Double-door broad, but not a fridge.
What a perfect physique!
At that thought, Pei Tingyun suddenly froze.
Bruh, why am I thinking about his physique?
It must be because I got up too early. My brain isn't awake!
Coming back to his senses, Pei Tingyun noticed the director sitting in front of the monitor, his face plastered with morning grumpiness.
Xie Huan's assigned PD and camera operator were there too.
Clearly, the livestream had already started.
Gu Lin, who had been forced to walk the dog, had just returned and was following behind Xie Huan with the leash in hand.
His tone was as punchable as ever:
"You can't even come up with a believable excuse when you bluff. It's so sunny outside, and you say it's going to rain. Who'd believe that?"
Still in the full grip of his morning grumpiness, the director instantly joined the attack when he heard Gu Lin's challenge:
"Not me!"
Not content with joining in himself, he encouraged the other crew members to heckle too.
And so.
For a moment, cries of "Not me!" rose one after another.
Having finally gained the upper hand in his bickering with Xie Huan, Gu Lin said smugly:
"See? None of them believe you."
Before he had even finished, Pei Tingyun's voice suddenly rang out. "I do!"
Pei Tingyun had spoken very softly.
Yet Xie Huan felt those words strike his heart hard.
Xie Huan smiled.
He stopped, holding the box of cured pork, and looked at Pei Tingyun.
The instant their eyes met.
His white teeth shone brilliantly against his dark face.
Whether the others believed him no longer seemed to matter at all.
As long as Pei Tingyun believed him, that was enough.
The livestream comments:
[Aaah, that "I do" gave me tingles]
[Peipei, don't spoil him so much!]
[Their gazes are practically drawing threads between them!]
[The livestream didn't even start on time! Good thing I got up early. Ship moment secured!]
[The early-rising shippers get the sweet treats! From now on I'm getting up early every day to camp out for this livestream that can't keep to a schedule!]
Gu Lin and the production team collectively fell silent.
They had been fed dog food completely out of the blue, first thing in the morning.
After putting away the cured pork, Xie Huan went to heat up breakfast.
Pei Tingyun walked over, wanting to help him.
Only to find there wasn't much he could help with.
The only thing he could do was open the fridge, take out the premade breakfast and hand it to Xie Huan, then close the fridge again.
With that familiar three-step routine complete, Pei Tingyun had nothing left to do.
Watching Xie Huan concentrate on heating the food.
Pei Tingyun suddenly realized something was off.
He moved closer and stood up straight to compare their heights.
Pei Tingyun discovered that Xie Huan was actually still just as tall as him.
Pei Tingyun looked down at the sneakers on Xie Huan's feet and asked:
"Don't tell me you've still got that twenty thousand yuan padding your shoes?"
Xie Huan said, "Aw, man, having a bank card underfoot all the time digs into your feet. I took it out yesterday."
Pei Tingyun: "..."
The twenty thousand yuan Xie Huan had hidden wasn't cash, but a bank card...
Which meant...
Xie Huan was also 189 centimeters tall, just like him.
Pei Tingyun silently lamented this.
From what he'd seen of Hua Xin's circle, the wife was usually a little shorter.
How come, in his case, Xie Huan was just as tall as him?
Once again, Pei Tingyun was floored by the direction his thoughts had wandered in without his noticing.
He pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed.
Forget it. He'd better stay farther away from Xie Huan.
The moment his brain saw Xie Huan, it started thinking all sorts of things. There was no controlling it.
At breakfast, he deliberately sat as far away from Xie Huan as possible.
Then the director suddenly took out his megaphone and put the two of them together again with a single sentence.
The director said, "Today, while you're out sightseeing, you'll need to complete a task in your previous groups: taking photos together at the check-in spots."
Pei Tingyun nearly choked on a mouthful of food.
Was this the director's revenge for the morning wake-up service?
The more he wanted to avoid something, the more it came his way.
People really shouldn't do bad things.
Karma really did arrive without warning.
Apart from Xie Huan, who continued eating without a care.
The other three all looked miserable.
Tang Keni was so distressed that even his words came out with tildes:
"Aww~ why~ is there another task? What happened to the independent travel you promised?"
The director said, "It is independent travel. All you have to do is find the check-in spots while you're traveling independently, then take photos and post them on Weibo."
Yao Xuan curled his lip. "You've already arranged all the check-in spots. How the hell is that independent travel?"
The director said, "Besides the check-in spots, you can arrange whatever other activities you want. There's no conflict."
Gu Lin asked, "What do we get for completing the task?"
The director said, "If you complete the task, you can go to the mountaintop Sunset Restaurant at the highest point on the island and enjoy a candlelit dinner prepared for you by the production team."
"A candlelit dinner? Would your production team really be that nice?" Pei Tingyun expressed his doubts.
Today, the director changed tactics, countering force with gentleness:
"Our production team is very considerate of you. We specially hired a local chef to prepare the local specialty Western cuisine at the Sunset Restaurant. Of course, whether you actually get to eat it will depend on how well you complete your task."
After saying that, the director thought he had this round in the bag.
But the Roaming Group performed as consistently as ever, refusing to take the bait.
Yao Xuan went straight into full-on lying-flat mode:
"If the check-in spots are too hard to find, let's just forget it. I've got a Chinese stomach anyway. I'm not used to Western food."
His approach was all about retreating at the first sign of difficulty.
Tang Keni immediately joined the charge, raising his hand. "This subject concurs!"
Gu Lin raised his hand too. "Me too."
Having failed to keep the guests in line yet again, the director was already bracing himself for a breakdown.
He looked at Xie Huan.
Sensing the director's gaze, Xie Huan looked up.
He bit through the noodles he had just slurped halfway into his mouth and mumbled, "Whatcha looking at me for?"
The director asked, "Are you thinking the same thing as them?"
Xie Huan shook his head. "Not really."
Hearing that, the director was pleasantly surprised.
He thought Xie Huan was finally willing to cooperate and complete the task.
Then Xie Huan delivered an even harsher blow:
"But we'd best not eat up on the mountaintop tonight. There'll be heavy wind and rain tonight. Coming back in the rain could be dangerous."
The light in the director's eyes went out with a snap.
He never should have expected anything of Xie Huan!
The director said, "We've already checked the weather forecast. There's no rain on the island today."
"Aw, man, believe it or don't. I'm more accurate than the weather forecast anyway!" With that, Xie Huan stopped paying attention to the director and went back to eating his noodles.
Finally, the director looked at Pei Tingyun. "As the tour guide, do you have anything to say, Mr. Pei?"
Pei Tingyun put down his chopsticks and said with complete seriousness:
"As the tour guide, I must ensure everyone's safety. Therefore, I've decided to cancel the candlelit dinner at the Sunset Restaurant."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Keni burst straight into cheers.
Because if they weren't having the candlelit dinner, they wouldn't have to complete the photo task at the check-in spots.
The other members of the Roaming Group were also clapping in celebration.
Once again, a world in which only the production team got hurt had been achieved.
The director felt he had it far too hard.
But this round of his battle with the Roaming Group wasn't over yet.
Because the planning team had prepared three plans in advance.
Plan A had failed, but he still had plan B!