Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Yan Qingchi shook his head, finding it amusing. “I never did this when I was learning to dance as a child. Now that I’m grown up, I’m doing things like stepping on feet and bumping heads.”
“That just shows you’ve grown up.”
Yan Qingchi glanced at him sideways, noticing out of the corner of his eye that everyone else in the square was nearing the end of their dance, the girls spinning around in the boys’ arms.
Yan Qingchi quickly patted Jiang Mochen. “Quick, I know this move, let’s try it.”
Jiang Mochen glanced to his side, raised his arm high, and Yan Qingchi took his hand and spun him around, then looked at Jiang Mochen. “I don’t know the rest.”
“I do.” Jiang Mochen pulled him back into his arms.
Yan Qingchi looked at him suspiciously. Jiang Mochen looked at him, lowered his head, and kissed him. Yan Qingchi thought to himself, “Sure enough, it’s that trick again.” Thinking this, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up, and he gently bit Jiang Mochen’s lip before tenderly responding to his kiss.
When the music ended, their kiss ceased. Jiang Mochen released him, took a step back, and bowed again. “Thank you very much, it was a wonderful dance.”
Yan Qingchi found him somewhat adorable, so looking at him with a smile in his eyes, he felt a sweet warmth in his heart.
After the dance, the music and the fountain stopped, and the people in the square gradually dispersed.
He then asked Jiang Mochen, “Should we go back now?”
Jiang Mochen nodded. “Otherwise, Teacher Li and the others will probably come looking for us soon.”
Yan Qingchi had just begun to feel a little affectionate towards him, but now, hearing that they had to go back, and knowing that they would have to pretend to be just good friends again and not be too intimate, he felt a rare pang of reluctance. He sighed, opened his arms, “Come on, give me a hug before we go back, or we won’t have another chance.”
Jiang Mochen walked over and hugged him, whispering, “Who says we won’t have a chance? Tonight, I’ll be holding you while we sleep.”
“Then let go.”
“Am I that kind of person?” Jiang Mochen looked at him, “You’re already in my arms, there’s no reason for me to let go.”
Yan Qingchi clicked his tongue twice, “A shrewd businessman.”
“If I weren’t a shrewd businessman, where would I get the money to marry you? Don’t worry, half of my assets are yours.” Jiang Mochen put his arm around his shoulder, “Let’s go, let’s go back.”
When Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen returned, Li Mo and Li Bozhong were already waiting for them. Seeing them return, Li Bozhong breathed a sigh of relief.
“Where did you two go?” he asked.
“There were too many people here, so we went to find a place with fewer people,” Yan Qingchi said.
Li Bozhong nodded, “Then let’s go back.”
“Okay.”
Li Mo followed Li Bozhong, and as they passed Jiang Mochen, she asked him, “Did I do well?”
“Good.”
“Can I get an autograph?”
“Sure.”
“Yes!” Li Mo was very happy, “I’ll do well next time too.” She patted her heart and assured Jiang Mochen.
“Then I have high hopes for you.” Jiang Mochen said.
Li Mo smiled and happily returned to Li Bozhong’s side.
Yan Qingchi looked at him, “What kind of shady deal did you two make?”
“Want to know?” Jiang Mochen asked him.
“Are you trying to hide it from me?”
“How could I dare? I’ll tell you when we get back.”
“That’s more like it.” Yan Qingchi whispered.
The group returned to their temporary residence by car. As soon as they entered the living room, they saw Yue Ziming sitting on the sofa reading a book. Seeing them return, Yue Ziming asked, “Was the lighthouse beautiful?”
Li Mo nodded vigorously, “Beautiful, super pretty, it was a light show.”
Yue Ziming smiled, “Really? I should have gone with you guys.”
Li Mo recalled everyone’s behavior after dinner; Yue Ziming clearly wanted to go, but Fei Jingyu didn’t want to, so she didn’t go with them. Li Mo really couldn’t understand what Yue Ziming liked about Fei Jingyu. Fei Jingyu was arrogant and petty, and he wouldn’t even accompany her to places she wanted to go. What did Yue Ziming get out of him?
However, she also knew that couples in love wouldn’t listen to each other’s bad points, especially since she and Yue Ziming weren’t very close. So she changed the subject, “Why are you reading here? Why aren’t you going to sleep?”
Yue Ziming sighed, “Yu Xiaoyu twisted her ankle and is crying and screaming in the room. I’m planning to wait until she finishes crying before going back to my room to sleep.”
“Huh?” Li Mo was shocked to hear this, “What happened to Yu Xiaoyu? She twisted her ankle? How did she twist it?”
Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen were also puzzled. Wasn’t she staying in the house? How could she have twisted her ankle?
Yue Ziming explained to them, “Shortly after you left, she said she wanted to see the lighthouse too, so she wanted to go out. Xiaoxiao and the others advised her that it was dark, and it wasn’t safe for a girl like her to go out alone, plus she didn’t have a phone with her. But Yu Xiaoyu refused and insisted on going out. Wei Zhihang, Yang Xinhe, and Yu Haoyuan saw that they couldn’t persuade her, so they went with her. But not long after they left, Yang Xinhe carried her back, saying that she wasn’t paying attention when she was going down the stairs at the intersection, and she missed a step and twisted her ankle.”
“Is it serious?” Li Bozhong asked.
“It should be alright. Yu Haoyuan seems to know a bit about this. He said it’s nothing serious. Yu Xiaoyu insisted on ice, so I gave her some. She complained of the pain and cried inside. I got annoyed by her crying, so I came out to read.”
After hearing her story, Yan Qingchi felt that life was truly unpredictable. In the short time they were out, Yu Xiaoyu had twisted her ankle.
Li Mo secretly cursed in her heart: Karma! Serves her right for talking nonsense again! Without any sympathy, she said, “Oh, I’ll go to sleep now. You should go back to sleep early too.”
Yue Ziming nodded, “You guys go and rest. I’ll go back after she falls asleep.”
Li Mo pulled Li Bozhong upstairs.
Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen also went upstairs. The two quickly washed up, changed into their pajamas, and lay down together to talk for a while. Yan Qingchi still felt a romantic feeling thinking about their dance session and couldn’t help but snuggle against him. “When we get back, let’s practice dancing properly.”
“At home?”
“Yes.”
“So, after we practice, we’ll only dance at home?”
“If we encounter an occasion like today again, we can also dance outside.”
“Okay.” Jiang Mochen smiled, “Actually, dancing at home is also nice. We can decorate the room and put some candles; it’ll be very romantic.”
“No, let’s not,” Yan Qingchi looked at him, “With our current skill level, if we accidentally knock over a candle, there’ll be a fire.”
Jiang Mochen: “…Mrs. Jiang, don’t you think your ability to create awkward silences is sometimes quite remarkable?”
“That’s because sometimes you need to calm down.”
Jiang Mochen looked down at him, and Yan Qingchi poked his cheek. Jiang Mochen took his hand.
“You remind me of when we first met.”
“Compared to then, I’ve become much gentler.”
Jiang Mochen recalled the times when Yan Qingchi left him speechless at the beginning of their relationship, and couldn’t help but sigh, “You’re right, you really are much gentler to me now.”
“Right?” Yan Qingchi looked at him, “I know it very well.”
Jiang Mochen smiled, released his hand, hugged him, and kissed his forehead. “Okay, go to sleep, the competition is tomorrow.”
“Are you nervous?” Yan Qingchi asked him.
“Of course not, what about you?”
“I’m not nervous either, I’m even a little excited.”
“Then go to sleep, it starts tomorrow morning.”
“Okay, goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
The two said goodnight to each other and closed their eyes.
The next morning, after everyone had breakfast and was preparing to leave, Yu Xiaoyu sat in a chair and indicated that she wasn’t going; her foot was still throbbing.
As the tour guide, Li Bozhong had to consider everyone’s needs, so he proactively asked, “Is it serious? Should we go with you to the hospital?”
“No need,” Yu Haoyuan said. “It’s really not serious. I have experience with this. She probably hasn’t sprained her ankle before, so it hurts a lot this time. It’ll definitely be fine after today.”
Seeing his confident demeanor, Li Bozhong didn’t say anything more, but looked at Yu Xiaoyu and said gently, “Then you should rest at home. We’ll be back soon.”
Yu Xiaoyu hummed in agreement.
Li Bozhong felt he should choose someone to stay and take care of her, but he didn’t know who to choose. He was the tour guide and couldn’t be absent, and he didn’t know who else would be willing or unwilling.
He called everyone outside and asked, “Is anyone willing to stay home with Yu Xiaoyu? She sprained her ankle and it’s not very convenient for her. If we all leave her alone, wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”
Li Bozhong spoke cautiously. He understood Yu Xiaoyu’s personality and knew that few would be willing to share a room with her. He didn’t want to morally blackmail anyone, so he simply asked.
At this point, logically, Yu Xiaoyu’s partner, Wei Zhihang, should have stayed, but Wei Zhihang refused. He hadn’t even carried her back the night before after she sprained her ankle, let alone stay to take care of her now.
