Chapter 480: Chapter 480: Laughing Inexplicably
All the guests had arrived, and the PD stepped forward. As soon as he did, everyone knew what was coming—it was time for the usual opening game included in every episode.
"Welcome, everyone, to the final filming location of ’Long Journey’ here at Lisland. I’m sure you’ve already seen the array of tents set up in the desert. Over the next three days and two nights, we’ll be living right here," the PD delivered his short opening speech and continued, "Of course, the tents range from luxurious to budget-friendly. The production team has prepared one super luxurious Dome Starry Sky Tent, where you can enjoy a romantic view of twinkling stars. Now, who will be lucky enough to win this dreamy stargazing opportunity?"
Qin Feng, uninterested in idle talk, interrupted impatiently, "Just tell us what we need to do already."
The PD glanced around at the group, noticing the lack of enthusiasm in their eyes. He decided to skip the buildup and introduced the rules: "Today’s game is called ’See Who Can Hold Their Laughter the Longest.’ We’ll use a lottery wheel system, where the guest drawn first faces a challenge from the second guest, and the winner faces the third guest, and so on. The rules are simple—you can tell jokes or use physical comedy, any approach is allowed. As long as you make the other person laugh within two minutes, you win the round."
Sang Ning was confident she’d come out on top—not because she had a high laughter threshold, but because she’d been so stressed lately and still couldn’t find Li Juezhou. She genuinely couldn’t bring herself to laugh.
"Alright, everyone, let’s draw lots to determine the sequence," the PD said while handing out strips of paper for them to pick.
Wei Lan and Li Haidong were grouped together, leaving a total of six lots. As luck would have it, Sang Ning drew the sixth spot.
Song Shiye drew first, while Lu Yujing drew second. They stepped into the designated zone set by the production team. Although physical comedy was allowed, tickling was strictly forbidden. To prevent unfair play, the production team ensured there was at least one meter of distance between the opposing pair.
Once the players were in position, the PD launched the timer and yelled, "Start!"
Song Shiye’s strategy was simple: make silly faces. Even though he was a top-tier idol, he had no qualms about looking ridiculous. His pig-nose expression was almost shooting into the sky, and the way his mouth twisted and drooped was so exaggerated that drool was nearly dripping.
Lu Yujing, mindful of preserving her goddess-like image, couldn’t stoop to his level of shamelessness and was ultimately defeated.
Next up was Jiang Xiaoti. She, too, went with silly faces, but wasn’t as uninhibited as Song Shiye; her movements were overall more restrained. Following Lu Yujing, she met her defeat at the hands of Song Shiye as well.
The third pair to face off was Li Haidong and Wei Lan. Since Wei Lan couldn’t bring herself to pull absurd facial expressions either, she let Li Haidong take the stage.
Not one to disgrace himself in old age, Li Haidong refrained from silly faces as well and opted for a different approach: standing completely still and letting Song Shiye do whatever he wanted. If he couldn’t get Li Haidong to laugh, at least he could make it a tie by not laughing himself.
Song Shiye’s strategy hit a wall. No matter how exaggerated his expressions, Li Haidong maintained his composure and remained utterly unmoved.
"30 seconds left!" the PD reminded, prompting Song Shiye to put even more effort into his performance, making his expressions even more outrageous. Yet Li Haidong kept his poker face, watching him stone-faced.
"10 seconds left!" the PD shouted, signaling the final countdown. Song Shiye’s competitive spirit flared—losing to anyone was fine, but he couldn’t stand the thought of losing to Li Haidong.
Suddenly, he dropped the silly faces and donned a serious expression, locking eyes with Li Haidong. In an exaggerated voice and dramatic tone, he said, "Old Deng, why aren’t you laughing yet?"
Just as the countdown alarm sounded, Li Haidong burst into laughter—it wasn’t amusement but the kind of laughter that comes from sheer exasperation.
"Congratulations to Song Shiye for winning," the PD declared. Li Haidong pointed a finger at Song Shiye while at a loss for words. "Do you young folks think us old-timers are so out of touch we don’t recognize those internet memes?"
As an elder, such a remark could be deemed impolite. Driven by survival instinct, Song Shiye clasped his hands together, bowed, and apologized profusely, "Uncle Hai, sorry about that. It’s all for the game; I hope you can forgive me."
Next up was Qin Feng. Much like Song Shiye, Qin Feng wasn’t one to preserve his handsome face. His sole objective was victory. Song Shiye had gone down the silly faces route, and Qin Feng followed suit. The competition quickly escalated into a showdown of grotesque expressions, each face uglier than the last, resulting in a neck-and-neck battle.
The battle dragged into the last 30 seconds, with the host reminding them of the time. Both were racking their brains for strategies that might make their opponent laugh.
Qin Feng made the first move, throwing caution to the wind. In one swift motion, he reached behind his head, his gaze turned hazy, and—with a captivating lick of his lips—he exuded an inexplicable charm. Song Shiye couldn’t hold it in any longer and let out a snicker. He gave Qin Feng a thumbs-up: "Alright, I admit defeat on this one. Your audacity is unmatched—I bow to you."
Sang Ning was the final contestant. Qin Feng felt victory was inevitable; surely someone like Sang Ning, with her cool demeanor, wouldn’t stoop to the absurd antics they’d been pulling.
When Sang Ning stepped into position and the PD yelled "Start," Qin Feng unleashed his routine of flamboyant antics. When his usual routine didn’t work, he doubled down, eventually turning his back to her and shimmying his hips suggestively.
Sang Ning continued observing quietly. The more outrageous he became, the icier her expression grew. She was truly unphased.
"30 seconds left!" The PD began the countdown timer.
Qin Feng started to panic—how could Sang Ning’s composure be so unshakable? Thinking his strategy wasn’t hitting any of her laugh triggers, he made a snap decision: he fell to his knees in front of Sang Ning, fake-slapping his own cheeks while wailing dramatically, "Please, Grandma, won’t you crack a smile? I beg you, grant this lowly servant a laugh!"
Of course, he wasn’t actually slapping himself; his movements were exaggerated to give the illusion of painful self-inflicted blows.
The other guests were stunned—even though they knew Qin Feng’s performance had a theatrical element, Song Shiye covered his mouth in disbelief. This guy was taking it way too far—was there truly no one he cared about enough to draw the line?
Sang Ning had been convinced she wouldn’t laugh, yet Qin Feng’s utterly bizarre behavior caused the corners of her mouth to twitch involuntarily. Somehow, her laughter threshold had been unexpectedly breached.
Just as she was about to succumb to the laughter building inside, Qin Feng transitioned seamlessly from fake crying to genuine laughing, his voice trembling with joy: "This is hilarious! Even I made myself laugh!"
"Time’s up! Sang Ning wins!" As soon as the countdown alarm went off, the PD announced the result.
Sang Ning was surprised herself—she hadn’t lifted a finger yet managed to win effortlessly.
Even after the game ended, Qin Feng couldn’t stop laughing to himself, leaving everyone baffled.
Concerned for his mental state, the PD casually asked, "Qin Feng, are you alright?"
Qin Feng waved him off casually, saying, "Don’t worry about me," before clutching his stomach and squatting down, continuing to laugh for nearly two minutes straight before finally calming down.
