I'm in Wuha, and the whole internet is shipping me and Song Yuqi as a couple.

At the end of the beach, there is a row of low rocks, which have been sculpted into rounded curves by the sea over the years, and dried seaweed hangs on the surface of the rocks.

Jiang Che led Song Yuqi around the last large reef, and the view suddenly opened up.

This beach has no boardwalk, no parasols, and no cameras.

All that remains is the damp sand left after the tide recedes, and the sun sinking below the horizon in the distance.

Song Yuqi glanced back to make sure no one was filming her before she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, some peace and quiet."

Jiang Che released her hand, sat down on a flat rock, and patted the side next to him.

"sit."

Song Yuqi walked over, pulling up her trouser legs, and sat down next to him.

The sea breeze blew her loose hair onto her face, and she reached up to tuck it behind her ear, turning her head to look at him.

You still owe me something.

Jiang Che was looking at the sea when he heard this and turned around.

"What is it?"

"You told me this when we were washing the pots at noon. Tell me slowly when we get back to your room."

Song Yuqi poked his arm with her finger.

"What's going on at Grandma's house? How do you know everything?"

Jiang Che did not speak immediately.

He looked down at his palm.

There is a faint old scar on the palm of my hand, which has faded to the original color of my skin and is almost invisible unless you look closely.

"My parents got married early; they were only in their early twenties when I was born."

"Both of them are busy with their own careers and have no time for their children."

When I was three years old, they sent me to my grandmother's house by the sea, saying I would stay for a summer vacation, but I ended up staying there for six years.

Song Yuqi's smile slowly faded.

"Six years?"

"My grandmother is too old to manage much. So I just ran around all over the mountains and seas with the other kids in the village."

Jiang Che spoke calmly, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"I learned everything in those years: beachcombing, starting fires, building stoves, recognizing tides, and making traps to catch fish."

"You have to learn, or you'll go hungry."

Song Yuqi stared at his profile, feeling a tightness in her chest.

"Where are your parents? Haven't they come back to see you?"

"I came back once during the Spring Festival."

Jiang Che raised his hand and flicked the sand off his knees.

"They would stay for two days and then leave. Every time they left, they would say they would come to pick me up earlier next time, but I stopped believing them."

The waves crashed against the rocks, breaking into white foam before receding.

Song Yuqi opened her mouth, wanting to say something comforting, but felt that any word would be too weak.

She simply stopped talking and stretched out both arms to wrap her arms around his waist from the side.

Her face was pressed against his shoulder, her forehead against his neck.

Jiang Che paused slightly, then relaxed and placed his hand on the back of her head.

"what?"

"Nothing."

Song Yuqi spoke in a muffled voice, half of which was muffled by the sea breeze.

"You won't have to be alone anymore."

"I'm here for you."

Jiang Che did not answer.

He lowered his head, his nose brushing against the top of her hair, and smelled the fresh grapefruit scent from her shampoo.

Song Yuqi felt his breath on her scalp, making it itch.

She looked up and met his downcast gaze.

The two people's faces were less than ten centimeters apart.

Jiang Che's fingers ran through the stray hairs by her ears, and his palm cupped the back of her head.

Song Yuqi's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she didn't flinch.

He kissed him.

No rush, no pressure, I paused for two seconds after my lips touched yours before moving.

Song Yuqi's fingers gripped his clothes tightly at the waist, creating a crease.

The last rays of the setting sun disappeared from the sea, and the sky darkened.

When the two parted, Song Yuqi's ears were already burning red.

She loosened her grip on the hem of her clothes, bent down to pick at the seaweed on the rocks, and pretended that nothing had happened.

Jiang Che looked at her ears, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Let's go back. If we don't go back soon, Chen He will send a drone to look for us."

Song Yuqi stood up, turned her back to him, composed her expression, and then turned around.

"Let's go."

She reached out her hand.

Jiang Che grasped it, stood up, and the two walked back along the path they had come from.

In the courtyard of the villa.

Deng Chao slumped in the recliner, having already drunk more than half a bottle of mineral water.

Chen He lay slumped on the folding table next to him, his face pressed against the surface, his eyes lifeless.

"Brother Chao, what did you think those two went off to do?"

Deng Chao screwed the bottle cap on and turned over.

What do you think?

Chen He lifted his face off the table with a sticky, muffled thud.

"I think they're watching the sunset."

"Yes, to watch the sunset."

