Ren Xubai had originally just seized the opportunity to get closer to Xu Qingnan, but seeing Cheng Yanzhi put on gloves, grab and knead the chunks of meat with seasonings until they were evenly mixed, he felt a spark of interest himself. “I want to try, too.”
“It’s very simple,” Cheng Yanzhi handed another portion over to Ren Xubai. “Super stress-relieving, give it a try.”
Ren Xubai looked over at Xu Qingnan, who was still busy assembling the grill. “I don’t know how much to put in.”
“I’m just about done mixing mine anyway,” Cheng Yanzhi lifted his chin. “Have Qingnan tell you.”
Hearing his name, Xu Qingnan looked up at the two of them and said flatly, “Go wash your hands and put on gloves.”
Ren Xubai’s eyes lit up. “Okay!”
Xu Qingnan glanced at the total volume of Ren Xubai’s portion. “Three spoonfuls of salt.”
Ren Xubai very cautiously scooped out three neat, level spoonfuls of salt.
“Put a little more.”
“How much is a little?”
“…” Xu Qingnan stopped what he was doing with his hands. “Just scoop a bit first, let me see.”
Ren Xubai casually dug into the container, scooping out more than half a spoonful. “Like this?”
“Less.”
Ren Xubai’s hand trembled. “Like this?”
There was practically no change whatsoever.
“Less.”
Ren Xubai shook his hand again.
“…” Xu Qingnan stood up, took the spoon from Ren Xubai’s hand, and decisively shook off more than half of it. “Stand aside.”
If he waited for Ren Xubai to shake it off, who knew how long that would take.
Xu Qingnan skillfully added the various seasonings into the meat while his tail standing beside him obediently stayed put, flashing a sweet, harmless smile no matter how many times Xu Qingnan glanced at him, acting as if he completely failed to understand any hints.
Waiting only for Xu Qingnan to address him, even if it was just to boss him around: “Go string up the meat Cheng Yanzhi finished marinating.”
“Got it!”
As twilight deepened and the moon climbed up to the tree canopy, Huo Zheng and Ye Yuyao finished setting up their tents. Two lamps hung on the tents, their soft glow echoing the moonlight from afar and illuminating this patch of the world.
The grill was also fully assembled, and a breeze swept over the burning charcoal, kicking up a faint crackling sound.
Ren Xubai threaded the last few pieces of marinated meat onto the skewers, lifted his head to exhale a breath, and prepared to claim credit from Xu Qingnan.
However, Xu Qingnan was frowning as he glanced at his wristband, where the time was flashing. “Why isn’t Deng You back yet?”
The others reacted one after another.
Ye Yuyao was the first to wear an expression of concern, comforting the group, “This isn’t reality, so he’ll definitely be fine. Besides, the wristbands can emit distress signals; the production crew will handle it.”
“But Deng You lost his wristband,” Ren Xubai noted. “When we first came over, his wrist got scraped, and because he hated how the wristband kept rubbing against the wound, he took it off. Then he lost it somewhere along the way.”
That made things tricky.
The production crew possessed administrative logout permissions for everyone, and since they had given advance notice of this continuous 24-hour online session, guests wishing to log out during this period were required to use their wristbands to apply. Yet Deng You had lost his.
Since he hadn’t appeared yet, it likely meant he hadn’t found his wristband yet, leaving him with no choice but to remain stranded in this mountain forest until the 24 hours concluded.
Ding—
The wristband emitted a soft chime, broadcasting a young man’s voice: “Please have the guests independently decide on two people to head into the mountain forest and search for Deng You, while the remaining three stay behind to hold down the fort.”
Clearly, the production crew wouldn’t toy with the guests’ personal safety; Deng You must be completely safe for the crew to casually trigger a side quest like this.
“Let’s draw lots,” Xu Qingnan picked out five sticks, cleanly snapping two of them in half before holding them all together in his fist to ensure the exposed lengths matched. “Whoever draws the short ones goes to find Deng You, and the remaining stick counts as mine.”
The four of them stepped forward one by one to draw. Cheng Yanzhi and Huo Zheng successively pulled long sticks, while Ren Xubai drew a short one, leaving the final two sticks as a choice between two.
Ye Yuyao observed closely. He wanted to stay behind so he could remain with Huo Zheng and Cheng Yanzhi, while also managing to get Xu Qingnan out of the picture.
