Shen Shuangjian had lost the game, so naturally, he could not escape punishment.
And so the production crew, who had been planning this for ages, brought out a wooden box with an opening just large enough for one hand.
"There are nearly a hundred punishments in here. Now, come forward and draw one yourself. Whatever you draw, you have to do."
Punishments on variety shows always needed a little absurd, laugh-or-cry drama.
They skimmed just above people's boundaries, making you feel embarrassed and the audience find it outrageous, yet somehow leaving them happy to see it happen.
[So curious. What's wifey going to draw?]
[Punish Shen Shuangjian by making him marry me. (holds up a rose)]
[Make him act cute eight times in a row.]
[Make him fall in love with me.]
[Can't even roast that. That really is a punishment.]
Shen Shuangjian did not spend long choosing. He reached into the wooden box, grabbed a slip of paper, and pulled his hand out.
As the camera moved closer, he slowly unfolded the slip. Then his lowered, long lashes could not help trembling slightly.
Written plainly on the slip was:
Pick the most beautiful rose, bring it back, and give it to any guest present, then say those three words to him with deep feeling.
"..."
Shen Shuangjian curled his fingers, closing the slip in his palm.
The rose garden had no shortage of roses everywhere, but finding the most beautiful one was actually quite difficult.
Shen Shuangjian used the fabric of his sleeve in place of his fingertips, avoiding the rose's sharp, untrimmed thorns.
Holding a red rose in his pale, lustrous, porcelain-like fingers-a rose blooming so brilliantly, so extravagantly, that it had even begun to decay-he slowly walked back before the others.
Lin Weiluo was the only woman present, and Shen Shuangjian did not want to offend her, so he could only place the rose in the hands of Gu Xuanlin, who had accompanied him earlier that day.
And so cool moonlight and a passionate rose overlapped and illuminated each other, outlining a beauty of utmost contrast.
"For me?"
Somewhat flattered, Gu Xuanlin curved his lips and reached out, trying to accept the rose that could hardly be called the most beautiful.
Picking a rose was easy, but those three words were difficult to say.
Shen Shuangjian pressed his lips together and lowered his eyes. Perhaps the thought of those three words left him without even the composure to meet his gaze.
I...
Shen Shuangjian had only uttered a single syllable in his mind when a delicate flush spread from his fingertips all the way up the side of his neck and the curves of his ears.
In the mere twenty-odd years of his past and present lives, Shen Shuangjian had never spoken even slightly forward words of love.
He kept his distance from others, and most people treated him with proper courtesy, staying within appropriate bounds. Not only had he never said such things himself, he had never even heard them from anyone else.
"It's all right."
Gu Xuanlin lightly rubbed a rose petal between his fingertips. His gaze deepened slightly; naturally, he had not missed Shen Shuangjian's taut restraint and shyness.
Just like that bullet comment he had happened to glimpse.
Shen Shuangjian had always looked cool and aloof, dressed with impeccable propriety, carrying a distance that kept people a thousand miles away. Yet to someone paying attention, every expression and every movement seemed to hold a delicate attempt to conceal what only became more apparent.
When he looked at you, it seemed the whole world's heart began to flutter.
"Does the slip explicitly say it has to be 'I love you'?"
Gu Xuanlin drew out his words, pointing out that most obvious loophole for him in just a few sentences.
"Why not just pick any three words to give me?"
Such an obvious, crude loophole was merely the easiest sort of wordplay to crack. Had it been a slick variety-show veteran instead,
those three words could have been crafted into a hilarious internet meme, or turned into an absurd "I hate you."
Who else would have been like Shen Shuangjian, seeing "with deep feeling" and immediately thinking of those moving words of love, secretly agonizing and struggling to remain composed, only to put himself over a blazing fire?
A sudden relief loosened his heart. Shen Shuangjian slowly raised his eyes. Perhaps because he was no longer troubled, he even gave Gu Xuanlin a rare, slight curve of his lips.
"Thank you."
That smile did not reach his eyes and vanished in a flash, yet it was still like frost and snow melting away. In a mere instant, early spring stepped into high summer.
Bang-!
The delicate emotions and atmosphere were instantly cut short by that abrupt sound. Everyone was forced to tear their gazes away and turn toward its source.
"Young Master Xie, are you all right?"
Xie Qingchi had stood up so abruptly that he nearly overturned his chair, and no one could understand what had caused this sudden odd behavior.
"I-!"
Xie Qingchi instinctively wanted to argue, but when the words in his heart reached his lips, he forcibly swallowed them back.
What could he say?
Was he supposed to say it was because he had thought Shen Shuangjian would give him the rose? Was he supposed to say it was because seeing Shen Shuangjian smile at someone else had made his heart stir despite himself?
Was he supposed to say he was angry because someone he had rejected and humiliated had not seized this punishment as a chance to approach him, and had even smiled so beautifully at someone else?
"I'm fine!"
Xie Qingchi forced himself not to glance at Shen Shuangjian even once. He raised his hand to check his watch. Clearly distracted, he nevertheless offered an explanation that only made things more conspicuous.
"It's late. I'm going to rest first. Director, you don't mind, do you?"
The show's biggest investor, the pampered, prestigious crown prince of Beijing's elite whose word was law, had spoken. Naturally, the director dared not say anything more.
Besides, Xie Qingchi had turned and left the moment he finished speaking. How was that a question? It was clearly a notification. Wouldn't disagreeing only invite humiliation?
In any case, after the dinner, today's livestream was about ready to end. Even if Xie Qingchi left now, it would not have much impact.
So the director simply went along with Xie Qingchi's words.
"The temperature drops at night, and it really is time to end today's livestream. You can now follow the room numbers to find your bedrooms in the manor, then get some rest early. We'll continue tomorrow."
[Ah! No, don't! I haven't seen enough!]
[No meme here.]
[Hehehe, hehehe, wifey smiled. His smile is so damn amazing. (brain-dead)]
[Oh my god, as long as that face stands, his empire stands.]
[Oh my god, that look in Gu Xuanlin's eyes, that movement-was he about to lose control and kiss him?]
[Absolutely. I'm not joking. When I saw that just now, I couldn't help kissing my screen, let alone Gu Xuanlin.]
[He was so beautiful our crown prince nearly fell over.]
[Don't put my Xie Qingchi down to praise someone else.]
[Cool, distant wifey, blushing and too shy to say those three words, so earnest and so easy to fool. I want to bully him so badly, sob.]
[Exactly, exactly! If another guest were being this fussy and wishy-washy, I'd already be cursing them out, but... he's really so beautiful!]
[Didn't you see? When wifey smiled, Xie Qingchi nearly ground his teeth to pieces!]
[Xie Qingchi: jealous, jealous!]
[Forget Xie Qingchi. I'm about to grind my own teeth to pieces.]
[Weibo, leave the show, innocence. This consort is tired of saying it all.]