The moment Duan Xingge spoke those words, the main livestream room and all the newly opened ones fell silent. Even the guests sitting on the scene were left completely stunned.
Quite a few viewers were new fans who had joined after seeing the trending search, never expecting to be hit directly in the face with such a massive reveal on their first day; they were all left dumbfounded.
Of course, the long-time viewers didn’t fare much better, sitting in front of their screens, slack-jawed, unable to type a single word. At this moment, the previously “explosive” iconic scenes became completely insignificant compared to this sentence.
Yun Qi had thought of ten thousand possible questions Duan Xingge might ask, but never imagined this ten-thousand-and-first outcome. As a result, he widened his eyes in astonishment when he caught the question off guard, unable to hide it in the slightest.
In a sense, the fact that his first reaction wasn’t a baffled denial, but rather a shocked state of being at a loss, had already exposed the truth of the matter.
The audience finally snapped back to reality at this moment. Seeing that Yun Qi was still stiff and not knowing how to answer, they feared that if nothing was said now, it would be treated as an admission.
The next second, the livestream room was drowned by an overwhelming, torrential wave of bullet comments:
“Ahhhhhhh, Duan Xingge, do you kid even know what you’re saying?! Isn’t this going to be the death of me, ahhhhh!”
“President Yun’s first reaction wasn’t denial but shock; what does that tell us? What does that tell us?!”
“Grass, so that means wearing the diamond ring on the middle finger from the start wasn’t about being in a passionate relationship, but an engagement??”
“Child-husband, woc, stop being this addictive!!”
“Ahhhhhhh, 77, are you spoiling this kid too much?! Ah? You dare to promise anything?!”
“Is it possible although it’s very immoral and quite dangerous but I still want to say that 77 intentionally guided and spoiled Xing-Xing from a young age, leading to Xing-Xing having ulterior motives? Actually, 77 loves him so much, right?”
By this point, Yun Qi had missed the best window for an explanation, and Duan Xingge’s goal had actually already been achieved.
He smiled like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank. He had never pinned his hopes on Yun Qi’s answer; simply saying it out loud to cause a slight misunderstanding among the others was enough to satisfy him.
Duan Xingge chuckled, took a glass of fruit juice from the tray, and made as if to push it toward Yun Qi: “This is something I made with my own hands, Brother, please—”
However, before he could finish his sentence, a voice, not particularly loud, interrupted him: “…It stands.”
Those words were as if suddenly choked in his throat by something; Duan Xingge was rendered speechless instantly.
After a pause, he widened his eyes in disbelief: “…What?”
Duan Xingge’s eyes were filled with shock, completely the opposite of his earlier confident demeanor. However, he looked more appropriate for his age at this moment.
He looked exactly like a pure-hearted male university student who had unexpectedly received a response from the superior figure he had a crush on.
Seeing this, Yun Qi felt his heart tremble. He pressed his lips together and said no more, as if the words had not been spoken by him.
However, the amplification equipment prepared by the production team was quite good; even though his voice was so soft, it was heard by everyone on the scene and in the livestream room.
For a time, the viewers’ keyboards in front of their screens were practically being hammered to pieces:
“What did you say?! What did President Yun just say??”
“Ahhhhhhh, did I mishear just now?? Did he say ‘it stands’?”
“Woc, woc, the words of the ‘Ai Ai’ expert have come to pass, woc, I don’t even dare to imagine, could it be that the rest of what she said is also true?!”
“I’m shipping this until I die, ahhhhhhhh!”
“Xing-Xing, say something!! You kid weren’t you fierce when you moved in earlier?! Why are you silent now!”
“A crazy little dog who is high-offense but low-defense in front of his brother, ahhhhh, who understands, can you two just ‘do’ it intensely!”
The bullet comments were so crazy they practically crashed the livestream room. This was likely the liveliest time since the dating show began. Even though several more livestream rooms had been added, it was still lagging incredibly, and even the portraits were appearing as double images.
Fortunately, the production team, while delighted, urgently opened a few more, barely maintaining the fluency of the stream.
By the time the livestream was no longer lagging, the game had moved into the second round.
Perhaps because the first person to turn the turntable had changed, some deviations appeared in what followed.
This time, Bai Yiming didn’t turn to Yu Siwei as in his previous life, but to Ming Jiao. He paused for a moment, then laughed softly: “Jiao-jiao, do you want to choose Truth or Dare?”
“I’ll choose the same as A-Yun.” Ming Jiao seemed not to have recovered from Duan Xingge’s explosive question just now. Upon hearing this, he took a deep breath and barely smiled, “I also choose Truth.”
“I see…” Bai Yiming touched his chin, pondering. Suddenly, his eyes lit up: “Then, among all of us, if you had to choose one to be your husband, who would Jiao-jiao choose?”
Ming Jiao was stunned, suddenly snapping out of the thoughts he had just been in. He widened his eyes slightly, his face instantly turning red: “I… I…”
He flushed scarlet, stuttering “I” for a long time, his large eyes blinking, but he couldn’t say anything coherent.
