His neck kept itching, and Wen He scratched it as he helped himself to food.
Ji Chi reached out and caught his hand, which was still scratching nonstop. The pale neck beneath those claws was already red all over.
Frowning, Ji Chi reached out to touch it. The irritated red skin still felt a little hot.
"Really itchy?"
Wen He tilted his head away from his touch. Although the other man's cool hand felt comfortable, Wen He felt awkward.
Seeing him dodge made Ji Chi even more displeased. Clicking his tongue softly, he pulled Wen He over, determined to take a proper look.
Wen He refused and kept ducking away. Their back-and-forth caught Jiang Yu's attention.
[The little couple's started fooling around over here.]
[Whoa~ Could the little couple over there please stop fooling around at the dinner table~]
[I'm dying hahahahaha.]
[So sweet~ So sweet~ Hnnng.]
[But Xiao He's neck really looks scary.]
[Not sure if it's sunburn or little bits of fuzz getting down his collar, but it definitely looks really bad.]
Jiang Yu stared at the abnormal redness on Wen He's neck and exclaimed.
"Xiao He, why is your neck all red?"
Once Jiang Yu spoke, Jiang Ye, who had been eating with his head down, looked over too.
Wen He struggled hard out of Ji Chi's arm and shook his head at Jiang Yu. "It's fine. I probably got some fuzz on me in the orchard... It's a little itchy."
Jiang Yu didn't agree. Wen He was pale to begin with, and his thin, frail appearance suggested he probably didn't go out often.
"Could it be sunburn? The sun's so strong today."
Hearing their conversation, Zhou Siyu jogged over, hovered around Wen He, and took a bottle of hydrating mist from his little backpack.
"I'll spray some on you. It should feel a little better."
Everyone crowded around at once. Wen He wasn't used to it, while Ji Chi, sitting beside him, had already clenched his teeth, his face full of impatience.
Not wanting to get on his bad side, Zhang Shengsheng retreated listlessly.
The fine mist sprayed onto his hot, itchy neck felt wonderfully cool and comfortable.
Zhou Siyu sprayed twice before stepping back again, then spoke to Wei Xun, his teammate.
Seeing that everyone had rested enough, the directors began cueing the next segment.
The production team said, "All right, we trust everyone's had a good rest!"
The production team said, "Next, we'll move on to this afternoon's game. You should all have picked quite a few peaches this morning. We've finished counting them."
The production team said, "Of the pairs, Ji Chi and Jiang Ye picked the most, with a total of sixty-five peaches. Our first-place team has a huge advantage: they can set off five minutes ahead of the early-start group."
The production team said, "The rules of our next game are very simple. Set off from here and make your way through the entire peach orchard! We've set up ten task stations along the way, where you'll need to complete tasks in pairs. If you fail, you'll have to return to the previous station! Whichever pair reaches the finish line first will win a luxury yacht trip for two tonight."
The production team said, "On our yacht, you can not only enjoy a candlelit dinner to get to know each other better, but also have a late-night heart-to-heart in a room for two!"
The candlelit dinner was all well and good, but the news of a double bed caused an uproar among the guests.
[Holy shit? Is this a proper... proper dating show?]
[Two single guys sharing a nest, hiss... The production team's going pretty far.]
[Ahhhhhh!!! Wait, but the winning pair goes together, right?]
[We know Xiao He's paired with Boss Xie, and Demon Dragon's with Lawyer Jiang... Then there's the bestie pair, Beauty Jiang and Shengsheng, plus Wei Xun and Xiao Yu. These combinations all sound really interesting...]
[Ahahahahahahahahaha, imagine if the love rivals actually won. What then?]
[Those two wouldn't start fighting at night, would they?]
[What kind of fighting?]
[Huh? You can't ship that.]
Hearing the news made Ji Chi even more impatient. The thought of Little Wooden Head sharing a room with Xie Zhengci that night made him feel awful.
Jiang Ye pushed up the glasses on his nose with a fingertip and looked at Ji Chi. Their eyes met, and Ji Chi scoffed.
