Zheng Mingchang had almost forgotten about the 'life-saving card'!
Despite being the chief director, he still froze for a second when he stood in front of the camera.
[Sure enough, she's using the lifesaver card!]
[HAHAHAHA, I'm dying of laughter—I really didn't see that coming!]
[Bao Ruanruan: "I accept the mission, but… Go, my Pikachu!~ "]
[hhhh the director's expression—he's totally stunned! Didn't expect that, huh!?]
[Bao Ruanruan: "Qu Feifei, have fun with my shadow clone. Farewell to you1!"]
[Pffft—are you Yakult or what?! Bao Ruanruan!]
Zheng Mingchang's face stiffened.
He had genuinely forgotten that Bao Ruanruan had this life-saving card.
The reason was simple.
They had been filming from the first episode until all the Dream Houses had been completed.
Bao Ruanruan had never used it during the show.
She had only come close to using it during the sports meeting between the two villages.
However, it was only for a small matter—to get Cheng Yao to agree to be paired up with Lu Wenhao for the 'three-legged race'.
And this matter was too insignificant, so much so that Cheng Yao agreed to her request immediately.
In the end, she didn't even use it.
So in Zheng Mingchang's mind, Bao Ruanruan's life-saving card had always been something dispensable, like a chicken rib2.
The show's mission structure was team-based, with five people forming one unit.
It wouldn't have affected anything important if she had used it within the team.
But today—it had unexpectedly become a cheat item!
Sitting on the sofa, Bao Ruanruan had placed her backpack on her lap and rummaged through it with her small, fair hands.
Director Zheng's expression finally changed.
Bao Ruanruan lifted the corner of her bright, gleaming eyes, having predicted his prediction, and said, "Director Zheng, didn't you just say that even as the director, you can't break the show's rules?"
Director Zheng: "!"
"This is a legitimate game item I exchanged for using my labour points. Since there are no special restrictions in this round, then I can use it."
Bao Ruanruan was highly skilled at interpreting game rules and exploiting their loopholes.
With a dramatic whoosh, she pulled out some folded A4 sheets from her bag!
Five whole sheets!
She could barely keep a grip on them in her tiny hands!
[I'm numb3—this move is a king bomb4!]
[Bao Ruanruan: Now there's only one question—which mythical beast should I summon?]
[hhhhh!]
Director Zheng finally accepted the truth: there was no way to beat Bao Ruanruan in this round.
He gave up.
"Fine, but you can't choose."
"You can only draw one at random."
Bao Ruanruan's little face froze for a moment. "Oh? So this is a gacha game🔗 now?"
Director Zheng: "......"
[Hahaha!]
[Nope, only you could've pulled that off, Ruanruan!]
After a brief chat, the camera finally shifted to reveal the other guests' task rooms.
Xiao Mengfei fumbled around for another two minutes before finally heading over to the curtain.
When she saw who was behind it, she let out a shriek.
"Teacher Han?"
It was Han Mo, who was also wearing a pale yellow hoodie!
Bao Ruanruan heard Xiao Mengfei's scream and the sensitive phrase 'Teacher Han'.
Her expression immediately changed.
Sure enough, all directors were schemers.
It was good that she hadn't fallen for his words and stepped into another trap.
The special guests from all five rooms emerged one by one.
Lan Zhi's room: Qi Feng, the lead dancer of a boy band.
Cheng Yao’s room: actor Wu Zhijin.
Lu Wenhao's room: next-gen lyricist and composer Liu Yuanyuan.
Xiao Mengfei's room: actor Han Mo.
Bao Ruanruan's room: girl group leader Qu Feifei.
[!!! Wait a sec, isn't that the guest from the Nancheng variety show?]
[That show got cancelled, sweat, it looks like its guests have been completely absorbed by our Chasing Dreams show.]
[Ah, it's all mismatched PK! Actors vs. dancers, vocals vs. actors…]
[What is the point of this matchup anyway?]
Soon, the five special guests, including Qu Feifei, who walked out of the room herself, then took turns stepping in front of the camera to declare war on the five members of Chasing Dreams.
The boy group's dance lead, Qi Feng, stood before Lan Zhi and said, "Teacher Lan, please dance a group routine with me."
Next-gen lyricist and composer Liu Yuanyuan smiled at Lu Wenhao, "Please defeat me with your voice."
