Chapter 14: Embrace

The next day, the “Perfect Partner” program continued recording.

The voiceover sounded: “It’s another beautiful day.”
“Good morning, everyone. Today’s program schedule is: Fishing.”

Fishing?

Ning Ke glanced at Yan Yunzhi; this slow-paced, wellness-oriented task seemed quite suitable for her.

The production team introduced the game rules: “First, you need to find the fishing rods.”

“Where are the fishing rods?”

“Please find the clues provided by the production team yourselves.”

“Clues? What clues?”

“They are right around you. Now, begin!”

Gao Qi: “Hey! Starting without another word?”

Qin Pei: “Director! Don’t be inhuman!”

The bullet comments erupted in laughter at these words:

[“Hahaha, I just love watching the Best Actor and Actress diss people. Having status is just great.”]

[“Guess which group finds the clue first?”]

[“I bet on group one, Yan Yunzhi looks so smart!”]

[“Not necessarily, I think Gao Qi and the others have more life experience.”]

All three groups were struggling with where to find the clues.

Ning Ke: “First, we need to determine where the clues are.”

Yan Yunzhi: “The three groups live in different places.”
“To be fair, they probably wouldn’t be placed in our respective houses.”

Ning Ke: “So it’s in this courtyard.”

Jiang Lin: “Ah? Right here!”

Ning Ke: “Jiang Lin, you search the left side, we’ll search the right.”

As soon as she finished speaking, someone posted in the bullet comments:

[“Yo. She’s defaulting to her and Yan Yunzhi being ‘us’ now!”]

[“Hehe, loves to leech.”]

[“Let’s see if group one can find the clue first, I bet a pack of spicy strips!”]

Yan Yunzhi surveyed the entire courtyard.

On the right side of the courtyard was a neatly stacked pile of firewood, covered with a plastic rain sheet, likely to protect against rain and snow.

Ning Ke also came over and exchanged a look with her.

Ning Ke: “Lift it?”

Yan Yunzhi: “Okay.”

Ning Ke: “You step back a bit, I’ll do it.”

This rain sheet had accumulated dust; shaking it would stir up dust… she was afraid Yan Yunzhi might start coughing again.

Yan Yunzhi took two steps back: “Okay.”

A string of question marks appeared in the bullet comments:

[“??? Am I blind?”]

[“Did the Eldest Miss always use her hands instead of her mouth on shows before? Today she’s doing it herself again and again?”]

[“Teacher Yan is an artist and a senior. Isn’t it normal for Keke to respect seniors?”]

[“Don’t you guys think… they have this damn tacit understanding?”]

Ning Ke shook the rain sheet, and a lot of dust fell off.

She frowned and stepped back two steps, indeed seeing a small bamboo slip hidden underneath. The first clue was found!

A pile of thumbs-up in the bullet comments:

[“Hahaha their group really is first!”]

[“How did they find it!”]

[“Watched the replay at 0.5x speed. Two plastic rain sheets, one had dust, the other didn’t, meaning it must have been lifted before.”]

[“Heavens, this tacit understanding… I’m shipping it again!”]

The bullet comments scrolled rapidly. Jiang Lin also found the second clue—just now Yu You came over, they bickered for a couple of sentences, Jiang Lin found Yu You annoying and pushed him.

Who knew he would bump right into the door frame, causing a slip of paper to fall from the top.

[“This works too?”]

[“OMG, are those two elementary school kids fighting?”]

[“Never mind that! Ning Ke’s group can set off!”]

Sure enough, the production team reminded: “Group one found two clues. Congratulations on receiving the fishing rods and bait. Please depart immediately.”

The second and third groups had only just found the first clue. Qin Pei asked with a wry smile: “Can we still play this?”

Production team: “This is just the beginning of the task, not the end~”

[“The beginning of the task?”]

[“So what fish are they supposed to catch?”]

[“Don’t you guys feel the production team’s tone is super annoying, makes you want to beat them up!”]

[“Look quickly, they’ve reached the fish pond.”]

Standing by the fish pond, Ning Ke finally understood the meaning of that sentence—the weather was too cold, the water surface was frozen thick with ice.

