Under the camera’s lens, the upper half of Yun Qi’s face was almost completely obscured by the black cloth, revealing only his fair lower face. However, whether from anger or his own biting, his lips were significantly more vibrant than usual.
With his sharp, phoenix-like eyes covered, the imposing aura Yun Qi usually exuded dimmed significantly. Moreover, having spent most of his time in an office, his physique was slighter than that of Duan Xingge, an actor who balanced several demanding roles.
Coupled with his seated position, the contrast—both within himself compared to his usual demeanor and between him and Duan Xingge was instantly maximized.
And the moment Duan Xingge moved away from him, Yun Qi immediately pressed his lips together and lowered his head. He looked as if he were intentionally sulking at Duan Xingge, but because his position and strength were at a disadvantage, he had no other effective countermeasure and could only turn his face away in silent anger.
Since the dating show began airing, Yun Qi had consistently maintained a cold, arrogant, and sharp persona; his “superior” aura was far stronger than that of Duan Xingge, who intentionally restrained his own.
To the point that viewers often forgot that Duan Xingge, like Yun Qi, was the helmsman of a giant enterprise—a point even more obvious in how they were addressed; the bullet comments consistently referred to Yun Qi as “President Yun,” while few referred to Duan Xingge as “President Duan.”
But at this moment, the impact of his appearance was secondary; the impact of seeing a “superior” being stripped down and rubbed into pieces was the truly lethal, heart-piercing blow.
Countless eyes stared in astonishment at this scene. After a brief silence, the frenzied bullet comments almost crashed the livestream room:
“Woc? Woc! Ahhhhh, production team, you did well!!”
“!!! It’s like that unapproachable boss-level figure losing power, and being tied to a chair by the younger brother he raised, having his chin pinched and being forced to kiss… ahhhhh I’m so perverted, I repent!! But it’s really so good, ahhhhh.”
“Grass, bullet comment teachers, more please! What’s your fanfic account? I’m going to follow you immediately!”
“Wait, is there really such a size difference between foster brothers?? If you guys are really like this, I’m going to start taking this seriously!”
“This blindfold is too well-behaved, ahhhhh, I’m being stimulated into becoming a hero in a fairy tale.”
“Who understands this overwhelming sexual tension, ahhhhh.”
Duan Xingge’s movements in putting on the blindfold were much more agile than those of the other groups. However, not long after they finished, while the bullet comments were still howling, the other groups were also ready.
Compared to the others, especially the flustered state of Ming Jiao after putting on his blindfold, Yun Qi’s state after donning his was much more skillful. Especially when he felt around for the rope to tie Duan Xingge’s hands, his movements were so efficient that they left the bullet comments speechless.
Yet, that wasn’t the most critical part. The most critical part was that, besides efficiency, Yun Qi’s technique was exceptionally experienced. He held the rope and spun it around Duan Xingge’s wrists a few times, and instead of appearing messy, it actually had an indescribable artistic sense.
And when the rope reached its final turn, Yun Qi pulled it tight with a cold face, and a beautiful yet inescapable slipknot appeared on Duan Xingge’s wrists.
The rope didn’t rub against Duan Xingge’s old injury at all, but he still let out a half-real, half-feigned intake of breath: “After all these years, President Yun is still so… Could it be that you’ve been waiting to take revenge on me?”
He intentionally left the sentence incomplete, making it all the more lingering.
Yun Qi sneered upon hearing this: “If I wanted revenge on you, would I wait until now?”
He thought he was retorting to Duan Xingge’s self-indulgence, but as soon as he said it, he realized a double meaning—he actually never wanted to take revenge on Duan Xingge at all.
Yun Qi’s breathing hitched. After cursing himself inwardly, he braced himself against the chair to stand up.
Duan Xingge clearly heard that implication too, and after being scolded, the corners of his mouth actually lifted a few degrees higher.
The viewers suddenly snapped out of it, and the bullet comments keenly sensed something:
“Hmm???? What does that mean?? Ah??”
“What do you mean by ‘after all these years President Yun is still so experienced’?? You kid, have you been tied up like this before??”
“It’s clearly Xing who is tied up, but why do I still feel like Xing-Yun is more stimulating!!”
“Because a ‘Dom’ CEO ‘uke’ paired with a younger top is divine!”
“Ahhhhh, I’ve already imagined the plot where the disobedient university student is tied to the bedhead by his sugar daddy and ridden.”
“?? No, are the new fans who showed up today all this crazy?”
While the bullet comments were teasing, the game under the lens officially began.
Following their previous promise, Yun Qi could only use one hand to touch the jewelry provided by the production team, and Duan Xingge correspondingly donned the high-degree nearsighted glasses prepared by the production team.
Usually, something like high-degree nearsighted glasses would make anyone look ugly; not only would it visually shrink their eyes, but it would also make them look listless.
However, after Duan Xingge put them on, not only was there no negative impact, but he instead looked exactly like a male university student sitting in his seat, bored and waiting for class to end—so youthful and radiant that countless non-fans howled, wanting to become fans on the spot.
As the person touching, Yun Qi, who could only use one hand, hesitated for a long time. Finally, for the sake of that insignificant competitive spirit, he pressed his lips together and took off the glove on his right hand.
Duan Xingge’s breathing hitched at the sight; he couldn’t help but sit up straight from the back of the chair, his eyes darkening instantly.
However, the audience didn’t know what taking off the glove meant for Yun Qi. With the host’s command of “Start,” the activity officially kicked off.
Yun Qi didn’t want to take advantage of the bit of information from his previous life, and fortunately, Duan Xingge’s target wasn’t the set of jewelry he had identified before.
