8: I meant no harm.

The live stream began.

The guests greeted the audience enthusiastically.

Shen Lian smiled faintly at the camera. He knew better than anyone that in his current situation, the more he tried to please the audience, the less likable he would be. Keeping it brief was enough.

[To be honest, without that fawning look, Shen Lian is actually quite easy on the eyes.]

[He was great when he first debuted, but who knows why he went off the rails later.]

[People speaking up for Dog Shen have no morals.]

[To the person above, not everyone likes your Zheng Ge. If you want to teach someone a lesson on behalf of your master, do it yourself. Don't bark at normal people like a dog.]

The bullet chat was filled with flame wars. Soon, the production team announced the task.

The guests didn't need to be divided into groups. As long as they followed the road signs and reached the finish line before dark, they would be fine.

It sounded simple, but the jungle was full of dangers. More importantly, the production team would no longer provide any food, not even a cup of water.

They even confiscated the chewing gum Fang Ke had brought.

[Hahaha, dazed Keke.]

Shen Lian put on his jacket and walked at the very end of the group.

He knew a camera was secretly filming him, but he didn't want to give the production team the viral moments they craved.

"Tell me, how is Shen Lian keeping his cool so well this time?" an Assistant Director grumbled to the assistant beside him.

The assistant gave a shy smile, his eyes fixed on Shen Lian.

In the shot, the young man had a slender waist and long legs. He walked with a leisurely posture, his leaps light and agile, the hem of his jacket tracing a dashing arc in the air.

That face was also perfect from every angle.

Chu Yilan had a cigarette in his mouth as he watched the young man on the live stream, his eyes swirling with emotion.

As soon as they stepped into the jungle, the sunlight became thin. The air was damp and cold, and mist seeped into their collars and down their necks.

The vegetation before them was lush, with shrubs clinging to towering trees, leaving few gaps.

Zhao Lin stood with his hands on his hips, looking around. "The road signs are all buried."

The previous sign had pointed in this direction, but the deeper they went, the harder it was to see the path.

Shen Lian recalled that the signs were placed the day before filming started. The production team would create difficulties, but they wouldn't truly hide the signs at the edge of the world.

He bent down to brush away the pine needles on the ground, searching carefully.

Feng Susu chuckled. "Shen Lian, who buries road signs in the ground?"

Shen Lian ignored her and soon found a trail of footprints. Following them forward, he indeed found signs of disturbance in a patch of shrubs.

Shen Lian pushed them aside with a stick and saw the road sign.

"To the right," Shen Lian said in a low voice. "The sign is here."

Zhao Lin stepped forward to look and was overjoyed. He patted Shen Lian on the shoulder. "Not bad, kid!"

Shen Lian smiled faintly. The ground was wet and the mud was thick, making it easy to leave tracks. It wasn't that difficult; it just required a little attention to detail.

"I'll lead the way, Brother Zhao," Shen Lian said. "The shoes I'm wearing today have good grip."

Zhao Lin nodded. "Sure!"

Now, Shen Lian became the one leading the way.

Zheng Ge looked at his back, an inexplicable sense of unease flashing through his heart.

After another period of trekking, everyone inevitably felt parched.

Shen Lian stood on a large rock and looked ahead, saying, "There's spring water."

Zhao Lin: "Really? Quick, quick, quick, I'm dying of thirst!"

There were quite a few mountain springs here, and the water was drinkable. However, it was hard for outsiders to find; only the nearby villagers who knew the area well would use them to quench their thirst while foraging for mountain goods.

Zhu Yingyu asked curiously, "Shen Lian, how did you know?"

"White Glue Bamboo Shoots." Shen Lian pointed to a low-growing, serrated shrub with horizontal branches. "This stuff usually grows near water sources."

"Tch." Li Jiabo sneered. "Shen Lian, if we walk all that way for nothing, how will you compensate us?"

The production team had subtly told Li Jiabo that Shen Lian was just a minor character for entertainment, and occasional friction or conflict was a necessary effect for the show. His popularity with the audience was bound to be better than Shen Lian's.

So, Li Jiabo had no qualms about snapping at him.

Shen Lian glanced at Li Jiabo's feet. "That won't happen."

Li Jiabo was about to say something else when his foot suddenly slipped. He tried his best to maintain his balance, but the ground was too damp. In just a second, he fell face-first into the mud.

"Oh?" Zheng Ge only had time to reach out his hand.

Not only that, but to show off his physique, the pants Li Jiabo wore today were on the tighter side.

With a "rip," the back seam split open, revealing a glimpse of red underwear.

By the time Li Jiabo looked up with a dazed expression, Shen Lian said leisurely, "It seems you stepped on a spring eye."

Li Jiabo: "..."

Zhu Yingyu was struggling hard to hold back her laughter.

Fortunately, there was another spring eye nearby. After digging deeper and waiting for the mud to settle, they didn't have to drink Li Jiabo's "foot-flavored water."

"Brother Jiabo." Fang Ke didn't mean any harm, but it was clear he was trying hard to suppress a laugh. "Is it your zodiac year?"

"Hahahaha!" Zhao Lin instantly lost it.

Now, everyone burst into laughter.

Li Jiabo's face turned red instantly. He was somewhat humiliated and angry, but it wasn't good to lash out in front of the cameras, lest he be accused of being a sore loser.

Zheng Ge showed his dimples and then looked at Shen Lian, mentioning it as if in passing, "Shen Lian, you saw the spring eye before Jiabo stepped into it, didn't you?"

Shen Lian naturally wouldn't admit it. "Do you think I have an X-ray hack?"

Zheng Ge's eyes flickered slightly, and then he pursed his lips. "Sorry, I didn't mean any harm."

Shen Lian: "I didn't mean any harm either."

Whatever your attitude is, mine will be the same—exactly.

[Damn, Shen Lian is so fierce.]

[Fierce... really? It seemed like a normal way of speaking.]

[Say no more, Zheng Ge fans have sensitive skin.]

The mountain spring water quenched their thirst, but the production team hadn't given the guests any containers. After searching around and finding nothing, they could only drink their fill before hitting the road.

Shen Lian was last in line. Just as he was about to take two more sips, a large chunk of mud rolled into the spring water.

Shen Lian looked up to see Li Jiabo shrugging. "Sorry, I didn't notice I kicked it."

Shen Lian: "It's fine."

Seeing that Shen Lian was unfazed, Li Jiabo rolled his eyes as he turned away.

He thought he had avoided the camera from this angle, but he didn't expect to be caught right by another hidden camera. It was clearly visible in the split-screen video.

[Uh, this...]

Some fans quickly came out to smooth things over:

[Jiabo has a childlike personality. He's probably just in a bad mood because he fell earlier.]

Zheng Ge's fans took the opportunity to chime in:

[Exactly. Besides, that's Shen Lian. Isn't it normal for people to dislike him?]

[To the person above, did you leave your brain in the womb when you were born? Shen Lian led the way, Shen Lian found the spring, and he politely waited at the end of the line. Pray tell, what did he do wrong?]

[To the person above, you weren't around when Shen Lian was being bashed by the whole internet, were you? He's just very annoying.]

[Responding to the person above: I wasn't there, but even if I were, I'd know to take things case by case. What I see is that Shen Lian did nothing wrong, and Li Jiabo is bullying him! Also, the way Li Jiabo rolled his eyes was really ugly!]

[Sister, you're awesome! I've long felt that Li Jiabo has gone down the wrong path. He has nothing to show for himself except variety shows. I don't know how he even became a regular guest.]

"This Li Jianing, what does he do?" Chu Yilan suddenly asked in his office.

His assistant, Yang Bin, looked up blankly.