Upon hearing the game rules, the guests all had different reactions — especially Liang Zhiwei, whose eyes suddenly lit up.
She had been worried about whether she could contribute anything to her group.
Although she’d heard there might be a cooking-related segment, she had felt uneasy, unsure of what kind of task it would be.
She was afraid she’d be of no help — or worse, steal the spotlight from others.
She hadn’t expected it to be a restaurant challenge based on team collaboration!
That meant, in their group, she could play a leading role.
Liang Zhiwei glanced at Chu Yanze, and her eyes sparkled even more.
Wasn’t he secretly a Sichuan cuisine expert?
That would definitely catch attention.
Even if she couldn’t attract customers, Chu Yanze could.
Just as she was thinking that, she noticed Li Xunxi in the opposing group raise her hand without hesitation.
“I’m betting.”
Liang Zhiwei paused, suddenly realizing something. She turned to look at Gu Zhaoping.
She remembered that Gu Zhaoping had graduated with a degree in business and law.
So she asked carefully, “Sister Zhaoping, what do you think? Do you think we should place a bet?”
Gu Zhaoping probably understood this more than either of them.
Chu Yanze also looked over.
Placing a bet would cost them part of their virtual funds.
While a winning bet could increase returns, it would also squeeze their initial budget.
They needed those funds to choose a property, buy kitchen equipment, decorate the restaurant, and more.
If they bet too much up front, they might struggle later on.
Managing the restaurant well was the real key.
Gu Zhaoping hadn’t responded yet.
Meanwhile, the third team was more conservative.
After some internal discussion, they decided not to bet at all, instead putting all their virtual funds into setting up the restaurant.
Li Xunxi placed an initial bet of 5,000 yuan on her own team winning.
Then, after a moment, she took out another 5,000 and bet that Gu Zhaoping’s team would lose.
Liang Zhiwei was stunned.
She saw Chu Yanze’s expression shift slightly, and his gaze toward the other group lost any hint of friendliness.
Betting on your own team to win was fine — but betting on someone else to lose?
That was openly declaring war.
How could someone be this arrogant?
No consideration for decency at all.
But for Li Xunxi, none of this mattered.
As a pampered heiress, she had never been taught to “avoid offending people.”
And even if she had, this group didn’t fall into the “untouchables” category in her mind.
The tension between the two groups immediately skyrocketed.
Even the other guests and the production crew noticed — it was impossible to ignore now.
Ruan Nian looked apologetically at Gu Zhaoping and Chu Yanze, saying:
“Sorry, Sister Zhaoping, and Chu Yanze… it looks like we’ve made things a bit awkward.”
But Li Xunxi didn’t even look at them.
Her fingers rested on her chips, eyes fixed straight ahead at the blackboard.
“Why apologize? This segment is designed to let everyone compete with their skills.
Just because someone seems to be at a disadvantage doesn’t mean we can’t bet against them.If you don’t take the chance when it’s right in front of you, that’s not good business sense.”
She sounded completely justified.
Of course she’d received business training from her family.
This show was, after all, about showcasing life among the rich.
That included how elite heirs acted, their business acumen, what they studied, and how capable they really were.
Wasn’t this challenge meant to show that?
Worried the audience wouldn’t understand her brilliance when the show aired, Li Xunxi turned to Ruan Nian and explained:
“This is called the risk hedging principle.Since there are three groups, betting both on our own win and their loss increases our chances of winning.”
Ruan Nian looked convinced by her explanation.
Her guilty expression faded, and she nodded seriously, acting cooperative.
Everyone in Gu Zhaoping’s group heard the exchange, but Gu Zhaoping didn’t react much.
Liang Zhiwei, who wasn’t good at making decisions for others, just kept glancing over anxiously.
Chu Yanze, usually indifferent, remained calm and aloof.
Then, as if unintentionally, Ruan Nian added, “Xunxi, Sister Zhaoping did graduate with a business degree, right? She might actually be very capable. Should we really underestimate her like this? What if we lose the bet?”
Li Xunxi seemed to hear a joke.
She’d never liked Gu Zhaoping — thought she was completely useless.
“Gu Zhaoping’s failed every business she’s ever tried — I’ve heard of several of her shops going under. If she actually pulls something off this time, it’ll be the joke of the century.”
She scoffed, full of disdain.
Even with the Gu family backing her and Shen Yifeng leading her, Gu Zhaoping still flopped.
Xunxi didn’t believe she could suddenly turn things around just because she was on a show.
