I was criticized on a dating reality show, but I retaliated and became an internet sensation.

Shu Zi walked to the dining table, plopped down, and slumped in the chair like a puddle of water.

She fumbled around on the table for a while, finally finding a small steamed bun. She stuffed it into her mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and mumbled indistinctly:

"...Why do we have to eat xiaolongbao every morning? Did the xiaolongbao producers pay the production team?"

Director Liu happened to walk in, and upon hearing this, his lips twitched slightly. He clapped his hands and said, "Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. I'm going to talk about today's group assignments."

Shu Zi looked up at him, her eyes still squinting: "Director Liu, your tie looks great today."

Director Liu looked down at his tie.

Hmm, very good, I didn't wear a tie today.

He said expressionlessly, "...I don't have a tie."

Shu Zi paused for half a second, then calmly changed her tune: "Oh, so your face looks very nice today."

Director Liu: "...Thank you."

Shu Zi yawned, her face radiating an air of nonchalance that said, "You're welcome. I'm still half asleep, so my words don't count."

Director Liu took a deep breath, his temples throbbing, and decided not to argue with her.

[Shuzi is here in her pajamas, hahaha! This Shiba Inu pajamas set is so cute!]

[Her buttons were fastened wrong, her hair was sticking up, did she go downstairs with her eyes closed?]

"You look great today" — Director Liu: I wasn't wearing a tie.

Director Liu cleared his throat and read aloud:

Today's group assignments are as follows:

"Group 1: Jiang Yunyou, Fang Yutong."

Jiang Yunyou's eyes widened for a moment, then he turned to look at Fang Yutong, immediately grinning broadly. He scurried over and extended his hand, saying, "Teacher Fang! We're in the same group! Please take good care of us!"

Fang Yutong smiled gently, lightly grasped his fingertips, and said in a voice as soft as cotton, "Yes, please take care of me."

Jiang Yunyou was already excitedly planning: "How will we coordinate for the mission? Don't worry, I can do anything! If you tell me to go east, I'll never go west!"

Fang Yutong simply smiled faintly and did not reply.

"Group Two: Shu Zi, Shen Yihuai."

Shu Zi was drinking porridge when she heard her name called. She paused for a moment and slowly raised her head.

Shen Yihuai sat opposite her, a slight smile playing on his lips. He raised his coffee cup to her as a greeting.

Shu Zi looked at him expressionlessly, put down the bowl of porridge, and muttered under her breath, "...Fine, it's better than being in a group with Yu Shize."

Yu Shize, sitting in the corner, heard this and lowered his head without saying a word.

"Group 3: Han Jingxue and Yu Shize."

Yu Shize looked at Han Jingxue, who simply nodded slightly with a calm expression, as if to say hello.

"Group 4: Su Yanhuan and Gu Yan."

Su Yanhuan was eating snacks when she heard her name mentioned together with Gu Yan's, and she almost dropped what she was holding.

Her eyes widened, and she turned to look at Gu Yan, stammering, "Teacher Gu...are we in the same group?"

Gu Yan hummed in response, his expression remaining unchanged.

Su Yanhuan nervously swallowed, then leaned close to Shu Zi and whispered for help, "Sister Zi, I'm nervous."

Shu Zi glanced at her: "Why are you so nervous? He's not going to eat you."

Su Yanhuan said with a bitter face, "But he doesn't say anything."

Shu Zi said nonchalantly, "If he doesn't talk, you don't talk either. It's not like you have to chat to complete the task."

Su Yanhuan thought about it and it seemed to make sense, but she was still flustered.

[Shu Zi and Shen Yihuai are in the same group! Shen Yihuai even raised his glass, hahaha, he's definitely trying to please his future junior sister!]

I'm kind of looking forward to today's lineup.

Director Liu continued: "Today's task is—a three-legged race to stomp on balloons."

Jiang Yunyou raised his hand: "Stomp on balloons?"

Director Liu nodded:

"Yes, each group consists of two people, with adjacent legs tied together and two balloons tied to each foot. The four groups take turns stomping on each other's balloons within a designated area, and the group with the most balloons remaining at the end wins."

Shu Zi looked down at her frog slippers and raised her hand: "Director Liu, I'm wearing slippers."

Director Liu looked down at the wide-eyed frog, paused for a second, and then asked, "...Do you have any sneakers?"

"Yes, it's in my suitcase."

"Then go and change it."

Shu Zi slumped in the chair, motionless: "But I don't want to move."

