Chapter 29: I'll Spray You to Death with a Mouthful of Salty Soda

……

……

After the playtime ended,

The tour guide NPC arranged by the production crew appeared.

After informing them that their passports were lost,

They were told they would be taking a vehicle to Gwangjang Market to search for relevant clues.

Because the guide spoke Korean, everyone was momentarily bewildered, and their attempts to repeat the words were completely nonsensical.

"Gwangju West Up?"

"That's clearly Gwangju West River!"

"It's Gwangjang Market, actually."

Gu Qing was proficient in Korean; he didn't even know how he was supposed to lose this episode.

"Xiao Gu, let's go, let's go! We have to fight for first place!"

"First, let's hail a car."

Gu Qing and the other two set off.

……

In a foreign land,

Being proficient in the language, Gu Qing naturally became the leader of the team.

"Ajusshi, we want to go to Gwangjang Market, nae, kamsahamnida."

Gu Qing successfully hailed a car.

Not long after the three of them set off,

Chen Chichi suddenly let out a terrified scream, "Xiao Gu, did we get into a black cab? Why did the price jump by three thousand?!"

Hearing this,

Wang Likun poked her head out, covered her mouth in panic, and said

"It really is! What do we do? Should we jump out of the car?"

Even as a celebrity, she couldn't afford to lose an entire apartment just from one car ride, could she?

"Big brothers and big sisters..."

Gu Qing, squeezed in the middle, looked up with a look of utter despair. "This is South Korea!"

"They are calculating in Korean Won, okay?"

Chen Chichi: "..."

Wang Likun: "..."

"Sor... sorry..."

Wang Likun laughed at her own stupidity, covering her face with her hair in embarrassment.

"It's over. I don't know how we're going to win today's competition," Gu Qing sighed toward the camera.

"You brat, are you calling us pig teammates?"

Chen Chichi was a seasoned surfer of trends; he immediately went for a throat-lock on Gu Qing, trying to argue his side.

"You're a pig, you're a pig, you're the pig!"

Wang Likun's playful side emerged; she mimicked the move, poking Gu Qing's waist repeatedly with her fingers.

"Stop it, stop it, I was wrong!"

Gu Qing laughed and begged for mercy from the tickling.

Before long, they arrived at Gwangjang Market.

"Wow, is this a snack street?"

Seeing the food stalls, Chen Chichi's eyes lit up. "Xiao Gu, have you been here before? Any delicious recommendations?"

"Never been," Gu Qing shook his head.

"No way! You've lived in South Korea for five years and you've never been here?" Chen Chichi was incredulous.

"Brother Chichi, eating out costs money."

Gu Qing spoke truthfully: "I don't have the money to buy it."

Half of his weight was from training, and the other half was from hunger.

To control the weight of their artists, the company's cafeteria was basically no different from a purely vegetarian banquet.

Want to eat your fill?

One word: "Hard!"

Hearing this,

Chen Chichi was stunned for a moment.

If someone couldn't afford luxury brands, he would believe it.

But surely they wouldn't be unable to afford even food?

Being born into an artistic family, with an uncle who was a major director in the industry, Chen Chichi found it quite difficult to understand.

But looking at the youth's thin and frail frame,

Chen Chichi pursed his lips, and a wave of guilt washed over him. "Xiao Gu, it's okay. Once the filming is done, Brother Chichi will take you to eat your fill!"

"No need. I've eaten Korean food for five years; I've had enough," Gu Qing said nonchalantly.

"Gu Qing, how about when you return to China, come find me in Shanghai? I'll treat you to some delicious local food," Wang Likun said abruptly.

Realizing the suspicious gazes around them,

Wang Likun's mind cleared instantly, realizing her words sounded a bit strange.

It was simply that Gu Qing had just exuded an aura of being "weak, pitiful, and helpless," which made it too easy for people to feel compassion.

She had just experienced a momentary surge of maternal instinct.

"Okay! Can I bring Brother Chichi along then? He loves eating too," Gu Qing said, helping to diffuse the tension.

