Chapter 35

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Chapter 35: Title

Song Yutian looked around the whole bar again.

It was afternoon, and it wasn’t a busy time yet, so there weren’t many customers. In her view, besides Gu Feng, who was searching near the bar, there was only—

Song Yutian blinked.

Gu Feng had been searching for a long time without finding anything, and just then he turned around and asked Song Yutian, "Have you found anything?"

Song Yutian walked past Gu Feng and said to the bartender, "Hello, may I see your pendant?"

Song Yutian pointed to the area near her collarbone.

The bartender was wearing a shirt and vest uniform, with the last button of her shirt fastened. Only upon closer inspection could one see a simple silver chain around her neck, with the pendant hiding under the collar.

The bartender first glanced at Song Yutian and then suddenly smiled.

Song Yutian knew she was right.

Earlier, she had been misled by the staff’s comment, "The treasure is hidden in the corners of the restaurant," and had instinctively assumed that the treasure must be in a hard-to-find place.

So she had been searching for hidden drawers or secret compartments, even wondering if there was something concealed behind the decorated wall.

But what if the treasure wasn’t placed in a container, but instead was on a person?

Wasn’t the most famous line from that note about the "person" being in the dim light?

Under Song Yutian’s gaze, the bartender retrieved the pendant from the silver chain around her neck and pulled it out from her shirt. It turned out that what was tied to the end of the silver chain was not a charm but an emerald ring.

The bartender reached behind her neck, took off the necklace, and handed it to Song Yutian. "Congratulations!"

Song Yutian took the ring and smiled, saying, "Thank you."

"By the way, Sister Yutian, can I call you that? Could you give me your autograph?" The bartender pulled out a small notebook from beneath the bar, her expression and tone suddenly changing as if she had become a different person.

Seeing the slightly surprised look across from her, the bartender girl smiled brightly. "Hehe, I was just acting as the character I designed—a mature and charming elder martial sister! How did I do?"

Because the lighting here was dim and the girl wore heavy makeup, it was hard to tell her age. But now, she was no longer lowering her voice, and her expressions were very lively, making her look just like a cheerful and vivacious young girl.

Song Yutian laughed. "You did great; I couldn’t tell at all."

The girl beamed even more. "Thank you for the compliment, Sister Yutian. My name is Bai Yuqing. I just got accepted into the drama school’s acting department this year, and I’m here for a part-time job during the summer."

The girl enthusiastically chatted with Song Yutian and now introduced herself, mentioning her full name, school, and major, making Song Yutian somewhat aware of her intentions.

However, Song Yutian did not dislike such subtle maneuvering. On the contrary, she admired girls who dared to show themselves and actively sought opportunities.

So she sincerely praised, "No wonder! I think you have great talent for acting. You really captured the characters well, and your delivery of the lines was spot on."

Surprised to receive such praise, Bai Yuqing exclaimed, "Really? Thank you, Sister Yutian! I watched your live show while resting yesterday, and I really liked you! The way you pulled the rickshaw was just brilliant!"

After saying this, she seemed to notice something and looked at Gu Feng beside her, adding, "Brother Gu Feng, I like you a lot too!"

However, even the audience could tell that this line was completely improvised.

Gu Feng also noticed this, and his expression shifted slightly, especially remembering how he had just boasted to Song Yutian about the girl’s active "favor."

Nonetheless, he maintained his composure and nodded. "Thank you."

"Ah, right." The girl suddenly remembered something and took out a small velvet box from somewhere, handing it to Song Yutian. "This is a jewelry box. When you go back to the tea house, give this box and the ring to the owner, and that will complete your task."

After spending most of the day searching, Song Yutian and Gu Feng returned to the tea shop where the competition had started in the morning.

However, this time, only their group was there.

The two handed the box containing the ring to the lady of the tea house.

The woman took a glance at it, put it away, and smiled, saying, "Congratulations on finding the treasure! What kind of tea would you like to drink, or what snacks would you like? Although you returned early, the director told me that we have to wait for all the contestants to come back before the next part of the show begins."

It seemed that they were the first to return to the tea house.

Gu Feng looked a bit down and told Song Yutian to just order anything. Since they had just eaten at the restaurant, Song Yutian wasn’t hungry either, so she ordered a pot of West Lake Longjing tea and a plate of mung bean cake.

The tea house owner moved quickly, and the snacks and tea were soon served.

