I Don't Want to Hand Him Over to Anyone

Si You had been knocked senseless by the fall.

A long ringing filled his ears. He had no idea how much time had passed, but when his vision gradually returned, the first thing he felt was excruciating pain.

For one brief moment, Si You had thought he was about to die. He had even wondered whether he might return to his original world. But once that thought truly surfaced, he decided to forget it. Dying over and over was too damn miserable. Although he had achieved fame and success in his previous world, that was all he had left there.

For several minutes, Si You's mind went blank in wave after wave.

Fortunately, though the drop from where they had fallen was quite high, the slope was not especially steep. Apart from the first few crooked trees, there had only been painful stones afterward. Of course, Si You had also been forced to eat a mouthful of dirt along the way.

At last, Si You remembered that Xue Boyu had fallen with him.

He forcibly dragged his nearly scattered soul back into his body, and light finally gathered in his eyes. With great difficulty, he rolled over. The foul air lodged in his chest surged out through his throat, and Si You began coughing violently. Even so, he forced himself to focus and look around.

"Boyu..." Si You breathed laboriously, only to realize he had barely made a sound.

Then, gritting his teeth, his five senses finally woke from the haze. "Xue Boyu!"

Si You's shout was loud enough that faint echoes rang through the open area.

Si You remembered shielding Xue Boyu several times during the tumble, but they had been rolling and crashing too wildly for him to maintain any balance.

Where had this guy fallen?

Si You's legs only began cooperating after he tried crawling several times. He braced himself against a small pine tree and stood up, feeling an unbearable throbbing pain at his right temple. He reached up to touch it and found that his head had been split open, though thankfully not too badly.

Standing like this broadened his field of vision. The grass had grown wildly lush after days of plentiful rain, a vibrant green stretching everywhere. Looking at the surrounding terrain, though he did not want to admit it, Si You judged that they had fallen onto the far side of the mountain. It was directly north to south from the route they had taken, and Xue Boyu was lying facedown not far away.

Si You's heart clenched as he walked over. He was worried something had happened to him.

But Xue Boyu spoke first. "Brother Si You..."

"Hey!" Si You let out a breath of relief. He nearly collapsed beside Xue Boyu, but forced himself to squat down and help the teenager turn over. "How do you feel?"

Xue Boyu said, "Like I'm dying..."

Si You nodded. "Then that sounds about right."

Xue Boyu: "..."

He realized that after Si You's return, he was no longer afraid even if he saw the King of Hell alive.

"Move slowly," Si You instructed him. "Bit by bit. If anything hurts, you have to tell me."

In fact, Xue Boyu was in better shape than Si You. During the fall, he had landed on Si You several times.

After checking him over, Xue Boyu sat up and frowned. "My left knee... hurts so much, Brother Si You. And my lower back hurts too."

When Xue Boyu had been fifteen and practicing dance, he had performed a large movement incorrectly and suffered a serious strain. His family had hired top specialists, who said that because he was young, he could recover with proper care, but he could not engage in strenuous activity in the short term. Xue Boyu had always been very careful, but now he could not help feeling afraid. As he spoke to Si You, his voice even became a little hoarse.

"Don't move," Si You said. "I'll figure something out."

Si You rubbed his chest hard, as though boundless strength had surged up from within him again. He staggered toward a patch of wild trees nearby to search around. Knowing Xue Boyu was scared, he never once left the boy's line of sight. After a while, Si You returned with several sticks of varying thickness.

He took off his coat, swiftly tore it into strips, then used the sticks to secure Xue Boyu's leg from his knee down to his ankle before tying it tightly with the cloth.

"Ah!" Xue Boyu's eyes reddened from the pain.

"Bear with it." Saying that, Si You sat down and did the same thing, securing his own right ankle.

Xue Boyu was startled. "Brother Si You, you twisted your ankle too?"

"I'm not sure, but it hurts." Si You's gaze was alert as he said calmly, "We've been down here for a while. The production crew must be searching as hard as they can. We're both injured right now, so as long as there aren't any wolves or wild beasts nearby, we'll stay here for the time being."

Xue Boyu had originally been terrified, but hearing that, he gradually calmed down. It was as though as long as Si You was there, they would make it out.

Si You noticed Xue Boyu's dry lips, glanced at something nearby, and said, "Wait here."

In this situation, they needed to maintain their water intake. There was no mountain spring around, but Si You had spotted some wild grapes.

They were not very purple. Most of the grapes on each bunch were still green, but after picking through them, he managed to gather a small handful.

"Brother, can we eat these?" Xue Boyu asked in surprise.