Director Liu's signature smiling face: "Then you can wear slippers and stomp on balloons."

Shu Zi looked down at her slippers, then looked up at Director Liu, and said seriously:

"Wearing flip-flops to pop balloons is disrespectful to your opponent. Because flip-flops are too soft, they won't pop, and your opponent will think you're letting them win."

Director Liu, expressionless, said slowly and deliberately, "...Then, you, go, change, your, shoes."

Shu Zi sighed, dragging her slippers "pat-pat" towards the stairs, her back view conveying the message that "life is so hard."

Five minutes later, Shuzi came downstairs wearing a pair of white sneakers, but she didn't change out of her pajamas.

Su Yanhuan looked at her: "Sister Zizi, aren't you going to change your clothes?"

Shu Zi looked down at her Shiba Inu pajamas: "No need to change. I'll sweat during exercise anyway, and the pajamas absorb sweat."

"...Do pajamas absorb sweat?"

"Yes, it's cotton, and it absorbs sweat exceptionally well."

Su Yanhuan thought about it and figured that even those who didn't understand probably had some truth to them.

[Shu Zi wearing Shiba Inu pajamas and stomping on balloons? This scene is too beautiful for me to bear.]

Is she planning to wear this pajamas all day?

[Shiba Inu pajamas + sneakers: the new fashion trend, I get it!]

Each group began preparing to tie the balloons.

Jiang Yunyou squatted down and carefully tied balloons to his and Fang Yutong's legs, muttering to himself as he did so:

"Teacher Fang, don't move! Let me tie it tighter, or the balloon will fall off."

Fang Yutong stood still, looking down at Jiang Yunyou bustling around her legs, a gentle smile on her face, but her body was slightly tense, as if she was a little uncomfortable.

After Jiang Yunyou finished tying her up, he stood up and clapped his hands: "All done! Teacher Fang, try lifting your leg now?"

Fang Yutong lifted her leg and found that the leg that was tied together with her was basically impossible to lift, and she could only move in small steps.

"……good."

Jiang Yunyou: "Then we'll move like this! When you say left, I'll step with my left leg; when you say right, I'll step with my right leg!"

Fang Yutong forced a smile: "...Okay."

The styles of Han Jingxue and Yu Shize's group are completely different.

Han Jingxue squatted down to tie the balloons, her movements swift and efficient, without any unnecessary actions.

Yu Shize stood to the side, hesitated for a moment, and then squatted down to tie his own side.

The two did not exchange a single word throughout the entire conversation.

After they were tied up, Han Jingxue stood up, and Yu Shize also stood up.

The two of them glanced at their legs, which were tied together, and then looked away at the same time.

Yu Shize opened his mouth: "...Should I call out the rhythm later?"

"Um."

Yu Shize didn't say anything more.

The group consisting of Shu Zi and Shen Yihuai.

Shu Zi squatted down to tie the balloons, while Shen Yihuai stood beside her without squatting down.

Shu Zi looked up at him: "Aren't you going to tie me up?"

Shen Yihuai looked down at the balloon in his hand and said slowly, "You tie it first, I'll wait for you."

"...Then what are you standing there for?"

"Let's see how you tie it."

Shu Zi glanced at him expressionlessly, then lowered her head to continue tying, muttering to herself, "...Are all the people in your Shen family incapable of doing any work?"

Shen Yihuai heard this and the corners of his mouth curved slightly: "I will."

"Then why don't you squat down!"

Shen Yihuai then slowly squatted down and began tying the balloons on his side.

The movements were slow but steady, and each knot was tied neatly.

Shu Zi glanced at it but didn't say anything.

A few seconds later, she couldn't hold back any longer. She lowered her voice and tentatively probed, glancing to the side, "Hey, you and my senior sister..."

Shen Yihuai continued what he was doing, his tone indifferent: "What?"

Shu Zi paused, organizing her thoughts for a moment before finally managing to say, "You guys..."

Shen Yihuai raised an eyebrow, a slight, enigmatic smile playing on his lips: "We...?"

Shu Zi clicked her tongue, waved her hand impatiently, and said in a tone that implied "you know what I mean, don't pretend": "You know what I mean, don't pretend."

Shen Yihuai tied the balloon in his hand, looked up, and said slowly, "Didn't she tell you?"

Shu Zi blurted out without batting an eye, "Half and half."

Shen Yihuai glanced in Han Jingxue's direction, his gaze lingered for a moment, then he looked away, smiled, and said nothing.

Shu Zi: "..."