Chapter 63 – Jealousy?
When Luan Yuanzhou realized something was wrong, his first instinct was to protect Zhong Jingyi. As a result, his forehead slammed into a rock. By the time he came to his senses, Zhong Jingyi was pulling him into the temporary shelter Qi Yushuo had built.
Outside, lightning flashed and thunder roared amidst the torrential downpour. Lin Ganzhi saw Qi Yushuo sitting at the edge, struggling to use a leaf to block the rain blowing in. His pant leg was already soaked, the black fabric clinging wetly to his thigh, yet none of his teammates seemed to notice.
“Yuanzhou, are you okay?! We’re quitting the show! Call a doctor, now!” Zhong Jingyi’s voice was tinged with tears.
“Yeah, I can forfeit too. Yuanzhou, why won’t your bleeding stop?! Hey, cameraman, stop filming! Hurry up and call a doctor for us!” Fan Feimiao’s patience had been worn away by the harsh conditions, and his tone was aggressive.
The cameraman struggled to take out his phone in the downpour. Brother Chen, Lin Ganzhi’s cameraman, quickly went over to help hold an umbrella. Lin Ganzhi and his companions exchanged a look, then all sat up, grabbed a banana leaf, and followed.
Seeing Qi Yushuo’s efforts to pull the leaf tighter, Lin Ganzhi couldn’t hold back any longer. He roughly shoved the banana leaf in his hand into Qi Yushuo’s, then turned and ducked under Lu Xi’s banana leaf.
Qi Yushuo looked at the banana leaf in his hand, its base still radiating a lingering warmth. He looked up at Lin Ganzhi, who was standing behind Brother Chen, and felt a mix of emotions that he couldn’t express. He could only mouth the words “thank you” to him.
Lin Ganzhi blinked. His hair was soaked by the downpour, and water dripped from the ends, but it didn’t affect his mood in the slightest. Taking advantage of the chaos at the filming site, he mouthed back to Qi Yushuo, “Keep it a secret!”
Qi Yushuo lowered his eyes and nodded. The gentleness in his eyes at that moment was fervent and pure.
“Wait, we’re still filming, but we need to request a rescue. Can this not count as a forfeit?” Luan Yuanzhou said.
“Yuanzhou, you!” Zhong Jingyi didn’t understand why Luan Yuanzhou was still insisting.
Luan Yuanzhou placated Zhong Jingyi with a look and continued, “Could you please ask Director Fang if it’s possible? Jingyi, Feimiao, move further inside. Yushuo is getting wet.”
Only after Luan Yuanzhou’s reminder did the two of them look at Qi Yushuo. As their minds cleared a little, they felt a bit embarrassed.
Fan Feimiao responded dryly and moved back, but there wasn’t much space to spare.
Qi Yushuo remained silent but graciously moved in a little, placing the precious banana leaf by his feet. “Senior, don’t touch the wound with your hand for now. It could get infected.”
Luan Yuanzhou nodded. Blood had seeped into his left eye, but he still managed to say, “Thank you. Today’s decision was our mistake. Thank you for being willing to take us in.”
After he said that, Qi Yushuo’s expression clearly improved.
However, while Qi Yushuo may have accepted it, his fans were not so easily persuaded. Faced with the silence of Zhong Jingyi and Fan Feimiao, they took the fight with their fans straight to the trending topics.
[Fuck, fuck, fuck! I’m so pissed! You guys are human, but my Brother Qi isn’t? Shamelessly coming in without even a word of thanks!]
[If it weren’t for Luan Yuanzhou saying something reasonable, I’d be cursing him out too!]
[Did anyone else see the extra banana leaf by Brother Qi’s feet? It must have been from Lin Ganzhi’s group! Sob, sob, sob, they’re on the same show, how can they be so nice!]
[Why didn’t they put our Brother Qi in Lin Ganzhi’s group! Is this group even fit for humans?]
[Zhong Jingyi is such a piece of work. Does he think it’s natural for a junior who’s less famous than him to be kind?]
[I can’t believe there’s this kind of hierarchical bullying on a variety show. Disgusting!]
[I used to have a pretty good impression of Zhong Jingyi, but after seeing this, I’ve turned from a passerby to an anti-fan. I’m not watching any variety shows with Zhong Jingyi in them anymore!]
The internet was in an uproar. Even with Luan Yuanzhou’s best efforts to salvage the situation, it was too late.
Director Fang’s decision was that this was an unexpected situation. They could either receive on-site rescue and continue the show, or forfeit. Luan Yuanzhou chose on-site rescue. During this time, Zhong Jingyi tried to say something but was silenced by Luan Yuanzhou’s glare.
The rescue team arrived only after the rain stopped, around eight o’clock. Brother Chen and the other cameraman turned off their cameras and stood guard.
To make it easier for the doctor to bandage the wound, Qi Yushuo gave up his spot. Without asking the idle Fan Feimiao for help, he turned and went into the forest to find food, his back straight and solitary.
Lin Ganzhi watched Luan Yuanzhou’s back, lost in thought for a moment.
“Hey, what are you looking at? Ganzhi, I feel like you seem quite concerned about Qi Yushuo,” Wenren Yi poked Lin Ganzhi’s shoulder, her face full of gossip.
Lin Ganzhi speechlessly pushed Wenren Yi away, no longer feeling any impulse to see her as a woman. “I’m a married man, I can’t afford you spreading such rumors!”
Wenren Yi didn’t give up. She pulled over Lu Xi, who had just finished dinner and was already munching on a banana, and the spectating Que Jin. “What do you guys think?”
Lu Xi replied, his tone a bit sour, “Yeah, a little.”
Que Jin also nodded in agreement.
Wenren Yi then continued, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, your boyfriend gets super jealous!”
Lin Ganzhi was puzzled. Why did Wenren Yi keep saying Yan Shengping gets super jealous? He had never even liked him, so what was there to be jealous about? But he couldn’t say that out loud, so Lin Ganzhi had to explain, “You’re overthinking it. I’m concerned about Qi Yushuo only because I feel like he’s a bit like my past self.”
“Ganzhi, you also debuted first in an idol variety show?” Lu Xi didn’t speak often, but when he did, it was astonishing. The verbal jab hit home, and Lin Ganzhi felt a sharp sting.
“…No, I…” Lin Ganzhi’s expression turned grave.
Lu Xi covered his mouth, realizing he had said the wrong thing, and quickly tried to comfort him. “It’s okay, Ganzhi, you’re the same as me!”
Hmm? Why did that not sound quite right either?
Wenren Yi was clutching her stomach, laughing so hard she could barely speak. “Ganzhi, it’s okay, you don’t have to say it, I get what you mean. Go easy on Lu Xi when you beat him up later. Hahahaha, if-if he cries, people who don’t know might think we’re abusing him, hahahaha!”
Lu Xi’s face suddenly filled with fear. Then he met Lin Ganzhi’s eyes, which were smiling, but the smile didn’t reach them.
Lu Xi whimpered and called out pitifully, “Ganzhi, you wouldn’t… really…”
At eight-thirty in the evening in the rainforest, on the set of “Survive!”, a long and drawn-out, tragic scream echoed from Lin Ganzhi’s tent.
That night, Lin Ganzhi decided to properly finish recording this episode—for his teammates, and for Qi Yushuo. He couldn’t let his seriousness go to waste.