As they laughed and messed around on one side, the other side used that time to finish finalizing the results of the first round of the competition: Kang Yifan vs . Zhang Xin was 2:3; as for Gao Junming and Ye Mangâs group⌠Ye Mang was surprisingly overthrown, and their score was 4:1 . Hearing this, Xia Rong even considered sitting by the TV once the episode aired to find out exactly what happened for Ye Mang to land in such a tragic state . Finally, after adding Xia Rong and Su Chiâs 2:3, the total score was 8:7, and so âTeam Romeoâ took the lead by one point .
At that moment, all members had already left the canopy and were standing under the sun atop the city wall in a row, facing the crowded cameras that were filming them . After hearing the results of the first round from the director, the members of âTeam Romeoâ shouted out their victory one-by-one, and Gao Junming even spread open his arms as he proudly1Â shouted, âLook, didnât I just turn the tide!â
Kang Yifan and Xia Rong both acted in concert and applauded . âBravo, awesome, youâre amazing!â In fact, seeing how Gao Junming was losing himself in this moment of pride and satisfaction, Xia Rong was hesitating whether to take advantage of this opportunity to go up and complete his âspecial taskâ . However, as he was still observing and waiting for the right timing, Kang Yifan had already shot over like a small cannonball and gave Gao Junming an excited hugâ However, because of the difference in body size between the two, it appeared as if it was Gao Junming was giving Kang Yifan a bearhug instead .
âŚAh, forget it . At a time like this, just let them enjoy the fruits of the victory to their heartsâ content!
After Gao Junming was finished hugging Kang Yifan, he then turned around and opened his arms towards Xia Rong . Xia Rong was stunned for a moment before realizing the otherâs intention, then he also smiled and went over to give the other a quick embrace . Gao Junming asked, âRong-ge2, arenât I amazing?â
âSuper amazing, but didnât I say not to call me ge?â Xia Rong continued with a light smile, âBesides, Iâm also not older than you . â
Although Xia Rong had seniority, it was only because he debuted early . But in fact, he was only 23 years old this year, and he would be the youngest out of the group if one didnât count Kang Yifan and Zhang Xin . Xia Rong had read Gao Junmingâs entry on Baidu Baike3Â before, so if the other hadnât lied about his age, and if one really did the calculations, the other was even older than himself by more than two months .
Gao Junming lowered his head to look at him, then softly said, âBut to directly call you by name⌠I feel like Iâm not respecting you enough . It seems that all your fans would call you Rongrong4? I, why donât I also call you that as well, is that okay?â
Xia Rongâs eyebrows raisedâ While he may be relatively slow regarding matters related to emotions5, he had already mixed within the circle for so many years, so his sixth sense on other matters have become much more accurate . He was willing to bet that Gao Junming certainly didnât really want to call him that but just wanted to create hype by selling rot6 with him(XR) . As for why he would think this wayâŚ
How could there be an adult man who would be willing to call another man âFluffyâ! As for his fans, he could only endure it from them . After all, they were still âBaby, hug-hug, kiss-kiss7â at him every day, treating him just like a child . For an eight-chi-tall8Â man like Gao Junming to also call him like that, did they want him (XR) to itch to death from the goosebumps!?
Thus, while his expression stayed the same, a shiver quietly went down Xia Ringâs back . Yet unexpectedly, Gao Junming still didnât give up, so Xia Rong could only straightforwardly tell him, âNot okay . Thatâs too numbingly sappy . Only my fans call me that, my parents would directly call me âXia Rongâ . Kang Yifan also directly calls me âXia Rongâ, thereâs no reason why you canât as well . â
Gao Junming then appeared a little depressed and disappointed and just lowly responded with an âOhâ . However, his eyes were still turning, and his arms had yet to release Xia Rong . Xia Rong estimated that he was going over every means to find a new method . Just as he was a little impatient and wanted to break away from Gao Junming, someone came up, moved away Gao Junmingâs hand, and pulled Xia Rong out .
Su Chi had only simply pulled Xia Rong out before quickly letting go, so Xia Rong didnât really feel anything of it . He then said with a smile, âEven if you won, you still shouldnât ignore the defeated team like this . Everyoneâs waiting for lunch . â
In fact, it was already past two oâclock in the afternoon, and all the members were already famished, their stomachs growling . Xia Rong hurriedly chipped in, âYes, Iâve almost starved to death! Letâs go, letâs go! To have won with such difficulty, Director, whereâs that big, sumptuous meal that we were promised?â
Gao Junming originally still wanted to speak to Xia Rong, however, Xia Rong had learned from his earlier mistake . He quickly reacted and responded faster than everyone else and in an instant, he had already rushed over to the directorâs side . As is, if Gao Junming were to chase after him, he would seem too deliberate, so he could only give up .
