CSGM - Chapter 28
Chapter 28: Such Great Chemistry
Just as Chu Xi was feeling suspicious, Li Xiling lost a 2-point question, and Ren Zhi correctly answered a 1-point question. Then, it was her turn.
She chose the letter 'Q,' which revealed a 3-point question.
It seemed that winning more points still came down to luck.
Chu Xi hoped she wouldn't pick the lowest-value 1-point question, as that would be a waste of an opportunity.
【Of the former nine planets in the solar system, which one was located the furthest out?】
"Pluto."
Chu Xi answered without hesitation, securing 3 points.
But the hammer's position still hadn't moved. She frowned briefly before her expression returned to normal, and she observed the props on either side.
To the left of where the members stood was the positive scoreboard, and to the right was the negative scoreboard. Both accumulated the point values of everyone's correct and incorrect answers...
In that case, the Director's idea couldn't be that, could it...
Beneath these 25 letters, there might be a special type of question hidden.
Sure enough, the next second, the letter Zhao Shiqing chose confirmed Chu Xi's suspicion.
Zhao Shiqing: "Then I'll choose 'O.' It looks like a round little jelly."
A crew member flipped over the top half of the letter 'O,' revealing not a point value, but the image of an apple.
The Director said leisurely, "Finally, someone picked this one. It's a Golden Apple question. The member who answers the Golden Apple question will determine one movement of the hammer. If you answer correctly, the hammer moves away by a distance corresponding to the total points on the positive scoreboard. If you answer incorrectly, it moves closer by a distance corresponding to the total on the negative scoreboard. Furthermore, once a Golden Apple question has been chosen, regardless of whether it's answered correctly or not, the scores on both boards will be cleared."
As soon as the Director finished announcing this rule, Chu Xi couldn't help but curse inwardly: Damn it.
So the rules really were like that, and of all people, Zhao Shiqing had drawn the Golden Apple question.
She really hated the feeling of having her fate in the hands of an idiot.
After hearing the rules, the others' initial surprise gave way to expressions that were a degree more tense than before.
Zhao Shiqing also swallowed hard, a sacred expression of great responsibility on her face. She turned to the row of members behind her and said, "Don't worry, everyone, I'll give it my all!"
The Director cleared his throat loudly and reminded them again, "No whispering, no cheating!"
After speaking, he shot a meaningful glance at Chu Xi.
Chu Xi was the one variable he wasn't confident he could control. He was worried she would play tricks and secretly exploit loopholes, and even more afraid that she was too smart for the production team to guard against.
Who would have thought that Chu Xi would just give a disdainful smile and turn her head toward Ren Zhi, not even sparing Zhao Shiqing a glance.
The Director was really overthinking things. Why would she help Zhao Shiqing cheat... such a demeaning act.
Looking at Ren Zhi, on the other hand-fair-skinned and charming, with an elegant and graceful bearing-was much easier on the eyes than looking at Zhao Shiqing. At least Ren Zhi looked like a public figure who could get by on her looks.
Chu Xi's lips curled up. She waggled her eyebrows at Ren Zhi, amusing herself by making silly gestures to get her attention.
-Hi.
-Hi?
-Ren Zhi.
-Pay attention to me.
Chu Xi entertained herself, trying to communicate with her eyes.
But Ren Zhi's gaze went right past this boring, preening peacock and landed on the far right of the members' standing area-on the negative scoreboard next to Zhao Shiqing.
A trace of worry appeared in her eyes.
It had already accumulated five negative points. If Zhao Shiqing answered the Golden Apple question incorrectly, it would be bad.
A "tsk" from Chu Xi drifted to her ear, carrying a faint hint of dissatisfaction.
Only then did Ren Zhi look back at her, only to be met with a contemptuous expression that seemed to say, "You're so boring."
The Director had forbidden whispering, and Ren Zhi, afraid of losing points, ignored her. Chu Xi's plan to find a "deskmate" to slack off with was over before it even began.
Chu Xi propped her forehead on her hand and sighed softly, thinking that this was worse than continuing to sleep in the tents.
Relying on this group of people, half of whom were dead weight, what kind of nice hotel could they possibly end up in?
The moment her sigh ended was the exact same moment Zhao Shiqing answered the question incorrectly.
Unfortunately, her sigh was heavy and tinged with helplessness, making it hard for anyone who heard it not to assume she was silently complaining about Zhao Shiqing.
Even Zhao Shiqing's face stiffened, and she shot Chu Xi a complicated glance.
The large pendulum moved closer, parallel to the Y-axis where everyone was standing.
Luo Yangtian stared intently to his left without blinking and yelled, "That's enough, that's enough, Director!! Whoa, isn't that enough?! Moving closer by five points is way too much!!"
The pendulum stopped its forward motion and began to swing. Thankfully, as the whistling wind swept past his eyes, Luo Yangtian estimated that the pendulum was still about a foot away from him.
He let out a long sigh of relief. "Phew- I can still mess around."
Ren Zhi asked with concern, "Director, you have to at least tell us how many Golden Apple questions are left, right?"
For once, the Director was sincere. "There are four left, but I won't tell you where they're hidden."
Chu Xi remained silent, her mind racing.
According to the Director, there were five Golden Apple questions in total.
And the first one was under the letter 'O.'
'O'... What does O represent?
The 5x5 grid of 25 English letters on the board were all unique...
She didn't believe the letters were arranged randomly; there had to be some kind of pattern hidden within.
Suddenly, inspiration struck Chu Xi.
