Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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“Time’s up, the competition begins!” At the host’s command, everyone sprang into action.
Yan Qingchi watched Yang Xinhe and Yu Haoyuan dash off, then looked up at Jiang Mochen, “Shall we run too?”
Jiang Mochen nodded, “Let’s go.”
The two of them quickly ran off.
As Yang Xinhe and Yu Haoyuan were running, they suddenly saw Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen pass them. Yan Qingchi glanced back at them and smiled, “We’re going first.”
Yang Xinhe was stunned for a moment, “How come they’re so fast?”
Yu Haoyuan thought for a moment, “That’s probably their strength; after all, they were first in the test.”
Fei Jingyu saw Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen running ahead, cursed them as cunning, and took off running. Yue Ziming quickly followed, running forward with him.
Inspired by them, everyone else started running too. Yu Xiaoyu watched Wei Zhihang run a long way in one go, feeling a little annoyed that he hadn’t waited for her, but unwilling to call out to him. So, she mustered her strength and ran towards him. Zhang Ningwei, seeing her friend running so fast, was so worried that she wished she could spend money to boost her stamina. It wasn’t that she wasn’t trying; it was just that her athletic skills had never really improved since she was a child. Every time she ran the 800 meters, it depended entirely on the teacher’s mood. If the teacher was in a good mood, she could barely pass; if the teacher was in a bad mood, she would have to retake the test endlessly.
Seeing that Zhang Ningwei had unconsciously frowned, Mo Xiaoxiao comforted her, “It’s okay, Wei Wei, don’t be afraid. I’ve studied pottery, so it doesn’t matter if we arrive a little slower. Take your time, there’s no rush.”
Zhang Ningwei instantly felt even more guilty, “Why can’t living people be like characters in a game, able to buy whatever they need as long as they’re willing to spend money? I have money, I’m willing to spend money on in-game purchases, just to upgrade my stamina. Is that too much to ask?”
Mo Xiaoxiao laughed heartily, “Not at all. It’s a pity you’re not a character in a game, so spending money won’t make you stronger. Give up, girl.”
The host, watching their figures running hard, exaggeratedly said in front of the camera, “Which team will win the first day of the first episode of ‘Best Partners’? Let’s wait and see!”
Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen arrived at the bus stop, and luckily, a bus soon came. They boarded the bus, looking at the route on their task cards, “Transfer to the city center,” Jiang Mochen said.
Yan Qingchi nodded. He looked up and saw Yang Xinhe and the others chasing after them, frantically waving behind the bus trying to get it to stop. He couldn’t help but smile. He waved to Yang Xinhe, who bent over, clutching his knees, feeling utterly pathetic.
Upon arriving in the city center, Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen followed the instructions on the mission card, reversing the bus and getting off on Jenny Street.
He looked around at the shops but didn’t see the “Rose Garden Art Museum” mentioned on the mission card. Yan Qingchi watched the passersby, then walked up to a blond young man with a backpack and asked, “Do you know the Rose Garden Art Museum?”
The young man shook his head.
He then asked a girl waiting for a bus nearby. The girl repeated his question and pointed him in the right direction.
Yan Qingchi politely thanked him and looked at Jiang Mochen beside him. “We need to walk a little further.”
Looking at the various shops on the street ahead, he eagerly suggested to Jiang Mochen, “Let’s take a look around. Otherwise, even if we finish our drawings and the teacher judges them, it won’t be very interesting if Fei Jingyu isn’t there.”
“Okay.” Jiang Mochen agreed. It was a rare opportunity for them to travel abroad together. Unlike others who came specifically to record a program, they felt more like they were on a paid vacation. They had never been to this street before, so taking a look around and waiting for Fei Jingyu wouldn’t hurt.
“I wish we hadn’t run so fast.” Jiang Mochen said.
“That’s different.” Yan Qingchi looked at him. “If we hadn’t run so fast, we would have wasted all our time on the road. We wouldn’t have had time to shop. Come on, let’s go inside and take a look.” Yan Qingchi pointed to a shop.
The two went inside together. It was a bookstore. Round tables were set up on the floor near the windows, and young men and women were sitting in chairs reading. Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen glanced at the books on the bookshelf and silently left. They walked to the next shop, a jewelry store. Yan Qingchi wanted to go in, but Jiang Mochen, after walking a few steps with him, suddenly remembered something and grabbed him. “Let’s skip this one and look at the one next door.”
Yan Qingchi was a little confused, but Jiang Mochen didn’t say anything and simply pulled him to the next shop.
Yan Qingchi felt something was off and asked, “Why didn’t we go into the previous shop?”
Jiang Mochen thought to himself, “Why else? I’m afraid you’ll see the ring and ask me about it or want to buy one.” He was a little worried. It was only May, not even June yet! He had been waiting so long, and Yan Qingchi’s birthday still hadn’t arrived. As he was thinking, he looked up and saw the store’s name— Candy.
“Come on,” Jiang Mochen turned Yan Qingchi around and pushed him into the store, “I’ll buy you candy.”
Hearing this, Yan Qingchi looked up and saw the store’s name, happily walking inside.
