Xie Changyu slowly cast a sidelong glance at Xie Tangning, who was eager to try and still deep in thought about whether her idea was feasible.
He let out a cold laugh. “Your brain is full of nothing but useless junk. Don’t take it out to wash—I’m worried you’ll pollute the water in this Heavenly Lake!”
“I hope you understand that protecting the environment is everyone’s responsibility!”
Xie Tangning blurted out without thinking, “Impossible! This is the Jade Pool of the Queen Mother of the West, according to legend!”
“This pool is full of divine water. Why can’t we use it to wash our brains?! Brains need to be cleaned regularly to stay healthy!”
“Especially yours, Second Brother. You’re in particular need of this service!”
Xie Changyu took a deep breath, stepped forward, and tried to shake the child awake from the mythological fantasy she had once again started spinning in her head.
“I really want to throw you in there first and wash you clean to drive out the evil spirits. Otherwise, why do you have to embarrass yourself everywhere you go?!”
“Get rid of all that second-rate chuunibyou nonsense in your head. Could you please stop using my face as a rag in front of the cameras?!”
“And if you want to call me stupid, just say so. There’s no need to take such a huge detour!”
Xie Tangning gave a mischievous little grin. “You figured it out, Second Brother? I told you—brains need regular cleaning if you want them to be smart!”
Xie Changyu rolled his eyes in utter disgust and lightly smacked her on the back of the head.
“What’s wrong with you?! I was wondering how you and Monkey Bro became deskmates. Now I know—it’s because you two have the same illness!”
“You’re both crazy!”
Liang Zhou had excellent hearing and immediately opened his mouth to distance himself from the accusation. “Second Brother Xie, don’t make things up!”
“The only reason she became my deskmate is because she’s terrible! She and Qin Shuchun are the ones with the same illness, all right?”
Qin Shuchun was already annoyed that she couldn’t be Xie Tangning’s deskmate. If she heard this too…
With how petty that girl was, wouldn’t she tear him apart later?
He was absolutely not taking the blame for this!
It definitely wasn’t because his fans had just asked him for autographs, leaving him weighed down by his celebrity image and unwilling to admit that he was sick too!
Unfortunately, what he said reached Xie Tangning’s ears as nothing more than “…blah blah… she’s terrible… blah…”
She extracted the key words, and her verbal cannons instantly swung toward Liang Zhou.
Liang Zhou sensed that something was wrong and turned to run. Wu Dacheng had just finished joining Su Xiaoye in the fun and came over, only to run into this scene.
He joined the chase without a second thought and inexplicably started running too.
Su Xiaoye raised her phone and captured the whole scene.
Looking at the figures running under the sunlight, her eyes curved like crescent moons.
She found a spot, flopped herself down on the ground, and began enjoying the early-autumn sunshine.
It was wonderful.
Xie Wanwan, meanwhile, was taking silly selfies. Facing the camera, she looked confident and radiant.
The saying that love makes people grow flesh and blood seemed to be playing out perfectly on all of them.
Director Zhang and the assistant director watched the guests scampering around everywhere, their faces filled with satisfaction.
There was nothing they could do about it. Like kindergarten principals, they could only look at their own “children” and accept that this was simply how they were.
The assistant director watched them make a ruckus like a kindly old father, but in the end, he still reminded them to keep an eye on the time.
“You’ve got another two hours, everyone. Enjoy yourselves!”
“In two hours, we’ll have to set off for the Queen Mother of the West Temple, okay?”
Since they had come all the way to the Heavenly Lake in the Tianshan Mountains, how could they not go pay their respects to the Queen Mother of the West?
“Got it, Assistant Director!”
“We know!”
“Assistant Director, do you want to come take pictures with us?”
Sweet, clingy responses floated over from every direction. The assistant director raised his brows at Director Zhang, his face full of triumph.
See that? This was the difference between people!
Director Zhang was so angry he nearly couldn’t catch his breath. “You little brats—and you old brats too! What a bunch of ungrateful ingrates!”
