Chapter Twenty-Seven: Wounded

In the evening, everyone discussed the day's events in the group chat.

Even Xu You quickly noticed something amiss: "This is too strange. He probably doesn't believe we're only trying to win him over by offering him a suite, and he probably doesn't believe we're his fans either. But he accepted it calmly and adapted well, without any doubts."

Gu Huailang: "Yes, if things continue like this, I suspect that even if we directly tell him that we hope he will join, he won't have much of an emotional reaction."

Meng Fanxi added, "Then they calmly rejected us."

Wei, an outsider, analyzed based on everyone's descriptions: "It seems that what we need to do now is not to dispel his suspicions, but to try to get his attention."

Everyone understood, but what should they do?

Wei then shared more detailed information about Lin Ruohe for everyone's reference, leaving everyone in the room somewhat disappointed.

"After meeting him in person, do you all think he's a good fit for our team?" Meng Fanxi suddenly asked in the group chat. As the first person to suggest Lin Ruohe join, he now had some doubts about his initial decision.

Based on his past life experience, he felt that since Wei was also considering Zhang Yang, Lin Ruohe, who had joined VIER in his previous life, should also join earlier. However, it seems that neither of them is making good progress, which is completely opposite to the situation in his previous life where he risked opposition from fans to join VIER.

Is it some kind of opportunity from a past life that we are unable to achieve now?

The VIER group from the previous life no longer exists in a certain sense due to his intervention. Should we not be too attached to the members from the previous life?

After Meng Fanxi sent the message, there was no immediate reply in the group. He put his phone aside, lay on the bed, stared at the ceiling, and recalled the events of the day.

The current Lin Ruohe is much more inexperienced than the Lin Ruohe of her previous life, but that gentle yet powerful aura is already showing. Wei also said that their group is still missing a more gentle trainee.

From this perspective, there is probably no trainee as suitable as Lin Ruohe among the current trainees.

He was a good listener, gentle yet not self-conscious, and had firm ideas. Even Xu You, the little tyrant, was like a rabbit in front of him.

In her previous life, she joined at the wrong time. Even so, Lin Ruohe never showed any negative emotions in front of the camera. Instead, she saw many news reports about Lin Ruohe trying to repair the relationship between the group.

Meng Fanxi picked up his phone, and everyone started chatting in the group again. They mostly said that it was a good fit, and that they should try harder. If they couldn't join, they wouldn't consider other candidates. After all, having met Lin Ruohe, it was hard to consider anyone else.

Ren Yuchen's analysis was the most direct: "If Brother Ye can bring Zhang Yang in, then Lin Ruohe must join as well."

Wei Ye suddenly felt immense pressure: "?"

Ren Yuchen: "Zhang Yang's personality is too strong. Compared to him, we are still insignificant. We still need someone like Lin Ruohe to balance things out."

...

The team building activity officially began the next day, and everyone wore the same team building uniform.

The island has a pleasant climate year-round, so everyone brings cool and comfortable clothes suitable for the beach.

Meng Fanxi and Gu Huailang simply put on their black short-sleeved shirts and paired them with black pants for easy movement, looking quite refreshing.

Xu You paired his outfit with a metal necklace and sunglasses to create a cool persona.

Ren Yuchen isn't afraid of the heat, but he's afraid of getting sunburned. He pays great attention to sun protection, wearing a thin gray long-sleeved shirt under his short-sleeved shirt during team building activities, and also wearing a baseball cap, covering himself up completely.

Lin Ruohe chose the same outfit as Ren Yuchen for sun protection.

Meng Fanxi and the others were even more eager to chat with Lin Ruohe than yesterday, and Lin Ruohe responded gently to each one. The group chatted and laughed as they walked to the meeting point for the event.

Different colored vests were being handed out on site. When it was their turn, they all received blue vests. The person handing out the vests muttered as they did so, "Hey, just the right number for you guys."