Song Yutian had changed back into her casual clothes, and now, sitting by the window, she sipped her tea while watching the people pass by outside. After two and a half days of competition, it was nice to take a moment to clear her mind and relax.

Gu Feng was also looking out the window.

However, even though his gaze was fixed outside, his thoughts lingered on what had happened before.

Why was Lu Qiao there? And he had even invited Song Yutian to dance? Even though Gu Feng had known Lu Qiao for a long time, he had never connected these two people before. Yet today, they were actually dancing in front of him…

All of this was completely beyond Gu Feng’s imagination.

Thinking of this, Gu Feng casually glanced at Song Yutian.

Song Yutian was smiling as she looked out the window.

What was she thinking? Was she also thinking about that person…?

This thought suddenly made Gu Feng feel a twinge of unease in his heart.

Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing interrupted his thoughts.

He instinctively reached for his phone, then realized the sound was coming from Song Yutian’s side. The phones given by the program group all had the default ringtone, and neither he nor Song Yutian had changed it.

"Hello?" Song Yutian answered the phone.

The game today was already over, so she didn’t use the speaker this time.

On the other end was Liu Tian’s hesitant voice, "Hello, is this Sister Yutian?"

Song Yutian replied with a small "Hmm."

The voice on the other side became urgent. "Sister Yutian! Please come and help me and Xin Xin, we really don’t know what to do!"

Hearing this, Song Yutian sat up slightly and frowned. "What’s wrong? Are you in some danger?"

Liu Tian seemed to pause for a moment. "Huh? What?"

Then, in the background, a girl’s voice could be heard, and the phone was taken over by another voice. "No, no, we’re fine, very safe. Sister Yutian, I am An Xin."

Hearing her say that everything was okay, Song Yutian felt relieved and said, "Hmm, I’m listening."

Song Yutian heard An Xin saying to Liu Tian, "You silly! Why are you in such a hurry? Sister Yutian might think we’re in danger."

Liu Tian must have replied something, but Song Yutian didn’t hear it clearly.

An Xin continued talking on the phone. "It’s like this, Sister Yutian. We have been at the Mahjong hall for more than two hours. We were the third to arrive. Sister Xi and Brother Yueli came after us, but now Moying and Yao Yao have already left, and only we are still here."

Song Yutian didn’t completely understand. "What happened? Didn’t we just need to win three rounds to get a clue? Did they make it harder for us?"

An Xin said, "Yes, it’s to win three rounds, but…"

Song Yutian listened a little longer and finally understood the situation.

Before, Song Yutian and Gu Feng were the first to arrive and quickly won three rounds, so they didn’t know the full rules. It turned out there was a rule that if two groups were waiting and one group lost twice in a row, the next group would take their place.

So, even though Wei Yao and Gong Yu and Su Moying and Qin Yuanzhuo arrived later, they got the clue before An Xin and the others. In the end, after everyone else left, only Liu Tian and An Xin remained. The two of them had never played Mahjong before, and the NPC tried hard to help but still couldn’t get them to win before they ran out of tiles.

The NPC couldn’t just play for them, and after two hours, only An Xin had accidentally won one round. At this rate, it would be dark before they could win three rounds.

As time passed, Liu Tian, feeling anxious, remembered that the NPC had said Song Yutian was the strongest among the players and came up with this plan.

The NPC and the staff nearby saw that the two were in such a bad situation, so they silently agreed.

After An Xin finished speaking, she said, "So, Sister Yutian, I don’t know if you are busy right now? If you have some free time, could you come help us? Otherwise, I’m afraid even if we had another two hours, we still wouldn’t pass this level."

Liu Tian’s voice came through too. "Yes, Sister Yutian, please!"

"Wait a moment," Song Yutian said, then asked a staff member nearby, "As long as the rules don’t forbid it and it’s allowed, players can use their skills freely, right?"

The staff member: …

Besides nodding, what else could he say?

Song Yutian stood up and walked toward the door.

From behind came Gu Feng’s voice. "Where are you going?"

Song Yutian said, "Going to help out. I’ll be back soon."

Four o’clock in the afternoon.

Five contestants, several staff members, and the Chief Director gathered in the tea house.

Apart from Gu Feng, who arrived the earliest, Shen Xi, Zhong Yueli, Su Moying, and Qin Yuanzhuo had arrived not long ago. Everyone sat together on nearby chairs, chatting with each other. Shen Xi kept teasing Gu Feng and Su Moying, while Su Moying shyly denied it.

