Chapter 74 Just a Game, Why So Serious

After the game ended, Zhang Chen walked off the field with Ye Fangfei, crestfallen. Before the match, he had been brimming with confidence, executing his moves with the vigor of a tiger, but when it came to the results... he had only answered two questions correctly.

His pride wounded, Zhang Chen cast a glance at Ye Fangfei and gave a dry laugh, trying to salvage his dignity with words.
“It was just an off day,” he said.

Ye Fangfei, however, wasn’t particularly invested in winning or losing this game, unconcerned about the rankings, but it was clear that Zhang Chen cared a great deal. She could tell he hoped to choose her as his travel companion tomorrow. But with this performance, he hadn’t managed to secure priority.

“Yes, you did slip up. If I hadn’t skirted the edge of the game rules, perhaps you might have gotten one more right,” she replied.

Realizing she’d misunderstood and thought he was blaming her, Zhang Chen hurried to clarify, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming your mistake. I meant my own—like that question about looking northwest, it was so simple, and yet my mind froze up. I shouldn’t have missed it.”

“It’s fine, really. There’s nothing wrong with that. This game is all about quick thinking—it’s normal to miss the beat sometimes,” Ye Fangfei reassured him, patting his shoulder twice in a comradely way. “It’s just a game. Don’t take it so seriously.”

Zhang Chen’s eyes lit up suddenly. The game had clearly brought them closer! That was a win in itself! He glanced around at the other three male contestants, thinking, Now everyone knows I’m pursuing Ye Fangfei—no one will dare trample on my territory.

With that thought, Zhang Chen relaxed and smiled, feeling that even losing the game had been worth it.

Meanwhile, the live chat was buzzing—

[Looking at them, there’s still a good chance they’ll get back together.]
[See, spending more time together is important—feelings need time to grow.]
[Waving the Zhang Chen x Ye Fangfei CP flag high!]
...

The staff member glanced toward the waiting area where the other three pairs of exes were gathered. “Who’s up second? Have you decided?”

“We’ll go!” Xu Junze volunteered, raising his hand.

“Alright! Xu Junze and Chu Yao, please step forward.”

The two walked to the game area and stood face-to-face. As before, the woman gave the clues and the man guessed the answers. It was another poetry round.

This pair, though, demonstrated far more chemistry than Zhang Chen and Ye Fangfei. Both prepared themselves, and at the cue, Chu Yao responded to the prompts quickly. They were also lucky—the questions drawn weren’t difficult for them.

For the first question, Chu Yao reacted instantly.
“A six-character line of poetry,” she prompted.

With that, she lay down on the ground, miming the act of drinking with her head thrown back in a drunken haze, then sprang up to strike a match and light a lamp, pretending to carry an invisible lantern a few steps as she peered ahead.

Next, she mimed drawing a sword, performing a brief dance with it before focusing drunkenly yet intently on the imaginary blade in her hand. Her performance was swift, smooth, and seamless, eliciting silent amazement from the onlookers.

Chu Yao’s usual style already evoked a classic, historical elegance, and her gestures now made it easy to picture a scene from ancient times.

Ye Fangfei, delighted, let out a soft “woo,” murmuring, “Yao Yao is amazing.”

Lu Zhou also raised his brows in surprise; watching her wield an imaginary sword, he guessed she must have trained in classical dance.

“In drunkenness, I light the lamp to look at my sword!” Xu Junze, in the game zone, instantly caught her meaning and blurted out the answer.

“Correct!” the staff affirmed.

The rest of the group applauded and cheered, “Wow! Impressive!”

The live chat erupted among Chu Yao’s fans—

[My Yao can even sword dance in midair—legendary!]
[This is a master-level clue! If he couldn’t guess it, he’d be hopeless.]
...

“Next one.”

The game continued.

“‘Turning into spring mud to better protect the flowers’—what’s the previous line?” Chu Yao rattled off quickly.

“‘Fallen petals are not heartless things!’” Xu Junze snapped his fingers.

“Correct.”

“Li Shangyin’s ‘Untitled’! The first line of the poem!”

“I’ve forgotten, say a few lines and let’s see.”

“‘The east wind is too weak, a hundred flowers wither. The silkworms spin till death…’”

“I’ve got it! ‘Meeting is hard, parting even harder!’”

“Correct!”

“‘The waterfall plunges three thousand feet—what’s the next line?’”

“‘It seems as if the Milky Way is falling from the Ninth Heaven!’”

“Correct!”

“‘Only close to dusk’—what’s the previous line?”

“‘The sunset is infinitely beautiful!’”

“Correct!”

Thus, the second group finished at an incredible pace, answering all five questions correctly.

Zhang Chen, watching from the sidelines, was left questioning reality. “Why were their questions so easy?” he grumbled.

Ye Fangfei replied airily, “Blame your bad luck.”

Zhang Chen couldn’t help but glance over at Lin Jiale, his look saying, “You set me up!”

