In October, amid the fans' anticipation.
The livestream of season one of "Travel to Those Little-Known Places" began right on time.
The production team stuck to the same blunt, no-frills approach as their official announcement.
There was no fancy opening. The livestream opened on a black screen with a line of white text: Guests assembling. Please wait.
But viewers were already pouring in.
In less than a minute, the livestream passed five hundred thousand concurrent viewers. Bullet comments began flooding the screen.
[Here we go, here we go, here we go!]
[Where's Pei Yubai, where's Pei Yubai, where's Pei Yubai?]
[I specifically took half a day off just to watch Pei Yubai.]
[I could watch this black screen all day.]
As if sensing the fans' restlessness and impatience, the feed switched.
The camera was pointed at a parking lot.
Calling it a parking lot was generous. It was really just a patch of concrete, with six celebrity vans parked alongside it, all different colors and brands.
The black one at the far end had a license plate beginning with Beijing A, followed by a string of numbers.
The bullet comments instantly identified whose car it was.
[Beijing A? Just what we'd expect from you, Pei Yubai.]
[Holy shit, that plate must cost more than the car.]
[Now that's an entrance fit for the crown prince of Beijing's elite.]
The first to get out was Ji Shiyu.
He stepped out of a silver-gray minivan, wearing a lightweight navy jacket, jeans, and white sneakers.
His hair had barely been styled and lay softly across his forehead. After getting out, he first nodded to the staff, then stood to one side and waited quietly.
A few bullet comments drifted across.
[Mr. Ji is so well-behaved.]
[He's always the first to arrive. He's never late.]
These were Ji Shiyu's fans.
After Ji Shiyu had waited for about three minutes, the person in the second vehicle got out too.
Cheng Yanqiu.
Today, she wore a denim jacket one size too big, with a white T-shirt underneath, black cargo pants, and Doc Martens. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, and she wore a pair of very large silver earrings.
She was on the phone as she got out, speaking fairly loudly.
"I told you I'm not taking that gig."
Hanging up, she glanced around, spotted Ji Shiyu, and smiled.
"Morning, Mr. Ji."
Ji Shiyu nodded. "Morning."
Cheng Yanqiu walked over to stand beside him, pulled her phone from her pocket, and started scrolling. She and Ji Shiyu barely interacted. After exchanging greetings, both fell silent.
Jiang Wantang got out next.
She wore a long gray linen tunic, her hair loose, with a pair of cloth shoes on her feet.
After getting out, she said nothing and did not even look at the camera, merely nodding slightly to the two of them in greeting.
Cheng Yanqiu looked up at her and whispered to Ji Shiyu, "She's so beautiful."
Ji Shiyu said nothing, but nodded.
The bullet comments showed some fondness for Jiang Wantang too.
[Jiang Wantang's bearing is just incredible.]
[I remember hearing she's a dancer. You can really tell from her posture. I could only dream of having that figure, sob sob sob.]
With the next person, a voice came from inside before the door even opened.
"...Then I told him, you can't do that, you have to follow the contract. He said, what contract? I said, it's right there in black and white. Then he shut up. Hahaha, let me tell you-"
The door opened, and Shen Yuzhou hopped out mid-sentence, still chatting with the people inside.
He wore a bright orange hoodie, his hair dyed light brown, and a smile on his face.
After getting out, he spotted Ji Shiyu and immediately ran over.
"Brother Ji! Long time no see!"
Ji Shiyu was startled, but still smiled. "Long time no see."
Watching from beside them, Cheng Yanqiu said, "This worked up first thing in the morning? Have you been taking stimulants?"
Shen Yuzhou turned to her, grinning. "Sister Cheng, you look so cool today. Almost as cool as me."
Cheng Yanqiu rolled her eyes.
The bullet comments went wild with laughter.
[Shen Yuzhou really is a human megaphone.]
[This kid is seriously so loud, hahahaha.]
[But he's so cute!]
Lin Yanru wore a khaki trench coat over a black turtleneck, her hair pinned up, looking very capable and polished.
After getting out, she greeted the staff first, then walked toward the others.
"Everyone's here?" She looked around and realized the head count was off. "Still missing one?"
Cheng Yanqiu nodded. "Mr. Pei isn't here yet."
Lin Yanru murmured an acknowledgment and said no more.
Beside them, Shen Yuzhou muttered, "Brother Pei isn't going to bail, is he?"
Cheng Yanqiu glanced at him. "Do you think that's possible?"
Shen Yuzhou shrank back a little.
The bullet comments began spamming Pei Yubai's name.
[Where's Pei Yubai, where's Pei Yubai, where's Pei Yubai?]
[He's not still sleeping, is he?]
[With his personality, isn't being late perfectly normal?]
[You dare say Pei Yubai is late? There goes your account.]
A little while passed.
At last, there was movement from the black celebrity van.
The door opened.
Someone who looked like an assistant got out first and unloaded a carry-on suitcase. Then came a foot-a black leather shoe without any extra embellishments. Then the rest of the man.
Pei Yubai wore a lightweight black overcoat over a gray turtleneck. He wore neither a hat nor sunglasses, and his hair was casually brushed back a little, exposing his forehead.
After getting out, he looked neither at the camera nor at anyone else. First, he glanced down at his phone, then slipped it into his pocket and strolled toward the others.
His face remained expressionless throughout.
The bullet comments instantly exploded.
[Aaaaaah, he's here!!!]
[Hubby! Hubby! Hubby!!! Look at me! Look at me, aaaaaah!]
[Pei Yubai!! Mommy loves you!!!]
[That glance at his phone just now, ah! I'm dead!]
[Girls, calm down. He hasn't even looked at the camera yet.]
[I'm dead even without him looking at the camera.]
Pei Yubai walked up to the group and stopped.
As Pei Yubai approached, Shen Yuzhou was already bouncing up.
"Brother Pei!"
He called out loudly, leaning his whole body toward Pei Yubai, his eyes curving with his smile.
Pei Yubai glanced at him without speaking, but his steps visibly slowed a little, as though waiting for him to come over.
Shen Yuzhou went up to him and looked him up and down. "How come you've lost weight again? From filming? I'm telling you, you have to eat. Don't ignore me. Auntie said..."
"Shut up." Pei Yubai's tone was flat, but there was no real aggression in it.
Shen Yuzhou chuckled twice and actually shut up. But only for three seconds.
"Did you see my newly dyed hair? Looks good, right?"
Pei Yubai finally rested his gaze on him, looking him over from head to toe.
A bright orange hoodie, light brown hair-he looked like a walking Christmas tree.
He was silent for two seconds. "Are you worried the production team won't be able to find you in the forest?"
Shen Yuzhou looked down at his clothes and scratched his head. "...Doesn't it look good?"
Pei Yubai did not answer. He walked past him and gave him a passing smack on the back of the head. It was light, like a casual pat.
Shen Yuzhou was not annoyed at being smacked and followed him, grinning.
Watching from beside them, Cheng Yanqiu whispered to Ji Shiyu, "Those two are really close."
Ji Shiyu nodded.
A bullet comment drifted slowly across.
[So... Auntie? Are Shen Yuzhou and Pei Yubai brothers?]