HEIFEIGU -Chapter 39

Qian Shuyun hugged the plush blanket, planning to choose one more container—maybe he’d get a chance to taste Xie Jixing’s “shoe sole stew.”

“Teacher Qian, we’re on an island now,” Xia Letian suggested thoughtfully. “I checked beforehand; the average temperature is about 23°C. You probably won’t need such a thick blanket…”

Qian Shuyun glanced at Xie Jixing, who was fiddling with a portable outdoor pot. He casually took the pot, opened it, then handed it back.

Then he politely replied to Xia Letian: “It’s fine. I’m afraid of the cold.”

“Teacher Xie, figured it out?” He glanced at Xie Jixing, who had finally put down the pot, and teased with a smile.

Picking up the pot and cradling it in his arms, Xie said, “Then for the third item, I’ll choose this pot.”

Director: “Guest Qian Shuyun has made their choice. The three initial items are: sleeping bag, fleece blanket, and portable outdoor cookware.”

“Since today is the first day on the island, the production team has prepared two free meals for everyone, which will now be distributed by the staff.”

The burly men in ethnic costumes appeared again. Each was carrying several bags, hurriedly handing them to the guests before rushing off.

Luo Feiang opened his bag and looked inside. “Is this all? You can call this a feast?”

“Two compressed biscuits, two boxes of sponsor-supplied milk, two sausages, and two bottles of mineral water,” Meng Zezhou complained as well. “Truly a sumptuous two meals, huh.”

The director said nothing, but his wicked grin clearly implied that after a few days here, they’d see whether this could really be called a feast.

“The first stage task, ‘Tracking in the Dense Forest,’ is now active. Task clues are placed within the rainforest. Everyone must first locate the task clues, then use those clues to find the task items. Items collected can be exchanged for points. Points can be redeemed with the production team for personal supplies, or saved as survival challenge points.”

“Meanwhile, the first stage hidden task is also activated. The contents of this task must be discovered by the guests themselves. Here’s a small hint: the hidden task is related to the main task.”

“If at any point during the survival challenge your life or health is in danger, please contact the production team via the internal communication phone. We will arrive immediately to provide assistance and terminate the personal survival challenge if necessary.”

“Now, the challenge officially begins!”

The audience erupted in excitement.

【Wow wow wow! Can’t wait! Can’t wait!】

【Go, Angang! Angang will definitely get first!】

【Go, Xiaotian! Go, Yanyan!】

【Which place our star gets doesn’t matter; just get out alive.】

【Don’t worry, the man who hoards bread and seasoning powder will never give up!】

【Mengmeng will just follow the star, freeload his shoes, eat and sleep well.】

【No worries about Mr. Qian; after all, he’s a man with both blankets and brains!】

Although the director was full of passion, the guests weren’t in a rush to move—they were still confused and had no idea what to do.

Qian Shuyun really was smart. He opened the internal communication phone sent by the production team, found the memo, and began transcribing the precautionary guide sent earlier by the directors.

“I remember the guide mentioned the Nanxia Bay Archipelago. I even looked it up. The main island is underdeveloped; most of the islanders live scattered in the central rainforest.”

“This forest isn’t too large, but we’re not professionals and are unfamiliar with the terrain. Crossing the entire forest in a single day is unlikely. I suggest everyone first search for clues, find the task items, accumulate enough points, and redeem them with the production team for enough tents before moving on to the next task.”

Seeing everyone listening intently around Qian Shuyun, Fei Zhehan felt slightly uncomfortable.

Logically, as the oldest, shouldn’t he be the one arranging things?

But he was completely in the dark and couldn’t offer constructive advice, so he just nodded twice in a pretend show of deep thought. “I agree with Xiao Qian’s suggestion.”

Still unsatisfied, he deliberately stirred things up, turning to Luo Feiang: “Feiang, what do you think?”

What could Luo Feiang possibly think?

His greatest strength was knowing his own strengths—his looks.

So in this variety show, he wouldn’t miss any chance to show off, while everything else he could just coast through.

He hadn’t even been listening to Qian Shuyun’s briefing earlier; he just wanted to go back to the room. The sun was out.

The island sun was scorching!

He needed to reapply sunscreen, and his bangs were already oily from the sun.

How could a top celebrity appear on camera with oily bangs?

“I have no opinion,” Luo Feiang said, a trace of impatience in his tone.

Fei Zhehan’s attempt to stir trouble failed, so he fell silent.

Qian Shuyun had only lightly explained the island’s basic conditions to ensure the smooth filming of the show. As for the division of labor and what would come next, he couldn’t control it—and didn’t want to.

Anyway, the show must be filmed until the end. Meng Zezhou would die only after completing the challenge!

Because four guests needed to change clothes, it was agreed with the production team that there would be a short advertising cut, during which the cameras would be off.

Taking advantage of the cameras still being on, Xia Letian picked a bottle of mineral water and a packet of compressed biscuits from his bag, and walked with Xuan Caiyan over to Xie Jixing, handing the items to him.

“A-Xing, I’m sorry for the pain you suffered because of my negligence earlier.”

“I’ll try to make it up to you later. Please take these first. I don’t mind being a little hungry. I hope you can forgive me, okay?”

