In a Survival Variety Show, My Lookalike Rival and I Got a Happy Ending - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

How on earth did things get to this point?

Qin Sijing lay in her tent, her left leg strapped into a temporary fixation brace, sinking into deep philosophical contemplation.

Just three hours ago, she was the picture of a majestic leader, commanding her teammates to quickly retreat to the camp amidst a torrential downpour.

Three hours later, she had become one of the team’s only two “disabled” members.

The other was Song Yitong, who had developed a high fever.

And all of it was to be blamed on that sudden, violent rainstorm!

The rain had come too abruptly, making the mountain paths treacherous and slick. As the team retreated, Song Yitong, likely already feverish and physically exhausted, began to fall backward. Without a second thought, Qin Sijing lunged forward to grab her.

She caught her.

But she herself fell. With a sickening “crack,” a sensation of pain she had never experienced shot through her left leg. As she lay on the ground, a line of bullet-text floated through her mind: [It’s over. Does insurance cover fractures on a deserted island?]

“Teacher Qin!!!” “Captain!!!”

The scene was pure chaos. The PD came scrambling over, her face even paler than Qin’s. “Med—Medical team!!!! Fast!!!! It looks like Teacher Qin’s leg is broken!!!!”

The rain continued to pour. The live broadcast equipment had already been pulled back to camp. The PD pressed her hands together in prayer, her vision darkening repeatedly. “Great ancestors… first Teacher Jiang gets hurt, now Teacher Qin. Does this show need to hire a master to check the Feng Shui…”

Song Yitong’s fever was severe. Unable to hold out long in the storm, she was sent back to the tent to rest along with Qin Sijing. Ximen Ling sighed. “PD, is there… some kind of curse on our show?”

The PD’s eyes were hollow, completely out of ideas. “Don’t ask… I’m going to a temple to pray…”

…

Outside the tent, the heavy rain had turned into a drizzle. This was when the manager’s call came through. Usually, they weren’t allowed phones, but today was an exception; the production team granted special permission for her manager to contact her.

“Sijing! How are you! Is the leg really broken? What did the doctor say? Will there be permanent damage? Will it affect future work? Do you want to withdraw from the show immediately?!”

After a string of questions and confirming that Qin Sijing wasn’t dying, the manager’s tone shifted. She actually sounded… excited.

“As long as you’re not dead, it’s fine!”

“???”

“Nice move! You’ve got a real head for hype! Do you know? The heat for your CP with Jiang Xunruo has exploded! ‘Qin Sijing breaks leg to save teammate, Jiang Xunruo stays by her side!’ You’ve even left the real couple, Bai Qi and Song Yitong, in the dust!”

Qin Sijing gripped the phone, stunned. “…What?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? This move was brilliant! Once the show is over, the two of you can do a few joint endorsements and your fee will double!”

Qin Sijing finally reacted, her voice turning cold. “I wasn’t hyping anything. It was an accident.”

The other end went silent for two seconds. “Then Jiang Xunruo is the one hyping it. Her methods are slightly superior to yours,” the manager said matter-of-factly.

“She isn’t either.”

Qin Sijing’s rebuttal was so fast the manager was stunned. Is she okay? Did the rain get into her brain?

The manager laughed out of sheer anger. “Qin Sijing, seriously? You don’t actually think Jiang Xunruo is some fragile little white flower, do you? I’ve seen this persona a thousand times! The ‘gentle, understanding flower’ is the best at sucking up likeability and harvesting CP dividends! Look, your leg is broken, and she’s the first to rush up and support you. Press releases about ‘Jiang Xunruo loyally caring for her rival’ were probably sent out long ago!”

“She’s not like that,” Qin Sijing said.

The manager pinched her forehead, her brows twitching with rage. “Qin Sijing, wake up! What is she after by being good to you? Popularity! Or do you really think she has some kind of genuine affection for you?”

