Chapter 15 – Thought
Hearing the sound of the camera shutter, Qiao Huaiyao blinked lightly and turned his head to look at Bai Jinyan. “Are you taking a picture of me?”
Bai Jinyan adjusted his phone. “Yes.”
Barrage: [“Don’t turn off the screen! I haven’t seen the photo yet!”]
[“Hand over the photo! How dare you keep a picture of my wife hidden?!”]
[“Ahh, just now, even a screenshot of my wife during the live stream looked exceptionally beautiful. I bet the photo in Bai Jinyan’s phone is even better-looking.”]
[“Let’s team up and steal his phone. Sign me up.”]
…
Qiao Huaiyao smiled and said, “It seems like we didn’t take many photos even in high school.”
Not only in high school, but they also didn’t take many photos in their daily lives.
Unless they were going out for an outing, there would be a couple’s photo taken at the scenic spots.
Generally speaking, on the day of high school graduation, there would be a class photo taken to commemorate the occasion.
However, due to growing apart, forget about a class photo, when they took their graduation photo, everyone went their separate ways, and they didn’t stay together.
Qiao Huaiyao gestured to him, “Let’s take a couple’s photo now.”
It was a perfect opportunity to take the photos they had missed before while they were back at school.
Bai Jinyan stepped forward and placed his hand on Qiao Huaiyao’s shoulder.
Just as Qiao Huaiyao was about to press the shutter, he noticed that Bai Jinyan had an expressionless face in the camera lens. He shrugged his shoulder and said, “Smile a bit.”
“Sure.”
Though Bai Jinyan agreed verbally, there was still no obvious smile on his face.
Qiao Huaiyao raised his eyes slowly, his beautiful eyes filled with doubt.
Feeling Qiao Huaiyao’s gaze, Bai Jinyan met his eyes, and after a moment of eye contact, he raised the corners of his mouth slightly.
Needless to say, it should be obvious that he was smiling.
Satisfied, Qiao Huaiyao pressed the shutter.
They didn’t say a word throughout the entire process; they communicated solely through their eyes.
The audience in the live stream burst into laughter.
[“Hahaha, Bai Jinyan, you were threatened to blink your eyes.”]
[“With just one look, he can make you do whatever he wants. Bai Jinyan, you can’t be like this. You’re too obedient.”]
[“You gotta admit it. After watching the live stream these past few days, I suspect that if Qiao Qiao gave him a big slap, Bai Jinyan would worry about his hand hurting.”]
Qiao Huaiyao took several shots in a row. Although the phone’s camera couldn’t match a professional one in terms of pixels, the photo quality was still good.
To make each photo look different instead of a series of continuous shots, Qiao Huaiyao said seriously, “Raise your left hand a bit.”
“Strike a pose, it looks too stiff otherwise.”
“Bend down a bit, yes, just like that.”
With each instruction from Qiao Huaiyao, Bai Jinyan followed suit exactly as told.
If the angle of his hand wasn’t right, Qiao Huaiyao would adjust it, and Bai Jinyan allowed him to do so without a single word of complaint, cooperating fully.
Watching this, the director’s eyes widened in disbelief, his jaw almost dropping to the ground.
It was evident to everyone that Bai Jinyan had a bit of a temper. After all, he was a second-generation celebrity who achieved extraordinary success at a young age, so having some attitude was normal.
But now, seeing him like this, the director rubbed his chin, feeling that not even Bai Jinyan’s own father could command him like this.
After a moment’s thought, the director decided not to get involved and handed the task card to the photographer, turning to focus on the progress of the next group.
The school wasn’t very big, but it was still challenging for two people to find something inside.
After all, other families had five or six members, with at least four people in each.
To be fair, the director had hidden the “treasure” in the middle building.
The building had three floors.
Qiao Huaiyao chose to search from the top floor downwards.
The door to the rooftop was usually locked, so the director probably wouldn’t have placed anything up there.
Qiao Huaiyao checked the drawers, saying, “The production team wouldn’t hide those things too deeply.”
There were also few places in the classroom where things could be hidden.
In no time, he found two envelopes.
The envelopes contained cash, not much, just a little over ten yuan.
“Is this what they call ‘treasure’?” Qiao Huaiyao shook the envelopes, finding nothing else.
Bai Jinyan said, “It’s probably considered as funding from the program team.”
Qiao Huaiyao nodded and handed the money to Bai Jinyan before turning around to search another drawer.
“Have some water.” Bai Jinyan opened a bottle of sparkling water on the table and handed it to him.
The sponsors of the livestream were quite generous; there were bottles of sparkling water placed almost everywhere within sight.
Qiao Huaiyao had come out early and didn’t have time to eat breakfast. He had been sleeping in the car all the way.
After getting off the car, they were delayed, and it was almost ten o’clock.
Bai Jinyan took out a small piece of chocolate bread and handed it to him. “Have this for now. After the livestream ends, I’ll take you to have something delicious.”
Qiao Huaiyao was momentarily stunned, then he smiled and remembered back to his high school days. He used to wake up early for morning self-study and stay late for evening self-study, often staying up late to finish his practice exercises, which left him with little time for breakfast.
Later, when Bai Jinyan bought a house near the school and they occasionally lived together, Bai Jinyan discovered that Qiao Huaiyao didn’t eat breakfast.
Bai Jinyan didn’t force him to change his habit of not having breakfast but would prepare some portable snacks, most of which were made by Bai Jinyan himself.
