Chapter 93: The Center of the Fish Pond (28)
The director drew out his words, teasing them: “You might think there isn’t one, but maybe the other person thinks there is?”
Su Mingxiu: “…”
Suhui held the pen, her blue eyes fixed on Su Mingxiu. Seeing Su Mingxiu shake her head slightly, she breathed a sigh of relief and wrote on her whiteboard: None.
[Director, they’re exchanging answers, report them!]
[Lol, and this is what you call chemistry?]
The director’s voice came through the loudspeaker mercilessly: “Please answer the questions individually, do not attempt to cheat. One point will be deducted for each attempt.”
“Second question: write down the nickname you use for each other.”
“By the way, we already have a copy of your answers from the questionnaires you filled out before the show. So please don’t try to be clever, answer truthfully.”
Su Mingxiu continued writing on her whiteboard without hesitation.
Suhui started struggling again…
She first wrote “Baby,” then thought for a moment and crossed it out. After all, this was a term of endearment Su Mingxiu only used during intimate moments, not in everyday life…
“None”?
Crossed out again.
There was one, she remembered. When she did something foolish, Su Mingxiu would call her “foolish fish” with an exasperated yet amused tone.
Suhui finally wrote this down.
…
After answering ten questions, the couple revealed their answers. The live stream chat was filled with laughter.
The director started revealing their answers from the questionnaires they had filled out before the show, displaying them side by side on a whiteboard for the audience to see clearly.
The first question was about their favorite drink. Suhui:
Anything Susu makes.
Su Mingxiu: Plain water.
The second question was about nicknames. Suhui:
Susu.
Su Mingxiu: Baby.
As the answers were revealed one by one, comparing Suhui’s crossed-out, incorrect answers with Su Mingxiu’s correct ones, everyone burst out laughing.
[Hahaha, Suhui is a comedian!]
[Foolish fish?? Is this nickname real? I didn’t know you two were so kinky in private!]
[Am I the only one who feels sorry for Su Mingxiu getting all the answers right, while Suhui got them all wrong?]
[Su Mingxiu: I also didn’t expect her thought process to be like this.]
While the live stream audience was laughing, Su Mingxiu also saw Suhui’s answers. After a moment of thought, she also chuckled.
Only Suhui was unhappy, hearing the director announce their score of 0.
She stood up with her arms crossed and watched the other guests answer questions beside Su Mingxiu.
Compared to their comedic performance, Actress Zhao and Jacker were overflowing with lovey-dovey sweetness. Even without special effects, one could practically see pink bubbles floating in the air.
After each question, they would even reminisce about related events, their responses perfectly in sync.
[This is how a couple should be!]
[Wuwuwu, Xiao Zhao, be happy!]
[Jacker is so good at this! He’s so doting! I want a man like him!]
In the end, they scored 6 points. Compared to Su Mingxiu and Suhui’s zero, they had successfully escaped the self-assembled tent.
The questions for the Double Su couple were even harder. The first one was: “What’s the most memorable thing you’ve done for each other?”
Having been married for almost ten years, with children aged five or six, they had countless shared memories. Choosing the most memorable one was difficult.
But the viewers in the live stream saw them write down the same answer simultaneously.
In the end, they scored 9 points…
[Worthy of being the legendary couple of the entertainment industry, so envious!]
[Wishing you eternal happiness!]
The director’s voice rang out in a timely manner: “This concludes the first round of the chemistry test. For the couple with the lowest score, please work harder and cultivate more sweetness in these harsh conditions.”
Movie King Su smiled at them: “We old folks can’t really handle roughing it in the wilderness. Good luck! We’ll grill the food for you, come join us later.”
Seeing how pitiful Su Mingxiu and Suhui were, they offered to share their food.
After thanking them, Suhui turned to Su Mingxiu, her expression filled with frustration.
If Su Mingxiu had also answered incorrectly, she could have claimed that they didn’t understand each other well enough. But now, she was the only one who got the answers wrong…
“Here, hold this corner for me,” Su Mingxiu said, patting her arm.
Suhui obediently followed her instructions, but as Su Mingxiu was about to leave, she whispered: “Am I… really that stupid?”
More importantly, would Su Mingxiu, seeing her answers, think that she wasn’t taking things seriously and be disappointed in her?