…

Qin Sijing had debuted as a child star, and her manager had raised her in the industry. Because there were too many “house collapses” caused by dating, she had told Qin since she was little: don’t fall in love easily, don’t let down the fans, don’t let the house collapse.

At that time, Qin Sijing was ambitious. She cut off all emotions and focused only on her career. The manager thought she was asexual; turns out she just hadn’t met a high-level player yet! One encounter with a pro, and she was being played!

“I’m telling you, there is no kindness without cause in the entertainment industry. She’s nice to you now because every time the camera opens, it’s her ‘highlight moment’!”

“Sister, I’m not a fool. I’ll see for myself what kind of person she is.”

“Qin Sijing, you don’t actually think her ‘favorability’ toward you is high, do you? Someone like you would be toyed with in the palm of her hand! My words are harsh, but that’s how it is!” The manager hung up in a rage.

As Qin Sijing tried to steady her breathing, Jiang Xunruo pushed aside the tent flap and entered, carrying a bowl of hot water. She hadn’t had time to change; her hair and clothes were still damp, making her look a bit disheveled.

“Teacher Qin, drink some water.” She knelt down, her voice gentle.

Qin Sijing looked at her and didn’t speak. Jiang Xunruo, thinking she was in too much pain to talk, glanced at her leg. “Does it hurt a lot?”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Qin Sijing said. The accident had happened so fast; her clothes were still wet and uncomfortable. “I want to… uh, change my clothes…”

“Okay.”

Jiang Xunruo turned around immediately, signaling for Qin to get on her back.

Qin Sijing: ??? She just wanted Jiang to help her stand. Her first instinct was to refuse. “No need, you can just support me.”

“The ground is slippery. If you fall again, what then?” “…” “Or is it that Teacher Qin doesn’t trust me?”

Qin Sijing looked at Jiang Xunruo’s slender back and damp jacket. Her mouth twitched. “Teacher Jiang, don’t joke.”

Before she could finish, Jiang Xunruo reached back, easily hoisted her up, and carried her. Her movements were steady and effortless.

“You’re very light, Teacher Qin,” Jiang Xunruo said.

“…It must be from eating too many wild vegetables. I’ve lost weight.”

Leaning against her, Qin Sijing could smell a faint scent of coconut. Outside, the rain had stopped. Jiang walked steadily, step by step. A breeze blew, and a stray lock of Jiang’s hair drifted across Qin Sijing’s face.

It tickled.

Driven by some inexplicable impulse, Qin Sijing reached out and tucked the lock of hair behind Jiang’s ear. Both of them froze instantly.

Qin Sijing withdrew her hand, feigning calm. “Ahem. Your hair was getting in your eyes.”

“Thank you,” Jiang Xunruo said softly, continuing forward. Qin Sijing felt her heart thumping like thunder; she wondered how much of it Jiang could feel.

…

Meanwhile, in another tent, Song Yitong was delirious with fever, curled up in her sleeping bag. Bai Qi knelt beside her, helping her out of her damp windbreaker and using a warm towel to carefully wipe her forehead and neck.

She then went to the suitcase, expertly fishing out a medicine box, a pack of brown sugar, and two heat patches.

Ximen Ling watched from the side, dumbfounded. “Teacher Bai, how did you know Teacher Song was on her period?”

Bai Qi paused. “…I guessed.”

Ximen Ling’s face said, ‘Do I look like I believe that?’

Bai Qi returned to Song Yitong, knelt, and applied the heat patch to her lower abdomen. Ximen Ling, being sharp, immediately helped brew the brown sugar water. Once it was ready, Bai Qi took it, tested the temperature, and naturally lifted Song Yitong to lean against her shoulder. Her movements were so practiced it was as if she had done them a thousand times.

In truth, she had.

Song Yitong swallowed blearily, her brow still furrowed in pain. On the island, the lack of nutrition was taking its toll. With the storm and her cycle hitting at once, her body had simply given out.

