6 – Third Brother, are you feeling nervous?
Song Yuan’s suspicions only eased after hearing Song Qi’s completely oblivious tone.
They were gathering tonight, and he hadn’t heard a single whisper about it.
That meant it definitely couldn’t be Huo Yuzhou’s territory!
With that thought, Song Yuan visibly relaxed, her mood brightening several notches as she drove to the mall and dropped three million in one go.
Back home, she had Lin Ma pack her newly purchased luxury skincare products into her suitcase one by one.
Base training meant her skin needed serious upkeep—with skin as delicate as hers, if she got sun-damaged, how would she ever manage to destroy Huo Yuzhou?
After lunch, Song Yuan walked her Alaskan Malamute in the courtyard for about an hour before changing into a bikini and swimming a few laps in the pool.
Seeing its mom get into the water, the Alaskan instinctively ran over, ready to jump in.
Song Yuan stopped it before it could move, “Back!”
The Alaskan halted immediately, slowly retreating a few steps but not going far—just stopping there to watch her.
Song Yuan was afraid it might slip in when she wasn’t paying attention. Fishing it out would be a major undertaking—the massive creature weighed more than she did.
Losing the desire to keep swimming, she climbed out of the pool, grabbed the bathrobe from the lounge chair, and draped it over herself. The belt hung loosely tied, her figure tantalizingly alluring.
Seeing its mom back on land, the Alaskan immediately circled around her legs.
Song Yuan picked up her phone from the coffee table and looked down at the Alaskan rubbing against her feet, all clingy and begging for affection.
She thought Huo Yuzhou wasn’t much to write home about, but the dog he kept was adorable. Without a second thought, she crouched down, raised her phone, and snapped a casual selfie with it.
Then she posted it to her Moments.
She didn’t care who liked or commented.
She went straight to the bathroom to shower.
At four in the afternoon, Su Hua came to pick her up for the company. In the car, she couldn’t stop reminding Song Yuan.
“I heard the base is wall-to-wall men. Keep yourself in check.”
“Don’t go all starry-eyed the moment you see a handsome face.”
Song Yuan picked up her phone and said, “I’m not Ultraman—I can’t shoot laser beams from my eyes.”
The base zone.
“You think the boss sent us here to wait for who?”
“It’s been two hours already. We look like idiots—there’s not a single soul in sight!”
Those complaints came from A Dong’s mouth.
His morning training had just ended when the captain suddenly called him over. Not knowing what mistake he’d made, he was still nervous when he was brought to the base commander’s office.
Facing Huo Yuzhou’s icy stare, he barely dared to breathe. He nearly dropped to his knees in fright, stuttering so badly he couldn’t get a full sentence out.
It was He Chuan who took pity on him and explained the situation—he was just told to skip afternoon training and go pick someone up.
So here he was, standing at the base’s north gate to receive the arrivals.
A-Jin, standing nearby, heard his complaints and shot him a look. “Cut the crap. You’ve been going on and on—aren’t you tired?”
A Dong thought of something and walked up to him. “Bro, you know something, don’t you? Give me a hint.”
A-Jin’s lips were sealed tight. At the question, he frowned slightly and scolded in a low voice, “You were told to wait, so wait. What’s with all the questions?”
A Dong returned to his spot, looking defeated.
Fine, he wouldn’t ask!
About twenty minutes passed.
Several commercial vans pulled up in an orderly line in front of the two men.
Four male celebrities got out first—all uniformly handsome, with tall, lean frames and skin that clearly hadn’t seen much sun, likely well-maintained.
Seeing this lineup, A Dong didn’t even want to receive them. His face twisted in disgust. “We’re here for them?”
“It’s not like they don’t know the ro—”
The word “road” seemed to burn his mouth.
A Dong’s eyes locked onto Song Yuan’s long legs—
She figured they’d be given training uniforms at the base, so she’d dressed simply: denim shorts and a white blouse, the hem tucked into the shorts, two buttons undone at the collar, fair skin on display, and a limited-edition delicate chain necklace around her neck.
A wasp waist, a shapely figure, graceful and striking—her long, beautiful legs strummed at everyone’s heartstrings. Just standing there, she stood out far too much.
Never mind A Dong—even the other male celebrities couldn’t tear their eyes away. They’d never seen anyone like her in the industry!
Her bearing was refined yet alluring, seductive as fire—red lips, dark hair, radiating pure femme-fatale energy. Every smile and frown was bewitching, and her gaze was fiercely striking.
An absolute bombshell!
