WS - Chapter 58
Chapter 58
The remaining five spoke listlessly, occasionally glancing at the two who had left. Dozens of meters away, Captain Yang and Zhuang Jiachuan stood by a tree. In the deepening twilight, even Zhuang Jiachuan's silhouette radiated exhaustion.
They half-jokingly, half-seriously talked about slacking off and just pressing the tree later. But Ning Chuyang had also noticed that Captain Yang hadn't explained how they'd be grouped after the rankings.
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but after glancing at Song Shiyue and then at Yu Nianbing, Ning Chuyang swallowed them for now.
If the grouping followed the production team's original plan, she would definitely be paired with Mu Xingzhou, while the other two men and two women would be mixed into two groups. Before, that arrangement would have been fine. Ning Chuyang hadn't found shipping CP with Mu Xingzhou unpleasant—it was a mutually beneficial arrangement, harmless and advantageous. But... ever since arriving on Mingtan Planet, Mu Xingzhou had been a bit off. Not bad, exactly, just terribly distracted.
If he was distracted about the show's filming, he was even less invested in the CP shipping. When Ning Chuyang had initiated conversation several times before, his responses had been lukewarm, so she hadn't pushed further. After all, this was a collaboration between two companies—she wasn't about to be the only one desperately clinging to him. Under these circumstances, being in a team together—CP or not—just wasn't very appealing.
Thinking this, Ning Chuyang glanced at Song Shiyue again.
If she had to say who among this group she most wanted to team up with, Song Shiyue would be her first choice without question. Without Song Shiyue, being paired with any of the others was pretty much the same.
Who else could casually pick up a rock and kill a snake in the distance, or carve up an entire cow into pieces? In this wilderness, was there anyone who inspired more of a sense of safety than Song Shiyue?
No one.
Ning Chuyang dared say that privately, everyone wanted to be on Song Shiyue's team.
If they could freely choose, Ning Chuyang felt she would still have a decent chance—her only rival would be Yu Nianbing. Unfortunately, the production team was bound to pull plenty of tricks here and wouldn't let them have it so easily.
"Teacher Zhuang is really giving it his all..." Guan Yongyi watched the figure slowly inching up the distant tree and sighed. "If we just follow what we talked about earlier later, do you think he'll be really mad?"
"Teacher Zhuang stepped forward so fast earlier, we didn't even have time to discuss it together," Mu Xingzhou said, kneading his own tight, sore leg muscles. He added, "Looks like tonight we'll just have to give Teacher Zhuang a massage as compensation."
"Watching one person struggle all alone does seem a bit pitiful. But I honestly can't climb anymore." Ning Chuyang tilted her head up and asked, "What about you, Song Shiyue? Can you still climb?"
Song Shiyue nodded. "Pretty much. Should I climb up a bit to keep Teacher Zhuang company? If we just end it without even getting up the tree, won't Teacher Zhuang be disheartened?"
As expected. Ning Chuyang sighed inwardly at how formidable Song Shiyue was, but aloud she followed up, "Do you still have the strength to climb really high? Higher than Teacher Zhuang?"
Song Shiyue paused at the question, instinctively looking toward Zhuang Jiachuan—and saw that he had already started climbing down.
"Is Teacher Zhuang coming down? How high did he get?" Song Shiyue asked.
"Over three meters. About three-point-five, three-point-six meters," Yu Nianbing said coolly.
What's the matter? Is something bothering her? Song Shiyue looked at Yu Nianbing with some confusion, but the latter remained silent.
"That's pretty high," Ning Chuyang said, and asked Song Shiyue again, "So can you go even higher?"
"Is there really a need to climb that high..." Song Shiyue indeed wasn't tired, but seeing Zhuang Jiachuan descending the tree with trembling hands and feet, she felt no need to surpass him.
Everyone was already planning to just squat, stand, or hop to press a handprint. Even if she made a bit more effort to climb with Zhuang Jiachuan, seeing how hard he was struggling, there was no point competing for first place.
Song Shiyue hadn't explicitly said whether she could or couldn't, but everyone could see she had no intention of surpassing Zhuang Jiachuan.
Ning Chuyang didn't press further; she was simply calculating in her mind.
If the production team paired them by the principle of strong helping weak, then if Song Shiyue got second place, she herself would need to get fifth to be paired with her. The safest approach would be to first clarify Captain Yang's pairing rules, then go last. That way, she could see everyone else's results beforehand—the safest bet.
Thinking this, Ning Chuyang couldn't help but clasp her hands inwardly and offer Yu Nianbing a silent apology.
But if Ning Chuyang could figure this out, how could Yu Nianbing not?
Pairing matters: for the production team, it was only useful if the interaction between the paired members had viewing appeal.
