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Seeing the current time, Shen Xingsui suddenly had a sense of crisis. “At that time, there was an older man who was dancing with me. His face was quite handsome, so I remember him quite clearly. Didn’t that young man Erge bothered earlier say he was going to farm? Maybe that dancer was also a farmer. Why don’t we go to the field to have a look? Maybe we can find him.”
Fu Jinxiao responded with a light nod.
Then, not knowing if it was half-joking or what, Fu Jinxiao glanced at Shen Xingsui, and said slowly, “Why, do you like that type of men?”
Shen Xingsui was speechless. It took him a long time to realize what Fu Jinxiao meant. With a light flush on his cheeks, he complained, “You’re making fun of me again!”
Both of them were talking while walking, and Shen Xingsui’s adorable outburst gained some of the villagers’ attention. Even the sparrow on the nearby eaves seemed to notice them. Thankfully, their volume was low, so the content of their conversation wasn’t known.
Fu Jinxiao raised his eyebrows, curled his lips and said, “It sounds like I have played a lot of jokes with you.”
Shen Xingsui walked with small, hurried steps while muttering, “Just like what you did in the morning?”
The two were talking, but a person happened to pass by not far away. Her clothes had been changed, but her headgear had not changed, so Shen Xingsui was certain that she was one of the performers from before.
Shen Xingsui’s eyes lit up, he pointed at the person and said, “It’s her! Let’s chase after her.”
But Fu Jinxiao grabbed his wrist, Shen Xingsui turned his head in surprise, and met with Fu Jinxiao’s deep gaze. While he didn’t know what the actor meant with that look, Shen Xingsui could feel there were some hidden feelings inside. As the gentle winter’s sunlight fell on both of them, Shen Xingsui felt that this moment was dazzling.
Fu Jinxiao asked him to stand beside him, looking down at the shorter youth.
The movie emperor wasn’t a man who was strictly bound by the program’s rules – he was able to get away with many things. He was also a man who despised losing and being understood.
Under the sun, he bent down and leaned close to Shen Xingsui’s ear, his voice low and hoarse, “That’s not a joke.”
The voice was numbing. Shen Xingsui flinched and froze in place.
That question, Fu Jinxiao said, was not a joke. For this reason, he actually reiterated it again.
The actor’s voice continued to echo inside his ears. After he finished talking, Shen Xingsui realized that Fu Jinxiao’s expression was a bit more aggressive. Under the sun, his dark eyes didn’t appear to be purely black; it had a faint tinge of dark blue when the light hits just right.
Again, Fu Jinxiao whispered directly to Shen Xingsui’s blushing ear, “I’m serious.”
Everything in the world seemed to be silent for a moment.
Shen Xingsui’s eyes widened, and he looked at the man in disbelief. His heartbeat was beating irregularly in his chest, he was so nervous that his breaths were erratic.
Fu Jinxiao straightened up and regained his seriousness in an instant, as if he finally realized that he was filming a show, “Okay, let’s go chasing her now.”
Shen Xingsui stammered, “Chasing, chasing who”
“Chasing you?” Fu There was a teasing edge on his smile. His stable and calm voice continued speaking, “Or else, we will fail to learn how to dance.”
That statement made Shen Xingsui remember his task.
His face was flushed, and he turned around in a panic to chase after the dancer. But, his body wasn’t in balance, and he almost fell down after taking two unsteady steps. Thankfully, Fu Jinxiao behind him managed to catch him before that could happen.
The viewers in the live broadcast room desperately wanted to know the full context. They were excited.
[What did Teacher Fu say just now!]
[Anyone could read lips??? Why did these two muted their mic!!]
[I really want to go inside the screen and listen.]
[Let me tell you the truth: I’m the sparrow on that eave, and I heard what he said. He said, “I love you.”]
[Hahahaha!]
Fortunately, although there were some small mistakes in the middle, they managed to chase the dancer girl. She admitted that she was indeed one of the dancers from earlier. But if both men want to learn, they need to fulfill some conditions. She said, “I have something that was loaned to the village’s leader, Uncle Wang. If you can help me get it back, I will agree to teach you the dance.”
Shen Xingsui immediately agreed, afraid the girl would retract her offer. “Okay, I will do it.”
The girl continued, “However, only one of you can go to Uncle Wang. The other one must stay behind and help me with some work. I’ll give you fifteen minutes. If you don’t come back until then, the person who stays will help me with a day’s work for free.”
Shen Xingsui was stunned. “That’s… it?”
The girl nodded. “You go, he stays.”
The conditions were weird, but it was expected since they must be asked by this show’s inhumane crew. Shen Xingsui had no choice but to agree. After the girl started timing, he immediately ran.
Unexpectedly, he was not the only one who was running in the village at the same time. He also met Shen Xingchen and Ning Ze on the road. They also received the task and were running with all their strength.
Shen Xingsui soon arrived at Uncle Wang at the entrance of the village. After explaining his purpose, he was in a hurry. However, Uncle Wang said, “You have to cut all the firewood for me before I can give you her things.”
Shen Xingsui: “Huh?!”
There was at least a pile of firewood inside.
