76: Chapter 76, First Challenge Card: Heart-Shaped Photo

Lu Li quickly climbed to the spot where the rope was tied.

Afterward, he tightly hugged the tree trunk with one hand, freeing his other hand to untie the rope.

The rope was tied very tightly; his fingernails couldn't budge it after scraping twice, so he could only pull it slowly with one hand, loosening it bit by bit.

After struggling for quite a while, he finally pulled the rope down.

Holding the tree trunk with one hand and the sealed bag with the other, Lu Li looked down and almost scared himself limp.

Looking down from this height, Shen Qingxue looked like a tiny figurine.

He took a deep breath, shoved the sealed bag into his pants pocket, and began sliding down.

Sliding down was much faster than climbing up, but it was also much more dangerous. His feet couldn't get a secure footing on the tree trunk, rubbing against it rapidly, and the crotch of his pants became somewhat burning hot from the friction of the tree bark.

[Hiss, isn't this going to hurt a bit?]

[Lu Li is a real man, he's wagering the happy life of the second half of his life on this.]

[What a "happy" life.]

[Sliding down like this is bound to bring lightning and blood spurts.]

[True Iron Balls]

[It doesn't hurt, it really doesn't hurt [Crying Face].jpg]

Just as Lu Li slid halfway down, Shen Qingxue's voice came from below.

"Hold on!"

Lu Li looked down and saw that Shen Qingxue had stood beside the tree trunk at some point, looking up at him with her hands slightly open, ready to catch him at any time.

Lu Li was stunned for a moment, then didn't think much more about it and continued sliding down.

When his feet were still over a meter away from the ground, his hands finally gave out, and his whole body slid down from the tree trunk.

Shen Qingxue reached out and caught him for a moment.

To be precise, Lu Li hurled his entire body onto her, and the two of them stepped back together for two steps before stabilizing themselves.

Lying on Shen Qingxue's shoulder, Lu Li's heart was pounding wildly, and he couldn't recover for a while.

[Ah!!! Lu Li, you're truly a dog!!!]

[On purpose, I suspect he did that entirely on purpose!]

[Kill him!! Quickly kill him!!!]

[No need to suspect, he definitely did it on purpose!!]

[Kill the Lu Dog! Snatch Qingxue away!]

On the scene.

The moment Lu Li lunged into her arms, Shen Qingxue's body stiffened for half a second, and then she instinctively took a step back.

Lu Li also hurriedly let go of his hands and took a step back, putting half a meter of distance between the two of them again.

"Ahem... Found it."

Lu Li pulled the sealed bag out of his pants pocket and waved it in front of Shen Qingxue, attempting to ease the awkwardness.

Shen Qingxue's gaze fell on the sealed bag in his hand without replying, but there was a faint flush at the tips of her ears.

Lu Li didn't notice these details, opened the sealed bag, and pulled out a card from inside.

The front of the card was printed with the words "Heartbeat 72 Hours · Challenge Card", and the back had the challenge task written on it.

Lu Li glanced at it and then read it out word by word.

"Make a heart pose?! In front of the camera operated by the staff, make a heart-shaping gesture, take a photo for the record, and gain the staff's approval to be considered task completion."

He read the task aloud, then looked up at Shen Qingxue with a hint of disbelief on his expression.

"That's it?"

Shen Qingxue took the card, lowered her head to glance at it, confirmed the content was correct, and then handed the card back to him.

"It seems so."

Lu Li couldn't help laughing.

"Really just this? I thought those challenge tasks were all meant to make things difficult for us; I didn't expect the Program Team to actually act like decent human beings for once."

[I'm dying of laughter. Constantly messed with by the Program Team, and when they finally act normal for once, it scared the poor kid so much he lost his confidence.]

[I always feel it's not that simple.]

[I have a hunch that the Program Team is brewing something big.]

[Plus one, I don't believe the Program Team would be so kind either.]

Soon, Lu Li stuffed the card back into his pants pocket and turned his head to look around.

He quickly spotted a staff member carrying a camera at the entrance of the villa.

