Chapter 80: Come On, Who’s Afraid of Whom

After hearing the staff’s response, the four couples stood rooted to the spot, each wearing an indescribable expression.

To take the challenge, or not?

The answer was already clear.

Well then, it was time to throw caution to the wind.

Some were nervous, some secretly delighted, some irritable, some anxious, and some were speculating about what the others were thinking at this moment.

At the group photo checkpoint, there was only one staff member responsible for photography, but now four couples were waiting. So, naturally, the question arose: who would go first?

Qi Jiajia, resigned to “the sooner it’s over, the sooner I’m free,” discussed with Zhang Chen whether they should go first. Zhang Chen refused; his thought was, there’s no way I’m taking the photo before Ye Fangfei!

Qi Jiajia rolled her eyes inwardly. This guy had been hustling for first place all this time, but now that he’s seen Ye Fangfei, all that drive has vanished? Really something.

Xu Junze suggested to Li Jiayan that if they finished early, they could go look for the next checkpoint. But Li Jiayan shyly shook her head, saying she wanted to see how the others did it first.

Chu Yao seemed distracted. Wen Yiming had to call her twice before she heard him. “What?” she asked.

“Shall we go first? The photo isn’t difficult, just a simple pose—it’ll be over quickly. No need to overthink it,” Wen Yiming said, noticing her restlessness.

It was well known by now that Chu Yao and Xu Junze had once been deeply in love. Though they’d been separated for a year and Chu Yao always put on a front of never looking back around Xu Junze, Wen Yiming wasn’t foolish; he could see that deep down, she hadn’t fully let go.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have teared up every time their past was mentioned in the post-show interviews. She was forcing herself to let go, but she hadn’t truly been able to say goodbye to the past—she was deceiving herself.

So, Wen Yiming thought, this group photo was a psychological hurdle for her.

“Sure,” Chu Yao agreed readily.

But just then, Ye Fangfei’s voice rang out. “Photographer’s ready!”

Everyone turned to look, only to see that Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei had already chosen their shooting angle, and couldn’t help but be surprised.

“In broad daylight, without car headlights for effect, we’ll just shoot against the light,” Ye Fangfei said, already crouched by the roadside. Without high heels, there was no risk of a broken heel, so she simply held her ankle, pretending to have twisted it.

Lu Zhou stood in front of her, and only knelt down once the photographer was ready.

Here it comes—the face-touching moment! The rest of the guests, acting as audience, unconsciously held their breath and glanced at Zhang Chen out of the corner of their eyes.

Sunlight streamed over the pair as the photographer found the angle and began to call out for them to get ready.

“Make sure your gazes are right—don’t just go through the motions. The man should look affectionate, like he’s saying, ‘I’m here to rescue you, don’t be afraid.’ The woman should have the look of being saved by her hero.”

“Alright! Get into the feeling, you can try it a few times,” the photographer called out, while the onlookers on the sidelines were left speechless.

Zhang Chen’s face had darkened.

Li Jiayan said nothing.

Lu Zhou reached out toward Ye Fangfei’s face, his hand posed as if cupping her cheek, though in reality his palm hovered less than a centimeter from her skin without actually touching her.

Ye Fangfei could feel the warmth from his palm, but not the touch—she was a bit surprised by his gentlemanly restraint. She glanced up at him, and the faint surprise in her eyes was genuine, not just for the sake of the photo.

“Good, excellent, hold it right there.”

The photographer clicked away.

Li Jiayan suddenly realized that the two of them looked inexplicably good together in the frame, so much so that it made her chest tighten with discomfort.

Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei held each other’s gaze until the photographer called, “Okay,” and Lu Zhou withdrew his hand.

Ye Fangfei stood up, her leg a little numb from crouching, and she wobbled slightly. Lu Zhou instinctively reached out to steady her by the arm.

Zhang Chen raged inwardly, “Get your filthy hands off her!”

“Who’s next?” the photographer asked.

Wen Yiming was about to raise his hand, but Zhang Chen beat him to it. “We are!”

Zhang Chen and Qi Jiajia stepped up and quickly got into position.

There was no spark between them, so when Zhang Chen reached out toward Qi Jiajia’s cheek, she couldn’t help furrowing her brow ever so slightly.

“Your eyes, mind your eyes!” the photographer reminded.

