The Academic God Becomes an Internet Sensation After Joining a Dating Show - C10 - Pocky Game

That smile sent the livestream chat into a frenzy.

[!!! My son smiled!!]

[Aaaahhh he’s so beautiful when he smiles! Wifey! My destined wifey!]

[I’m gonna die. Qing Lin rarely smiles but when he does—it’s lethal. I can’t focus on my studies anymore! Boohoo!]

[Now I get why people have always gone to such lengths just to earn a single smile from someone beautiful!]

[Show Shen Xuzhi’s reaction! I need to see it! Show me!]

But the camera didn’t show Shen Xuzhi’s face. Instead, it cut away to another team.

Maybe it was the rush from finally getting the fire started, but Qing Lin suddenly seemed full of energy.
“I’ll go grab the ingredients. You take a break here.”

Shen Xuzhi stood up. “I’ll go with you.”

The two made their way to the supply shed by the coast. Outside, a wooden canopy had been set up, and various ingredients were neatly displayed inside.

“We used up a lot of time starting the fire, so let’s be quick here,” Qing Lin said while reading the card. “We need rice, mini sausages, green peas, carrots… and the special sauce.”

Next to the canopy stood a box. Shen Xuzhi stepped over and read the sign aloud.
“Please draw a task card from the box. Complete the challenge within the time limit to earn one ingredient.”

…..
This production crew really loves their draw-a-card gimmicks.

“Hey, isn’t that Xuzhi and Qing Lin?”

Just then, a voice called out from nearby, and when Shen Xuzhi and Qing Lin turned around, they saw Xu Jing and Qiao Weilan walking toward them.

“Hello,” Qing Lin greeted politely. “Are you here to pick up ingredients too?”

“Yeah,” Xu Jing replied with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head.

“We’re really not great at puzzles,” Qiao Weilan said, gently shaking her head. “This challenge box is all about brainpower, and we keep drawing the ones that actually need thinking.”

[Hahaha Qiao’s being brutally honest again]

[Seriously, they’ve been stuck there for ten minutes already]

Xu Jing added, “Exactly! One of the questions asked us to name the three most well-known pyramids that still exist. How could we possibly know that?”

[Hahaha I can still picture the look on Qiao Weilan’s face when she heard that question]

[One plays classical piano and the other does rock music. Asking them to name the three great pyramids is just plain cruel]

“Khufu Pyramid, Khafre Pyramid, and Menkaure Pyramid.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone turned to Qing Lin, who had quietly been standing behind them.

He responded with ease, then asked calmly, “What other questions were there?”

Xu Jing, still impressed, hurried to remember the others they’d come across. “Oh—right! One of them was, besides the Sun, which star is the closest to Earth in the universe?”

“Proxima Centauri.”

What language does the term “montage” originate from?

“French.”

“If you place a flower between two mirrors positioned at a 60-degree angle, how many reflections will you see?”

“Hmm…five, I guess.”

“My god,” Xu Jing said, full of admiration. “You’re seriously amazing. This segment is made for you.”

Qing Lin felt a little embarrassed, as these were only basic knowledge questions, but he still thanked him modestly.

[He’s answering everything instantly without even thinking]

[Too handsome and too smart!!!]

[These are just middle and high school questions. Is that really so impressive? Stop hyping him up.]

[Doesn’t matter. He only got in by riding on a sponsor’s coattails. So manipulative and shameless.]

[Our sweet Lin is so adorable! I just want to pamper him so badly!]

The comments section was completely divided. Some were still criticizing, while others were completely smitten.

Xu Jing explained, “This one is called ‘Rapid Knowledge Q and A.’ You pass if you answer six out of ten questions correctly. We have already drawn this card three times. It feels like it is the only one in the box.”

“Then it should be no problem,” Shen Xuzhi said.

“If we get this one, then we should be good,” Qing Lin added. He walked over to the box to draw a card but suddenly turned to look at Shen Xuzhi. “Do you want to give it a try?”

Shen Xuzhi almost laughed at how persistent Qing Lin was. “Alright.”

He stepped forward and drew a card.

Qing Lin leaned in for a look.

Couples Lip Reading Game: Guess the word your partner is mouthing by reading their lips. Get eight correct within three minutes to pass the round.

Qing Lin: “…”

Apparently, Shen Xuzhi had a real talent for picking unusual cards.

“Wow, there’s actually a card like this? Has anyone ever drawn it before?” Xu Jing asked in surprise.

Qing Lin tried to console himself. Maybe drawing a rare card that no one else got counts as luck in its own way.

He said to Shen Xuzhi, “Let’s go.”

Shen Xuzhi moved to the other side and picked up the headphones. “So, I’m the one guessing?”

“Mmm.”

Suddenly, a voice from off-camera interrupted, “Since this is a lip-reading game, no gestures are allowed. We’ll need to tie the hands of the person mouthing the words behind their back.”

As soon as the announcement finished, two people dressed in black quickly approached.

They pressed Qing Lin down onto a bench and took out a red ribbon, tying his hands together.

With his hands pulled behind his back, the shape of his figure became more defined. Qing Lin’s shoulders were narrow, his bone structure sharp and delicate. The slightly wide collar revealed a stretch of pale, cool skin, which disappeared neatly into his slender waist.

Since he had to look up, the lines of his neck became more pronounced. His pant leg slid up slightly, revealing a delicate ankle. In the sunlight, his skin seemed to glow with a luster like polished jade.

He looked a bit dazed after being tied up, and when his light-colored eyes glanced at the camera, they locked directly with it.

[Ahhhhhhh I’m speechless!!!]

[Quick, switch the camera! I need a full body shot! Show me everything!

