Chapter 47
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Chapter 47: Title
The live chat exploded instantly:
[Wait! Sister Song didn’t stand up during Zhong Yueli’s invitation round!]
[Why does this sound like a sulky complaint?]
[Is this lowkey admitting he wants to partner with Yutian?]
[Between us, none of Sister Song’s previous partners measure up to Zhong Yueli]
Wei Yao caught on. "You’re still hung up about Yutian not choosing you yesterday? She did it for my sake!"
Song Yutian recalled the incident—during the initial pairing, when Gong Yu remained unchosen, she’d privately promised Wei Yao to abstain from selecting anyone to prevent her friend’s unwanted pairing. The agreement had stayed between them until now.
Zhong Yueli shrugged. “Just joking. I’ll invite Yutian next time.”
“Did you hear that?” Wei Yao nudged the bemused Song Yutian before warning Zhong Yueli, “Good luck getting through her queue of suitors.”
[Wei Yao’s so cheerful without Gong Yu dragging her down]
[Our vibrant Yao Yao’s back!]
[Sister Song’s popularity strikes again lol]
[Zhong Yueli vs Liu Tian showdown when? 🐶]
Afternoon
"Your next challenge awaits at the middle school!" announced the director post-lunch. "Change into these uniforms to fully immerse yourselves in campus life."
Ten minutes later, the camera revealed contestants in standard blue-white tracksuits. The matching outfits highlighted their natural features during the introductory lineup.
First came Su Moying and Gu Feng. The nineteen-year-old girl radiated youthful charm in her uniform, while her mature-looking partner’s stern demeanor clashed comically with the adolescent attire.
[Su Moying’s born for this look!]
[Gu Feng cosplaying a high schooler? Cringe!]
[That age gap though… sugar daddy vibes]
Next appeared An Xin, sporting a textbook-perfect high school aesthetic with her ponytail and natural-toned lipstick, contrasted by Gong Yu’s awkward stance in the youthful ensemble.
As for Gong Yu… not to mention his appearance, his brown permed hairstyle and noticeably heavy makeup—visible even without close inspection—clashed starkly with the school uniform.
Yet Gong Yu wore an expression of utter confidence. Spotting the camera panning toward him, he curled his lips into a roguish grin and winked directly at the lens.
Live stream audience:
[Help! Gong Yu looks more like a street punk than a middle schooler]
[How to put this… kinda… cringey?]
[OMG that outfit with that makeup is such a mismatch!]
[My verdict? Worse than Mr. Gu earlier.]
The camera then shifted to Liu Tian and Shen Xi.
Liu Tian, the youngest male contestant, had recently starred in a campus drama aired this year—a look already familiar to viewers. Though not possessing the most refined features among actors, his radiant smile held an infectious charm. Fully aware of this strength, Liu Tian flashed a broad, toothy grin at the camera, his pearly whites gleaming.
In stark contrast stood Shen Xi, the only contestant over thirty. As a singer who’d never relied on looks, she appeared visibly ill at ease beside nineteen-year-old Liu Tian. When the camera approached, she offered a strained smile.
Song Yutian, standing beside her, suddenly remarked: "Relax, Sister Xi. It’s just roleplay. See those two gentlemen on your left? Aren’t they oozing confidence?"
Shen Xi’s tense expression faltered before she burst into unexpected laughter, her demeanor softening considerably.
The director promptly cut back to Gu Feng and Gong Yu—the former smiling assuredly, the latter still preening for a fixed camera.
Audience:
[HAHAHA Sister Song’s tongue stays lethal!]
[Dead! Her observational skills never miss!]
[Their expressions synced perfectly with her comment—scripted vibes LOL]
[Epic cut! Give that director a bonus!]
Amid the laughter emerged critical comments:
[Why’s Song Yutian shading male contestants? Stay in your lane!]
[Song Yutian throwing stones from her glass house? Look at yourself!]
[Judging appearances? Let’s see your perfect face!]
Retorts fired back instantly:
[She only mentioned their confidence—no shade thrown.]
[Why so triggered? Confidence isn’t an insult.]
[Bullying Shen Xi earlier was fine, but males are off-limits? Hypocrites!]
[Where were you when people mocked Shen Xi’s youthful attempt?]
The criticism soon drowned out in counterattacks.
Next appeared Song Yutian and her teammate Qin Yuanzhuo—the young actor’s rising popularity fueled by his striking looks. His appearance in uniform, while not fully convincing as a student, vastly outshone Gong Yu and Gu Feng.
[Actor vs idol visuals really are different tiers—miles better than neighboring Gong Yu.]
[Yuanzhuo-gege looks so handsome in uniform! YES!]
[When’s your campus drama dropping?!]
Surprisingly harmonious in her uniform, Song Yutian’s barely-there makeup and high ponytail created a natural student aesthetic—though her detached expression lacked youthful vibrancy.
[Yutian’s bareface look totally passes for school-ready!]
[Did she remove her makeup? Looks completely natural!]
[The uniform enhances her minimalist style—still gorgeous though.]
[Sister Song gives off icy top-student energy—no romance subplots needed.]
Finally came Wei Yao and Zhong Yueli. Wei Yao’s innocent beauty suited the uniform perfectly. Zhong Yueli—never before seen in campus attire—embodied a textbook high school heartthrob with flawless skin and makeup-free features.
