Watching Wei Xun and Zhou Siyu laughing together, Zhang Shengsheng could no longer hold back the ache in his heart.
He had told himself he would give up... but when he actually saw this scene, it still hurt quite a bit.
Jiang Yu wrapped an arm around his waist, and Zhang Shengsheng leaned into his chest, the scent of roses enveloping him.
"If you're tired, we can rest for a while. A little time won't make a difference."
"Mm..." came the muffled reply from the person in his arms.
Jiang Yu gently patted his back to comfort him.
[Help... Jiang Yu is practically mom-level, isn't he?]
[Looking at them like this, it really does look like a mom comforting her child.]
[Shengsheng is so delicate...]
[Holy crap, male contestant eight's arm muscles are insane. They're completely bulging.]
[Pant, pant. Those arms have so much tension.]
[With that size difference... I could ship it.]
[Ship what? Both of them are already taken, okay? Boss Xie came specifically for Xiao Yu, and Xiao He has a Demon Dragon watching him. I really can't ship this...]
[Just because you don't ship them doesn't mean you get to stop anyone else. Maybe today will change all their minds. Xiao Yu and Wei Xun look like they're having a great time chatting too, so I ship those two as well.]
The first round soon ended. Xie Zhengci dragged Wen He all the way to the next game station, where the staff untied the straps binding them together.
Once Wen He was set down, he gently shook out his slightly aching arms without a word.
The second game was simple. They would take turns throwing darts at ten balloons, and had to pop all the balloons within twenty seconds.
Wen He took the darts Xie Zhengci handed him and began throwing them furiously.
All ten balloons were soon popped. With the first person's challenge finished, it was Xie Zhengci's turn.
Xie Zhengci was quick. The two were just about to rush off to the third task station when they ran into Ji Chi and Jiang Ye, who had been sent back.
The two wore different expressions. Jiang Ye stepped forward, about to greet Wen He, but Ji Chi took a long stride beside him, squeezing Jiang Ye out of the way. He stepped up, straightened Wen He's straw hat, and flicked his forehead.
Wen He clutched his forehead in pain and glared at Ji Chi, his eyes full of anger and his little face puffed up like a pufferfish.
"What are you doing!"
Ji Chi smiled with narrowed eyes and pushed his straw hat down again. Bending close to his ear, he said with a breathy laugh, "This is your punishment. Who told you to be in first place right now? Did you forget what I just said? Hmm?"
Ji Chi looked up and met his round, dark eyes. The straw hat drew them closer and screened the space between them, and the tip of his nose was touched...
The other man's breath mingled with his own...
Too close.
Wen He pushed Ji Chi away and walked ahead, unwilling to pay him any attention.
Jiang Ye wanted to step forward, but Xie Zhengci held him back to exchange greetings and chat.
Looking at Xie Zhengci, who was keeping him occupied, and thinking of his and Ji Chi's identities, a bold idea surfaced in his mind.
But years of professional ethics and his temperament kept Jiang Ye from giving him the cold shoulder.
[Aaaaaah!!! Did they kiss?!]
[Holy shit!! Awesome!!!]
[They definitely didn't kiss! Don't even think about it. The hat was clearly blocking the view from that angle. Forced perspective, understand?]
[Jiang Ye, let me ask you, why are you still standing there chatting like an idiot? Can't you see your romantic rival beside you has already moved in?]
[Jiang Ye isn't even worried, so why are you? After watching for this long, I've started feeling like Lawyer Jiang doesn't like Wen He, though I don't know why. Don't you think so?]
[Even if Lawyer Jiang wanted to try, he couldn't beat the Demon Dragon. Just look at him.]
Xie Zhengci followed closely behind, and the two headed toward the third task station.
However unwilling Jiang Ye was, he still ran toward Ji Chi, even though the other man never looked back.
"I think we need to work together."
Ji Chi stopped with both hands in his pockets and looked at Jiang Ye, raising a cold brow to signal for him to continue.
"You should have seen just now how fast Xie Zhengci and Xiao He were. At this rate, he'll take first place. You don't want Wen He sharing a room with him either, do you?"
Jiang Ye truly lived up to his profession as a lawyer. He had precisely discerned Xie Zhengci's determination to take first place, and had also identified Ji Chi as someone on his side.
But he had underestimated him-underestimated Ji Chi, and the methods of Eldest Young Master Ji.
"Oh..." Ji Chi turned away, no longer listening to his nonsense, leaving him with only a view of his back. "Wen He won't share a room with Xie Zhengci, and I won't share one with you either."
He sounded so confident that Jiang Ye wondered whether he already had a plan in mind.
"Ah..." Jiang Ye sighed helplessly again. The entire day had been an utter Waterloo for him. Ji Chi's complete lack of cooperation and constant obstruction had left him exhausted in both body and mind.
He could neither see through him nor get a handle on him, so he could only follow helplessly behind.
Wei Xun and Zhou Siyu were heading from the second station to the third. Ji Chi ignored them, while Jiang Ye greeted them from behind him.
[Bad manners versus good manners.]
[Scum versus cultured scum.]
[I'm dying, hahahahaha. This is too funny.]
[Ji Chi really is so arrogant with his nose in the air... Where exactly does that superiority complex come from, may I ask?]
[At sixteen, he skipped grades and gained exceptional admission to Gasli University overseas (one of the very top universities). At twenty, he returned from studying abroad and started his own company and clubs, earning a million a month. He's a man who could retire on bank interest alone. His family ranks among the richest business families in the country, has connections everywhere, frequently works with the government, and donates enormous sums to charity every year. Pick any one of those and it's enough to feel superior about. Why shouldn't he look down his nose at people?]
[? Are you a paid shill?]
[I'm not a shill. You can look all this up... Go search for it. I'm really good at background checks! (Proud~)]
[Awesome. I'll allow you to look down your nose at me, but just this once~ You can't do it in our next lives~ Next life, it's my turn to live like that.]
[This generation of netizens knows when to bow and when to stand tall.]
In fact, ever since Ji Chi showed his face on the show, everything about him had already been dug up online. They had only known he was rich, not that he was this rich.
[This show will be my only contact with rich people.]
[No, there's also the stuff you buy. It might be made by their families.]
[NO~ I hate rich people~]
------I just picked a random name for the university.