Chapter 54.1: An Unconventional Group Variety Show (4)
Duan Mingfei: “……”
Weren’t you ignoring me before? And now you’re saying something like this—are you trying to make me look bad?
Duan Mingfei looked in the direction Shen Xiu was pointing. It was indeed the same direction Shen Xiu had been heading in earlier, so there probably wasn’t anything fishy going on.
Duan Mingfei looked helpless, his expression like that of a senior dealing with an unreasonable junior.
“We were both looking at the same map of Wolong Mountain. There are only a few convenient routes between points A and B. You can’t assume I’m following you just because the route I planned in my head happens to be the same as yours, can you?”
[Exactly! Even when drawing routes in geography class, people can end up picking the same one. Why accuse Brother Ming of following him? For your information, Brother Ming hikes regularly and has plenty of experience. Why would he need to follow Shen Xiu? Don’t make baseless accusations.]
[If he’s not following Boss Xiu, then why is he tagging along behind him like a little tail?]
[Whether or not he’s following Master Xiu, look at how coldly Master Xiu glanced at your idol. He didn’t even bother to put on a polite act for the camera. Clearly, he saw through your idol from the start. I trust Master Xiu—your idol just wanted to piggyback off his route!]
[Yeah, your idol totally wanted to mooch off our Master Xiu’s route. After Master Xiu caught on, he’s now trying to save face. Just wait and see—Master Xiu never does anything he’s not confident about. That initial route was clearly a decoy to throw off your idol. No one understands this better than us Xiu Scholars!]
[Just wait and see, this route is definitely wrong!]
Fans who felt bad that their Brother Ming was being misunderstood stared in confusion at the flood of “Trust Master Xiu” comments.
They really wanted to ask: where does all this confidence come from?
Shen Xiu thought about the three routes—A, B, and C—he had planned after memorizing the map. The one they were on now was indeed the shortest between the two points. Since Duan Mingfei had also studied the map and picked this path, there really was no issue.
But… Shen Xiu just couldn’t suppress the irritation.
After Duan Mingfei had once crossed his bottom line, Shen Xiu’s stubborn temper flared up. He stared intently at Duan Mingfei, reason flying out the window, and bluntly put down his hand and said, “Oh, then you go first.”
Hmph. If Duan Mingfei actually took the original route A that he had planned, Shen Xiu would immediately switch to route B—anything to avoid walking with him.
As soon as Shen Xiu spoke, the atmosphere fell into a weird and awkward silence.
Xuan Yushu and Qiao Pengyi exchanged glances. The two regular team leaders of the show hadn’t expected this at all—Shen Xiu clearly wasn’t the least bit intimidated by Duan Mingfei’s status.
The two silently speculated: for Shen Xiu to act so bold, not only must he be highly capable, but his background was probably nothing to scoff at either.
Duan Mingfei met Shen Xiu’s icy gaze and froze in place.
Wasn’t Shen Xiu basically forcing his hand?
Shen Xiu’s eyes locked onto Duan Mingfei, and the rest of Shen Xiu’s group—as well as Xuan Yushu—couldn’t help but turn their eyes toward Duan Mingfei as well.
In that moment, Duan Mingfei became the center of attention for both the guests and the viewers in the livestream.
Barely three seconds passed before Song Chengwang raised a hand to cover a yawn and grumbled impatiently, “So slow. Why hasn’t he started walking yet? Is it that he doesn’t want to, or he doesn’t know how?”
Xiang Yueting, a more honest kid, mumbled quietly, “Looks like… maybe he doesn’t actually know the way?”
Shang Yu mimicked Song Chengwang’s mocking tone with near-perfect sarcasm: “What nonsense are you talking about? For someone to say what he just said, he must be full of confidence.”
After throwing out that sarcastic jab, Shang Yu turned to Duan Mingfei with a sweet smile: “Right?”
Words spoken are like water spilled—you can’t take them back. And with so many people watching, Duan Mingfei forced a smile and nodded through gritted teeth. “Of course.”
With that, Duan Mingfei had no choice but to endure the searing stares from everyone as he stepped forward in the direction Shen Xiu had pointed earlier.
As he passed by Shen Xiu, Duan Mingfei instinctively turned his head and glanced at him.
Shen Xiu: “……”
In order to not lose face or be outdone, Shen Xiu forced himself to resist the urge to look away and stubbornly kept his eyes on Duan Mingfei, refusing to blink.
In that moment, Duan Mingfei felt the coldness in Shen Xiu’s gaze, and it cut deeper than expected.
Xuan Yushu followed behind Duan Mingfei, genuinely only there to lighten the mood. As they passed the members of Team A, he waved and smiled. “Goodbye, everyone.”
“Goodbye, Director Xuan.”