Wu Zhijin smiled sweetly at Cheng Yao.
Han Mo simply nodded politely to Xiao Mengfei.
"Let's collaborate on a short skit."
Qu Feifei looked at Bao Ruanruan with an expression of hidden bitterness. "Please defeat me with a girl group dance."
"Who's the final boss? You, the audience, will decide the outcome of these five rounds!"
"Voting will be open on Weibo under the official Chasing Dreams account for the next hour."
"The teacher with the most votes wins. Otherwise, they lose."
[I was just about to say that this was unfair—cross-speciality matchups meant our members had no advantage—but now that it's audience voting? Oh, then it's fine!]
[Wow! I have to take part in this one!]
[First, I'm gotta support my boy—his high notes in Wind & Rain were decent. I'm seriously hyped!]
The livestream chat was bursting with activity.
The mismatched PKs were clearly designed more for entertainment than for showcasing actual professional skills.
Fans were super hyped to see their favourite celebrities displaying a different side to their usual persona.
Even casual viewers thought it was fun.
Meanwhile, on camera, Qu Feifei looked at Bao Ruanruan with a complicated expression.
Bao Ruanruan blinked and finally gathered her courage to ask tentatively.
"Hmm... can we get along peacefully?"
Qu Feifei took a deep breath.
"I'm afraid... we can't."
You heartless jerk.
You're a big radish with a flowery heart5.
You climb over multiple walls6, but none of them are your true love!
"Today's challenge is a girl group dance—I won't go easy on you!"
Qu Feifei clenched her teeth.
"Beat me, and then you can make a request!"
Bao Ruanruan blinked in surprise. "Wait, I get to make a request if I win?"
Qu Feifei: "?"
Where's her confidence coming from!?
[Pfft!]
[Next in line for the life-saving card—Qu Feifei! I'm jumping in as the prophet for this round!]
[Qu Feifei, danger ahead!]
[Feifei babe, Bao Ruanruan's A4 paper is already prepared.]
"The winner gets to make one wish to the loser."
"The loser pays the room fee."
The staff explained from the side.
Bao Ruanruan's little face instantly lit up, sparkling with excitement.
She also looked towards Qu Feifei with visible concern.
"I hope the match won't damage our friendship."
Qu Feifei: "?"
"Lil Sis, you'd better be careful," Bao Ruanruan said with grave sincerity. "The reward is too tempting. I'll give it my all."
Qu Feifei: "!"
She instantly recalled Bao Ruanruan's incredible reflexes and jumping ability when she was still in her big cat costume.
Could Bao Ruanruan be a hidden dance expert?
Qu Feifei was surprised.
But then Bao Ruanruan raised her hand. "Director, I'm going to summon now."
Qu Feifei: "??"
Everyone present looked totally dumbfounded.
However, they saw Director Zheng Mingchang nod solemnly.
Bao Ruanruan immediately pulled out five sheets of A4 paper.
The other four from Chasing Dream instantly recognised what they were.
Lan Zhi was the first to shout, "Xiao Bao is using her life-saving card!"
Even Cheng Yao laughed as he glanced around. "Smart move. We have two group dance experts here, so there's a 40% chance of drawing one. That's a pretty high odds of winning."
A 40% chance of drawing a group dance expert.
Who?
Lu Wenhao’s face stiffened.
He glanced around nervously.
Besides Xiao Mengfei, who else among them could even do a girl group dance?!
[Hahaha, Brother Lu is panicking!]
"Oh, wait, I miscalculated. Out of the five cards, Xiao Hao alone takes up two. If you add Xiaoxiao in, it's a 60% chance!" Cheng Yao quickly corrected himself.
Lu Wenhao: "......"
He alone… had a 40% chance?!
His scalp went numb.
Since his debut, he had never danced a girl group routine!
This kind of overly cute, cringey stuff...
But Bao Ruanruan wanted it to be fair.
She wished to redirect the enemy's attention (not), just to lessen the hate.
She generously let Qu Feifei draw a card herself.
"Pick your opponent yourself; fate will decide, Lil Sis."
Qu Feifei: "!"
You called me 'big sis' on the Restaurant!
[Ahahahaha!]
[Awoo, begging you—draw my Brother Lu! It's been ages since our boy performed a dance!]
