17 The Beginning of Returning to the Bench 17

Ning Zhou’s plan was simple:

During the five seconds when the PD displayed the image, he needed to devote as much of that time as possible to counting the ducks, not fighting off dizziness.

So, as soon as he finished spinning and could barely stand, he didn’t hesitate for a moment—he lay flat on his back, tilting his head to look at the tablet—

The PD was so taken aback by his maneuver that he was a second late in turning on the screen.

Ning Zhou forced his eyes open, so dizzy the world seemed to twist before him.

He blocked out everything around him, as if he were on the volleyball court—his focus sharpened to an extraordinary degree, his mind filled with nothing but the little yellow ducks scattered across the water…

Yet, everyone else who saw the image couldn’t stay seated.

“This isn’t fair!” Yu Tong was the first to protest, arching her eyebrows in clear dissatisfaction.

Other guests nodded in agreement, “This is too much—not only are there more ducks, but some are actually moving back and forth!”

[He’s just a ‘pretty face’—why target him like this?]

[These days, even ‘lying flat for real’ can’t escape the rat race…]

[Does the production team really think the last contestant should be the highlight? If this ‘flower vase’ is so discouraged it affects his looks, I’m leaving the livestream!]

[I never realized five seconds could be so short. I barely got halfway and some ducks drifted by, and suddenly I forgot what number I was at… /holding my head/]

[It’s over. I’ll announce in advance for the PD: the sports team failed the challenge!]

Among the flood of comments, not a single one was optimistic.

Even the guests couldn’t help but look crestfallen…

“Come on, why all the sighing? At times like this, you just have to believe in Zhou Zhou!” On the other side of the screen, Ning Yang was the only one with any confidence.

Xu Zichang covered his eyes, too nervous to keep watching, “I can’t. The higher you expect, the bigger the disappointment!”

Ning Yang’s eyes blazed, “Just wait—he won’t let anyone down!”

“If he hadn’t spun around, his setter’s brain could help him count,” Yu Bai said hesitantly. “But now he’s lying down, looking at the image sideways and dizzy…”

Ning Yang interrupted, “You don’t know Zhou Zhou—he’s best at these kinds of games.”

“Best at counting?” Xu Zichang was surprised. “You mean he counts faster than others?”

Ning Yang switched to holding his phone one-handed, wagged a finger: “No, his field of vision is much broader and more precise! When we count ducks, we usually pick a corner and count left to right. But Zhou Zhou takes in the whole image—his counting method isn’t like ours.”

Xu Zichang snorted, “There’s no such magical skill. When I’m with him, he just seems like an ordinary guy!”

Yu Bai seemed thoughtful, “A wide field of vision… is that why his sets can always open up space for attackers, shaking off blockers?”

Ning Yang clapped him on the shoulder, “Finally, someone gets it!”

“Huh?” Xu Zichang was stunned. “Are you two serious?”

Ning Yang put his gaze back on the phone, “Just watch carefully—don’t blink!”

On the livestream, the guests’ complaints about the difficulty were so loud that the PD turned off the tablet, explaining:

“I said before, the game’s difficulty would increase step by step. Ducks are natural swimmers, so it’s not unreasonable that they move in the water, right?”

“Don’t try to justify it!”

“You’re obviously making it harder on purpose!”

Just as the scene descended into chaos, a calm voice cut through:

“Twenty-nine.”

Everyone fell silent and looked toward the center of the room.

Ning Zhou, not hearing any response, blinked and repeated, “Twenty-nine!”

A staff member suddenly realized he was still lying on the floor and hurried over to help him up.

Ning Zhou pushed himself up, looking expectantly at the PD, but the PD seemed frozen, speechless…

“Isn’t it twenty-nine?” Ning Zhou grew anxious, gesturing in the air, “There were two moving ducks each at positions one and four, one moving at position five, and the remaining twenty-four were stationary—twenty-nine in total…”

[I'm confused—what do these positions mean? Was the ‘flower vase’ looking at a different image from us?]

[In volleyball, the court is divided into six positions. Did he count the image using that system? /scratching my head/]

[How could anyone divide it into six sections and count them all at once? He’s just a ‘pretty face,’ not Superman!]

[I’ve got goosebumps! Did anyone get an exact count—was it really twenty-nine?]

[He probably just guessed a number.]

[I took a screenshot—hold on, I haven’t finished counting…]

After a moment of silence on set, the PD double-checked with the staff several times before announcing:

“The correct answer is—twenty-nine! Congratulations, the sports team has completed the challenge!”

Ning Zhou let out a long breath, stood up slowly, and raised his hand for a high five, grinning at the other guests, “We did it!”

The guests exchanged startled looks before rushing over, each giving Ning Zhou a high five:

“How did we even win…? Whatever, a win is a win! Yes!”

“I knew we could do it!”

“It’s all thanks to you, Xiao Ning. How did you pull it off?”

Ning Zhou replied earnestly, “Just… counted while lying there.”

“Uh, that’s not what I meant…” Yu Tong fiddled with her earring. “When you’re dizzy, the ducks are spinning all over the place—how can you possibly focus enough to count?”

Ning Zhou nodded, “True, the ducks were spinning in my eyes too. But even spinning, their number doesn’t change. I just observed them as I would in training and counted.”