“Of course not,” Su Mingxiu smiled at her. “The answers you wrote are all correct in my eyes. Who says there can only be one answer?”
Since Suhui was holding the tent canvas, Su Mingxiu’s free hand could give her a hug. “You got a perfect score on this test, because you remember everything I’ve said.”
[Damn! She’s so smooth!]
[No wonder Suhui is completely smitten… I would be too!]
[I don’t know who to envy more! Beautiful women in love are truly the best!]
The viewers in their live stream were also satisfied with their harmonious interaction despite their 0 score.
With Suhui’s cooperation, Su Mingxiu quickly set up the tent. The other two couples looked at them in surprise.
After all, setting up a tent was manual labor, they hadn’t expected two girls to complete it so easily and effortlessly.
Although their tent wasn’t as luxurious as the Movie King and Queen’s, it wasn’t much worse than Zhao Xiaohua and Jacker’s. At least it was big enough for two people to sleep in.
A barbecue grill had already been set up in front of the luxurious tent. Movie King Su’s grilling skills were excellent, Movie Queen Su only needed to fan the smoke away, the fragrant aroma of meat wafting through the air.
Their barbecue had meat, vegetables, and various seasonings. Zhao Xiaohua and Jacker’s, however, only had simple pork and cabbage, with only salt and soy sauce for seasoning.
But it was still better than Su Mingxiu and Suhui, who had nothing.
They walked into the forest on the barren mountain. Reminded by the other two couples to be careful, the camera crew followed them.
[If all else fails, let’s just get some food from the Double Su couple. No one has any wilderness survival skills these days, this mountain is scary!]
[Isn’t Su Mingxiu a chef? She should know some edible plants, right? As long as she doesn’t try to pick mushrooms, it should be fine.]
[Wow, Suhui is channeling Shennong (the legendary Chinese emperor who tasted hundreds of herbs), isn’t she?]
In the live stream, the beautiful, silver-haired girl was putting a leaf she had just found into her mouth.
Su Mingxiu’s eyelids twitched. Although she could accurately identify edible plants and poisonous ones in this forest thanks to the system’s culinary buff, Suhui’s recklessness still made her nervous.
“What are you doing?”
Suhui looked up at her, taking the leaf out of her mouth. “It looks like a scallion, I thought it would taste similar.”
“Uh…” Perhaps sensing Su Mingxiu’s speechless expression, Suhui added: “Don’t worry, I’m highly resistant to poison.”
This was true. The blue-ringed octopus, known as the most venomous creature in the ocean, could only paralyze a merfolk’s skin for a few hours with its neurotoxin.
Su Mingxiu had indeed heard Suhui mention this when they were watching nature documentaries. But that didn’t mean Suhui was also resistant to terrestrial plants and animals, right?
She didn’t dare to gamble.
If Suhui really got poisoned, and she lost her partner while filming a dating variety show, that would be a disaster.
[Shennong probably thought the same thing back then.]
[The first time I’ve heard someone say they’re resistant to poison, how about you prove it?]
[Suhui: I grew up drinking pesticide.]
Su Mingxiu refused without hesitation: “No.”
To ensure their safety, she even held Suhui’s hand as they walked, making sure Suhui was always within her sight. “From now on, you’re not allowed to put anything in your mouth without my permission.”
… Fine.
Suhui quietly followed her, watching as Su Mingxiu expertly picked some wild vegetables and common mushrooms. After walking for a while, she asked: “Are we not having any meat today?”
Su Mingxiu looked at the cameraman behind them: “Eating wild animals here… isn’t that bad?”
Cameraman: “…” Don’t look at me, I’m just a tool.
Thankfully, the director was also watching them. He quickly announced a bonus meal plan for the last-place team.
“There’s a pond two hundred meters ahead. If you play a game with us and win, you’ll get fishing tools. Then, you’ll have a fish for lunch—”
As soon as the director finished speaking, Actress Zhao’s team at the campsite asked: “What game?”
In the forest, Suhui asked the cameraman: “Where’s the pond?”
Cameraman: ?
He looked at them in confusion, then led them to the pond. He thought they wanted to check if there were any fish before deciding whether to participate in the game. Who knew…
Suhui squatted down and touched the water.
The director’s voice came through the loudspeaker: “To get the fishing tools, you have to come out and answer a question.”
