Since Sang Ji had spoken up, Shen Xi didn’t say anything more.
【Hehe, our Shibao has won awards for dancing!】
【Does Liang Shiyu study dance? That’s pretty impressive】
【My baby could have joined a theater company! But she prefers acting, so she chose to become an actress~】
【Theater doesn’t pay as much as the entertainment industry. Seems like she’s not that committed to her original passion after all】
【Ugh, what’s wrong with her loving acting??】
In the end, the Cheng siblings and the Jiang siblings tied for last place.
So the two groups played another mini-game, and in the end, Cheng Yuan and Cheng Yu won.
The director announced the rewards for the competition: the first-place guest group would receive an initial shopping fund of five hundred yuan, the second place two hundred yuan, and the third place fifty yuan.
As for the last-place group, not only would they receive no shopping funds, but they would also have to work at places like hotels or restaurants to earn their lunch and dinner for the day.
The shopping funds were distributed in the form of shopping vouchers.
The director had already made arrangements in advance—the entire resort would only accept the program’s shopping vouchers.
So even though the guests’ phones, cash, and cards hadn’t been confiscated, they couldn’t use their own money to pay.
Moreover, the resort was far from any towns, surrounded by nothing but sea and mountains.
“Sis, what can fifty yuan buy?”
Cheng Yu looked at the shopping vouchers in his hand. They weren’t a single fifty-yuan note but a mix of one-yuan, five-yuan, and ten-yuan vouchers.
【Holding this pile of “loose change” makes them look even more pitiful!】
【They even prepared vouchers of different denominations. How thoughtful】
Cheng Yuan’s lips twitched. “It should be enough to buy ten packs of instant noodles. If we’re frugal, we can make it last three days.”
Meanwhile, Liang Shiyu said to Su Tang, “Don’t worry, I know how to cook. If we buy some ingredients and make our own meals, we should be able to eat pretty well.”
Su Tang nodded silently.
【Shiyu is really so kind, taking care of Su Tang like a little sister】
Next was free time. The vacation houses had already been assigned, and they could go check in directly.
The production team was somewhat considerate—or perhaps because they were in a scenic area, they didn’t play any tricks with the room assignments.
The livestream split into four channels, and fans and casual viewers chose their favorite guests to watch in different streams.
Since Sang Ji’s group had three people, their vacation house was slightly larger, with three rooms.
The first floor had a living room and kitchen, while the second floor had the bedrooms.
Shen Xi and Shen Ci initially wanted their sister to choose her room first, but since all the rooms were decorated the same, they left the one with the best natural lighting for Sang Ji.
Sang Ji hadn’t brought much with her—she preferred to keep things simple when traveling.
After tidying up a bit, her phone vibrated a few times.
A somewhat unfamiliar profile picture sent a message on WeChat.
Su Ye: 【Testing.jpg】
Sang Ji: 【?】
Although they were in the same group chat, they were all Fu Yuheng’s friends. She wasn’t very familiar with them and hadn’t met them much.
But Sang Ji could roughly guess why he was contacting her at this time.
What else could it be besides his sister?
He found out pretty quickly.
Su Ye: 【Sang jiejie…】
Sang Ji got goosebumps.
What kind of “jiejie” was this? She remembered Su Ye was about the same age as her, right?
Su Ye: 【Can you let me talk to Su Tang on the phone? (Pitiful.jpg)】
Sang Ji: “…”
The way he said it made it sound like she had kidnapped Su Tang.
Su Ye continued: 【She’s not answering my calls (/:cry)】
She suddenly understood a little why Fu Ziyin always sounded so disdainful whenever she mentioned him.
She had a feeling that if she didn’t agree, Su Ye would keep talking to her in that tone.
Sang Ji made a quick decision: 【Stop, wait a moment.】
She went downstairs directly and headed to another vacation house to find Su Tang.
As she approached the door, Liang Shiyu and Su Tang were just about to go out.
Behind them followed the cameraman.
Sang Ji curved her lips into a smile: “Su Tang, there’s something I’d like your help with. Would you mind coming with me for a moment?”
Su Tang looked slightly puzzled but didn’t refuse.
Meanwhile, Liang Shiyu felt a pang of anxiety, unable to understand why Sang Ji would seek out Su Tang.
They didn’t seem to know each other.
Her intuition told her that Sang Ji seemed to hold many secrets, which made her feel somewhat uneasy.
…
Sang Ji led Su Tang aside and gestured for her to remove her earpiece.
“There’s something I’d like to ask of you. Um… could you maybe answer your brother’s call? If he contacts me again, I might not be able to resist blocking him.”
Su Tang hadn’t expected her to seek her out for this reason.
She pursed her lips, hesitating and sounding a bit resentful as she said, “Then just block him.”
Sang Ji felt like laughing, so she actually laughed out loud.
Still, Su Tang called Su Ye back.
Sang Ji stepped aside to wait for them to finish their conversation.
They didn’t talk for very long.
After hanging up, Su Tang suddenly asked, “Sister, are you my brother’s girlfriend?”
Sang Ji didn’t understand why she would ask such a question and gave her a puzzled look.
Su Tang’s expression was serious: “He told me to listen to you.”
Because there had been a similar situation before—her brother had asked his… well, she didn’t know which girlfriend it was—to look after her and said the same thing.
So she instinctively guessed this might be the case.
“……”
Sang Ji was speechless: “We’re just acquaintances, I suppose.”
Then she heard Su Tang mutter to herself, “I knew it wasn’t. Someone as pretty as you wouldn’t be interested in him.”
