CHAPTER 13: It Hurts

Wen Heng felt like he’d been struck by lightning.

So much so that while shaking, he began to wonder if he’d committed terrible sins in a past life.

But in the viewers’ eyes, that face—ranked among the top 100 sexiest men worldwide for several years—was now furrowing its high, sharp brows. Dressed in white, hair neatly tied, that aloof flower on the mountaintop was finally touched by human emotions, suppressing his turmoil… That fragile trace of vulnerability was simply irresistible.

[Wuwuwu who could be so cruel to make Wen Heng hurt]

[He looks so fragile, so humble, so full of love 555]

Even Gu Sheng felt a bit confused. The handsome men she’d just watched were already fading like passing clouds—but the man in front of her, without filters or background music, just standing there, already eclipsed them all.

…Even though he was currently trembling from a level 7 pain.

“So,” Gu Sheng concluded to the system, “Pain makes people beautiful!”

“…” The system: “Please, just be a decent person!”

In the end, the staff—looking like they were about to pass out from secondhand shipping—announced, “Mr. Wen had zero moments of being moved. Ms. Gu had five. This round’s winner is Mr. Wen!”

Wen Heng took a deep breath and reached out with slightly trembling fingers to take the ceramic bell—then turned and placed it into Gu Sheng’s hand.

The pad of his finger landed in her palm, cool to the touch.

The viewers were screaming in the comments. Gu Sheng, for a moment, was caught off guard by the gesture, and looked at him, uncertain.

—Did this damn man even remember to pay before numbing the pain? So conscientious?

Wen Heng’s trembling finally stopped—that feeling of being struck by lightning finally faded. But the irritation in his chest didn’t go away.

He stood quietly for a few seconds. After eight seconds, the pain was gone. The staff and viewers all thought he was about to give the ceramic bell to Gu Sheng.

But then they heard Wen Heng’s voice—cool and sharp as crushed ice—ask, “Were they handsome?”

—The people in that video.

Gu Sheng froze.

Then she watched as Wen Heng retracted the ceramic bell and, expressionless, slipped it into his own pocket.

Gu Sheng: Are you f*cking kidding me??

The livestream chat was silent for two seconds—then exploded.

[Wen! God! You! Are! So! Jealous! It! Shows!]
[Aaaaaaahhh——]

…

Jiang Luwei had been watching their interactions this whole time. When she saw Wen Heng voluntarily hand the ceramic bell to Gu Sheng, her sense of crisis spiked sharply.

There was something strange between them—a kind of unspoken connection that made Wen Heng treat Gu Sheng differently from everyone else. Closer. But how could that be possible? That was Wen Heng—someone who always kept people at arm’s length. He’d been like that since they were kids!

What did Gu Sheng have? What made her worthy of Wen Heng?

Jiang Luwei tugged at the long robe she wore, unable to hide the jealousy on her face as she walked over to the rest area. She unlocked her phone—her socialite friends were also watching the livestream, and the group chat was going wild.

[Am I seeing things or is Wen Heng actually acting different around Gu Sheng??]
[Seriously, just because of her face? What else does Gu Sheng have that’s good enough for Wen Heng?]
[What if Wen Heng is really into her? Will they still get divorced then?]

Jiang Luwei’s pupils contracted. She couldn’t allow something like that to happen. She was the one who should be standing beside Wen Heng!

Just then, she heard another anxious voice from the lounge next door.

“What? Tomorrow’s couple scene will be selected by viewer votes? Then you have to get me the votes—I want ‘Farewell with You’! …High acting difficulty is perfect! I don’t care whether Qin Tian can keep up—that’s how I’ll crush the other female guests!”

After making her call, Song Qingzhi hurried back to the live broadcast. But Jiang Luwei, who’d been hiding nearby, slowly smiled and made a call of her own.

High acting difficulty? Then she’d make sure Gu Sheng and Wen Heng got voted into ‘Farewell with You’.