After taking a bite of the chocolate bread, Qiao Huaiyao commented, “It’s not as delicious as the ones you make.”
Bai Jinyan continued searching the drawer while saying, “I’ll make some for you when we get back.”
“Alright.”
Qiao Huaiyao sat on a chair and looked around the classroom. He mumbled with his mouth full, “It’s quite quiet with only the two of us and the cameraman here.”
He was used to the bustling atmosphere of the school, but now there were only a few people in the classroom, making their voices echo.
“Yep.” While speaking, Bai Jinyan found another envelope.
Qiao Huaiyao leaned closer to take a look. This time, there was no cash, only two cards.
The cards were the same, with bold letters at the top that read, [During high school, did Qiao Huaiyao ever receive a love letter?]
[Please answer separately. If the answers match, you will receive a reward of thirty yuan.]
Qiao Huaiyao raised an eyebrow. He thought the pens on the table were there for decorative purposes, not for answering questions.
Without any hesitation, Qiao Huaiyao wrote [None.]
Meanwhile, Bai Jinyan swiftly filled out his card as well.
Barrage: [“???”]
[“You both didn’t even think about it?”]
[“I thought with his looks and academic achievements, he would have received countless love letters.”]
[“Qiao Qiao’s answer is understandable, but Bai Jinyan, how can you be so sure?”]
Watching the barrage of comments rapidly scrolling on the phone, Bai Jinyan sneered.
Barrage: [“…”]
[“Let me interpret this cold sneer. It roughly means: I, Bai Jinyan, personally prevent any love letters from being sent to Qiao Huaiyao. As long as I’m around, no one else can deliver love letters to him.”]
[“Sister, you are the best. Your pure translation skills for modern expressions are remarkable.”]
After completing the cards, they flipped them over, and the answers matched perfectly.
Qiao Huaiyao couldn’t help but smile and said, “When I was in school, my brother believed that I should focus on studying during high school, so… love letters never made it to me.”
The audience in the livestream room showed no surprise.
[“‘Never made it to me.'”]
[“We knew it. Bai Jinyan, you’re so selfless. I just can’t believe it.”]
[“After all, they’re a couple in love’s honeymoon period. They want to stick together all the time. I understand!”]
[“We’ve heard this a million times already.”]
With the same answers, the cameraman immediately handed them the reward.
They earned more money by answering the question than what was given in the envelopes.
However, these blue envelopes were rare; most of the envelopes in the classroom were of a single color.
When they were almost done searching, Qiao Huaiyao suggested, “Let’s switch classrooms.”
“Okay.”
Watching them move into another classroom one after another, the audience in the livestream room couldn’t help but analyze and comment in the barrage:
[“I knew something was strange. I just checked other livestreams, and the camera only showed the celebrities themselves or their family members. Only in this livestream, the footage captured both of them!”]
[“Wow, that’s true!”]
[“Other guests are walking separately for efficiency, but these two have been in the same frame the whole time.”]
[“Tsk tsk, they are a couple in love’s honeymoon period. They always want to stick together. I get it!”]
[“I’m so tired of hearing this joke.”]
…
From top to bottom, they searched in a circle and collected quite a few cards. Aside from the money-earning question cards, there were skill cards that could be used in future recorded gaming competitions.
Qiao Huaiyao sorted these cards into categories.
As the cards were shown on the camera one by one, the barrage of comments appeared: [“Seeing these props, I suddenly remembered, is the livestream ending soon?”]
[“Yes, and my wife has to go to school, so he will leave the livestream a day early.”]
[“No, don’t go! What’s left to watch in this livestream… Wait, my wife going to school = Bai Jinyan not by his side = my wife is mine.”]
[“What brilliant logic! While Bai Jinyan is on his way with a knife, sister, you provide cover, and I’ll take my wife and run first.”]
Bai Jinyan propped his chin up with one hand and saw this barrage of comments. He immediately frowned, reaching for his phone, but suddenly paused.
He asked the cameraman, “The items were found early, does that mean the mission ends early?”
The cameraman nodded; that was indeed the case.
Each family had different tasks and progress, so there was no fixed completion time.
Bai Jinyan tapped his fingertips on the table and said, “Huaiyao.”
“Yeah?” Qiao Huaiyao had just put away the last card and looked up at him, waiting for him to continue speaking.
But…
Bai Jinyan didn’t say anything. He caught a glimpse of the mischievous glint in Bai Jinyan’s eyes, and the latter raised an eyebrow in response.
The cameraman, holding his equipment and aiming at the two of them, didn’t know what kind of wordless riddle they were playing again.
However, the next moment, both of them stood up from their seats simultaneously. One went towards the front door, and the other ran towards the back door.
Cameraman: “???”
Livestream room: [“??!!”]
As they ran out, Qiao Huaiyao didn’t look back and said, “Thank you for your hard work, cameraman! You can leave early today; it’s the end of the workday!”
Cameraman: “……”
Barrage: [“Although it’s a bit demanding to say that, but don’t you consider working overtime? The kind without overtime pay.”]
[“Waaah— My wife eloped with another man, and I’m crying so loudly.”]
As he ran out of the classroom, Qiao Huaiyao didn’t know which way to go for a moment, so he instinctively looked towards the front door and saw Bai Jinyan running towards him.
Before he could say anything, Bai Jinyan grabbed his wrist and said, “Let’s go.”
No one was chasing after them, and Qiao Huaiyao didn’t bring up the matter. He followed Bai Jinyan’s lead and ran out of the teaching building together.