In a Survival Variety Show, My Lookalike Rival and I Got a Happy Ending - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

“Welcome to Moon Island—”

The five teachers stood on the beach with their supply packs, staring at the coarse sand and dense jungle ahead. Their expressions were each more “colorful” than the last.

“To celebrate the entire team’s first landing on a new map and to enhance team cohesion, we have specially prepared a heartwarming little game.The Lifeline Connection!”

Ximen Ling raised her hand. “PD, that doesn’t sound like a proper mission…”

“It is very proper!” the PD coughed twice, speaking righteously. “Do you see this route?”

The five followed the PD’s finger. The PD shook a rope in her hand. “You need to be tied to this connecting rope and travel from the beach through the jungle to the campsite on the other side. The total distance is three kilometers.”

Ximen Ling understood instantly. “I know! A three-legged race!”

The PD waved her hand. “No! It’s a five-person, six-legged race! Your feet will be tied to each other in a chain. You must go from start to finish and complete the task points along the way! The time limit is 35 minutes. If you exceed it, it’s a failure! If you fail, the whole group sleeps on the beach tonight!”

Everyone went silent.

“Tie our feet together?” Song Yitong almost thought she had misheard. Bai Qi said nothing, her face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

[Five-person, six-legged? What sinister trick is the production team using to torture my sister today!] [Production team, have mercy!] [Bai and Song tied together? So much drama ahhh!] [Help! I’m already laughing!]

Qin Sijing stared seriously at the route, already mentally calculating the positioning.

“Please decide your positions freely! Tie on your connecting ropes!” the PD continued.

The atmosphere turned subtle. Ximen Ling looked at Jiang Xunruo, looking a bit shy. “Teacher Jiang, I… can I stand next to you?”

Jiang Xunruo nodded. “Of course, Teacher Ximen.”

Qin Sijing had originally decided to stand on the end, but Jiang Xunruo naturally walked over to her. “I’ll stand next to Captain Qin. It’ll make coordination easier.”

Qin Sijing: “…Huh? Okay.”

[??? Jiang Xunruo, you’re so proactive!] [Eh, Ruo is just actively cooperating. No matter who the captain is, she will cooperate!] [Ximen Ling: So I should leave?] [Why is she clinging to Sister Qin again ahhh! Jiang-someone stay away from Sister Qin!!!]

The final lineup was: Qin Sijing  Jiang Xunruo  Ximen Ling  Bai Qi  Song Yitong.

Bai & Song: “…”

Once the first three were set, they began tying their feet. Only Bai Qi and Song Yitong stood still. The air froze for three seconds. Bai Qi was the first to pick up the rope and squat down, her tone stiff. “Foot.”

Song Yitong pursed her lips and obediently extended her foot. Bai Qi’s movements were fast and rough; she stood up immediately after finishing as if the rope were covered in thorns.

[Bai Qi tying the rope looks like she’s disarming a bomb hahahaha.] [Help, this is too much drama…]

Once tied, the five stood up wobbling.

“Ready?” The PD raised the megaphone. “Three, two, one! Start!”

The five of them were like a string of grasshoppers tied to a rope wobbling, staggering, and setting off. Problems started at the very first step.

“Wait!” Ximen Ling didn’t know whose foot she stepped on. “Oops, sorry! Who did I just step on?”

Ximen Ling swayed, and the others fared no better, tilting like a row of dominoes.

[Ahhh what kind of torturous move is this?] [Sister Qin: I want to die.] [Hahahaha what is this, a penguin migration?] [Jiang grabbed Sister Qin’s hand to stabilize herself ahhh quick, screenshot it!!!]

Qin Sijing struggled to maintain her balance. “Everyone, listen to my commands! Left leg first!”

The five painfully synchronized their movements and continued staggering forward.

…

After crossing the beach, they reached the jungle. The jungle wasn’t as easy as the sand; there was a small slope.

“How do we walk up this?” Ximen Ling was dumbfounded.

Qin Sijing observed for a moment, finding herself wanting to laugh as she spoke. “Walk sideways, like a crab.”

Thus, the five “crabs” began to crawl sideways up the hill. Halfway up, Song Yitong’s foot slipped. Bai Qi grabbed her instinctively. She was so strong that Song Yitong almost crashed into her chest.

Both of them froze. Bai Qi was the first to let go, saying nothing.

Song Yitong: “…Thanks.”

