Chapter 104: Group Variety Show (Extra 4)
The next segment was dorm assignments.
“There are two double rooms and one triple room,” the staff explained the rules. “You’ll play a game to pick one lucky winner. The remaining six will pair up in twos, and the winner will decide which pair to share the triple room with.”
“So the winner has to stay in the triple room?” Su Junzhe asked.
“Yes.”
Without the “overseas contestant” debuff, Lai Yudong didn’t mind having more roommates. Double rooms could feel a bit too quiet; a triple room sounded just right.
Still, it didn’t really matter where he stayed — he figured they wouldn’t be sleeping there much anyway. With their work schedule, they’d be flying all over and staying in hotels most of the time.
The game was called “I Have, You Haven’t.”
Each person held up seven fingers and took turns naming something they had done that others hadn’t. Anyone who hadn’t done it had to bend one finger; those who had didn’t. If everyone else had done it, then the speaker had to bend one finger instead.
They weren’t allowed to repeat similar types of actions, nor could they say overly specific or tricky things — like “what’s my name,” “when is my birthday,” or “what ranking did I debut at.”
Whoever still had fingers left unbent at the end would win.
[I thought the winner got to pick their room]
[Not necessarily a reward — some people might want a double room]
[But this is a game you can’t really lose on purpose]
[You can’t throw the game if you don’t know what the others will say hhh]
[Can someone please say something more exciting doge]
They started from the far right with Li Xu.
Li Xu held up his hands, seven fingers extended: “During the talent show, I once left the filming site.”
Su Junzhe smiled brightly as he raised his hand. “I’ve been to the hospital~”
Lai Yudong nodded in agreement. “Me too.”
Although he hadn’t just gone to the hospital — he’d also once climbed over the wall to pick up takeout — that was a little secret that must never be revealed.
If not for worrying about whether the footage could actually air, Li Xu might’ve even admitted to secretly hiding his phone.
And if everyone, eager to win, started blurting things out without restraint and a few others turned out to have hidden phones too — now that would be entertaining.
Four people took hits in a row, and then it was Qu Xincheng’s turn.
He thought for quite a while before finally coming up with something unique. “I was once paired with Lai Yudong for a two-person challenge.”
Lai Yudong: “……”
Alright then.
[Didn’t Brother Bai team up with him once?]
[A cry in the silence — the legendary white ash tree moment!]
[He was trying to cue Yuzu, but ended up losing a life instead]
[Yuzu: I’d also like to team up with myself]
[Ultimate move: Yuzu Throwing Technique. Cost: Yuzu’s fingers.]
[The sister above, why does your description sound so scary!?]
The last two rounds were Mo Li and Su Junzhe. Even before they spoke, Lai Yudong had already guessed what they were going to say.
Mo Li: “I’ve debuted in a group twice.”
Su Junzhe: “I was once a trainee in Korea.”
That was when true total annihilation hit.
Lai Yudong joined in to help complete the massacre: “My initial evaluation was Class F.”
“You guys are brutal,” Zhao Yifeng said, bending down another finger. “How do I only have two left before it’s even my turn?”
Though he complained that his teammates were ruthless, when his own turn came, Zhao Yifeng had absolutely no intention of going easy — he opened his mouth and unleashed an AOE attack:
“I’ve worn my hair in braids before.”
Lai Yudong reacted instantly. He grabbed a handful of loose hair and twisted it up into a little sprout on top of his head. “I’ll braid it right now.”
Zhao Yifeng pointed out calmly, “You don’t have a hair tie.”
Lai Yudong refused to back down. “The point is the braid.”
“You can’t make one without a hair tie.”
“I’ll use my hand!”
“Doesn’t count!”
“Counts!”
[Why is there suddenly such a strong competitive spirit hhhh]
[Didn’t Brother Feng once say he’d braid Yuzu’s hair himself? I’ve been waiting for that promise to come true!]
[That little sprout on his head is actually pretty cute]
[The spot he grabbed looks more like Yuzu’s leaf stem (?)]
In the end, the staff ruled it invalid.
Lai Yudong regretfully lowered his hand, his hair falling loose again. He had honestly thought it was a genius move.
On the other side, Bai Xuanhe was still hesitating. “Does it count if I had one of those Nezha-style photo shoots when I was little?”
Su Junzhe tilted his head with a grin. “You got pictures?”
“…Pretend I didn’t say that.”
