Chapter 22: What? Xu Zhaozhao knows how to fix cars?

[Page 1/3]

【I’m dying of laughter! Should Chen Sisi watch the playback? Her "innocent flower" act is already reeking of green tea!】
【Ever since last night, she’s seemed a bit impatient. Didn’t she used to be much better at plotting slowly and keeping up her disguise?】
【Could it be that someone tipped her off that we already know about her relationship with Xu Zhaozhao?】
【Unlikely. They’ve been under the cameras 24/7 with the livestream running constantly; no outsiders have approached them. You can rest easy on that front.】
【So, the guests are locked out of the internet and kept in the dark, and the production team has no intention of telling them, right?】
【This is massive traffic! If you were the production team, would you tell the guests?】

Upon hearing that Ke Hao was planning to forfeit, Chen Sisi panicked.
Her goal hadn't been met, so she wasn't going anywhere—and she certainly wasn't about to let Ke Hao leave.
Just as she was debating whether to pretend her foot had improved enough to continue the journey with him, she heard the voices of Auntie Fu and Xu Zhaozhao.
She looked up and, seeing Xu Zhaozhao teamed up with Shen Mu again, felt a flash of jealousy.
Sun Yu, who had teamed up with her yesterday, hadn’t invited her to continue today. Even though she was currently at the peak of her popularity—the dream lover of millions of men—he hadn't asked.
It was fortunate that she and Ke Hao had left early. If she had known that Sun Yu remained steadfast in his intention to invite Xu Zhaozhao, she would have been even more furious.
Seeing Xu Zhaozhao, Chen Sisi felt as if she had taken a sedative.
"Wuu wuu, Sisi, what should I do? I sprained my ankle, I can't walk anymore..."

【Good heavens, it’s really hard to reconcile this fragile, weak tone with the voice of the little hoodlum who was making threats all night!】
【Maybe I was having auditory hallucinations last night?】
【That’s right, we all had mass hallucinations!】
【I just arrived after hearing the gossip. What stage are we at now?】
【The "innocent flower" sprained her ankle, and the Best Actor is talking about forfeiting!】
【Forfeiting is good! That way, the working-class hero Xu Zhaozhao won't be oppressed anymore, right?】
【How could Chen Sisi possibly forfeit? She’s practically trying to chain herself to the Best Actor.】

"Stop crying," Xu Zhaozhao said with a scoff. "You've sprained your ankle; will crying solve anything?"
Chen Sisi stared at her with wide, teary eyes. "Then what do you suggest I do?"
Xu Zhaozhao’s answer was identical to Ke Hao’s: "Then go back and wait. I’ll go get you some..."
She wanted to say she would go trade for some food, but remembering that Ke Hao was the one teamed up with her, she stopped herself.
"No! If I don't participate, will it implicate Best Actor Ke and get him eliminated?"
Chen Sisi explicitly refused.
"Best Actor Ke is the youngest winner of the award. If someone like him doesn't even pass the second game of a dating show, wouldn't people laugh their heads off?"
With this, she effectively put Ke Hao on the spot.
He possessed a certain level of pride and feared nothing more than being looked down upon by others.
At this point, he couldn't afford to forfeit.
Xu Zhaozhao said to Chen Sisi, "If you don't want to go back, then wait under that big tree. That should be fine, right?"
Chen Sisi shook her head again.
She stared straight at Xu Zhaozhao, her meaning crystal clear:

[Page 2/3]

