Since that day on, Liu Yuâan began living both in pain and in bliss.
Bliss because he never had to return to his guest room again, pain because every single night in dreamland he has to outsmart a suffocating python but always failed. He is chased, forever, without respite.
After a week Liu Yuâan feels as if his psyche might collapse at any time.
And the culprit, Shao Yanxi, had to ask with all the gall too, âwhatâs wrong? If youâre unwell you should cancel going to tomorrowâs variety show.
Liu Yuâan is spooked with goosebumps at the suggestion, quickly saying, âof course I canât. Itâs one day before shooting, and in this short while not to mention the stylised photo are already out, and they wonât be able to find anyone to replace me.â
Itâs an outdoors survival programme. The production team is looking for actors and celebrities who are not only popular, but also physically fit. If they end up with someone ill-suited and ended up getting sick in just two days then itâll be a pain.
Then Liu Yuâan says, âand you also know I donât have a good reputation. If I break the contract now god knows what the fallout might look like.â
Hearing that, Shao Yanxi remembers that Liu Yuâans infamous reputation is mostly garnered by Jiang Heâs machinations because he clung to Yue Zhun, and is a bit unhappy.
Thinking so, even Liu Yuâanâs prior explanation that he went after Yue Zhun because he himself was too cold to him sounds like a mere excuse, and Shao Yanxi is even more unhappy.
In fact, it might be possible Liu Yuâan has multiple personalities⌠No, wait, suddenly a lightbulb flashes up. Maybe, Liu Yuâan, like him, also reincarnated into the past.
He realised how good his past self was and so wanted to mend things.
Of course, some things are already a done deal, so Liu Yuâan came up with the excuse that he was too cold to him so he went after Yue Zhun.
Thinking so, a lot starts to make sense. Like how Liu Yuâan didnât run out on his marriage, like how he suddenly start treating him well.
Even the fact that he felt that Liu Yuâan might not actually like him that much, because he actually doesnât, but is trying his best to like him anyway.
âThen thatâs that settled,â Liu Yuâan doesnât know what Shao Yanxiâs thought process just concluded. He embraces him then gives him a big sloppy kiss, âIâll be back in three days. Itâll be quick. Remember to video call me when you miss me, or I could call you too.â
âAlright,â Shao Yanxi replies and kisses Liu Yuâan back.
Tomorrow morning, Xiao-Zhang is here to pick Liu Yuâan up. Besides him, thereâs also another personal assistant, a young adult named Xu Qingqing.
The three of them take a plane to get to the location of the show.
Itâs a variety show called âCelebrities in the Wild.â
While it is wilderness survival, but for the safety of the cast involved, itâs not truly wilderness, but the hill behind a popular tourist trap. This is the first episode of this show, currently set to have four regular guests.
The four regulars are He Anran, Xue Junming, Xu Bing, and Liu Yuâan himself.
The idol He Anran debuted in a talent show, though her acting skills are in inverse proportion with her popularity. How popular she was how bad her acting was, and sheâs quite successfully trashed many a TV drama. Thankfully, she knows herself and has stayed off acting now, and mostly stars in variety shows.
The movie star Xue Junming is a three-time consecutive winner of the Golden Flower award. His acting is amazing, but heâs not exactly well-known.
The Internet survival vlogger Xu Bing is a twenty-four, five years old wilderness survivalist with a lot of muscles to show for it. Heâs physically fit and humorous as well.
The first person Liu Yuâan meets is the movie star. Heâs in his thirties and is a rather humble person. Heâs here with his assistant. After Liu Yuâan greeted them they had a cordial chat, as if the two are completely oblivious to rumours online, which has left a good impression on Liu Yuâan.
And certainly, Xue Junming is cordial to Xu Bing as well, at least, one cannot say he looks down on Internet vloggers.
It is quite the contrast to the idol He Anran, who is pretty apathetic to him and Xu Bing but is very friendly with Xue Junming.
She keeps going â qianbei â âqianbeiâ at him, trying to get familiar.
