The third day was the last day for the guests to tour the city center before they needed to drive to the suburban campsite.
In the morning, while having breakfast at the coffee shop, Gu Siwei began planning the day’s route.
After settling expenses, it turned out that they had more money left than expected after these three days of budget travel, except for Xia Xingchen.
At the beginning of the trip, Xia Xingchen, who was well aware of his spendthrift tendencies, had voluntarily agreed to split expenses with Sang Ning. Three days later, as expected, he was broke, with only a few coins in his pocket.
Xia Xingchen complained, “I’m so broke, I’m really, really broke. Nothing major happened in these three days, so why don’t I have a single cent left?”
Gu Siwei helplessly smiled and said, “It’s a good thing we split the money in advance. Once we get to the campsite and pay, I’ll give you the remaining money.”
It had to be said that having someone in the group manage the money was a good thing.
The day before yesterday, Wen Jueli had gone to an internet cafe to book tickets for the opera house and had also found information about renting a car online. After checking off today’s tourist spots, he planned to contact the car owner and arrange a meeting at the hotel.
Seeing the piles of luggage in front of the apartment, Yan Qing felt a faint sense of sadness.
If he hadn’t been so absent-minded at the beginning…
At this moment, Wen Jueli was wearing a loose gray-blue baseball jacket, and his physique suited it well, emphasizing his broad shoulders and narrow waist.
But Yan Qing didn’t have time to appreciate that, and he squinted playfully, “Are you teasing me?”
Wen Jueli was momentarily taken aback, his lips unconsciously curled up, and he explained, “No, I’m not teasing you.”
“You bought something earlier… I just wanted to remind you.”
“Oh,” Yan Qing drew out his response.
Wen Jueli mumbled, “I really did.”
It was clearly a half-joking tone, but seeing Wen Jueli take it seriously, Yan Qing couldn’t help but smile wryly. The car owner’s call came in, saying that the car was already downstairs.
Yan Qing tugged on Wen Jueli’s arm and said, “Alright, I believe you. I packed everything in my backpack a long time ago. Do you want to check it again?”
Wen Jueli said in a warm tone, “I’ve already checked it for you.”
According to the number of people, Wen Jueli had rented two cars. After loading their luggage into the trunk, Gu Siwei asked, “Does anyone want to drive?”
Xia Xingchen raised his hand and said, “I’ll do it.”
He then asked, “Yan Qing, what about you? Do you want to drive too?”
Yan Qing had been idly chatting with the hotel receptionist, suddenly taken aback by the cue, and he hesitated, “Me, drive?”
Xia Xingchen said, “Yes, we got our driver’s licenses together before. You passed your driving test on the first try, but I’ve never seen you drive.”
Yan Qing remained silent.
Xia Xingchen handed him the car keys and said, “Here you go.”
Looking at the car keys handed to him, Yan Qing found himself in deep thought. It wasn’t a matter of whether he wanted to drive or not; it was that he had no idea how to drive at the age of eighteen. When the manager arranged a European universal driver’s license for artists, Kan Hai didn’t arrange one for Yan Qing.
He was still thinking about how to come up with an excuse when Wen Jueli, like a savior, stepped in and took the hot potato, saying, “Let me do it. Yan Qing cooked yesterday, so today, I’ll drive.”
And so, Wen Jueli helped him get out of this situation.
Yan Qing looked at Wen Jueli’s sturdy back and felt touched. What a considerate husband!
The navigation system showed that it would take six to seven hours to drive from the city center to the campsite.
With such a long journey, it was inevitable that the people in the back seat of the car would need something to pass the time, such as drinking. In the middle of the second half of the journey, Yan Qing had a drink.
It was from Sang Ning.
Don’t be fooled by Sang Ning’s cute appearance. She had quite a tolerance for alcohol.
She found a few bottles of alcohol in her backpack and offered, “I used to forget to drink it, but luckily I remembered when we were packing. Yan Qing, do you want some?”
Alcohol?
To be honest, Yan Qing’s father had once given him a tiny sip of beer when he was in junior high school. It was very bitter, spicy, and hard to swallow. Even though it had been a long time, Yan Qing’s impression of alcohol wasn’t great.
He was about to decline when Sang Ning said, “It’s a fruit wine you like, though it’s not apple wine. How about lychee wine?”
Then, he found himself holding a bottle of pink lychee wine.
Well, it’s just a little bit of alcohol, it should be fine, right? After all, it had been eight or nine years since the last time he drank, and it’s fruit wine, so it shouldn’t taste too bad, right?
*Sip*
The beer cap popped open, and Sang Ning took a sip, then glanced at him, “Not drinking?”