[I wanna see the results of my boy's two weeks of elite dance training~]
[Please give me Xiaoxiao! A face-off between the two chosen girl group leaders! You couldn't even buy tickets to see this live!]
[Whether it's Lu Wenhao or Xiao Mengfei versus Qu Feifei, can a mere regular Gold-tier VIP like me even deserve to watch this?!]
Fans of Lu and Xiao were both hyped up to the max.
They were from the two most popular girl and boy groups around at the moment.
It would be the showdown of the century!
Tensions were about to reach a boiling point!
At the Lu residence.
Lu Zhengda had asked Assistant Zhou to open the live stream channel for him again today.
He was slightly late today due to a meeting with old friends.
He was an hour behind schedule.
"Xiao Zhou, do you think I'm being too impatient? It's only been two weeks—should I even watch today?"
"Or should I wait a month before watching again?"
"More time would give him room to grow, too."
For Lu Zhengda, the fact that his youngest son had actually learnt real dance skills on the show last time, rather than just messing around, was a huge improvement in itself.
He figured there wouldn't be much more progress to see in the short term.
Growth needed time.
Progress couldn't shoot up like bean sprouts in just a week.
Special Assistant Zhou patted the horse's behind7 without batting an eyelid.
"Xiao Hao's doing great now. I think he's almost on par with the Eldest Young Master."
"Ah." Lu Zhengda shook his head. "He still has major flaws."
Apart from not liking to study, his youngest son loved to play.
His biggest flaw was his pride.
His dreams were as high as the sky.
He was obsessed with saving face.
And he had also been spoiled rotten.
He was completely unsuited to being the head of a company.
The company's entire operations couldn't keep running in circles just for his vanity projects.
A man of character must know how to bend and stretch8.
"When will he be able to put down his pride, just like his older brother, not taking to heart having his head broken and bleeding9, being humiliated, or being criticised, only then can I be at ease."
Lu Zhengda sighed.
In business, your face needs to have thick skin10.
Just as he finished speaking, the live stream on his computer started playing.
Lu Wenhao's awkward, stubborn face appeared right in the centre of the screen.
"See? See? That's the exact stubborn look I'm talking about!" Lu Zhengda said anxiously.
But the next second... before he could finish speaking, he saw Lu Wenhao on screen, gritting his teeth.
"I'll dance!"
"Fine, I'll dance!"
Lu Zhengda was stunned.
Still confused, he watched his youngest son walk awkwardly to the centre of the hotel lobby while blushing furiously.
Unexpectedly, sweet, bubbly music started to play, and Lu Wenhao began to move his body in a smooth wave... Then he winked at the screen with his left eye.
Right then and there, he started swaying his hips sweetly!
Lu Zhengda: "!"
He was utterly shocked!
"What is this...?"
"Chairman, this looks like a girl group dance! It's probably just the show's arrangement. I'll go and have a word with the director and tell them to be more mindful, okay?"
Assistant Zhou panicked.
How could the little prince of the Lu Group be made to do this kind of girly dance?
He was just about to leave.
It was at that moment when a loud shout stopped him in his tracks.
"No need!" Lu Zhengda's eyes lit up.
"Girl group dance? Excellent!"
Assistant Zhou: "???"
He snuck a peek at the screen.
He saw a flood of screaming comments scrolling across it.
[Wuwuwu, this happened in my lifetime!]
[Big brother used to say he'd rather die than dance to a girl group's choreo. No one could force him if he didn't want to do it! I gave up hope ages ago, yet today!]
[He's seriously honouring his promise! He signed that paper himself, said he'd help, and even though he didn't want to, he gritted his teeth and did it! He's become a man overnight!]
[His smile is so sweet—wow, today he's such a sweet bean! What a strong performance, he's so professional!]
[He's finally stopped being bratty! Can I ask something? Did the Lu family go bankrupt? Is our boy short on cash?]
Assistant Zhou's expression changed.
But Lu Zhengda was beaming with joy.
His youngest son was so eager to start earning money now.
He had even learned to endure hardships for the sake of it!
Lu Zhengda's biggest concern had been resolved!
His youngest son was really like a bean sprout, growing a new shoot every few days!
In the live broadcast, the song finally ended.
Lu Wenhao almost rushed out of the shot, shouting, "Don't film me!"
His ears turned completely red. He dashed into his hotel room and refused to come out!
[Awoo, so cute.]
