Hu Li looked at Jing Li expressionlessly as he reached to retrieve the card from the withered leaves. For a moment, he was at a loss for words, but then he simply raised his hand and gave Jing Li a thumbs up, clearly admitting defeat.
The fans watching the live broadcast immediately burst into laughter at this sight.
“Hahahahaha, the slap in the face came so fast, like a tornado.”
“I could practically feel the ‘resignation’ written all over Hu Li’s expressionless face.”
“Hahaha, of course, you shouldn’t boast too much!”
“Hu Li: Well, it’s you alright!”
“Hahahahaha, the program team is so devious. They actually buried the card under the dried leaves—who could have thought of that?!”
“It was found even like this?! This time, Jing Shao really is the lucky koi!”
…
Jing Li couldn’t help but be amused by Hu Li’s expression, letting out a low chuckle before picking up the card and opening it.
“Call the first contact in your recent call log and borrow three million. The one who succeeds in borrowing the money can obtain a direct clue provided by the program team,” Jing Li read the card’s contents aloud, then looked up at Hu Li. “This time, the content is quite lengthy, but it doesn’t seem to be good news.”
“It looks like the program team has really abandoned any pretense of being decent!” Hu Li laughed as well. “No wonder they hid it in such a secret place; they must have been waiting here.”
“So, are you going to call or not?” Jing Li raised an eyebrow at him.
“Of course I’ll call, such a good opportunity right in front of me.” Hu Li shrugged nonchalantly, then suddenly, a mischievous smile crept up his face as he glanced at Jing Li. “Besides, I believe my most recent call was to you, so I’ll just have you foot the bill this time.”
Jing Li couldn’t hold back a laugh, and the fans in the live broadcast burst into roars of laughter as well.
“Hahaha, I don’t know if the program team is human, but Hu Li is definitely a dog!”
“So the production team ended up shooting themselves in the foot this time?”
“Waiting eagerly for the two guests to connect live! I’ll lose if I don’t laugh!”
…
Just when the live broadcast room was bustling with excitement, the staff handed the two guests their phones.
However, the production team was obviously not going to let go of such a good opportunity to create a buzz, so after checking the recent call logs of the two, they directly bypassed Hu Li’s chance to make the call, and had Jing Li dial instead.
In Jing Li’s recent call log, the number one entry was a missed call from Gu Tingshen, who made the call after seeing Jing Li being pushed off the plane. But since the phone wasn’t on him at the time, Jing Li hadn’t answered it.
Nevertheless, these details didn’t matter much. When the viewers in the live broadcast saw Jing Li dialing the number one contact, which turned out to be Gu Tingshen, everyone erupted in excitement.
“Aaaaah, it’s actually Mr. Gu?!”
“Hahahahaha, the production team is going to miscalculate this time, letting Jing Shao call Mr. Gu to borrow three million? They must have seriously underestimated the lender’s capabilities!”
“Gu Tingshen: What? Still need to borrow three million? Just send me your account number, I’ll directly transfer twenty million as pocket money!!”
“Hahaha, to the beauty in front, I can only say that I’m thoroughly impressed!”
…
Jing Li’s call was answered after just one ring, and a magnetic baritone voice answered, “Xiao Jing? Why are you calling me at this time?”
Though phrased as a question, there was a touch of warmth and intimacy in the tone, making everyone’s ears tingle and almost unable to resist squealing again.
“Shen-ge,” Jing Li called him with a smile, but didn’t quite have the courage to outright ask for a loan, first politely greeting him, “Are you busy? Did I disturb you?”
“How could Xiao Jing’s call be a disturbance?” Gu Tingshen let out a low chuckle, his voice even more magnetic and seductive through the receiver. “I happen to be on vacation these days, and was just thinking of when I could come to your place again to try your cooking.”
“Anytime I’m free, it’s possible.” Jing Li also responded with a smile, glancing sideways to see the staff member urging him to get to the main point. He cleared his throat and went straight to the topic. “That is, Shen-ge, can you lend me three million?”
“Hmm?” Gu Tingshen let out a slight note of confusion, then chuckled again. “Three million, and you still ask if I’m willing to lend it? I’ll transfer it to you right away.”
After a pause, he added, “Is three million enough? Or should I just transfer fifty million directly? If it’s not enough, just come to me.”
