LABMY CH137

When Jian Yuanbai and Pei Yao, both dressed in black, appeared by the poolside, their CP name was born.

Jian Yuanbai, with his pure body, X Pei Yao, the holy lotus.
CP name: Pure Lotus.

Netizens were shocked into laughter by this unprecedentedly explosive CP name in the entertainment industry, while the people in the show remained completely unaware.

Although Pei Yao felt a little embarrassed by the teasing from the other guests and had a rough idea that the audience would react to it, he hadn’t expected that a large number of compilation videos featuring their dialogue would be circulating widely online, gaining quite a bit of traction.

• “I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m dying of secondhand embarrassment watching this video.”
  
• “Did they really say these things without curling their toes in shame? I’m torn between laughing and cringing.”
   
• “Not sure if Pei Yao is embarrassed, but Jian Yuanbai is definitely proud.”
   
• “What do I do? I think I’m becoming a fan of Jian Yuanbai! He’s handsome, considerate, and even proudly upholding the virtue of keeping himself pure for his wife—what a role model for men!”

If Pei Yao knew that the embarrassing moments he refused to recall had been edited into videos and spread across the internet, he probably wouldn’t have been able to focus on the game at hand.

The game rules were simple: six people stood on a floating platform in the middle of the pool, waiting for the show’s staff to throw cards into the water.

As the group waited somewhat nervously, a large balloon suddenly burst above them, sending colorful streamers and countless cards fluttering down into the pool.

The director, speaking with amusement, announced, “You need to find and keep hold of a card with a red heart on it for more than three minutes.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the guests scrambled to grab the falling cards. If they found the wrong one, they instinctively tossed it aside and reached for another.

Jian Yuanbai casually picked up a card, saw the red heart on it, and fell silent for two seconds before quietly hiding it behind his back.

Chu Caiyang, who had sharp eyes, immediately noticed. “What are you hiding?”

Jian Yuanbai looked back at him with an innocent and composed expression. “I’m not hiding anything.”

Chu Caiyang raised his voice. “Jian Yuanbai has the card!!!”

The others, still floundering in the water, instantly turned their heads, all eyes locked onto Jian Yuanbai’s hand behind his back.

Jian Yuanbai handed the card to Pei Yao, grabbed his wrist, and jumped off the floating platform. With a powerful dive, they swam several meters away.

Each pair of teammates was connected by an elastic band around their wrists—a symbol of their partnership, but also a restriction when trying to seize the card. The band limited their range, tethering them together and making movement less convenient. However, as pairs, they inevitably had more physical contact, which was clearly part of the show’s intended effect.

As Wan Yuda and the gym owner lunged forward to snatch the card from Pei Yao’s hand, Jian Yuanbai suddenly reversed his grip and pressed down on the gym owner’s shoulder, pushing him backward through the water.

The gym owner looked at him in shock. To an outsider, it seemed like he had simply stumbled back a few steps due to the water resistance, but he knew that the technique Jian Yuanbai had used was something an ordinary person could never pull off.

Jian Yuanbai single-handedly shielded Pei Yao behind him. For the entire three minutes, none of the other four managed to even touch Pei Yao.

When the whistle blew to mark the end of the countdown, Chu Caiyang took a couple of deep breaths, wiped the water from his face, and waved a hand. “Jian Yuanbai, what kind of stamina monster are you?”

Wan Yuda scowled, while his teammate, the gym owner, let out a bitter laugh. “You’re not just an ordinary bodyguard, are you? I’ve trained before, but your physical ability is terrifying.”

One versus four, yet he didn’t lose ground at all. His reflexes were frighteningly sharp, and in those three minutes, the four of them hadn’t even brushed Pei Yao’s sleeve.

Even the director’s team hadn’t expected the game to end so quickly. In their initial plan, it was supposed to be a chaotic struggle, with the card barely staying in one person’s possession for the required three minutes.

So the director improvised. “We’ll take a three-minute break, and then we’ll start round two.”

Chu Caiyang: “Huh? There’s a second round?”

The director smiled. “Best two out of three.”

He conveniently left out the fact that this rule had just been made up on the spot and didn’t explain why he hadn’t mentioned it earlier. The six guests all tacitly chose not to question it.

During the break, Pei Yao leaned in closer to Jian Yuanbai and said, “You don’t have to completely protect me. I can put in some effort too. That way, you won’t get so tired.”

To his surprise, Jian Yuanbai rejected the idea outright. “No.”

