Chapter 427 – The Movie Emperor’s Beloved Neighbor – Where Are the Snakes (10)
Yi Haoguang had recovered a bit of his strength and could no longer tolerate those ambiguous, judgmental looks. If he didn’t explain things clearly, who knew what the audience would think of him.
He looked around at everyone inside the tent and noticed that only Ke Lianggong seemed genuinely worried about him. The production crew didn’t know the full story, but their gazes were relatively neutral, without much bias.
He then glanced at Li Manpei, who was standing to the side with her arms wrapped around herself, trembling. A cold smile tugged at the corner of his lips, but it accidentally pulled at his wound, making him hiss in pain and ruining the expression.
Although his attempt to look cool failed, it didn’t stop him from defending his innocence. “Miss, please—just with your figure? Even if you stripped naked, you’d look like a washboard. You’re not even as well-built as Liang-ge’s gym-trained chest. What would I even want to peek at? And what you’ve got on your face—is that foundation or gold dust…?”
Everyone turned to look at Li Manpei. Her semi-transparent clothes clung faintly to her skin—there wasn’t much left to misunderstand.
So, it was just a misunderstanding.
Li Manpei’s face turned pale. What did Yi Haoguang mean? Was he looking down on her?
Catching her expression, Yi Haoguang let out a scoff, but it pulled at the cut on his lip again, making him cry out in pain.
“You’re injured, and you’re still not being careful,” Ke Lianggong said, bringing over cotton pads and disinfectant. The two had fought—Gu Xinrong was mostly fine, but Yi Haoguang had been hurt quite badly. After being examined by the accompanying doctor, fortunately, they were all just external injuries.
Even so, Ke Lianggong was still worried. While applying medicine to Yi Haoguang’s wounds, he leaned in and whispered, “The show isn’t as important as your life. How about going to the hospital for a check-up?”
Although the situation had already blown up, if he withdrew halfway, who knew what the netizens would say? This was his first time on a variety show—far from successfully transitioning his image, it had instead been damaged by Li Manpei. Yi Haoguang was unwilling to accept that. “I’m not leaving. It’s just some superficial injuries. Tomorrow I can work with everyone and look for the flags. I won’t hold anyone back.”
They were all adults—he should know what he was doing. Since Yi Haoguang insisted, Ke Lianggong couldn’t say much more. He just made a mental note to keep a closer eye on him and report to the production team immediately if anything seemed wrong, so he could be sent to the hospital.
After treating Yi Haoguang’s wounds, Ke Lianggong changed his clothes and came back. Li Manpei was still crying, repeatedly saying things like “I’m sorry, everyone.”
Feeling at fault, Gu Xinrong no longer spoke harshly to Yi Haoguang and instead stayed by Li Manpei’s side, comforting her.
The incident ended as a farce. Even though Yi Haoguang still felt frustrated, it wasn’t appropriate for him to say anything more. After all, he still had to maintain his image in front of the camera—persistently targeting a girl wouldn’t look good either.
The guests couldn’t stay in the production team’s tent forever. Ke Lianggong led Yi Haoguang back to the tent they had set up. Gu Xinrong and Xuan Xiuxian went to another tent, while Li Manpei, still frightened, chose to spend the night in the production team’s tent.
Before leaving, Yi Haoguang shot her a cold glance. Ke Lianggong shook his head helplessly, picked up their backpacks, and pulled him away.
Li Manpei forced a smile at the production staff. “Sorry for causing you trouble.”
The staff waved it off, indicating it was fine—but what they really thought was anyone’s guess.
The sky was turning pale with the first light of dawn. The rain had just stopped, and although the air still carried a chill, it felt much clearer.
The bruises on Yi Haoguang’s face stood out even more in the daylight.
This was the second day of the wilderness survival challenge. All the guests had the task of finding five small red flags and handing them over to the production team by 5 p.m. on the third day in order to win the game.
Ke Lianggong’s team had split apart, and their relationship had dropped to freezing point—they ignored each other completely.
