—

Huo Cheng spoke first: 'I'm OK.'

After saying that, he turned to look at Yan Zhi.

Yan Zhi took off his jacket and said casually, 'I'm OK too.'

Everyone looked at Pei Xu.

Pei Xu nodded.

Zhai Xingchen's earlier excitement was gone, all he felt now was nerves.

For a second the three male leads all felt like his own sons, he couldn't bear to see any of them suffer.

'What about you, Zhai Xingchen?' the Director asked.

Zhai Xingchen was about to speak when the Director said, 'Majority rules, let's go.'

The crew behind him all burst out laughing.

Everyone was excited, and everyone was nervous.

This was arguably the first shura field of this season of The Red and Blue Signal.

'Four handsome guys, don't put too much pressure on yourselves, as long as you do more than I did, that's fine,' Hu Ying said.

Actually she hadn't gone all out today, because she knew she couldn't win, killing herself would be pointless.

Wen Nu and Lin Qingning were the same, the two of them were even a bit perfunctory.

Four tall, long-legged men stood side by side in a line, from left to right: Huo Cheng, Yan Zhi, Pei Xu, Zhai Xingchen.

White light shone up from in front of them, leaving a row of shadows.

Maybe because the four of them standing in a row visually tied them together, the fact that Zhai Xingchen was also a top suddenly stood out.

Standing next to Huo Cheng and the other two top-tier men, he didn't lose a bit.

Zhai Xingchen suddenly felt he couldn't afford to lose.

In all the guests' minds, he was the weakest of the four tops. This ranking made his position in the Red Blue House very delicate.

He either had to be the strongest in some area, or the weakest in some area. Being in the middle would make the position of whoever ranked below him awkward.

But today's PK was honestly a bit too sharp. In dating, the win or loss between rivals really touches a man's dignity, this kind of petty score-keeping, only men themselves understand.

Him being last was a given, and it didn't ease the awkwardness of second-to-last. Because this competition was originally between the three male leads, it had nothing to do with him.

He was just here to make up the numbers.

But if he ranked first, it would be different.

The remaining three would all become his defeated opponents, their positions equal.

This was an extremely delicate balance.

And the Red Team Guests would definitely look at overall conditions when choosing a partner, who they liked was already decided, no one would fall for him just because he won a competition.

Mm, him taking first was the best outcome!

Zhai Xingchen composed his expression, let out a soft breath, then seriously did a few warm-up moves.

Hu Ying laughed beside him: 'Xingchen's even got the moves down, go Star-bro, I'm on your side, take them down!'

Zhai Xingchen rolled his wrists, dropped into a horse stance, and glanced at Pei Xu and the others beside him.

They all did some simple warm-ups too, but kept it restrained, at most swinging their arms and legs.

The calmer they looked on the surface, the harder they were pushing inside!

Every one of them was giving it their all, this wasn't a fight for dating rights, this was a fight for male dignity!

Guo Bing grabbed a megaphone and asked, 'What does each of you pick, push-ups or sit-ups?'

Although the rules said they could pick either and it was counted by reps, doing the same thing was definitely more exciting and more fair.

The fairer it was, the more exciting!

Guo Bing said, 'Do the same one?'

Huo Cheng's expression stayed relaxed, he replied, 'I'm OK with anything, up to them.'

Yan Zhi gave a nod.

Pei Xu also nodded.

Zhai Xingchen could guess what Guo Bing was going to pick for them.

Sure enough, Guo Bing said, 'Then sit-ups it is.'

Men's core strength was the best thing to watch.

The Director, this LSP.

'Hu Ying, you guys don't just stand there, come hold their feet,' the Director said.

Such a good shura field opportunity, naturally had to be fully utilized.

This time Hu Ying actually didn't go to Yan Zhi, but rushed straight to Zhai Xingchen, laughing as she planted herself in front of him.

'Go for it,' Hu Ying said.

The way she smiled, clearly not well-intentioned, obviously she knew Zhai Xingchen would be the first to drop and was deliberately teasing him.

Lin Qingning voluntarily went to Pei Xu.

Wen Nu hesitated, looked back at Duan Yihua.

Duan Yihua smiled and said, 'You pick.'

Wen Nu went to Yan Zhi.

Duan Yihua walked toward Huo Cheng.

Zhai Xingchen let out a long breath, lay down on the sand, Hu Ying sat on his feet and gripped his legs.

Hu Ying had originally thought Zhai Xingchen was going to give up, but seeing how serious his expression was, she realized Zhai Xingchen was taking this seriously, froze for a moment, then got serious herself.

