Chapter 134 - Variety Show (35)

As soon as Jimmy gave the command, two staff members quickly rolled out a podium with a big red buzzer on it while a third brought out two pure white swords with wide blades and a basket of eggs.

"Now, I'm sure you've heard of the egg spoon race, but in light of the epic battle between angels and demons we witnessed, we decided to have a sword-egg race. You both have to hold the sword out and balance the egg on the farthest end. If you drop it, you head back to the beginning. Originally, we wanted you blindfolded as well, but we think this will be hard enough. Are the two of you ready?"

"Yes! And thank you for taking it easy on us. I don't think I would have made it with the blindfolds." Valentina replied excitedly, glad that her dress allowed her freedom of movement.

"Yes." Yuri replied in a slightly subdued tone and looked a bit nervous as she tried to arrange her dress so it would stay in place.

"Excellent, excellent. Then the two of you can get in position."

The two women stood up and walked to the edge of the stage, separated by a couple feet. As Yuri adjusted her dress once more, Valentina did some stretches to get her body loose.

As the staff member helped them arrange the swords, white/red for Valentina and black/white for Yuri, before balancing the eggs on top of them, she thanked the heavens that it was made out of foam. Otherwise, she would have directly given up instead of embarrassing herself or possibly coughing up blood on national television. Falling down a flight of stairs and being an internet meme was bad enough, she didn't need any new clips being circulated of her being a weakling.

As she tried to stabilize her hand, she saw Yuri struggling with holding the sword with one hand and her dress with the other.

As Yuri glanced at her dress and sulked, she gave the girl a soft smile before looking away. Nobody forced her to wear that oversized cloud-like dress, especially since she knew that some of the games could get active.

"Well, our two ladies look poised and ready so without further delay…"

"On your marks…get set…go!" Jimmy and Vanessa called out simultaneously, and the loud horn went off.

Both Yuri and Valentina immediately dashed forward, both of them dropping their eggs, which rolled every which way on the stage. Quickly chasing after it, Valentina snagged it up while Yuri struggled to bend down and grab the egg. Unfortunately, each time she did so, her voluminous dress would hit the egg, causing it to roll away even further.

 "Oh no! Both contestants started off strong due to their egg-citment. They're really not yolking around!"

"Egg-sactly Jimmy. It's back to the starting line for our two contestants. Hopefully they can hatch a plan of attack to win!"

With the really bad egg puns coming out of the hosts' mouths, Valentina really had to do her best not to roll her eyes.

The crowd seemed to love it, though, as they cheered wildly.

Taking a deep breath, Valentina ran back to the starting line and balanced the egg once more.

As the crowd continued cheering, she took baby steps, gripping the sword with both hands as her arms began to shake as she tried to keep the plastic egg from tipping over.

Step, step, step.

Slowly. Carefully.

"Valentina in the lead. It seems that she has been egg-cercising in those heels as she nears the finish line."

"Will she crack here, or will she make it."

Thankfully, she made it to the other side of the stage before Yuri could.

Bzzzzzzzz!

Valentina slammed her palm on the buzzer just as her arms gave out, and she almost dropped the egg.

Turning around excitedly, she cheered while waving the sword and doing a basic sword dance choreography, much to the amusement of the hosts.

"Congrats to Valentina and good efforts to Yuri as well. You both looked very sharp as you raced. Now Valentina gets to make the choice of who you will choose, your teammate first, or whether you'll allow Yuri to choose first. What will your decision be?" Vanessa asked with a sly smile.

Seeing Yuri's pleading eyes from the side and the hosts amused expressions after they finished stirring the pot, Valentina decided that if they wanted a show, she would play along.

With a bright smile, she confidently responded.

"Naturally, I will choose to go first. After all, I worked hard to win the mini-game."

"Ohhhh? Rather than defer to her opponent, which almost all previous contestants have done, Valentina has decided she would choose first. Aww, look at how disappointed Yuri is. Don't be sad, Yuri, she could still choose the opposite of the person you want to be partnered with. Speaking of Valentina, who do you want as your partner? After all, it's clear that Yuri has one in mind." Jimmy asked curiously

"Who do I want as my partner? Are you curious, Jimmy?" Valentina let her eyes wander between Shawn and Rio, making sure to especially linger on Rio before turning to Jimmy with a wicked smile.

As Jimmy saw it, he was reminded of the image of a gorgeous angel turning into a demonic entity whose beauty was unparalleled. As he stared into those vivid green eyes and the wicked curve of those lips, he felt as if his soul was being sucked out of his body, and he was absolutely entranced. He felt like he would do anything just to see those lips move and call his name once more.

Jimmy, a man who had seen all sorts of gorgeous beauties throughout his career, was temporarily stunned and had to be elbowed by Vanessa once more before he became coherent again.

"Uhhh, yes. Who do you want as your partner? Rio? Shawn? Even if you say me, I'll allow it this one time." Jimmy carelessly said, causing both Vanessa and Rio's expression to tighten briefly at his shameless flirting.

Ignoring the off-color comment, Valentina smiled brighter.

"You are too funny, Jimmy. But the decision is really easy. There's really only one obvious choice. The person I want is…."

Author's Note: Who's our girl picking?