Chapter 77 – The youngest brother on the Surface controls his brother
 
Before the camera could zoom in, the eyes of the people on stage were already focused. An Xumo froze for a moment, remembering the words he heard outside the lounge before he went on stage.
 
“I will only have cooperative activities with An Xumo.”
 
An Xumo rightfully interpreted this statement along with Zhou Jinchen’s invitation as part of the plan. Without further hesitation, he stepped forward and tied the protective gear with the help of the staff.
 
The two men went up and stood by the high platform, in front of which was a thick sponge cushion hanging. An Xumo quietly glanced toward the side, the distance of ten meters away makes the guests below look much smaller but it can make people clearly see the hardness of the floor.
 
Even people who are not afraid of heights will feel restrained when standing here.
 
According to the results of the previous discussion, the balloon will be taken by the lighter-weight An Xumo and the balance will be maintained by Zhou Jinchen, which is a relatively safe way, as the case was the same with the previous groups. However, because there were two girls who were afraid of height and dared not move, the balloon was picked up by the male partner. As a result, without waiting for the men to move a few steps, the cushion was pressed out of balance and the people turned over together. Having learned from their lessons, the two men decided on this arrangement without much discussion.
 
Zhou Jinchen who was standing on the right side took the lead in placing one foot in. He tested the extent of the shaking and then stepped on both feet on the thick cushion.
 
The swaying range of the sponge pad increased, Zhou Jinchen waited for a while before the balance stabilized.
 
The crowd below was watching them closely. Yan Xiangyan who was holding his arm said, “Okay, that’s good. Now that Jinchen is standing, their first step went very well.”
 
After Zhou Jinchen stood firmly, he moved a step to the right to make way for An Xumo who was about to come up. But in order to maintain the balance of the sponge pad, he did not stray a few steps away. Therefore, when An Xumo came up, the two bodies were almost close together and there was not much distance between them.
 
Standing on this kind of cushion that could be turned over at any time, the challenger’s own sense of security would be greatly shaken. In addition to the height of nearly ten meters, soft and trembling legs are normal. Despite knowing that failure is not a serious consequence, the safety rope behind him is also tightly tied. But once you get to this position, all the security and comfort become so thin and pale.
 
An Xumo took a deep breath and felt the air around him was so thin that even the commentary and encouragement from the host below didn’t come through.
 
The only thing that can be heard is the deep voice of the person around him.
 
“Be careful.”
 
An Xumo blinked his eyes hard and exhaled a long breath.
 
With the efforts of the two, they finally managed to take the first step towards the both sides and stabilized their balance separately.
 
There seemed to be a round of delighted applause in the direction of the audience but An Xumo does not have the time to care about this, he was focusing on the position of the man beside him.  The thick cushion was nearly two meters long; to get the balloon at the edge, the two men also had to stand almost on both ends of the sponge pad.
 
The movement of going backward has never been so difficult and the huge spotlight overhead radiated the heat that one had to care about. A little bit of moisture seeped out of An Xumo’s forehead. He blinked forcefully and moved his feet carefully.
 
In the previous three rounds of attempts, except for the first group which ended before going up, the second and third groups both overturned the sponge in the process of moving outward. The girl in the second group had reached the balloon on the edge but because her partner did not dare to go too much outside, the girl has just squatted down and touched the balloon when the pad tilted down toward her side, and she slipped out.
 
Summing up the experiences and lessons from the first three groups, the two moved more and more cautiously. However, their progress is still smooth. Although An Xumo feels that he’s spending a second like a year, in fact, the progress of the two can be described as rapid, the sponge pad was also never too shaky.
 
For the sake of balance, the first person to move each time is Zhou Jinchen. In the first few groups, most people standing in his position chose to squat and move slowly to increase their balance after lowering the center of gravity, but Zhou Jinchen did not choose to do so. He is still walking outward little by little, although his movements are not impulsive, the distance he takes each time is not small. But in this way, even though there will be a lot of shaking when he leaves, it will be much easier when An Xumo moves out in the next step.
 
From the point of view of others, they only seem to think that An Xumo is flexible and light, and it was only when he takes a step backward, they remembered to praise Zhou Jinchen’s bold movements. Coupled with the fact that he has been practicing dancing for so long, An Xumo’s balance itself is much better than that of ordinary people. When he was included in the camera, his performance was even more eye-catching.
 
Under the gaze of everyone’s expectations, An Xumo finally came to the edge of the thick pad in a light sway. He stretched out his right hand to keep his balance and leaned slightly to the left, his fingertips struggling to reach the balloon that was stuck on the edge.
 
The heartbeat vibrated against his eardrum and the sound of breathing was deafening. An Xumo held his breath and finally felt that smooth touch.
 
He was standing on the edge of the thick cushion and his body was about to be tilted outside, so it was difficult to grasp the balance at this time. It stands to reason that the sponge pad should have lean in the direction of An Xumo but he was too busy picking the balloon and did not notice that instead of pressing down the sponge pad like the girls in the second group, the position under his feet slightly tilted up a little.
 
