I'm in Wuha, and the whole internet is shipping me and Song Yuqi as a couple.

Chen He's knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground as if his bones had been removed.

He raised a hand, his fingers trembling as he pointed to the overflowing donation box, his lips quivering, unable to utter a complete word for a long time.

Deng Chao is in a better position than him; at least he's still standing.

He walked around the donation box, then craned his neck to take a closer look, and finally looked at Jiang Che in disbelief.

"Old Jiang, tell me the truth, did you guys break into the hotel reception while we were away?"

Jiang Che calmly placed the guitar case against the wall, and upon hearing this, he lifted his eyelids to glance at him.

"Hijacking a front desk job is illegal."

"This is our legal income."

Song Yuqi stood to the side, trying hard to suppress her laughter, clutching the payment QR code to her chest as if protecting some rare treasure.

Lu Han, supporting her arm which was almost numb, slowly swayed over.

He glanced down at the red banknotes in the box, then at his palms, which were red from carrying heavy objects.

He sighed deeply, his tone filled with a sense of world-weariness and disillusionment.

"The difference between people can sometimes be greater than the difference between people and dogs."

Wu Zheng walked over at just the right moment, holding a megaphone, with a standard villainous smile on his face.

"Alright, time's up. Let's start taking stock of everyone's hard work."

He first walked up to Deng Chao and the other two and extended his hand.

"Manual labor group, where is your funding?"

Deng Chao pulled a handful of crumpled banknotes soaked in sweat from his pocket and slapped them into Wu Zheng's hand with a rather tragic gesture.

"It's all here."

Wu Zheng took the stack of money and counted it one bill at a time in front of everyone.

"Ten, twenty, thirty... one hundred..."

One hundred and fifty-five yuan.

Wu Zheng held up those pitiful few banknotes and showed them to the camera.

"Congratulations to the three of you. You have earned a total of 155 yuan after an hour of hard work."

Chen He sat on the ground and roared to the sky.

"Thirty-one boxes! We carried a full thirty-one boxes! Five yuan a box, Wu Zheng, you have no heart!"

Deng Chao also clutched his aching back, looking heartbroken.

"I feel like my herniated disc has bulged all the way to the Pacific Ocean."

Wu Zheng completely ignored the three people's wails, turned around and walked towards the talent stall, his smile becoming even brighter.

"Now, let's witness the moment of miracle."

He gestured for two staff members to come forward, one to count the cash in the donation box, and the other to stand beside him with a calculator.

"Splash—"

A whole box of banknotes was dumped onto the stall's large table, with red hundred-yuan bills piled up like a small mountain, creating a visually striking scene.

One of the staff members even brought a small money counting machine from the props department.

"Shuashuashua——"

The sound of the money counting machine running at high speed was like a series of knives, precisely stabbing into the hearts of Deng Chao and his two companions.

"The cash portion totals seven thousand six hundred and eighty yuan."

The staff member read out the numbers.

Deng Chao's eyes widened instantly.

Chen He sprang up from the ground, went to the table, and stared incredulously at the pile of money.

Wu Zheng cleared his throat and turned his gaze to Song Yuqi, who was still holding the payment receipt.

"Yuqi, could you also report your online income?"

Song Yuqi composed herself and turned on her phone screen.

She held her phone up to the camera, and the glaring number on the screen was clearly displayed to everyone.

"11,208 yuan."

The scene was silent for five seconds.

Only the money counting machine continued its tireless whirring.

Deng Chao slowly turned his head and exchanged a glance with Chen He.

The expressions on their faces changed from shock to bewilderment, then to grief and indignation, and finally to a resolute determination to face death.

"Brothers."

Deng Chao's voice was hoarse and deep.

"Let's get started."

Before he finished speaking, he and Chen He pounced on the pile of money on the table at the same time, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey and a tiger descending a mountain.

"This is our shared property!"

"Everyone who sees it gets a share! Why should you get to eat the meat while we don't even get to drink the soup!"

Jiang Che had anticipated this calamity and calmly extended one leg, precisely tripping Chen He's feet.

Chen He cried out "Ouch!" and slumped onto the corner of the table in an extremely disheveled manner.

Deng Chao was grabbed from behind by Lu Han, who hugged him around the waist and pulled him down.

"Brother Chao, calm down! Robbery is illegal!"

"I don't care! Today I am Zhang San, the outlaw!" Deng Chao was still struggling.

Jiang Che slowly walked to the table, gathered the pile of money back together, and then looked at Song Yuqi.

"Take the money."

Song Yuqi said "Oh," and quickly took out the budget bag prepared by the production team and started putting money into it.

