I Swear I Don’t Want to Be Everyone’s Favorite - Chapter 29

Before Ning Fuguang could voice her opinion, the director firmly finalized the team assignments and proceeded to explain the day’s game rules.

Similar to the first episode, the guests needed to complete various tasks within designated areas. The number of tasks completed would directly affect their lunch simply put, the top-ranked team would feast on a state banquet, while the last-place team would get nothing.

Jiang Lianyan immediately spoke up, “Teams with three people can complete three tasks at once?”

Wasn’t that too unfair?

The director awkwardly replied, “Theoretically, yes.”

With eight guests, the ideal scenario would have been to divide into four teams for fair competition. Who would have thought everyone would be so unscrupulous, splitting into five teams and engaging in an overwhelmingly unfair competition?

Strangely, those being “overwhelmed” seemed completely unaware. Fu Yunqing even appeared particularly eager: “Just wait for last place. Watch how I take second.”

Xiang Fan rolled her eyes, too lazy to respond. Yu Jingtang, however, parted her lips and uttered a single “Oh.”

Fu Yunqing felt as though she had punched cotton, thinking it would have been better if the other hadn’t replied at all.

Since none of them had any objections, Jiang Lianyan, who was “fighting for her rights,” seemed especially out of place. She hesitated, biting her lip, and said nothing more.

As the director announced the countdown, the staff finally arrived to distribute the maps, clearly another one of the production team’s tricks to buy time.

Jiang Luoyue thanked them and had barely glanced at the map when Fu Yunqing suddenly leaned in close: “I’m off.”

She was taken aback, unsure why the other felt the need to inform her specifically. But Fu Yunqing dashed off as soon as she finished speaking, like a cannonball fired from a tank, afraid that even a second’s delay would cost her the advantage.

Watching her figure vanish like a gust of wind into the greenery, a staff member exclaimed in surprise, “ Fu Yunqing didn’t take the map.”

Jiang Luoyue couldn’t help but laugh. During the first episode, she had noticed how fast Fu Yunqing could run so fast that her teammates could only trail behind, eating her dust.

Now that she was the one eating dust, she actually found the feeling rather pleasant.

She really had been influenced by Fu Yunqing.

Thinking this, Jiang Luoyue took the map. After all, the area wasn’t that large; they were bound to meet again.

Xiang Fan watched her actions, hands in her pockets, and casually approached.

“Guide Xiang?” Jiang Luoyue blinked. “What’s up?”

“Where are you planning to go?” Xiang Fan got straight to the point. “Take me along.”

Yu Jingtang immediately shot a glance over, as if ready to make the same request if Jiang Luoyue dared to agree.

Jiang Luoyue replied, “That depends on their opinions.”

Suddenly under scrutiny, Duan Man and Yu Qiu: “…?”

Duan Man hid behind Jiang Luoyue, while Yu Qiu didn’t indulge them: “Director? They want to follow our team isn’t that against the rules? If everyone forms illegal teams like this, how are we supposed to play the game?”

Seeing the two being stopped, Ning Fuguang felt a twinge of regret. Just as she withdrew her gaze, she noticed an even more intense stare beside her.

“President Ning.”

As soon as Jiang Lianyan spoke, Ning Fuguang pointed at the map, changing the subject: “Working together wastes too much time. We can split into two groups and meet back here in three and a half hours.”

Jiang Lianyan protested, “But they’re all sticking together.”

Ning Fuguang looked up and saw that Jiang Luoyue’s team had already confirmed their direction. Duan Man and Yu Qiu were like two tails, closely following Jiang Luoyue. Upon hearing something, the girl curved her lips and answered, turning her face slightly.

Watching her cheerful demeanor, Ning Fuguang’s restless mood eased a little. She replied dismissively, “It won’t happen. Do you know Zhao Mei?”

Jiang Lianyan hesitated, “The guest from the first episode?”

Artists like Zhao Mei, who went from being the center of attention on a live-streamed variety show one moment to being exposed for scandals and dropping out of the industry the next, were truly rare. Even if Jiang Lianyan hadn’t paid attention to Hate Me, she had heard of his story.

“Even someone like him… managed to complete the task. You should believe you can do it too.”