Xie Jixing looked down at the items Xia Letian had handed over. He didn’t have evidence of Ji Jin poisoning the unlucky ghost and Xia Letian deliberately covering for it.

But he felt Xia Letian was like the chess master among the three, constantly manipulating and provoking Ji Jin to target the unlucky ghost, mentally controlling the unlucky ghost into repeatedly retreating and yielding, until they lost all value, even their life.

And Xie Jixing himself always appeared in the right position, playing the kindest role.

If Xie Jixing accepted the items, it would effectively remove Xia Letian from the position of the bully, almost exonerating him. If he refused, Xia Letian would likely play the pity card, dragging others to pressure him through moral coercion.

Either way, Xie Jixing wouldn’t lose out. He curled his lips in a faint sneer, quickly replaced by a friendly smile.

“Alright.” He accepted the items happily.

Then, with a calm tone devoid of emotion, he said to Xia Letian, “I forgive you.”

After that, Xie Jixing casually grabbed a passing, seemingly clueless but rich Luo Feiang and handed him the water and biscuits, fanning the flames.

“Teacher Luo, I heard that the production team won’t provide food or even drinking water in the coming days. It’s going to be really tough. These two items are packaged for 300 yuan. Do you want them?”

Luo Feiang: …

What’s going on here?

“They’re cheap now. If you wait until later, I’ll raise the price,” Xie Jixing continued his enthusiastic sales pitch.

Luo Feiang’s mind was filled with sunscreen and oily bangs. Using the little brainpower he had left, he thought Xie Jixing made sense.

Money was useless in this place; 300 yuan was nothing. He didn’t even try to bargain, taking out three bills from his red envelope and handing them over. “Okay.”

Just like that, he watched Xie Jixing resell the supplies given to him, and Xia Letian’s persona was on the verge of collapse. A curse was on the tip of his tongue, but he clenched his teeth and held back.

Xuan Caiyan behind him pushed him aside.

“Xie Jixing, what kind of upbringing do you have? What kind of person are you? That’s extremely disrespectful!”

“Why did you resell the items Xiao Tian gave you?”

“He gave them to you because he respects you, don’t be shameless!”

“Do you even know why he gave you these? How ungrateful can you be?”

Xia Letian shrank behind Xuan Caiyan, head bowed, expression hidden, but his shoulders trembled slightly.

His fans speculated: Could he have been brought to tears? How could their baby suffer such injustice?

【This ungrateful white-eyed wolf, I don’t understand why Xiaotian still reconciles with him!】

【I***, can this ** just leave the entertainment industry?!】

【Ungrateful ***!】

The bullet comments were full of asterisks, showing how filthy the insults were.

“Why did he give me these? Because he’s kind.” Xie Jixing stared at Xia Letian’s trembling shoulders. His tone was sincere, without a hint of mockery, but it hit perfectly.

As if puzzled by Xuan Caiyan’s anger and Xia Letian’s grievance, he asked earnestly:

“He gave me these as a gesture to gain my forgiveness. I’ve already forgiven him. Aren’t these items mine now?”

“How I handle them—throw away or sell—is my freedom, right? What does this have to do with upbringing, character, respect, or regard?”

“Or do you want me to kneel and forgive him?”

His tone was calm, his expression genuinely puzzled.

【Haha, what he said makes perfect sense!】

【Xie Jixing: As long as I don’t have feelings, no one can emotionally blackmail me!】

【That’s right—once you give something to someone, it’s theirs. How they handle it is their business. How does character come into play?】

【They just want the victim to kneel and accept their apology! This kind of high-handed apology? I refuse, I feel great!】

【Feeling pleased again, right? Our Mu Yu sister is like this, all thanks to the lead flying high!】

【Xing’s words are Mu Yu sister’s greatest confidence. Just have to accumulate a bit of virtue (knock knock).】

【Purify the bullet comments (knock knock).】

【Purify the bullet comments (knock knock).】

…

Xie Jixing’s counter-question left Xuan Caiyan and Xia Letian speechless. The one-sided public opinion they expected never appeared.

Luo Feiang stood nearby, seemingly doing nothing. Fei Zhehan heard everything but cleverly pretended to be busy, never looking up.

Qian Shuyun stood behind Xie Jixing, head lowered, eyebrows furrowed, expression unreadable.

Meng Zezhou looked at Xie Jixing with admiration.

No wonder he was the chosen one for Didi’s counterattacks—still so amazing!

Just at that moment, all the flying GoPros slowly descended and stopped in place; the cameras turned off.

Xuan Caiyan recalled what had just happened and couldn’t contain her anger. Without holding back, she mocked Xie Jixing, “Alright, alright, you’re full of twisted logic. Sell it however you like, but don’t come crying when there’s no water or food later—careful you don’t starve!”

“Xie Jixing, I’m actually curious. Didn’t you publicly confess on Big Eye Social before, saying you liked Luo Feiang? Why didn’t you give it to him? Asking for money could hurt feelings, you know!”

“Or… is it that you’ve already got a new target this time, planning to cling to an even bigger rich guy?”

After speaking, she glanced meaningfully at Qian Shuyun.

“Shameless!”