Since sheâs like that, Xu Bing turns towards Liu Yuâan hoping he would share his sentiment, but Liu Yuâan is currently engrossed in photography, so he asks, âAn-ge, taking photos?â
Of course, as a vlogger, he knows a little bit about photography as well, but the scenery in front is not exactly photo-worthy.
âDoesnât that hill in the front look like the Twin Peaks?â Liu Yuâan points to two hills in the far distance.â
He plans to take photos of them then send them to Shao Yanxi.
Xu Bing is surprised looking along his finger, saying, âoh, youâre right. I didnât bring my camera though. An-ge, can you share the photos with me later?â
Thereâs also the double meaning of wanting Liu Yuâanâs WeChat contact as well. Although Liu Yuâan is infamous for all the disparaging materials about him, given that heâs still managed to stay well afloat in the entertainment industry like this, it is definitely worth keeping on good terms with him.
To be selected from among the countless amount of survivalist vloggers means Xu Bing is at least quick on the uptake as well.
âSure,â Liu Yuâan replies, âjust make sure theyâre not used commercially or published under your name online.â
Liu Yuâanâs photography is top-notch, having received countless awards in one world. His photos are basically ready-made wallpapers and the sample photos in photo frames in shops.
His policy is always that you can use them, but not publish them under a different name or use them commercially without his consent.
Though, if they did ask, heâd most likely agree anyway.
âEveryoneâs here already right? Letâs gather up.â Someone calls out.
Liu Yuâan and Xu Bing turns to see the host of the show Ding Mingyao and the director and other members of the production team. They all greet each other.
The director says that the car is already here as well. Of course, a wilderness survival show wouldnât take place in an urban setting, so theyâd have to travel a bit in the car as well.
The show has prepared five rovers. Xu Bing naturally heads into the one Liu Yuâan went into, and the movie star wanted to follow, but thereâs also already a cameraman inside so he had to go with the idol instead.
The host Ding Mingyao even jokingly remarks, âlook at you two, letting the chances go. The idol is right there and youâre already in a different car.â
âThis car will do just fine,â Xu Bing says with a smile.
Liu Yuâan also smiles but does not reply.
Then Ding Mingyao leaves for another car after a quick chat with the cameraman.
Normally Liu Yuâan doesnât have a habit of sleeping in a car, but these days have been⌠tiring.
So he goes into shut-eye mode as soon as the car starts. Xu Bing wanted to strike a chat but decides to keep quiet seeing that.
Later, Liu Yuâan is woken up by the bumpiness of the road. Theyâre already in the hills now, the unpaved road really is bumpy.
Then, Liu Yuâan opens up the window and takes a few more photos with his camera.
Xu Bing is interested in seeing the photos, and when Liu Yuâan hands the camera over, Xu Bing is awe-struck, and praises Liu Yuâan big time. The cameraman then quickly switches the camera onââIt would be a waste of film to film the two sleepingââTo record the footage of Xu Bing praising Liu Yuâan on his photography.
Maybe the footage wonât be used, but maybe it would.
Though the footage ended up pretty short, because theyâre at their destination soon enough, at the hills behind a popular tourist spot.
Though itâs a hot midsummer day, the foliage is thick here, and it looks rather dark in the forest. Even if they know this isnât that far away from civilisation, theyâre still pretty spooked, except Liu Yuâan, an old monstrosity that has once lived dozens of years all alone in a truly isolated, primitive forest.
To be honest, calling this a âforestâ? How cute. And of course, he wouldnât be scared at all.
âNice environment, huh,â He Anran says.
And soon enough everyone calms down recalling that this is just beyond a tourist area, and decides to embrace both the spookiness and the greenery.
When theyâre remarking how fresh the air and the water feels, the four other non-regular guests for the first episode also arrives. Among them is⌠Yue Zhun.
Liu Yuâan goes a little bit pale. What the heck, Ren Jianzhang, didnât he make it explicitly clear that he doesnât want to be in the same show as Yue Zhun, ever?
And Yue Zhun also doesnât seem to know heâd be here, and is just as surprised as he was.