My cousin asked me to go to Wuha, and Hanikezi stuck to me.

He turned off the blue virtual screen, turned around and walked towards the lounge chair on the terrace. The red rope simply wouldn't allow him to walk back downstairs to find his bed.

He spent three hours on the second-floor terrace.

Just as dawn broke, the red string on my wrist was suddenly tugged twice very roughly.

Chen Yi opened his eyes and sat up from the recliner.

Hanikezi poked her head out from the bottom of the stairs on the first floor.

He whispered, "Go wash up!"

Chen Yi stood up, put one hand in his pajama pocket, and walked down the stairs.

The two stood side by side in front of the washbasin on the first floor of the inn, while the red lights of more than a dozen fixed cameras began to flash.

Hanikezi had a toothbrush between her teeth, her gaze fixed on the drain in the sink.

She didn't dare turn her head to the left at all.

Chen Yi turned on the faucet with one hand, squeezed out the toothpaste, and his movements were fluid and graceful.

Through the large mirror in front of him, his gaze fell directly on the profile of the person next to him.

The sensation of that kiss on the forehead last night couldn't be washed away in the cold water this morning.

Even the downy hair at the base of Hanikezi's ears had an abnormal red tint.

She quickly spat out the foam in her mouth and plunged her head into the cold water.

"Look again, and the camera will capture a close-up of your eyes."

Hanikezi covered her face with a towel as a warning! Chen Yi looked away!

"Just a heads-up, it's the first day of your secret relationship, so keep your lips down."

After rinsing her mouth, Chen Yi looked up at herself in the mirror.

Her mouth was indeed stretched almost to her ears.

She immediately reached out and patted her cheeks, trying to forcefully revert to her aloof persona.

"Are you leaving or not?" Chen Yi pointed to the door.

Hanikezi put down the towel and followed him half a meter behind.

At eight o'clock in the morning, the sunshine in Dali Ancient Town completely dispelled the thin mist.

Recording has officially begun.

Old Wang stood in the middle of the yard holding a megaphone.

"Today's task is to experience the intangible cultural heritage of the ancient town. Each team needs to go to the designated location to complete the challenge."

The six regular guests stood in a row, with Chen Yi and Hanikezi standing on the far right edge.

To fully adhere to the safety guidelines for a secret relationship, the two maintained a distance of two meters between them.

The red rope dangled loosely on the bluestone slab.

Hanikezi specially braided her hair into two very elaborate braids today.

On her head she was also wearing a very conspicuous pale yellow beret.

While Lao Wang was explaining the rules, she couldn't help but glance to the right four times.

Chen Yi's gaze swept over them precisely for the fifth time, and their eyes met directly in mid-air.

Hanikezi quickly turned her head back to the front, pretending to look at the clouds in the sky.

Chen Yi stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at the camera lens in front of him, his lips moving slightly.

"Nice braids!"

He spoke very softly, completely drowned out by the loud noise from Old Wang's loudspeaker.

Hanikezi understood his lip reading, and her fingers instantly gripped the edge of his denim overalls.

She tried to control her facial muscles and tapped her chin very lightly.

"I'll buy some ice jelly at the alley entrance later!"

She replied in a whisper, and Chen Yi blinked his left eye.

The two did not exchange a single word that could be picked up by the microphone.

However, the surrounding air was filled with excessive sugar, and the recording entered the first challenge segment.

Old Wang pointed to the pile of tie-dyed fabrics stacked like a small mountain in the corner of the yard.

"Within ten minutes, each group needs to move twenty bolts of cloth to the dye house fifty meters away."

"Ten dollars will be deducted for every horse that falls!" Old Wang added to the rule.

Deng Chao and Lu Han's team immediately rushed over, their coordination was extremely good.

Chen Chichi and another guest also started loading the vehicle.

Chen Yi stepped forward and picked up two extremely heavy, wet cloths with one hand.

He deliberately avoided the straight path that Hanikezi had taken.

