I'm in Wuha, and the whole internet is shipping me and Song Yuqi as a couple.

Jiang Che's voice came through the miniature microphone without the slightest hesitation.

Song Yuqi gripped his collar tightly, her lips moved twice, but she couldn't get a word out.

She originally wanted to give Jiang Che a piece of her mind, to see him frantically trying to explain.

Now the man isn't hiding anymore.

Jiang Che looked at her flushed cheeks and decided to add fuel to the fire.

The task requires an unambiguous emotional statement, so he should give a clear one.

"I just threw it over there, and the ground is covered with broken porcelain shards."

Jiang Che stared at her. "I'm happy to protect you."

This statement immediately caused an uproar in the live stream, which had tens of millions of viewers.

Holy crap! He admitted it! I'm happy to protect you!

[Is Jiang Che really not going to shut up today?]

[Aaaaaah, does anyone understand? He wasn't like this before!]

A system notification popped up.

Hidden quest completed.

[Reward: Constitution attribute increased by 10 points (current physical condition is comprehensively improved)]

Jiang Che stretched his shoulders and back, and the soreness and fatigue from before subsided considerably. His knees and lower back also felt more stable.

Song Yuqi couldn't take it anymore.

She loosened Jiang Che's collar and, using the cushion, scrambled to her feet.

She didn't even bother to take pictures of the dust on her clothes; she turned her back to the camera, her ears burning red.

Jiang Che slowly stood up and dusted off his trousers.

Chen He slapped his thigh from the sidelines: "Brother Chao, I can't eat anymore, I'm too full!"

Deng Chao grinned from ear to ear: "That's some magnanimity from Lyricist! That's how a man should be!"

Bai Lu stood two meters away, still holding the red rope in her hand, her smile almost uncontrollable.

She took a step forward and said apologetically, "Teacher Jiang, Yuqi, I'm so sorry. My legs were a little sore just now, and I couldn't stand steadily, so I pulled on the rope. Did you get hurt?"

Jiang Che turned his head to look at her.

"It didn't hurt."

Jiang Che replied, "But Sister Bailu, next time tell me your legs are sore in advance so I can pick a softer mat to fall on. This mat is thin; I almost hit my back."

Bai Lu chuckled twice, tugged at her skirt, and couldn't utter a single word.

Wu Zheng walked over with a megaphone, breaking the deadlock.

"Alright, alright, that's enough with the PDA. There are still red beans on the ground you haven't picked up. If you're over three minutes, the red team forfeits!"

Song Yuqi turned around and glared at Wu Zheng: "How are we supposed to pick these up? The cards have all flown away!"

"That's your problem," Wu Zheng said, adopting an attitude of not intending to reason with them.

Jiang Che bent down, picked up the playing cards that had fallen on the edge of the mat, held them between two fingers, and turned to look at Song Yuqi.

"come over."

Song Yuqi looked at him warily: "What else do you want to do?"

"Picking beans."

Jiang Che walked over and stood in front of her.

The fatigue he felt earlier had dissipated, and even his breathing was more steady than before.

He stuffed the playing cards into Song Yuqi's hand.

"You're holding the card, sticking it to your face."

Before Song Yuqi could react, Jiang Che's left hand had already wrapped around her waist.

This time, instead of making her squat, he used his arm to lift her up half an inch, briefly lifting her feet off the ground.

"Why!"

Song Yuqi was startled and instinctively reached out to hug his neck.

Jiang Che bent one knee and squatted down steadily.

"Private labeling".

Song Yuqi quickly placed the playing cards between their faces.

Jiang Che tilted his head and swept the edge of the cards in her hand across the ground, so that the last two red beans fell steadily into the bowl.

"Bang."

Put the bowl down.

Jiang Che stood up and casually put Song Yuqi back on the ground.

The movements were clean, and the breathing was not disordered when getting up.

The entire room fell silent.

Lu Han stared at Jiang Che with her mouth agape, "Brother Che, did you secretly go to the Shaolin Temple for advanced training behind our backs? That core strength, doing a single-leg weighted squat?"

Jiang Che glanced at him: "Eat more rice and drink less iced Americano, and you can manage too."

Chen He looked down at the iced Americano in his hand and felt like he'd been called out.

Wu Zheng held up the megaphone, looking extremely frustrated.

They originally wanted to see them make fools of themselves, but ended up pleasing Jiang Che instead.

"You pass!"

Wu Zheng snapped impatiently, "The Red Team has obtained a clue to the finish line. Set off immediately!"

Jiang Che took the envelope from the staff member and tore it open.

"Final Mission: Climb to the top of the Yellow Crane Tower. The three of you must hike to the top together following the route designated by the production team. You must not untie the red rope midway. Ten minutes."

Upon hearing this, Bai Lu's expression changed.

There are many staircases inside the Yellow Crane Tower, and the program team also designated a hiking route.

She was wearing a pair of heeled leather shoes today, and her feet were already sore from walking this far, let alone climbing to the top floor.

"Teacher Jiang..."

Bai Lu pursed her lips: "My feet are a bit blistered, so I might not be able to keep up with your speed when climbing stairs."

As soon as she finished speaking, the camera zoomed in.

Jiang Che looked at the red rope that tied the three people together.

"Sister Bailu, ten minutes is a very tight timeframe."

"I know, I'll try my best not to hold you back," Bai Lu quickly replied.

What I mean is...

Jiang Che looked at Wu Zheng: "Director, if someone withdraws, what happens to the rope?"

Bai Lu's smile froze on her face.

Wu Zheng's eyes lit up, eager for a good show: "If someone voluntarily gives up, the rope can be cut. But the remaining two people will have their time halved, only five minutes."

Jiang Che nodded and turned to look at Bai Lu.

"Sister Bailu, your feet are blistered, and these stairs are really hard to climb. For your health, you should rest down here."

Jiang Che spoke politely, leaving Bai Lu little room for maneuver.

Before Bailu could reply, he waved directly to the staff.

"Bring me the scissors."

Bai Lu's smile vanished, and she tightened her grip on the red string.

If she were to say now that she can climb, she would be contradicting herself.

She could only watch as the staff took out scissors and snipped the red string on her wrist.

"Well... good luck to you guys."

Bai Lu forced a smile and retreated behind the camera.

Song Yuqi looked at Jiang Che and muttered under her breath, "You have such a sharp tongue. The female guest just arrived, and you've already ruined her chances."

Jiang Che turned his head to look at her: "You think I'm toxic? Then let's use duct tape to bring her back, and the three of us can leave together?"

"Don't."

Song Yuqi quickly waved her hand, tightening her grip on the red string on her wrist: "Five minutes is five minutes. It's better to run myself to death than to be pulled to death. Let's go!"

As soon as the whistle blew, the two rushed into the Yellow Crane Tower.

The stairs were narrow and steep.

The effects of improved physical fitness are now becoming apparent.

Jiang Che ran three floors without breaking a sweat, and his breathing remained steady.

Song Yuqi gripped the rope, her legs growing heavier and heavier.

"Slow down..."