The schedule was all arranged in advance by Jiang Qianqian. She joined the filming earlier than the other members, just to film her racking her brains to arrange the schedule.

After getting off the bus, the first place to go was undoubtedly where everyone would stay for the night. Jiang Qianqian thoughtfully chose a hot spring inn.

A group of people sitting in the car cheered happily when they heard her say the word "hot spring".

Michael: "Japanese hot springs would be so much fun! Would it be like in anime?"

Ye Chu: "I'd rather have a soft-boiled egg."

Xie Wanyao: "Are there any interesting places nearby?"

Jiang Qianqian nodded: "The inn is surrounded by bamboo forests, but it's just a short walk to the town. I heard the cherry blossoms are in bloom, so maybe we can go to the cherry blossom viewing party tomorrow."

Zhou Tong: "Cherry blossoms with a little wine, wine with a bento box—when in Rome, do as the Romans do, we can give it a try!"

Xu Miaomiao: "Great idea! We can all eat lunch together."

Song Nanran: "I brought Hanfu (traditional Han clothing). If we're going to enjoy the cherry blossoms, could I ask someone who's good at taking photos to take pictures for me?"

Qin Ke: "How about you leave the photos to me? I guarantee I'll use beauty filters."

The group burst into laughter, and Zhou Tong joked, "Is beauty filter really necessary? Is anyone here not good-looking besides me?"

"Wow, Tong-ge is so good at talking! I think I'm pretty too!" Michael chimed in, his playful tone making Jiang Qianqian, who was sitting next to him, laugh so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

She tried to stop laughing and said, "When we get there, everyone should unpack first. After that, we'll go find our first photo spot. We'll come back tonight to relax in the hot springs, and tomorrow morning we'll get up early to bring our lunches to the cherry blossom viewing party. Is this arrangement okay for now?"

"Okay!" Everyone agreed in unison. Jiang Qianqian nodded and said, "Then I'll send you the directions to the check-in location now."

After saying that, she handed out the eight clue cards given to her by the production team to everyone: "I plan to use a two-person group method. After you pack your things, go out and look for them separately. It would be best if one of the two people could speak English or Japanese. Keep in touch by phone at all times."

Qin Ke raised his hand: "Question: Is the departure time flexible?"

“Theoretically, it’s my own decision, but to motivate everyone, I need to explain that we’ll be staying at this hostel for two nights, and the total cost for food and lodging will be 28,000 yen.” She thought for a moment: “If anyone wants to buy anything, we’ll also buy bento boxes from the hostel, so we’ll probably need to add another 4,000 yen to the budget, making it a total of 32,000 yen.”

Xie Wanyao took a breath: "How much funding did the production team provide?"

Jiang Qianqian: "Fifty thousand yen."

Zhou Tong breathed a sigh of relief: "That's still enough!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but Jiang Qianqian said with a wry smile, "I thought so at first too, but after everything was booked, the production team told me right before we left that we would have to pay for our own plane tickets for the next trip."

"Huh?" Michael's expressions and actions were always exaggerated, but he didn't expect everyone to react this way this time.

Ye Chu rubbed her temples: "So, if we're booking flights, how much are we short?"

Jiang Qianqian: "It's exactly 10,000 yen short."

We all looked at each other, and had to admit that we'd been tricked by the production team.

Qin Ke: "It seems the production team was prepared in advance. We were too naive."

Xu Miaomiao: "Right now, I just want to know if the hotel can still refund the money? Can we find a cheaper hotel instead?"

Before Jiang Qianqian could answer, the cameraman filming the group said, "No, and even if we change hotels, we can only choose from the few hotels provided by the production team."

A silence fell over the car, a stark contrast to the lively atmosphere just moments before when they were happily discussing hot springs and cherry blossoms.

Jiang Qianqian said with a helpless expression, "The production team provided me with three hotels to choose from. I thought they were worried that I wouldn't know how to find one, but now it seems they had planned it all out."

Zhou Tong slapped his thigh: "Too cunning!"

Ye Chu nodded in agreement: "So it's very likely that no matter which hotel we choose, the cost will exceed the budget. The production team is forcing us to borrow money!"

Photographer: "Yes, that's right."

Everyone: "..."

Are you there? Is it okay to hit someone?

Song Nanran glanced at the scenery outside the window, then turned her head and said, "Isn't there still the task of taking a group photo?"

Michael: "Oh yeah! Did the production team say how much supplies they'd provide if we completed the mission?"

Jiang Qianqian: "It seems that the amount was determined by drawing lots."

Xie Wanyao: "These bastards! There's definitely a small amount involved in the lottery, making it impossible for us to raise the full amount!"

Ye Chu: "There's no other way. Since that's the case, let's try to reduce other expenses as much as possible. We should use as little of that 4,000 yen as possible and save every penny we can. Then we can draw lots to let the person with the better luck win."

Xu Miaomiao nodded in agreement: "Anyway, at worst we'll all go to work to pay off the debt! The most important thing about traveling is the scenery and activities."

Qin Ke: "Sister Xu is right. Regardless of whether we have enough money in the end, let's enjoy the next three days and two nights of the trip."

Zhou Tong: "Yes, yes, keep a calm mind."

Xie Wanyao shrugged helplessly, then hugged Ye Chu tightly and rested her head on Ye Chu's shoulder: "That's all we can do. Being happy is the most important thing."

"Great!" Michael stood up excitedly, bumping her head on the car roof and letting out a cry of pain.

"Pfft, Coco, be careful." Xu Miaomiao looked at her, both amused and exasperated, clutching her head and crying out in pain: "Sit down, why are you still standing with your back bent?"

In a later personal interview, Jiang Qianqian said: "When I was the team leader for the first time, I didn't think too much about it. I just picked from whatever the production team gave me, but I didn't expect it to be a trap. So I was worried that everyone would be disappointed in me."

To my surprise, no one blamed me; instead, they all worked together to find a solution. Later in the trip, I told them about my anxiety, and they all reassured me that it was okay, that everyone in the tour group was incredibly kind.

Just as Jiang Qianqian had said, when everyone arrived at the hot spring inn, looking at the lush green bamboo forest around them and the very Japanese-style facade, they couldn't help but nod and say that just by looking at it, they felt that it was a very nice inn.

In fact, the interior of this guesthouse did not disappoint. Upon entering, a staff member came to guide them through the registration process and then led them to their reserved room.

Qin Ke and Zhou Tong, the two boys, naturally shared a room. After discussing it, the girls decided that Xie Wanyao, Song Nanran, and Xu Miaomiao would share a room, while Ye Chu, Michael, and Jiang Qianqian would share a room.

Upon entering the room, Michael immediately collapsed onto the tatami mat, completely abandoning any semblance of decorum, and let out a long sigh: "Aiya—"

Ye Chu laughed at her, "Why are you acting like an old lady?"

Jiang Qianqian also said, "There are cameras all set up in the room, and you'll be filmed in the middle of it all."

Michael waved his little hand weakly and rolled over: "I can't care about that anymore. The plane and the car ride made my butt hurt. I just want to lie down now."