Si You grabbed one and popped it into his mouth. "Not bad. They're pretty sweet."

Xue Boyu stopped being polite after that.

"Brother, how did you know these were edible?"

"I lived in the countryside with my grandfather for a while. That place was surrounded by mountains too, and there were lots of wild berries like these. I learned to identify them when I was seven."

"Your old agency really wasn't human!" Xue Boyu could not help cursing. "You're so capable, and what kind of persona did they force on you?"

Si You gave a light cough. The old agency hadn't actually treated the original owner that terribly. Half of it was his own fault, which had only made the whole mess even worse.

They had left the apartment at around twelve-thirty. Judging from the position of the sun now, it was around four-thirty. In other words, he and Xue Boyu had been unconscious here for an hour.

How far had the rescue efforts gotten?

All the wild grapes went into Xue Boyu's mouth. Si You only ate the first one.

"If you feel bad, sleep for a while. Save your strength," Si You said. "I'll watch over you."

Xue Boyu saw him constantly rubbing his chest and could not help asking, "Brother Si You, are you feeling unwell too?"

"I'm fine," Si You said. "I probably hit a tree stump on the way down. Get some rest."

"No, I'll stay with you..." Xue Boyu said that, but within three seconds of lying on his side, his eyes closed. He was still a pampered young master, after all. Facing such danger for the first time, simply adapting to it had exhausted all his energy.

The moment Xue Boyu fell asleep, the vitality drained from Si You's face.

He had no idea where he had hit himself. Every part of his body hurt. He had been suppressing it while talking just now, otherwise the taste of blood would have kept rising in his throat.

But he could not show weakness. If Xue Boyu broke down emotionally, things would become even worse.

Si You closed his eyes briefly, then jolted awake. He immediately checked Xue Boyu's condition and found that it was clearly not good.

A flush had appeared on Xue Boyu's face. He seemed to have developed some inflammation or infection.

Si You thought for a moment, then bent down.

Xue Boyu was uncomfortable at being moved around, but soon felt his breathing ease a little. He forced his eyes open and saw the scenery around him swaying. The wind swept silently past, leaving only the rustling of grass. Xue Boyu lay on Si You's back and felt safe.

"Brother Si You..." Xue Boyu's voice was very low. "I can walk by myself."

"Walk my ass." Si You panted. "You should exercise more when we get back. Your immunity is downright pathetic."

Xue Boyu, the ungrateful little brat, said, "Then don't pant so hard if you've got the ability."

Si You rather wanted to throw him into the bushes beside them.

"Any sign of them? Did you find them?!"

A distant shout rang out, and Si You immediately stopped.

"Did you hear that, Boyu?"

"Hear what..."

Si You knew he could not count on him. He could only feel his way forward in the direction the voice had come from. The path ahead was narrow and rarely traveled. Every step left burrs hooked all over the hems of his pants. Gullies of different depths lined both sides, while overhead leaves blocked out the sun, making the place gloomy and cold. Si You had no idea whether he was heading the right way. He was holding on entirely through sheer determination.

"Nothing over here~"

This time, the voice was much clearer.

Si You immediately perked up. He carefully lowered Xue Boyu so that he could support himself briefly, then gathered his strength for a long moment before calling out, "Over here!"

No one answered.

Si You searched around, then struggled to pick up a stone and throw it downhill, hoping to catch the rescuers' attention.

"Where did that rock come from?!" someone exclaimed.

"Over here!" Si You shouted hysterically. Afterward, his throat felt like it was leaking air.

Finally—

"They're up there!!!" Someone spotted Si You beyond the overlapping shadows of the trees.

"Don't move! Stay where you are!"

Si You wanted to, but his feet felt as though they had been filled with lead. The only thing he could do was support Xue Boyu. There was no way to lie flat in this place, and he also had to keep Xue Boyu from having trouble breathing.

The crowd surged toward them. Si You thought they were all professionals, but through the layers of brush obstructing his view, he caught a glimpse of a vaguely familiar figure flashing past. His heart immediately lurched.

Jiang Tingxu had come too? That couldn't be possible. He should have stayed in the little apartment and waited for news.

Footsteps rushed in from every direction. Si You endured the dizziness and held on. It felt like a long time had passed, yet also like only an instant. Someone took Xue Boyu from him, and Si You immediately felt much lighter, as though his entire body had been hollowed out.

He felt that if another gust of wind came, he would be carried away with it.

A group of people surrounded Xue Boyu to examine him. They even had medical equipment with them, so there must have been medical staff in the accompanying team. Once Si You reached that conclusion, his brain completely shut down. As though punishing him for forcing himself to hold on, his temples began to ache like they were being pierced by needles, and the light before his eyes flickered bright and dim. A figure strode toward him.

