Losi: "I didn't!"
Liu Suoyu, who was passing by, immediately said, "She has. She's been watching you."
Losi's face immediately turned bright red, and she used the wooden oar in her hand to stab Liu Suoyu's boat.
Soon, a chattering sound came from behind, breaking the rare tranquility and pulling Losi back to the world.
Liu Suoyu, pleading for mercy after being stabbed by Luo Xi, said, "Great hero, can I surrender? Please stop stabbing me, or we'll capsize."
Losi, still blushing, asked, "Who told you to talk nonsense?"
Liu Suoyu immediately grinned and said, "Did I? Did I?"
"Ahhh!" Losi couldn't stand his provocation and immediately tried to get up. Cheng Qing, who was at the front, felt the boat rocking and immediately turned around and shouted, "Sit down quickly, or the boat will capsize."
Losi sat down looking aggrieved. Seeing her expression, Cheng Qing felt both helpless and amused: "I just want to beat him quickly, why are you arguing with him?"
Luo Xi pointed at Liu Suoyu and said, "He's talking nonsense."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Qing couldn't help but laugh and ask, "Is what he said true?"
Luo Xi was stunned, then cried out in shame and indignation, "Teacher Cheng!!!"
Cheng Qing immediately turned around and rowed the boat: "I'll help you beat him!"
Liu Suoyu shouted, "I'm a boy, how can I lose to Teacher Cheng..."
As they spoke, both ships began to head towards the opposite bank at full speed, and the ships that had managed to catch up were quickly pulled away again.
Qi Shenghui and the others: "..."
Despite various interferences from Luo Xi, Liu Suoyu managed to bring the two ships ashore at roughly the same time.
Cheng Qing and Liu Suoyu quickly got off the boat and went back to pull their companion.
Lossie quickly got up as well; the ship was rocking violently, and she could barely move forward.
Cheng Qing simply went up and pulled Luo Xi over, and the two clasped hands as they led Luo Xi off the boat.
Kong Mingyan was already waiting on the shore, having prepared a plate of cookies. Looking at the two groups approaching, he smiled and said, "Have the cookies here."
Cheng Qing quickly picked one, and Liu Suoyu also quickly grabbed one.
Lin Shandie looked at Liu Suoyu suspiciously: "You're not allowed to kiss him."
Liu Suoyu froze: "You doubt me?! I am a gentleman."
Lin Shandie: "..."
Ignoring the two goofballs on his team, Cheng Qing put the biscuit in his mouth and handed the other end to Luo Xi.
Losi hesitated for only a moment before standing on tiptoe and biting the other end.
She paused for a moment, then looked up at Cheng Qing, her clear, bright eyes filled with a shy yet charming gaze.
Cheng Qing's breath hitched: "..." She felt somewhat hooked.
Seeing that Luo Xi was still shy, Cheng Qing started eating cookies by herself. Luo Xi quickly followed suit, and Liu Suoyu and Lin Shandie, seeing that Cheng Qing had started, also quickly began playing the game.
The shore suddenly fell silent, with only the sounds of two groups biting into cookies, each sound clearly audible in the tranquil place.
The short few dozen seconds seemed to stretch out infinitely, and Luo Xi could even feel how Cheng Qing bit down with each stroke.
Occasionally, birds fly by in the sky, their calls clear and melodious.
The cookies in their mouths grew shorter and shorter, just as the distance between them grew closer and closer.
As the face drew ever closer, Losi's heart pounded wildly. She disliked the game, which made her unsure whether she was playing a game or anticipating something.
Excessive closeness can even allow them to more clearly feel the other person's breath, see the light in their eyes, and feel the vibration transmitted to their mouth when the other person bites into a cookie, causing an inexplicable shiver to run through their body.
Even the shortest biscuit can last a long time. Their lips, almost touching, could feel each other's warmth even through the distance.
To take it a step further? Or to stop here?
Lossie slowly lowered her eyes and looked away. With the camera right in front of them, there was no way they could get any closer.
Cheng Qing stopped what she was doing, looked at Luo Xi with gentle eyes, smiled, and reached out to take the last biscuit from their mouths.
Lossy clearly felt the touch of Cheng Qing's fingers. She trembled and took a step back. Cheng Qing, of course, also felt Lossy's lips, which were surprisingly soft and warm.
Cheng Qing paused for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry."
Losi turned to look at the lake and asked softly, "...Why are you apologizing?"
Cheng Qing: "...I don't know either."
Losi: "..."
Cheng Qing placed the cookies on the table and looked at Kong Mingyan.
Kong Mingyan laughed and said, "It's probably about 2cm left! Not bad!"
Cheng Qing breathed a sigh of relief, and Luo Xi walked to the side to look at the cookies carefully, asking, "How many more do you need to eat before you can kiss?"
Kong Mingyan laughed and said, "If you eat a little more, you'll be able to kiss. Why don't you try eating another one?"
Rossi blushed and scolded him, "You're being indecent."
Kong Mingyan laughed: "You did something indecent, and you still scolded me."
Cheng Qing immediately pulled Losi aside and said, "Let's go receive the award, ignore him."
