Just the second prior, he was elated and feeling pleased with himself within his heart . But then in the next, he was mercilessly exposed by Su Chi . Although the other had only asked âYouâre the assassin, right?â, there was no doubt at all in his tone .
His wrist was still tightly held in Su Chiâs hand while the otherâs smiling eyes seemed quite certain as if he was saying âIâve caught youâ . Xia Rongâs throat felt a little dry, and he swallowed before he insistently denied, âNo, I, I just wanted to praise that your clothes are good-looking . â
âIs that so?â
âYeah, itâs really good-looking . â Although Xia Rong maintained a composed face, he had already thought of the series of consequences that would soon follow:Â once Su Chi meets up with his teammates again and tells his teammates, then Xia Rong would become everyoneâs main suspect . After that happens, it would be even more difficult for him to approach the others when theyâre alone, let alone trying to carry out the âsecret taskâ .
And if Su Chi described his actions in a little more detail, it would be as if Xia Rong took the initiative to directly expose his identity as long as he did any similar actions . Then, in the end, he would undoubtedly be cast out as the assassin .
âŚWhy on earth was Su Chi this keen?!
And Production Team, whereâs your script?! If the assassin gets found out directly in the first round, then how are we going to continue playing this game?! Finally, Director, donât just watch, quickly come and help me1!
Xia Rong was calm on the surface as he stared at Su Chi, though his mind was already empty . At the same time, it was as if a system-like voice repeating âGame Overâ sounded next to his earsâ Unexpectedly, Su Chi suddenly released his grip . Instead, he gave Xia Rongâs earlobe a nip, then said with a smile, âYou are also very good-looking . â
âŚ!!!
Xia Rongâs mouth dropped, silently forming an âoâ shape . Su Chi couldnât help laughing as he then smiled and rubbed the soft earlobe that was wrapped in such thin skin . âYou really are very good-looking . Do you understand?â
Su Chiâs fingertips were slightly cool, so as he gently touched the soft and hot earlobe, there was an extremely vivid sensation .
Although the otherâs touch was light, Xia Rongâs heart felt as if it was a bell that had been heavily struck . He hurriedly raised his hand to cover his ears as he said, âI⌠I understand!â while looking back towards the direction of the accompanying director . Sure enough, he caught the smile of a chicken thief hiding behind the cameraâ No wonder they didnât come âhelpâ earlier but even allowed him to become so frightened in vain . It turns out, Su Chi wasnât an enemy, but a TM ally force!
âWhat would you understand2,â Su Chi didnât quite know why, but he also murmured a complaint . âWell, letâs hurry up, the others should have been waiting for a while already . â
âNo problem, letâs go!â Xia Rong cheered up and kept up with his pace . At least now he finally knew that he wasnât fighting alone . With Su Chi, his confidence in completing the task rose by more than a few notchesâ It was just that, the wrist that had been grasped earlier, he was unsure whether it was because both of them had been too nervous or what, but it still had a thin layer of sweat and felt a bit cloyingly wet .
So Xia Rong turned to the staff and asked, âWhich one of you has brought tissues? Lend me one, thereâs sweat on my hands . â
Thus the staff members that had bags looked through their bags, while those that didnât, looked through their pockets . But then Su Chi, who had already gone a few steps ahead, came back and decisively used his sleeves to wipe Xia Rongâs wrists . âDonât bother other people . Hurry up . â
âO-oh⌠Okay . âThe last two stops were respectively âGreat Exhibition of Skillsâ and âRenowned Across the Landâ . Su Chi and Xia Rong each won another game and received a copy of ăBeiming Divine Skill3ă and ăBixue Sword Manual4ă respectively . When Xia Rong finally got the copy of ăBixue Sword Manuală, he was at a loss as to whether to cry or laugh as he flipped to the first page and found that it was really printed with the sentence âIf one wants to practice this divine technique, one must first castrate oneselfââ Production Team, why are you guys always so particularly mindful of details in such strange places as these?
Xia Rong read out this sentence that was printed on the title page toward the camera . He also didnât forget to add more scene time for himself and continued to say with a murderous expression, âif one wants to practice this divine technique, one must first castrate oneselfâ to have me castrated, itâs better to just cripple my martial arts!â
Xia Rong saw that the directorâs shoulders were already trembling from laughter . He could guess that if this segment got edited into the main episode, it should have a good effect for the program . Moreover, on the side, Su Chi also added with a smile, âItâs okay, I have Beiming Divine Skill . At that time, Iâll transmit you inner force . â
âDonât forget that we are from opposite camps,â Xia Rong said after putting on an air of serious manner, âIâm afraid youâll secretly harm me as you transmit the inner force . â
âEven if I were to harm someone, I still wouldnât harm you . Have you forgotten?â Su Chi said with a smile and even made the gesture as if he would stretch out his hand to pinch Xia Rongâs earlobe .
By now, Xia Rong was really afraid of that feeling of sensitivity, as if his heart was quivering, that would occur after his earlobe gets pinched, so he quickly stepped back to open up more space between the two of them . Unexpectedly, he was unfortunate in where he stood and by taking those steps, his back happened to hit one of the pillars of the pavilion . At this time, Su Chi took advantage of the situation to take a step forward and stretched out to prop Xia Rong up with his arm . The shape formed from that posture instantly reminded Xia Rong of a certain widely circulated photo5 .
At this, he hurriedly bent down and got out from under Su Chiâs arm, then even threatened the on-site director, âDirector, cut this scene out and donât broadcast it! Iâd be anxious for you if you broadcast it!â
In actuality, the happy times of being able to mess around were only the length of a sentence or two . After all, they had to rush to keep up with the programâs schedule . The two people then allowed the filming crew to take a few more shots so they would have more raw material for the editing team . And thus, they had smoothly passed all the hurdles of the first part .