As expected, the program teamâs promise of a ârich, sumptuous mealâ really was fulfilled, but it was in the form of an âexchange menuââ The basic components of the meal were exactly the same for both teams and consisted of four dishes, one soup and four bowls of white rice . However, the winning team of the previous round could use one of the âWulin secret manualsâ that they had received and exchange it for a recipe that theyâd like, such as âDeluxe Lobster Setâ, âSuper Roast Duck Setâ or âMala Honey Barbeque Feast9â . One could easily salivate just by looking at the names .
However, the director also reminded them that all the âWulin secret manualsâ that they had obtained would have corresponding special roles in the last round of the episode â âHuashan Sword Debateâ . The winning team of the first round could keep all their manuals, while the losing team could only keep one . And once a member of the victorious team had exchanged one of the secret manuals for a recipe, they would no longer be able to use that manual in âHuashan Sword Debateâ .
But after working so hard, running here and there, they werenât willing to give up the rich meal no matter what, so the members of âTeam Romeoâ could only choose the secret manual that they each believed to be the most âchicken rib10â to give up . Kang Yifan, for example, traded his ăJade Maiden Heart Sutra11ă for the âSuper Roast Duck Setâ . After the exchange, he even sighed as he lamented, âXiaolongnĂź, Iâm sorry that I have to wrong you, but who had to make me Romeo~ Who I love is Juliet~â
Xia Rong was tangled between the âDeluxe Lobsterâ and the âBarbecue Feastâ for a long time . Finally, he opted for the lobster meal in exchange for the ăBixue Sword Manuală . Kang Yifan laughed when he saw this, âAi, how could you just throw away the ăBixue Sword Manuală like this? This is the peerless secret manual that Yue Buqun12Â would even dream about possessing!â
Xia Rong snorted in contempt . âIf you want it, hurry up and castrate yourself to practice it . I still have ăNine Yang Divine Skillă here!âTaking advantage of this time, the directing team also announced the rules for the next round: ones with great chivalry should help the common peopleâ The members of the two teams must independently seek out people with the designated surname(s) from the Hundred Family Surnames13 and try to fulfill their wishes . The team with the most completed wishes before evening fell would win . The winning team would gain a great advantage, displaying an increase in strength in the next dayâs âHuashan Sword Debateâ⌠Therefore, for both the throne at the summit of Wulin and also for the common people, may all heroes please strive hard!
The two teams were separated into two large tables . With the end to the announcement of the new rules, Xia Rongâs team also had their trophy âclueâ delivered to their handsâ It was very simple and crude, it directly told them the designated surname they would be looking for: âZhaoâ .
Whereas, âTeam Liang Shanboâ, who was without any clue, had fallen into a state of melancholy and gloominess . They had to seek people with the designated surname to complete the task, but they didnât even know what surname they needed . Surely it didnât mean they had to try them one by one, right?! A hundred surnames, how long would they need to try before hitting the mark?
Originally very pleased with himself, but once Xia Rong saw the deep frown on Su Chiâs brows, he couldnât bring himself to continue feeling content anymore . Just then, his luxurious lobster meal was placed on the table, so he quickly waved and beckoned Su Chi to come over . âCome, come and letâs eat together . I canât eat it all alone . â
Su Chi raised his head, met eyes with him, and slightly smiled . Without knowing why, Xia Rongâs heart followed along and felt warm .
But although Su Chi obediently walked over and sat down, he explained, âIâm allergic to seafood, I canât eat shrimp . â
Xia Rong was a little disappointed and blurted out, âArenât you a câŚ? How could you be allergic to seafood?â
How could a cat be allergic to fish?
