Chapter 35: Princess Carry

The agonizing ad break finally came to an end, and the viewers in the live stream eagerly anticipated the next segment.

When they saw Xie Ting return to the broadcast site, looking calm and composed, with no sign of injury, the fans in the live stream finally relaxed and let out a collective sigh of relief.

However, they quickly realized something was wrong—Xie Ting had been in the fourth group with Xiao Chi, so why was he suddenly in the third group, sitting next to Wen Ali?

“What’s going on? Didn’t Wen Ali’s water bottle almost make our Brother Ting fall just now? Why does it seem like nothing happened, and now they’re in the same group?”

“I protest! There’s some shady business going on behind the scenes!”

“Oh my gosh! The CP I was supporting is already being split up?”

No matter how much the viewers bombarded the screen with complaints, the production team remained silent, offering no convincing explanation.

The host, Tian Tian, cleared her throat: “All four groups of guests have successfully completed the first day’s activities. Next, it’s time for our usual first-day game segment! This is also a small test of the chemistry between each pair of partners.”

“Regular viewers of our show probably already know what the game segment entails.”

“The first round is a fun trivia quiz, where each guest will compete to answer questions. Correct answers earn one point, wrong answers deduct one point, and the final score will directly affect the second round—our two-person obstacle race, which depends on the number of obstacles!”

“In simple terms, the faster and more accurately you answer the questions, the fewer obstacles you’ll face in the second round, making it easier to pass!”

With a strong drumbeat playing, the metal panels in front of each group of guests changed again. The green button on the left signified a buzzer for answering, while the red button on the right signified a forfeit.

“Are all the guests ready?” The host stood in the center with a mischievous grin, “I’m about to start asking questions!”

Ji Chenxuan, who had never participated in this type of game, couldn’t help but glance at Xiao Chi: “Can you answer these?”

Xiao Chi, however, was eager and confident, his ear perked up as he nodded, “No problem! How could an intellectual quiz be difficult for me?”

“First question: A child has 100 pieces of chocolate and must walk 50 meters to get home. Each time, they can carry up to 50 pieces of chocolate, but for every meter they walk, they eat one piece. How many pieces of chocolate can they carry home?”

The projection screen on the metal panel displayed the question, and before anyone could react, the green light for the fourth group lit up with a beep.

Without hesitation, Xiao Chi answered: “^[1]The question involves a child with 100 pieces of chocolate who needs to walk 50 meters to get home, but for each meter they walk, they eat one piece of chocolate. The child can carry a maximum of 50 … Continue reading16.”

“Correct!” Tian Tian said, amazed, struggling to close her mouth. “Wow! Xiao Chen’s reaction time is impressive!”

Xiao Chi smiled modestly, then leaned over to Ji Chenxuan and whispered, “That kid really can eat.”

Ji Chenxuan was both amused and helpless: “…That’s not the point.”

The host continued: “Let’s keep it up, everyone! Here’s the second question: Two rings, with radii of 1 and 2. The smaller ring travels around the larger ring for one full rotation. How many full rotations does the smaller ring make on its own?”

Beep—Xiao Chi pressed the buzzer again: “Three rotations.”

Tian Tian exaggerated her amazement, “Another correct answer! What kind of divine calculation skills is this? Incredible!”

This time, even Xie Ting couldn’t help but glance sideways. He didn’t expect this guy to be so sharp. Could it be that Ji Chenxuan had bribed the production team and secretly gotten the answers?

Ji Chenxuan secretly laughed. Comparing his calculation skills to AI was truly a case of trying to show off in front of the master.

The viewers in the live stream began to make a big fuss:

“Xiao Chen must be cheating, right? Is this a celebrity variety show? I thought I was watching the smartest brains!”

“Wuwuwu, Chenchen is so smart! No wonder he’s my husband!”

“I’m starting to doubt my IQ, I haven’t even processed the question yet!”

The host said, “Now, the fourth group is leading by two points! Keep it up, everyone! The third question will be a scenario-based question. Please listen carefully!”

“If your lover asks you the century-old question—both your lover and your mother fall into a river, and neither can swim—what would you do? How would you answer them?”