The red rope between the two was instantly stretched to the maximum safe distance of two and a half meters.

Hanikezi, carrying a small piece of cloth, obediently followed behind him.

Chen Yi took very large strides, deliberately pretending to be someone who had no chemistry and only cared about himself.

When she reached the extremely high threshold at the entrance of the courtyard, Hanikezi's sneakers got stuck in the gaps between the bluestone slabs.

She lost her balance and fell forward abruptly.

The red rope tightened instantly, generating a tremendous pulling force.

Chen Yi reacted almost instinctively, quickly stopping and turning around.

Without even a second's hesitation, he threw away the two bolts of cloth in his hands.

Chen Yi reached out his right hand, grabbed Hanikezi's arm, and pulled her sharply into his arms.

With a muffled thud, Hanikezi crashed into Chen Yi's chest.

Both bolts of cloth fell into the puddle and were ruined.

Chen Yi didn't even look at the cloth on the ground; his gaze was entirely on her ankles.

"Did you sprain your ankle?"

Chen Yi asked, his nervousness impossible to conceal.

"No, I just tripped."

Hanikezi quickly pulled away from his embrace.

Once Chen Yi was sure she was alright, he released her hand and deliberately took two large steps back.

Deng Chao happened to be passing by, carrying several bolts of cloth.

He stopped, looked at the rags on the ground, and then at the two people standing two meters away.

"What's wrong with you two today?" Deng Chao asked directly.

The lenses of more than a dozen cameras around them were instantly pointed at them. Chen Yi bent down to pick up the wet cloth on the ground, without saying a word.

"When we used to film shows, the two of you were inseparable, and your chemistry was so good that you could perform a comedy act together."

Deng Chao pointed to the red rope dragging on the ground between them.

"The gap in the middle today is big enough to fit a heavy truck!"

Deng Chao bluntly pointed out, "Did you have a fight?"

Hanikezi bit her lower lip hard, almost bursting out laughing! She forced herself to keep a straight face and turned to look at the scenery in the distance.

"Maintaining social distancing is the least we can do to show respect to female celebrities."

Chen Yi picked up the cloth again.

"fart!"

Deng Chao bluntly called him out, "Last season when you carried someone down Cangshan Mountain, why didn't you think about social distancing?"

Chen Chichi threw the cloth into the dye vat opposite and walked back to help dismantle the stage.

"Brother Chao, you've misjudged him."

Chen Chichi stroked his chin and circled around the two of them.

"This is called trying to cover up the truth!"

Chen Chichi concluded, "The more deliberately you try to explain, the more guilty you are!"

Old Wang was laughing so hard behind the monitor that his big teeth were showing.

"Hurry up and move it! There are only three minutes left, and any fabric that falls off will result in a deduction from your pay!"

Old Wang urged them on through the loudspeaker, and Chen Yi looked up at Old Wang.

"You'll deduct it from my appearance fee for this period!" Chen Yi replied arrogantly.

He carried the remaining cloth directly to the dye house.

Hanikezi followed behind, head down, shoulders swaying, clearly trying her best to suppress a laugh.

Chen Yi deliberately slowed down his extremely fast pace.

The red string on her wrist always maintained a safe arc that ensured she would never fall.

At noon, the production team arranged a break.

The cameras were temporarily shut down, and the crew began distributing the unappetizing boxed meals.

Hanikezi was summoned to the inner room by a barrage of calls from Sister Hong to discuss the timing of the follow-up announcements.

Chen Yi sat on a secluded stone stool outside the courtyard and unscrewed a bottle of mineral water.

Chen Chichi walked over with two boxes of lunch and plopped down on the stone platform next to him.

He tossed one of the lunchboxes directly to Chen Yi.

Chen Yi didn't reach out to take it, letting the lunchbox fall onto his work pants leg.

"I won't eat," Chen Yi said, taking a sip of water.

Chen Chichi poked the cold rice in the lunchbox hard with his chopsticks, his gaze fixed on Chen Yi's profile.