“Jiao-Jiao, go straight, yes, yes, turn right, right, no, not left, baby!”
“Brother Cheng, don’t move yet, rotate ninety degrees to your left hand side, yes, then walk five steps forward yes, stop! That one!”
The commands on the field overlapped for a time, and because Duan Xingge wore high-degree nearsighted glasses, he couldn’t see anything clearly once people in the room started walking. Yet, he still gave胡乱 commands: “Walk straight, yes, just walk straight. Trust me, President Yun, walking straight is absolutely no problem.”
Yun Qi, who had already reached the wall with his hand raised: “…”
Finally, Yun Qi directly blocked out the information from that person. Relying on the memories of his previous life, he walked to the very last display stand.
By this time, people from other groups had basically taken their targets back to their partners, while Yun Qi had just touched those two cool gemstones.
He picked up the two gemstones with his right hand. After years of training, his exceptionally sensitive fingertips gained a rough assessment the moment they touched the stones, and when combined with the subtle difference in weight between the two, Yun Qi felt a bit more confident.
However, no matter how skilled he was, without observation, he couldn’t reach a completely accurate answer after all, before the color and clarity of a gemstone were identified, no one in the industry would dare to brag about identifying it directly.
Yun Qi walked along the path he came from, following the direction of Duan Xingge’s chatter. Feeling the distance was about right, he stood still in front of Duan Xingge: “What color?”
Duan Xingge replied bluntly: “Don’t know.”
Yun Qi almost stopped breathing: “…Since when were you colorblind?”
“Just now.” Duan Xingge started lying with his eyes open, “Really can’t see it, bother President Yun to get closer.”
Yun Qi ground his teeth secretly: “…Don’t push your luck.”
“How am I pushing my luck? I really can’t see clearly.” Duan Xingge looked innocent, “Besides, President Yun tied me so tightly; even if I wanted to push my luck, I lack the capacity to do so—”
Yun Qi held the gemstone and stretched his hand out toward Duan Xingge in the direction of his voice, his tone unpleasant: “Look quickly.”
Duan Xingge observed with his eyes half-closed behind the lenses, his breathing spraying onto Yun Qi’s fingertips. Yun Qi’s fingertips were already sensitive, and a wave of numbness rushed through his scalp; he could barely stand still, so he squeezed out through his teeth: “Are you done yet?”
At this moment, the sharp-eyed viewers had already noticed something wrong with Yun Qi. However, before the bullet comments could shout, Duan Xingge, who had been procrastinating for a long time, finally spoke:
“The one on the left with inclusions should be an emerald, but the quality is average… the one on the right has a tiny bit of yellow, it might be a tsavorite, but it’s hard to say… what does it feel like to you?”
Yun Qi gave his answer: “Chrome tourmaline.”
“Chrome tourmaline? I don’t think so; bring it closer, let me look again—”
As Duan Xingge spoke, he tried to move closer. Unexpectedly, his lips brushed across Yun Qi’s ring finger by pure coincidence.
The burning heat, tinged with a hint of softness, traveled from his fingertips all the way to his heart. Yun Qi trembled abruptly, and as he subconsciously retracted his fingers, the gemstone fell onto an unspeakable spot on Duan Xingge’s trousers.
The bullet comments that were about to become excited immediately fell silent. The entire livestream room was as quiet as the night before a storm.
Yun Qi, however, was completely unaware of this. He couldn’t see where the gemstone had landed at all. Furthermore, gemstones like emeralds would basically shatter if bumped, so he hurriedly reached out to retrieve it.
His outstretched fingers, through the fabric, happened to press onto Duan Xingge’s abdominal muscles. At first, the heat hadn’t spread yet, and Yun Qi didn’t realize it either; he even intended to continue searching downward along the muscle texture.
Duan Xingge suddenly came to his senses. By the time he realized what the man was doing, it was already too late. His eyes widened slightly, and in his desperation, even his way of addressing him changed: “Wait, wait, Brother—”
The viewers had their eyes wide open upon hearing the address, but before they could go crazy, the already thin fabric played a 200% role at this moment.
The scalding heat finally permeated through the shirt, spreading along his fingertips. Yun Qi froze for a second, then his face turned fiery red instantly. After finding the gemstone, he hurriedly retracted his hand in a panic.
But he was far too flustered; when he stood up, because he couldn’t see, he accidentally tripped over Duan Xingge’s leg. Furthermore, he didn’t dare to use force because his right hand was still holding the gemstone, fearing it might chip, and his left hand couldn’t be used.
Yun Qi: “…!”
In the panic, Yun Qi fell hard directly into Duan Xingge’s arms. By coincidence, Duan Xingge was also bound and couldn’t catch him at all, so the chair tipped over. Following a loud bang, the two fell directly to the ground.
The scene went silent instantly, and even the livestream room fell into an indescribable state of shock.
Yun Qi rubbed his wrist in pain, but after rubbing it twice, he suddenly froze in place. The events from just a moment ago came rushing back, and he suddenly realized what Duan Xingge had called him in front of countless people in the livestream room.
Yun Qi was silent for three seconds. In the darkness, he carefully reached downward, his hand meeting something hard and hot, followed by a sharp intake of breath from someone.
Realizing where he was currently sitting, Yun Qi’s fingertips stiffened; he knew clearly that it was all too late.
And the livestream room, which had been silent for ten seconds, finally exploded like an earthquake.
Follow-up question: Would you like to proceed to the next chapter, or is there a specific interaction or plot detail you would like to analyze?