He actually felt that "Skill Cards" were far more useful than "money." If they were lucky enough to obtain a Skill Card, they could become immune to one attack from an opponent. For example, when Li Muting had taken off Chu Ci's hat earlier, the "Plunder Card" had taken effect the instant the hat came off, which also meant that he had been immune to one attack from Li Muting.
The other three Skill Cards were the Double Card, the Zeroing Card, and the Exchange Card.
Their effects were clear from their names.
The Double Card doubled their money, the Zeroing Card reduced an opponent's money to zero, and the Exchange Card swapped their money with the other team's.
The Plunder Card, Zeroing Card, and Exchange Card were all offensive cards that targeted opponents, while the Double Card was used on one's own team.
That also meant the Plunder Card, Zeroing Card, and Exchange Card could each make them immune to one attack from the other team.
The guests had to draw for the "Skill Cards" at the task stations.
Of the four Skill Cards the production team had prepared, Chu Ci was most worried about drawing the Exchange Card. They currently had the most money, so if they were forced to use it, they would lose more than they gained.
If the two of them were unlucky enough to draw the "Exchange Card," they would have to stay on guard against surprise attacks from the other teams at all times. But if they drew the "Double Card," their current money would double, going from 350 yuan to 700 yuan and exceeding the task's target.
It was a gamble full of unknowns.
But however he looked at it, the potential gains far outweighed the risks.
"Let's do it."
Chu Ci still wanted to complete the task as soon as possible.
"Okay."
At that, Ye Qingzhou's lips curved into an attractive smile.
[Dear Comrade Ye Qingzhou, could you rein it in just a little? Your grin is practically stretching past your ears...]
[Hahahahaha, we can tell. He's genuinely happy.]
[Did Ye Qingzhou really come on the variety show "Let's Fall in Love" just to help Lu Qi out? If I remember correctly, he and Lu Qi have never crossed paths professionally, have they? Seeing how Ye Qingzhou acts around Chu Ci, I'm even starting to suspect he came specifically for Chu Ci.]
[How is that possible? Sure, Ye Qingzhou never had any connection with Lu Qi before, but he never had any connection with Chu Ci either. Even if we assume Ye Qingzhou really did join a dating show for Chu Ci, how could he guarantee they'd end up on the same team?]
[...If Ye Qingzhou and Chu Ci have no connection, how do you explain him calling him "Teacher"? Only a highly respected senior would deserve to be called "Teacher" by Ye Qingzhou, right?]
[That's what confuses me most, too. Everyone knows what Ye Qingzhou is like. If he and Chu Ci were strangers before this, why does he look at Chu Ci so tenderly?]
[I remember Ye Qingzhou being really against filming intimate scenes. Directors who've worked with him tried all sorts of ways to persuade him, but barely got anywhere... How come he turns into an obedient little kitten who lets himself be handled however anyone pleases when he's with Chu Ci?]
["Lets himself be handled" and "kitten" are such perfect choices of words [thumbs up][thumbs up][thumbs up]]
[Holy crap, never in a million years would I have thought "obedient" could have anything to do with Ye Qingzhou.]
A staff member handed Chu Ci the chocolate stick.
Chu Ci gently held the chocolate stick between his teeth.
With something in his mouth, his words came out a little muffled. "...Come."
Ye Qingzhou understood what Chu Ci meant. As he looked at Chu Ci's thin, beautiful lips, his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
The distance between them grew smaller and smaller.
He tentatively bit down on the other end of the chocolate stick.
The atmosphere around them suddenly grew charged.
Chu Ci hadn't thought much of it at first. After all, he and Ye Qingzhou were both men, and eating the same food was hardly anything difficult. But as he looked at Ye Qingzhou's earlobes, so red they seemed about to drip blood, an unfamiliar feeling suddenly flickered through his heart.
"Teacher Chu..."
Ye Qingzhou's words were a little muffled, too, and his Adam's apple bobbed again. "Then I'll... I'll keep eating..."
"Mm."
Chu Ci suppressed that unfamiliar feeling in his heart, but his breathing grew heated despite himself.
The chocolate stick the production team had prepared was only a dozen or so centimeters long to begin with. With Chu Ci and Ye Qingzhou each holding one end between their teeth, only eight or nine centimeters remained between them.
Ye Qingzhou took another bite of the chocolate stick.
Now, only five centimeters separated him from Chu Ci.
Feeling Ye Qingzhou's increasingly hot breath, Chu Ci's long, thick eyelashes trembled violently, brushing lightly across Ye Qingzhou's cheek like a butterfly poised to take flight.
Ye Qingzhou's breathing grew louder and louder.
Half an hour had passed since the "kiss through a candy wrapper for thirty seconds" task, and Ye Qingzhou's skin had already returned to its original cool pallor. But ever since he had bitten down on the chocolate stick and drawn closer to Chu Ci, the young man's porcelain-white, jade-like earlobes had reddened at a visible pace.
At first, only his earlobes had been red, but when Chu Ci's long eyelashes brushed his cheek, broad patches of red spread across Ye Qingzhou's neck and cheeks as well.
This was the first time the viewers had ever seen Ye Qingzhou like this.
[! Does anyone get it? That charged push and pull between Ye Qingzhou and Chu Ci? Now this is a dating show for adults [drooling][drooling][drooling]]
[Aaaaaaaaah! Ye Qingzhou is so sexy like this! Has anyone taken a screenshot to use as a lock screen?!]
[I'm not kidding, I feel like the sexual tension between Ye Qingzhou and Chu Ci is about to spill out of my phone screen.]
[Don't you two start making out on-screen [shocked.jpg]]
[I declare this the best dating show I've watched all year! Ye Qingzhou and Chu Ci's chemistry is incredible. The way they looked at each other just now even gave me the illusion that they'd die if they were apart...]
[That contrast in Ye Qingzhou really gets me [kisses]]
[He's a cool, aloof, unattainable flower around other people, but an obedient puppy around Chu Ci. Does anyone get what I mean?]
[This is the first time I've seen such strong "husband" vibes from Ye Qingzhou. If he put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, I'd even get the impression he could fuck Chu Ci to death...]
[Am I really allowed to hear this? [surprised][surprised][surprised]]
[Aaaaaah! Someone finally put what I'm feeling into words! Those lingering looks between Ye Qingzhou and Chu Ci are so intense! Can a director please cast them in a dual-male-lead drama?]