Why All the Cheesy Pickup Lines?

A fine drizzle fell among the trees in the Taihang Mountains. The droplets did not soak through their clothes, but left patches of dampness.

Mist and rain veiled the lush green scenery, as though they had stepped into a painting captured in the verses of Tang and Song poets, with a hazy, poetic beauty that felt almost unreal.

After growing used to the concrete jungle of the city, an occasional visit to this secluded haven far from the bustle truly relaxed both body and mind, sweeping away fatigue and stress.

Of course,

if they could ignore the abandoned, dilapidated village behind the mountain lodge, shrouded in drifting white mist and looking distinctly eerie,

everything would have been even more perfect.

The "foraging" activity organized by Assistant Director Li might have been a little more pleasant, too.

Du Yunmeng hid behind Jian Ran, following his every step. From time to time, she peered ahead, then immediately ducked her head back.

"Jian Ran, do we really have to go in?" he asked softly, as though afraid of disturbing something.

Jian Ran shot him a sidelong glance. "That scared? Why did you join my team, then?"

"I-I thought I'd be safe with you." Du Yunmeng was a little embarrassed. He stole a glance at the camera assigned to the two of them and lowered his voice. "Don't worry, Jian Ran. I still have money."

Jian Ran snorted. "You haven't paid for the last talisman yet."

"My phone had no signal last night. Once we get back to the lodge, I'll transfer it right away," Du Yunmeng said hastily, inwardly feeling immensely fortunate.

Luckily, she had been quick. The moment the assistant director mentioned forming teams, she had raised her hand and shouted, "I want to be on Jian Ran's team!"

Otherwise, who would protect her in this remote mountain wilderness?

A little money was a small price to pay. Better to lose money than suffer disaster!

What he had not expected, however, was that with three people to a team, the other person who volunteered to join them would actually be... Lu Yanting!

Had Emperor Lu noticed there was something extraordinary about Jian Ran, too?!

I just wonder whether Jian Ran brought enough talismans to go around...

At that thought, Du Yunmeng stole a glance over and saw a face colder than the depths of winter, inexplicably hostile, as though... as though...

she should not have been there, as though she were utterly superfluous.

"We're supposed to be foraging. Why are you going into this deserted village?" the cameraman could not help asking, interrupting Du Yunmeng's train of thought.

Jian Ran had no interest in explaining. Something caught his attention, and he strode straight into the village.

The camera had no choice but to follow closely.

Du Yunmeng spaced out for a moment and actually fell behind. She was just about to call, "Jian Ran, wait for me!"

But a sharp look forced her to swallow the words.

"Are you close to him?" Lu Yanting asked, raising an eyebrow.

Du Yunmeng gave an awkward laugh. "Fairly." After all, they had done business.

He had been waiting for more, but Emperor Lu merely gave a nasal snort, then strode into the village on his long legs.

Du Yunmeng: "..."

A second later, he shouted, "Don't leave me alone!"

Ji Yuanming was extremely irritated at being dumped, but his professionalism kept him from showing it.

He cooperated throughout filming, yet inwardly wondered why. Jian Ran had always been so well-behaved. He never said anything out of line and was even exceedingly cautious, afraid that the slightest displeasure would make Ji Yuanming refuse to see him.

But,

why had he suddenly changed?

Was it because I'd been neglecting him lately?

Or perhaps...

Ji Yuanming abruptly recalled the harsh words he had spoken a while ago-

"Jian Ran, don't push your luck. Don't compare yourself to him. Take a look in the mirror. Do you think you're worthy? Even if you look alike on the outside, your souls are worlds apart!"

Having flung those words at him, he went to pull open the door. But Jian Ran, on the verge of tears behind him, rushed over and hugged his waist tightly from behind, his voice choked with sobs. "Yuanming, don't go! Please! I'll do anything you want, just don't leave me!"

The clinging pleas irritated Ji Yuanming. He pried those long, evenly proportioned fingers loose one by one. "Jian Ran, don't make me hate you."

With that, he left the room without looking back.

The heavy slam of a door rang through the corridor of the five-star hotel...

"Yuanming, which way should we go?" Yang Ruoxi asked, gentle and demure, completely unlike her volatile persona.

Ji Yuanming snapped out of his daze and looked ahead. A fork lay a short distance away, apparently on a trail worn by people heading up the mountain. He pointed at random. "This way."

Although he was giving directions, he could not stop glancing back, precisely in the direction Jian Ran's team had taken.

Just what was Lu Yanting's relationship with him?

He'd actually opened his mouth and asked... who was better at it?!

Wasn't he famously an abstinent iceberg?

Why was he spouting cheesy pickup lines?

Had Jian Ran actually won him over?

Was it that easy?!

He worked in modeling circles and occasionally shot commercials and music videos. He rarely crossed paths with an actor like Lu Yanting, much less knew him. He had only heard that the man had powerful backing and ordinary people did not dare touch him...

He truly had not expected their first confrontation to happen on a variety show.

"Yuanming, why aren't we moving? It'll be lunchtime soon." Brimming with enthusiasm, Yang Ruoxi reached for Ji Yuanming's hand, only to miss as he unobtrusively avoided her.

Her arm stopped awkwardly, but she smiled without a change in expression. "What do you like to eat? I'm a good cook. Shall I make it for you later?"

Before Ji Yuanming could respond, Shen Jiafei butted in. "Sister Yang, enough talking. Don't you feel cold? Gusts of chilly wind keep blowing down my neck."

"Let's just grab some wild greens and hurry back!"

Yang Ruoxi rolled her eyes. "Shen Jiafei, has Jian Ran scared you silly with his nonsense?! Stop thinking about those unclean things. If there really were anything here, we definitely would've run into it last night."

Hearing that, Shen Jiafei suddenly remembered something, and his face went deathly pale. "Sister Yang, that guest from last night-I don't think he showed up at all this morning! Could he have..."

Before he could finish, a piercing scream suddenly came from the abandoned village, echoing through the woods.

Shen Jiafei's knees buckled, and he nearly dropped to the ground. Fortunately, the cameraman was right beside him and just managed to catch him. He opened his mouth and forced out a few syllables.

"Wh-what was that g-ghostly shriek?!"

Inside the village, Jian Ran was startled too. He kicked Du Yunmeng in the backside. "What the hell are you screaming for?!"

"It's just a gravestone!"

"You're not the one buried there!"

Du Yunmeng clutched her backside, nearly bursting into tears as the camera caught her in close-up.

He no longer cared about saving face and asked shakily, "J-Jian Ran, what was the name of the guest who stayed last night?"

"Li Zongsheng." Jian Ran's voice was flat, as though he were stating something perfectly ordinary.

"Th-th-then what's the name carved on this gravestone?" Du Yunmeng could barely contain his terror anymore.

Jian Ran snapped, "Can't you read? Do you need me to translate it for you?"

Before he had even finished, Emperor Lu, who had remained calm and watched from the sidelines the whole time, suddenly interjected, "Isn't the name carved on the gravestone-Li Zongsheng?"

In just half a second, the livestream chat exploded.

"A ghost-!"