Chapter 4 — Returning the Spotlight

7 That night, my group harvested so much food that we even shared it with the backstage staff. As for Pho Kieu Tieu, after failing to catch a snake, he stayed in his room all afternoon. When she walked out, as soon as she saw the assistant laughing and chatting happily with others, still eating something, she immediately got angry, grabbed the glass in her hand and threw it straight at the assistant. The glass shattered right under the assistant's feet, making the girl jump. “I haven't had dinner yet, you dare to eat first?!” The assistant's eyes were red and he quietly brought another portion of dinner to her. But Pho Kieu Tieu did not know that from the moment she walked out of the room, there was a camera silently filming her close-up. Waiting until she was almost finished eating, I walked closer and smiled: "Compared to the Grand Deputy Chef, my skills probably aren't that bad, right? Oh, I forgot, your group didn't earn anything today, so maybe... they couldn't cook anything, right?" Pho Kieu Tieu's face darkened in the blink of an eye. She immediately threw both the bowl and the rice aside, as if she was mad. The next morning was mountain climbing. When I heard that news, I immediately rubbed my injured knee — this injury was the reason I had to retire from the army. At that time, Pho Kieu Tieu happened to pass by me, his expression returning to normal. "Oh my, Thanh Thanh, are your knees uncomfortable? Then it's not okay, don't pull everyone's legs back~" I smiled and replied: "Don't worry, even if you get injured, you will never win first place." Even though I said so boldly, when I started climbing, I still fell behind. Just as I was hesitating whether or not to take off my knee protector, Khuong Dien suddenly slowed down. He walked up to me and asked with concern: "Are you okay? Do you need me to give you a hand?" I looked at him with a strange expression, my eyes making him start to feel confused. I was not polite and asked directly: "Didn't you say that I used hidden rules to climb up?" Khuong Dien's face immediately changed color, it seemed like he had really forgotten about it. It took a while for me to forcefully say one sentence: "After interacting with you... I feel that you are not that type of person." I chuckled, his face turned even redder. “Do you think just one sentence like that can erase all the curses that your fans have heaped on me since your Weibo post?” {Read full on Van Ha Tuong Tu page} The time I was resting and recuperating was also the time I started to interact with social networks. At that time, I was still excited to look up my name - "So Thanh" - to see what people thought. But the result was... a series of defamatory images and harsh words that cut into my eyes like a knife. I never thought that someone could use such extreme words to hurt someone they don't even know. I also don't understand how that little girl who always smiles and talks to me could endure all those dirty words to get to this day. I clicked on the personal pages of the people who cursed me, and discovered that the background photos or featured posts were all photos of their "idol" - Khuong Dien, or Khuong Dien taken with Pho Kieu Tieu. Some people even persistently post a sentence every day: "One good thing every day." It's... ironic strength. In Pho Kieu Tieu's eyes, Khuong Dien and I seemed to be "staring at each other passionately" at that time. She immediately squeezed in between the two of us, grabbed Khuong Dien's sleeve, and acted coyly: "Dear Dien, let's go first~ Thanh Thanh already said that, even if she was injured, she would definitely win first place, so she doesn't need our help~" Looking at Khuong Dien's expression, I guessed that maybe he wanted to apologize to me at that time. But fortunately, Pho Kieu Tieu intervened. Don't have to listen to any more fake words. I took off the knee bandage and the blood began to circulate much better. Moved his ankles a bit, then left the two of them alone and walked straight up the mountain. 【Oh my god… was So Thanh climbing the mountain wearing that knee brace just now?!】 【What… I just saw the wound on her leg… it looks so scary… what happened to her?!】 【Suddenly Thanh Thanh looks so mysterious… I like her more and more, what should I do!!】 Pho Kieu Tieu and Khuong Dien wanted to chase me, but after only walking a kilometer, they both already His face was red, he was breathing heavily as if he was about to collapse. By the time we caught up with the remaining three people, Pho Kieu Tieu received a bottle of water from her assistant, panting while sitting to the side reapplying her makeup. As for me, I just took the tissue given by the staff and gently wiped the thin layer of sweat from my forehead. The staff members who looked at me with disdain and laughed yesterday no longer had that look of disdain. Pho Kieu Tieu pushed the assistant's hand away, and pointed at my knee with an angry face: "You cheated! What exactly is that thing you have in your hand?! Didn't you run that fast after taking it off?!" I lowered my head and looked at the bandage in my hand. This helps stabilize the injured muscle in my leg, but it also limits my ability to move. If possible, I don't want to use it at all. Because having this means — I can't go back to patrolling the border anymore, I can't continue to protect my country and my people. I pulled up my pant leg again, leaving my entire injured knee exposed in front of Pho Kieu Tieu. The people standing around simultaneously inhaled the cold air, the sound of "sniffing" rang out continuously. Pho Kieu Tieu was stunned and unconsciously took a step back. She tried to act calm, crossed her arms and snorted coldly, rolled her eyes and said sarcastically: "That injury... surely it wasn't because you were 'too aggressive' when you used the hidden rules?" I immediately grabbed Pho Kieu Tieu's collar and lifted her up, her feet hovering off the ground. My face must have been so terrible at that time that no one dared to step forward to stop me. This wound is proof that I have been discharged from the army. It's also my honor. But what made me angrier was that she dared to defame my sister. Only her little assistant ran over in panic, her hands shaking, wanting to intervene. I gently placed Pho Kieu Tieu on the ground, even "intimately" smoothed her collar, then leaned close to my ear and whispered: "I don't even understand the phrase 'take a step back, the sky will be calm, the sea will be calm', no matter which way you go, it will never be smooth sailing." Pho Kieu Tieu took a few steps back, his foot slipped and he fell to the ground. The assistant wanted to help her up, but she pushed her hand away. This time, everyone pretended that nothing happened and continued the program as usual. I turned away, but I still felt it received the resentful eyes of Pho Kieu Tieu, who was looking closely at me. For the final task, we needed to climb to the top of the mountain while carrying baskets to pick fruits and vegetables that we considered valuable. Crossing this mountain to reach a small town, all the agricultural products we picked will be brought there for auction. Whoever has the highest selling price will win the title of "Best Adventurer" in this activity, and will also receive a special mysterious gift. On this mountain, the most valuable thing is without a doubt the red fruit I picked before. When we were still at the border, every season, the indigenous people would go up the mountains to pick this fruit, because the medicinal value was very high, if sold in large quantities, it could be enough to live all year. The problem is, those fruit trees grow in quite dangerous locations. Actually, I don't care too much about the title or the secret reward. But even though I'm wearing my sister's name, I still need to have some aggressive spirit to live up to my image.