He Xingzhou visibly stiffened.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Xiao Can continued, “My mother?”
“You are the haven for my soul,” He Xingzhou said.
“Are you sure it’s a haven?” Xiao Can asked.
He Xingzhou fell into thought.
“Let’s just leave it at that,” Xiao Can licked his lips and then recited, “You are the haven for my soul.”
He Xingzhou continued, “You are the harbor in my dreams.”
Xiao Can raised a question, “That seems different from before.”
“Is it?” He Xingzhou pondered.
A staff member reminded, “Time’s up!”
“What about the rest?” Xiao Can urged.
“The rest is… no poem could surpass the strands of white hair by your temples!” He Xingzhou said.
“Is something missing?” Xiao Can felt uneasy.
He Xingzhou fell into thought again.
“Time’s up!” the staff member announced.
Xiao Can hurriedly set off. Holding a cup with only half of its contents left, he lowered his head, murmuring to himself as he stepped onto the floating board.
Seeing this, other team members immediately entered their roles, pulling ropes vigorously.
Xiao Can’s mind was filled with “I love you,” “haven for the soul,” and “strands of white hair,” completely forgetting that his opponents could pull the floating board. Suddenly, he stumbled, and in a twisted posture, he protected the cup as he rotated 270 degrees on the floating board before “Thump,” plunging into the water.
The river was shallow. After struggling for a few moments, Xiao Can finally touched the ground and stood up, realizing the water only reached his chest.
Shaking his head, he opened his eyes in surprise, finding He Xingzhou also in the water, standing not far from him.
“How did you fall in too?” Xiao Can asked, puzzled.
“You struggled so dramatically,” He Xingzhou said sarcastically, “I thought you were going to drown.”
Glancing at the staff behind him who had also fallen into the water, Xiao Can couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, “With so many people around, how could there be any danger?”
He Xingzhou opened his mouth but didn’t say anything. Instead, he shook his head, turned, and climbed ashore.
“Prince Charlie failed the challenge!” the staff member announced.
Xiao Can suddenly snapped out of his daze, realizing he had forgotten to control his expression due to his surprise. He quickly pretended to wipe his face and turned to shout at the other teams, “You guys are too ruthless! I won’t go easy on you later!”
Finally ashore, Xiao Can’s underwear was completely soaked.
On the way to the changing room, Tan Zhen, who had been avoiding him due to guilt, finally took the initiative to come closer and asked, “Are you okay?”
“Pretentious,” Xiao Can glared at him intentionally, “I saw it, you were shaking the board just now.”
“I shook when He Xingzhou was on it, not when you were on it!” Tan Zhen defended himself faithfully.
“Really?” Xiao Can asked.
Tan Zhen nodded, “Yeah.”
“Okay,” Xiao Can smiled at him, “I forgive you.”
Tan Zhen also smiled, about to speak, but Xiao Can lowered his voice and said, “I will investigate what you did earlier.”
He had just fallen into the water, his microphone was wet, taken by the staff, and he hadn’t received a new one yet, so he could speak quietly.
Tan Zhen touched his nose, then covered the microphone, speaking even more quietly than him, “He jumped in without hesitation just now.”
Xiao Can was stunned, realizing he was referring to He Xingzhou.
Although they didn’t wear life jackets during the game, the production team had prepared lifesaving equipment by the shore, with lifeguards on standby, so there was no real danger.
He Xingzhou’s reaction was indeed exaggerated.
“Oh.”
“He really startled me,” Tan Zhen continued, “but thinking back now, it’s actually quite touching!”
As they spoke, the two of them had already entered the changing room.
There were no cameras nearby, so Tan Zhen swiftly turned off his microphone.
Xiao Can glanced at him sideways.
“Sorry,” Tan Zhen chuckled awkwardly and stepped back, “Don’t be mad at me, okay?”
Xiao Can wasn’t really upset in the first place. He sighed dramatically and turned to take off his soaked clothes.
Suddenly, there was a sharp intake of breath behind him.
Xiao Can turned around to see Tan Zhen covering his face with both hands, leaving a wide gap between his fingers, and his eyes behind them were clearly wide open, revealing his surprise.
Xiao Can couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. “What are you doing?”
“You’re so fair-skinned,” Tan Zhen put his hands down, his face slightly flushed, “your skin is really nice.”
“…I want to take a shower,” Xiao Can said, “can you step out for a moment?”
“Oh,” Tan Zhen obediently nodded, “take your time!”
As Xiao Can walked out of the changing room after freshening up, Tan Zhen was still standing outside the door.
“Are you waiting for me?” Xiao Can said, “they’re still filming, you won’t get any screen time like this.”
“I have something to tell you,” Tan Zhen said.
“Hmm?”
“I originally thought you two were a good match because he seemed suitable for you,” Tan Zhen said, “but now I feel like there’s really something between you two.”
