Huo Chuyun had initially wanted to simply finish the remaining 34 seconds himself, but that was not his style.
Everyone who knew him knew that Huo Chuyun looked aloof, always giving off an air that kept strangers at bay.
In fact, that was exactly the kind of person he was. He would not spare so much as a glance for people or matters unrelated to him.
If Huo Chuyun took on all the remaining 34 seconds, he feared that by tomorrow, rumors would be affecting Lu Xingchen-rumors on the level of him keeping Lu Xingchen as a lover.
That was not what he wanted.
Before anyone could react, Huo Chuyun had already begun the challenge.
No one noticed that Lu Xingchen's ears, hidden beneath his wispy hair, were so red they looked ready to bleed. He watched Huo Chuyun begin the challenge with perfect composure and calmly press the pause button, as relaxed as if he had merely come to Tuanjie Village on vacation.
The iron plate slowly rose.
The timer stopped at 21:00.
Accurate to the millisecond, Huo Chuyun had succeeded in the challenge, just as expected.
Huo Chuyun could enter the game area first. As he passed Lu Xingchen, he saw the young man standing with his ears red and his head lowered, thinking about who knew what.
Huo Chuyun thought Lu Xingchen was nervous and could not resist rubbing his fluffy head, softening his voice as he said, "Don't be scared. I'll stay here with you."
Lu Xingchen looked up in surprise. "You're not leaving?"
"No." Seeing Lu Xingchen's rosy complexion, which did not look like nervousness, Huo Chuyun felt reassured. "I'll wait for you."
Lu Xingchen realized something and looked at Huo Chuyun, touched. If there had been no cameras at that moment, he would have thrown himself into Huo Chuyun's arms and shamelessly clung to him.
Huo Chuyun had left him 13 seconds. There was no way Huo Chuyun did not know what 13 seconds meant.
He had just given Huo Chuyun 13 sunflowers last time.
Lu Xingchen knew he was not alone in this romance. From what he knew of Huo Chuyun, he would never act like this toward someone he did not care about. He was doing it on purpose.
Huo Chuyun's heart had stirred a little for him too, and Lu Xingchen was delighted.
When Lu Xingchen walked into the timing challenge area, the camera moved right up to his face.
Lu Xingchen's face was peach-blossom pink, his skin fair and smooth like a peeled egg. His cheeks held a faint blush, making him look soft and sweet-smelling.
His beautiful foxlike eyes sparkled in the sunlight, and the little mole beneath his eye looked adorable with Lu Xingchen's lively, playful expression. His nose was straight and high, his lips naturally red.
The live comments erupted.
[Damn it, I want to look like this in my next life too.]
[If I get to look like this in my next life, I'd even be willing to drive a luxury car and live in a mansion.]
[Nuwa, I'm taking out a loan to sue you. uglycry.jpg]
[Lu Xingchen didn't look like this before. He's had work done, right?]
[You just flap your lips and start spreading rumors. Who could get a face like this through surgery? Go try it yourself.]
[Seriously, Lu Xingchen, I'm warning you, don't smile that prettily. I might kiss you to death.]
[Lu Xingchen, you must be feeling so smug, knowing all the comments are praising your god-tier looks.]
[Who dares kiss him?]
[Uh, if Lu Xingchen is this good-looking, why did he always wear that eye-searing smoky makeup before?]
Lu Xingchen had no idea that a single close-up had sent him straight onto the trending searches.
Lu Xingchen pressed the start button, silently repeated "I like Brother Chu" 13 times, and swiftly pressed pause on the thirteenth repetition.
As the iron plate covering the timer rose, 13:52 announced his success in the timing challenge.
Because they had succeeded in the timing challenge, the 12 runners had one minute to enter the area. The hunters would also be released after one minute.
"Brother Chu." After completing the task, Lu Xingchen immediately rushed toward Huo Chuyun. "I finished the task. Pretty great, right? Do you know how I counted the seconds?"
