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

Before the start of the second game, Wu Zheng's team finished their tactical arrangements.

Ah Yong returned to the field with four teammates, their positions completely different from the first game.

Two players moved closer to the net, while the remaining three spread out, making the backcourt completely enclosed.

The most obvious change is that A Yong no longer stands in the main attacking position, but has moved to the right side of the back row.

The short, chubby teammate who replaced him kept glancing towards the backcourt of the five-man team.

To be precise, I've been watching Song Yuqi.

Jiang Che noticed it.

He turned and glanced at Wu Zheng under the parasol on the sidelines, who was pretending to bend down and unscrew a water bottle cap.

"In the second round, they stopped attacking me."

Chen He had just finished drinking half a bottle of water when he heard this and almost choked.

"If I don't hit you, then who will I hit?"

Jiang Che didn't answer, and walked up to Song Yuqi.

"Don't panic when the ball comes over; if you can't catch it, just dodge."

Song Yuqi was stunned for a moment, and before she could ask why, the referee's whistle blew.

The opponent serves.

This time, it wasn't A-Yong serving; instead, it was a tall, thin guy with a buzz cut behind him.

The tall, thin man tossed the volleyball up, took a running start, jumped, and swung his right arm down with the spin of his body.

The ball flew straight toward Song Yuqi's right shoulder.

It's very fast and at a very flat angle, giving people no time to react.

Song Yuqi instinctively took a step back and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

The ball hadn't even reached her yet.

A figure cut across from the left front and blocked her view.

Jiang Che's left hand precisely inserted under the ball, and with a wrist flip, he steadily cushioned the ball.

The ball bounced high, spinning as it flew towards the net.

He didn't stop.

The moment his feet pushed off the sand, he was propelled toward the net, reaching the highest point within three steps.

Swing your right arm in a wide arc, and strike the volleyball with your palm, chopping downwards.

The volleyball whistled through the air, grazing the cheek of the player who had served and landing on the sand.

Gravel flew everywhere, and a pit the size of a washbasin sank into the ground.

The tall, thin man's legs buckled, and he staggered back two steps, his expression a mixture of shock and lingering fear.

He heard the sound of the wind as the ball grazed his face.

If that ball had been off by two centimeters, his nose would have been ruined today.

The beach fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of the waves.

Jiang Che did not turn around immediately after landing.

He stared at the tall, thin guy on the other side of the net.

"Where should we shoot?"

The voice was soft, and the tone was flat.

But none of the five barefoot men on the field dared to speak.

Ah Yong stood in the back row, opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He had been playing pickup basketball for over a decade, and this was the first time he had ever felt such pressure.

Song Yuqi stood there, her heart pounding so hard her entire chest was shaking.

She hadn't seen how Jiang Che moved over at all; she only knew that when the ball was almost in front of her, a shoulder suddenly appeared in her line of sight.

Chen He rushed out from the back field, put his arm around Deng Chao's shoulder, and his voice cracked.

"Wu Zheng, you're finished!"

"Of all people to hit, why did you have to hit his girlfriend?"

"You've crossed a line, Director Wu! Good luck!"

Deng Chao was so dizzy from being shaken that he slapped his hand away.

"Calm down, my neck is going to break."

Under the parasol on the sidelines, Wu Zheng stopped twisting the cap off his water bottle.

He looked at Jiang Che's expression on the monitor and his lips twitched.

The assistant director leaned closer, his voice extremely low.

"Director Wu, how about we have them change their tactics? If they keep attacking Song Yuqi, Jiang Che will lose control."

Wu Zheng was silent for two seconds, then raised his hand and waved to the field, signaling to continue the game.

But the state of the five people on the other side has changed.

Ah Yong returned to the main attacker position, but his jumps were noticeably less decisive than in the first set.

Before each spike, he had to confirm Jiang Che's position, adding a moment of hesitation to his movements.

That moment of hesitation was enough for Jiang Che.

He solved all the subsequent shots at the net.

The blocking, interception, and spiking were much more aggressive than in the first set.

He won the first game.

The second round was about venting anger.

Ah Yong spiked the ball twice, but he slapped it back both times.

On the third ball, A Yong changed to a lob shot, and Jiang Che lunged forward, flicking the ball up before it hit the ground.

Lu Han followed up, and Jiang Che turned and jumped, dunking the ball from position three to the far corner of the opponent's court.

Two players in the back row on the opposite side simultaneously lunged to save the ball, collided with it, and the ball bounced twice between them before rolling out of bounds.

Eleven to four.