As she pretended, she could still feel two burning, resentful gazes from behind her.

Chen He climbed up from the corner of the table, clutching his throbbing forehead, and angrily denounced the incident.

"Jiang Che! You've changed! You weren't like this before!"

"You used to be a dog too, but at least you had some brotherly loyalty!"

Deng Chao also gave up struggling, pointing at Jiang Che with heartache and indignation.

"Having a wife makes you forget your mother... no, it makes you forget your brothers!"

"Look at yourself now! You're a complete tyrant blinded by lust!"

Jiang Che handed the last hundred-yuan bill to Song Yuqi, then dusted off his hands.

He turned around, looked at his two good brothers who were acting like drama queens, and said casually.

"Physical labor is not suitable for you."

"Next time you have the chance, I'll enroll you in a class at Deyun Club to learn how to perform crosstalk."

Deng Chao and Chen He exchanged a glance and spoke in unison once again.

"We won't listen!"

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control again, Song Yuqi zipped up the bag full of money and cleared her throat.

"Um... Brother Chao, Brother He."

As soon as she spoke, the two fell silent and turned to look at her, their eyes filled with anticipation.

Song Yuqi felt a little uneasy under their gazes and subconsciously took a half-step behind Jiang Che.

"How about... I treat you to grilled sausages once we get to the island?"

The scene fell silent once more.

Chen He's lips twitched twice.

"Grilled...sausage?"

"We've been working ourselves to the bone for an hour, our backs are killing us, and you're treating us to grilled sausages?"

Feeling a little guilty after being asked that question, Song Yuqi added in a low voice.

"Then... two for each person?"

"puff--"

Lu Han couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Deng Chao held his forehead, looking utterly dejected.

"Fine, I understand."

"You two are not a married couple, you're a heartless capitalist and his pretty housekeeper."

Seeing that the performance was almost over, Wu Zheng once again stepped forward with the megaphone.

"Alright, alright, inventory complete!"

"Physical labor group: 155 yuan; talent show group: 18,888 yuan."

"A total of 19,043 yuan!"

Wu Zheng deliberately dragged out the last syllable, his face filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"This far exceeds our base target of 1,500 yuan! Congratulations Jiang Che and Song Yuqi, you've secured your luxury ocean view suite!"

He abruptly changed the subject, revealing his true colors.

"but!"

"According to the program rules, any amount exceeding the basic budget will be kept in custody by the production team for future use..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Che had already reached out and taken the money bag from Song Yuqi's hand, holding it in his own.

"Director Wu, you seem to have misremembered."

Jiang Che looked at him, his eyes calm and unwavering.

"The rules state that the funds can be used for spending on the island."

"Since it's about consumption, there has to be something to buy, right?"

Wu Zheng was taken aback by his words, but he remained calm and laughed even harder.

"Of course."

He took a writing tablet from his assistant behind him and held it up like an auctioneer.

"Now, let's begin the auction for West Island supplies!"

"First item up for auction: Luxury speedboat access to the island! Skip the queue and enjoy priority access to the island by private speedboat, complete with chilled drinks and fruit platter."

Starting bid: 1,000 yuan!

Chen He's eyes lit up instantly.

"Speedboat! That's great! I don't want to take that crowded, rickety ferry anymore!"

Deng Chao also looked longingly at it.

"A fruit platter? Iced?"

Jiang Che weighed the money pouch in his hand, but hadn't spoken yet.

Chen He rushed forward, trying to snatch the money bag from his hand.

"I'll offer a thousand! I'll buy it!"

Jiang Che twisted his wrist, easily avoiding his hand, and then raised the money bag high.

"What will you use to buy it?"

Chen He pointed to the bag in his hand, speaking with self-righteousness.

"Buy it with our collective funds!"

Jiang Che raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you part of the group?"

Chen He panicked and turned to Deng Chao and Lu Han for help.

"Say something! Do you want to take the ferry?"

Deng Chao and Lu Han exchanged a glance and shook their heads vigorously.

Wu Zheng was fanning the flames from the sidelines.

"Highest bidder wins! Highest bidder wins! Anyone else bidding?"

"One thousand and five!"

Deng Chao shouted and joined the scramble.

Jiang Che looked at the group of clowns in front of him who were about to fight over the right to land on the island and shook his head helplessly.

He tossed the money bag to Song Yuqi.

"It's your decision."

Instantly, everyone's eyes were focused on Song Yuqi.

She held the heavy money bag in her arms and looked at Deng Chao and the other two who were looking at her expectantly.

Looking at Jiang Che beside her, who had a "you decide for yourself" look on his face, she was caught in an unprecedented dilemma.

To buy or not to buy?