Suhui pretended not to hear.
Su Mingxiu couldn’t help but smile, her lips curving upwards slightly. She patted the person squatting before her. “Do you want to try fishing?”
Actually, she didn’t want Suhui to attract too much attention, afraid of exposing her identity and causing unnecessary trouble.
But the beautiful woman by the pond turned around and looked at her incredulously, as if asking with her eyes: Are you kidding? Do I need tools to catch fish?
Su Mingxiu also half-squatted down, her eyes level with the mermaid’s. “But I want to try.”
With a skilled fisher right here, she still wanted to try the clumsy method. Suhui pouted and said: “Then you go and look at the question. If it’s still one of those boring questions with only one correct answer, come back, and I’ll catch fish for you.”
“Okay,” Su Mingxiu smiled. “If the question is too difficult, our meat supply for lunch depends on you.”
Suhui raised her chin. “Of course.”
[Did you forget that the director can also hear you?]
[Director: Boring questions? Activating hell mode.]
[Hahaha, Jacker from the other team is already crying because he has to arm wrestle the cameraman.]
But Su Mingxiu didn’t know the difficulty of the challenge yet. So she casually walked out of the forest with the ingredients she had gathered. When she heard that the director wanted her to compete in a mountain race with a randomly chosen staff member—
Su Mingxiu: “Goodbye.”
She turned around as casually as she had arrived. “We’ve found the pond, we can catch fish ourselves, thank you.”
Director: “?”
[Does anyone remember that this is a dating show? This is the first time I’ve seen a guest leave the director speechless.]
[So satisfying! I love how she doesn’t follow the script, hhh.]
[Su Mingxiu: Variety show assassin, that’s me.]
[The wilderness date I imagined: Wuwuwu, I’m scared, hug me! The Double S wilderness date: Easily carrying the entire show! Bonus wilderness survival guide!]
The director, not to be outdone, picked up the megaphone and shouted at her retreating figure: “The fish in the pond are wild and incredibly cunning, ferocious and strong! Without fishing tools, you’ll never catch anything!”
Su Mingxiu: “Really? I don’t believe it.” The most ferocious fish was already at her home.
The other two pairs of guests: “?”
So wild!
They curiously followed them, wanting to see how they would catch fish in the pond.
When Su Mingxiu returned, a group of people was trailing behind her. Suhui didn’t mind. While Su Mingxiu was gone, she had already identified the edible and delicious fish in the pond.
So she gestured to Su Mingxiu: “There’s the kind you used to make sauerkraut fish at home…”
“Grass carp?”
“Yes!”
“Then let’s have that.”
“How big do you want it?”
“Five or six pounds? Too big and it’ll be fishy, and we can’t finish it all. Don’t catch one that’s too big.”
[Am I at the fish market?]
[You haven’t even caught the fish yet, and you’re already planning the meal?]
[This pond is so deep, I can’t see anything, Suhui, are you kidding me?]
The comments section was filled with doubt.
Then, in the next second, the woman squatting by the pond suddenly knelt down on one knee and plunged her hand into the water. Within a second, she pulled out a long, black-scaled grass carp.
Judging from the force of its thrashing tail and the splashing water, it was a powerful fish, yet it was easily held by Suhui, who then handed it to Su Mingxiu: “Is this one okay?”
—
[Is catching fish really that easy? I’ve learned it, I’m going to the market to try it today.]
[No exaggeration, my cat catches goldfish slower than her.]
[Did the program team speed up the footage?]
[Grass carp: That was… unexpected.]
The other two guest couples were also dumbfounded. Jacker even walked over, as if in a trance: “I… I’ll also try and see if I can catch one like that.”
Then, Su Mingxiu turned to them and explained: “That’s a special skill, please don’t imitate. She grew up by the sea, so she’s good at catching fish.”
Other guests: “Wow! Amazing!”
Comments section: [I don’t believe you.]
When Su Mingxiu and Suhui returned with their catch, the director’s team was speechless.
So much for using hardship to build a beautiful love story and foster chemistry. Su Mingxiu’s grilled fish was the MVP of the day.
After they finished eating, Su Mingxiu even went to the nearby forest and picked some wildflowers to decorate their tent. This way, their tent had a touch of warmth and romance.
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