Chapter 25: Deliberately Disgusting Him

They did like Cui Meiying, but they liked their own stomachs even more. Since Cui Meiying wasn’t on their team, it was only natural to make sure the good food ended up in their own bellies first. Cui Meiying, annoyed, complained to Gu Xiaomo.

"You were too slow," she grumbled.

Gu Xiaomo replied, "It was your bad toss."

The tension between the two women was palpable, as if they were about to fight.

[Gu Xiaomo isn’t all that great either. She usually acts so magnanimous, but now… well, well, well…]

[Honestly, both of you were at fault—one tossed badly, the other reacted too slowly.]

[Le Xi and Wang Sisi are just too good. Eighty-six! I can only manage eighty-six jumps solo; paired jumping is way too hard.]

Zero, zero—both Gu Xiaomo and Cui Meiying silently chanted in their hearts as the male contestants took their turns.

But the results surprised them.

"Wang Zhuorui and Gu Junhao, five."

Huo Hongming, who’d been insisting he couldn’t complete even one, managed two jumps with Gu Junhao.

[Huo Hongming, you said you couldn’t complete any, but here you are with two!]

[I never would’ve guessed Cui Meiying and Gu Xiaomo could only manage one.]

The host announced the final results.

"Le Xi and Wang Sisi come in first place. You may eat as much as you like from the seafood feast on the table."

"Wang Zhuorui and Gu Junhao are second. Of the ten types of seafood, you may choose any five to enjoy freely."

"Huo Hongming and Deng Jiachao are third. You may only eat shrimp, conch, and clams from the table, and only one plate each."

"Unfortunately, and much to our surprise, Cui Meiying and Gu Xiaomo are in last place. The two of you will share a single plate of fried noodles."

Wang Zhuorui and Gu Junhao spoke up, "Host, can we share?"

The host replied, "As you wish."

Wang Zhuorui and Gu Junhao then invited Cui Meiying and Gu Xiaomo to join them. "Xiaomo, Meiying, come eat with us."

Gu Xiaomo said, "Thank you, but I’d like to respect the game’s rules. I’ll have the fried noodles."

Since Gu Xiaomo had said so, Cui Meiying had no choice but to sit with her and eat the noodles. But she refused to say another word to Gu Xiaomo.

[Gu Xiaomo’s a bit much. At the very least, she should’ve checked with Meiying. Now that she’s spoken, even if Meiying wanted to accept Wang Zhuorui and Gu Junhao’s goodwill, she can’t.]

[Clearly it was Gu Xiaomo’s slow reaction, but she’s making it seem like Meiying was at fault. I don’t like her.]

After the meal, a new game began.

"The most important skill for a matchmaker is eloquence. Most of you are actors, and even those who aren’t actors now were once performers, singers, or idols. So tongue twisters should be no problem. Today, however, we’ll be competing in sunflower seed cracking. Whichever team produces the most whole kernels wins."

[This host, honestly. Why not just say it’s a sunflower seed cracking contest? That whole preamble made it sound like a tongue twister competition.]

[Host, you don’t honestly think you’re funny, do you?]

[Unexpected, but I guess it’s all about the mouth anyway.]

"Wait," interrupted Huo Hongming. "Host, can’t we do tongue twisters instead? I’m terrible at cracking seeds—my front teeth are dentures."

Wang Zhuorui asked, "So you don’t eat seeds in your daily life?"

Huo Hongming replied, "I still have my molars, but I have to put the whole seed in and spit it out after. I’m afraid it will gross everyone out."

As it turned out, it truly was disgusting.

[Oh my god, did cracking sunflower seeds have to be so stringy?]

[It looks filthy—Huo Hongming, after this, no one is ever going to want to film a kissing scene with you.]

[Did he ever have a kissing scene with an actress though?]

[He did with one woman, but she’s not famous. I heard it was faked with camera angles.]

[Thank goodness for that. Otherwise, if she saw this now, she’d be sick thinking back on that scene.]

[But look at Le Xi—does she have a sunflower seed sheller in her mouth? I didn’t even see how she did it; it’s like the shell just falls off as soon as the seed goes in.]

This game seemed tailor-made for Le Xi. Song Qi loved eating sunflower seeds—he had a bowl every day. But he would only eat the kernels if they were peeled.

Still, he always suspected those store-bought kernels were shelled by some old lady using her teeth. Fastidious as he was, the thought disgusted him, so he had Le Xi shell them instead.

He never considered that old ladies might not be missing teeth; even if they were, would they know where to find the shell pieces stuck between their teeth? And where would he find so many old ladies to shell seeds just for him?

Le Xi, for her part, would shell them by hand when he was watching, but out of sight, her teeth worked much faster.

Even the host was surprised. "Wow, while the other contestants have only managed a few, Le Xi, you’ve already shelled nearly half a bowl. How are you so fast?"

Le Xi looked into the camera, smirking, "Practice."

"Ugh," Song Qi, always keeping an eye on Le Xi’s every move and eager for her to embarrass herself, was now retching in front of his screen.

Pointing at the TV, he groaned, "You venomous woman, you’re making me sick—ugh—"

Song Qi retched uncontrollably.

Le Xi had done it on purpose, knowing full well that the so-called germaphobe would be revolted.

"Okay, stop, stop, time’s up," the host called out. "No need to count—Le Xi and Wang Sisi are the winners."

The other hosts tallied up the results.

"Wang Zhuorui and Gu Junhao: thirty-five kernels, second place."

"Huo Hongming and Deng Jiachao: twenty-two kernels, third place."

"Gu Xiaomo and Cui Meiying: eighteen kernels, fourth place."

Gu Xiaomo cursed inwardly: Damn system, you always disappear when I need you.

"Third and fourth place teams will be punished. Please go to the Liu, Wang, Li, and Song families to give massages to our elderly residents. The other two teams may return to the dormitory and rest."

At the Song home:

"Girl, your waist isn’t even as thick as my thigh," Grandma Song said, repeatedly comparing Cui Meiying’s waist to her own leg, grabbing and pinching as she did.

Cui Meiying was irritated—her waist was meant to be admired, not manhandled. But with the cameraman filming, she had to control herself. In her live streams, she’d snapped back at rude commenters before, but Le Xi was famous for her fierce comebacks—everyone had seen those viral videos of her arguing with netizens.

Cui Meiying was still a little shaken and, in hindsight, relieved that the people she’d clapped back at had never been so vicious.

If she were ever cornered, she didn’t have Le Xi’s boldness. She’d crumble and apologize immediately.

So Cui Meiying forced herself to remain calm. "Grandma Song, let me give you a massage."

"What can a slender waist like yours do? Girl, you need to eat more—put some meat on that waist so you have the strength to work."

[Come on, this old lady. If she doesn’t want a massage, fine, but must she nag?]

[She’s just jealous. Her waist was never that thin—she must envy Meiying.]

[Meiying, hurry up and leave—don’t massage her, especially if she’s going to lecture you.]

At the Wang home, as soon as Gu Xiaomo arrived, she immediately found an excuse to hide in the bathroom and call out to her system.

"Where have you been? Come out now!"