Chapter 20: The scoundrel wasn't sure if he was cursing himself or the other person...

Jiang Xiliu kept her eyes on Jin Zhao the whole time, until she saw him dig an extremely deep hole.

To increase her sense of participation, the young lady personally placed her treasure into the hole and commanded, "Fill the hole."

There were many people around, and Jin Zhao only glanced at her without saying anything, continuing to diligently stuff the pile of soil back into its original place.

When he was halfway through filling it out, the young lady suddenly shouted to stop him: "Put your treasure on top, and then continue filling it out."

Jin Zhao put down the shovel, squatted down, and looked up at her: "What do you mean?"

What does that mean? Of course, it means using his treasure as a shield, creating a double layer of insurance.

[System 0777: Miss, I'm reporting that he looks like he's going on strike.]

Jiang Xiliu flicked it aside; she wasn't blind, and he didn't even bother to pick up the shovel.

The young lady looked at the hole, which was only half-filled but still quite deep, and then looked around to make sure that everyone present was busy hiding their own things. Apart from the person in front of her, whom she had brought in and who had not yet been fully "educated," no one had the time to help her fill in the rest of the hole.

"What could I possibly mean?" The young lady's eyes darted around, and her tone softened. "I felt sorry for you digging the hole, and I was afraid that you would be exhausted if you dug another hole, so I kindly allowed your treasure to be buried with mine."

She could easily tell a couple of lies with her superb acting skills.

Actually, no.

The young lady thought her tone had softened, but it only changed from a command to a harsh one.

She looked down at him, saying things that weren't very sincere, her eyes filled with the question, "I've already lied to him, why isn't this damn idiot doing his job properly?"

Yes, she even lied to him, saying "she felt sorry for him."

Jin Zhao felt ashamed when he put his sealed bag on the table.

After Jin Zhao filled the cave with sand, Jiang Xiliu stomped the edges of the sand down firmly with her bare feet.

The young lady was very satisfied.

Unless Ye Qishan's birthday wish today is for her to have bad luck, there is absolutely no way her treasure will be unearthed.

Originally, the young ladies and gentlemen planned to dig out other people's treasures themselves, but these people who had never done any physical labor were already exhausted just from burying their own treasures.

So, the people digging for treasure were replaced by staff members.

The rules have changed. Instead of selecting the top ten, we now have ten staff members, each of whom digs up a treasure.

This game has completely turned into a test of luck.

The shovels they used to bury things were the kind of plastic toy shovels that kids use to dig in the sand at the beach, but the workers used—big! iron! shovels!

The young lady, sitting on a beach chair waiting for the results, suddenly had a bad feeling.

Wan Jiayu walked over to Jiang Xiliu with a microphone. As the initiator of the treasure hunt game, she gave a clear and loud command: "Everyone, listen to my instructions. Now start spinning in circles."

"One, two... ten! That's enough laps, stop." Wan Jiayu said, "Now everyone can take their tools and walk in any direction. Wherever you stop, dig that spot."

One of the young masters protested, "No way, then what about the treasure buried near where they're going? Won't it be unearthed?"

Wan Jiayu thought this made sense and added, "You can also stand still and dig directly."

It was completely random; the staff were so dizzy from all the spinning that they staggered and scattered in different directions.

Some people walked towards the poolside, some crawled into a corner, and some were so dizzy that they couldn't walk and stood still to recover.

The beach fell silent instantly. The ladies and gentlemen, whether standing or sitting on the beach chairs, held their breath, their eyes following the staff who had buried their treasures, wishing that they would hurry on and not stop at the spot where they had buried them.

Jiang Xiliu straightened her back and saw a staff member in a yellow uniform stop near the sand where she and Jin Zhao had just stepped.

She asked uncertainly, "Jin Zhao, is that where we hide things?"

She didn't remember the location carefully at all; she only remembers the general area.

Jin Zhao followed Jiang Xiliu's gaze, his expression darkening for a second before he quickly composed himself and replied firmly, "Yes."

Although he didn't know what the punishment would be if he were caught, anyone would just want to sit on a beach chair and watch the show, rather than be one of the ten unlucky ones who would be punished.

Jiang Xiliu stared at the staff member.

He was holding a large shovel, digging haphazardly with casual movements, the shovel digging here and there, sand flying everywhere.

Jiang Xiliu, with her sharp eyes, spotted a small corner of a transparent sealed bag tucked into a full shovel of sand. The bag floated lightly and was tossed behind the staff member along with the sand, landing on the beach, only to be instantly buried by the next shovelful of sand.

The worker was completely unaware, focused only on digging, and didn't notice that there was a treasure that had been unearthed behind him—which he had now buried again.

Jiang Xiliu's lips twitched; he was utterly speechless.

She asked the system in her mind, "That bag wouldn't be Jin Zhao's, would it?"

[System 0777: ...It seems so, Miss.]

Jin Zhao didn't have anything worthwhile to offer as a treasure. As he went to get a sealed bag to seal it, Jiang Xiliu hid to the side and watched him awkwardly take the bag from him with his hands empty.