Zeng Yunsheng thought for a long moment before managing a heartfelt, “Awesome!”

“As in regular training?” Fu Binhong imagined a series of brutal training sessions and shivered, “Your volleyball team is something else…”

Ning Zhou: ?

From this moment on, the men’s volleyball team’s training became legendary, spreading through the show “Sports Forward”…

[Guys, I just checked the recording—it really is twenty-nine ducks! The ‘flower vase’ got both the moving and stationary ones right…]

[Sorry, Ning Zhou. I admit my doubts were too loud. /waving white flag/]

[Maybe he’s just sensitive to numbers. It’s normal for people to have special talents!]

[That’s the only explanation. I’m following the ‘flower vase’ on Weibo—if he ever gets famous, I’ll be an old fan! /side-eye smile/]

“No way, we actually did it!?” Xu Zichang leapt up from the bench, shouting, “Zhou Zhou actually divided the image like a volleyball court and remembered the number of moving and stationary ducks in each section!”

He held his head, recalling what Ning Yang said about field of vision, and muttered, “From now on, I need to stick with him for dear life…”

Ning Yang laughed heartily, watching the comments and Xu Zichang’s reaction, feeling utterly satisfied. He nudged Yu Bai with his elbow, like an old man on the street showing off his talented kid, “Well, you’ve seen Zhou Zhou’s skills now, right? He’s got talent and works harder than anyone. You’re new here—shouldn’t you feel some urgency?”

Yu Bai hesitated, “Yeah.”

“Go practice your passing—the serving machine’s still on.”

Ning Yang hugged his phone, but instead of hearing Yu Bai return to practice, he felt Xu Zichang sit back down next to him, clinging to his arm to watch the screen.

Ning Yang sighed heavily and relented, “You can only rest until the show ends…”

“Deal!”

“Okay.”

*

After the small game segment, the first live episode finally reached its highlight—

Trying out a new sport.

The director cut to a short video introducing the event, while the PD bridged the transition:

“Now, let me introduce today’s filming location—the climbing gym!”

As the educational video on climbing played, the crew carried equipment and changed locations.

The PD hurried over to Director Zhang, “Director Zhang, how’s my pacing so far? Is it too slow?”

“Just keep your pace,” Director Zhang replied, swiping on his tablet to reveal the backstage data. “Viewer retention and comment numbers are already above expectations—the effect is great!”

The PD’s face lit up as if he could already see the bonus flying toward him with wings, “That’s fantastic!”

“Oh, one more thing…” Director Zhang leaned in and whispered, “In the next segment, increase interactions with Ning Zhou.”

The PD rubbed his event notebook, “You mean change the script?”

“No, keep everything the same. The comments are really interested in Ning Zhou right now. We’ll give him more camera time and you should add more moments for him.”

The PD’s eyes darted, “I get it—he’s our traffic magnet now?”

Director Zhang’s brows arched, and she chuckled softly, “You could say that. Judging by the show’s results so far, we might be nurturing a star…”

“Achoo!”

Halfway through changing, Ning Zhou suddenly sneezed, covering his nose and mouth—

“You okay?” Zeng Yunsheng and Fu Binhong were startled. “You caught a cold just from changing? Young athletes’ constitutions these days…”

Ning Zhou was baffled, pinched his nose, and said, “I’m fine…”

He finished putting on the climbing gear provided by the show, smoothing the sleeves and looking at the logo, “Yu’s brand?”

“Yu’s is one of the show’s biggest sponsors. Almost all the sports gear we use is provided by them,” Zeng Yunsheng said, patting his own outfit in admiration. “Great quality. Thanks to the Yu family’s daughter for joining us! Otherwise, a big brand like that wouldn’t look at a small show…”

Fu Binhong nudged him from behind, interrupting, “The PD’s calling. Let’s go.”

Ning Zhou stared at the logo a moment longer, then followed them to the next filming location.

Though none of the sports team were experienced climbers, they were all athletes with excellent physical abilities, so the production team chose a medium-difficulty wall in the gym.

After the video ended in the livestream room, the PD read the transition:

“Now that everyone has a basic understanding of climbing, let me introduce the rules for today’s ultimate challenge—

Within thirty minutes, if all team members reach the top of the climbing wall, you succeed.

Since you completed the ‘count the ducks’ challenge, your reward is that you can freely choose your route.”

Ning Zhou listened carefully, studied the wall for a few seconds, then grabbed a climbing hold and pulled himself up a short way—

“Wait!” the PD shouted, his voice cracking in alarm, “Get down, Ning Zhou! You haven’t put on any safety equipment yet!”

“…Oh.” Ning Zhou pushed off the wall and landed lightly on the mat, as nimble as a cat…

“Why did you just jump down like that!?” The PD was nearly scared out of his wits, terrified that “athlete safety hazard” would become a trending topic…

He clutched his chest, voice trembling, “Ning Zhou, this is a six-meter intermediate wall. You didn’t even put on a safety rope—weren’t you afraid?”

Ning Zhou realized his mistake, shrank obediently to the wall, glanced at the camera, and replied, “No. At worst, I’d just die, that’s all…”

PD: ?

Other guests: ?

Livestream audience: ???