Chapter 92: A Taste Unlike Any Other

Everyone crossed the suspension bridge without incident. Curiously, at the final stop, no one was eager to be first anymore.

The four pairs continued forward together, searching for the tower.

The setting sun hung above the mountain ridge, the sky ablaze with increasingly vivid crimson clouds, as if the day itself was burning bright before its end.

One by one, the four pairs climbed to the top of the tower.

“I think today’s activity has pushed me to my physical limit. When I get back tonight, I’ll probably be paralyzed,” Li Jiayan gasped, finally reaching the rooftop with Xu Junze’s help.

Wen Yiming glanced at her, amused. “From now on, you’ll love exercising. The lazy caterpillar will turn into a champion.”

“That’s impossible,” Li Jiayan replied, leaning against the wall, hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath and soothe her aching calves.

Lu Zhou, watching, smiled and interjected, “Tonight you can call room service and get a massage. You’ll be revived in no time.”

“I imagine the whole hotel will be filled with the sound of a pig being slaughtered. Don’t pretend you don’t know me when that happens,” Li Jiayan joked at her own expense.

For some reason, Zhang Chen found this hilarious and erupted in laughter.

The others joined in, and soon the tower was echoing with laughter.

“The last task card,” Qi Jiajia announced, waving a card for everyone to see.

“Read it out,” Xu Junze prompted.

“Please write down your thoughts on today’s journey on the provided letter paper, fold it into a paper crane, and hang it in the chime area,” Qi Jiajia read aloud.

Each pair took a piece of letter paper, spread out to find private corners, and began to write their reflections on the day.

During this quiet moment, the tower was peaceful. After a lively day on the road, everyone was exhausted. Each now reviewed the day’s journey, probing their own feelings, as if examining their souls. Most sat with pens poised, unable to start.

Only one person was nonchalant.

Lu Zhou, upon receiving the pen, boldly scrawled a single word—“Good”—across the page.

He then followed the instructions on the wall, folding his crane and hanging it in the chime zone.

He was the first to complete the task.

Seeing that the others were still writing, Lu Zhou decided to rest his eyes. He really was tired today.

He folded his arms, leaned against a pillar, and soon drifted into a light sleep.

His dreams were a blur of fleeting images.

Not far from him, Ye Fangfei watched him quietly for a moment, then bowed her head and wrote her honest reflection: “The bridge was terrifying, but my partner was perfect.”

She began folding her crane. Handicrafts weren’t her strength; the paper grew increasingly creased as she struggled without success.

“Is it really this hard?” she muttered.

Lu Zhou woke at the sound, lifting his eyelids to see her wrestling with the crumpled paper, failing again and again.

He watched her frown and wrestle with the paper for a long while, then, finally convinced she was truly lost, let out a low, amused laugh.

Ye Fangfei heard him and turned to meet his gaze, realizing he was awake.

She raised her chin slightly and asked, “What’s so funny?”

“I’m laughing at you—for being so clumsy,” he said, his lips still curled in a smile, his voice low and magnetic.

Ye Fangfei arched an eyebrow, suddenly competitive. Unwilling to admit defeat, she stubbornly resumed her battle with the paper.

Lu Zhou continued to watch from a distance. The paper was now thoroughly mangled, creases everywhere. He teased, “Need some help?”

“No,” Ye Fangfei replied without looking up, her tone serious as she muttered, “What’s wrong with this technique? Is the tutorial wrong?”

“You folded it the wrong way,” Lu Zhou observed, unable to resist correcting her. “Fold up—no, that’s not right…”

“Ugh, this is too complicated. Forget it, I’ll just poke a hole in it and hang it up…” Her patience was about to be undone by the stubborn paper.

Lu Zhou smiled helplessly. At last, he got up, took the paper from her, and, following the tutorial, deftly folded the crane for her.

Ye Fangfei propped her chin in one hand, watching him. “Are you satisfied with my review of you?” she asked.

