A person in Wuha: The whole internet is urging me to get back together with my ex!

Wang Zhengyu tapped the phone screen lightly with his fingertip.

A soothing R&B intro played from the portable speaker.

The soft drumbeats are accompanied by smooth glissando.

Chen Ye's ears twitched slightly.

This melody is so familiar.

"Tian Tian! Zhe Ge's song!" Chen Ye blurted out.

"Correct answer!" Wang Zhengyu snapped his fingers.

There was a two-second silence in the carriage.

All eyes turned across the aisle and focused on Tao Zhe, who was standing diagonally in front of them.

Tao Zhe is unscrewing the lid of the thermos.

The action paused.

He stared at the speakers, his mouth slightly open.

His face was etched with clear-eyed stupidity.

Clearly, this godfather of Chinese R&B had no idea that it was his own song.

"No way?" Deng Chao slapped his thigh, his face contorted with laughter. "Brother Zhe, you can't even recognize the quality of your own song?!"

"Holy crap, the original singer got slapped in the face!" Chen He slapped the back of his seat in the back row.

Song Yuqi leaned on Chen Ye's shoulder and laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

Chen Ye suppressed a laugh.

That's awkward; the songwriter isn't as quick to react as he is to listen to music.

Tao Zhe's face flushed red, and he hurriedly covered the thermos with the lid.

He stubbornly retorted loudly.

"Nonsense! I definitely recognized it!"

Tao Zhe pointed to Wang Zhengyu in the front row.

"Didn't Director Wang just announce the rules? No hints! I'm a rule-abiding citizen; I'm afraid if I speak up, I'll be penalized with a kilometer deduction for violating the rules! Do you understand my predicament?!"

Deng Chao rested his chin on his hand and tilted his head.

His expression was perfunctory and irritating.

"Oh—" Deng Chao drawled, "I see, I believe you. Brother Zhe is truly a man of noble character."

Tao Zhe was so anxious that he kept slapping his thigh.

"Really! I really recognized it! How could I not know that I composed the intro myself?"

Seeing Tao Zhe blushing and trying to save face, everyone in the car burst into laughter.

Wang Zhengyu didn't expose him, and just waved his hand with a smile.

"Alright, stop making excuses, Zhe-ge. Let's continue. Yezi, you have two more chances."

Old Wang pressed the play button again.

A sound of piano and guitar comes out.

Chen Ye didn't hesitate for even half a second; this piece was too simple.

"Lover, that's my song." Chen Ye calmly raised his hand.

"Yes." Wang Zhengyu nodded and immediately switched to the next song.

The intro had just begun.

Chen Ye sighed.

"I'm here for you."

"Absolutely correct!" Wang Zhengyu clapped his hands. "Alright, Chen Ye has used up his three chances to answer!"

"Next, Chen Ye will be completely muted. He cannot answer questions first, nor can he provide any hints; otherwise, one kilometer will be deducted!"

The passengers in the carriage were still applauding Chen Ye's quick response.

Chen Ye leaned back in his chair, his brows furrowed.

Not right.

This is really not right.

One hit single by Tao Zhe, and two of his own songs.

For someone with perfect pitch like him, this was an easy question.

Is Old Wang, that scoundrel, really that kind-hearted?

Chen Ye stared at Wang Zhengyu's old face, which was trying hard to suppress a laugh, and a flash of inspiration struck him.

Gan!

We've fallen for their trap!

"Old Wang, are you trying to be inhuman?" Chen Ye sat up straight, pointing at Wang Zhengyu. "Did you deliberately give me the easiest question just to guess?"

Wang Zhengyu did not answer.

A lewd smile spread across the old face.

He raised an eyebrow at Chen Ye.

It's the default!

The others reacted instantly.

Deng Chao suddenly stood up, nearly hitting his head on the luggage rack.

"Holy crap! It's like the story of Tian Ji's horse racing strategy!"

Chen He was so angry that he threw his hat on his seat.

"Old Wang, you're shameless! You made Chen Ye answer all the questions like 'What is 1+1?' while leaving us with the really difficult, best-kept questions?!"

Chen He pointed to his nose and poured out his grievances.

"Most of us are illiterate in music theory. Can't you leave the simpler stuff to us to cram for?!"

Li Chen covered his face in despair beside him.

"It's over, Chen Ye's main account has been banned, we bronze players will have to rely on us to play in the high-ranking games."

Wang Zhengyu stood with his hands in his pockets, completely unperturbed.

Chen He, in a fit of rage, unleashed a torrent of attacks.

"Old Wang, leave some room for maneuver! If you had given the difficult questions to Chen Ye and the others, we could have shifted the blame if they couldn't answer them! Now you're trying to pin the blame on us!"

Deng Chao nodded frantically.

"Exactly! I strongly suggest turning back time! Let Noko answer the difficult questions and leave the easy songs for us!"

Wang Baoqiang and Zheng Kai loudly echoed.

The crowd was outraged.

Chen Ye glanced around the carriage.

Tao Zhe looked down and picked at his nails, Ma Di looked out the window at the heavy snow, Ai Fugen played with the drawstring of his down jacket, and Lu Han closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

These guys who know a bit about music, knowing full well that Old Wang wouldn't change his mind, were all pretending to be dead in advance to ensure their safety.

Wang Zhengyu picked up the megaphone.

"Protest invalid. Next question, who's up? Not choosing anyone is considered a forfeit, and you'll lose a kilometer!"

Everyone immediately fell silent.

Small eyes stare wide-eyed.