As for rescuing Deng You? This wasn’t the real world; what kind of trouble could possibly happen?
Losing his patience, Xu Qingnan spoke in a low voice, “Do you want the long one or the short one?”
Ye Yuyao raised his head alertly.
Everyone could see Xu Qingnan’s aversion toward Ren Xubai. If one drew the short stick, they would end up alone with Ren Xubai.
Ye Yuyao adjusted his glasses and spoke smoothly, “Is Qingnan planning to cheat?”
Xu Qingnan’s expression remained expressionless, having no interest in playing guessing games with Ye Yuyao. He shoved the stick in his left hand toward Ye Yuyao, turned around to look at Ren Xubai, and commanded, “Let’s go.”
Ye Yuyao stared in a daze at the long stick in his hand.
The face that had consistently worn a gentle smile suddenly stiffened. Deep down, he inexplicably felt as though he looked like a complete joke in Xu Qingnan’s eyes.
Xu Qingnan retrieved a flashlight, put on his mask and cap, grabbed the wooden stick he had grown accustomed to using, and strode down toward the foot of the mountain.
Of course he could see Ye Yuyao’s guard up. The other person seemed to view him as a hypothetical rival, or perhaps because he knew Xu Qingnan wanted nothing to do with being alone with Ren Xubai, Ye Yuyao worried that Xu Qingnan might interfere with his own plans.
Xu Qingnan felt that Ye Yuyao was overthinking things.
What Ye Yuyao wanted had nothing to do with him.
Xu Qingnan simply wanted to bring Deng You back as quickly as possible, eat, and then rest.
As for Ren Xubai, Xu Qingnan genuinely wanted nothing to do with him, but that didn’t mean Xu Qingnan was afraid of being alone with him.
“Xu-ge, there are just a few more rocks on this path, and quite a few brambles on both sides,” Ren Xubai was clearly in high spirits, chattering away beside Xu Qingnan. “It’s actually quite flat overall.”
Xu Qingnan asked, “Did Deng You mention where he lost his things? Where did you all rest when you came over?”
“We basically didn’t rest,” Ren Xubai recalled, taking out the map distributed by the production crew to gesture and point. “We only stopped once, right around here.”
Taking the map, Xu Qingnan glanced at Ren Xubai upon hearing this. “You only stopped once?”
“Well, who wants to stay stuck with their love rival all the time?” Ren Xubai leaned in close to Xu Qingnan under the pretext of looking at the map, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t you agree, Xu-ge?”
Xu Qingnan didn’t bite. Roughly pinpointing their coordinates, he continued walking forward.
Ren Xubai didn’t mind. Catching up, he switched topics, “Xu-ge, that jacket of yours is still with me. Why don’t you give me your address so I can send it back to you?”
Ren Xubai was referring to the jacket Xu-ge had thrown over his head on the night they first met.
Mindful of the recording microphone, he spoke in a voice low and soft, as if murmuring sweet secrets.
Xu Qingnan: “Keep it.”
“Then what brand of cigarettes does Xu-ge usually smoke?” Ren Xubai continued to ask, sounding somewhat disappointed. “The scent on the jacket is already fading.”
“…” Xu Qingnan frowned, failing to process what he had just heard for a split second. “Are you a pervert?”
Unfazed, Ren Xubai offered a glib justification, “I was just being hunted down and was terrified! Hugging your clothes gave me a greater sense of security!”
“Ren Xubai,” Xu Qingnan said flatly, “I haven’t given you any signals showing interest in you. As for what happened that day if it hadn’t threatened my personal safety, even if I had noticed, I would have simply stood by and watched. Besides, you already paid me your reward.”
“Mm,” Ren Xubai nodded. “I know!”
Xu Qingnan came to a halt. The beam of the flashlight illuminated Ren Xubai’s face, revealing no trace of displeasure whatsoever.
Frowning, Xu Qingnan waited a moment before speaking again. “I’m also not interested in your identity, nor will I mention the injuries on your body to anyone else.”
“Mm,” Ren Xubai nodded again. “I trust you.”
Resuming his march forward, Xu Qingnan said, “So you have no reason to keep staring at me like this.”
Ren Xubai’s eyes widened in a theatrical display of near-tears, mixing genuine and feigned sorrow. “You think I’m chasing after you just because I’m afraid you’ll expose me?”