Lu Zhou looked up. “What?”

“The words I wrote.”

“I didn’t see them, so I don’t know your opinion.”

“Impressive—do your eyes have a selective avoidance function?”

“Of course,” he replied with a faint smile, handing her the completed crane. “Go hang it up.”

The viewers in the livestream were overwhelmed by the sweetness:

“To be honest, aren’t you two already dating?”

“This split-screen is pure couple goals.”

“It’s such an ordinary interaction, so why does it feel like they’re flirting?”

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the tower, Qi Jiajia and Zhang Chen sat far enough apart that they couldn’t see each other’s letter paper as they wrote their own reflections.

Qi Jiajia hesitated for a long time, reliving her feelings for the day, before finally writing: “I suddenly miss the travel companion I once shared perfect understanding with.”

She had wanted to write more, but realized this one sentence best captured her mood and stopped agonizing over it.

When she finished, she glanced over and saw Zhang Chen still writing furiously, as if composing a long essay. Did he really have that much to say? Was he writing about her faults? Yet today, it was he who had treated her poorly…

With mixed feelings, Qi Jiajia folded her paper.

Zhang Chen, meanwhile, was painstakingly drafting his thoughts. In truth, he hadn’t written much; he kept scribbling out lines he disliked.

“I was so jealous today. I didn’t want to be, but envy made me lose all composure. I’m not usually like this, but with her, I can’t help it. Whenever she’s near, I can’t look away—what cosmic force is this? I don’t understand.” —crossed out.

“I wonder how things would have been if I’d been her partner today.”—crossed out.

“Sigh, my body is exhausted and my heart even more so.”—crossed out.

At last, he settled on a single line: “In 26 years, I’ve never felt as down-and-out as I did today. This show is unforgettable—etched into my soul!”

The camera zoomed in on his letter, making the viewers in the livestream laugh.

“Seems like Zhang really loves Ye Fangfei.”

“He’s so humble—it’s hilarious.”

“I suspect he’s sending a warning to the producers.”

“If they keep torturing him like this, he’ll wreck the show.”

“Rich kid’s reality check.”

In another corner, Chu Yao and Wen Yiming had already finished their own reflections.

Chu Yao wrote: “A strange mix of feelings—chaos in my heart.”

Wen Yiming wrote: “This journey was nothing like I imagined. It’s interesting, but still missing something vital. Looking forward to tomorrow.”

Chu Yao, nimble with her hands, folded her crane with ease—she didn’t even need the tutorial. When she finished, Wen Yiming was still struggling, so she went over and coached him, and together they completed the task.

In the livestream:

“This pair has always had such good chemistry.”

“But there’s something missing in their dynamic.”

On Li Jiayan and Xu Junze’s side, the mood was different.

Xu Junze tried several times to begin, the pen touching paper but never moving, as if he hadn’t sorted out his emotions yet. After a long time gazing at the distant view, he finally wrote: “There’s so much I want to say, but I don’t know where to start. A day both exhausting and joyful, simple yet complicated.”

His partner, Li Jiayan, rested her chin in her hand, recalling the day’s journey—sometimes frowning, sometimes smiling, a thousand thoughts running through her mind.

At last, her gaze grew resolute. She wrote: “Though today was tough, it was meaningful. At least I finally saw into my own heart.”

The livestream comments rolled by:

“Are these two speaking in riddles?”

“What did she see in her heart? Tell us!”

“I feel like Li Jiayan’s mindset has really changed.”

“She was so breezy about her ex in earlier episodes—I liked her for that. Now something’s different.”

“What changed her?”

“Probably her ex, who’s suddenly shining again.”

All the reflections were hung in the chime area. As the mountain wind swirled, they danced in the air, as if carrying everyone’s heartfelt words across the hills.

Night had fallen. The guests had successfully visited every scheduled site and boarded the van racing back to the hotel.

After such an exhausting day, they all fell asleep on the ride.

Awaiting them that night was a mysterious grand prize.