Since there was no livestream for them, Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi decided they wanted to laze around in the hotel. After much wheedling and cajoling, they managed to get a chance from the production team to negotiate with Yan Qi. Yan Qi was still on her livestream, and the bullet comments were flooding the screen, telling her not to give in to them so easily.
Yan Qi adjusted her glasses and asked, “How are you going to show your sincerity?”
Lin Yi was slumped by the bed, nearly asleep. She didn’t immediately process the question. Xu Shuyan poked her and repeated it, and only then did Lin Yi slowly let out an “ah” before saying, “Captain, how about I wash your clothes for a week?”
“And Xu Shuyan?” Yan Qi asked.
“I’ll supervise Lin Yi washing your clothes for a week,” Xu Shuyan replied smoothly.
The words had barely left her mouth when Lin Yi gave her a light punch. She was half-asleep and didn’t have much strength, so it was more like a tickle. Xu Shuyan grabbed her wrist and concluded, “Then it’s settled.”
But Yan Qi laughed. “I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”
Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi said in unison, “Captain~~~”
Yan Qi and the bullet comments reacted simultaneously to the cloying tone: “Ew—”
“Yuanyuan and Shichen just sent me a message,” Yan Qi said, sticking to her principles, not letting their cutesy begging sway her. “They condemn your inability to endure hardship. So they’ve made a request. After the mission is complete, you two have to warm up the crowd for our party by performing a duet dance.”
Xu Shuyan asked, “Yuanyuan wants to see it?”
Lin Yi: “Yuan—Shichen wants to see it?”
Bullet comments: “We want to see it too!!!”
Lin Yi did a quick calculation in her head. She was used to dancing with Xu Shuyan anyway. It was just a duet dance, and in return, she’d get a bed to sleep in and could make Chen Yuan happy. Why not?
She raised her eyes and met Xu Shuyan’s gaze.
Clearly, Xu Shuyan was thinking the same thing. “We’ll dance?”
Lin Yi rolled over, burrowed into the blankets, and yawned. “Sure, let’s dance,” she said lazily.
【Ahhhhh, I’m kneeling before the Captain!!!】
【A duet dance! My duet dance!】
【Can they dance really close?】
【Zhou Shichen! Chen Yuan! I knew it! You’re my fellow shippers! Who wouldn’t ship Yan Zhi You Yi! They’re a real couple, ahhhh!】
After hanging up the video call, a look at the real couple, Yan Zhi You Yi, in real time:
With her eyes closed, Lin Yi ordered her out: “Go back to your own room.”
Xu Shuyan leaped off the bed as if afraid of catching something. Before leaving, she had to add, “You think I don’t want to leave? I got sick of looking at you ages ago.”
“…” Lin Yi said, “Turn off the lights.”
Xu Shuyan didn’t say anything.
Half a minute later, the world plunged into darkness.
The livestream started at 8 AM as usual.
While the bullet comments were filled with greetings like “Another energetic day!”, “Time to work!”, “8 AM people! 8 AM soul! 8 AM people are all suffering souls!”, and “The last 8 AM was the last time,” Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan had just finished breakfast and were huddled together, studying the newly updated map.
“It’s the last day, so there are no strict tasks,” Lin Yi said, holding the mission card from the production team. “Find the scenic landmarks, take a selfie to check in, and head to the final destination. The first one to pull the flag wins.”
Xu Shuyan took a sip of her black coffee and nodded thoughtfully.
The day’s schedule was most likely arranged by the production team. After all, the park on this island was set to officially open to the public after its trial run. Having them lead potential customers through the beautiful scenery on a livestream served as both variety show content and promotion—a nice bit of soft product placement.
“This theme park is pretty nice,” Lin Yi said. “If there’s enough time, I’d love to try everything.”
Xu Shuyan hummed in agreement.
Lin Yi couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her. Still not satisfied, she tore off a piece of paper, scribbled a sentence on it, and pushed it toward Xu Shuyan. Xu Shuyan, who had been looking at the scenery outside, was poked by Lin Yi, who then tapped the paper.
She lowered her eyes in confusion.
[Don’t be so cool. If your vocal cords aren’t broken, please don’t reply to me in monosyllables. Please cooperate with the fan service! (pig head)]
Xu Shuyan: “…”
She was silent for a moment, then said, “It doesn’t really matter if we win in the end, right? After all, we don’t even know what the prize is. What if it’s something we’re not interested in…”
The director, off-camera, exclaimed indignantly, “We may be poor, but winning is an honor!”
Xu Shuyan and Lin Yi looked at him, then at each other. A single glance confirmed they were two people who had no need for such an honor. Lin Yi said excitedly, “Then let’s just go play in the theme park!”
Director: “…”
He felt like he’d been trampled on.
【Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha】
【I’d love to see the director’s face right now】
【Yan Zhi You Yi: We don’t give a damn about the rules, we’re just going on a company-funded date.】
【Damn it! I love watching these two girls in love!】
This small island was stunningly beautiful even before it was developed, possessing the awe-inspiring yet daunting magnificence and danger that came from the combination of a deserted island and the boundless ocean. After development, the man-made structures blended perfectly with the scenery, giving one a sense of belonging and creating another kind of pleasing view.
Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan traveled light this time, chatting with the fans in the livestream room as they walked, promoting the island in great detail as if they were livestream sellers.
【The way they’re promoting this is just like me trying to get people into the Gu Group…】
【With their sales skills, it’s a real waste of talent that Lin Yi and Xu Shuyan aren’t livestream sellers on Taobao】
【I’m seriously afraid they’re about to say: Hey beauties! We only have one of this product, Green Origin Island. Once it’s gone, it’s gone! The official website price is 30 billion, but in the Yan Zhi You Yi livestream room, it’s only 29.9 billion! I’m counting down from three, three, two, one, drop the link!】
【I would totally buy it!】
【Is it the 100 million I’m missing?】
“Hey!” Lin Yi suddenly darted out of the frame. Her excited voice came from up ahead: “Xu Shuyan! Come look! Isn’t this the coconut tree we picked from last time?”
Without even looking, Xu Shuyan denied it first. “I don’t think so?”
“It’s definitely this one!” Lin Yi crouched under the tree. Sunlight filtered through the feather-like leaves, casting dappled light and shadows on her face. She pointed to a spot and said, “Look, here’s the mark I left!”
Xu Shuyan walked over. “What mark?”
Lin Yi said, “Flip the camera around and show everyone.”
Xu Shuyan obediently flipped the camera. As she bent down, it zoomed right up to the tree trunk. The camera focused and froze on the image. Crookedly carved on it were the letters: xsydsz[pig head]
Xu Shuyan: “…”
The camera quickly moved away, but that didn’t stop her and the fans from decoding it in a second.
【Xu Shuyan is a big idiot?】
【Hahahahahahahahaha I think I know why Lin Yi wrote that】
【That pig head is drawn so cutely!】
【Xu Shuyan: You’re the idiot! Your whole family are idiots!】
Lin Yi’s prank had succeeded, and she couldn’t help but burst out laughing. She stroked the mark on the tree and said, “When we came last year, this tree wasn’t this tall or thick. We played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would climb up to get the coconuts.”
“You lost,” Xu Shuyan glared at her. “I won fair and square.”
“I never said you cheated!” Lin Yi simply hugged the trunk and sat down. The tree really had grown much taller; sitting down, she had to tilt her head back to see the pig head she’d carved. “And then I scrambled right up.”
“You climbed with great skill. A descendant of monkeys, clearly,” Xu Shuyan commented.
“…” Lin Yi held her tongue.
“After I picked the coconuts, I was too scared to come down, so I asked you to catch me. What did you say to me?” she asked.
