I Swear I Don’t Want to Be Everyone’s Favorite - Chapter 18.1

Perhaps the production crew had imposed a rule that staying on camera for too long would result in a pay cut, the cameraman swiftly rattled off a string of advertisements before vanishing like dissipating smoke.

Jiang Luoyue stared at the tent that had been forcibly shoved into her hands, falling into a long silence. With a hint of helplessness, she asked the camera, “Ning Fuguang gave this to me? Why?”

Immediately, responses flooded in:

[Actually, I’ve been wanting to ask the same question.]

[What exactly did Jiang Luoyue do to Ning Fuguang? From the very first episode, Ning Fuguang has been acting like he holds some deep-seated grudge. Wanting to team up must be to get back at Jiang Luoyue, and giving her equipment is probably just to lower her guard before striking. How terrifying!]

[Ning Fuguang: ? Me?]

Unaware of the conspiracy theories in the comments, Jiang Luoyue stared at the tent, her sense of unease growing stronger. Unless it was some kind of prank prop, she couldn’t think of any reason why Ning Fuguang would give her equipment.

Time slipped away in her contemplation. By the time Jiang Luoyue remembered the night watch and wanted to check the time, a faint rustling sound came from the tent.

Fu Yunqing, looking utterly exhausted, sat down beside Jiang Luoyue and immediately buried her face in her clothes, like a cat curling up and shrinking into a ball of fur.

“Almost an hour, right?” Fu Yunqing’s voice was muffled and indistinct. Jiang Luoyue could only see the crown of her head. “I’ll keep watch.”

Jiang Luoyue glanced down at her watch it was still two minutes short of an hour.

She was utterly astonished. “You didn’t sleep?”

Ordinary people aren’t usually precise with time, and without an alarm, oversleeping is common. Aside from not sleeping at all, Jiang Luoyue couldn’t think of any other explanation.

“I did sleep,” Fu Yunqing confirmed, pausing for a moment before adding, “I just didn’t sleep well. I kept dreaming that I heard you talking.”

Jiang Luoyue: ?” Was Fu Yunqing sure it was a dream and not just the poor soundproofing of the tent, allowing her to overhear the conversation between Jiang Luoyue and the crew?

She thought Fu Yunqing wasn’t fully awake, but the woman seemed to perk up after a few casual words, making an effort to raise her voice. “Go ahead. I’ll wake Xiang Fan later. I won’t disturb you.”

Under Fu Yunqing’s repeated urging, Jiang Luoyue had no choice but to enter the tent. Though the show was framed as a survival challenge, the day’s experience felt no different from a hiking and camping trip.

Lying in her sleeping bag, she gazed at the tent’s interior, faintly illuminated by the flickering firelight, and soon felt drowsy.

As expected, the soundproofing was poor. Throughout the night, Jiang Luoyue could faintly hear the crackling of the burning wood. Strangely, though, she didn’t hear any conversation between Fu Yunqing and Xiang Fan.

It seemed Fu Yunqing had kept her promise to be careful and not wake her.

Waking up with the belief that “Fu Yunqing always keeps her word,” Jiang Luoyue was still dazed and disoriented when Xiang Fan’s exasperated retort came from outside the tent: “Night watch?”

The fire had gone out, and Fu Yunqing was still in the same position as the night before. Only upon hearing the voice did she lift her head and glance around: “…”

A flicker of guilt crossed her face, but a moment later, she raised her voice defensively: “It’s my first time keeping watch it’s only natural to lack experience! Perfectly normal!”

“I stayed up all night keeping watch, and instead of thanking me, you’re questioning me! What’s your problem?”

Xiang Fan: ?

She had only asked two words, how had Fu Yunqing managed to spin such an elaborate response?

“Forget it.” Xiang Fan turned around. “I’ll take the night watch tonight.”

Her unusually agreeable attitude left Fu Yunqing stunned for a moment. After Jiang Luoyue stepped out of the tent, Fu Yunqing muttered, “Has she been possessed?”

Jiang Luoyue replied, “You shouldn’t always assume the worst of the guide.”

Xiang Fan probably hadn’t made a fuss earlier because she felt somewhat apologetic that Fu Yunqing had kept watch all night.

Fu Yunqing rested her chin in her hands, wearing an expression that said, “If you say so.” Jiang Luoyue didn’t press further about why there had been no shift change most likely, Fu Yunqing had fallen asleep not long after she left.

Was it because the area was too safe, or was Fu Yunqing just an exceptionally sound sleeper? Jiang Luoyue couldn’t figure it out and soon distributed the toiletries provided by the production team the previous night.

After washing up, the three of them gathered around the now-cold campfire and began nibbling on compressed biscuits.

“This tastes awful,” Fu Yunqing complained after a few bites. “And why are we sitting here to eat? Isn’t it cold?”

“You didn’t feel cold while sleeping, but now that you’re awake, you’re making a fuss.” Xiang Fan shot her a sidelong glance. “If you want to eat alone, no one’s stopping you.”

Jiang Luoyue listened to their bickering for a while. Seeing that Fu Yunqing had no intention of returning to the tent, she asked, “What are we doing today?”

With three days and two nights ahead, they still had two long days to go. In truth, now that they had set up camp and secured food, they could just lie in their tents until the game ended.

But the production team clearly wouldn’t allow such idleness.

Almost as soon as Jiang Luoyue finished her question, the cameraman from the previous night reappeared. “Today’s mission for the Red Heart Team: Find and consume five or more types of rainforest food to experience the rainforest ambiance. Upon completion, you will receive one clue to the resource pack.”