Zhang Chen couldn’t help but retort, “We’re not actors. Isn’t it a bit much to expect that from us?”

The photographer was speechless.

But Zhang Chen’s point won nods from the others.

Meanwhile, the audience in the live chat—

[Zhang Chen looks about to lose it with the production team, LOL]

[He’s jealous, taking it out on others]

[He really is devoted to Fangfei]

…

In the end, the photographer relented, letting them show whatever genuine emotion they felt. When the shoot was over, aside from the correct pose, Zhang Chen and Qi Jiajia’s gazes were utterly devoid of feeling.

At last, it was Wen Yiming and Chu Yao’s turn.

This pair looked good together as well—their height difference matched the template photo perfectly. He was tall and strong, radiating safety; she was petite and endearing.

The resulting atmosphere was fitting enough, save for one thing: the woman’s eyes showed no sign of being moved.

Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei, after their photo, took a short break and had no intention of watching the others. They discussed heading off to look for the next checkpoint.

Finally, it was Xu Junze and Li Jiayan’s turn.

Li Jiayan noticed that by now, Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei had already left, and felt a pang of discomfort.

Why hadn’t he waited to see her group’s photo before leaving?

But then a thought struck her—maybe he left because he didn’t want to see her being intimate with another man?

That line of reasoning soothed her somewhat.

As they posed for their photo, Chu Yao stood nearby, watching intently.

Xu Junze felt completely ill at ease, tension rising within him. Damn, why did he feel like he was being watched committing a crime?

But wait—he hadn’t done anything wrong, had he?

Letting go of an ex and developing feelings for someone new—what’s the issue with that?

Nothing at all.

He reminded himself of this, took a deep breath, and reached out, boldly cupping Li Jiayan’s face in his palm.

Not bad—a nice feeling.

Li Jiayan, startled by the touch, instinctively tensed, her back going rigid.

“Try to relax, otherwise it won’t look good,” the photographer reminded.

Li Jiayan made an effort to loosen up and adjusted her pose.

With a click, the moment was captured.

The woman’s expression was a little stiff, the man’s eyes were full of laughter—the result had a charm of its own.

All the couples had finished, and each photo brimmed with a distinct style.

The live chat erupted—

[It’s so obvious who’s in love and who isn’t]

[No combination is more beautiful than Fangfei and Zhou]

…

Once again, everyone paired up and set off, hearts pounding in anticipation of what the next checkpoint photo would require…

Even though Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei had slipped away early, their focus wasn’t solely on finding the little blue flags—they spent more time taking in the scenery along the way.

Whenever they spotted something special, they’d stop, get out, and explore before moving on.

At one point, they saw a shallow stretch of lake where several foreign men were diving, bare-chested. They stopped to watch.

“Would you dare to jump in?” Ye Fangfei asked.

“Why not?” Lu Zhou replied.

“Want to give it a try?” she teased.

Lu Zhou paused, then looked at her with a smile. “Do you think it’s appropriate?”

“You’re right, it’s not safe. Better not,” Ye Fangfei said instinctively.

“I meant, is it appropriate to take my shirt off?” Lu Zhou’s eyes twinkled with amusement.

Ye Fangfei blinked, catching the playful undertone. She raised an eyebrow, replying, “What, are you shy?”

Lu Zhou said nothing.

“With an eight-pack, what’s there to be shy about?” Ye Fangfei teased again.

Lu Zhou was speechless.

The live chat—

[Are you two competing to see who’s more flirtatious?]

[I support you—take it off!]

[I’m drooling, I want to see that eight-pack]

[Lu Zhou, if you don’t take it off, you lose]

…

In the end, Lu Zhou surrendered and walked back to his bike.

Behind him, Ye Fangfei flashed a victorious grin.

…

Wandering and playing, they moved slowly and were eventually overtaken by the others.

When everyone gathered at the final group photo checkpoint and saw the template photo presented by the staff, their pupils couldn’t help but dilate in shock.

Well then… this pose… The production team really loves stirring the pot.

Special thanks to Book Friend 20220326131920208 for the reward of 1500 points;
Thanks to Wu Ma Wei Yang for the reward of 1500 points;
Thanks to Mu Jiang Yi for the reward of 100 points;
Thanks to Dong 11 for the reward of 100 points.