Ji Yang and Xu Ruier hesitated, and so did everyone else. Each held 20 or 30 yuan but didn’t dare to buy anything. Spending even a small portion of their money felt like a gamble with so much time left on the clock.

Yang Rui wandered around, trying to find Mo Qianqian. Surprisingly, he actually did, after taking several wrong turns. The two eventually ended up in a narrow alley, licking two popsicles they had bought for two yuan each.

Viewers couldn’t help but laugh at these two comedians.

“Forty-three yuan, right? Five times eight is forty, leaving us with three yuan. We should’ve bought the one-yuan ice cream instead—the one yuan flavor wasn’t that great,” Yang Rui mused, holding their pooled money and shaking his head.

“It’s okay,” Mo Qianqian said, taking another bite. “Rainbow cake costs eight yuan each, right?”

“Yeah, I saw that,” Yang Rui confirmed, taking his last bite before licking the popsicle stick with satisfaction.

When they finally went to buy the cakes, they were dumbfounded.

Not only were there eight-yuan cakes, but also nine-yuan ones—and some were even ten yuan.

They had only forty-one yuan. If they opted for the nine-yuan cakes, they’d end up with fewer than planned.

“I wish I could spit the popsicle back out,” Yang Rui said, glaring at the camera with a comically pained expression. “It’s all my fault—I shouldn’t have splurged!”

“Should we buy just one here?” Mo Qianqian asked hesitantly, glancing at the store.

At this point, it seemed they had no other choice.

With a heavy heart, they handed over nine yuan for one cake.

The so-called rainbow cake was a local delicacy made from special herbs, shaped into a soft, chewy triangle about the size of half a palm.

When they opened their purchase, it didn’t contain a rainbow card.

Yang Rui + Mo Qianqian: “…”

The pain was real—like a knife to the wallet.

---

Meanwhile, Li Peng and Zhang Jie had split up and couldn’t find each other. One held 19 yuan, and the other 28 yuan, aimlessly wandering the streets.

Li Peng, as expected, let his playful nature take over. He wandered into the bustling district, now alive with nighttime activity, mesmerized by the performances and stalls. He stopped to watch and couldn’t resist laughing and clapping along.

In stark contrast, Ji Yang and Xu Ruier delivered another masterclass in strategy. The couple decided that staking out shops and watching others buy was too inefficient. Instead, they opted to take the initiative.

It was unlikely the production team had informed every shop in town, meaning only the ones with rainbow cards had been briefed.

So, how could they tell which shops had cards?

By asking.

“Do you give rainbow cards with your rainbow cakes?” Xu Ruier smiled sweetly at one shop owner.

“Rainbow cards? What’s that?” The owner looked confused.

“Do you sell snow cakes here?” Xu Ruier switched topics.

“Never heard of them. We only sell rainbow cakes,” the owner replied.

“Thank you,” Xu Ruier said politely, marking an “X” on her map as she left.

At the fourth shop, the employee smiled and said, “I’m not sure.”

Gotcha.

“One rainbow cake, please,” Xu Ruier said, handing over eight yuan.

“Sure, please wait a moment.” The employee handed her a neatly wrapped rainbow cake and a card.

Xu Ruier lit up with joy, quickly thanking the employee and running outside. She practically leaped into Ji Yang’s arms.

“Look at you, so happy,” Ji Yang teased with a smile.

“Hard work pays off!” Xu Ruier carefully pocketed the card and offered the cake to him. “Gege, try it—it looks delicious.”

And it was.

Meanwhile, Yang Rui and Mo Qianqian were sharing their one lonely cake in tears.

---

Using their strategy, Ji Yang and Xu Ruier eliminated four shops after buying just one cake. They moved quickly but carefully. If a shopkeeper gave ambiguous answers, they decided not to risk it.

After buying eight cakes, they had collected five cards. With money left for only two more cakes, Xu Ruier hesitated, uncertain about their chances.

“There are only 11 cards in total,” Ji Yang reassured her. “If we get just one more, we’ll have over half. Even if we don’t, the others won’t be able to catch up.”

“But Gege, five cards might still not be enough to win,” Xu Ruier said worriedly.

“We won’t lose,” Ji Yang said confidently. “Ten minutes left—if we don’t act fast, we won’t have time to spend the money.”

Nodding, Xu Ruier hurried into the nearest shop.

Nine yuan later, still no card.

Rushing to the last shop with two minutes left, Xu Ruier entered and blurted, “One rainbow cake, please!”

“Sure thing,” the friendly, chubby owner said, handing her a cake.

“And here’s your rainbow card,” he added with a smile.

Xu Ruier barely held back a scream. She thanked him profusely, clutching the card as she ran outside to embrace Ji Yang.

“Six cards—over half!”

---

When the results were announced, Ji Yang and Xu Ruier had won first place with six cards. Their prize? A feast at the most iconic restaurant in the ancient town, plus bonus points for future rounds.

While they enjoyed their prize, their interactions provided yet another round of “dog food” for fans to consume.

---

The next day, Xu Ruier continued to impress viewers with her intelligence, memorizing details for challenges and even helping Ji Yang navigate the town.

Their dynamic solidified their status as an ideal couple, with fans gushing about their compatibility.

When Xu Ruier twisted her ankle during a task, Ji Yang immediately carried her, ignoring her protests that she was fine.

The third day brought a hilariously messy competition in a giant mud pit. The objective? Steal points from other contestants while slogging through thick mud, leaving everyone soaked and covered in muck.

Naturally, fans couldn’t get enough of the chaos.