And what’s with her brother, Gu Zhaoye, being so outstanding, while she turned out like this?
“If they actually bet on themselves to win, I’ll raise my bet. Gu Zhaoping has the worst luck — the more confident she is, the more likely she is to mess things up.”
As Li Xunxi chatted and laughed with Ruan Nian, Chu Yanze’s expression finally changed.
He looked over coldly — his gaze startling Ruan Nian into silence.
She was confused — wasn’t he rumored to be interested in her?
As for Gu Zhaoping, who knew whether she had heard or not.
She calmly looked at the chips in her hand, opened the envelope, and pushed two chips forward.
Then she asked the crew, “Can we see the cost of the rental spaces first?”
Everyone turned to the director.
The director quickly nodded, “Of course, of course.”
The crew rolled out a large board showing the rental prices:
Street stalls (mobile): cheapest, 20,000 yuan per day
Streetfront stores: most expensive, 40,000 yuan including equipment and setup
Office space (in a commercial building): 30,000 yuan
Gu Zhaoping didn’t act impulsively at all — she calmly analyzed the rental costs.
This surprised the Li siblings — they hadn’t expected her to remain so composed.
They stopped debating about the betting for now and whispered to each other.
They figured Gu Zhaoping’s group would pick either the streetfront shop or the office, not the mobile stall — that didn’t align with a brand strategy.
After all, street stalls had lower profit margins.
Then, while everyone else was still debating rentals, Gu Zhaoping pushed forward more chips and said:
“We’ll bet 10,000 chips on our group to win.”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear and firm.
Everyone froze.
Wait, what?
Li Xunxi’s group had only bet 10,000 total, split between a win for themselves and a loss for Zhaoping’s team.
But Gu Zhaoping had just bet 10,000 on her group winning — with no hedging, no risk spread?
Didn’t she realize she had a two-thirds chance of losing?
Her group’s odds were only 1.5 — that meant the potential return wasn’t even that high.
Even Group 3 thought she was being reckless and felt sorry for her.
But the Li siblings’ expressions changed drastically.
Hadn’t Xunxi just bragged that if Gu Zhaoping dared to bet on herself, she’d raise the stakes?
Now that Gu Zhaoping had actually done it, was she… declaring war?
Was she willing to risk losing everything, just to drag them down?
So emotional — so reckless, Li Xunxi sneered in her heart, feeling even more contempt.
At first, she had wanted to quietly gloss over the topic of raising the stakes, thinking that since others hadn’t heard her, she could just let it slide.
But to her surprise, Gu Zhaoping turned her head, glanced at her with a slight smile, and even tilted her head as she asked:
“Raising the stakes? How much are you adding?”
Gu Zhaoping’s tone was calm, but it was precisely that calmness that made it so infuriating:
“You’re not going to add less than I did, are you? Li Xunxi, since you look down on me, then don’t match my odds—there’s no fun in that.”
The smile on Li Xunxi’s face vanished in an instant, her expression even turning slightly pale.
She coldly stared at Gu Zhaoping and, unable to resist the provocation, responded despite Li Xunwen’s attempt to stop her and Ruan Nian’s alarmed expression:
“Our team isn’t short on funds. We’re raising the stakes—10,000 more to bet on the other team losing, and another 10,000 to bet on our team winning.”
This sparked a round of surprised gasps and excitement from everyone around.
Now, Li Xunxi’s team had put a full 30,000 of their funds into betting—15,000 on themselves to win and 15,000 on Gu Zhaoping’s team to lose.
It was completely irrational behavior!
Even if Gu Zhaoping’s team lost, the return odds would only be 1.67, but if Gu Zhaoping’s team won, the return odds would be 2.5.
Li Xunwen’s face looked pained.
Just as he was about to stop Li Xunxi, she glanced provocatively at Gu Zhaoping and said:
“Gu Zhaoping, I’ve raised the stakes—don’t tell me you’re not going to? Don’t tell me you’re that gutless?”
That’s when Li Xunwen finally understood.
So that’s her plan—a lose-lose strategy!
Since Gu Zhaoping provoked them, they couldn’t back down now, or it would seem like they’d already lost momentum.
But knowing Gu Zhaoping’s temper, she definitely wouldn’t back off after being provoked like that.
Just as Chu Yanze, who had been calm the entire time, frowned and was about to speak, a hand reached out and gently pressed his shoulder.
That light touch calmed all his emotions. Chu Yanze froze for a moment, and then his whole demeanor settled.
“We’re not raising.”
Everyone’s expressions changed.
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