[Is Ning Fuguang trying to curse someone? I can tell!]

[Even a fool like him can do it, why can’t you?]

Jiang Lianyan was momentarily speechless, unable to come up with a retort before Ning Fuguang had already turned and walked away. Even though she deliberately slowed her pace, it was obvious to anyone watching that she was “stalking” Jiang Luoyue’s team.

If this kind of stalking had only happened once, it might have been dismissed as a coincidence.

But when three people were doing it, even if Jiang Luoyue wanted to ignore it, she had no choice but to turn around and remind them helplessly, “The director said we can’t team up.”

“We’re not teaming up,” Xiang Fan said. “We just happened to run into each other. Does that count as breaking the rules?”

Yu Jingtang murmured, “Hmm.”

[How could it not count?]

Ning Fuguang arrived a few seconds late, narrowly avoiding being caught. With her hands in her pockets, she chimed in with Jiang Luoyue’s words, “Don’t you know whether you’re teaming up or not? The director said that illegal teaming would result in an automatic loss. Don’t take advantage of Jiang Luoyue’s kindness and keep bullying her.”

Yu Jingtang questioned, “He didn’t say that.”

At least, she hadn’t heard it.

But the director took the opportunity to add Ning Fuguang’s made-up rule to the official regulations on the spot.

Jiang Luoyue chuckled and said seriously, “Xiao Tang, Guide Xiang, you wouldn’t want to lose automatically and be laughed at by Fu Yunqing, would you?”

The two fell silent on the spot, and the live chat exploded with laughter.

[Xiao Tang, Guide Xiang, you wouldn’t want to lose face in front of Jiang Luoyue, would you?]

[Why do I feel like they’re already losing face right now? [facepalm]]

To prevent the guests from being “harassed” further, the production team decided to send them off to random task locations. Before leaving, Xiang Fan pointed at Ning Fuguang, “What about her? Why doesn’t she have to leave?”

Ning Fuguang looked rather smug, “I just happened to run into them. Miss Jiang is sharp and won’t misunderstand, right?”

But when she turned her face, what she saw was Jiang Luoyue’s hesitant expression. “Miss Jiang?”

Jiang Luoyue spoke in unison with her, “Take her away too.”

Ning Fuguang: “…”

Silence was the bridge tonight.

Even after the three of them were escorted away by the production team like prisoners, Yu Qiu was still a bit dazed. “Why was Ning Fuguang staring at you so intently before getting in the car? She must hate you now.”

Jiang Luoyue was taken aback, “Really?”

Yu Qiu nodded, “Of course. The way she looked at you was just like how you looked at me in the drama so scary.”

Listening to their conversation, Duan Man looked utterly confused. Wasn’t Ning Fuguang smiling when she left? What did that have to do with hatred? Or was it the new trend to use “hate” instead of “love”? So complicated it felt like her brain was about to grow.

During their conversation, the three of them checked in at the first task location an open-air plaster doll stall where many passersby were currently painting. However, it was clear that these were all disguises; almost as soon as the group approached, someone couldn’t hold back a scream.

Jiang Luoyue even spotted what seemed to be her own fans, one moment they were staring at her with burning intensity, and the next, they were looking at her teammates with utter disdain, as if deeply disappointed, occasionally sighing heavily.

Feeling as though she had been indirectly criticized, Jiang Luoyue: “…”

The stall owner suppressed a laugh as she announced the rules: they had to choose one person to paint a plaster doll within ten minutes and have the onlookers score it. If the overall score reached six or above, the task would be considered completed; otherwise, it would be a failure.

Yu Qiu was taken aback. “Only one person?”

“You can all participate, but the task can only be completed once.”

Jiang Luoyue understood, this rule was designed to accommodate the teams with fewer members. But since she had never intended to rely on numbers to win, she took it in stride.

When it came time to choose one person, Jiang Luoyue volunteered, “I’ve never painted one before. I have no experience.”

Yu Qiu added, “I’m not very good at drawing.”

Duan Man, appointed at a critical moment, asked, “Should I do it then?”

Receiving their approval, Duan Man sat down, opened the paint set, and looked completely confident. Just her posture alone made Yu Qiu nod in approval. “Great, you’ve got the spirit. We’re counting on you for this point.”

