Chapter 160: Indoor Games
Countless viewers were watching the livestream, so the female guests all paid great attention to their image.
The squatting posture could look awkward if not done well, and the “lady’s squat” wasn’t convenient in the game. A slow reaction could mean losing. Therefore, all the female guests chose to squat with their legs together—stand, squat, stand, squat… their skirts swayed gracefully with every movement.
“Blue radish squats, blue radish squats, after blue radish squats, green radish squats…”
“Eh? Eh? Wait, I don’t think I’m green radish? What radish am I again?” Qiu Ningning only realized after squatting, her dazed cuteness making everyone burst out laughing.
Liang Dong teased, “Is it possible that you’re silly-radish?”
“Hahahaha…”
Mu Lantu’s gaze swept once more across Liang Dong, Wang Ye, and Zhao Zheng, finally colliding with Shen Xingdu’s.
Shen Xingdu shook his head—he had discovered nothing.
Mu Lantu wasn’t overly worried about failing the mission. Worst case, he could just use the Red Envelope prop to test them one by one. But that was the last resort—too wasteful.
Qiu Ningning was eliminated, and the game continued.
Five minutes later, the results were clear: Wu You came first, Mao Ranran second, Wei Weiwei third, Dong Yueyue fourth, and Qiu Ningning last.
According to the rules, Wu You chose her seat first.
Everyone, both the guests and the viewers, stared at her. After all, whichever male guest she chose to sit opposite would signal who she liked the most.
Wu You clearly understood this as well. With everyone’s eyes on her, her cheeks flushed bright red, her eyes blinked nervously, and she tried her best to act calm.
The other four female guests varied—some calm, some fidgeting nervously with their fingers.
Wu You, blushing deeply, sat down across from Zhao Zheng.
Zhao Zheng’s ears instantly turned red.
It was as if a pink bubble had sealed the two of them away from the world.
Mu Lantu looked at Wu You, then at Zhao Zheng. Maybe now he understood what the viewers meant by “shipping CP.” The dungeon was really making things hard for him—how could he suspect these two sweethearts of being suspicious?
Zhao Zheng, embarrassed by Mu Lantu’s stare, nudged him with his elbow.
Mu Lantu playfully winked at Xu Huazhang.
Xu Huazhang’s thin lips curved in a gentle line, his deep black eyes focused and warm.
He was teasing, he was laughing—and that was his best response to Mu Lantu.
By the time the two finished their little exchange, the other four female guests had chosen seats: Mao Ranran sat opposite Shen Xingdu, Wei Weiwei opposite Mu Lantu, Qiu Ningning opposite Liang Dong, and Dong Yueyue opposite Wang Ye.
“Finally, time to eat. Let’s dig in,” Wang Ye said impatiently, clearly starving.
Liang Dong raised his glass. “Let’s toast first—to today’s heroes, Lantu, Huazhang, Yueyue, and Ningning. You’ve worked hard!”
“That’s right. If not for Lantu and Huazhang cooking, and Yueyue and Ningning helping out, we’d definitely be starving now,” Mao Ranran said with a radiant smile. “Huazhang, when it’s my turn to cook, can you give me a few pointers?”
“I don’t know how to cook. I was just helping Lantu.” Xu Huazhang calmly served food into Mu Lantu’s bowl.
The action once again drew everyone’s attention.
Mu Lantu, completely unaware, naturally returned the gesture by placing beef into Xu Huazhang’s bowl.
The two were simply used to sharing like this in daily life, forgetting they were on a dating show—and livestreamed.
Dong Yueyue quickly redirected: “Let’s eat first, we can chat after, otherwise the food will get cold.”
Liang Dong glanced at the pitch-black sky outside. “This rain dropped the temperature so fast. Ladies, are you cold? Should I turn up the air conditioner?”
Qiu Ningning rubbed her arms. “Now that you mention it, it is chilly. Thanks.”
Zhao Zheng stood and poured hot tea for the women, starting with Wu You, which drew knowing smiles from the others.
Mu Lantu and Xu Huazhang weren’t really here for romance, so they focused on eating. But their ears and eyes remained trained on the other eight.
After dinner, the six who hadn’t cooked took charge of cleanup.
Mu Lantu, Xu Huazhang, Qiu Ningning, and Dong Yueyue stayed in the living room.
The storm raged on outside, its roaring downpour drowning out all other sounds.
Qiu Ningning asked Mu Lantu, “There probably won’t be any outdoor activities this afternoon. What should we do?”
“Hard to go out in the rain anyway,” Mu Lantu said, picking up an apple. Under his deft hands, the fruit knife peeled it in one long spiral.
Qiu Ningning and Dong Yueyue exchanged a strange glance.
Xu Huazhang scrolled his phone calmly.
Meanwhile, the livestream chat exploded:
“I bet 50 cents Ningning and Yueyue are both wondering: who’s he giving the apple to?”
