Chapter 507 – Return – Extra 6: The King of Entertainment Arc — Garry and Fan Hechang (20)
Garry has always firmly believed in the principle that “there isn’t a single good man in this world,” except himself. Now, he would have to add Bai Tang to that exception as well. Wuli Tang Tang was just too cute. Unfortunately, that sly old fox Min Guniang had gotten to him first, leaving Garry no chance to rescue the little cutie.
After participating in Survival Within the Time Limit, Garry believed in that saying even more. He glanced at Fan Hechang, who was busy starting a fire beside him. The man was practically a piece of wood—he couldn’t even get a fart out of him with a stick. You could say ten sentences to him before he would reply with one, and that one reply would only be “Mm.” He could drive anyone crazy.
“Hey, Wood, the fire—” Garry hadn’t even finished speaking when a flame suddenly sprang up from the fire. Its flickering reflection danced in Fan Hechang’s eyes. “Oh, it’s lit. I guess you’re still somewhat useful.”
Garry wasn’t the kind of person who only knew how to take without giving anything in return. He got up and walked over to the fire, took some bread from his backpack, and placed it on the rack to toast.
The two of them sat facing each other in silence. Fan Hechang was a taciturn person, and Garry felt that talking to himself was pointless, so he kept quiet as well. For a while, the only sound in the air was the crackling of burning wood.
The delicious aroma of toasted bread soon drifted over. Garry took out some jam and spread it over the bread.
“Here~”
Fan Hechang took the bread and said, “Thank you.”
Garry silently bit into his own bread while occasionally sneaking a few glances at Fan Hechang.
In the firelight, the side profile of the bespectacled man looked somewhat softer than it had during the day. If Garry were being completely honest, the man was actually quite handsome—more in line with his taste than most of the male models in the modeling industry nowadays. His features were strong and masculine without losing their handsomeness.
The thin-framed glasses added a touch of restrained, ascetic charm to his appearance. The first and second buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing his delicate collarbones, and below that, the faint outlines of his muscles could be seen…
In short, it was obvious that Fan Hechang was definitely not one of those ordinary office workers who spent most of their time sitting around, barely exercised, and had developed a little potbelly.
“A workplace elite, huh? And he’s got a pretty good physique too…” Garry murmured under his breath.
Fan Hechang had good hearing, but Garry’s voice was too quiet. He only knew that Garry had said something without catching the actual words, so he asked, “What did you just say?”
Garry was startled when the man suddenly spoke. That tone sounded exactly like he was demanding an explanation. Instantly, Garry didn’t want Fan Hechang to know that he had been complimenting him, so he said the opposite of what he meant. “I was talking about you. A workplace elite who doesn’t exercise and has a big belly…”
Fan Hechang’s hand, which was holding the bread, paused. He quickly finished the remaining few bites, brushed the crumbs off his hands, and moved closer to Garry.
“W-What are you doing…?”
Garry worked out too, but he focused more on maintaining smooth, well-defined body lines. Simply put, he looked good but wasn’t particularly useful in a fight. If Fan Hechang actually wanted to hit him, Garry wasn’t sure he could beat him, especially now that he knew Fan Hechang exercised.
Fan Hechang raised his hand toward Garry, but halfway there, it suddenly changed direction. His long, slender fingers landed on the buttons of his own shirt… The jade-like tone of his skin contrasted beautifully with the pristine white shirt, making Fan Hechang look both refined and stylish. He calmly undid his buttons one by one, revealing the handsome, well-defined abs beneath his shirt.
For Garry, who had been gay by nature, this was undoubtedly a huge shock.
He swallowed hard and tried his best to avert his gaze, but his eyes kept darting back to the man’s abs every few seconds.
“I don’t have a potbelly. I exercise regularly,” Fan Hechang said calmly.
“A-And then?” The sound of Garry swallowing became even louder, and there was a faint sense of anticipation in his heart.
Fan Hechang buttoned his shirt back up. “So I’m not, as you said, someone who lacks exercise and has a big belly…”
Th-That’s it?! Garry widened his beautiful, peach-shaped eyes. “That’s all?”
Fan Hechang asked in confusion, “What else?”
