I meant no harm either

The livestream began.

The guests greeted the viewers enthusiastically.

Shen Lian gave the camera a faint smile. He knew better than anyone that, given his current situation, the harder he tried to please the audience, the less they would like him. A little was enough.

[You know, Shen Lian actually looks pretty decent when he drops that suck-up act.]

[He was great when he first debuted. Who knew he'd go further and further off track?]

[Anyone defending that dog Shen has no morals.]

[Hey, not everyone likes your precious Zheng Ge. If you want to teach someone a lesson for your master, do it yourself. Stop barking at normal people.]

Flame wars mingled with the scrolling comments. Soon, the Program Crew announced the task.

The guests wouldn't need to split into teams. They just had to follow the trail markers and reach the finish before nightfall.

It sounded simple, but the jungle was full of dangers. More importantly, the Program Crew would no longer provide any food—not even a cup of water.

They even confiscated the chewing gum Fang Ke had brought.

[Hahaha, poor Keke looks totally stunned.]

Shen Lian put on his jacket and walked at the very back of the group.

He knew a camera had been secretly filming him the whole time, but he had no intention of giving the Program Crew the sensational footage they wanted.

"Tell me, how is Shen Lian keeping his cool so well this time?" an assistant director grumbled to the assistant beside him.

The assistant smiled shyly, too busy watching Shen Lian.

On camera, the young man had a slim waist and long legs. He walked with easy grace, his leaps light and clean, the hem of his jacket tracing a dashing arc through the air.

His face looked flawless from every angle, too.

With a cigarette between his lips, Chu Yilan watched the young man on the livestream, emotions churning in his eyes.

As soon as they entered the jungle, the sunlight thinned. The air was damp and cold, and mist crept down their collars against their necks.

Dense vegetation filled their view, shrubs crowding around towering trees with barely any gaps between them.

Zhao Lin put his hands on his hips and looked around. "The trail markers are completely buried."

The last marker had pointed in this direction, but the deeper they went, the harder it became to make out the path.

Shen Lian recalled that the markers had been put up the day before filming. The Program Crew would make things difficult, but they wouldn't actually hide the markers somewhere impossible to find.

He bent down and brushed aside the pine needles on the ground, searching carefully.

Feng Susu chuckled. "Shen Lian, who buries trail markers in the ground?"

Shen Lian ignored her. He soon found a trail of footprints and followed them forward. Sure enough, there were signs of disturbance in a patch of shrubs.

Shen Lian pushed the branches aside with a stick and found the marker.

"Right," Shen Lian said in a low voice. "The marker's here."

Zhao Lin came over to look, his face lighting up. He clapped Shen Lian on the shoulder. "You've got some skills, kid!"

Shen Lian smiled faintly. The ground was damp and muddy, so tracks were easy to leave. It wasn't particularly difficult; all it took was a little care.

"Let me take the lead, Zhao," Shen Lian said. "The shoes I'm wearing today have good grip."

Zhao Lin nodded. "Sure!"

And just like that, Shen Lian became their guide.

Watching his retreating figure, Zheng Ge felt an inexplicable flicker of unease.

After another stretch of trekking, everyone's mouths and throats were dry.

Shen Lian stood on a large rock and looked ahead. "There's spring water."

Zhao Lin said, "Really? Come on, hurry! I'm dying of thirst!"

There were plenty of mountain springs here, and the water was drinkable, but outsiders had trouble finding them. Only the nearby villagers knew their way around well enough to use them to quench their thirst while foraging in the mountains.

Zhu Yingyu asked curiously, "Shen Lian, how did you know?"

"White-Gel Bamboo Shoot." Shen Lian pointed to a low-growing shrub with serrated leaves and branches spreading sideways. "This stuff usually grows near water."

"Tch." Li Jiabo chuckled. "Shen Lian, if you make us walk all that way for nothing, how are you going to make it up to us?"

The Program Crew had subtly told Li Jiabo that Shen Lian was just a minor player there to provide amusement. Occasional friction and conflict were necessary for the show, and viewers were bound to like him more than Shen Lian.

So Li Jiabo felt no qualms about taking jabs at him.

Shen Lian glanced at the ground beneath Li Jiabo's feet. "That won't happen."

Li Jiabo was about to say more when his foot suddenly slipped. He desperately tried to regain his balance, but the ground was too wet. In barely a second, he fell face-first into the mud.

"Hey!" Zheng Ge only had time to reach out.

On top of that, Li Jiabo had worn rather tight trousers today to show off his figure.

With a ripping sound, the back of his crotch seam split halfway open, exposing a strip of red underwear.

Only when Li Jiabo lifted his head in bewilderment did Shen Lian drawl, "Looks like you stepped on a spring."

Li Jiabo said, "..."

Zhu Yingyu struggled to hold back her laughter.

Luckily, there was another spring nearby. After digging it out and waiting for the sediment to settle, they wouldn't have to drink water flavored with Li Jiabo's feet.

"Jiabo." Fang Ke meant no harm, but he was audibly struggling not to laugh. "Is this your zodiac year?"

"Hahahaha!" Zhao Lin instantly lost it.

That set everyone laughing.

Li Jiabo's face flushed bright red. His embarrassment was turning to anger, but he couldn't lash out on camera, or people would accuse him of being a bad sport.

Zheng Ge flashed his dimples, then looked at Shen Lian as though making a casual remark. "Shen Lian, you saw the spring before Jiabo stepped in it, didn't you?"

Naturally, Shen Lian wouldn't admit it. "You think I've got X-ray vision cheats?"

Zheng Ge's eyes flickered slightly, and he pressed his lips together. "Sorry, I meant no harm."

Shen Lian said, "I meant no harm either."

Whatever attitude he got, he gave right back, exactly as it was.

[Damn, Shen Lian's so mean.]

[Mean... how? Isn't that a perfectly normal way to talk?]

[Don't bother. Zheng Ge's fans have sensitive skin.]

The spring water quenched their thirst, but the Program Crew hadn't given the guests anything to carry it in. After searching fruitlessly, they could only drink their fill and move on.

Shen Lian was last in line. Just as he was about to take a couple more sips, a large clod of dirt tumbled into the spring.

Shen Lian looked up to see Li Jiabo shrug. "Sorry, I accidentally kicked it."

Shen Lian said, "It's fine."

Seeing that Shen Lian was unfazed, Li Jiabo rolled his eyes as he turned away.

He thought this angle kept him out of the camera's view, but he had unwittingly turned straight toward another hidden camera. The split-screen feed caught it perfectly.

[Uh...]

Some fans hurried to do damage control:

[Jiabo's just a kid at heart. He's probably in a bad mood after that fall.]

Zheng Ge's fans seized the opening:

[Exactly. Besides, it's Shen Lian we're talking about. Isn't it normal for people to dislike him?]

[Hey, did you leave your brain in the womb when you were born? Shen Lian led the way and found the spring. He politely waited to go last. What exactly did he do wrong?]

[You weren't around when the whole internet was dragging Shen Lian, were you? He's just really annoying.]

[To answer you, no, I wasn't. But even if I had been, I'd know to judge each incident on its own merits. What I saw was Shen Lian doing nothing wrong and Li Jiabo bullying him! Also, Li Jiabo looks seriously ugly when he rolls his eyes!]

[You tell them, girl! I've thought Li Jiabo's looks were going downhill for ages. He has nothing to show for himself outside variety shows. No idea what qualifies him to be a regular guest.]

"What does this Li Jianing do?" Chu Yilan suddenly asked in his office.

His assistant, Yang Bin, looked up blankly.