Apart from the guest team, the barrage of comments from the live stream also expressed concern about whether Yan Qing could retrieve his luggage by himself, with most taking on a spectator’s attitude.
【Why doesn’t he asked for help from the production team?】
【Isn’t the production team known for only intervening when there’s a threat to the guests’ safety? 23333】
【However, in a foreign country, can Yan Qing manage alone? There’s no need to be overly stubborn at this time. It might be better to have Mr. Wen accompany him. Mr. Wen grew up abroad, has strong language skills, and will likely be more efficient.】
As the audience in the live stream room shifted from worrying about whether Yan Qing could retrieve his luggage to discussing his language skills, Yan Qing had already found the relevant airport staff.
“Good evening, I’m a passenger on today’s flight A92730, and this is my ticket.” Yan Qing
“I haven’t checked in my luggage yet. Can you help me contact South City International Airport in Huaguo?”
“This is my name and my current phone number.”
Yan Qing spoke fluent everyday Oxford English, and if you covered his face, the staff might not have recognized him as a foreigner.
After making a record for him, the staff couldn’t help but take another look at this handsome young man with Asian features and complimented with a smile, “Then I wish you a pleasant journey, sir. We will contact you as soon as we have any updates.”
“Thank you, I appreciate your help.” Yan Qing said
Everyone was somewhat surprised by Yan Qing’s foreign language communication skills, which were almost at the level of a native speaker.
【Unbelievable, Yan Qing’s English is so strong!】
【What’s there to brag about? Don’t forget, did you guys know that Yan Qing’s family used to work in a multinational corporation or foreign trade? Having good English skills is quite normal, right? And they teach English throughout the nine years of compulsory education, so being good at English isn’t a big deal.】
【But he can also speak French! (whispers)】
Luggage loss incidents happen every year, and the chances of retrieval are not high. After explaining the situation, Yan Qing boarded a bus to the city center.
It was already late at night.
As the city lights began to illuminate, the lights on the roads on either side of the bus continued to recede, and the unfamiliar street scenes kept changing. The bus shuttled from the suburban grassy fields into the city traffic.
Yan Qing looked out as the bus entered the city, and he made a phone call, saying, “Hello?”
The person who answered the call was Wen Jueli: “Have you arrived?”
Apart from the production team members on the bus, there were only two or three passengers resting with their eyes closed. Yan Qing still tried to lower his voice as he said, “The bus has entered the city, and I’ll be there soon. Where’s the hotel?”
Wen Jueli replied, “When you get off, wait at the stop, and Gu Siwei…”
Wait?
Upon hearing this, Yan Qing’s eyes lit up, “Are you coming to pick me up?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone for two seconds, and finally, a “Hmm” was heard.
Xia Xingchen slumped on the narrow sofa and looked up, asking, “Has Yan Qing arrived?”
“Yeah,” replied Wen Jueli, placing the hung-up phone on the table. He thought for a moment and was about to stop Gu Siwei, who was about to leave, when someone appeared in front of him.
Ling Chen said, “Brother Gu, I’ll go buy some water later. I saw a supermarket on the way here.”
Gu Siwei opened his mouth, but before he could respond, Wen Jueli also approached, saying, “I’ll go.”
Gu Siwei was puzzled.
When he mentioned buying water earlier, no one volunteered to go, but now, why did everyone suddenly want to go?
Ling Chen looked at Wen Jueli. Just as he was about to speak, Wen Jueli quickly put on his jacket and said, “Yan Qing is also almost here. I’ll pick him up first and then go buy water.”
He added, “Two people can buy water faster.”
Gu Siwei suddenly realized what was going on and chuckled, patting Ling Chen on the shoulder, saying, “Well, we won’t intrude on you two, playing the third wheel.”
“Here, take this money.”
The hotel booked by the production team was located in a relatively quiet area in the city.
The large bus window acted like a spotlight, showcasing the exotic architecture of the foreign land. The halo of light extending from the streetlights blended the night into a subtle beauty.
As soon as Yan Qing got off the bus, he saw a tall and handsome man at the station.
The man had a slightly cold expression, but his gaze softened under the cover of the night. Yan Qing didn’t know how long he had been waiting, but he stood there quietly.
Besides his parents, it felt good to have someone waiting for him.
Warmth filled Yan Qing’s heart as he asked, “Have you been waiting long?”
Wen Jueli answered straightforwardly, “About three minutes.”
Yan Qing replied, “That’s not too bad.”
With that, he naturally linked his arm with Wen Jueli’s and looked up, saying, “Let’s head back to the hotel now. I’m so tired. I’ve been told they’ve reported it at the airport, but they might not be able to contact me.”
In that moment when Yan Qing affectionately held Wen Jueli, Wen Jueli was briefly taken aback, but he quickly regained his composure. He knew he didn’t resist the closeness.
Wen Jueli pursed his lips and calmly said, “But first, we need to go buy some water.”
Yan Qing raised an eyebrow, “Buy water?”
“Yeah, the drinks provided by the hotel are too expensive, so we should buy some for now.”
Yan Qing squinted, “So, did you come out to buy water, or did you come to pick me up?”
Wen Jueli replied, “I came out to buy water, and then happened to pick you up.”
It was unclear what Yan Qing was thinking, but he just responded with an “Oh” and elongated the sound.
【I didn’t expect Mr. Wen to be such a typical straight man. At this point, he should have just said he came to pick up Yan Qing and happened to buy water!】
【Hahaha!】
【Exactly! Originally, it was Gu Siwei going out to buy water, and Mr. Wen took the initiative to intercept. Now, why is he being so stubborn and saying he came to buy water and happened to pick up Yan Qing?】
At the supermarket, Wen Jueli bought two packs of 15-liter bottled water, eight bottles in each pack.