“I’m simply yielding to the call of destiny!” Without waiting for Xu Qingnan to look closely, Ren Xubai flashed a cheeky smile, spouting smooth justifications as if his previous grievance had been entirely an act. “Xu-ge is so smart, you certainly wouldn’t walk into danger just to save me. So it must mean you and I are fated, which is why heaven specifically designed this kind of script for us!”
Xu Qingnan closed his eyes for a brief second.
Ren Xubai’s words conjured several fragmentary memories flashing through his mind.
“Xu-ge, we’re the only two who got this question right! We’re so fated!”
“Xu-ge, you look so good with short hair! Why do you always keep it so long?”
“Xu-ge, you should make some friends, everyone loves hanging out with you!”
…
“Xu-ge! Are you going out to party again?! Did you find someone more suitable?! I’m the one who dragged you out! Don’t even think about ditching me!”
In the memory, the young man was a complete mess, the bite mark of his own teeth still lingering on the gland at the back of his neck, yet the youth flashed a triumphant, pale smile right up at him.
It was hardly a pleasant memory.
Opening his eyes, Xu Qingnan gazed coldly at Ren Xubai, his voice turning even frostier. “Is it common for people like you to completely ignore other people’s rejections?”
Ren Xubai sharply zeroed in on the keyword. “People… like us?”
Xu Qingnan said no more.
Ren Xubai didn’t press further, unusually falling silent.
That inborn ease, always knowing precisely when to hold his tongue.
Equally enough to make Xu Qingnan want to steer as far away as possible.
The beam of the flashlight made the surrounding mountain forest look even darker, resembling a pool of unyielding, thick ink. It was dead quiet, save for the sound of their feet crunching over fallen leaves.
Ren Xubai was distracted. He was still wrapped up in danger back then, which was why he hadn’t investigated Xu Qingnan’s background right away. Later on, because he had signed a contract with the production crew bringing together several first- and second-generation scions for a matchmaking show the production crew clearly had deep backing, so Ren Xubai had no intention of breaching the contract, let alone launching an investigation into Xu Qingnan.
Suddenly, Ren Xubai blundered right into a tree, striking it squarely against his previous injury and letting out a sharp gasp of pain.
Xu Qingnan didn’t even turn his head. “Hit it?”
You see, even when someone is clearly showing they want nothing to do with him right now, he still keeps mindful not to let anything slip about his wound—
Xu Qingnan truly hadn’t given him any signals.
It was just that he genuinely found himself unable to stop falling for Xu Qingnan.
Lost in thought, Ren Xubai stepped squarely onto a loose stone. With a sharp crack, he muttered, “!”
Wincing and baring his teeth in the cover of the darkness, his luck was so atrocious that he couldn’t even tell for a moment whether his back hurt or his ankle hurt. When people are left completely speechless, they really do just want to laugh. “…Well, now I’ve sprained my ankle too.”
The annoyance clouding Xu Qingnan’s mind over past memories abruptly cut off.
He could genuinely be driven up the wall by Ren Xubai’s sheer foolishness.
Relaxing his tense aura by a fraction, Xu Qingnan turned around and looked down from his height at Ren Xubai, who had completely given up and parked himself on the ground. “Wait here, I’ll come back to pick you up in a bit.”
“It’s not because you hate me,” Ren Xubai seized the opening with a pitiful, slippery climb up the pole, “that Xu-ge is just going to leave me here to fend for myself, right?”
“Say one more word and I will.”
Ren Xubai put on a mysterious facade. “Xu-ge, smile for me, and I’ll show you a magic trick.”
Xu Qingnan frowned, wondering what kind of mischief this guy was trying to pull now. “What?”
Then he watched as Ren Xubai reached out to massage his own ankle as if verifying something, his expression completely unchanged as his arm exerted a practiced burst of force. A loud crack snapped the joint back into place.
Xu Qingnan’s gaze narrowed, clearly caught off guard by Ren Xubai’s maneuver. “What on earth are you doing!”
Ren Xubai beamed with satisfaction as he caught the rare look of astonishment in Xu Qingnan’s eyes, beads of sweat still dotting his forehead as his bright, shining eyes reached out once more. “I came out here specifically to help you find that nuisance Deng You; I couldn’t possibly tag along just to hold you back and cause trouble, right?”