When Yan Qing woke up, the room was empty, and he groggily checked his watch. It was 8:15. He sighed with relief and closed his eyes, about to return to his dream, when he heard the recurring sound of sheep bleating outside.
Baa, baa, baa…
It was incessant. Curiosity drove Yan Qing out of bed. He opened the door and saw several white lambs grazing on the vast grassy field.
The air was fresh, the sky was blue, and the distant mountains and green leaves created a picturesque scene, like a work of art.
Others were already awake. Yan Qing noticed them sitting on the outdoor terrace, chatting. They were wearing slippers and seemed to be discussing what to buy.
“We’ll try to be back before noon,” said Gu Siwei, noticing Yan Qing.
“Are you awake, Yan Qing? Ni Li, Jueli, and I are going shopping. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
Gu Siwei didn’t ask Yan Qing to come along because Jueli had mentioned that Yan Qing stayed up all night yesterday, so they wanted him to rest a bit.
Unexpectedly, Jueli, who appeared aloof, turned out to be quite considerate. Gu Siwei thought to himself.
Yan Qing, still drowsy with teary eyes, couldn’t think of anything specific he wanted to eat. “Just the same as everyone else is having,” he replied.
He then looked at the man sitting in the corner. The man had a handsome face, long eyelashes, and fair skin, giving off an air of sophistication rather than a typical backpacker.
Was it just a misconception?
Yan Qing touched the back of his neck. He had noticed Jueli looking at him when he left the yurt*, but now Jueli seemed engrossed in a book. What could be so interesting in that book with just a few words? Probably nothing special.
(TL: * A circular tent of felt or skins on a collapsible framework, used by nomads.)
This thought made Yan Qing smile, and he greeted the others before heading back to the yurt to change his clothes.
Inside the yurt, there were no windows, so even during the daytime, they needed to turn on the lights for illumination. Yan Qing yawned and walked into the bathroom, ready to change his clothes when something on his fingertip made him recoil as if he’d been shocked.
“No… When did I change into this pajama?” Yan Qing instantly woke up, looking at himself in the mirror, or rather, the pajama given by Wen Jueli. He felt strange. When did he come back last night? What time did he go to bed? How did he end up in bed…
Staring at himself in the mirror for a while, after two seconds, scenes from last night slowly emerged in Yan Qing’s mind. It included him waiting on the couch for Wen Jueli to finish showering and accidentally falling into a half-dead sleep, struggling to take off his clothes, and Wen Jueli looking at his upper body while he flopped onto the bed like a limp radish, hanging onto him like a sloth, and Wen Jueli couldn’t push him away.
Drinking alcohol isn’t scary, but what’s scary is vividly remembering everything he did last night.
Being seen half-naked by Wen Jueli didn’t particularly embarrass Yan Qing, but he felt a sense of shame.
Hmm… shame, it was a matter of male dignity!
So, while changing clothes, Yan Qing spent quite some time looking at his own physique in the mirror.
A slender waist, not a trace of excess fat, faint muscle definition visible even in the soft light. He could see that his past self had put in effort, but for some reason, it just wasn’t as pronounced as Wen Jueli’s.
Men’s inexplicable competitive spirit.
At this moment, he heard the door being pushed open. Yan Qing didn’t continue pondering the meaning of life as he quickly put on some clothes and went outside to see Wen Jueli picking up a backpack.
Wen Jueli pursed his lips, glanced at him, then quickly looked away, saying, “I’ll be leaving soon. We should be back before noon.”
“Alright,” Yan Qing remembered something and, with a thoughtful look, after a while, he said, “Um, about what happened last night… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have undressed so casually.”
[What happened???]
Yan Qing thought that Wen Jueli, who appeared aloof on the surface, was actually a slow-warming, shy person. So, him getting caught peeking at Yan Qing and then acting as if nothing happened must be related to Yan Qing undressing yesterday.
Wen Jueli thought he had already calmed down, but seeing Yan Qing looking at him so openly, his heart couldn’t help but race uncontrollably.
Why is Yan Qing always so straightforward? He doesn’t seem like he’s acting.
Wen Jueli: “It’s okay. We’re husbands.”
Understanding this, Yan Qing, a reasonable person, gave some advice, “If you need to wake me up later, you don’t have to be so gentle. You can be a bit more forceful.”
Wen Jueli: “?”
Yan Qing said earnestly, “I don’t have morning grumpiness. If you just call me loudly to wake up, I’ll definitely wake up.”
Wen Jueli: “But you had alcohol last night, didn’t you?”
Yan Qing: “But it didn’t really affect me. I still remember everything that happened last night.”
Wen Jueli: “…”
Yan Qing was afraid of scaring Wen Jueli, so he reassured him, “Don’t worry about me! Just call me to get up directly. I’m easy to take care of!”
Then, he took Wen Jueli’s hand, patted it, and added, “Oh, I just remembered, if possible, please bring me a bag of potatoes from the supermarket. I want to make some roasted potato slices.”
