The endurance mountain-climbing challenge took place at Songzanlin Monastery. Calling it a mountain was somewhat exaggerated. In reality, it was only a little over a hundred stone steps leading from the base of the temple to the highest point.
After all, the male guests would have to carry the female guests on their backs. And even the lightest female guest weighed over ninety jin (around 45 kilograms / 100 pounds). If the challenge were made too difficult, the male guests might end up needing walking canes for the remaining two days of the show.
So in essence, it was all about creating some excitement and fun.
By the end of the show, the competition itself was no longer important, the final choices were what truly mattered.
The teams before the competition were still decided by drawing lots.
The male guests all looked a little unhappy. They had never expected that in such a highly random segment, Jiang Shu would once again end up being paired with Shen Fu. Since the show began, how many times had he already teamed up with her?
Behind the cameras, the director revealed a smile that hid all his merits and achievements.
He had definitely chosen the right person to back. Ever since the Spring Day Photoshoot, he had done so much behind the scenes to make up for previous mistakes. Surely that would offset the blunders from the show’s first week.
Now all he had to do was wait for the show to end and for the Jiang Corporation to reward him generously.
The result of the competition was, once again, a victory for Jiang Shu and Shen Fu.
When everyone reached the highest platform of the temple, the production team had all the guests stand beside a red brick wall. Taking advantage of the sunset and the ringing temple bells, they snapped an early finale group photo.
The female guests hadn’t had much difficulty climbing up. They weren’t sweating and their makeup remained intact. As for the male guests, apart from Jiang Shu, who still looked energetic and refreshed, the others barely felt like speaking.
Even Gu Zhidao, who had been left without a partner during the lot-drawing segment, no longer felt like saying anything.
The photo shoot was finished rather hastily, and the production team immediately posted the picture on the show’s official Weibo account.
The viewers watching the guests pose for photos were dying of laughter:
【Other than the Crown Prince, the male guests are still handsome, but they all look completely exhausted, hahaha.】
【Hahaha, what can you do? In matters of love, some people are happy while others are miserable. If someone wins, someone else has to lose.】
【Can I even say this? Chu Wei, stop secretly standing on your tiptoes.】
【I’m dying. Does anyone remember how Xiang Lingyun picked up the female guests on the first date while wearing sunglasses and driving one-handed? He was so cool back then. Now he doesn’t wear sunglasses anymore and doesn’t even drink red wine.】
【The Film Emperor doesn’t even have the mood to put on those unfathomably mysterious expressions anymore.】
【Did you all forget Teacher Gu Zhidao? When he first appeared, he wore a white suit and looked like he could sit down and play the piano at any moment. Now he has completely lost the motivation to groom himself.】
【Hahaha, that’s savage!】
The fans of the various male guests were utterly discouraged. They had completely given up resisting.
Originally, they thought their favorites could at least compete for Shen Fu’s affection and prove their masculine charm. Who knew that after a few rounds of games, the Crown Prince would completely seize the lead? What was left for them to compete over now? Their idols had all become defeated opponents beneath the Crown Prince’s feet.
What, were they supposed to become like that crazy Gu Zhidao fan account, “No One Ships Better Than Me,” and start competing over who ranked second?
Their Film Emperor fans, top-idol fans, and idol-group fans had some dignity too, okay?!
Aside from Xiang Lingyun, who still refused to believe that everyone else possessed matching keychains, Wen Zhenghan, Chu Wei, and Gu Zhidao were all still preoccupied with the keychain matter.
There were only two days left until the finale. Time was running out. No matter what, they had to figure out the truth.
From last night until now, the three men had been carrying complicated emotions. They had been trying to find opportunities to speak privately with Shen Fu. However, not only did Jiang Shu haunt Shen Fu’s side like a persistent ghost and refuse to give them a chance, but they also kept sabotaging one another, making it impossible for any of them to get close to her.
Although they were all victims sharing the same misfortune, they still privately ranked one another and looked down on each other to varying degrees.
Chu Wei felt that, as the first love, he naturally carried the most weight aside from Jiang Shu.
After all, Shen Fu herself had personally acknowledged him as her first love during the very first episode.
Besides that, Xiang Lingyun probably ranked second.
