“What did you draw…”
Chu Yanze turned his head to look, and after seeing the card in Liang Zhiwei’s hand, he froze.
What?
Liang Zhiwei actually drew it?
This was the hardest solo task in the entire event.
Originally, the director team provided more task cards than there were participants, meaning there was a chance no one would draw this task if they were lucky.
But who could’ve imagined that Liang Zhiwei would hit this jackpot of bad luck and draw it.
Chu Yanze paused for a moment, glancing at the spot where Gu Zhaoye had just left.
It seemed like if she hadn’t left, this task would’ve been hers.
What a coincidence.
Liang Zhiwei’s mind went blank for a second.
She looked at the task, somehow not surprised that it had landed in her hands.
Numb.
She was completely numb.
Oh well, her life was always full of this kind of inexplicable bad luck and accidents.
She was starting to get used to it.
She had thought her luck was improving lately, but who could’ve predicted this sudden hammer from the heavens, reminding her that her luck was still as rotten as ever.
She didn’t even have time to blame Gu Zhaoye.
Based on her past life experiences, this god-tier bad luck was something that easily happened to her.
The director team looked at her with a bit of embarrassment.
If it had been anyone else, it might’ve been fine, but Liang Zhiwei was practically a beginner among them.
“I’ll do my best to try.”
Liang Zhiwei nodded.
She didn’t throw a tantrum or get discouraged. Instead, she looked resigned to her fate, nodding and accepting it.
As for how to handle it, she’d figure it out when she got there.
The group gradually headed to their respective task locations.
Chu Yanze and she didn’t have the same task, so they couldn’t team up.
Li Xunxi glanced at them, initially wanting to mockingly say something about not participating if they couldn’t handle these tasks, but then she remembered the person she’d just seen…
Gu Zhaoping.
Her mouth opened, then closed again.
Strange.
Now, when they thought of Gu Zhaoping, they actually felt a bit of fear.
She was no longer the person they could look down on.
The current Gu Zhaoping was someone who would hold grudges.
Even when Gu Zhaoye went to their group to stir up trouble, Gu Zhaoping had slapped her.
In front of Shen Yifeng, she didn’t hold back either, directly tearing into him and publicly announcing the end of their engagement.
A person who would pursue matters and make a scene was not to be messed with.
A person who would lose their temper and openly confront conflicts—despite how much they might dislike her, badmouth her, or even mock her behind her back—when it came to facing her head-on, no one dared to challenge her directly.
Aggressiveness made people wary and cautious.
They now felt unfamiliar with Gu Zhaoping, unsure of where her boundaries lay or what might set her off.
So, when it came to anything involving Gu Zhaoping, they unconsciously became cautious, even avoiding her without realizing it.
It was a mindset of “better to avoid trouble than stir it up.”
After all, when status was equal, the one who could be more audacious was the one who dared to face conflicts head-on.
This was exactly Gu Zhaoping’s goal.
There was no need to reason with these people or win them over with charisma.
Being impulsive enough, assertive enough, and even suppressing them with force was sufficient.
As long as the cost of provoking her was high enough, fewer people would dare to act recklessly.
A few beatings would teach them a lesson.
When Liang Zhiwei took the cable car up the mountain, the weather was decent, with good visibility, just as the forecast had predicted—a sunny day.
She kept replaying the coach’s technical details and Chu Yanze’s tips in her mind, but her palms were still sweaty.
She glanced back at the production team.
They and the coach were on the cable car behind her, which gave her some reassurance, but only half a sigh of relief.
Even with people watching, she still had to complete the task herself.
It was quite a test of courage.
Still nervous, just before reaching the mountaintop, she couldn’t help but check her phone to see if there was any message from Sister Zhaoping, as if seeing her would give her a bit more courage.
Gu Zhaoping had been absent these past few days, probably busy with important matters.
There was no trace of her anywhere.
Liang Zhiwei cautiously sent their location to the group chat.
She also snapped a few photos along the way and wrote: [Sister Zhaoping, the scenery on this mountain is so beautiful, but I drew the hardest task. I’m a bit scared I won’t be able to complete it /(ToT)/~~]
The cable car was about to arrive. Liang Zhiwei quickly put away her phone, rubbed her freezing hands, and started queuing.
She hadn’t expected so many people to be lining up at this spot—probably challengers from all over the world.
As the line grew shorter, her heart grew more nervous.
Finally, it was almost her turn.
