Chapter 94
The last game, the one that would decide the ultimate winner.
“The game is called: Don’t Get Caught on Camera.”
The game venue shifted from the wide open fields to a farmhouse courtyard.
“The rules are as follows.”
“The assistant director will stand at the courtyard gate with a camera, then count down ten seconds. Within these ten seconds, you must hide yourselves as best you can so you don’t get captured in the shot.”
“After ten seconds, the shutter goes off. Whoever doesn’t appear in the photo earns one point.”
“There will be three rounds of photos. Game start!”
At Director Niu’s command, the assistant director stood at the gate with a camera, lens pointed at the eight people standing in the yard.
“Counting down! 10, 9…”
As soon as the countdown began, the eight of them instantly sprang into action, frantically searching for places to hide.
But there were only so many hiding spots in the yard. With so many people scrambling, clashes were inevitable.
Qiu Chengye and Lai Bingxuan both spotted the large water vat nearby and tried to squeeze in together.
In the end, Qiu Chengye used his strength advantage to shove Lai Bingxuan aside with his butt and stuffed himself inside.
Furious, Lai Bingxuan gave up hiding, scooped up cold water from another vat, and dumped it over Qiu Chengye’s, chilling him to the bone.
Yu Jinzhe, Liu Woxing, and Xu Shuangrong all rushed for the stone mill, but it could at most shield two people. One of them had to be pushed out.
Xiao Jingxi quickly snatched up a bamboo mat, flung it over himself, and lay flat on the ground.
Xie Mi stepped on Qiu Chengye’s head, used the leverage, and scrambled up onto the roof in one fluid motion.
When she turned back, Shen Yanqing was still standing in the open.
Uh-oh.
He was the tallest and hardest to hide, and most hiding spots were already occupied. He probably had nowhere to go.
Click!
The shutter went off—followed by Xiao Jingxi’s anguished wail: “What the hell are you doing!!”
In the developed photo:
Xiao Jingxi, sprawled on the ground like a flailing stranded fish, reaching out in horror for something.
Beside him, a bamboo mat held upright—perfectly blocking Shen Yanqing who was standing behind.
From the vat, Qiu Chengye’s head hair was yanked up by Lai Bingxuan and appeared in the corner of the shot.
Half of Yu Jinzhe’s body had been squeezed out from behind the stone mill.
Director Niu announced, “This round, those caught on camera are: Xiao Jingxi, Qiu Chengye, Lai Bingxuan, and Yu Jinzhe. No points for you four. Everyone else gets one point!”
“Nicely done.”
Xie Mi gave Shen Yanqing a thumbs-up, marveling at his cleverness.
Shen Yanqing raised a brow, his smile easy and lazy. “No big deal.”
Xiao Jingxi was red-hot with rage on the spot.
[Hahahahahahaha I didn’t even know where to look in those ten seconds!]
[I’m dying—Old Shen just snatched Xiao Jingxi’s mat away and used it as his shield, savage!]
[Sister Lai went down with Qiu Chengye again LOL]
[My little brother Jinzhe got squeezed out by two women… maybe hit the gym?]
[Old Xie, are you trying to conquer every rooftop in the world? In the villa you were climbing roofs daily, now here too?]
[Why isn’t anyone praising Sister Xie Mi’s roof-climbing speed? Ten seconds flat! She’s faster than the geckos on my wall!]
Second round—the venue shifted again, this time into the living room of the farmhouse.
This time there were no big vats or stone mills to hide behind—obviously the difficulty was ramped up.
But the hiding time was still just ten seconds.
“Start! 10, 9…”
The sudden start left several people panicked, scattering everywhere—some dove under tables, some slipped behind curtains, some threw blankets over themselves, others put buckets over their heads…
“Come on!”
Xie Mi reacted the fastest. She grabbed Shen Yanqing’s hand, dashed to the wardrobe, yanked the door open, pulled them both inside, and shut it—done in one smooth motion.
In the pitch-black, cramped space, their breaths mingled.
Shen Yanqing’s heart gave a slight stir, the tips of his ears flushing red—when suddenly, the wardrobe door was flung open.
“Ah!”
Outside was Xu Shuangrong’s stunned face. “Sorry! I didn’t know anyone was in here…”
Click!
The shutter went off right then.
Shen Yanqing and Xie Mi were caught perfectly in the wide-open wardrobe.
Xie Mi gritted her teeth, laughing in disbelief. “Good, good, good. Very good.”
Xu Shuangrong kept apologizing, face full of guilt. “I’m really sorry, Teacher Xie, I was just too panicked, I honestly didn’t know you were in there…”
“No need to explain.”
Shen Yanqing cut her off with a half-smile, half-sneer. “I also enjoy these little tricks. I get it.”
Xu Shuangrong froze.
[Xu Shuangrong girl…]
[When Sister Xie pulled Old Shen into the wardrobe she was making so much noise her shoe even flew off—how could Xu Shuangrong not notice?]
[From her angle she had to see them. Please.]
[She already said she was too panicked, it’s normal to make mistakes in a rush. Don’t overthink it.]
[Even if she did it on purpose, this is a competition! Tripping each other up is part of the game. Why so harsh?]
[Or maybe the problem isn’t that she opened the wardrobe—but that she’s pretending to be an innocent little white flower afterward.]
[Sis, I get you. I used to be green tea too.]
Director Niu announced the results, “This round, those caught on camera are: Shen Yanqing, Xie Mi, Xu Shuangrong, Qiu Chengye. No points for you four. The rest earn one point!”
Final round. The venue changed once again.
On the way to the last site, Xiao Jingxi and Xu Shuangrong analyzed the current standings.
“At present, we’re tied for first with the other two teams. If we can just take first in this last round, we’ll win overall.”
Xu Shuangrong nodded. “We both need to hide well in this last round—that’s our only chance.”
The Bing-Yu team and Xing-Cheng team clearly thought the same.
The three tied-for-first groups, with identical scores in the first two rounds, now saw each other as the main threats.
As for the trailing Xie-Yan “Kill the Donkey” team, they weren’t even worth paying attention to anymore.
At the back of the line, Xie Mi and Shen Yanqing overheard the discussions ahead. Instinctively, they glanced at each other—then burst out laughing.
Heh heh heh heh heh…
The final venue was wild: the pigsty they had cleaned during yesterday’s punishment task.
Though scrubbed spotless, the little piglets wandering around and the overwhelming “aroma” still made it tough to bear.
Especially for first-timer Qiu Chengye. “Are you kidding me? Hide in a pigpen? You want me to lie down on a floor where pigs used to shit?!”
He stormed up to argue with Director Niu.
Director Niu: “You’re welcome to choose the bicycle ride back instead.”
Qiu Chengye instantly backpedaled and returned to the group.
[Another classic moment.]
[How come Brother Qiu Chenye alternates between bold and cowardly every five minutes, I’m crying with laughter.]
[You don’t get it—my Brother Kitty just knows when to adapt! That’s wisdom!]