As for Wen Zhenghan and Gu Zhidao, one had been openly acknowledged by Shen Fu as merely acting, while the other had been splashed with water and had his gifts rejected after joining the show. How much importance could either of them possibly hold in her heart? Maybe not even as much as a sesame seed.
Gu Zhidao, meanwhile, was still recovering from the shock that everyone turned out to be exes.
But deep down, he firmly believed that he was unquestionably the most important one.
These people had only learned from Gu Qingshuang that he was also an ex. They still didn’t know that he had known Shen Fu for longer than anyone except Chu Wei. Not to mention the unforgettable five million yuan.
Regardless of how things were now, at least back then, Shen Fu had genuinely cared about him, hadn’t she?
Xiang Lingyun’s rock-climbing session had been interrupted, and from yesterday until today he had been irritated with all these men, desperately restraining the urge to punch someone.
Only Wen Zhenghan remained relatively calm, planning to ask Shen Fu about the keychain once they returned to the hotel that evening.
After finishing the daytime activities, everyone returned to the hotel for dinner.
With only three nights left before the finale, the production team had even covered the dining table with rose petals. Yet every guest ate while lost in their own thoughts. The atmosphere was scattered and distracted; no one had the mood to appreciate whether the roses were white or red.
The production team announced: “After dinner, we will officially enter the free-confession segment. Please return to your rooms and prepare.”
The livestream comments were just about to get excited when the staff continued: “The direction of the text-message arrows must be made public, but the guests may choose whether to hide the contents of their confessions.”
The comments instantly exploded:
【Holy cr*p! Why hide them? Are we outsiders to you people?!】
【LOL, I totally understand why the production team is doing this. The Film Emperor’s agency, the top idol’s agency, and probably Chu Wei’s team must have stepped in with PR. If this keeps going, they’ll lose all their fans.】
After all, these were public figures with extremely high status. The show was nearly over, wasn’t it time to save their public images?
【Hahaha, honestly, the relationship lines are already crystal clear. Even if they hide it from us, we can basically guess who is texting whom. Shen Fu and Jiang Shu are mutual arrows. The other female guests will either abstain or send casual messages. The “simp squad” will all text Shen Fu. No questions there, right?】
【Agreed. Whether we see the simps’ confessions doesn’t really matter anymore. If you want to watch that, there are thousands of fan-edited “Simp Battle” videos online. What I really want to know now is what’s on Shen Fu’s and Jiang Shu’s recordings.】
The male guests’ fans immediately fought back:
【Simp your *ss! You’re the simp! Don’t make sincere admiration and passionate love sound so ugly!】
While the comments section descended into chaos, the guests themselves genuinely breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as the confession contents weren’t made public, they had at least managed to salvage a little bit of their dignity.
…
After dinner, the guests each returned to their own rooms. According to the rules, they were not allowed to see each other again before tomorrow night’s final decision.
It was like a game. After such fierce competition for so long, the drum had finally sounded, and a winner and loser were about to be decided.
All of the male guests were feeling extremely conflicted.
The production team had taken the finale group photo in advance because only couples who successfully paired up would proceed to the final snow mountain segment.
As for those who failed to hold hands successfully and, after being on the show for so long, still ended up with nothing, after tomorrow night, their journey would end here. They would simply be handed a plane ticket home.
The romance of placing a lock on the snowy mountain would belong only to the lovers who stood out from the rest and made it to the very end.
As for everyone else?
They would leave the stage in defeat.
Gu Zhidao looked at his phone screen, his expression somewhat lonely.
He wanted to return to the past, but throughout his time on the show, Shen Fu had never given him a chance. Not only that, she practically wore her hatred of him on her face.
Could it really be that they could only be separated forever because of the misunderstanding caused by his mother?
Just as he was debating whether a heartfelt self-reflection essay would seem more sincere or whether romantic poetry would be more likely to catch Shen Fu’s interest, his phone suddenly lit up.
Could it be that someone had messaged him first?
Gu Zhidao quickly unlocked his phone.
Then he discovered he had been added to a group chat.
The group name was: “People Who Want to Confess, Queue Up Here”
Gu Zhidao: “…”
The group had been created by Chu Wei. Besides himself, Wen Zhenghan and Xiang Lingyun were already inside.