She and Zhai Xingchen were so close she almost treated him like one of the girls, she'd forgotten Zhai Xingchen was actually a man, a top, and in a PK like this, she didn't want to lose too embarrassingly either.

'Go for it,' she said softly.

She hoped Zhai Xingchen could do as many as possible, not lose too badly.

She turned to look at Pei Xu and the others beside him, all three of them were dead serious. Even Yan Zhi, who was so germaphobic he couldn't stand dirt, wasn't afraid of getting dirty this time.

A simple PK turned into a shura field.

Dozens of Production Team members all went quiet, only the wind and waves on the beach, a dozen-plus cameras focused on each of them from different angles.

'We're all watching, the sit-ups have to be up to standard, sloppy ones don't count. Alright, handsome guys, ready, three, two, one, go!'

Huo Cheng went first, immediately launching into a few fast and perfect sit-ups, stunning Duan Yihua across from him.

Yan Zhi and Pei Xu were more methodical.

Zhai Xingchen pressed his lips together, hands behind his neck, exhaling each time he sat up.

Hu Ying and the others helped count, four different male voices overlapping.

'One, two, three, four...'

They quickly surpassed Hu Ying's count, reaching over fifty.

Sit-ups mainly rely on core muscle engagement, ordinary people usually do a few dozen, world records can be in the thousands, but for this exercise, preparation and daily practice are crucial, with a sudden PK like theirs, none of them might be at their best.

It was easier at first, but as the muscles started aching, the pace slowed down.

Huo Cheng turned to glance at Yan Zhi beside him.

Yan Zhi had taken off his glasses, his features looked unfamiliar and sharp, just slightly flushed, but his expression was determined.

He looked at Pei Xu next, Pei Xu was even calmer, lying down, sitting up, perfect form, even pace, like a robot.

Probably surprised by their stamina, Huo Cheng consciously slowed his pace a bit.

Reps were the standard for the final result, but he didn't want to be the first to finish.

Being the first to finish put him at a disadvantage, he wanted to see what the others had.

On the silent beach, only faint panting and the counting voices of Hu Ying and the others. Hu Ying held Zhai Xingchen's legs while turning to look at the other three pairs.

Their sit-ups were all very standard, when they sat up they almost touched the people holding their feet, she saw Lin Qingning staring at Pei Xu, face a bit red, wanting to look away but not wanting to.

Wen Nu was even shyer, head down the whole time, because he kept finding his gaze landing right on Yan Zhi's crotch.

Time ticked by, but none of them had stopped.

Everyone wanted first place.

As time passed, the numbers they called quickly broke a hundred.

Guo Bing couldn't help but speak up: 'Everyone's done a lot already, if you can't hold on, you can stop.'

But no one stopped.

Sweat streamed down Zhai Xingchen's cheeks, his breathing got heavier, his face redder, Hu Ying said excitedly, 'Zhai Xingchen, you're doing it!'

Zhai Xingchen glanced at the three pairs on his right, his sit-ups had broken 110, and in that moment he suddenly wondered if his decision to go for first was really right.

Because he suddenly felt none of the three wanted to be the first to drop, so they probably wouldn't stop, but doing too many sit-ups wasn't actually good for you, tomorrow they might all not be able to get up.

For a moment he didn't know whether to keep pushing or be the first to drop.

Each option seemed to have its pros and cons.

Pei Xu beside him turned to look at him.

The two of them kept almost the same rhythm, lying down together, sitting up together, their gazes locked. Pei Xu saw Zhai Xingchen's flushed face, his face was so small, beads of sweat running down from his temples, every time he sat up you could see the veins in his neck.

Really trying hard.

He really hadn't expected Zhai Xingchen could do this many.

Was he afraid of losing too?

Didn't want to be the first man to drop.

So stubbornly guarding his pride.

It seemed they all assumed Zhai Xingchen was the weakest, even if he came in last, it was expected. They all felt for him, no one would laugh at him.

But just like they all wanted Zhai Xingchen, but Zhai Xingchen only had eyes for Hu Ying and the others.

Deep down, he was the same as them. Didn't want to be the first man to drop in front of Hu Ying and the others.

Something suddenly flared in Pei Xu's heart.

'Past 130,' a crew member said.

'Huo Cheng and Pei Xu are almost at 150.'

Just when everyone was so tense they couldn't breathe, a gasp went up from the crowd.

Zhai Xingchen turned to look, and Pei Xu beside him had actually dropped first.

Pei Xu lay on the sand, mouth slightly open, panting, a thin sheen of sweat running down his handsome, sharply defined profile.