Yan Ling never expected to see Gu Ming here. Shock and delight crashed over her in equal measure.
She hurriedly smoothed down her clothes, plastering a poised, flawless smile across her face, only for Gu Ming’s icy voice to cut through the air: “Are you Gu Yan’s guardian?”
Yan Ling’s smile froze. She slowly let it fade, her expression shifting into one of casual indifference. “I am. Why? Didn’t Gu Yan tell you?”
“Do you treat every junior who looks like you this well?”
“Do you… always take care of them like this?”
“I’m just curious.”
Gu Ming’s fists clenched involuntarily, her jaw tightening as she glared coldly at the woman before her. “Yan Ling, how much longer are you going to keep disgusting me?”
Yan Ling put on a wounded look, her eyes brimming with grievance. “Ming, is loving you considered disgusting? You can smile at them, so why can’t you spare a single glance for me?”
“Love? Collecting lookalikes all over the place just to insult and mock me…that’s your idea of love? Your love is incredibly cheap and filthy.” Gu Ming showed absolutely no mercy, her words dripping with pure venom.
Yan Ling’s face turned appropriately pale, her gaze softening into a picture of fragile heartbreak. “If you hadn’t kept rejecting me, why would I have resorted to that? A stand-in is just a stand-in, after all. None of them are you.”
Gu Ming’s expression grew even uglier, thoroughly repulsed.
Ignoring the warning signs, Yan Ling pressed her advantage. She stepped closer, reaching out to touch Gu Ming’s face, but Gu Ming caught her by the wrist in a vice grip.
Instead of backing down, Yan Ling let out a sick, twisted laugh and leaned in to kiss the back of Gu Ming’s hand.
She didn’t get the chance. Gu Ming brutally twisted her arm back and slammed her hard against the freezing wall, pinning her down with an elbow pressed firmly against the back of her neck.
“Yan Ling, don’t push me.”
“To die for beauty is a glorious death,” Yan Ling gasped out. Despite the sharp pain, she kept smiling. She strained her neck to look backward, feeling a thrill of twisted satisfaction at the sight of Gu Ming’s unraveling composure. “Ming, we’re both women. Why keep me miles away? I promise I’ll give you the experience of a lifetime. You really should try it with me…ugh!”
Gu Ming’s rage flared, and she cranked Yan Ling’s arm back just a fraction harder. “Despicable.”
Yan Ling curled her lips into a smirk. “Desire for the person you love is just human nature. How is that despicable? Don’t worry, Ming, I know exactly how to make you feel good. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Gu Yan. She’s fallen apart beautifully under my hands countless times—”
“Enough! Shut up!”
Gu Ming was furious, though she couldn’t even tell what part of it enraged her more. Just then, the doors to the emergency room swung open. Gu Yan was quickly wheeled out, bound for a recovery ward. Gu Ming only caught a fleeting glimpse of her. Forcing down the urge to follow the gurney, she let go of Yan Ling.
“Get out. Take your people and get the hell out of my sight.”
Yan Ling didn’t listen. She didn’t spare so much as a glance toward the passing Gu Yan. Watching this, another wave of intense fury surged in Gu Ming’s chest.
Rubbing her sore shoulder and arm, Yan Ling stared at her with a sick, infatuated smile. “Ming, you look so beautiful when you’re angry. I won’t give up. As long as you haven’t fallen for someone else, I still have a chance.”
“And even if you do fall for someone else, we can always have a secret affair. After all, when two women kiss and hug, nobody ever suspects a thing, do they?”
Gu Ming was thoroughly nauseated, her eyes heavy with blatant loathing. She looked at her coldly. “Even if I ever needed a woman, it would never be you.”
“Yan Ling, you’re too filthy.”
With that, Gu Ming turned and walked away.
As she left, she tossed a wet wipe into a nearby trash can…the one she had used to scrub her hand clean after touching Yan Ling.
Yan Ling watched her go, a bizarre smile breaking across her face. She walked over to the trash can, fished out the discarded wipe, and brought it to her nose, taking a deep breath.
“Filthy? All I smell… is how sweet you are.”
She stared intensely at Gu Ming’s receding figure, her eyes alive with absolute fixation.
