In the center of the stage, the stagehands had just removed the question boards and chairs, and the props team was already pushing the high jump stand into the spotlight.
He Chao stepped on the springy mat beneath his feet to ensure there was no issue with the bounce before raising his microphone.
“For the third round, the Extreme High Jump Challenge, let me clarify first: the crew has prepared safety mats and a springboard, and there are safety officers on standby. This is a variety show game, so don't go back and compare this to Olympic results.”
The audience burst into laughter.
He Chao waited for the laughter to die down a bit before continuing to read the rules.
“Each team will send two members. Everyone gets two attempts at each height, starting from the lowest and going up. You can choose to challenge the opponent's height or raise it yourselves. Whichever team achieves the highest final mark wins.”
The members of the Red Team looked toward the high jump stand at the same time.
Zhang Yu had been sitting quite steadily just now, but now his back had retreated half an inch against the backrest. He turned to look at Jiang Yue, a polite smile immediately plastered on his face.
“Brother Jiang, you didn't even use a stunt double for the action scenes in your drama, so you must be much better at this than us. My back has been feeling a bit stiff these past few days, so I won't hog the spotlight. You and Brother Songcheng should go.”
He spoke politely, leaving himself a clean way out.
An event like the high jump was a highlight if you succeeded, but if you failed, it became meme material. If your posture looked ugly when you crashed into the mat, the production crew could easily edit a whole set of reaction memes out of it.
Jiang Yue didn't expose him. This suited him perfectly anyway.
He wanted to win, and he had no intention of leaving the outcome in anyone else's hands.
“Sure.”
Zhao Songcheng stood up, rolling his shoulders and casually dusting off the cuffs of his team uniform.
“Then I'll go test the waters first. I practiced a bit back in university, so don't laugh at me.”
The Blue Team sent out Qian Bin and their special guest, Lin Hao.
The bar was initially set at 1.8 meters.
Qian Bin took a two-step run-up, but his rhythm fell apart when he stepped onto the springboard. He flew out sideways, and the bar crashed down instantly.
His second attempt was even faster—the moment his feet left the ground, the bar had already fallen.
Qian Bin raised his hand while lying on the mat.
“I declare that the peak of my life has stopped at 1.79 meters.”
He Chao went over to pull him up, laughing as he did. “Binbin really gave it his all. Everyone, let's give him some credit.”
The audience laughed even harder, but no one on the Red Team actually let out a sigh of relief.
Zhao Songcheng bounced on the springy mat a couple of times to get a feel for the rhythm.
Run-up, jump, Fosbury flop. The movement couldn't be called graceful, but the bar remained steady.
Lin Hao followed. As the main dancer of a boy group with a background in gymnastics, his run-up was shorter than Zhao Songcheng's, but his body was incredibly light. He cleared the bar easily with the help of the springboard's elasticity.
After landing on the mat, he struck a cool pose toward the fan section, instantly triggering a wave of high-pitched screams.
1.9 meters, 2.0 meters, 2.1 meters—both of them cleared those heights.
At 2.2 meters, Zhao Songcheng stood at the starting line, his brows already furrowed.
On his first jump, his back touched the bar. On his second attempt, he increased his speed and jumped high enough, but his calves still clipped the bar, sending it crashing down.
Zhao Songcheng walked back to the Red Team's seats, rubbing his lower back with a bitter smile at Su Yao.
“I did my best. You can start picking out the ugly photos now.”
Su Yao clutched her chest with a dramatically exaggerated expression of pain, making many in the audience laugh out loud.
“Please don't. My manager really will fly to Xiangcheng overnight to kill me.”
The pressure now fell onto the second member of the Red Team, Jiang Yue.
Over on the Blue Team's side, Lin Hao didn't continue with 2.2 meters. Instead, he raised his hand to the referee.
“2.3 meters.”
The laughter in the studio quieted down.
Once this height was set, even though everyone knew there were springboards to help, no one treated it like a casual game anymore.
He Chao confirmed.
“Lin Hao, 2.3 meters?”
Lin Hao nodded.
“Yes, 2.3.”
The bar was raised.
He backed up further, his run-up speed faster than before. Stepping onto the springboard on his final stride, he launched himself into the air, his body arching into a beautiful curve.
The bar wobbled twice but did not fall.
The members of the Blue Team immediately rushed up to high-five him.
He Chao's voice went up an octave. “2.3 meters, cleared on the first attempt!”
On the Red Team's side, Su Yao lowered her head with a bitter smile, looking like she couldn't bear to watch anymore.
Zhao Songcheng shrugged.
Zhang Yu was also clapping, though his eyes didn't actually look at the high jump stand.
Only Jiang Yue remained in the same posture, his expression calm.
Zhao Songcheng leaned over to look at him.
