Charles Yin said to Cecilia Gu, "Come, let me teach you a trick for finding your way in the wild."
Cecilia Gu immediately leaned in, curiously watching Charles fiddle with his watch.
"Look, point the hour hand at the sun, then the midpoint between the hour hand and the twelve o'clock mark is due south." Charles turned his body, pointed in a direction, and said, "This is due south. If we head this way, we'll get there faster."
Cecilia's mouth fell open. "It really works!"
"Of course," Charles said proudly. "We need to hurry. Sophie Mo comes from a military family—she knows all this stuff inside out. Even if Julian King is a bit useless, he has a good strategist."
Cecilia nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Sophie Mo was judging directions as she walked, with Julian King beside her looking completely lost. "Are you sure we're going the right way? Can't we use some other tools?" he asked.
"Stop whining," Sophie snapped, her brows furrowing. She usually had a delicate vibe, but now, in outdoor gear and with a determined look, she was instantly transformed into Mulan.
While Sophie wasn't paying attention, Julian faced the camera and said, "Hey, I'm supposed to be the pretty boy, but now I'm stuck doing the tough guy's job. Tell me, I'm a man—should I really be worse at this than her? The answer is: Yes! I admit it! Without modern tech, I just can't do it..."
Pfft... Everyone watching the livestream spat out whatever was in their mouths.
"Julian, what are you doing?" Sophie called from a distance. Julian immediately replied, "Coming! I'm just covering the rear!"
Covering the rear...
Sophie had no idea what Julian was up to on camera. Pointing seriously in a direction, she said, "Cecilia and Charles took that path. Their route is a bit smoother than ours. If we cut across here, we'll waste some time. So I've decided to climb straight over! That'll save us more than half an hour."
Julian's mind wandered again. Can't we just sit down and discuss the Nasdaq index? Please, don't make me do outdoor stuff this way! Back in the day, I was always surrounded by beautiful women, bodyguards clearing the way, and everything was modern and high-tech!
Seeing Julian's clueless look, Sophie knew she'd have to rely on herself for this.
"Forget it, you'd never understand even if I explained. Just follow me." Sophie made a quick decision, her strong side showing through.
Julian carefully faced the camera again: "Playboy Tip: Surrender quickly. If the woman you're marrying is a strong type, just go with her! Don't fight her—follow her orders and arrangements! I may have retired from being a playboy, but you still have to listen to your wife."
On the other side, Cecilia and Charles were also struggling up the mountain. Cecilia was panting as she climbed.
Charles had already taken Cecilia's bag onto his own back and reached out to help her. "Do you want to rest for a bit?" he asked.
Cecilia nodded, plopped down on the ground, took the water Charles handed her, and took a sip. "Do you think they'll take a detour?" she asked.
"No way. They'd rather climb the mountain than take a detour," Charles replied firmly. "Julian King has zero combat ability."
Pfft... That's such a vivid image.
"Then we need to hurry," Cecilia agreed. "Julian might slow them down, but he does work out a lot. Even if he knows nothing about the outdoors, he should at least be able to climb a mountain."
Charles was about to keep moving when Cecilia suddenly stopped him. Before he could react, she took out a tissue and wiped the sweat from his face.
Charles stood perfectly still, letting Cecilia wipe his sweat.
When Cecilia finished, Charles couldn't resist and quickly planted a kiss on her.
The cameraman assigned to their group looked resigned.
Is it really okay to torture all the singles on camera like this?
Cecilia smiled awkwardly at the camera, then gave Charles a playful glare, which only made him laugh heartily.
Satisfied, Charles took Cecilia's hand and continued climbing.
The mountain path here was extremely narrow—barely a foot wide, maybe even less.
It was a trail stomped out by mountain villagers over years of hard work.
Just like Mr. Lu Xun said: 'There was no road at first, but as more people walk it, it becomes a road.'
Charles led the way, with Cecilia following behind.
Charles would only let Cecilia come up after making sure the path was safe.
No wonder they say the best way to strengthen a relationship is to travel together.
All their past trips were just group outings focused on eating and drinking—no real bonding.
But this time, climbing the mountain, Cecilia truly felt Charles's care and love for her.
In every little detail, Charles showed his concern and affection, making it part of every moment.
