Shen Yuzhou froze for a moment. "Huh?"
Pei Yubai didn't look at him again and headed straight for the bus.
Shen Yuzhou caught on, glanced down at his hoodie, then looked at Cheng Yanqiu. "Was he talking about me?"
Cheng Yanqiu patted his shoulder. "He was saying your clothes stand out too much."
Shen Yuzhou said, "...Oh."
The bullet comments erupted with laughter.
[Hahahahahahahahaha.]
[Shen Yuzhou's expression is killing me.]
["Are you afraid the production team won't be able to find you?" What a unique angle [doge, don't come for me]]
Cheng Yanqiu said quietly, "Let's go."
The five of them boarded the bus one after another.
The bus had been provided by the production team. It wasn't luxurious, but it wasn't bad either. The seats were arranged in pairs, with an aisle down the middle.
Pei Yubai had already sat down, in a window seat in the back row. He had taken off his coat and draped it over the seat beside him. The message was clear: this seat was taken, so don't sit here.
Shen Yuzhou had been about to sit over there, but when he saw the coat, he abruptly changed course and sat in the row in front.
Lin Yanru chose the first row, near the driver. Ji Shiyu sat behind her. Cheng Yanqiu sat beside Ji Shiyu. Jiang Wantang chose a single seat in the row near the bus door.
Shen Yuzhou sat alone in the middle, turning this way and that as he muttered, "Why aren't we leaving yet? I haven't even had breakfast."
Cheng Yanqiu pulled a sandwich from her bag and tossed it to him. "Shut up."
Shen Yuzhou caught the sandwich, his eyes curving with his smile. "Thanks, Sister Cheng!"
The bus started up.
Director Meng Xu's voice came through the bus speakers. He didn't show his face, speaking only through a microphone.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Meng Xu. Welcome to Travel to Those Little-Known Places."
Biting into his sandwich, Shen Yuzhou said indistinctly, "Hello, Director Meng-"
Meng Xu chuckled and continued.
"We have six stops in total this season, with a different destination at each stop. Our first stop is Cloud-Hidden Town."
"You won't find Cloud-Hidden Town on a map, because it isn't an official administrative division. It's an ancient village tucked away in the mountains of the southwest, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with only one road leading in."
"A reminder for everyone: the village is small, with a few dozen households. There's no cell service, no Wi-Fi, no supermarket, and no food delivery." Meng Xu's smile was full of ill intent.
The sandwich stopped in Shen Yuzhou's mouth.
"No Wi-Fi?" His eyes widened.
Cheng Yanqiu glanced at him. "Can't live without it?"
Shen Yuzhou swallowed his sandwich. "No, I-"
Pei Yubai's voice drifted over from behind them. It wasn't loud, but everyone on the bus could hear it.
"He can't."
Shen Yuzhou turned to look at him. Pei Yubai was leaning against his seat with his eyes closed, his face utterly expressionless.
Shen Yuzhou opened his mouth, then turned back around. He... didn't want to talk to Pei Yubai.
[Shen Yuzhou: what did I do to deserve this?]
[That aggrieved look on Shen Yuzhou's face, hahaha!]
[My husband looks so handsome talking with his eyes closed!]
Meng Xu continued, "There's no cell service, but the production team will set up livestreaming equipment, so the stream won't cut out. You may have poor reception on your phones."
"The rules are simple. At each stop, you'll need to complete tasks to earn points. You can exchange those points for better accommodations and better food. If you don't have enough points, you'll have to stay somewhere worse and eat worse food."
"The tasks for the first stop will be announced once we reach Cloud-Hidden Town."
Shen Yuzhou raised his hand. "Director Meng, can we exchange points for Wi-Fi?"
Meng Xu fell silent for two seconds, then shook his head. "No."
Shen Yuzhou slumped in his seat.
Cheng Yanqiu couldn't help laughing. Ji Shiyu smiled too.
Bullet comments:
[Shen Yuzhou: my life matters too.]
[No Wi-Fi really is torture for young people these days.]
After about an hour on the road, the bus entered the highway.
The scenery outside the windows changed from city to suburbs, from suburbs to farmland, and from farmland to mountains.