Seven or eight villagers were breaking the ice and netting fish from the pond, some fish thrown directly onto the ice surface.

It seemed fishing rods wouldn’t necessarily catch much.

The audience was dumbfounded:

[“How do you fish? Throw the fishing line into the holes smashed in the ice?”]

[“Actually, it’s better to just grab the fish on the ice.”]

[“But going onto the ice to catch fish is dangerous.”]

[“The production team really knows how to stir things up.”]

Group one arrived earliest. By the time the villagers finished breaking the ice, the second and third groups had also arrived, standing by the roadside discussing:

Yu You: “We have to go down and catch the fish.”
“Won’t we freeze to death in this cold weather?”

Jiang Lin: “This is killing me, I don’t dare go into the water.”

Gu Yao: “It’s so dangerous, standing on the ice really isn’t safe.”

The guests invited this season were all hands-on types, but complaints were complaints.

Once five or six-tenths of the pond ice was broken and the villagers left, the three groups began to act.

Each group assigned one person to fish. Ning Ke gave the fishing task to Yan Yunzhi: “You stay here, Jiang Lin and I will go check nearby.”

Yan Yunzhi took the fishing rod: “Call me if you need anything.”

In group two, Qin Pei took the fishing rod. Group three gave the fishing task to Jing Luo.

[“Hahaha Teacher Yan is really suited for fishing, this kind of self-cultivating activity.”]

[“Can they even catch anything? I don’t believe it!”]

[“Could this be today’s lunch?”]

[“Look quickly, Ning Ke is heading over there.”]

Ning Ke called Jiang Lin and walked along the pond: “The ice is thicker here, thinner over there.

If we really need to go down and catch fish, go this way.”

Jiang Lin was a bit scared: “Me? Go down?”

Ning Ke knew he was afraid of water: “I’ll go down with you.”

Jiang Lin: “What? How can a girl like you go down!”

Ning Ke: “Cut the crap, let’s go down.”

Jiang Lin: “Really, don’t. I’ll go down myself.”

While Jiang Lin slowly went down, Gao Qi had already sprung into action.

He had acted for many years and had a foundation in martial arts.

His movements were nimble, and he quickly scooped up two fish from the ice surface.

On the other side, perhaps because the weather was too cold, the three fishing participants had caught nothing.

[“This works too?? Then why did the production team give clues to find fishing rods first? What’s wrong with them.”]

[“But how can they compete like this?”]

[“Look quickly, Yu You went down too, caught two!”]

The camera switched. Yu You had just gone down and scooped up two fish, smiling at Gu Yao on the bank: “Catch!”

[“Wow, his smile is so sunny!”]

[“This puts a lot of pressure on group one.”]

Ning Ke saw groups two and three had both caught fish.

Ignoring Jiang Lin’s dissuasion, she was preparing to go down when she heard Yan Yunzhi call her: “Ning Ke.”

Ning Ke: “You fish your fish, don’t worry about this side.”

Yan Yunzhi: “You’re going down too?”

Ning Ke hummed in affirmation.

Her competitive spirit was always strong, and once she decided something, others couldn’t persuade her.

She rolled up her sleeves and started looking for a foothold.

[“Didn’t everyone say the Eldest Miss was pampered and very pretentious?”]

[“Actually, I think she just has a bit of a temper, but she works really hard.”]

[“If a girl falls into the icy water, it’s no joke. Teacher Yan, persuade her. I’m so worried.”]

Yan Yunzhi didn’t persuade Ning Ke: “I’ll hold you as you go down.”

Ning Ke: “What?”

Yan Yunzhi: “I’ll hold you from here, it’s safer. Give me your hand, I won’t let go.”

Ning Ke lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, then gave her right hand to her.

Yan Yunzhi’s hand was somewhat cold, the back of her hand thin, her fingers long and slender.

She first grasped her fingertips, then held her palm tightly, her voice steady and clear: “Don’t worry.”

Ning Ke hummed, chose the thickest part of the ice to step down onto.

The moment she stood on the ice, she felt her palm being held tightly, her fingertips even faintly aching.

