Xia Yan hurried to catch a ride before the filming location shifted.
The production crew rented a six-seater van: Shen Xingci, Gu Xiaoran, Su Yi, and Song Yutong were in one vehicle, while Lu Chengyan, Jiang Yi, and Yu Wan took the other.
Just as Xia Yan arrived, he happened to catch sight of Lu Chengyan getting into the car. Without a second thought, he followed right after him and called out affectionately in a sweet, clingy voice, “Older brother.”
Once inside the vehicle, Jiang Yi and Yu Wan sat in the back row, while Xia Yan and Lu Chengyan sat side by side.
The moment Xia Yan’s hips hit the seat, he presented the purple cowrie shell bracelet to him like a treasured offering: “Older brother, I made this purple cowrie shell bracelet myself. I’m giving it to you, and I hope it can protect you.”
There were three purple cowrie shells on the bracelet. These purple cowrie shells were much smaller than ordinary ones, but their size was just right for a bracelet. Aside from the cowrie shells, small diamonds and other seashells were also strung together using tiny silver connecting rods section by section. It had a strong sense of design and looked very attractive.
Lu Chengyan looked at the bracelet Xia Yan was holding out to him. His fingertips curled slightly before relaxing, and he finally averted his gaze, his tone flat: “Thank you, I don’t wear bracelets.”
Xia Yan had already prepared himself for the possibility of failing to give it away on the first try, seeing as someone had always considered himself a dyed-in-the-wool straight man.
He put on a dejected look, the corners of his eyes drooping slightly, resembling a little rabbit that had let its ears drop in disappointment.
“Does older brother not want it? What a pity. I spent an entire afternoon making it. Since older brother doesn’t want it, I’ll just have to wear it myself.”
As he spoke, he slipped the bracelet onto his wrist, and by the way, put on the matching bracelet he had kept for himself in his pocket.
Since Lu Chengyan wouldn’t accept it, he would wear it himself. He could give it to him another time if there was an opportunity, and if he still couldn’t give it away, he’d just consider it a charm to protect himself.
When Lu Chengyan saw Xia Yan’s action, a trace of regret arose in his heart for no apparent reason.
Over the course of the morning, he had figured one thing out: he had fallen for Xia Yan at first sight.
In his original life plan, the column for a partner was left blank.
Xia Yan’s appearance had disrupted his plan. He needed some time to confirm whether he possessed the ability to be responsible for a partner, and time to confirm whether Xia Yan was worth him replanning his life.
If the first two conditions were met, he would still need time to redesign his life, and only then would he formally accept Xia Yan’s affection.
If the first two conditions were not met, then they had no need for any intersection whatsoever.
That was why he had just rejected the seemingly extraordinary bracelet Xia Yan gave him.
And the point he regretted was that because of this rejection, even if he ended up together with Xia Yan in the future, he would forever miss this extraordinarily meaningful bracelet.
However, the words had already been spoken; regret was useless.
The afternoon’s itinerary was an island sea cave.
The entrance to the sea cave was located in the ocean, requiring a kayak to reach it.
The kayaks were two-seaters, which was clearly very suitable for nurturing romance. Director Zhao Weidong didn’t miss such an opportunity to manufacture ambiguity, having the guests pair up in groups of two.
Just imagine the shimmering blue sea, two people sitting in a kayak drifting across the water, chatting and laughing, paired with a mood-enhancing background music—it was guaranteed to make the viewers ship them with fanatical devotion.
As soon as Xia Yan changed into his clothes in the locker room, he scampered over to team up with Lu Chengyan. But when Lu Chengyan saw him coming, he took the initiative to pair up with Shen Xingci and boarded the boat first.
Seeing this, Xia Yan wasn’t annoyed either. He had already seen right through him: Lu Chengyan was simply a tsundere and awkward person whose words didn’t match his heart. Look at how much his favorability rating had already gone up, yet he still always acted as if he didn’t care.
He wasn’t in a rush for this single moment anyway.
“Little Xia, can you swim?!’
Hearing Song Yutong’s voice, Xia Yan turned in the direction of the sound, and his eyes received a violent critical hit.
The island sea cave they were visiting this time resembled a large pool of water. The entrance to the sea cave was two meters wide, and once inside, apart from the surrounding rock walls, there was only seawater. Tourists usually liked to cliff-dive inside.
The guests had all changed into swimwear. Most of the female guests wore bikinis paired with mesh skirts or towels wrapped around them. Except for Shen Xingci who only wore swim trunks, the other male guests wore short-sleeved shirts and shorts.
Song Yutong’s outfit was the most unique.
She wore a one-piece swimsuit, which was normal enough, but printed on her one-piece swimsuit was a pouting, winking gorilla.
Xia Yan: O.O
He couldn’t help asking, “Do you know you’re here to participate in a romance reality show?”
Song Yutong understood why Xia Yan asked that. She crooked her mouth into a smile and asked, “Let me ask you, do you remember what style or pattern the swimwear Gu Xiaoran and the others are wearing?”
Xia Yan shook his head.
