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

Twenty minutes later.

The five people changed into their sportswear and walked onto the beach volleyball court in their flip-flops.

Deng Chao wore a black quick-drying vest, revealing his slightly sunburned arms, and moved his shoulders as he walked.

"I was in the top ten of my year for my elective volleyball course in college."

Chen He followed closely behind him, shaking his wrists to warm up, looking eager to try.

"Top ten? What's so special about that? I was a substitute on my high school team, I actually played on the field."

Deng Chao turned to look at him.

"A substitute? How many minutes will you play?"

Chen He choked for a moment and mumbled something indistinctly.

"Time doesn't matter, what matters is that I attended it."

Lu Han walked at the very back, her gaze already past the net and fixed on the other side of the court.

His pace slowed down.

"Stop bragging."

"Look at the other side."

Deng Chao and Chen He turned their heads at the same time.

On the other side of the net, five people were already in position.

They were all wearing dark shorts and gray work T-shirts provided by the production team, with the sleeves rolled up above their shoulders.

All five people had dark brown skin, with prominent muscle lines on their calves, and the veins on their forearms were thicker than Chen He's thighs.

The leader standing in the front row was about 1.9 meters tall, with his arms hanging down at his sides and his hands so big they could wrap around a volleyball.

Chen He's face turned noticeably pale.

He grabbed Deng Chao's clothes, his voice extremely low.

"Brother Chao..."

"Um?"

"Look at their calves."

Deng Chao followed his gaze and swallowed.

Chen He continued.

I've seen legs like that on Douyin (TikTok).

"The local beach volleyball players in Hainan, the amateur kind, all grew up playing barefoot on the sand from a young age."

"His jumping ability, explosiveness, and sand movement speed are all phenomenal."

Deng Chao's shoulders stopped turning.

Chen He loosened his clothes, turned around and shouted at Wu Zheng on the sidelines.

"Wu Zheng! You call this stage management?"

When did you start working as a stagehand?

Wu Zheng sat under a parasol on the sidelines, holding a glass of chilled lemonade, with a broad smile on his face.

"He'er, what you said is wrong."

"Our production team never looks at appearance when selecting people; we look at their overall qualities."

"These five colleagues have only been with the company for a short time. Their positions are temporary stagehands, mainly responsible for moving props and tidying up the venue."

He pointed to the tall guy who was 1.9 meters tall.

"That guy's name is A-Yong, he specializes in moving heavy equipment. Look at his arm span, it makes it so easy for him to move things."

Chen He almost screamed himself hoarse.

"Would people moving equipment stand barefoot on the beach volleyball court?"

Wu Zheng waved his hand calmly.

"People play volleyball to relax after work; it's a hobby, what's it to you?"

Deng Chao covered his forehead, questioning the fairness of the variety show for the first time.

"Wu Zheng, you're bringing in outside help."

"What foreign aid?" Wu Zheng placed the lemonade on the armrest, his expression serious.

"I've already signed the employment contracts, so legally they're part of the production team."

"As for the start date..."

He glanced at his watch.

"About forty-five minutes ago."

Chen He squatted down on the sand, holding his head in his hands.

"It's over, it's really over this time."

Deng Chao panicked a little and subconsciously took two steps back, moving closer to Jiang Che.

"Hey, look at their lineup... can we beat them?"

Jiang Che stood in front of the net, his gaze sweeping over the five people on the other side before returning to his own.

"What are the rules?"

Wu Zheng stood up, took the megaphone, walked to the center of the field, and cleared his throat.

"Best of three games, 15 points per game, no tiebreakers."

"Here comes the important part."

He raised one finger.

"For the Five Ha Family, each ball must be touched by at least two people before it can cross the net."

"And after each game, the server must rotate, and the same person is not allowed to serve more than three times in a row."

Jiang Che realized that this person was keeping an eye on him.

Chen He sprang up from the ground.

"Why? Is there such a restriction on the other side?"

Wu Zheng blew into the loudspeaker.

"There's none on the other side."

Chen He opened his mouth to curse, but Lu Han grabbed his arm.

"Save your energy for playing ball."

Song Yuqi stood next to Jiang Che, looking at the five barefoot men opposite them, and then at her own team's formation.

Deng Chao, suffering from indigestion.

Chen He, whose mental state is on the verge of collapse.

Lu Han, expressionless.

"I'm not good at volleyball."

She said it in a low voice.

Jiang Che turned his head to look at her.

"It's okay, you just need to pass the ball."

"Pass the ball?"

"Yes, after receiving the ball, pass it to me or Lu Han. Don't worry about accuracy, just pass it out."

Song Yuqi looked at him for two seconds and then clenched her fist.

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

Jiang Che called a pause, pulled the four of them together, squatted down, and drew lines on the sand with his fingers.

"Brother Chao, you reacted quickly, catch the ball in the back row."

"Brother He, you stand on the left, responsible for blocking the net and obstructing the line of sight."

"Han, you're in charge of covering for others. Go wherever there's a gap."

"Yuqi, stand in the middle or back. When the opponent spikes the ball, it will basically hit the front row. Your position is relatively safe. When you receive the ball, just pass it to anyone in the front row."

Chen He squatted down beside him, looking at the simple formation diagram on the sand with a complicated expression.

"And what about you?"

"I'm at the net."

Deng Chao rubbed the sand off his palms.

"At the net? He's taking on the attack of all five of them by himself?"

Jiang Che stood up and patted the sand off his hands.

"The rules say that two people must touch the ball, but they don't say that I can't block."

"The more confident they are of winning, the more fixed their attack routes become."

Chen He stared at his expression, trying to find even the slightest trace of guilt.

did not find.

He silently stood up and walked to his position on the left side of the net.

"Alright, if I'm going to be reincarnated in my next life, I hope I can be Jiang Che's dog."

Deng Chao patted him on the back.

"Even dogs might not get the treatment Yuqi receives."

The five "stagehands" across from us were already doing their final stretches.

Ah Yong, who was leading the group, held a volleyball and said something to his teammates, and they all laughed.

Wu Zheng sat back down under the parasol, placed the megaphone on his knees, and crossed his legs.

The assistant director leaned over and asked in a low voice.

"Director, aren't these five guys a bit too strong? What if they fight too badly? Won't the audience accuse us of bullying them?"

Wu Zheng waved his hand.

"Does not exist."

"Netizens love to see guests make fools of themselves."

The referee walked to the center of the net, holding a small red and blue flag in each hand.

"Both sides, prepare!"

Chen He stood on the left, his legs were already trembling, but his hands were still in the position to catch the ball.

Deng Chao crouched down, keeping his eyes fixed on the volleyball in A Yong's hand opposite him.

Song Yuqi bent slightly from the middle and back, her hands clenched tightly together, her knuckles turning white.

Jiang Che stood in front of the net, his back to her, the muscle lines on his back faintly visible through his quick-drying clothes.

He didn't turn around, he just said one sentence.

"Don't worry, I'll catch it if you can't."

The whistle blew.

Ah Yong tossed the volleyball high into the air, took three steps to run up, and twisted his waist and abdomen forcefully in mid-air.

The moment he was airborne, his right palm came crashing down with a whoosh, striking the center of the volleyball.

The ball flew over the net so fast that its trajectory was almost invisible.

It flew straight toward Chen He's face.