Bai Xuanhe gave up on the braid topic and went on the offensive himself: “In the second evaluation, I was promoted to a higher class.”
Qu Xincheng, seeing right through the futility of struggle, bent another finger — leaving only one lonely survivor standing.
Good thing he wasn’t particularly attached to the triple room. If anything, he preferred the double.
Bai Xuanhe, who had risen from Class C to Class A, watched as everyone else bent their fingers one by one, feeling quite pleased with his own brilliant idea.
“I went from F to C,” Lai Yudong said, shaking his hand and forming the number three with his fingers. “You should’ve said your second evaluation was Class A — then it would’ve been total annihilation.”
“Aren’t we not allowed to say stuff like that?” Bai Xuanhe asked, confused.
“There’s no restriction on saying you were promoted to Class A in the second evaluation,” Lai Yudong tilted his head slightly. “But if you said which number you were when entering Class A, that wouldn’t be allowed.”
“Really?” Bai Xuanhe looked blankly toward the staff for confirmation, and they nodded.
Bai Xuanhe: “……”
He might actually be a bit of an idiot.
[Confirmed: handsome but dumb]
[Yuzu: eh-heh, I got lucky]
[You call Brother Bai dumb, but he remembers stuff really well — 2 double-A’s, 3 demoted ranks]
[Wait, I just realized only three A-classes debuted]
[If you count Teacher Zhao, that makes four]
[And the other double-A, Yu Yizhen — shame he didn’t debut]
[Just counted: 3 A’s, 1 B, 3 C’s — pretty balanced lineup]
After one full round, Lai Yudong narrowly took the lead, with three fingers still up.
The second round started from the top again.
Li Xu opened with a strike: “I’ve dyed my hair for a show.”
That move instantly took out Qu Xincheng and Mo Li — though he hadn’t expected that Mo Li, who had debuted in a group before, had never dyed his hair, nor that Zhao Yifeng, currently sporting jet-black hair, would also escape unscathed.
It wasn’t that Mo Li didn’t want to dye his hair — but in his previous group, the company didn’t manage them at all. Their looks still needed official approval, so they couldn’t change hairstyles on their own. This show was the first time he’d been able to bleach it blond.
As for Lai Yudong, he’d once tried dyeing his hair brown, but it didn’t turn out well, so he’d changed it back.
Only five people remained in the game.
So far, Lai Yudong was still in first place.
Which made him the obvious target now.
“Hmm, a lot of things can’t be repeated anymore…” Su Junzhe pressed a finger thoughtfully against his lips. After a brief pause, his eyes lit up with a mischievous glint. “I used my real name when signing up for the talent show.”
Lai Yudong: “……”
He hated the system.
But whatever — time to bring out the big guns.
Lai Yudong bent one finger, then confidently declared what he believed to be his guaranteed win move — the ultimate all-kill line:
“I’m an art student.”
Zhao Yifeng: “So am I.”
Lai Yudong: “?”
[Yuzu, you fool! You should’ve said broadcasting major!]
[He lectured Brother Bai like a pro, but forgot everything when it was his turn hhh]
[?? Wait, Teacher Zhao’s an art student??]
[Zhao Yifeng graduated from XX Conservatory of Music — a professional]
——He didn’t know that!!!
People online were always critiquing Zhao Yifeng’s singing, calling him a “soundcard warrior” or a “recording studio performer.” So Lai Yudong had naturally assumed Zhao Yifeng wasn’t classically trained. Even after witnessing his strength during the competition, he’d thought Zhao Yifeng was just naturally gifted or had taken vocal lessons — never that he was formally educated.
A complete miscalculation.
Lai Yudong seriously reflected on it.
He shouldn’t have let preconceived notions cloud his judgment — that was an impolite and bad habit.
Sorry. This one was on him.
Lai Yudong’s “art student” card had taken out two people in one move. Zhao Yifeng countered with, “I have multiple cover videos with over a million views,” eliminating Su Junzhe in the process.
Both now had only one finger left, entering the third round — a tense one-on-one showdown.
[Teacher Zhao’s making a comeback!?]
[Wait what? Didn’t Yuzu have five fingers just a moment ago?]
[No way Teacher Zhao can win — Yuzu’s going first]
[Do they have to stay in the triple room though?]