Looking at these two heavy packs of water, Yan Qing couldn’t help but whimsically think of a phrase: “You take half, I take half, and our feelings won’t dissipate.”
So, these two weighty bundles of feelings were carried by Wen Jueli all by himself.
Yan Qing asked in confusion, “Should I buy another pack?”
Wen Jueli replied, “No need, we won’t be staying in the hotel all the time. We’ll be going camping later, so two packs will be enough.”
Yan Qing asked, “So, I don’t need to help then?”
Wen Jueli nodded, “I can carry them myself.”
The water didn’t look very heavy, and Yan Qing didn’t mind, but he said, “Well, I feel like I’m being too squeamish. Are you sure you don’t need help?”
Wen Jueli replied, “No need.”
So, while paying, he bought a 350ml bottle of mineral water for Yan Qing and said, “This way, you won’t seem squeamish.”
Yan Qing remarked, “Sounds reasonable.”
In an unseen corner, Wen Jueli lightly lifted the corner of his mouth.
The hotel wasn’t a large-scale luxury hotel. It was not on the main street but located in a secluded corner, accessible through a few small alleyways.
The moonlight and lamplight complemented each other, and their shadows projected on the wall intertwined and merged with each other, inseparable.
Everyone’s luggage had already been taken upstairs.
The hotel was even smaller than Yan Qing had imagined.
Not only the foyer, stairways, and elevator but even the dim lighting made the place extremely cramped and oppressive, allowing only two people to pass at most.
As the two entered the elevator, they placed the two packs of mineral water on the floor, leaving no room to move.
Yan Qing looked straight at Wen Jueli and suddenly realized that Wen Jueli was much taller than him. He could only see his delicately tinted lips.
Unable to resist, Yan Qing asked, “How tall are you?”
In response, Wen Jueli shifted his gaze slightly and fixed it on Yan Qing’s curious eyes, saying, “Around 188 centimeters.”
Yan Qing was left speechless.
Emotionally, as his partner, this was a figure he could be proud of. However, as a man, reason told Yan Qing that this height was just too shamefully tall.
They’re all men, so why is he so tall!
Yan Qing dared not to express his feelings but looked up at the ceiling and said, “Well, that’s nice.”
“By the way, did Ling Chen, He Zijia and the others return?”
“They’ve returned.”
The elevator chimed, and Wen Jueli led Yan Qing into the apartment.
This hotel was similar to a residential apartment. Each floor had four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, a balcony, and a living room.
“They’ve returned? How about your luggage?”
Yan Qing truthfully told everyone what had happened. Although he lost his luggage, fortunately, it was just some everyday items like clothes.
Xia Xingchen, being the good friend that he was, was the first to console him, saying, “It’s just clothes, no big deal. If you’re short of anything, I can lend you some!”
Yan Qing responded, “How nice of you.”
Since everyone was present and had rested enough, Gu Siwei suggested, “Now let’s discuss the plan for the next steps.”
Everyone took their seats on the living room sofa. Gu Siwei took out a travel manual, the budget, and an A4 sheet of paper, saying, “The initial budget is 2,000 pounds. Now, subtracting our transportation, water, tips, and three days of hotel expenses, we have over 1,700 pounds left.”
He marked the locations in the travel manual with a pen and continued, “For the next four days of camping, can we split the budget in half?”
So the remaining half was divided into four shares, and each group of guests could take 240 pounds.
For the next three days of eating, drinking, and sightseeing, they would have to manage with this money.
Gu Siwei was the oldest guest in the group, so they regarded him as the “tour guide” of the team.
Later, Gu Siwei went over the itinerary in the travel manual and said concisely, “If there are no issues, let’s go back to our rooms and rest. It’s getting late. I’ll wake you up at eight o’clock tomorrow.”
Everyone agreed one by one.
The hectic afternoon had been exhausting.
The layout of the four rooms was almost the same, so they simply chose rooms at random.
Yan Qing yawned as he pushed open the door. However, when he saw a double bed in the room, he froze in shock.
A double bed?
Did this mean he had to sleep with Wen Jueli?!
Yan Qing slowly closed his mouth and shifted his gaze to the live camera on the wall. They were currently being broadcast live to the world, and he couldn’t just sleep on the floor. That would create unnecessary tension if someone found out.
Wait, wait. Yan Qing shook his head suddenly. Why was he even thinking about sleeping on the floor? Sleeping in the same bed as Wen Jueli was perfectly fine. They were a married couple, so what was the big deal?
If he wanted to, he could even cuddle with Wen Jueli.
Yan Qing scolded himself for his initial thought of sleeping separately from Wen Jueli. If Wen Jueli found out, he would be so hurt.
Wen Jueli asked, “What’s wrong?”
Just as he said that, Yan Qing jumped in fright, “Nothing, I was just admiring the room. It looks nice, hahaha.”
It was quite simple, with just a bed, a sofa, a table, and a tiny dressing room.
After saying that, Yan Qing regretted his words. He has no idea why he babbles nonsense like that?
But Wen Jueli replied, “I feel the same way.”
“So, do you want to take a shower now, or should I go first?” Wen Jueli took off his coat and hung it on the corner of the sofa.
Yan Qing quickly said, “I’ll go! I’ll go!”
After saying that, he rushed out of the room and hurried to the other end of the corridor, where the bathroom for male guests was located.
Wen Jueli watched his retreating figure and lowered his gaze, lost in thought.
Yan Qing felt like he was in a daze, as if he was walking on cotton. Before the show began, he had considered sharing a bed with Wen Jueli, but now that it was about to happen, it felt a bit strange.
After a while, the bathroom was filled with a hazy mist, and the warm water droplets cascaded down his body, massaging his tired muscles.
