This mountain wasn’t a wild mountain, and wild mountains were dangerous.
The climbing path the production team led them to had been paved long ago. As long as they climbed up along this well-maintained path, they would reach the summit without any trouble.
Moving forward for a stretch, people began to come into view. It could be considered a rather small tourist attraction, though because of yesterday’s rain, there weren’t many people around, and most of them were young.
They were unfazed by these cameramen lugging massive professional gear, and seeing that the group looked unfamiliar and weren’t major celebrities, it didn’t cause any commotion.
There were also quite a few vendors selling goods on the mountain, and their prices were much cheaper than those at major scenic spots. Most of them sold small accessories, while a few stalls renting out military cotton-padded coats and tents were also set up by now.
They weren’t in a hurry to buy these items, otherwise they’d have to lug them all the way up the mountain and exhaust their stamina.
The weather had cleared up now, and a bit later people would start moving their stalls toward the summit.
As he walked, Chu Minghe kept a close eye on Zhao Xingjian, watching to see if he was showing any signs of discomfort. However, he soon discovered that he had underestimated Zhao Xingjian’s physical stamina and adaptability.
Ever since coming to record the show, Zhao Xingjian hadn’t run into any major issues.
He figured he could appropriately relax his vigilance over the next three days and wouldn’t need to keep such a tight watch on him.
Because everyone was fascinated by the surrounding scenery, stopping and going along the way meant it was already close to noon by the time they reached the halfway point of the mountain.
Lin Dingshi had a high-spec lunch, but instead of eating it all by himself, he used the lid and spoon provided in the package to split off two additional portions and gave them to the other two couples.
“Braised beef with potatoes,” Chu Minghe said, carrying the spoon and small tray over to show Zhao Xingjian, who was standing guard by their backpacks. “There’s only one spoon.”
For ordinary couples, sharing a single spoon was completely normal, but their pair was different from normal couples they couldn’t share a single spoon, so Chu Minghe wanted to hand it over to Zhao Xingjian.
“You eat. I’m on a diet; eating biscuits will fill me up.”
Zhao Xingjian glanced up at him. What kind of person on a diet could eat two bowls of noodles in a single sitting?
So he didn’t take it: “Eat as much as you can.”
The production team providing three spoons must have been discussed in advance; otherwise, with both spoons and trays involved, Lin Dingshi wouldn’t have been able to split it into three portions.
Holding both items in his hand, Chu Minghe wanted to say something else, but Zhao Xingjian had already torn open a packet of biscuits and started crunching away.
It was tough on him, suffering so many hardships just to record a variety show. Otherwise, under normal circumstances right now, he ought to be…
He didn’t know Zhao Xingjian well, but he was certain that what Zhao Xingjian was eating right now definitely shouldn’t be dry biscuits.
Chu Minghe pulled back his hand. This small portion of food genuinely smelled fragrant and appetizing.
It was undoubtedly the highest-end meal they had eaten these past few days.
He asked Zhao Xingjian to pull out a tissue, wrapped it around the other end of the spoon, scooped up a bite to eat, chewing slowly for fear that he wouldn’t be able to control himself and would devour the whole meal.
They were resting in a shady spot over here, while the other two couples were right across from them.
He could see Lin Dingshi passing pieces of beef straight into Zheng Yuan’s mouth whenever he didn’t want to eat them.
Zhang Qing held a camera snapping pictures of the mountains and trees layered across the eastern horizon. Even though Zhang Congsheng complained, he still fed her a bite from time to time.
Across the way, the years flowed by in quiet peace, while he and Zhao Xingjian were busy consuming a massive amount of high-yield dog food provided by the two pairs of couples.
He felt a slight urge to open his phone and browse the CP super-topic forum for himself and Zhao Xingjian just to escape reality.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t. The moment Zhao Xingjian finished eating his biscuits, he halted his movements.
Noticing this, Zhao Xingjian asked, “Full?”
Chu Minghe nodded: “Full.”
With his other hand occupied, Zhao Xingjian took the spoon from him and polished off the rest of the meal in a few bites, using the tray held in Chu Minghe’s hands.
Watching him in a trance, Chu Minghe snapped out of his previous thoughts and fell into astonishment. His eyelashes fluttered slightly before he helped lift the tray higher so Zhao Xingjian could eat more comfortably.
The portion was small to begin with, and Zhao Xingjian finished it in just a few bites. Stowing the spoon away, he casually plucked the tray off and tossed the whole thing into a trash can.
Turning back, he saw Chu Minghe staring intently at him and reached out his hand: “Still need it?”
[They finally cut the camera angle]
[What goodie is in that palm?]
[Sunscreen, amazing right? He gripped it the whole way here]
[President Zhao looks so dirt-cheap like this]
…
[President Zhao has the potential to be a simp]
Now that it was noon and they had just finished climbing the mountain, whatever sunscreen had been on their faces earlier was long gone.
Chu Minghe looked at his opened palm; that dollop of sunscreen had already melted down.
“You didn’t use it?”
Zhao Xingjian: “Didn’t use it, and never used it before either.”
He had never used such products before, always feeling that they contained strange chemical additives that corroded facial skin. But a couple of days ago in the bathroom, he had seen Chu Minghe using it, causing his psychological defenses to retreat a tiny notch though he still wasn’t too keen on smearing it all over his face.
Just now, when Chu Minghe had squeezed it into his palm, he had been too focused on the hand supporting the back of his own hand to stop him. Now it worked out well, turning his hand into a storage depot.
Taking a look, Chu Minghe was once again astounded by this behavior. He never would have thought that a big boss like Zhao Xingjian could pull off a stunt like this.