Xu Shuyan tried to recall. She hadn’t rewatched that episode of their group variety show. She only remembered that the coconut wasn’t very tasty, and to avoid wasting food, she and Lin Yi played rock-paper-scissors to see who had to take the next bite. The goddess of luck didn’t favor her that day, and she lost completely.
Lin Yi put her hands on her hips. “You don’t remember?”
Xu Shuyan: “…I can try to remember.”
Her eyes darted around, glancing at the bullet comments in the livestream, attempting to cheat.
【I can answer this one! Lin Yi was hanging from the tree, and Xu Shuyan looked up at her and asked very seriously: Lin Yi, this counts as throwing something from a high place, right? You haven’t had any performances recently and you haven’t been watching your diet, so you’ve gained a few pounds. This should count as throwing a heavy object from a high place.】
【I just rewatched this two days ago, I’m dying of laughter. Xu Shuyan, how did you manage to get a wife like this?】
【No wonder Lin Yi carved: Xu Shuyan is a big idiot】
【Lin Yi’s tone is killing me, seriously questioning her girlfriend about whether she remembers something from before they were dating. Looks like if Xu Shuyan can’t remember today, she won’t be getting into bed tonight】
【Into bed? What do you mean into bed? No getting into bed!】
【Solo fan moms, don’t be so sensitive, they just mean getting into bed to sleep】
【How can getting into bed to sleep be innocent!!! Lewd—lewd—!】
Lin Yi knew her too well. One look at her guilty expression and she knew Xu Shuyan didn’t remember. She huffed and helped her recall, “In the end, we both fell to the ground, and you even said I’d definitely gotten heavier again!”
Xu Shuyan said guiltily, “Did I…? I don’t think so? You must be misremembering!”
Lin Yi: “The internet has a memory!”
She said to the drone, “Remember to edit in a flashback for this part when it airs.”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
She looked at the mark Lin Yi had carved again. “So that’s why you carved this?” She asked, puzzled, “When did you carve it? You must have used a lot of force. You must have been exhausted, right?”
【KSWL, she’s insulting you and you’re asking if she got tired. Don’t be so in love, Xu Shuyan!】
【She’s clearly being passive-aggressive!】
【What do you know about the little games couples play?】
Lin Yi rested her head against the coconut tree and muttered that she wasn’t tired; she had run over to carve it after eating and drinking her fill.
Back then, their conditions were much worse than now. They slept in the woods at night, gathering their own firewood to boil water. The production team even tried to scare them by saying there were wolves. Xu Shuyan had scoffed, “Are you kidding? Even if you’re trying to scare us, there should be some logic to it, right? If there are wolves here, I’ll eat this camera.”
The cameraman pointed behind her. She turned around: “?”
Somehow, Lin Yi had already scampered up a tree. The thick branches were intertwined, and she stood on the lowest fork, hugging the trunk, her voice trembling with fear. “It’s-it’s-it’s better to be safe than sorry, ahhhh!”
Xu Shuyan: “…”
Lin Yi even beckoned to her. “Hurry up and come up here.”
Xu Shuyan hesitated for a moment, thinking that for the sake of the show, she probably should go up. So, she reluctantly climbed the tree. But Lin Yi was dissatisfied, saying, “Can’t you climb a different tree? It’s so crowded. Who’s going to take responsibility if you push me off?”
Finding her too naggy, Xu Shuyan wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into her embrace. “This way, you won’t fall.”
Lin Yi froze for a second, thinking to herself that fan service was fan service no matter where they were. She took the opportunity to lean against Xu Shuyan, her ear pressed to her chest. Smelling the faint, fresh scent coming from Xu Shuyan, she suddenly spoke: “Xu Shuyan, your heart is beating so fast.”
“…”
“You’re not sick, are you?”
“…”
Because Xu Shuyan ignored her again and again, after confirming that the “wolves” were just a prank by the production team, Lin Yi waited until Xu Shuyan was asleep, snuck over to the coconut tree, and, by the available light, chiseled out the words—
Xu Shuyan! Big idiot! [pig head]
