Worthy of a Popular Star, His Schemes Ran Deep

The moment he spoke, the gossip-hungry crowd who had been immersed in Jiang Fang's god-tier looks were instantly drawn in. Drinks, sunflower seeds, and little stools at the ready, they settled in to watch the show.

Jiang Fang looked at Bai Ziyu, drenched from head to toe and still shivering, and suddenly felt a little impressed.

What made him insist on taking a jab at him even when he was in such a sorry state?

Had the original owner offended him?

Probably not, right?

Jiang Fang couldn't figure it out.

Bai Ziyu's skin crawled under the way Jiang Fang looked at him as though he were some rare animal. Trembling, he wrapped his arms around himself. "What is it?"

Jiang Fang shook his head.

"There's something I can't figure out, but if it's you, I guess I can understand it."

He had said something, yet it felt like he hadn't said anything at all.

Bai Ziyu regretted it a little too. Right now, all he wanted was to return to the tent, change clothes, and warm up.

But things had come to this, so he could only force himself to say, "How about I lend you my flashlight? We're friends, so you don't need to trade anything for it."

Jiang Fang raised his brows and refused.

"You should worry about yourself first." With that, he pulled Qin Yan away. "I still have something to do, so I'll be leaving."

[Emmm, isn't Jiang Fang being a little too cold? It feels great when he shuts people down, but Bai Ziyu really was worried about him this time. He really was being willful, wasn't he? Is no one allowed to say it?]

Quite a few netizens agreed with those words.

Just as everyone was collectively condemning Jiang Fang, a long comment broke the deadlock.

[First, Jiang Fang is an adult. He knows what he should and shouldn't do, and he didn't force Qin Yan to go with him.

Second, if Bai Ziyu genuinely wanted to lend Jiang Fang his flashlight, he wouldn't have added that heavily suggestive line afterward.

Third, what does "willful" even mean? Does Bai Ziyu know what Jiang Fang is going to do? He knows nothing, yet he slapped the label of "willful" onto Jiang Fang's actions.

All I can say is that I feel exactly like Jiang Fang right now. I can't figure it out, but if it's Bai Ziyu, I can understand it.

Worthy of a popular star indeed. His schemes ran deep.]

One remark stirred up a thousand waves.

Some people suddenly saw the light, while others still supported Bai Ziyu. All that could be said was that there was a reason Bai Ziyu had become so popular.

Bai Ziyu's little performance put Jiang Fang, who had just enjoyed a good meal, in a somewhat foul mood.

He casually plucked a blade of grass from the bushes and held it between his lips, then picked another and handed it to Qin Yan.

"Here, it's sweet." With the grass between his lips, the young man looked carefree yet faintly emotional. A roguish air mixed with noble elegance washed over him.

Qin Yan tried holding the grass between his lips as Jiang Fang did. With a light bite, sweetness flowed from his mouth straight into his heart.

The man's lips curved slightly.

"Mm, very sweet."

A breeze swept past them as they entered the woods. Darkness flooded their vision at once, making the path difficult to see.

[See! Jiang Fang just had to show off! It's so dark—what if something happens?!]

[Exactly, go back already! Bai Ziyu meant well, but his kindness got treated like dirt!]

[If you won't listen to advice, you'll suffer for it. A remote wilderness like this, where no one ever goes, is dangerous at night!]

Did Jiang Fang not know it was dangerous?

Of course he did.

Back when he had been rebellious in his previous life, he had even ventured into tropical rainforests. How could he not know how dangerous a forest was at night?

This patch of woods wasn't large. His destination was the creek, which could only be considered the edge of the woods. He had observed the surroundings when he came here during the day, and there were no signs of large predators along the way, so there was nothing to worry about.

As for it being too dark—

"Are you afraid?" he turned to ask Qin Yan.

"If I said I was, what would you do?"

Qin Yan wasn't afraid of the dark. He simply suddenly wanted to tease Jiang Fang.

Jiang Fang didn't say anything. A faint rustling sounded in the quiet woods.

"If you're afraid of the dark, then there's no helping it. We'll just have to trouble the little ones." As soon as he finished speaking, specks of light suddenly appeared ahead.

Qin Yan looked forward in surprise and saw that, somehow, a "lamp" had appeared in Jiang Fang's hand.

Only then did Qin Yan understand who Jiang Fang meant by the little ones.

That lamp was actually a cluster of fireflies!

As they walked deeper, scattered specks of "starlight" gradually appeared throughout the woods. Above the forest stretched a sky full of stars, while moonlight filtered faintly through layers of cover and scattered flecks of light below.

The light of fireflies dared contend with the brilliant moon!

The next day.

Early in the morning, when the sky had only just begun to brighten, the campsite was already stirring.

By the time the sun rose above the horizon, the guests had all gotten up one after another.

Bai Ziyu was still brooding over what had happened the night before. He had originally planned to wait for Jiang Fang to return and see exactly what he had gone off to do, but he hadn't expected the day to be so exhausting that he had fallen asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

After getting up and washing, his gaze kept drifting toward Jiang Fang's tent.

There was no movement at all.

He hadn't slept particularly soundly last night. They were in the wilderness, after all, and mosquitoes and other insects kept crawling into the tent to bite him. It had been utterly torturous. He vaguely remembered someone returning from outside last night.

It didn't sit right with him. Irritably, he scratched at the places where the bugs had bitten him.

"Jiang Fang isn't still asleep, is he?" he said pointedly.

Long Aozhi hadn't slept well either. Mosquitoes had been everywhere, and his head was still buzzing. He had no patience to deal with Bai Ziyu and sat off to the side with a dark expression, eating dry rations.

Lin Sen did have insect repellent and had slept soundly, but as a rich second-generation heir who had never suffered much, he had been exhausted by the previous day and still felt sore all over.

"Then I'll go check on him." He stood up. "It wouldn't be good if something happened."

Just as he was about to head toward Jiang Fang's tent, he ran into Qin Yan, who was carrying breakfast.

"I'll go."

Qin Yan seemed to be in an excellent mood. The curve of his lips simply wouldn't stay down.

But for the first time, the guests' attention wasn't on Qin Yan himself. Their eyes were fixed on the food in his hands—sweet potatoes!

They were actually sweet potatoes! And they looked freshly roasted at that. If they sniffed carefully, they could even smell their sweet fragrance.

Everyone present swallowed shamelessly.

"Brother Qin, where did you get those sweet potatoes?" Lin Sen couldn't help asking. He, the dignified second young master of the Lin Family, was actually drooling over sweet potatoes now.

Qin Yan warily took a step back, his gaze full of caution.

"I found them in the woods."

Sweet, sweet potatoes!

"Could I..." Trade you for a few?

Knowing how influential Qin Yan was, Lin Sen didn't dare play tricks on him the way he had with Jiang Fang. He only dared suggest a trade, or Qin Yan's fans would tear him apart.

Before he could even finish, Qin Yan abruptly took another step back and tucked the sweet potatoes closer to his chest.

"No," he said decisively.

Qin Yan thought Lin Sen was about to pull the same stunt Long Aozhi had yesterday. Frowning deeply, he strode past him.

The sweet potatoes smelled even sweeter.

Lin Sen hadn't expected him to refuse without even thinking. His stomach let out an uncooperative growl.

He turned to look at Qin Yan, only to see him softly call out a few times outside Jiang Fang's tent before opening it and taking breakfast inside.

So he was bringing Jiang Fang breakfast.

Wait?

Bringing Jiang Fang breakfast?