The Fake Daughter Want to Be Villainess - Chapter 19

Initially, Jiang Shu thought they would walk for a while before reaching the foot of the mountain. Unexpectedly, the Assistant Director led them out of the villa and casually pointed, “See that?”

He introduced, “The path upwards leads to the highest mountain around here, known locally as Longqi Mountain.”

Though Longqi Mountain is called the highest, it’s actually just a small mountain barely 500 meters high near the coast, with the villa built at its base.

Qiao Xian sighed in relief, “This mountain doesn’t look too tall.”

The Assistant Director gave a mysterious smile, “The Director personally chose this mountain.” He glanced at Qiao Xian, “You’ll know once you’ve climbed it.”

Jiang Shu glanced anxiously at the Assistant Director.

The Assistant Director maintained a calm expression, “Don’t look at me like that, I’m just the executor of the Director’s orders.”

He raised a loudspeaker and began announcing the climbing rules: “Each group acts together, and the Program Team will not interfere with your climbing. The first group to reach the mountain top will earn three points, the second will earn two, and so on.”

The Assistant Director gestured, “Does anyone have any questions? If not, our climbing competition—”

Jiang Shu raised her hand, “I have one.”

Having been cautious from past experiences with the Program Team, she thought through every detail, “We’re not staying overnight tonight, so what are the points for?”

Jiang Shu cautiously asked, “Are they to exchange for our lunch?”

The Assistant Director smiled warmly, “The purpose of the points needs to remain confidential.” He shook his head and added, “But I can reveal some insignificant information, such as—”

“Lunch doesn’t require point redemption.”

Jiang Shu frowned.

This news seemed worse. The Director is someone thrifty enough to fuss over meals, so a sudden display of generosity suggests there’s a more significant challenge ahead.

The guests had clearly reached this conclusion, exchanging varied looks, until Ren Lishu began with a smile, “Since the points are distributed based on the order of reaching the summit, how about we all just take it easy?”

She suggested, “Why don’t we all climb up slowly?”

Lin Hui and Wang Siyuan remained silent.

Ren Lishu and Qiao Xian, being older, didn’t match them in stamina and endurance and were likely to be at the lower end.

They didn’t want to climb with Ren Lishu but felt it inappropriate to directly disagree due to their lesser status.

The situation grew quiet until Pei Wang interrupted, “Sounds like a good idea.”

He neither rejected nor agreed, only inquired, “But how should the points be allocated in the end?”

Ren Lishu didn’t follow up; she looked at Pei Wang and then laughed, “Ah, I overlooked that.”

She retracted her suggestion, “Let’s each climb on our own, then.”

Lin Hui and Wang Siyuan breathed a sigh of relief. The Assistant Director picked up the megaphone again and enthusiastically urged, “Since there are no further objections, let’s start moving!”

The mountain had no steps, but there was a winding dirt path leading up.

Jiang Shu dashed to the front. After walking for a while and seeing no one following, she turned and called to Pei Wang, “Why are you dragging your feet—”

She blinked and stopped in her tracks.

Pei Wang was a step behind her, maintaining a steady distance, and behind him were the sweating Camera Brother and Director. However, Lin Hui, Ren Lishu, and their groups were nowhere to be seen.

Jiang Shu’s eyes widened, “Where did they go?”

She had been leading all along but hadn’t seen anyone overtake her!

Jiang Shu looked around once more, then fixed her gaze on the rocks beside her and realized, “Did they take a shortcut and climb directly?”

It was quite obvious, so she frowned and looked discontentedly at Pei Wang, accusing, “Why didn’t you call me when you saw?”

Jiang Shu was greatly flustered, “Are we going to end up last now?”

The young girl unconsciously tugged at his sleeve.

Pei Wang gently removed her hand and explained, “You seemed so happy running, I didn’t want to call you.”

When she charged ahead, she was so excited, like a cat that smelled canned food, with an impulsive spirit. Since there wasn’t a rush to climb the mountain, he hadn’t spoken up.

Jiang Shu: “?”

Happy running up? She was aiming to be the first at the summit!Jiang Shu angrily turned her head, ignoring Pei Wang. She moved close to the mountain side, grabbing a protruding rock, attempting to climb a couple of steps, then retreated, hesitating, “Can we really climb like this? Is it safe?”

“This is the sunlit side of the mountain,” Pei Wang approached as well. “It’s not that steep, just be careful while climbing.”

He paused and tilted his head, asking, “Or do you want to take the mountain path?”

Taking the mountain path would obviously mean finishing last. Jiang Shu quickly shook her head, found a spot she deemed easiest to climb, and began scrambling up using both her hands and feet.