"No problem, you can both come together then," Wang Likun agreed quickly, smoothing her hair behind her ear.

A short while later, the three teams had all gathered in a room within a pavilion.

The production crew announced the mission

The rules were simple. Twenty-five South Korean snacks appeared on the large screen, written in Korean above and in Chinese using homophonic characters below.

Their task was to buy the snacks shown on the screen and eat them; the first team to form a continuous line would win.

"Hahaha, I'm asking, who else can compete?!"

Chen Chichi grinned widely. "With Xiao Gu on our team, do we even need the homophones?"

"Director, this isn't fair!!"

"Exactly! Xiao Gu clearly understands Korean; how can we possibly beat him?"

Deng Chao's and Wang Baoqiang's teams were also protesting vehemently.

"What's wrong with that? You guys can learn Korean too," Chen Chichi said boastfully.

Little did they know, in the next second,

The production crew announced the restrictions placed on Gu Qing.

"Since Xiao Gu understands Korean and would disrupt the game's balance, he must stay in the small room and cannot tell you the correct answers."

Lu Hao didn't forget to add, "He can help you eat the food you bring back. Also, because you are missing one member's help, you can designate one snack on the screen in advance to complete one square of the challenge early."

Facing the authority of the production crew, Chen Chichi had no choice but to comply, choosing the snack in the very center of the screen.

This way, they could form a straight line up, down, left, or right.

"Beep!"

The mission began, and everyone rushed out of the room to start the challenge.

Gu Qing sat blankly on the tatami mat, looking as if he had suffered a major blow.

"Xiao Gu, besides the 'XO' roar, what other dances can you do?"

Lu Hao began giving Gu Qing some private attention.

Rather than fighting for screen time with the main group, he gave Gu Qing a solo performance.

"Anything," Gu Qing said confidently, his eyes shining.

"Then let's do a dance challenge."

Lu Hao signaled his assistant to play a song.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry..."

Super Junior's classic "hand-rubbing" dance song made its appearance.

Inside the room,

Gu Qing was having a friendly and playful interaction with the directors,

While outside, the brothers...

"Open Gusu! Open Gusu! Open Gusu!!"

"Escape to Muchi Mu! Escape to Muchi Mu!"

"Me-un-da-ka-ba, me-un-da-ka-ba, who on earth is the Me-un-da-ka-ba?!!!"

Deng Chao's face was contorted.

"Sun De! Sun De!!"

Chen Chichi, Wang Baoqiang, and the others were all like headless flies, scurrying around the crowded market.

Every time the camera cut back, the room was always a scene of peaceful serenity.

……

About ten minutes passed,

"Xiao Gu, we're back!!"

Chen Chichi, carrying the metal lunchboxes prepared by the crew, sprinted up the stairs with Wang Likun.

"Oh my god, Ssam (Rice Wraps)!!"

Chen Chichi showed the food to the camera with a soul-piercing cry.

He took out a box full of wraps, and Gu Qing quickly returned to his seat.

Wang Likun picked up her chopsticks and primly adjusted her hair, just as she was about to pick up a wrap.

*Swish, swish, swish—*

Chen Chichi and Gu Qing's hands moved so fast they became blurs, grabbing two or three rice balls in succession and stuffing them into their mouths. Their cheeks bulged out, completely abandoning any sense of decorum.

"One frog, one pufferfish."

Wang Likun was shocked for the first time on a variety show. "Do you guys always play this wildly?"

"Stop making us laugh, hurry and eat!"

Chen Chichi urged indistinctly.

"Water... I need water."

Gu Qing was choking so badly he was nearly hyperventilating.

"Here, here."

Wang Likun hurriedly handed him mineral water and patted his back. "Little brother, be careful when you drink, don't spray it..."

"Pfft—"

Before she could finish, the image had already formed in Gu Qing's mind. His throat felt inexplicably itchy, and a "spray of salty soda" shot out.

"AAAAHHHHH!!!"

Chen Chichi, whose face was hit by rice grains, let out the most piercing scream of his life.

……

……

(End of Chapter)