Chapter Forty-Eight: A Bite of Peach, Cool and Refreshing

“Are you tired?” Su Zitan whispered softly into Lin Ze’s ear. “Am I too heavy for you?”

“Yes,” Lin Ze nodded gently.

“Hm?”

“In my heart, you weigh more than anything else in this world.”

“Ugh, who asked about your heart?” Su Zitan pouted, a blush spreading over her face. “I know that already…”

“Big brother, big sister, is it really alright for you two to act like this in front of a child?” Guoguo trudged along the mountain path beside them, clearly struggling.

“Well…” Lin Ze thought for a moment. “Actually, the fact that you’re asking this shows you understand that brother and sister are in love, right?”

“Mm…” Guoguo replied weakly.

“Then you’re already grown up.” Lin Ze nodded. “As the saying goes, seeing more love in the world helps you grow.”

“…”

“I can’t walk anymore, let’s take a break…” Guoguo’s shoulders slumped, her whole body defeated.

The mountain trail was long, and for someone her age, it was truly a challenge.

“Alright.” Lin Ze set Su Zitan down.

Xiao Qian, clutching the camera, looked on the verge of collapse. For the first time in his life, he regretted becoming a cameraman.

The two of them flopped down on the ground, looking utterly dejected.

“I can’t believe you two! One of you is at the age where you should be brimming with energy, and the other is in their prime!” Lin Ze clicked his tongue at them. “Just look at us—we’ve been walking all this time and we’re just fine.”

[Brother Lin is so amazing, isn’t he tired at all?]

[They say a man’s legs are his second kidney… Brother Lin… slurp… Brother Lin… heh heh.]

“And you!” Lin Ze looked at Su Zitan. “You gave up halfway. Don’t CEOs need exercise too?”

Su Zitan stuck out her tongue at him. “I do exercise! I do yoga, I go to the gym.”

“Besides, if you keep climbing like this, your calves will get all muscular.”

She leaned in close to Lin Ze, her breath warm against his ear as she spoke.

“I don’t mind, legs are for walking, after all.”

“But, tell me, who do you think will look at these legs the most in the future?”

Her words made Lin Ze’s ears tingle, and a heat rushed through his whole body.

“Let’s go!” Guoguo stood up angrily, puffing out her cheeks as the two whispered to each other.

“Ahem.” Lin Ze cleared his throat. “Just a moment, let’s rest a bit longer.”

Lin Ze and his group were still doing alright, but the staff members had all been recruited from the crew. They were usually office workers, shuttling back and forth by car, but now climbing this mountain had left them gasping for air.

“Lin Ze! Lin Ze!” Some of them clung to the handrails, forcing themselves upward. Soon, they spotted the four of them sitting on the stairs.

“Brothers! We’re almost there, we can finally catch them! Charge!”

Lin Ze saw them too, hurrying up the path. Clearly, he couldn’t just sit around anymore. He bent down, hoisted Su Zitan onto his back, and quickly headed up the trail.

…

Help! I really don’t want to do this anymore!

…

“How is his injury, doctor?” In the hospital, Xiao Ao’ao, who had accompanied them, asked anxiously.

“Injury? What injury?” The doctor, who was bandaging Wang Sweetheart’s hand, replied.

“His hand…” Xiao Ao’ao was still maintaining his persona.

“Good thing you came early,” the doctor said.

“How so? Is it serious?” Wang Sweetheart looked worried.

“Yes. If you’d waited any longer, it might have healed on its own,” the doctor joked as he tied off the bandage, making Wang Sweetheart shiver.

“And you—what’s the point of tying off your wrist for a little scrape?” The doctor scolded Xiao Ao’ao sternly. “If you’d come any later, you’d have lost the whole hand.”

Xiao Ao’ao’s face showed panic, but inside he was disappointed—if only they’d come later, he thought. Is my popularity really so easy to piggyback on?

The cameraman who’d come with them caught everything.

[Oh, Xiao Ao’ao is such a silly little thing, I love him so much!]

[Silly? He was trying to make our Sweetheart’s hand so injured she’d lose it! It’s just a small cut, why the drama?]

[What are you talking about? Don’t you know how socially anxious Xiao Ao’ao is? If it weren’t for your Wang Sweetheart, he’d never have come here with so many people!]

The comments erupted into bickering, with fans from other fandoms joining in—especially those of other top ten stars, who seized the chance to criticize Xiao Ao’ao.

After their hands were bandaged, the two left the examination room. Two staff members approached and quietly said something to them away from the cameras.

A faint smile tugged at Wang Sweetheart’s lips, while Xiao Ao’ao’s face darkened immediately.

“Looking forward to working together,” Wang Sweetheart extended his hand.

“Hmph.” Xiao Ao’ao let out a cold laugh.

By the time they returned to the camera, they were back to normal. Xiao Ao’ao pinched Wang Sweetheart’s hand between two fingers to check the wound.

“I’m… I’m sorry, I…” he stammered.

Wang Sweetheart gave a bright, sweet smile. “It’s nothing, really.”

Riding the crew’s car back to the training base, Wang Sweetheart, who’d been injured, didn’t need to train today. As his assigned “couple,” Xiao Ao’ao was supposed to look after him.

The crew bought them a can of yellow peaches.

Xiao Ao’ao speared a piece with a fork. “Here… have a peach…”

“Oh, it’s so cool and refreshing…”

[Wow! This couple is just too adorable!]

[Xiao Ao’ao actually took the initiative to take care of someone! Ah, this is so sweet!]

[Girls, this couple is just perfect! Oh my god, I love them!]

…

“Hang in there, Guoguo, just a little farther and when we’re down the mountain, you can eat whatever you want!” There were less than five hundred meters left. The four of them made their way down the mountain as the sunset glowed all around. Today, they’d seen so many beautiful sights—it was truly worth it!

Even though Lin Ze’s hair was a mess and his face a bit oily, he was in great spirits. It was already six in the evening—time to clock out.

Standing at the foot of the mountain, Lin Ze was filled with pride.

“Guoguo!”

“Are you happy?”

Guoguo, dusty and disheveled, sat on a stone by the path.

“I’m about to die…”

Xiao Qian could barely keep his eyes open, exhausted from a whole day climbing with Lin Ze. He’d considered quitting a thousand times. But now that he was at the bottom, all those complicated feelings vanished.

“This is the real value of variety shows.”

“To bring joy and beauty to all our viewers.”