Jiang Tingxu bypassed everyone, rushed over, and pulled Si You into a tight embrace.

Jiang Tingxu...

Si You could only call his name in his heart. He was nearly done for too, but afraid that everything was an illusion, he had not fainted. He struggled to take one look.

That jawline was clearer and smoother than a damn life plan. The high nose bridge and beautiful lashes were equally flawless. It really was Jiang Tingxu.

Si You stopped caring.

The head on his shoulder suddenly sank, and Jiang Tingxu instantly lowered his head.

Si You's face was terribly pale, but his chest was still rising and falling.

Jiang Tingxu tightened his arms around him and headed back the way he had come.

The helicopter arranged by the Xue Household was on its way. No one had expected Si You to carry Xue Boyu out of that sunken area, sparing everyone the trouble of taking a long detour.

Everyone rushed out at top speed. The media who had arrived after hearing the news were blocked outside the perimeter, but their cameras were already at the ready.

No one had brought a phone when they set out on the mission today, so it had been inconvenient. That was why Si You did not know how completely the internet had exploded in the few hours he and Xue Boyu had been missing.

The main reason was that the livestream had captured, with perfect clarity, the moment Si You tried to grab Xue Boyu and fell down with him.

Needless to say, Xue Boyu's fans had gone crazy with worry. The Xue Household had contacted the production crew immediately. Even though the show had been suspended, online discussion continued to escalate.

[They're really risking people's lives for attention! I said before that so many of this show's challenges are completely unreasonable. Which genius decided they should go out in heavy rain? And now they're climbing a mountain like this!]

[I hope Boyu is okay. I really... I don't know what to do.]

[I hope Si You is okay too. When he saved Boyu, he didn't hesitate at all.]

The antis did not dare act recklessly these days. This was a matter of life and death. Anyone still trying to throw mud and smear them now was courting death.

People familiar with the area said the mountain was incredibly steep, and it was obvious that the place Xue Boyu and the others had fallen into was somewhere no one ever went.

"They're here! They're out!"

Someone in the media crowd shouted, and camera flashes immediately went off everywhere.

The ambulance arranged by the Xue Household had already arrived. Xue Boyu was wrapped in a blanket and sent straight inside.

The Xue Household had given orders that after settling their young master, they were to immediately check on the other artist. But another ambulance came blaring in, with the words "Weicheng Medical" written on it.

The Xue Household was powerful and influential, but it was not the greatest force in Lindu. It was only when Jiang Tingxu, looking grim, avoided the Xue Household staff's assistance and quickly boarded the Weicheng ambulance that some people realized Jiang Tingxu was the Jiang Household's only son.

The two ambulances sped toward the hospital one after another.

It was not that Jiang Tingxu did not trust the Xue Household. It was just that with Xue Boyu coming first, Si You might not receive the most comprehensive care. More importantly, at this moment, Jiang Tingxu did not want to hand Si You over to anyone.

Once the media filmed that, online comments intensified even more, crashing the Weibo backend for Spring Action.

The production crew kept reaching out, hoping only to receive news that the guests were safe and sound.

Safe and sound was impossible. Xue Boyu's studio posted on Weibo that night, stating plainly that his old waist injury had flared up, his knee was bruised, and the remaining external injuries were not serious. They just had to wait for him to wake up.

As the saying went, the fewer the words, the more serious the situation. Some fans could not help wanting to rush to the hospital, while there was not a single update at all from Si You's side.

Yuan Fei was in a neighboring city filming a commercial with another artist under his management. The moment he heard the news, he drove over. He was even stopped by bodyguards at the hospital entrance. Weicheng was a famous private hospital with strict entry requirements. Only after Yuan Fei identified himself and received Jiang Tingxu's approval did he finally arrive, looking travel-worn.

When he saw Jiang Tingxu on a bench outside the operating room, even a seasoned veteran like Yuan Fei unconsciously softened his footsteps. To survive in this industry, Jiang Tingxu was someone he absolutely could not afford to offend.

"Movie Emperor Jiang," Yuan Fei said.

"Mm." Jiang Tingxu glanced at him, then asked after a moment, "Do you have anyone handling public relations?"

To be honest, they had not before. Si You had been an abandoned pawn. But on the way over, Yuan Fei had already thought through every countermeasure. Si You's act of saving Xue Boyu would not go to waste. He would personally handle the operation.

"Yes."

"Mm." Jiang Tingxu added, "Stick to the facts. Don't play up the tragedy."

Yuan Fei froze for a moment before quickly saying, "I understand!"