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

The bronze keyhole of the gate is heavy and ancient.

Jiang Che held the brass key, aimed it at the keyhole, pushed it in, and turned it clockwise half a turn.

The lock spring made a crisp striking sound.

Song Yuqi reached out and braced herself against the heavy door, and Jiang Che's palm covered the back of her hand.

The two of them pushed the door open together.

The red ribbon hanging at the top of the clock tower fell loosely, and the evening breeze carried fallen leaves through the hall.

Director Wu's voice immediately came over the loudspeaker.

"Congratulations to Jiang Che and Song Yuqi for successfully opening the Gate of Life and clearing Qingcheng Castle!"

"The two individuals have received the ultimate honor for the Ancient Shu Town, and have been granted the privileged status of Guardian Deities of this year's Ancient Town!"

Director Wu announced the results through a megaphone.

Song Yuqi turned around, her eyes full of smiles.

"We won!"

Jiang Che looked at her hair, which was scattered by the wind, and reached out to straighten it for her.

"No one can take away the victory celebration banquet I promised you."

Deng Chao and Chen He slowly climbed the stairs, their faces covered in dust, and leaned against the railing, panting.

Chen He wiped away his sweat.

"Hey chef, you two opened the door faster than food delivery."

Deng Chao waved his hand and sat down directly on the stone steps.

"I admit defeat. This young man is not only quick-witted, but he also runs like the wind."

Lu Han and Qin Xiao followed behind, clapping to congratulate the two.

Director Wu and his film crew walked up quickly and handed over two pure gold tokens for the ancient town.

"This is the guardian deity's exclusive gold medal; all purchases in the ancient town tonight are free."

Song Yuqi accepted the heavy gold medal and waved it in front of Jiang Che.

"Chef Jiang, what would you like to eat tonight? This guardian deity will take care of it all."

Jiang Che put away the gold medal and smiled.

"Go back and wash your hands first; you got dusty from holding the rope."

The celebratory banquet that evening was held at a floating restaurant in the center of the ancient town.

The waterside pavilion was adorned with octagonal palace lanterns, and the entire eight-immortal table was laden with more than twenty traditional Sichuan dishes.

The crystal pork knuckle has a glossy skin and tender meat, while the lotus-scented glutinous rice duck is steaming hot.

Chen He pointed to the center of the table with his chopsticks.

"Thanks to the two guardian deities, I finally don't have to eat cold cornbread today."

Deng Chao poured a table full of barley tea and raised his cup to serve.

"Come, let's raise a toast to our great hero!"

Everyone clinked their glasses, and the restaurant was filled with the aroma of food.

Song Yuqi picked up a crispy piece of rice crust and put it into Jiang Che's bowl.

"This is very crispy, you should eat more."

Jiang Che casually ladled out a bowl of snow fungus and pear soup and placed it next to her.

"Drink something warm first, so your throat won't get dry."

Chen He rolled his eyes and put his chopsticks on the table.

"Brother Chao, I feel not only full, but also uncomfortable from being so stuffed."

Deng Chao chuckled.

"You'll get used to it. They call it a match made in heaven."

Song Yuqi lowered her head and drank the sweet soup, a smile playing on her lips.

After a while, she suddenly realized that something was off about the atmosphere at the table.

Deng Chao held his teacup, occasionally winking at Jiang Che and raising his eyebrows.

Jiang Che put down his spoon and nodded slightly with a very subtle movement.

Chen He was typing on his phone, and after he finished, he glanced at the screen at an angle for Jiang Che to see.

After Jiang Che finished reading, he kicked Chen He under the table.

Chen He quickly pulled his leg back and pretended to be nonchalant as he lowered his head to gnaw on the duck leg.

Song Yuqi bit her chopsticks, her eyes darting back and forth between the faces of the group.

Lu Han, who is usually the most talkative, was staring at her phone screen with a forced smile on her face.

Even Director Wu, who was sitting at the side table, would always turn his head and sneakily peek over here.

Song Yuqi was filled with doubt.

She put down her chopsticks and reached out to tug at Jiang Che's sleeve.

"Jiang Che, are you hiding something from me?"

Jiang Che turned to look at her, his expression calm.

"How could that be? Winning the game is too tiring, and I'm thinking about whether I should go back and rest early."

Song Yuqi tilted her head, half believing and half doubting.

"Why did Brother Chao wink at you just now? Did his eye twitch?"

Upon hearing this, Deng Chao immediately rubbed the corner of his eye.

"Ouch, I'm fuming from the steam. This duck is so hot!"

Chen He provided cover.

"Yes, yes, I was looking at my phone just now because I was looking for stomach medicine; I ate too much."

Song Yuqi looked everyone over and felt that everyone's eyes were wandering.

She then turned to look at Director Wu by the door.

As soon as Director Wu met Song Yuqi's gaze, he quickly looked away and crossed his arms to look at the river outside the window.

There's definitely something fishy going on with this group.

Normally, if Director Wu loses a game, his face will be very long.

Today, I not only wasn't angry, but I even secretly chuckled a few times from time to time.

Song Yuqi pursed her lips, secretly plotting something.

Jiang Che watched as she rolled her eyes, then reached out and removed the spicy dish from in front of her.

"Don't overthink it, hurry up and eat your fill, then go back to the inn to soak your feet."

Song Yuqi raised her eyelids.

"Jiang Che, you're acting really strange today."

"Is there?"

Jiang Che calmly placed a piece of lotus root sandwich on her plate.