Uncle Wang waved his hand and said, “If you don’t want to do it, then forget it.”
“I can do it!” Shen Xingsui dared not refuse. After all, if he failed, Fu Jinxiao would be detained by a day’s worth of work!
It’s winter now, so at least it wasn’t hot. But chopping firewood was indeed a physical labor. He was too anxious. When he picked up firewood and chopped it, there was a splinter on the log. He was stabbed, and the blood dripped from the palm to the ground. In reflex, he grunted.
Uncle Wang worriedly offered, “Let me pick it for you?”
Shen Xingsui waved his hands and didn’t dare to stop, “It’s all right, thank you, but I’m in a hurry.”
His hand for chopping firewood seemed to be trembling because of the pain, but he didn’t stop. After chopping firewood within the time limit, he picked up his things and ran back quickly. Despite the cold air, sweat was dripping down his cheeks, and he didn’t dare to stop running even for a moment.
The audience in the live broadcast room were stunned with this unusual display of physical prowess.
[I used to think that this kid looked very thin and quiet. He really surprised me.]
[Isn’t he too desperate?]
[This show, aiyah… really. They really dared to play like this.]
[He must have a strong desire to win]
[No, I think it’s more that he didn’t want to lose, specifically.]
[Yeah, because he knew what will happen to Mr. Fu if he does~]
When Shen Xingsui arrived at the courtyard, it was exactly 15 minutes. The girl was startled by his sudden appearance, and also his result. She said, “Okay, you have passed the test. I will uphold my end, so I will teach you how to dance.”
Shen Xingsui bowed, panting and said, “Thank you.”
Fu Jinxiao, who was carrying water, came back from outside. He was stunned for a moment when he saw the sweaty and tired youth who couldn’t straighten up. He walked over and said, “What are you doing in such a hurry?
“The village’s leader asked me to chop some firewood before he can give me the items.”
Fu Jinxiao took out a dry towel and wiped his face, and sighed helplessly, full of distress. “Why are you so stupid? I also met other guests now, and while they also need to finish within 15 minutes, it was just to make us work faster. If you fail to do it within the time limit, they’ll still agree to teach you so long you talk them up. Sigh… you really finished chopping the firewood, didn’t you?”
Shen Xingsui’s movements paused, and he wiped his face with a handkerchief slowly. His voice was soft, with an almost inaudible hint of grievance, “But I don’t know how to speak like that… I’m just afraid that if I can’t complete the task, you will have to work…”
“But I don’t know how to speak like that…”
The moment Fu Jinxiao heard that phrase, his gaze deepened.
That’s right, Shen Xingsui has always been a bit of a naive kid. He didn’t have such eloquence with words, nor could he fake emotions. In a world full of opportunistic people, he was a rare, sincere person, clumsily confronting the world head-on.
Fu Jinxiao’s facial expression was much gentler. With a subconscious patient tone, he praised the youth, “It’s okay, you’ve done a good job regardless.”
Shen Xingsui raised his head, and a smile appeared in his bright eyes, “Really?”
“Mhhm.” Fu Jinxiao pursed his lips. Then, he patted Shen Xingsui’s head, despite it looking quite gross with sweat. “So, we must win this round, don’t you think so.”
‘I won’t let your efforts be in vain.’
The guests had been busy since morning and hadn’t eaten lunch yet. Seeing this, the director panicked a little. He didn’t want to be accused of abusing them, so he put forward an invitation. “As long as everyone completes the small game we set up, we will provide lunch! The more you win, the more food you get. How about it?”
The guests were hesitant, but they were too hungry to refuse.
Hearing this proposal, Shen Xingsui asked Fu Jinxiao, “Are we going to participate?”
Fu Jinxiao was not interested. “I walked around the village today and found a restaurant. The director never took our money or forbade us from using it, so we can eat there. It’s okay not to participate.”
Shen Xingsui nodded thoughtfully.
Who knew that the director actually added another sentence, “–plus, the losing team will get punished! They have to play the pocky game!”
Shen Xingchen’s comment were dripping with sarcasm, “Wow, this game will be so fun~”
‘Doesn’t this mean… a chance of… accidental kissing?’
The other guests caught up on the hidden meaning, and some of them even tried not to smile.
“My God.”
“It’s not easy to eat this meal.”
“Pocky game1the original raw said “chocolate stick”, not pocky, but I translated it as this so you would immediately understand. Well, “Pocky” is a brand name., huh…”
Then the director asked again, “One last time, is there any team who doesn’t want to participate?”
When Shen Xingsui was recalling where the small restaurant was, Fu Jinxiao suddenly said, “Our team will participate.”
“??”
Shen Xingsui looked at him in shock, and asked, “Didn’t you just say that you knew the location of the restaurant?”
“I still remember. But… after thinking about it, we should cooperate with this game that the director set. Who knows if the director will give us a sudden task or something nasty like that. I don’t want to gamble on that possibility.”
Shen Xingsui felt something was wrong, but still obediently said, “…Okay.”
1the original raw said “chocolate stick”, not pocky, but I translated it as this so you would immediately understand. Well, “Pocky” is a brand name.