CH 21

Upon seeing how capable Lian Qing was, Cheng Ge immediately became lazy and only carried one lantern back to rest.

The members of the opposing crew naturally couldn't just sit idly by and watch Lian Qing behave this way, but no matter how they tried to persuade him, Lian Qing refused to let go of their lanterns.

Humph, when they took his lantern, they didn't even give him a chance to explain!

Unable to convince Lian Qing, the opposing team ultimately had their only female member carry the lantern over. She looked delicate and weak, and when she struggled to bring the lantern to the pillar, she looked up at Lian Qing with a gentle and helpless expression and pleaded, "Little monk, can you please not knock off my lantern? I...I worked so hard to bring it over..."

"No." Lian Qing answered coldly and heartlessly.

The girl begged, "Please, I'm begging you, really, please..."

"Don't bother, I can't." Lian Qing answered with a heart of stone.

Mo Tian couldn't stand it any longer and sneered, "Don't bother, the little monk hasn't become enlightened yet, your feminine wiles won't work on him, hahaha..."

Lian Qing, who was confused, looked at the girl and asked, "Are you trying to use your feminine charm on me?"

The girl replied angrily, "...otherwise what?"

"Oh." Lian Qing responded calmly and lifted his foot to unhook the lantern the girl had secretly hung up.

The girl remained silent.

The others laughed, "Hahaha..."

In the end, the "Supernatural Chronicles" crew won this round of the game.

The host Uncle Ji shouted from below, "Time's up, you can see that there are only four red lanterns hanging on the pillar, not a single yellow one. So I declare that the 'Supernatural Chronicles' team has won this round!"

Brother Cheng and his group all cheered, and Lian Qing on the pillar also cheered.

Uncle Ji shouted at the little monk on the pillar, "Can you come down now?"

Lian Qing nodded and safely descended the pillar.

His three friends rushed over and surrounded him, praising him as if compliments cost nothing.

"Amazing, little monk, you were really cool just now!"

"I thought you only knew a little martial arts, but I didn't expect your skills to be comparable to those of a martial arts hero!"

"You were too good at hiding your talents, you're so handsome that I almost didn't recognize you!"

"You're awesome, brother, you're my idol from now on..."

"Respect, respect, I really admire you!"

...........

Lian Qing was praised so much that his ears turned red. He quickly broke free from his friends' circle, but he didn't expect to fall into the host's circle.

Uncle Ji and Er-ge each held onto one of his arms, while Sister Tang held a microphone and asked, "Lian Qing, is the view from up there nice?"

Lianqing replied, "...I didn't pay attention to the view..." He was too focused on the lanterns to care about the scenery.

"Oh, that's too bad. How about the air up there?"

After a brief pause, Lian Qing replied, "It's the same."

"Can you tell us what you were thinking? How did you come up with the idea of running to the very top to guard the lanterns?"

Lian Qing felt a bit aggrieved and complained, "I worked hard to hang four lanterns, but Brother Li wanted to take them down as soon as he passed by. I felt sad, but everyone said that it wasn't a violation of the rules since there were no rules in this game..."

"I just thought, since there are no rules, I'll go to the very top. As long as I guard the remaining three lanterns and knock down the others, victory will be mine!"

Sister Tang laughed and gave him a thumbs-up. "Smart!"

Lian Qing nodded. "I think so too."

"What do you mean you think so too, hahaha...can't you be more humble..."

Lian Qing furrowed his eyebrows and said, "But what you said is true... I have to acknowledge that I'm smart."

Uncle Ji laughed, "You're crazy, hahaha..."

The other host, Er-ge, said, "Beep...mute! Tell me, Little Monk, did that beauty trick really not work on you at all?"

Lian Qing shook his head honestly.

Er Ge asked, "Then why do you think it didn't work?"

Lian Qing looked cautiously at the girl and then at his friends. However, they couldn't give him a standard answer, so he had to tell the truth.

"Maybe it's because she's not the type of beauty I like."

"Then Little Monk, what kind of beauty do you like?"

Lian Qing thought for a moment and said, "Healthy, strong, resilient, and they have to be loyal..."

The more Sister Tang listened, the more she felt it was off track, and she interrupted, "Wait a minute, what's with the 'strong' part? Are you talking about a beauty or a brother?"

"A beauty," Lian Qing replied. He paused and then said, "As long as they're healthy, strong, kind-hearted, and loyal, they're all beautiful!"

"That makes sense, well said!"

"Right, inner beauty is true beauty! Looks don't matter!"

Lian Qing hurriedly waved his hands. "Looks matter too!"

"Hahaha, what's with that..."

"You little monk, you think you can deceive us just because you're good-looking..."

"Oh, my goodness, why do I feel like an arrow just hit my knee, hahaha..."

.............

After the laughter subsided, the host read out the ad copy from his cue card and then announced the results of the competition.

"So, after three rounds of games, the winning team is the crew of 'Supernatural Chronicles'."

