Chapter 5 – Tasks
Qiao Huaiyao lowered his gaze, and his eyes involuntarily swept over the two leaning shoulders. Their summer clothes were thin, and amidst the coolness of the air conditioning, their body temperatures felt more apparent.
The hand that opened the barrage was slender, and the distinct joints on the fingers still seemed to retain the lingering touch from the morning when they rested on the cheek.
The temperature around them seemed to rise a bit. Qiao Huaiyao placed his hand on his knee, and his fingertips curled slightly, suppressing his wandering thoughts as he leaned back on the sofa without showing any emotions.
Bai Jinyan’s gaze fell on his phone screen, noticing Qiao Huaiyao’s actions. He turned his head and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” Qiao Huaiyao shook his head, got up, and said, “I’ll go change my clothes first.”
He was still wearing pajamas.
Bai Jinyan watched Qiao Huaiyao’s back as he went upstairs, his thoughts swirling in his eyes. Only after Qiao Huaiyao disappeared around the corner did he retract his gaze.
Through the camera, the audience in the live room saw Bai Jinyan approaching, and most of the viewers who were currently watching had experienced the account suspension storm yesterday. Seeing him get closer, the barrage quickly flooded the screen.
[“Welcome, everyone, to watch the live variety show ‘Together with the Dearest of You’ in guest Bai Jinyan’s live room.”]
[“This is indeed a great variety show.”]
[“It’s funny and heartwarming, love it.”]
[“Prosperity, democracy, civilization, and harmony.”]
…
The serious and formal barrages directly pushed the previous ones upward.
Bai Jinyan reopened the barrage records in the live room.
Audience: [“??? What’s this?!”]
[“What is this mess?!”]
The barrage style immediately changed.
[“Help, help, help—my last account is gone, wife, save me!”]
[“Qiao Qiao, you have to control your brother!”]
[“This was supposed to be a warm family variety show, but it turned into an account protection battle.”]
[“Haha, what’s with the panic? I even used my grandma’s ID to register an account. Even if all my accounts get banned, I’ll still shout one last time: I want to call my wife! I want to call! I want to call!”]
The clamor didn’t last long, and the barrage was cleared, and accounts were blacklisted and banned.
The live room fell silent for a while until a new message popped up.
[“Hey there! I still have a small account.”]
After changing clothes, Qiao Huaiyao came downstairs, and the cameraman for the outdoor shoot was ready. He asked, “What kind of work are we doing?”
Bai Jinyan handed him the phone and said, “Press the red button in the middle.”
The program team provided several options that had been negotiated beforehand, with decent pay and additional rewards depending on the difficulty of the tasks.
However, the selection couldn’t be predetermined; it had to be random. If they didn’t want it to be random, they had to find their own jobs. But for just one day of work and getting paid before dinner, it wasn’t easy to find such a job.
It was better to use the options prepared by the program team.
Looking at the short message, Qiao Huaiyao saw options like manual labor, window cleaning, and delivery…
All these options were on a small app designed as a roulette wheel. When Qiao Huaiyao took the phone, he might have accidentally brushed against it, and the roulette wheel had already started spinning.
The pointer finally landed on ‘Delivering balloon dolls.’
[Congratulations to guests Qiao Huaiyao and Bai Jinyan for drawing the task. We will provide transportation fees, so please head to Sunny Day Amusement Park and meet with the staff there. They will arrange your work for you.]
[Special Note: During the entire process, you can only use the transportation fees provided by the program team. You cannot use any other money, including but not limited to cars, electric scooters, bicycles, etc. Lastly, good luck!]
The transportation fee was in an envelope and amounted to ten yuan.
When Qiao Huaiyao received it, he thought it was quite thick, but when he opened it, he realized it was ten one-yuan bills folded together.
This money would definitely not be enough for a taxi; if they encountered traffic, the waiting fees alone would use up the ten yuan.
As a result, they could only take the subway or the bus. There was a direct bus route to the amusement park, no need for transfers. The subway, on the other hand, required one transfer, but it was faster. The bus might have frequent stops, which could delay their journey.
After so long away, Qiao Huaiyao couldn’t remember the exact route details. “Should we take the subway or the bus?”
“The subway,” Bai Jinyan replied.
Qiao Huaiyao nodded, “The subway is indeed faster.”
Bai Jinyan said, “And cheaper.”
Qiao Huaiyao was taken aback, “Huh?”
When he calculated, it was true that they could save five yuan, but it was only one yuan less compared to taking the bus.
Qiao Huaiyao thought Bai Jinyan was joking, but the subway indeed had the advantage of being faster.
There weren’t many people on the subway. They got on from a mid-station, and there were no seats left in the carriage.
Qiao Huaiyao stood by the handrail, and just as the subway started moving, his phone vibrated. He opened it to see a message from the school.
He noticed that there was a missed call.
Regarding dormitory arrangements, the school hadn’t directly assigned them but sent pictures for him to choose from.
Qiao Huaiyao wasn’t picky about living conditions, so he casually looked at the pictures.
Bai Jinyan stood beside him, and as the subway started moving, he saw Qiao Huaiyao sway slightly. His fingertips moved slightly, and he was about to place his hand on his waist.
But before he could touch him, Qiao Huaiyao grabbed the handrail, steadying himself.
The outstretched hand seemed to hesitate in the air for a moment before it directly held onto the handrail on the left, positioned just above Qiao Huaiyao’s hand.
Behind them, the cameraman holding the equipment dutifully captured this scene.