Lin Jiale: “…”

“Who’s next?” the staff prompted, keeping the process moving.

Lu Zhou turned to Li Jiayan, “Shall we go?”

Li Jiayan nodded, “Sure.”

But before they could step forward, Qi Jiajia and Wen Yiming had already moved ahead. “We’ll go.”

Fine, Lu Zhou and Li Jiayan waited their turn.

“Bodhisattva, bless us.” Before the game began, Wen Yiming pressed his palms together devoutly. “Let’s hope Qi Jiajia has good luck with the questions.”

His gesture made everyone laugh.

“Come on! Don’t drag it out, it’s not that hard,” Qi Jiajia said confidently.

After all, reciting classical poetry was child’s play to her.

Wen Yiming stretched and took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s do this!”

The staff revealed the first question behind them.

Qi Jiajia glanced at it and immediately recalled the poem.
“Liu Yuxi’s ‘Sandsifting Song.’ The line after ‘a thousand times sifting though it’s hard’?”

“What?” Wen Yiming looked completely lost.

“It’s so familiar! What was it?” He knocked his head in frustration.

“Come on, it’s easy!” Qi Jiajia frowned.

“‘A thousand times sifted though it’s hard…’” Wen Yiming closed his eyes, trying to dredge up his memory of poetry recitation.

But time waited for no one.

Seeing he genuinely couldn’t recall, and with time running out, Qi Jiajia resorted to charades, “Watch my mouth—the first word is…”

“Blow!” Wen Yiming guessed.

“Yes!”

“The previous line is about sifting—what are you sifting? Think!”

“Sand!”

Qi Jiajia snapped her fingers, excited, “Put the words together, try again!”

“Blow! Sand…” Wen Yiming’s mind seemed rusted.

Qi Jiajia: “…”

“And there’s something blingbling, what do you get after sifting? Hurry, time’s almost up!” she prompted again.

Suddenly enlightened, Wen Yiming exclaimed, “After blowing and sifting, you get gold!”

“What??” Qi Jiajia facepalmed, “Not sifting! You got one word wrong!”

“Oh, right! ‘After blowing away the wild sand…’” Wen Yiming quickly corrected.

“Time’s up,” the staff announced.

Wen Yiming: “…”

Qi Jiajia comforted him, “It’s okay, just relax—getting nervous only makes it harder.”

Wen Yiming nodded, taking another deep breath.

On to the next question.

“This one’s really simple, you can’t not know it.” Qi Jiajia looked at the prompt. “It’s about loving couples—‘Holding what in your hand?’”

“Holding your hand!”

“And the next line?”

“Growing old with you!”

“Great! Next!”

For each question, Qi Jiajia could immediately recall the lines before and after.

“This is from Zhu Xi’s ‘Spring Day’—‘A riot of color, all is spring’—the previous line?”

“I don’t think I ever memorized this one,” Wen Yiming began to doubt himself again.

“How could you not? Did you forget everything from studying abroad?” Qi Jiajia teased.

Wen Yiming struggled, “Can you give me a hint, tell me some of the characters?”

“East wind, in Chinese!” Qi Jiajia switched to English.

“Dongfeng!”

“Right, does that help?”

“Not really.”

“…”

In the end, time was up before he could answer.

When the fourth question appeared, Qi Jiajia sighed. She could have recited it easily, but she had little faith in her teammate now…

“‘My heart is different from that of a traveler’—do you know the next line?” Qi Jiajia tried, half-resigned.

“No.”

“You read those web novels, right? What do the protagonists like to become after training?”

“Immortals.”

Qi Jiajia saw hope. “Yes! This line has those words.”

Wen Yiming racked his brain again.

Qi Jiajia gave up and switched to English: “I don’t envy immortals but I envy juveniles. Translate this sentence.”

The onlookers were all taken aback—impressive, playing it this way?

Wen Yiming clapped his hands, “I don’t envy immortals, but I envy young people!”

Qi Jiajia: “It’s a seven-character line—does that sound like poetry?”

“Time’s up!”

Wen Yiming looked back, exasperated with himself. How could he forget all this…

He scratched his head in frustration. “Let’s keep going.”

“Last question—if you mess this up, we’re at the bottom,” Qi Jiajia warned, glancing at the prompt. She pursed her lips, and in that moment, she mentally pronounced doom for their round.

“‘An inch of time is worth an inch of gold’—what’s the previous line?”

“I have no idea.”

“…”

The live chat was roaring with laughter.

[Qi Jiajia is about to die of frustration]
[Wen Yiming truly lives up to his reputation—more brawn than brains]
[Time to read more books!]
[This is a perfect pairing of a scholar and a dunce—oddly charming]
[I give up too, maybe I’m destined to be a fitness coach]
...

In the end, this pair’s glorious result was answering only one question correctly—temporarily ranking last.

Now it was Lu Zhou and Li Jiayan’s turn.