According to the overall statistics, the final score between Xia Rong and Su Chi was 2:3 . Xia Rong was slightly behind by a mere point, but this gap couldnât be considered large and could easily be caught up . It would mainly depend on the performance of the other teammates . By the time the two of them, along with their accompanying film staff, had rushed and arrived at the ancient cityâs gate tower, the others had already waited for a long time . Fortunately, the production team didnât require them to wait specifically on the city wall thereby being exposed to the peak noon sun . Instead, the production team had found a cooler spot and had a temporary canopy set up . So the rest of the members were all sitting under the canopy as they drank tea and chatted, trying to guess who was the assassin .
As the sun continued to shine down on them, Xia Rong and Su Chi hurried to catch up with the others while wearing their heavy ancient costumes . So by the time they arrived, they were both panting with sweat all over . Xia Rong had just wiped the sweat that had dripped down from his forehead when he saw the rest of the groupâs comfortable appearance, and he immediately became indignant . âThe two of us over here are almost dying from exhaustion, yet you guys are just there drinking tea under the shade, arenât you guys enjoying it a bit too much?!â
After learning how to get along during the last episode and having hung out outside of the program, this group of friends was obviously much more familiar with each other compared to the beginning . For example, Kang Yifan, who originally was already the easy-going and cheerful sort6, would now even joke right from the start . âIsnât it all because you two are too slow when completing the tasks? Weâre already almost full from just drinking the tea . Having us wait for you guys for so long, did you two go shoot off or something?â
On the side, Ye Mang heavily coughed once, indicating to Kang Yifan that there was still a camera filming next to him . So Kang Yifan consciously changed his words before asking again, ââŚHaving us wait for you guys for so long, did you two go off to fight again7?â
The contrast of the hidden meanings behind these two versions was too large, such that Xia Rong was too lazy to even pay him any attention . Then just as he sat down at the âtea party tableâ, Su Chi came over and nudged his(XR) shoulder with his(SC) elbow before handing over a towel . âItâs been chilled . Use it to wipe your sweat, theyâre about to calculate the scores . â
Xia Rong casually answered with a âthank youâ as he received the towel . He really did sweat quite a bit and his black hair on his forehead was sticking together here and there from being wet . Taking the towel, he indiscriminately ruffled his hair, but it still ended up just laying softly on his forehead .
Su Chi again found a small fan from who knew where . âTake it to fan . Your hairstyleâs already drooping, theyâll almost be bangs soon . â
Xia Rong wasnât able to free up a hand, so Su Chi just sat down beside him . As he fanned himself, he would also intentionally or unintentionally fan Xia Rong a few times .
Zhang Xin sat directly to the right of Xia Rong and saw everything quite clearly . He didnât continue to play the game on his phone with his head lowered but smiled and said, âI feel that Kang Yifanâs first version is still more appropriate . To prepare and serve like that8, comparatively⌠Mhmm, heâs more concerned and thoughtful than anyone else . â
Xia Rong knew they were jeering that the two of them had âsleptâ together, but he didnât take it very seriously . After all, when he was still in school, there was always jeering between the boys and no shortage of them would spoof around by calling each other âhusbandâ or âwifeâ . Of course, back then, he was always in the position of being the one who forced others to call him husband . Therefore, having been heckled like that, he didnât feel like it was much of an insult, rather he felt that it should be a matter of factâ
Nonsense, my relationship with Su Chi is just that we can both become catsâ âGuardians of Cuteness9â, could it be the same with you guys?!âWhy? Jealous?â Xia Rong generously smiled, then placed the towel on the table as he turned around and raised his hand to pinch Su Chiâs earlobe . âFor Su Chi to be so good-looking but would also serve me water and tea while he also fans me, how blessed this is . â
Su Chi had originally planned to dodge, but when he saw Xia Rongâs slight wink, he could only continue holding the fan as he stiffly endured the otherâs actions .
As Xia Rong rubbed and pinched the otherâs earlobe, he was, in fact, also secretly observing the otherâs reaction .  Why was he not reacting like himself? Even if you arenât sensitive, at least you should still ritualistically dodge a bit, right?⌠Could different peopleâs sensitivity levels really be so different? So much for trying to covertly avenge himself for having been so frightened earlier that his heart was beating like a drum!
Seeing how Su Chiâs face didnât have even a ripple of alarm throughout, Xia Rong was a bit disappointed . With a smile, he just took his hand back and turned to see the other peopleâs reactions .
Sure enough, Kang Yifan made a âvomitingâ expression and said, âYou two are just too nauseatingly sappy! Xia Rong, do you still remember whose team youâre actually on? â
Boldly, Xia Rong righteously replied, âHow is it nauseatingly sappy? Of course, I remember which team Iâm on . Oh, Yifan, are you just too envious and jealous in your heart while being too embarrassed to actually say it? Rest assuredââ Xia Rong smilingly stood up and went over to touch Kang Yifanâs earlobe . âRest assured, Ge wonât favor one over the other10 . Here comesâŚ!â
Kang Yifan hurriedly wanted to hide, but Ye Mang and Gao Junming, who were sitting next to him, both just laughed and moved aside, giving him nowhere to hide . In the end, Xia Rong was able to pinch right on target . âYou are also good-looking! HahahaâŚâ
âScram, scram off!â Kang Yifan angrily said, âIf this gets broadcasted, your fans would definitely scold you! Do you believe it or not!?â
They would only praise me for my quick-wittedness, okay?
From the corner of Xia Rongâs eyes, he managed to catch the gesture that the director was secretly sending him, and in his heart, he gestured to himself a âYESââ Kang Yifan, GET!
Boy, to play with Ge, youâre still a bit too tender!