Yan Qing contemplated for a moment, then slapped his thigh, “I’m drinking!”
As the car merged onto the highway, it maintained a straight path, moving steadily forward. The lanes were surrounded by green mountain ranges on either side, with the boundless, bright blue sky above. Puffy white clouds formed ever-changing patterns, dancing in the wind.
Wen Jueli had one hand on the steering wheel. His gaze occasionally shifted from straight ahead to the window on his left and eventually to the rearview mirror. A faint blush spread across the fair skin of his cheek.
Sang Ning said, “You’re still as easy to blush as before.”
“Is that so…” Yan Qing touched his own cheek, “But lychee wine actually tastes quite good.”
Sang Ning handed him bottles of different flavors, saying, “Then try this one. It’s a new flavor!”
*Gulp, gulp*
Although it was fruit wine with a low alcohol content, drinking too much could still make one dizzy, as if someone had slapped them on the forehead without permission.
After a few bottles, Yan Qing felt like he was sober, but his consciousness was quite hazy.
After a long and monotonous journey, when they reached the campsite, the outside world had grown dim.
The horizon resembled a deep blue watercolor painting, hazy and unclear. Through the car windows, one could only faintly see the silhouettes of the people inside. Being far away from the city, it felt tranquil and mysterious, with complete silence.
*Beep, beep, beep, beep*
The car emitted a reverse warning sound, followed by the sound of seatbelts being unbuckled and doors being opened. As they got out of the car, they could hear the faint rustling of the wind through the leaves and the distant roar of the production crew’s vehicles as they arrived.
The campsite chosen by the production crew was not a centralized campground but a circle of private camping areas resembling Mongolian yurts. There was a large grassy meadow nearby, and only a few groups of tourists were present.
The car hadn’t reached the parking area yet, but everyone got out first. Yan Qing, standing under a lamppost about five meters away, saw someone slowly approaching. As they got closer, he realized it was a middle-aged man.
This man was likely the owner of this campsite. He greeted them, saying, “Hello! My name is David.”
The group returned the greetings one by one.
David was a Southern European, known for the helpful and friendly nature of Southern Europeans. He stood on the side of the road, helping direct the convoy to the parking area in the pitch-black night.
After Wen Jueli and Xia Xingchen got out of the car, David introduced himself once again, saying, “Good evening, dear guests, you can call me David.”
“I’m Gu Siwei.”
“Ni Li.”
“I’m Ling Chen.”
“You must be tired from the long journey. Now, you can follow me, and I’ll show you the place where you’ll be staying tonight.” David proactively helped with the luggage and led everyone along a stone path in the twilight to a group of highly modernized yurts.
There were four yurts for the guests to stay in, not too close and not too far apart. They were spacious and well-equipped, and a short distance away, there was an open-air terrace for activities and stargazing.
However, the weather wasn’t favorable tonight, so not many stars were visible.
The night sky was like a tightly woven, impenetrable net that covered the city’s towering skyscrapers in the distance and the countryside that provided an escape from the city’s hustle and bustle.
After the luggage had been carried up the wooden stairs that led to the front of each yurt, Gu Siwei was about to pay in advance, but David waved his hand and said warmly, “No need. Didn’t your production team say they prepared a gift for my daughter? How about waiting until she returns tomorrow and if Erin likes it, I’ll definitely give you a discount!”
Gu Siwei replied, “Alright, thank you!”
It was said that this entire hill, from one end to the other, was David’s private property. He had transformed this former holiday resort into a camping area after moving to other countries.
“All the equipment in the rooms can be used. If you want to cook, you’ll need to bring your own ingredients. As for the outdoor terrace, most guests choose to barbecue there. If you want to, there’s a dedicated grill there, but you’ll need to bring your own charcoal and food.”
“There’s also an outdoor movie theater over there. During the day, you can visit the lake, and I have a shepherd dog. In the evening, you might hear the bleating of the lambs…”
David warmly introduced what his campsite had to offer.
As the time wasn’t early and the night grew darker, David ended his enthusiastic introduction, bid the guests goodnight, and then melted into the night.
The guests settled into their rooms.
Gu Siwei said, “In that case, why don’t we choose to barbecue tomorrow? I’ve calculated our budget, and if David’s daughter Erin doesn’t like the gift, we’ll have enough money.”
That sounded like a great plan.
It was getting late, and everyone was exhausted from the journey. After confirming their plan to have a barbecue tomorrow night, they bid each other goodnight and headed to their rooms.