Chen He was no longer involved in defense; he was just standing in the backcourt, yelling like a cheerleader.

"Come on! Keep fighting!"

"Why aren't you serving it to the back of the court? Give us another one!"

Deng Chao was the main saver, and although his form was still awkward, at least he was able to get the ball up.

Song Yuqi barely touched the ball again.

Because Jiang Che's coverage area has expanded to an absurd degree.

His speed of movement from the net to the midfield made it impossible for the opposing team to find any openings around Song Yuqi.

Fifteen to six.

The second game is over.

Two wins.

Chen He rushed to Jiang Che's side and almost knelt down before him.

"Brother Che, I promise I'll never talk badly about you behind your back again!"

Deng Chao rolled over on the sand and raised one finger to the sky.

"Two thousand yuan is in hand," Wu Zheng said, taking out his money.

Lu Han walked to the net, reached out her hand, and shook hands with A Yong.

Ah Yong looked at him, then at Jiang Che's back, and said something in his not-so-standard Mandarin.

"That person, is he a professional?"

Lu Han smiled and shook her head.

"He only knows a little bit."

Ah Yong's expression was priceless.

Song Yuqi walked straight up to Wu Zheng.

"The result of the match was a two-game victory, and as agreed before the match, the funding will be increased by two thousand yuan."

"Director Wu, cash settlement."

Wu Zheng sat motionless in the chair, his smile freezing for a few seconds before he pulled a stack of things out of his pocket.

"Yuqi, I happen to have some special vouchers made by the production team. They're equivalent to cash. Take a look..."

Song Yuqi glanced at the pile of colorful scraps of paper and her smile faded.

"Vouchers? It was agreed before the competition that it was for funding, not shopping vouchers."

Wu Zheng held up the stack of vouchers, smiling apologetically.

"This really works! It's accepted at all places of sale on the island, even more convenient than cash..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Che walked over from behind.

He picked up the stack of vouchers, flipped through them, and then put them back on the table.

"If you don't give me cash, I'll take them to your logistics warehouse right now and move the supplies."

Wu Zheng paused.

"what?"

Jiang Che glanced at the staff passageway on the sidelines.

"I saw your logistics tent on the way here. There were more than 200 boxes of bottled water and at least 30 boxed meals heated up inside."

"I'll bring people to move it; there'll be enough for us to eat until the show ends."

The assistant director was waving his hands anxiously and frantically giving Wu Zheng meaningful glances.

Wu Zheng's lips twitched twice, and he slowly reached his right hand into his pocket.

He took out a wad of banknotes and counted out twenty red bills one by one.

Two thousand yuan was slapped on the table.

"Take it."

Song Yuqi took the money, counted it in her hand, and after confirming that it was correct, put it into the fund bag and zipped it up.

"Thank you, Director Wu."

She gave Wu Zheng a sweet smile, then turned and left.

Wu Zheng looked at her back, then at Jiang Che beside her, and finally at the stack of vouchers that had been returned to the table.

He clutched his chest and sat back down in his chair.

The assistant director leaned closer and spoke cautiously.

"Coach Wu, we lost two thousand just from this volleyball match today. Add to that the temporary staff wages, venue setup costs..."

"Don't bother calculating."

Wu Zheng closed his eyes.

"If I keep calculating, I'll have to be hospitalized tonight."

The comments section was already buzzing with excitement.

[Director Wu's script for today is: hire outside help, bully a girl, get beaten up by her boyfriend, and have to pay compensation and apologize.]

I watched Jiang Che's line, "Where should we shoot?", ten times over.

[Song Yuqi was so cool when she accepted the money; she smiled sweetly first, then turned around. Wu Zheng was completely taken in.]

The light of dusk had begun to change, and the sea was covered with golden-red fragments.

Deng Chao, Chen He, and Lu Han lay sprawled in the villa's courtyard, clutching bottles of mineral water. Their bodies ached all over, and none of them wanted to move.

Jiang Che came out of the kitchen, carrying two bottles of water.

He walked up to Song Yuqi, handed her the water, and then extended his hand.

"Let's go to the beach."

Song Yuqi took the water and looked up at him.

The setting sun bathed half of his face in a warm hue, and sweat still clung to his forehead.

She put the water in her pocket and placed her hand in his palm.

The two walked around the boardwalk, out of the camera's field of view, and headed towards the setting sun.

Chen He lay on the recliner, tilting his head to watch their backs.

Deng Chao tapped him on the head with a mineral water bottle.

"What are you looking at?"

Chen He rolled over and buried his face in the pillow.

"I watch the sunset."