43: Chapter 43 She drew abs, and the entire internet fell silent.

Director Pei Zhao stood by the pool, holding a tablet vertically with the screen facing outward.

"The first game—the water ejection version of Pictionary."

She swiped the screen.

"The rules are simple. CP pairs decide for themselves who draws and who guesses. The person drawing can only draw; they cannot write any words. If the guesser answers incorrectly or someone else answers correctly first, they will be ejected into the pool."

She paused.

"The prompt is the same for everyone. The first pair to answer correctly wins; everyone else goes into the water."

Five ejection seats were lined up along the edge of the pool, with partitions between each seat to block the view.

The comments were already scrolling by—

[This game is genius!]

[Get it wrong and you fly! Hahahaha!]

[Brother Li is paired with Jiang Rumu... I'll start by holding a moment of silence for three seconds.]

The male guests exchanged glances.

Shen Jue scratched his head. "Um... who's sitting in the ejection seat?"

Cen Ye, with a cigarette in his mouth, bared his canine teeth. "Duh, the guys sit."

Han Xubai adjusted his contact lenses. "As gentlemen, I think this is only right."

Gu Zeyan deliberated for three seconds. "It's to protect the ladies, after all."

Li Li didn't waste words; he walked to the seat on the far left and sat down.

Jiang Rumu followed him, clutching a marker in her hand with the drawing board tucked under her arm.

"I'm terrible at drawing."

Li Li looked up. "It's fine."

"I'm really terrible."

"I kn—" He paused, then switched words, "I'm mentally prepared."

Jiang Rumu gripped the marker tightly. "Then why are you sitting there?"

"Just draw something simple, and I'll try to guess."

The rhythm of the comments changed—

["Just draw something simple, and I'll try to guess"—what kind of sentence is that?]

[Dying of laughter, he's already lowering his expectations.]

[Brother Li, you have no idea how terrifying Jiang Rumu's drawing skills are.]

All five male guests were seated.

The female guests stood behind their respective CP partners, holding the drawing boards.

Director Pei Zhao held up the tablet.

"First prompt—pig."

On the TV screen at the far end of the pool, a cartoon pig image lit up.

Jiang Rumu stared at the pig for two seconds.

How do you draw a pig?

She looked down at the drawing board. Her marker hovered in mid-air, not touching the board.

A "swish-swish-swish" sound came from nearby.

Qi Wanyin had already finished.

A circle, two dots.

A pig nose.

Cen Ye glanced at it. "Pig!"

"Whoosh—"

The other four male guests were simultaneously ejected.

Li Li flipped in mid-air, landing on his back.

Bang.

The water splashed up.

Shen Jue slammed into the water right after him, stunned for three seconds before surfacing.

"Damn it! That hurts!"

Han Xubai stood up in the water; his contact lens had shifted, and he squinted while blindly wiping his face.

Gu Zeyan floated on the water, struggling to maintain his composure.

Li Li swam to the edge of the pool, vaulted up with one hand, and shook out his hair.

Jiang Rumu crouched nearby, still clutching the drawing board, which was blank.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's fine."

He turned his head and glanced at the drawing board on Qi Wanyin's side.

A circle and two dots.

Cen Ye had guessed it just like that.

Comments:

[Qi Wanyin got it done with just a pig nose!]

[And Jiang Rumu didn't even have time to draw the pig...]

[Brother Li: My teammate hasn't even put pen to paper yet.]

---

The five male guests sat back in the ejection seats.

Director Pei Zhao swiped the tablet.

"Second prompt—tablet computer."

Jiang Rumu drew very quickly this time.

A rectangle.

Done.

She held up the drawing board.

Li Li stared at the rectangle for three seconds.

"...Cutting board?"

"Whoosh—"

He flew off again.

Bang.

On Qi Wanyin's side—a rectangle with a circular button added in the bottom right corner.

Cen Ye glanced at it. "Tablet computer."

"Correct."

Shen Jue shouted in mid-air. "Damn it! Again!"

Han Xubai flew. Gu Zeyan flew.

Only Cen Ye remained seated.

Qi Wanyin took back the drawing board, expressionless, and capped her marker.

Cen Ye gave her a thumbs-up. "Partner, you're awesome."

Qi Wanyin ignored him.

But she capped the marker even more firmly.

The trend of the comments changed—

[What kind of synergy do Cen Ye and Qi Wanyin have? Are they cheating?]

[Jiang Rumu's rectangle... it really does look like a cutting board.]

[Brother Li is already soaked for the second time; his hair is plastered to his face, hahahaha.]

Li Li climbed out of the water, not saying anything this time.

Jiang Rumu crouched by the pool, her fingers gripping the marker cap so hard her nails turned white.

"I... I really can't draw..."

Li Li wiped the water from his face. "It's fine. Next time, draw something with distinct features."

"What kind of features?"

"Details. Distinguishing details."

Jiang Rumu nodded vigorously. "Okay."

---

The five male guests sat back in the ejection seats for the third time.

