34: Chapter 34 Takeoff from Wuhu, then a spectacular crash.

"You... didn't you say you were changing your shoes? Where are your shoes?"

Director Zhou's voice carried a hint of disbelief.

Lu Li looked down at his own flip-flops, raised his head, and put on a very sincere expression.

"I suddenly realized I only brought one pair of shoes. If they get wet later, I won't have any shoes to wear."

The beach fell silent for a moment.

Everyone else was dumbfounded. What the hell do you mean you don't have shoes to wear! You're an artist, for crying out loud, you shouldn't be so poor that you don't even have shoes, right?

Netizens in the live broadcast room instantly burst into laughter.

[Hhahahaha what the heck???]

[Other celebrities bring a whole box of shoes to the show, but Slacker Brother only brings one pair?]

[No, wait, is he actually poor?]

[I don't usually believe others when they complain about being poor, but when Lu Li does it, I genuinely believe it. This kid hasn't had a good life since he was little.]

[Bottom-tier obscure celebrity confirmed; he's so poor he only has one pair of shoes.]

[I'm dying of laughter. Look at Zhou Yichen's expression right next to him; the word 'disgust' is written all over his face.]

[Even Xu Hao is stunned. This guy's whole vibe is just pure authenticity, huh?]

[The director must be ready to curse. It's the damn first time seeing a guest like this.]

Director Zhou took a deep breath, trying hard to keep his composure.

"So you plan to run in this pair of shoes now?"

Lu Li glanced down at his flip-flops, kicked his legs, and sent both shoes flying out. They landed precisely in an open space nearby, neatly stacked on top of each other.

He stepped onto the sand barefoot, wiggled his big toes unconsciously, and looked up at Director Zhou.

"No, I'll just take off my shoes."

The sea breeze blew past, rustling the coconut grove.

Another bout of silence fell around them.

Everyone's gaze fell upon Lu Li's bare feet, and their lips twitched involuntarily.

"What a clown, just wait to eat our dust behind us later." Zhou Yichen couldn't help but sneer inwardly, filled with extreme contempt.

Lin Mo, however, gave Lu Li another look, a flash of surprise flitting through his eyes.

Running barefoot?

On this kind of inflatable runway, it's fine if it's dry, but if it gets wet, it might become even more slippery. Of course, it's still better than slippers.

On the other side, Director Zhou waved his hand speechlessly.

"Fine, suit yourself."

"Alrighty."

Lu Li nodded and calmly walked over to Shen Qingxue, who was doing warm-up exercises.

As for losing face, are you kidding me? Can you eat your pride? Besides, does he even have any face to lose?

Shen Qingxue didn't pay much attention to Lu Li's attitude. She just glanced at him, withdrew her gaze, and continued with her simple stretching movements.

Lu Li stood next to her, stepping on the sand barefoot, wiggling his toes to feel the temperature of the sand.

Hmm, not hot, just right.

"You're not warming up?"

Shen Qingxue asked without even raising her head.

Lu Li was slightly stunned, looked down at his own state, and then looked at the stretching exercises Shen Qingxue was doing.

"No need, right? It's just running or something, we're not going to the Olympics."

Shen Qingxue didn't speak again and continued her stretches, her movements surprisingly standard.

Watching her serious and by-the-book manner, Lu Li couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

This sister is seriously dedicated; she's completely different from those who just come on the show to slack off and pad their screen time.

After thinking about it, Lu Li still copied her movements and stretched a few times, just in case she formed a bad opinion of him later.

On the other side, all the obstacles on the runway had been activated. Staff members stood beside the starting line with stopwatches in hand, ready to record the times.

However, there was only one runway, so everyone needed to take turns by groups. The order was based on the rankings from yesterday's voting session.

"Alright! First group, get ready!" Director Zhou raised his megaphone.

Everyone's gazes immediately concentrated on the starting line.

Zhou Yichen and Su Qing stood still, separated by a distance of about half a meter—neither too far nor too close, just right.

Zhou Yichen tilted his head slightly, glanced at Su Qing, and a confident arc curved the corner of his mouth.

"Keep up with me."

Su Qing nodded vigorously, her eyes filled with trust.

The bullet comments in the live broadcast room began flooding in at this moment.

[Here they come, here they come! The first group!]

[Zhou Yichen's gear looks quite professional. He should run pretty well, right?]

[Su Qing, come on! Don't hold us back!]

[To the person above, the way you phrase that makes it sound like Su Qing is bound to hold everyone back.]

[As a matter of fact, Zhou Yichen's athletic ability is definitely stronger than Su Qing's. Isn't that obvious?]

[Can you guys stop tearing one down to praise the other?]

The bullet comments argued animatedly, while the countdown at the scene had already begun.

"Three!"

Zhou Yichen bent his knees, leaned his body forward, placed both hands on the ground, and assumed a standard starting posture.

"Two!"

Su Qing took a deep breath and prepared herself as well.

"One!"

"Start!"

As soon as Director Zhou finished speaking, Zhou Yichen kicked off hard with both legs, leaned his body forward, and then face-planted hard.

Su Qing, who had bolted out on the other side, was completely dumbfounded.

Was this letting go of the clutch too fast and then taking off???

The entire scene fell silent for a moment.

"Yichen!!!"

Su Qing let out a loud cry, turned around, and ran back, moving even faster than when she had rushed forward.

Then she squatted down and carefully reached out to help Zhou Yichen up.

"Are you okay? Where did you fall? Are you hurt?!"

At this moment, the netizens in the live stream completely laughed their heads off.

[I'm dying of laughter, this is what you call professional~]

[Let me describe it for everyone: first gear launch, RPM maxed out, quick clutch release, woohoo takeoff!]

[What the hell kind of starting posture is that? Everyone else goes forward, but he ends up going down.]

[Can you guys have some sympathy? Our big brother just fell and you're still laughing!]

[Exactly! What if something on the runway tripped him? Program Team, come out and get beaten up!]

[You two above, take a closer look at the playback. There's nothing on the runway; it's purely his left foot tripping over his right foot.]

The bullet comments flooded the screen, and the number of online viewers skyrocketed instantly.

The expressions of the guests at the scene varied, but they all tacitly maintained silence.

Xu Hao's mouth was wide open, his jaw almost dropping off.

Lin Mo's lips twitched slightly, and his gaze shifted toward the distant sea surface, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

Standing in the waiting area next to the starting line with his arms crossed, Lu Li watched this scene, the corners of his mouth twitching upward uncontrollably.

Splendid, simply too splendid.

Shen Qingxue stood next to him, gave a bland look, then withdrew her gaze and continued her stretches.

...

On the starting line, Zhou Yichen finally stood up with Su Qing's support.

He patted the sand off his body, trying to keep his movements as elegant as possible, but his slightly trembling hands and reddened ears betrayed him.

"It's fine, the ground was a bit slippery and I didn't pay attention."

Zhou Yichen forced a smile. Although his voice remained gentle, anyone could hear the awkwardness within it.

Su Qing looked at him with a heartache-filled expression, leaning over to help brush away the fine sand on his face.

"Yichen, why don't we rest for a bit first? Your hand hasn't healed yet, and you took another fall..."

"No need."

Zhou Yichen's voice suddenly rose a bit, then quickly lowered, maintaining a mild tone.

"No need, let's continue. I can do it."

Su Qing looked at his expression, her lips moved, but she ultimately didn't say anything more.

Before long, the two walked back to the starting line.

This time, Zhou Yichen was much more well-behaved. He didn't put on airs or assume that starting posture again, but instead jogged carefully across with Su Qing.