Luo Xi blushed and followed Cheng Qing, saying, "Mmm, I'm ignoring him."
Author's Note:
I'm so numb from all the editing -_-||
Chapter 44
It wasn't really an award ceremony. Kong Mingyan had placed the prizes in an open area at the back, and when Cheng Qing brought Luo Xi over, the stagehands were setting up the prizes.
Upon seeing the two approach, the stagehand immediately stood up and greeted them with a smile, "Teacher Cheng, Luo Xi."
Cheng Qing nodded and asked her, "What's the gift for the first place winner?"
The stagehand quickly handed the first-place gift bag to Cheng Qing, smiling and saying, "This is for the first-place winner."
Cheng Qing accepted the gift bag and thanked her. Then she handed the gift bag to Luo Xi. Luo Xi opened the gift bag and found a large-value points card, a bag of snacks, and two movie tickets.
Cheng Qing: "...Movie tickets. Can I still go to the movies?"
Kong Mingyan happened to come over and, upon hearing this, laughed and said, "Every gift bag that's recently released has one."
Cheng Qing was speechless for a moment: "You didn't actually prepare for it when they said they wanted to see a movie last time, did you?"
Kong Mingyan looked up and laughed, without saying yes or no.
Losy took the movie ticket and looked at it carefully, then smiled and said, "It's a horror movie."
Cheng Qing was taken aback: "You like it?"
Losi nodded: "Yeah, I go see it occasionally."
Cheng Qing could only reach out and take one of the cards, then sighed and asked Luo Xi, "Want to see it?"
Losy nodded, and Cheng Qing asked, somewhat puzzled, "I remember when we went to the haunted house, you seemed to..."
Losi immediately knew what she was going to say and retorted angrily, "Can't fear and liking coexist?"
Seeing her eagerness, Cheng Qing chuckled and said, "Sure, sure."
Seeing Cheng Qing's usual concessions to Luo Xi, Kong Mingyan smiled and said, "We can go see it tonight after the afternoon's activities are over. I heard Bai Bing has a cameo in this year's new movie. Consider it supporting her!"
Cheng Qing suddenly realized that although there are occasional events in variety shows, Kong Mingyan usually brings everyone to support programs with guest participation.
Although Bai Bing is only making a guest appearance, it's unlikely that the production team will show her any favoritism.
Cheng Qing carefully examined the ticket; it was a story about a female ghost repaying a debt of gratitude. Cheng Qing didn't quite understand. A female ghost repaying a debt of gratitude—wasn't that a good thing? How did it turn into a horror movie? Although she didn't understand, she still put the ticket away.
Liu Suoyu and Lin Shandie on the other side also finished the game and came over to collect their prizes.
Of course, their gift bag also contained two movie tickets.
Liu Suoyu, Lin Shandie, and Luo Xi then started discussing when to go see it tonight.
The three exchanged information and then began looking in the bag for snacks they could trade.
With nothing to do, Cheng Qing went to the shore to check on the remaining members of the group.
Many people are still working hard on the lake, and some boats are even still circling around the starting point.
This caused the crowd to burst into laughter. Compared to the lively atmosphere at the starting line, the finish line was nearly deserted because it had been cleared out.
Aiqing Lake is large, but this time the start and finish lines were set within sight. You could hear people cheering from the starting line in the distance. Two boats collided on the lake, swaying and nearly capsizing several times.
Amidst the hustle and bustle around her, Cheng Qing scratched her head, put her hands behind her back, and admired the beautiful scenery—a blend of tranquility and liveliness.
Before long, the boat in the middle of the lake finally reached the shore.
Luo Xi took small steps to Cheng Qing's side and squatted down. She rested her chin on her hands and followed Cheng Qing's gaze to the ships not far away.
Although they were some distance apart, the sounds of laughter and conversation could be heard from the boat. Because they were not yet familiar with the wooden oars, water occasionally splashed out when they paddled, soaking both of them.
Laughter, anger, and scolding all seemed to be expressions of joy.
Cheng Qing stared in disbelief, then, as if struck by a thought, asked Luo Xi, "Luo Xi, have you been happy since I came here?"
Losi was taken aback by the sudden question, but ultimately nodded silently.
Cheng Qing laughed out loud, her gaze still fixed on the distance. She said softly, "As long as you're happy, that's good. Otherwise, I'd forget why I came here." Forget that I came here to make you happy, not to get deeply involved.
Losi tilted her head to look at her, her innocent gaze filled with curiosity and anticipation: "So what is your purpose?"
Cheng Qing withdrew her gaze from the distance and turned to look at Luo Xi.
With a gentle expression and a charming smile, her voice, like the babbling of a spring, was alluring: "Purpose? If you smile more, my purpose will be achieved."
Luo Xi was taken aback, and two blushes immediately appeared on her face. She said, "Teacher Cheng, you're always teasing me. You're going to record everything and broadcast it to netizens. Aren't you ashamed?"
After asking the question, she smiled slyly, as if that would make Cheng Qing submit.
Every time Cheng Qing was threatened like this, she found her incredibly cute, and she reached out and squeezed her hard, saying, "Don't be ashamed."