The others were also unwilling, since they were all in pairs. If one person stayed, should the other person stay as well?
Seeing that no one spoke, Li Bozhong thought, “Well, let’s just leave it at that. There’s nothing I can do; I’ve done my best.” He was about to say, “Let’s just leave it at that,” when he suddenly heard Fei Jingyu say, “Then I’ll stay.”
Yue Ziming looked up in surprise.
Fei Jingyu looked at Li Bozhong, “Isn’t it necessary for one person to stay? I’ll stay.”
Yan Qingchi glanced at Jiang Mochen, thinking to himself, what’s going on here?
Jiang Mochen knew perfectly well, gave him a “I’ll tell you later” look, and continued watching the show.
Yue Ziming asked Fei Jingyu in confusion, “You’re staying?”
“Yes.”
“Then what about me?”
“You can go sightseeing with them.”
“We’re in a group.”
“Then you’ll stay with me?”
Yue Ziming frowned, really unable to understand why Fei Jingyu wanted to stay.
Fei Jingyu looked at her frowning and thought she was so stupid, unable to understand such a simple logic. Yu Xiaoyu stayed inside. So later, the production team would definitely edit it to compare Yu Xiaoyu who stayed with the others who went out, which meant that Yu Xiaoyu would definitely get some screen time. Fei Jingyu wasn’t stupid; he knew that Jiang Mochen was the most valuable and had the biggest star status among them, which meant that Jiang Mochen would get the most screen time. In addition, Li Bozhong was the tour guide, so his screen time wouldn’t be small either. So, the remaining shots, when averaged across their group, Mo Xiaoxiao’s group, and Yang Xinhe’s group, wouldn’t amount to much for anyone. Perhaps even less than Yu Xiaoyu, who was alone at home.
He was on this show to become famous; without shots, how could he become famous? Therefore, he was willing to stay and share the shots with Yu Xiaoyu’s group, rather than compete with the other groups for shots except for Jiang Mochen and Li Bozhong.
Seeing his insistence on staying, Yue Ziming had no choice but to stay with him.
Li Mo felt really sorry for her; her boyfriend never considered her feelings or thoughts. However, Fei Jingyu and Yu Xiaoyu not going was indeed a great thing for her, so she said nothing and quietly waited for the others to speak.
However, the others didn’t have anything to say either; after all, it was their own choice.
Finally, Li Bozhong gave them a few instructions and then left with the others.
Fei Jingyu opened the door and went back inside with Yue Ziming.
Without Fei Jingyu and Yu Xiaoyu, everyone was clearly having a much better time. Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen took photos in many places, and Li Bozhong jokingly remarked that his photography skills had improved considerably in the past two days.
After visiting the last attraction, they asked a passing uncle to take a group photo for them before reluctantly heading back.
Yan Qingchi had assumed that it would be good if Yu Xiaoyu, Fei Jingyu, and Yue Ziming weren’t arguing at home, but when they opened the door, Yue Ziming happily told them that she and Fei Jingyu had just cleaned the house together, and she had even washed fruit for everyone, which was already on the coffee table.
“You and Fei Jingyu?” Li Mo thought she was hallucinating. Fei Jingyu cleaned?
“Yes.” Yue Ziming smiled.
“Where’s Yu Xiaoyu?” Wei Zhihang asked.
“She went back to her room to rest early and is still there.”
Yan Qingchi hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. He and Jiang Mochen went back to their room, and before Jiang Mochen turned on the camera, he asked, “What is Fei Jingyu doing?”
“It’s all to show the audience how good he is,” Jiang Mochen said. “To tell everyone that he is not only kind-hearted and willing to take care of his companions who stayed behind, but also willing to sacrifice his time to clean while everyone else went out to play. How heartwarming!”
Yan Qingchi had a complicated expression on his face.
Jiang Mochen laughed, “What else can he do if he doesn’t clean? He stayed behind for the camera. If he did nothing but sit on the sofa, would the production team even give him twenty minutes of screen time? Definitely not. So he needs to do something to get screen time and win the audience’s favor. Cleaning is the simplest way.”
Jiang Mochen sighed, “To be honest, he didn’t prepare properly before coming. If it were me, I wouldn’t clean. What’s so interesting about cleaning? I’d rather cook. These days, audiences love watching cooking. It shows off your culinary skills and gains goodwill— a win-win situation.”
“666, then let’s stay next time,” Yan Qingchi said, looking at him. “I’ll give you a chance to show yourself.”
Jiang Mochen leaned closer to him, “Is it a chance for the two of us to be alone?”