All eyes once again turned to Tao Zhe in unison.

There was nothing that could be done; Chen Ye's account was banned, and the most professional person on the field was this R&B godfather.

Feeling the eager gazes from all directions, Tao Zhe sighed.

"Alright then." Tao Zhe said with a look of grim determination, "Let it go, Director Wang, I'll handle it."

Wang Zhengyu smiled and opened his phone.

A powerful, wild, and primal prelude burst forth from the portable speaker.

"Thump! Clang!"

Accompanied by high-pitched work chants filled with the fragrance of earth.

Tao Zhe's expression froze.

His eyes were filled with confusion and self-doubt.

Everyone in the car was stunned.

Chen Ye pinched his thigh hard in the back row to keep from laughing out loud.

Old Wang's question was too mean.

Playing "Mountain Road with Eighteen Bends" for the godfather of American R&B?!

This is way beyond the scope of the curriculum!

Tao Zhe listened to the soprano prelude and sweat beaded on his forehead.

"What...what is this? Is it a folk song?" Tao Zhe's voice was trembling.

Deng Chao was so anxious that he kept rubbing his hands, but dared not utter a sound.

Time passed second by second.

Wang Zhengyu raised his hand to prepare for the countdown.

While Wang Zhengyu lowered his head, Tao Zhe's eyes darted around frantically.

The pleading gaze was fixed on Chen Ye.

Brother! Help!

Chen Ye received the signal.

He tilted his head back slightly, half of his face showing on the edge of the backrest.

The mouth is opened wide, but no sound is made.

"Mountain!"

"road!"

"ten!"

"eight!"

"bend!"

Chen Ye secretly traced a wavy line with his finger behind the seat.

Tao Zhe's eyes lit up.

Before the first line of lyrics was sung, Tao Zhe slapped his thigh and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"The mountain road has eighteen bends!!"

Tao Zhe's roar echoed throughout the bus.

Wang Zhengyu was so startled he almost dropped his phone.

He stared at Tao Zhe with a look of utter disbelief.

"You...you even know that?"

Tao Zhe touched his nose, coughed twice, and straightened his chest.

"Of course! I have a wide range of interests!"

"You pass." Wang Zhengyu glanced suspiciously at the back row, where Chen Ye was leaning back in his chair looking at the scenery.

The game continues since they weren't caught red-handed.

Tao Zhe ran out of energy for the next two songs.

The first old love song was answered correctly.

For the second song, Wang Zhengyu pulled out a local folk song from Xinjiang.

This time, there wasn't even any lip-syncing to be seen, and Chen Ye had never heard of it before.

"Wrong answer!" Wang Zhengyu announced coldly, "Deduct one kilometer!"

The carriage was filled with wails.

Outside, a fierce snowstorm raged.

Hiking a kilometer in this freezing weather is absolutely agonizing.

Deng Chao walked over and patted Tao Zhe on the shoulder.

"That's enough, Zhe-ge. It's really not your fault. Even locals might not know the answer to this question, Lao Wang."

Tao Zhe slumped back in his seat with a sigh of relief.

"I can't take it anymore, you guys can do the rest, I'm completely brain-dead."

Everyone's eyes began searching for the next victim.

"Old Ma." Deng Chao pinpointed Ma Di's location as he tried to shrink into his down jacket.

"Madi, as an excellent folk singer, it's up to you."

Maddie's lips twitched.

"Brother Chao, how can we possibly keep going like this? What if we make everyone walk an extra kilometer?"

Deng Chao flashed a white smile.

"It's alright, then we'll have Li Chen shove your head down into the snow outside."

Li Chen clenched his fist in perfect cooperation.

Maddie rolled his eyes.

These old foxes only know how to bully honest people.

He resignedly looked ahead.

"Old Wang, play some music, the sooner you die, the sooner you'll be reborn."

Maddie is now in the agonizing phase.

The first classic rock song, a close call.

The second viral hit was achieved through my experience surfing short videos.

The third song is a purely electronic sound effect without any lyrics, ticking away.

Maddie was stunned.

"Timeout, incorrect answer!" Wang Zhengyu announced. "Deduct another kilometer!"

The carriage was deathly silent.

When they were two kilometers away, it meant they had to walk across the snow.

Chen Ye silently zipped his down jacket all the way up.

Seeing the grim situation, team leader Deng Chao stepped forward.

He straightened his hair and stood smugly in the middle of the aisle.

Hands on hips.

"None of you are up to par!" Deng Chao said dismissively. "When it really matters, you have to rely on your brother Chao! I'm the karaoke queen!"

Chen He sneered from behind.

"If you can't answer this, I'll be the first to throw you off."

Deng Chao snapped his fingers, brimming with confidence.

"Old Wang, put it anywhere! If you can stump me today, I'll change my surname to yours!"

Wang Zhengyu grinned as he looked at Deng Chao's smug expression.

"Okay, Chao-ge. You said it yourself."

Wang Zhengyu pressed the play button.

An extremely eerie sound came from the speakers.

"Gurgle... crunch... hiss..."

There were no drumbeats, no melody.

Like sandpaper rubbing against a rusty iron pot, interspersed with the screams of an unknown animal.

The smug look on Deng Chao's face vanished instantly.

He stood there like a statue, staring intently at the speakers.

Ten seconds passed.

Deng Chao's Adam's apple bobbed.

He forced a smile, a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Um... Old Wang," Deng Chao's tone softened instantly, becoming obsequious, "this piece is really a bit too advanced. Let's discuss it, could we change it to something else?"