“It’s all up to you, Lu Zhou,” Li Jiayan said, not sounding too confident.

“Don’t stress, just stay calm. It’s okay even if we get it wrong,” Lu Zhou assured her.

But Li Jiayan thought to herself, It’s not okay! Still, she nodded.

The game began. The first prompt—Li Jiayan couldn’t remember which poem it came from, so she had to rely on gestures to convey the scene.

“Like what Chu Yao just did,” she said, pointing at Chu Yao. She exaggeratedly mimed drawing a sword, then looked around in bewilderment.

Her performance looked silly enough to make the others laugh.

Li Jiayan bit her lip nervously, “Do you get what I mean?”

Lu Zhou laughed too, “Drawing my sword and looking around, my heart lost in confusion.”

She hadn’t expected him to get it right and jumped up, excited. “Yes!”

Lu Zhou smiled, “Let’s keep going.”

Li Jiayan glanced at the next prompt, scratching her temple, drawing out an “uhhh.” “I think this is a poem by Nalan Xingde, but I’ve forgotten the title.”

“No problem, do you remember the lines before or after?” Lu Zhou prompted gently.

“I think I do…” She closed her eyes, silently mouthing lines as she tried to remember.

“Ah, I remember now.” She opened her eyes, gaze sparkling and lips curved in a smile. “The next line is, ‘Why does the autumn wind grieve the painted fan?’ Do you remember?”

She spoke slowly, as if afraid she’d get it wrong.

“I remember.” Lu Zhou nodded, then answered, “If life were only as it was at first sight.”

Hearing him recite the line so calmly, Li Jiayan was quietly moved, her eyes growing moist. “Yes, if life were only as it was at first sight.”

The live chat—

[Crying for no reason]
[Such a gentle couple]
[Ah, how easily old friends’ hearts change]
[Maybe they should just get back together?]
...

Lu Zhou gave Li Jiayan a quiet look. “Shall we continue?”

“Yes.”

She studied the next prompt for a few seconds.

“Watch me,” she said, rising on her toes, stretching her hand toward the ceiling as if trying to grasp something.

“Reaching out, I could pluck the stars,” Lu Zhou said without waiting for more hints.

“You really do know it.” Li Jiayan gave him a radiant smile, a happiness blooming in her heart—their understanding of each other was just that good.

“Let’s keep going.”

“It’s a seven-character line. The previous line is, ‘An old friend leaves the Yellow Crane Tower to the west.’”

“In the misty flowers of March, he goes down to Yangzhou.”

“Correct!”

“Last one!” Li Jiayan smiled at him, but the smile faded as she saw the next prompt—she had no idea.

“This one’s a bit tough,” she admitted.

“It’s fine, just describe as best you can.”

“When I go for a walk and see something pretty on the tree, I’ll pick it?” Since she couldn’t use the exact words, she tried to lead him to the scene.

“Flowers?” Lu Zhou guessed.

“Yes, that word is in it. The meaning is, when the time is right, you should pick the flowers. Seven characters.”

Lu Zhou frowned in thought. When flowers are ready to be picked, they must be picked, seven characters…

Soon, he had it. “When the flowers bloom, you must…”

But just as he was about to finish, the staff called time.

Li Jiayan let out a soft “oh,” “What a shame, you almost had it.”

Lu Zhou shrugged, “It’s fine, as long as we’re not last.”

Li Jiayan had hoped for first place, but with their score, it was out of reach. Still, their result was quite good.

The live chat was full of sighs—

[Separated for over six years and still have this kind of understanding—just get back together]
[But they both said they don’t want to rekindle things]
[This game’s really about the guesser’s knowledge. No matter how in sync you are, if the guesser doesn’t know the content, there’s nothing to be done]
[Love needs passion; understanding is nice, but they seem to lack a spark]
...

When all the games were done, the eight contestants returned to the center of the space.

“And now, the results,” the staff announced.

“First place goes to Xu Junze and Chu Yao, with all five questions correct. Lu Zhou and Li Jiayan are second with four correct. Zhang Chen and Ye Fangfei are third with two, and finally Wen Yiming and Qi Jiajia.”

“According to the rankings, the male contestants will choose their female travel companions for tomorrow, in order. Chu Yao, you have the right to refuse one choice.”

As soon as the staff finished, Zhang Chen cleared his throat, “Think carefully before you choose—don’t act rashly.”

The implication was obvious to everyone.

The male contestants’ expressions shifted. Who to consider first, who to consider second—these were matters that now required serious thought.

After all, this round’s format was completely different from before. In the past, they’d picked blindly or sent secret messages—at least it wasn’t face-to-face. Everyone knew the score, but the veil of ambiguity spared them from embarrassment.

Now, however, they had to make their choices openly, in front of the four women—one of whom was an ex.

The live chat was already rubbing its hands with excitement—

[Hehe, this is great—I love a good showdown!]
[Bring on the battle!]
[This game is so twisted!]
...