He kept a straight face and spoke righteously. “Think about what kind of show this is.”

Pei Yao hesitated. “…‘Chas Love! Brother’—a dating variety show?”

Jian Yuanbai smacked him on the shoulder. “Exactly! And what kind of people are they?”

“…Gay men?”

Jian Yuanbai glanced at the others, gritted his teeth, and muttered, “And they’re all nearly naked, nine-tenths exposed!”

“How could I let you run around in a pool, playing tag with them?”

Before Pei Yao could respond, Chu Caiyang, who had been listening from the side, chimed in. “You know, your voices aren’t that quiet.”

Jian Yuanbai remained unfazed. “Ignore it. I was just saying they’re not following the principles of virtuous manhood.”

Everyone struggled to hold back their laughter, while Chu Caiyang outright chuckled. “We’re all wearing proper swim trunks. It’s standard swimwear that’s acceptable in public places.”

Jian Yuanbai raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

He gestured in front of him. “You’re 1.8 meters tall, right? Your swim trunks are about 30 centimeters. That means 1.5 meters of your body is exposed.”

Jian Yuanbai, with scientific precision, corrected himself. “Apologies. Not nine-tenths naked—only six-tenths.”

Suddenly, Wan Yuda sneered. “By that logic, what about young girls wearing skirts on the street? What would you call that?”

He was clearly trying to trap Jian Yuanbai, forcing him into either contradicting himself or offending a large group of women.

Without even looking at him, Jian Yuanbai smirked but spoke seriously. “Wearing pretty clothes in public is everyone’s right, regardless of gender.”

“Wearing swim trunks at the beach or pool is perfectly fine,” he continued, face stern, voice firm. “But you’re all a bunch of gay men!”

Jian Yuanbai even stood up. “This is a dating show! This is like agreeing to meet someone for the first time and immediately going to a bathhouse together!”

“I refuse to let anyone tarnish my boss’s pure and sacred body!”

Pei Yao shot up, practically throwing himself at him to cover his mouth, his expression on the verge of breaking down. He squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m begging you. Shut up.”

Half his body was practically in Jian Yuanbai’s arms. Caught off guard by the sudden gag, Jian Yuanbai instinctively wrapped an arm around Pei Yao’s waist, about to explain himself. But when Pei Yao sensed he was about to speak, he instinctively pinched a small section of skin on Jian Yuanbai’s hand.

Jian Yuanbai let out a small hiss of pain and, under Pei Yao’s flustered and angry glare, shut his mouth.

The other guests were all laughing, the production crew was in stitches, and the comment section was flooded with waves of “hahahaha.”

• “Jian Yuanbai isn’t just protecting his own purity—he’s guarding Pei Yao’s too.”
   
• “Pure Lotus! Hahahahaha! Or should we call them Sacred Flesh Lotus?”
   
• “He called them gay, but isn’t he possibly gay too?”
   
• “Nobody could even touch Pei Yao in the pool, but Pei Yao jumped on him, and he just went straight for the waist. Oh, so if you’re straight, this is totally fine, huh?”

The three-minute break passed quickly. In this round, Chu Caiyang’s group was the first to find the red heart card, but they failed to keep it for three minutes. In the end, the winners were still Jian Yuanbai and Pei Yao’s group.

After that, there were no more scheduled group activities. Instead, each pair of guests spent time alone together. In the evening, everyone returned to the villa to prepare dinner together.

While gathering ingredients for the beachside barbecue and camping, the CEO suddenly asked, “How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

Wan Yuda saw that he was asking Chu Caiyang, who was a senior in the entertainment industry, and quickly expressed his concern as well. “What’s wrong?”

Chu Caiyang shook his head. “It’s nothing, just a slight fever.”

Wan Yuda grew nervous. “A fever? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Chu Caiyang said, “No need. I probably stayed in the pool too long during the day. It doesn’t feel too serious. I think I’ll be fine after drinking some water and getting some sleep.”

“Or does anyone have fever medicine?”

While picking vegetables, Pei Yao said, “Jian Yuanbai brought some. He has a lot of medicine. On the first day, when I had a stomachache, he gave me some stomach pain relief medicine. It’s just that…”

He hesitated, remembering that Jian Yuanbai charged money for his medicine. If Jian Yuanbai really charged Chu Caiyang, it would definitely affect his reputation online.