“Heh heh.”
Garry gave an awkward laugh and put some distance between them to calm his racing heartbeat. What was he doing? What was he expecting? What was there to expect from a straight man? The entire country was watching them. The entire country was watching…
Garry suddenly felt as though he had caught onto something. He cast a scrutinizing glance at Fan Hechang, who had already straightened his shirt and was sitting there expressionlessly, as though nothing had happened.
This guy… Garry gritted his teeth. Is he interested in me or not?! Why would he do something so outrageous? Was he trying to hint at something, or is he really just a straight man?!
Seeing Garry repeatedly glance at him, Fan Hechang assumed he was worried about Bai Tang, who had gone missing.
Although Bai Tang could be a little foul-mouthed and somewhat feminine in his mannerisms, his character was still pretty decent.
He rarely comforted people, but this time he spoke up. “Don’t worry. The authorities will send out a search-and-rescue team. If you’re still worried, get some sleep tonight and rest up. We can go look for him again tomorrow.”
Hearing Fan Hechang mention Bai Tang, Garry let out a melancholy sigh. “Hopefully, we’ll get some good news soon.”
“We will.”
That brought the night’s conversation to an end with Bai Tang as its final topic.
Thinking about Bai Tang, who had run off, Garry lay in his sleeping bag and couldn’t fall asleep for a long time.
Where did the little cutie run off to? Has Guniang found him yet? Or have the authorities found him? He’s so small and vulnerable. I just hope he’s okay.
His thoughts went round and round. Garry thought about this and that until, in the end, his exhaustion overcame him. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, the wind picked up, and cold air seeped into the tent. Unconsciously, Garry moved closer to the large source of warmth beside him—Fan Hechang.
Out in the wilderness, Fan Hechang remained alert at all times and was therefore a light sleeper. He woke at the slightest movement. When he opened his eyes, he discovered that Garry had curled up against him. He stared blankly at Garry’s strikingly beautiful face for several seconds.
He raised a hand, but in the end, he didn’t push Garry away. Instead, he placed his hand around Garry’s waist, pulled him into his arms, and closed his eyes to rest.
The next morning, when Garry woke up, Fan Hechang was already awake and had prepared breakfast. There was some bread left over from the previous night, along with some fresh fruit he had picked that morning.
“Rinse your mouth and eat something.” Garry pursed his lips. Not only is he a block of wood, he’s a hard, stiff block of wood. I have no idea what it is about him that attracts me.
After finishing the simple slices of bread and the sickeningly sweet fruit, the two packed up their tent and prepared to set off.
Garry looked at the trees scattered around them in no particular pattern. Since he had no sense of direction, he had no choice but to ask the elite for help. “Wood, which way should we go?”
Fan Hechang was accustomed to doing things in an orderly manner. After signing up for the show, he had read extensively about wilderness survival. He observed their surroundings for a moment before pointing toward a more open area with fewer trees.
“Let’s go this way. I remember Bai Tang has some knowledge of wilderness survival too. He should probably choose a safer route. Maybe if we keep going, we’ll eventually run into him.”
Since Garry was always arguing with Fan Hechang, Fan Hechang had decided to strike first this time, using Bai Tang as an excuse. That left Garry with no way to argue back.
In fact, Garry had never intended to argue in the first place. When it came to this sort of thing, Fan Hechang was indeed more capable than him.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
That afternoon, dark clouds drifted overhead. Garry watched with his own eyes as the sun was gradually covered, making the sky seem as though it were being pressed down toward the ground.
He and Fan Hechang split up within a small area and called out Bai Tang’s name, but received no response. There were no signs that anyone had passed through either.
Bai Tang wasn’t here.
Just as it looked like it was about to rain, they began heading back. Suddenly, Garry stepped on something soft and squishy.
The thing quickly slipped away.
Garry froze on the spot. Fortunately, he hadn’t put his full weight down on it.
He nervously prayed that the thing would hurry up and leave, but unfortunately, fate was not on his side. The snake he had stepped on not only refused to leave—it turned around and slithered right across the top of his foot.
Even through his shoe, Garry could feel how thick the snake’s body was. Goosebumps immediately covered him, and he didn’t dare move an inch.