Seeing his idol walking in the same team as Duan Mingfei, Shen Xiu’s displeasure grew. He glared at Duan Mingfei’s retreating back, clearly irritated.
Shen Xiu: Damn it, I’m so jealous, wuwuwu!!!
While feeling jealous, Shen Xiu kept his eyes fixed on the pace of Duan Mingfei and Xuan Yushu, calculating their steps in his mind and getting a clearer picture of their progress.
As Duan Mingfei’s figure grew farther away, the members of Shen Xiu’s team noticed that he was still staring at his back. They sighed to themselves—Duan Mingfei was really too careless, and this was making Shen Xiu openly express his dissatisfaction without holding back.
Zhuang Yi spoke up, asking, “Brother Xiu, which way are we going?”
Duan Mingfei had been tricked into taking the fake route, so now they should be heading down the real one, right?
Hearing his teammate’s voice, Shen Xiu was jolted back to his senses, snapping out of his stubborn, childish behavior and returning to his rational state.
As his reason returned, Shen Xiu felt a little guilty for his earlier actions. His mind was a mess as he anxiously overthought things.
Did the others think his behavior was… a little childish?
But then, Shen Xiu quickly remembered how his teammates had backed him up earlier. He felt touched.
Even though his actions had been immature, they didn’t mock him for it. Instead, they had supported him, acting childish with him. His teammates… were just too good!
In that moment, Shen Xiu felt the anger he had been holding toward Duan Mingfei evaporate, replaced with warmth from his teammates. He quickly pointed in another direction. “Let’s go this way.”
Everyone had no objections to the direction he pointed, nodding in agreement. “Okay.”
Feeling the unconditional trust from his teammates, Shen Xiu’s mood improved even more. He bent down to pick up a forked branch from the ground, using it to test the terrain, and with a change of pace, he began leading the way ahead.
[The two who are locked in a love-hate relationship stand at a crossroads in life. Because their paths differ, betrayal pulls them apart, but before they go their separate ways, they exchange a glance full of love, hate, and resentment…]
[How disgusting! Why can people ship anything?]
[Another double ship, huh? If you really like the useless lucky beauty, just give up on my Brother Xiu, please don’t link him with the slacker! OK?]
With his teammates’ trust and understanding, Shen Xiu’s mood lightened, and his steps became more lively.
As the team members followed behind him, they couldn’t help but think of one thing.
It’s confirmed—Shen Xiu absolutely despises Duan Mingfei. Look at how eagerly he’s trying to distance himself from him with every step! Isn’t this the proof?
Five minutes later, Shen Xiu’s mind gradually calmed down. As he cooled off, he began habitually replaying his actions in his mind.
The more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt.
Even though when he had looked at the map earlier, he had already planned out three similar routes, the sudden change in the path due to his childish temper with Duan Mingfei wasn’t fair to his teammates, who had to go along with his little tantrum.
Shen Xiu’s pace never slowed, and as he walked, he apologized in a somewhat guilty tone, “Sorry, I changed the route.”
The teammates following behind him heard his words and responded with understanding.
“It’s fine, we all get it. No need to apologize.”
“Yeah, no need to explain too much. We’ve been together for so long—we know you.”
“Exactly!”
Shen Xiu must have sensed from the start that Duan Mingfei had impure intentions. He pretended to take one route to test Duan Mingfei.
The route they were currently on was probably the one Shen Xiu had originally planned, right?
Otherwise, why would Shen Xiu walk so confidently, without hesitation? Clearly, this was the path he had planned all along.
Shen Xiu: Wuwuwu. Good people, they’re all good people!
Shen Xiu remembered that the production team had mentioned that during these two days and one night, they wouldn’t be provided with any food or lodging, and they would have to carefully observe the surrounding environment as they walked.
The saying goes, “Live off the land.” Two days and one night wasn’t that long, and wild fruits in the mountain were the only food Shen Xiu could think of to sustain them.
It seemed the members of Team A hadn’t forgotten either.
Half an hour later, Jiang Yanxi pointed ahead and asked, “Are those mushrooms… edible?”
Shen Xiu followed his gaze and saw a clump of milk-cap mushrooms. He replied, “They’re edible, but we can’t start a fire here. Let’s find something else.”
The forest floor was covered with thick layers of fallen leaves. While this wasn’t the “primeval forest” promised by the show’s title, starting a fire in such a place was very dangerous.
Zhuang Yi nodded. “Got it.”
Xiang Yueting slapped his arm and groaned, “Hiss… You bit me, die!”
Shen Xiu didn’t even need to look to know that Xiang Yueting had been bitten by mosquitoes. There were plenty of them in the forest, and getting bitten, along with the itchy, swollen bumps, was a common annoyance.
Shen Xiu had been looking for mosquito-repellent plants the whole time but hadn’t found any yet. He comforted him with a guilty tone, “Hang in there.”
