Chapter 102: Love Variety Show Strategy System (20)

"It's almost eleven o'clock," Jiang Tuo said, glancing at the time. "Should we eat lunch first, or go do some Tasks?"

"Let's go do the Tasks first; it doesn't matter if we eat lunch or not." Chen Anqi had just checked the kitchen and said worriedly, "We don't know how to use the big stove anyway. Let's just boil some instant noodles later if we get hungry."

"I agree," Lin Xiaoning raised her hand. "The director said we have to deduce the fugitive by twelve o'clock tomorrow noon. Counting it all up, we only have two half-days left to collect clues, so we should hurry up and do the Tasks. I brought some snacks; I'll go get them. Everyone take some to tide yourselves over on the way so you don't get an upset stomach from being too hungry."

【Lin Xiaoning is really so gentle, just like a well-behaved student speaking up in class.】

【She is so polite! Her smile is gentle and quiet; if I were a male guest, I would definitely choose her as my girlfriend. Why did everyone run to Xie Yang's group?】

【Could it be because Sister Xie has maxed-out physical fitness and is particularly boyfriend-material? (Dog head)】

【Sister Xie: Are you guys being polite?】

【Hahahaha...】

Lin Xiaoning distributed the snacks and pastries she had brought to everyone.

Yichen took advantage of this time to boil a pot of water to make tea for everyone.

Carrying the tea and pastries, the group set off to perform the Task.

Today, Xie Yang was wearing a white V-neck short-sleeved T-shirt with black cargo pants, a baseball cap on her head, and sunglasses on the bridge of her nose that could cover half her face.

It was a complete change from the original body's previous style, yet it surprisingly suited the netizens' tastes—

【So cool, Sister Xie!】

【My Sister Xie has finally found the styling track that belongs to her!】

【So, are there actually only four female guests on the show?】

【I get it! The Xie Yang quartet is actually the Love Variety F4, right?】

【Hahahaha!】

Xie Yang was completely unaware of the fans' teasing.

She and the other three male guests arrived at the central street of the Ancient Town New District.

Since they were only divided into three groups, after discussing it, everyone felt it was better to go to the place with the highest foot traffic to look for the Clue Card.

Where is the most crowded place in the Ancient Town? Naturally, it's the Ancient Town New District.

On the streets with white walls, black tiles, and an antique charm, mobile vendors could be seen everywhere.

Relying on her intuition, Xie Yang stopped a vendor carrying baskets who was shouting, "Selling steamed buns! Wu Dalang's steamed buns!"

"NPC?"

The vendor chuckled and set down the shoulder pole: "Do you guests want to buy steamed buns? You can eat a freshly baked steamed bun if you answer the question correctly. May I ask, what is the modern equivalent of the steamed buns sold by Wu Dalang? A. Shaobing, B. Guokui, C. Mantou, D. Jianbing. Please answer!"

"..."

【Hahahaha! Where is this a Love Variety Show? It's clearly a trivia challenge!】

【So what is the answer? Is it A?】

"C. Mantou."

Xie Yang announced the answer.

"Congratulations, that's correct!" The NPC vendor smiled and cupped his hands.

The three male guests breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

To be honest, they really didn't know the answer to this question and almost chose the wrong one.

Jiang Tuo gave Xie Yang a thumbs up: "You even know this! Awesome!"

Xie Yang smiled without a word.

When she was bound to the Saint System to perform Tasks, she had once transmigrated into a Water Margin fanfiction and had eaten the steamed buns sold by Wu Dalang.

"If we answer correctly, we get a Clue Card, right?" She looked at the NPC vendor.

"Not quite. Answering correctly only gets you a steamed bun to eat. To get the Clue Card, two guests must eat one of the small steamed buns I sell at the same time."

As he spoke, he took out one of the small steamed buns he was selling—a Wangzai small steamed bun tied with a red cotton string.

"..."

Program team, you really know how to play!

"How did a Wangzai small steamed bun become a steamed bun?"

Even the usually taciturn Zhou Hanqing couldn't help but complain.

NPC vendor: "Steamed buns in ancient times are called mantou now, and a Wangzai small steamed bun is also a mantou."

"..."

【Hahahaha! The Love Variety Show's ambiguous segment is late but arrives!】

【Romantic Cabin, you really know how to play! Other Love Variety Shows have male and female guests eat the same apple; you make people eat a Wangzai small steamed bun—might as well just have the guests kiss!】

【This is the correct way to open a Love Variety Show!】

The NPC vendor looked at the four guests with a smile: "Which two guests are coming to complete this task? Please step forward! Time waits for no one!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Yang quickly took two steps back.

The three male guests turned their heads to look at her in unison.

【Hahahaha! My Sister Xie retreated so quickly!】

【Sister Xie, why are you running! You're the only female guest in your group; don't tell me you want two male guests to do this task?】

Xie Yang actually did have that thought.

She made a "please" gesture toward the three male guests: "The program team didn't require it to be a male and female guest. You two go, eat the small mantou quickly, get the Clue Card, and we'll leave."

The NPC vendor was stunned. He looked down to find the task card to confirm and discovered it really didn't specify that it had to be a male and female guest to do this task. This...

The director in front of the monitor slapped his thigh: "A miscalculation!"

He hurriedly grabbed the walkie-talkie and notified all NPCs: "Let it slide this time. For future tasks, they must be completed by a male and female guest together to be valid."

【Hahahaha! I could hear the director's frustrated roar through the screen.】

Xie Yang knows how to exploit loopholes.

After hearing Xie Yang's words, Zhou Hanqing immediately took a step back; so, the ones doing the Task are Jiang Tuo and Director Fu?

In this show, completing a Task doesn't rely on hand speed, but on foot speed.

Regardless of hand speed or foot speed, if my Sister Xie claims second place, no one dares to claim first.

Hahahaha...

The livestream chat was filled with a row of "hahaha"s.

Jiang Tuo and Fu Yichen were a step too slow, and they both cast a resentful glance at Zhou Hanqing, then rolled up their sleeves and, as if they were about to fight, completed the task of eating a Wangzai small steamed bun together, successfully obtaining a Clue Card from the hands of "Wu Dalang the steamed bun seller."

"What's the clue?"

"I'll read it to you." Jiang Tuo took the Clue Card and read aloud, "Atop the willow branches, the moon hangs high; people meet after dusk."

"Just this one line? That's it?"

"That's it!"

The four of them looked at each other in dismay.

With just this one line, what could they possibly guess?

"No rush, this is only one Clue Card; once we collect more, we'll definitely be able to figure it out," Fu Yichen comforted everyone.

"Let's keep looking for Clue Cards."

"By the way, Xie Yang, how did you know just now that that 'Wu Dalang' was an NPC?" Jiang Tuo asked curiously.

Xie Yang looked at the pedestrians and vendors coming and going on the street and said, "Didn't the director say that apart from ordinary townspeople, everyone else is played by staff members? Ordinary townspeople shouldn't really speak Mandarin, but that 'Wu Dalang' just now had a professional broadcasting accent."

"So that's it—" Jiang Tuo suddenly realized and snapped his fingers, "Then we just need to look for people who speak good Mandarin, right?"

Director: "..."

Picking up the walkie-talkie again, he heart-wrenchingly notified the NPCs: "Everyone pay attention! Don't make your Mandarin too standard; add some dialect."

However, the show's staff came from all corners of the country, so their dialects were naturally very different.

Xie Yang passed by a fruit stall and heard the vendor pushing coconuts in authentic Minnan dialect; she couldn't help but be amused: "NPC, right? Go ahead, what's the task this time? Bare-handed coconut smashing?"

"..."