Chapter Fourteen: Guessable

"What did I do?" In the blink of an eye, Sang Yijia steadied Lan Qing, who had fainted, then scooped her up before turning to look at Shen Jin. "Did you see me do anything to her?" Sang Yijia’s eyes flashed with anger as she stared directly at Shen Jin. "You know nothing, but just now, with what you said—if no one else had been present, if there was no live stream, would I not have become the villain?"

The atmosphere shifted so quickly that Lu Wenchuan and Yan Ningsi were left stunned, unable to react. Shen Jin, too, was at a loss for words, unable to refute her. The live broadcast fell silent.

"Move aside," Sang Yijia said, carrying Lan Qing upstairs with swift, decisive steps. Left behind, Lu Wenchuan snapped to attention and turned to the director’s team. "Get a doctor here."

"I’ll go!" Yan Ningsi raised her hand. "I just passed a clinic—I know where it is. I’ll find someone." She spun on her heel and ran off, the cameramen hastily following.

Upstairs, Bian He had been about to go down with Shen Jin after putting down his suitcase, but as he stepped with his left foot, his shoelace came undone. He bent to tie it, took two steps, and the right lace came undone. After fixing that and taking two more steps, both laces came loose again. After a moment of silence, Bian He looked up at the cameraman. "Did you see that? Is there something strange in this house?"

The live audience saw it too—Bian He hadn’t done anything odd, yet his laces wouldn’t stay tied.

[Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony…]
[Haha, it’s just pure bad luck for Hehe.]
[Not just bad luck. It’s terrible luck.]

The cameraman was just as baffled and could only shake his head. Bian He shrugged, hands spread wide in helplessness. "Alright then."

"Excuse me." Sang Yijia arrived, carrying Lan Qing. Bian He stared for a couple of seconds before hurrying to catch up. "What happened?"

"Not sure," Sang Yijia replied. "Go get some hot water."

"Okay." Realizing the situation was serious, Bian He dropped his usual playful demeanor and went downstairs, determined to find hot water.

Sang Yijia, still carrying Lan Qing, entered the room. It took a bit of effort, but she soon had her resting on the bed. "Lan Qing?"

"What’s wrong?" Sang Yijia pressed the back of her hand to Lan Qing’s forehead. No fever, but still uneasy, she gently touched her own forehead to Lan Qing’s. That confirmed it—no fever, but Lan Qing’s face was alarmingly pale.

"Lan Qing?" Sang Yijia called her name several times.

The only sound in the quiet room was Sang Yijia’s voice. The live audience watched as, in that instant, she caught the fainting Lan Qing and carried her back to the room.

After a moment, Shen Jin came upstairs and lingered at the doorway, peeking in. Sang Yijia noticed someone there and turned to see Shen Jin. She was about to leave when Lan Qing awoke.

"Sorry," Lan Qing murmured, her voice weak. "I’ve been dieting lately. Didn’t eat breakfast."

"Some chocolate?" Sang Yijia offered. Her mother had insisted on tucking it into her pocket before she left, just in case. She hadn’t expected to need it now.

But Lan Qing refused. "That’s too many calories. Just one piece and my whole morning’s effort will have been wasted."

"You’re not overweight," Sang Yijia replied. "Eat a little now. Later, I’ll make some porridge."

Lan Qing stared at the chocolate in Sang Yijia’s hand for several seconds. "I thought you hated me."

"Maybe once, but not anymore," Sang Yijia said, unwilling to elaborate. She glanced at the door. "Shen Jin’s outside. Do you want him to come in?"

"No, I just want to rest." Lan Qing shook her head and closed her eyes, looking exhausted.

"Alright. Bian He is fetching hot water. I brought glucose; I’ll have him bring it over in a bit," Sang Yijia assured her.

"Thank you," Lan Qing said gratefully.

"No need." Sang Yijia stepped outside.

Shen Jin blocked her way, eyes dark. "If you dare harm Qingqing, I won’t stand for it."

"And if you harm her, neither will I." Lu Wenchuan had appeared at the stairwell, hands in his pockets, looking indifferent.

For some reason, when Sang Yijia glanced at him, she felt as though he was watching a stray cat being bullied on the roadside and, with nothing better to do, decided to speak up.

"Thank you." Whatever his reasons, Sang Yijia was grateful that Lu Wenchuan was willing to stand up for her.

After expressing her thanks, she turned to meet Shen Jin’s gaze, her eyes calm and untroubled—a simple statement. "This is my personal social matter. I don’t need to explain anything to you."

"I won’t let you hurt Qingqing," Shen Jin warned, grabbing her wrist as she tried to pass.

Sang Yijia turned, raising the wrist he held. "Shen Jin, if you act like this, I’ll think you still have feelings for me."

"You—!" Shen Jin instantly released her. "Impossible."

"Let’s hope so," Sang Yijia replied indifferently. Just then, Lu Wenchuan approached and handed her a wet wipe.

"???" Where did that come from? Does he always carry these? Sang Yijia was curious, but took the wipe, cleaned her hands, and asked, "Do you always have these with you?"

"Just in case," Lu Wenchuan answered. "Bian He’s gone to boil water, Yan Ningsi’s looking for a doctor."

"How’s Lan Qing?" It seemed Lu Wenchuan had come just to check on the situation, without any other motive.

But Sang Yijia was unconvinced and focused on Lan Qing. "She’s fine, just fainted from hypoglycemia caused by over-dieting."

"She’ll be alright after some glucose."

"I’ll go buy some," Shen Jin interjected, rushing downstairs before he’d even finished speaking.

Sang Yijia watched him hurry away, lost in thought.

"He cares a lot about Lan Qing. Does that make you jealous?" Lu Wenchuan moved closer.

The crisp scent of pine surrounded Sang Yijia, her thoughts drifting off for a moment before she steadied herself and shook her head. "No."

"That’s all in the past now."

Lu Wenchuan said nothing more, and Sang Yijia returned to her room to fetch the glucose.

Once Bian He had finished boiling water, he brought it up. Seeing Lu Wenchuan, he remarked, "I thought we’d have to burn firewood here, but it’s better than expected—there’s an induction stove, gas, everything you could want."

"Oh, and I saw a solar water heater. Staying here for seven days might not be so bad," he added.

"The area out front is a star-rated scenic spot," Lu Wenchuan replied, glancing at him oddly. "This may look like a farmhouse, but it’s a popular online check-in spot. Annual income is no less than a million."

The environment, naturally, wouldn’t be poor.

Bian He was momentarily speechless. Lu Wenchuan continued, "The surrounding facilities are all excellent."

"You know quite a lot, Mr. Lu." Bian He was a bit dazed.

"Mm," Lu Wenchuan nodded, then revealed, "There’s a Shengchuang hot spring hotel nearby. Shengchuang invested in the show."

"So the special prize this episode is a hot spring trip."

"???" Bian He thought Lu Wenchuan was giving away too much and quickly stopped him. "If you say it all now, there’s nothing to look forward to!"

"Not really," Lu Wenchuan said as Sang Yijia emerged holding a tube of glucose. "Once you saw the sponsor, you should have guessed."

Bian He could only apologize inwardly—Shengchuang had too many businesses; he hadn’t guessed at all.