Chapter 10: The Sixth Day

Another night passed, and the show entered its sixth day.

In the morning, the two left the cabin. Shengxin Su went to discuss some program arrangements with the producer, then stood at the crossroads, waiting to attend the day’s activities with Yin Shang.

When they met, Shengxin Su was scrolling through his phone. Upon seeing Yin Shang, he pocketed the device and said, “Shall we go?”

Yin Shang nodded. “Alright.”

The morning wind was rather strong. A gust swept through, sending Shengxin Su’s disheveled hair flying, partially obscuring his vision, so he casually brushed it back.

Suddenly, Yin Shang asked, “Where’s your ring?”

“Huh?” Shengxin Su glanced at his bare finger. “I took it off last night before showering and forgot to bring it back. I don’t like wearing jewelry in the shower.”

“Go get it,” Yin Shang said.

“???” Shengxin Su thought for a moment and had his own idea. “Is that really necessary? It’s just for the morning. Forgetting it once is pretty normal.”

“Go get it,” Yin Shang softened his tone and smiled. “Putting the ring back on is a habitual gesture. We should be flawless.”

It was indeed his own oversight. Shengxin Su couldn’t argue, so he said, “Alright. I guess Mr. Shang will have to go back too.”

The two returned to the cabin. Shengxin Su entered the room and took the ring from the bedside table.

The rings were actually quite understated. Yin Shang’s had no main diamond; the band was adorned with three rows of square cut small diamonds, with a row of blue diamonds in the middle and two rows of clear diamonds above and below.

Shengxin Su’s ring, on the other hand, featured a yellow square-cut main diamond replacing nine small stones, giving it an air of great luxury.

Everything was crafted for their image.

Inside each ring was engraved a part of their names—one read “su,” the other “shang.” Interestingly, Shengxin Su’s ring was engraved with “shang,” while Yin Shang’s ring bore “su.”

At the time, Shengxin Su said, “It’s sweeter this way. The skin and flesh at the base of my finger always bear your name, and yours always bear mine.”

Yin Shang had nodded indifferently back then.

Shengxin Su slipped the ring onto his finger and walked into the living room. The feeling of the ring snugly encircling his ring finger was utterly unfamiliar.

Yin Shang stood by a window, one hand resting on the dining table, the other scrolling through emails on his phone.

Shengxin Su looked down and noticed the hand on the table was long-fingered and clearly jointed, with a conspicuous ring on the ring finger.

Seeming to face some difficulty, Yin Shang furrowed his brow slightly. His fingers gently tapped the table, the ring still catching the eye.

“I’m back,” Shengxin Su said.

Yin Shang looked at him, his frown easing, then gestured toward the door. “Let’s go. Don’t forget your ring again.”

Shengxin Su nodded.

...

They arrived at the event venue, where the other guests had already gathered.

In the morning, the crew arranged for couples to participate in charity work, helping impoverished families. Some were wives raising funds for husbands battling severe illnesses, others husbands supporting wives. The producer hoped to create meaningful and valuable memories for the guests, and Shengxin Su took part earnestly.

By afternoon, after lunch and much casual conversation, the weighty mood brought on by the charity work had lightened.

The guest duo of the investment bank CEO and the genius chess player arrived again and would participate. The chess player still wore layers of frilly Lolita dresses.

...

“This afternoon~” The producer finished setting up the equipment and brought out two wooden dice, telling the guests, “Let’s play something exciting!”

Everyone was puzzled.

Is there any day without excitement here?

The producer showed the dice to the guests, with Shengxin Su joining in.

The dice were peculiar—six faces, all plain wood, without any markings, text, or color, indistinguishable from one another.

“These are called ‘fun dice,’” the producer said with a mischievous smile. “But we don’t want you to know all the challenges beforehand, so these dice are blank. However! After each couple rolls, the tray receiving the dice senses the chip on the face and displays the specific challenge on the big screen. There will be three rounds, and each couple has three chances!”

Shengxin Su glanced at the screen again, still a bit confused.

“Alright, first couple…” The producer checked the label. “Qin Ranqiu and Qing Lan.”

Again, the acclaimed director and the leading actress.

The actress threw the two dice; they spun and came to rest.

The sensor scanned the chips, and two strange keywords appeared on the big screen: [Touch] [Ear].

“What—” The international director’s eyes widened. “Is this not against the rules?”

The producer pulled out the white gloves used during the “perfume sniffing” challenge and said devilishly, “Everything’s through something. Use these.”

The director put on the gloves and gently brushed his wife’s long hair behind her ear, exposing it.

