Don't get the wrong idea.
His mouth had indeed pressed close.
But it was against an ear.
Xie Huan's breath was now blowing entirely against Pei Tingyun's outer ear.
Pei Tingyun instinctively tried to move away, only to hear Xie Huan whisper in a breathy voice only the two of them could hear:
"I hid twenty thousand yuan under my insoles!"
After hearing Xie Huan's "secret," Pei Tingyun was so shocked that he forgot to distance himself from this overly familiar stranger.
He glanced at Xie Huan's shoes, then at Xie Huan, who, like him, stood nearly 190 centimeters tall.
So...
Was Xie Huan using money as height-increasing insoles?
Finally.
Pei Tingyun's gaze landed on the microphone clipped to Xie Huan's collar.
Whatever. Respect his choices. Wish him well.
Just wonder whether the production team will need gloves when they confiscate the money later.
To the viewers, what Xie Huan had just done was no different from plotting out loud.
The livestream chat:
[Oh my god! Was Xie Huan born to do comedy? Sneakily sharing secrets on a livestream is way too funny!]
[It's over! Those twenty thousand yuan are done for too! The director's going to send someone over to confiscate them any minute.]
However.
Both the livestream viewers and Pei Tingyun had guessed wrong.
Not only did the director not confiscate Xie Huan's money, he even revealed a meaningful, distinctly ill-intentioned smile!
Money or no money, it made no difference. They wouldn't be able to spend it once they arrived anyway.
Dusk fell.
The members of "Ultimate Roaming" finally arrived by plane at the first stop on their trip-
A beautiful seaside island in a foreign land.
However.
Nobody's first thought upon stepping off the plane was how beautiful it was.
It was how dark it was!
It was already eight in the evening.
Yet not a single light on the island was on.
It was pitch-black!
The moon hanging in the sky was the island's only source of light.
The five members of the Roaming Group stood in a row on the apron, all looking bewildered.
The production team had kept everything so thoroughly under wraps.
Even now, they had no idea what arrangements had been made for this trip.
In the previous two seasons, this was the point when they would receive their funds for the first stop.
But the director merely said that the production team had rented the entire island for them and prepared a boat for sea fishing.
He went on about how beautiful the island's scenery was during the day.
He told them to enjoy their seven-day island vacation.
Blah, blah, blah...
In short, he spent ages making grand promises without handing over any money.
Fourth Brother Tang Keni hadn't watched all of the first two seasons the way Pei Tingyun had.
But he did know something about the show's format.
Now, he finally lost patience and held out his hand to demand money from the director:
"What are you babbling about? Hand over the funds!"
The director had no grounds to stand on, but sounded confident anyway. "Renting the island and the boat used up all the funds."
"What?!"
At that moment, the five Roaming Group members, each with a different personality, wore remarkably identical expressions.
Even Pei Tingyun, who had thoroughly familiarized himself with the production team's past exploits, hadn't expected them to pull something like this!
Third Brother Yao Xuan was the first to protest. "What kind of trip is this without money? This is straight-up exile!"
Fourth Brother Tang Keni instantly joined the attack. "If there's no money, we'll just stay inside the guesthouse. Let's see where they get their footage then!"
Second Brother Gu Lin agreed. "Hey! Great idea! I'll spend all day in bed tomorrow!"
Eldest Brother Xie Huan and youngest brother Pei Tingyun exchanged a glance, both finding the plan sound.
The director heard their back-and-forth perfectly clearly.
But he wasn't the least bit worried that they wouldn't go outside.
After all, on this island, staying indoors meant going hungry!
For the first time, Xie Huan witnessed the treachery of reality television.
But he wasn't worried at all.
He still had twenty thousand yuan to fall back on!
Sometimes, when you were away from home, money was confidence!
However.
When they followed the island's signposts and dragged their luggage to the villa guesthouse, they were all dumbfounded!
From the outside, the villa did indeed look grand and upscale.
But it was pitch-black inside, and the lights wouldn't turn on.
There wasn't a single person inside, either.
Of course, the production crew didn't count.
Because everyone knew the production team usually didn't act human.
The inhuman director held a flashlight and went through the proceedings in the pitch-black villa:
"As you can all see, the entire island currently has no electricity.
"Next, please work together to find a way to light up the island.
"If you succeed in lighting up the island, you'll receive today's basic dinner. If you fail, you'll only get drinking water."
After hearing this, Yao Xuan ignored the director entirely.
He turned straight to Tang Keni, who was famous among influencers for being a foodie, and asked:
"Did you bring instant noodles?"
Tang Keni nodded. "I brought four cups."
Yao Xuan said calmly, "I have another two cups. That's enough! Director, sorry for the trouble, but please boil the drinking water. We'll eat instant noodles in the dark tonight."
Second Brother Gu Lin said, "Great idea! Let's do that!"
Pei Tingyun lowered his eyes without speaking.
It was as though the commotion before him had nothing to do with him.
Noticing something off about the breathing beside him, Xie Huan turned to look.
Pei Tingyun's jaw was tightly clenched.
His breathing had grown slightly heavier.
His left hand, hanging at his side, slowly curled into a fist.
Creases formed across his black leather glove.
He seemed to be suppressing something.
Xie Huan considered this for a moment.
Then understanding dawned-
It's been all these years. How's he still this scared of the dark?
Meanwhile.
The director was utterly speechless.
No, wait. Was this right?
I told you to work together to light up the island, not work together to lie flat!
The livestream chat:
[Hahaha, the director's questioning his life choices!]
[Director: This batch of guests is so hard to manage! Why won't they follow the script?]
[Am I the only one who noticed Xie Huan's gone?]
[Maybe his skin's so dark he blended into the night? Have him smile and we should be able to find him.]
[Hahaha, that's savage! I can already picture two rows of pearly whites floating in the darkness!]
In truth.
Xie Huan's complexion wasn't quite capable of blending so perfectly into the night.
The reason they couldn't find him.
Was that he was no longer in the villa.
Where had Xie Huan gone?
When he saw that Pei Tingyun was afraid of the dark and struggling to endure it.
He had closed his eyes and performed a divination.
After determining that it wouldn't be much trouble, he had gone off alone to find the island's generator.
Of course, a PD and a cameraman were following him.
As though it had noticed the viewers' confusion.
The livestream suddenly switched from the mass lying-flat scene to a solo shot of Xie Huan.
In the pitch-black night, Xie Huan had somehow found a large generator and was bent over it, tinkering away.
Inside the villa.
The director, having briefly questioned his life choices, had just said:
"There's no electricity in the villa. You can't boil water."
The villa's lights suddenly came on.
Seeing this, Fourth Brother Tang Keni once again held out his hand to demand something:
"Hey, hey! The villa's lit up. Hand over dinner!"
The director's furious little eyes swept wildly over the staff present:
"Which of you turned on the power?"
Just then.
Xie Huan swaggered in through the door.
He happened to catch that question.
So he asked in return, "I did. What, is that not allowed?"
Under the lights, he saw Pei Tingyun standing in a corner, his face largely expressionless.
But the hand he had clenched into a fist was now completely relaxed.