She had full confidence in Wen Heng’s acting skills. And that would make it the perfect public humiliation for Gu Sheng.

Then the whole internet would see that Gu Sheng was nowhere near Wen Heng’s level.

—

Fueled by the grudge in her heart, Gu Sheng went after the ceramic bells like a woman possessed.

This round was solo mode. The bells would be used to exchange for transportation. That morning, they’d nearly died of exhaustion just walking from one palace in Liangcheng to another. But with a scooter or a four-wheeler, everything would get way easier.

After Wen Heng pulled that stunt and didn’t give her the bell, Gu Sheng silently swore she’d get a better ride than him, no matter what!

So viewers saw, through her dedicated livestream window, a determined, hard-working little immortal in period costume.

Playing games, climbing walls, going over rooftops, diving into alleys—Gu Sheng was pulling off wild maneuvers like a pro. Result: +2 ceramic bells.

Gu Sheng: “…” RNG really is random.

At some point, Gu Sheng’s livestream viewers shot up to second place, only behind Wen Heng. The people watching weren’t just antis or CP fans anymore—more and more were genuinely here for her.

[Sis is killing me I’m laughing so hard hahahahaha]
[Don’t worry! Wen Ge will carry you!]

The production team handed out backpack-style gear bags. Counting the bells she got that morning, Gu Sheng now had five in total.

Not far away, Wen Heng had gathered seven bells. He carried his gear bag on his back. The scholarly aura around him dimmed slightly under the weight, replaced by something a little more martial—like a wandering swordsman. Fans were frantically taking screenshots the entire time.

After another hour of effort around Liangcheng, the guests returned to the meeting point to exchange their bells for transportation.

“After the exchange, due to the different types of transportation available, guests may complete tasks separately, form their own teams, and freely explore the film set as tour guides for the viewers~ Just a friendly reminder: this also ties in with your room arrangements tonight~!”

The Rules of Happiness production team was cruelly dedicated to its purpose. No matter how much action they added, this was still a romance show. Their core job was to observe celebrity couples. The separate task structure was optional—it all depended on the choices made by the guests.

A pair like Qing-Tian Couple, with their undying devotion, of course chose to stay together—Qin Tian only had 3 bells, so the production gave him a skateboard.

Song Qingzhi almost shattered her teeth from clenching them, but still managed to say with conviction, “If you’re not by my side, then no matter how fast or far I go, it’s meaningless.”

Dressed in matching seductive red outfits, Qin Tian looked like a boiled lobster from all the emotion. “Zhi Zi, I knew you were the kindest person!”

Song Qingzhi forced a smile, starting to seriously question why she even chose to fake a CP with Qin Tian. Why was Gu Sheng the one who got to be tied to someone like Wen Heng?

Gu Sheng was watching this whole scene with visible amusement.

Meanwhile, the morning’s unluckiest duo—the Mountain Road couple—had turned into the afternoon’s lucky stars. Still dressed in clown costumes, they triumphantly pulled out fifteen ceramic bells and exchanged them for a four-seater sightseeing car!

The chat went wild with a wall of [ohhhhhh——]

The remaining guests who hadn’t exchanged bells yet found themselves in some awkward group dynamics.

Wen Heng stepped up first. He used his 7 ceramic bells to get a bicycle—with a passenger seat in the back.

His gaze swept briefly and subtly toward Gu Sheng… only to find that her eyes were fixed intently on something else.

The sightseeing car—specifically, one of the back seats.

Lu Yiyi and Yu Shanbei were sitting up front, while Du Yanzhi had taken one of the back seats. He and Yu Shanbei were from the same media company—a senior and junior—so it made sense for him to ride with them.

That last empty seat, right there in the open, was very tempting to Gu Sheng.