All the staff members watching on site: “……”
All the viewers in the live broadcast: “……”
Sorry, they underestimated Mr. Gu’s generosity!
“That’s enough, just three million is fine.” Jing Li didn’t think it was a big deal. “I’m still in the middle of a program recording, I’ll pay you back as soon as I’m done.”
Of course, Gu Tingshen knew Jing Li was in the middle of a program recording. Before answering the call, he had been watching his movements in the live broadcast room. Seeing that he was the first person in his recent call records, he even hooked the corner of his mouth in satisfaction.
But naturally, he wouldn’t let Jing Li know about this. After lightly responding a few times, he directly instructed Secretary Qin to transfer fifty million, and he continued to watch Jing Li’s movements in the live broadcast room.
At the same time, almost within a few minutes of Jing Li asking to borrow money, he received a text message that his account had an additional fifty million. He glanced at it somewhat helplessly, but didn’t say much else, thanked the person on the other end of the phone and hung up.
But the netizens who saw the content of his text message were instantly shocked.
“Holy sh*t?! Tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions?! Fifty million?!”
“He really transferred fifty million? Mr. Gu is indeed Mr. Gu!”
“He transferred it as soon as he finished speaking? He didn’t even need Jing Li’s account number?!!!”
“Hmm, the previous commenter didn’t notice, but Boss Gu transferred the money without needing Jing’s account number? That’s usually only for extremely close relationships, hmm~”
“Enmmmm, if the beauty in front hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have noticed, Mr. Gu doesn’t even need Jing Li’s account number to transfer money?!”
“Generally speaking, transfers without an account number are usually very intimate relationships, huh~~~~ I inexplicably tasted a different flavor?”
“Wah, I suddenly really want to ship Mr. Gu and Jing Shao!”
“Sorry, I’m already on board. A gentle, doting gong with a calm, beautiful shou- it’s simply too good to resist!”
“I’m shedding tears of envy right now.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Gu, do you still need a leg pendant?! The kind that can eat, talk, and is especially good at spending money!”
…
Everyone was simply amazed, and at the same time, they admired the audacious behavior of the rich, instantly howling to cling to the big boss’s thigh.
The Jing Li-Hu Li duo, who successfully completed the task, also obtained the direct clue provided by the production team.
“A private villa at the foot of the mountain?” Hu Li leaned in to take a look at the card’s content, immediately raising an eyebrow. “So the treasure we’ve been painstakingly searching for is hidden in a private villa at the foot of the mountain?”
“Seems to be the case.” Jing Li also took a glance, then thought for a moment before saying, “I just don’t know if the process of getting the treasure will go smoothly.”
Hu Li paused at this, then also came to the same realization.
All this time, they hadn’t seen the slightest trace of human activity, let alone any buildings. So it was very possible that the production team had deliberately chosen the beach farthest from any structures as the landing point, just to increase the difficulty of the treasure hunt for the guests.
But now the production team had suddenly generously provided them with a direct clue, leaving them to wonder if there wasn’t some kind of trick involved.
However, since they had come this far, they naturally had no reason to back down, especially since Hu Li told Jing Li beforehand that he wanted to thoroughly explore this little island. Aside from finding the scenery quite nice, they hadn’t really discovered anything else remarkable, and with the incident of Jing Li being pushed off the plane, Hu Li hadn’t had the chance to think about much else.
Now that they had the opportunity to check out Gu Tingshen’s private villa, he naturally wouldn’t pass it up.
“We’ve come this far, haven’t we?1来都来了” (lái dōu lái le, lit. “since [I/you/we] have come.”) translates to “Now that we’re here, we might as well go through with it,” often used to justify continuing with an action despite hesitations or setbacks. It gained wider recognition from the variety show “向往的生活5” (Back to Field Season 5), where the actor Huang Lei listed it as one of the common Chinese phrases used to excuse or forgive certain behaviors.” Hu Li immediately invoked a popular online catchphrase, and Jing Li responded with a smile, “Then let’s go.”
The two exchanged a look and a smile, then gathered their things and continued towards the mountains.
This time, with motivation and a clear goal, the two were significantly more active, their steps even becoming lighter. They soon reached the middle of the mountain.
From the mountainside, the trees below started to thin out, opening up the view. As Jing Li looked down, he could see the rooftops of a villa poking out at the foot of the mountain, and beyond that, an expansive lawn.