Liang Zhiwei took a deep breath, glanced back at the production team’s cameraman following her, felt a bit more at ease, and prepared to slide down.
Meanwhile, in the woods at the foot of the mountain.
Ruan Nian and Gu Zhaoye stood together.
Ruan Nian had just been startled by a small animal that darted by while she was collecting items.
Since she had to pick things, she’d taken off her gloves, and her fingers were red from the cold wind, scratched by various leaves and branches.
Gu Zhaoye held her hands in his to warm them, looking at the scratches on her fingers with a hint of heartache.
“Why did you take off your gloves?”
Ruan Nian’s hands were held by him, and she timidly looked up, saying,
“I had to pick things, so I took them off.”
“From now on, you’re not allowed to do anything that hurts yourself without my permission.”
“Okay, I won’t do it again.”
Ruan Nian hurriedly shook her head, her expression timid and pitiful.
The cameraman nearby: Two drama queens.
This is the production team’s task!
What are you two acting out here?
Addicted to drama, huh?
“No hurting yourself without my permission?”
My goodness, what kind of domineering CEO line is that?
If you’re so protective, why not keep her at home, lock her up like a canary, or make her your little trophy wife!
Come on, you chose to join this show yourselves, and you’re crying over a simple task like picking things?
The cameraman was bursting with complaints.
Chu Yanze’s task is way tougher than yours.
He has to photograph five different natural landscapes and technical movements.
And forget him—even the other group has to hike up the mountain for snow condition assessments.
And the worst off is Liang Zhiwei.
Speaking of Liang Zhiwei, she has to solo the hardest course and scout the route.
You guys got the easiest task, and you’re crying about it?
The cameraman cautiously interjected,
“Mr. Gu, are you still drawing a task card?”
Gu Zhaoye frowned.
He had no interest in filming this show.
He only came here to find time to meet Grandpa Gu.
But whatever, he was already here, and with so many people around, he couldn’t go back on his word.
Gu Zhaoye casually drew a card—snow condition collection.
He frowned again.
It wasn’t an easy task and was quite time-consuming.
“Is this it?”
Gu Zhaoye held the card, asking the production team, unsure if they’d given him a troublesome task because they thought he was the most capable.
The director: He took a deep breath, already fed up with these two, and said,
“Yes, Mr. Gu.”
“Change it. This task isn’t suitable for me,”
Gu Zhaoye said casually.
He was always someone who operated outside the rules, especially in an environment where his status and influence were clearly higher than others.
He had no sense of needing to follow the same rules as everyone else.
If he said change, it would change.
Director: “Alright.”
He quickly handed the remaining card to Gu Zhaoye, directing the cameramen as if he couldn’t wait: “Hurry, hurry, hurry, everyone! Mr. Gu has graciously requested a task change. Follow him quickly, don’t miss his heroic figure—so dashing, absolutely dashing!”
The ultimate show-off.
Gu Zhaoye frowned as he took the card, glanced at it, and froze again.
What was this?
Guest safety assurance?
The task required constantly tracking the progress of the other guests and providing assistance.
If there was any danger, he had to immediately contact the production team or even the rescue team.
It wasn’t particularly difficult, but with the guests scattered everywhere, contacting them could be tricky since the signal wasn’t always reliable.
Sometimes, he’d have to physically go find them.
And if any guest requested help, he had to show up immediately to assist.
In other words, he had to go up the mountain.
If something happened, he might have to come back down.
If someone else called for him from the mountain, he’d have to go back up.
Gu Zhaoye fell silent, almost in disbelief.
He opened his mouth to say something, but the director was already looking at him with eager anticipation, and the cameras were all pointed at him.
He swallowed his words.
Having already swapped tasks once, swapping again wouldn’t look good.
He could only grit his teeth and deal with this hassle for now.
“Fine. If any guests need help, they can find me. I’ll take responsibility.”
He said coldly, but his words didn’t inspire anyone or come off as particularly cool.
In just one episode, the production team had already seen through Gu Zhaoye’s so-called charm.
What domineering CEO?
Just a guy who couldn’t solve any problems, who ran a restaurant into massive losses, got defensive when he lost, and even got slapped by his own sister.
What kind of domineering CEO was that?
Oblivious to this, Gu Zhaoye simply sat calmly in the spot prepared by the production team, waiting.
One thing was particularly notable: the person who asked for help the most was Ruan Nian.
Yes, the one with the simplest task sent out the most cries for help.
“What’s that animal over there? Is it a hedgehog? I want to pick that thing, but will it prick me?”