"Oh?" Fang Lei was quite shocked to be pushed by Zhu Jinzhao. "Jinzhao has gotten bolder, huh? You even dare to push me?"

"I told her to push it." Shi Jing stood there with a roguish air, his long arms outstretched and casually resting on the wooden rake of the hoe.

He looked at Fang Lei, his eyebrows slightly raised, a nonchalant smile playing on his lips: "What's wrong?"

Zhu Jinchao mimicked him and quickly followed up with, "What's wrong?"

"..." Fang Lei stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

[Ahhh, Jin Zhao is so charming and adorable! No wonder Young Master Shi likes her! I'd like such a lovable girl too!]

【I...I finally understand what's so cute about Jinzhao! Shijing has great taste!】

"What's wrong?" Who understands the true meaning behind this question today? She's so cute!

[Loading cargo, are you using a combination lock...? You start acting all slutty and manipulative whenever you're around a man.]

[That's right, unlike our Yingying, who only plays the role of an independent and strong female lead!]

"Get out of here." Zhu Jinchao, protecting her pit, chased people away for the second time.

"Hmph..." Fang Lei chuckled maliciously, but in front of Zhu Jinzhao, he obediently agreed, "Okay, okay, I'll go away, I won't bother you."

Zhu Jinzhao stared intently at his feet, and seeing that he had indeed walked away, she turned to continue digging the hole. But the next second, Fang Lei suddenly launched an attack!

Suddenly, Fang Lei squatted down, scooped up some freshly dug soil, and was about to throw it into Zhu Jinzhao's pit. Zhu Jinzhao seemed to sense something, and just before Fang Lei could act, he immediately turned around and raised his hoe high above Fang Lei's head.

"..."

The sense of oppression came so suddenly that Fang Lei was stunned.

He held a large handful of soil, his movements stiff as he slowly raised his head, looking at the giant-like Zhu Jinzhao and the death "scythe" in her hand.

Zhu Jinzhao looked down at him condescendingly, giving him one last warning: "Get out of the way!"

"...Okay!"

Fang Lei didn't dare to hesitate, so he immediately threw away the mud and ran away.

"Well done, Jinzhao." Shi Jing was full of satisfaction and couldn't help but give Zhu Jinzhao a thumbs up.

Zhu Jinzhao put down his hoe, stood heavily beside him, and said fiercely to Fang Lei, "If you come again, I'll beat you up!"

[Hahaha, the little coward is finally showing his true colors!]

[Having the prince backing you up really makes a difference, huh? You even dare to use a hoe to beat people up.]

[Fang Lei's friend is quick-witted, haha! He threw the mud at him and ran away, afraid that Zhu Jinzhao would actually hit him with a hoe.]

Hey, at least he knows how to stand up for the person he likes. This kid's not completely clueless.

"Mingyue, didn't you say that Jinzhao has always been a coward?" Su Ying whispered to Zhu Mingyue while digging a pit.

Zhu Mingyue's brows were tightly furrowed, and she would occasionally glance at Shi Jing next door with an unhappy look.

"According to the plan, Chaochao should indeed always be timid."

Su Ying: "Then, why isn't she backing down now?"

Zhu Mingyue said in a serious tone, "Because plans can't keep up with changes."

Su Ying: "..."

[Hahahaha! Who knew Yue was such a funny girl!]

[What the hell? Plans can't keep up with changes. What a ridiculous yet serious explanation.]

[Hey? You know what, you really have to admit, "plans can't keep up with changes" is actually a great excuse. If anyone keeps asking me why, I'll just say that.]

[So, even Zhu Mingyue's fans think this was just a perfunctory response?]

[Laughing, laughing, what are you all laughing at? My Yingying was talking to Zhu Mingyue very seriously, and Zhu Mingyue just brushed her off like that? What an ungrateful brat! She has no respect for her senior at all!]

"Jinzhao." Shi Jing finished digging his first hole and suddenly nudged Zhu Jinzhao's hoe with his own.

"What's wrong?" Zhu Jinzhao looked up at him.

"Ahem..." He cleared his throat and lowered his voice, "Those two groups are whispering amongst themselves, they must be plotting something bad to target us."

Zhu Jinchao frowned: "Targeting us... Are both groups targeting us?"

Shi Jing blinked: "It should be. I just asked Ning Shi and found out that their group's score is two points lower than ours. Although we are ranked second, we are currently in first place in total score. Fang Lei's group must really want to pull us down."

"Because only when we step down can they secure their first place."

“Ah…” Zhu Jinzhao raised an eyebrow. “I understand.”

Shi Jing: "We need to think of a way to deal with this."

Zhu Jinchao smiled, a slight curve to her lips, and said, "I'm thinking about it."

"Jinzhao, you're smart, so I'll leave this idea to you. I'll be your little brother and just follow your instructions." Having witnessed firsthand how Zhu Jinzhao's astonishingly bad ideas succeeded, Shi Jing now had complete faith in Zhu Jinzhao's intelligence. She felt completely at ease entrusting the solution to her.

However, Zhu Jinchao was somewhat flattered by such trust.

"Me? I'm smart? Do you really think I'm smart?" Zhu Jinzhao looked at Shi Jing with some surprise and trepidation.

Shi Jing said confidently, "Of course! You're smart, you listen to advice, and you know how to come up with solutions, so you must have a good mind."

“…Thank you.” Shi Jing’s praise was sincere, not at all like he was just flattering her. Zhu Jinzhao felt shy but also genuinely touched.

"Everyone else thinks I'm stupid, but you're the first person to think I'm smart. Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for? It's a fact that you're smart, it's not like I'm exaggerating or bragging." Shi Jing smiled calmly on the surface, but in his heart he was already overjoyed by Zhu Jinzhao's "first place".

He bent over and dug into the hole with all his might, not even realizing how deep he had dug.

"I've always had a good eye; I'm excellent at spotting talent. And when I say you're smart, I mean you're the smartest..."

"Stop digging," Master Yang said, unable to bear it any longer. He threw a clod of mud at us from a distance. "Your hole is too deep. If you dig any deeper, you'll dig the whole garden through."

“…Huh?” Shi Jing was stunned for a moment, then quickly stopped.

"oh……"

[Hahaha, what's wrong with Young Master Shi? Why does he seem so arrogant after I thanked him today?]

Does he think he's putting on a good show of calm?

[Maybe so, but being as astute as we are, we still noticed the signs that he was faking it.]

[Because he was so focused on pretending to be calm that he forgot to suppress the corners of his mouth; they're practically pointing to the sky!]

[Hey, who would have thought that Young Master Shi is such an innocent person? No way, I have to record this right away as evidence, and when he gets back I'll throw him a party to make fun of him.]

"Shi Jing, my idea is taking shape. Come closer so the three of us can discuss it." Zhu Jinzhao's terrible idea took shape as soon as she thought of it. In the time it took Shi Jing to move a tree, she had already figured it out.