They silently finished their now-stale bread, packed up their tent, and continued on their way, only to run into another team halfway through.
From a distance, they could already hear Bai Tang and Heng Xingjian laughing. When they finally met face to face, the harmonious atmosphere among the three of them stood in stark contrast to the stiff tension among the five.
Bai Tang paused for a moment, then greeted Ke Lianggong, who was walking in front. “What a coincidence, Brother Liang.”
“What a coincidence.” As always, Ke Lianggong was gentle and polite. He returned Bai Tang’s greeting warmly, which drew a sideways glance from Yi Haoguang.
There was a reason Bai Tang had become a top-tier rising star. The young man had striking looks, and ever since he arrived, his presence had seemed even more refined and otherworldly, naturally drawing attention wherever he stood.
Even though Yi Haoguang knew Ke Lianggong treated everyone the same, that simple greeting still made his chest tighten.
A sour feeling welled up inside him, leaving him in a rather bad mood.
The others had always ignored Bai Tang, and Bai Tang didn’t mind. To him, those people were insignificant anyway.
“It rained heavily last night. Are you all okay?” Ke Lianggong asked.
“We’re pretty good. A Jian and I set up a tent, and we even exchanged for blankets with the production team—we didn’t feel cold at all.”
Li Manpei looked at the three of them. Not only did they not look disheveled, they appeared refreshed and in high spirits—it was obvious they had been doing quite well.
She bit her lower lip and lowered her head slightly, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.
“A Jian, help me hold this.”
Suddenly, Bai Tang handed the bottled water and his backpack to Heng Xingjian. Before anyone could react, he dashed toward a nearby tree and climbed it in a few swift moves, almost reaching the top. From within the dense leaves, he pulled out a small red flag.
“I got it~”
The boy’s excited voice came from the top of the tree. Heng Xingjian quickly set down the luggage and rushed beneath it. Seeing the branch Bai Tang was holding swaying as if it might snap at any moment, his heart seemed to sway along with it.
“Tang Tang, come down slowly—follow the branches,” Heng Xingjian said anxiously, his usually steady voice carrying a barely noticeable tremor.
The camera zoomed in on Bai Tang’s fair, delicate face.
The boy wasn’t afraid at all; he even waved the flag in his hand.
“I’m really good at climbing trees, don’t worry.” Bai Tang glanced downward and realized he had nowhere to put the flag. If he threw it down, the other team might pick it up—he wasn’t about to do something that would benefit others at his own expense.
So the audience watched as the boy clamped the flag between his teeth and carefully climbed down, gripping the fragile branches layer by layer.
If even one of those branches broke, a fall from that height would leave him seriously injured—if not worse.
Everyone present held their breath, afraid that any disturbance might startle him and cause an accident.
Among them, Heng Xingjian was the most nervous. He even spread his arms, ready to catch the boy if he jumped.
Inside, Li Manpei felt deeply unbalanced. Bai Tang had already fallen from his pedestal—so why did he still receive Heng Xingjian’s attention? Meanwhile, she could only trail behind Bai Tang as an unnoticed follower. Whether in the past or now, it was always the same: as long as Bai Tang was there, everyone’s attention would fall on him.
The tree, growing wild in the forest, was extremely tall. No one knew what the production team had been thinking, hiding the flag at the very top.
Li Manpei lowered her gaze slightly. Her body began to tremble as she slowly stepped backward, stopping only when she bumped into Gu Xinrong.
As her devoted admirer, Gu Xinrong did not disappoint her “favor” and immediately shifted his attention back to her.
“Peipei, what’s wrong? Why are you shaking?”
At his question, Li Manpei put on a frightened expression. Her finger trembled as she pointed toward the leaves, her voice not too loud but perfectly audible to everyone.
“Th-there’s… a snake…”
“A snake? Where?”
Everyone was shocked and followed her gaze, but all they saw was greenery—no sign of any snake.