Lian Qing's excitement caused his eyes to curve, revealing his neat and white teeth, making him look cute and endearing.

The host continued, "As such, the program group will, on behalf of the guests from 'Supernatural Chronicles', provide warmth to the elderly and left-behind children in XX Mountain Village. That concludes this episode of the program. Thank you for watching, and see you next time!"

Lian Qing's smile faded a bit, and he felt a bit disappointed.

After the recording ended, the host asked the guests to record their thoughts on the program, which was a tradition of the program group. Of course, whether or not it would be included in the program bloopers was another matter. If there were no funny parts, it might not be aired.

Lian Qing walked into an empty room and muttered to himself in front of the camera in a low voice, "Cheng-ge said there would be a prize for winning the game. I mean, other than providing warmth on our behalf. Like milk or bread provided by the sponsor... Cheng-ge lied to me. There's clearly nothing..."

"In other program recordings, we can drink the beverages provided by the sponsor, but here we only have mineral water... Cheng-jie said it's for my own good and won't let me drink beverages. It's been so long since I've had any, and I thought there would be plenty of good drinks during the program recording, but they didn't even give me a bottle of Coke..."

"Not even a bottle of Coke..." Lian Qing muttered these words to himself twice in a row, feeling increasingly aggrieved.

Sister Cheng wouldn't let him drink beverages and had recently made Assistant Chen keep a close eye on him. He hadn't had any beverages for a long time, and he only got to drink them when Brother Cheng and his friends took him out to buy them. Assistant Chen wouldn't dare to stop him when everyone was around. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to drink anything at all.

It was also for this reason that Lian Qing liked to hang out with Brother Cheng and his friends when he was filming with the crew. Whenever everyone was in a good mood, they would take him out to eat and drink, and Assistant Chen wouldn't stop him when everyone was around.

After muttering a bunch of nonsense, Lian Qing felt much better and left the small room.

As he walked out of the room, he happened to run into Brother Cheng, and the two of them left with Assistant Chen to the airport and flew back overnight.

After the two of them left, the program group's staff called out to the hosts and proudly showed them a video clip.

In the video, a handsome young man was sullenly muttering and complaining about everything. His pitiful and resentful appearance made people unable to help but chuckle.

Host Uncle Ji couldn't help but laugh and say, "Why don't you just post this video on the official blog when the time comes?"

"En, it's already being processed, and it can be released as a warm-up tomorrow," replied the staff.

Sister Tang frowned slightly and said, "Isn't this equivalent to a spoiler? The little monk's words revealed that their team was the winning side."

"It's no big deal. It's harmless," said Er Ge, taking out his phone and smiling, "@ me when you post it... I still have a few words to say to the little monk"

"I can't miss out on this, this child is interesting, it's quite fun to tease him..."

.............

Without realizing it, his constant chatter caught the attention of the staff and several hosts. Running between two places in one day had left him feeling tired, and he fell asleep as soon as he boarded the plane.

When he returned home, it was already late at night. He reached into his pocket and found that the keys he had put in there while in the car were missing.

They must have slipped into Assistant Chen's car. With no other options, he took out his phone, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't have the heart to call Assistant Chen.

After all, he had followed him back and forth between two places and even drove him back home personally after the flight. It was equally tiring for him. Besides, he guessed that Assistant Chen had already driven quite a distance by now, and he didn't want to bother him in the middle of the night.

Forget it, it wouldn't be too long until dawn. He decided to find a place to stay outside for the time being.

He walked to the elevator and waited. Just as the elevator doors opened, he saw a familiar face - his neighbor, Yu Wenning.

Yu Wenning also saw him and after a brief moment of confusion, he smiled faintly, "Where are you going so late?"

Lian Qing stepped aside to let him out and answered with a wry smile, "I lost my keys and was just about to go out and find a place to stay."

Yu Wenning's heart stirred, and he said naturally, "There are a lot of mosquitoes outside, and there are no 24-hour restaurants or hotels nearby. But you can come to my place, we're already friends, right?"

Lian Qing was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and smiled warmly, "Thank you, that would be great."

Once again entering Yu Wenning's home, Lian Qing felt a little more relaxed and warm than the last time. He watched as Yu Wenning took off his suit and couldn't help but ask with concern, "Did you just finish work?"

Yu Wenning nodded, "It's not usually this late, but there were some things today that held me up."

As they talked, he walked towards the kitchen and asked, "I'm a little hungry, are you? Do you want to eat something?"

Lian Qing touched his stomach and realized that he was a little hungry. He replied sincerely, "Yes, please."

"Then I'll make some noodles. Do you want to eat?" Yu Wenning asked.

"I do! Thank you!" Lian Qing thanked him earnestly.

Author's note:

Yu Wenning: Can anyone tell me how to win the heart of a little monk? I'm in a hurry, waiting online!

TN:

Lian Qing really said, "begone thot". I ain't no simp.

Yu Wenning on the other hand is really making use of that "friend zone" and the phrase, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach".