After the eight-person pool party ended, everyone went back to their rooms to rest. Since the villa had only seven rooms, Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu shared the only double room.
By the time of this eighth recording, not only the guests but even the viewers were used to this arrangement. In fact, when assigning rooms, everyone naturally assumed that room belonged to the two of them. Not a single viewer questioned it.
Before bed, Jiang Yu washed up and sat at the desk, writing down ideas in his notebook. When Yu Shiqing came out of the bathroom and looked over the script, Jiang Yu was still in the same position.
“Lyrics?” Yu Shiqing asked.
Hearing his voice, Jiang Yu paused slightly and smiled. “Yeah.”
Yu Shiqing stood behind him, rested one hand on the desk, and leaned over to look at what he was writing.
“You didn’t write mine.”
Jiang Yu casually covered the paper and looked up. “You can’t see it now.”
Yu Shiqing met his eyes and smiled lightly. “Can’t see it now? How long are you going to hide it?”
“Until I’m satisfied with it,” Jiang Yu said.
“You’ve written this song so many times and you’re still not satisfied?”
Jiang Yu glanced at his notebook. “This time, I’m fairly satisfied.”
Yu Shiqing straightened up. “If you can’t finish it, just leave it for now and get some rest.”
“I’m almost done. You go ahead first,” Jiang Yu said.
“Okay,” Yu Shiqing replied.
Jiang Yu watched him mute the mic and walk over to sit by the bed, then looked away, turned to a new page, tidied up his draft, and finally got up to grab a towel. He covered the camera under the reluctant live comments, muted his mic, and lay on the other bed.
The lights were still on. Jiang Yu lay on his side, facing Yu Shiqing. After a while, he suddenly spoke.
“Yu Shiqing.”
“Hmm?” Yu Shiqing didn’t open his eyes.
“Are you asleep?”
“I should be.”
When no sound came from Jiang Yu for a while, Yu Shiqing thought he had finally given up on trying to start a conversation.
But in the next second, there was the soft sound of fabric moving. Without opening his eyes, Yu Shiqing felt the bed dip slightly and a warm body slip under the covers.
Jiang Yu’s voice moved to his ear. “I can’t sleep,” he said. “This way feels more natural.”
Yu Shiqing turned to look at him.
Jiang Yu looked calm. “What?”
Facing him, Yu Shiqing could only sigh. “This is a live broadcast.”
“It’s for tomorrow,” Jiang Yu replied, glancing at the covered camera. “They can’t see or hear us now.”
Yu Shiqing was left speechless.
Jiang Yu moved a little closer. Under the blanket, he found Yu Shiqing’s hand and laced their fingers together.
Yu Shiqing opened his eyes again. “Jiang Yu.”
Jiang Yu gently tightened his grip. “I sleep better this way.”
Yu Shiqing turned his face away. Jiang Yu immediately closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. Yu Shiqing tried to pull his hand away but couldn’t, so he let it be.
Once he heard Yu Shiqing’s breathing become calm again, Jiang Yu sat up halfway to turn off the light, then lay back down. The whole time, he never let go of his hand.
Yu Shiqing didn’t say anything else, only looked at him briefly when he returned.
Jiang Yu tried to steal a kiss and was caught in the act, freezing for half a second. But before Yu Shiqing could stop him, he leaned over and kissed him firmly on the lips. It was a light kiss, and he quickly pulled away.
“We’ve passed the halfway point of the test. We should celebrate.”
Yu Shiqing sighed. “Celebration’s over. Are you getting off me now?”
Hearing that, Jiang Yu’s eyes flickered. He kissed him again and asked softly, “Is that all? Isn’t this celebration a bit too plain?”
Yu Shiqing grabbed his chin. “Alright, stop it.”
Jiang Yu finally rolled off and lay beside him. “Fine. I’ll keep a tally. We’ll settle it all after the show ends.”
Yu Shiqing acted like he didn’t hear.
Jiang Yu looked at his profile. Even without a reply, his smile deepened. After a while, he finally fell asleep.
The next morning, as the two went downstairs, they ran into Ji Chen yawning on the stairs. The others were downstairs taking photos. Zhu Yulan and Wei Yuanju were acting as photographers, while Xi Mingjie did the styling, happily taking photos of Su Yayi and Wu Luo.
Seeing the three come down together, Wei Yuanju said, “Everyone’s here. Let’s have breakfast.”
The hotel served morning tea. During the meal, Wei Yuanju introduced the hotel’s features. Built on a cliff, the hotel offered many sightseeing activities, cable cars to the foot of the mountain and sightseeing shuttles in all directions. There were also some small extreme sports areas around, with a 20% discount for guests.
For the first time since joining the show, Ji Chen had no desire for anything. He didn’t say a word during Wei Yuanju’s intro. Only after it ended did he clutch his chest and say, “Don’t tell me today’s mission is about extreme sports?”
Su Yayi cheered. “Yay!”
Ji Chen looked pale.
Though they hadn’t seen the mission card yet, Wei Yuanju nodded. “I think it’s likely. Yesterday’s hotel check-in was already so thrilling. No way the show would skip a real challenge.”
Su Yayi cheered again. “Yay!”
Ji Chen grabbed Wei Yuanju’s arm. “Mr. Wei, don’t abandon your bro!”