Fair is fair, even though the other female guests wore swimwear, he didn’t dare look at them too much. Firstly, it would be embarrassing, and secondly, he had to remain chaste for Lu Chengyan, including his eyes.
Song Yutong gave a hmphing laugh, spun around, and said with smug satisfaction, “Get it now? Although my outfit looks uncompetitive, it’s easy to catch everyone’s attention and leave a deep impression on you all. With you guys paying more attention to me, can love really be far away?”
Xia Yan remained noncommittal and steered back to the initial topic: “I can swim. Are you inviting me to team up?”
The coach had just said that for their two-person kayaks, it was best if at least one person knew how to swim.
Song Yutong nodded, pursed her lips, and put on a pitiful expression: “Mm, I can’t swim, and they’ve all paired up. Can you please take care of me?”
Having served as roommates with Song Yutong for an evening and having good chats, their relationship could be considered quite close.
Amused by her expression, Xia Yan waved a hand grandly: “Let’s go.”
Song Yutong had a restless personality. That tiny little kayak managed to be played with all sorts of tricks by her, but since she couldn’t swim, she would shriek in alarm whenever the boat was about to flip. She was inept yet loved to play.
When it finally did flip over, she finally behaved herself.
Xia Yan and she both fell into the water and became drowned rats. He was starting to regret sharing a boat with Song Yutong.
Xia Yan was wearing the kind of floral shirt and floral shorts commonly seen at the beach. Once wet, his top clung tightly to his body, outlining his abdominal muscles with crystal clarity.
When Song Yutong saw Xia Yan’s abs, her mouth and eyes dropped open into an “O” shape in shock: “You actually have abs!?”
Xia Yan was speechless: “Do I look like a weakling without abs?”
Song Yutong rubbed her nose, gave an embarrassed chuckle, turned off her microphone, covered half her mouth, and whispered secretly to Xia Yan: “With all due respect, you look very pretty and resemble a dainty shou. Your belly should be soft and white, the kind without any defined shape.”
Xia Yan: ……
“Read more literary works in your spare time and fewer nutrient-poor ones. Watch out for kidney deficiency from reading too much.”
Song Yutong grinned and chuckled: “I didn’t even say what kind of shape, yet you understood in a second.”
She arched her eyebrows twice: “Birds of a feather, oh~ Confess quickly, what are you usually reading? Share your reading list.”
Xia Yan didn’t have many reserves left to read recently, and seeing that Song Yutong was an avid reader who had read extensively, he also developed the desire to borrow books.
He followed her example by turning off his microphone stealthily, lowered his voice to name a few books, and even introduced their plots.
Song Yutong’s eyes grew brighter and brighter as she clung to Xia Yan for a lively chat.
With their microphones turned off, the two whispered back and forth about many things, and Song Yutong laughed so hard she rocked back and forth.
Unable to pick up any audio, Zhao Weidong assumed their microphones were broken and had the staff members replace them, only to find out that the two of them had purposely muted their mics to whisper to each other.
He issued both of them a yellow card, warning that if they turned off their microphones without cause again, he would dock their romantic travel fund.
As a noble director, he also wanted to hear what was so funny!
On the other kayak, Lu Chengyan’s gaze was fixed firmly on Xia Yan. He maintained a blank expression, but his eyes grew increasingly dark and profound.
[Beep! The target’s favorability has decreased by 1 point. Current favorability: 38.]
[Beep! The target’s favorability has decreased by 1 point. Current favorability: 37.]
[Beep! The target’s favorability has decreased by 1 point. Current favorability: 36.]
[Beep! The target’s favorability has decreased by 1 point. Current favorability: 35.]
[Beep! The target’s favorability has decreased by 1 point. Current favorability: 34.]
Several consecutive favorability drop alerts left Xia Yan completely bewildered.
What’s wrong with Lu Chengyan again!?
He turned back to look for Lu Chengyan’s figure, only to see the other man staring at him with a gloomy gaze—more accurately, staring at the bracelet on his wrist.
At that moment, Song Yutong was pointing vaguely at his bracelet while studying it.
Song Yutong really liked Xia Yan’s bracelet, and she had gotten extremely excited upon learning that Xia Yan had prepared seashell bracelets for everyone and would give them out during dinner.
She had asked Xia Yan what the seashell bracelet he was making for her would look like, and Xia Yan replied that there was a kind of precious snail very similar to the one on his bracelet, just a different color.
That was why Song Yutong was staring at Xia Yan’s bracelet.
From Lu Chengyan’s expression, it looked like he had misunderstood something.
Xia Yan let out a “tsk,” exchanged a nod with Song Yutong, and amidst Song Yutong’s gossip-filled expression, stood up and jumped into the sea.
The guests’ kayaks were not far apart. Within a few strokes, Xia Yan swam over to Lu Chengyan’s boat. Clinging to the edge of the hull, he flashed Shen Xingci a polite and gentle smile that made it impossible for anyone to refuse.
“Teacher Shen, could I trouble you to switch places with me? I really want to sit with Older Brother Chengyan.”
[Beep! The target’s favorability has increased by 11 points. Current favorability: 45.]