HEIFEIGU -Chapter 46

Qian Shuyun had always known negative emotions were useless.

He came from a prominent family; his parents were loving, he excelled at everything, and found his life path early.

Even after a sudden, devastating accident that ended his acting career, he didn’t collapse. He quickly adjusted his mindset, moving from the spotlight to behind the scenes, achieving even greater success.

The journey wasn’t easy. His body temperature dropped, he often had tinnitus, sometimes hallucinations, almost nightly insomnia, and recurring migraines. He became accustomed to relying on alcohol and sleeping pills, always carrying painkillers.

From being a beloved and acclaimed actor to a monster even relatives avoided, he never blamed fate—he simply tried to solve the problems in front of him.

Yet seeing this scene, he felt jealousy.

If he were standing in the water, the cold lake would lower his body temperature, numb his limbs, slow his blood flow, and eventually his heart might stop.

He would sink into the water, unable to enjoy fishing or shrimping, unable to hear the laughter from shore.

Oh, and he couldn’t take off his top either.

Corrupted by yin energy, his joints had become thick and segmented like some arthropod. Despite staying active, his body still looked gaunt under the fabric.

It must look awful, even scary.

Qian Shuyun felt trapped in an endless, corrosive black fog, the first time he truly felt overwhelmed by helplessness.

The cold water droplets splashed his face, yanking him out of self-loathing.

“Boss Qian, slacking off?” Xie Jixing tapped the back of his hand.

Only then did he realize that the grass rope he had been twisting in his hands had already been crushed into a lump of green plant pulp.

Heat spread from that point on his hand across his body. Qian Shuyun let out a self-mocking laugh and looked up at Xie Jixing. “Anything else to do?”

“Killing fish, hanging fish—Boss Qian, can you do that?” Xie Jixing picked up the grass rope from the ground.

“Hard? I can learn.”

“Then let’s go.” Xie Jixing was about to turn, but saw the man squatting on the ground reach out his hand.

“What are you doing?” Xie Jixing raised an eyebrow.

“Xie, lend me a hand,” Qian Shuyun changed his posture. “My legs are numb from squatting.”

Xie Jixing’s hand was slightly smaller than Qian Shuyun’s, delicate and refined.

Though it looked long and bony, it was unexpectedly soft. The warmth it transmitted not only dispelled the chill in Qian Shuyun’s body, but also eased the shadow lingering in his heart.

If he was ever truly powerless, he could still ask for help.

And the person who could help him had already appeared.

Xuan Caiyan at the camp had cried herself exhausted. She had been hiding in her room, also trying to avoid Xia Letian.

She didn’t want to face him—not just him, but also the efforts and foolishness of her past.

But after crying for so long, it felt as if all the moisture in her body had been drained.

She had finished one bottle of water, and another had been accidentally smashed on the ground during her encounter with the snake, now nowhere to be found.

Xuan Caiyan was really, really thirsty.

She had no choice but to step out and find the production team.

“Yan Yan, you’re out. Still feeling bad?”

The moment he saw her, Xia Letian, who had been sitting hugging his knees at the door, immediately stood up.

Xuan Caiyan walked past him toward the director. Xia Letian didn’t give up and quietly followed her.

“Director, may I have a few bottles of water?” Xuan Caiyan’s mind was in a mess. Without looking at Xia Letian, she headed straight for the director.

“Teacher Xuan, do you want to continue participating in the survival challenge?”

Xuan Caiyan lowered her head, lost in thought for a moment, then lifted her eyes with a firm gaze. “I want to continue.”

Although she had made some outrageous mistakes before, she didn’t want to run away. Leaving now would be no different from escaping. Only by correcting those mistakes could she be reborn.

“Although Teacher Xuan had some accidents before, if you want to continue the survival challenge, you must follow the rules.”

“According to the rules, there are two ways to obtain bottled water from the production team: first, exchange 10 task points; second, accept a punishment from the team.”

“Since a guest has already unlocked the first-stage task items, 10 task points equal 10 live bamboo worms, while the second option is to eat one bamboo worm.”

“That’s a bit too much!” Xuan Caiyan hadn’t spoken yet, but Xia Letian interrupted. “Yan Yan was so scared just now. Can’t they make an exception? It’s just a few bottles of water!”