The two chatted as they walked briskly with the map.
"Mm." Huo Chuyun noticed that Lu Xingchen's steps were shorter and deliberately slowed his pace. At Lu Xingchen's question, he casually asked, "How?"
Lu Xingchen quietly went straight for it. "Hmph, I counted out 'I like Brother Chu' 13 times."
"Mm, got it."
Huo Chuyun was beginning to get used to Lu Xingchen's bluntness too. He instinctively checked the cameraman's location and relaxed when he saw that the cameraman was some distance away.
Noticing Huo Chuyun's actions, Lu Xingchen teased, "Huo Chuyun, do you realize how guilty you look right now?"
Huo Chuyun patted Lu Xingchen's head helplessly. "I'm worried about you."
Worried that rumors will hurt you.
"I know." Lu Xingchen could not help sneaking a smile as he lifted his chin. "I know all of that. Next time, I'll say it away from the cameras."
The two hid at a corner in a small alley. To the left was a main road, and to the right was a way into a house. It was a very safe spot.
A loud series of "ding, ding, ding" notifications rang out from the phones in their pockets.
Lu Xingchen hurriedly pulled out his phone and silenced it. "Damn, why is the ringtone so loud? Are they afraid the hunters won't know where we are? The production team might as well strap speakers to us."
Huo Chuyun looked at Lu Xingchen with a smile. "Don't even think about turning the ringtone down. This is exactly what the production team wants."
The game had officially begun, and the hunters had been released. The runners had to evade the hunters while completing tasks over the remaining 90 minutes.
Task one: a man named Li Tao lives in Tuanjie Village. His mother went missing several days ago. Missing-person notices have been posted on walls throughout Tuanjie Village, but they contain no identifying information about Li Tao's mother.
The runners are now required to find the numbers on the backs of the missing-person posters. The numbers must be multiples of 3.
You must find a correct number and verify it at a machine verification point marked on the map to obtain identifying information about Li Tao's mother and deactivate the alarms attached to the runners.
For runners who fail to complete the task, their alarms will sound continuously for five minutes when 70 minutes remain, until they are caught by a hunter.
Lu Xingchen looked down at the alarm on him, its red light flashing constantly. Is it too late to take this thing off now?
Guessing what Lu Xingchen wanted to do, Huo Chuyun chuckled and called to him, "Come on. Let's find the missing-person notices."
Lu Xingchen immediately followed Huo Chuyun. At the mouth of the alley, they each checked one direction and only stepped out after confirming there were no hunters on either side.
They were currently in the southwest corner of the map. Seeing no posters on the nearby walls, they planned to head toward the center of the map, where the Li Family Ancestral Hall was.
Halfway there, Lu Xingchen glanced at a wall covered in white posters, and his mouth twitched. The posters bore nothing but the words "Missing person" in large black lettering.
Huo Chuyun checked the time. Six minutes had already passed, leaving less than 14 minutes before the alarms went off. They had to hurry and find the right poster, then deactivate their alarms.
The two first quickly tore all the posters off the wall. Suddenly, Lu Xingchen cried out and grabbed Huo Chuyun, breaking into a run. "Brother Chu, a hunter! Quick, let's hide!"
Lu Xingchen had just poked his head out when he saw a hunter walking toward them along the path to their left. He grabbed Huo Chuyun and ran in the opposite direction.
Once they reached a safe spot, Lu Xingchen quickly flipped through the white posters in his hand.
Gradually, the two discovered that the numbers on the backs of the white posters were all red, and written in a somewhat sloppy, jumbled fashion.
What did that mean?
The white posters and the scrawled red numbers formed an extreme visual contrast, delivering a certain jolt to the eyes.
Lu Xingchen looked up at the sky. At some point, the blue sky and white clouds from earlier had begun to disappear behind dark storm clouds, leaving an inexplicable sense of heaviness and oppression.
Before you continue