Feeling the way Rio literally gripped her like a sack of potatoes, part of her was slightly amused, while the other part just wanted to smack him down.

As she struggled to free herself, she heard Shawn’s voice ordering her to tickle Rio. Directly in the stomach.

Changing tactics, she reached up with the hand closest to him and tried to tickle him, her fingers moving all over the place as she tried to find purchase from her awkward angle. Unfortunately, one of her fingers caught on his shirt button and accidentally ripped it off, causing the shirt to gape open even more.

There was a moment of silence, and then the entire studio was filled with screams as the Pillars, who supported the Fallen Angels, lost their minds at the free and unexpected fanservice they were receiving.

Sure, he was holding another girl, but with a little imagination, that could be quickly solved and replaced with their own images. There were more important things to notice!

Just look at how strong Rio was now. The figure that had always been slightly more delicate than Shawn had now grown up. His blond hair contrasting with the black blindfold and cat ear headphones? The silk shirt opened down to the fourth button, the slight hint of a tattoed rib, and the arm muscles that were flexing as he held her with one arm?

There was only one thought in the minds of the women in the audience.

More!

More!

We want to see more!

Accidentally or intentionally, however, you need to do it, Valentina, rip off the rest of those buttons. Expose that bare chest! Let our eyes feast!

Just this once, they would pretend that they hadn’t seen the previously displayed video. They would stand behind a woman and support her for once—all for the sake of seeing another inch of golden skin from their male!

Cameras that were not supposed to be in the studio were brought out, and many people sneakily took photos! This had to be passed down to their children and become a family heirloom!

Crazed shouts began escaping the mouths of the women.

“Rip it off, Valentina!”

“Tear off that shirt!!! It should be a crime to hide a body that delicious.”

“Yuri! Don’t just stand there! Get to work and rip off Shawn’s jacket!”

“One peek of Shawn’s arms, and I’ll die happy.”

“Even though my husband is holding you, I’ll allow it as long as you let me see even an inch more of his golden chest! Valentina!!!”

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“Strip Him! Strip Him!”

As the audience began chanting, the sound got louder and louder, echoing and drowning out everything else; the faces of the people on stage began twisting slightly as the situation grew out of control.

It was so loud!

Even Valentina and Rio could hear the chants and cheering through their headphones and had opposite reactions. Valentina immediately covered her face with her hands, the visible skin turning a bright red as she apologized profusely while Rio blew a kiss in a random direction, causing the shrieks to increase drastically.

Vanessa and Jimmy immediately tried to reign them back in as it was honestly turning into a scream fest and not a game show anymore.

Signaling the crew from the side to increase their mic volumes, Vanessa took charge.

“Calling attention to our lovely audience. Rio can no longer hear the commands of his Master, so if you could all please quiet down, that would be great. That way, the game can be continued.”

Immediately the studio became dead silent, so silent in fact that a cricket could be heard if one appeared.

If one thing could be said about the pillars, they moved like a military unit. Efficient when they needed to be and quiet as the mood fit.

At the lull, Rio’s voice could be heard.

“Master Yuri?! Which way is the opposite direction of the goal?!” Rio shouted out while spinning around.

“What?!” Yuri gave him a confused look even though he couldn’t see it.

“The opposite end?! So I can drop her there!” Rio shouted back, his voice echoing in the now quiet studio.

Yuri paused for a moment, blinking in confusion before she hesitantly began calling out directions.

“Oi, Valentina! Fight back!” Shawn tried to get her attention, but it seemed that she had decided to become a log, tucking her hands and feet into her body as Rio moved around.

Shawn: “……” Truly she was a pig teammate. Wasn’t she supposed to be good at games? What was going on here? Should he have matched her up with Yuri?

He could only watch with a resigned air as Rio followed Yuri’s direction to the opposite end of the stage and dumped Valentina on her feet before making a U-turn and sprinting the other way.

As Rio made it across the stage, everyone turned to see Valentina squatting down, drawing circles on the ground, and looking glum.

As the buzzer sounded, Rio ripped his blindfold and headphones off, looking excited, while Valentina slowly took hers off.

“Uhm, in a shocking twist of events, even though Valentina seemed to have the upper hand in the first round of attacks, it seems that Rio has not only disarmed his opponent Valentina and placed her far away, but he has also won the round as well as shown us that not only is he a talented singer, he is also working hard in the gym,” Vanessa announced in an amused voice. There was a slight blush on her face and she couldn’t help but fan herself as she looked at the young man looking around with a handsome smirk on his face.

Valentina trudged over to Shawn with a sad face, her head downcast, and her steps slow, making everyone feel bad for her but also a little funny. She had talked a lot of smack but hadn’t won anything yet.

Tugging at Shawn’s leather jacket, Valentina whispered an apology to him, and he patted her head consolingly.

“Uhhhh, I’ve cost us both games. Sorry, Shawn. I’ve really dragged us down.”

Seeing the slightly watery green eyes and the pouting lips, which was unlike her usual poised impression, he felt his heart strings tug and felt bad.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. You got some good hits in. Good job with that. We’ll get the next one. I’ll bring home the win for Team Crush Rio.” Laughing it off, he held out his hands for a double high-five, slapping her hands hard before throwing his arms around her shoulder. Throwing a smug look at Rio’s suddenly dark expression, he laughed once more, drawing her closer.

“Well, good effort Valentina. We did have one more game set up, but since we used up a lot of time, we’ll just end it here. Unfortunately for you and fortunate for the other team, Team Rio wins today. Better luck next time Team Crush Rio.” Jimmy said consolingly.

“Booooo! I demand a rematch! Rematch! Rematch!” Shawn led the cheer as the audience began demanding a rematch.

On the other hand, Rio had high-fived Yuri before doing a victory run through the audience, slapping their hands as he ran across the stage.

Seeing the audience getting rowdy again as the unified front split almost in two, Vanessa laughed before speaking, “As you know, we will always welcome the Fallen Angels as long as their schedule permits. Why don’t you all message their management so we can have them again to continue round two of the competition? For now, though, shall we all go have a seat? I’m sure you all are thirsty, so we’ll bring you all some drinks brought to you by our sponsors from Propelo.”

The crew members brought out drinks for them, two unbranded bottles for Rio and Shawn, while she and Yuri got bottles of Propelo.

As she didn’t like the flavor given to her, she thanked the crew member and declined.

“Here.”

Shawn slid his water bottle over to her, and she gratefully took it and took a large sip, grateful for the relief. The studio lights were quite bright, and she was starting to feel a bit hot and lightheaded. It would be bad if anything happened.

“Well, now that we’re all hydrated, let’s delve into the good stuff. Before their performance, we just wanted to ask a few questions handpicked from our audience. Are you all ready? Can I get a ‘yeah’ from the audience!”

“Yeahhhhh!”

At the affirmative response, Vanessa smiled mischievously.

“The number one most asked question was whether our lovely Fallen Angels are still single, but we’ll extend it to everyone. We saw a lot of good chemistry between you all today, especially Rio and Valentina, and it seems that your new songs have a sense of heartbreak and longing? Can we get your responses so that you can reassure or break the hearts of your fans?”