If An Xumo could see the footage of this scene, he would have noticed that the man standing at the other end was watching his movements closely as he struggled to tilt his body to pick up the balloon. His right foot was positioned so that it was about to step out of the thick pad.
 
Stepping on the edge can indeed regulate the balance at any time but the psychological pressure to do so is too great, not to mention that Zhou Jinchen is still standing directly, he himself does not have the conditions to maintain stability.
 
But at this time, An Xumo did not notice the man’s actions. He used his fingers for a long time and finally took off the red balloon from its stuck position.
 
The moment he grabbed the balloon, An Xumo finally let out a sigh of relief. It was only then did he notice the cheers coming from the stage and the audience, but in an instant, the voice changed its tone —
 
An Xumo did not have the time to react at all and the sponge pad under his feet turned up. As a result, he was standing at the top and slid down to the right. The momentary onslaught of weightlessness made people’s hearts tighten.
 
“……”
 
Unable to scream out, the microphone is still at the side of his mouth and he will be heard —the moment of the fall, the boy’s mind is only left with this strange persistence.
 
However, before the pull from behind came, An Xumo hit something slightly hard on his side.
 
It was not until there was strength coming from that obstacle that even people covered with protective gear making one’s heart filled, did An Xumo realized what had happened.
 
He also foolishly raised his hand to hold up this hard-earned balloon, the side of his face was pressed against his brother’s chest. The hard protective lock was on his face and there was an extended pull that also came behind him.
 
There was an unreliable sense of suspension under his feet but his body is held tightly in the arms. The complex protection measures blocked the transfer of temperature but the mere physical proximity was enough to dissipate all the uneasiness of being suspended high up in the air.
 
It was not until the two slowly landed on a solid floor and the staff came forward to help untie the protective rope, did An Xumo retreated from his arms.
 
He raised his eyes to look over. Zhou Jinchen still seemed to have no fluctuations in his expression. It’s as if just hanging from a height of ten meters was not a serious matter.
 
Maybe it’s because my brother had more experience with weiya^[1]transliteration of the word “wire” which means hanging on a wire rope. It’s an ultra-fine high-quality steel wire. when he was filming before…… An Xumo thought randomly and heard Ge Zhiqiang on the side smiling, “Congratulations to our ‘quietest combination’ to successfully win the crown!”
 
Yan Xiangyen also smiled, “If it were not for the last one to turn down this play, watching the performance of the two of you, I still would have thought it was picking a balloon from the ground.”
 
When the camera came over, An Xumo hurriedly pull up the corners of his mouth and smiled. He raised the balloon and showed it to everyone but the heart beating in his chest was like a beating drum, which shook people’s limbs a little numb.
 
It was a close call. Another level passed.
 
Because the two men were on the stage, there was no score in this round. The total score is still blue and red, one to zero. An Xumo did not think too much of this either. He also understood that in this kind of variety show, for the artists, the results of the game are not important. The important thing is to have enough time for the camera and outstanding performance.
 
After this round of high-altitude balloon picking competition, even if there is not much footage at other times, An Xumo’s presence in this show has been enough.
 
After the second round, the third round of competition is a game of who is undercover. The props set up in the game were still related to the movie and it could be seen that both the cast of 《Different Roads》 and the program team of 《Surface》 had put a lot of thought into this promotion. In the end, the red team formed by the hosts won narrowly by mistake and scored one point.
 
After the props were removed, the crowd lined up on the stage. Yan Xiangyan standing in the middle, announced the one-to-one outcome, stating that the crew would give away movie tickets in the name of each two teams, totaling two hundred in total. In the end, he also gave the microphone to Ma Zechi and asked him to promote the summer movie release of 《Different Roads》.
 
While they were talking, a sumptuous table of fresh seafood meal was also pushed to the middle of the stage. The meal was shared by two teams, but the few disposable plates, forks, and chopsticks were put aside, nevertheless, it was not enough to put together twelve sets.
 
Everyone did not hesitate to lift the white porcelain lid. The heat and aroma spread together, causing several people who had been on a fitness diet unable to withstand the temptation.
 
The sets of cutlery were given priority to the ladies, after which the rounds did not make it to An Xumo whose age and seniority were all at the end of the crew. The stage director told them through the headset that there would be cutlery delivered later and after they had finished eating, they would give a portion to the audience on the stage in passing.
 
An Xumo who didn’t get the cutlery stood honestly on the side and looked at the meal on the table. The palm-size scallop meat is fat and juicy, the crystalline crab meatballs were soaked in the clear soup, and the delicious taste is visible to the naked eye. More than a dozen dishes were placed on the large round table. An Xumo was trying to avert his sight and restrain himself when he heard a sudden exclamation of high-pitched voice from the stage.
 
On one side of his head, there is a small spoon with crab meatballs pressed on his lips.
 
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The author has something to say:
 
Brother: (hands a spoon)
 
Xiao Mo (sighs while eating): Why is my brother’s plan not over yet
 
Brother who really just wants to feed: ……