“You must be tired from the long drive, right?” A Dong, completely bewitched, stepped forward with fawning enthusiasm. “Let me carry your luggage for you.”
It was a complete about-face from his earlier disdain for the male celebrities.
His eyes practically wanted to stay glued to Song Yuan.
Song Yuan figured that since someone was volunteering to do the heavy lifting, she wouldn’t bother refusing.
After all, out here, every bit of hardship avoided was a win.
“Perfect timing—you can grab the luggage from that van in the back too.”
The moment A Dong heard her speak to him directly, he nearly lost all sense of direction. He spun around and almost kissed the front of the van.
Then, red-faced, he scurried off to fetch the luggage.
Song Yuan knew there were six participating artists in total—four male and two female celebrities. Everyone else had come out, leaving just one female artist remaining.
Who it was, she didn’t have the slightest curiosity to find out.
Taking advantage of the break, Song Yuan walked up to the base to take a look. It was an endless expanse of open ground, bordered by the sea on one edge, with ships floating on the water. The facility was equipped with all kinds of training apparatus, covering land, sea, and air in every direction.
But there was no man radiating wildness all over, as Su Hua had described.
“Is this area used exclusively for filming?” Song Yuan asked.
A-Jin was caught off guard when Song Yuan took the initiative to speak to him. He froze, a bit flustered, his ears unconsciously growing warm as her scent drifted to him. He took a small step back before answering, “This is a newly built facility.”
“But there are other training personnel too—though at this hour, the boss sent them off to rest in the dormitory building, because there’s extra training at night.”
Song Yuan latched onto a word in his sentence. “Boss? Is that the training captain?”
A-Jin said, “Our captain here only manages a single squad. The one who leads everything is called the boss.”
Song Yuan thought to herself, surely the man has a name, right? She pressed further, “Does he have any other title?”
A-Jin shook his head.
Seeing this, Song Yuan didn’t keep pushing.
Meanwhile, in the recording control area.
Tang Qi had already set up the equipment, using an unmanned camera mode, with 360-degree rotating micro-cameras installed in every corner. The goal was to capture their most authentic reactions.
This way, it wouldn’t interfere with the base’s training either.
From the moment they arrived at the location, the recording had already quietly begun.
At that moment, He Chuan stared at the screen. Seeing that A-Jin, usually so steady and cold, had actually gone red in the ears when facing Song Yuan, he laughed. “I thought this kid was a stubborn iron tree that would never bloom!”
“Didn’t expect he’d have those kinds of thoughts too.”
“Third Brother, feeling a little anxious?”
Huo Yuzhou was fiddling with a miniature voice changer in his hand, staring at that scene, his eyes dark and brooding. “Put him in Song Qi’s squad!”
Song Qi’s squad was the most intense in the base, running hell-mode drills—a single session could take half your life.
He Chuan laughed when he heard that. The jealousy was no small matter. “Alright, everything as the leader commands.”
Huo Yuzhou knew full well He Chuan was teasing him and shot him a glare.
Seeing that, He Chuan immediately shut his mouth.
At that moment, A-Jin had no idea of the hardship to come. He was leading the artists on a tour of the dormitory building.
The women’s dorm: one person per room.
The men’s dorm: four people squeezed into one room.
“Don’t think it’s unfair—this place was all men to begin with. You lot sent over four more, and this room was hastily cleared out for you,” A-Jin said bluntly, looking at those who seemed about to speak up and directly cutting off any unwarranted expectations. “If you have a problem, swallow it. Real men can sleep anywhere.”
“The women’s dorm is special, so no need to rough it. Everyone volunteered to give up their space, and everything’s been replaced with new items—no need to worry about hygiene.”
“If there are any other issues, feel free to speak up, and we’ll do our best to accommodate.”
Song Yuan asked, “What time do we assemble tonight?”
Seven o’clock in the evening.
Everyone gathered at the designated spot in camouflage uniforms.
“What’s your name?” Nian Yu, standing nearby, struck up a conversation with Song Yuan.
Song Yuan blinked. “I didn’t call anything.”
Nian Yu instinctively raised both hands and waved them. “No, no—I just meant, what’s your name…”
Before he could finish, a thunderous, intimidating roar suddenly descended from above. “What are you fidgeting about!”
Song Yuan immediately straightened her posture.
Her gaze happened to land on the man before her—
Half his face covered, sharp brows and piercing eyes.
Dressed in military gear, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, radiating an overwhelming presence—cold, aloof, exuding a coiled, explosive power. His eyes were icy, and staring at him too long felt like being on the verge of being devoured whole by some lurking beast.
Song Yuan’s heart jolted violently.