Chapter 103 – King of Entertainment: Loving You Across the World – Tang Tang’s Fantastic Adventure (Part 3) (10)
Each group sent one person to scout the nearby area, while the rest stayed behind to set up tents.
Perhaps because they had found a safe spot and could finally rest soon, everyone’s spirits lifted a little.
The group sent out to search for food didn’t go far. Just as Bai Tang finished pitching the tent, Min Gunian and the others returned, carrying a rabbit and some fruit.
“Ah Nian!” Bai Tang ran over and pulled Min Gunian in front of their tent. “I set this up all by myself—no one helped me~”
Min Gunian inspected the four corners of the tent and found it was firmly staked to the ground.
“Tang Tang is amazing,” he praised sincerely.
“What about me? What about me? Tang Tang, why didn’t you praise me? I helped too~” the system said pitifully. Clearly, the system’s guidelines were right—once the host gets a partner, they don’t want the system anymore.
Bai Tang tilted his head and said, “But Qiu’er isn’t a person~”
Qiu’er isn’t a person~
Not a person~
The system took a critical hit.
“Of course I’m not—no, wait, I am a person—no, I’m not—not—not a person… Argh!” The system ended up tangling itself in its own logic.
“Anyway, you’re not allowed to say I’m not a person!”
Bai Tang asked innocently, “But Qiu’er is a ball. That should count as a ‘thing,’ right?”
“Yes yes, I’m a thing—wait no, how can I be just a thing? I’m not a thing… Ahhh…” the system went berserk.
“Then what kind of thing is Qiu’er?”
Faced with Bai Tang’s endless curiosity, the system suffered total defeat. It huffed, “I’m not talking to you anymore, hmph~” and floated back into its little black room, slamming the door with a dramatic bang to express its displeasure.
Bai Tang pouted and sat off to the side, looking downcast.
It seemed like he had made Qiu’er angry… What should he do?
“I’ve seen your acting. You’re really good,” Zhou Zhiwen walked over and sat down beside Bai Tang.
Among this episode’s guests, Li Shu was the youngest, but Bai Tang was by far the most pure and cheerful. In both of them, Zhou Zhiwen could see traces of his own younger brother.
“Thank you.” Bai Tang perked up a little and started chatting with Zhou Zhiwen.
“What’s wrong? Are you upset?” Zhou Zhiwen glanced over at Min Gunian, who was skewering corn, then looked back at Bai Tang.
“It’s just…” Bai Tang bit his lower lip, trying to find the right words.
“If you said something wrong that made a friend upset, and that friend now refuses to talk to you or even acknowledge you, what should you do?”
Zhou Zhiwen thought Bai Tang had argued with Min Gunian and smiled slightly. “If the person is still angry, nothing you say will help. You just have to wait until they’ve cooled off—then apologize.”
He glanced at Min Gunian again, who was now placing the corn skewers on the grill.
“Go apologize.” He paused for a moment. Come to think of it, the way Min Gunian and Bai Tang acted around each other seemed a bit too close. They didn’t look like just friends—more like lovers.
“If he still ignores you, there’s another way,” Zhou Zhiwen added. He had a good impression of Bai Tang and genuinely wanted to help.
“What way?” Bai Tang’s eyes lit up. “Tell me, tell me!” Qiu’er had locked itself in its little black room—it hated being alone more than anything.
Zhou Zhiwen smirked and coughed loudly, drawing Min Gunian’s attention. Then he leaned in close to Bai Tang’s ear and, in a voice only the two of them could hear, whispered, “Make him jealous so he’ll come looking for you.”
Bai Tang didn’t quite understand, but his earlobes were especially sensitive. The warm breath tickled his skin, and they instantly flushed pink. To others, it looked exactly like Zhou Zhiwen was flirting with Bai Tang—and that Bai Tang was getting shy.
Bang—
Before Zhou Zhiwen could straighten up, he suddenly took a punch to the jaw. His parched lips split open from the impact, blood seeping out.
Bai Tang was still confused, and his earlobes—already pink—were now being rubbed over and over, turning bright red.
“Ah Nian~”
The young man sighed helplessly as he pushed Min Gunian away and went to help Zhou Zhiwen up.
Min Gunian’s gaze darkened, and he froze mid-action. From his perspective, it was clear Zhou Zhiwen had been provoking him—flirting with Tang Tang right in front of him. And yet Tang Tang was still rejecting his approach and choosing to help Zhou Zhiwen instead.
Zhou Zhiwen opened his mouth to speak, but the movement tugged at his injured lips, and he winced with a hiss. “Tss—”
That punch had really been hard. Hitting someone without a word—so quick to lose his temper—only confirmed Zhou Zhiwen’s suspicion: Min Gunian and Bai Tang definitely weren’t just ordinary teammates.
“I’ve helped you as much as I can,” Zhou Zhiwen whispered to Bai Tang, then quickly made his escape.
Did no one else see the man-eating glare Min Gunian was giving? If he didn’t leave now, he might not walk away at all.
Min Gunian still wanted to settle the score with Zhou Zhiwen, but Bai Tang stopped him.
“Ah Nian, why did you hit him?”
Bai Tang’s clear and direct questioning was like pouring oil on Min Gunian’s already burning anger.
His fists clenched with an audible creak as he stared into Bai Tang’s eyes, trying to find an answer—something.
“Am I not allowed to hit him?”
“Of course not! Ah Nian, how can you hit someone just like that?”
That pretty boy—what’s so great about him anyway? Aside from being a bit younger, how could he possibly compare?
Bai Tang’s attempt to defend Zhou Zhiwen completely set Min Gunian off. His fists clenched and loosened over and over. In the end, he couldn’t bear to upset Bai Tang, so he forced himself to look away from everyone, sat back down by the fire, and silently grilled the corn.