“Bet 50 cents he’ll give it to Huazhang!”
“Upstairs gets it! Wanna join the ‘Lantu-Huazhang Church’ with us and wave the CP flag?”
“Get lost, cultists!”
If Xu Huazhang had known the chat’s comments, he would’ve said: I’ll bet a billion—Lantu will cut it in half and give me the bigger piece.
Not because Lantu always wanted to share with him, but simply because after dinner, one apple was too much for one person.
Sure enough, Mu Lantu cut the apple in half, and gave the larger piece to Xu Huazhang.
Qiu Ningning’s lips twitched. She should’ve known from the moment he didn’t help her with her luggage.
“Yueyue, are you cold? I think I’ll go put on another layer.”
“I’m a little cold too,” Dong Yueyue said sweetly. “Let’s go together.”
Munching on his apple, Mu Lantu strolled to the kitchen doorway, deliberately acting like a CP-hungry fan, openly observing the others inside.
Xu Huazhang swiftly scanned the livestream chat.
“Lantu,” he called.
Mu Lantu walked over. “What’s up?”
Xu Huazhang showed him a screenshot.
Mu Lantu nodded: Got it.
After cleaning the kitchen, the other six tidied up and regrouped in the living room.
“What should we do this afternoon? Just sitting here is boring,” Mu Lantu prompted.
Liang Dong joked, “How about everyone goes back to their rooms for a nap? Haha! I barely slept last night—another nap would be perfect.”
Wei Weiwei suggested, “Why not watch a movie? Weather like this is perfect for a quiet film.”
Mao Ranran quickly glanced at Shen Xingdu. “If we can’t agree, we can split into groups.”
Zhao Zheng teased, “No way we’re all just going back to nap. The director would lose his hair from stress! Let’s play a game instead?”
Since the guests knew Zhao Zheng was half-hosting, they all cooperated.
“Sounds good.”
“No objections.”
Mu Lantu seized the chance. “What game? Truth or Dare?”
“Never played, but let’s try,” Xu Huazhang said.
With two people proposing it, the others naturally wouldn’t refuse.
The director’s voice popped in again:
“Truth or Dare starts now! We’ve made some adjustments. For female guests who choose ‘dare,’ a male guest will pick a hair accessory and put it on her. For male guests who choose ‘dare,’ a female guest will clip a hairpin anywhere on his head. Don’t worry—the clips only sting a little, no real harm. After one hour, the girl with the most accessories and the guy with the most clips will be punished—they’ll have to hold hands for ten minutes!”
Mu Lantu wanted to give the director a thumbs-up. Truly devilish!
The female guests complained coquettishly.
Wei Weiwei stomped her foot. “Director, you’re too cruel! You really think we trust these guys’ sense of style?”
Qiu Ningning shielded her head. “I’m doomed! I just had my hair done today!”
Mao Ranran pouted, “The director’s heart is rotten to the core!”
Wu You huffed, “Director, have some humanity!”
Dong Yueyue pressed her lips together. “You can take my head, but not my hairstyle. You’ve really crossed the line with us!”
The director ignored them. “Zhao Zheng, please get the props from the first floor.”
Liang Dong, Zhao Zheng, and Wang Ye were excited, halfheartedly reassuring the girls:
“Don’t worry, ladies, we’ll make you look gorgeous!”
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll turn you into princesses!”
The five female guests all sneered in unison. As if we’d believe you!
No matter what, the game was set.
With the props ready, everyone sat on the carpet in a circle to play.
They agreed Zhao Zheng should start, and he gladly took the role.
The method: spin the bottle.
Everyone watched tensely as the bottle whirled.
It finally stopped, pointing at Wei Weiwei.
Wei Weiwei clasped her hands together and pleaded sweetly, “Brother Zhao Zheng, please be gentle.”
The others booed.
“No way!”
“Zhao Zheng, you can go easy on her if you don’t mind extra clips on your own head. But we sure won’t!”
Zhao Zheng instinctively glanced at Wu You.
Wu You pursed her lips into a smile but said nothing.
Zhao Zheng cleared his throat. “Question: Among all the male guests here, who do you like the most?”
Everyone gasped. That question was too sharp!
“Wow!”
Wei Weiwei’s face flared bright red.
“I choose dare! Hmph!”
The group groaned in disappointment, then quickly cheered up.
Liang Dong eagerly handed Zhao Zheng the box of hair accessories. “Here, Zhao Zheng bro, pick something nice for Weiwei!”
Inside were colorful hairpins and glittering barrettes.
The three male guests rifled through curiously, exclaiming at each one.
The female guests’ expressions twisted, watching Wei Weiwei sympathetically.
Wei Weiwei’s red lips opened, closed, then opened again—finally, she resigned herself and pressed her lips shut.
Zhao Zheng carefully chose a red floral hairpin and gently clipped it into her hair.
Mu Lantu gave Zhao Zheng a strange look.
