Chapter 14

Half a day earlier, deep in the jungle.

The instant Bai Jike's earmuffs and blindfold unlocked, he felt a wooden stick pressing against the badge on his chest.

"Xiao Bai, don't move." Shi Xingzhou's eyes curved into a smile. "We're so close to each other. What a coincidence."

A coincidence?

Not really.

Shi Xingzhou had arranged it on purpose, of course.

Jin Xiaopeng's video could be used to threaten not only Jin Xiaopeng, but also the financial backer who slept with him. That was the secret weapon that had kept Shi Xingzhou standing strong as a broker in the industry.

And that Mr. Yue, whose full name was Yue Lin, happened to be one of the executives on the Deserted Island production team.

Lately, discussion of the four brothers among ordinary viewers had shown signs of surpassing his own. So, while presenting the brothers Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang with the grand gift of a single-plank bridge, Shi Xingzhou had also come up with this way to ride their popularity.

After all, Bai Jike was visibly the weakest of the four brothers, yet he was the most popular thanks to his Blue Sesame endorsement and the bar incident.

Perfect.

The stick was planted right against Bai Jike's badge. All Shi Xingzhou had to do was apply a little pressure, and Bai Jike would be eliminated.

He had expected Bai Jike to panic, but Bai Jike merely frowned. "What?"

The red-haired boy actually looked impatient.

Shi Xingzhou froze for a moment before asking gently, "We're from the same company, and we might even debut on the same team someday. Why don't we form an alliance?"

Bai Jike looked up, considering it.

But the bullet comments began flooding the screen—

"Aaaah, it really is Zhouzhou, he's so gentle!"

"Everyone says extreme variety shows like this reveal people's true nature, but our Zhou still wants to team up with someone from his company. Kind Zhou!"

"Zhou must have offered an alliance because he knew little brother Bai would have a hard time surviving alone. Hurry and say yes, little brother Bai!"

Shi Xingzhou also felt victory was in his grasp, only to hear Bai Jike speak coldly.

"Who forces someone into an alliance with a weapon?"

A direct hit to the weak spot.

Right. If he really was kind, why would he threaten the other person?

Shi Xingzhou was left speechless. The bullet comments were also stunned for a while before they began defending their master, complaining, "Bai Jike doesn't know what's good for him," and "He obviously meant well, but Bai Jike wouldn't accept the courtesy," and so on.

Quite a few genuine casual viewers, however, were awakened by Bai Jike's words. They felt he had a point and that Shi Xingzhou must have some other little scheme in mind.

But no one expected that in the instant Shi Xingzhou was distracted, Bai Jike would suddenly spring into action, kick him away, and turn and run into the jungle.

Bullet comments: !!!

So Xiao Bai could do more than sleep!

Shi Xingzhou came to his senses and immediately gave chase.

But Bai Jike dodged left and right, nimble as a little monkey among the trees, and never let Shi Xingzhou catch up.

"I'm dying, he can't even find someone to team up with when he's holding a stick."

"At this rate, of course he has to resort to threats. If he didn't threaten Xiao Bai, who would want to carry dead weight?"

"Oh, please, he just took advantage of our Zhouzhou being distracted! Look how fit Zhouzhou is, he's been running for so long!"

"Then isn't Xiao Bai even better? Your Zhou can't even eat his exhaust!"

Shi Xingzhou was furious and frustrated. He searched the jungle for hours without catching Bai Jike. Not only had his plan failed, but insect bites had left huge welts all over him, and he had sweated enough to pickle himself through. His former gentle, kindly air had completely vanished.

If not for the cameras, he would have cursed out loud long ago!

And yet.

Misfortunes never came singly.

It was embarrassing enough that Bai Jike had escaped him. Then Shi Xingzhou looked up and discovered that, at some point, he had ended up standing beneath an enormous beehive!

In an instant, his legs went weak with fright.

The swarm gradually noticed the intruder and began to stir.

Bees kept flying tentatively toward Shi Xingzhou. Amid the buzzing that filled the air, he instinctively made the worst possible decision—

He swung his stick.

That clearly enraged the swarm.

In an instant, furious bees filled the sky and came diving down at Shi Xingzhou like a torrential rainstorm.

