Zhao Rencheng was a little stunned.

She spoke about this topic far too openly.

His mind spun wildly before he managed to squeeze out two words: “That’s… good.”

Zhang Yunxi glanced at him but said nothing more.

For some reason, Zhao Rencheng felt a little guilty. After all, he was the one who had brought up the topic in the first place.

Looking back now, his question seemed somewhat inappropriate.

Regret hit him belatedly.

“Sorry,” Zhao Rencheng apologized.

“What for?” Zhang Yunxi looked at him, puzzled.

“Never mind, it’s nothing.”

Apologizing so formally felt even weirder.

“Oh.” Zhang Yunxi understood what he meant, but since Zhao Rencheng hadn’t spoken with any ill intent, she didn’t see the need to make a big deal out of it.

Meanwhile, the two wild lovers in the distance finally finished their entanglement.

But Zhao Rencheng and Zhang Yunxi were still stuck in place.

They couldn’t leave.

So, they waited… and waited…

And in the end, three more groups of people arrived!

At first, Zhang Yunxi had been watching out of sheer curiosity.

By now, she was completely numb to it all.

Standing for so long was exhausting. She gathered some grass into a pile, sat cross-legged, and sighed.

She was really curious—wasn’t that… tiring?

How could there be such a huge difference in physical stamina between people?

She looked up at Zhao Rencheng again, making him instinctively step back.

“What are you doing? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“What are you afraid of? I’m not going to do anything to you!”

“I’m not afraid.” Zhao Rencheng awkwardly rubbed his nose.

“Sit down!” Zhang Yunxi patted the spot beside her.

Zhao Rencheng obediently sat down.

Zhang Yunxi picked up a stick and drew a tic-tac-toe grid on the ground.

“Whoever gets three circles in a row first wins.”

“What’s the prize for winning?”

“A prize?” Zhang Yunxi tapped her chin in thought.

“The winner gets to hear one of the loser’s embarrassing stories. How about it? Dare to play?”

“Bring it on!”

Zhao Rencheng grabbed a stick.

They switched on a flashlight but shielded most of the light with some grass, keeping the glow discreet as they started playing.

Zhang Yunxi had chosen this game for a reason—she was good at it.

She won five rounds in a row.

“Come on, come on, spill it! What’s an embarrassing moment of yours?”

Zhao Rencheng: “…”

Something felt off about this game.

“I was a bold kid,” Zhao Rencheng began reluctantly.

“I once tried to catch a wild boar, but I almost got gored to death instead. I was stranded in the mountains for five days, ended up looking like a caveman, and when I finally ran into a real hunter, I decided to bluff. Because that boar had suffered so much under me for five days, it actually died, and I thought—maybe I could scare the hunter away. I didn’t have a gun, but he did, so I told him I was a mountain deity.”

“And then?”

Zhang Yunxi listened intently.

But this story didn’t sound embarrassing—it sounded like he was bragging.

A tragic beginning leading to an inspiring end.

Not bad, but not exactly the theme she was expecting.

Zhao Rencheng watched her expression and tried another approach.

“How about I treat you to a meal instead?”

“No way! Tell me the rest!” Zhang Yunxi glared at him.

Zhao Rencheng sighed, lowering his head as he continued.

“The hunter actually believed me. His whole family started worshiping me, calling me ‘Lord Mountain Deity.’ I thought it was fun and ended up tricking them for a whole month, eating their food and drinking their wine. But in the end, someone from their village recognized me. I got beaten up, of course, but the worst part? They made me stand in front of the entire village and shout ‘I am a fool’ at every single person.”

Zhao Rencheng turned his head away.

The past was too painful to remember.

Zhang Yunxi burst into laughter.

“You were awful!”

She had never imagined Zhao Rencheng’s past to be like this.

She had always thought he was the righteous type.

But as it turned out—he had scammed people as a kid.

“When I was little, I didn’t know any better. And after they found out, they made me do farm work in their village for three months as punishment,” Zhao Rencheng sighed.

He still remembered how humiliating it had been to stand before the entire village, shouting “I am a fool” over and over.

At the time, he had wanted to die.

Watching Zhang Yunxi laugh so hard she almost fell over, Zhao Rencheng clenched his jaw.

“Again!”

He was going to win this time.

He wanted to hear her embarrassing story.

“Alright, alright, let’s go again. At least you can take a loss like a man,” Zhang Yunxi teased, restarting the game.

But this time, Zhao Rencheng caught on quickly.

After a few more rounds, the score was 5 to 3—she still won!

Zhang Yunxi grinned smugly.

“A true master is always victorious. Now, let’s hear it.”

Zhao Rencheng had no choice.

He continued telling embarrassing stories.

Each one more ridiculous than the last!

Zhang Yunxi laughed until her cheeks hurt.

If it weren’t for the ongoing activities in the distance, she would’ve burst out laughing for real.

Silent laughter was torture!

“Again!”

Zhao Rencheng refused to believe he couldn’t win at least once.

Fueled by his competitive streak, he finally won a round.

For the first time ever, it felt amazing.

“Alright, I’m waiting.”

“Fine, fine,” Zhang Yunxi said, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“Let’s agree—these stories stay between us, just for tonight, okay?”

Zhao Rencheng leaned on one hand, raised an eyebrow, and said, “Talk.”

“When I was little, it was trendy to flick your hair dramatically—you know, even hold it in your mouth for that ‘cool’ effect. I was vain, so I did it all the time.

But my hair was only shoulder-length back then.

One day, for some reason, the girls in my class decided to hold a ‘who’s the prettiest’ contest.

The competition? Whoever could hold their hair in their mouth the longest was the most beautiful.

I was stubborn—I won.

And ended up with a stiff neck.

But that wasn’t the worst part…”

Zhang Yunxi facepalmed.

She couldn’t believe how thick-skinned she had been as a kid.

Zhao Rencheng glanced at her hair, but before he could comment, she shot him a glare.

He stifled a laugh.

“Go on, Miss Most Beautiful Hair Holder.”

“You—!” Zhang Yunxi raised her fist.

Then sighed and continued.

“I was so proud of my victory that I bragged about it to every adult I knew.

They didn’t acknowledge my beauty.

So I argued with them.

Then I went home, grabbed a loudspeaker, and shouted at them.

That got me into a fight with about ten adults.

Word spread.

The whole town laughed at me.

I refused to back down.

I was a top student, so during a school assembly, I stood before the entire school and declared myself ‘The Most Beautiful Girl in the World’—and made everyone repeat it after me.”

Zhao Rencheng was speechless.

He had never seen such shameless confidence!

Zhang Yunxi, however, had always believed it.

Even if she had no parents, she was still the most beautiful girl.

That childhood incident even made the newspapers.

For years, people mockingly called her “Class Belle.”

At least in this era, she didn’t have to relive that embarrassment.

“Class Belle, you’re amazing,” Zhao Rencheng said, impressed.

“Shut up!” Zhang Yunxi felt her face burning.

Zhao Rencheng grinned.

“Did they really repeat after you?”

Zhang Yunxi nodded.

“The teachers were dying of laughter. Even the principal called me ‘the most beautiful girl.’ I was so smug, flicking my hair everywhere. Ugh, stop asking—it’s too embarrassing!”

She covered her face.

Zhao Rencheng laughed so hard he collapsed onto the ground.

Zhang Yunxi punched him several times.

But he still couldn’t stop laughing.

“Don’t laugh at me, Big Fool!”

“Class Belle.”

“Big Fool!”

“Class Belle!”