Shen Yuzhou stayed quiet for ten minutes, but he simply couldn't keep it up. "Do you think Cloud-Hidden Town will have those really old houses? The wooden kind with carvings on them?"
Cheng Yanqiu was looking at her phone and didn't even raise her head. "Have you ever been to an ancient town? That kind."
Shen Yuzhou said, "I have, but those places are too commercialized. Isn't this one deep in the mountains? It should be pretty untouched, right?"
Ji Shiyu chimed in. "Maybe."
As they chatted like this, they quickly got to know one another.
Except for Pei Yubai.
He seemed very tired, exhaustion written all over his face as he rested with his eyes closed.
About forty minutes later, the road began to narrow. Asphalt gave way to concrete, and concrete gave way to gravel. The bus began to jolt.
Shen Yuzhou was tossed from side to side, but he didn't dare speak now.
Cheng Yanqiu frowned. "This road is way too rough."
Lin Yanru turned to look at everyone. "Is everyone okay?"
Pei Yubai sat in the back row, seemingly unaffected by the jolting. He was still leaning against his seat, his posture barely changed.
Then even the gravel road disappeared, turning into a dirt road.
Trees began appearing along the roadside, growing more numerous and denser. Eventually, the bus seemed to enter a green tunnel, branches reaching out from both sides to hide the sky.
Shen Yuzhou finally couldn't hold back and said quietly, "Do people really live out here?"
Cheng Yanqiu didn't snap back at him, because she was looking out the window too.
This place really was too remote. So remote that it felt unreal.
Lin Yanru checked the navigation, but there was no signal anymore.
The bus drove for another ten minutes, then suddenly stopped.
Meng Xu's voice came through the speakers. "We're here."
Shen Yuzhou was the first to stand, pressing himself against the window to look outside.
Then he froze.
The camera filmed a village through the bus window. It wasn't large, with a few dozen houses scattered through the valley, most of them wooden structures with black-tiled roofs. A stream ran through the middle of the village, its water audible even through the bus windows.
Mist shrouded the distant mountains, hiding their peaks.
Shen Yuzhou murmured, "It's so beautiful."
Cheng Yanqiu stood to take a look too. She said nothing, but her expression changed.
Ji Shiyu took out a phone to take photos and post them on Weibo, found there was no signal, and lowered it again.
Lin Yanru stood, straightened her clothes, and said, "Let's go. Time to get off."
Pei Yubai was the last to stand. He picked up his coat from the seat beside him, put it on, and slowly made his way toward the door.
As he passed Shen Yuzhou, Shen Yuzhou was standing in the doorway looking outside.
Pei Yubai said from behind him, "Move aside."
Shen Yuzhou stepped aside.
Pei Yubai got off the bus.
The camera followed him.
Standing on the flagstone path at the village entrance, he surveyed his surroundings. Mountains, water, mist, old houses. A breeze blew past, lifting the hem of his coat a little.
He narrowed his eyes, as though assessing whether this place was worth his visit.
Then he said, "Not bad."
Bullet comments:
[Pei Yubai: we find it acceptable.]
[Hahahahahahaha.]
[But this village really is so beautiful!]
[I think "not bad" is already Pei Yubai's highest praise!]
Shen Yuzhou took a deep breath. "The air is so fresh!"
The first thing Cheng Yanqiu did after getting off was look at the bugs on the ground.
Ji Shiyu stood to one side, quietly watching the distant mountains.
After getting off, Jiang Wantang didn't look at the village. Instead, she raised her head to gaze at the mist around the mountaintops. Her expression was a little more animated than it had been on the bus.
Lin Yanru was the last to get off. She looked at everyone, then said to the camera, "First stop, Cloud-Hidden Town. We've arrived."
At some point, Meng Xu had appeared in front of them.
He wore a black outdoor jacket and a baseball cap, and looked younger than his actual age. He was good-looking, but beside Pei Yubai, he looked ordinary.
Holding a folder, he said with a smile, "Welcome to Cloud-Hidden Town."
Everyone looked at him.
"It's already quite late today. The production team has prepared guesthouse accommodations for you. Go unpack, then take the rest of the half-day off. Tomorrow morning, we'll officially begin experiencing the beauty of Cloud-Hidden Town."