Showbiz Scandal: The Official Announcement of My Ex and Myself-Chapter 335: Street Bully

The pursuers quickly caught up, and when they passed through the courtyard, they did not stop, continuing down the next alley.

The courtyard didn’t seem to have enough room for two adults to hide, so there was really no need to stop and search.

They managed to avoid the pursuers for now.

But it wasn’t time to relax yet; to avoid the pursuers running back, they had to stay quietly in the tree for a while longer.

Xie Qingci stood steadily with both hands on two branches, watching the pursuers leave, and looked up to ask if Yu Xia was afraid of climbing so high.

When he turned around, he found her already lying on the trunk, starting to count money.

"..." He stayed silent for a moment, then asked softly, "Sis, are you okay?"

Yu Xia didn’t look up: "I’m fine, you keep an eye out below, I’ll count the money."

He swallowed his concern, staying obediently on guard.

Yu Xia was quite excited at this moment, holding more than a hundred in cash, they were almost breaking even.

The task they had drawn required spending a hundred and twenty yuan, which had already been completed during their procurement. Soon, they would sell the remaining items for a tidy profit, even if they had to book a room, they’d still have leftovers.

No wonder she was from the Yu Family, they knew how to make money. She mentally gave herself a thumbs-up.

After counting the money, she looked down, and asked Xie Qingci in a low voice, "Will they come back?"

Xie Qingci: "Let’s wait a few more minutes and see; can you hold on?"

"Yes, don’t worry about me."

As long as she didn’t mind the idol burden, lying on the trunk could be stable, though looking down from this height was a bit unnerving, her palms were sweaty.

After a few quiet minutes, Yu Xia adjusted her position due to chest pressure, rustling the plastic bag which made some noise.

Xie Qingci went "shh" again: "Someone’s coming."

She immediately stayed still, peering out through the gaps in the leaves.

It wasn’t the pursuers, it was Song Xi and Lan Hui, sticking to the wall like thieves, presumably also scared by the pursuers, nervously looking around as they talked.

Lan Hui: "Is this really the right path? Will they come back?"

Song Xi: "Probably not."

Lan Hui: "Do you think the pursuers caught up with Yu Xia and Xie Qingci?"

Song Xi remained polite, not saying more than needed: "Probably not yet."

Lan Hui: "I watched the first two episodes, their team is strong, especially Xie Qingci, he’s got great stamina, probably can’t be caught. Hey, Song Xi, you’re teammates with Xie Qingci, you should know him better, right? How do you think we can overcome their advantage this episode to get first place?"

Song Xi pressed his lips flat, analyzing: "There are mainly two sources of points, completing tasks and making money. In the first episode, I saw the money Yu Xia made converted to points at a rate of 10:1. So, to get more points, we should pick the highest-scoring tasks, then earn a lot of money."

Lan Hui: "Both are really hard; the Fast Forward task scores highest, but we weren’t the first group to arrive, so we can’t choose it, and making money... the task now is to spend money, we have no money at all, even if we made it, we’d have to spend it on the task."

They lamented a bit before developing a "if I can’t be first, then no one else should be" mindset.

Song Xi: "There’s still a chance to catch up. If we get to the next station quickly and are first to pick the Fast Forward task, but Yu Xia’s group might complete theirs and get there faster unless they get caught on the way."

Lan Hui: "We could also pick the card-drawing task, don’t put too much pressure on yourself, I feel that the Fast Forward task is definitely extra difficult. Catching up with them is hard, now we have to see... if they’ll get caught."

They exchanged glances, then started discussing the small speaker issue, intending to use it to lure the pursuers to catch people.

The more Yu Xia heard, the angrier she got.

Oh my, they’re starting to turn on each other.

She signaled Xie Qingci to go down, then deliberately crumpled the instant noodle wrapper and the plastic bag with the carvings, making very noticeable noise.

Song Xi and Lan Hui stopped immediately, alert and looking towards the source of the sound.

Then they saw Xie Qingci jumping down from the tree.

He didn’t pay them much attention, steadied himself after landing, then looked up and held out his hand to catch the person in the tree,

Yu Xia tossed down their stuff to him, climbing down and successfully landing with the help of his arm.

Then she stared at Song Xi and Lan Hui, asking with a half-smile, "What a coincidence, we meet again. Plotting some nasty ideas?"

Lan Hui was a bit embarrassed, having secretly planned against someone only to be overheard completely, especially with Yu Xia giving off a "to think I took you as adorable" vibe, making her feel quite sorry.

"Uh, you were hiding here?"

Yu Xia chuckled, calling for Xie Qingci to come over, cornering them at the entrance of the alley, trapping them against the wall.

Song Xi and Lan Hui leaned back, looking at her imposing stance like feeble scholars encountering a street bully.

Xie Qingci stood behind her carrying instant noodles and a plastic bag, with a swan cushion on his back, and a box of wet wipes under his left arm, the pure epitome of a poor working guy.

He said nothing, simply letting Yu Xia act as she pleased.

"What an unfortunate coincidence, I heard everything you planned." Yu Xia lightly patted Lan Hui’s cheek, fully embodying the bully image.

"Now I feel very angry, I must do something to let you off. Otherwise, I’ll shove you into the pursuers’ pile."

Lan Hui trembled slightly, while Song Xi standing against the wall could only laugh internally.

Her deliberately fierce demeanor was really... too cute.

As soon as a small smile appeared on his lips, he met Xie Qingci’s dark gaze, carrying a calm yet mocking undertone.

Song Xi immediately withdrew his gaze, that shame and confusion welled up again.

That feeling he hates, like the cold oil left in leftover dishes, greasy and disgustingly cloying, sticking in his throat, couldn’t swallow it down.

Yu Xia was unaware of his emotional change and sharply criticized them, finally proposing a condition to let them go.

"Five bucks each, and I graciously forgive you."

Then she reached out to them.

Lan Hui was dumbfounded.

"Can you really, do this kind of daylight robbery?"

"What’s with all this robbery talk? It sounds so ugly. I’m just turning big things into small, spending money to avoid disaster, haven’t you heard? You’re just unlucky to run into us. Come on, pay up, or I’ll drag you to the pursuers. I mean it, don’t gamble on the ’I’m very kind’ mentality."

Lan Hui looked at Song Xi, asking with her eyes how to deal with the situation. Song Xi thought for a moment and made to reach for his pocket.

But Xie Qingci suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his hand, saying to Yu Xia: "He’s trying to run."

Yu Xia pretended to be angry: "Outrageous! Get the long red rope out!"

Xie Qingci did as told.

Two minutes later, Song Xi and Lan Hui were tied up, looking at her in disbelief.