Three men, three women, no same-sex inclinations, so the pairings would naturally be mixed-gender. Thinking this far, Yu Nianbing suddenly sensed something off. But that time half a year ago had only been a fake confession, and surely the production team knew it. If they intended to pair her with Song Shiyue, the guest gender ratio would have been adjusted. Plus, Song Shiyue was practically a last-minute replacement for Yao Mingzhu, so in the production team's original plan, the pairings would definitely have been mixed-gender.
So, in a segment where placement was determined by personal ability, how would the production team control the final result to match what they wanted?
Strong-weak pairing? Pairing those of similar ability? Having the highest-ranking choose freely? Or using the high-low ranking as the order for drawing lots? Without clarifying the actual grouping principle, there were far too many ways for the production team to manipulate things.
But... there was no value in speculating further.
Yu Nianbing gently rubbed the hand that had been intertwined with Song Shiyue's earlier.
That past incident had never been anything earth-shattering—just an emergency phone call. Even if you could barely call it a life-saving favor, the king cobra incident had already repaid it with interest. Not to mention all the care along the way... No matter how strong she was, that slender wrist had served as a crutch for nearly an hour—that was more than enough to clear that fake confession. She still owed her. Right now, it was only normal that she didn't want to be on the same team as her.
Where was the lifelong debt of gratitude, the lifelong kindness?
She had repaid it, and more—hadn't asked for more, hadn't deceived again. It truly was the best possible ending.
So be it.
Yu Nianbing didn't join the discussion, nor did she bother analyzing the production team's design here. Her thoughts lingered more on the inexplicable tightness in her own heart.
So this was how it was—people getting close was just so troublesome. Without noticing, you got too close, developed expectations, and what followed... was disappointment.
Everyone was lamenting the hardship, dreading the tree climb, but Yu Nianbing was regretting. She regretted that the day she had accompanied someone to the hospital and notified Wang Mancang, she hadn't simply left in time.
Over here, Yu Nianbing was rushing to freeze her feelings, competing against some invisible clock. Beside her, Song Shiyue, busy chatting back and forth with Ning Chuyang about the tree and Zhuang Jiachuan, had no sense at all that in certain respects, she had already been banished three thousand leagues away by a certain someone.
Zhuang Jiachuan walked back alone. He called out Guan Yongyi's name and told him to go climb next.
Ning Chuyang immediately asked Zhuang Jiachuan if he'd questioned Captain Yang about the final teaming principle.
Zhuang Jiachuan actually had asked, but Captain Yang had simply given him a deeply meaningful look and replied, "You'll find out in a moment."
Because of his deal with the production team, after receiving that look from Captain Yang, Zhuang Jiachuan hadn't dared to press further. This Captain Yang always seemed to be full of cryptic nonsense—if he asked too many questions, who knew if the captain might expose his secrets...
That deeply meaningful look was not something to be shared with others, so Zhuang Jiachuan merely repeated Captain Yang's answer.
Ning Chuyang felt a surge of frustration. He'd already asked—how could he not have gotten a clear answer...
Yet among those present, most were only somewhat curious. It seemed only Ning Chuyang genuinely cared about how the teams would be split.
Ning Chuyang couldn't help glancing at Yu Nianbing. In the past, when confronting Captain Yang, the two of them had coordinated perfectly—every thrust found its mark. If they went together, they were bound to wheedle out everything. But the moment Ning Chuyang's gaze landed on Yu Nianbing, she immediately withdrew it.
Patting her startled chest lightly, Ning Chuyang sighed inwardly. Almost forgot—she and Yu Nianbing are rivals now.
The next to go was Guan Yongyi. Ning Chuyang could only feign curiosity and urge him to ask more.
Though she held little hope. Everyone just wanted to finish quickly and rest, and Guan Yongyi was an honest soul.
Guan Yongyi had said he'd just climb casually, but once there, he still went up over a meter before coming down.
He returned with two sighs, explaining that Captain Yang had started off by lavishly praising Teacher Zhuang, then piled several things on him—hard to tell if they were flattering hats or pitfalls. After a few exchanges, he'd found himself cornered and had no choice but to climb a stretch.
A meter and change wasn't Guan Yongyi's true capability; it really did seem like he'd been forced by Captain Yang's words.
As for the question Ning Chuyang had asked him to pose, he hadn't even had the chance.
Next was Mu Xingzhou. Ning Chuyang had already lost hope in the others and decided to ask herself when her turn came. Besides, with them calling people one by one like this, her hope of going last was probably dashed too.
Compared to the honest Guan Yongyi, Mu Xingzhou saw through Captain Yang's words at a glance—they were just meant to make everyone toil a little harder, then harder still. But since the first two had both climbed, Mu Xingzhou couldn't quite bring himself to just slap the tree in front of him and call it done.