Wei Yuanju encouraged himself. “No way I’d be unlucky enough to be in your group again.”
Ji Chen: “…”
After breakfast, they went to the living room and saw the mission box already on the coffee table. Beside the sofa was a guitar case.
“Whose guitar is that?” Ji Chen asked.
“Mine,” Jiang Yu said. He didn’t bring his guitar this time, so he borrowed one from the crew.
Ji Chen didn’t ask further. “Let’s see the mission!”
Wei Yuanju opened the box and pulled out an envelope. Inside was the mission card.
“Today’s mission is called ‘Extreme Relay,’” he said. “It is extreme sports, and outdoors. But I don’t think it’ll be too scary. Plus, for a relay, not everyone needs to do the whole course. Shouldn’t be hard.”
Ji Chen relaxed slightly upon hearing that.
Wei Yuanju turned to the second card. “This time, instead of drawing lots for all, we’ll draw two team captains. Then the captains will play rock-paper-scissors. The winner picks first.”
Just like before, the draw box was ready. The captains turned out to be Ji Chen and Jiang Yu.
Seeing the result, Ji Chen laughed. “Jiang-ge, don’t blame me. If I win rock-paper-scissors, your record of being on the same team with Yu-ge for seven episodes will end today!”
Su Yayi poured cold water on him. “What if you lose? Who will back you up then?”
Ji Chen instinctively looked at Wei Yuanju.
Wei Yuanju: “…”
He quickly stepped forward. “Let’s begin! Round one: rock-paper-scissors!”
Ji Chen warmed up like crazy, nearly doing a full morning workout.
Finally, he stood in front of Jiang Yu with confidence. “Let’s go, Jiang-ge!”
Result: he lost.
Su Yayi laughed loudly.
Ji Chen’s face turned green. “Jiang-ge, who will you pick?”
Jiang Yu crushed his last hope. “Yu Shiqing.”
“Ji Chen, who are you picking?” Su Yayi asked.
Ji Chen’s eyes locked onto Wei Yuanju.
Wei Yuanju: “Why am I so unlucky.”
After teams were picked, all eight rode a sightseeing bus to the competition site. The view was stunning along the way, and even viewers were mesmerized.
But after a while, even the best views get tiring. Wei Yuanju thought about how to liven up the mood. Then he saw Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu whispering. Jiang Yu pulled out a notebook from his pocket and picked up the guitar, strumming a few chords.
Wei Yuanju’s eyes lit up. “Mr. Jiang, are you going to play something?”
Everyone turned around.
“No,” Jiang Yu replied.
Ji Chen quickly reacted. “A new song?”
“Yeah,” Jiang Yu nodded.
Wei Yuanju smiled and smoothly changed the subject.
After arriving, they trained with a coach, had lunch together, and started the competition in the afternoon.
But what drew the most attention wasn’t the result it was the endless screams echoing through the valley.
Su Yayi and Ji Chen were on the same team, laughing the most, nearly affecting their performance. On the way back, Ji Chen kept chasing Su Yayi for an explanation.
Meanwhile, in the car, Jiang Yu’s beautiful guitar melodies played now and then, not at all disturbed by the laughter.
Back at the hotel, the sky turned golden again.
Since they already enjoyed the pool yesterday, Su Yayi didn’t ask everyone to swim again. After dinner, they sat by the poolside chairs and chatted.
Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu sat face to face, their knees almost touching.
Jiang Yu finished writing in his notebook, read it once from top to bottom, then looked up at Yu Shiqing.
“All done?” Yu Shiqing asked.
“Yeah,” Jiang Yu said, strumming the guitar. “Want to hear it?”
Hearing them, Ji Chen opened his mouth, then asked, “Jiang-ge, are you singing the new song here?”
Unreleased songs could lose future exposure if performed live too early.
But Jiang Yu didn’t mind. “Yeah.”
He only spoke to Yu Shiqing. “Listen closely. I’m starting.”
Ji Chen’s question had already drawn everyone’s attention. As Jiang Yu played the intro, the only sound besides the breeze and water was silence.
Right before singing the first line, Jiang Yu looked up from the strings to Yu Shiqing’s face. The usual indifference he showed when performing softened into a faint smile.
Then his low and gentle voice rang out like a soft whisper between lovers, filled with deep, quiet emotion.
Ji Chen was the first to be surprised.
He was a big fan of Jiang Yu, but this song didn’t sound like his usual style. Jiang Yu rarely wrote love songs. His unreleased song “Tacit Understanding,” which premiered at a concert, was already a big surprise for fans. Though soft, that song still had his sharp and direct style just like his strong personality. Even a love song couldn’t hide his boldness.
But this one felt like Jiang Yu had hidden all his sharp edges. Not as direct as “Tacit Understanding,” but full of a sincerity that couldn’t be ignored.
Soon, Ji Chen couldn’t even think about analyzing it anymore.
Because even though it was different from before, it was just as good maybe even better.
Jiang Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly. Every time he looked up; every glance fell only on Yu Shiqing. The emotion in the song was reflected in his gaze, always locked on Yu Shiqing’s eyes.
Yu Shiqing quietly listened.
Only the live chat was going wild.
“Ahhhhh what are these two doing?! WHAT are they doing!!!?!”