Bai Qi set down the water and placed her palm naturally over Song Yitong’s abdomen, gently massaging it. Ximen Ling’s eyes were nearly popping out of her head. She held back once, then twice, but finally couldn’t resist.

“Teacher Bai, you actually care a lot about Teacher Song.”

“I would be anxious regardless of who was sick,” Bai Qi countered immediately. “Didn’t Teacher Qin say it? We are a team.”

Ximen Ling: ??? Is that so? Then when the Captain broke her leg just now, why didn’t I see you being the first to rush up and cover her with a jacket?

Ximen opened her mouth to call out her stubbornness, but then heard Bai Qi’s voice grow even softer.

“Besides, she is Song Yitong.”

…

Song Yitong was Bai Qi’s college classmate, and after graduation, she became her partner. They had lived together in a cramped, old apartment. Every time Song Yitong had her period, the pain was so intense she would curl up on the bed, unable to speak.

Bai Qi remembered her first time being frantic buying painkillers, boiling brown sugar water but failing to control the sugar levels. Song Yitong, enduring the pain, had teased her: “Thanks for the sugar water, Qi-qi, but this taste… is very unique. Can we leave a little survival space for the ants?”

Later, Bai Qi learned. She remembered every cycle. She knew Song Yitong’s everything—her favorite movies, her music, which expression meant she was about to cry, which frown meant she was unhappy.

But so what? The world keeps turning without anyone. Bai Qi closed her eyes, pushing the memories back down.

Ximen Ling looked at Bai Qi’s downcast profile and understood. “Okay, I’ll go check on Teacher Qin.”

“I’ll go.” “???” Ximen was confused. “Aren’t you going to stay with Teacher Song?”

Bai Qi looked at the sleeping Song Yitong, her lips thinning. The fever had broken; she just needed rest. “…She’s about to wake up,” Bai Qi said softly. “It’s not convenient for me to be here.”

Ximen Ling had an epiphany. “Oh, you can’t face her when she’s awake? You’re afraid… she doesn’t want to see you?” Realizing she was being too blunt (KY), Ximen quickly covered her mouth. “Oops, my big mouth. I won’t ask, I won’t ask.”

Bai Qi said nothing. She flipped the tent flap and walked out quickly.

…

As Qin Sijing took her bath, she fell into deep thought. Jiang Xunruo was standing guard just outside the door, claiming she was afraid Qin would break her other leg. The “bathroom” was crude, no door, just a plastic sheet for cover! It felt so insecure.

After she finished, Qin Sijing lifted the curtain to find two people sitting outside: Jiang Xunruo and Ximen Ling.

They both helped her back to her tent. They seemed to have been chatting while waiting, and they continued their conversation as they walked. Qin Sijing couldn’t get a word in.

“So, partnership really depends on chemistry,” Ximen Ling remarked. “Finding someone who knows what you want with just a look… that’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

“Yes, a good partner is rarer than anything,” Jiang Xunruo responded.

They reached the tent. “Teacher Qin, get some good rest!” Ximen helped her lie down. After a few pleasantries, the two walked out. From inside, Qin Sijing could still hear them.

First, Ximen Ling: “So Teacher Jiang, do you think we’ll have a chance to collaborate once?”

Then, Jiang Xunruo’s usual gentle voice: “Of course, if there’s a chance.”

Soon, they drifted further away, and Qin Sijing could no longer hear them. She sat up in her sleeping bag and stared out the tent window, seeing only their retreating backs. Ximen was gesturing excitedly while talking. Jiang Xunruo listened and suddenly burst out laughing.

It wasn’t her usual polite, flawless smile. It was a completely relaxed laugh. Qin Sijing realized she rarely saw her laugh like that.

What were they talking about? What shared topics did they have that she didn’t know about?

Qin Sijing slid back down into her sleeping bag. A strange, sour ache clogged her chest, and no matter how many deep breaths she took, it wouldn’t dissipate.