Meng Fanxi put on his vest, looked up and observed the situation. At this moment, only they were wearing blue, and the other people in different colors were also in groups of five. He guessed, "It seems that we should be a group for the team building activity."

Lin Ruohe nodded upon hearing this. He was a bit taller than them, and the vest, though a standard size, looked a little small on him.

After a while, once everyone had arrived, the team leader began to explain the rules for the upcoming activity: "People wearing vests of the same color form a team. First, everyone should identify the team leader, then come here to register and receive the check-in map."

"At this moment, all the checkpoints on the island have been set up. Everyone should find the checkpoints and collect puzzle pieces according to the clues encountered along the way. At the same time, there are also some exquisite gifts hidden near each checkpoint. The quantity is limited, so it's first come, first served. Finally, the team that collects all 9 puzzle pieces before 11 o'clock will receive an extra reward."

After hearing the rules, each team was eager to try and quickly began discussing who should be the team captain.

Meng Fanxi's team made their decision with a few glances, without even discussing it.

Lin Ruohe watched these people exchanging glances and a bad feeling crept into her heart. She was about to speak when she heard them wink and whisper, "We..."

All I heard

"team leader!"

"Our captain!"

"Captain, please lead us!"

The voices rose and fell, and the blue-vested girls who had spoken were all looking at him expectantly.

Lin Ruohe looked helplessly in the direction of the team leader and said, "Okay."

He obediently went to the team leader to register. In addition to checking off the map, he also received a cringeworthy captain's badge and a walkie-talkie. He was required to wear the badge on his chest.

When he returned to the team and saw everyone's eager eyes, he suddenly felt like he was leading a bunch of little kids on an adventure. He rarely participated in team building activities, and wondered why they had become so fancy in recent years. In the past, they mainly focused on relaxation and having fun on their own.

After all the teams had registered, everyone stood at the same starting point.

There were also company-arranged photographers and recorders around, one for each team.

At the sound of a whistle, the trainees all darted out.

The nearest checkpoints became the trainees' main destinations, and it can be seen that these points were crowded with people.

Meng Fanxi and his group were nowhere to be seen in the crowd. They had already slipped away to the other side, found some bicycles available for rent, and planned to go back from the furthest of the nine checkpoints.

Xu You had visited this place before and was relatively familiar with the terrain, so he rode in front to lead the way.

The morning air was exceptionally fresh, and the weather was wonderful today, with bright sunshine. Since most of us don't usually ride bicycles, it was quite a novel experience to ride together like this.

Xu You, who was at the front, got carried away and pedaled wildly, leaving everyone several meters behind before they even realized it.

Lin Ruohe shouted from behind, "Xu You, slow down, don't ride so fast, be careful!" He also sped up his pace.

Under Xu You's pressure, everyone was pedaling their bicycles, panting and out of breath, too tired to talk.

Seeing that he couldn't catch up and couldn't get any shots, the photographer simply put his equipment in the basket of his bicycle and focused on chasing after the person.

"We're here!" Xu You happily walked to the checkpoint and began to study the game.

There is a mini-game in front of each checkpoint; you can only get the checkpoint map after completing the game.

The remaining people arrived one after another. Gu Huailang and the photographer were closest to each other. He was terrified the whole way, and seeing the photographer carrying equipment and having to chase after him made him feel that the photographer had a hard time.

He walked up to Xu You and said seriously, "Xu You, if you keep riding this fast, don't lead the way anymore, it's too dangerous."

Everyone was a little stunned, as they rarely heard Gu Huailang speak so directly and forcefully. Meng Fanxi, on the other hand, felt that he was gradually overlapping with that figure from his previous life.

Xu You shifted his gaze from the game to Gu Huailang. Anyone would be upset by such words. His eyelashes drooped, his good mood vanished, and the corners of his mouth, which had been turned up, tightened.

Gu Huailang also stood his ground, looking directly at Xu You, hoping he would realize the danger of his previous actions.