"Tell me, are you two together?"

Chen Chichi went straight to the point without any preamble.

Chen Yi's hand didn't even pause as he twisted the bottle cap.

"Do you have paranoia?"

Chen Yi's tone was extremely calm, without the slightest flaw.

"Stop pretending with me."

Chen Chichi rolled his eyes dramatically and shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth.

"I've seen that look in your eyes when you had a crush on the girl in the next class in high school!"

Chen Chichi started bringing up old grievances, while Chen Yi placed the water bottle on the stone platform next to him.

"Exactly the same!"

Chen Chichi pointed at Chen Yi's eyes, "This whole morning, your eyes haven't left her for more than ten seconds!"

"I'm keeping watch!! (My eyes are my ruler!! (`へ´*)ノ!!)"

Chen Yi lied through his teeth, saying, "I'm afraid she'll break the show's expensive props and deduct money from my pay."

Chen Chichi sneered and slammed his chopsticks onto the lunchbox.

"Keep making things up, keep making things up."

Chen Chichi's face was full of disgust.

"Your possessiveness of food might fool Old Wang, but it won't fool me."

Chen Chichi saw through his pretense, but Chen Yi didn't respond, his gaze fixed on the distant bluestone path.

Chen Chichi took two steps closer, lowered his voice, and made sure that no one else could hear him.

"I don't know how you managed to get away with it with Sister Hong."

Chen Chichi's tone became extremely serious, "But I'll keep it a secret for you!"

Chen Yi turned to look at him.

"This industry is a big melting pot; it's not easy to find a girl who only has eyes for you."

Chen Chichi patted Chen Yi's shoulder forcefully.

Chen Yi picked up the water bottle, still remaining silent in rebuttal.

Chen Chichi stood up, carrying the unfinished boxed lunch, and prepared to return to the courtyard.

After taking two steps, Chen Chichi suddenly stopped, turned around and pointed at Chen Yi's nose.

"But if you dare to bully her." Chen Chichi's eyes were more serious than ever before.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow and asked in return.

"I'll definitely beat you up with my own hands!"

Chen Chichi raised his fist, turned around, and strode into the inn.

Chen Yi sat on the stone stool, watching Chen Chichi's figure disappear through the doorway.

He took his phone out of his work pants pocket, and a WeChat message from Hanikezi, sent two minutes earlier, popped up on the screen.

"Sister Hong just called and questioned me about my whereabouts last night!"

"I did as you instructed, saying I stayed up all night in the living room memorizing lines, and she didn't suspect a thing!"

Hanikezi added a smug laughing emoji after the text.

Chen Yi smiled and typed a reply with one hand.

"Next time we meet, be bolder and don't blush when we get a little close."

After sending the message, Chen Yi stood up and walked towards the inn's courtyard gate.

Just as they reached the large wooden door of the inn, Xiao Fang rushed out hurriedly, carrying a tablet computer.

She wasn't looking where she was going and almost bumped into Chen Yi.

"elder brother!"

Xiao Fang's face was deathly pale, and his voice was extremely flustered.

Chen Yi reached out and steadied Xiao Fang by holding onto the door frame.

"The sky is falling?" "It's worse than the sky falling!"

Xiao Fang shoved the tablet directly in front of Chen Yi's face.

The screen displays a trending topic list on Weibo that was released just an hour ago.

The top trending topic was followed by a striking dark red "Explosive" character.

#Chen Yi's original telephoto lens from the old bridge leaked#

The second trending topic immediately followed, and its popularity was soaring at an alarming rate.

#Hani Kezi suspected of being forced into a CP (couple pairing), Chen Yi seemingly offering himself to her#

Chen Yi stared at the two lines of text on the screen, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

After being pressured for a month, President Zhou finally revealed his last trump card.

Ps:

Thank you all for your support and recognition! Your encouragement, additions to your bookshelves, and following the updates are all my motivation to keep writing!