Surprise Bonus Chapter

Everyone froze.

Because nobody had expected Pei Xu to be the first one down.

A lot of people had figured it would come down to him and Huo Cheng, one-on-one.

Lin Qingning was surprised.

Because Pei Xu's sit-ups had been genuinely easy up to now.

He was the one holding Pei Xu's feet, so he knew his condition best. Pei Xu had kept the same pace from start to finish—not even a hint of slowing down, no sign of strain at all.

Looks like Pei Xu did it on purpose.

Lin Qingning wasn't the only one thinking it. Everyone was.

Hu Ying told the Production Team, "Pei Xu's down."

Duan Yihua and Wen Nu both glanced at Pei Xu.

Huo Cheng and Yan Zhi looked over too.

Pei Xu was already sitting up, brushing the sand off the back of his neck.

But Huo Cheng and the others figured Pei Xu had dropped early because he had no interest in fighting for first place.

None of the Red and Blue Signal guests interested him.

Romance didn't interest him.

That was very on-brand for Pei Xu.

Being the first to drop didn't faze Pei Xu at all—no frustration, no awkwardness. He stood up from the sand and glanced sideways at Zhai Xingchen.

The moment Pei Xu dropped, Zhai Xingchen's original instinct took over.

Either he dropped first and gave the second-to-last guy an out, or he held on till the end.

Now that Pei Xu was out, he didn't want Pei Xu walking away thinking even Zhai Xingchen was better than him.

He looked at Yan Zhi and Huo Cheng, pressed his lips together, and focused.

A lot of people here had overlooked what he could do. He was a dance student—no exaggeration, he trained more and had better stamina than anyone in the eight of them. Dance students really did train at high intensity every single day, and this month especially, with the Final Exam coming up, he'd been putting in hours of brutal practice daily. Sit-ups were basically one of his fundamentals.

The Production Team handed Pei Xu a bottle of water. He twisted off the cap, took a couple of sips, then turned to look at Zhai Xingchen again. The white light caught the thin sheen of sweat on his face, the sea breeze had tousled his dark hair, and he looked even paler, even more striking.

Seeing that Zhai Xingchen showed no sign of stopping, Pei Xu was genuinely surprised.

The competition rolled on. Past two hundred, Yan Zhi and Huo Cheng started to slow down.

"Two-oh-one, two-oh-two…"

Huo Cheng kept going, but he shot a surprised look at Zhai Xingchen across the sand and grinned.

He hadn't expected Zhai Xingchen to be that strong.

And it wasn't just him. Nobody had.

Honestly, pure endurance and stamina-wise, Zhai Xingchen might not have been a match for Huo Cheng and Yan Zhi. If all three of them pushed to their absolute limit, he might not have won.

But he could take more pain and endure more than anyone.

Huo Cheng was the first to hit the sand. He laughed through a few breaths and turned to look at Yan Zhi and Zhai Xingchen.

Yan Zhi was drenched in sweat, his neck and face flushed red, his whole upper body shaking every time he sat up—clearly at his limit.

Zhai Xingchen looked even worse.

In the end, everyone was watching Yan Zhi and Zhai Xingchen.

Yan Zhi turned to look at Zhai Xingchen and saw he had his eyes shut, teeth clenched.

Like he'd die before giving up first place.

All that effort—he was probably going for first so he could take whoever he liked on a date.

Hu Ying. Or Duan Yihua.

They'd all underestimated Zhai Xingchen. They'd thought he was some delicate little flower who needed looking after, but he was tougher than any of them.

Yan Zhi didn't want to just hand Zhai Xingchen the win, but he also didn't want it to turn into some hostile showdown between the two of them.

A mess of feelings dragged him under. Yan Zhi ran out of strength and collapsed on the sand.

"Two forty-nine!" Wen Nu called out.

They all turned to look at Zhai Xingchen. Hu Ying was holding his feet down, eyes bright with surprise—almost moved—fixed on him without blinking. It almost looked like she was watching him with deep feeling.

"Two forty-one. Come on, Xingchen, nine more and you win."

Zhai Xingchen kept his eyes shut, lips pressed tight.

This was a Zhai Xingchen none of them had ever seen.

A Zhai Xingchen they hadn't even imagined existed.

Duan Yihua, Wen Nu, Lin Qingning—all of them were stunned by this version of Zhai Xingchen.

Every rep was a struggle. The reasons for wanting first place had actually drained out of his head. What was left was pure, clean, masculine competitiveness, and that hot-blooded rush of sport.

"Two forty-nine!" Hu Ying shouted, fired up.

Zhai Xingchen's eyes flew open. His body shook as he sat up, he held his breath, and then crunched forward in one go.

Hu Ying grabbed him: "Two fifty!"

Zhai Xingchen broke into a grin, slumped onto Hu Ying's shoulder, panting: "Two-fifty, my ass. I'm doing one more."

Hu Ying burst out laughing: "Who cares if it sounds good? You won, that's what matters!"

Pei Xu, who'd been watching from the side, laughed softly at that. But he'd been hyper-aware of and guarded around cameras since he was a kid, and the moment he noticed one filming his close-up, the smile faded from his lips.

But the sea breeze couldn't blow out the spark in his chest.

He was happier than if he'd won first place himself.

Zhai Xingchen taking first—nobody had seen that coming.

The Production Team included.

But he hadn't gotten it easy. He'd earned every bit of it through pure effort, and everyone respected that.

Wen Nu was happier than anyone. He wanted to crowd in next to Zhai Xingchen but felt like he couldn't, so he just stood off to the side and clapped softly.