“…Why are we talking about this again?”
“Let me explain what I was thinking when I chose people,” Tan Zhen muttered with his head down, “and… subconscious reactions are the most honest, I now really approve of him.”
Xiao Can was extremely helpless. “You sound like my mom.”
Xiao Can couldn’t help but smile wryly. “But this isn’t the time to say these things, right?”
“Yeah,” Tan Zhen nodded, “there’s actually one more thing… I’ll tell you later!”
Back at the recording site, Yumi, Tan Zhen’s teammate, was looking for him.
As soon as she saw Tan Zhen, she immediately called out loudly, “Where did you go? It’s just us left!”
Tan Zhen hurried over.
Xiao Can asked the staff about the current situation. He learned that the team “Charge Charge” had successfully completed the course, with the code mostly accurate, but their drink had spilled entirely from the cup.
As for the team “I Definitely Will,” they fell into the water on the way and were also changing clothes now.
The last team, “Having You Is Great,” began their race. Tan Zhen was responsible for the first half, while Xiao Can and He Xingzhou pretended to cause trouble on the shore, but they didn’t exert much effort.
Tan Zhen carefully carried the cup and passed through almost without spilling.
When it was Yumi’s turn, the team “I Definitely Will,” who had just gone to change clothes, rushed back and tried to obstruct her. However, Yumi’s sense of balance was amazing, and her feet seemed to have suction cups, firmly clinging to the floating board without moving an inch.
Finally, she returned safely with the code mostly correct, and the water in the cup hardly spilled.
After the competition ended, the results were announced, and “Prince Charlie” was second to last.
He Xingzhou stood next to Xiao Can and said softly, “It’s a good thing we didn’t get first place.”
“It’s all my fault,” Xiao Can said.
“I didn’t say that,” He Xingzhou said, “I don’t care about winning or losing.”
“Then why did you try so hard just now?” Recalling He Xingzhou’s strained expression and difficult recitation earlier, Xiao Can couldn’t help but want to laugh.
He Xingzhou smiled. “You said you wanted to win.”
“… “
After announcing the results, it was time for the awards ceremony.
The staff brought out a box and told everyone it contained “Blessing Puzzles.” According to the rankings, each team could randomly draw eight, six, four, or two pieces.
As the representative of Prince Charlie, Xiao Can stepped forward to draw. The four pieces he received had different colors on the back: two red, one blue, and one green.
Tan Zhen was assigned to read the rules of the game this time.
Next, they would officially enter this “Peach Blossom Village.” In the corners of the Peach Blossom Village, there were many “Blessing Puzzles,” each with different acquisition methods.
There were a total of seven puzzles, each with nine pieces. To differentiate them, each piece had a different color on the back, making each one unique.
Until the next afternoon the next day at six o’clock, the team that completed the most puzzles would be the winner.
During this time, there would be three puzzle exchange meetings that night at eight o’clock, the next day at eleven in the morning, and at five thirty in the afternoon, where teams could freely exchange puzzles with each other.
“Since each piece is unique, we’ll have to exchange with others to complete the set, right?” Xiao Can asked.
Tan Zhen looked up. “That should be the case!”
“Then remember to cooperate with us first when the time comes!” Xiao Can shouted to him.
Tan Zhen winked at him.
“He just abandoned you earlier!” the Omega from the “Charge Charge” team laughed.
“No way,” He Xingzhou said, “Tan Zhen loves him so much that a few sweet words will make him give all the puzzles to him.”
Xiao Can pushed him. “I’m not that kind of person!”
The girl looked at them strangely, smiled, and didn’t say anything.
The production team called this project the “Journey of Collecting Blessings.”
The journey officially began, with the four teams starting from four different points.
Xiao Can and He Xingzhou chose a relatively quiet route.
“Logically, they wouldn’t place the puzzles too close together. The distribution on each route should be relatively even. If there are fewer items on this road, the targets will be more obvious,” Xiao Can analyzed to He Xingzhou.
He Xingzhou nodded. “Hmm.”
Xiao Can continued, “There are seven colors in total, nine pieces each, which makes sixty-three pieces in total. Minus the twenty we already have, there are still forty-three pieces left to find.”
He Xingzhou nodded again. “Hmm.”
“When we search, we won’t be able to target a specific color, it’ll be random,” Xiao Can said. “So the key to success or failure lies in the puzzle exchange meetings. We’ll need to decide our exchange strategy based on the colors we already have.”
He Xingzhou nodded. “Hmm.”
“…Do you have any ideas?” Xiao Can asked.
“Well, I wanted to choose the orchard route,” He Xingzhou said, “Tan Zhen might have already eaten there.”
“…”
He Xingzhou sighed, looked around, and said despondently as he gazed at the vegetable greenhouse, “All there is here is vegetables.”
If it weren’t for the two cameramen following behind, Xiao Can would have already scolded him.