Sang Ji: “……”
Little sister, just how much do you dislike your brother?
Right at that moment, Su Ye sent her another message:
【Thank you!!】
【If Sister Ji ever needs anything from me in the future, just say the word】
【I entrust my sister to you.jpg】
Sang Ji: “?”
She really didn’t understand the thought processes of these siblings.
Could he please not call her in the same tone as Fu Ziyin?!
And why was there a dedicated sticker like 【I entrust my sister to you.jpg】?
Just how many times have you done this?!
…
As Sang Ji and Su Tang walked back, they saw Shen Xi and Shen Ci heading toward them.
They had simply finished packing their luggage in the room and came out to find Sang Ji wasn’t inside.
The two immediately went out to look for her.
【What’s going on! Can’t your sister just go out without you two following her?】
【Help… they’re like dogs that follow their owner the moment they step out】
【Top-tier Traffic Star puppies? Kind of cute!】
As it happened, Sang Ji didn’t need to go back and call them: “Since you’re already out, shall we head to the supermarket first?”
It was almost noon, and they needed to figure out what to eat.
Just as they were about to agree, Su Tang asked in her usual calm voice, “Sister, can I come with you?”
Liang Shiyu: “?”
Shen Xi & Shen Ci: “??”
Liang Shiyu couldn’t understand why, after just a short conversation with Sang Ji, Su Tang’s relationship with her had suddenly become so close?
She had spent the past few days trying hard to befriend Su Tang, but Su Tang’s personality seemed… a bit strange.
It was as if she had no emotional reaction to anything from the outside world.
It made it difficult for anyone to break through her shell and enter her world.
Liang Shiyu had always known that people could rarely resist gentleness.
So she had always presented herself with a gentle demeanor.
This way, no matter the circumstances, she could always receive some preferential treatment and was often praised.
Although she clearly knew her true nature was not like this, she enjoyed pretending and reveled in it.
But with Su Tang, it clearly hadn’t worked yet.
She thought it was because they hadn’t spent enough time together, but Su Tang’s attitude toward Sang Ji made her doubt this.
Shen Xi and Shen Ci didn’t understand either.
Wasn’t she in the same group as Liang Shiyu? Why was she clinging to their sister?
Did they know each other? Probably not.
They had finally seized the opportunity from the show to spend some quality time with their sister.
They definitely didn’t want any extra people tagging along!
Liang Shiyu quickly adjusted her emotions and said to the group, “Su Tang and I were also planning to go to the supermarket. Shall we go together?”
Shen Xi really wanted to refuse, but he remained silent, waiting for his sister to decide.
Sang Ji didn’t say whether it was good or bad, only saying, “Let’s go then.”
Could she really stop them?
Liang Shiyu linked arms with Su Tang, asking her with a smile as they walked what she liked to eat.
The group had only taken a few steps when they ran into Cheng Yuan and Cheng Yu.
They were also planning to go to the supermarket.
So the free time for individual activities turned into everyone going to the supermarket together—
Oh, except for Jiang Siwei and Jiang Rui, who were working at the restaurant as punishment.
And Shen Xi and Shen Ci didn’t look too pleased.
Shen Xi: So annoying!
Shen Ci: Too many people…
[Why are the Top-tier Traffic Stars wearing cold expressions again, as if someone owes them something?]
[Don’t they always look like that? Are you expecting them to smile and greet people?]
[But they don’t act like that when they’re with Sang Ji!]
[This family is hilarious—first they try to build a wealthy family public persona, and now they want to create a loving siblings public persona?]
For anti-fans, no matter what, they could always find something to criticize.
The supermarket wasn’t far, just a ten-minute walk away.
Unlike supermarkets in malls, this one was a street-side store, with exterior decorations full of seaside charm.
Besides the supermarket, the street had many souvenir shops and coffee and dessert cafes.
Sang Ji and the others shopped casually, as their funds were sufficient and they didn’t need to worry about saving money.
But Cheng Yuan and the others weren’t as comfortable.
Cheng Yu stood in front of several rows of instant noodles, expressionless: “Sis, are we really going to eat instant noodles?”
Cheng Yu said indifferently, “You can also choose bread or crackers.”
That sounded even worse than instant noodles.
Restaurants in tourist areas were relatively expensive, and with fifty yuan, they could probably only order a set meal or something similar—definitely not enough to eat out.
Just then, Sang Ji suggested, “How about you buy two vegetables and eat with us?”
With fifty yuan, they could have bought some vegetables, but since neither Cheng Yuan nor Cheng Yu knew how to cook, they had ruled out that option from the start.
They were both tempted by Sang Ji’s suggestion.
Although buying just two vegetables seemed a bit like mooching, since she had offered, she clearly didn’t mind.
Cheng Yuan was straightforward by nature, a bright smile appearing on her pretty face: “Sure, then we’ll do the dishes afterward.”
Cheng Yu naturally had no objections either.
Sang Ji wasn’t acting out of any particular kindness.
It was just that during the earlier game segment, Cheng Yu and the others had helped out.
It was just two more pairs of chopsticks, after all.
At that moment, Liang Shiyu also pointed to the ingredients she had chosen: “In that case, why don’t we all eat together? That way, we’ll have more variety of dishes, and it’ll be livelier too.”
Su Tang nodded in agreement.
Shen Xi’s face darkened even further.
Shen Xi: Why does even eating have to be with so many people? So annoying!
Shen Ci: He only wanted to cook for his sister… reluctantly including Shen Xi, but the others… couldn’t they just go home to eat?