Inside the yurt, there was a spacious bed, and the room was illuminated by scented candles, casting flickering shadows. Wen Jueli set down his luggage and took out his toiletries.
After he came out of the bathroom, he saw Yan Qing lying on the couch, fast asleep and completely unaware of his surroundings.
The couch wasn’t particularly long, so Yan Qing had curled up on it, sleeping on his side. The candlelight elongated the shadows on his peaceful face, creating a serene ambiance.
Wen Jueli stood in place for a moment, and the staff in the room had already left.
He seemed to think of something, turned back, and reentered the bathroom.
[Where is Mr. Wen going? It’s a rare opportunity; why doesn’t he hurry and carry Princess Yan Qing to bed?]
[I like what the upstairs commenter is saying. I’m with you.]
[In this situation, he should definitely princess-carry him!]
[Wait… why do I have a bad feeling about this?]
[Same here. It’s only 8 in the morning; they’re not going to force me to go back to sleep this early, are they?]
When Wen Jueli emerged from the bathroom, as if confirming the thoughts of some viewers, he had several white towels in his hands.
Approaching the cameras set up inside the yurt, he immediately, to the amazement of tens of thousands of viewers in the live stream room, ruthlessly covered the lenses with the towels.
That should do it…
On the first day of the show, Wen Jueli couldn’t participate in the on-site recording of the film festival, but he had been following Yan Qing’s livestream closely. He noticed that even though Yan Qing appeared carefree on the surface, he was essentially an eighteen-year-old boy after losing his memory, and he occasionally felt shy, especially when the crew tried to put the camera on his face.
He would intentionally or unintentionally avoid places where the camera couldn’t capture him. It has improved over the past couple of days.
There were multiple reasons for Yan Qing’s behavior, as well as Wen Jueli’s first appearance on a reality show. During their break, he would definitely cover the camera.
Now, in the middle of the night, Wen Jueli bent down and gently patted Yan Xing’s shoulder blades, whispering softly, “Yan Qing.”
Yan Qing slept soundly, not moving a muscle.
Wen Jueli said, “Yan Qing, how about changing into your pajamas before sleeping?”
In fact, Yan Qing had shown signs of drowsiness in the car after drinking, but he had managed to stay awake until now, playing video games with Sang Ning for a long time. Unexpectedly, as soon as he touched the couch, he fell asleep.
As Wen Jueli considered whether to let Yan Qing sleep on the couch, Yan Qing emitted a soft, cat-like hum in his drowsy state.
Wen Jueli spoke softly and patiently, “Change into your clothes first, then go to bed?”
At this moment, Yan Qing was somewhat dazed, with sleepy eyes. It took him about five seconds to understand what Wen Jueli was saying. He mumbled, “Okay…”
Wen Jueli turned to retrieve Yan Qing’s pajamas from his backpack, but when he refocused, he saw that Yan Qing had somehow sat up on the couch.
Undressing like he was pulling up radishes, Yan Qing struggled to remove his clothes from around his neck. Suddenly, his snow-white body was exposed to the orange-yellow candlelight. A faint blush mixed with the soft glow on his skin, making it hard to distinguish whose blush was blending.
Yan Qing’s head felt heavy. Jueli saw that the person wanted to lie on the sofa to take off his trousers. He quickly helped him put on his pajamas and said, “Put your clothes on and go to sleep.”
“No need to change the pants.”
The candlelight was not glaring but soft and dim. However, Yan Qing couldn’t open his eyes. He shook his head and stubbornly said, “No!”
Wen Jueli: “…”
Seeing Yan Qing about to lie on the sofa again, he suggested, “Then, let’s go to bed.”
“Yeah…sleeping should be done in bed,” Yan Qing muttered to himself.
Three seconds later, he obediently stood up, but it seemed like the effects of the alcohol hadn’t worn off yet. He stumbled like a drunken shrimp, walked a short distance, and then plopped onto the bed without struggling, falling asleep comfortably.
Wen Jueli: “…”
Watching Yan Qing’s crooked sleeping posture, which had turned the once flat bedding into a mess, Wen Jueli let out a sigh of helplessness. After a moment of contemplation, he gently tucked Yan Qing under the blanket, positioning him on his back with his hands folded on his abdomen.
That should do.
Wen Jueli picked up the clothes from the floor and, after completing everything, he blew out the candle, lit a soothing incense, and turned off the lights.
As soon as he got into bed, it was quiet, and then there was a rustling sound.
A distinct warm breath appeared by his side.
For some reason, Yan Qing, even though there was a gap of several centimeters between them, turned directly toward Wen Jueli, resting his head on his chest.
Thump.
His heart skipped a beat.