Then, Gong Yu and Wei Yao walked in from outside.

The two looked a bit down and weren’t carrying anything.

Observant viewers might notice that the atmosphere between Wei Yao and Gong Yu was a little strange.

And viewers who saw the two from a different angle knew that they had just had a small disagreement. Of course, in front of the camera, they didn’t really "argue," but by the end, their tones were clearly not very pleasant, and then they both stopped talking.

At that moment, in the cinema, Wei Yao felt that searching for clues one by one was too slow and definitely not what the program group intended. However, Gong Yu thought that instead of opposing him, Wei Yao should help him search together, as they might have already found something.

The two of them, exchanging words back and forth, somehow ended up talking about Song Yutian again.

Gong Yu said, "We are teammates, Yao Yao. Why can’t you try to trust me completely? I feel like you trust me less than you trust others."

Wei Yao replied, "This is not a matter of trust; it’s just that you always want me to follow your lead. Shouldn’t we discuss things together as teammates? And what do you mean I trust others more than you? Are you trying to say—"

Gong Yu interrupted, "Yes, I’m trying to say Song Yutian. Why do you listen to her but not to me?"

Wei Yao said, "That has nothing to do with it. I listen to Song Yutian because she is right, not because—"

Gong Yu interrupted Wei Yao again. "So what I say isn’t right?"

Then, Wei Yao fell silent.

After a moment, Wei Yao started searching for clues with Gong Yu, going through each seat in silence.

At first, Gong Yu thought Wei Yao had given in, so he took the initiative to be nice and try to "cheer" Wei Yao up. But after trying twice, Wei Yao ignored him each time. The show was still being recorded, and no one could maintain a perfect image all the time. Gong Yu was also very tired, so eventually, he just stopped talking altogether.

The atmosphere between the two of them had been awkward since that moment and continued until now.

Just after Wei Yao and Gong Yu sat down, the door of the tea house was pushed open again, and this time, Song Yutian walked in.

Each time someone entered, the candidates who were already there looked up to see who it was, and if it was also a candidate, they stood up to greet them.

When they saw Song Yutian, the seven people who were already there, including Gong Yu and Wei Yao, who had just sat down, all stood up again.

Song Yutian waved at a few girls first, and then she heard Gong Yu say, "Yutian, why are you so late? Come sit down quickly."

Song Yutian felt a bit confused; when had Gong Yu become so friendly towards her?

But she nodded in response and then walked over to sit with everyone.

Gu Feng sat next to Su Moying, and Song Yutian took a seat beside Wei Yao, across from Gong Yu.

Gong Yu kept talking to her, "Yutian, why did you come back later than me and Yao Yao? Did you face a really difficult challenge?"

Song Yutian was surprised by Gong Yu’s sudden concern for her team, but his question was nothing she couldn’t answer. She thought about the challenge in the restaurant and replied, "It was okay, a bit difficult." After all, she had only succeeded on her second try, and she had used a trick in the rules.

After hearing this, Gong Yu said in a comforting tone, "It’s okay, it’s okay. None of us are perfect. It’s normal to struggle with difficult challenges."

After saying this, Gong Yu looked over at Wei Yao, and his eyes seemed to say, "See, even Song Yutian, who you think can do no wrong, didn’t succeed in her challenge."

Gong Yu had noticed as soon as he entered the tea house that Song Yutian was not there, but Gu Feng was.

Remembering his conversations with Wei Yao and observing how he treated Gu Feng over the past few days, Gong Yu quickly concluded that Song Yutian’s group must have had a fight. Moreover, it must have been a big argument, big enough that Gu Feng left Song Yutian alone and came back to the tea house.

When he saw Song Yutian come in by herself, without anything in her hands, it further confirmed Gong Yu’s guess.

It seemed that after the two of them had a fight, Gu Feng didn’t care about the results, so he just gave up. Meanwhile, Song Yutian felt embarrassed and insisted on searching for a long time by herself.

In Gong Yu’s eyes, Song Yutian had been able to win yesterday because she had the advantage of knowing Gu Feng and the brand. Without Gu Feng’s help this time, Song Yutian surely couldn’t complete the challenge and could only return empty-handed, just like he did, after the director’s team announced that all the treasures had been found.

The more Gong Yu thought about it, the more he felt that all the details matched up. He guessed that he was definitely right.

