Wake Up, This is Not a Dating Show! Chapter 16

Chapter 16 Hunting Time (Part 7) His gaze fell beside Yi Xingzhi’s Adam’s apple…

In the short few minutes in the elimination zone, Ye Nai had roughly sorted out his train of thought.

The Blue Team hadn’t received the information that there was an undercover agent on the field. It was impossible for Fu Tingyuan to attack a “teammate” for no reason.

Even if he had seen the scene of Yin Tianhan subduing Yuan Lei nearby just now, he should have shown up to help, rather than disappearing right after throwing the hit.

Everyone on the Red Team knew there was one of their own on the opposing side. It was impossible for them to see Yin Tianhan assisting and still attack him.

Therefore, the person who attacked Yin Tianhan could only be the Red Team’s undercover agent. They were probably afraid of exposing their identity and being counterattacked after throwing the hit, which was why they didn’t continue to wipe everyone out in one fell swoop.

For some reason, even though everyone on the Blue Team believed the undercover agent was Pei Ze, and even Yi Xingzhi had shared the information about Yin Tianhan being the undercover agent, Ye Nai still faintly felt that something was off.

Everything was progressing far too logically, which ironically made it suspicious.

Ever since taking a trip to death’s door a few years ago, whenever Ye Nai encountered danger later on, he would often develop strong intuitions that guided him through the crisis.

Thus, he deeply trusted his intuition and decided to first go assassinate Fu Tingyuan, who was 100% an enemy.

This arena was truly a bit too large. Ye Nai wandered around inside for a while without finding where the remaining people were. Just as he was feeling somewhat irritable, he suddenly heard someone shout loudly. It sounded like Pei Ze’s voice.

It also seemed like it could only be him, because it was highly unlikely for the other two to yell like that.

Ye Nai followed the direction of the shout. After walking for a bit, he heard a chaotic flurry of footsteps. It was clearly more than one person, seemingly in the middle of a pursuit. Soon after, voices rang out again.

“Wait a second, listen to me first!” Pei Ze lowered his voice a bit. “You don’t know yet, do you? Both teams have undercover agents.”

The footsteps stopped. The other side remained silent for a moment before asking, “Are you trying to say that you are the undercover agent?”

It was Fu Tingyuan.

Pei Ze: “Exactly.”

Ye Nai had been leaning against a high wall with his arms crossed, listening. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow.

Could it be that his intuition was wrong this time, and the undercover agent really was Pei Ze?

Perhaps Fu Tingyuan had noticed something unusual earlier, for he quickly believed Pei Ze’s claim. He asked calmly, “Then aren’t you afraid that I’m also an undercover agent?”

“Ah, is it you?!” Pei Ze clearly hadn’t anticipated this situation, his voice cracking from the scare.

“No.” Fu Tingyuan suppressed the laughter in his tone and said seriously, “So right now, as long as we hit Yi Xingzhi, we win?”

Only then did Pei Ze breathe a sigh of relief. “Yes, exactly.”

Ye Nai’s revival hadn’t been broadcasted. The people on the field still didn’t know he had returned.

Hearing this, the most urgent priority was naturally to find Yi Xingzhi before those two did, and then join forces to fight them. But finding someone in such a massive place was simply like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Putting himself in the other’s shoes, Ye Nai figured that if he were Yi Xingzhi, he would think he was fighting a lone battle right now.

To fight two against one, he could only find a hiding spot with a comprehensive field of view. Taking advantage of the enemy being out in the open while he remained in the dark, he would look for an opportunity to annihilate them in one fell swoop.

Thus, he returned to the place where he had first encountered Yin Tianhan, but he didn’t see any trace of Yi Xingzhi. Listening closely to the commotion over there, Pei Ze and Fu Tingyuan had already started heading this way.

Ye Nai looked left and right, deciding to follow the route along the few ambush spots he had scouted earlier.

After hurrying forward for a short distance, a small pebble suddenly rolled to his feet, stopping only after hitting his shoe.

Ye Nai looked towards where the stone came from and finally spotted Yi Xingzhi behind an inconspicuous barrier. After confirming that the people behind hadn’t caught up yet, he quickly ran over.

“Did you use the Revival Card?” Yi Xingzhi asked in a low voice.

This barrier wasn’t very large. It was spacious enough for one person to stand, but with two people standing behind it, it became somewhat cramped. They had to stand very close to fit.

“Yeah.” Ye Nai spoke rapidly. “Pei Ze has already confessed to Fu Tingyuan that he’s the undercover agent. Right now, the two of them are on their way to find you.”

“Pei Ze confessed?” Yi Xingzhi’s tone was somewhat surprised.

“Isn’t it perfectly normal for him to seek refuge with his real teammate?” Ye Nai didn’t understand why he would have such a doubt. In the urgency of the moment, he didn’t overthink it, busy pondering countermeasures. “When they come over later, we’ll attack from both sides. We’ll each take one—just hit whoever is closest.”