Xiang Yueting grumbled, “I don’t get it. Why is it just me getting bitten out of everyone here?”
Shang Yu smirked. “Some people just attract mosquitoes more than others.”
Xiang Yueting was practically on the verge of tears. “I never made it as a ‘darling’ of the people, but I’ve definitely made it as a ‘darling’ of the mosquitoes. Who would have thought?”
Shen Xiu felt even more guilty upon hearing this. Recalling the map in his mind, he said, “If we walk about 1,500 meters further, we’ll reach an open area where the mosquitoes will be much less. Just hang in there a little longer.”
Xiang Yueting was overjoyed. “Finally, there’s hope! Wuwuwu.”
Xuan Yushu and Qiao Pengyi, the two team leaders, were core members of the production team and were well taken care of. They had already been pre-applied with mosquito repellent.
[Poor Xiang Yueting, hahahaha]
[Poor second husky, don’t cry! The delicate, smooth-skinned Duan Mingfei over there is worse off than you! At least you still have your husky face! Duan Mingfei has a bump right on his nose from a mosquito bite, hahahaha!]
In order to reach the open area as quickly as possible, Team A increased their pace in tacit agreement.
Shen Xiu, at the front, used a tree branch to test the ground while silently calculating the distance in his head. When they were about 500 meters from the open area, Shen Xiu stopped and said, “Wait a moment.”
Qiao Pengyi, confused, asked, “What’s the matter?”
Facing the senior’s question, Shen Xiu answered cautiously, “There’s mosquito-repellent grass.”
The forest path was rugged, and Shen Xiu continued, “Stay where you are and don’t move. I’ll go pick some.”
Shen Xiu strode towards the spot where he saw the mosquito-repellent grass. It was evident that no one had picked it yet; it was lush and even taller than any mosquito-repellent grass Shen Xiu had seen in the mountains before.
Shen Xiu didn’t pull the grass out by the roots but instead broke off stems, weaving ten rings and gathering some more to bring back to the group.
“The rings can be worn around your neck.” For the artists, their faces were important.
“The rest of it, if you don’t mind, can be crushed and the juice applied to any exposed skin.”
The mosquitoes would be less likely to approach once they smelled the scent of the mosquito-repellent grass.
“Of course, I don’t mind.”
“I’d rather smell like pickled food than get bitten again.”
“Exactly, this itch is driving me crazy!”
Following Shen Xiu’s instructions, everyone soon had the scent of the mosquito-repellent grass on them.
Seeing that no one minded, Shen Xiu let out a sigh of relief. “Let’s continue.”
After another 500 meters, Team A, under Shen Xiu’s lead, finally exited the forest and reached the open area he had mentioned earlier.
“Finally out!”
“What’s that smell? It’s so fragrant!”
“What is that?”
Once they were out of the forest, everyone first noticed a strong, pleasant fragrance. Following the wind, which carried the scent, they looked ahead and saw a large patch of overlapping leaves. Beneath these leaves, there were round, watermelon-red fruits, about the size of a thumb, stacked underneath.
“It smells so good, can we eat it?”
Jiang Yanxi swallowed and looked at Shen Xiu. Though they had eaten something on the way here, they weren’t hungry yet, but they couldn’t help but think ahead to dinner and tomorrow’s meals.
Seeing the familiar loquat fruits, Shen Xiu nodded. “We can eat them.”
Not only could they eat them, but they also smelled amazing. When he was little, his mother used to take him up the hills, and this was one of his favorite things to pick.
Shang Yu didn’t say anything after seeing Shen Xiu confirm it.
Having traveled all the way to Wolong Mountain, it seemed completely normal for Shen Xiu to know a few wild fruits, given his training.
Shen Xiu’s strength and knowledge earned him the complete trust of the team, and no one doubted him. Together, they rushed to the source of the fragrance, crawling towards the elliptical leaves on the ground.
“Well, I’m not holding back then!”
“I’ve never seen this before, didn’t know we could eat it.”
“Be careful, don’t damage the roots.”
Although Shen Xiu didn’t peel the fruits when he ate them, just brushing off the surrounding dirt with grass before eating, he understood that the others weren’t used to it like he was.
Shen Xiu was worried that they might get an upset stomach, so he quickly reminded them, “Peel them before eating.”
The fully ripe loquats emitted a strong fragrance, and the skin was easy to peel, not troublesome at all.
[I didn’t expect to see a childhood memory again!]
[Is it really that delicious?]
[It’s so fragrant! It smells even better than the loquats that grow on trees. You can’t even buy them now, there’s no place to get them. Wolong Mountain’s ecosystem is truly amazing. I’ve never seen loquats the size of a thumb before.]
[Ladies, I’m back from spying. I think Duan Mingfei is lost—he’s gone back and forth from the same spot three times. People like that really make you angry, hahahaha!]
