Kiss kiss
Lin Que stared at Xie Qizhi, her eyes filled with helplessness and resignation. Her lips trembled, but before she could utter a single syllable, Xie Qizhi reacted with lightning speed. As expected of a “veteran” host of high repute, Xie Qizhi instantly realized that the half-eaten ice cream in her hand was part of Lin Que’s mission. She didn’t just react; she sprinted toward the refrigerator like a bolt of lightning and snatched the remaining two bars.
Xie Qizhi ran while eating, laughing uncontrollably as she swallowed: “Hahaha… so this was your mission! Hahahaha…”
The atmosphere of the show was instantly electrified.
“Give it back to me—!”
—”Got you!”
The two were entangled at the second-floor landing. Xie Qizhi held her hand high, laughing so hard she could barely breathe: “Hahaha… I’m going to drop it…”
Lin Que gripped Xie Qizhi’s waist with one hand and reached up with the other, trying to reclaim the ice cream. In that split second, her peripheral vision caught the camera pointed directly at them from below.
Lu Ling was wearing a mask. The window at the top of the stairs was open, facing the azure sea. A gentle sea breeze drifted in, fluttering the stray hairs by her ears. The sunlight was fragmented, and as Lu Ling focused intently on the camera screen, her eyes seemed to shift into a lighter, translucent shade.
Lin Que was dazed for a moment.
Swoosh—
The ice cream flew away.
Lin Que stood frozen.
Xie Qizhi spun away with agile grace, not forgetting to pat the back of Lin Que’s hand as she escaped: “Lin-lin, welcome to the world of variety shows! Hahahaha!”
Behind her mask, Lu Ling bit her lip hard, trying not to twist the knife in Lin Que’s broken heart, but her lens remained professionally fixed on her.
In the frame, Lin Que leaned weakly against the edge of the windowsill behind her, her arms propped up and slightly bent at her sides. The silhouette of the setting sun made her look particularly helpless and frail.
“Ah… so this is a variety show…”
The moment she heard Lin Que mutter those words to herself, Lu Ling finally couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
Lin Que tilted her head, her gaze resentful and her voice sounding like a sulky plea: “Is it funny?”
“It’s okay, this makes for great footage.”
Lu Ling tried her best to suppress the corners of her mouth. While comforting her, she instinctively zoomed in the lens, giving Lin Que a tight close-up.
Lin Que squinted at the camera: “You’ve started your job already?”
“Hmm?”
Realizing the question was directed at her, Lu Ling’s mouth responded faster than her brain: “We’re short-staffed.”
“Heh—”
Upon hearing the answer, Lin Que rolled her eyes without reservation and raised her voice: “Why make a show if you’re short-staffed!”
As soon as she spoke, the room erupted in laughter.
Lu Ling could already imagine the dark-humor captions the editors would add to this scene later.
Lin Que straightened up and walked down two steps. Lu Ling tentatively retreated one step—
“Was that fun just now?” Lin Que tilted her head, looking past the lens and straight into Lu Ling’s eyes.
Lu Ling nodded: “If I were an audience member, I think I’d be laughing very happily.”
Lin Que nodded, a slight smile appearing at the corners of her mouth. As she watched the lively living room below, a layer of warmth filled her eyes: “I think I understand now.”
Lu Ling was slightly startled— What do you understand??
“—Mo Li! What is that in your hand!!!”
Lin Que’s first victim after her “epiphany” had appeared.
The staircase faced the balcony, where Mo Li was crouching in a corner, eyes tightly shut in a moment of silence. Her position was excellent, located in a blind spot from the living room; her timing was also perfect, as Xie Qizhi and Chu Man had just started a new round of cat-and-mouse around the lounge.
Her mission was: Cook a pot of Tom Yum Goong soup and eat it all by herself.
Aside from the fact that it was just past lunch, she maintained a strict diet year-round. Eating an entire pot of Tom Yum Goong alone was simply unrealistic.
But Mo Li didn’t plan to give up. As the first person to enter the room, she had decisively stuffed the ingredients from the fridge and the portable butane stove from the kitchen cabinet into a black plastic bag. She moved them to the balcony corner, trying to make a flower bloom in a desperate situation.
She knew Xie Qizhi wouldn’t stay quiet.
When Xie Qizhi and Lin Que were in their fierce struggle, Mo Li happened to lock eyes with Chu Man.
In Chu Man’s hand was the dry, thick yogurt she had just taken from the fridge.
Without needing a word, Chu Man hid the yogurt behind her back, pretending she hadn’t seen Mo Li as she returned to the sofa—her mission was to eat the yogurt.
At least her mission was better than Mo Li’s.
Mo Li breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to step onto the balcony, Chu Man’s voice drifted over, laced with a smile. It wasn’t loud, but just clear enough to be heard over the noise of Xie and Lin’s scuffle: “Xiao Mo, want to try some yogurt?”
“It’s mango flavored, very delicious.”
Chu Man’s mission had surfaced: Share the dry yogurt with everyone.
Mo Li turned her head. Chu Man stood behind her, a spoonful of yogurt already prepared, looking at her with a beaming smile—she had no choice.
However, as she swallowed the yogurt, Mo Li believed her options were: immediate elimination or winning the game.
But now, as she watched Xie Qizhi running around the room clutching the butane stove and saw the half-finished seasoning packets being tossed around like a ball, she was so speechless she laughed out loud.
“Xie Qizhi! You’re finished!”
“Aaahhhhh!!!”
Taking advantage of her long limbs, Mo Li intercepted the seasoning packet with a light leap. She chased Xie Qizhi as if on a manhunt. The two eventually burst out of the room and went racing along the seaside.
Behind them, the VJ (Video Journalist) carrying the camera gave chase, the despair in their eyes melting into the orange-yellow clouds along with their heavy panting.