That topic change was quite swift.
…
Originally, they had no breakfast options, and they were thinking of using the instant noodles Xia Xingchen brought. They had just heated water when they saw David driving his small tractor roaring towards them.
David was carrying several bags and said enthusiastically, “I made some bread. If you don’t mind, you can take it.”
“Don’t worry, these are complimentary.”
David was indeed a very welcoming and hospitable uncle, and everyone thanked him for the timely delivery.
After the meal, Wen Jueli and the others got into the car and used navigation to go to the nearest supermarket in town for supplies.
If you were to ask what the most interesting thing in this campsite was, it would be the flock of sheep. The sheep crowded together, their white woolly bodies resembling snowballs, munching on the grass. Grey sheepdogs patrolled nearby.
With David’s permission, Sang Ning approached and couldn’t resist petting one of the seemingly docile lambs. She said, “It’s so cute, and it’s not afraid of people.”
David smiled and said, “You can try picking this one up. It’s a lamb born just two months ago.”
“Really?” Sang Ning, with newfound courage, lifted the lamb, which weighed around ten kilograms, with David’s encouragement. “So cute!”
The scenery here was truly breathtaking, with a vast landscape, lush green grass stretching as far as the eye could see, and the wind creating a sense of air flowing from all directions. The green grass undulated like waves, and the sun was less scorching, indicating that they might have a chance to see the starry sky tonight.
Yan Qing took his DSLR camera and helped Sang Ning take several photos. After that, he also took a few pictures of David and a group photo of Sang Ning and Xia Xingchen.
Once they finished, Yan Qing turned his attention to Ling Chen and He Zijia, who had been rather quiet, contemplated whether he should offer to take photos for them. However, he sensed a low-pressure atmosphere between the two.
As the words were about to leave Yan Qing’s lips, he quietly closed his mouth.
Were they having another argument?
Although Yan Qing wasn’t particularly close to He Zijia and Ling Chen, every time he saw them, they seemed to be wearing a cold expression, creating an uncomfortable contrast with the other participants in the show.
They continued along the gravel path, and another clear lake came into view.
The shimmering water reflected the sunlight in a stunning display of the Tyndall effect, causing a halo of dispersed light particles to dance on the lake’s surface. A white boat was moored on the side.
Every spot here was truly photo-worthy.
As they spent their fragmented time gazing at the ever-changing clouds in the sky, Xia Xingchen handed back the camera Yan Qing had borrowed from him. Suddenly, he remembered something and asked, “Oh, where are Ling Chen and He Zijia? Weren’t they just here? I don’t see them now.”
After taking the photos, Sang Ning hurried over, taking the camera from Xia Xingchen’s hands. She replied, “They said they were going back to get something.”
Xia Xingchen: “Oh.”
Right as he finished speaking, Xia Xingchen noticed that his girlfriend’s body couldn’t help but tremble. He grinned mischievously, showing off his bright white teeth, and said, “So, how did I do with the photos?”
Sang Ning: “…”
“Is this considered good? My face is so blurred there. Should I show it to the audience?” Xia Xingchen playfully teased.
Xia Xingchen sought help, “Yan Qing, you be the judge. Aren’t these photos quite good?”
Yan Qing: “… I find them quite avant-garde.”
[Hahaha!!!]
[Xia Xia still has a long way to go on the road to becoming a competent boyfriend.]
[Ning Ning, teach him a lesson!]
[Sang Ning used to be in a professional gaming team, and no matter what happened, I never saw her get angry. Who would have thought that this time on the show, it’s because her boyfriend’s photography skills aren’t up to par, haha.]
[I thought Xia Xingchen was great, standing and crouching alternately, I thought his photography skills were excellent.]
Everyone was noisy and chattering.
After spending some time at another location, Yan Qing said, “I’ll head back to the yurt to use the restroom. I’ll come back later.”
He retraced his steps along the path he had taken to get to the yurt.
The campsite area was indeed spacious. When he had walked here with others, he didn’t feel the distance. But now, walking back alone, Yan Qing felt like the road was quite long, and he was getting restless. He struck up a conversation with the cameraman, “Han Ge, don’t you get tired carrying such a heavy camera?”
The camera lens shook in response.
Yan Qing asked, “Have you had breakfast and lunch?”
He squinted and looked at the camera.
The camera nodded and then shook its head.
Yan Qing said, “So, you’ve had breakfast, but you haven’t had lunch yet.”
In front of the four yurts, there was a uniform wooden corridor, three meters wide. Yan Qing was staying in the last yurt. As he reached the steps of the corridor, he heard a not-too-loud argument coming from one of the yurts.
“We’re here for the show. Can’t you control your temper a bit? Did I do something wrong?”
“It’s different now from before. We’ve been together for five years…”
“Don’t keep making me feel miserable.”
Yan Qing’s eyes flickered. Someone was having an argument, and he didn’t need to think to know who it was.