Only after saying this did he realize in hindsight that he and Yi Xingzhi were standing way too close. Their arms were practically pressed completely against each other. Even through their sleeves, he could feel a temperature that didn’t belong to him.

“I’ll go over there.” Ye Nai pulled back, preparing to run to another barrier not far away. Just as he took a step, Yi Xingzhi grabbed his forearm and yanked him back.

Caught off guard, Ye Nai lost his balance and crashed into him. He braced his hand on Yi Xingzhi’s shoulder to steady himself, looking up to speak, but the other man raised a hand to cover his mouth.

“Don’t move.” Yi Xingzhi turned his head, his gentle, airy breath brushing against Ye Nai’s ear. “They’re here.”

Ye Nai instantly froze in place. He only felt a slight tickle at the tip of his ear, and the spot on his lips where he was pressed also felt a bit hot. His nasal cavity was filled with the crisp, clean, woody fragrance emanating from the other person.

His gaze fell on the small mole beside Yi Xingzhi’s Adam’s apple. Feeling somewhat uneasy, Ye Nai turned his head outwards, finally feeling his breathing become a bit smoother.

He leaned out slightly and saw Pei Ze and Fu Tingyuan rapidly moving between the various barriers, the distance between them constantly shrinking.

Ye Nai began aiming at Pei Ze, who was closer to his side, but then saw Yi Xingzhi suddenly run out, completely exposing himself to the enemy’s line of sight!

Pei Ze was startled. Once he clearly saw who it was, he immediately pointed at him and shouted, “He’s right there! Quick, hit him!”

Seeing that Fu Tingyuan was about to throw his sandbag, Pei Ze also raised the sandbag in his hand. But before he could toss it out, he saw the sandbag that should have flown towards Yi Xingzhi suddenly change direction and fly straight at him.

Completely caught off guard, he had no time to dodge and took the hit squarely.

The broadcast quickly announced: “Pei Ze eliminated.”

“Fu Tingyuan, you!” Pei Ze was so shocked it took him a long while to speak. “You were acting for me?”

“Didn’t you act for me first?” Fu Tingyuan looked entirely calm. “I was just cooperating with your performance.”

Pei Ze let out a few continuous “Wow”s in disbelief. His steps were even a bit staggered as he walked towards the elimination zone.

Fu Tingyuan glanced at Yi Xingzhi, his brow furrowing slightly. “It’s not over yet?”

Before Yi Xingzhi could answer, another sandbag abruptly flew over, hitting Fu Tingyuan with perfect precision.

“Let me guess, is it still not over right now?” Ye Nai walked out from behind the barrier, staring straight at Yi Xingzhi with exceptionally calm eyes. “What do you think, Yi Xingzhi? Or should I call you, the real undercover agent?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the broadcast rang out once more: “Fu Tingyuan eliminated.”

Then, it fell silent again.

Only Ye Nai and Yi Xingzhi remained on the scene. The air was dead quiet, save for the wind blowing the leaves, causing them to rustle.

“I have nothing to say.” Yi Xingzhi’s voice was somewhat low.

This was tantamount to a direct admission.

Amidst the extreme absurdity, Ye Nai actually felt a hint of amusement. By now, he had figured out exactly what was going on, yet he couldn’t accept such a truth.

“Yeah, you really do have nothing to say.” A cold sneer curved the corner of his mouth. “From the beginning to the end, you didn’t tell me a single lie. You gave it your all in the games, helped out wherever you could, acting more like a real teammate than a real teammate.”

Ye Nai tightly gripped his last sandbag, his knuckles turning white from the force. The light in his eyes was cold and sharp.

“You clearly had countless opportunities to kill me, but you still haven’t made a move even now. What’s the meaning of this? Humiliating me? Playing everyone for fools—is that very entertaining to you?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Knowing full well that Ye Nai couldn’t possibly listen to his words right now, Yi Xingzhi still insisted on speaking.

“Then make your move!” Ye Nai genuinely couldn’t understand what he was thinking; his heart was filled only with the anger of being made a fool of. “When you hit Yin Tianhan, weren’t you fast and precise? Now that you’re about to win, why aren’t you killing me?”

For some reason, Yi Xingzhi’s face paled slightly. His lips moved, but no sound came out, and ultimately, he still made no move.

“Fine, you won’t move, right?” Ye Nai nodded, raised his hand, and hurled his sandbag right over. “If you won’t kill, I will!”

Although he threw it fast, it wasn’t without warning. Yi Xingzhi had his guard up to begin with. Seeing the sandbag flying right at his face, he reflexively raised a hand to block it, and actually caught the sandbag firmly in his hand!

According to the rules stated earlier, catching a sandbag thrown by an opponent allowed you to use it as your own weapon.

