What Wouldn't I Dare?

With a splash, the man standing on the large floating platform suddenly leaped into the water.

The livestream camera shook violently, barely catching an orange-yellow figure swimming toward the heart of the waves.

Waves surged against the platform, leaving even the livestream director struggling to stand. Unable to see what was happening, he hurriedly ordered the lifeguards into the water.

The lifeguards, who had been waiting on standby, jumped in one after another and swam toward the center.

Yet the young man who should have been swallowed by the massive wave broke through the surface, using its force to shoot three meters into the air.

He gritted his teeth and steadied the board beneath his feet. Once he had his balance, he rose steadily, clearing the three-meter mark.

"I did it! I did it!" Song Yunxing waved from his board, shouting in excitement.

He looked down and scanned his surroundings. Not a soul remained on the exposed platform. Instead, a whole crowd floated in the sea below, dazed after taking a wave straight to the head. They surfaced and stared blankly up at him.

Among them, the man in the orange-yellow life jacket stood out the most.

Song Yunxing's lips curved upward, and he couldn't resist showing off. "Shen Yanci, did you see that? You're not the only one who can do this! I can too!"

With all the dramatic flair of an adolescent, he struck Ultraman Tiga's signature takeoff pose in midair.

The man's lips twitched as he floated on the surface. In the end, he could only shake his head helplessly.

[Hahaha, with the crew panicking and the camera shaking that badly, I thought something serious had happened!]

[Xingxing is amazing! Who dares say our Xingxing has no core strength now? He puts all those scrawny weaklings to shame!]

[I'm dying. Xingxing turns into such an overdramatic kid when he gets excited.]

[New reaction meme: ascending to heaven.JPG]

Seeing that he was fine, the crew all let out long sighs of relief.

The water jets beneath the equipment weakened, and the young man slowly descended from midair.

The man stayed afloat, waiting for him to come down.

Still buzzing with excitement, Song Yunxing landed on the water.

"This was my first time! How many times did I fall? Seven, right? Honestly, I think I've got a knack for it. It won't take long..." He chattered excitedly without stopping.

Shen Yanci was still shaken. When the massive wave had swallowed the young man's head, his mind had gone blank. For an instant, it had felt as though a hand had seized his heart, ready to crush it the next second.

The young man now floated right in front of him, his wet lips opening and closing without pause. The man's gaze darkened. All he wanted was to silence that incessantly chattering mouth and pull him fiercely into his arms.

His hands clenched tightly beneath the water. He let out a heavy breath, caught hold of Song Yunxing's life jacket, and swam toward the platform.

"Oh, right. Why did all of you jump in just now?" the young man asked as Shen Yanci brought him onto the platform and he unfastened his foot bindings.

The man casually took a towel from an assistant and pressed it onto his head.

"It was too hot. They went in to cool off."

The lifeguards who had just climbed out beside them: ...

"Oh. But hadn't you already been in the water? Why did you go in again?" Song Yunxing lifted the towel and glanced at him.

The man looked down at him. "What do you think?"

The young man pondered for a moment. "Did you get cold after coming out? You wanted to soak in the water again?"

The man gave his head a light knock, his voice faintly strained through gritted teeth. "I think you soaked for too long and got water in your brain!"

"What's wrong with you? Why are you hitting my head? I wasn't the one who told you to jump in," Song Yunxing muttered, covering his head with a deep frown.

[Aaah! Song Yunxing, are you made of wood?!]

[Why would you believe such a ridiculous excuse?!]

[You're both so stubborn! Is saying one honest sentence really that hard?!]

[Their mouths are the most stubborn things about either of them!]

"Director, did we finish our task?" Song Yunxing asked, drying his wet hair with the towel.

The livestream director nodded, looking sick.

Why had he agreed to this? Shen Yanci had prior experience, which was fair enough, but how had even Song Yunxing completed the task within ten minutes?

"Take off your life jackets and head to the next stage to shoot your couple promo photos," the livestream director said.

Song Yunxing nodded and lowered his head to undo his life jacket, only to realize as he reached for it that his white T-shirt was soaked through.

He had shown some skin for fan service at concerts before, but right now, he was standing in front of a livestream camera.

His ears flushed faintly as he pretended to be nonchalant and undid the straps of his life jacket.

Just then, the man caught his wrist.

"Wait! Come with me." Keeping hold of his wrist, the man led him beneath a nearby canopy.

The livestream camera turned to follow them. Shen Yanci glanced back, his voice cold and warning. "Don't film."

The livestream director sheepishly turned the camera away. Both of them were major stars, and Shen Yanci had personally contributed a hefty sum to sponsor the show.

If Shen Yanci said not to film, how could he dare?

But hadn't the two of them come here to clear up the rumors? Why were they getting so carried away with the act? He couldn't tell what was real anymore.

"What are you doing?" Song Yunxing looked at him in confusion.

Right in front of him, the man unzipped his sun-protective jacket.

Song Yunxing grew a little flustered, his gaze wandering. "What are you doing...?"

He glanced at the man's body from the corner of his eye. Instead of the bare torso he had imagined, there was a black quick-dry T-shirt beneath the jacket.

Noticing his wandering gaze, the man chuckled. "What, disappointed?"

"Disappointed about what? Stop talking nonsense! It's not like I don't have any!" Song Yunxing promptly undid his life jacket.

His wet white T-shirt clung to his body, concealing absolutely nothing.

His skin was a warm ivory, like fine, warm jade, with pale pink blossoms adorning it, especially eye-catching.

His firm lower abdomen and abs rose and fell with his breathing, his V-lines faintly visible.

"I have abs! Sure, they're not as..."

Before Song Yunxing could finish, a jacket landed over his shoulders. The man lowered his eyes and swiftly pulled up the zipper.

"Don't let anyone else see you like this again!" the man said, head bowed, his voice husky.

"I'm not an exhibitionist. I'm just proving myself, okay? And I'm not wearing your jacket. We're here to clear up the rumors!"

The young man raised his hands to take off the jacket.

"Wear it. It's yours now." The man held the zipper, refusing to yield.

"No! Luo An is a male Beta too. Why didn't you give him your jacket when he went shirtless?" Song Yunxing demanded, entirely convinced of his own logic.

Shen Yanci: ... I'd have to be out of my mind to give him my jacket.

Luo An: Achoo~ Who's talking about me?

"I remember you've got an album coming out. Will you be able to record if you catch a cold?"

"A little breeze like this won't give me a cold!"

With his back to them, the livestream director listened to their pointless bickering and felt as though his stomach would slosh with nothing but their lovey-dovey antics if he shook it.

The livestream director wasn't far from them, and the audio equipment could faintly pick up their argument.

[Aaah! I only just realized how possessive Shen Yanci is.]

[Honestly, if Xingxing were my wife, I'd want to hide him away too.]

[Luo An: catching strays even while just sitting there.]

[You two lovebirds make even an argument pretty sweet.]

"Be good and wear it. If you don't, I'm going to kiss you!" Shen Yanci delivered his final ultimatum.

Song Yunxing's pupils trembled for an instant. "...You wouldn't dare!"

Shen Yanci chuckled, his strong hand closing around Song Yunxing's waist. "What wouldn't I dare? Shall we put it to the test?"