Beep—without a doubt, Xiao Chi grabbed the opportunity to answer again.

The host looked at him with a mix of mock reproach and playful teasing, “Looks like Xiao Chen isn’t willing to give anyone a chance! If you went into esports, your hand speed might even break records. Please give your answer.”

It’s not a math question anymore… Ji Chenxuan suddenly had a bad premonition.

Xiao Chi said seriously, “I’d throw each of them a lifebuoy.”

“Such a clever answer,” the host laughed twice, but then, not giving up, asked, “What if there were no lifebuoys?”

Xiao Chi tilted his head slightly and stole a glance at Ji Chenxuan. After hesitating, he said, “Then… I guess I’d have to prepare two coffins?”

Host: “…”

Ji Chenxuan and Liu Bing, sitting in the audience, both covered their faces in embarrassment.

Unlike the host’s awkwardness, the live stream suddenly exploded with a flood of laughter, and a group of “iron straight men” began questioning their life choices.

Ji Chenxuan tugged at Xiao Chi’s sleeve: “Think carefully before grabbing the next question.”

Xiao Chi reluctantly nodded: “Got it.”

“Ahem, well, Xiao Chen really has a sense of humor,” the host, Tian Tian, forced a smile at the camera. “Let’s move on to the next question—”

“There are two groups of people fighting in a brawl, and the police arrive. Everyone takes off their shirts to reveal their tattoos. Why?”

Another quick, sharp “beep”!

The host, with a stiff smile, looked over: “Xiao Chen…”

Xiao Chi, a bit embarrassed, scratched his head: “Sorry, it’s a reflex.”

“Please answer.”

“Well…” Xiao Chi recalled the question, but got stuck. It seemed that he was at a loss with non-math questions like this. He sneaked a glance at Ji Chenxuan’s reaction, but the latter helplessly shrugged and gestured as if saying, I can’t help you.

Xiao Chi had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, “…If we took off our pants, the atmosphere would be even stranger?”

“…” The host was speechless.

Xie Ting couldn’t hold back a laugh, collapsing into his seat, struggling to keep it together. The other guests, aside from the disdainful Wen Anran, wore expressions of forced restraint, trying hard not to laugh.

The live stream was flooded with laughter, the comments pouring in like a victorious rally from all directions.

“I didn’t expect Chenchen to be such a master at telling cold jokes.”

“He makes a lot of sense! I don’t see what’s wrong with it!”

Ji Chenxuan lowered his face and pressed his forehead. Xiao Chi, feeling wronged, muttered in a small voice, “What did I say wrong?”

“You didn’t, you’re truly a genius,” Ji Chenxuan replied.

Xiao Chi squinted at him suspiciously, “I feel like you’re not saying something nice.”

Ji Chenxuan sighed, “Should I feel relieved? You’ve really gotten smarter.”

“…”

The host continued to read out several more questions, and as the first round of Q&A ended, Xiao Chi’s cold-joke-style answers filled the live stream with a lighthearted atmosphere.

In the end, Xiao Chi’s fourth group earned a glorious last place with a score of -8, becoming the group with the most obstacles in the second round’s two-person obstacle race.

The second round took place in a special venue, with a track of about fifty meters filled with various soft inflatable obstacles.

Thanks to Xiao Chi, the fourth group ended up with three times the usual number of obstacles, making the track the most spectacular one in the history of the obstacle races.

The host, smiling broadly, explained the rules to the camera: “…Each pair of guests must maintain body contact the entire time and collaborate to overcome the obstacles. The first team to reach the finish line wins. If the two of you separate for more than thirty seconds, you’ll have to return to the start and try again.”

Xiao Chi, standing off to the side, cracked his knuckles, showing no signs of being affected by the negative points.

The host sneakily approached him, delighting in his misfortune, “Xiao Chen, you’re really confident in yourself, aren’t you? Aren’t you worried about all these obstacles?”

“This is easy. I can do it,” Xiao Chi replied.

Liu Bing, sitting in the audience, rolled his eyes. This guy again… With his thin arms and legs, where does he get the courage?

In the first group, the popular actress Zheng Xi and the game producer JK tied their hands together with silk ribbons. In the second group, the comedy duo Cui Ming and the president of Sanyo, Fang Lu, linked their shoulders and tied their waists together.