Yan Qingchi patted his shoulder, “Good boy, Xiuxiu, it’s time to turn on the camera.”
After two days of sightseeing, the competition officially began.
The host rang the doorbell early on the third day and appeared before everyone. Looking at the group already dressed in sportswear, he praised, “Very good, it seems you’re all ready today.”
Mo Xiaoxiao raised her hand, “Actually, I’m not ready yet.”
The host shook his head, “That’s a pity. You have no other choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.”
Mo Xiaoxiao let out a long sigh, her head drooping.
The host then began explaining the rules for the day: “Welcome the six groups of guests to the ‘Partner Matchup’ segment. Each group will have three rounds of project selection each day. In each round, guests can choose project A or B based on their own abilities. After completing the challenge, the instructor in charge will give a judgment. If successful, they will receive a task card for the next round; if unsuccessful, they will need to continue challenging until the instructor deems them successful. Finally, the guest who successfully completes all three rounds and is the first to return to Uncle John’s Pizzeria in the city center will be the winner of the day. The winner will have priority in choosing pizzas and unlimited supply; the second to fifth place winners will only receive two nine-inch pizzas, and can only choose from the specified flavors; the last place winner, unfortunately, will only be able to share a seven-inch pizza with one other person, and cannot specify the flavor— Uncle John can decide for himself.”
Yang Xinhe and Yu Haoyuan looked at each other, holding up two fingers. Yang Xinhe said, “Two nine-inch pizzas? I can eat two by myself.”
“What if you’re not full?” Yu Haoyuan asked.
The host looked at him helplessly, “Then you’ll just have to go hungry.”
“What if you don’t complete the challenge?” Wei Zhihang thought their group was likely to face this problem, so he asked in advance.
“Then you’ll count as last place.”
“Understood.”
“What do you mean?” Yu Xiaoyu complained, “You think I’ll drag you down?”
Wei Zhihang smiled but didn’t speak.
Yu Xiaoyu gritted her teeth and looked at him, “Don’t worry, as long as you don’t drag me down, I won’t drag you down!”
“That’s for the best.” Wei Zhihang said.
“Any other questions?” the host asked.
Everyone shook their heads.
The host took out six envelopes from his pocket and handed them to the six groups of guests, “These are the addresses and contents of the first round’s A and B projects. You can choose the project you want to go to based on your own situation. The money you got in the test can be used in these two days. The program team has already collected the tour guide’s money, so you can rest assured.”
Yan Qingchi was very relieved because he and Jiang Mochen were the richest among everyone present.
He opened the envelope and saw two options written on the card inside: “A, Painting; B, Pottery.”
“Do you know pottery?” Yan Qingchi asked Jiang Mochen.
“A little, I played with it when I was little.”
“Then let’s choose B.” After all, option A was his strength, but Jiang Mochen’s weakness.
Jiang Mochen hesitated, looking at the words on the card. “The judging criteria for painting say that two people work together to complete a painting, which is then judged by the teacher, but it doesn’t require each person to draw a minimum number of strokes. Can it be like what we did before? If so, wouldn’t it be more advantageous for us to choose this? Are you good at pottery?”
Hearing this, Yan Qingchi thought he made sense. “I’ve done pottery before, but I’m definitely not as good at it as I am at painting.”
The host reminded them, “You have five minutes left. The competition will officially begin in five minutes.”
“Which one do you choose?” Yan Qingchi looked at Jiang Mochen. “Are you sure you want to choose painting?” For him, painting was obviously easier, but for Jiang Mochen, it wasn’t so easy.
Jiang Mochen was also undecided for a moment.
Fei Jingyu, watching them, saw that they were still hesitating and stepped forward to ask, “Brother Yan will probably choose painting, right? After all, didn’t you win with it before?”
Yan Qingchi looked at him, “What does it have to do with you?”
Fei Jingyu smiled slightly, “I just happen to want to choose painting. If Brother Yan chooses painting, we can have a competition. I’m very curious to see who is better between the two of us.”
Jiang Mochen chuckled, “There’s no need for that.”
“Brother Jiang, you’re obviously biased.”
“Yes.” Jiang Mochen readily admitted, “If I don’t favor him, who else would I favor, you?”
Fei Jingyu didn’t expect him to admit it so directly and was momentarily speechless.
Seeing this, Yan Qingchi laughed, “Alright,” he said, “Since you want to compete with me, then I’ll choose painting.”
“Brother Yan has guts.” Fei Jingyu said with satisfaction.
Yan Qingchi chuckled, “You’re quite bold too.”
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