A scare

"Really, Director Zhang?"

Someone immediately asked.

The production crew had it pretty hard, too. They had to finish filming the guests eating before they could take turns getting their own meals.

Director Zhang said meaningfully, "Yes. We're almost halfway through our itinerary for the first episode. We came to the Hot Spring Resort to soak in the hot springs, of course."

Shi Zhou was the first to sigh.

Xie Jiali asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"

"Ah, we'll have to show some skin."

Shi Zhou folded his arms across his chest and joked, "How embarrassing would it be if I had the worst figure out of everyone?"

He used to work out regularly and had been in pretty good shape, with the lean muscle a young man should have. But he hadn't trained in the past two years, and now he was worried he wouldn't look good.

Luckily, the director had told him a few days in advance, so he had gone running, though he hadn't made much of an effort to work out.

Forget it, forget it. A plot device's physique didn't matter.

Xie Jiali's voice was gentle, but his tone was utterly certain. "You look good no matter what."

What he loved was Shi Zhou's soul. He didn't care what his body looked like.

Besides, he meant every word of it, without the slightest pretense, because Shi Zhou was the best in his eyes.

Yu Manman teased him, too. "You're best just as you are. Even if you built some muscle, you couldn't outdo those guys."

People in art and fashion often preferred slimmer figures, ideally with a beauty that combined masculine and feminine features. That was how clothes could really shine.

Everyone remembered their time in the glass room, when two of them had already shown some skin. If they went to the hot springs, everyone would have to reveal at least a little, wouldn't they?

The thought of seeing their crush show some skin instantly sent a thrill through some of them. Any reaction they failed to hide would be caught on camera immediately.

The production team had brought plenty of cameras today, specifically for this moment.

The moment this topic came up, the live chat went wild, too.

-Hehehe, did you guys see that? Su Yue was bouncing his leg just now. The camera behind him caught it!

-The production team is so sneaky. Su Yue probably never imagined there'd be cameras aimed specifically at their legs and feet, not just their facial expressions, right?

A young gentleman like him usually wouldn't do anything so improper in public. This time, he probably really couldn't help himself.

-What are Asta and Lin Yuxi smiling about? Their faces are red.

-Not just that. Asta even crossed his legs. That man is such a pervert.

-There's a big bulge. I saw it.

-Who, who, who?!

-Don't be scared, Zhouzhou. As long as those little milk buns are here, all is right with the world.

-As long as those little milk buns are here, all is right with the world!

A whole string of people echoed that afterward.

Some people also sighed:

-Ah, once this sort of topic comes up, childhood trauma stops hurting, life stops being exhausting, and everyone's having the time of their lives.

-Aren't you excited?

Someone asked.

How could they not be excited? Not only were the viewers spreading the word and frantically summoning their friends,

even the guests were distracted throughout the meal, each with something on their mind.

After they finished eating, no one suggested continuing to explore this time.

But everyone was too embarrassed to say anything. It wasn't even eight yet, so saying they wanted to go back to sleep would be a little too obvious.

Helpless, Bai Shen slipped his hands into his pockets and said with a smile, "Why don't we call it a day? We've been out having fun all day, and we're tired. Let's go back and get some rest."

Everyone had been waiting for someone else to say it. Xie Jiali hadn't fully recovered yet, and his medication made him drowsy. He nodded at that.

"Sure. Let's rest up and have more fun tomorrow."

Some wanted to call for a car and hurry back, whether to rest or to prepare.

A car arrived first, with room for only four people.

Shi Zhou checked with the production team. Walking back would take a little over twenty minutes, so it wasn't actually far.

He simply said, "Then I'll walk back. Get a little stroll in."

This was practically a last-minute attempt to save himself. He had eaten a little too much tonight.

With one hand in his pocket, Asta said with a smile, "I'm stuffed, too. I'll walk back."

Bai Shen had something he wanted to say to Shi Zhou. Pressing his thin lips together briefly, he said to Xie Jiali and the others, "Then you four go ahead. We'll call for another car later."

Xie Jiali had already said he would take the car, so he couldn't very well change his mind. He could only nod. "All right. See you in a bit."

"See you in a bit, Brother Xie."

Shi Zhou waved to the people in the car, then looked from side to side. "Where's Brother Su Yue?"

A member of the production crew said,

"He went running."

Good heavens, he got so much exercise in a single day.

He'd trained all day, come to have dinner with them, and now he was going running again.

Shi Zhou marveled.

He said to the other two, "Shall we go, then?"

Bai Shen nodded, then said to the mall employee beside them, "Thank you. We don't need a car anymore."

The employee took out some sort of form and spoke with Bai Shen.

Shi Zhou and Asta stood a short distance away, waiting for him.

Asta watched Shi Zhou's pale little face under the lights. His curled lashes fluttered, casting small, dense shadows, and his pretty lips pressed together now and then. He stood there docilely holding the little box of unfinished cookies, letting Asta look him up and down.

But the sight of the little box reminded Asta of how, at the table today, Shi Zhou had fed cookies to Xie Jiali alone.

Then he thought of their pool game, and how Su Yue had come over to interfere.

He suddenly bent down and leaned close to Shi Zhou. "Hey, did you know someone died here before?"

Shi Zhou was most afraid of things like that.

He squeezed the little box in his hand and said, pretending to be calm,

"Oh, oh, let me tell you, people have actually died... everywhere. People and animals both."

Listening to that reply, which completely missed the point, Asta narrowed his eyes, held back a wicked grin, and drawled,

"But this place is different."

"Do you know why they built such a huge hot spring resort here?"

Shi Zhou pressed his lips together. Like everyone who was afraid of ghosts but couldn't resist listening, he finally asked,

"...Wh-why?"

"It's just like building schools and hospitals over graveyards."

He deliberately lowered his voice. "A woman died here once, and then there were constant hauntings. So they built a resort to draw in some human presence and suppress them."

Asta tipped up his chin. "Do you know why I suddenly thought to tell you this?"

His eyes remained fixed on Shi Zhou's increasingly trembling lashes as he went ahead and supplied the answer himself.

"Because the path we're about to take is supposedly where that woman died..."

"She loves calling out to people from behind. If you answer, you're done for!"

Asta threatened him viciously.

"I'm done. Let's go."

Someone suddenly spoke behind them.

Shi Zhou's knees went weak. Clutching the little box, he instinctively scrambled forward!

Smiling, Asta lowered his gaze and blocked his way with his arms spread, as though he had anticipated this all along. Thoroughly satisfied, he caught Shi Zhou in a full embrace.

Putting this here in case anyone misses it:

We've reached 130,000 Chinese characters, and twice-daily updates are back!

Also, Tomato has been swallowing paragraph comments lately. It's happening to lots of books.

I won't delete a single comment. It breaks this hamburger's heart not to see what you sweethearts wrote. Tomato, you have no heart QAQ