Actually, he's not afraid of water, but he's still a little afraid of being splashed in. Only those who have played this game know that not only will you choke on water, but the splashes can also hurt a lot.
"Three! Two! One! Game start!"
As soon as the director gave the order, Xu Chun, seizing the initiative, said, "Xie Jianyuan told me that he likes someone."
"Oh~"
"Breaking news! Breaking news! I want to hear it!"
"What a juicy piece of gossip!"
A murmur of ambiguous teasing arose from all around, with Chu Xi's voice being the loudest, as if she were retaliating against Xie Jianyuan for not giving her face earlier.
However, to Xu Chun's surprise, Xie Jianyuan remained calm and composed, with a steady heartbeat.
Xu Chun looked away, somewhat frustrated.
When it was Xie Jianyuan's turn, he first smiled enigmatically, a glint in his eyes, and whispered, "You were right."
Xu Chun was stunned.
"I like you, Brother Chun."
Xie Jianyuan lowered his voice slightly, staring intently at Xu Chun's reaction without blinking, his expression so serious and focused that it almost made one believe him.
Xu Chun looked into Xie Jianyuan's dark eyes and felt they were like a bottomless ancient well, yet they revealed a faint gentleness that could drown one if one wasn't careful.
He felt a little flustered, but he couldn't quite put his finger on where that strange feeling in his heart came from.
"He's been promoted! He's been promoted!"
Wow! Brother Xu, your heart is beating so fast!
"One hundred and thirty!"
Xu Chun covered his chest with a blank expression. "It was a bit too fast."
"..."
Chapter 49 Embrace
Xu Chun lost.
The instant the ejection chair launched him into the water, he miraculously felt no fear or trepidation, but instead kept replaying Xie Jianyuan's words in his mind.
With a "bang," water splashed everywhere, and a large amount of water entered his mouth and nose. Xu Chun struggled to stand up from the water, wiped his face, and swam towards the shore.
At this moment, Xie Jianyuan was already on the shore, reaching out his hand to him. He immediately thought of pulling him ashore, while the others were still joking around and creating a comedic effect.
Because water got into his eyes, Xu Chun had to squint at Xie Jianyuan, only able to see a blurry outline. But he still handed him his hand, and then felt a strong force come over him, lifting him up.
"Brother Chun, here's a towel." Xie Jianyuan intended to hand the towel to Xu Chun, but then changed his mind and started wiping Xu Chun's face himself.
Xu Chun stared blankly as he forced himself to accept Xie Jianyuan's actions. Xie Jianyuan was focused and gently wiped the water off Xu Chun's face. When he wiped Xu Chun's earlobe, Xu Chun could even feel the slight itch from Xie Jianyuan's fingers rubbing against the towel.
He blushed involuntarily, tilting his head slightly awkwardly, but still gave him a gentle smile, teasingly asking, "Are you mistaking me for Chun-zi?"
The "Chun-zi" joke naturally refers to Xu Chun's appearance after Xie Jianyuan's makeup. Xu Chun said this to save face for herself and him in front of the camera, but it seems that Xie Jianyuan didn't want to take the joke, only chuckled softly, but his hands kept moving.
Xu Chun had no choice but to say, "... I'll do it." After he finished speaking, he reached out and took the towel.
Xie Jianyuan smiled slightly, not forcing the issue, and watched as Xu Chun stood up and walked towards the direction of the production team while wiping the water droplets from her hair.
During the rest of the recording, Xu Chun was somewhat distracted, her mind preoccupied with Xie Jianyuan's earlier "confession."
Why did he have to say it that way?
Xu Chun was completely baffled. On one hand, she told herself that this was just for the sake of the show and she shouldn't overthink it, but on the other hand, a small voice inside her kept arguing with her.
Perhaps it was Xie Jianyuan's gaze that shook him; that focused gaze, as if he could see you alone in the world, gave him the illusion that he held you dear in his heart.
Xu Chun was startled by her own thoughts and cursed under her breath for being so narcissistic. Xie Jianyuan was a straight man, after all. But then Xu Chun frowned.
Having spent so much time with Xie Jianyuan, although I haven't seen him get close to any women, and although he seems to have very few male friends as well, at least there's Wei Jiahe, so I can barely consider myself to have a good relationship with him.
Upon closer examination, Xie Jianyuan appears to be a person who always wears a smile at everyone, is polite and well-mannered, and can chat with anyone. No one can find fault with him, but very few people are truly close to him.
"Brother Chun, why are you spacing out?"
For example, right now, Xie Jianyuan was the first and only person to notice his own state, and Li Mai whispered a reminder to him.
What used to seem perfectly ordinary now felt incredibly strange. Xu Chun looked at him hesitantly, her eyes seeming to hold a thousand unspoken words. She decided to get to the bottom of it as soon as the variety show ended.
Thinking this way made her feel much more relaxed, and she smiled at Xie Jianyuan, "It's nothing, I was just thinking about something."
Xie Jianyuan didn't press for details about what happened. He always knew how to maintain a proper balance and wouldn't put those around him in a difficult position. Such a person must have extremely high intelligence and emotional intelligence.
While Xu Chun was in a daze, this round of the competition had ended, and the final winner had been determined: Xu Huaizhou. When Xie Jianyuan played against him, both of their heartbeats were very steady, but something Xu Huaizhou mentioned caused Xie Jianyuan's heartbeat to fluctuate for a few seconds. Although it was only for a brief moment, he still lost.
Xu Chun asked Xie Jianyuan Xu Huaizhou was talking about, but he remained vague, so Xu Chun didn't press him further.
The clue Xu Huaizhou obtained was a line of poetry, "Flowing to the sea, never to return." He clearly didn't understand the connection between this line of poetry and his status as an illegitimate child, so he simply said it out loud and let everyone think about it together.
Chu Xi asked, "Is this a word puzzle or something to find a pattern or something?"