CH 97

Punishment

Hearing this, Su Shen looked at the male host in all seriousness and said, “Actually, it’s still pretty manageable for us, but there were more dangerous action scenes for Xie Yan, so our parts weren’t bad compared to his.”

At that, the host suddenly smiled at her meaningfully, “Why didn’t you call him Xie laoshi?”

After the host said that, the fans below immediately started to scream again, and Su Shen immediately explained with a smile, “Xie laoshi said that calling him that way would make him even older.”

Xie Yan quietly looked at Su Shen without saying anything.

Fortunately, the host didn’t ask further and after finishing the first segment, it was Dong Gu’s turn to showcase his talent, which was a street dance performance, while they watched on both sides.

The stage had a very cool visual effect, and Dong Gu’s dance was not bad. Standing next to Xie Yan, Su Shen watched the stage and leaned over, asking, “When are you going back?”

It’s rare for the camera to sweep a shot over to their side. Su Shen knew that filming must be quite tight for Xie Yan, so it was already not easy for him to make time to come back and attend this variety show.

The lighting was dimmer on this side, and several of the hosts were watching the performance stage while swaying their bodies to the music. Seeing her lean over, Xie Yan looked down slightly, “If you want me to stay, I can ask for a leave.”

Su Shen: “…….”

As she looked up, she met Xie Yan’s line of sight. Blushing, she immediately cleared her throat and continued to watch the performance on stage. When it was over, she joined the others in applause.

When they went on stage again, it was the start of the games segment. The same game that the staff mentioned earlier to test your understanding of your partner. Su Shen and Xie Yan were teamed together, Luo Han and Li Xue, Dong Gu and the actress that played the third supporting female lead, while the male and female hosts formed the last team. The team with the lowest level of understanding would receive a punishment.

Su Shen and the girls sat on one sofa while facing a row of boys sitting on the opposite sofa. When the camera turned to them, a male host looked down at his cue card and said, “Okay, please write down the food that your partner dislikes the most.”

Without needing to think, Su Shen quickly wrote “meat” and then heard the voice of the staff in her earpiece, with only four words, “depends who made it”.

At this point, it would be hard for Su Shen to change her answer. This answer was not something that most people would write, and it would be highly unlikely for anyone to guess it correctly. In any case, Xie Yan’s really not playing by the rules.

“Okay, time’s up. Please flip over your whiteboard,” the male host said.

Su Shen could only flip over her whiteboard, but when Xie Yan flipped over his, the male host walked over in surprise and exclaimed, “Your least favorite food is based on who made it? Su Shen’s least favorite food is rice?”

Su Shen covered her mouth and smiled bitterly. She generally didn’t have anything she disliked eating, but because she needed to control her food intake, she ate less rice. Xie Yan’s definitely trying to use this opportunity to openly criticize her!

The host asked curiously, “Let’s do it one by one. Xie Yan, do you only eat based on who made the food?” 

Xie Yan sat there and cast a slight glance at Su Shen before saying, “En.”

After saying that, there was a moment of awkward silence. The host tried to break the tension in the air by saying, “True, people who are good at cooking make anything tasty. But why does Su Shen hate eating rice?”

Speaking of this, Su Shen immediately picked up the mic and explained, “Since I eat very little on set to lose weight, he might’ve thought that I didn’t like to eat rice.”

“Right, right, I understand!” A female host immediately echoed excitedly.

Seeing this, the male host could only shrug helplessly, “Okay, we don’t understand the world of women.”

As he spoke, he went to look at Su Shen’s whiteboard and found that she hadn’t guessed what Xie Yan’s least favorite food was either, so they naturally didn’t get points for this question. On the other hand, the male and female hosts earned one point, perhaps due to the understanding that came from years of working together.

“Okay, onto the second question. Please write down each other’s favorite color.”

Although Su Shen knew that Xie Yan liked black, she was afraid that he would give an unconventional answer again, so she waited for the staff to tell her through the earpiece. Not long after, the staff quickly informed her that Xie Yan’s answer was “none”!

Su Shen knew that he wouldn’t go with a conventional answer. They were supposed to go over the itinerary in the afternoon, but they forgot because of some things. 

Thus, Su Shen could only write down “black”, and for her own favorite color, she wrote “blue”.

“Okay, time’s up! Please flip your boards!”

As soon as the host finished speaking, Su Shen already gave up all hope. They were bound to lose again this time.

This time, they started from Luo Han’s side. He and Li Xue had actually answered correctly this time. There was no doubt that they were wearing earpieces. When it was Xie Yan’s turn, the host looked helpless. “I feel like Xie Yan really doesn’t follow the norm. He actually doesn’t have a favorite color?”

“However, looking at his answer, your favorite color is orange, Su Shen?”

At that, Su Shen flipped over her whiteboard, and upon seeing her answer, the host turned to Xie Yan and asked helplessly, “Why do you think Su Shen like orange?”

Su Shen didn’t know what to say anymore. She liked to wear orange shaded lipsticks, and Xie Yan must’ve thought that she liked the color too. 

“Intuition.” Xie Yan glanced at her again.