He bit his lower lip in conflict, looking at Duan Xingge, then at Yun Qi, his gaze flickering back and forth between the two. Finally, he shyly mumbled: “…I don’t know, I’ll just drink the juice.”
As he spoke, he looked cautiously at Duan Xingge, seemingly expecting something. The other party, however, didn’t have the slightest intention of giving him an out; instead, he handed him a glass of fruit juice directly, being unusually “considerate”: “I tasted a sip in the kitchen just now; honestly, it tastes pretty terrible. But as long as you hold your breath and drink it in one go, it should be fine. Remember, don’t stop.”
Seeing that Duan Xingge wasn’t curious about whom he would have chosen, but instead fixated on the effect of the juice, Ming Jiao couldn’t help but let his gaze darken. He took the juice, intending to drink it in one gulp.
But the moment the juice entered his mouth, he froze. Bitterness mixed with an indescribable sourness permeated his mouth. The longer he paused, the more obvious it became. Finally, he couldn’t hold back anymore; he turned his head and spat out the entire mouthful of juice, then started coughing violently.
Cheng Xi, sitting next to him, hurriedly handed him a tissue. The culprit remained sitting at the head of the table, shrugging his shoulders with a helpless look: “I told you, you can’t stop.”
Ming Jiao coughed for a long time; after finally stopping, he wiped his mouth pitifully and couldn’t help but look at Yun Qi with grievance. Yun Qi paused and said: “If you can’t drink it, slow down and drink later.”
Duan Xingge had been laughing, but upon hearing this, his expression froze: “Waiting longer will only make it harder to drink; strike while the iron is hot, Xiao Ming, come on.”
Ming Jiao saw that no matter what excuses they had, they both insisted he drink it; neither of them let him put it down or was willing to drink it for him, so he was so aggrieved that his tears were almost falling.
Ultimately, it was Cheng Xi who felt sorry for Ming Jiao. Seeing he truly couldn’t drink it, he took the initiative to pick up the remaining half-glass of juice and drank it all in one gulp.
Based on past experience, although the popularity of “Xi-Jiao” was no match for “Yun-Jiao” or “Xing-Jiao,” it wouldn’t stop Ming Jiao’s fans from making a big scene in the bullet comments. But times were different now; Ming Jiao’s fan base was completely insignificant compared to the entire livestream room, not to mention that some of his less firm fans were already silent:
“Hahahaha, the ‘Xiao Ming, come on,’ Xing-Xing has a talent for being a comedian, honestly.”
“I can’t anymore; ‘Xing-Yun’ practically put ‘don’t come bother us’ on their faces. That ‘White Lotus’ still has no clue.”
“My baby is so greedy, wuwu, don’t force our baby to make a decision, they are all our baby’s wings!”
“?? They are a talented and beautiful couple; you look like a clown.”
“The comments from the Jiao fans are so often out of place that it makes me feel like they’re AI. Are you allowed to say that?”
“You weren’t forced to choose, and you really chose? Awesome, your face is bigger than a basin.”
After Bai Yiming’s turn ended, according to the order, the turn to turn the turntable finally arrived at Ming Jiao.
As the first one in his previous life, he had to wait until three others had gone in this life, and he had suffered so many grievances his emotions were clearly not as high as in his previous life.
However, when he pressed the turntable button, the destinies of the two lives seemed to overlap at this moment; the needle once again stopped in front of Duan Xingge.
Ming Jiao’s previously dim eyes lit up instantly. He blinked and said: “Does Brother Xing want to choose Truth or Dare?”
Duan Xingge, imitating the way he had just spoken, said: “Same as President Yun, Truth.”
Ming Jiao seemed to be choked by him, but quickly adjusted and said: “Is Brother Xing’s left hand injured?”
“Yes.” This time, Duan Xingge didn’t look at Yun Qi, but instead answered with unusual smoothness. He chuckled, “It’s something I was left with after being taught a lesson for doing something bad in the past.”
“Eh?” Ming Jiao widened his eyes slightly; his reaction was exactly the same as in his previous life, “No bad deed is worth injuring your wrist—”
Logically, Yun Qi should have spoken up here. But there had been enough massive news today; Yun Qi didn’t want to face the overwhelming trending topics again after finally managing to survive, so he chose to remain silent.
However, if one doesn’t occupy the high ground of public opinion, it will be occupied by the enemy. Yun Qi was taught a solid lesson immediately.
Duan Xingge clearly didn’t want to let go of this great opportunity. Seeing Yun Qi not speaking, he directly interrupted Ming Jiao: “It’s alright, it didn’t leave any major sequelae; just injuring a wrist is already considered a very cost-effective deal.”
“After all, you can’t touch a tiger’s butt. If you touch it, you have to pay a price, don’t you think?”
He even carried a hint of a smile as he spoke, seemingly very satisfied with his masterpiece at that time.
As soon as these words were out, Ming Jiao’s remaining words were all stuck in his throat, while the remaining guests looked in shock at the somewhat proud Duan Xingge.
Yun Qi stared expressionlessly at the few juice glasses next to him, very seriously calculating the harmfulness of smashing them onto Duan Xingge’s head.
Some viewers had just been diverted from the main livestream room to a new one and hadn’t had time to adjust their bullet comment settings to their accustomed mode when they heard such an explosive statement. Some hadn’t even sat still before they started hammering their keyboards:
“Ah??? Touch whose butt?? Whose butt are you touching??”
“??? Is this a metaphor or a literal description?”
“Have you really touched it, Brother Xing?? You are my only brother; say it just like that, are you truly not afraid your wife will beat you?”
“Ahhhhh, there’s a sense of madness in not fearing death just to show off your wife. Although I don’t know what kind of madness Xing is having this phase, please say more!!”
“So you really touched it, woc? How old were you back then?? High school? A true hero in his youth.”
“So, was the texture good? Moist? Soft? Bouncy?”
“You weren’t beaten to death after touching it, only your wrist suffered an accident—Yun Qi truly loves you.”
However, what the audience didn’t know was that Duan Xingge hadn’t just touched it; he had walked away unscathed after touching it, having only received a head-to-toe scolding without losing a single hair. His old wrist injury was purely self-inflicted and had nothing to do with Yun Qi at all.
Yun Qi, who had been saddled with a baseless scapegoat, felt his teeth itching with anger. But no matter what he said at this moment, it would seem like “no silver buried here.”
Yet, what he never expected was that his temporary concession would lead to the other person’s even greater inch-taking.
For Duan Xingge at the moment, this was merely an appetizer; the main course was still waiting behind.
In his previous life at this time, Duan Xingge had been turned to at least five times because of “bad luck.” But in this life, the person turned to most often was still Duan Xingge, but Yun Qi felt for no reason that the person with bad luck was actually him.
Duan Xingge had just been turned to by Ming Jiao a second ago; he hadn’t even rested for a round, and only after one person, Luo Guang, the next second he was turned to by Yu Siwei.
According to the rules, having chosen Truth, he could only choose Dare.
Yu Siwei, who wore gold-rimmed glasses and had a very handsome face, seemed to have some minority ancestry, carrying a bit of exotic, feminine charm rarely seen in the entertainment circle. However, he himself didn’t seem to have much presence. He spoke a lot, but miraculously became the only person in the room who hadn’t been pulled into a group with Ming Jiao.
This might be related to him being a popular author. Since joining the dating show, he had been recording something with his phone when he wasn’t speaking, making people wonder if he joined the dating show purely to find inspiration.
However, precisely because of his profession, Yu Siwei seemed exceptionally fond of contradictions and conflicts. So, after turning to Duan Xingge, he fell silent for a moment and said: “Would it bother President Duan to hug Ming Jiao?”
Yu Siwei could be said to be a model of someone who doesn’t speak often but surprises everyone when he does.
Caught off guard by being named, Ming Jiao froze upon hearing this. His entire body turned red from head to toe, his eyes flickering—it was unclear whether it was nervousness or anticipation.
Yun Qi, hearing this, frowned almost imperceptibly. He didn’t even notice it himself, but it was filmed by the camera without any reservation.
Duan Xingge, hearing this, didn’t hesitate in the slightest. As if afraid that someone might misunderstand, he picked up the fruit juice at his side and drank it all in one gulp, his movements so smooth and fluid that there wasn’t a hint of hesitation.
“…Truly terrible to drink.” After drinking, he licked the corners of his mouth and commented.
Ming Jiao stiffened in his seat. Yu Siwei was deep in thought and, seeing this, added: “In order not to make people awkward… President Duan is truly a gentleman.”
Duan Xingge chuckled upon hearing this, completely unwilling to follow this lead: “Whether one is a gentleman or not depends on the person.”
The sharp-eyed audience couldn’t sit still at this moment:
“President Yun frowned just now, right?! I saw it!!”
“Who said earlier that they were a puppy licking up to them?! Stand out and open your eyes wide!! My CP is clearly a mutual pursuit!!”
“Slapping faces makes me feel so refreshed; Xing-Yun has finally stood up, wuwuwu.”
“Ahhhhhhh, ‘whether one is a gentleman or not depends on the person.’ Does that mean you’re not a gentleman to your wife?? Fine, fine, fine.”
“Xing, you really have a strong sense of boundaries as a man. With such ‘male virtue,’ how on earth were you grouped together with Ming Jiao before?!”
After that, the turntable seemed to have been installed with magnetic poles; at most, it would turn to Duan Xingge every three turns.
However, between these three turns, quite a few things different from the previous life still happened. For instance, not long after the second round began, Luo Guang turned to Yun Qi.
Yun Qi, whose mood hadn’t been bright to begin with, suddenly became even more clouded. He straightened his body immediately. Luo Guang was also clearly somewhat surprised: “President Yun… Truth or Dare?”