Ji Shiyu and Jiang Wantang were the second pair to go up.
Ji Shiyu stood in the middle of the clearing, with Jiang Wantang opposite him.
They stood a little closer than before, but there was still room for two people between them.
Ji Shiyu looked at the first word on the task board, fell silent for a second, then spoke without making any gestures. "Rain falls from the sky, and the ground gets slippery."
The rules did not say they could not speak. As long as they did not say the answer outright, it should be allowed.
Jiang Wantang looked at him. "Fall down?"
Ji Shiyu shook his head. He added, "Your shoes are on the wrong feet."
Jiang Wantang thought for a moment. "Trip?"
Ji Shiyu shook his head again.
He thought it over and tried another way of putting it. "Your body falls backward."
As he spoke, he leaned backward slightly. The movement was small but clear.
Seeing his gesture, Jiang Wantang's lips moved slightly. "Slip and fall."
Ji Shiyu nodded.
Jiang Wantang said the word in Hmong.
For the next few questions, Ji Shiyu acted things out the same way.
He spoke, accompanying his words with very small gestures.
Jiang Wantang was not quick to guess, but she got every question right. All nine of them.
When they reached the tenth question, Ji Shiyu looked at the task board and fell silent for a long time.
Jiang Wantang watched him and waited. Ji Shiyu opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He glanced at the task board once more and finally said only, "Forget it. Pass."
Meng Xu called time from the side. Nine points. Jiang Wantang looked down at the toes of her shoes without looking at him.
Ji Shiyu returned to the pillar and leaned against the wood, opening and closing the vocabulary list, then closing and opening it again.
Qiguan Yuan watched them thoughtfully.
He did not know what the tenth question Ji Shiyu had given up on was.
But he could guess that it was probably a word related to feelings.
What was Ji Shiyu avoiding?
Qiguan Yuan withdrew his gaze.
The last pair. Pei Yubai stood at the edge of the clearing, watching Qiguan Yuan.
Qiguan Yuan was leaning against a pillar of the drum tower. At some point, he had wound the red thread in his hand around his finger again, looping it around very slowly.
"Yuan... Yuanyuan, who's acting? Who's guessing?" Pei Yubai asked.
Qiguan Yuan looked up at him. "Do you want to act or guess?"
Pei Yubai thought for a moment. "I'll guess."
Qiguan Yuan put away the red thread in his hand, winding it back around his wrist.
He straightened away from the pillar and walked to the middle of the clearing to face Pei Yubai.
There were about two steps between them.
Qiguan Yuan glanced at the task board.
The first question: the moon. Qiguan Yuan raised his hand, forming a circle with his thumb and index finger, and held it in front of his eye.
He looked at Pei Yubai through that circle, pointed toward the sky with his other hand, then drew it back, opening his palm and slowly lowering it from above, palm down.
Pei Yubai watched him. After finishing this series of gestures, Qiguan Yuan lowered his hands and tilted his head.
"The moon," Pei Yubai said, giving the Hmong word as well.
Qiguan Yuan smiled. "Very good."
He turned and held up one finger.
The second question: red thread. Qiguan Yuan glanced down at his wrist, then raised his arm and slowly traced a curving line in the air with his finger.
He traced it from left to right, very slowly.
Once he finished, he raised his finger to his mouth, as if biting the end of a thread, and made a pulling motion to draw it taut.
Pei Yubai's gaze moved from Qiguan Yuan's finger to his lips, then back to his finger.
His gaze grew a little evasive. How... had Yuanyuan known that he had tightened the red thread a little more back then?
But he answered first anyway. "Red thread."
Qiguan Yuan held up two fingers.
The third question: waiting.
Qiguan Yuan stood still.
He looked into the distance, his gaze resting somewhere unknown. He was considering how to act this one out.
But before he could move, Pei Yubai looked at him and instinctively said, "Waiting."
Qiguan Yuan tilted his head. "Hmm? How did you guess? Could it be that our hearts are in sync?"