The barrage was full of joy.
[“He chickened out! Did you all see that? Bai Jinyan chickened out and didn’t dare to make a move!”]
[“Hahaha, that sneakily moving fingertip was caught on camera. Kudos to the cameraman!”]
[“Are you gonna hug him or not? If you won’t, let me do it!”]
Qiao Huaiyao focused on looking at the photos. Each type of dormitory was different. Besides the typical four-person and six-person rooms, there were even single rooms available.
Some had private bathrooms, washing machines, and even TVs.
It didn’t look like a typical dormitory; rather, it resembled a small studio apartment for rent.
However, while single rooms were nice, living in a multiple-person dormitory might help him build better relationships with his classmates.
Qiao Huaiyao hesitated.
Bai Jinyan glanced at him and said, “Choose this one.”
Hearing this, Qiao Huaiyao responded, “The single room? Okay.”
Without further hesitation, he saved the photo of the single room and sent it to the senior in charge of assigning dormitories.
After a brief notification sound, the subway suddenly stopped.
The sudden jolt caused Qiao Huaiyao to take a step back. Before he could stabilize himself, he felt his back hit something. Curious, he turned his head and saw Bai Jinyan’s arm horizontally behind him, providing support for him to lean against.
He slowly raised his gaze and unexpectedly met Bai Jinyan’s eyes.
Qiao Huaiyao’s heart trembled, and the scene in front of him was like someone standing beside him, reaching out and hugging him.
This was the first time, after the hug when he first came back from his rebirth, that he was hugged with full awareness.
For a moment, he forgot to stand up straight.
People on the subway were coming and going, but no one noticed them standing on the side.
When the subway door closing sound rang, Qiao Huaiyao suddenly came to his senses, and warmth spread on his face. He quickly turned his gaze away to the side.
In an attempt to deceive himself, Qiao Huaiyao shifted his gaze and bit his lip. He scolded himself in his mind.
What was he hiding for?
There was nothing to hide!
This constant avoidance made him look guilty.
Why was he panicking? Bai Jinyan clearly didn’t know anything!
Thinking this through, Qiao Huaiyao no longer hesitated. He turned his head and looked back at Bai Jinyan with full confidence, no longer avoiding his gaze, and stared directly into his eyes.
Bai Jinyan was first stunned, then he realized something. A smile appeared in his eyes as he lightly laughed, reaching out to ruffle Qiao Huaiyao’s hair.
Then he proactively looked away.
Qiao Huaiyao: “…!!!”
No laughing allowed!
He understood Bai Jinyan’s intention and felt embarrassed. He lowered his head, but he couldn’t hide the blushing behind his ears.
In the live room, the barrage scrolled quickly, then oddly paused for a moment.
Then a wave of [“ahhh”] messages flooded the screen.
[“Even though they didn’t say anything, why can’t I stop smiling?”]
[“The moment they exchanged glances, my whole body went soft.”]
[“I’ve been curious since earlier about why Bai Jinyan held the handrail like that. Now I finally understand that if Qiao Huaiyao loses his balance, no matter which way he tilts, Bai Jinyan can catch him. This protection is so tight.”]
[“D*mn it! I’d kick the boyfriend next to me.”]
[“The family atmosphere is so good! Big brother takes such good care of the little brother.”]
[“Wait a minute… this is a family variety show??? OMG, I just realized why it’s even more addictive than the next-door romance variety show. Is this for real?!”]
Exiting the subway station, the sun was shining brightly outside.
The subway station was underground, so it was cooler than the outside. With the air conditioning on, the temperature difference felt suffocating as they came out.
They weren’t here to play at the amusement park. Following the cameraman’s instructions, they entered through the staff entrance.
Due to the scorching heat, there weren’t many people in the amusement park. Most of them were hiding in shady areas, and many were sitting in restaurants and ice cream shops. Looking through the transparent glass, the seating areas were packed with people.
The cameraman handed Qiao Huaiyao a folded amusement park map and said, “The places with smiley faces marked on them are where you’ll work. You need to find them on your own. Ten minutes. Remember this map, and then I’ll take it back.”
“Okay.” Qiao Huaiyao quickly unfolded it, took out the phone provided by the production team, and took a picture of the map directly.
The cameraman was taken aback, “You took a photo…”
Qiao Huaiyao replied, “Didn’t the director say we couldn’t?”
After thinking for a moment, the cameraman said, “I don’t think they mentioned it.”
Qiao Huaiyao smiled and said, “Then it’s allowed.”
The cameraman held the map, looking a little bewildered.
…Seems like there’s some logic to it?
Right after tricking the cameraman, something was passed to Qiao Huaiyao.
“Here, take this.”
Hearing Bai Jinyan’s voice, Qiao Huaiyao instinctively took it. When he received it, he realized it was an ice cream cone.
A light pink cone with a few slices of thinly cut strawberries stuck on top.
The sweet scent of milk mixed with the fragrance of strawberries. Before it even reached his mouth, just holding it in his hand felt refreshing, dispelling the stifling heat in the air.
The amusement park wasn’t too large, mostly visited by locals, so the prices weren’t too high.
However…
Qiao Huaiyao was skeptical. “Aren’t we not allowed to use our own money?”
Bai Jinyan calmly replied, “It’s the leftover transportation fee.”
Transportation fee…?
Listening to this, Qiao Huaiyao glanced at the price tag outside the ice cream shop.
There was an image of ice cream on it, with [Four yuan for original flavor, five yuan for strawberry flavor] written beside it.