Just as Pei Yao mentioned Jian Yuanbai, they saw him walking in from outside. Pei Yao leaned closer, moved aside his earpiece, and whispered, “Chu Caiyang has a fever. I’ll pay for the medicine, just don’t say you’re charging him.”

As soon as Pei Yao finished speaking, Wan Yuda strode over. “You have fever medicine, right? Chu Caiyang has a fever.”

Jian Yuanbai calmly shook his head. “I don’t have fever medicine.”

Wan Yuda immediately raised his voice in accusation. “Hey, what’s your deal?”

But Jian Yuanbai ignored him completely and turned to go into his room. Furious, Wan Yuda chased after him. Chu Caiyang, saying it was fine, followed as well, and soon, everyone else trailed behind them.

They watched as Jian Yuanbai opened his suitcase and displayed its contents in front of them. “This is everything I have. The only medicine I brought is this one.”

The word “stomach” was prominently displayed on the medicine box. Without even picking it up, everyone could see it was for stomach issues.

Jian Yuanbai figured that Pei Yao must have believed him before and, upon hearing that Chu Caiyang was sick, wanted to help, so he said he had medicine.

Rather than explaining himself, it was better to lay out the facts.

The barbecue and camping preparations continued, while Chu Caiyang, at everyone’s insistence, left the island temporarily to go to the hospital.

After eating and drinking their fill at the barbecue, Pei Yao went looking for Jian Yuanbai, who was sitting alone on the beach, watching the deep sea under the night sky.

Standing behind him, Pei Yao hesitated, unsure how to start.

Jian Yuanbai suddenly turned his head. Seeing it was Pei Yao, he patted the sand beside him. “Join me?”

Pei Yao pressed his lips together and sat down. “You…”

He turned his head and met Jian Yuanbai’s deep, focused gaze. His heart seemed to beat faster. “You clearly didn’t bring any other medicine, so why did you say you brought all kinds just to make a profit?”

Jian Yuanbai panicked. At the time, Pei Yao hadn’t asked, so he assumed Pei Yao hadn’t realized and wouldn’t bring it up. His mind raced for an explanation, but he couldn’t think of one right away.

Pei Yao pressed him, “Why?”

Jian Yuanbai’s mind was in chaos. “I—”

Suddenly, Pei Yao covered his mouth. “Don’t say anything yet.”

The beach was empty except for the two of them. The night sky was dark, the sea breeze was soft, and above the deep blue ocean, the stars shimmered brilliantly. The warmth of Pei Yao’s palm on his lips felt both hot and gentle. Jian Yuanbai, unable to speak, inexplicably felt nervous.

Pei Yao’s expression was calm, but his slightly rapid blinking betrayed his emotions. “Did you say you brought a lot of medicine to explain why you had stomach medicine even though you don’t have stomach problems?”

Jian Yuanbai froze for a moment, then nodded. The hand on his lips remained.

Then, Pei Yao asked, “So, did you bring the stomach medicine for me?”

As he spoke, he pressed his lips together slightly, his gaze wavering for a moment before locking onto Jian Yuanbai’s eyes with determination.

Jian Yuanbai removed his hand. “It was for you.”

With a sigh—one that seemed both helpless and affectionate—he added, “You saw through me.”

For a moment, their hearts pounded wildly.

Since seeing those identical heart rates of 70, Pei Yao had been suppressing his emotions, but now, he finally felt free.

A thought surfaced in Pei Yao’s mind: He cares about me.

He cares about me—not like the indifferent, unshaken heart rate he showed on the surface.

Pei Yao unconsciously smiled. Jian Yuanbai sighed again, but his expression carried a hint of fond amusement. The comment section exploded with excitement.

• “Finally, someone managed to shut Jian Yuanbai up!!”
• “We need to set the bar higher! Little Sun, next time, use your lips to shut him up!”
• “Jian Yuanbai!!! You little brat! I actually believed your profit-making scheme!”
• “Pure Lotus is real!!”
• “This is so sweet!! Definitely one-sided love! Pure Lotus is real!!”
• “This time, I’m never leaving this ship! Even if they claim to be straight, I’m not getting off!”
• “You deceived me so deeply, ahhhh, but why does it feel so good to be tricked?!”
• “Pei Yao is smiling ahhhhh! Jian Yuanbai, do you realize that if you hadn’t said that profit-making nonsense, you could have won over your wife two points faster?!”
• “Jian Yuanbai’s biggest obstacle in his pursuit of love is himself. Just do more and say less—engrave these six words into your heart.”