[Zhong Yueli’s uniform look SLAYED! Versatility king!]
[With schoolmates like him, I’d never skip class!]
[Yao Yao + Yueli campus drama WHEN? Instant watch!]
[I’ve noticed that the simpler the style, the better Zhong Yueli and Song Yutian look.]
After all contestants completed their school uniform presentations, everyone boarded the bus again.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a key municipal high school.
It was late August, a time when most schools had not yet started their semester, including the one chosen by the program group.
The campus stood empty except for program staff, with no other people visible.
Contestants and crew members entered a second-floor classroom where five uniformed teenagers and a woman in her thirties waited.
When everyone had settled, the director addressed them: "Greetings, teachers and students! We’re from the ‘Unexpected Challenges’ program group. Thank you for contributing your valuable holiday time to our recording."
Applause echoed through the room.
"Teacher Chen," the director continued, "could you have the students introduce themselves?"
The addressed woman smiled and patted the rightmost girl’s shoulder. "Mengyao, start us off."
The selected girl faced the camera confidently. "Hello, I’m Lin Mengyao. I’ll be a ninth grader this term. As the class art committee member, I enjoy singing and dancing."
Teacher Chen nodded approvingly. "Mengyao excels both academically and in extracurricular activities." She gestured to the next student.
Another girl stepped forward. "I’m Wang Xiaojia, the class academic committee member. My specialty is piano."
The teacher offered similar praise.
A boy followed as the male academic committee member, confirming the school had recommended their top students—subsequent introductions revealed two more boys serving as the class monitor and the English representative.
After introductions concluded, the director explained the rules:
"This afternoon’s competition will involve exam subjects. Each team will select two from Chinese, Math, English, Physics, and Chemistry—five questions per subject. You may choose one student assistant for consultation during the answers."
"Groups will select subjects based on their current red flower rankings—lowest first. Gong Yu and An Xin’s team begins."
The pair chose Chinese and Physics.
"Which assistant would you like?" the director prompted. "All our students are excellent."
After whispering with An Xin, Gong Yu approached a boy. "We choose him."
"Your reasoning?"
"He’s the academic committee member—must be capable."
The director teased, "Our Xiaojia holds that position too!"
Gong Yu considered. "Physics seems harder for Xinxin and me, so we prefer a male student."
Wang Xiaojia twitched slightly, as if to speak, but remained silent under camera scrutiny.
The director moved to Su Moying and Gu Feng’s team, who chose Chinese/English, selecting the English representative boy. Shen Xi and Liu Tian picked Math/Physics, choosing the monitor. Song Yutian and Qin Yuanzhuo were assigned Math/Chemistry.
With three boys taken, only two girls remained. Qin Yuanzhuo frowned slightly during selection.
Bullet comments erupted:
[More boys than girls! Why are girls left?]
[Probably because they think boys handle STEM better.]
[Gong Yu said it outright!]
[Sexist much? Girls rock science too!]
Noticing Qin’s expression, the director asked: "Yuanzhuo? Any trouble?"
"I wanted a male assistant since we drew…" He caught himself. "Not that girls aren’t great!"
Song Yutian countered: "I worried we’d end up missing out on the girls as second-to-last pick! Lucky us."
Wei Yao chimed in: "Same here! Perfect match with these lovely girls."
The two leftover girls—initially awkward—brightened visibly at these words.
"Why not let them choose us?" Song Yutian suggested.
The girls glanced at Teacher Chen, who looked to the director. Approving this solution to prevent discomfort, he nodded in agreement.
The two girls whispered briefly before the one who was the study committee member chose Song Yutian, while the other selected Wei Yao.
After completing the lottery and selection process, the contestants left the initial classroom and entered separate examination rooms.
Song Yutian, Qin Yuanzhuo, and the young girl sat in the front row of the new classroom. Song Yutian and Qin Yuanzhuo were seated side by side, with the girl positioned to Song Yutian’s left.
True to academic protocol, the program group distributed printed test papers, answer sheets, and pens to them. As they wrote their names at the top of the papers with their pens, they momentarily felt transported back to their student days.
A prominent countdown timer for the forty-minute exam appeared on the projection screen at the front of the classroom. Simultaneously, the program group displayed the first question in the live stream’s upper-right corner.
[This feels too real! My anxiety just spiked!]
[These look like actual middle school questions, not fake ones]
[Is this really okay? Between us… aren’t celebrities mostly functionally illiterate…]
[No wonder they invited real students – it’d be embarrassing if contestants couldn’t answer anything]
As per the rules, the test contained ten questions—five mathematics followed by five chemistry problems, all formatted as fill-in-the-blank or multiple-choice for easier scoring.
Qin Yuanzhuo noticed Song Yutian already studying her paper when the countdown began. The woman unconsciously twirled her pen, her brows slightly furrowed in concentration.
With feigned understanding, Qin Yuanzhuo smiled: "Don’t stress, Yutian. Girls naturally struggle with STEM subjects more than guys. Just leave it to me—"
His words died as Song Yutian wrote "thirty degrees" in the first answer blank. Qin Yuanzhuo froze mid-sentence.