Everyone else joined in.

Hu Ying pulled Zhai Xingchen up, patted his shoulder, and said, 'Your abs are showing from all that work.'

Zhai Xingchen heard that and rolled up his T-shirt. Everyone looked at his lower belly, and sure enough, his lean, flushed stomach had clear muscle lines, glistening with sweat—really pretty.

Zhai Xingchen still hadn't come down from the high of it all. He raised an eyebrow, looking smug.

So cool. So dominant.

Lin Qingning even let out a soft 'wow.' Duan Yihua and Wen Nu didn't quite dare look directly with the camera on, dodging a glance, then sneaking another peek.

'Today's the day everyone's going to look at Xingchen with new eyes.'

'What a reversal!'

'Did you get everyone's facial expressions on camera just now?' Guo Bing said. 'Cut out everyone's expression changes for me!'

The Production Team brought over towels and water. Hu Ying personally went to wipe Zhai Xingchen down.

Zhai Xingchen took two sips of water and took a while to recover.

'Find us some masseurs,' Pei Xu told the Production Team. 'Everyone's had it rough today.'

Doing that many sit-ups out of nowhere—no matter how fit you usually were—it was enough to wreck you. On the way back, Zhai Xingchen kept holding his waist.

Hu Ying kept hovering around him, chattering nonstop.

They'd sweated so much that the sea breeze on their skin felt cold now. Everyone headed toward the Red and Blue Cabin. Yan Zhi watched Zhai Xingchen's back, then looked at Hu Ying beside him, all bright and excited, and suddenly felt a huge wave of loss. He sensed someone pat his shoulder, turned around, and it was Huo Cheng.

Lin Qingning turned to glance at Pei Xu beside him. 'I thought you'd take first.'

'Zhai-ge's here. I couldn't take it,' Pei Xu said.

Lin Qingning said sincerely, 'Xingchen was really incredible today.'

Hu Ying heard that, turned back with a smile, then said loudly, 'Xingchen was seriously badass today, totally MAN! If I could send a heart-flutter text today, I'd definitely send it to you!'

'Save it for the last day. That's not too late,' Zhai Xingchen said.

Hu Ying walked backward as she talked. 'Then treat me to a date tomorrow.'

Taking first place meant taking the date rights for tomorrow night.

The Production Team let him pick.

'No rush. Just tell us your answer before you sleep.'

'Anyone's back hurting?' the Director asked as they neared the Red and Blue Cabin. 'Do you actually need us to find some massage therapists?'

The guests' backs mattered. They hadn't expected today's competition to be so intense—better not actually hurt anyone.

Zhai Xingchen raised his hand. 'I think I might need one. I almost broke my back trying to get first.'

Time to play weak for once. Set off those straight-backed male leads.

'What do you need a massage therapist for?' Huo Cheng suddenly spoke up. 'Your back hurts? I'll do it.'

Guo Bing blinked. 'You?'

Then smiled slightly, eyes meaningful. 'You know massage?'

'My parents used to get aches all the time. I specifically found an old Chinese medicine doctor back home to learn.'

'Don't believe me? You can check,' Huo Cheng said.

'Alright then.' Guo Bing smiled at Zhai Xingchen. 'Give Huo Cheng a chance to show off.'

This was a scene they'd love to see.

Yan Zhi pressed his lips together. 'My back hurts too. Will Huo-ge do me too?'

Huo Cheng looked at Yan Zhi, half-smiling. That mutual appreciation from before vanished in an instant.

Just then, Pei Xu suddenly spoke. 'Better get some professional therapists. Everyone gets one. The Production Team can't be that stingy.'

Yan Zhi and Huo Cheng both looked at Pei Xu.

They were both surprised Pei Xu had spoken up at this moment.

Pei Xu certainly wasn't speaking up to back Yan Zhi.

He knew what Huo Cheng was thinking.

But Huo Cheng really wasn't trying to take advantage. The camera was rolling, so many people around—no matter how worked up he was, he wouldn't do something like that.

He just wanted more chances to be close to Zhai Xingchen.

He really could massage. Regular therapists couldn't compare to his hand strength.

Guo Bing couldn't decide right then, so he tossed the problem to Zhai Xingchen. 'What do you think?'

'Let's just call the therapists,' Zhai Xingchen said.

Can't have Huo Cheng massage everyone.

Huo Cheng shoved both hands in his pockets and didn't say another word. He turned to look at Pei Xu, thinking back to how Pei Xu had said earlier he understood the emotional dynamics of the Red and Blue Cabin—what did he understand? Couldn't even help out his old bro.

Didn't know how to set up the big brother.

The Production Team really did find them some massage therapists—three men and one woman.

This time the three men were very much in sync.

They each picked a male therapist.

Left the female therapist for Zhai Xingchen.

Liu Screenwriter commented, 'Men really are all like this. Super weird possessiveness.'

But unexpectedly, among the four professional therapists, the female therapist had the strongest hands.

Zhai Xingchen was groaning from the massage.

That's how massage feels—painful and good and a little itchy.

The sounds that come out are naturally like that too.

His groaning made the three men beside him blush to their ears. Not one dared make a sound—all obediently lying face down.

'Turn over,' the therapist said. 'Do the front.'

'....No need.' Huo Cheng said softly. For someone so roguish, his voice was gentle for the first time.

He didn't need it. Neither did Pei Xu or Yan Zhi.

Guo Bing and the others looked at the people on camera and burst into silent laughter.