Su Mengran’s reaction was too excited, instantly startling the others. Everyone stared at him in shock, unsure of what suddenly came over him.
The scene froze in an instant.
However, Su Mengran was no longer concerned about these things, still panicked after shouting that sentence.
He forcefully shook off the sleeve Hu Feifei was tugging, his face filled with terror as he kept moving away from her, his body visibly trembling and his complexion ashen, clearly deeply frightened.
As he was about to move into Jing Li’s embrace, Jing Li hurriedly reached out and placed his hand on Su Mengran’s shoulder, steadying his body while quietly infusing spiritual energy into him.
“It’s alright, don’t be afraid.” Jing Li comforted him with a faint smile, the seriousness in his eyes more intense than ever before.
Hu Li, who was sitting next to him, turned his head to glance at him, his expression slightly changing, but he didn’t say anything.
Hu Li felt the strangeness in Su Mengran’s behavior throughout the journey, discreetly glancing at Hu Feifei across from them, but she was currently looking timid and frightened, watching Su Mengran, without any sign of abnormality.
Hu Li scrutinized her for a few seconds before shifting his gaze away.
As if sensing the soothing intent in Jing Li’s words, Su Mengran subconsciously turned his head to look at him. After meeting his gaze, the confusion that had previously frightened him gradually cleared.
“Just now, I…”
Su Mengran was about to explain his recent abnormal behavior but was interrupted by Jing Li again. “I know.”
“I know you’re still feeling guilty about the incident on the plane,” Jing Li said with a gentle smile, “but as I said before, as long as it wasn’t intentional, it doesn’t matter.”
“You don’t have to dwell on this anymore. If the fans in the live broadcast see you like this, they’ll only worry about you, right?”
Hearing Jing Li’s obvious hints, Su Mengran also regained his senses, suddenly remembering that they were still in the middle of a live broadcast.
He quickly composed himself and apologized sincerely, “I’m sorry, I was just too absorbed in my thoughts and didn’t pay much attention.”
He then faced the camera and apologized to the numerous fans in the live broadcast, “I’m sorry, I went a little crazy just now and worried you all.”
“It’s okay, your loving fans will surely understand you.” Jing Li consoled, patting his shoulder and then gently guiding his body to sit back properly, smiling as he said, “Come on, sit down first, let’s continue our previous discussion.”
Su Mengran tensed up at Jing Li’s words, but was unable to resist the force on his shoulder, gradually sitting back, his gaze slowly turning towards Hu Feifei’s direction.
Su Mengran was so frightened that he almost held his breath, almost closing his eyes to avoid seeing those terrifying and bizarre things again.
“I…”
Just as Su Mengran was about to jump up, he suddenly noticed a miraculous change. Everything around him had instantly become normal, and upon closer inspection, the eerie sense of being watched had also disappeared without a trace.
Su Mengran was deeply shaken in his heart and turned his head to look at Hu Feifei beside him. Her appearance was now completely normal, without the so-called black and red mist he had seen before.
Instead, due to his previous actions, Hu Feifei’s complexion had turned somewhat pale, and she instinctively shrank away when their eyes met, as if she was frightened.
What’s going on exactly?
Su Mengran looked a little surprised, but before he could ponder further, he felt the grip on his shoulder tighten slightly, as if reminding him or quietly offering him support.
Su Mengran quickly regained his senses.
It was Jing Li.
It seemed that ever since Jing Li placed his hand on his shoulder, the bizarre scenes he had previously witnessed instantly vanished.
Thinking this, he instinctively turned to look at Jing Li, meeting the other’s calm and composed smile. That resolute expression was like an acknowledgment of his courage, as if Jing Li already understood everything he had experienced.
“You…” saw it, too, right?
Su Mengran tentatively looked at him but refrained from elaborating due to the situation. However, if Jing Li truly empathized with his ordeal, he would naturally understand the implication, which was another way for Su Mengran to test Jing Li’s trust.
Then he saw Jing Li nodding affirmatively to him, the gesture small but still caught by Su Mengran.
Instantly, Su Mengran felt reassured, and an overwhelming joy welled up within him. If not for the fact that they were still in the middle of a live broadcast, he would have immediately dragged Jing Li to a corner to share the frightening experiences he had endured throughout the day.
The viewers watching the live broadcast also let out a collective sigh of relief at this point.
“Su Mengran’s sudden outburst really scared me just now!”
“To be honest, judging from Su Mengran’s reaction, I believe he really didn’t mean it before. That kind of internal fear can’t be faked.”
“What about those who previously accused him of being the culprit? Are you satisfied now?”
“Hug Ranran, our Ranran is just too kindhearted.”
“I apologize for the things I said about Jing Li before, thank you for comforting Ranran so warmly.”
“Jing Shao is so kind!”
“Confessing my love to Jing Shao, I really want to have such gentle comfort. QAQ”
“So, the previous two times Su Mengran avoided Hu Feifei were actually just conditioned reflexes after being pushed toward Jing Li on the plane?”
“I feel like Su Mengran has a shadow over Hu Feifei now. 2333331It means something is so funny that you are laughing out loud with your fist thumping the floor. 
