Chapter 28: Did it hurt when I hit you? Serves you right.

Le Xi chuckled, “Song Qi, oh Song Qi, Le Ren, is he even human? Isn’t he supposed to be helpful? After all these years, can’t you figure it out?”

Five minutes later, Le Xi received a text from Song Qi:

#Your father is a real piece of work, extorting half a million from me. You’d better pay me back, or I’ll have them thrown in jail. Besides, you breached the contract, so return my thirty million.

Le Xi replied, saying it wasn’t convenient to discuss over text, and that she’d call instead.

She really did call, but Song Qi didn’t dare answer.

Le Xi put down her phone—she couldn’t be blamed for this.

Still, she was a bit worried about her family. Song Qi wouldn’t really have them thrown in jail, would he?

After all, even if they were divorced, they were still former in-laws. For a small, ordinary family, an ex-son-in-law sending his ex-father-in-law to jail would at most be a laughingstock, but nothing more.

But in a wealthy family, that would be a real loss, a slice of flesh gone.

Song Qi was a vengeful man, and heaven knew just how much he wanted to get back at Le Xi.

Her father had practically walked into the trap himself.

Well, whatever. It wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Le Xi’s father, mother, and uncle arrived at the designated location.

What greeted them was a floor covered with cash.

“Oh my, I’ve never seen this much money before,”

The three of them greedily scooped up the money, inhaling deeply.

“Money just smells so good, doesn’t it? Rich, really rich.”

“Creak—”

The door closed, and Song Qi’s voice called from outside,

“Enjoy yourselves.”

“Wow, this is the life!”

Meanwhile, in the dorm, Le Xi and Wang Sisi were gnawing on crabs and chicken feet.

Cui Meiying and Gu Xiaomo were busy cooking in the kitchen.

Le Xi and Wang Sisi had gone slack, and rightly so—since, as always, no one had managed to form a pair today, the host announced that everyone was on their own for dinner.

Once night fell, all the shops in the little town closed, so even if you had money, there was nowhere to buy food.

Seeing Le Xi cooking, Gu Xiaomo insisted on showing off her own skills in the kitchen, persuading Cui Meiying to join her.

Huo Hongming, Gu Junhao, Wang Zhuorui, and Deng Jiachao went off to try to scrounge a meal from the villagers.

“Crunch, crunch, slurp, slurp.”

[Did they just gnaw on chicken bones too? Are they eating crab like noodles now?]

[Great, now I’m craving it again.]

[Le Xi is being a little annoying—she knows Gu Xiaomo and Cui Meiying are hungry, and she’s deliberately tempting them.]

Le Xi was doing it on purpose. After all, just now Gu Xiaomo had whispered to her,

“I’m going to win.”

Such words.

So what if you have a system? That system was notorious for being useless at cooking.

Before Le Xi had ever dated anyone, she’d asked the system to help with all sorts of things, and it always did fine—except for cooking.

Cui Meiying agreed to cook together, but she just stood to the side and watched—she didn’t know how.

She peered into Gu Xiaomo’s pot, sniffed, then craned her neck to check Le Xi’s pot, and sniffed again.

That color, that aroma.

Cui Meiying regretted refusing Wang Sisi’s invitation earlier.

“Xiaomo, you—”

Gu Xiaomo replied,

“Meiying, if you’re tired, go rest. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

Huo Hongming, Gu Junhao, Wang Zhuorui, and Deng Jiachao roamed the village together.

Wandering here and there, they ended up back at the kitchen arranged by the production team.

At the villagers’ homes, either the food looked unappetizing, or—if it looked good—the answer was a flat refusal.

Regardless of the cameras filming, the four were thoroughly embarrassed.

This time, Gu Xiaomo’s system summoned perfectly.

After some adjustments, the previously dull-looking dishes now looked colorful and fragrant.

Right as the four returned, they showered her with praise.

Cui Meiying heard the commotion and hurried out to join them.

Gu Xiaomo said,

“Le Xi and Sisi should come too. Even if it’s all crab, the flavors are different.”

Le Xi waved her hand,

“No need.”

Wang Sisi shook her head too,

“I’m good. I’m full.”

Huo Hongming teased Wang Sisi,

“Sisi, you’re so stubborn—if you’re paired with someone, you’ll only eat the food made with them? This looks so delicious, you—”

Huo Hongming’s eyes widened in shock as he took a bite.

Gu Junhao nudged him,

“Can’t move because it’s so good, huh? Well, Xiaomo’s cooking does look—”

He popped a mouthful in, only to be struck speechless by the taste.

Next was Wang Zhuorui, then Deng Jiachao, then Cui Meiying. When they’d all finished, they stared at Gu Xiaomo.

Only then did Gu Xiaomo sense something was off. She took a bite herself.

Then everyone rushed to the bathroom to throw up.

Gu Xiaomo began cursing the system furiously.

That night, Gu Xiaomo was so angry she couldn’t sleep, scrolling through the comments:

[Did Gu Xiaomo cook literal crap? Why did everyone look like they’d eaten dung?]

[How does she make it look delicious but taste so bad it makes people retch?]

[Has anyone seen Gu Xiaomo in person? Is she a catfish, faking it on video?]

Gu Xiaomo tossed her phone aside and ordered the system to get back at Le Xi as compensation.

She’d noticed Le Xi suppressing a laugh while everyone was retching.

Moments later, Le Xi inexplicably fell out of bed.

Only then did Gu Xiaomo drift off to sleep contentedly, muttering,

“Hmph, I have a cheat now. Are you scared? That’s what you get for laughing.”

“Thud,”

Le Xi muttered as well,

“Did it hurt when I hit you? That’s what you get for being cheeky.”

“Ah—”

The next morning, Gu Xiaomo screamed when she woke up—her left eye had become a panda eye.

Cui Meiying asked with concern,

“Xiaomo, your eye?”

Wang Sisi held back laughter, unable to look straight at her: Isn’t that a one-eyed dragon?

Le Xi didn’t even try to hold back, bursting out in wild laughter.

Tears welled up in Gu Xiaomo’s eyes,

“Xixi, you’re really that happy I got hurt?”

Le Xi spread her hands,

“Not exactly happy, but sorry—I just naturally love to laugh. I really couldn’t help it.”

At the gathering, Gu Junhao asked with concern,

“Xiaomo, you sure you’re okay? Your eye—?”

“I’m fine,”

When washing up, Gu Xiaomo had the system erase the bruise.

When Cui Meiying and Wang Sisi asked, she said she’d covered it with foundation.

“As long as you’re okay,”

Gu Junhao clutched his chest dramatically,

“When Meiying told me, I was worried sick.”

[What happened to Gu Xiaomo? What’s with the ‘worried sick’?]

[That sounded a bit suggestive.]

[Gu Junhao and Gu Xiaomo, are they dating?]

The host announced,

“Our journey at Xishan River has come to an end. It’s clear this was tough, so we won’t make things harder. In an hour, everyone will board a plane to Ivory Tower Town. But at the airport, you’ll need to find your new partner first.”

“Everyone will return to their original groups,”

The host distributed cards to each team.

“Based on the information provided, find your partner. The faster you find them, the more spending money you’ll have for your week in Ivory Tower.”

Le Xi and Huo Hongming looked at the hints on their card,

“Favorite fruit: peach. Favorite numbers: seven and eight. Favorite vehicle: motorcycle.”

Gu Xiaomo and Gu Junhao’s card read,

“Favorite fruit: watermelon. Favorite numbers: five and zero. Favorite drive: riding in a car?”