Eat more vegetables and think less nonsense.

Half an hour later, the dinner party gradually came to an end.

The group walked out of the restaurant and onto the bluestone path.

As Jiang Che walked through the corridor, he slowed down and took out his phone to check the time.

He turned to Song Yuqi and spoke.

"You go back to the inn with Brother Chao and the others first. I'm going to the restroom."

Song Yuqi stood under the lantern and looked at him.

"I'm going that way too, let's go together."

Chen He immediately came over, put his arm around Song Yuqi's elbow, and pulled her away.

"Hey girl, I happen to have something to ask you about the lyrics."

"You even followed Jiang Che to the bathroom, aren't you ashamed?"

Deng Chao also joined in, adding fuel to the fire.

"Come on, come on, the innkeeper just brought over a plate of candied fruit from the ancient town."

"Let's go pick out some good food first."

Song Yuqi was pulled forward by the two men.

She turned around and glanced back.

Jiang Che stood still, waved, and turned to walk into the shadows around the corner.

Song Yuqi's curiosity intensified.

Jiang Che wasn't going to the restroom at all.

The restroom was clearly in the east corridor, but Jiang Che went to the old street courtyard on the west side.

The door clicked open with a soft click, and the latch was pushed open.

Jiang Che slipped into the house and casually closed the wooden door.

The overhead incandescent light was turned on.

The small prop room was crammed full.

Deng Chao, Chen He, Lu Han, and Qin Xiao were squatting on the prop box, waiting for him.

Even Director Wu and the head screenwriter were wearing baseball caps and sitting around the folding table.

Chen He let out a sigh of relief.

"That scared me to death! Yuqi has such a sharp intuition; she almost gave herself away."

Deng Chao wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Even with my old bones, acting isn't this strenuous."

"Your winking and eye-rolling are making my eyes hurt."

Jiang Che pulled over a plastic chair, sat down, and tapped on the table.

"Is everyone here?"

Director Wu pushed up his glasses and handed an open script supervisor's watch to Jiang Che.

"Everything is here. Camera positions, lighting, and NPCs in the ancient town are all set up."

Director Wu looked at Jiang Che, his eyes shining.

"Jiang Che, are you sure you want to play this game?"

"The day after tomorrow is the last day of filming, and it's also Yuqi's 24th birthday."

"Are you planning a massive, town-wide confession show?"

Jiang Che's expression was focused, his gaze fixed on the location of the ancient bridge on the map.

"This is not just an ordinary confession, but a response that is ten years overdue."

The room fell silent instantly.

Chen He touched his chin.

"A ten-year unrequited love... If this were to happen, all the servers on the internet would crash."

Deng Chao slapped his thigh.

"What are you waiting for! Our Five-Ha Brotherhood fully supports you!"

"Xiao Che, you tell us what to do, and we brothers will follow your orders!"

Lu Han raised her hand.

"Leave the lighting and music to me, and I'll take the team to test the sound equipment."

Qin Xiao nodded in agreement.

"I'll arrange the horse-drawn carriages and flower boats for the parade, and I'm familiar with the boats in the old town."

Director Wu grabbed the walkie-talkie, his whole body trembling with excitement.

"This is absolutely a phenomenal scene from a dating reality show!"

"I've already reserved ten trending topics!"

"Old Wu, not only do I not want your funding, I'll provide all the equipment for the team free of charge!"

Jiang Che looked up at Director Wu and snorted coldly.

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to."

"The ratings are yours, the creative ideas are mine."

Director Wu chuckled.

"A win-win situation! Absolutely a win-win situation!"

Jiang Che stood up and pointed to the panoramic view of the ancient town on the table.

"Starting tomorrow, everyone will split up and take action."

"The first phase is called the 'Complete Ignoring Plan'."

Deng Chao was taken aback.

"What do you mean? Are you deliberately ignoring her?"

Jiang Che nodded.

"Tomorrow, everyone will find an excuse to avoid her, so she thinks we're all busy with our mission."

"Director Wu, assign her an extremely tedious individual task tomorrow."

"Send her to the back hill to grind tofu."

Chen He's eyes widened in surprise.

"Chef, you're so heartless! The birthday boy is making tofu?"

Jiang Che glanced at Chen He.

"The lower the expectations are kept, the better the results will be."

"This is called the psychological gap tactic."

"If she finds out we're preparing a surprise, then it's all pointless."

Lu Han gave a thumbs up in admiration.

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant."

Jiang Che put the map away and placed it inside his coat lining.

"Everyone must be in place by 8 PM the day after tomorrow, when the thousand lanterns are lit."

"What if anyone leaks even the slightest word..."

Jiang Che's gaze swept over everyone's faces.

"For the next episode, I'll personally make herring can rice for whoever it is."

Chen He and Deng Chao both shivered at the same time.

"Don't worry! We'll keep strict guard up and absolutely prevent any leaks!"

Jiang Che glanced at his phone screen.

A new message from Song Yuqi appeared on the screen.

"Jiang Che, did you fall into the toilet? Aren't you coming back for some candied fruit?"

Jiang Che smiled and typed a reply quickly.

"I'm coming back now. The hand sanitizer smelled quite strong, so I washed my hands twice."

He put away his phone, looked up, and explained to the crowd.

"Meeting adjourned. Return to the inn in batches, and don't let her see through our plan."

The crowd tiptoed to turn off the lights and then dispersed through the back door one by one.