Fu Yunqing was startled but quickly remembered that cameras were everywhere on the mountain even ghosts would be exposed and calmed down a little.

“Does fish count?” Xiang Fan shook the bucket. The few fish still inside were barely alive, on the verge of death.

The cameraman nodded, counting it as one type.

But aside from the fish, they hadn’t gathered anything else. To complete the mission, it seemed they had to set out immediately to search.

With a clear goal, Fu Yunqing became noticeably more motivated. “If we’re doing this, we might as well be the first team to find the resource pack and show the others what we’re made of!”

As she hyped herself up, Jiang Luoyue packed their belongings and asked, puzzled, “Is winning that important?”

She had asked Yu Jingtang the same question. The other’s response was that her agent said it was important, so she thought it was important as if it didn’t really matter either way.

But Fu Yunqing answered without hesitation, “Of course it’s important. If you can’t be the best at something, you might as well not do it at all.”

Jiang Luoyue countered, “But wouldn’t that mean giving up too much?”

“Obviously, I don’t give up after just one failure,” Fu Yunqing snorted. “For example, with this variety show, I’ve decided that if I don’t get first place in any of the four episodes, I’ll quit.”

With only seven episodes in total and five guests, failing to secure first place even once in four episodes did seem rather humiliating.

“I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t drop out.”

Hearing Jiang Luoyue’s “promise,” Fu Yunqing’s eyes curved into a smile. Though she didn’t take it seriously, her mood improved considerably.

Meanwhile, Xiang Fan was also inquiring with the cameraman about the locations of edible food. When they set off again, she resumed her role as the guide. Learning from past mistakes, she was much more cautious this time, pausing to consider any suggestions before making the next decision.

So when they actually found a mango tree under proper guidance, Fu Yunqing was still a bit dazed: “It’s this simple?”

“What’s the point of the program team designing such high difficulty?” Xiang Fan retorted, only to see Jiang Luoyue staring at the mango with a hesitant expression, so she softened her tone, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Luoyue: “We found it, alright.”

But, how do we pick it?

The mango tree was about ten meters tall. Without any external help, the only way to get the fruit was obviously by climbing the tree. But none of them had any experience with that. After a few seconds of silence, Xiang Fan said with difficulty, “Have you ever climbed a tree before?”

Fu Yunqing said, “I can give it a try.”

The kind of “give it a try” that could easily end in disaster.

“Let’s look for something else,” Jiang Luoyue said. “The rainforest is huge. Since the program team asked for five types of food, it means there are still many unexplored areas.”

No one objected, but before leaving, Xiang Fan made a mark near the mango tree.

It was unclear whether they were unlucky or the photographer had given them poor directions, but along the way, they didn’t come across anything edible. Instead, they saw all sorts of strange and colorful flowers and plants, each so vibrant that it seemed even touching them would be poisonous.

Fu Yunqing wanted to pick a flower but was stopped, so she idly kicked a stone out of boredom.

The noise was too loud, and Xiang Fan grew impatient: “Do you have ADHD?”

But the next moment, Fu Yunqing suddenly crouched down, pushed aside the wild grass in front of her, and exclaimed in surprise, “Is this a footprint?”

Jiang Luoyue immediately turned around and crouched down beside her.

The two of them stared at the grass like scouts on a critical mission, their expressions serious. Fu Yunqing grew even more impatient and urged, “Xiang Fan! Aren’t you going to check out the clue?”

Fu Yunqing was one thing she’d been foolish for more than a year or two but why was Jiang Luoyue joining in the nonsense?

However, when Xiang Fan approached, she unexpectedly discovered that there were indeed clear shoe prints on the grass, extending forward along a path they hadn’t taken.

“See? It’s a clue,” Fu Yunqing said triumphantly. “Would you have found it without me?”

Jiang Luoyue nodded, “Mm-hmm, Fu Yunqing is amazing.”

Xiang Fan said, “It might not necessarily be a clue; it could also be from the Square Team.”

But regardless of which it was, the discovery was worth investigating, as their only goal was the resource pack. If they could find it through reasoning, it would save them a lot of time.

However, the owner of the shoe prints was clearly very cautious. The footprints grew increasingly faint until they disappeared completely, and then a fork in the road appeared before them.

The three of them split up to search. Jiang Luoyue took the widest path and, as expected, found many cameras around.

She casually greeted them and asked with a smile, “Does anyone know the clue?”

The neglected barrage immediately flooded the screen:

【Luoyue! They’re stealing and cheating! The resource pack isn’t here at all! Go back! Your base is about to be stolen!】

【She’s so hopeful, but I can’t answer her. I guess… I still can’t change anything.】

【I’m satisfied seeing your team just as clueless. The Square Team has been searching since last night and still hasn’t found a clue. Did you really think you’d find it so quickly? Dream on.】

Though she couldn’t see the barrage, Jiang Luoyue patiently waited for a while before bidding the barrage farewell.

After repeatedly searching the area, just as she thought this trip had failed, she caught a glimpse of a flickering yellow light in her peripheral vision.

It originated from a massive tree in the distance, with a thick trunk and an irregularly shaped hollow in the middle, covered in moss. The yellow light emanated from within. She tentatively reached out her hand and touched a box. Jumping to conclusions, Jiang Luoyue assumed it was a resource pack and immediately pulled it out.

But after seeing what was inside the transparent box, Jiang Luoyue fell silent.