In front of the camera, the narrow passage was dimly lit, shrouded in a layer of cool, ghostly light.
Xu Qingyan and Pei Muchan's blurry figures drew closer, the moist scent of rain filling the entire corridor, creating a subtly peculiar atmosphere between the handcuffed pair.
In the darkness, vision was diminished, which in turn made the other senses more sensitive.
The sound of the torrential downpour, the soaking winds, the muffled heat of the man's breath nearby. It was as if a piece of charcoal had been placed between them, indiscernible whose breath ignited first.
When the wind blew, their scents mingled together, mixed with the slightly fishy smell of rainwater.
Pei Muchan had never experienced anything like this, her face slowly flushed with redness as she tried to speak up to break the awkwardness. But her voice stuck in her throat, making only a muffled sound that sounded like a faint moan.
She was startled by it and inexplicably felt embarrassed.
"What's wrong?" Xu Qingyan leaned over.
They were even closer now, his figure loosely overshadowing her, with Pei Muchan's heart shamefully accelerating, beating without any rhythm.
"I'm fine... Is it still making noise?" she managed to ask while her chest moved with the effort of keeping her voice even, trying to maintain a semblance of seniority and composure.
Whoosh, Xu Qingyan shook the chain on his wrist, producing a jangling noise.
"It is."
Pei Muchan pursed her lips in a smile and gave him a light slap.
"Stop it."
"The front desk is over there, it's hard to see here, stay close," Xu Qingyan instructed, and at the moment his words ended, a gust of cold wind blew in.
"Okay." Pei Muchan leaned forward a bit more, recalling the hot breath from before and couldn't help but feel a tingle in her heart.
A momentary itch in her heart seemed to plant a seed of curiosity, wildly growing. She wanted to know everything about the other person, a ridiculous thought hazy in her mind.
Was he... secretly watching me earlier?
The ten-meter-long corridor took them a laborious five minutes to traverse.
In their shared live stream, the barrage of viewer comments was so intense it was almost splitting at the seams, berating Xu Qingyan and then the cameraman, crying out for a closer shot!
"Can't see anything, only hear sounds, wuu wuu wuu!"
"I should be under the car, not inside it. (Put on clown mask) (Crawling in a twisted way)"
"Second bloom of the plum blossoms! Is this cameraman a vanguard? Why does he always like to walk in front and shoot! Dock all his chicken legs, have the cameraman eat only one green vegetable tonight!"
Of course, it was because there was sufficient light; dark and black footage wouldn't look good. The follow-up team consisted of two people, one responsible for filming and the other for synchronizing the sound equipment.
After a full five minutes, the two came out side by side.
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a thunderous rumble that made Pei Muchan hastily walk out in front of Xu Qingyan. Outside the corridor, there were no lights, and the scene in the camera was a hazy blue-gray.
In the moment that Pei Muchan quick-stepped out with her head down, her neck and ears both took on a faint blush, like peach blossoms blooming in a mist.
Xu Qingyan was pulled forward by the handcuffed chain, glanced back at the camera, and revealed a slight smile. Instantly, the viewers in the live stream exploded mentally, and the comments went wild.
The rain kept falling.
Outside, the rain merged with the sky, and the interior of the three-story seaside villa was also damp; the crew members were going in and out, leaving black, murky footprints on the ground.
No wonder it was said to be unsuitable for shooting, so they went directly to rest.
Though it was time to rest, there were no cameras in the room, and the female guests, including Song Enya, were dispersed throughout the simply decorated Japanese-style living room. The warm yellow lights came on, and the atmosphere of a tea brewing and intimate conversation was set.
The four male guests were also scattered around the living room chatting. Bai Jinze dominated the center of the atmosphere, while Chen Feiyu seemed somewhat absent-minded.
Nian Shuyu sat next to Bai Jinze, pressing down the hem of her dress, seemingly very interested in the conversation topic, just like a gentle girl-next-door listening to a young man's troubles.
You Zijun's face was somewhat cold, but his eyes kept unconsciously drifting towards Nian Shuyu beside Bai Jinze, his gaze complex as if looking at an ex-girlfriend he hadn't seen in years.
Song Enya sat next to You Zijun, unusually neglecting Chen Feiyu, and was instead laughing and chatting with You Zijun. You Zijun also made an effort to show off, deliberately raising his voice when he spoke.
Shen Jinyue could chat with anyone, sitting on the carpet babbling away.
Liu Renzhi had no one to talk to, so he chatted intermittently with the lone Chen Feiyu, until they stopped upon hearing footsteps outside the living room.
"They're back, right?" You Zijun asked.
This guy was like someone trying to show his ex-girlfriend that "I'm in demand, I'm doing well," "waiting for you to regret losing a great man like me."
You Zijun tried to exhibit control over the situation, the War God hoping to elegantly pick up his shattered self-esteem from the ground, bit by bit.
"Probably," Song Enya said with a smile, greatly satisfying You Zijun's need for acknowledgement.
Scattered footsteps headed towards the living room, and everyone seated around the sofa turned their heads in unison.
With a whoosh, the door was pulled open.
Xu Qingyan shouldered the door open, carrying two or three cans of beer and a wine glass, a hint of cold rain scent drifting in with him.
The breathtakingly beautiful Pei Muchan followed behind him with a polite smile on her face, her hand chained to the bothersome man beside her.
Bai Jinze glanced at Xu Qingyan, his eyes showing a flash of disgust in the moment he lowered his gaze, yet his smile remained incredibly natural on his face.
"Took you so long to come back, were you on a date?"
"No," Xu Qingyan, annoyed by this bullshit person, directly switched to speaking nonsense, "We were just discussing going to register for a marriage license, but we didn't bring all the documents, so we came back for them."
The room instantly fell silent, completely throwing Bai Jinze off.
"You're lying, what's that in your hand?" Shen Jinyue asked, her face puffed up, still feeling slighted by Xu Qingyan from their previous encounter, now full of fighting spirit.
"It's for a cross-cupped drink, didn't you see?"
"That's clearly beer, where's the red wine?"
"Who said cross-cupped drinks can only be with red wine? I like to drink Snow beer, what's it to you?" Xu Qingyan, annoyed by Shen Jinyue as well, wanted everyone to back off.
There's no need to be too normal in life; just be true to oneself, and leave the rest to karma.
"Xu Qingyan, I don't mean to be critical, but what's with the harsh tone?" Bai Jinze frowned, "If there's a misunderstanding between us, we can discuss it openly and honestly."
"Pei Muchan is still... chained to you right now, don't keep saying unpleasant things."
Fucking moral high ground?
As expected, as soon as Bai Jinze finished speaking, Pei Muchan's fans in the live broadcast began to change their tune, shifting from casual onlookers to a leading force in denouncing Xu Qingyan.
Standing on the moral high ground, they began pointing fingers at Xu Qingyan.
"Xu Qingyan swears in front of my Pei Muchan every day, he has no manners at all, how could the show's organizers arrange such shitty rules!"