Edge of A Burning Kiss - Chapter 38

The second round’s secret admirer was Xia Jin, and the person she fancied happened to be Qin Yu.

“Game begins!”

With Director Zhang’s command, the slightly awkward and tense atmosphere instantly ignited.

Xia Jin took a deep breath, trying her best to appear natural.

Though acting wasn’t her forte, as a former paparazzo, she was quite skilled at covertly exchanging glances.

Xia Jin tilted her head slightly to look at Qin Yu, who stood opposite her.

The man was watching her with an amused expression, a faint smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

Xia Jin cursed inwardly, what a devil!

For her, this was nothing short of an acting challenge.

She had to appear completely unbothered while accurately conveying her “crush” signals to Qin Yu.

This was even harder than negotiating with difficult clients!

Taking another deep breath to steady herself, Xia Jin began moving slowly around the circular table.

Her gaze swept over each person’s face, masking her true intentions.

Jiang Qingli was struggling to suppress his laughter.

Chen Suihe observed everyone with curiosity.

Ke Yun smiled warmly at Xu Lingqing, who remained expressionless, revealing nothing.

But Xia Jin knew that among them all, Xu Lingqing was the one she needed to be most cautious of.

That girl was far from ordinary, she was sharp.

Adjusting her breathing, Xia Jin locked eyes with Qin Yu.

Qin Yu seemed to sense her gaze and turned to meet it.

Their eyes met in the air.

Xia Jin’s heartbeat instantly quickened. Suppressing her fluster, she blinked at Qin Yu, once, deliberately.

She prayed he would understand her message.

Qin Yu’s gaze deepened, his lips curling slightly as if responding to her hint.

Their eye contact lasted only a moment before they both looked away.

But just then, Xu Lingqing walked up to Director Zhang with a smile.

Everyone paused, turning their attention to her.

“I’ve been observing for a while now, and it seems Teacher Xia has been looking at President Qin quite a bit,” Xu Lingqing said calmly, though her tone carried a subtle sharpness.

Xia Jin wasn’t sure what exactly Xu Lingqing had noticed.

“I think the secret admirer is Teacher Xia,” Xu Lingqing concluded with a faint smile, her gaze shifting to Xia Jin.

Director Ma: “Correct guess! Teacher Xu earns a point!”

[Lingqing is truly an A University graduate! A genius with high IQ!]

[Lingqing, guess whether I have a crush on you or not!]

[Guess your damn damn]

With just two minutes left, Chen Suihe also took a wild guess.

“I think the admirer is Ke Yun?”

Director Zhang: “Wrong answer!”

Chen Suihe clicked her tongue. “Even with a one-in-four chance, I still guessed wrong. How annoying.”

As time ran out, Director Zhang called an end to the round.

“Now, the person being admired, President Qin, have you figured out who your admirer is?”

Qin Yu glanced at Xia Jin and smiled. “Found her. It’s Xia Jin.”

Leaning against the table, Xia Jin sighed. “Lingqing, how did you guess?”

“Because usually, President Xia wouldn’t spare anyone an extra glance, yet today, you kept looking at President Qin multiple times.”

“Maybe I just think President Qin is handsome and wanted to look a bit more,” Xia Jin attempted to deflect.

“Oh?” Xu Lingqing’s smile grew more enigmatic. “Then, President Xia, do you think I’m good-looking too?”

Xia Jin chuckled lightly in response. “You’re good-looking too. Next round, I’ll make sure to glance at you a few more times.”

[Holy shit! Can anyone understand the look Qin Yu is giving Xia Jin? If this isn’t love, then what is?]

[Wasn’t Qin Yu once described by a magazine as someone who never cracks a smile? What’s with that goofy grin on his face now?]

[Huh? Could the “Qin-Jin Ship” actually be real?]

[LMAO, the “Qin-Jin Ship”!]

The barrage of comments exploded instantly, with endless speculation and chatter flooding the screen.

Qin Yu walked up to Xia Jin and whispered, “Do I look good?”

Xia Jin glared at him fiercely. “You jerk!”

[HAHAHAHAHA Qin Yu, you’re unstoppable! Who asks a girl if they look good like that?]

[Is this some kind of straight guy’s way of flirting?]