The host didn’t expect him to give a reason and just looked at the cue card in his hand before saying, “This time, Luo Han and Li Xue earned a point. Now, let’s move on to the third question. Please write down your partner’s ideal type.”

At that, the fans below began to scream again. Su Shen was curious to see what Xie Yan would write this time, but the staff told her through the earpiece that Xie Yan just wrote “As long as there are feelings, any type will do.”

Su Shen couldn’t simply write the correct answer at all this time, so she could only give up and jot something down based on her own thoughts. 

When it was time to flip over the boards, the female host went first this time. She and Li Xue both answered correctly. When it was Su Shen’s turn, the host finally felt a sense of normalcy upon seeing her answer. 

“Xie Yan, do you like young, beautiful, and sensible girls?” The host asked, then looked at Xie Yan’s answer, noticing that it was equivocal again, but it seemed very real at the same time. He said very helplessly, “You wrote that Su Shen likes fair xiao xian rou?”

Su Shen looked down and couldn’t help but cover her face with a sense of helplessness. How did she give Xie Yan such a misconception?

“But, Su Shen wrote that she likes someone who’s responsible, filial, and steady. You guys got it wrong again,” the host said very helplessly. He never expected these two to have no tacit understanding at all. 

They had already answered three questions incorrectly, and it was no surprise that they would answer the next two questions wrong as well due to the unpredictable nature of Xie Yan’s answers. As a result, their team did not score any points.

“Alright, the team with the highest score this time is Li Xue and Luo Han, and the team with the lowest score is Su Shen and Xie Yan, so you guys will receive the most terrifying punishment!”

As soon as the host finished speaking, a transparent glass box was pushed onto the stage by a staff member. Inside the box, two brightly multicolored snakes were coiled around, scaring the fans below, who shouted “no” as if they were the ones being punished. 

“The both of you have to take out five marbles each from this box.”

Hearing this, Su Shen almost couldn’t control her expression anymore. She was afraid of snakes the most. Although she knew that the snakes’ mouths were sealed, she was still very scared. The thought of having to take something out from inside made her scalp numb.

Su Shen kept stepping back and came to Xie Yan’s side, feeling angry that it was all his fault for not following a conventional answer.

“Okay, who wants to go first?” The host said with a look of amusement.

However, the girls on stage were all retreating in fear, seemingly to be afraid of the box. Especially with the playback of thrilling music in the background, making Su Shen feel even more uneasy.

However, it didn’t bother Xie Yan much. He handed the mic to Su Shen and rolled up his sleeves before walking up to the box. He then immediately stuck his hand inside.

The fans in the audience were about to cry, screaming even louder not to go through with it. Su Shen couldn’t bear to watch, but she peeked through one eye and saw Xie Yan’s hand reaching into the corner of the box, where one of the snakes coiled around his arm. Her heart raced with anxiety.

Soon after, Xie Yan grabbed a few marbles and put them on the plate, repeating a few times. When the host went to count them, he said, “Huh? Why did you take out thirteen?”

Hearing this, Xie Yan just casually glanced at Su Shen and said insipidly, “Took them altogether.” 

“AHHHHHHH!”

The fans below started screaming again. Su Shen’s ears turned slightly red, but she tried to control her facial expression as much as possible. The host didn’t make things difficult for her either, just glancing at the two of them meaningfully before ending this segment. 

Later, there was a game where they had to grab flags on an incline, but Xie Yan didn’t participate. However, Su Shen did. By the time the variety show ended, it was already 10:00 pm. At this time, their drama should also be finishing airing its third episode. 

Naturally, Su Shen wouldn’t let Xie Yan take another day off for her. After all, she had to rush back to set overnight too. After getting in the car, she looked at Xie Yan with reproach, “Don’t you dislike eating meat?”

Xiao Zhou and Zhao Tong were sitting in the front, with Xie Yan sitting next to her. Upon hearing her words, he slightly turned his head. “I like the meat you make,”

Zhao Tong: “……..”

The two people sitting in the front quietly ate a pile of dog food and felt stifled, hoping that they would arrive at the airport quickly.

“Even so, don’t you like black?” Su Shen said and emphasized, “Most of your clothes are black.”

“They just happened to be black.”

The car sped through the night. Looking at the serious expression beside him, Xie Yan couldn’t help but smile. Holding her soft hand, he continued to rest with his eyes closed. 

Su Shen: “……..”

She decided to stop talking, as Xie Yan never played by the rules. Fortunately, he didn’t like to attend variety shows either. With him like this, he was really not suitable for these programs. 

After arriving at the airport, Su Shen had to get out of the car first to avoid being photographed. 

The neon lights outside the car window were flickering brightly as pedestrians hurried by. There were other vehicles stopping there briefly too. Zhao Tong and Xiao Zhou tactfully got out of the car to take the luggage out from the trunk.

Until they were the only people left in the car, Su Shen glanced at Xie Yan beside her and said softly, “I’m leaving now. Take care of yourself.”

As she was about to touch the car handle, Xie Yan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly leaned over and pressed her onto the car seat. Burying his head in her neck and taking a deep breath, he muttered, “Don’t you want me to stay?”