Is This The Right Way To Repay A Favor? Chapter 18

Game

The rules of the “I Have, You Haven’t” game are simple.

The guests extend both hands, spreading all five fingers on each hand. Then, starting with one guest, they take turns stating something they have done. If the other people present have not done the same thing, they must put down one finger. If someone present has done it, the speaker must put down as many fingers as there are people who have done it. The first person to put down all their fingers is eliminated and must accept a penalty.

Before the game begins, all guests take an Oath of Truth, swearing that anyone who lies during the game will cause the person they love to miss their beloved forever, lose all their wealth, and suffer a troubled home life.

Jiang Zhou had never played games before.

When he was little, he was thin, short, quiet, and never participated in group activities, so his classmates automatically distanced themselves from him. In the fifth grade, he even suffered a long period of bullying.

Later, a teacher accidentally caught his classmates forcing him to use his clothes to wipe the toilet. Only after the teacher rescued him did the bullying stop.

After entering middle school, his grades consistently ranked first, making him a key protected student at the school, and no classmate dared to bully him again. However, he became even more isolated, with his life revolving solely around studying, earning him the nickname “High-Scoring Failure.”

After that, he skipped grades and went to university, where he made the first and only good friend of his life—Yuan Chong.

Yuan Chong loved to have fun and opened his first bar near the school during his sophomore year. All sorts of games were played in his bar.

Jiang Zhou sometimes went to his bar for a drink and watched them play, but he never participated.

Jiang Zhou had watched Shen Zhiyu play games on the variety shows he participated in.

Shen Zhiyu was very good at games, and his variety show presence was excellent. Even when he occasionally spoke recklessly or said something offensive, it was never annoying; instead, he often made people laugh.

This was Jiang Zhou’s first time playing a game.

Jiang Zhou followed them in reciting the Oath of Truth, raising his hands with a slight sense of awkwardness.

Cai Zhiyang was on the far left, and he suggested starting with him.

As the first person to start, Cai Zhiyang mainly wanted to liven up the atmosphere, so his first statement wasn’t too aggressive.

“I can do ten consecutive backflips.”

Besides him, three of the people present were dance majors.

The guests scoffed, mocking him for wasting fingers.

Cai Zhiyang feigned struggle, “Empty words don’t count; you only know if you can do it once you’re on the floor.”

After speaking, he was the first to step up, performing ten difficult and precarious consecutive backflips.

The guests who hadn’t put down a finger also stepped up one after another.

Shen Zhiyu didn’t hesitate either. He took off his jacket and was the last to step up.

He bent his knees and pushed off the ground, his body exploding vertically like an arrow released from a bow. His straightened toes sliced through the air, completing the first precise and clean backflip.

Then, landing and immediately springing up, two, three, four… eleven backflips were completed in one smooth motion. Finally, he landed steadily with a “thud,” his posture as straight as a pine tree, radiating undisguised confidence and flamboyance.

“Buy ten, get one free,” Shen Zhiyu said with a smile, exiting the stage gracefully.

The atmosphere instantly became lively.

After entering university, Jiang Zhou earned some money by writing software and started following Shen Zhiyu as a fan.

Whatever Shen Zhiyu learned, he followed suit. But the difference in their talents was like heaven and earth. After several years of practice, Jiang Zhou was still mediocre.

At that time, Jiang Zhou sadly recognized a fact: apart from studying, he really seemed useless.

The nickname “High-Scoring Failure” given by his classmates was practically tailor-made for him.

But Shen Zhiyu was different. He seemed born to stand in the light, naturally dazzling, naturally confident and flamboyant. He could perfectly master every skill and calmly accept all praise.

Jiang Zhou once again clearly and deeply felt the gap between them.

A heavy sourness, like cold vines, instantly wrapped around him, nearly suffocating Jiang Zhou. He silently put down one finger.

Although Cai Zhiyang’s opening cost him a finger, the atmosphere was completely opened up, and the topics everyone discussed afterward became increasingly lethal.

Such as…

“I have eaten my own boogers.”

“I was once as heavy as 180 pounds.”

“I can sing with my nose.”

After Jiang Zhou lost four fingers in a row, it was his turn.

Jiang Zhou’s heart felt heavy and anxious. He didn’t want to continue the game; he just wanted it to end quickly.

He had lost the most fingers among everyone present, so making himself lose was the fastest way.

“I am over 180 centimeters tall.” Jiang Zhou threw out an objective statement of fact.

Based on Jiang Zhou’s estimation, everyone present, except Director Weng, should be over 180 centimeters. That meant four people.

He could lose four fingers at once.

However, to Jiang Zhou’s surprise, only Shen Zhiyu did not put down a finger; the other guests looked at each other and silently put down one finger.

Shen Zhiyu smiled and added a blow, “CEO Jiang, critical hit.”

Jiang Zhou: …….

Jiang Zhou truly hadn’t expected the height discrepancies among male celebrities in the entertainment industry to be so significant, nor how common height-increasing insoles were.

The invited guests were good sports, and they started teasing each other back and forth.

“As expected of CEO Jiang, that one line just took out four of us!”

“How are we supposed to survive in the entertainment industry now!”

“My 180 cm persona is ruined, can CEO Jiang take responsibility for me!”

Amidst the back-and-forth banter of the veteran variety show participants, Jiang Zhou displayed a look of awkwardness and helplessness in public for the first time.

The tight vines seemed to loosen their grip at this moment, allowing a slight space to breathe.

Jiang Zhou’s statement caused everyone present, except for him and Shen Zhiyu, to lose one finger.

After two more questions, Jiang Zhou and the other guests returned to the same starting line, all having five fingers remaining.

It was Shen Zhiyu’s turn.

Everyone thought Shen Zhiyu would mention something related to a group, which would directly cost everyone present a finger.

Jiang Zhou made the same guess as the others.

Everyone prepared to lose fingers.

However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, Shen Zhiyu did not mention a group, nor did he show off any skill or talent. Instead, he said:

“I ate crispy cartilage stir-fried with tea leaves for lunch.”

The guests present had flown in from various places, and half of them had eaten a quick meal on the plane for lunch. Moreover, artists often eat very little oil and mostly boiled vegetables while working to maintain their physique, let alone crispy cartilage.

The most lavish meal was the special Yongnan Village dinner arranged by the production team for that evening.

There was indeed a specialty dish among them: crispy cartilage stir-fried with tea leaves.

But Shen Zhiyu specifically said he ate it at noon.

That slight difference in time allowed Shen Zhiyu to instantly eliminate the other guests.

Only Jiang Zhou still had his hand raised.

At noon, Shen Zhiyu had lunch at his house, and the crispy cartilage stir-fried with tea leaves was his father Jiang Hua’s signature dish.

Cai Zhiyang was the first to notice that Jiang Zhou hadn’t put his hand down.

“CEO Jiang, you also ate crispy cartilage stir-fried with tea leaves for lunch?”

Jiang Zhou nodded and stated directly, “I am from Yongnan Village. This dish is a specialty of our village.”

Jiang Zhou deliberately steered the topic toward his identity as a Yongnan Village native, trying to prevent the audience from connecting the possibility that they might have eaten together at noon when watching the show.

Sure enough, when the guests heard that Jiang Zhou was from Yongnan Village, they followed up with several questions, which Jiang Zhou answered one by one.

The guests realized that Jiang Zhou was not as unapproachable as they had imagined.

Indeed, he was trying every possible way to prevent people from linking them together.

Shen Zhiyu glanced at Jiang Zhou.

Jiang Zhou sat very politely, even somewhat stiffly, looking exactly like the good student he must have been since childhood.

The way he spoke to the guests was much more relaxed than when he started, his expression more lively, and his slightly rounded deer eyes were bright.

Shen Zhiyu recalled the redness and moisture around the corners of those deer eyes in the theater last night.

His hand felt a little itchy again.

Shen Zhiyu withdrew his gaze and casually picked up a drink from the table to sip.

After Shen Zhiyu’s turn, the game continued with Cai Zhiyang.

After one round of play, everyone was much more familiar with each other, and the topics discussed became increasingly private.

“I had a crush on someone for three years during university.”

Jiang Zhou didn’t put down a finger, nor did Yu Liang, Hua Qian, or Zhang Qian.

Cai Zhiyang had only four fingers left, and they were all gone.

He was unwilling to accept defeat, “We all took the Oath of Truth, no lying allowed.”

Yu Liang said he fell in love at first sight with a senior in the English department during university and had a crush on her until graduation.

Hua Qian said she had a crush on her high school deskmate for three years and continued to crush on him after they both got into the same university.

Zhang Qian said he had a crush on his university counselor for three years and even told a joke about it in a stand-up comedy competition.

After they finished speaking, everyone looked at Jiang Zhou. They all wore expressions of disbelief, wondering how someone with his looks and background could have a crush.

Cai Zhiyang, especially, was making one last struggle.

“CEO Jiang, you can’t lie. I don’t believe there’s anyone you could have a crush on!”

Based on the Oath of Truth taken before the game, Jiang Zhou dared not lie, but he also didn’t want to reveal any traces related to Shen Zhiyu. He decided to focus on the time frame of university.

“He was much more outstanding than me. He gave my university life new light and goals.”

After entering university, Jiang Zhou finally had the means and opportunity to follow Shen Zhiyu as a fan.

During his time as a fan, he learned about the unfair treatment Shen Zhiyu suffered while working in South Korea and the ruthless exploitation of artists by corporate capital.

At that moment, his life gained a new direction and goal.

He wanted to pave a flower path for Shen Zhiyu, offer him all the resources, and build him a platform where he could do whatever he pleased.

Just like the way he was back then.

Shen Zhiyu’s appearance in his world was never just icing on the cake; it was salvation and hope.

Jiang Zhou spoke with such sincerity that it was impossible not to believe him.

Cai Zhiyang lost, and he prepared to accept the penalty of drinking the dark beverage concocted by the guests.

Before he could grab it, a long arm reached out, picked up the dark beverage, and drank it.

Cai Zhiyang was overwhelmingly moved, “Brother Yu, you are truly loyal!”

“From now on, you are my only brother!”

“I’m tired,” Shen Zhiyu said, putting down the empty cup and leaving the scene.

Everyone had traveled from various places today, and after playing a round of the game, they were also tired.

After Shen Zhiyu left, the other guests also departed one after another.