When he first stepped into the mud pit, Yang Rui lost his balance immediately. After flailing his arms and wobbling back and forth for a moment, he let out a panicked yell and grabbed Mo Qianqian, pulling both of them down into the mud with a loud splash. Mud splattered everywhere, covering their faces entirely.

Everyone else: “…”

After a brief silence, laughter erupted.

Even Xu Ruier couldn’t hold back and started laughing, quickly grabbing Ji Yang’s arm for support so she wouldn’t fall too. Then she realized it wasn’t nice to laugh at others, so she bit her lip and pressed her forehead against Ji Yang to stifle her giggles.

“Positions ready. Countdown to the match begins.”

“Three!”

…

Yang Rui and Mo Qianqian scrambled to get back on their feet.

As soon as the match started, Li Peng charged forward like a wild animal, heading straight for Mo Qianqian at full speed. Alarmed, she instinctively flung mud at him as a defense.

But Li Peng didn’t care and kept charging.

“Splash!”

A giant glob of mud hit him square in the face, covering his eyes completely, making him look as if he’d been hit by a cow pie.

The cheetah-like Li Peng froze mid-step, his expression turning to stone.

“Ahahahaha!”

“Pfft, I just spat out my drink. Epic fail!”

“Come on, who ordered mud pies?”

“Mud mask special—hydrating and rejuvenating. Who’s next?”

…

Li Peng wiped at his eyes in a way he probably thought was cool, using his sleeves to clean off the mud.

“Watch out, Yang Rui is coming!” Zhang Jie yelled.

Li Peng didn’t even finish wiping his face before he turned and ran blindly, using his sleeves as a makeshift blindfold. Meanwhile, Mo Qianqian decided to emulate his tactic, scooping up mud and hurling it with gleeful abandon.

Eventually, Yang Rui caught up to Li Peng, and the two wrestled fiercely in the mud, neither willing to yield. Ultimately, Yang Rui emerged victorious, leaving Zhang Jie to fend for herself.

She tried to evade her opponents but soon found herself surrounded by Mo Qianqian and Yang Rui.

Ji Yang finally made his move, stepping into the fray with Xu Ruier following close behind. They knew that if Ji Yang was eliminated, Xu Ruier would be left on her own.

Mo Qianqian attempted to stop Ji Yang by hurling mud at him. While she managed to hit him, it didn’t slow him down much. Xu Ruier retaliated, flinging mud right back at her.

Ji Yang engaged Yang Rui in a fierce struggle, while Zhang Jie waited for an opportunity to strike. Meanwhile, Xu Ruier and Mo Qianqian were locked in their own muddy battle.

“Yang Rui is out,” the director announced over the speakers.

Hearing this, Mo Qianqian and Zhang Jie quickly formed an alliance and directed their attacks at Ji Yang. Ji Yang hesitated to make larger movements, clearly uneasy about being too rough with them.

Xu Ruier jumped in to help.

In the ensuing chaos, Ji Yang managed to eliminate Zhang Jie, but Mo Qianqian pushed Xu Ruier, causing her to lose her balance. At the same time, Mo Qianqian grabbed Ji Yang’s points tag.

Ji Yang’s brows furrowed as he turned to steady Xu Ruier, who was about to fall. His decision left him vulnerable, and Mo Qianqian successfully tore off his tag.

The scene froze in suspense, and viewers collectively held their breath.

Ji Yang, of course, chose to save Xu Ruier, ensuring she didn’t take a full-body plunge into the mud. He ended up face-first in the muck, his tag forfeited.

“Gege!” Xu Ruier exclaimed, shocked.

“I’m fine,” Ji Yang said, shaking his head and sending mud flying everywhere.

“Ji Yang is out,” the director announced again.

Now it was just Xu Ruier versus Mo Qianqian. With Ji Yang gone, Mo Qianqian breathed a sigh of relief as she turned her attention to Xu Ruier.

“Good luck,” Ji Yang called out as he walked off the field, covered in mud.

Xu Ruier glanced back at him, her expression filled with guilt and frustration.

“Ready for a duel?” Mo Qianqian smirked confidently, her spirits clearly lifted.

“Go, Qianqian! You’ve got this!” Yang Rui cheered loudly from the sidelines, even whistling for good measure.

As Mo Qianqian moved to attack, Xu Ruier opted for a defensive stance. The two women circled each other in the muddy arena.

“Careful!”

“Come on, Qianqian, you’ve got this!”

“Go, go—”

Before Yang Rui could finish his sentence, Xu Ruier seized an opening and decisively tore Mo Qianqian’s points tag off in one fluid motion.

The camera lingered on Yang Rui’s stunned expression.

The live chat exploded:

“Fueled by pure rage—Mo Qianqian dared to rip off Gege’s tag, hahaha!”

“Love conquers all! Avenging her Gege!”

“Why is Xu Ruier so badass all of a sudden? Isn’t she supposed to be the soft, sweet type?”

…

“Mo Qianqian is out. Match over.”

“Winner: Team Two.”

Xu Ruier ignored the director’s announcement and immediately ran over to Ji Yang. He had just taken off his waterproof outer layer, but his entire body, including his hair, was caked in mud.

Her heart ached at the sight.

On the way back to the hotel, she couldn’t stop fussing over him, worried he might catch a cold from being in wet clothes. Her concern was so evident that Ji Yang eventually pulled her into an embrace and gave her a quick kiss. Judging by his expression, if the cameras hadn’t been there, things might’ve gotten even more intimate.

So, who’s the one “clinging” now? From Ji Yang’s behavior, it’s clear he treasures her just as much, if not more.

Even the harshest critics softened, while fans eagerly anticipated the next episode.

“Bring on the dog food! I’m ready to be fed!”

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