Bro, could you help me along?

One sentence sent waves rippling through the crowd.

But Qi Yu had no intention of explaining further.

He merely withdrew his gaze.

And quietly watched the cable cars farther behind.

His eyes were gentle.

Like a lake waiting for migrating birds to return.

And the "migrating bird" who belonged to him was in the very last cable car.

It was nothing like the regrouping scene the production team had imagined.

Yan Cheng and He Gui had nothing to say to each other.

Lan Muxing had already been rebuffed once, so he did not dare try striking up more conversation with Bai Luochuan.

And so all three pairs spent those ten minutes in the cable cars in considerable silence.

Only when the last pair's cable car stopped.

And that delighted smile bloomed on Qi Yu's face again did the dreary atmosphere around them finally gain a little life.

The cable car ride ended at the first peak.

They would have to hike the rest of the way up.

Finally able to get his body moving, Bai Luochuan briefly stretched his limbs, then headed straight up the mountain steps.

Qi Yu was like a little tail.

He obediently stayed beside him.

Along the way, he also asked Bai Luochuan, "Bro, are you tired? If the luggage on your back is too heavy, I can help carry some of it."

To be honest.

This body really did have poor stamina.

But only by breaking through his limits could he be reborn.

Bai Luochuan understood that principle perfectly.

Besides, this was a dating show. The hike was just a pretext; what mattered more was letting the participants experience that heart-pounding feeling during the climb.

So they would not be made to exhaust themselves.

If he could not even handle this level of exertion, this body would be far too useless...

With that thought.

Bai Luochuan simply shook his head.

Grinning, he said, "I'm a Beta. Sure, I'm just an ordinary person, but I'm not that delicate."

He could state his sex quite naturally.

It was clear.

He genuinely did not care about those ABO classifications anymore.

Qi Yu nodded lightly at his response.

After reminding Bai Luochuan to call him whenever he needed anything, he continued climbing toward the summit with him.

At first, it did not feel like much.

But after everyone had climbed for half an hour, the other guests looked up ahead, and their minds were left with nothing but a string of curses that could never be broadcast uncensored.

Hold on.

Wasn't this a dating show?!

Who signed up for an extreme challenge with you people?!

It was just a hike! Did they have to try this hard?!

As they watched, Bai Luochuan and Qi Yu's figures had grown so small they were almost disappearing from view.

Chu Zhu finally lost his composure.

Looking at the director beside him, he asked irritably, "Are we really just here to climb a mountain today? Where's the next rest stop? If they keep going up, they can just wait to meet us at the summit, right?"

As he spoke, he pointed at the two little black dots in the distance.

The director looked utterly embarrassed.

I didn't expect this either.

How did those two manage to make a hike look like a return to the wild?!

[This is killing me. The other guests came here to date, but all Brother Bai can think about is climbing!]

[The other guests really are pitiful. They're forced to pick up the pace with them and don't even have time to talk. This really is turning into an outdoor sports show!]

[What Brother Bai sees isn't a mountain. It's the money the production team will give him after they meet at the summit!]

[I'm starting to envy Brother Bai's husband. Is it too late for me to become electronic?]

[Okay, but electronics probably don't need defective products like us.]

[A friend of mine feels a little attacked. Please delete this.]

[Bai Luochuan is absolutely awful! Did he consider how the Omegas would feel before speeding up the climb like this?! My poor baby Mu Xing! I'll hate Bai Luochuan forever!]

[Mute yourself. Nobody asked.]

The live comments were full of people enjoying the spectacle and fanning the flames.

The production team had also urgently called a halt to Bai Luochuan and Qi Yu up ahead.

They asked them to wait at the rest stop.

And said the others would be there soon.

Everyone still needed to move together.

Having finally managed to enjoy some perfect alone time with his wife, Qi Yu was rather unhappy about having to return to a group activity.

Bai Luochuan, on the other hand, calmly went to sit in the pavilion at the rest stop after receiving the instructions.

He took a bottle of water from his backpack.

And drank a couple of mouthfuls.

Only then did he notice that Qi Yu's gaze had remained glued to him without straying for a moment.

Bai Luochuan was far too slender.

Compared with the familiar body in his memories, his current build was not even close.

Those beautiful, lean muscles were gone.

He was simply tending toward frailty.

But perhaps his rose-tinted glasses were too strong.

Looking at Bai Luochuan as he was now, Qi Yu still found him appealing in a different way.

A delicate wife was nice too.

He would always protect his wife anyway.

He would never let his wife come to any harm.

The pavilion roof overhead blocked the sun. They sat in the shade, with only their legs still exposed to the sunlight.

When Bai Luochuan tipped his head back to drink, sweat trickled down his neck.

It slid over his Adam's apple.

As though deliberately tracing that perfect curve.

Qi Yu stared.

And could not help swallowing.

The most primal desire deep within him had been stirred.

He could not even be sure whether it was lust or a beast's urge to hunt.

He simply wanted to seize the person before him.

Devour him whole.

And make it impossible for him ever to leave his side again.

"Hey, haven't you been staring a little too long?"

That soft call broke Qi Yu's silence.

He startled.

Only when his senses returned did Qi Yu realize that he really did seem to have been staring rather rudely just now.

And cameras had been installed in the pavilion too.

If he kept looking, his body would probably be unable to help reacting a little.

It was being livestreamed across the internet.

If that happened to get broadcast, it would be far too embarrassing.

With a light cough, Qi Yu walked over to Bai Luochuan and sat down beside him.

Averting his gaze and letting his emotions settle a little, he finally said slowly, "Sorry. I made you uncomfortable."

Bai Luochuan shook his head.

He wasn't really uncomfortable.

After all, he liked this face very much.

It was just that, with the other man staring at him constantly and expressing himself so blatantly through that gaze, it was rather difficult to deliberately avoid his eyes and touch the way he had before...

An awkward, suggestive tension hung in the silence.

A long while passed.

Qi Yu finally spoke again.

He said, "Bro, I'm actually afraid of heights. I didn't notice while we were climbing so fast, but now that we've stopped, I'm starting to feel scared."

Bai Luochuan blinked.

Qi Yu took a deep breath. "So, for the rest of the way... bro, could you help me along?"