An indirect kiss

As they were talking, Fu Yunxi and He Jianing came running over, panting.

Xie Lin raised his eyebrows, sweeping his gaze over the two of them.

"What were you secretly doing behind everyone's backs to get yourselves so out of breath?"

Fu Yunxi's expression stiffened, and he turned his head away awkwardly.

He Jianing frowned instead, his eyes instantly reddening as tears pooled in them, on the verge of falling.

"Xie Lin, please don't misunderstand. Yunxi and I really are just ordinary friends. You're his true love."

"Enough!"

Xie Lin's expression cooled slightly. Not bothering to watch his performance, he pushed Lu Ye in front of him.

"Your teammate. Take him."

[No, don't break up my ship! Lu Lin fans are sobbing themselves unconscious in the bathroom!]

[It's over. Your faves don't want you anymore~]

Lu Ye stared at Xie Lin in disbelief and pouted. The tall, broad Alpha looked as aggrieved as a child.

"Wifey~ You..."

"Shut up and do your task prop-er-ly!"

With that, he turned to leave-

But didn't get anywhere.

Lu Ye clung tightly to his arm, his voice pitiful.

"Wifey, take the backpack. Don't carry it yourself. Make Fu Yunxi carry it."

Fu Yunxi instinctively reached to take it, but before his fingers could touch the strap, Xie Lin slapped his hand away.

"We found it. Why should he get it?"

Fu Yunxi flew into a rage, the veins at his temples twitching.

"Do you even remember that I'm your teammate?"

"So what? Can't we just run to the finish line and back? What do we need supplies for?"

Fu Yunxi panted with anger. Thinking of the Hidden Task card in his pocket only gave him a headache.

His Hidden Task was: pin someone against a tree and tell them, "Woman or man, you smell so good~"

Fuck. With Xie Lin avoiding me like the plague right now, would he beat me to death if I actually pinned him against a tree?

Lu Ye handed both backpacks over, and Xie Lin glared at him.

"Are you trying to work me to death? Keep one."

Lu Ye blinked, the corners of his mouth curling up.

"Wifey~ Are you worried I won't find anything to eat?"

Xie Lin turned his face away.

"You're overthinking it."

"Wifey, I know three people who like you. Could you pay them some attention?"

Xie Lin frowned.

"What the hell does that have to do with me?"

"Aren't you going to ask me who they are?"

"What the hell does that have to do with me?"

Lu Ye pouted.

It suddenly struck Xie Lin. Could this be Lu Ye's Hidden Task?

After a moment of silence, he looked elsewhere, his gaze wandering.

"...Who are they?"

Lu Ye's eyes lit up, and he pointed at himself.

"Me! Me! Me!"

Xie Lin: "..."

Yue Lan burst out laughing.

"President Lu, is your Hidden Task to deliver a cheesy pickup line?"

Lu Ye lifted his head, looking so pleased with himself that his tail might as well have been sticking straight up into the sky.

"Yep. I did it. Hehe."

Fu Yunxi stood to the side, his clenched knuckles cracking, his face red with anger.

Xie Lin did that on purpose.

He clearly saw through it, but he still played along and asked, helping him complete his Hidden Task.

He did it on purpose!

Lu Ye lowered his gaze to Xie Lin.

"Wifey, what's your Hidden Task? I'll help you..."

The director's frantic shout suddenly burst through their earpieces.

"Reveal your own mission and you fail!!!"

Yu Zhiwei covered her mouth to stifle a laugh and quietly moved closer to Yue Lan.

"Mine's the only easy one."

"Hmm? Have you finished it already?"

"Mm..."

A little while later, Yu Zhiwei hopped a few times on one leg.

"Now I'm done!"

Her mission was, "Stay in physical contact with the person you're attracted to for thirty seconds. Contact with any part of the body counts."

Yue Lan's eyes curved as she watched her hop around and nearly fall, and she quickly reached out to steady her.

"I finished mine ages ago."

"Huh? Sister Lan, what was your mission?"

"Carry the person I'm attracted to on my back for thirty seconds. I exceeded the requirement."

[Sister Lan totally crushed this round. It's like it was tailor-made for her.]

