Shackles of Love

After the production team announced "Start the treasure hunt," the three groups of guests immediately dispersed and headed to their respective treasure locations.

The weather was exceptionally nice today. It was sunny but not too hot, with fluffy clouds dotting the blue sky. Before me lay the sapphire-blue sea, behind me stood well-arranged buildings, and in my ears was a concerto of waves and seabirds.

Their first clue was the beach, and the three of them walked along the shore in the direction the map indicated.

Ding Xuefei had never had such a difficult journey in his life. He and Yu Songlin were like playing a three-legged race, but with extremely poor teamwork. Xu Yimeng was actively circling around them, flying around like a little elf, making the two bound together seem even more unable to move.

Unable to wait any longer, Xu Yimeng ran ahead to clear the way, leaving Ding Xuefei and Yu Songlin behind, still getting used to the prop.

The main one is Ding Xuefei.

He was completely unaccustomed to being so close to Yu Songlin. He said, "Just do your own thing," but his body unconsciously kept its distance. Every two steps he took, he would be pulled back by the rope.

Yu Songlin was trying to keep up with Ding Xuefei's pace, but sometimes when he wanted to observe clues, he couldn't hold Ding Xuefei back, and they inevitably ended up pulling at each other and stumbling.

Xu Yimeng, watching from the front, chuckled and teased, "Are you two dancing the tango?"

Looking at Ding Xuefei, whose displeasure was written all over his face, Yu Songlin smiled helplessly and sighed, "It seems that Brother Xuefei and I really don't have much chemistry."

Ding Xuefei glared at him. If he could do it all over again, he would never, ever be grouped with Yu Songlin. Now, he would do anything as long as these handcuffs could be removed!

Sweetie: [Really? OvO?]

Ding Xuefei: "Of course not! 'Today's Exemption Card' warning!"

As they were walking awkwardly, Yu Songlin suddenly said, "Do you know what I'm thinking about?"

"What? What!" Xu Yimeng was very supportive.

"Thinking of Nicholas."

Ding Xuefei paused in her steps.

Xu Yimeng asked, puzzled, "What are those? Foreign actors?"

"It's my very, very important pet..." Yu Songlin smiled gently at the camera. "I love it very much."

In other words, it was his dog.

Ding Xuefei was speechless at being called a dog, shocked by Yu Songlin's shamelessness, and then reminded of Nicholas...

That was a stray dog ​​that Yu Songlin picked up. Its nickname was Nico. It was a mixed breed, with white fur. When it was first picked up, it was very small and shy. Later, it became much more lively and affectionate after being raised. Every time it saw Ding Xuefei, it would wag its tail and run to him, affectionately rub his legs, and circle around him.

Xu Yimeng laughed loudly beside them, mocking them for being each other's dog owners.

Yu Songlin turned to look at Ding Xuefei and noticed that his expression was not good. He gave him a questioning look, but Ding Xuefei did not reply and turned away and walked forward.

He could overlook Yu Songlin's comment about calling him a dog, because Nico was cute.

The real reason Ding Xuefei was unhappy was that Yu Songlin brought up the past so easily.

On the day they broke up, Ding Xuefei specially bought some very good canned food to feed Nicholas, but the little white dog seemed to have a premonition that day. It wouldn't eat the canned food, but just looked at him with its big, bright black eyes and made a "woof" sound.

Ding Xuefei can still recall the feeling when he squatted on the ground and looked into Nico's eyes. He didn't know why things had come to this point, and he really couldn't bear to let it go.

However, Nicholas isn't really a thing of the past. It still occasionally appears on Yu Songlin's social media. It's still cute. It's just a memory for Ding Xuefei.

Thinking about this, Ding Xuefei found it hard to laugh.

*

Taking advantage of the distance of the camera, Yu Songlin covered the microphone and leaned closer to speak to Ding Xuefei.

Cheer up.

Ding Xuefei retorted rudely, "What's it to you?"

Yu Songlin maintained his expression but sighed and said, "It's okay if you give me a cold shoulder, just be careful not to get caught on camera."

Her hand was touched briefly, then immediately separated. Whether it was intentional or unintentional, it was clear it was well-intentioned. Ding Xuefei said, "I know."

So Yu Songlin took advantage of the situation and hooked Ding Xuefei's palm with his little finger. Seeing that she was about to explode, he reminded her, "Watch your expression."

Ding Xuefei abruptly pulled her hand away, causing Yu Songlin to move as well. Following Yu Songlin's advice, the tense expression on her face was no longer visible.

After walking a distance, he finally began to try to adapt to Yu Songlin's pace. Except for occasionally touching the back of his hand, he was no longer being pulled.

Just as Ding Xuefei found her rhythm, she suddenly heard Xu Yimeng's cheerful shout: "We've arrived! The first mission point!"

This is a small, enclosed stretch of beach. You can see that there are many more seashells here than outside. The sunlight shines on the seashells, making them shimmer and sparkle.

Xu Yimeng was the first to squat down and search, then looked up and waved to the two of them: "Brother Xuefei, Brother Lin! Come and find the clues, they're in these seashells!"

Ding Xuefei searched around and suddenly saw a pale corner of white sand peeking out. He quickly squatted down, while Yu Songlin was searching in the opposite direction. Caught off guard, he was pulled and stumbled, only managing to steady himself by bracing his hand on Ding Xuefei's shoulder.

What are you doing?!

Yu Songlin's hand rested near Ding Xuefei's neck, his fingertips tracing across Ding Xuefei's bare skin, feeling as if that skin was on fire. Ding Xuefei knew he didn't mean it, but he still couldn't help turning around and yelling at him.

Yu Songlin quickly withdrew his hand and raised it high to show his innocence: "It wasn't intentional, please forgive me, Brother Xuefei."