This mountain was indeed fairly climbable, with many exposed rocks and abundant vegetation, offering ample spots to grip.

Despite this, Jiang Shu felt exhausted midway up.

Her thighs, calves, ankles, and even the soles of her feet were protesting.

She had never climbed a mountain this way before.

She had climbed mountains before, but they all had well-developed tourist paths. The physical exertion here was entirely different.

Jiang Shu leaned against a tree, stopped to catch her breath, and then turned to Pei Wang, making a time-out gesture. “I need a break.”

She looked around but couldn’t find a clean spot to sit, raised her head, widened her eyes, and fiercely questioned Pei Wang, “Why didn’t you bring a jacket today?”

Pei Wang sighed and dutifully replied, “That was my oversight.”

After a moment’s thought, he took out the sun hat, removed the decorative scarf, and said, “How about we lay this on the ground?”

Jiang Shu glared at him, “Then what do I wear afterward?”

She actually had many hats; this one wasn’t anything special. But she just felt like making a fuss—

What’s wrong with a ‘vicious supporting female character’ acting a little out of line?

The young girl’s eyes were wide open, like a cat startled by a cucumber suddenly appearing behind it, her fur bristling as she lashed out at her owner, meowing at any excuse.

Pei Wang crouched, offering her the scarf. “I’ll buy you a new one when we get back, okay?”

“Why should I need you to buy me anything?” Jiang Shu turned her head to the side. “Can’t I buy it myself?”

“Okay.” Pei Wang gave a somewhat helpless smile, “You buy it yourself.”

He waved the scarf. “Do you want to sit now?”

Jiang Shu snatched the scarf, intending to spread it on the ground, but as soon as she placed it down, she froze. “We’re already behind the other groups.”

She squatted, the scarf’s edge wrapped around her finger, one end touching the ground, dragging along as she moved her hand. “If we rest more, will we fall to the bottom?”

Jiang Shu stared at the scarf wrapped around her fingertip, then jerked her head, tossing the end of the scarf. “Help me up.”

Pei Wang chuckled, grabbed the scarf end with a loose grip, gave a gentle tug, and Jiang Shu rose from the ground by herself.

While energetically searching for a path upward, she tugged at the scarf. “Water.”

Pei Wang handed over the bottle of mineral water.

Jiang Shu instinctively accepted it, glanced down, then pushed it back, confidently stating, “Do you need me to teach you how to open a bottle cap?”

Pei Wang released the scarf, took the bottle, unscrewed the cap halfway, then stepped forward, gently nudging Jiang Shu’s hand with the bottle. “Done.”

Jiang Shu paused for a moment before she understood.

She took the mineral water, glanced at Pei Wang, then stopped to drink two sips, screwed the cap tight, and handed the bottle back to Pei Wang.

Strange, why hasn’t Pei Wang retaliated yet? She had given him every opportunity.

As Jiang Shu slowly continued uphill, she pondered over this matter.

Was her performance not good enough? Or was he holding back out of consideration for Father Jiang and Mother Jiang, always yielding to her?

Jiang Shu didn’t figure it out. She turned around, attempting a more brazen approach. “I don’t want to keep climbing.”

She leaned against a tree nearby. “Carry me up.”

As expected, she saw the astonished look in Pei Wang’s eyes.His surprise was almost undeniable. Jiang Shu thought to herself whether he would scold her next.

Pei Wang did speak, “Really?”

He walked up to Jiang Shu, slightly lowered his head, and softly said, “From here, you can already see the flag at the meeting point. We’re at most two minutes away.”

He asked again for confirmation, “Do you really want me to carry you?”

Jiang Shu paused for a moment, then quickly looked up towards the mountain.

At the mountain peak, a large red flag was fluttering in the wind, and she could even vaguely see the program team moving around up there.

Jiang Shu: “…”

Annoyed, Jiang Shu turned her head away, “I don’t want that.”

With a blank face, she started walking uphill. After just two steps, she heard a “ding” in her mind. Pei Wang’s Face-Slapping System suddenly chimed in, “Successfully slapped the face of Vicious Supporting Female Character Jiang Shu, earning ten points.”

Irritated, Jiang Shu quickened her pace.

This Face-Slapping System, she thought calmly, rings whenever she feels awkward. It’s hopeless.

Fueled by sheer willpower, Jiang Shu climbed to the top of the mountain.

A staff member saw her, “Teacher Jiang?”

He called out, prompting the remaining staff to gather around, “You got here so fast?” They looked behind her, “Where’s Mr. Pei? Both have to arrive together for it to count—”

Pei Wang emerged from behind her.

The staff exclaimed, “Wow!” Then one of them realized, “Procedure, procedure! Confetti, confetti!”