Deng Chao repeated it, his tone as if he were hypnotizing himself.

Lu Han added without looking up.

"Can you two be quiet for a bit? Let me enjoy five minutes of peace and quiet without any dog ​​food."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the loudspeaker in the corner of the yard blared out.

Chen He was startled and reflexively jumped up from his chair.

"here we go again!"

Wu Zheng's voice came through the loudspeaker, his tone unusually cheerful.

"Thank you all for your hard work. The daytime activities were fantastic."

"But the island nights shouldn't be wasted."

"The production team has meticulously planned a special program – 'Island Night Bonfire Party'."

Chen He's face fell immediately.

"Wu Zheng! What time is it? You won't even leave us alone at night?"

His accusations were completely ignored on the radio.

"The rules are simple: a campfire Q&A session."

"Answer a question correctly and you'll get an extra 500 yuan."

"Five hundred yuan will be deducted for each wrong answer."

Deng Chao jumped up from the recliner.

"You're upset about losing two thousand during the day, aren't you?"

Lu Han looked up in the direction of the loudspeaker.

"What type of question is it?"

Wu Zheng laughed, and the laughter coming from the loudspeaker was particularly jarring.

"A private little file about the five of you."

"It involves personal experiences, interesting anecdotes from the past, and the genuine opinions of the members."

"If you can answer the question, it proves you have good teamwork; if you can't, it just means there are still many secrets between you."

Chen He was stunned.

"What do you mean by 'private file'? Where did you get it?"

The broadcast did not answer this question.

Wu Zheng's voice continued.

"Of course, to ensure the game's professionalism and entertainment value, I won't be the one asking the questions tonight."

"The production team has specially invited a mystery guest who has detailed information about each of you."

"Including but not limited to, pre-debut scandals, deleted social media posts, and..."

He paused for a moment, his tone becoming meaningful.

"There are no publicly disclosed private stories between the two members to date."

The courtyard was quiet.

Deng Chao and Chen He looked at each other at the same time, then shook their heads simultaneously. Then, their gazes turned in unison towards the villa's main gate.

Jiang Che and Song Yuqi just walked into the courtyard.

Song Yuqi's face was still flushed, and when she saw everyone staring at her, she subconsciously let go of Jiang Che's hand.

Chen He pointed at the loudspeaker, his face filled with despair.

"Did you two hear that?"

Song Yuqi shook her head.

Deng Chao quickly repeated what Wu Zheng had just said.

After hearing this, Song Yuqi clutched the money bag even tighter.

"Five hundred yuan deducted for each wrong answer?"

"And who else is asking these mysterious questions, claiming to have our confidential files?"

Chen He added, biting his nails.

Song Yuqi turned to look at Jiang Che.

Jiang Che's expression didn't change much, he just glanced at the loudspeaker.

"He lost money during the day and is trying to recoup it at night?"

In the temporary monitoring room.

The air conditioner was whirring loudly as Wu Zheng sat in front of the screen, tapping his fingers on the table.

There are two split screens on the screen.

One is a live feed of the villa's courtyard, showing five people gathered together discussing countermeasures.

Another is a distant view captured by a drone, showing the silhouettes of two people pressed together behind the rocks in the sunset.

Wu Zheng stared at the distant screenshot, slurping his lemonade with a loud slurping sound.

The assistant director stood behind him, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"Director Wu, this screenshot..."

"Keep it."

Wu Zheng put down his cup and dragged the screenshot into a folder.

"The campfire party tonight is the main event."

"The two thousand dollars during the day is a small amount; what I really want is the content."

He turned his chair around and looked at a person standing in the doorway.

The man was carrying two thick folders, each with a handwritten label on its cover.

One of them reads "Jiang Che".

One of them reads "Song Yuqi".

Wu Zhengchong waved to the man.

"Are all the files ready?"

The man nodded, opened the folder, revealing a dense array of printed papers inside.

Wu Zheng glanced at it twice and smiled smugly.

"very good."

"Tonight, I'm going to expose all of Jiang Che's secrets."

The assistant director swallowed hard.

"Director Wu, what if Jiang Che turns hostile..."

Wu Zheng stood up and patted off non-existent dust from his trouser legs.

"He'll turn on us? He only gets ratings if he turns on us."

He walked to the door and glanced back at the five people who were talking amongst themselves on the surveillance screen.

Especially Jiang Che, who stood calmly next to Song Yuqi.

"Prepare for the mysterious questioner to make his appearance."