cui Pi Wu Hua Rou (Crispy Pork Belly)…” Ye Hancheng gave a rather dim-witted smile. “…I suddenly want to eat crispy pork belly.”
Third round: Failed.
…
Perhaps because their coordination wasn’t there yet, or because they hadn’t quite loosened up on the first day, the six failed even the eighth round, despite the production crew practically handing them the win.
All eight specialty dishes were cleared from the table, leaving only a few lonely side dishes and a pot of steamed rice.
“Heh.” After all the messing around, even though they got nothing, Lin Shen was in a fairly good mood. He picked up his small bowl of rice. “Actually, it’s not just the dishes; the rice here is also a major feature. This must be local rice, right?”
After receiving confirmation from the crew, he took a bite. “Mmm… it’s warm and soft in the mouth with a sweet aftertaste. Delicious.”
Ye Hancheng: “…The old man sure knows how to find joy in misery.”
Lin Shen scoffed: “And isn’t this ‘misery’ because of your ‘crispy pork belly’ comment?”
“Hey, it wasn’t just my fault!”
“…”
While the two in the middle bickered, Jiang Xun was shoveling rice into his mouth on the other side, finishing off a dish of pickles in an instant.
“Starving ghost?” Chen Shu subtly shifted his seat further away from him.
“The sooner I finish, the sooner I escape.” Jiang Xun swallowed the rice. “But honestly, it’s really not that bad.”
Chen Shu: “Is that so?”
“Yeah! It’s way better than the rice mixed with Lao Gan Ma we used to eat when we had no money.” Jiang Xun shoveled two more mouthfuls. “The rice back then was so hard.”
Chen Shu: “…”
Chen Shu: “I’m surprised you still remember that taste.”
“…I’ll remember it for a lifetime!”
On the right side of the frame, Chu Xingyun carefully placed a piece of pickled radish on top of his rice.
“I remember the pickled radishes your mom used to make were so good.” He bit into the rice, his cheeks bulging. “Does she still make them?”
The “Auntie” he referred to was Cen Jing’s mother. Shortly after their debut night, she had made a special trip to the group dorm to visit.
“She makes them every year.” Cen Jing ate his plain rice elegantly. “I still have two large unopened jars in my fridge.”
“Then why didn’t you bring a jar?” Chu Xingyun sighed softly and whispered, “…This isn’t as good as Auntie’s.”
“…The suitcase was full.” Cen Jing blinked rapidly twice and made up a random excuse.
In truth, it wasn’t full. He just wasn’t used to sharing this kind of “humble” happiness with others anymore.
“Oh…” Chu Xingyun curled his lip, then placed a piece of spicy cabbage on his snowy white rice, saying as if it were a matter of course: “Then I’ll go to your house to eat it in the future.”
Cen Jing’s chewing slowed down. “…Who invited you?”
“What’s wrong? Is it inconvenient?” Like he’d been pricked by a needle, Chu Xingyun looked at Cen Jing sensitively, his voice rising uncontrollably: “Are you hiding someone at home? A man or a woman?”
“…No.” Cen Jing felt it was bizarre but still clarified. “I live alone.”
Chu Xingyun: “Hmph.”
Cen Jing added another reason to politely decline: “The house is quite messy, not suitable for guests.”
Chu Xingyun, however, didn’t care about that; he took the inch and moved a mile. He patted his chest and spoke with great confidence: “That’s perfect then. I’ll clean it for you. I’m the ‘Snail Boy’ (a helpful spirit from folklore).”
“…” Cen Jing truly couldn’t help but laugh. “You were too lazy to pack your own things just now, and now you’re a Snail Boy?”
Catching the softening at the corners of Cen Jing’s mouth, Chu Xingyun’s confidence grew. “That’s because I hadn’t switched forms yet. If you don’t believe me, I’ll be the one cleaning the house these next few days!”
“As you wish.”
Fearing Chu Xingyun was just trying to maintain a “persona,” Cen Jing didn’t object. They were only staying for a few days anyway; the house couldn’t get that messy.
“Little Chu—” Ye Hancheng, who had tearfully finished half a bowl of rice, couldn’t take it anymore. “That wine of yours… pour me a bit more, will you?”
“Did you come on this show to drink?” Lin Shen immediately shot down his request. “Which viewer wants to see you acting like a drunkard?”
“I just get a bit talkative.” Ye Hancheng’s eyes widened in indignation. “When have I ever acted like a drunkard! Why are you slandering my pure reputation out of thin air!”
Lin Shen: “You don’t even need alcohol to go crazy.”
Ye Hancheng: “…”
Ye Hancheng: “You old fossil…”
Jiang Xun, who had already cleared a whole bowl of rice, let out a burp and said to Chen Shu, “This old man’s insults are a bit more high-level than yours.”
“Can you even understand high-level ones?” Chen Shu sneered, stabbing his rice as if it were Jiang Xun. “Dogs shouldn’t compare their IQ to humans.”
Jiang Xun: “…Damn it, I’m never talking to you again.”
On the other end, Chu Xingyun added a new side dish to his rice. “Brother, should I get the wine for Senior Ye?”
“Hmm… I’ll go get it.” Watching these two pair up to bicker incessantly was giving Cen Jing a headache.
Chu Xingyun: “Get the Italian bottle.”
…
Cen Jing didn’t just bring the wine; he also used the remaining ingredients from yesterday to stir-fry a dish to go with the alcohol, serving it alongside the leftover peanuts from lunch. Thanks to him, dinner was finally finished with some dignity.
After dinner and some time to digest, the six were brought to the media room by the production crew. This was where the final segment of the day, the highly anticipated highlight would take place.
“This segment is called ‘Reminiscing About the Past,'” the PD said somewhat nervously. “Before we started filming, we collected some interesting videos. Next, please feel free to watch… tonight’s video protagonists are Teacher Lin and Teacher Ye. You can pause the video to discuss at any time.”
【I thought the production crew was going to play dumb forever and just let them play games every day. Thank goodness.】
【The highlight definitely has to be shown when everyone is off work and can savor it.】
【Their memories of each other must be blurring after all these years, right? It’s fine; the netizens have high-definition archives. [Yay]】
【I’m really curious about their reactions when they see these videos… will they think ‘I was so disgusting back then,’ or will they feel sentimental?】
【Let’s be real, people who think it’s ‘disgusting’ would never have agreed to come on this show.】
The PD pulled up the video, dropped the remote, and fled the room.
“Reminiscing about what ‘bullshit’ past,” Lin Shen, one of tonight’s protagonists, picked up the remote and pressed play. “Only people who are unhappy with the present love reminiscing about the past…”
The background music swelled, swallowing the end of Lin Shen’s sentence.
All six watched the screen intently.
“Why do I like writing scripts for Ye Hancheng so much? That’s a rather strange question.”
First to appear on the screen was a much younger Lin Shen. He seemed to be giving an interview.
“Liking something is the most illogical thing. If I had to give a specific reason, it might be that I like the wildness and vitality in him.”
“As long as he appears in the frame, your eyes will be completely drawn to him.”
The scene cut to another person on the screen.
“Do I ever get tired of acting in Writer Lin’s plays? Of course not! I love every one of his stories! I love them a lot! Especially love them!”
“With everyone I film, I feel like he has built an illusory but complete little kingdom, and then invited me in to swim happily through it.”
“Every character under his pen is incredibly charming! I’ll let you in on a little secret, he promised to write a villain for me next time.”
“…”
The young Lin Shen and young Ye Hancheng could never hide the smiles on their faces when mentioning each other. Even in situations unrelated to the other, they would find ways to bring each other up.