Although he reacted in time and managed to swallow back the word âcatâ, Su Chi was able to catch onto what he was trying to say . He smiled with a bit of helplessness . âThen would you usually rely on licking yourself to bathe?â
Xia Rong: ââŚâ
Kang Yifan leaned over and asked with a rather evil smile, âIâve heard it all~ What licking or not, what dirty topic are you two talking about?â
Su Chi answered in all seriousness, âI was asking Xia Rong whether his cat would lick his own fur . Where has your mind flown to?âKang Yifan didnât believe him . âWhether cats would lick their own fur, what kind of a question is that? No matter how stupid a cat was, he should know to lick his fur, right? This sort of thing should be part of its instinct!â
Stupid Cat Xia Rong: ââŚâ
Kang Yifan then continued smiling haughtily as he asked again, âWhat are you two doing, always getting together and murmuring away?â He then placed his hand on his neck, bared his teeth, and made a âka14â gesture . âAre you two not afraid at all that the other party might be the assassin?â
Assassin Xia Rong: ââŚâ
âWhat are you doing, always sowing discord? It couldnât be that youâre the actual assassin, right?â Su Chi, the other assassin, slightly smiled, not flustered at all . âGao Junming, Zhang Xin, try to recall, had there been anything that didnât seem right along the way?â
Having been invited to eat at the same table, they began to stare at Kang Yifan with suspicious eyes, and the remaining three friends fell into contemplation together: ââŚâ
Kang Yifan, who inexplicably acquired suspicion: ââŚ???â
In the end, the big sumptuous meal was settled by all six friends . From the overall perspective, it invisibly met the programâs required guidelines of âpositive energyâ and âunity and proactivenessâ . However, from an individualâs perspective⌠If they ate such a rich meal on their own while others could only look at it eagerly, it was rather embarrassing when swallowing the food down like that!
Fortunately, the heavens would always leave a way out . Â After they finished eating, the director came out and told âTeam Liang Shanboâ that if they could recite the four dishes and one soup in the order they were served in one attempt, they could also get the hint of the designated surname . Only this hint would not be as direct as that of Xia Rongâs team, but would just limit the range of surnames for them to try .
Unexpectedly, almost at the same time as when the director finished explaining, Ye Mang, who had not spoken much, suddenly opened his mouth . Without even a pause or stutter, he recited the order of the dishes all in one breath, completely confident and impeccably fluent .
Before the director had even announced whether the answer was correct, the audience at the scene had already started to clap in admiration . When it was finally confirmed that his answer was right, Ye Mang was then directly praised as a âgrand immortalâ . He was a little embarrassed after all his friendsâ boasting and generously explained the secret to the trick . âIn fact, itâs because I enjoy cooking . I was staring at them as they were being served to see whether there were any dishes that I couldnât make, so I could then go learn afterward . â
Zhang Xin: âThen were there any?âYe Mang displayed his hands in regret . âNo . â
Amid everyoneâs laughter, both teams had received their respective prompts for the second round and prepared to set out . As for the deadline of the second round, the âbefore it gets darkâ which was mentioned, according to the current season of late May/almost June, it would actually be around 7:00 p . m .
However it was currently already 3:30 p . m . , so the amount of time the members of both teams were allotted to do their best completing the task was actually less than four hours .
Xia Rong originally had even thought that these three hours would not be enough . As a result, it turned out to be the longest three hours within the recent past that he had to endureâ Time spent searching for targets, asking and verifying the targets, fulfilling wishes, all while still avoiding the crowdâs pursuit and interceptions throughout the process⌠The three of them already felt that their hearts were crushed, mouths frayed, and even their legs were broken .
Their only comfort was that the other sideâs âTeam Liang Shanboâ shouldnât be faring much better than them . Moreover, the scope they were dealing with was wider, so their difficulty could only be greater than theirs when completing the task .
By the time that it was completely dark and the six members had arrived back at the assembly point, almost all of them were worn-out and bathed in sweat as if they were cut from the same cloth . They collapsed on the temporary carpet set out by the program group with arms tangled together and legs on top of legs, such that even though they were still being filmed by the camera, they were too sluggish to get up again to try to maintain that same level of beauty they had in front of the camera at the beginning of the filming .
And so, this group of âmale godsâ just laid about in a disorderly manner on the ground as they listened to the results of the second round . Maybe the director thought this would add a good effect to the program, as he also didnât request for them to get up .
Xia Rong, after having ran madly for several kilometers to help someone catch a dog, climbed a tree to retrieve a balloon for a child, helped someone propose by laying on the ground to set up 999 candles⌠all sorts of tragic deeds, was already so tired that he couldnât even straighten his back anymore . He simply felt as if his whole skeleton was going to fall apart .
After he finished listening to the announced results in a muddle, he and his group of friends got up by supporting each other, took the bus back to the hotel, showered, collapsed onto the bed, and went to sleep⌠All of which were through a series of instinctive movements, where he almost couldnât tell whether he was asleep or awake, as well as when he actually fell asleep .
Hence, when he woke up in the middle of the night and found that he became a cat again, he had profound suspicion that he had yet to wake up, that it was just a dream .
And so, when he turned his head and could see clearly with the use of the moonlight that another was lying next to him, a silver gradient British Shorthair sleeping incredibly sweetly, at that time, his suspicionâŚÂ