Chapter 17
Ning Zhou’s plan was simple:
During the five seconds when the PD displayed the picture, he had to save as much time as possible for counting ducks—not wasting it fighting the dizziness.
So, when he finished spinning and couldn’t stand steady, he didn’t hesitate to lie down flat, tilting his head toward the tablet— The PD was so shocked by his move that he hesitated for a second before turning the screen on. Ning Zhou forced his eyelids open, dizziness twisting everything in front of him.
He shut out everything around him, as if he were back on the volleyball court—focus sharpened beyond normal limits. All that filled his sight were the little yellow ducks scattered across the water…
But everyone else who saw the image couldn’t sit still.
“Unfair!” Yu Tong protested first, raising her brows, clearly displeased.
The other guests nodded in agreement: “This is too much. Not only are there more ducks now, but some are moving back and forth!”
[He’s just a “pretty face,” why target him like this?]
[So even people who literally “lie flat” can’t avoid being forced into the grind these days…]
[Does the production team really think saving him for last makes him the “grand finale”? If this ‘pretty face’ gets shaken up and it ruins his looks, I’m leaving the livestream!]
[I’ve never felt five seconds go by so fast. Finally halfway through counting, then a few ducks drifted past and—poof—forgot where I was… /holding head/]
[It’s over. I’ll announce in advance: the sports team failed this challenge.]
Onscreen and in chat, there wasn’t a single optimistic voice.
Even the guests looked dejected…
“Come on, what’s with all the sighing? At a time like this, you just have to believe in Zhou Zhou!” On the other side of the screen, Ning Yang was the only one still confident.
Xu Zichang covered his eyes, too nervous to keep watching: “No way. The higher the expectations, the bigger the disappointment!”
Ning Yang’s eyes burned, “Just you wait. He won’t let anyone down!”
“If he weren’t dizzy, a setter’s brainpower could help him count,” Yu Bai said hesitantly. “But right now he’s lying on the ground, looking at the screen sideways, while his head’s spinning…”
Ning Yang cut him off, “You don’t understand Zhou Zhou. He’s the best at this kind of game.”
“The best at counting?” Xu Zichang asked in disbelief. “You mean he counts faster than everyone else?”
Ning Yang raised a finger, shaking it, “Wrong. His field of vision—its range and precision—are unusually sharp!
“When we count ducks, we pick a corner and go left to right in order. But Zhou Zhou sees the whole picture at once. The way he counts isn’t like ours.”
Xu Zichang snorted after hearing that, “What kind of mystical skill is that? When I hang out with Zhou Zhou, he feels like a totally normal guy!”
But Yu Bai looked thoughtful, “A wide field of vision… is that why his sets often trick blockers and free up attackers?”
Ning Yang clapped him on the shoulder, “Finally, someone who gets it!”
“Huh?” Xu Zichang froze, dumbfounded. “You guys are serious?”
Ning Yang turned his gaze back to the livestream, “Just watch carefully. Don’t blink!”
Onscreen, the guests’ complaints about the picture’s difficulty grew so loud that the PD shut the tablet off, explaining, “I already said the game difficulty would rise gradually. Ducks are born swimmers—it’s not unreasonable that they’d move around in the water, right?”
“That’s twisting words!”
“You’re obviously just making it harder on purpose!”
The set was in chaos—until a calm voice cut through everything, “Twenty-nine.”
Everyone fell silent, eyes snapping to the middle of the stage.
Ning Zhou, seeing no reaction, blinked and repeated: “Twenty-nine!”
A staff member finally realized he was still lying on the ground and rushed over to help him up.
Ning Zhou propped himself up on his hands, staring hopefully at the PD. But the PD just stood frozen, saying nothing…
“It’s not twenty-nine?”
Anxious now, Ning Zhou ignored getting up, gesturing in the air, “Two moving ducks in Zone 1 and Zone 4, one moving duck in Zone 5, plus 24 stationary ones. That makes 29 in total—how can it be wrong?”
[I’m confused. What’s with these “zones”? Did the ‘pretty face’ even see the same picture we did?]
[In volleyball, the court’s divided into zones 1 through 6. Did he really count the image using that system? /scratches head/]
[No way he divided it into six parts and counted at once. He’s just a ‘pretty face,’ not Superman!]
[I’ve got goosebumps. Can anyone confirm—was it really 29?]
[Probably just a wild guess.]
[I screenshotted it, give me a sec—I’m still counting…]
The set went silent. The PD checked with the staff multiple times before finally announcing:
“The correct answer is—29. Congratulations, Sports Team, you passed the challenge!”
Ning Zhou let out a long breath, slowly got to his feet, and held out his palm for high fives, beaming at the others, “We did it!”
The guests stared at each other in shock—then rushed over to high-five him one by one.
“How did we pull that off… Whatever, success is success! Yes!”
“I knew we could do it!”
“It’s all thanks to you, Xiao Ning. How did you manage it!?”
Ning Zhou answered seriously, “Just… by lying there and counting.”
“Uh, that’s not what I meant…” Yu Tong rubbed her earring. “When you’re dizzy, the ducks float everywhere. How could you calm down enough to count?”
Ning Zhou nodded, “True, the ducks were all spinning in my eyes. But even when they spin, the number doesn’t change. I just observed them the same way I do during training.”
