[We're all buddies here, don't keep it to yourselves. Let us see what's on the task card too...]
[Could the task card have something to do with "romance"? Like staring into each other's eyes for ten seconds? Or hugging? Holding hands?]
[I think that's pretty likely. It's a dating show, after all. The tasks have to be games that bring the guests closer...]
"What exactly is it..."
Chu Ci took the task card curiously. Once he saw what was written on it, his voice cut off abruptly.
"Ahem..."
Chu Ci coughed twice to hide his embarrassment. "Th-then... um... l-let's go steal someone else's hat instead."
[What is it!!! Let me see!!!]
[Who are you two putting on this mysterious act for?!]
[I'm an elementary schooler, I get to see it first!]
[What task did the production team give them?]
The bullet comments flew past.
Seeing this, the cameraman filming the livestream asked tentatively, "Could you two let the viewers see the task card?"
[! Huge credit to the cameraman!]
[Give the cameraman an extra drumstick! You really get us!]
[Let's see what task could make Ye Qingzhou this shy [chin in hands][chin in hands][chin in hands]]
"Here."
Chu Ci handed the task card to the cameraman.
The cameraman aimed the lens at the task card, letting the viewers clearly see the words written on it.
-"Kiss through a candy wrapper for thirty seconds."
[Hahahahaha, I knew the production team's task would have something to do with "romance"! So it's kissing...]
[Now this is a proper dating show. If I remember correctly, hasn't Ye Qingzhou never filmed a kissing scene?]
[No wonder Ye Qingzhou's ears went that red. He's taken on so many scripts over the years, but he's never filmed a kissing scene. I remember he even missed out on several scripts because of it.]
[Just a passerby here. Is Ye Qingzhou really that innocent? Judging by his looks, I thought he was the wild, playboy young master type.]
[Ye Qingzhou really is innocent. Some unpopular newcomers get attention by pushing a CP pairing with popular actresses, but Ye Qingzhou never has. Even when he first debuted, he never thought of riding an actress's popularity to boost his own.]
[Aaaaaah! Ye Qingzhou is so cute! I'm a fan now!]
[No wonder that young lady kept checking whether Ye Qingzhou had come to the wrong set. She wasn't expecting two men to walk in either, was she?]
[Honestly, Ye Qingzhou's lips look so soft.]
[Don't you think Chu Ci's lips are a prettier color? Like peach blossoms in March, pink, moist, gorgeous. Holy moly, I don't even dare imagine how good it'd feel to plant a kiss on them.]
[Coward. I dare to imagine it. [finger heart][finger heart][finger heart]]
"Excuse me, you two..."
Seeing that Chu Ci and Ye Qingzhou were about to leave, the staff member hurriedly called them back. "Are you sure you don't want to do this task?"
"Yes."
Chu Ci nodded.
"Then please pay the fine."
Chu Ci: "?"
"According to our show's game rules..."
Under Chu Ci's puzzled gaze, the young woman explained quietly, "If the guests read the task card but then refuse to do the task, they have to pay a five-hundred-yuan fine."
[How much? Five hundred yuan?]
[...Don't Chu Ci and Ye Qingzhou only have a five-hundred-yuan target? A five-hundred-yuan fine for refusing a task? The production team is ruthless.]
[Because "Let's Fall in Love" is ultimately a dating show, right? The director must want sparks to fly between the guests so the show has more to offer. After all, if every guest refuses to do tasks and there aren't any penalties, this really will become a competitive variety show.]
[Isn't this just forcing the guests to do the tasks? Making money is already hard enough, and now they have to fork over five hundred yuan...]
[The only thing I'm grateful for right now is that Chu Ci is a guy. If a female guest were kissing Ye Qingzhou, I'd drop dead right in the livestream.]
Chu Ci hadn't expected the production team to have a fine as well. He froze on the spot for two seconds before turning his gaze to the distracted Ye Qingzhou beside him. "...What do you think?"
Ever since Ye Qingzhou had seen the words "kiss through a candy wrapper for thirty seconds" on the task card, he had looked this dazed.
Only when he heard Chu Ci's question did Ye Qingzhou come back to his senses. He coughed twice to hide his discomfort. "I... I'm fine either way. It mostly depends on you... what you think..."
The subtext was: whether you want to do the task or pay the five-hundred-yuan fine, I'll support you.
Ye Qingzhou really had lived up to the word "obedient."
Chu Ci lowered his eyes and considered what to do.
If they really paid this five-hundred-yuan fine today, that would mean they still had to earn nine hundred yuan. The production team's tasks might all revolve around "romance." As the saying went, you could dodge it once, but not forever. If he and Ye Qingzhou kept refusing tasks, they would only owe the production team more and more money.
He and Ye Qingzhou were both men, so even kissing wouldn't ruin either one's reputation. Besides, the rules had two qualifiers: "through a candy wrapper" and "thirty seconds." Kissing through a candy wrapper counted as an indirect kiss, and thirty seconds wasn't very long anyway. They would also receive a hundred-yuan reward for completing the task. However he looked at it, doing the task was the better deal.
"I want to do the task."
After a brief moment of thought, Chu Ci made his decision.
He hadn't forgotten that this was a game requiring two people to complete it. Chu Ci raised his eyes to ask Ye Qingzhou's opinion. "Is that okay?"
Chu Ci's voice was very gentle.
"Yes."
Ye Qingzhou nodded.
No one noticed that the redness in his earlobes had deepened.
Only after getting Ye Qingzhou's permission did Chu Ci quietly ask the staff member beside them, "Could I trouble you to bring us a candy wrapper?"
"Of course, of course."
The young woman nodded hurriedly.
[Aaaaaaah! They're going to kiss!]
[This is Ye Qingzhou's first on-screen kiss! I'm dead!]
[Ye Qingzhou actually agreed to Chu Ci's request? This is kissing! Even with a candy wrapper between them, it's still a kiss!]
[Holy moly, are dating shows this exciting?!]
[I never expected Ye Qingzhou's first on-screen kiss to go to a man. As a girlfriend fan, let me die for a second.]
[So exciting, so exciting, so exciting!!! I'm ready to take screenshots! I have a feeling these two are going to trend on Weibo!]
[No need for a feeling. They're already trending on Weibo. Three of the top five trending topics are about "Let's Fall in Love".]