Before long, Mu Xingzhou, having climbed half a meter, also returned.
The next called was Ning Chuyang.
If Ning Chuyang had been dead set on going last, she could have stalled right now using exhaustion or sore legs as an excuse, letting the other two go first. But although she desperately wanted to team up with Song Shiyue, she ultimately couldn't bring herself to such a shameless trick. So she could only cast a deep look at Song Shiyue and silently tell herself, Let fate decide, before heading over.
Heaven only knew—Ning Chuyang, who had originally planned to at least scramble up a few steps, perhaps because her mind was too weighed down, tripped and fell the moment she reached the tree. If she hadn't instinctively pressed a hand against the tree, she would have cracked her head.
In the end her head was fine, but her knee was scraped raw. She couldn't climb the tree, and her handprint ended up on the lowest part of the trunk, nearly touching the soil. It was even lower than the squatting-and-pressing they'd joked about earlier.
Ning Chuyang, lying flat, pressed once, then tearfully waited on the spot for Ni Jinghe to come apply medicine. Captain Yang therefore made the trip personally to summon Yu Nianbing and Song Shiyue over.
Since no order was specified, Song Shiyue naturally deferred to Yu Nianbing.
But before Yu Nianbing stepped up, Song Shiyue asked, "Once the handprint rankings are calculated, how will the final teams be assigned?"
Captain Yang fastened Yu Nianbing's safety buckle and, without even glancing at Song Shiyue, answered nonchalantly, "You'll find out once all the prints are done."
Yu Nianbing slowly turned her head to look at Song Shiyue. A trace of confusion surfaced: Her asking this—does she care about who she teams with? Could she want to be with me...
No.
Yu Nianbing's eyes went cold.
Whether she does or doesn't—let it go.
If she hadn't thought about it before, what meaning was there in thinking about it now?
Song Shiyue had no idea of the disappointment Yu Nianbing felt right now, nor did she know that in certain matters, Yu Nianbing couldn't bear even the slightest hint of disappointment. Just a little bit, and she would exile it three thousand leagues away...
At this moment, Song Shiyue's full attention was fixed on Captain Yang.
In the past, Yu Nianbing and Ning Chuyang had been the ones to challenge rule loopholes together. But now one was silent and the other was crying, so Song Shiyue had to step up herself.
"You told us to climb the trees, and we all climbed properly. So the rules need to be explained properly too." Song Shiyue's face was full of righteousness. "With the same rankings, if the teaming rules are different, there are far too many possible combinations. If that's the case, what was the point of us working so hard to climb the trees?"
"Alright, go ahead and climb." Captain Yang shook the safety rope, speaking to Yu Nianbing.
"Wait." Song Shiyue reached out as if to check the safety rope.
But her outstretched hand was brushed aside by Yu Nianbing.
"No need." The two simple words from Yu Nianbing made Song Shiyue feel as if she'd just stepped into a walk-in freezer.
Throughout this journey, Song Shiyue knew that she and Yu Nianbing had given Captain Yang plenty of embarrassing moments. Ning Chuyang had never planned to climb properly anyway, so that was one thing. But Yu Nianbing hadn't said a word about how she'd climb or how high. Even if it meant acting like a petty person, Song Shiyue still wanted to check her safety rope.
"Still..." Song Shiyue didn't withdraw her hand.
Mid-sentence, Yu Nianbing shot her a glance, and then, as if in a fit of pique, squatted down and pressed a handprint directly beneath the one Ning Chuyang had accidentally left when she fell.
"Done." Yu Nianbing straightened up and began removing the safety rope.
"Teacher Yu, that's not quite right, is it? We agreed on climbing the tree." Captain Yang suppressed his temper, forcing a smile as he coaxed, "I'm not saying you need to climb high, but you should at least climb a little, right?"
"No strength left. Didn't you see Ning Chuyang's legs were so weak she fell? If I climb, I'll fall too. Is Captain Yang going to carry us on his back tomorrow?" As Yu Nianbing unfastened the safety rope, she said icily, "Wilderness survival is foremost about ensuring your own safety and staying alive. I'm doing exactly that right now."
Captain Yang: "..."
What more could he say? He could never out-talk her anyway.
So he could only watch helplessly as Yu Nianbing removed the safety rope and that was that.
"Next." Captain Yang gritted his teeth and swallowed his anger. It wasn't the first time he'd swallowed it, and he was actually starting to get used to it.
"I'm someone who follows the rules. Before I climb, I want to know: what's the principle for forming teams?" The righteous expression on Song Shiyue's face didn't waver. "Could it be that you're planning to wait until after we've climbed the trees, then pick a teaming rule accordingly—so no matter how we climb, the final pairings will be whatever was planned from the start?"