The lawn seemed to be regularly maintained, and from this distance, one could see a sense of meticulous order to it, with crisscrossing stone paths leading all the way to the distant beach.
“Ah, we can already see the villa!” Hu Li, walking beside Jing Li, followed his gaze and peered down, exclaiming excitedly, “Let’s hurry, I already feel like victory is waving at us.”
At his shout, the camera crew panned towards the villa down the mountain, and all the viewers in the live broadcast saw a large European-style building standing there amidst lush greenery, with the sea and sky in the distance, presenting a picturesque landscape.
“Damn! The villa’s land area looks so huge! The owner of this little island must be seriously loaded!!!”
“A rare sight in my lifetime!!!!”
“Poverty has limited my imagination, I can’t even find the words to describe what I’m seeing.”
“The villa’s exterior is already so beautiful, I can only imagine how amazing the interior must be!”
…
As the viewers exclaimed in excitement, Jing Li and Hu Li gradually reached the foot of the mountain and made their way towards the villa.
As they got closer, everyone noticed that the villa’s outer walls were inlaid with similarly-sized dark stones. The top of the walls was covered in lush pink roses that were in full bloom this season, trailing along the entire length of the walls. The rustic yet romantic sight added an extra touch of beauty to the villa.
Following the rose-covered wall, there were two white Roman columns with a pair of large iron-painted doors in the middle. At this moment, the doors were wide open, fully displaying the scenery of the courtyard inside.
From the entrance path, the ground gradually transitioned from blue stone tiles to a deep ocean blue, leading all the way to a huge pool in the center. The pool’s edges were completely transparent, allowing a view of the colorful fish swimming freely and the underwater vegetation.
In the middle of the pool stood a blue-black rockery, with the surrounding seawater converging behind it and cascading down from the top, like a galaxy falling into the heavens. Even from a distance, you could feel the moisture of the seawater splashing on your face, making people just want to exclaim at its magnificence.
The sea waves outside also seemed affected by the water vapor, rippling outwards towards the azure horizon, only slowing down when they reached the stone tiles.
At the foot of the rockery, a half-human-high red coral tree submerged in the seawater was even more eye-catching. The entire coral tree was a blood-red color, the color gradually deepening from inside to outside. Its smooth, lustrous texture glistened under sunlight, radiating a dazzling array of colors.
The viewers in the live broadcast fell silent for a moment, before finally voicing their awe.
“This is the first time I’ve been so captivated by the rockery in someone else’s yard.”
“Captivated + 1. But the scenery is just too beautiful. I could stare at it all day without getting tired of it.”
“The designer is truly amazing, it’s hard to tell at a glance which part is the actual floor and which is the real seawater.”
“That red coral in the middle!! It must be a rare, precious variety, I’ve never seen such a vivid, perfect red coral specimen before!”
“Setting aside everything else, I just want to ask – does the villa’s owner need a son? Or even a grandson would do!!!”
…
Jing Li and Hu Li were also entranced, but not by the scenery – they were stunned by the intense spiritual energy radiating from the villa.
This was the first time they had ever experienced such pure, potent spiritual energy in this world, far surpassing any other place. But what was strange was that these spiritual energies were only active within the entire villa, and as soon as they stepped out of the gate, they instantly dissipated cleanly.
No wonder they hadn’t sensed anything remarkable during their almost two-day stay on the island.
As demons, being immersed in such dense spiritual energy felt akin to walking along the edge of a hot spring. Simply absorbing the diffused energy was enough to wash away their previous fatigue and fill them with excitement.
Hu Li couldn’t help but close his eyes and take a deep breath, feeling so refreshed that the fatigue of the previous hours of travel was instantly smoothed over, and he became excited and lively. Although Jing Li didn’t show it as dramatically as he did, he also felt extremely comfortable. He felt as if he had returned to the time when he was on the Spiritual Realm, and the air around him became active.
Just then, there was a sudden sound of footsteps from behind the courtyard. Although it couldn’t be heard by ordinary people under the cover of the rockery and water, it couldn’t hide from the ears of the two demons.
Jing Li looked up towards the source, and Hu Li also opened his eyes. Soon, a familiar figure emerged from behind the rockery.
When they saw who it was, both of them were momentarily taken aback.
Gu Tingshen??? What was he doing here?!
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