[If #4 wins, he’ll definitely pick #2 to room with. But if #2 wins, that’s not certain — could be #1, #4, or #7, maybe even #6]
[Every time I see the numbers, I need a few seconds to remember who’s who…]
[Yuzu’s got friends all over / doge]
Lai Yudong honestly hadn’t thought that far ahead.
If he only had to pick one roommate, he’d definitely choose Li Xu — partly because they were close, partly because they were already used to each other’s routines. But since the winner would have to pick a pair as roommates, that made things trickier.
If Zhao Yifeng and Su Junzhe were a pair, and Li Xu was with someone else, then Lai Yudong’s decision might take some serious consideration.
He naturally gravitated toward people he knew best — or toward wherever the group seemed liveliest.
Still, it didn’t really matter. He got along well with everyone, and whoever ended up as his roommates, he was sure they’d have a great time together.
“I’m bringing out my ultimate move,” Lai Yudong said solemnly, raising his last remaining finger high as he faced Zhao Yifeng across from him. “I was accepted into my program as the top student in my major.”
[Holy sh*t]
[Top of his major?? My baby’s been hiding his power level all along]
[#2’s from XX Media University, right?]
[Top of the class at X-Chuan — that’s seriously impressive]
[Yuzu: behold my finishing move!]
[But uh… wasn’t Brother Feng also top of his class at X-Yin Conservatory?]
Lai Yudong: “?”
Wait. Hold on. Stop!
It hadn’t even been two minutes — could he take it back?
He’d thought he could ride the “art student” wave, pull out one of his old academic achievements as his secret weapon, and clinch the win to get first pick of roommates. But this was not how he imagined it going.
Was that… true?
Under the gaze of countless eyes, Zhao Yifeng smiled, calm and confident — the kind of smile that said checkmate.
“What a coincidence,” he said lightly. “So am I — top of my major.”
Lai Yudong froze. “……”
Zhao Yifeng lifted his lone finger of victory and gently tapped it against Lai Yudong’s, his tone teasing but not arrogant. “Put it down. I win.”
— If everyone else has done it, the speaker must bend a finger.
In silent grief, Lai Yudong slowly folded his last finger down.
If he’d known this would happen, he would’ve said he never went through open auditions!
Beside him, Su Junzhe exaggeratedly wiped away nonexistent tears. “Dong, you did amazing!”
Then he craned his neck toward Zhao Yifeng. “Feng, you’re the pride of our village!”
[These two have serious drama addiction hhhh]
[Award-worthy acting, too bad no show’s hiring them]
[Our SE Group is overflowing with talent]
[We’ve got the full set now — even a professional host（?）]
The game “I Have, You Haven’t” came to an end — with Zhao Yifeng claiming victory.
The final step was to pair up the remaining six people.
The method: a blind drink draw.
Three types of drinks, two cups each — all poured into opaque cups with straws. Whoever got the same drink would form a pair.
Bai Xuanhe eyed the six cups on the coffee table. “They didn’t count Pepsi and Coke as two different ones, right?”
Lai Yudong propped his chin on his hand. “I’m on Team Coke.”
Mo Li disagreed. “Team Pepsi here.”
“You guys can actually taste the difference?” Li Xu looked genuinely baffled. To him, they all tasted the same. He’d always thought the whole Coke vs. Pepsi war online was just a running joke — like arguing whether “tomato” or “tomato” tastes better.
“Of course we can.” Zhao Yifeng fanned the flames. “Can’t you tell the difference between toilet cleaner and cola?”
Lai Yudong tilted his head. “Which team are you on then?”
“I’m Team Mirinda.”
“……”
Out. Get him out.
Lai Yudong casually grabbed one of the cups from the table, took a sip through the straw, and was met with a fragrant tea aroma layered with light fruitiness — perfectly balanced sweetness.
He announced his flavor: “Mine’s peach oolong tea.”
“So’s mine!” Qu Xincheng perked up, his face lighting with delight — thrilled at the idea of rooming with a friend, completely unaware he’d just been unofficially assigned to the triple room.
Lai Yudong grinned. “Great, looks like we’re roommates then.”
The two circled behind Su Junzhe and Mo Li and exchanged a triumphant high-five.
[And there it is — the triple room emerges]
[Zhao Yifeng: just wait, I’m joining you next]
[My 707 trio just got split up, I’m crying]
[What should we name the 245 line?]
[Already naming the room before they’ve even picked?]
[Orange Honey Pomelo Tea!]