…
The audience was just as confused. Min Gunian and Bai Tang’s team had been getting along just fine—how did a third party suddenly appear? And even if there was a third party, shouldn’t it have been Garry? How did it end up being Zhou Zhiwen?
Some viewers even started to suspect that Limited-Time Survival was rigged—that they were all just acting, following a script[.
[“If I were President Min, I would’ve punched him too! Just letting someone steal your little bottom like that? Still call yourself a man?”]
[“Come on, this is a society ruled by law. You can’t just go around hitting people! Where’s the basic decency?”]
[“Are you saying that punch Zhou Zhiwen took earlier wasn’t violent? I just want to know what Bai Tang is thinking. Could it be that he actually likes Zhou Zhiwen instead of President Min?”]
[“Zhou Zhiwen is pretty handsome, you know. He’s a male model. Didn’t you see him at Z Nation’s fashion week? His body is top-tier…”]
…
Min Gunian sat silently by the fire, radiating cold air. The whole team was wrapped in a tense atmosphere. No one dared to breathe too loudly, afraid they might end up catching a punch themselves for no reason.
Nobody spoke. The only sounds were the crackling of twigs burning in the fire.
Garry nudged Bai Tang gently with his elbow. “What happened between you two? You really into that pretty boy?”
He gestured toward Zhou Zhiwen, who was a short distance away having Li Shu help him apply medicine.
Bai Tang shook his head, looking dejected. “I don’t know.”
He really didn’t know why Min Gunian had suddenly gotten so mad. Zhou Zhiwen had even been about to teach him how to win Qiu’er back—and now not only had he not learned anything, but he’d also made someone else angry.
“Qiu’er? Qiu’er, are you there?” Bai Tang called softly twice—no response.
He sat down beside Min Gunian, but the latter ignored him. He simply placed the freshly grilled corn on a nearby plate and started roasting the next one.
With the system offline and no one to give him advice, Bai Tang genuinely had no idea what had upset Min Gunian. But he didn’t want him to stay angry, so he reached out to tug his sleeve—but before he could even touch it, Min Gunian swiftly dodged.
Bai Tang looked up. Che Shuhui wore a mocking smile. Wei Gudong had a faint, knowing smirk. Garry gazed at him with concern. Zhou Zhiwen looked apologetic. The remaining two contestants, who were both quiet and reserved, kept their heads down, focused solely on grilling rabbit meat.
Bai Tang lowered his eyes, reluctantly inching closer to Min Gunian. Every time he moved, Min Gunian followed suit, making it clear he didn’t want to be near him.
In this world—and in the past world—his role as the male protagonist’s partner had never once left him in the cold. His partner had never ignored him, let alone avoided him like the plague.
His heart ached, as if ants were gnawing at it, a dense and constant pain. Added to that were the mocking or pitying gazes from the others, and his eyes inevitably grew red. He lowered his head, not wanting anyone to see the tears he was holding back.
Although Min Gunian ignored Bai Tang, he still accurately pushed the plate of roasted corn in front of Bai Tang.
Bai Tang lowered his head, petulantly shifting to the right, moving a little away from the plate.
The next second, the plate filled with roasted corn was pushed back in front of him.
Bai Tang shifted again, and the plate followed.
“Ah Nian~” His voice cracked with a sob.
Bai Tang’s eyes were full of tears, his eyes and nose red. He reached out and grabbed Min Gunian’s sleeve. “Ah Nian, please don’t be angry, okay~?”
Tang Tang is crying?
Min Gunian desperately wanted to pull the young man into his arms, comfort him, and kiss away his tears. But he couldn’t bring himself to look up. Was he crying because he was angry with Min Gunian, or was it because of Zhou Zhiwen?
Ultimately, Min Gunian lacked confidence in their relationship. He feared Bai Tang would realize that Zhou Zhiwen was his type, and that Min Gunian was just an illusion to him.
Both the people inside and outside the scene held their breath, waiting for Min Gunian’s reaction.
The next moment, Min Gunian sighed and placed the plate in front of Bai Tang. “It’s done. Eat.”
After speaking, Min Gunian placed his left hand over Bai Tang’s hand, which was still holding his right hand.
Just when Bai Tang thought Min Gunian was going to reconcile with him, he gently removed the young man’s hand, stood up, and seemed to distance himself, as if he didn’t want to stay close to him anymore.
Bai Tang stared in shock at his hand, still suspended in midair. In the next moment, crystal-clear tears spilled from his eyes.
He stood up and shouted toward Min Gunian’s back, “If you’re not going to pay attention to me, then I won’t pay attention to you either!”
With that, he ran into the jungle.
Bai Tang moved quickly, and the others were caught off guard. Even Garry, who reacted the fastest, could only see Bai Tang’s figure disappearing into the trees, slowly vanishing into the darkness.
“Brother, this is a primitive jungle! If something happens to him, are you happy now?!” Garry’s tone was no longer playful; he yelled angrily at Min Gunian.
Min Gunian snapped out of his daze. Before Garry’s words had even finished, another figure had disappeared into the same direction Bai Tang had gone.
Tang Tang, Tang Tang…
Min Gunian regretted it deeply. All his jealousy, lack of confidence, and anger had turned into overwhelming concern for Bai Tang. He was such an idiot. If something happened to Tangtang, he would never forgive himself.
“Tang Tang—”
His calls echoed through the dusky woods, startling a flock of crows.
Author’s Note:
This chapter was supposed to be sweet, but as I kept writing, I didn’t realize it was getting longer. The misunderstanding will be resolved when the male lead finds Bai Tang, and that’s where the sweetness will come in. Please trust me again, little cuties! Trust me, trust me~ (endlessly echoing my calls)