For the third group, Xie Ting, using his “sprained ankle” as an excuse, joined as a cheerleader, while Wen Anran had to run back and forth twice alone.

As for the fourth group, Xiao Chi and Ji Chenxuan were at an impasse.

“Should we tie our hands too?” Ji Chenxuan picked up a silk ribbon, about to tie it around Xiao Chi’s hand.

Xiao Chi, however, bluntly rejected, “No, that would limit my performance.”

“What do you want then?” Ji Chenxuan suddenly recalled the painful experience of being held under someone’s armpit when he was sick and immediately became extra cautious. “I warn you, don’t do the same thing as last time!”

“Alright, alright.” Xiao Chi awkwardly shrank his neck, his eyes darting around in embarrassment, clearly caught in the act. “Well… should I carry you?”

Ji Chenxuan frowned, pressing his lips together. “I have hands and feet, I can run on my own. What would it look like for you to carry me?”

“It would be faster that way,” Xiao Chi said with a disappointed look, reluctantly agreeing to tie their hands together.

All the other guests were in position on their tracks, while only Xiao Chi and Ji Chenxuan were holding hands, their fingers tightly interlocked, making the lonely figure of Wen Anran, standing nearby, even more apparent.

The moment Ji Chenxuan thought about holding hands openly in front of everyone, his palms grew uncomfortably warm.

Seizing the opportunity when the camera shifted, Ji Chenxuan quickly glanced at Xiao Chi, only to meet Xiao Chi’s gaze, as though an electric shock had passed between them. They both quickly turned away.

Ji Chenxuan suddenly felt a slight itch in his palm—it was Xiao Chi mischievously poking him.

This guy!

With the loud sound of a starting bell, the two-person obstacle race began!

After starting the race, Ji Chenxuan quickly realized that the obstacles on the track were far more difficult than he expected. By the time they managed to climb over a two-meter-high inflatable wall, Wen Anran had already reached the second checkpoint.

The other two teams, with fewer obstacles, were already far ahead.

A quarter of an hour quickly passed, and the gap between them and the other groups kept widening. Ji Chenxuan, used to sitting in an office all the time, could barely keep up. His breath became more labored, while Xiao Chi, breathing steadily, moved swiftly like a deer.

“We can’t keep going like this, we’re going to lose,” Xiao Chi grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the spinning canoe obstacle.

Ji Chenxuan reluctantly closed his eyes. “Alright, alright, I’ll listen to you…”

Letting go of his pride didn’t matter as long as he didn’t end up under Xiao Chi’s armpit. He could manage anything else!

“Great!” Xiao Chi grinned as though he had been waiting for these words, triumphantly untied their silk ribbon and scooped Ji Chenxuan up in his arms, charging forward at lightning speed!

Instinctively, Ji Chenxuan wrapped his arms around Xiao Chi’s neck, and the wind rushed past his ears. That was when he truly understood what “this is faster” meant.

They passed countless obstacles—moving blocks, floating log bridges, spinning discs…

One after another, the obstacles were quickly left behind. Xiao Chi, holding Ji Chenxuan steadily in his arms, moved with long strides, jumping and running as if it was effortless, not even breathing hard.

Whether it was the other guests on site or the viewers in the live stream, everyone was left in stunned silence.

Someone in the live chat sent a comment: “Mom! I think I just saw the reincarnation of ^[2]Popeye is a fictional cartoon character, originally created by Elzie Crisler Segar. He is a sailor known for his strength, which is greatly enhanced by eating spinach. Popeye is famous for his … Continue readingPopeye!”

As they neared the last obstacle—a short wall about half a person’s height—Ji Chenxuan had no time to think. Suddenly, he was thrown up into the air, leaving Xiao Chi’s embrace!

In the collective gasp of everyone, Xiao Chi quickly ran up, leapt into the air, and with a smooth single-handed push, he soared over the wall. His long legs made a graceful arc in midair.

He landed smoothly, arms outstretched, and caught Ji Chenxuan as he fell, the entire process taking no more than three seconds!

“I’ve got you!”