Chapter 175: The Zoo

The third day marked the final day of recording for the first season of the show.

Sang Yijia did not need to prepare breakfast today, as the production crew would take care of it, but the scores for the first two days of breakfast would be announced this morning.

On the first day, Sang Yijia had made century egg and lean pork congee, but Lu Wenchuan was allergic to century eggs and could not eat it, so he had given his portion to Bian He.

Yan Singsi, on the other hand, was quite fond of the century egg and lean pork congee and had badgered Sang Yijia, saying she wanted to make it together again.

Sang Yijia thought for a moment, worrying that the breakfast from the first day might not have received a high score.

As for the second day, Lu Wenchuan had made simple millet congee and fried eggs, while the golden cake had been traded with the hotel chef, so it probably wouldn't score well either.

As for the breakfasts made by the others, Sang Yijia had not bothered to find out, so she was unaware of the specific details.

Thinking of this, Sang Yijia didn't expect a very high score; barely passing should be acceptable.

Lu Wenchuan seemed to notice Sang Yijia's worry, and suddenly recalled what she had said last night—that she had gone somewhere and suffered quite a bit before returning.

At this thought, Lu Wenchuan's heart tightened painfully. "Jiajia?"

"Hmm?" Hearing the call, Sang Yijia looked over. Her almond-shaped eyes were misty, clean, and clear.

Such a pair of eyes was the most beautiful among all the people Lu Wenchuan had ever seen, and the one that stirred his heart the most.

"It's nothing." What Lu Wenchuan wanted to say was that it was just a variety show and not to take it seriously, but for some reason, the words stuck in his throat.

Sang Yijia hummed in acknowledgment, and looking into his eyes, she immediately guessed what was on Lu Wenchuan's mind. Under the dining table, Sang Yijia reached out and took Lu Wenchuan's hand, gently tracing her index finger across his palm. "I don't care about the result."

"I just regret a little why I didn't ask about your preferences sooner." As his girlfriend, not even knowing that her boyfriend was allergic to century eggs was truly a humiliating thing.

"And you know what I like, so this is unfair to you." Before Lu Wenchuan could speak, Sang Yijia continued, "After we go back tomorrow, shall we have a proper chat?"

Other people learned each other's preferences through spending time together, but they hadn't yet had the chance to properly get along. Sang Yijia figured that she had time in the next few days to spend quality time with Lu Wenchuan.

Oh, and there was also the matter of taking a trip home.

"Alright." Lu Wenchuan had no objections whatsoever.

Director Chen was explaining the requirements for the task up front. He glanced at the people present, but not many were listening attentively. The scene was just like a teacher exhausting themselves in class, only to find that the students below were either sleeping or zoning out, and the only ones truly listening were only thinking of being contrarian.

Yan Singsi let out a hum. "Director, calculated this way, Bian and I are definitely going to be in last place."

"Then how are we supposed to do the missions for the rest of the day?" There were still tasks on the final day, but they were relatively lighter.

After all, this was a dating show.

What else could it be besides eating, watching movies, and preparing small surprises? Just these few things. But the audience didn't want to watch several couples just eating, drinking, and having fun.

They wanted to see something more interesting.

Yet after this episode was re-recorded, Director Chen always felt something was missing. He couldn't feel the sweetness of romance; instead, it felt like a group of people out on a tour group vacation.

Director Chen silently wept in his heart for a moment, but on the surface, he wore no sorrowful expression. "Today is an itinerary for individual dates."

"However, the dating locations for each of you have been prepared by us in advance."

"We will draw lots in a moment, and wherever you pick is where you will go. Private swaps are not allowed." Director Chen glanced at Yan Singsi; among everyone here, she was by far the least rule-abiding.

He had originally thought Sang Yijia would be the one prone to making trouble, but he never expected that Yan Singsi, who usually looked so obedient and well-behaved, was actually the final boss. Director Chen was now regretting it to his core—why on earth had he invited Yan Singsi here?

Sang Yijia noticed a green card in the mix. Lu Wenchuan followed her gaze and clearly saw what she wanted.

"This time, let's pick blue, okay?" Sang Yijia noticed that most of Lu Wenchuan's clothes were blue.

Yet in front of her, Lu Wenchuan acted as though he particularly liked green.

Sang Yijia did not want Lu Wenchuan to force himself to like green simply because she liked it.

Choosing a favorite color was everyone's free choice.

"Blue?" Lu Wenchuan paused for a second, but did not refuse. "Alright."

The drawing of lots began.

The sub-director walked over to each couple with a box. "Only one person needs to draw."

Lu Wenchuan let Sang Yijia do it.

Sang Yijia casually picked a card. It was neither green nor blue, but pink.

When Sang Yijia opened it, there was only a drawing with no text prompts whatsoever.

"Alright, I believe everyone has their cards now." Director Chen looked very satisfied with their reactions. "In a moment, you will all need to head to the locations corresponding to your tasks for your dates."

"Where is the cotton candy?" Sang Yijia stared at the drawing in silence.

Lu Wenchuan furrowed his brows. "Isn't this a white cloud?"

Consequently, both of them fell silent.

When Yan Singsi walked over, she happened to catch the two of them in silence and glanced at their task card, which featured a simple doodle of a white cloud.

At a single glance, Yan Singsi knew what place it was. "Brother Lu, Jiajia, you guys don't know where this is?"

"No idea," Sang Yijia shook her head. "Do you know where it is?"

"I do," Yan Singsi pulled out her phone, searched for it, and then showed the screen to Sang Yijia. "It's this."

Sang Yijia looked at the phone screen, her eyes reflecting the logo of a zoo. Glancing at the photos, Sang Yijia noticed that the animals inside all looked quite haggard. Just as she was about to ask why that was, Yan Singsi continued.

"Most of the animals here were rescued, or bought back from circuses." Yan Singsi sighed. "A few years ago, circuses were banned from having animal performances."

"Aquariums still have them nowadays, but only a few." With that, Yan Singsi handed her own card to Sang Yijia. "Bian He and I are going to the aquarium."

"I don't really want to go there." Yan Singsi blocked the way forward slightly. "Jiajia, how about we swap?"

Sang Yijia turned her head to look at Lu Wenchuan.

Lu Wenchuan turned sideways, positioning the camera squarely towards Yan Singsi.

"..." Actually, even if they didn't swap, there was no need to go that far. Yan Singsi rubbed the tip of her nose. "Well, alright then."

"Brother Lu, Jiajia, walking along the route will get you there pretty quickly." Yan Singsi put away the thought of swapping locations, looked at Director Chen, and continued, "The director only gave us two hundred yuan."

"We still have to buy tickets in a moment." Yan Singsi had just checked the ticket prices for the aquarium. Oh boy, it was ninety-five yuan per person, and that was already discounted. If it were the original price, two hundred yuan would only buy half a ticket. If she and Bian He wanted to go, they would probably have to sell organs.

That was why Yan Singsi had wanted to swap locations in the first place. But Shen Jing and Xu Wei's pair was going to the botanical garden on the mountain, and since Bian He had a bad back, he definitely couldn't climb mountains.

Lan Qing and Shen Jing were going to the water park, which Bian He couldn't play at either.

Yan Singsi had gone the whole circle before finally ending up at Sang Yijia's place.