Chapter 221
The easy ones had already been eliminated in the earlier rounds. By the time it was Xu Shuangrong’s turn, only two “strong hearts” remained, plus Liu Woxing, who had disappeared without a trace.
Xu Shuangrong was already a little numb.
But soon, a flicker of thought passed through her eyes—she recalled the scene that morning when Shen Moqing’s heart rate had shot past 120, triggering the flying chair.
No, they weren’t without weaknesses.
At least Shen Moqing had one.
Without hesitation, she suddenly shoved Xie Mi straight toward Shen Moqing.
Shen Moqing froze for a split second. Instinctively, he reached out to catch the falling Xie Mi. Even he didn’t notice the number that spiked on his heart-rate monitor in that instant.
But Xu Shuangrong saw it clearly.
She had always been suspicious of Shen Moqing’s identity. This character—who never appeared in the book—often made her uneasy.
At first, she doubted his approach toward Xie Mi. But after today’s signs, she could confirm it.
Shen Moqing held no false feelings toward Xie Mi. He was firmly on Xie Mi’s side.
Which meant, he was her enemy.
The shoved Xie Mi fell into Shen Moqing’s arms, her cheek pressed against his wet, solid chest. The man’s body went stiff for a moment.
It should have been a sweet, pink-bubble kind of scene, but Xie Mi’s feet began to skid on the floor.
Her shoes slipped.
Her upper body was shoved into Shen Moqing’s chest, but her feet landed on the slick, wet floor. Failing to steady herself, she slid uncontrollably.
Shen Moqing’s moment of “heart-flutter” lasted only a second before the woman in his arms slipped right out, skidding away.
Like some excellent dancer, her feet kept scissoring in wild steps—sliding farther and farther away…
[Where’s Old Xie going? Coming back for dinner tonight or not?]
[Goodbye, Mom, tonight I’m setting sail!]
[Now I finally know where that tap dance in the opening came from.]
[No wonder Old Shen said Old Xie is like the wind you can’t hold. This really is ungraspable.]
[Hahahahaha I’m dying]
Xu Shuangrong looked at the number on Shen Moqing’s monitor: 119.
“…”
Xie Mi, was this your strategy too?
Meanwhile, Xie Mi kept sliding away, flailing. “Help! Help!!”
[Director’s team]: Twenty minutes are up. Congratulations, Shen Moqing, you’ve been chosen as the sixth “ghost.” Please begin your hunt.
Xu Shuangrong’s turn ended with nothing gained. Now it was Shen Moqing’s turn.
Having already completed the secret-couple mission, Xie Mi wandered leisurely through the park, looking for exchange vouchers.
But soon the elimination alerts chimed one after another.
“Xu Shuangrong, out!”
“Liu Woxing, out!”
Xie Mi turned around in surprise.
This guy was that strong?
With Xu Shuangrong and Liu Woxing eliminated, only Xie Mi and Shen Moqing remained in the park.
Her comm watch buzzed with a message from him.
[Shen Moqing]: Want to have a final showdown?
Xie Mi narrowed her eyes slowly.
[Xie Mi]: Just what I was hoping for.
The duel between warriors had begun.
At the central plaza of the waterpark, the air bristled with tension.
Drones filmed from above, capturing Xie Mi in her floral shirt, slowly walking into the square toward the white figure standing at the center.
Looking at his back turned to her, Xie Mi gave a cold sneer.
“Where’s what I want?”
Shen Moqing slowly turned around, a half-smile on his face. “And what I want—you may not have brought.”
Xie Mi: “Hmph. What’s that supposed to mean? You came out here just to sunbathe?”
Shen Moqing’s gaze flickered. Then he sighed. “Give me a chance.”
“How exactly do you want me to give you a chance?”
“I didn’t have a choice before. Now, I want to be a good man.”
[? Somebody rein these two in]
[Send them both straight to “Actors, Please Take Your Places.” I’m not kidding]
[The fact that they didn’t rehearse this makes it even funnier]
[Where do you two get all this weird tacit understanding from?]
Even the drone above nearly fell from the sky—the live director’s hands had been shaking too hard.
They had planned to build a tense, final-duel atmosphere, even prepared aerial shots.
But watching this? Completely unnecessary.
“You have ten minutes left to capture me. After ten minutes, it’ll be my turn. That means if you don’t eliminate me within ten minutes, you’re doomed. Because once it’s my turn, I’ll make sure you’re out.”
Standing before him, Xie Mi arched a brow.
Shen Moqing gazed at her lazily, autumn-water laughter rippling in his eyes.
“I know eliminating Teacher Xie won’t be easy. But I want to try.”
“It all depends on whether Teacher Xie will give me the chance.”
“Oh?” Xie Mi’s interest was clearly piqued. “Then try.”
When it came to a strong heart, Xie Mi had always been an authority.
In elementary school, she secretly watched horror movies—while her friends screamed, she was crouched against the screen counting the ghost’s teeth.
In middle school, when a flying cockroach appeared in the dorm, her roommates screamed in terror while she grabbed a slipper and chased it down the hall.
In university, when she went bungee jumping for the first time, the line was so long she got sleepy waiting. When it was her turn to jump, she actually dozed off mid-fall.
Her mindset had always been rock-solid, living by mottos like “it won’t kill me”, “if it doesn’t work, then let me die”, “dying would be the easiest”. With this fiery recklessness, she had lived boldly till now.
Even when a hater once stabbed her, her first reaction was to look down at the knife in her stomach and think:
Ouch, that stings a little.
So now, standing at the entrance to the waterpark’s most thrilling ride—the Super Cyclone—she wasn’t nervous at all.
“You’re really planning to use this ride to eliminate me?”
Even as she sat in the raft, Xie Mi couldn’t help but ask.
She was never afraid of rides like this. Shen Moqing should know that.
Back when they filmed Celebrity Acceleration, they’d ridden every single thrill ride in an amusement park together.
So why would he choose this method to take her out now? She couldn’t figure it out.
There were two seats on the raft. Shen Moqing sat in the spot beside her.
The corners of his lips curved faintly, his wet bangs shadowing the emotions in his eyes.
“I want to try.”
“Fine, just don’t blame me for not warning you.”
Once both were seated, the staff gave the raft a push.
Instantly, it shot down, spinning wildly through the massive cyclone tube, tossing them up, down, left, and right.
Xie Mi grinned ear to ear, laughing aloud.
“Wooohooo~”
Shen Moqing’s eyes also held a smile, but he didn’t look as excited as she did. It was as if he were waiting.
Until the raft entered a long, dim tunnel where the speed slowed.
A warm hand closed over hers, turning her wrist, fingers lacing between hers until their hands were fully entwined.
At that same instant, Shen Moqing leaned close to her ear and whispered something only the two of them could hear.
In the dark, the intimacy spread and fermented, thread by thread.
Xie Mi’s lashes trembled as if shocked by electricity.
The number on her heart-rate monitor silently began to climb.
