Chapter 121: A Game or a Test?

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Four teams of guests set off: three headed toward the same location, while one took a different route. The destinations did not overlap, and no one knew how those on the alternate route were faring, yet all raced against time on an equal footing. Thus, even with only their partner beside them, some felt an urgent pressure spurring them onward.

MountPark Bungee Jumping.

Wen Yiming and Chu Yao had arrived at their chosen first challenge. They took a cable car to the mountain peak, preparing to face the bungee jump.

The wind at the summit was fierce. Chu Yao stepped to the edge, peering down at the dizzying height beneath her. It far exceeded her expectations. Though not usually afraid of heights, uncertainty suddenly gnawed at her.

She had never bungee jumped before, but had crossed suspension bridges and glass walkways, and braved amusement park drop towers and extreme roller coasters—always finding them thrilling and fun.

But this bungee jump... before arriving, she thought it would be manageable; now, she realized it was far from simple. No wonder others hadn’t chosen this path.

“I’m suddenly a bit scared. What should I do?” Chu Yao withdrew her foot and looked at Wen Yiming, her complexion pale after seeing the height.

Wen Yiming also glanced downward, feeling exhilarated—it was a height he had never dared to try before, and his entire body tingled with excitement.

“Afraid? I thought you weren’t scared of heights,” he said.

“But I’ve never done this kind of thing... It’s an inexplicable nervousness,” Chu Yao replied with a wry smile.

“Don’t be. Be brave. It’s very relieving. After you challenge this, you’ll realize many of life’s pressures are just clouds passing by,” Wen Yiming said with a reassuring smile.

Changing routes now would waste too much time. The other guests who chose the Claw Valley Maze might already be nearing completion. Since they’d come this far, quitting now wouldn’t do. It was just a matter of mustering courage; giving up was not an option.

Taking a deep breath, Chu Yao said to Wen Yiming, “You go first?”

“Sure. Or, if you’re scared to go alone, we can jump together,” Wen Yiming suggested with a smile.

Jump together... Chu Yao’s expression became odd, and she quickly shook her head.

Wen Yiming laughed heartily, “Then I’ll show you how it’s done first.”

The live chat buzzed with confusion—

[Jump together? He’s got ideas.]

[Isn’t he chasing after Li Jiayan? Why is he suddenly cozying up to Chu Yao?]

[Maybe he got rejected by Li Jiayan today and feels hurt.]

...

Wen Yiming stretched and warmed up his muscles, took a few deep breaths, then stepped onto the bungee platform. The staff secured the elastic cords to his feet.

“Good luck!” Chu Yao shouted.

Wen Yiming turned to face her, crossed his arms, winked, then smoothly leaned backward, plunging himself off the cliff.

“Whoa!” Chu Yao gasped, stunned.

Even his jump had style—that was so Wen Yiming.

His courage truly impressed her.

When it was her turn, however, she could not be so carefree.

She stood on the platform for a long time, psyching herself up, but didn’t advance a single step beyond the cliff edge.

“Go on!” Wen Yiming called from below, having climbed back up after his jump. “Anything you want to say before you jump?”

Chu Yao took several deep breaths, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted toward the opposite peak:

“Chu Yao! Be brave and chase your happiness!”

The echo reverberated through the valley. Suddenly, she summoned courage and leapt.

Wen Yiming cheered, “WhooHoo!” smiling broadly.

Live chat comments—

[Whose happiness is that?]

[Is it really impossible with Xu Junze?]

[Looks like she’s finally freeing herself.]

...

Meanwhile, in the Claw Valley Maze, three pairs of partners—Zhang Chen and Ye Fangfei, Xu Junze and Qi Jiajia, and Lu Zhou and Li Jiayan—had each entered through different entrances.

Before entering, staff handed each group a maze map.

This maze was partly natural, formed by valley terrain with many small mountains shaped like claws, combining natural and artificial elements into a large semi-natural labyrinth.

Zhang Chen and Ye Fangfei arrived first.

Ye Fangfei wasn’t focused on racing the clock; she leisurely admired the scenery inside—the flowers, grass, trees, birds, and butterflies—all quite delightful.

Having only played small mazes as a child, she found this large maze intriguingly challenging.

As they proceeded, every so often they reached a fork with two paths. The scenery was nearly identical, making it hard to distinguish one from another without careful attention.

Ye Fangfei thought they needed to remember landmarks to avoid retracing their steps unknowingly.

Zhang Chen was determined to claim first place that day. Holding the map, he moved quickly, soon leaving Ye Fangfei behind and then turning back to urge her onward.

“What are you doing?” Zhang Chen noticed Ye Fangfei pausing to examine a tree and circled back to her.