She didn’t have time to think much, quickly grabbing two or three fish from the ice and throwing them onto the bank.

[“Good grief, the Eldest Miss does what she says, really working hard.

I’ll never say she just talks and doesn’t act again.”]

[“Teacher Yan is so good, accompanying the Eldest Miss in whatever she wants to do.”]

[“Jiang Lin is afraid of water, I feel like they might still not catch up to group two’s Teacher Gao.”]

The audience’s prediction was accurate.

Gao Qi had lived in the countryside during his childhood, plus he had martial arts skills.

His movements were agile and precise, firmly securing first place.

Group one ranked second, and group three came last.

Just as time was about to run out, a small accident occurred.

A ‘plop’ sound was heard; someone had fallen into the water.

The production team became tense: “Yu You? Yu You!”

The big boy who fell in quickly surfaced, wiping crushed ice from his face: “It’s fine, I’m fine.”

On the bank, Gu Yao was almost crying from anxiety: “Stop fishing, come up quickly. I’ll help you.”

Yu You still smiled: “It’s fine, really fine!”

[“OMG, this is getting a bit scary.”]

[“Where’s the production team? I know this show is leisure travel + a bit of wilderness survival, but can we be a bit more leisure now, huh?”]

Seeing him fall in, Yan Yunzhi tightened her grip on Ning Ke’s hand: “Stop catching fish. Ning Ke, come up.”

The overall result was decided. Ning Ke didn’t insist further, gripping her hand for leverage to climb up, then immediately letting go: “Second place. Let it be.”

After confirming Yu You was okay, the production team began announcing today’s results: “First place, group two; Second place, group one; Third place, group three.

Thank you everyone for your efforts.

Tonight, the production team will count the fish.

A sponsor will purchase this batch of fish at fifty times the market price.

The money will be given to households in need in the village, ensuring everyone, rich or poor, can go home for the New Year!”

[“Wow hoo, the production team knows how to do things.”]

[“Then don’t cause trouble this afternoon.”]

The production team continued: “Our partners aren’t necessarily perfect. There might be arguments, there might be adjustments, but the most perfect partner is definitely someone you can trust to give your hand to, knowing they will definitely not let go.”

The bullet comments wildly spammed ‘corny’.

The production team seemed to hear everyone’s thoughts and quickly stopped: “For lunch, everyone is invited to a villager’s home for the local Little New Year meal! Tonight, everyone is free to visit each other! The full live broadcast won’t be on this afternoon, but we will start random broadcasts then.”

Ning Ke let out a sigh of relief.

Her right hand, hanging by her leg, gently clenched, then relaxed.

Oh… thankfully they weren’t having an all-fish feast.

The Little New Year lunch was sumptuous.

The village had just slaughtered several pigs, plus the fish caught today, and various New Year goods like cured sausages, ham, soy-sauce chicken, braised beef… The ingredients were abundant, prepared with strong local characteristics.

A large table of people gathered for the meal. Besides the group competition, they finally had time to chat and became familiar while talking.

Jiang Lin was humorous when he spoke, making people laugh.

Yu You, the sunny big boy, was a bit silly.

He coughed a little after falling into the water but didn’t forget to describe the feeling of falling in.

Gu Yao, caught eating steamed buns last time, ate even more today, finishing two bowls of rice by herself.

As for the quiet Jing Luo, everyone finally realized she wasn’t aloof, just purely socially anxious.

When Qin Pei served her some food, she stood up embarrassedly, blushing: “Thank you, thank you!”

Qin Pei teased her: “Haha, so you just don’t like talking, you’re not aloof!”

The relationship among the guests was harmonious, and the atmosphere was good.

After resting in the afternoon, Gao Qi and Qin Pei called over the members of group three to group one’s small building. All eight people gathered together.

Ning Ke suggested: “Play some games?”

Jiang Lin: “Don’t even have cards, don’t know what to play.”

Yu You: “I brought a ukulele, want me to get it?”

Gao Qi: “Coincidentally, I brought a violin too.”

Due to the severe lack of props, the production team contributed a Nine Linked Rings puzzle.