[Absolutely love this deadly combination of effort and shyness.]
[Thank you, Xiao Bao, 55511! My brother relied entirely on Xiao Bao's push!]
Lu Zhengda was taken aback.
Was it because of that female guest again?
She was doing a much better job of educating him than his own father.
So it turned out that sometimes, you need to give your child a little push!
All along, he had been spoiling his younger son too much and only been strict with the elder one.
"Xiao Zhou, go and thank that female guest for me again. By the way, has the endorsement we offered her last time been finalised?"
Assistant Zhou: "......"
Again?
*
In the online voting, out of five rounds of competition, only the adorable Xiao Mengfei and the 'adorable' Lu Wenhao won their matches.
Lu Wenhao, in particular, was ahead of Qu Feifei by 20% of the votes.
Qu Feifei's dancing was sweet and charming.
Lu Wenhao might not have been as sweet, but he made up for it with extra charm and good looks.
Their dancing skills were evenly matched.
However, it was his transformation and his commitment to keeping his promise that surprised fans and moved casual viewers.
His bashful retreat into his room at the end of the performance stirred even more fondness from the audience.
Not only did he win this dance battle with a high vote count, but he also gained 20,000 new followers on Weibo.
#LuWenhaoDancesCuteGirlGroupChoreo# shot up the trending list.
Both old and new fans of 'Ludi12' were extremely excited.
Post-match recovery at the hotel.
"Thank you for letting me win," said Bao Ruanruan, who stood two metres away with clenched fists as she bowed politely to Qu Feifei.
Then, a crisp A4 sheet filled with text was decisively handed to Qu Feifei.
[Pfft!]
[HAHAHAHA!]
Author's Note:
A day of Ruanruan acting like a tyrant with her life-saving card~
Footnotes Full List
- The commentator used the character '您' (nín), the formal/polite version of 'you', not '你' (nǐ).
- 鸡肋 (jī lèi)– 'Chicken rib', refers to something of little value or use, but which you're reluctant to abandon — not rewarding, yet hard to discard. This term originates from a Three Kingdoms-era anecdote in which Cao Cao called a battlefield "chicken ribs"—too trivial to fight for, yet abandoning it felt wasteful.
- 麻了 (má le) – Online slang meaning 'I'm speechless' or 'emotionally stunned'.
- 王炸 wángzhà: In dou dizhu, it's a pair of jokers, which can beat everything in the game. Figuratively, it means an unbeatable play or trump card.
- The figurative meaning of 花心大萝卜 (huāxīn dà luóbo) is a philanderer, a womaniser, a flirt, someone who is unfaithful or has many romantic interests and doesn't commit to one person. It's a somewhat informal and often derogatory term used to describe someone who is perceived as being emotionally shallow and promiscuous.
- 爬墙 (páqiáng)– "Climbing the wall", which is used to describe switching fandoms or crushes. It is typically used to describe fans who shift loyalties from one celebrity to another.
- The phrase 拍马屁 (pāi mǎpì) refers to flattering someone excessively, often insincerely, to gain favour — similar to sucking up or brown-nosing.
- The idiom 能屈能伸 (néng qū néng shēn) describes someone who can be flexible and adapt to different situations. They know when to yield or compromise (bend) and when to assert themselves or stand firm (stretch). It implies resilience, adaptability, and strategic thinking.
- The metaphor 头破血流 (tóupòxuèliú) means to suffer a severe defeat, to be badly battered (physically or metaphorically), to suffer heavy losses, or to be utterly routed. It emphasises the severity of the damage or failure.
- The phrase 脸皮就要厚 (liǎnpí jiù yào hòu) means you need to be shameless or tough enough to withstand embarrassment, rejection, or criticism. Often used in contexts where someone must persevere despite being ignored, mocked, or looked down on.
- 555: Read as wuwuwu Internet slang representing crying sounds, indicating being moved or emotional.
- 陆地 (lùdì) is Lu Wenhao's fandom. I think it's a play on Lu Wenhao's surname, 陆 lù, which means land, continental, or army. While 地 dì means earth, soil, ground, region. When used together, 陆地 means dry land or mainland.
きつね's Musing
The next chapter will contain over 9,000 Chinese characters, which is equivalent to the length of three standard ROHYX chapters.
A reminder to myself ahead of the upcoming task:
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