“Tang Tang, don’t move,” Heng Xingjian said. He couldn’t spot the snake either. The foliage was too dense, and what he feared most were small, well-hidden venomous snakes that might bite Bai Tang when he wasn’t paying attention.
Snakes tend to attack moving targets. Bai Tang froze, yet he didn’t sense any danger.
Animals are far more alert than humans; seeking advantage and avoiding harm was already an instinct for survival—especially for a little squirrel like him.
He didn’t sense any danger at all. Worried that his instincts might have dulled in human form, he contacted Qiu’er and Xiao A in his mind.
“Tang Tang, that Li Manpei is lying to you. There’s no snake in the tree at all,” Qiu’er reported honestly after running a scan.
“Based on psychological analysis, Li Manpei wants the host to panic after hearing there’s a snake and fall from the tree,” Xiao A said. Reading people was her specialty—within seconds, she had completely analyzed Li Manpei’s intentions.
Not only that, Li Manpei had also played a part in how badly the original host had been bullied.
Bai Tang narrowed his eyes and stared at Li Manpei, who was trembling as she leaned against Gu Xinrong. He found her extremely unpleasant.
Since she wanted to harm him, she couldn’t blame him for not holding back.
Bai Tang’s body began to tremble in fear, causing the branches to shake as well. Leftover rainwater and fallen leaves scattered down all at once.
“A s-snake… where is it? I’m so scared…”
Bai Tang had worked as both an actor and a voice actor before—he was quite confident in his acting skills.
Although no one could clearly see his face, just hearing his trembling, almost tearful, soft voice was enough for everyone to know how frightened he seemed.
Heng Xingjian’s breath hitched, and even his heart ached.
“Tang Tang, don’t be afraid. I’m coming to get you.” With that, he took off his shoes and coat and actually started climbing the tree to bring Bai Tang down.
“Are you crazy? We don’t even know where the snake is. Climbing up recklessly will just make you another target!” Liu Lingfan quickly grabbed him. If one couldn’t be saved, they might end up losing another as well.
“I can’t worry about that right now. Tang Tang is scared.”
Heng Xingjian’s voice was unusually calm, his gaze steady—he didn’t look like he was joking at all.
Before he could climb up, Bai Tang’s voice rang out again. “A Jian, don’t! Don’t come up! If you come up, I’ll jump down!”
The tree itself wasn’t dangerous, but the trunk was slippery—what if he fell? Heng Xingjian taking off his shoes and climbing up to rescue him without alerting the snake was practically risking his life.
Li Manpei sneered inwardly. The “trembling” Bai Tang in the tree shook even harder, sending leaves rustling down.
Taking advantage of the moment, a small hidden vine lashed toward Li Manpei.
Just as Li Manpei lifted her head, intending to watch Bai Tang make a fool of himself, a curved green strip suddenly shot toward her face.
It moved so quickly that, combined with everyone already believing there was a “snake,” someone immediately shouted, “It’s a snake! The snake got shaken down!”
“Ah—!”
Li Manpei screamed, her piercing voice almost like a kettle shrieking at full boil.
Watching her roll around on the ground, Bai Tang couldn’t help covering his mouth to stifle a laugh. Serves you right—this is what you get for trying to harm others.
“I’ve been bitten! I’ve been bitten…” The lie had been told too convincingly, and the atmosphere had been built up so well that even Li Manpei herself believed that the green “snake” that flew down had bitten her.
Everyone crowded around to check on Li Manpei. Bai Tang was laughing happily—until joy turned into misfortune.
The tree trunk had been soaked by the rain. As Bai Tang tried to climb down, his foot slipped, and he fell straight from the branch.
The vine, acting instinctively to protect its master, slowed his fall. When he dropped, Heng Xingjian managed to catch him just in time.
The powerful impact nearly broke Heng Xingjian’s arms. He endured the pain and refused to let go. In the end, the two of them fell together, with Heng Xingjian cushioning Bai Tang beneath him.