CHAPTER 398: CHAPTER 398: ONLY CARE ABOUT THE FEAST

With the support of the propeller and the effort of the Three Fools, Sang Ning and her group sat comfortably and steadily at the back.

The three serving as laborers couldn’t help grumbling, with Qin Feng gritting his teeth in pure frustration: "My first time being someone’s grunt! Sang Ning, you’re really something—just wait and see!"

Qin Feng didn’t dare be too vocal, only muttering complaints to the two next to him. But before he finished, a small stone struck him on the back.

He turned around to see Sang Ning sitting casually, one knee bent. Her left hand rested lackadaisically on her knee, while her right hand toyed with a small stone, her posture relaxed and nonchalant.

"I heard you talking smack about me. I’ve got more stones—feel free to keep complaining!" The stone dropped from midair into her palm. Sang Ning picked it up and pretended to throw it, prompting Qin Feng to quickly duck his head.

"Don’t throw it! Fine, I’ll stop, okay?" Qin Feng felt genuinely intimidated by Sang Ning—this was definitely not the time to provoke her.

Thinking back to earlier when they were soaking wet, Sang Ning had even started a fire to warm them up. Qin Feng begrudgingly admitted she wasn’t all that bad. He swallowed the rest of his gripes and focused on rowing.

The riverbanks were dense with trees, the river itself narrow, with the occasional fallen tree lying across the water to block their path.

Qin Feng and the other two men had to clear the way up front, moving the logs before they could proceed.

After nearly two hours of effort, the group finally reached the shore.

The students gradually made their way ashore, collapsing onto the ground in various exhausted forms, panting heavily as they rested.

In contrast, Sang Ning’s group looked remarkably fresh. Though they’d spent much of their energy building the boat, the two hours of rest had allowed them to recover considerably.

While Qin Feng and the Three Fools were rowing, Sang Ning and the four girls aboard the boat were enjoying the scenery and chatting away. Even Wei Lejun, who normally wore a perpetual scowl, couldn’t help but crack a smile after watching Lian Qi labor bitterly for nearly two hours.

Serves him right—betrayers never prosper!

Qin Feng sat on the ground clutching a large piece of stone as he gasped for breath. When Sang Ning was about to walk past him, he reached out to grab her.

When Sang Ning looked down at him, he immediately furrowed his brow, pouting in mock misery: "Sang Ning, since you’re a good person to the end, I’m completely out of steam—can you figure out a way to drag me back?"

Qin Feng wasn’t the cutesy puppy type; his sharp and edgy features made attempting cute gestures feel completely out of place.

Sure enough, Sang Ning merely glanced down at him once, not showing a shred of softness—in fact, she broke out in goosebumps.

"Eww—" Sang Ning made a disgusted face, jerking her hand out of Qin Feng’s grip unceremoniously. "Some people sell their cuteness for money, but you doing it puts lives at risk. Don’t pull this pity act on me again, or I might not be able to stop myself from acting out!"

With that, Sang Ning marched off without so much as a second glance at Qin Feng.

The three other girls quickly followed Sang Ning, but Wei Lejun was also grabbed when she passed by Lian Qi.

Having seen Qin Feng’s failed attempt, Lian Qi decided not to hold back—instead, he exaggeratedly acted even more pitiful, twisting his whole body as Wei Lejun leaned down to look at him.

Wei Lejun, even more ruthless than Sang Ning, spat out a cold "Get lost!" and kicked Lian Qi aside in one swift motion, never looking back as she followed Sang Ning.

Perhaps due to the physical exhaustion coupled with Sang Ning’s cold treatment, Qin Feng found himself emotionally fragile, desperately needing some comfort.

Seeing that Lian Qi had it worse, he couldn’t hold back an unkind laugh.

Annoyed by the laughter, the thoroughly disheartened Lian Qi glared at him with a series of dramatic eye-rolls, frustrated but too exhausted to retaliate.

The male students were sprawled out in fatigue, with only a few leaving the shore right away. Sang Ning and her group weren’t just among those few— they were easily the fastest, arriving at the training camp ahead of everyone else.

As they entered the camp’s main gate, they heard a series of loud pops from beside them.

Almost instantly, Sang Ning was surrounded in colorful streamers. In front of her, above her, everywhere she looked—the air was bursting with a kaleidoscope of colors.

Multiple strands of streamers landed on her head, draping down and obscuring her eyes. Sang Ning gently swiped them off, clearing her vision.

Once her eyesight returned, Sang Ning saw an old acquaintance approaching her with a bright, celebratory grin, clapping enthusiastically: "Congratulations to our first-place finishers! I hereby declare that you four girls are the ultimate winners and tied for first!"

It was Qin Jiaxiang!

Sang Ning had initially planned to confront him about tying her up earlier, but hearing that they’d secured first place left her momentarily stunned. Thinking about facing off with Qin Jiaxiang was now the last thing on her mind. She even opened her mouth slightly in surprise, looking a bit dumbfounded: "What? First place? Director Qin, did you mess up?"

She distinctly remembered that the initial rules stated that whoever reached the shore first would be the winner. Based on that, her group had absolutely no claim to victory.

Qin Jiaxiang coughed a few times, his face showing a sly smile. "It seems the crew didn’t fully explain the rules. To win, simply reaching the shore wasn’t enough—you had to be the first to arrive at the training camp. And currently, only you four meet those requirements."

Sang Ning’s eyes widened slightly in shock. Seriously? Was this how the rules were meant to work? Then wouldn’t the first group to land be the real losers?

"Figures... It *had* to be you... You sly old fox."

The other students were sure to explode in anger when they found out! If they’d known that reaching the camp was part of the criteria, they’d probably have crawled their way there instead of resting.

Out of the four girls, Huang Chengzi was the most animated. She immediately began clapping and jumping excitedly in place, showering Qin Jiaxiang with exaggerated praise: "Director Qin, you’re amazing! Director Qin, you’re the best!"

After bouncing around for a while, she noticed the others weren’t reacting and quickly toned down her antics.

She really was fearless—standing before them was a famously stern international director, and she’d blatantly teased him. Did she even value her own life?

Knowing when to retreat, she lowered her head and slouched her neck obediently.

"Thank you, Director Qin," Sang Ning politely said, but then an idea seemed to cross her mind. Smiling slightly, she asked, "Director Qin, about that feast..."

Finally remembering her original goal—she wasn’t doing all this for nothing—Sang Ning’s thoughts turned to the promised meal!

Qin Jiaxiang had intended to say more to her, but upon catching her ravenous, almost wolf-like gaze, he sighed in mild exasperation: "All you think about is food. There’s even a chance for a live broadcast interacting with the audience, and you don’t bring that up at all!"