”
“For some reason, although Hu Feifei looks timid and scared, I can’t help but feel a little uncomfortable about her.”
…….
Not only the fans in the live broadcast, but the other guests present also visibly relaxed when they saw Su Mengran’s expression calm down.
“With Jing Li’s words, you should be able to take a breather now, right?” Seeing his expression finally return to normal, Ling Mei on the opposite side also spoke up again with a smile, “Although we don’t want the previous incident to happen, Jing Li has already said that as long as it wasn’t intentional, we just need to be more careful going forward.”
She then brought the conversation back to the previous topic, “Alright, shall we continue our previous discussion?”
“Earlier, Jing Li found a clue card that had the words ‘Heart of the Ocean’ written on it. We speculated that it might be something related to the ocean or a treasure hidden in the sea. Mengran, when you and Hu Li went diving, did you two discover anything particularly special?”
“I didn’t really pay much attention to that.” Su Mengran shook his head a little sheepishly.
Given the previous situation, he had just been going through the motions of catching seafood, let alone paying attention to anything else.
“I didn’t notice much either.” Hu Li frowned slightly and added, “We were just focused on finding food at the time, and no one expected the production team to be so… creative! Hiding something in the sea!”
As if trying to lighten the mood, Hu Li deliberately emphasized the words “creative” in a mocking tone, making it clear that he actually wanted to say “insane.”
The others couldn’t help but laugh at his remark.
“Since the speculation is that it’s hidden in the sea, why don’t we go back to the seaside to look around?” Hu Feifei suddenly spoke up softly, “But with only this one clue, going to the seaside might be a bit of a waste of time.”
“Do you have any better ideas?” Jing Li looked up at her.
Hu Feifei shrank back a little when he asked, then glanced around at the others before stammering, “W-what if we split into two groups? One group goes to the seaside to look for clues, while the other group continues exploring the forest to see if there are any other clues?”
After saying that, she gathered up the courage to look at Jing Li and ask, “Is that okay?”
Jing Li held her gaze for a few seconds.
He clearly felt that Hu Feifei had already caught on to something and was impatient, planning to split him up from Hu Li.
Perfect, he also wanted to see what kind of scheme she had in mind.
“Of course, that’s fine.” Jing Li smiled slightly and nodded, “Since Hu Li is the team leader, he should be responsible for the whole team. Then I’ll go to the seaside with Hu Feifei. There just happens to be a female guest on each side, so it’s more convenient to take care of you.”
Upon hearing that Jing Li was voluntarily taking the opportunity to be alone with Hu Feifei, Su Mengran turned to him in surprise, his expression anxious, about to object.
Jing Li gave him a reassuring look, then checked the time and addressed the group, “It’s currently 1:30 PM, and we have about 6 hours until nightfall. However, considering the time it will take to go back and forth, we don’t have much time left.”
“Considering safety concerns, I suggest we camp here for the night. While Hu Feifei and I go to the seaside to search for clues, Hu Li, you three can explore the forest again to try and find any other clues. But everyone must guarantee to be back here before nightfall.”
Jing Li’s proposal was reasonable, and it immediately received everyone’s support. After some hesitation, Su Mengran also agreed to Jing Li’s arrangement.
“Since everyone has no objections, let’s hurry up and get ready to set out.” Jing Li said, starting to put out the fire. “We won’t have time to wait for the pheasant to cook, so we’ll have to continue it in the evening. Consider it an extra meal for tonight.”
“Alright, if we’re not full, we can just have some bread to fill our stomachs first.” Hu Li nodded, also helping out.
The others followed their lead, removing the unburnt firewood from the pit and burying it in the ground.
Once they confirmed that all the embers were extinguished, the group of five split into two teams and set out.
Before leaving, Su Mengran still looked back at Jing Li with some unease, but was then pulled back by Hu Li, who put an arm around his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, he knows what he’s doing.” Hu Li whispered in Su Mengran’s ear, avoiding the camera.
Su Mengran looked up at him abruptly, seeing the resolute expression in Hu Li’s eyes, and was instantly shocked.
So Hu Li knew about this as well?
As if responding to his doubts, Hu Li hooked one corner of his lips in a mischievous smile, then put his arm around Su Mengran’s shoulder and strode forward.
*
On the other side, Jing Li brought two bottles of drinking water and a bag of bread, and set out towards the seaside with Hu Feifei.
With only the two of them, their pace was naturally much faster than when they were a group of five.
Although Hu Feifei appeared frail and timid, her steps were surprisingly quick. She almost constantly trailed closely behind Jing Li without complaining about being tired.
Jing Li didn’t look back much either, focused on clearing the branches blocking the path ahead.
However, as they were walking, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew, whipping up the dry leaves on the ground towards Jing Li.
The wind seemed quite powerful, carrying up the surface soil and small stones, turning the sky a hazy yellow.
The cameraman walking slightly behind them was blinded by the swirling sand, and the camera started shaking.
Then, in the dim lens covered in sand and dust, a sudden scream was heard.
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