Shi Xingzhou fled with his arms over his head, only to trip over vines and tree roots. The dark mass of bees reached him in the blink of an eye...

"Aaaah!" Shi Xingzhou's fans began screaming in front of their screens.

Their idol had fallen. What were they going to do?!

Shi Xingzhou also lost control of his expression, tears and snot streaming down his face...

Whoosh—

A figure suddenly appeared at that moment, like a divine warrior descending from the heavens. In a flash, he wrapped his jacket around Shi Xingzhou and then took off running.

Only when the sound beside his ears had vanished did Shi Xingzhou wipe away his snot and belatedly realize...

Someone had saved him?

The swarm was drawn to the moving red-haired boy and surged toward him.

As Bai Jike ran, he considered the best way to deal with them.

It was true that he looked down on Shi Xingzhou's hypocrisy, but it was also true that, seeing him in danger, his sense of duty had compelled him to save him.

Perhaps that sense of duty was the biggest reason he had given up his comfortable life as a red hacker in a computer room at the National University of Defense Technology and volunteered instead to go undercover at Star Radiance to investigate the company's laundering of money through overseas zombie accounts.

But... his undercover training had never said what to do when he ran into angry bees.

The only thing the nineteen-year-old genius red hacker could rely on was his physical fitness...

A pond!

Bai Jike had no time to think. He plunged straight in.

The swarm hovered over the water for a while. Having lost its target, it finally dispersed.

Bai Jike surfaced and let out a long breath.

I'm awesome!

"Little brother Jike is incredible!"

"Holy crap, I love those reflexes. What other surprises are you hiding from me?!"

"Xiao Bai! Today you're not just 1.8 meters tall, you're a whole 1.9 meters!!!"

"Boo-hoo, I thank you on behalf of all Zhou fans!"

"Xiao Bai: Don't thank me. What rotten luck."

But Bai Jike's composure did not last long.

The bottom of the pond on the deserted island was full of mud and water weeds.

Bai Jike struggled to swim to the bank, only for his legs to become tangled in all sorts of things he couldn't make out. He struggled twice and only sank deeper.

He was severely deprived of oxygen.

Even the cleverest brain could no longer think. All that remained was the instinct to survive—to call for help.

But on this vast, sparsely populated deserted island, who could come to his rescue?

Bai Jike slowly closed his eyes, conserving the last of his strength.

Casual viewers in the bullet comments switched sides one after another.

"@Shi Xingzhou, little brother just saved you. Where are you?"

"I'm going to puke. Where's Shi Xingzhou? He was the closest one!"

"Don't call Zhouzhou out, he's exhausted too!"

"You're still speaking up for your idol at a time like this? Do you have a heart?!"

The bullet comments argued incessantly, but the moonlit jungle was utterly silent. It seemed there could be no turning point.

Yet among the sinister tree shadows, a figure moved freely like a wild fox and suddenly appeared.

He plunged into the water and easily lifted Bai Jike's limp body.

*

When Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang arrived at the pond, they were stunned by the scene before them.

Ye Yiwei and Bai Jike were lying on the bank, drenched from head to toe and gasping for breath.

Seeing them, Qiao Huan thought the two had also run into the predicament he and Zhuo Yang had faced earlier. He hurriedly surveyed the surroundings and made sure there were no other traps.

Zhuo Yang, meanwhile, rushed forward in a single stride to check on them.

Though the two were exhausted, they saw that it was Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang and both made an OK gesture.

Zhuo Yang breathed a sigh of relief. "They're fine, just exhausted. Don't worry."

Qiao Huan nodded. "That's good."

As they spoke, the production team's rescue helicopter appeared above the trees where the four of them were.

Ye Yiwei and Bai Jike finally caught their breath, and the rescuers examined them and confirmed they were unharmed.

Only then did Qiao Huan and Zhuo Yang learn what had happened from the young rescuer. Both took off their jackets and wrapped them around the two.

The young rescuer said, "Our three helicopters had been circling over the deserted island, ready to respond, but something happened on the other side just now, so we couldn't get here in time."