Song Yutian glanced at Gong Yu and could roughly guess what he was thinking. He assumed she came back late because she had failed the challenge.

However, Gong Yu did not ask, so Song Yutian did not explain.

Wei Yao, having heard this, asked Song Yutian with concern, "Yutian, was today’s competition not going well?"

Song Yutian smiled at Wei Yao, "Not really, how should I put it? Overall, it went quite smoothly."

Wei Yao still seemed a bit worried and said hesitantly, "Really? I saw you just returned alone, is that…"

Gong Yu chimed in from the side, "Yes, Yutian, what exactly happened?"

Song Yutian shot Gong Yu a look.

Gong Yu said shyly, "Yao Yao and I care about you a lot."

One hour earlier.

In the Mahjong hall of Madam Wang, on the first floor.

A young man and woman stood near the door, as if waiting for someone to arrive.

Seeing that familiar figure, Liu Tian excitedly waved, "Sister Yutian! You came to save us!"

In contrast, An Xin looked a bit shy. "Sister Yutian, could you please come here? We didn’t interrupt your game, did we?"

Song Yutian smiled and shook her head. "Not at all, shall we go up?"

Liu Tian immediately said, "Great! I’ll lead the way, Sister Yutian, follow me!" Then, he walked up the stairs.

An Xin, following behind them, said, "Liu Tian, why are you leading the way? Sister Yutian has been here before."

Liu Tian replied with a smile, "You don’t understand, this shows how eager I am!"

Amid their playful banter, the three of them went upstairs and entered the room.

The woman with curly hair looked surprised and said, "Miss Song, they really called you here!"

The short-haired woman smiled and said, "Then we must stay very focused this time."

Liu Tian immediately protested from the side, "Sister! Since XinXin has already been here for more than two hours, can’t you ease up a little?"

The short-haired woman shook her head with a smile, "Good brother, we almost handed you the cards just now; do you think we’re not being easy enough?"

One couldn’t help but admire Liu Tian’s social skills; in just two hours, he had already grown familiar with the three women in the room.

"Alright, alright, stop teasing him," the curly-haired woman said with a laugh, then turned to Song Yutian and said, "Miss Song, we won’t deliberately make things hard for you, but we also won’t let you off easily."

Song Yutian nodded with a smile, "Thank you very much."

With this sentence, she felt confident that she could help Liu Tian and An Xin. Otherwise, if the three of them had tried to make things difficult for her, like holding back their own tiles to prevent Song Yutian from winning, it would have been very hard for her to succeed, no matter how skilled she was.

Ten minutes later.

Under the eager yet puzzled gazes of Liu Tian and An Xin, Song Yutian knocked over the tile wall in front of her.

After a second of silence, Liu Tian cheered, "Sister Yutian! You are my hero!"

After helping An Xin and Liu Tian pass the challenge at the mahjong parlor, Song Yutian watched them leave and prepared to walk back to the tea house alone.

Without the pressure of time, Song Yutian strolled down the street, enjoying the scenery around her.

However, before she could fully enjoy this relaxing moment, she suddenly heard someone calling her name.

"Song Yutian?"

Song Yutian stopped and looked in the direction of the voice. Before she could react, a large group of girls, ranging in age from about ten to just over twenty years old, surrounded her.

One girl, who seemed a bit nervous, approached her and said, "Are you Song Yutian, Sister Yutian?"

Song Yutian nodded, feeling a bit dazed. It was her first time experiencing something like this.

Seeing her nod, the girl immediately smiled and said, "Sister Yutian, can we take a picture with you? We’re all your fans!"

With that girl leading, the other girls also became bolder, and soon everyone started talking, making the scene a bit chaotic.

"Sister, I’m also your fan!"

"I really like you, Sister Yutian! I watched your show a few days ago!"

After listening to the girls chatter for a while, Song Yutian finally understood what was happening.

Just now, while she was on her way to the mahjong hall, a passerby filmed her and posted the video on social media with the hashtag "#Song Yutian Unexpected Challenges."

Many people saw and shared the post, and because of the show’s popular broadcast yesterday, a lot of people came to this scenic spot to take photos, so many recognized Song Yutian.

The girls here were those who gathered after seeing the post. Most of them were high school and middle school students on summer vacation.

Although they called themselves Song Yutian’s fans, most had only started following her after watching the show in the past two days. But even though it had been a short time, their enthusiasm was strong, and everyone was eager to show their love for Song Yutian.