Lu Li and Shen Qingxue walked over and handed that card to the staff member.

The staff member glanced at the content and immediately straightened up.

"Two teachers, are you going to do this challenge?"

"Yes."

Lu Li nodded, then pointed at his camera.

"Shoot right here?"

"Yes, right here. Any pose is fine, just make a heart gesture."

As the staff member spoke, they had already aimed the camera lens at the two of them.

Lu Li and Shen Qingxue stood side by side, with a distance of about half a meter between them.

The sea breeze blew over, blowing Shen Qingxue's hair a bit messy, and she raised her hand to tuck it behind her ear.

Lu Li glanced at her, then raised his right hand, making half a heart shape, waiting for Shen Qingxue to complete the other half.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Shen Qingxue didn't move.

Lu Li turned his head to look at her, lowering his voice.

"Go ahead and make it."

Shen Qingxue glanced at him, raised her right hand expressionlessly, paused in the air for a moment, and then extended her index and middle fingers to make a V-sign.

Lu Li was stunned for a moment.

"No, it's a heart pose, why are you making a V-sign?"

Shen Qingxue put her hand down expressionlessly.

"I don't know how."

Lu Li's mouth twitched.

"What's hard about that? Just like this..."

Lu Li raised his right hand again, forming half a heart shape.

"Look, how simple."

Shen Qingxue looked at his hand and was silent for a split second.

Thinking she understood, Lu Li put his hand down and waited for her to do it.

As a result, Shen Qingxue raised her hand, pressed her thumb and index finger together, and made an... OK gesture.

Lu Li took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Are you doing this on purpose?"

Shen Qingxue looked at him expressionlessly.

"No."

[Hahahahahaha I'm dying of laughter, the Goddess is doing this on purpose, right?]

[No way, you don't even know how to make a heart pose? Goddess, are you serious?]

[I suspect she's just teasing Lu Li. Look at her expression; she clearly understands everything yet acts like she doesn't understand anything at all.]

[Lu Li's helpless expression is identical to when I teach my grandma how to use a smartphone.]

[The Goddess making a V-sign and an OK sign is so cute ahhhhh.]

[How could the Goddess be willing to do such a cheesy pose like a heart? Lu Li, stop making things hard for her.]

[You upstairs are right, the Goddess is elegant and not suited for such down-to-earth poses.]

[Actually, I suspect the Goddess did it on purpose. Who told Lu Li to throw himself onto her just now?]

The bullet comments flew past rapidly, but the atmosphere at the scene grew increasingly subtle.

The staff member stood opposite them carrying the camera, aiming the lens steadily at the two of them, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Looking at Shen Qingxue's expressionless face, Lu Li suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

"Fine, then I'll change the way."

As he spoke, he walked to Shen Qingxue's left side, then stretched out his hand toward the camera, shaping a complete heart.

"I don't need you to make it anymore, I can finish it all by myself, okay?"

Meanwhile, watching Lu Li making a heart shape toward the camera, the corners of Shen Qingxue's mouth twitched slightly upward.

Just as the staff member was about to reject Lu Li.

Shen Qingxue suddenly slapped down one of Lu Li's hands, and then nonchalantly pressed her own hand against it, completely forming a heart shape.

Lu Li looked at Shen Qingxue in astonishment, not having reacted yet.

As for Shen Qingxue, she turned her head to the other side, avoiding eye contact with Lu Li, but the heart-making action of her hands did not stop.

The staff member seized the opportunity to press the shutter.

Click.

"Challenge completed!"

The staff member lowered their head to take a look at the photo.

In the photo, the two of them were making heart shapes with their hands, but their expressions were different; one turned her head away to feign nonchalance, and a slight blush could still be seen around her neck.

While the other was looking at the other's profile with astonishment.

This scene might look exceptionally strange if taken out individually, but combined together, it inexplicably felt harmonious.

The staff member took another couple of looks at the photo, then subconsciously revealed a doting auntie smile, making an OK gesture toward the two of them.

"The two of you can look for the next challenge."