Chapter Ninety: Coordination

“Very well. Since Yu Han has volunteered for our team, then our grouping is settled.” Tian Le hurriedly brought the matter to a close, fearing some new mishap might arise. “Let’s begin the game.”

The two male actors on the other side could only accept the outcome with reluctant resignation. Still, there were two beauties on their side, so they had not suffered too badly. It was just that the most dazzling one, Gu Yu Han, had gone to the opposing team, which was somewhat deflating.

By contrast, their side was instantly buoyed, especially Lu Zhi Xuan, who seemed to have been injected with a fresh rush of zeal and energy.

The first game was the game of mutual understanding, in which one member of a team acted out a phrase, and the others repeated the action in turn, with the final member guessing the phrase. It demanded excellent coordination and tacit understanding.

Tian Le’s team went first. Tian Le, battle-tested and experienced, took the lead, with Lu Zhi Xuan and Lin Qi Hua second and third, while Gu Yu Han stood last as the one to guess.

Ming Jie’s team offered the idiom “playing music to a cow.” Tian Le thought for a moment. When the curtain rose, he held up four fingers to indicate the four-character idiom, then quickly dropped to all fours with his back to Lu Zhi Xuan, let out a silent moo, and stood again to face forward, pretending to pluck a zither. The curtain fell the instant he finished; the timing was perfect.

Lu Zhi Xuan turned and performed the same mimicry with Lin Qi Hua, even adding his own head-shaking and tail-wagging imitation, allowing Lin Qi Hua to understand at once.

When he turned and saw the curtain rise, Gu Yu Han appeared before him. Her bright face and water-clear eyes caused Lin Qi Hua to lose himself for a fleeting moment. Fortunately, it lasted only an instant; he quickly recovered and repeated the same actions.

Needless to say, Gu Yu Han, with her scholar-level intelligence, guessed the answer without the slightest error, earning a storm of applause and cheers.

“Yay.” The four of them high-fived to celebrate.

The idiom given to Ming Jie’s team was “waiting by a tree stump for rabbits,” and it too was perfectly acted out and guessed by Lu Ming Jie and the others.

After that, the difficulty on both sides kept increasing; the guesses grew harder and harder, and all kinds of bizarre gestures and equally bizarre answers appeared, leaving both the stage and the audience doubled over with laughter.

Yet Tian Le’s team, with its scholar-level member, still held the upper hand. As long as Tian Le and the others could capture the key point, Gu Yu Han could swiftly search her memory and identify the phrase. Her composed brilliance won over the entire audience without question, and the cheers rose again and again, never ceasing.

The opposing team, by comparison, fared far more awkwardly. After many failed answers, they were ultimately defeated.

“Now I understand the feeling Qi Hua had at the start. When you can rely on looks, why insist on relying on..."

“Talent!” the audience below cooperated by shouting the rest together.

“Impressive.”

“Fantastic.”

The four of them exchanged high-fives in celebration. Working with such a clever girl was unquestionably a pleasure.

Zhao Wan Ting watched Gu Yu Han, bathed in attention from all around, and felt a wave of helplessness. She, too, was a great beauty, but as long as Gu Yu Han stood beside her, she was never truly noticed, as though she were merely part of the scenery. In looks and in acting alike, she was completely eclipsed.

Ordinarily she would not have minded, because Gu Yu Han was indeed beyond her comparison. Away from her, Zhao Wan Ting was still the kind of presence everyone looked up to.

But today was different. Today, at least in Lin Qi Hua’s eyes, she could not afford to be invisible.

A fighting spirit rose in Zhao Wan Ting’s heart. She wanted to try, wanted to make an effort—at least enough to earn Lin Qi Hua’s attention. Even if the two of them could never be what they once might have been, his gaze should still belong to her; it should not be turned toward anyone else.

Perhaps people only learn to cherish what they have lost, but by then it is already too late.

In the games that followed, Zhao Wan Ting worked very hard and was lively and engaged. Even in the physically demanding challenges, she did not shrink back from difficulty; she showed courage and enthusiasm, and her effort naturally drew cheers from the fans.

Yet Lin Qi Hua saw, within all of it, a trace of bleakness. Beneath Gu Yu Han’s radiance, Zhao Wan Ting was struggling in vain, unable to achieve the effect she wanted.

Once, she had worked just as hard. No matter what training it was, she never complained of fatigue. To reach her goal, she shed no fewer tears and no less sweat than any boy.

Lin Qi Hua did not hate her, nor resent her. And after his own success, he would never go stand before her and parade his triumph, telling her how mistaken her choice had been. Everyone has his or her own path. From the outside, Zhao Wan Ting’s choice still seemed to hold promise, and it was entirely understandable.

The final game was a paired balloon-stomping contest. Each side sent out two pairs. In each pair, one person would be blindfolded and carry the other on their back, crossing obstacles according to the guidance of the partner on their back, and popping enough balloons along the way. The team that finished in the least time would win.

“Yu Han, you pick the people,” Tian Le said first as the four of them gathered to discuss the groups. “The other two will cooperate.”

“Okay,” Gu Yu Han answered crisply. Her eyes moved across the three of them, passing over Lu Zhi Xuan’s longing and Tian Le’s faint excitement, before settling on Lin Qi Hua. “Him.”

“I knew it,” Lu Zhi Xuan said with the look of a man who had lost all will to live. “I just knew I wouldn’t get the chance.”

“That’s right,” Tian Le said sourly. “They’re a perfect match in looks and talent. We’ll just make do. Only you can carry me. With this tiny frame of mine, I can’t carry you.”

“Then what else can we do?” Lu Zhi Xuan muttered in frustration.

Lin Qi Hua was a little stirred as well. When the two of them actually paired up, he still properly slipped his hands through the crooks of Gu Yu Han’s knees and held them together in front of him, full of gentlemanly grace.

Even so, he could still feel her weight resting on him, the warmth of her arms, as she held her hands protectively before her chest and leaned close to speak in his ear, her breath fragrant as orchids. In that instant, Lin Qi Hua thought: if this moment could freeze here, how blissfully happy that would be.

“I’ll give you detailed instructions. Before that, let’s agree on our measurements,” Gu Yu Han said calmly. “One step for you is about sixty centimeters, so I’ll adjust according to the distance and tell you exactly what to do—one step, half a step, things like that. Just walk as you normally would.”

“Understood.” Lin Qi Hua nodded.

The official contest began. Lin Qi Hua was blindfolded, and with his sight deprived, his other senses grew sharper. An endless trace of subtle fragrance drifted over him, and a clear voice rang in his ear, making him slightly intoxicated. Fortunately, Gu Yu Han was not annoyed. She merely gave him a light thump on the back to awaken him, and he did his best to cooperate according to her instructions.

“Take one step forward. There’s a railing about fifty centimeters high; step over it.”

“Okay.” Lin Qi Hua took a gentle step forward, lifted his foot, and just cleared the railing.

“Excellent. Now, slightly ahead and to the right, half a step away, there’s a balloon.”

“Okay.”

He extended his right foot thirty centimeters and landed squarely on the balloon, crushing it in a single forceful stomp. It burst cleanly.

Thus, one instructed and one acted; the two worked together with a flow as smooth as clouds and water, perfectly in sync. Gu Yu Han’s precise and lucid directions were the greatest contribution, and the pair actually completed the entire race without a single mistake.

“What a perfect partnership,” Lu Zhi Xuan said with applause and admiration.

At the finish line, Lin Qi Hua crouched and let Gu Yu Han down, and for that moment, he unexpectedly felt a reluctant attachment, as if he did not want to let go.