Ten minutes was neither too long nor too short, just enough time for the other two to check in at the next task location. On the table were various drinks, condiments, and glass cups.

The rules were simple: two guests would roll dice to determine the order, then engage in a rapid-fire Q&A session. If one refused to answer a question, the other would have to add a drink to the cup. The guest who answered the fewest questions overall would have to drink the final concoction.

In other words, the more familiar the guests were with each other, the easier it would be to complete the task.

Jiang Luoyue and Yu Qiu were eager to try, but unfortunately, this task was competitive, they could only play with guests from other teams. The two had no choice but to give up.

By the time they returned to the plaster doll stall, Duan Man’s painting was nearly finished. From behind, the canvas appeared empty, and all they could see was Duan Man’s focused expression.

“What did you paint?” Yu Qiu had just asked when she was rendered speechless by the finished product.

The plaster doll looked as if it had undergone an eye-widening procedure, its eyeballs were larger than its mouth, and its delicate, curly eyelashes resembled mosquito legs. To top it off, Duan Man had used her questionable aesthetic sense to paint purple lips on the face.

“Stop painting,” Yu Qiu said seriously. “I’m afraid someone might use this as inspiration for a cult animation.”

Duan Man, who had been full of enthusiasm and eager for praise: “Huh? Is it that ugly?”

She scrutinized it repeatedly but couldn’t see the problem, instinctively turning to Jiang Luoyue for validation.

Jiang Luoyue wore a troubled expression but still offered a gentle critique, “Actually, if you look closely, it has all the features a nose and eyes. You’ve done a really impressive job.”

“Ah ”

Suddenly, commotion erupted again from the crowd, but when Jiang Luoyue looked over, everyone appeared completely normal, making it impossible to connect the screams to them.

While Jiang Luoyue was giving her “mom class” commentary, Yu Qiu approached the crowd and bluntly pointed out, “She painted something this ugly, and you’re still shipping her with someone?”

Someone muttered in defiance, “But even though she painted it so ugly, Luoyue still praised her. Luoyue must really love her, their relationship is so real.”

Yu Qiu sighed in exasperation. “At least ship something better.” For example, she and Jiang Luoyue wouldn’t be a bad pairing.

With the power of shipping goggles, this plaster doll that couldn’t even score a zero in Yu Qiu’s eyes actually received an ultra-high rating of 9.5 points.

The 0.5 points were deducted because everyone felt Duan Man still had room for improvement. Before leaving, the stall owner specifically handed the finished product to Duan Man: “Other guests doing this task have to leave their creations behind, but you painted so well that I couldn’t bear to separate your masterpiece from you.”

Though she found the other person’s wording rather strange, Duan Man, holding the doll, started feeling confident again and began defending herself: “Actually, it’s not that ugly, right?”

Yu Qiu closed his eyes in pain, not wanting to participate in this topic anymore. While Jiang Luoyue was carefully considering how to make Duan Man see reason, a vibrant female voice rang out,

“Luoyue?” She looked up to see Fu Yunqing standing by the rapid-fire Q&A table, her hands rather mischievously flipping through the cards.

Fu Yunqing smiled, looking quite pleased. Before even waiting for Jiang Luoyue’s response, her attention was captured by the extremely brightly colored doll, and she blurted out: “What is this thing? So ugly!”

–

As Duan Man’s heart shattered into pieces and Yu Qiu offered half-hearted comfort, Fu Yunqing muttered under her breath: “Just telling the truth.”

Her voice was very soft around unfamiliar people, Fu Yunqing still understood how to show “respect.”

Jiang Luoyue chuckled helplessly and returned the map Fu Yunqing had left behind. After glancing at it, Fu Yunqing said with some pride: “I’ve already completed three tasks. The earlier ones were quite simple.”

[How many? Three?] [Three people took nearly half an hour to complete just one and only won through pity votes. Are you here for an autumn outing?]

Jiang Luoyue nodded seriously: “I’ll go check it out.”

Fu Yunqing: “I’m right here in front of you. Couldn’t you just ask me what the tasks are?”

Jiang Luoyue’s response was very practical: “I’ll find out when I get there.”

