Chapter 59 – I Ship It
Zhong Jingyi looked up at the starry sky, an orange-red fire burning a short distance from his feet. Beside him, Luan Yuanzhou and Qi Yushuo gently turned the sticks in their hands, each skewering two plump, large fish.
They had finished dinner long ago. It had to be said that having Qi Yushuo on this episode was like having a cheat code. He was skilled at everything from starting a fire to catching fish and finding a good location. Zhong Jingyi barely had to do anything but help out here and there.
Now, Qi Yushuo was focused on storing some food for the next day. The rainforest climate was unpredictable, and their team didn’t have a direct fire-starting tool. If a heavy rainstorm hit, eating cooked food would be nothing but a pipe dream. It was only when Qi Yushuo said this that Zhong Jingyi realized why Lin Ganzhi had chosen the lighter first.
At the thought, Zhong Jingyi felt another wave of annoyance, but he asked innocently, “Qi Yushuo, we haven’t run into Ganzhi’s team again. Did they find another water source?”
Qi Yushuo looked up from the firelight, his expression still indifferent. “That’s unlikely. The nearby water sources are all connected. The closest one from where we started is right here. Following the water south should lead us to the marker.”
“Oh? Then did they get lost?” Zhong Jingyi asked with concern.
Fan Feimiao quickly reassured him, “Jingyi, don’t worry. The production team is following them. If it really comes down to it, they can still ask the production team for help.”
Only then did the expression on Zhong Jingyi’s face relax. He smiled. “That’s good. Yuanzhou, are you tired? Let me roast for a while.” Zhong Jingyi turned his attention to his boyfriend.
Luan Yuanzhou snapped out of his momentary daze and smiled. “You just sit tight. How could I let you get tired when I’m here?”
That was exactly what Zhong Jingyi wanted to hear. He smiled sweetly and leaned closer to Luan Yuanzhou, who freed a hand to pinch his nose. The fans in the live stream went wild, spamming “I ship it.”
Fan Feimiao looked like he had eaten his fill of dog food. He wanted to exchange a look of solidarity with the equally pitiful Qi Yushuo, but he found that Qi Yushuo was quietly watching the roasting fish, not even sparing a glance for Zhong Jingyi and his partner. Many guests on variety shows put on an act, fawning over those with higher celebrity status. Zhong Jingyi and Luan Yuanzhou were both considered top stars in the entertainment industry, and outside of it, they were titans among the rich second generation. Most people would want to curry favor with them to some extent.
But this Qi Yushuo, who came from an ordinary family, seemed to have no intention of fawning over them at all. He wouldn’t even deign to give them an extra look!
***
Lin Ganzhi’s team finished setting up their shelter after seven o’clock. The rainforest was more dangerous at night, so no one had any intention of going out. At eight o’clock, the live stream ended on time. Brother Chen packed up his recording equipment and stood up. He had a dedicated place to stay, and a car would be coming to pick him up soon.
“Ganzhi, you guys should get some rest too. There are professional staff camped out every ten meters nearby. If you have any problems, just press the alarm.”
“Okay, thank you for your hard work, Brother Chen. You should go back and rest,” Lin Ganzhi said politely, sitting by the fire. His round, almond-shaped eyes seemed to glow, and combined with his well-behaved smile, it was a lethal combination.
Brother Chen nodded, his affection for Lin Ganzhi growing a little more. Interacting with such a polite artist was incredibly comfortable. Who said Lin Ganzhi had an unpredictable personality and was a drama queen? It was clearly slander.
After Brother Chen left, Que Jin couldn’t stay awake any longer and went to sleep first. Wenren Yi went over to help her lay out a thick layer of dry grass to make her sleep a little more comfortably.
Lin Ganzhi sat by the fire, looking at Lu Xi. “Not going to rest?”
Lu Xi shook his head. “I’m not… very sleepy yet.” Without the camera, Lu Xi seemed much more relaxed. His eyes were hesitant, but he still mustered the courage to say, “Can I talk to you?”
When the camera was on earlier, Lu Xi had spoken very little, probably because there were some things he didn’t want to be made public.
Lin Ganzhi naturally had a soft spot for people with gentler personalities than his own. He hugged his legs, his eyes twinkling. “Mhm, go ahead.”
Lin Ganzhi’s casual attitude encouraged Lu Xi. Just as he was about to speak, Wenren Yi emerged from the grass shelter. The word that had just escaped Lu Xi’s lips scrambled back down his throat.
Wenren Yi let out a huff of laughter. “Am I that scary? You can’t even speak when you see me?”
Lu Xi couldn’t stand being provoked. He grumbled, “What’s there to be scared of?!”
Lin Ganzhi silently gave Wenren Yi a look: Nice one!
Wenren Yi smiled confidently, her handsome features quite captivating.
And so, the conversation for two became a conversation for three. Lu Xi cleared his throat and finally said, “I’m sorry about today. I was forced to come here, so I’ve been holding in my anger since I arrived, and I couldn’t help but take it out on you guys.” Lu Xi rubbed his eyes, looking extremely guilty.
Lin Ganzhi, worried the kid would start crying again, expertly plucked a leaf and handed it to him. This leaf was clean. Lu Xi silently took it and miraculously managed to hold back his tears.
“If you didn’t want to, who forced you? Your company?” Lin Ganzhi asked.
Lu Xi’s expression turned somewhat contemptuous. “My family owns the company. Who would dare force me?”
Lin Ganzhi: …Oh, another rich person. My apologies.
