"Someone's coming! It's someone from another group. Quickly get back to our Group A's activity area!" Li Yinsheng kept glancing at the path leading to the mangrove forest. Suddenly, she spotted someone and quickly called out to Zhang Yixing and Zhao Liying.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yixing and Zhao Liying panicked, feeling a bit guilty, since they had just been stealing large blue crabs from another group's activity area, which was tantamount to raiding their home.
Li Yinsheng, Zhao Liying, and Zhang Yixing hurriedly ran back to their Group A's activity area, pretending to search for the blue crab, while their eyes kept glancing towards the other side of the dividing line, trying to see who the newcomer was and which group they were from.
"I knew I heard human voices. It turns out that your Group A was the first to find the mangroves."
"Good heavens, you guys even crossed the line and stole food from our Group B's territory." Xu Zheng arrived at the mangrove forest and was initially happy to see Zhang Yixing and the others. However, after seeing the fresh footprints on their side of the mangrove forest near the boundary line, he immediately realized that Group A had raided their base.
Then, he stared at the shoulder bags that the three of them were carrying.
Zhang Yixing scratched his head awkwardly, chuckled dryly, and tried to ease the sudden awkwardness. He even hid his shoulder bag to avoid Xu Zheng's gaze.
........
The two groups finally met in the mangrove forest. The viewers in the live stream held their breath, and the barrage of comments flooded in, with everyone speculating.
"Haha, they got caught red-handed. I wonder if Xu Zheng will let the three from Group A off the hook."
"Upstairs, you're overthinking it. Knowing Xu Zheng's personality, he'll definitely teach Team Leader A a lesson."
"If the two groups were to fight, it seems like they would be evenly matched. Hahaha!"
"Judging from Xu Zheng's attitude, it feels like he's serious."
"Group A is probably going to suffer a setback this time. Xu Zheng is known for not acting until he sees the benefits."
"But then again, this kind of competition is what makes it exciting. I look forward to what's to come!"
........
"Cough cough!" At this moment, Li Yinsheng coughed a few times, immediately attracting everyone's attention.
"You're the chubby girl from Group A? I've heard so much about you, it's an honor to meet you." Xu Zheng looked at Li Yinsheng, a playful smile playing on his lips, his eyes sparkling with interest.
He had heard from Xiao Huang that there was a witty, brave, capable, and incredibly lucky tomboy in Group A. Seeing her today, he could confirm that she lived up to her reputation. Even in this slightly awkward situation, she was able to remain calm and composed.
Li Yinsheng smiled slightly, her eyes clear and firm. She gently patted Zhang Yixing's shoulder, signaling him to relax.
"Teacher Xu, Teacher Wang, I have long admired your names, and meeting you today, I can confirm your exceptional talent. However, the matter of crossing the boundary was truly a misunderstanding."
"Do you two teachers know that our Group A exchanged for a lot of daily necessities during the last unexpected event?" Li Yinsheng asked, her eyes darting around.
“We’ve heard Xiao Huang mention these things, but what does it have to do with you trespassing into our Group B’s activity area to catch crabs and look for food?” Xu Zheng said with an expression that said, “We won’t let this go until you explain what happened today.”
"When we found the mangrove forest, we saw the staff moving this boundary line. Originally, this mangrove forest belonged to our Group A, but the production team saw that our Group A had obtained too much food. If they found another place like the mangrove forest where they could obtain a lot of food, the other groups would probably be left with nothing."
The production team probably wanted to limit the amount of food our Group A could get, firstly to balance the groups, and secondly because they probably thought Group B wasn't getting enough to eat every day, so they wanted to give Group B a boost of food.
The production team temporarily adjusted the boundaries, wanting to assign the mangrove forest to Group B. The three of us naturally objected and were unwilling to give up the large blue crabs in the mangrove forest. I argued my case, and that's how the production team finally managed to divide the mangrove forest in two.
Yixing and Yingbao couldn't stand it, so when the production team was redividing the mangrove forest, they started sweeping through it, which led to this whole incident.
"Of course, if you don't believe me, Ms. Xu, you can ask the director." Li Yinsheng spoke clearly and sincerely, recounting the whole story in detail. Her tone was free of any evasion or sophistry. After spreading her hands in front of her, a helpless expression appeared on her face.
Li Yinsheng is gambling. If the production team wants to keep the show entertaining, they definitely won't expose Li Yinsheng's lie. After all, the production team's goal is to let the audience see what they want to see, whether it's conflict, reconciliation, or unexpected discovery, as long as it becomes a highlight or a climax in the show.
Li Yinsheng's words not only cleverly provided a reasonable explanation for her actions, but also subtly reminded Xu Zheng that the production team was manipulating things behind the scenes, which undoubtedly made Xu Zheng think twice.
Let Xu Zheng form a preconceived notion; a complete novice like him wouldn't be trying to fool him with such a grand gesture!
"Is it really as you say? So, our Group B actually took advantage of you?" Xu Zheng stared at Li Yinsheng for a few moments, seeing her sincere expression, yet also her occasional look of resentment. He figured that a complete novice like her wouldn't come up with such a complicated reason, much less lie in front of so many viewers watching the live stream. Xu Zheng's doubts gradually dissipated.
"It seems our Group B really benefited this time. But speaking of which, your Group A is indeed amazing, finding so much food." Xu Zheng looked directly into Li Yinsheng's eyes, and seeing her clear gaze without flinching, he was completely convinced and somewhat impressed.
Upon hearing this, Li Yinsheng's lips curled into a bitter smile. She shrugged, her tone tinged with self-deprecation: "I wouldn't call it being great, it's just that we were a bit lucky, plus everyone in our team worked together quite well."
Then, Li Yinsheng made another suggestion to Xu Zheng: "Now that things have been clarified, I hope this will allow everyone to coexist more harmoniously. Let's make a pact: our two groups will use this boundary line as the dividing line, and neither group will go into the other's territory. We will each develop independently and not interfere with each other. How about that?"
"A giant blue crab! It's so big!" At this moment, Wang Baoqiang exclaimed happily as he held a blue crab weighing over two pounds.
"Let's do it this way!" Xu Zheng also noticed that the blue crabs in the mangrove forest were quite large. He didn't bother to talk to Li Yinsheng and the others, so he nodded and said without any objection.
Zhao Liying and Zhang Yixing were stunned when they heard Li Yinsheng's words to Xu Zheng. If they hadn't followed Li Yinsheng to the mangrove forest and learned what was going on, they would have thought that the mangrove forest was indeed their Group A's activity area.
Zhao Liying and Zhang Yixing exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads, their shoulders shaking as they tried to suppress their laughter.
If they weren't afraid of being exposed, the two of them would have been laughing so hard they were doubled over. Zhao Liying secretly glanced at the chubby girl, only to see her continuing to fabricate "lies" to Xu Zheng with a straight face. Her calm and composed demeanor was simply astonishing.
He was an actor, but looking at the chubby girl, she seemed to be a better actress than him.
Zhang Yixing nudged Zhao Liying lightly with his shoulder, and the two exchanged another knowing glance, their eyes filled with admiration for Li Yinsheng's wit and courage.
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