In a hurry, they went to a table, grabbed two confetti tubes, then turned around and pulled the strings. Colorful streamers burst out, cascading over Jiang Shu and Pei Wang.

The Director suddenly peeked out from behind the staff, dramatically holding his face with both hands, “Surprised? Do you like this surprise?”

Jiang Shu shook her clothes to let the streamers fall, “Very surprised.”

“You did well,” she said seriously to the Director, “But don’t do it again next time.”

“You just don’t appreciate art,” the Director lamented, “You’re missing out on artistry.”

Jiang Shu turned away.

She spotted some chairs nearby, walked over to sit down, bent to rub her legs, and suddenly remembered something, “Director.”

She surveyed her surroundings, feeling a bit worried, “You’re here, so where are Qu Mei and Yu Zhen? Didn’t they come?”

The Director glanced at Jiang Shu, “They did.”

“I see they’re full of energy.” He smiled reassuringly, “I left them at the villa entrance.”

Jiang Shu tilted her head, “Full of energy?”

Since the other guests hadn’t arrived yet, the Director was in the mood for small talk, “Want to guess why they didn’t show up for the morning gathering?”

Jiang Shu tried to guess, “Overslept?”

She denied her own answer, “No, that’s not it.”

If they’d overslept, the Director would have woken them up, and they’d join the morning filming with everyone else.

Jiang Shu pondered the Director’s words again, then widened her eyes, “Did they go out this morning?”

The Director held up a finger, waving it slowly, “They left in the middle of the night.”

He was amazed, “There are two sleeping bags in the tent, but Qu Mei was unwilling to share the same tent with Yu Zhen. At midnight—”

This was something he only found out after checking the cameras, “At midnight, Qu Mei left the villa to stay overnight in the fishing village.”

Jiang Shu blinked.

The Director wearily waved a hand, “The noise of Qu Mei leaving woke Yu Zhen, so she left the villa too. Qu Mei spotted her near the fishing village, and they split up to stay there.”

He fumbled in his pocket, took out a cigarette, and bit it, glancing at Jiang Shu’s slightly leaning posture, “Don’t worry, I’m just biting it, not lighting it.”

The Director continued, “We ran into them on the way to the fishing village. They were coming one after the other, probably trying to get back for the recording, not expecting we’d start so early.”

Jiang Shu rested her chin in her hand, “Wow.”

She massaged her sore calves and continued to ask, “Will you penalize them?”

“Penalize?” The Director chuckled, “They breached their contracts. I’ll discuss compensation with them in a few days.”

“As for within the program—” he dragged out his words slowly, “starting the mountain climb later than everyone else is already a heavy punishment.”

Jiang Shu furrowed her brow, “?”

She sharply sensed something was off and asked, “Director, is there something special about the points today?”

The Director regained his composure and tossed the unlit cigarette into a nearby trash bag, then tilted his head, raised an eyebrow proudly, “Take a guess.”

Jiang Shu silently shot him a look.

The Director laughed loudly, stood from his chair, paced in circles, then held up a finger, waving it back and forth, “I’ll give you a privilege.”

“The points are linked to the afternoon activity,” he said leisurely, “The activity is on this mountain; you can look around nearby.”

Jiang Shu suspiciously furrowed her brows.

This mountaintop was quite large, and Jiang Shu wasn’t keen on moving around. She turned her head to look at Pei Wang.

“Brother—”

She drew out the word.

Pei Wang glanced at her, then gently lowered his eyelids, silently stood up, and headed in a different direction.Jiang Shu leaned back in her chair, watching as Pei Wang circled the mountaintop extensively before returning to her side. “There’s some special equipment on the east side.”

Knowing that Jiang Shu might not discern things clearly, Pei Wang pointed in a direction for her and softly said, “Over there.”

Although this mountain wasn’t very high, it was already shrouded in mist. Jiang Shu couldn’t clearly see the equipment, only a few staff members standing nearby.

What kind of equipment would be set up on a mountain?

A cable car? A slide? A glass walkway?

These are common installations, so Pei Wang probably wouldn’t have avoided naming them and calling them “special.”

Jiang Shu suddenly sat up, cautiously looking at the Director, and asked carefully, “Director, it’s not bungee jumping, is it?”

The Director lifted his chin and gave her a brief glance from above.

Jiang Shu’s sense of foreboding intensified. Instinctively, she moved a little closer to Pei Wang, her shoulder nearly touching his. She then lowered her voice, “Director, judging by your attitude—”

She pressed her lips tightly together, trying to hide her paling lip color. Jiang Shu whispered, “It wouldn’t be tandem bungee jumping, would it?”

Note from the Author:

This is the result of my hard work for a whole day! qwq