Staff brought two dice. Jiang Luoyue casually tossed them and unluckily rolled a ‘2’. She thought she would definitely be the one answering questions, but didn’t expect Fu Yunqing to immediately follow with a roll of ‘1’.

Looking at the two dice, Jiang Luoyue smiled: “Did you do that on purpose?”

“I just have bad luck!” Fu Yunqing insisted.

The rapid-fire Q&A had twenty questions total. The first few questions were relatively normal, just asking about usual preferences for movies, TV shows, variety programs, and which celebrities they got along with in the industry. But the further they went, the more the questions started to change flavor.

“Choose between Yu Jingtang and Xiang Fan to be your teammate.”

Fu Yunqing: “I choose punishment.”

“Between Xiang Fan and Ning Fuguang.”

“Punishment”

Out of twenty questions, half were various combinations of the three people, asking Fu Yunqing to choose teammates. If Fu Yunqing had been slightly more flexible and chosen anyone randomly, she could have easily won.

But she stubbornly stuck to her path, eventually saying “punishment” as soon as she heard any names.

After the Q&A ended, it was Fu Yunqing’s turn to sit in the questioning position. Jiang Luoyue had a feeling her own questions wouldn’t be much better.

Sure enough, starting from the first question, the program team began testing the boundaries of what they could ask.

“Who is your favorite singer?” “Yu Jingtang.”

“Who is your favorite director?” “Xiang Fan.”

“Your favorite variety show is? And you can’t say ‘I Hate You’!”

Jiang Luoyue took a deep breath, not particularly wanting to compliment the program team during this segment, and casually named another show from the same time slot.

The subsequent questions all revolved around the guests. When Fu Yunqing asked, “Who is your favorite actor?” Jiang Luoyue finally hesitated briefly.

After a moment, she recited names as if reading from a list: “Fu Yunqing, Yu Qiu.”

She listed every actress she had collaborated with since her rebirth.

Fu Yunqing, who had been waiting with eager anticipation for praise, asked, “Why do you suddenly have so many favorites when it comes to this question?”

Jiang Luoyue thought to herself, Of course, it’s because I can’t remember the names of the ones I worked with before my rebirth otherwise, there would be even more.

But she couldn’t say that out loud. If she did, Fu Yunqing would lose her mind. So she kept quiet and smiled innocently. Fu Yunqing had no choice but to move on: “Do you prefer summer or winter”

“I don’t like either.”

“What’s the first word that comes to your mind right now?”

“Plaster.”

“Do you prefer cats or dogs?”

“Cats.”

Fu Yunqing looked utterly shocked: “Why didn’t you say Dotted?!”

Jiang Luoyue: “…” If the show’s question had been “Do you prefer Dotted or cats?” she would have chosen the former without hesitation. But that wasn’t the question.

Before Fu Yunqing could get angry, she casually read the next question: “Do you prefer Fu Yunqing or Yu Jingtang?”

As soon as she finished, she froze, eagerly awaiting Jiang Luoyue’s answer.

Jiang Luoyue almost blurted out “I like” but caught herself just in time: “Penalty.”

Fu Yunqing hesitated: “Do you prefer Fu Yunqing or Ning Fuguang?”

“Penalty.”

“Do you like”

“Penalty.”

No matter what the question was, as long as it involved a specific person, Jiang Luoyue chose the penalty every time.

At first, Fu Yunqing was quite pleased, but when she realized Jiang Luoyue would rather choose the dog that lost to the cat in “Do you prefer Fu Yunqing or dogs?” than say “Fu Yunqing,” she finally panicked.

As her questions grew faster and more intense, Fu Yunqing eventually tossed the cue card aside and asked recklessly, “Do you prefer Fu Yunqing or Duan Man’s plaster doll?!”

She refused to believe Jiang Luoyue would still choose plaster for this question!

Jiang Luoyue glanced offstage, Duan Man’s eyes were filled with genuine sincerity. Then she hesitantly looked back at Fu Yunqing, whose expression was equally sincere but on the verge of breaking down.

Caught between their gazes, Jiang Luoyue mimicked Fu Yunqing’s whistling gesture and said with feigned nonchalance, “I choose the penalty.”

“Jiang Luoyue!”