Chapter 24: Hung on a Tree?! Are You Serious!

The moment she saw the camera, Fang Zhiyin wished she could escape to another planet.

Chen Chen was stunned as well. It was the first time anyone had vomited all over him, and worse still, it happened while they were filming. He had absolutely no idea how to react.

"Chen Chen, take off your clothes—" Fang Zhiyin tried to say, but before she could finish, her stomach heaved violently once more. Turning her head aside, she retched again...

This time, the cameraman actually zoomed in even closer.

At last, she finished vomiting.

Fang Zhiyin was furious—she felt as if she could kill someone! "Hey, cameraman! Can you stop filming my face so close?!"

What was wrong with this guy?

But the cameraman paid her no mind at all, not even giving her the chance to argue.

She had no idea how much time passed before the speedboat finally came to a stop.

Chen Chen took off his soiled shirt, revealing a set of clearly well-trained abs.

As soon as he stepped onto the dock, the other female contestants screamed in excitement.

Fang Zhiyin, who had just been overwhelmed by nausea, felt completely empty inside, her clothes and pants soaked through by seawater. At this moment, she felt like an ugly duckling—utterly wretched.

To Chen Chen's physique, which would have made any ordinary girl swoon, she felt nothing.

Even if she hadn’t gotten seasick, surely she still wouldn’t have cared!

Once ashore, she glanced at the other contestants and realized they weren’t faring much better than she was. Most of the female participants, in particular, looked deathly pale.

So this was what reality TV was really like?

All Fang Zhiyin knew was that from the moment she got on the speedboat, every embarrassing and miserable moment of theirs had been caught on camera. Who knew if all this would be broadcast later.

Just then, the program director walked over.

"Welcome, everyone, to the picturesque Dong'ao Island. We have five teams in total, two people per team—ten people participating in this show together. The theme of our first episode is—"

But before the director could finish his words, a wave of dizziness swept over Fang Zhiyin, and she fainted outright.

Chen Chen shouted, "Zhiyin!!"

...

When Fang Zhiyin woke up, she found herself still on the little island.

Nearby was the production crew. She could see several screens switching between camera feeds, and the director and staff were far too busy to notice her.

She quietly got up, wanting to ask someone what was going on but too embarrassed to speak up.

On one of the screens, she spotted Chen Chen running alongside a female contestant—oh, it was Ouyang Qingqing. Fang Zhiyin vaguely remembered the director saying the theme was something about chasing...

Chasing the light?

In any case, the crew had set up all sorts of obstacles on the island in advance, requiring the contestants to run back and forth endlessly. How exhausting!

The sun was blazing, and the temperature stifling! Fang Zhiyin thought to herself how lucky she was to have fainted after coming ashore. Otherwise, if she had to run around like that... she’d probably be vomiting again or collapsing from heatstroke.

"Stop! Everyone, take a break!" Finally, the director called for an intermission.

Fang Zhiyin coughed, trying to appear lively.

"You're awake?" The director turned to look at her. "Are you still feeling unwell?"

"I'm sorry, Director, I think I just need more rest, and I got seasick..."

"It's fine, just join in for the second half." The director flashed her a dazzling smile.

...What?

Fang Zhiyin’s face turned ashen with fright.

"Also, at the end of each episode, the losing team has to face a penalty..."

What on earth!

A punishment, too?!

"Wait a minute!" Fang Zhiyin raised her hand like a schoolchild. "Director, I have a question! Isn’t this supposed to be an outdoor travel show?"

She distinctly remembered Chen Chen telling her that.

The director rolled his eyes at her. "Miss Fang, didn’t you know our show is an adventure program?"

"But last time, you told Chen Chen and me something different..."

"Alright, time to get back to work!" The director acted as if he hadn’t heard her, waving his hand at the others. "Everyone, get ready!"

Then he had an assistant lead Fang Zhiyin to her assigned spot.

Yet no one told her what she was supposed to do next!

After fitting her with an earpiece, the staff member jogged away.

"Hey!" Fang Zhiyin tried to call out.

"We’re starting now! All contestants, continue the game!" The director’s cold voice crackled through her earpiece.

Fang Zhiyin was filled with confusion.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a team competition?

Why was she acting alone now?

And what was she supposed to do? Where was she supposed to go?

Since she had no idea what to do, she could only stand there awkwardly. The island, as far as the eye could see, was nothing but trees and sand—not even a single extra in sight.

With the scorching sun overhead, she felt lost and finally decided to take a slow walk, hoping to bump into someone to ask for help.

However, after wandering for ages, Fang Zhiyin failed to find a single clue. This was her first time on such a show, and she hadn’t even had the chance to ask the other contestants anything.

Time slipped by, minute by minute.

There were no hints in her earpiece, and she realized that aimlessly wandering like this was pointless. The weather was so hot, and she hadn’t had a drop of water to drink. Maybe... she should just go back, sit on the ground, and wait for someone else to pass by.

Otherwise, how long was this game supposed to last?

Not only did she think this, she put it into action. So, on one of the director’s monitors, he saw Fang Zhiyin, who had been aimlessly wandering since the game began, suddenly stop and plop herself down on the ground, as if waiting for someone to come by.

"What... is she doing?!" the director asked his assistant, astonished.

The assistant shook his head, indicating he had no idea either.

"Fang Zhiyin, we’re filming a show here! Would you please get moving?!" At last, the director couldn’t hold back his temper.

Fang Zhiyin had barely sat down for half a minute when she suddenly heard the director yelling in her earpiece. Startled, she leapt to her feet on the spot, "Ahhh..." The director’s shouting seemed to trigger some mechanism inside her, and she instantly bolted off like a leopard.

Her wild, aimless dash led her straight over a pile of branches that had been deliberately arranged as a trap.

To her surprise, the branches triggered a mechanism.

The next second, she heard something swish overhead, and her feet were suddenly bound together. In an instant... she found herself dangling in midair.

"Ahhh!" Fang Zhiyin screamed in terror.

When she finally came to her senses, she was shocked to discover that she was hanging upside down from a tree!

Was she dreaming or was this reality?

"Help! Help!" Fang Zhiyin shrieked, suspended from the tree.

At that moment, someone came running from not far away.

At first, she thought it was Chen Chen, and instinctively called out, "Chen Chen! Is that you? Come save me!" After all, they were teammates who had entered the show together.

But...

It wasn’t Chen Chen who came.

Fang Zhiyin could hardly believe her eyes!

Because—the person running toward her was actually Ouyang Junyan?!