"Teacher Song, don't overthink it. Captain Yang just wanted to give everyone a bit of novelty. Actually, the teaming principle is quite simple. Taking into account the physical differences between men and women, we'll rank the three male guests as A, B, C, and the three female guests as 1, 2, 3. Then we pair A with 3, B with 2, C with 1—strong with weak," Director Zhang, who had been crouching to the side, explained before Captain Yang could speak.
"Why does a man and a woman count as strong-weak pairing?" Song Shiyue looked at Captain Yang defiantly. "I recall Captain Yang saying that in this day and age, men and women are equal. In the wilderness, everyone has to work hard to survive—there's no difference between men and women. You can't discriminate based on gender."
Director Zhang: "..." I finally calculated which plan to use to ensure Zhuang Jiachuan and Yu Nianbing end up together, and now what is Song Shiyue trying to pull?
Director Zhang, whom everyone had gradually let off the hook, still hadn't quite caught on. But Captain Yang, who just over an hour ago had been tag-teamed by Yu Nianbing and Song Shiyue into speechlessness, had begun to taste the flavor.
Oh, so you don't want mixed-gender pairing? Have you two gotten addicted to teaming up against people?
And indeed—this wild girl Song Shiyue, if her tree-climbing skill was even half of her snake-killing skill, she could easily surpass Zhuang Jiachuan. If they dropped the gender divide and only looked at ability, with Yu Nianbing taking last place and Song Shiyue taking first, these two young women would end up on the same team.
Dreaming of nice things, are we?
Captain Yang felt he had seen through Yu Nianbing and Song Shiyue's plan. The look he gave the two was undisguised smugness.
"What's this? Captain Yang's own words from noon don't count anymore? When we ate bugs, there was no gender discrimination—only equal effort. Now suddenly it doesn't count?" Seeing no one answer, Song Shiyue naturally fixed her sights on the one on camera.
"Of course they count." The mental abacus in Captain Yang's head clicked away rapidly. He chuckled, "But the rules aren't yours to change just because you say so. Since you want to disregard gender and only look at ability, we'll give you that concession—that's a reasonable request. But no further demands."
Song Shiyue looked at Director Zhang.
Director Zhang remained silent, effectively aiding neither side.
"Fine. But clarify the rules before I climb." Song Shiyue knew she couldn't push any further; at least she hadn't started climbing yet.
"Of course." Captain Yang nodded and spoke without pause. "For team formation, we have the strong-weak pairing method. However, it seems you're not too satisfied with that. So then, let's use the equal-ability pairing method, where teams divide labor by specialization. People of equal ability act together, and teams of different ability levels take on different workloads within the group. Since we're talking about fairness, because hand sizes vary, if the height of a handprint overlaps with the height of another handprint, it will go to a drawing of lots."
Something doesn't seem right. Song Shiyue furrowed her brow slightly, but before she could think it through, Captain Yang spoke again.
"We've already taken your input onboard and made improvements. Nothing more. Climb." Captain Yang picked up the safety rope and shoved it into Song Shiyue's hands.
Song Shiyue looked at the base of the tree—beneath Ning Chuyang's handprint, pressed right up against it, was Yu Nianbing's handprint, exactly at the root of the tree, with dirt just below.
No matter how I press, wouldn't it count as overlapping...
"How exactly will the drawing of lots work?" Song Shiyue knew Captain Yang had probably seen through her intentions, so there was no harm in asking clearly.
"Everyone draws again from scratch." Captain Yang smiled. "Otherwise it really would be too hard to calculate."
"Now you're just playing dirty, aren't you?" Yu Nianbing hadn't left. She too had long since seen through Song Shiyue's intentions—if she wasn't mistaken.
"How is that playing dirty? After all, this was originally a segment about ranking by ability, but everyone seems to have their own little schemes and isn't taking it very seriously. The drawing of lots is also a kind of correction." Captain Yang wasn't afraid to lay things out openly. What, you're allowed to call out the production team's schemes, but I'm not allowed to call out yours?
"But..." Yu Nianbing naturally wasn't about to let Captain Yang's twisted logic slide so easily.
But Song Shiyue stopped her.
"No more changes to the rules?" Song Shiyue asked.
Captain Yang shook his head.
"The first five all don't overlap, right?" Song Shiyue asked again.
Captain Yang continued shaking his head.
Song Shiyue nodded. "Fine."
Fine? Yu Nianbing's heart sank. Could it be that she wasn't trying to...
Just as Yu Nianbing was thinking this, the next moment, she saw Song Shiyue pull out the stone knife.
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