Xie Zhengci looked at Zhou Siyu, who was sitting at the same table as Wei Xun. He appeared calm, but inwardly, he was in an uproar.
He couldn't let him share a room with Wei Xun tonight... He turned to look at Wen He, who was completely blocked by Ji Chi, then withdrew his gaze.
He couldn't see anything...
If Xie Zhengci didn't want Zhou Siyu to win, he could only win himself. But Wen He was on his team too...
He needed to discuss it with him, but...
Neither Zhang Shengsheng nor Jiang Yu was interested in the prize. Neither had someone he was interested in beside him, so naturally, they had no intention of fighting for it.
Everyone had their own thoughts. The production team started the countdown on a phone, and Jiang Ye was the first to enter the orchard.
Before leaving, Ji Chi leaned close to Wen He's ear with a faint threat. "You're not allowed to take first place with Xie Zhengci, hear me? Disobey me, and I'll deal with you."
Although his words were harsh, they carried little weight in Wen He's heart. Imitating him, Wen He waved his arms and legs. "Deal with you..."
Only after they had gone some distance did Xie Zhengci get a chance to approach Wen He. With a clear goal in mind, he asked directly, "Do you want to take first place?"
Seeing the seriousness in his eyes, Wen He swallowed lightly and shook his head. "No..."
He didn't want to have contact with him... In last night's dream, Zhou Siyu and Wei Xun had gone on the yacht date.
He remembered it clearly... He remembered Xie Zhengci staying awake all night in the house.
They wouldn't win...
All of this matched the dream.
But he didn't want to dampen Xie Zhengci's earnestness, because the man had given him his straw hat...
"We can't beat them."
Xie Zhengci froze, looking into those clear eyes. Wen He wasn't lying, as though this were the most natural answer in the world.
The production team said, "Time's up. You can set off now."
At the production team's signal, everyone headed into the woods with their partners.
They soon reached the first game station. Ji Chi was nowhere to be seen; it seemed they had already gone to the next station.
The first station was a game of coordination for pairs. They had to do a three-legged walk together to the next station.
Of the three remaining pairs, Zhang Shengsheng and Jiang Yu had the smallest height difference. They didn't have much to worry about, either. Jiang Yu simply put his arm around Zhang Shengsheng's waist, and the two pulled far ahead of the other pairs.
Wei Xun and Zhou Siyu linked arms, chasing after them step by coordinated step. Only Xie Zhengci and Wen He remained slow, with no coordination at all.
Wen He looked at Xie Zhengci with some embarrassment, apology in his eyes. "Sorry..."
He knew he was the one holding his partner back in this round.
"Sorry, excuse me." Seeing Wei Xun and Zhou Siyu already linked together, chatting and laughing as they moved forward in sync, Xie Zhengci couldn't stand it anymore. After apologizing to Wen He, he gripped Wen He's arms firmly, lifted him straight up, and strode ahead.
Throughout, he restrained himself, trying to avoid touching him as much as possible. On the one hand, he was worried about overstepping... On the other, Wen He was, in a sense, his good friend's younger brother's love interest. This really wasn't appropriate.
Wen He looked down blankly at his feet dangling in the air, swaying slightly...
He's so strong... But my arms hurt a little.
Without Wen He slowing him down, Xie Zhengci pulled far ahead of the other two pairs. Seeing how urgently he wanted to win, Zhou Siyu lowered his eyes, suppressing that trace of feeling in his heart.
Didn't you say you came for me...
Sensing the change in the mood of the man beside him, Wei Xun patted his shoulder gently.
"Want to take a break?"
Zhou Siyu smiled and shook his head, cheering them on. "No, let's keep going and overtake them!"
"Mm."
Seeing that he was fine, the flicker of competitiveness in Wei Xun's heart grew too.
In the house, he could be considered the worst of all the male guests... But he didn't want to fall short of them in everything.
The two quickly adjusted their moods and charged forward with all their might, as though pumped full of chicken blood.