The fourth question: heartbeat.
Qiguan Yuan placed his hand against his chest, his palm over his heart.
He looked at Pei Yubai without speaking or making any other movements.
He simply looked at him like that. His eyes curved slightly, and a hint of laughter colored his voice. "You can't get this wrong. It's very easy."
Pei Yubai's ears began to burn. He lowered his eyes, then raised them again. "Heartbeat."
Qiguan Yuan lowered his hand from his chest and held up four fingers.
After that, Qiguan Yuan's gestures grew simpler and simpler. Sometimes it was only a look, sometimes just a small movement.
Pei Yubai guessed them all, answering every question very quickly.
Everyone present, along with the viewers watching the livestream, was left dumbstruck.
How could two people be so in sync?
The tenth question.
Qiguan Yuan looked at the task board without moving. His gaze rested on the words for a while.
Then he turned to face Pei Yubai. He took a step forward, reducing the distance between them from two steps to one and a half.
He took another step, bringing it down to one.
Then he said, "Koj yog kuv txoj hmoo sib yuav, yog kuv lub neej no tib tug uas kuv lub siab xaiv."
This time, his pronunciation was exactly the same as when he had said that sentence in front of the drum tower. His tone was exactly the same too.
His voice dipped slightly at the end, carrying a touch of languor. The cool fragrance that drew close made Pei Yubai's entire face flush red.
Pei Yubai stood where he was without moving.
Qiguan Yuan stepped back and stood in front of Pei Yubai, amusement in his eyes. "Guess."
Pei Yubai looked at him.
His mind was filled with the tantalizing sound of Qiguan Yuan's voice just now.
He knew that sentence did not mean "You're very good-looking." But Qiguan Yuan had not told him what it meant.
"I can't guess," Pei Yubai said.
"How do you know you can't guess if you haven't tried?" Pei Yubai thought for a moment. He could not guess.
It was not because he could not figure it out, but because he did not dare. He was afraid of guessing wrong. Even more afraid of guessing right.
"Qiguan Yuan, this isn't fair," he said.
Qiguan Yuan tilted his head. "How is it unfair?"
Pei Yubai looked at him.
Qiguan Yuan's face was so fair it seemed to glow in the morning light. His silver hair fell against his black shirt, and he was unreasonably beautiful.
"You used Hmong. I haven't learned Hmong yet. You should act it out in a way I can understand."
After hearing him out, Qiguan Yuan nodded. "You're right."
He thought for a moment, then took another step forward. This time, he did not rise onto his toes or lean toward Pei Yubai's ear.
He reached out and pressed his index finger against Pei Yubai's chest. His fingertip rested over his heart through his clothes. "I won't say it in Hmong. Is this okay?"
Pei Yubai glanced down at Qiguan Yuan's fingertip. Qiguan Yuan's finger was cool, resting against his skin through the thin fabric, his heartbeat passing through that fingertip.
"Yes," Pei Yubai said.
Qiguan Yuan looked at him. "Then guess."
Pei Yubai raised his head. He looked into Qiguan Yuan's eyes, his own reflection held in those pale irises.
"You," Pei Yubai said.
The corner of Qiguan Yuan's mouth moved slightly.
"It's me," Qiguan Yuan said. He withdrew his finger from Pei Yubai's chest. "You guessed right."
Meng Xu called time from the side.
Shen Yuzhou had stood up at some point and was pointing at them as he shouted, "He guessed right! Why did he get it right?"
Qiguan Yuan turned and glanced at Shen Yuzhou. "He didn't say the word. He only said 'you.' 'You' isn't the answer, but it still counts as me, doesn't it?"
Shen Yuzhou opened his mouth to argue, but after looking at Qiguan Yuan's expression, he closed it again.
Qiguan Yuan returned to the shade of the drum tower and leaned against a pillar.
Pei Yubai stayed where he was, looking in the direction Qiguan Yuan had gone.
His ears were still red, and a lingering circle of tingling remained on the spot on his chest where that finger had pressed.