“Hissss—hissss—”
Garry slowly lowered his gaze.
The snake’s crimson tongue flicked against his ankle. Suddenly, he felt a sharp sting, and the world began spinning around him.
Oh no, oh no!
He was still in the prime of his life. He hadn’t even experienced what it was like to be with a man yet, and he hadn’t managed to win over that hard, stiff block of wood. Was he really going to die young?!
Garry was so distressed that he could have cried.
The snake, apparently satisfied after getting revenge for being stepped on, quickly slithered away.
When Fan Hechang noticed that Garry had been gone for too long, he went looking for him. As soon as he reached the area, he saw Garry crouched on the ground, wailing.
“I’m going to die! I don’t want to die! Heaven is jealous of a brilliant talent like me…”
“How are you?” Fan Hechang asked. His gaze fell on Garry’s rolled-up pant leg, revealing two small puncture marks on his ankle. It was obvious that he had been bitten by a snake.
“Just go. I’ll wait here to die,” Garry said, resigned to his fate.
Fan Hechang put down his backpack, grabbed Garry’s bitten foot, and took off his shoe.
“What are you doing?”
Seeing what Fan Hechang was about to do, Garry suddenly had a bad feeling. Sure enough, he felt something sucking at his ankle. Fan Hechang was trying to suck the snake venom out of the wound.
“Are you crazy?!” Garry was shocked. “You could die doing that! Stop! Let go!”Fan Hechang didn’t stop. Instead, he sucked at the wound several more times, spitting each time. He then poured water over the wound to clean it and bandaged it with some gauze.
Garry went from yelling angrily to staring at him with a complicated expression. Once Fan Hechang had finished the whole series of actions, he asked, “Why?”
Fan Hechang wiped his glasses and put them back on.
“We’re teammates.”
Being teammates meant they couldn’t abandon or give up on each other.
Then Fan Hechang dropped another bombshell.
“The snake wasn’t venomous. You’re not going to die.”
Garry: “???” You could’ve told me that earlier!
“Wait, then why did you suck the venom out?”
“I was afraid I might have judged it incorrectly. If the snake had been venomous, I could have saved you in time.”
Garry: “…”
His feelings became even more complicated. So… does he have feelings for me too?
After this incident, Garry never again made snarky remarks about Fan Hechang. He even stopped calling him “Wood” and started calling him by his full name.
Fan Hechang also made a crutch for Garry out of a tree branch. Surprisingly, it was quite sturdy and made walking much easier.
The two of them stumbled along their way. Along the journey, they learned that Bai Tang had already been found, which put their minds at ease. They were then able to focus on the game and eventually found the ball belonging to their team.
After leaving the forest, the guests each returned to their normal lives.
Garry mourned the fact that he had finally taken a liking to a man, only for the relationship to end before it had even begun. Depressed, he sat in the studio, absentmindedly poking at his water cup.
Sigh…
“Hey, what’s wrong with Garry? He’s been sighing all day.”
“I counted. That was his twenty-sixth sigh today.”
His colleagues whispered among themselves.
“Garry, someone is here for an interview.” The receptionist came in to inform him.
“Coming.” Garry put down his cup and walked out with an expression that practically screamed, I just got my heart broken, so don’t mess with me.
But when he reached the reception desk, he saw Fan Hechang standing there with a bouquet of red roses in his hands.
“Please give me a chance to pursue you.”
Fan Hechang was wearing his thin-framed glasses, which reflected a faint blue glow under the lights.
Who confesses to someone while wearing a face that looks like they’re here to collect a debt? Garry secretly complained to himself.
But inside, he was absolutely thrilled. He practically wanted to set off fireworks right then and there.
“Fine. I’ll give you one chance. But if you can’t satisfy me, I won’t accept you.” Garry was very proud and didn’t want to lose face. Remembering how Fan Hechang had barely paid him any attention in the jungle, he decided to make Fan Hechang work hard for it—to let him know that Garry had plenty of people pursuing him and that he wasn’t someone who could be won over easily.
“Just wait and see,” Fan Hechang said, the corners of his lips curling into an almost imperceptible smile.
Could a little sparrow still escape once it had flown into the cage?