In the end, he treasured the button that Ye Qishan had ripped off.

A tiny button placed inside is practically invisible.

And so, his light, sealed bag was simply overlooked by the staff.

Back then, when she saw how shabby Jin Zhao's treasures were, she secretly gloated and made a few sarcastic remarks. Now, staring at the ever-growing pile of sand behind the staff, she was at a loss for words.

So angry.

While her own misfortune was certainly upsetting, Jin Zhao's good fortune was even more unacceptable to her.

Seeing her expression, the system quickly explained.

[System 0777: Jin Zhao, as the person with the most luck in this world, is top-notch in every aspect except for his terrible family background—such as appearance, intelligence, luck… Right now, it's probably his good luck that's at work.]

"Hmph." Jiang Xiliu crossed her arms. "Was it you who was outwardly compliant but inwardly disobedient, and behind my back you were up to no good?"

[System 0777: I'm innocent, Miss! I swear! It really wasn't me. If I did this, please delete all my game data.]

[System 0777: This is the operating law of this small world. Some people are rich, some are poor; some have weak luck, some have strong luck. This is not something we can change.]

Just like the ring that System 0777 gave Jiang Xiliu that could reverse time, she had already completed three plot points, and had less than a second of time left to accumulate.

As an external product of this world, it has neither the ability nor the capacity to influence this world much.

Jiang Xiliu ignored it; it was useless.

Jin Zhao has excellent eyesight, so he naturally saw the bag fly past.

He tilted his head slightly to look at Jiang Xiliu, who was standing beside him with her puffed-up cheeks, then bent down and asked her in a low voice, "Do you want to leave?"

The young lady stated the facts expressionlessly: "Do you think I'm like you? No one would even know if you died, but if I just stand up and stretch, a bunch of people will notice."

Jin Zhao felt he was being a fool again. He straightened up and calmly watched the worker continue digging.

The outcome is already decided: the young lady will most likely become one of the ten unlucky ones who will be punished.

Just then, a voice came from the neighboring horse farm: "Count me in."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound—

Ye Qishan rode on a white horse, holding a transparent sealed bag that he had taken from somewhere.

He took off his watch, casually stuffed it into a sealed bag, and then tossed it high into the air next door.

The bag, reflecting the intense sunlight, still struck the edge of the artificial beach in a remarkably graceful arc.

Onlookers: ...That watch is probably going to be smashed, right? It's pretentious, but somehow it's kind of cool, isn't it?

Ye Qishan changed into a black equestrian outfit. The fitted jacket and riding breeches fit his body perfectly, showing off his lean waist and pert buttocks. Combined with his naturally fair skin and the faint red handprint on his face, he looked stunning.

It makes you want to strip his upper body off and whip him a few more times.

Ye Qishan tightened the reins and shouted at the yellow-shirted worker who was still digging in the sand, "Hey, you in the yellow shirt, you're having so much trouble digging, stop digging and just come and get mine!"

Standing next to Jiang Xiliu, Wan Jiayu couldn't help but curse under her breath, "Damn it." She muttered to herself, "I didn't realize Ye Er had such a great figure."

After venting her frustrations, she immediately grabbed the microphone and shouted, "Ye Qishan, you're breaking the rules of the game! This is unacceptable!"

Ye Qishan, riding on horseback, smiled good-naturedly: "It's my birthday today, I'm the boss."

Today's gathering was organized by Ye Qishan, so we should at least give him some face.

Besides, it's quite interesting that the birthday person would willingly volunteer to be one of the unlucky ones.

"I can't make that decision myself; I need to ask everyone's opinion." Wan Jiayu didn't take it too seriously and posed the question to everyone: "Do you all think we should agree to Ye Er joining?"

"Yes!" came a unified response from the beach.

Aside from Ye Qishan, who has already been chosen, now it's just a matter of picking nine unlucky people. The probability of everyone being selected has decreased even further, so only a fool would refuse.

Following Ye Qishan's instructions, Wan Jiayu raised her voice and commanded, "Hey you in the yellow shirt, don't just stand there, go over there and take his bag."

The staff member in the yellow shirt was not at the edge of the beach, where there were at least three or four other staff members digging in the sand, all of whom were closer to the bag containing the watch than he was.

Everyone assumed that the staff member's clothes were so eye-catching that Ye Qishan noticed them immediately, and no one thought much of it.

Jin Zhao had been looking down at Jiang Xiliu, but when he heard Wan Jiayu's words, he looked up and his gaze met precisely with that of the man on horseback.

Ye Qishan smiled smugly.

The contempt in his eyes was blatant, as if to say, "See? This is the difference between you and me."

He was just a mistress who couldn't be seen in public or presented in a respectable manner. If it weren't for his curiosity, Jiang Xiliu would never have taken this pretty boy out with him.

Did he really think that just because he got bitten, he was qualified to stand by her side?

Jin Zhao's face darkened, and he muttered a very soft curse: "You bastard."

I don't know if I'm cursing myself or the other person.