The eight people grouped according to their seating: Ning Ke & Yan Yunzhi, Gao Qi & Qin Pei, Yu You & Gu Yao, Jiang Lin & Jing Luo, forming four groups.

The first group to solve it would get a reward and could assign tasks to the other groups.

The production team started the live broadcast.

Fans who had waited  all afternoon were excited and immediately flooded the bullet comments:

[“Ning cub, mommy finally waited for you!”]

[“What’s that in Teacher Yan’s hand? Nine Linked Rings?”]

[“Hahahaha is there a penalty for losing? I love simple segments like this the most!”]

[“I see group three is going to be last again.”]

This segment was very simple, so when Yu You solved the Nine Linked Rings in just four minutes, the others were shocked.

“Isn’t that too fast?”

“Yu You, honestly tell us, do you just solve Nine Linked Rings all day for fun?”

“Alright now, you can make requests…”

“Okay, Teacher Gao, you play a piece. Ning Jie, you hug the person you admire most in this room for fifteen seconds,” Yu You didn’t want to make things difficult, but didn’t forget to target Jiang Lin lounging lazily on the sofa, “Jiang Lin, your group, I assign you to dance.”

A pile of hahaha in the bullet comments:

[“This is revenge! Jiang Lin pushed him this morning!”]

[“The task for Teacher Gao is too easy!”]

[“Then who will mommy’s Ning cub hug?”]

Gao Qi readily agreed and proactively suggested: “How about, I play the violin, Jiang Lin you accompany with dance?”

Jiang Lin’s dream of lying flat was completely shattered, his teeth almost grinding to dust: “Okay!”

Gao Qi took out the violin, his posture standard. The audience was anticipating, but the moment he drew the bow across the strings, a sound like sawing wood erupted!

Jiang Lin was flusteredly trying to dance. Hearing this demonic sound, his rhythm faltered, and his whole body twisted into a pretzel!

[“Help! Help! Someone save my ears, my eyes!”]

[“Hahahaha I’m really laughing my head off! Is Jiang Lin performing some ritual dance!”]

[“Teacher Yan, you’re a professional, can you even listen to this?”]

Yan Yunzhi stood up.

She walked over, said something unknown to Gao Qi, took the violin, and continued playing.

Music like water flowed gently, the rhythm clear and distinct, the tone mellow and pleasant.

The piece she played was an English-style country tune, lighthearted yet soothing, suitable for a warm, quiet winter night.

Ning Ke had also been covering her ears laughing. Hearing her violin music, she lowered her hands and turned her head to watch her.

It had been a long time… since she heard her play the violin.

When the piece ended, Yu You led the applause.

He had just let out a breath, feeling his best: “Now please ask Ning Jie to complete the task, then we’re done!”

Ning Ke paused for a moment.

She was too focused just now and had forgotten she still had a task.

[“Help… mommy is a bit nervous, cub you have to choose carefully!”]

[“Heh, just don’t randomly leech off others.”]

[“That person earlier has such nerve, what does Keke even need to leech off? Don’t think your artist is some treasure everyone likes!”]

Ning Ke looked around, her gaze finally landing on Yan Yunzhi.

The same-s*x individuals present were unfamiliar; opposite-s*x individuals were unsuitable. Honestly, if she had to choose someone to hug, she could only choose Yan Yunzhi.

But, she hesitated.

Yan Yunzhi turned her head, her gaze meeting hers, lips curling into a bright smile.

She looked at Ning Ke, smiling without speaking.

[“Help! What is Teacher Yan doing?”]

[“This is called, eye lock!”]

[“Shipped it!”]

Ning Ke didn’t want to waste time. Based on proximity, she lightly encircled Yan Yunzhi’s waist and whispered in her ear: “Just acting for the camera.”

Yan Yunzhi replied warmly: “Okay.”

Ning Ke held her breath, but her nose caught that faint bitter medicinal scent. Her fingers resting on Yan Yunzhi’s waist curled, not daring to apply force.

As if the slightest pressure would awaken certain memories.

Deliberately suppressed memories.