Ding Xuefei put the shell that wasn't a clue back on the ground, and couldn't help but laugh when she saw Yu Songlin's innocent yet nervous expression.

"Stop flirting, you two! Hurry up and find it!" Xu Yimeng shouted to them from the other side of the Shell Ranch.

Ding Xuefei was about to say, "Which eye of yours saw you flirting?" when Yu Songlin replied good-naturedly, "Okay, we're looking for it."

After her wrists ached twice from being pulled, Ding Xuefei finally realized that this job couldn't be done by two people, and coldly gave the order:

"You, come with me."

"good."

Ding Xuefei squatted down and searched the sand, only to find that the sunlight on the sand in front of her was blocked. Then, an even paler and stronger hand joined in.

Yu Songlin squatted down beside him, his hands tied together hanging limply at his sides. He said, "Let me help you."

Ding Xuefei wanted to argue with him, but considering they still needed to find the treasure... she decided to let it go!

He simply said in a muffled voice, "Find it quickly."

The collaboration went much more smoothly after that. The three of them searched in the sand for about ten minutes, and finally, Ding Xuefei turned over a seashell and found the program's logo underneath!

"Found it! It's here!"

Ding Xuefei and Yu Songlin exchanged a glance, both with smiles in their eyes.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Ding Xuefei stood up too abruptly, her vision blurred, and she almost fell backward. At the critical moment, her back was firmly supported, and Ding Xuefei regained her composure before she could recover. By then, the hand behind her had already been withdrawn.

"Could you please get me some water? And do you have any sugar?" Yu Songlin called out to the distance.

The staff quickly brought water and sugar, which Yu Songlin took, unscrewed the cap, and handed to Ding Xuefei first.

"I'm fine..."

Ding Xuefei wanted to refuse, but seeing that Yu Songlin's face was not smiling and he was just holding up the water bottle, he knew that he couldn't refuse. So he took two sips from Yu Songlin's hand, and the latter's expression softened a bit.

After drinking the water, Ding Xuefei shook her head when Yu Songlin offered her a candy: "I don't have low blood sugar."

"Okay." Yu Songlin casually stuffed the candy into Ding Xuefei's pocket. "Take this for now."

Before the recording officially began, Yu Songlin asked Ding Xuefei, "How are your hands?"

Ding Xuefei was embarrassed to say that it hurt a little. Forces are reciprocal; he and Yu Songlin should have been in the same amount of pain.

But he's just really afraid of pain.

He raised his wrist, and Yu Songlin fiddled with the handcuffs, discovering that they were indeed half red.

Yu Songlin frowned and said gently, "Are you feeling unwell? I have a solution."

"explain."

I'm afraid you won't like to hear it.

"...You go first."

Yu Songlin extended his handcuffed hand and laid it flat in front of Ding Xuefei. His hand was slender yet strong, with a healthier complexion than Ding Xuefei's, more prominent bluish-purple veins, long fingers, and slightly protruding knuckles.

He gave a bright, sunny smile: "Hold my hand."

Ding Xuefei was momentarily captivated by Yu Songlin's innocent expression. After regaining her senses, her face flushed, and she slapped him down without hesitation, making a crisp "smack" sound.

"I don't want to!"

Ding Xuefei thought with red ears, "He must be out of his mind to rely on Yu Songlin. It would be a miracle if this guy came up with any good ideas!"

Xu Yimeng was already studying the clues they had painstakingly found when she turned around and saw the two arguing again. She shook her head.

"What are you doing! Hurry up! It's over there!" She pointed towards the distant reefs.

Yu Songlin took the map from Xu Yimeng, and Ding Xuefei, with perfect understanding, used her other hand to hold the map up.

"They found it so quickly."

Xu Yimeng looked at Yu Songlin with a complicated expression: "Why do I feel like you sound so regretful, Brother Lin?"

"Really? I'm just complimenting you." Yu Songlin smiled. "Tell me quickly, where is the treasure?"

Xu Yimeng took out the circular icon hidden under the seashell and found that the same icon was located on the southeast coast of the map.

"Let's go then!" Ding Xuefei ignored the conversation between Xu Yimeng and Yu Songlin. He had figured it out. If he wanted to get the handcuffs off, he had to complete the mission quickly. So now he didn't want to think about anything else. He just wanted to finish recording as soon as possible and get them off!

"Could this be the place?"

After walking for a while, Xu Yimeng, holding a map, stopped beside a small cave.

Sunlight couldn't penetrate; the cave was pitch black, without a single ray of light.

"No way?" Ding Xuefei still held onto a sliver of hope. "There must be some mistake."

"That's it!" Xu Yimeng suddenly exclaimed, pointing to the side of the cave entrance where the program crew's markings were.

"Shall we go in?"

Yu Songlin and Ding Xuefei exchanged a glance, and Ding Xuefei's resistance was still too early to hide.

Ding Xuefei is a prime example of someone who is both incompetent and loves to have fun. She boasts that she is very brave and is seen by her fans as a fearless and dominant woman. However, in reality, she is afraid to even watch ghost movies and becomes the laughing stock of everyone every time she enters a haunted house.

No fans knew he was a coward, but Yu Songlin did.

That cave looked dangerous; he didn't believe there wasn't some kind of design inside!

Ding Xuefei now faces two choices: one is to go in and be frightened (or perhaps not), and the other is not to go in.

But if he doesn't go in, it means Yu Songlin can't go in either. Is Xu Yimeng, a young girl, supposed to go alone? That would be so ungentlemanly! It's better to go in and be scared out of her wits!

"Whether you stick your neck out or not, you'll get stabbed anyway," Ding Xuefei thought. He'd been to haunted houses several times before, so he wasn't necessarily going to be scared. In short, his goal was to get free!

Let's go!