“Jiang Yue, do you want to give it a shot? It's fine if you aren't confident. If we lose, we'll just post the photos together and treat it as promotion for the drama.”
Jiang Yue looked at the bar, then scanned the safety officers standing by the mat.
The production crew had placed this game at the very end precisely because they wanted a spectacular highlight.
《The Grand Game》 also needed memorable moments before its release.
Since the safety measures were sufficient, there was no harm in trying, and he wouldn't necessarily lose.
Jiang Yue stood up and unzipped his team uniform jacket.
“I'll try.”
The main camera immediately cut to him.
The voices of the audience in the front rows quieted down.
“Can he actually jump that?”
“Lin Hao already hit 2.3 meters.”
“Jiang Yue doesn't really look like the athletic type, does he?”
Jiang Yue walked to the starting line but didn't rush to move.
There were still quite a few unused traits gathering dust in his system inventory. He selected a few that he rarely used but happened to be perfect for this high jump.
During his physical training recently, he had tested the effects of equipping traits. This helped him draw a conclusion and resolved a lingering question in his mind: the higher the tier of a trait, the more mental and physical energy it consumed. Over time, the physical fatigue would accumulate rapidly.
In a way, Jiang Yue was glad that ever since he acquired these traits, he had mostly used them only during acting and had consciously minimized his reliance on them. Outside of major scenes, he rarely used High-Tier Traits or stacked multiple traits.
His mindset was simple: lines, physique, posture... after practicing them long enough, these skills would eventually become his own.
Traits were merely external tools; having enough to get by was sufficient.
If his performance was too outrageous, he was afraid he might actually be dragged off to a lab for research.
【Physical Boost (Green): Drastically increases physical endurance, instantaneous explosive power, physical stamina, and fatigue resistance.】
【Limb Flexibility (White): Slightly reduces physical stiffness and marginally increases basic body flexibility.】
【Lightweight Load (White): Marginally reduces the sensation of body weight and slightly decreases the feeling of heaviness after large movements.】
“Equip.”
His calf muscles began to warm up, and a sudden force seemed to support his core.
Jiang Yue looked up at He Chao.
“2.4 meters.”
He Chao took two steps toward him with the microphone.
“How much?”
“2.4 meters.”
Standing by the mat, the smile faded from Lin Hao's face.
His 2.3-meter jump just now had already been close to his limit, yet Jiang Yue, who hadn't jumped even once before, was asking for 2.4 meters right off the bat.
He Chao looked at the referee.
The referee nodded.
“Raise the bar!”
The bar was raised to 2.4 meters, a noticeable notch higher than before.
Some people in the front row tilted their heads back to look, and even the cheering quieted down.
Jiang Yue backed up to measure his strides. He didn't retreat too far, leaving only a medium distance.
His first three steps were steady, the next four accelerated, and his final stride landed his left foot squarely in the center of the springboard.
Thud.
The floor microphone captured a heavy thud.
The springboard compressed and bounced back. Borrowing that momentum, Jiang Yue flipped his body, turning his back toward the bar.
At the highest point, his core tightened, and his body arched into a beautiful curve in mid-air.
The bar swept past beneath him without a single touch.
He landed on the mat, tucked his legs, and stood up.
Jiang Yue clapped his hands and looked up.
The bar remained steadily in place.
The studio fell silent for half a beat before a massive wave of sound erupted from the audience.
Zhao Songcheng stood straight up.
“Beautiful!”
Su Yao covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock.
Zhang Yu was half a beat slower, but when the camera panned to the Red Team, he also stood up to applaud.
He Chao's voice nearly cracked. “2.4 meters! Cleared on the first try!”
Lin Hao looked at the bar, then at Jiang Yue.
Without a word, he took off his jacket.
“I want 2.4 meters too.”
The audience burst into applause.
On his first jump, Lin Hao took off too hastily. His midsection slammed into the bar, sending it crashing down.
He climbed up from the mat, his expression darkening slightly.
For his next run-up, he pushed his speed to the absolute limit. He got the height, but his posture in the air was unstable. As his back brushed the bar, the stand shook. Before landing, his heels caught the bar.
The bar balanced on the stand for two seconds before finally sliding off.
Lin Hao lay on the mat, staring at the ceiling lights as he panted.
After a few seconds, he propped himself up, raised a hand toward Jiang Yue, and gave him a thumbs-up.
Seeing this, Jiang Yue nodded in response.
He Chao waited for him to sit down before picking up his microphone.
“Lin Hao fought hard until his very last jump. Let's give him a round of applause! With the third round going to the Red Team, tonight's winner is the cast of 《The Grand Game》!”
As the recording wrapped up, the crowd was still chanting Jiang Yue's name.
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