Gu Zhidao was speechless.
The confession segment only lasted thirty minutes, and these people were using that precious time for this?!
He had heard about their “Anti-Jiang Alliance” group before. Seeing it in person truly lived up to its reputation. He never imagined there would come a day when he himself would be dragged into it.
“Why did you add me?”
I’m not a simp.
Gu Zhidao’s face darkened, and he immediately wanted to leave the group.
“Wait,” Chu Wei typed. “Don’t you think there’s no point in confessing one by one at this stage? Haven’t we already done enough things that basically count as confessions? Did any of it work? No! Every single person here has been shut down before, right?”
Gu Zhidao felt that being in the same group as these three was an insult to his intelligence. “You guys got shut down. I didn’t.”
Chu Wei replied: “You didn’t, but you got three buckets of water dumped on you.”
Gu Zhidao: “…”
“Our goal right now is to figure out what’s going on with the keychains! And also find out how we’re ranked in her heart!”
Chu Wei had wanted to know this for a long time. Even if he ultimately couldn’t be with Shen Fu, he needed confirmation that she had genuinely loved him once. Otherwise, coming on this show would truly have been a complete waste.
In that final sentence, Chu Wei tried his best to conceal a bit of personal pride and a bit of self-satisfaction.
Leaving Jiang Shu aside, he was convinced he ranked first in Shen Fu’s heart.
Wen Zhenghan had his own plans. He didn’t reject Chu Wei’s proposal, but he didn’t say anything in the group either.
Xiang Lingyun, on the other hand, exploded immediately. He still hadn’t settled the score with these people over the rock-climbing incident, and now these idiots were causing trouble again. “D*mn it! We’re still talking about the keychains? You guys are really committed to your act! Every single one of you claims to have a matching keychain, so show them already! From yesterday until now, has anyone actually taken theirs out?!, “
Before he could finish, Chu Wei took a photo of the keychain in his hand and sent it to the group. “.”
He had been filmed by cameras nonstop since last night. Apparently, because neither he nor Gu Zhidao had openly shown their keychains, this guy still didn’t believe them.
Xiang Lingyun: “…”
Although Gu Zhidao felt the entire situation was so ridiculous it bordered on stupidity, he somehow found himself doing exactly what Chu Wei had done.
He took a picture of his own keychain and sent it to the group.
…
What was wrong with him? Had those idiots somehow lowered his IQ too? Gu Zhidao felt a wave of helplessness.
Meanwhile, Wen Zhenghan calmly typed: “I didn’t bring mine, but I do have one.”
Xiang Lingyun: “…”
At that moment, Xiang Lingyun’s mentality finally shattered completely. He roared in the group chat: “Will somebody tell me what the h*ll is going on?!!!”
“If you want to know, we want to know too,” Chu Wei typed coolly. “That’s why I’m proposing that we stop working separately. Let’s unite for once. We should use this opportunity to pull Shen Fu into the group and ask her directly what the truth is.”
The audience could see the various states of the guests in their rooms, anxious, irritated, calm, or bored. However, every single guest had chosen to hide the content of their confession messages, so the viewers had no idea who they were texting.
【Xiang Lingyun looks so worked up. He’s practically stabbing holes through his screen while typing.】
【Did the person he messaged reply to him or something? Otherwise why has he sent several messages in a row?】
【Wen Zhenghan is always so composed, but even he sent a message.】
【I’m dying. Chu Wei is once again typing the most out of everyone. Did he write a whole essay or something?】
【Why is Gu Zhidao taking pictures of that keychain?】
【By the way, is Lighthouse Teacher here? @Lighthouse Teacher. Your simp compilation video was edited too early, you forgot Teacher Gu Zhidao.】
【Help, everyone, I just had a thought. These guys didn’t… create another group chat, did they?】
【HAHAHAHAHAHAHA】
To be fair, Chu Wei’s proposal made some sense.
The production team had not required the female guests to respond to the male guests’ confessions. So even if they texted Shen Fu tonight, there was no guarantee she would reply, not even with a single punctuation mark. At this point, they had no choice but to admit that reality.
If they missed tonight, they might never learn the truth.