Director Pei Zhao swiped the tablet, glanced at the screen, and his smile took on a different tone.

"Third prompt—abs."

A fitness photo appeared on the TV screen, with the abdominal muscles highlighted in a red box.

Jiang Rumu stared at the image for two seconds.

Abs?

This is simple—it has details, it has features. She remembered.

She looked down and drew rapidly with the marker.

Three seconds.

Finished.

She held the drawing board up in front of Li Li.

Li Li glanced at it.

He froze completely.

On the drawing board—

A pillar.

A head.

Six wavy lines, arranged in two columns, three in each column.

Li Li tilted his head to the right and pursed his lips.

That expression—wanting to speak, not daring to, yet unable to hold it in.

The comments went blank for three seconds.

Then they exploded from the bottom—

[??????]

[Jiang Rumu, what on earth did you draw?!]

[Six wavy lines... two columns... what did I just see?]

[That's not abs! That's—]

[Shut up, upstairs! This is a proper variety show!]

[I screenshotted Brother Li's expression, hahahahahaha.]

Li Li stared at the six wavy lines on the board and opened his mouth.

"...Ab—"

He didn't finish the sentence.

A voice came from Cen Ye's side.

"Abs!"

"Whoosh—"

Li Li flew off again.

"—s..."

A word came from the air.

This time he flipped twice in mid-air and landed face-first in the water.

Bang!

The splash was higher than the previous two times.

Shen Jue flew out right after, shouting in mid-air. "That's the third time!!!"

Han Xubai flew. Gu Zeyan flew.

All four slammed into the water simultaneously.

The comments weren't just scrolling; they were screaming—

[Brother Li, three rounds in a row! Three rounds!]

[I can laugh at those six wavy lines for a whole year.]

[Jiang Rumu, do you have any idea what the thing you drew has been screenshotted as in the livestream?!]

[It's already been turned into a meme... it's spreading faster than Su Wantang's Weibo.]

Li Li surfaced from the water, not immediately climbing out.

He floated on the water, looking up at the sky.

The sun over the Persian Gulf was blindingly bright.

He closed his eyes, let out a breath, and opened them again.

Jiang Rumu crouched by the pool, her voice changed.

"I'm sorry... I really... I thought it looked quite similar..."

Li Li swam to the edge of the pool, vaulted up with one hand, water droplets dripping onto the ground from his tousled hair.

He walked in front of Jiang Rumu and stopped.

"It was drawn very well."

Jiang Rumu looked up abruptly.

"Don't draw abs next time."

She lowered her head again, turned around, and faced away from the camera.

The base of her neck was red.

"Okay..."

Li Li turned and walked toward the ejection chair.

He walked two steps. Stopped. Didn't look back.

"But I'm still sitting here to guess for the whole round."

Jiang Rumu was stunned for a moment.

By the time she turned back, Li Li was already sitting back in the seat.

The comments went wild—

[He got tricked three times in a row and still wants to continue???]

[What kind of person is this—is this how you city folks date?]

[Jiang Rumu, what kind of good deeds did you do in your past life?]

[Cen Ye: Qi Wanyin and I won three rounds, why is the chat only talking about them???]

---

Director Pei Zhao changed his posture, leaning against the edge of the pool.

"Fourth prompt—ice cream."

On the TV screen, the image of an ice cream cone lit up.

Jiang Rumu stared at the image for two seconds.

Ice cream.

She could draw this.

She could definitely draw this.

The marker touched the board.

A triangle with a circle on top.

Done.

She held up the drawing board, her hand trembling slightly.

Li Li glanced at it.

"Ice cream."

Director Pei Zhao nodded. "Correct."

"Whoosh—"

The other four male guests were simultaneously ejected.

Shen Jue shouted in mid-air. "Finally, it's not Brother Li!!!"

Bang, bang, bang, bang—

Four people slammed into the water simultaneously.

Li Li sat in the ejection seat, not flying.

Jiang Rumu paused for a beat.

Then she smiled.

The morning sunlight hit her face.

"We won."

Li Li stood up and patted the water off his pants.

"Yeah."

The comments scrolled very slowly—not because no one was posting, but because everyone was screenshotting the same frame.

Ice cream.

A triangle plus a circle.

He guessed it at a glance.

Someone in the comments dug up the livestream footage from two days ago—the scene where the two of them were eating ice cream side-by-side by the pool at the Burj Al Arab.

[He only took one second to guess ice cream. Before, it took him three seconds to guess cutting board.]

[It's not that her drawing skills improved. It's that he understands her too well.]

Director Pei Zhao walked over.

"The first round of the game is over; Li Li and Jiang Rumu win. Everyone, keep up the effort for the next round; there are only three prizes for three rounds of games."

She swiped the tablet.

"The prize—a dinner for two at the top-floor restaurant of the Burj Al Arab tonight."

Jiang Rumu stood in place, still clutching the marker.

She walked two steps and spoke.

"Li Li."

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

Very softly.

Li Li didn't look back.

"You're welcome."