“If I’m not mistaken, we left from here earlier. It seems we’ve come full circle. Look at this tree—its shape is unique; I remember it distinctly,” Ye Fangfei said, frowning.

“A maze is designed that way. It plants misleading landmarks that seem familiar to confuse you,” Zhang Chen explained, pointing to the right fork behind them and unfolding the map.

“We came here from the right fork, and before that, we entered from the left side, so this can’t be a loop. With the map, we can’t go wrong.”

“This maze isn’t difficult, just large and physically demanding. We locked onto a path and stuck to it from the start. We won’t get lost,” Zhang Chen said confidently.

“Trust me and follow my lead.”

He glanced at his watch. “We need to speed up; we’re taking too long.”

Ye Fangfei looked again at the tree, still familiar, but with her spatial sense muddled, she decided to trust Zhang Chen. After all, he was a game developer and likely skilled at this.

“How long have we been in here?” Ye Fangfei asked.

The sun climbed overhead, making their exertion sweat-inducing.

“Almost twenty minutes,” Zhang Chen replied.

Relying on spatial memory and the map, he judged their direction without much attention to surroundings.

“We’re at this point on the map. If we continue along this path, we’re close to the exit.”

He spread the map before Ye Fangfei, tracing the route.

Ye Fangfei scrutinized the map, skeptical. “It seems so, but is it really that simple? I feel like there might be traps. Are you sure this path is passable?”

“Definitely. The map shows the route leads to the exit,” Zhang Chen assured.

The maze was indeed large and physically taxing. Zhang Chen recalled Ye Fangfei’s earlier complaint about his lack of consideration and smiled.

“Tired? Can you still walk? Want me to carry you?”

Ye Fangfei shook her head without hesitation. “No. If this little walk tires me, I wouldn’t be on stage.”

Zhang Chen nodded, used to her refusals, showing no disappointment.

Better not to carry her, as his stamina wasn’t limitless, and carrying someone would double the exhaustion. His offer was simply to amend his earlier shortcomings.

“I like that you’re not delicate at all,” Zhang Chen said, casually flattering.

“???” Ye Fangfei raised an eyebrow, amusedly eyeing him.

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Recalling yesterday at the Handicraft Arts City, Zhang Chen saw Li Jiayan flirt shamelessly with staff, and seemed quite smitten. Now, how could he say he disliked delicate girls? Did he truly know what he wanted?

Meanwhile, the live chat buzzed—

[Suddenly Zhang Chen is so charming.]

[Today he’s both gentlemanly and responsible, thumbs up!]

[Is this still Zhang Chen? I’m not used to it.]

...

Ye Fangfei ignored Zhang Chen’s words and stepped toward the next fork.

Following Zhang Chen’s initial planned route, as they neared the exit, they found one path completely blocked—something the map failed to indicate.

Zhang Chen’s lips twitched. Damn, playing dirty?

Ye Fangfei shrugged. “It’s not that simple.”

“Maybe they want us to try every possible path to the exit. Who designs this kind of game? Crazy,” Zhang Chen muttered, reopening the map to plan a new route.

“Found it. Luckily, it’s not far. We can loop this way to get out,” he said, pointing out a new path.

They set off again, only to hit another dead end.

Zhang Chen quickly searched the map for an alternative but halfway through, another path was blocked without indication.

They were getting farther from the exit. In his impatience, Zhang Chen had neglected to mark dead ends on the map and now couldn’t remember which paths were blocked.

“Damn it! Are they messing with me?” he snapped, poised to tear the map.

His outburst made Ye Fangfei frown lightly and remind him, “We’re on camera.”

Zhang Chen wiped his face, glancing uncomfortably at the camera.

Ye Fangfei took the map, sat on a rock, picked up a stick, and marked the map. Then she studied the new routes.

“No rush. Let’s rest a bit before moving on,” she said.

Her calm eased Zhang Chen’s temper slightly. He checked the time—it had been over an hour. Being toyed with by the map left a bad feeling.

Live chat comments—

[Swearing already, wow.]

[He’s so angry, scary; hope he’s not violent at home.]

[Try getting lost in a maze with a tricky map—you’d be even angrier.]

...

Elsewhere in the maze, Xu Junze and Qi Jiajia were nearly confused to the point of dizziness, walking in circles, losing all sense of direction.

They had started fast and covered great distance in a short time, but still couldn’t locate the exit, and their strength was waning.

Facing familiar spots again, Qi Jiajia’s despair grew. She plucked a big leaf to fan herself, then plopped down on the grass.

“We’re stuck again. Didn’t we start from here? How did we come back? I’m dizzy; let’s rest.”

She fanned herself, calling a halt to Xu Junze, sighing.

Xu Junze, also tired, sat beside her, wiped sweat, frowned, and studied the map, pointing to two blocked junctions.