However, Yi Xingzhi still delayed in making a counter-kill move.

Ye Nai didn’t run either. He merely stood quietly in place, scrutinizing him with an icy gaze.

The two remained at a stalemate like this until the broadcast announced the match results: “Ye Nai’s weapons have all been depleted. Yi Xingzhi still has remaining weapons. ‘Hunting Time’ is over. The ultimate winner is—Yi Xingzhi.”

This time, it was no longer that wildly passionate male voice, but the host’s voice. It was unclear if this was normal procedure, or if they had temporarily adjusted the rules based on the on-site situation.

The directing team notified everyone to gather in the elimination zone. Ye Nai walked over in silence, feeling his chest swell like an expanding balloon, blocked up so tight it felt like it would explode.

He wasn’t angry that Yi Xingzhi had hidden his identity and gained his trust by helping him. After all, that was how the mission was set up. An undercover agent should do those things; it was very normal, and he understood it all.

He had also mentally prepared himself early on that Yi Xingzhi might be the undercover agent, so there wasn’t any sense of betrayal from being deceived.

But Yi Xingzhi had clearly heard him say “respect your opponent, respect the game,” yet he hadn’t taken it seriously at all, completely disregarding him.

That was what he couldn’t accept.

Looking at the entire process, Yi Xingzhi hadn’t done many things an undercover agent should do. First, he didn’t disrupt the early-stage tasks. Second, he didn’t kill him and Pei Ze. Third, he even shared the information that Yin Tianhan was an undercover agent with him.

He didn’t even reveal the information that Ye Nai had a Revival Card to Fu Tingyuan, as if declaring that even so, he could easily win.

Ye Nai felt as if his intelligence had been pressed into the dirt and fiercely rubbed against the ground. He couldn’t help but walk faster and faster in irritation, the soles of his shoes almost catching fire from the friction against the ground.

Yi Xingzhi didn’t chase after him to explain anything. He just silently followed behind him, maintaining a not-too-far, not-too-close distance the entire time.

As soon as the two arrived at the elimination zone, Pei Ze stood up with a whoosh and said excitedly, “Never ask me to act again next time! You guys are all much better actors than me!”

The few of them had already debriefed with each other and pieced together the truth.

“I don’t think you’re bad either. You actually pretended to be an undercover agent?” Ye Nai had a stomach full of fire with nowhere to vent. Seeing Pei Ze reminded him of how the guy had deliberately confused the situation and scrambled his thoughts at the end. “Did you use your feet to come up with such a unique tactic?”

“Wasn’t I just thinking that if Brother Xingzhi turned out to be an undercover agent, I’d be done for going one-against-two? Only by surviving until the end yourself is it the safest. I originally wanted to take advantage of the chaos to hit Fu Tingyuan. Who knew he’d hit me first!” Pei Ze looked at Fu Tingyuan with a face full of defeat. “Was my acting really that terrible? Did you not believe a single word I said?”

“It’s not a question of how well you acted.” Fu Tingyuan pointed at Yi Xingzhi. “The main thing was that before you, he had already met up with me and disclosed his identity. The plan was that if my hit missed you, he would follow up with the finishing blow. It was more secure.”

Pei Ze: “…”

He had thought he was the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, but who knew he was throwing himself into the net.

“But I didn’t expect Nyle to be there too.” Fu Tingyuan continued, “Xingzhi was playing this undercover role so well, he almost became a double agent.”

Yuan Lei asked in confusion, “So what was the situation at the end? Why was the victory decided by the number of weapons? Did neither of you hit each other?”

“I hit him.” Ye Nai said irritably. “It was caught by him.”

Everyone was instantly shocked. When Ye Nai originally posed this hypothetical, no one took it to heart, thinking it was highly unlikely for anyone to achieve it.

They didn’t expect someone to actually be able to catch it, and it was the consistently quiet Yi Xingzhi to boot. It felt like he had suddenly flexed on them!

Yuan Lei thought for a moment and noticed another problem. “But Brother Yi should have had plenty of opportunities to kill both of you, right? Why didn’t he make a move until the very end, turning a guaranteed win into a narrow victory?”

Yin Tianhan chimed in, “Yeah, sparing the fake teammate, but ruthlessly killing me. What, did you catch feelings while playing undercover?”

Ye Nai looked at Yi Xingzhi with a dark face, genuinely wanting to hear what kind of answer he could give.

Actually, it wasn’t just Ye Nai; everyone present, including all the staff members of the production team, was very curious as to why.

Gazes from all directions converged entirely on Yi Xingzhi.

“It was for my own personal reasons.” Yi Xingzhi’s tone was natural and magnanimous, as if explaining to everyone, but his gaze landed solely on Ye Nai’s face. “I don’t like this kind of feeling, nor do I want others to experience it. That’s all.”