Then, with the back of his index finger, he lightly touched the ear’s outer edge, tracing its shape, finally rubbing the earlobe with his thumb and forefinger, his gaze tender.

The genius chess player seemed nervous and whimpered softly.

The second couple, an NBA player and a singer, had the dice show: [Blow] [Neck].

Everyone understood now. One dice indicated an action, the other a body part. So far, no inappropriate words.

Unexpectedly, the NBA player also put on gloves. Looking at his same-sex partner, he said, “Honey, your husband’s an athlete; his lung capacity is huge.”

The singer was speechless.

The NBA player extended an index finger, using the finger’s back to tilt his partner’s chin up, exposing the neck. Then he leaned in, blowing warm breath upward against the throat continuously.

The guests watched quietly.

The NBA player was right—the warm breath on the throat was both ticklish and tingling. The older singer struggled a bit to endure, wanting it to end, but his husband’s finger held his chin firmly, preventing him from pulling back. The breath was long and continuous; just when he thought it was over, his husband’s actions told him otherwise. By the end, the singer’s Adam’s apple seemed numb, as if anesthetized. When it finished, he clutched his neck, eyes vacant.

Next was the pianist and the principal dancer, whose keywords were [Touch] [Hand].

They seemed very happy, playing the pure love card. The pianist wore gloves; the dancer did not. Sitting facing each other, their eyes locked, fingers intertwined, they looked like schoolchildren, tugging and smiling.

Before the end, the pianist, reluctant to part, couldn’t resist running his thumb back and forth over the backs of his wife’s four fingers while still holding hands.

Next came the investment bank CEO and the genius chess player, a female couple.

Their keywords were [Blow] [Lips].

The CEO still wore vivid red lipstick. Unexpectedly, the chess player was too shy; whenever the CEO leaned in, the chess player leaned back. When the CEO tried again, the chess player retreated once more.

Everyone laughed. The CEO asked with a smile, “Aya, how am I supposed to do this?”

The chess player nodded to show understanding but still couldn’t help backing away when the CEO moved forward again.

Only when she pressed back against the chair with nowhere to retreat did she close her eyes resignedly, her face and neck flushed like a tomato.

The CEO smiled and, without teasing, gently traced the chess player’s pouty lips with her eyes, blew softly on them, then withdrew.

Finally, it was Yin Shang and Shengxin Su.

Shengxin Su picked up the dice, shook them, and tossed them onto the tray.

They rolled for several seconds before settling—one showed [Touch], the other [Neck].

Yin Shang put on the glove and instructed Shengxin Su to tilt his neck up. From the chin downward, his index finger glided over the tender skin, tracing the vulnerable neck until reaching the Adam’s apple.

There, his movements slowed noticeably. He gently stroked Shengxin Su’s gender marker, then continued lower, pulling a small pendant down slightly from the collarbone chain. He pressed his right index finger into the hollow of the collarbone, lingering before moving it away and covering the pendant back up.

Yet, Shengxin Su felt as if something of Yin Shang’s remained behind the collarbone chain.

After a roughly ten-minute break, the crew began the second round of the game on time. The atmosphere in the room had shifted—it was charged with excitement and a hint of restraint.

The first couple to roll again was the director and actress.

This time, their keywords were [Sniff] [Neck].

The actress turned around, back to the director, sweeping her silky long hair over one shoulder, revealing a pale neck.

Only then did everyone notice a small, exquisite tattoo of angel wings on the back of her neck.

The director moved closer and inhaled the scent of her perfume.

Thus, the angel was touched by the mortal world, lingering among humans.

The NBA player and his partner’s keywords were [Touch] [Hand], repeating the previous round’s challenge by the pianist couple, sparking curiosity about their “innovation.”

Unexpectedly, the older singer requested a change from the producer: “Can we switch? I’ll touch his hand.”

The producer considered and consented.

The singer donned the gloves, while the NBA player spread out his large palm.

As an athlete, his hands were massive, and in the close-up, everyone noticed something remarkable: years of basketball had severely deformed his fingers and covered his hands with thick calluses.

The pads of each finger and the first two finger segments were densely covered in calluses. His palms, both at the top and bottom edges, were also thickly callused.

His hands were deformed from years of strain—the joints were swollen and enlarged.

The older singer tenderly stroked these large hands, gently massaging each callus. “You know, as an Asian, standing firm in America requires even harder training and improvement. These are his medals.”

Everyone listened quietly.

The singer rubbed each joint and said, “These hands have been broken many times. Whether intentional or not, when those defensive players hit the basketball away, they caused Zhang Xing’s hands to fracture repeatedly, but he endured them all.”