Besides, the little calculations in Chu Wei’s heart were not unique to him. The other men likely had the same thoughts.
Chu Wei believed he was the most important of Shen Fu’s exes. But they all believed the exact same thing.
After all, hadn’t each of them once been sincerely and genuinely loved by Shen Fu?
These guys are ridiculously confident all day long, aren’t they? Then let’s have Shen Fu say the answer right in front of them and crush that blind confidence.
With such unspeakable thoughts in mind, Gu Zhidao and Xiang Lingyun suddenly fell silent.
After all four men agreed to the proposal, Chu Wei added Shen Fu to the group.
Being suddenly dropped into a four-man group chat, Shen Fu was a little confused. But after a moment’s thought, she figured the production team had probably added all the guests’ contact information to everyone’s phones before the confession segment so that things could proceed smoothly.
Sitting on the sofa, she opened the chat and saw the group name: “People Who Want to Confess, Queue Up Here.”
Shen Fu: ?
Chu Wei immediately realized the group name was a little awkward. He quickly deleted it and changed it to the much more ordinary: “Four Men and One Woman Group.”
The other three men: “…” That’s even weirder, okay?!
People who join later can’t see messages sent before they entered.
So Chu Wei resent the two keychain photos and carefully organized his wording: “[Cute][Cute][Tearful][Tearful] Since the show is about to end, we originally all wanted to confess to you, but the day before yesterday we suddenly discovered that the four of us all have this…”
Chu Wei kept deleting and rewriting his message.
The long wall of text filled with emojis was enough to test anyone’s patience.
Shen Fu skipped directly to the last sentence.
Chu Wei: “(One thousand words omitted)… so we’d like to ask why?”
Shen Fu thought about it for a moment.
Then she asked: “Before I answer, can I add one more person?”
The four men in the group: “…”
What? There’s a fifth person?!
Surely it couldn’t be that one of the female guests was also an ex?
Who? Xu Tiaotiao? She was pretty suspicious!
When Shen Fu added Jiang Shu to the group, the earthquake-level shock in the four men’s eyes finally settled down somewhat.
Right… Things couldn’t possibly be that ridiculous.
Normally, they should have been furious about Jiang Shu being added. But because they had imagined something even more outrageous beforehand, seeing that the newcomer was merely Jiang Shu left them strangely calm.
The moment Jiang Shu entered, he froze for a second. Then, furious, he immediately changed the group name to: “Happy Little Couple and Four Overestimating Idiots.”
The others: “…”
Holding his phone, Gu Zhidao stared hopelessly out the window.
Wonderful. Now there was another lunatic in the group.
Shen Fu typed: “Jiang Shu just joined and doesn’t know what you asked earlier. One of you send it again.”
Naturally, Chu Wei wasn’t about to miss an opportunity to show initiative. “I’ll do it.”
He copied and pasted the photos and his essay-like explanation again.
Xiang Lingyun rubbed his face, trying to calm himself amid this absurd reality.
Shen Fu then said: “Okay, I can answer now.”
In his room, Jiang Shu hugged his phone with a dark expression.
They’re even asking Shen Fu to rank them? Sure, he already knew he was number one. But watching Shen Fu rank her ex-boyfriends still made him jealous and possessive, okay?
The other four men couldn’t care less about how ugly Jiang Shu’s expression had become. All of them stared intently at their phones. Even the somewhat dazed Gu Zhidao held his breath, desperate to hear Shen Fu’s answer.
The next second, her reply appeared.
“There was no ranking. It was all acting.”
Chu Wei: “…”
Xiang Lingyun: “…”
Gu Zhidao: “…”
Wen Zhenghan: “…”
The group chat, which had been buzzing with messages moments ago, instantly froze over like an arctic wasteland.
The silence was as deathly as a graveyard.
It was all acting…
It was all acting…
For some reason, the three men besides Gu Zhidao simultaneously thought of the three scenes from Life Is Like a Play that day…
Their phones suddenly vibrated again.
Thinking Shen Fu was about to provide some shocking explanation or twist, they hurriedly looked down.
Instead, they saw:
Jiang Shu: “Hahaha, the moon is so beautiful tonight. Everyone should cheer up!”
The four men: “…”