Fans of both of them were still watching the split livestream. Seeing Xia Letian jump in again, Xuan Caiyan’s fans couldn’t hold back.

【Isn’t he disgusting? Doesn’t he even remember who scared Yan Yan?】

【Doesn’t she clearly not want to talk to him, yet he keeps following her?】

【Saying a few words is easy, but when trouble comes, he just causes chaos and leaves others behind.】

Xia Letian’s fans and their friendship fans were struggling to defend him.

【Not exactly. Xia Letian is really scared of snakes. His longtime fans know that. People can’t always control instinctive fear, and he notified the production team immediately. I think that was smart.】

【Yes, and Xuan Caiyan and he are old friends. Once she calms down, she’ll understand.】

【Also, Xia Letian really takes care of Yan Yan. She isn’t used to working away from home, and he regularly sends her packages.】

【Looking forward to them reconciling.】

【Xia ♥️ Yan, always together.】

Xia Letian pleaded with the director for a long time, but the director didn’t relent. Meanwhile, Xuan Caiyan had her arms crossed, watching him.

Her calm gaze made Xia Letian nervous. He had to restore their friendship on the show; otherwise, his carefully built persona would be ruined.

Though he hated those squishy, wiggly insects, he had to pay the price now. “Yan Yan hates bugs most. I’ll get some for you. To earn your forgiveness, I’ll do anything.”

He spoke heroically, and his fans jumped in to support him.

【I said Xia Letian really values this friendship. He’ll try his best to make things right!】

【Yes, Yan Yan must be touched right now.】

“But I’m thirsty now,” Xuan Caiyan said coldly. “So I choose the second option: accept the punishment.”

She then looked at Xia Letian. “Xia Letian, will you help me?”

Eat a bug. Raw.

Just hearing it made Xia Letian want to vomit. He stared at Xuan Caiyan in disbelief. “Yan Yan, you…”

【Xuan Caiyan must be doing this on purpose, just to mess with Xia Letian!】

【Eating bugs is disgusting!】

【Honestly, it’s really hard to describe what it looks like.】

【I don’t believe Xuan Caiyan would eat it herself; she just wants revenge on Xia Letian.】

【Her fans are funny. Xia Letian nearly got her killed but now they say she’s plotting revenge—well, serves him right!】

【And he said he’d do anything, so she just went for it. Not so hard to do with resolve.】

Looking at the bamboo worms on the plate, Xia Letian’s stomach churned. Just imagining the gooey texture made him feel like he could throw up bile.

“Yan Yan, you’re joking, right?” Pale, he shook his head and stepped back, too scared to reach for the plate. “Still mad at me?”

“You can’t do it, so you’re joking, right?”

Xia Letian deliberately said the latter part. He couldn’t eat the bug, but if Xuan Caiyan couldn’t either, there was still hope. He could even turn this into her deliberately punishing him in the heat of the moment.

“Phew.” Xuan Caiyan exhaled, upset at her own fleeting hope.

At this point, shouldn’t she see this person for who he really is?

He’s just using you. If his interests are threatened, he can push you aside anytime, even into an abyss.

Xuan Caiyan, wake up.

“Is it really that hard?” She picked up a worm from the plate. “Is it harder than having a venomous snake on your shoulder, baring its fangs?”

She tore off its head, closed her eyes, put the worm in her mouth, tilted her head back, and swallowed it.

Tears slid from her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away and stared at Xia Letian, who was frozen in shock. “Xia Letian, I may be foolish, but I won’t always be.”

“You said your group disbanded and you’d meet former teammates on the show. Afraid of being awkward alone, I dropped my overseas work to come accompany you.”

“You said he bullied you, I immediately attacked him on the show to defend you.”

“You said he took your resources and connections, I tried to get justice for you despite so many people around.”

“Now I see, I was just a clown.”

“You probably treated him like you treat me now: a friend when useful, but disposable when not.”

“Xia Letian, I formally ask you to stay away from me. Thank you for the growth you gave me. From now on, I won’t find bugs disgusting, nor fear snakes, because I’ve seen the most disgusting and frightening things.”

She leaned close to his ear, giving him one last shred of face: “You’re scarier than snakes, grosser than bugs.”