“We couldn’t pass these two before, right?”

Qi Jiajia nodded.

Xu Junze traced possible routes on the map.

“We went around here to here, and now we’re at this point. We should head this way to exit.”

Without a pen, Xu Junze tried to visualize routes to the exit but grew more confused, frowning.

“We must have taken a wrong turn earlier. We need to replan.”

Uncertain, he handed the map to Qi Jiajia.

She inspected it, tried to find exit routes but grew impatient. They had spent too long here with little hope.

Being trapped in a maze for so long was mentally taxing. The longer it took, the tougher it felt to stay calm and make good choices.

“Have we been here an hour?” Qi Jiajia asked the cameraman.

“Yep,” he confirmed.

Qi Jiajia put down the map and faced Xu Junze.

“I think this place is too hard. The map doesn’t match reality. It’s messing with our heads. Let’s try the other two challenges?”

Xu Junze hesitated. “But bungee jumping... I…”

“We’ve already spent an hour here. Only one person needs to complete the bungee jump. I’ll do it; you don’t have to,” Qi Jiajia said.

“But switching sites takes time too,” Xu Junze analyzed. “That might make winning first place difficult.”

“Do your best, leave the rest to fate,” Qi Jiajia smiled. “If we can’t win, we can just enjoy trying three attractions today. How’s that?”

Xu Junze glanced at her, surprised at her positive attitude. He’d noticed her competitive streak earlier, but after maze frustration, she seemed more relaxed.

“I’m fine as long as I don’t have to bungee jump. Whatever you want,” he smiled.

“Okay, so we’re switching?” Qi Jiajia stood, dusted off her pants, and signaled staff for the change.

...

Meanwhile, trapped in the maze, Lu Zhou and Li Jiayan faced a different struggle.

Over an hour in, they saw no hope of finding the exit.

Hot and exhausted, many of their chosen paths were blocked, forcing repeated backtracking. Li Jiayan’s patience wore thin.

At first, she found the maze beautiful and strange, marvelling at the unique landscape and bright flowers.

She and Lu Zhou had laughed and chatted, enjoying what felt like a private date, happily humming tunes and singing together.

All was well until the scenery began repeating oddly, the sun grew fierce, their legs ached, paths blocked again and again, time slipped away, and thoughts of others finishing first crept in.

Anxiety gnawed at her.

“Will we be stuck here all night?”

She wiped sweat from her brow, smudging some makeup, frowning at the misery of hot sweat and relentless walking.

“We won’t,” Lu Zhou replied without looking up. Holding a twig dipped in leaf juice, he marked a blocked path.

She had asked that question at least three times.

“This maze tests endurance. With patience and the right path, we’ll get out,” he said, studying the map for a new route.

“But which way is right? We’ve been at this for so long,” Li Jiayan sighed, shading her eyes as they moved into the shade. “I should’ve worn a sunhat—big mistake.”

“If we’d tried the other two projects, we might have finished by now,” she muttered, noticing Lu Zhou focused solely on the map, ignoring her.

“The right fork is blocked again, so we must take the left path. What are you worried about?” she said, leaning closer to inspect the tangled lines.

“Look, this spot we’re at is interesting,” Lu Zhou said, pushing the map forward and pointing.

“If we backtrack this way, there’s a route to the exit; or if we go around this side, there’s also a path, though a bit longer. If we don’t backtrack and take the left path, that leads back to a blocked area we’ve been to, but from there, we can also find a way out.”

“I’m trying to decide which route is less likely to lead to a dead end.”

Li Jiayan frowned, watching his finger trace the map, confused. He said all routes led out, but each time they’d tried, they’d been blocked. The map felt deceptive.

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“I don’t trust this map anymore. You say this way works and that way works, but how can you be sure the paths aren’t blocked? What if we get stuck again?” Li Jiayan challenged.

“I can’t guarantee everything, but we’ve already marked the blocked paths here. The unmarked ones should be passable. See, three routes to the exit converge in this area,” Lu Zhou said, circling a section on the map.

“Assuming we pick this route, all paths ahead are clear. We keep going until here, close to the exit. If a fork up ahead is blocked—say, the right one—we’d have to go this way, which loops us back to this area. Then logically…”

Li Jiayan’s head spun. She raised her hand to stop Lu Zhou.

“I don’t understand. Whatever you think is right, I’ll follow you. No need to explain.”

Lu Zhou, interrupted mid-explanation, pursed his lips and glanced at her.

“Okay.”

Without anyone to debate with, it felt dull.

But after that summary, he seemed to find some clarity and resumed studying the map.

Li Jiayan waited for a while. Seeing him undecided, she sighed and looked up at the sky, feeling time had slipped away.

“Have you figured out the route yet?” she urged.