Wenren Yi, however, wasn’t so surprised. She had seen from the beginning that Lu Xi was a spoiled child. She then said, “Let me guess. Did your family throw you in here to be reformed because they think you’re too useless?”
Lu Xi was stunned, then looked at Wenren Yi in disbelief, as if to say, “How did you know?”
Wenren Yi shrugged, her words unapologetic. “Because if I were your sister, I’d do the same thing.”
Lu Xi pouted, almost unable to hold back his tears. He whimpered, “My brother, after he took over Dad’s company, he kicked me out of the house.”
Lin Ganzhi’s heart clenched. Could this kid’s situation be exactly the same as Yan Shengping’s?
Then he saw Lu Xi continue, “He said, if I can’t earn a million on my own, I’m not allowed to come home!”
To be honest, Lin Ganzhi had never seen anyone like Lu Xi in the entertainment industry. He asked tactfully, “So now?”
That question seemed to hit a sore spot for Lu Xi. He said with a pained expression, “I only ever got one role. It was the brother who gets hit by a car and becomes a vegetable to save the female lead. I lay there for a whole drama and earned ten thousand yuan. After paying a deposit and three months’ rent, I only had three thousand left. Then one day, I was walking down the street and a hair salon dragged me in, saying I had an extraordinary temperament and just needed the right hairstyle to make a living off my face.” Lu Xi covered his face, the words he spoke feeling bitter. “The salon said it was free, but they kept putting shampoo on my head. When I came to, they told me I had already spent six thousand yuan.”
“Pfft!” Wenren Yi couldn’t help but burst out laughing. This Lu Xi guy was too funny. “Just one hairstyle away from making a living off your face? Hahaha, how did you believe that? Even a plastic surgery clinic wouldn’t dare to advertise like that!”
Lin Ganzhi felt both sympathy and a strong urge to laugh, which twisted his expression into a pained grimace.
Being laughed at, Lu Xi’s sadness deepened, but he didn’t stop talking. It had been a long time since he had had such a normal conversation with anyone. His personality flaws meant that he had grown up playing by himself. Even his own brother, born of the same parents, spent far more time disciplining him than talking to him normally.
“I really didn’t expect hair salons to be so shady these days. In the end, I had to call my brother. He sent me four thousand yuan and then forced me to come on this show. He said if I didn’t participate, he would delete all my game saves. He knows all my game passwords.”
“That’s so cruel!” Lin Ganzhi was shocked. If Yan Shengping threatened him with that, he would definitely cry for him to see.
Lu Xi was moved by the sudden empathy. He sniffed. “He’s just that cruel! My brother used to be a special forces soldier. He just thinks I haven’t suffered enough, that’s why I’m so dramatic. He thinks I should be out here getting toughened up.”
Wenren Yi was laughing so hard she couldn’t stand up straight. Her last bit of resentment towards Lu Xi completely vanished. “Hahahaha! Did your brother send you to the wrong place? He should have sent you to X-Change!”
Lu Xi paused, then said faintly, “My brother thought X-Change wasn’t as brutal as this. Originally, he wanted me to go on an adventure with some foreign adventurer blogger for two years before coming back. I cried for two days and nights until my throat was almost raw before he finally let me off.”
Lin Ganzhi & Wenren Yi: …
The two exchanged a look. Finally, Lin Ganzhi patted Lu Xi’s shoulder and said, “You’ve had it rough too.”
Lu Xi wiped his eyes, feeling even more like crying. “My brother can’t stand to see me cry. If I cry on the show, he’ll definitely beat me up when I get back!” The end of Lu Xi’s sentence was trembling.
Hearing this, Wenren Yi also patted Lu Xi’s shoulder. “Then you should smile more these few days. After all, you won’t have much chance to when you get back.”
Lu Xi: …Thanks, I can’t smile now.
After chatting for nearly an hour, Lu Xi’s mood finally stabilized. He was persuaded to go rest first. Lin Ganzhi re-tied the scattered ferns and stretched.
Wenren Yi thought for a moment, but couldn’t help but ask, “Ganzhi, were the ferns really that good today?” If Wenren Yi hadn’t tasted them herself, she would have really thought Lin Ganzhi was eating some delicacy.
Lin Ganzhi didn’t stop tying the palm leaves. He thought for a moment, the image of Yan Shengping’s pale, feverish face appearing in his mind. With a somewhat complicated mood, he confessed, “They weren’t that good, but Yan Shengping might be watching my live stream. I’m afraid he’ll worry.”
Wenren Yi was stunned. She turned her head to look at Lin Ganzhi. A rare sadness flickered in his eyes. His gaze seemed to be on the fire, but in reality, it was as if he were looking at someone else.
It was only then that Wenren Yi truly felt that Lin Ganzhi cared about this relationship. Peeling away the exaggerated, fervent confessions to explore the core, Lin Ganzhi’s feelings for Yan Shengping were soft and warm, like the willow catkins in spring by the moat, gently covering the cold river surface, smiling yet ardent.
Wenren Yi covered her face and said, “Does it still count if I say I ship it now?”
Lin Ganzhi blinked. It took him a moment to understand what Wenren Yi was saying. This time, he wasn’t acting, just telling the truth. How could that be considered shipping? What was there to ship? His feelings for Yan Shengping were, at most, the care one has for family and friends!
***
Thousands of kilometers away in a suburban villa, Yan Shengping picked up a piece of stir-fried fern that Uncle Yan had bought and chopped that morning and put it in his mouth. He frowned deeply.
Disgusting.