Chapter 32: The Water Park Deception

Her raised voice drew the attention of the staff members sitting in the pavilion. They looked over, wondering what had happened.

“You can’t blame me for this, can you?”

Watching Lin Ziyao bristle with indignation again, Qin Yu remained remarkably calm. “Who told you not to finish the song?” she continued, a sly smile playing on her lips.

Oh, for heaven’s sake! She had intended to hide her shyness, but Qin Yu’s sudden reversal of roles infuriated her to no end.

“Go, go, go!” she exclaimed, feigning a forceful push to usher Qin Yu away.

Lin Ziyao’s reaction, however, gave Qin Yu an idea. Leaning close to Lin Ziyao’s ear, she whispered, “Could it be that you’re shy?”

“Qin Yu!”

Ignoring Lin Ziyao, who was still fuming impotently, Qin Yu stood up and brushed the dirt from her clothes. A barely suppressed laugh escaped her lips as she and her staff member departed from the lakeside.

As Qin Yu’s back receded, Lin Ziyao let out a soft, satisfied hum.

“How many people are left now?”

The cameraman retrieved the camera set up behind them, while a staff member handed a phone to Lin Ziyao.

The shared map now displayed only five participants: herself, Yang Tian, Tang Wenjie, Qin Yu, and Dai Wen. This meant the ‘cat’ must be one of the remaining three.

“We’re about to enter the final shrinking zone,” a staff member reminded Lin Ziyao. “The shared location feature will soon become inactive.”

With a sigh, she reluctantly handed the phone back to the staff. She had to make her way to the next designated area within the time limit, now truly entering a phase of complete uncertainty.

Just then, Qin Yu reappeared from the direction she had left. Her face was etched with urgency, but upon seeing Lin Ziyao, her tightly furrowed brows relaxed.

“Dai Wen is the cat,” she announced, delivering a bombshell as soon as she returned.

This arrangement made perfect sense. Given Director Chen’s personality, having one ‘cat’ among the male guests and one among the female guests would align perfectly with his expectations.

“What talent did you use to escape?”

She was eager to learn more about Qin Yu’s encounter with Dai Wen.

“No time to talk, Dai Wen’s catching up! Let’s split up!”

Following Qin Yu’s gaze, Lin Ziyao saw Dai Wen emerge unhurriedly in the distance. She wasn’t rushing to catch them, merely strolling along at a leisurely pace.

Faced with this urgent situation, Lin Ziyao didn’t have time to think. Her only option was to escape Dai Wen’s pursuit first.

She agreed to Qin Yu’s plan, and the two women headed in opposite directions. This strategy ensured Dai Wen could only pursue one of them.

After running from the lakeside for a while, she saw no sign of Dai Wen. Lin Ziyao knew then that Dai Wen must have gone after Qin Yu.

Since Qin Yu had already used one talent opportunity, capturing her again would mean eliminating a player.

‘Was she sacrificing herself to ensure the team’s victory?’

Determined not to let Qin Yu’s sacrifice be in vain, she turned and headed towards the next shrinking zone.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Dai Wen finally caught up to Qin Yu’s fleeing figure.

“Stop running, everyone’s gone!” Dai Wen called out leisurely from behind, catching up.

Qin Yu halted, then turned to Dai Wen, inquiring about the remaining participants. “Does anyone else have a talent performance chance left?”

“Feng Qiqi and Teacher Xu are both eliminated,” Dai Wen replied, slowly drawing level with Qin Yu, the one Lin Ziyao had identified as a ‘cat’. “Yang Tian no longer has a chance to escape.”

“On my side, Ziyao and Tang Wenjie have also lost their chances to escape.”

Just moments ago, Lin Ziyao had used her talent performance opportunity. Now, every participant on the field had only one ‘life’ remaining.

The other ‘cat’, hidden behind the scenes, also seized the opportunity to reveal herself. “Let’s eliminate the closest person first!” she suggested to Dai Wen.

Lin Ziyao, completely fooled by Qin Yu, was still oblivious to the true situation.

Qin Yu couldn’t help but wonder what expression Lin Ziyao would wear once they reunited. She began to anticipate their final encounter.

However, the most pressing matter now was to take advantage of the remaining location tracking time and preemptively block the paths of the other participants.

After a glance in Lin Ziyao’s direction, Qin Yu and Dai Wen split up. Their goal was to intercept Yang Tian and Tang Wenjie, who were closer.

“Is the final zone in here?”

As Qin Yu and Dai Wen went their separate ways, Lin Ziyao arrived at the final designated location: the resort’s water park.

Due to the filming schedule, Director Chen had arranged for the resort staff to open the entire water park as the final zone. Spanning out before her, the water park offered no hiding spots, essentially forcing a chase based on raw ability.

“Ziyao!”

Following the call, she saw Feng Qiqi, now clad in a black one-piece swimsuit, floating in the pool with a swimming ring and waving at her.

‘What was happening?’

She hadn’t yet grasped the situation. Why was Feng Qiqi, who had been eliminated from the game, here in a swimsuit?

Then, not far from Feng Qiqi, she spotted Xu Li. He was also in swimming trunks, wearing sunglasses, and lounging on a beach chair, looking far more relaxed than she, who was still in the game.

“Who would have thought Ziyao would be the first to arrive!”

Just then, Director Chen emerged from the side. He was dressed as if for a beach vacation, holding an opened coconut, wearing a beach jacket and flip-flops, and adorned with a large floral lei around his neck.

“Allow me to explain!” Director Chen began, fully embracing his role as host. “Since this is a variety show, the losing party of the game must face a penalty.”

After speaking, he took a step to the side, gesturing towards the colossal waterslide behind him for the cameras.

“This is the water park’s speed slide,” he declared. “The losing guests will have to change into swimsuits and slide down simultaneously as punishment.”

“So, if you don’t want to receive this punishment, you’ll have to work hard to win this game!”

After Director Chen finished, Lin Ziyao noticed Feng Qiqi, still in the pool, cheering her on. “Go, go, go! If you don’t want to be punished, don’t get caught!”

Yet, observing the eagerness in Feng Qiqi’s eyes, it seemed she wasn’t afraid of Director Chen’s punishment at all. On the contrary, she appeared to be looking forward to it.

Currently, she was the only one who had arrived at the water park. To avoid the punishment, Lin Ziyao decided to use her early arrival to her advantage, finding a high vantage point to hide.

This spot allowed her to secretly observe incoming guests to the water park, while also giving her some crucial buffer time.

Before long, she saw Tang Wenjie enter the water park, accompanied by staff members. Dai Wen followed close behind.

The difference was stark: Tang Wenjie was led aside, presumably eliminated, while Dai Wen halted at the entrance, guarding the water park.

Even if the production team disallowed blocking the entrance, Dai Wen could easily track her down by following Qin Yu’s route.

This current situation made her worry for Qin Yu.

But soon, a jaw-dropping scene unfolded before her.

She watched Yang Tian and Qin Yu enter the water park, one after the other. However, Yang Tian was immediately escorted by staff to change his clothes.

Only Qin Yu and Dai Wen remained standing there.

She crouched down, leaning against the wall, her cheeks flushed crimson, even feeling the heat radiating from them. Only one thought remained in her mind.

‘Qin Yu had tricked her again!’