Chapter 279
With Yu Jinzhe bearing all the pressure, the lunch finally went smoothly.
After eating and drinking their fill, the guests once again boarded the “Love Investigation” bus to start their next activity.
“On the date afternoon at 2 p.m., will you choose afternoon tea or rock climbing?”
“Pfft—” Lai Bingxuan had just taken a sip of water and sprayed it out. “Say that again? What was the second option?”
Director Niu smiled with squinted eyes. “Rock climbing.”
“At the hottest time of the day, you expect us to climb rocks under the blazing sun?” Xiao Jingxi frowned and pointed out the bus window.
Outside, the scorching sun hung high, the whole city like a giant oven.
“Do you have any humanity left? Are you trying to roast us alive?” Qiu Chengye cursed.
But Director Niu stayed calm.
“According to surveys, rock climbing is also one of the activities couples often choose. It strengthens the body, and it gives men a chance to casually show off their extraordinary biceps.”
[That last part is the real point, isn’t it!!]
At these words, Qiu Chengye was instantly energized.
He had absolute confidence in his body—especially his biceps.
Thinking about how Liu Woxing had been ignoring him these past few days left him more irritated.
There was no way he’d lower his pride to chase after her. Better to just radiate charm and make Liu Woxing fall for him.
“So what if it’s hot? I don’t even turn on the air conditioner when I work out at the gym. I exercise three to four hours straight without saying a word.”
Qiu Chengye said carelessly, “This level of training? Piece of cake.”
Xiao Jingxi: “?”
You said it all by yourself?
[Begging for Brother Kitty’s Super Transformation Tutorial]
[One look at Qiu Chengye’s eyes and you know his confidence is back]
[Don’t you guys have a sense of crisis? Armpit hair warning]
[Holy crap! Viewer safety alert!!]
“Let’s not be so pessimistic. Isn’t there still the afternoon tea option? Since the audience picked the trending restaurant earlier, it shows they do care about us. Maybe this time we’ll get a good choice too.”
Xu Shuangrong once again tried to comfort everyone.
But the slap in the face came quick.
“After an hour of voting, a total of 418,274 viewers participated. Among them, 319,284 chose rock climbing. So our next activity is—”
“Rock climbing!!”
Xu Shuangrong fell silent.
Director Niu added, “Oh, by the way, the reason the audience picked the trending restaurant earlier was because it was close to mealtime. They wanted something appetizing. They were worried that if you cooked yourselves, it would ruin their appetite.”
Xu Shuangrong: “……”
“What an irresistible reason.” Xie Mi couldn’t help but nod with admiration.
[The one ruining appetites is you, Old Xie]
[Did Old Xie forget about yesterday’s hot search?]
[Which hot search? I didn’t go on Weibo yesterday, anyone explain?]
[#Xie Mi Suspected To Have Cooked Sh*t On The Show]
[…Alright, don’t explain anymore, thanks]
Half an hour later, the group arrived at the rock climbing gym, beginning their third date activity—rock climbing.
Fortunately, the show had a conscience: it was indoor climbing, so at least the guests wouldn’t get heatstroke under the sun.
Once everyone changed into gear, the coach came to teach them some basic techniques.
Since Qiu Chengye had climbed before, he immediately became the “center of attention.”
He had somehow swapped into a white tank top, revealing massive biceps.
While the coach was still explaining to others, he was already climbing beside them, showing off like a peacock.
“Ah…”
“My god.”
“Oh wow.”
“What the—?”
“Holy…”
Hearing the exclamations below, Qiu Chengye couldn’t help but smile and shake his head.
So easily swayed by his charm?
And he hadn’t even shown half his skills yet.
Thinking this, he climbed even harder.
But on the ground, the others weren’t admiring his strength—they were blinded by the sight of his overly exposed armpit hair whenever he raised his arms.
[Did Brother Kitty get an armpit hair transplant? Not joking.]
[Look, I know everyone has armpit hair, and I don’t mean any disrespect, but showing it off THIS obviously??]
When Qiu Chengye finally reached the top and looked down with confidence—
He found everyone else had already moved all the way to the far left, as if miles away from him.
“?”
What, did they feel inferior already?
Really, no way to deal with them.
After a short lesson, the guests had roughly grasped the climbing skills. Next came practice.
Director Niu’s main goal was to get them to interact physically, so he set a condition:
“If everyone can successfully reach the top, the show will order luxury afternoon tea as a reward.”
“So if you’re good at climbing, you can help those who aren’t. Best to pair up in twos, help each other, and reach the top together.”
Hearing this, Xiao Jingxi immediately went to Xie Mi’s side.
These past two days he hadn’t had a chance to spend time with her. Now he finally found an opening.
“Let’s pair up. I’ve already mastered the technique, so putting it into practice won’t be a problem. At key moments, I can pull you up.”
Xie Mi, who was stretching, didn’t even look at him.
“Still trying to whitewash yourself?”
Hit right in the heart, Xiao Jingxi’s face darkened, a little embarrassed and angry. “In your eyes, am I just that kind of person?”
“Wrong.”
Xie Mi gave him a dismissive glance. “You’re not even in my eyes.”
Xiao Jingxi: “?”
“Teacher Xie.”
Shen Moqing had walked over without them noticing.
He was already in climbing gear, the black straps outlining his broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted physique with a wild, restrained edge.
Yet his expression carried an exaggerated helplessness. “The coach talked too fast. I didn’t catch it. Can Teacher Xie teach me?”
Fired up, Xie Mi agreed readily.
“No problem! Stick with me, and you’ll definitely reach the top.”
After all, she was Xie—once set a record climbing a tree in two seconds—Mi, the climbing expert.
Xiao Jingxi’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
This was allowed?
[The one who knows Old Xie best is Old Shen]
[Xiao Jingxi used the wrong approach. Does Old Xie need you to teach? She’d rather set her shoes on fire and rocket up in one second]
[As expected, Old Shen knows how to win her heart]
[Just from this, Xiao Jingxi has already lost completely]
Unwilling to let Shen Moqing and Xie Mi have alone time, Xiao Jingxi shamelessly stuck by them, acting as the third wheel.
And because of that, he was once again enraged by Shen Moqing’s antics.
Clearly Shen had long arms, long legs, and obvious signs of years of fitness training—not weak at all.
Yet in front of Xie Mi, he pretended to be clueless, fumbling about, needing her to teach him hand-in-hand.
Sometimes Xiao Jingxi even saw Shen climb up just fine, but the moment Xie Mi looked back, Shen Moqing would deliberately let go, pretending he didn’t know where to grab.
Then Xie Mi would move over to hold his hand and guide him.
Was this really about learning rock climbing?
This was pure green tea behavior!!