“Congratulations to Teacher Xu and Teacher Qin for guessing correctly!” Director Zhang announced excitedly. “Teacher Xu and President Qin each earn a point!”

Xia Jin sighed helplessly. It seemed she had truly lost this round.

She had underestimated Xu Lingqing, the academic ace from A University.

[Hahaha, the chemistry between Xia Jin and Qin Yu is so sweet! I’m shipping them already!]

[Xu Lingqing is amazing too, her observational skills are insane.]

[This show is just too good! I don’t want to miss a single second!]

The third round began.

This time, neither the live audience nor the guests knew each other’s identities.

Everyone became more cautious, afraid to reveal their roles too easily.

Xia Jin stood to the side with her arms crossed, calmly observing the situation.

After the first two rounds of probing, she had gained some understanding of the other guests’ personalities and habits.

She decided to change her strategy, no more taking the initiative, but instead waiting and watching.

Ke Yun seemed particularly interested in Xu Lingqing, constantly trying to get close to her.

Jiang Qingli was as clueless as ever, giggling absentmindedly from time to time.

Xu Lingqing remained as composed as ever, impossible to read.

As time passed, the tension in the room grew thicker.

Suddenly, Ke Yun stepped forward. “I accuse Xu Lingqing as the ‘Secret Admirer’ and Qin Yu as the ‘Heartthrob’!”

Ke Yun’s accusation shocked all the viewers.

[Is it really Xu Lingqing? She’s known as the high-IQ goddess, how could she be exposed so easily?]

[No way! I didn’t see Xu Lingqing wink at all!]

Xia Jin frowned slightly. Had someone at the round table really winked?

“Ke Yun, are you sure?” Director Zhang asked with a grin.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Ke Yun replied, though his tone betrayed no hesitation. “But I feel like Teacher Xu’s gaze has been following President Qin the whole time.”

Director Zhang nodded. “If you’re certain, we’ll proceed with the vote!”

Ke Yun confirmed, “That’s my final answer.”

Director Zhang announced, “Sorry, wrong answer!”

[What does that mean? Not a single correct guess?]

[Am I the only one curious why Ke Yun keeps staring at Xu Lingqing? Is there something between them?]

Just then, Xia Jin also stepped forward. After a moment of thought, she spoke.

“I think there might not even be a ‘Secret Admirer’ or ‘Heartthrob’ this round.”

Her words left everyone stunned.

“Xia Jin, what do you mean by that?” Director Zhang asked curiously.

“What I mean is, maybe no one actually has feelings for anyone this round,” Xia Jin said calmly. “Maybe everyone is just acting.”

[Wait… that actually makes sense.]

[After two rounds of probing, everyone had already sized each other up. Perhaps in this round, they all chose to conceal their true intentions, deliberately trying to confuse one another.]

“Congratulations to Xia Jin for a successful report! Three points awarded!” Director Zhang announced. “This round, there are no admirers or those being admired!”

The room erupted in uproar once again.

No one had expected Xia Jin to make such a move, directly denying the existence of this round of the game.

[Holy crap! Xia Jin is on another level! She just flipped the table!]

[Now this is a true player! Breaking the mold, always keeping everyone guessing!]

[I feel like Xia Jin’s IQ just crushed the entire room! She’s the real queen of this show!]

The barrage of comments exploded as the audience applauded Xia Jin’s quick wit.

Xia Jin smiled faintly. “You’re too kind.”

Director Ma said, “Currently, Teacher Xia has 4 points, Teacher Qin has 4 points, and Teacher Xu has 1 point.”

“So, Teacher Xia and Teacher Qin will serve as team captains, each selecting two teammates. We’ll then proceed to the next location.”

Qin Yu turned to look at Xia Jin, only to find him gazing at her with undisguised admiration.

“Teacher Xia is impressive, so she should pick first,” Qin Yu said with a smile.

“You flatter me,” Xia Jin replied with a nod.

“Then I’ll choose Chen Suihe and Xu Lingqing!”

[Huh? Did I hear that right? Shouldn’t she have picked Ke Yun and Xu Lingqing?]

[Yeah, the one who’s supposed to be paired with Xu Lingqing for the CP angle is Ke Yun!]

[Why split up our favorite couple?]