Staring at it, Chu Minghe spoke softly: “It’s melted…”
He had wanted to say that keeping this stuff clenched in one’s palm for too long bred bacteria.
Not understanding, Zhao Xingjian countered, “Melted makes it harder to wipe?”
Right now, Chu Minghe had no desire to voice any rejections. He silently pulled out a tissue, steadied the back of Zhao Xingjian’s hand, scraped the white lotion out of his palm, and transferred it onto the tissue. Zhao Xingjian’s wrist stiffened for a split second.
Folding the tissue, Chu Minghe spoke up: “This can’t be used anymore. In the future…”
There was no future; he wouldn’t be able to teach him anything in the future anyway.
Both of them paused, breaking free from the bizarre atmosphere that had just lingered between them, tacitly choosing not to continue the topic.
Having finished eating and resting, the four people across from them wrapped things up. Lin Dingshi called out to Chu Minghe, and the group resumed their mountain climb.
Before that, however, Lin Dingshi was washing his spoon. Once finished, he casually asked Chu Minghe if he wanted him to wash theirs as well.
However, their spoon had just been tossed into the trash can by Zhao Xingjian.
At the time, he had been too distracted thinking about other things and hadn’t paid attention to spoons or trays.
Shaking the water droplets off his hands, Lin Dingshi offered comfort: “Minghe-ge, don’t worry, they’ll probably hand them out again tonight. I was just asking just in case, thought I’d wash them as spares.”
Hopefully that was the case, and hopefully the spoons didn’t conceal any new traps rigged by the production team.
Still, the probability was low. With a total recording duration of only seven days, the production team wouldn’t hold back their tricks until the very end.
Chu Minghe smiled: “Let’s hope so.”
Along the way, Chu Minghe kept in mind that he needed to buy a few military cotton-padded coats. Just as the director had mentioned, they could catch both the sunrise and sunset, meaning they’d likely spend the night out here in this area.
It would be cold at night; without a military cotton-padded coat, renting a tent would be mandatory. Calculating the costs, Chu Minghe started scouting around for the cheapest stall.
Yet as the climbing dragged on, Chu Minghe began unconsciously rubbing his shoulder, feeling a sore ache.
Because the production team hadn’t provided proper hiking backpacks, carrying them for extended periods even began chafing his shoulders. With a heavy military cotton-padded coat stuffed inside his pack, it felt genuinely uncomfortable, forcing him to shift the position of the shoulder straps several times.
Zhao Xingjian had been keeping a close eye on him all along. Since Chu Minghe kept looking around instead of watching the path, Zhao Xingjian helped watch the road for him. Seeing him rubbing his shoulder right now, he finally spoke up: “Give it to me.”
Turning his head, Chu Minghe saw Zhao Xingjian’s gaze fixed on his shoulder and reflexively refused: “No need, I can carry it.”
Yet this wasn’t a matter of whether he could carry it or not. Staring at him, Zhao Xingjian felt an urge to simply reach out and peel back the collar of his shirt to take a look.
Reason, however, demanded that he refrain from doing so. He merely stared at the patch of skin exposed at the collar and said, “It’s chafed red.”
In the end, Chu Minghe removed the backpack and handed it over to Zhao Xingjian. Prompted by the lingering bizarre atmosphere from earlier, he offered a polite, formal, and distant murmur of thanks.
[Why is wife thanking him, laughing out loud]
[Were they secretly arguing just now when the camera wasn’t broadcasting?]
[Doesn’t look like an argument, but I suspect something fishy is going on, my brain just staged a massive drama]
[Don’t scare me, I just finished building my house]
[I want to know how they met. Seemed like there were no dating updates before they suddenly got married]
[Off to archaeological research]
[Can’t dig anything up, yesterday’s statement post has no updates below it, set to visible for the past six months only]
[Predicting a wave of #ChuMingheMarriageSours#]
[Unlikely. A president has a president’s character, tycoons have a tycoon’s rules, and both of them have their own habits and romantic chemistry]
They were oblivious to the live real-time trends. The defensive walls Chu Minghe had put up last night still stirred up a tiny ripple online, but it quickly subsided. After all, they were still recording a show, and aside from a polite “thank you,” nobody could fabricate rumors that a seemingly harmonious married couple was getting a divorce.
Without the backpack, things were indeed much lighter, making it easier for Chu Minghe to examine items and ask about prices.
Gradually, however, he drifted away from Zhao Xingjian’s side. Failing to notice right away, Zhao Xingjian looked around for him only to find a stranger standing right next to Chu Minghe quite young, tall, and handsome.
Holding a folded tent, Chu Minghe looked up and asked, “A hundred-yuan deposit?”
“Ah, yes—right, a hundred.”
The young man kept glancing sideways at Chu Minghe, and whenever Chu Minghe looked back over, he’d pretend nothing was wrong and look down at the tent. After doing this several times, the tips of his ears turned red, growing embarrassed all on his own.
This was the cheapest tent Chu Minghe had managed to find so far, and the vendor even offered to help pitch it.
“Can you give us a discount if we rent three?”
The young man was tall, but his words and actions revealed a hint of shyness. Rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, he muttered, “You set the price.”
“I set it?”
There was actually a vendor who let buyers dictate prices.
Hesitating, Chu Minghe named a figure: “Forty yuan a night.”
When Zhao Xingjian walked over, he happened to catch them negotiating the price.
[Fair price]
[Just walked in and thought this was some xx transaction, scared me to death—thought Chu Minghe was playing dirty]
Author’s Note:
Apologies, dear readers, today’s chapter is a bit too late. I’ll drop some red envelopes in the comments section as compensation~!