Several âinterestingâ songs came up, and the atmosphere in the room became even more lively. Singing wasnât up Shen Jingbinâs alley, so she remained nestled by Zhao Chengningâs side as she watched the rest of the group have their fun.
After several rounds of alcohol, National Treasures, whoâd become a little tipsy, suddenly suggested that they play Truth or Dare. The moment Shen Jingbin heard that, she vigorously shook her head like a rattle-drum.
There were far too many uncertain elements in a game like that. Thereâs no way sheâd play!
Unfortunately for her, even after drinking herself stupid, National Treasures still somehow managed to think of her. When National Treasures caught sight of Shen Jingbinâs shaking head, her hand slammed down onto the coffee table with a âbangâ, giving everyone a big shock.
"G-g-goddess, you have t-to participate in this g-game... Iâm the one who managed to get the peach hairpin, so Iâm using my request to make you play this game with us."
Shen Jingbin continued to resolutely shake her head. "I refuse. Iâm not part of Jade Sea Pavilion!"
"I donât care. You are who you marry. You *hic* youâre married to our Leader, s-so youâre one of us," National Treasures said shamelessly.
Everyone around them started kicking up a fuss as well.
"Donât be like that, Nutty~ We havenât gotten a chance to play with you yet today. Weâre all really sad~"
"Nutty, muack~ Look into my eyes, see how filled with sincerity they are! How can you bear to reject one of your fans?~"
"Come on Nutty, weâre all good people! Even if you choose to do a dare, the most weâll ask is for you to kiss Leader. We wonât ask you to do anything too outrageous."
Obviously, Shen Jingchen didnât hold back either, and joined in with the rest of them. "Come on sis, donât be such a downer. Join us! Either way, with Chengning around, you donât have to worry about being taken advantage of! Youâre just a scaredy cat if you donât wanna play!"
"..." Fine, I admit Iâm a scaredy cat!
Feeling everyoneâs passionate stares bearing down on her, Shen Jingbin forced down her saliva and turned to look at Zhao Chengning, only to find that he was smiling at her, his eyes twinkling with delight. Overcome with the urge to throw a tantrum, she reached out and gave Zhao Chengning a pinch with just the right amount of strength. She then braced herself and said, "Alright, Iâll play."
Everyone gave a celebratory whoop, and the game began in earnest.
As expected, Shen Jingbinâs initial decision not to play was the right one! As it turned out, the first two victims in the game were herself and Lingering White Clouds.
"Hahaha, Goddess, Lingering, the two of you have quite the luck. What a strong showing right at the start of the game~ Alrighty then, make your choice. Truth or dare!?"
Shen Jingbin looked at Lingering White Clouds, but she appeared just as helpless. "Iâm fine with either. What about you, Nutty?"
"I choose dare," Shen Jingbin resolutely declared.
A âtskâ of irritation could be heard from Shen Jingchen. Judging from his sigh, Zhao Chengning appeared to be just as disappointed.
"A dare, huh? What a waste. But, donât think itâs going to be easier just because itâs a dare. Heh heh, the two of you have to passionately kiss the wall for ten seconds!"
"Pfft!"
The moment National Treasures said that, several people burst out laughing. What the hell is âpassionately kiss the wall for ten secondsâ?! National Treasures, your brain truly works in mysterious ways!
However, the two people involved actually felt that it was a pretty good dare, all things considered. They exchanged a glance with one another and stood up.
Just as Shen Jingbin was about to step past Zhao Chengning, she was caught off guard by him and was pulled on top of his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, a look of anguish on his face as he eyed National Treasures and said weakly, "National Treasures, seeing my girlfriend kiss the wall before my very eyes wounds my pride."
National Treasures couldnât weather his onslaught, and immediately corrected herself. "Ahem, uh, those with a boyfriend are allowed to kiss their boyfriends for ten seconds instead."
The whole room went quiet for a moment before breaking out into uproar of cheers and whistles. Even the Four Monsters were applauding her in their hearts.
People whose excitement increased upon on seeing other couples make out, than if they themselves were to do it, were truly an enigma.
Shen Jingbin wasnât accustomed to public shows of affection, but the thought of rejecting the dare never crossed her mind. After all, just imagine how big the hit to his reputation would be if she rejected him.
While still remaining nestled against his chest, Shen Jingbin slightly adjusted her posture to make herself more comfortable.
Let it be known that she was a kind and considerate girlfriend!
Zhao Chengning had never expected such an amenable reaction from her, but the reason she was like that became clear to him when he thought about it. In the moment, the warmth in his eyes almost seemed to overflow, and he found it impossible to conceal his emotions.
The lighting in the room was dim to begin with, and looking face to face with one another made the atmosphere even more ambiguous. Zhao Chengning slowly drew nearer to her, and their breathing interweaved to become one. They felt abnormally warm, and their heartbeats sounded unfathomably louder than normal. Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum. There was no way to figure out who the heartbeats belonged to.
Zhao Chengning felt something soft touch his lips. Shen Jingbin was looking at him with laughter in her eyes. In that moment, the light in the room was like starlight falling into her eyes. He lifted up the hand that was wrapped around her waist and used it to cover her eyes as they made his body temperature rise. He was deathly afraid that he might lose control of himself and...
For some inexplicable reason, even the single loners around them felt their faces heating up.
This didnât make sense! Werenât they all veterans when it came to life experiences?! Why were they feeling so innocent?!
Ten seconds passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. As other people were present, the couple shared a simple kiss; there wasnât any hot and heavy French kissing. In spite of that, the overwhelmingly sweet atmosphere that theyâd about them still managed to successfully placate the hearts of the single loners around them.
And so, the game continued.
Did Lingering White Clouds kiss the wall, you ask?
Ah, who cares about that! Soaking up the single dogâs life is more important!