[Ahhh today is truly worth watching!!!] [Bai Qi, your reflexes are so fast.] [I’m shipping it, I’m shipping it!] [Why haven’t they remarried on the spot yet?]

After climbing the hill, they reached the second task point. The PD pointed to a wooden frame on a tree. “There is a fragmented map inside. You need to work in pairs—hand over hand—to control this pen and complete the map!”

Jiang Xunruo reacted fastest, already holding the pen and looking at Qin Sijing. “Captain, let’s do it.”

To save time, Qin Sijing placed her hand directly over the back of Jiang’s hand.

“Just follow my movement,” Jiang Xunruo said.

Qin Sijing nodded, obediently following Jiang Xunruo’s lead to finish the drawing. On the other side, Bai Qi and Song Yitong each held opposite ends of the pen, terrified of touching each other. The resulting lines were squiggly and distorted.

The PD stifled a laugh. “Teacher Bai, Teacher Song, you both have such an… artistic sense!”

[Hahahaha I’m dying.] [Qin and Jiang are hand-over-hand, while those two look like the other’s hand is covered in needles.] [Despite the shaking, the lines still connected. That damn chemistry ahhh!]

Ximen Ling looked at the profiles of Qin Sijing and Jiang Xunruo almost pressed against each other, then looked at Bai and Song holding the pen together, then finally at herself. Because five people are hard to divide and time was tight, everyone defaulted to the previous roommate pairings. As the “extra” person standing in the middle, she only had to wait in place. She lowered her head and boredly kicked the dirt with her toe.

[Ximen is so lonely, boohoo.] [Did she want to be in a group with Teacher Jiang just now?]

…

With all tasks complete, there was a final sprint across a flat beach. The PD started the countdown to pressure them. “30 minutes used! Everyone, hurry! If you time out, you fail! No tent to sleep in tonight!”

Qin Sijing steadied everyone. “Listen to my command! Accelerate with me!”

The five, feet still tied, sprinted toward the finish line in a hilarious posture, leaving a row of sideways footprints in the sand.

Finally, it was over.

“33 minutes!!! Congratulations to the five teachers for a successful challenge!!!” The PD waved the flag excitedly.

Qin Sijing was the first across the line, her momentum carrying her forward several steps. She turned around to see everyone panting for breath, but they had completed today’s task. This wasn’t a PK between groups; it was a challenge they completed together as a team.

Caught up in the rush of victory, Qin Sijing faced Jiang Xunruo, who was right in front of her. Instinctively, she opened her arms to go for a hug.

Then, a split second before she reached Jiang Xunruo, she slammed on the brakes. Her arms hung frozen in mid-air, her expression completely paralyzed.

Jiang Xunruo took it all in. She watched Qin Sijing’s transition from ecstasy to total freeze-frame. Looking at the stiff arms hanging in the air, a hint of “black-bellied” amusement flickered in the depths of Jiang’s eyes.

Instead of backing away, she stepped slightly forward, her gaze landing on Qin Sijing’s rigid arms. Her voice carried a hint of feigned confusion.

“Teacher Qin, what’s wrong with your hands?”

Qin Sijing snapped her hands back, hiding them behind her back as if they had been burned. She was practically incoherent.

“Uh, I… I just got sand in my eyes. I’m going to rub them!” To cover her tracks, she actually started rubbing her eyes.

Jiang Xunruo nodded, her voice so gentle it could drip like water. “Mmm. Sand in the eyes.”

[Ahhh Qin Sijing, you clearly wanted to hug her!!!!] [Jiang Xunruo actually stepped closer!!! She’s so good at ‘fishing’ ahhh!] [Sister Qin’s ears are incredibly red hahahaha.] [Sister Qin, you’re walking with the same hand and foot now, do you know that?]

Ximen Ling squatted down, silently untying the straps on her feet. Her head was down so her expression was hidden, but her movements were slow. She stayed down there for a long time without actually getting the rope undone.

Bai Qi and Song Yitong had long since split apart, wishing they could stay a mile away from each other. They each brushed sand off themselves, acting as if the previous physical contact had been a dream.

…

As the Captain, Qin Sijing went to collect the team reward for today’s success: a soft blanket. She was nearly walking with a mechanical gait to get the prize.

The sea breeze blew by, lightly lifting her hair. Qin Sijing turned her back to the camera, pretending to calmly fix her hair, but her mind was a complete mess.

It’s over, Qin Sijing.

You’ve even started looking forward to hugging her.