The results of their quiz would determine the hotel they would stay in for the next seven days in Jinwu Town.
The word for hotel is 'hotel.'
H-O-T-E-L.
O is the second letter in the word.
Now she knew which four letters held the remaining four Golden Apple questions.
It was plain as day.
Although she had figured it out, just as this round began, Luo Yangtian immediately threw away 4 points on a difficult 4-point question.
Luo Yangtian laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, my brothers and sisters."
Xiao Han drew the easiest 1-point question and was finally able to answer it correctly with ease.
When it was Li Xiling's turn, she actually got another 4-point question.
【What was the full name of the third torchbearer to appear at the 2000 Olympic Games?】
Who the hell knows that?!
Besides, it must be a foreigner, and we have to give the full name!?
Director, if you want us to lose points, just say so!
The Director's intentions were painfully obvious to everyone!
Even the audience could see what a troll this Director was.
【The Director is so nice, lol. He could have just deducted their points directly, but he let them answer a few more questions first.】
【Director, why don't you just skip the formalities and send them straight to a youth hostel.】
【Luo Yangtian's 4-point question was at least somewhat reasonable, but Ling's... Ling: I'm so done with this!】
Li Xiling stood frozen, rolled her eyes dramatically, and gave up the struggle.
Her brothers and sisters would understand. It wasn't her fault she couldn't answer this question!
The real culprit was the detestable Director!
Now, the turn to answer fell to Ren Zhi. The negative scoreboard had already accumulated 8 points.
If she drew a Golden Apple question and got it wrong, the pendulum would move according to that score, and Luo Yangtian would be eliminated for sure.
Ren Zhi's heart was in turmoil.
She had already realized that the key to this game was answering the Golden Apple questions correctly.
But... she neither knew which letter hid a Golden Apple question, nor was she 100% confident she could answer it correctly if she drew one.
That's why she felt so conflicted.
Because while she was afraid that her own ability might not be up to the task, she was even more worried that if Li Xiling or Xiao Han-the two 'game black holes'-drew the fateful Golden Apple question, it would be even more dangerous than if she drew it herself.
Ren Zhi's heart began to race. She stared at the board, unconsciously pursing her lips.
Just then, Chu Xi asked her with amusement, "What are you spacing out for? Do you also think this quiz game is super boring? I think we'd be better off playing Fight the Landlord. My favorite part of card games is playing the King Bomb-it's the best feeling."
Li Xiling thought that made a lot of sense and chimed in, "Yeah, yeah! Director, you made this so complicated, I don't even get it. Next time, just have us play mahjong instead. That's way more fun!"
The others started chiming in one after another, complaining about the Director and how having such a huge hammer swinging nearby was too stressful.
The Director smiled slyly. "Players must abide by the rules of the game."
He was clearly very pleased with his masterpiece of a design.
Amidst all the chaotic chatter, however, Ren Zhi only paid attention to what Chu Xi had said.
One sentence echoed in her mind, as if she and Chu Xi had established a magical, unspoken understanding.
Chu Xi mentioned Fight the Landlord, and the King Bomb.
The card for the King Bomb is the King.
The abbreviation for King is K.
So... could Chu Xi be hinting that she should choose the letter K?
The fact that she even thought of this-could it be that she and Chu Xi really had that kind of chemistry?
For a second, Ren Zhi wondered if she was over-interpreting things, but the moment she saw the smiling look in Chu Xi's eyes, a strong feeling arose, affirming her intuition.
She believed her train of thought had connected with Chu Xi's eccentric mind, just like an old-fashioned underground party rendezvous.
She believed this was Chu Xi's hint.
Because the question for the letter 'K' had indeed not been chosen yet.
When she heard Ren Zhi say she was choosing 'K,' Chu Xi's brow smoothed into a smile, and she let out a sigh of relief.
Two people who sleep in the same tent don't turn out that different.
It seems Ren Zhi is pretty smart after all.
Chu Xi didn't want Ren Zhi to pick a Golden Apple question, and this letter K was just a regular point question.
Ren Zhi correctly answered a 2-point question, the difficulty of which was nothing to her.
Now, looking at the two scoreboards, the positive board had accumulated 3 points, and the negative board had accumulated 8 points.
Chu Xi sighed. Even though the situation was shit, she had no choice but to pick a Golden Apple question now. If she left it for someone else to choose, the odds would be even worse.
"I choose 'H'."
A crew member flipped over the top half of H, revealing an apple, just as expected.
It seemed the Golden Apple questions were indeed the five letters of the word 'HOTEL.'
Just as the crew member was about to reveal the bottom half of H, the Director suddenly picked up a megaphone and stopped him. "Wait a minute, I'll be asking this question myself, live!"
Luo Yangtian, who had just been celebrating for three seconds: "??!"
"Director, how could you do this? If you want to smash me, just say so! You can't play like this!"
He had just been thinking that with Chu Xi answering the Golden Apple question, he would be safe for another round. Who knew the Director would play dirty and suddenly jump in!
The Director, full of mischievous intent, laughed and repeated his famous motto.
"Hehehe, players must abide by the rules of the game."
After being thwarted by Chu Xi so many times before, it was finally his turn to screw her over for once.
Chu Xi nodded faintly, accepting it calmly. "Alright, Director. As long as you're happy."
The Director hadn't even noticed her passing a hint to Ren Zhi just now, nor was he aware that she had cracked his pattern for hiding the Golden Apple questions. And he thought he could scheme against her?
She gave the Director a slight smile-polite, but not by much.
Comments
Post a Comment