Chapter 19
In the end, Xie Mi and Shen Yongqing won the game by being the last ones left hiding.
Their glorious feats—one diving underwater, the other burying herself alive—instantly shot to the top of trending searches.
#TheCraziestHide-and-SeekinHistory#
Netizens roasted them mercilessly: One’s a sea burial, the other’s a ground burial.
[Sexy Mama Cockroach]: Even ten years of gold-mining can’t dig out treasure this pure.
[Fugitive Cuihua from Bear Ridge]: Damn it, this made me laugh for no reason.
[Miss Thousand-Pound Heiress]: You idiots! What the hell were you doing!
[Bro I’m Scared]: Why is Mr. Shen so unhinged all the time, hahahahaha.
[BeatUpElementaryKid]: King of Crazy meets Queen of Crazy.
On the show.
Director Niu: “Since Mr. Shen and Teacher Xie tied for first place, you can discuss who will choose first.”
This step was honestly unnecessary.
After all, the two of them had already agreed beforehand to pick each other. It didn’t matter who went first.
Xie Mi was about to quickly choose Shen Yongqing and be done with it, but he cheerfully interjected: “Ladies first—let Teacher Xie choose.”
Suspicious, she turned her head—only to meet his beautiful peach-blossom eyes.
His gaze shimmered with light, laced with expectation.
As if saying: Pick me. Pick me.
Her mischievous streak immediately surfaced. She swung her head, stretched her hand out, and pointed straight at Qiu Chengye: “Then I’ll pick Qiu—”
“Hey.”
Shen Yongqing suddenly pressed down her hand, the corners of his lips still carrying a faint smile. “Let’s skip the ladies-first thing. After all, I’m no gentleman. I pick Teacher Xie.”
He rattled it all off in one breath, afraid of being even a second too late.
Xie Mi raised her brow.
Heh. Got him.
“Alright then, Mr. Shen and Teacher Xie are officially a team! Next…”
Before Director Niu could finish, Xiao Jingxi suddenly cut in: “But Xie Mi hasn’t spoken yet. Is this final?”
No one had expected Xiao Jingxi to jump in, not even Director Niu. He faltered, “Well… according to the rules, once chosen, the person can’t refuse.”
“But she’s also in first place, isn’t she? Since it’s a tie, she should have the right to choose too.” Xiao Jingxi smiled politely. “I’m only respecting the rules of the game.”
A high-sounding excuse if there ever was one.
Left with no choice, Director Niu turned to Xie Mi. “So, Teacher Xie, are you willing to team up with Mr. Shen?”
Before she even spoke, she felt a pair of eyes boring straight into her.
She looked up—across from her was Xiao Jingxi.
His gaze was full of threat and warning.
She almost burst out laughing.
Heh. Some people just love humiliating themselves.
“Willing! Very willing! If I can’t team up with Old Shen, my life will be meaningless!” She wasn’t just willing—she doubled down.
Xiao Jingxi’s face instantly collapsed.
Meanwhile, Shen Yongqing’s lips curved upward, heart thrumming with delight, his smile restless and radiant. “Why call me Old Shen? Am I that old?”
“Whether you’re old or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that calling you that makes me sound young.”
“Mhm… makes sense.”
“Right? Old Shen.”
“Exactly, Old Xie.”
[Holy sht holy sht, when did they get this sweet?!]
[Ever since hide-and-seek, I swear their brainwaves are weirdly in sync. The more I watch, the more they match.]
[Just now, Mr. Shen was so scared she’d choose someone else he even said ‘I’m no gentleman.’ Who gets it??]
[I’m shipping this SO HARD!]
[Am I the only one who thinks Actor Xiao’s expression looked off?]
Xiao Jingxi kept his face black the whole time. Sitting next to him, Xu Shuangrong tried to play off his mood for the cameras but couldn’t, so she feigned concern, pretending Xiao Jingxi was just feeling unwell.
The final teams were: Xie Mi + Shen Yongqing, Xiao Jingxi + Xu Shuangrong, Liu Woxing + Qiu Chengye.
With teams set, it was time to choose date locations.
The production team didn’t announce them directly. Instead, they dramatically rolled out a whiteboard with three keywords:
[Romantic] [Thrilling] [Wellness]
“Without knowing the actual activity, just based on the keywords, please choose your preferred date: a romantic date, a thrilling date, or a wellness date.”
When it came to creating drama, Director Niu never held back.
The livestream chat exploded:
[Do we even need to guess? The answer’s basically plastered on their faces.]
[Got it—Thrilling is the trap option. No way a first date would be bungee jumping. What about the girl’s hair and makeup? You want her looking like a scarecrow?]
[But maybe the show is pulling a reverse trick—the one that looks worst might be best.]
[Come on, only a fool wouldn’t pick Romantic. Between men and women, atmosphere is everything. If the vibes hit, the feelings skyrocket.]
[From experience watching dating shows, the first date is crucial. If it goes well, the couple’s basically locked in. So choose carefully.]
Just as the word “carefully” floated across the comments, Xie Mi shot her hand up, loud and cheerful: “I pick Thrilling!”
As winners of the game, they had first pick.
No one expected her to be so decisive. Even Director Niu choked. “Are you sure? Want to reconsider?”
“Dates should be passionate. No thrill, no passion,” Xie Mi declared righteously.
Director Niu could only turn to Shen Yongqing with questioning eyes.
Shen chuckled lazily. “I agree.”
And so it was settled.
Xie + Shen group: Thrilling.
Xiao + Xu group: Romantic.
Liu + Qiu group: Wellness.
All three CPs boarded the production team’s vans and headed to their date locations.
The Thrilling group’s first stop—Escape Room.
They arrived at the most popular escape room venue in town. The show had booked the entire place; the huge lobby was completely empty.
[The production team really keeps up with trends.]
[I thought Thrilling meant roller coasters or bungee jumps. Didn’t expect this.]
[I’ve seen variety shows with escape rooms—every guest screamed their heads off. Even 6’1” male models went weak-kneed. Haven’t seen a single one stay cool.]
[Get ready to screenshot—I can already feel Mr. Shen and Teacher Xie will give us tons of reaction memes.]
“To make it more immersive, once you enter, there’ll be no cameramen following you. The livestream will rely solely on surveillance footage.”
“Please check this agreement first to confirm you don’t have heart disease, high blood pressure, or similar conditions. If not, sign here.”
“Heh, a life-or-death waiver.” Xie Mi was a seasoned escape room player, fully familiar with the routine. She scribbled her name without hesitation.
Across from her, Shen Yongqing also signed slowly after skimming through.
A deputy director felt a bad premonition.
Why were these two calmer than each other?!
Would the show even get any reactions?
“We’ve prepared a medium-horror difficulty. If you prefer, we can adjust to light-horror or heavy-horror,” the staff said.
Hearing this, Xie Mi raised her brow at Shen Yongqing, “I’m fine with anything. What about you?”
Shen Yongqing smiled carelessly. “Whatever.”
[Uh-oh, these two are pros.]
[Big fish entering a small pond. Smurf alert!]