“Do you like eating vegetables?” He Xingzhou asked.
“Not particularly,” Xiao Can said.
“I’m good at cooking vegetables,” He Xingzhou said, “You missed it last time, why don’t you come to my place next time and try?”
“Hahaha, Mr. He, you’re so polite. Of course, I’d love to. I’ll make an appointment with Tan Zhen later. Hey, look, what’s that?”
Xiao Can said, speeding up his pace and moving forward quickly.
Not far ahead on the roadside was a small table with a basket of vegetables on it. A plainly dressed peasant woman stood beside it, using her hands to sort through the vegetables.
It seemed like his initial idea of choosing this route was correct; there was something mysterious about this setup.
“Hello,” Xiao Can ran over proactively and said warmly, “What are you busy with here, Auntie?”
“All my vegetables got mixed up,” the woman said. “Young man, you seem kind-hearted, could you help me pick them out?”
“Sure, how do I pick them?” Xiao Can asked.
The woman took out a green vegetable from the basket. “What is this called?”
“Um…” Xiao Can stared at the vegetable leaves for a while, then turned around with a pleading look at He Xingzhou who was walking leisurely behind him. “Mr. He, with your cooking skills, you must know, right?”
“The leaves are from Chinese toon,” He Xingzhou said.
“Oh, it’s Chinese toon?” Xiao Can suddenly realized. “I recognize it when it’s chopped up and cooked in a dish.”
“Good,” He Xingzhou nodded. “I’ll cook it for you next time.”
Xiao Can was taken aback. “No, that’s not what I meant…”
The woman took out another type of vegetable from the basket and asked, “What’s this called?”
Xiao Can looked at the full heart-shaped leaves, feeling bewildered, as he felt like it had just been picked from the roadside greenery and didn’t look edible.
“This is purple oxalis,” He Xingzhou said.
Xiao Can thought to himself, no wonder he couldn’t recognize it; he had never even heard of this name, let alone eaten it. It was fortunate that He Xingzhou could recognize it.
The woman took out another variety, and He Xingzhou immediately answered, “It’s pumpkin vine.”
“You can eat pumpkin vine?” Xiao Can exclaimed in surprise. “Is it really the vine of a pumpkin?”
“Yes, it’s used to feed pigs in many places, but it can also be cooked and is quite tasty,” He Xingzhou explained.
After that, the woman took out three more types of vegetables, and He Xingzhou answered each one, passing the test smoothly.
After expressing her gratitude to them, the woman introduced some greenhouse planting techniques to them. Then she took out a puzzle piece from under the basket, saying she had just picked it up in the greenhouse and it was useless to her, so she gave it to them as a thank you gift.
Xiao Can, feeling embarrassed for not recognizing any of the vegetables, praised He Xingzhou profusely to cover it up.
“These vegetables are all so rare, it’s difficult for ordinary people to recognize them all. Mr. He, you’re amazing!”
“Is that so,” He Xingzhou said. “It’s just that you lack common knowledge.”
“…”
“You probably don’t usually like eating vegetables,” He Xingzhou said, “You like fish, don’t you?”
“But if you showed me different types of fish, I might not be able to tell them apart either,” Xiao Can muttered.
He Xingzhou actually laughed and said, “It doesn’t matter, if you don’t buy vegetables to cook, it doesn’t matter if you can’t tell them apart.”
The atmosphere was strange.
“This puzzle piece is purple!” Xiao Can raised the puzzle piece and announced loudly, “Now we have the most of the same color, three pieces!”
He Xingzhou turned his head to look at him, his smile unchanged. “Hmm.”
Xiao Can hurried forward, looking around. “Where could the next piece be…”
“Perhaps it’s somewhere laying on the ground,” He Xingzhou said.
“It’s not possible, that would be too casual,” Xiao Can waved his hand, “They should all be like the one just now, requiring a little game before…”
He stopped abruptly.
“What’s wrong?” He Xingzhou followed his gaze.
In the middle of the road, there was a peach-shaped toy doll.
Xiao Can went over and picked it up. Opening it, he found a puzzle piece inside.
“Is it that simple?” he exclaimed in surprise.
“What color is it?” He Xingzhou asked.
Xiao Can turned the piece over and, even more surprisingly, said, “It’s white! And there’s a little card, let me see.”
He Xingzhou walked over to him, bending down to look at it together.
“It says here, this is a special treasure card, it can replace any puzzle piece!” Xiao Can lifted his head excitedly, almost bumping into He Xingzhou, and quickly stepped aside.
He Xingzhou was also stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the other side.
“That means we now have the equivalent of three pieces of the same color,” Xiao Can pretended as if nothing had happened, “We’re so lucky!”
He Xingzhou didn’t respond, but Xiao Can could sense that he looked at him again.
“In one go,” Xiao Can strode forward, “Prince Charlie, charge!”