Mo Li finally reclaimed the butane stove, but as soon as Xie Qizhi left, Lin Que arrived.
Chu Man seized the opportunity to shove a spoonful of yogurt into the mouth of the exhausted Xie Qizhi, who was slumped on the sofa. Then, like an old mother chasing an unruly child to feed them, she chased Lin Que all around the room. These two eventually ended up sprinting toward the beach as well.
“The editors are going to go deaf,” Ji Yao remarked, though her lips curled upward as she watched the two figures.
Ren Hui leaned toward her, lightly bumping her shoulder.
Ji Yao: “Don’t even think about it. Do it yourself.”
Ren Hui sat up straight, her smile brilliant: “You won’t. You wouldn’t have the heart to let me do it alone.”
Ji Yao looked away with a “Tch,” but didn’t argue.
“Still, that girl has great stamina.”
Ren Hui looked at Lu Ling, who was shouldering the camera and running while filming Lin Que, her eyes full of admiration: “She learns fast, too. She just watched Yueyue for a bit to see how to use it and how to frame shots, right?”
“Of course,” Ji Yao said with a proud tone. “FEVER, the band—remember? I told you about them. All three members are from Z University—”
“Isn’t it about time—”
Before Ji Yao could finish, Ren Hui turned her head and abruptly changed the subject.
“Tch.”
Ji Yao looked at her, unaware of the smile playing on her own lips.
“Okay—time’s up!”
Mo Li finally retrieved the seasoning packet that Lin Que had snatched, saving it from the fate of being martyred alongside the ice cream. Chu Man also finally released the back of Xie Qizhi’s neck.
“Dragon,” Chu Man remarked to Xie Qizhi before turning to look at Lin Que, who was bent over catching her breath.
Lu Ling’s camera followed the gaze.
“Villain.”
“Hahahaha…”
The room burst into laughter.
Before Lin Que could even catch her breath, she was amused by the sudden nicknames. She looked at Chu Man, trying to struggle: “I’m a victim too—why can’t I be the dragon slayer from the ‘eventually becoming the dragon’ story?”
“Where did you slay a dragon!”
Chu Man held up her spoon: “Give me back my yogurt!”
The yogurt had replaced the seasoning packet, accompanying the ice cream into the sea.
“The missions for you three were, without a doubt, failures,” Ren Hui announced.
“What was the Dragon’s mission?” Lin Que asked. She wasn’t being malicious; she was genuinely curious.
“Was it to ruin our missions?” Mo Li looked at Xie Qizhi. Without waiting for a denial, she turned her gaze away and gave a sharp critique: “Then that is indeed a mission that no one but her could complete.”
Xie Qizhi wasn’t bothered by the jab; her smile remained bright: “While I did do a good job at what you described, that wasn’t my mission. My mission was—The Generous Candy King.”
“I should be the only one who completed the mission,” Xie Qizhi said. “Lin Que’s is in her pants pocket; I put it there when she hugged me. Chu Man’s is in her hoodie’s hood, from when we were scuffling on the sofa. As for you—”
Xie Qizhi looked at Mo Li, smiling without a word.
“I’m not wearing anything with pockets today… wait—”
Mo Li put her hand to her chest. When she turned back around, she held a lemon-flavored hard candy.
“When did you put it there?”
Xie Qizhi smiled but didn’t answer, instead changing the subject: “Did you really not feel a thing?”
Mo Li breathed a sigh of relief and pointed to the various “hardware” (jewelry) around her neck.
Xie Qizhi looked away, hiding her hands behind her back: “Oh—that’s exactly why I chose that spot.”
“Xie Qizhi!”
“What!”
“Rogue.”
“Oh.”
Xie Qizhi smiled radiantly.
The outcome of the game was clear. Xie Qizhi was the winner, while the other three were tied for the loss. Finally, a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors decided the order: Chu Man was second, Mo Li third, and Lin Que, as expected, was last.
There were three rooms: two facing south, one facing north.
While Xie Qizhi was hesitating over her choice, Chu Man collapsed on the sofa and began a pointless review of the events. The more she thought, the angrier she got. She slapped the sofa cushion hard. Before she could make a sound, she heard Lin Que, sitting on the other side, speaking sincerely to Ren Hui: “Can we eat dinner tonight?”
Chu Man looked at her, incredulous: “You’re in the mood to eat?”
“Aren’t you hungry?” Lin Que looked back at her with equal disbelief.
“You’re the biggest loser of the game!”
Lin Que really didn’t understand why Chu Man was so agitated. She said, “Does being the biggest loser mean I’m not allowed to feel hunger?”
Just as Chu Man was about to explain, Xie Qizhi finished her choice, and it was Chu Man’s turn.
Lin Que sighed in relief and looked at Ren Hui with bright, expectant eyes.
“—Yes, of course you can eat. But you have to cook it yourselves.”
Having received a positive answer, Lin Que immediately headed for the kitchen. Before Ren Hui could stop her, a tomato had already been sliced in half.
“I don’t need to go up and choose. I’m last anyway—” Lin Que squinted her eyes and looked toward the second floor. “I choose the north room.”
As soon as she spoke, the door to the second south room opened, and three people walked down the stairs in an orderly fashion.
Lin Que laughed until her stomach hurt, and Lu Ling laughed too. Suddenly, Lin Que turned sideways. Her peach-blossom eyes were as shimmering as spring waves, and the scent of mint grew closer and closer—
The soft, warm sensation of a pair of lips pressed against Lu Ling’s, separated only by the mask.
“Thanks, my little lucky star.”
This kiss happened exactly at the moment the show’s first live stream began.
In the chat room, a full minute passed before the first comment appeared:
【Let’s both compromise, I’ll just pretend she kissed me.】