Cecilia's heart was burning with happiness. She suddenly wanted to shout to the whole mountain, to tell the world she was the happiest woman alive.
But the heroine in the other group definitely didn't feel like the happiest woman—in fact, she felt like the most miserable!
Her partner was just too unreliable!
"Julian King! How many times have I told you?" Sophie Mo felt like her image as a delicate beauty was totally destroyed in one day.
Julian King really had a knack for making her lose her composure!
Julian looked at Sophie with innocent eyes. "What did I do wrong now?"
Fuming, Sophie stomped over, grabbed Julian by the wrist, and yelled, "Step in my footprints! That's not wild grass—it's rice! If you ruin the rice again, I'll strangle you!"
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Julian still looked innocent. "Oh, okay."
His gaze fell on the slender fingers gripping his wrist, and a hint of triumph flashed in Julian's eyes.
"Watch my footprints and walk this way!" Sophie warned as she walked. "If you ruin the crops again, I'll go crazy!"
"Why so serious? If I mess it up, I'll just pay for it," Julian muttered.
"Say that again, I dare you!" The usually gentle Miss Mo was totally driven mad, yelling at Julian, "Do you know our Mo Family's rule? Never destroy food! Do you know how important grain was when Grandpa and Great-grandma were building our family? It's our family tradition! If you want to be the Mo Family's son-in-law, you have to follow this rule!"
Julian's eyes and mouth curled into a smile.
Heh heh heh, there's hope!
"Got it, I'll follow the rules." Julian immediately put on a look of serious apology, and Sophie finally calmed down a bit.
Hmm? Did she just say something she shouldn't have?
Why does it feel like she blurted out something huge?
Before Sophie could snap out of it, Julian changed the subject: "Sophie, since we have some time, tell me about the Mo Family?"
Sophie straightened up and started picking and choosing stories to share about the Mo Family.
As for the camera crew and bodyguards trailing behind... Ha, they already knew all this stuff!
All this info is already posted on the official website—there's nothing she can't share.
Sophie focused on childhood stories, like how her brother got punished by Grandpa for causing trouble, or how his high school love letters filled up the entire guard room.
She didn't hold back, spilling all her brother's embarrassing stories.
Julian checked the time and thought maybe it was best not to win the Opening Challenge. After all, it was a rare chance to hear her talk about her family, so he didn't want to distract her with anything else.
Meanwhile, on the other mountain, Charles and Cecilia were under a tree, desperately digging holes according to the instructions.
"Do you really think it's buried here?" Cecilia asked, confused as they dug up half the area. "We've almost turned this place upside down, and still haven't found it."
Charles set down the survival shovel. "Maybe it's in the tree?"
They both looked up at the tree.
But there was nothing in the tree either!
Charles turned to glare at the cameraman, who was so startled he nearly dropped the camera. After a long pause, he said, "Sir, you can't break the rules!"
Cecilia couldn't help but laugh, tugging Charles's arm. "Alright, stop scaring him! If we're playing a game, we've got to follow the rules."
Since Cecilia pleaded for him, Charles decided to let it go.
But where could the thing be hidden?
They both sat down, frustrated, and studied the map for a long time.
No mistake—it was definitely this mountain. There was no way they climbed the wrong one!
Cecilia looked around at the nearby peaks, adjusting the map to match the shape of the mountains.
After making this adjustment, Cecilia spotted the problem. "Hey, Charles, look."
Charles immediately leaned in.
Cecilia pointed at the map. "Did we dig under the wrong tree? See, the trees on the map aren't just random marks—each vertical line probably stands for a tree."
Charles grabbed the map, studied it for a while, then turned to glare menacingly at the cameraman, bodyguards, and assistants.
The cameraman started shaking again...
Cecilia clapped her hands. "We'll deal with them later. While Julian and Sophie aren't here yet, let's hurry up and dig!"
Hearing Cecilia say that, everyone wiped the sweat off their brows.
Mrs. Yin, we absolutely adore you!
Charles spoiled Cecilia the most. As long as she said to let them go, they'd be totally safe!
The two of them switched to another tree and started digging again.
This time, they actually got it right!
A glittering Golden Prize Chest was dug out from under the tree!
"Hahaha, we won!" Cecilia cheered, her face lighting up. "Quick, hurry and tell them they've lost!"