As soon as he didn’t wait, perhaps because the sideways movement wasn’t very noticeable, he stopped in his tracks. After a brief pause, Qiao Huaiyao silently sat upright again. But suddenly, his shoulder felt heavy, and he raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Brother?”
Bai Jinyan adjusted the coat draped over Qiao Huaiyao’s shoulder and asked, “Are you tired?”
Qiao Huaiyao was about to say he wasn’t tired when Bai Jinyan added, “If you’re tired, lean on me for a while. We’re preparing to descend the mountain in a little over an hour.”
Qiao Huaiyao didn’t catch the second part of what Bai Jinyan said. He looked slightly dazed for a moment, then smiled gently and said, “Okay.”
Qiao Huaiyao leaned against Bai Jinyan’s shoulder, watching the sunrise and occasionally taking a sip of warm milk. It wasn’t the first time he had watched the sunrise with Bai Jinyan.
Previously, during camping trips, they had stayed up all night just to witness that fleeting moment when the sun appeared on the horizon. But now, the time was different, the location was different, and their feelings… were different too.
Qiao Huaiyao casually thought that the sunrise here seemed even more beautiful than usual.
The warm sunlight enveloped the two of them, and the small shadow behind them added to the warmth.
The cameraman, holding a camera, was shooting from a distance without getting too close.
The live chat scrolled with messages like, [Good morning,]
[“I knew it! Early bird CP fans have some sugar to eat,”]
[“I’m afraid to even breathe, I don’t want to spoil the atmosphere,”]
[“The sunrise is so sweet, I mean… Brother Bai and Qiao Qiao look really good together,”]
[“Aren’t they going to kiss? Seriously, no kiss? Let me watch again,”]
[“Cameraman, I know you’re tired, I’ll chip in five bucks personally, can you move a bit closer to them?”]
[“Hahaha, sis, I’ll go with three bucks!”]
[“Cameraman: You want me to work harder for just five bucks?”]
…
Qiao Huaiyao finished his bottle of milk, and the sun was already up. Bai Jinyan took the milk bottle from his hand and said, “Let’s pack up and get ready to descend the mountain.”
Qiao Huaiyao nodded and said, “Okay.” Before he could get up, Director Zhao Jiamo walked over.
“Good morning, you two!” Zhao Jiamo greeted them. “How was your rest yesterday?”
Bai Jinyan replied flatly, “Good.”
Zhao Jiamo chuckled and said, “You really understand me, Bai Jinyan.”
“What were you doing inside the tent yesterday?” Zhao Jiamo asked, still curious. He had sent a message yesterday but didn’t receive a reply, and he guessed it might not have been convenient, so he didn’t come to check until today. As a director, he had a keen eye for such things. He didn’t even come to watch the sunrise.
Zhao Jiamo’s question caused quite a stir in the live chat.
Messages flooded in, such as, [“Ah! Is this something they can talk about?”]
[“Say more, I love hearing this!”]
[“Wait, let me find my headphones, please, please record this segment!”]
[“Speak louder! I can’t hear!”]
[“I’ve got my notebook and pen ready, please describe it in detail, the more detailed, the better!”]
…
After Zhao Jiamo finished speaking, he seemed to realize something and coughed lightly before hastily adding, “What I meant was, yesterday when I came to check on the guests’ tents, I saw light inside your tent.”
Qiao Huaiyao raised an eyebrow and hadn’t noticed any activity outside the tent. Since the director had asked, he didn’t hide anything and said, “It might have been a starry sky projection lamp.”
Zhao Jiamo was surprised. “What is that? The production team didn’t prepare it.”
“My brother had his assistant find and deliver it,” Qiao Huaiyao replied, lips curving into a smile as he looked at Bai Jinyan. “My brother accompanied me to stargaze.”
Zhao Jiamo exclaimed, “Oh!” What did I miss?! Why wasn’t there a camera in the guests’ tents? Zhao Jiamo was practically on the verge of tears.
Listening to Qiao Huaiyao’s brief description, he felt that this scene would have been perfect for their variety show. However, he hadn’t captured a single frame of it!
Seeing Zhao Jiamo’s downcast expression, Qiao Huaiyao thought for a moment and said, “I recorded a few clips. If you need them…”
Before Qiao Huaiyao could finish, Zhao Jiamo firmly said, “We need them!”
Of course, Zhao Jiamo wanted those clips. He even wanted the cameraman to go inside the tent and film the starry sky projection lamp.
Qiao Huaiyao said, “I’ll send them to you later.”
“Great!” Zhao Jiamo didn’t ask for anything else. Having those clips would be enough. The rest of the scenes from the rainy night outside the tent could also provide a lot of content.
“By the way, once you’ve packed everything up and returned it to the supply point, you’ll receive some points back. If you don’t want to bother, you can leave your stuff here, and the production team will collect it, but you won’t get the points back.”
Although Zhao Jiamo said this, none of the guests were willing to leave their things behind, as points were valuable in the game.
After Zhao Jiamo finished speaking, Qiao Huaiyao began packing up. They didn’t have much stuff, just some snacks they had brought themselves, and some of the chicken and duck they had exchanged for food materials the previous day, which they didn’t finish and would be taken down the mountain by the production team.
The surface of the tent was dry, and any remaining moisture had evaporated in the morning sun, making the packing process relatively easy.
Zhao Jiamo looked around and walked to the supply point with the loudspeaker. “It seems like everyone has packed up. As for how to descend the mountain, the production team provides two options.”
“The first option is to walk down the mountain. The second option is to take the cable car down. We’ve arranged for someone to manage the cable car, so you don’t need to worry about any water accumulation. Walking down the mountain won’t follow the path you took yesterday; there’s another staircase route that’s relatively easy and not too tiring.”
Zhao Jiamo glanced at the game card and added, “This game doesn’t have to be played as a family unit; individuals can participate and win a cable car spot, and then within the family, you can decide who takes it.”
Some families had managed to secure cable car spots, but not everyone was willing to use them.
Qiao Huaiyao turned to Bai Jinyan and said, “Brother, shall we take the cable car?”
“Sure,” Bai Jinyan agreed. Both options were fine for him, so he let Qiao Huaiyao choose.
Qiao Huaiyao drew a game card and said to Director Zhao Jiamo, “We choose the cable car.”
Zhao Jiamo nodded and said, “Alright, open the card to see the game content, and after you complete it, head over to the cable car.”
The games on the cards were all quite straightforward, and once you selected one, there was no way you wouldn’t be able to complete it.
When Qiao Huaiyao peeled back the card’s first layer, he was momentarily stunned. “Eat biscuit? What kind of game is this?”
He read the explanation below and his eyes widened in surprise before immediately covering the card again. “Director… Is this the wrong game you gave us?”
“Huh?” Zhao Jiamo had already moved on to distribute cards to other guests. He came over and asked, “Let me see.”
When he saw the game, Zhao Jiamo laughed, “Ah, this game is designed for some of the married guests. It’s all about luck.”
Qiao Huaiyao exclaimed, “Luck?” He glanced at Bai Jinyan with a raised eyebrow.
Zhao Jiamo nodded and said, “It’s fine; you can choose another game.”
Qiao Huaiyao breathed a sigh of relief and chose a different card. “Director, can we try this one instead?”
“Sure,” Zhao Jiamo agreed. “Take a look at the game content and complete it before heading to the cable car.”
The new game was much more suitable, and Qiao Huaiyao nodded in satisfaction. “Thank you, Director.”
With that settled, they went about completing their chosen game, making sure they would have an interesting and memorable experience to share with their viewers.