Gu Lin glanced sideways and happened to see Pei Tingyun pull his phone out of his pocket.
Then he hid it in the gap between his body and Xie Huan's and rapidly typed something.
Afterward, as though nothing had happened, he put his phone back in his pocket and continued hiding behind Xie Huan like a quail.
Pei Tingyun was so fast that even the VJ assigned to follow him missed it.
Just as Gu Lin was wondering about it, his phone suddenly chimed.
More precisely, the phones of all four other members of the Roaming Group, apart from Pei Tingyun, chimed.
It was the notification sound they had all set for their group chat.
Gu Lin suddenly realized something.
Before Tang Keni had blown up just now, he seemed to have exchanged a glance with Pei Tingyun!
So!
Could there be a brilliant plan from Pei Tingyun in the group chat right now?
Gu Lin was about to take out his phone when Pei Tingyun quietly stopped him.
Pei Tingyun said, "Don't. Keep it away from the cameras."
Understanding, Gu Lin made an OK gesture.
By now, Yao Xuan had also talked the hot-tempered Tang Keni down.
But instead of returning to where he had been, Tang Keni broke into a sprint toward the nearest check-in spot on the pier.
As he ran, he called to Yao Xuan, "Run, run! Let's check in first! I don't want to sleep outdoors!"
Seeing Tang Keni and Yao Xuan run off, Gu Lin followed with the dog on its leash.
Pei Tingyun, however, took Xie Huan in the opposite direction:
"Let them fight over the pier. We'll go to the other check-in spots first."
Xie Huan was as obedient as ever. "Yep, whatever you say!"
The production team finally got the competitive clash they had dreamed of.
Little did they know that Gu Lin and Tang Keni were using the clash to pass information.
Gu Lin appeared to be fighting for the right to take his check-in photo first.
In reality, he was using their shoving to pass along a signal.
He patted the phone in Tang Keni's pocket, then pointed at Tang Keni's follow camera.
Still physically tussling with Gu Lin, Tang Keni called Yao Xuan over to help while thinking about what Gu Lin's gestures meant.
He had heard the group notification earlier too, so it wasn't hard to understand.
He soon gave Gu Lin a slight nod.
Seeing that he understood, Gu Lin stopped fighting and flung out a hand. "Two against one? How is that fair?"
Like a child, Tang Keni pulled a face. "Nyah, nyah, nyah! Tough luck!"
Gu Lin: "..."
Having won the right to check in first, Yao Xuan and Tang Keni found the sample photo on the standee at the check-in spot.
Then both of them were dumbfounded.
Tang Keni looked at his follow PD. "Do we have to use this exact pose?"
The follow PD nodded: yes.
Then, utterly mortified, Yao Xuan and Tang Keni struck a kabedon pose on the pier.
Tang Keni leaned back against the pier railing while Yao Xuan stood before him, doing a domineering CEO-style air kabedon.
The sight was so glorious that Gu Lin, watching from the sidelines, laughed too hard to straighten up.
But he was still very eager to join in.
Gu Lin said, "Hahaha, keep going! I'll take the pictures!"
Holding his phone, Gu Lin snapped away.
Then.
Notifications started popping up again in the Roaming Group's five-person chat.
Their phones chimed several times in succession.
Pei Tingyun thought something urgent had happened in the group.
But when he took out his phone and looked.
He was utterly speechless.
The chat was full of photos Gu Lin had sent of Yao Xuan and Tang Keni's air kabedon.
Upon learning that the pose was required for the task.
Pei Tingyun immediately had a bad feeling.
He and Xie Huan arrived at the church check-in spot.
When he saw the task requirements on the standee, Pei Tingyun's heart finally sank for good.
Because the required photo pose at this check-in spot was:
A! Princess! Carry!
And that wasn't all!
While doing the princess carry, they also had to gaze deeply into each other's eyes!
Even worse, the sample picture on the standee was actually a wedding photo!!!
The ship fans in the livestream went wild again:
[Hahaha, the director can't hide his desire to film a dating show anymore!]
[Using a wedding photo as the check-in example? Director, you're really something!]
[The director knows ship fans way too well! White Clouds and Black Soil, feed us already! Baby's tummy is rumbling!]
Xie Huan, who didn't have a romantic bone in his body, was completely unaware of the gravity of the situation.
Xie Huan set his backpack on the ground:
"Well, damn! And here I was thinkin' it'd be some tough pose. This is easy! C'mere, let your big bro carry you!"
Pei Tingyun: "..."
For a moment, he even suspected that Xie Huan had colluded with the production team to set him up.
I know you like me, but could you not be so blatant about it?
Pei Tingyun's hackles rose.
And then he...
Cooperated with the photo, hackles and all.
Taking photos was fine, but when it came to the princess carry, there was absolutely no way he would let Xie Huan carry him.
Don't ask. If you did, the answer was a straight man's last shred of stubbornness!
While Xie Huan wasn't paying attention, Pei Tingyun seized his chance.
He stretched out his long arms and scooped Xie Huan straight into his embrace.
Suddenly lifted off the ground, Xie Huan startled:
"Well, damn! You look so lean, but you've got some strength! You can even lift me!"
Pei Tingyun and Xie Huan were the same height, but in terms of weight, Xie Huan was a little heavier.
Pei Tingyun had lean muscle, while Xie Huan's muscles were somewhat bulkier.
Carrying someone heavier than himself was something of a strain.
Not wanting to waste words with Xie Huan, Pei Tingyun urged him:
"My hands are full. Hurry up and take the picture!"
Xie Huan obediently took out his phone and held it up.
Just as he was about to press the shutter, he heard Pei Tingyun say:
"You have to look at me!"
Xie Huan immediately obeyed and met Pei Tingyun's gaze.
He flashed his teeth in a goofy grin, his wolfish eyes curving into crescents.
Amid his helplessness, Pei Tingyun also revealed a trace of indulgence that even he failed to notice.
At the sound of the shutter.
Without hesitating for even a second, Pei Tingyun put Xie Huan down at lightning speed and went to inspect the photo.
After looking at it.
He felt terrible all over.
He turned to Xie Huan in disbelief. "What on earth did you take?"
In a rare display of embarrassment, Xie Huan scratched his head:
"Well, damn, I was so busy lookin' at you that I forgot about the camera..."
Pei Tingyun took a deep breath as he stared at the photo of nothing but the church, with neither of them in it:
"Again. Take more pictures this time!"
Xie Huan was brimming with confidence. "Okeydokey! Leave it to your big bro. Don't you worry!"
The livestream comments:
[Peipei doesn't look all that reassured, hahaha.]
[Xie Huan: leave it to me, and you'll have plenty to worry about!]
[Calling the trending topic now: top star trapped in princess-carry loop.]
As it turned out, both the viewers and Pei Tingyun had predicted correctly.
This time, Xie Huan took ten photos in a row while in Pei Tingyun's arms.
Not one of them was usable.
They were either blurry, out of focus, or had only one person in the frame.
Of course, sometimes there was one and a half.
The sort of bizarre angle that showed one head and one hand.
Pei Tingyun had no idea how Xie Huan had even managed to take them!
Xie Huan was equally shocked by his own photography skills:
"That can't be right. I thought I'd found a pretty good angle... Ting'er, give your big bro one more chance! This time, I'll definitely get you a proper shot!"
Pei Tingyun looked utterly long-suffering. "Again?"