Unexpectedly, the two people who should have been the most peaceful are now facing off, with tension about to escalate.

Meng Fanxi and Ren Yuchen really didn't know what to do. They each pulled one of them, saying words of persuasion as they did so: "Alright, alright, you haven't finished the check-in yet."

But the two remained locked in a stalemate, and neither of them could budge them.

Lin Ruohe: Are you guys acting out my story?

He stepped forward and looked at Xu You first: "Gu Huailang said that because you didn't notice what happened behind you, so we won't talk about it. Look, there's this guy here. He's carrying the equipment to film while chasing us."

Xu You's gaze shifted to his older brother, who had already started filming. The older brother, not expecting to have anything to do, quickly waved his hand and said it was nothing, but beads of sweat from the ordeal kept dripping from his forehead.

Lin Ruohe's pleasant voice gently reached everyone's ears: "For us, it's fun and team building, but for them, it's work, so let's be understanding of each other."

Xu You clearly took it to heart, and the guilt on his face was impossible to hide.

Lin Ruohe also acknowledged his efforts: "Thanks to you, we were able to find this checkpoint so quickly, so we'll still need you to lead the way in the future, okay?"

Xu You wasn't a very stubborn person, and he slowly nodded.

Lin Ruohe then looked at Gu Huailang: "Huailang, you are very observant and noticed this situation. Xu You is a teammate, not an enemy. Remember to be gentle in your tone."

Gu Huailang touched his nose and said, "I know." Looking at Xu You, he said sincerely, "I'm sorry, my tone was too harsh."

Xu You gave a slightly arrogant "humph" and then walked over to the photographer to apologize.

The staff at the checkpoint watched this scene with loving eyes, and a small conflict was resolved without a trace. Lin Ruohe walked to the checkpoint to collect the game props.

When the staff saw the badge on his chest, they praised him, "No wonder he's the captain, young man."

Lin Ruo smiled, the bright morning sunlight clearly outlining the slightly reddish color on his ears.

The task at this checkpoint is a darts challenge. Two people are selected from the team, and each person has 10 throws. The total number of throws must exceed the specified value to qualify.

Lin Ruohe handed the darts directly to Xu You and Gu Huailang, and Meng Fanxi and Ren Yuchen said they had no objections.

As one of the people who witnessed Lin Ruohe's handling of the situation, Meng Fanxi strongly agreed with Lin Ruohe's approach. It was crucial to have someone in the team who could command the presence of these members.

Xu You and Gu Huailang started arguing again while throwing darts, showing no signs of their previous quarrel.

After successfully completing the mission and collecting a map, they began searching for hidden gifts in the vicinity.

This photo spot is the furthest from the hotel, and the surrounding area is densely vegetated. The staff carefully reminded everyone not to go to the innermost part of the area. Everyone dispersed to search for the spot and agreed to meet back at the photo spot in 20 minutes.

Twenty minutes later, everyone gathered together with some small gifts, but Lin Ruohe was nowhere to be seen.

Everyone called his name, but there was no response. The staff used a walkie-talkie to locate him and said that he had accidentally fallen and needed to recover before they could rejoin him.

Everyone was quite worried, so they went straight over. Lin Ruohe was sitting on the ground, holding her knees, which were bright red and bleeding.

The terrain there was a bit strange; the ground was uneven and pitted, but it was impossible to distinguish them without careful observation. This is why Lin Ruo tripped and fell while looking for something.

Fortunately, the staff had basic medical knowledge and used emergency rescue kits to give Lin Ruohe's knee a simple bandage.

After some discussion, Meng Fanxi stayed with Lin Ruohe and waited for the staff to call a car, while the other three went to find a map.

Meng Fanxi helped Lin Ruohe sit on a chair not far away, and the two remained silent for a moment.

Just as Meng Fanxi was carefully examining Lin Ruo and her bandaged wound, he suddenly heard the latter casually ask, "What is your purpose in looking for me?"