“You’re always playing favorites. After everything I’ve done for you!”
The assistant director snorted, then turned and answered the invitation to take pictures in an especially gentle voice. “Coming~ Remember to turn on the beauty filter for me!”
Director Zhang: “…”
He cursed that old ham in his heart, then followed along of his own accord.
Whatever. If Cheng Dong got to have pictures, so did he!
“You can’t favor some people over others. I want pictures too!”
The entire outing in the Tianshan Mountains was warm and affectionate, with none of the melancholy one might expect from a finale.
It was all the guests’ usual bickering. It might have seemed uneventful, but it left viewers feeling soft-hearted.
Sometimes, a simple, ordinary life was pretty nice too.
…
When they returned to the guesthouse that evening, the guests transformed into a bunch of boneless slugs again, slumped over their chairs and barely resembling human beings.
Director Zhang couldn’t help twitching at the corner of his mouth when he saw them. “Really? Is it necessary to look like this? You didn’t act this dead after climbing Mount Laojun last time!”
He couldn’t understand it at all. This episode hadn’t even been as intense as their special-forces-style outing in the previous one.
So why had every single one of them suddenly turned into limp noodles?
Xie Tangning looked a little listless. “You don’t understand, Director Zhang. Being worn out after sitting in a car for several hours is different from being worn out after climbing a mountain!”
Xie Changyu immediately nodded. “You also have to count the mental energy we burned through while entertaining everyone in the car!”
As professional guests, they never stopped putting on a show, even during the otherwise boring drive.
The entire vehicle had hosted everything from comedy sketches to crosstalk performances. Every one of them was so funny that viewers didn’t even dare watch the show while eating.
They were afraid they’d laugh and spray food everywhere!
Although Wu Dacheng looked exhausted, his eyes held a satisfied smile. “Director Zhang, you should be secretly laughing!”
“Having guests as dedicated as us is practically a once-in-three-lifetimes blessing for you!”
Monkey Bro seized every opportunity to praise himself. “Tsk, tsk, tsk~”
“Guests like us, with looks and talent in equal measure—what an accomplishment that you managed to gather ten perfect people!”
“Not bad, Director Zhang~”
Director Zhang: “…”
Narcissism was an illness. It needed treatment!
He recommended the Haicheng No. 6 Wilderness Mental Hospital. Their treatment was absolutely top-notch!
“Ahem, enough nonsense. I have some good news to announce!”
“Come on, give yourselves two slaps first to wake up. If you can’t bring yourselves to do it, I can help!”
Xie Tangning was the very definition of shameless. She turned her little face toward Director Zhang and lightly patted her cheeks.
“Go ahead. I’d like to see whether you’ve got the guts.”
Liang Jiaqing chimed in arrogantly. “Go for it! The moment your hand lands, I’ll turn around and report you for assaulting a minor!”
At that, the other minors, including Wu Dacheng and Xie Wanwan, copied Xie Tangning and patted their little cheeks while provoking Director Zhang.
Even Su Xiaoye, the angelic Angel Baby, joined in.
Director Zhang: “…”
Fine, fine, they were all a bunch of little ancestors!
The kind you couldn’t even scold!
After causing enough trouble, Xie Tangning began grinning again and asked, “Hehe, what’s the good news? Tell us!”
Director Zhang really wanted to snort, turn around, and walk away. Now that they wanted to hear it, he didn’t feel like telling them anymore!
But he knew full well that if he turned and left, this bunch of troublemakers would genuinely stop listening to him.
“Tomorrow is the final day of filming for our show. To thank everyone for your enthusiastic companionship throughout this summer…”
“We’ve decided to set the final destination at the Flaming Mountains—the very same Flaming Mountains from Journey to the West!”
“So get a good night’s rest tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll experience the scenery of the great desert!”
As soon as Director Zhang finished speaking, the guests enthusiastically applauded.
The few chuunibyou teenagers were especially eager to join in. After all, who hadn’t heard the story of the Flaming Mountains as a child?
Of course they’d be excited about it~