[If you ask me, Zhiwei's the one who really won big. That's Sister Lan, a super-badass Alpha!]

He Jianing's face flushed, and he smiled awkwardly.

"Your missions are all so easy. Unlike mine-I still don't have a clue what to do."

Without waiting for him to finish, Xie Lin shouldered his backpack and headed into the woods.

"Let's go, let's go. I think the little flag's just ahead."

He Jianing looked at Lu Ye and Fu Yunxi following him, his eyes darkening.

His Hidden Task was: play a tune on a leaf for the person he was attracted to. Any kind of leaf would do.

Fuck, how was I supposed to know how to play a tune?

The musical persona he had cultivated before returning to the country had all been fake. He hadn't had time to learn yet.

Still, he jogged after them.

"Xie Lin, you haven't finished your mission either, right?"

"No."

"That's a relief. As long as I'm not the only one left at the end..."

"You will be the only one left. Mine's almost done."

"..."

"Ah!"

As though something had occurred to him, Xie Lin swept a meaningful glance over Fu Yunxi.

"You'll have company, but it won't be me!"

[Does Xie Lin know how to talk to people? If he doesn't, he should just die!]

[What did Ningbao even do? What gives him the right to say that!]

[Ningbao was clearly showing concern for him. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. A rotten person really does see everyone else as rotten.]

[Oh, who's this getting all rattled after our Tao Miaomiao called them out?]

[I have reasonable grounds to suspect He Jianing hired paid commenters. How much per post? Let me see if I can make some of that money!]

Fu Yunxi clenched his fists, his heart pounding with unease.

Why did Xie Lin keep taking digs at me? Did he know something?

Impossible!

Yesterday, when he and He Jianing had been "playing cards" in the room, no one had seen them at all.

He had checked. There were no surveillance cameras in the room, and all the production crew's cameras had been placed in the hallway.

Was I overthinking it?

It was all Xie Lin's fault. If he hadn't kept saying I couldn't perform, how could I have lost control?

Xie Lin had already completed his mission unintentionally some time ago.

"Claim you can't open a water bottle and have the person you're attracted to open it for you, then drink from the same spot to complete an indirect kiss."

At the thought, a trace of warmth crept into the tips of his ears.

He turned to Fu Yunxi.

"Can you run?"

Fu Yunxi froze, then nodded instinctively.

"Then-run!"

Whoosh!

Xie Lin's retreating figure vanished into the woods in an instant.

Fu Yunxi reacted a beat late but still broke into a long-strided run.

Lu Ye's smile flattened. With a cold snort, he shot after them like lightning.

He Jianing had only just managed to catch his breath a little. Now he wanted to die.

"President Lu, following them won't do any good!"

Yue Lan's cool voice came from behind him to the side.

"Then hurry up and follow him. Are you trying to hold President Lu back? Or..."

Her gaze swept He Jianing from head to toe, staring so hard that he didn't know which leg to move.

"Are you deliberately trying to lose the task so you can cook with President Lu?"

With one hand resting on Yue Lan's shoulder, Yu Zhiwei looked enlightened.

"Ah, then they could have some alone time together?"

"Exactly. He's scheming so hard I can practically hear the gears turning."

"Then, Sister Lan, what place should we aim for?"

"What place do you want?"

"I'm fine with any!"

Yu Zhiwei's eyes curved into crescents.

"Though apart from first place, there doesn't seem to be any difference between the other two."

"Can you cook?"

"Yes. I usually live alone, and I rarely get takeout. It's too unhealthy. I buy groceries at the market and cook for myself."

Yue Lan's gaze flickered slightly.

"You're better than me. I can't cook at all."

"That's okay. You'll have me!"

Realizing he was being ignored, He Jianing tried hard to make his presence felt.

"I... I can't cook either."

Yue Lan frowned and turned toward Yu Zhiwei.

"To keep anyone from poisoning the food, we'll only eat what we make ourselves."

[Fuck, is Yue Lan sick in the head? She's been targeting our Ningbao since filming started. Why doesn't she just die?]

[Fans take after their idol. This is what I hate about He Jianing. So vicious!]