Chapter Ninety-One: Will It?

"Jia Jia?" Yan Ningsi called out to Sang Yijia again, while glancing surreptitiously at Lu Wenchuan. She noticed his lips pressed into a tight line, and instinctively pursed her own, thinking that Lu Wenchuan cared for Sang Yijia far more deeply than she had imagined.

"Hmm?" Sang Yijia snapped out of her reverie, just in time to see Shen Jin tying Lan Qing's shoelaces. The sight didn't stir anything in her—after all, the male and female leads were meant to be together, and little acts of intimacy between them seemed perfectly normal.

"Sorry, my mind drifted just now. What did you say?" Sang Yijia asked.

Yan Ningsi shook her head quickly. "Nothing." She paused, noting the calmness in Sang Yijia's eyes, as if she wasn't at all surprised, and after pressing her lips together, decided to say nothing more.

Lan Qing had spotted Sang Yijia's arrival early on, and deliberately loosened her shoelaces in front of Shen Jin, pretending to squat down to tie them, curious to see whether Shen Jin would help.

As expected, Shen Jin knelt down to help tie them.

Lan Qing noticed Sang Yijia seemed distracted, and a deeper smile played at the corners of her lips. She then ducked her head, feigning reluctance. "Jia Jia and the others are here, Shen Jin, get up! I can tie my own shoes."

Saying this, Lan Qing squatted as if to stop him.

But upon hearing that Sang Yijia had arrived, Shen Jin was all the more eager to make a good impression in front of Lan Qing. There was no way he would let her tie her own laces. Their hands met in a brief struggle, and soon enough, they were holding hands.

Lan Qing’s cheeks flushed instantly, her voice turning soft. "Shen Jin..."

"Hmm." Shen Jin didn't let go, instead giving her palm a gentle squeeze. "Just wait a moment—I'll be done soon."

As Sang Yijia and her group approached, they witnessed this scene. Yan Ningsi suppressed a reaction and looked away.

Bian He gave a whistle, playing along. "Wow, Shen Jin, Lan Qing, why don't you just make your relationship official after the show?"

"If the two of you aren’t together, fans might stop believing in love altogether!"

"Bian He, stop it," Lan Qing protested, her face red, but there was no authority in her voice—only bashful embarrassment.

Bian He chuckled, then stopped when he saw Yan Ningsi was displeased.

Lan Qing didn’t say anything more to Bian He, only glanced briefly at Lu Wenchuan before settling her gaze on Sang Yijia. "Good morning, Jia Jia."

Shen Jin finished tying her shoes and stood, naturally taking Lan Qing’s hand in his, then looked at the others. "Good morning."

"Morning," Sang Yijia nodded.

Lan Qing wasn’t sure if her greeting was meant for her or Shen Jin, but she could easily guess Sang Yijia was replying to Shen Jin.

"The production team is ready for us. Let’s head over," Lan Qing offered, not wanting Shen Jin and Sang Yijia to have too much interaction, deftly changing the subject.

Shen Jin didn’t spare Sang Yijia another glance, leading Lan Qing away hand-in-hand.

"Let’s go, too," Bian He said, walking over to Yan Ningsi and offering his hand. "Care to join me?"

"Tch," Yan Ningsi rolled her eyes but handed him her hand.

Hand-in-hand, Yan Ningsi and Bian He walked ahead, leaving Sang Yijia and Lu Wenchuan behind.

Lu Wenchuan stayed at the back, his presence seemingly subdued. Sang Yijia looked at the four people ahead, then back at Lu Wenchuan. After a brief pause, she met his gaze. "Shall we?"

"Certainly." Lu Wenchuan didn't refuse, though he wanted to ask Sang Yijia what she really thought of Shen Jin now.

Had she truly moved on?

Was that why she seemed lost when she saw Shen Jin kneeling for another woman?

Sang Yijia took hold of Lu Wenchuan’s hand, catching a whiff of the refreshing scent of pine from him—crisp and pleasant. She couldn’t help breathing it in a few more times.

"Lu Wenchuan, I wasn’t distracted just now because of Shen Jin," Sang Yijia suddenly explained. After all, they were on camera, and her distraction was evident; Yan Ningsi’s earlier concern had been whether she still had lingering feelings for Shen Jin.

"I was thinking about something else." Sang Yijia considered how best to explain, searching for an appropriate excuse.

Lu Wenchuan didn’t press her, quietly waiting for her to continue.

"Well, if I told you I was thinking about what to have for lunch, would you believe me?" Sang Yijia blinked, took a small step forward, clasped her hands behind her back, and leaned in slightly.

Her dark eyes were bright and captivating.

Meeting her gaze, Lu Wenchuan realized that, no matter what she said, he would believe her.

"So, what do you want for lunch?" Lu Wenchuan played along.

Sang Yijia recalled how the original character had spent the whole day in the bathroom after eating sweet and sour pork in the plot, and immediately lost her appetite for boxed meals.

"I haven’t decided yet."

She added, "According to the notice, we’re filming outdoors today, so it’ll probably be boxed lunches."

"We’ll see when the time comes."

"Jia Jia, hurry up!" Yan Ningsi called, waving vigorously when she saw they hadn’t caught up.

"Let’s go," Lu Wenchuan said, glancing at Sang Yijia’s hand. After a moment’s thought, he decided not to reach for it; she had explained herself, and he was willing to trust her.

However, just as they stepped forward,

Sang Yijia jogged up and, quite unprompted, took Lu Wenchuan’s hand. She looked up at him. "We promised, remember?"

"Mhm." Lu Wenchuan squeezed her hand gently, though still with restraint.

Ahead, Yan Ningsi saw them and whistled. "Wow~"

Shen Jin’s expression soured at Sang Yijia’s initiative, his brows furrowing sharply. But recalling they were still live, he forced himself to hold back.

Lan Qing watched Sang Yijia and Lu Wenchuan’s joined hands, suddenly sensing something amiss. "Wasn’t Sang Yijia always supposed to be following Shen Jin around?"

"How did things turn out this way?" Lan Qing shook her head, puzzled by her own thoughts.

Then another odd thought surfaced—today’s boxed lunch shouldn’t be eaten, and should be given to Sang Yijia.

Such strange notions.

Lan Qing shook her head, dismissing them.

As Sang Yijia and Lu Wenchuan joined the group, Director Chen stepped forward to announce the game rules. There would be three rounds today. The first was the three-legged race—three couples competing, the fastest wins, earning ten points.

The second round involved popping balloons between partners; the pair who burst the most in the shortest time would win.

The third round was dry-land skating. Couples would hold hands and navigate obstacles set by the crew. Success meant passing the test.

The third round would be held in the afternoon, as some guests weren’t skilled at skating.

With the rules explained, Director Chen stepped back, letting the guests prepare.

"Do you know how to skate?" Lu Wenchuan asked. His own skating experience was limited to rinks, and he’d never tried dry-land skating.

Sang Yijia met his dark gaze and, for a moment, was lost in thought, but quickly recovered and shook her head lightly. "No, I don’t."

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(End of chapter)