Painted Pleasure Boat

For a moment, Chi Yan was at a loss for words. He stood there staring straight at Li Yu, as though he had completely forgotten they were still filming a show.

"Brother Chi?"

Li Yu stepped closer, and only then did Chi Yan come back to his senses.

"You look great."

Chi Yan lowered his eyes, hiding the boundless heat in his heart.

"Really? Yu Lin and the others said it looked good too."

Li Yu smiled, and that smile was a little dazzling in Chi Yan's eyes.

His Little Fish looked good no matter what.

He looked best when he smiled at him.

Chi Yan's heart was practically melting. His gaze inadvertently fell on Li Yu's rosy lips.

They looked so kissable.

He wanted so badly to trap Little Fish against a wall, kiss him until his face flushed and his heart raced, until he went completely limp in his arms.

The desire in Chi Yan's eyes gradually deepened. He did not hear a word Li Yu said; it seemed to be something about Liang Meichen and Shu Menglan.

"Wow! Teacher Liang, you're my god!"

"Oh my God, Menglan is unbelievably beautiful!"

The other guests' exclamations rang out, and Li Yu and Chi Yan both looked over.

Liang Meichen and Shu Menglan had also finished their styling and come out. Their beauty was distinct in its own way, and the livestream comments had already fallen completely under their spell.

[Insane, insane, insane, insane, insane.]

[So gorgeous I'm losing my mind.]

[Goddess Liang looks so elegant in a qipao.]

[Shu Menglan's look is way too beautiful. One glance and I'm stunned. Suddenly, I think she'd be perfect for historical dramas.]

[My God, when my Goddess Liang makes a move, you know she's got it.]

[Aaaaah, so pretty, so pretty! This weekend, I have to get the same look as Goddess Liang and Shu Menglan!]

"I'm almost reluctant to take it apart." Shu Menglan touched the flowers pinned in her hair. "It's really special."

"You can take it off after this afternoon's activity," the off-camera PD said.

"Yay!" After cheering, Shu Menglan added, "So, does that mean it's time for lunch?"

"Menglan really is... she might forget anything, but she'd never forget to eat." Xiang Zhinan did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"The production team has prepared a lavish lunch for the guests. You only need to find the final check-in location to enjoy it."

The guests looked at the task card. The final picture clearly showed a painted pleasure boat.

"That's a painted pleasure boat in the picture. Isn't the check-in location obvious?" Yu Lin said.

"You're so smart, Yu Lin. If you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have known it was on the Canglang River." Shu Menglan wore a beaming smile, but her words sounded a little off to Yu Lin.

Yu Lin froze where he stood. Why did he feel like Shu Menglan was making fun of him?

He turned to ask Xie Jingming, "Why do I keep feeling like Sister Menglan wasn't praising me just now?"

"How could that be? You must have imagined it."

Xie Jingming quietly moved a little farther away from Yu Lin, as though afraid stupidity might be contagious.

Xiang Zhinan could not hold it in and snorted with laughter from the side. But after laughing, he said nothing, leaving Yu Lin even more confused.

"No... what do you all mean by that?" Yu Lin was utterly baffled.

"Alright, alright, I'm hungry. Let's go!" Shu Menglan took Liang Meichen's arm. "Hehe, Teacher Liang and I are walking together."

The others followed as well, leaving Yu Lin alone at the back of the group, questioning his life.

"So... Sister Menglan really was making fun of me!" Yu Lin hurried after them. "No, Sister Menglan, you have to explain yourself!"

"Hahaha, Teacher Liang, let's go. Ignore Yu Lin."

"Alright."

Liang Meichen laughed along with her, suddenly feeling much younger.

Shu Menglan pulled Liang Meichen along faster. The two beauties weaved through the streets, one in red and one in pink, especially eye-catching.

Tourists all looked their way. Once they realized they were two big celebrities, everyone took out their phones and crowded around.

"Goddess Liang! Goddess Liang! Can I take a photo with you?"

"Aaaaah, Shu Menglan! Look over here! I love you so much!"

"Thank you! But we're filming a show, so it's not very convenient right now." Liang Meichen pointed to the cameraman beside her.

"What show is it? I'll definitely watch it when I get home!"

"It's A Day to See All the Flowers!" Shu Menglan replied.

Fortunately, the production team had arranged security to maintain order. Otherwise, these tourists would have pounced on them like starving wolves long ago.

The other guests came out behind them, and quite a few people noticed them too, prompting another wave of shrieks from the crowd.

One girl in particular was the most excited. She was short, and she even bounced up against her friend's shoulder while waving. Her voice cracked as she shouted, "Zhou Yanqing! Holy shit! Zhou Yanqing!"

Zhou Yanqing had clearly heard her. He looked a little flattered and waved back at the girl.

Li Yu and Chi Yan walked side by side. Perhaps because Li Yu was not very famous, no one recognized him at first. It was only because the two of them were ridiculously good-looking that people kept staring at them.

"That boy is so pretty."

"Is that Flower Adornment in his hair from the shop up ahead? I want to get one later too."

"It looks like they're filming a show. Are they celebrities?"

"The one next to him is so handsome too! He looks so damn cool, you know what I mean?"

"Fuck, their legs put together are longer than my whole life."

"There are so many handsome guys in this world. Would it kill them to give me one?"

The chatter from the onlookers was somewhat noisy, but Chi Yan still caught some of it.

He glanced at Li Yu beside him from the corner of his eye and inconspicuously moved closer, trying to block everyone else's view.

That brought his hand very close to Li Yu's, only two or three centimeters away from touching.

But this was different from when they were climbing the mountain that morning. Now, he had no reason to hold Li Yu's hand.

Chi Yan awkwardly rubbed his thumb, then slipped that hand into his coat pocket.

Li Yu naturally noticed the movement. Their eyes met, and Li Yu's gaze still held a trace of confusion.

Yet Chi Yan felt as though Li Yu could see right through him the next second, and even his heartbeat became irregular.

"Watch where you're going. Look ahead, not at me."

Chi Yan turned his head away first and stopped looking at Li Yu.

Li Yu gave an "Oh" and shifted his gaze.

But... hadn't he been walking properly the whole time?

As soon as they neared the Canglang River, Shu Menglan saw several painted pleasure boats moored along the riverbank. When she had come here to take photos yesterday, she had not paid much attention to them.

The pleasure boat rented by the production team was quite large. Its exterior was lavish, and once they stepped inside, it revealed an entirely different world. Even Xiang Zhinan exclaimed at how generous the production team was.

A red round table stood in the middle, and Shu Menglan and Liang Meichen were the first to sit down.

Chi Yan sat down beside them as well. The seat next to him seemed to have been tacitly reserved for Li Yu, and no one else went to sit there.

Li Yu was happy to sit beside Chi Yan too—compared to the other guests, he felt less embarrassed about secretly asking Chi Yan to help him pick up dishes that were farther away.

In fact, Li Yu did not even need to ask. Chi Yan already knew which dishes Li Yu wanted to eat next.

It was just that they were on the show, so he still had to put on a proper act and use the serving chopsticks.