Lu Yiyi felt Gu Sheng’s intense gaze on her. She glanced at Wen Heng and saw that the god-like Wen was wearing a cold expression, showing absolutely no intention of inviting Gu Sheng to ride in the backseat of his bike. Feeling a little flustered, she quickly asked, “S- Sheng-jie, there’s still a seat in our car. Do you want to come with us?”

She was still wearing the clown outfit originally meant for the previous guest—pink and blue, a little mismatched—but it didn’t look silly at all. Paired with her cheerful idol energy, it actually looked kind of cute.

Gu Sheng looked at her, the ends of her hair swaying slightly. Her peach blossom eyes shimmered, lips curved in a light smile. “—Then thank you.”

The comment section immediately exploded with fans drooling over the visuals. Facing such a beauty head-on, Lu Yiyi’s face turned red on the spot.

[Sorry but I’m shipping this crack CP immediately! Sweet girl x cool big sis is too good!!]
[The orange side is winning ahhh]
[I’ve been shipping them since the first episode!!!]
[But… is anyone looking at Wen God? His expression’s getting worse again LOL]
[Wuwuwu am I the only one feeling sorry for him? Sheng-jie come backkk!!]

Wen Heng watched them coldly. In his ear, the system gave a warning:
“Ding— You are about to experience the 12th pain in three minutes. Please prepare yourself.”

He pushed his bicycle forward, unmoved, the image of quiet strength and pride.

From Gu Sheng’s behavior in the first episode, to her chat with Du Yanzhi this episode, to swooning over hot guys, and now splitting up for the mission and teaming with Du Yanzhi’s group… Wen Heng was starting to seriously doubt whether she ever truly loved him.

Meanwhile, Jiang Luwei was secretly delighted—Wen Heng’s backseat was empty! Since that idiot Gu Sheng ditched him for someone richer, she could now smoothly take her place and team up with Wen Heng!

Putting on a shy expression, she asked, “Wen Heng, I can only use a skateboard. Can I team up with you?”

Wen Heng hadn’t even answered yet, but the comment section was already going wild:

[Jiang Luwei what’s your deal! Don’t break up my CP aaaaah]
[Can’t you walk by yourself?! Why does my guy have to give you a ride??]
[Look at Wen-ge’s face—he’s clearly holding it in. Wuwuwu this hurts]

Gu Sheng turned to look and almost burst out laughing—

Serves you right for pretending to be cool! You tried to play me? I’m riding in a convertible while you’re stuck on a bike!

Wen Heng: “……”

He made up his mind: no matter how high this pain level gets, he won’t go to that woman!

Just as Gu Sheng was happily stepping into the car, the system’s alert sounded:
“The 12th occurrence of love: Lung Obstruction.”
“Pain Level: 5–10.”

Wen Heng: ?
Gu Sheng: ?? Why does this one have a range of pain levels?

But aside from the two of them, no one else knew what was happening. The production crew, hyped beyond belief, immediately switched to a double close-up of the two. Everyone watching the livestream was glued to the screen, witnessing the dramatic twist of a couple walking away from each other to join someone else.

Then suddenly, a voice rang out—hoarse and strained.

“Gu Sheng,” said Wen Heng, “—come here.”

Jiang Luwei’s smile froze on her face.

The other guests stayed silent. The crew all had the expression of someone who’d just overdosed on drama, just like the millions watching online:

[AAAAAH he couldn’t hold it in after all!]
[HELP! Just those two words are already killing me—]

Wen Heng had been trying to endure. But the more he held it in, the more wrong everything felt.

Now, looking at Gu Sheng, cold sweat beading at his temples, he admitted through clenched teeth, “…I can’t breathe.”

But after that line, the internet went completely insane—

[That’s basically a confession right there?!]
[He’s saying “You’re my air! I can’t breathe without you!”]
[It’s the possessiveness for me! Wuwuwu]

Gu Sheng: Okay yeah, now I understand why the pain level goes up to 10.

Wen Heng’s eyes rolled back, “Urgh—cough, cough—”

…He was literally about to suffocate!!

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