The shop owner was a young woman with a high ponytail, wearing a white dress. Seeing them enter, she greeted them with a “Welcome!”— in Chinese.
Yan Qingchi looked at her and asked, “Are you Chinese?”
The woman smiled, “Don’t I look Chinese?”
“You do, it’s just a bit surprising to meet a fellow countryman in a foreign land.”
“Do you want to buy candy?” the woman asked him.
She glanced at the cameraman behind them, “Are you filming a TV show?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re celebrities!” the woman said, somewhat surprised.
Yan Qingchi unconsciously glanced at Jiang Mochen. He knew that in the original story, Jiang Mochen had a certain degree of international fame, but it seemed this woman didn’t recognize him.
Yan Qingchi nodded.
The girl was delighted. “Then you can choose whatever you like. I’ll give you a discount. I hope this segment will air on TV.”
“I can’t guarantee that.”
“It’s okay,” the girl smiled. “You’re the first celebrities to come to my shop. Although I’m not a fan, I’m still quite surprised, so I can give you a discount.”
“Thank you so much.”
Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen started picking out candies from the candy display case. The girl enthusiastically recommended her shop’s signature gummy candies. Yan Qingchi tried one. “It’s pretty good, very fruity.”
He picked one up and held it to Jiang Mochen’s lips. Jiang Mochen looked down, and Yan Qingchi fed it to him directly. “How is it?”
Jiang Mochen nodded. “The taste is not bad. Let’s buy some.”
“Okay.”
The two bought some of the signature gummy candies in several flavors. The girl also gave them some other candies and then quoted them a price.
Jiang Mochen paid, and Yan Qingchi took the candies and left. The girl even gave them a drink. “If you can, please help me spread the word.”
“Okay,” Yan Qingchi replied.
The two of them took their drinks and went outside, sitting down under a parasol to enjoy their beverages and the candy they had just bought. As they were eating, Yan Qingchi saw Fei Jingyu and Yue Ziming walking towards them.
He held out his drink to Jiang Mochen and said, “Let’s go.”
Jiang Mochen looked up, saw Fei Jingyu, grunted in agreement, and stood up.
Fei Jingyu and Yue Ziming were somewhat surprised when Yan Qingchi and Jiang Mochen appeared.
“I thought you two would have already started painting,” Yue Ziming said.
“I originally wanted to go, but,” Yan Qingchi chuckled, looking at Fei Jingyu, “since I’m going to compete with you, let’s start on equal footing. Otherwise, who knows if you’ll think you lost because we arrived first and you were late.”
Fei Jingyu laughed, “Brother Yan, you’re really not modest. Aren’t you afraid of being proven wrong?”
Yan Qingchi took a sip of his drink and smiled, “Then let’s see who gets proven wrong.”
The Rose Garden Art Gallery, located on the east corner of Jenny Street, was a very bourgeois art studio. The owner was a man in his thirties, very handsome, with brown eyes that always seemed affectionate. It was said he had won many awards, and it was also said he had a very beautiful girlfriend.
He looked at the four people in front of him and took out a painting. The painting depicted a man and a woman drawn in pencil, sitting on a bench with their heads down.
“This painting is one I did when I was in school, and it’s one of my most favorite paintings ever. I’d like you to add a sequel to it, a scene of a boy confessing his love to a girl, is that alright?”
This wasn’t difficult, and Yan Qingchi and Fei Jingyu both nodded.
“I have a question,” Yan Qingchi asked, “The task card says we need to paint together, so do the length and strokes of our paintings need to be the same?”
The shopkeeper shook his head. “There are no rules. You can pair up freely, but both of you must paint. I’ll be watching you.”
“Okay,” Yan Qingchi replied.
“Then you can begin. I hope you paint with emotion and detail. If your painting doesn’t meet my standards, you may need to revise it repeatedly.”
“Okay.”
Having understood the rules, the group chose their seats, and the shopkeeper provided them with paper and pens, telling them they could begin painting.
Yan Qingchi discussed with Jiang Mochen, “Let’s use the same method as before.”
“Then what should I draw?” Jiang Mochen asked him, “The fence again?”
“Let’s leave the fence out, it doesn’t suit the style.” Yan Qingchi had already thought of a solution, “You draw streetlights.”
“Streetlights?” Jiang Mochen felt that his lover was probably still hopeful about his drawing skills, which was why he made such a bold request.
Yan Qingchi was speechless, and whispered in his ear, “The pole.”
Jiang Mochen then understood, “That’s more like it.”
Yan Qingchi handed him paper and pen, pointing to a few places, “Here, here, two are enough.”
“Won’t that make it seem like I drew too few?” Jiang Mochen felt guilty.
“Then let’s draw a bench too.” Yan Qingchi pointed to another spot on the paper. “You draw a horizontal line here.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Mochen finished drawing, and Yan Qingchi began to take the lead. He looked at the copy the shopkeeper had provided for their reference and asked, “Is it based on your figure?”
“Yes.” The shopkeeper replied.
“Okay.” Yan Qingchi understood.
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