[I curse Nuwa for not sculpting me with something bigger sob sob]

[Help! SOS! My gorgeous wife is absolutely made for bondage play!!]

[Reincarnate me as a tall, dark-skinned, 190cm gym-obsessed alpha who lives to worship this beauty!]

[Who could possibly resist this?! I just want to cling to him and never let go—sobbing!!]

Shen Xuzhi paused for a moment, though the camera failed to catch the shadow that briefly passed through his eyes.

Qing Lin had already returned to his usual unreadable expression. His gaze was clear, steady, and unwavering.

Shen Xuzhi put on the headphones.

He had noticed that once Qing Lin set his mind to something, his focus became razor sharp. He wasn’t easily distracted, and he never quit halfway.

But still…

That soft, pale face remained calm and composed. His exposed elbow was slender and fair.

Qing Lin’s lips were naturally full, tinged with a healthy red. When Shen Xuzhi focused only on that mouth, the color seemed even more vivid.

His concentration made him all the more captivating.

Shen Xuzhi’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

He really wanted to kiss him.

“Alright, flipping the prompt board now.”

Qing Lin looked at the words and began mouthing them.

Shen Xuzhi didn’t even bother to hide it. His eyes were fixed directly on Qing Lin’s lips.

“Washing machine—”

“Washing machine.”

“Ocean—”

“Ocean.”

“Unforgettable Tonight—”

“Unforgettable Tonight.”

Each time Qing Lin mouthed a word, Shen Xuzhi responded without hesitation. The two of them were so perfectly in sync, it was like watching a fax machine in action, precise, immediate, seamless.

And every answer was completely correct.

“Alright, that’s eight questions,” Qing Lin said, glancing left and right before turning to the direction of the production team. “Please hand us that bag of rice.”

The whole set fell silent for a moment.

The production team had seen skilled contestants before, but never anyone this smooth.

They had finished the quiz in under a minute.

This was supposed to be a romance variety show.

Yet the two on stage were acting like they were competing in a high-stakes tournament, dead serious and absolutely precise.

Wasn’t there supposed to be a bit of flirting? A shy smile? Maybe even a blush?

Shen Xuzhi took off the headphones, accepted the bag of rice from the crew, and turned around, only to find Qing Lin still fumbling with the ribbon tied around his wrists.

The little guy was fidgeting, struggling to undo the knot, and the patch of pale skin near his collarbone flashed briefly in Shen Xuzhi’s line of sight.

Shen Xuzhi squinted without thinking.

Qing Lin couldn’t figure out how the production team had tied the rope. It felt like they had tied it into an unbreakable knot, and the thick band was nearly impossible to loosen once tightened.

He struggled with it for a while, clearly unable to undo it.

Just as he was about to call one of the black-clad assistants for help, he noticed Shen Xuzhi walking toward him.

Without a word, Shen Xuzhi bent down and leaned in close.

That familiar woody scent surrounded Qing Lin again, faint and crisp, yet his body radiated a heat that felt like summer.

From this angle, Qing Lin could clearly see the lines of Shen Xuzhi’s shoulders under his shirt, the firm chest, the narrow waist.

It almost felt like being pulled into an embrace.

His mind went completely blank for a second.

“All done.”

The voice snapped Qing Lin back to reality.

He looked down and saw the red ribbon in Shen Xuzhi’s hand.

“I got it off,” Shen Xuzhi said.

Qing Lin blinked. “Oh…”

Strange.
Something had felt… different just now.

He touched his chest. His heart rate seemed a little elevated.

“Xuzhi, Lin, I’ve got a card that requires both of you,” Xu Jing called over. “Can you come here for a sec?”

“Oh, sure.”

Qing Lin responded, then paused to feel his chest again. Oddly, that strange flutter from earlier had already faded.

Xu Jing handed the card to Shen Xuzhi. “We just drew this one. It’s a team challenge, and only the winner gets the ingredients.”

Shen Xuzhi glanced down at the card.

Pocky Game: A head-to-head challenge where each team takes one Pocky stick. Two members start from opposite ends and bite toward the center. The team that leaves the shortest unbitten piece wins.

So, it was a Pocky Game.

Shen Xuzhi stroked his chin in thought.

Qiao Weilan said, “We already played and got it down to 3 centimeters. You’ll have to do better than that.”

The game itself wasn’t the problem. The real question was whether Qing Lin would be comfortable with it.

This was far more intimate than the lip-reading challenge. It was unmistakably a couple’s game.

What if Shen got too close and embarrassed Qing Lin? What if it made him pull away?

He was cautious, reserved. Would he even accept it if Shen made a bold move?

Shen Xuzhi had never felt this conflicted before.

He even considered stepping back. Losing this round wouldn’t be the end of the world. They could always draw another card later.

But then, a soft voice beside him spoke.

“Mr. Shen, open your mouth.”

Shen Xuzhi looked down and instinctively opened his mouth, only to feel a Pocky stick gently placed between his lips.

Qing Lin had tiptoed, turned his head slightly, and taken the other end between his lips, moving closer.

Shen Xuzhi’s pupils widened in surprise as he stared at the person now just inches away from him.

He felt the soft brush of Qing Lin’s nose against his cheek, a light and ticklish sensation.

Qing Lin swayed slightly on his toes, then tugged gently at the hem of Shen Xuzhi’s shirt for balance.

The breeze around them was cool, but Qing Lin’s breath was warm and soft against his skin, seeping into his chest like heat.

Shen Xuzhi froze, stunned, barely daring to breathe.

By the time he came back to his senses, Qing Lin had already pulled away and spoken.

“One centimeter,” he said, having measured the remaining Pocky. His voice was calm and light. “We won.”