Zeng Yunsheng thought for a long time before squeezing out two words: “Badass!”
“During training?” Fu Binhong’s mind conjured a string of hellish drills. He shivered: “Your volleyball team… is something else!”
Ning Zhou: ?
From that moment, the men’s volleyball team’s training became legendary, passed down through the show Sports Forward!…
[Guys, I checked the recording—29 is correct. And he even nailed the split between moving and stationary ducks!]
[Sorry, Ning Zhou. I admit I doubted you way too much just now. /waves white flag/]
[Maybe he’s just naturally good with numbers. Everyone has their quirks!]
[That must be it. Anyway, I’m off to follow this ‘pretty face’ on Weibo. If he blows up someday, I’ll already be an OG fan! /side-smirk/]
“Wafun, it really worked!?”
Xu Zichang leapt up from the bench with a loud squawk, “Zhou Zhou actually remembered the entire volleyball court zoning diagram—even the movements and fixed numbers of each section!”
He clutched his head, replaying Ning Yang’s earlier explanation about vision, muttering under his breath, “From now on, I have to cling to his thigh…”
Ning Yang burst out laughing, thoroughly pleased at the reactions of both the scrolling comments and Xu Zichang.
He nudged Yu Bai with his elbow, like an old grandpa proudly showing off his outstanding kid,
“Well? You’ve seen Zhou Zhou’s strength now, haven’t you? He’s talented and still works hard enough to be a full-on ‘grind king.’ As the newcomer, shouldn’t you be feeling the pressure?”
Yu Bai paused briefly, “Mm.”
“Go practice your receives, the serving machine’s still on.”
But instead of hearing Yu Bai head back to practice, Ning Yang felt Xu Zichang plop down beside him again, clinging to his arm to peek at the screen.
Ning Yang tightened his grip on his phone, sighed heavily, and gave in, “You’re only allowed to rest until the show ends…”
“Got it!”
“Mm.”
After the mini-game segment, the first live episode finally reached the main event—Trying out a sport.
The director cut in a short project intro clip, while the PD segued smoothly, “Now, let’s introduce today’s filming location—the climbing gym!”
As the educational climbing video played, crew members shifted equipment and moved the shoot.
The PD hurried after Director Zhang, “Director Zhang, how’s the pacing I’ve been setting? Not too slow, right?”
“Stick with your pace.” Director Zhang swiped on his tablet, showing backend data. “Viewer retention and comment count have already exceeded expectations. Great results!”
The PD beamed, almost seeing bonus money sprouting wings toward him, “That’s fantastic!”
“Oh, and…” Director Zhang leaned in to whisper, “increase Ning Zhou’s interactions in later segments.”
The PD rubbed the event design notebook, “You mean change the script?”
“No, leave the script. But the viewers are really interested in him right now. Give him more camera time, add some extra moments.”
The PD’s eyes flickered, “I get it—he’s our current ‘traffic code’?”
Director Zhang’s brows lifted slightly before she chuckled, “You could say that. Judging from the show’s effect so far, we might be shaping a remarkable figure…”
“Achoo!”
Halfway through changing clothes, Ning Zhou suddenly sneezed, covering his mouth.
“You okay?” Zeng Yunsheng and Fu Binhong startled. “Just changing clothes and you’re catching cold? The constitution of today’s young athletes is really worrying!”
Ning Zhou was bewildered, rubbing his nose, “I’m fine…”
He finished putting on the climbing outfit provided by the crew, smoothing the sleeves, noticing the logo, “Yu’s brand?”
“Yu’s is one of the show’s main sponsors. Almost all the sports products we use come from them.”
Zeng Yunsheng tugged at his own outfit, clicking his tongue in admiration, “Great quality. Thank goodness the Yu family’s daughter agreed to join. Otherwise, such a big brand wouldn’t look twice at our little show…”
Fu Binhong gave him a light push, interrupting, “The PD’s rushing us—let’s head out.”
Ning Zhou stared at the logo a little longer, then followed them into the next recording location.
Though all rookies to climbing, the team had athletic backgrounds and solid physiques, so the crew picked a mid-level climbing wall.
When the video finished, the PD recited the rules, “Now that you all have a basic understanding of climbing, let’s get to the ultimate challenge of this first episode—Within 30 minutes, if all members of the sports team reach the top of the climbing wall, you succeed.
Since you passed the ‘Count the Ducks’ mini-game earlier, your reward is—freedom to choose any route.”
Ning Zhou, hearing the rules, studied the wall for a few seconds, then casually grabbed a hold and climbed up a bit…
“Wait!!”
The PD’s voice cracked with terror, “Get down right now, Ning Zhou! You don’t have any safety gear on!”
“…Oh, right.”
With a push of his foot, Ning Zhou hopped down, landing lightly on the crash mat like a cat.
“Why did you just jump down!?”
The PD’s heart nearly gave out, imagining “sports team safety hazard” trending on hot search.
Clutching his chest, trembling, he asked, “Ning Zhou… that wall is six meters high! You climbed without a rope—weren’t you scared?”
Knowing he’d messed up, Ning Zhou obediently crouched near the wall, glanced at the camera, and said, “Not scared. Worst case, I’d just die.”
PD: ?
Other guests: ?
Live audience: ???
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