She didn't want to go back, and she didn't want to wait on the spot. In any case, this problem was for Xu Zhaozhao to solve!
"You don't want to go back, and you don't want to wait here—do you want to fly to the market?" Xu Zhaozhao retorted sharply.
She was here to play a support role, but not *this* kind of support.
If the lead didn't want to move a single step, what was the point of the support being able to run?
"What did you say?" Chen Sisi snapped her head toward Xu Zhaozhao.
Her face was blank, but her eyes held a hidden warning.
With the camera zoomed in on her face, she couldn't lash out and had to try her best to maintain a polite facade.
"Fine," Xu Zhaozhao nodded. "If you insist on moving with everyone, then..."
She turned to Auntie Fu. "Auntie Fu, where can we borrow a flatbed cart?"
"A flatbed cart?"
Auntie Fu shook her head. "People in the village don't use flatbeds to haul things anymore; we use farm vehicles..."
As she was speaking, the village chief drove by on a sputtering, clanking tractor.
"Village Chief," Auntie Fu called out, stopping him. "Can you take us to the market?"
"Huh?"
The village chief hesitated. "Normally, I’d take you, but it’s the busy farming season. My vehicle is tied up hauling grain and vegetables!"
"Does anyone else have a vehicle we could borrow?" Xu Zhaozhao asked.
The village chief shook his head. "At a time like this, everyone needs their vehicles. You won't be able to borrow one."
"Though, I do have an old van at home..."
"You have a van? That’s wonderful! That would be perfect for us," Chen Sisi said, beaming with joy.
"But unfortunately, it broke down a long time ago."
As he spoke, the village chief lifted a large tarp from a haystack by the roadside.
"I don't know why, and there’s no mechanic nearby. I’m just waiting for my son to come back and take a look at it!"
It turned out not to be a haystack, but a silver-gray van.
It was covered in rust and clearly hadn't been used in a long time.
Ke Hao looked at Chen Sisi. "Sisi, it looks like we’ll have to send you back after all."
"Don't worry, I will make sure to buy enough food for you..."
"No, it's not about the food," Chen Sisi said, biting her red lip.
She had finally managed to team up with the Best Actor; how could she be willing to go back like this?
So, she turned her gaze back to Xu Zhaozhao.

【Did you notice? Chen Sisi keeps looking at Xu Zhaozhao.】
【Of course. Ever since I found out about the relationship between them, my eyes haven't left them to look at the male guests. I just want to see how these two act.】
【Chen Sisi has glared at Xu Zhaozhao countless times already!】
【I apologize for cursing Xu Zhaozhao before. It turns out she’s just like me—a working dog with no choice in the matter.】
【I cursed her a lot too.】

[Page 3/3]

【Xu Zhaozhao has it really tough.】

Xu Zhaozhao rolled up her sleeves. "In that case, let’s just fix the van and use it to take you there. How about that?"
Auntie Fu looked anxiously at the sky.
"Fixing a car will take a long time, won't it? I can't afford to waste more time. You all can fix it slowly; I'm leaving."
"If I arrive too late, the market crowd will have dispersed, and my duck eggs won't sell."
Xu Zhaozhao grabbed her. "Don't rush, Auntie Fu. The car will be fixed in a moment. I promise I'll get you there quickly."
Auntie Fu hesitated on the spot, unsure whether to trust Xu Zhaozhao.
Xu Zhaozhao helped her set down her basket. Before she could even check the van, Ke Hao stepped ahead and climbed into the driver's seat.
He inserted the worn-out key into the ignition, but it wouldn't start.
Seeing this, Xu Zhaozhao pulled two wires from the trunk.
She had the village chief park his tractor head-to-head with the van.
She opened the batteries and connected the wires.
Then, she signaled for Ke Hao to start the engine.
With a loud roar, the engine actually started.

【Wait, Xu Zhaozhao knows how to fix cars?】
【The battery was just dead, she just jumped it. No big deal.】
【"No big deal"? Have you ever done that yourself?】
【Looking at Xu Zhaozhao, she seems quite proficient at it!】

The people on set were also stunned by Xu Zhaozhao’s handiwork.
Zhao Xin sat in front of her phone, giggling.
Fixing a car was a piece of cake for Zhaozhao.
It wasn't just fixing cars—Zhaozhao had many other skills that would absolutely blow everyone away.

The car was running, and Xu Zhaozhao put away the cables.
She helped Auntie Fu into the van first.
With the Best Actor driving, Chen Sisi hopped into the passenger seat in two quick bounds.
Shen Mu was the last to board.
Seeing Xu Zhaozhao sitting with Auntie Fu, he took a seat in the back.
Then, the two cameramen from the production team climbed in as well.
They had originally thought they would have to walk to the market and were dreading it.
It seemed they were quite lucky today.