Chapter Thirty-Nine: Not Arranged by the Production Team? (Part One)

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Was This Not Arranged by the Production Team? (Part One)

Zhang Le embarked on the road to rescue his beloved. To complete the task and obtain clues, he had to play games, each accompanied by a series of questions. Through these, Zhang Le demonstrated his understanding of Yang Xin’er—her favorite song, actor, color, and so forth. He completed the games swiftly and answered every question correctly. Although they were the last group to disembark from the plane, Zhang Le soon overtook the others and found the manor hotel where Yang Xin’er and the others were staying.

“You’re amazing!” Yang Xin’er, upon seeing Zhang Le, ran to him and gave him a bear hug, her delight evident in her words. Zhang Le’s performance was indeed astonishing. Xu Min, Chen Fang, and Zhang Yao exchanged glances, then shook their heads with wry smiles. In the previous recording, Zhang Le and Yang Xin’er had taken the lead, their performance particularly dazzling, especially Zhang Le’s. Now, at the beginning of this new recording, Zhang Le was as outstanding as ever.

Of course, the games in the show had winners and losers, but for the guests, victory depended on the impression they left on the audience. In truth, if the ratings were good, everyone was a winner.

Even if Zhang Le didn’t mention it, Yang Xin’er was already the most famous among them. Even if she was overshadowed by Zhang Le’s and her own performance in the show, the others still gained a lot—they received more attention thanks to the pair.

“Let’s keep it low-key!” Zhang Le replied with a smile.

“Oh, right. I remember I never told you what type of movies I like to act in! How did you know?” Yang Xin’er suddenly asked.

“I guessed!” Zhang Le laughed. “I didn’t expect to get it right.”

“Why did you guess action films instead of comedies?” Yang Xin’er pressed.

“You’re an actress, of course you’d want to try more genres. And you haven’t acted in an action film yet!” Zhang Le laughed. “When there’s time, I’ll make sure you get your wish.”

As Zhang Le spoke, a film suddenly flashed through his mind—a blockbuster about a married couple.

Soon after, Liu Zheng and his group arrived. Although they didn’t look particularly disheveled, they were clearly tired. Surprisingly, Liu Zheng, a veteran actor over fifty, seemed to fare better than the rest.

When asked, Liu Zheng proudly showed off his six-pack abs.

“All right, you’ve all successfully rescued your loved ones,” the director’s voice rang out. “But you’re not safe yet. The kidnappers will try every means to capture you again. Next, you’ll need to escape with your partner. Only when you reach the designated location will you be truly safe.” At that, the staff handed out task cards.

“This show, ‘With You All the Way,’ really brings out the meaning of ‘the way’!” Liang Bin shook his head, half laughing, half crying. Among the four male guests, his stamina was undoubtedly the worst. The rescue journey had already left him breathless, and now, before he could recover, there was another ‘escape route’!

“The first guest to reach the destination will have a huge advantage in the next task,” the director’s voice continued. “To get there, you can search for your own means of transport. The production team has placed four treasure boxes around the manor, each corresponding to a different mode of transport. Which one you find depends on your luck.”

“Haha, sorry everyone, slow birds start early—we’re off!” Lin Yang laughed, pulling Chen Fang along as they hurried out.

“Haste makes waste!” Zhang Le watched the other three groups rush out and said to Yang Xin’er with a smile, “Four treasure boxes, four names—the locations must be closely linked to those names. If they search aimlessly, who knows how many unnecessary paths they’ll take.”

“Gold, wood, water, fire—four elements from the five phases. The Water box must be related to water. Wood is east, fire is south, gold is west, water is north, earth is center,” Zhang Le explained to Yang Xin’er, then pulled out a floor plan of the manor hotel from the newspaper rack.

“Look, there’s a swimming pool on the north side! Let’s check it out.” Zhang Le studied the map.

“See if there’s a mark from the production team?” At the pool, Zhang Le asked Yang Xin’er.

“There!” Yang Xin’er scanned the surroundings and soon spotted a sign from the production team. She ran over and burst into laughter.

“Found it!” Yang Xin’er was elated, surprised at how easy it was.

“Open it!” Zhang Le urged.

“There’s a key!” Yang Xin’er announced.

“Do you have paper and pen?” Zhang Le took the key and turned to Yang Xin’er.

“Sure, but what do you need them for?” Yang Xin’er asked in confusion, handing him the items from her bag.

“You’ll know soon enough.” Zhang Le grinned. He pocketed the key, wrote a line on the paper, slipped the note into the treasure box, and returned the box to its original spot.

“I was the first to claim this treasure, haha!” Yang Xin’er read his note, puzzled at first, but then understood as he replaced the box. She laughed, “You’re so naughty!”

“Hehe! It gets even naughtier. What if we find the other treasure boxes and leave the same note? Imagine them finally finding a box, opening it, and—ha!” Zhang Le chuckled. He glanced around to ensure no one was near, then pulled Yang Xin’er away.

Yang Xin’er’s eyes widened as she pictured the scenario Zhang Le described. Her excitement soared, and she laughed with a hint of mischief.

“Should we head east or west for the next one?” Zhang Le asked as they walked.

“Whatever!” Yang Xin’er replied, her spirits high.

“‘Whatever’ isn’t something a lady should say,” Zhang Le teased.

“Let’s go east,” Yang Xin’er shot him a glare.

“East it is, which means wood. Wood…” Zhang Le frowned, looking north, then his eyes suddenly brightened.

“Could it be by that huge tree?” Yang Xin’er followed his gaze eastward and spotted a towering tree.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Zhang Le smiled.

They quickly reached the tree and searched carefully until Zhang Le found the box.

“My turn! This time I’ll write the note!” Yang Xin’er exclaimed, grabbing the paper and pen. She wrote, “Please take this treasure box to the director’s team to exchange for the transport key!”

“You’re even naughtier than I am!” Zhang Le laughed after reading her note.

“Come on, let’s hunt down the other two boxes!” Yang Xin’er waved her hand energetically.

“Four treasure boxes—gold, wood, water, fire. Why is there no earth box? It’s not logical! Maybe because there are only four guest groups?” Zhang Le frowned, then shrugged, “Whatever, let’s find the other two first.”