Qiu Yuan, who had been waiting around the corner the entire time, stepped forward. “President Yan, about Gu Yan…”
“Is she dead?”
“She’s out of danger.”
Yan Ling glanced at her, amused. “Then what are you standing there for? Hurry up and book my flight back.”
“…You’re not going to see her?”
“She’s alive, isn’t she? That’s enough.” Yan Ling paused, her eyes narrowing. “Oh, right. Go ahead and pull her from Wilderness Survival. Just thinking about her clinging to Gu Ming all day makes me sick.”
Following the incident with Yusa and Gu Yan, the show’s production had been forced to a halt. However, the hiatus didn’t last long. The remaining cast members were quickly rounded up and shipped back to the island.
Learning from their previous mistakes, the production team overhauled the survival rules. While still granting the contestants maximum autonomy and freedom, they introduced structured task phases.
Having just enjoyed a few days of luxury back in civilization, the remaining contestants couldn’t help but groan at the grueling days ahead.
Yet, it was undeniable that these changes made for much better television. After all, these were high-profile celebrities, not ordinary survivalists. Fans didn’t want to watch their idols just suffer; they wanted to see them use their wits to beat the odds and conquer the wild.
Gu Ming naturally remained the team leader. But without Gu Yan in the roster, her smiles vanished entirely. Even Cheng Ming, who knew her best, couldn’t help but glance at her repeatedly, eventually pulling her aside during a quiet moment to remind her to manage her expressions.
Gu Ming forced a tight smile.
She wanted to smile…to laugh without a care in the world just like before. But the moment she thought of the relationship between Gu Yan and Yan Ling, and how Gu Yan had hidden it just to scheme her way to her side, a volatile mix of fury, disgust, and betrayal consumed her.
Gu Yan really was the most talented newcomer she had ever scouted. Her acting was so flawless it was terrifying. Gu Ming had genuinely treated her like a younger sister…how could she have deceived her so completely?
“Are you alright?”
“What a coincidence, we share the same last name and look so much alike. Do you think we might actually be long-lost sisters? Haha.”
“What’s wrong? Hiding out here all by yourself, crying? Director Wu is just like that…he snaps at everyone when he loses his temper. Truth be told, he’s chewed me out too, and it was brutal. I was so mad I almost walked off the set.”
“Here, I brought an extra breakfast today. Not sure if it’s to your liking.”
“Tell me what you want to eat tomorrow and I’ll bring it. Don’t starve yourself into the hospital again. Look how thin you are…I could knock you over with a single finger.”
The more Gu Ming replayed their moments together, the angrier she became at the sheer depth of the manipulation. In truth, this wasn’t the first time Yan Ling had used a carefully groomed stand-in to play her for a fool. Yet, none of those times had left her feeling this profoundly enraged and devastated. Gu Yan had countless opportunities to come clean. Why didn’t she? Was she really that untrustworthy? Did Gu Yan think that just because of her connection to Yan Ling, Gu Ming would automatically sabotage and despise her?
Wait… what am I even thinking?
Gu Ming suddenly broke into a cold sweat.
But she didn’t have the luxury to unpack her thoughts right now. She still had to secure dinner for the team; she needed to focus entirely on the task at hand.
With two members suddenly missing, the camp felt instantly deserted. Gu Yan had always been quiet, usually only speaking up to reply to Gu Ming, so her absence didn’t shift the dynamic too much. However, losing Yusa…the undisputed life of the party…was a massive blow. The atmosphere turned suffocatingly heavy.
What made it even harder for anyone to break the ice was Gu Ming’s rigid, tense expression. She seemed entirely locked inside her own head, a dark, unvented rage radiating off her. Terrified of throwing fuel on the fire, the others walked on eggshells, communicating strictly through uneasy glances.
Song Ai finally couldn’t take it anymore. After dinner concluded, she slipped into Gu Ming’s tent.
Finding her sitting cross-legged on her mat, staring blankly into space, Song Ai let out a soft sigh. “What on earth happened over the last few days? Your headspace is completely wrong. The show just restarted, so it’s fine for now, but if you carry on like this, the post-production editors are going to have a nightmare.”