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, the staff from the production team came to help Song Yutian maintain order. Soon, the previously chaotic crowd became organized, and the young girls lined up, waiting to take photos with Song Yutian one by one.

At the front of the line was the first girl who spoke, "Sister Yutian, I became your fan after watching the live streams from the past two days! You’re so smart and amazing; I hope you win the championship!"

"Thank you," Song Yutian said with a smile.

The second girl was even younger, about thirteen or fourteen, and she seemed a bit shy. "Sister Yutian, you’re so beautiful! Even more beautiful than on TV!"

Song Yutian smiled gently.

A sound of "Wow" came from the crowd, and then several voices shouted, "Yutian, you’re beautiful!" and "Sister Yutian, you look amazing!"

Next, a girl with short hair stepped forward. She seemed to be one of the oldest there but still looked very nervous. "Um, Sister Yutian."

Song Yutian smiled and said, "Take your time, speak slowly."

The girl seemed to relax a bit, took a deep breath, and said, "Sister Yutian, I became your fan after watching yesterday’s show. My mom always tells me to dress up, wear girly clothes, and grow my hair long because pretty girls are liked more. But she never cares about how my brother dresses."

As she spoke, the girl pressed her lips together and continued, "After hearing what you said yesterday, I realized I wasn’t wrong. Why should girls dress pretty while boys don’t? Why do people only care about and judge girls by their looks? So as long as I like it, I can dress and look however I want."

After hearing the girl say so much, Song Yutian paused for a moment before speaking.

"You said it so well," Song Yutian’s voice was gentle yet strong. "You can choose how to dress and how to live, and it has nothing to do with being male or female. Never let being a woman limit your choices."

Hearing Song Yutian’s words, the girl nodded vigorously.

Voices of agreement came from the crowd as well.

At that moment, Song Yutian suddenly understood what it meant to be a public figure for her fans.

For the first time, Song Yutian felt that being a so-called "star" or "idol" was actually quite nice.

There were many young girls in the live stream, and a lot of them shared the same thoughts.

[This scene is so beautiful; the encouragement among girls is truly wonderful.]

[All girls should live freely, without being tied down by any gender stereotypes.]

[Aww, Yutian is so gentle. I envy that girl; I also want to see Yutian in person.]

[I follow this show because I love watching Sister Song win against those male contestants; it feels amazing.]

Because she didn’t want to disappoint any of them, Song Yutian patiently talked to everyone and took photos.

After forty minutes, Song Yutian had finally spoken to every girl present and taken pictures with them.

The young girls who took pictures with her did not want to leave.

Song Yutian also enjoyed chatting with them, but a staff member came over to tell her that the treasure hunt had ended, and all three treasures had been found, so she needed to return.

So Song Yutian waved goodbye to them and promised that if there was a chance in the future, she would definitely hold a fan meeting.

If the young, lively girls had softened Song Yutian’s heart,

Then now, Gong Yu’s insincere concern only made her feel annoyed.

When Gong Yu asked, "What happened?" Song Yutian replied calmly, "Nothing, I just talked with some friends on the way back, so I got delayed."

"Friends?" Gong Yu wanted to ask more, but the teahouse door suddenly opened again. Everyone stood up to greet the newcomers, interrupting Gong Yu’s question.

It was the last two contestants, Liu Tian and An Xin.

Everyone hadn’t yet had the chance to welcome the two when the director appeared, holding his little megaphone.

"Ahem, quiet, please!" The director coughed a few times.

Seeing everyone’s attention on him, the director grinned and began, "Now comes the exciting moment—the announcement of today’s rankings!"

"I believe everyone is very curious whether the former champion can hold onto the top spot again today." The director paused, "And will the teams that lost before be able to make a comeback today?"

The director scanned everyone’s expressions, "Now, let me first announce the teams that missed the treasure and unfortunately placed last."

"In this competition, we set up three treasure-hunting points, each corresponding to a piece of treasure. That means two teams missed out on the treasure, and one of them is—" The director paused for a moment.

"Gong Yu and Wei Yao’s team."

Wei Yao quietly lowered his gaze.

Gong Yu pressed his lips together, then glanced at Song Yutian out of the corner of his eye.

Although he hadn’t found the treasure today, he hadn’t said everything during his previous interview, leaving himself a way out.

But look at Song Yutian, who had seemed so indifferent before; let’s see how she handles this now.