Then he looked at Ye Yiwei gratefully. "It's thanks to you that Xiao Bai was saved. Your movements when you rescued him from the water were so professional. Thank you so much! You've trained before, haven't you?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Sisters, I noticed it just now too. Comrade Yiwei's technique was really textbook!"

"What a handsome man, beautiful inside and out!"

"Look where Shi Xingzhou is. Xiao Bai just saved him!"

"Oh my god, I don't know if you missed it, but Ye Yiwei came running from half a kilometer away, then went into the water and rescued him in one smooth move. Incredible!"

"From now on, it's not Xiu San anymore, it's Xiu Si!"

Ye Yiwei seemed a little at a loss in the face of the young rescuer's performance.

After all, a skill like that really wasn't anything worth boasting about.

"I just heard the director say that Teacher Ye is really popular right now!" said the cameraman behind the young rescuer. "I wonder if you have anything you'd like to say to the audience?"

The prompt was obvious. After having their moment in the spotlight, most entertainers would talk about their personal journey or something along those lines. As long as they made the audience feel for them, it was easy to gain fans.

Ye Yiwei thought for a long moment before finally speaking.

"If someone falls into the water, immediately call loudly for help, call the police, and find rescue equipment such as a bamboo pole or a life buoy. If you haven't received professional training, don't enter the water alone to attempt a rescue." Ye Yiwei's voice was calm as water. "There's nothing else to say. I hope nobody falls into the water. That's all."

I hope nobody falls into the water.

The young rescuer & the director & the bullet comments: What a sincere blessing.

We've learned something. Thanks.

"Um... you four? You're all okay, right?"

Shi Xingzhou emerged from the shadows of the woods, covered in mud and looking thoroughly bedraggled.

The four of them and the audience were all taken aback.

Sensing the awkward mood, Shi Xingzhou hurried forward and took Bai Jike's hand, his voice trembling. "Thank you so much. Without you, I'd have been stung to death by those bees. I ran so fast just now that I got lost, or I would have done everything I could to save you! I'm really sorry!"

Having said that, he actually began to sob.

"Isn't this way too fake?"

"You didn't even watch the footage just now, did you? Our Zhou really did trip and sprain his ankle, but he was still doing his best to get to the lake!"

"You can still whitewash this? If he hadn't chased Xiao Bai, would he have stirred up a hornet's nest?"

"Zhou was the one who offered to team up with Xiao Bai first. Who told Xiao Bai to refuse?!"

"I'm dying. If I forced you to team up with me using a stick, would you agree?"

Shi Xingzhou also knew his standing with casual viewers had plummeted. He had to think of something.

"Please let me come with you four!" Shi Xingzhou spoke earnestly. "I promise I won't hold you back. I've taken a jungle survival course before. Since you four are so physically capable, I can help you come up with strategies!"

His words were humble and full of green tea, but for the moment, it was hard to think of a counterargument.

After all, all four had demonstrated their physical abilities one by one. It did seem they were missing a brain for the team.

Zhuo Yang was so angry he laughed. I need your wilderness survival knowledge?

He had been furious ever since hearing the young rescuer's account. Now he grabbed Shi Xingzhou by the collar. "I'll fucking eliminate you right now!"

"Wait!"

Qiao Huan caught Zhuo Yang's wrist.

Zhuo Yang said, "You still want to protect him?!"

Qiao Huan nodded.

Sigh, he's my mission target. What else can I do but protect him?

Zhuo Yang stared at Qiao Huan for a long moment and noticed that there seemed to be an unusual glint in Qiao Huan's eyes.

Then he suddenly understood.

I was too impulsive!

Qiao Huan is thinking about how to torment Shi Xingzhou to death on the show to avenge Ye Yiwei and Bai Jike!

Zhuo Yang let go and looked at Ye Yiwei and Bai Jike, who were also pondering Qiao Huan's intentions.

The three exchanged glances, seeming to understand something...

And just like that, a silent alliance was formed.

Author's note:

Bai Jike: I thought I was going to die, but a really strong man... uh, saved me right by the... uh, life-butt.

(I know it's a terrible meme, but it really is so funny, sorry.)

·

Zhuo & Ye & Bai: I get it, we're going to torment Shi Xingzhou to death, right?

Qiao Huan: ??? That's not what I meant... wait, (thinks for a moment) that works too.