“Give me a few minutes,” he said.

“It’s all trial and error. Spending so much energy analyzing might be pointless,” Li Jiayan said thoughtfully. “Lu Zhou, let’s try once more. If we still can’t get out, we switch to the other two projects, okay?”

Lu Zhou was silent, staring at the map. After a pause, he excitedly tapped a spot, smiling up at her.

“What did you say just now?”

He hadn’t been paying attention.

Feeling ignored, Li Jiayan’s expression darkened. She repeated firmly, “One more trial. If we fail, we switch projects.”

“I don’t want to waste time stuck here,” she emphasized.

Noting her negativity, Lu Zhou nodded. “Alright, one last try. If it doesn’t work, we switch. But I think this time we’ll get out.”

Li Jiayan saw his confidence but no longer trusted his words.

“So which way? Are you sure?” she asked.

Lu Zhou turned and pointed back the way they came. “Back the way we came.”

Li Jiayan felt embarrassed and skeptical.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

She nodded, agreeing to his plan. “Let’s go.”

They retraced their steps.

After ten minutes, Li Jiayan felt they were moving farther away, passing familiar spots and doubting their path.

But she didn’t want to discourage Lu Zhou further. After this attempt, they’d switch. How much longer would this take?

If only they had chosen bungee jumping or the forbidden forest first—they might have already finished.

Would Chu Yao and Wen Yiming, who chose those two, have already completed the maze?

Very likely. Thinking this, Li Jiayan’s mood sank.

Well, first place was clearly out of reach, but even so, she didn’t want to stay here—the maze made her unbearably anxious.

Another half hour passed. Lu Zhou’s chosen path seemed endless, no dead ends, yet the exit remained elusive.

Li Jiayan grew weary, instinctively grabbing Lu Zhou’s sleeve for support.

Noticing the pull, Lu Zhou looked at her. “Tired?”

“Yeah.” She furrowed her brows, pouting slightly, “Can you carry me? I can’t walk anymore.”

Live chat erupted—

[Wow, Li Jiayan really knows how to work it!]

[Aww, she wants to be carried!]

[Carry her! Carry her for me!]

[Flirting skills maxed.]

[Does she think she’s his girlfriend?]

...

Li Jiayan’s sudden request caught Lu Zhou off guard.

“Carrying you isn’t appropriate. Since you can’t walk, let’s rest a bit,” he instinctively refused, stopping to find a shaded spot to sit.

The live chat reacted—

[Whoa? Rejected!]

[Public embarrassment!]

[Not appropriate indeed! Who thinks that way? Carrying you—what about him?]

[If you’re tired, just rest. You’re not injured needing to be carried. Stop acting like a princess.]

[No need to criticize. Maybe she’s just dreaming.]

[I often get carried by my boyfriend when tired. So what?]

[But they’re broken up.]

[Remember at Magani Beach when Wen Yiming offered to carry her and she refused even when exhausted? Maybe she’s just testing.]

...

Li Jiayan’s face stiffened, awkwardness showing.

Suddenly, exhaustion, anxiety, embarrassment, and sadness overwhelmed her, and her eyes reddened.

She froze in place.

Lu Zhou sighed silently, “Come sit for a while. There’s still a long way to go.”

Li Jiayan blinked away tears, composed herself, and sat beside him.

She realized her impulsive request was inappropriate. Given their situation, asking him to carry her was unfair. Even if he agreed, it would drain his energy and make progress harder.

“Sorry. I was a bit out of it and made an unreasonable request,” she apologized.

“No problem. Let’s rest a bit. Walking so long is tiring,” Lu Zhou said, easing the awkwardness.

Li Jiayan pressed her lips, softly “Mm,” and shifted the topic.

“It seems we haven’t hit a dead end recently.”

“Yeah, maybe we finally got the right path,” Lu Zhou said, checking the map again.

“Hopefully,” Li Jiayan smiled at his profile, watching him quietly.

She felt that after so many years, Lu Zhou had changed—calmer and more rational, less impulsive. Perhaps that was why he remained cautious about her advances, making his thoughts hard to read.

Between them, there was a strange mix of familiarity and distance.

Li Jiayan had a vague unease but truly wanted him now.

Yes, she regretted it. She didn’t want to be his ex anymore; she wanted to be his present. The thought of such an outstanding man belonging to another woman pained her.

This was hers to claim.

She knew she hadn’t firmly rooted herself in his heart yet, but believed that if he had liked her once, he could like her again.

If she tried hard enough.

Calming herself and brushing away earlier anxiety, Li Jiayan realized she shouldn’t have acted so restless or obsessed with winning first place. Her maze performance had been poor and surely left a bad impression.

Regretting this, she thought: Today could have been better if only she hadn’t wanted too much and lost her grasp.

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