Chapter 134: I Just Can’t Accept This!

The next day, before dawn.

There was already movement near the women's tent.

Li Jiayan, battling a fierce wave of sleepiness, struggled to get out of bed. Glancing at the time, it was just past five-thirty.

The other female guests were still sound asleep, showing no intention of waking up.

At this hour, her body felt overwhelmingly tired—so much so that Li Jiayan considered skipping the sunrise viewing altogether. But remembering that she had promised Lu Zhou yesterday that she would watch the sunrise—and that he would likely want to join her—she forced herself to overcome the fatigue and get up.

After washing up at the RV and clearing her mind, Li Jiayan approached the men's tent and pressed her ear against the door, listening for any sound inside. She pondered how to wake Lu Zhou.

Bursting into the men’s tent abruptly seemed impolite, but if she didn’t go in, how could she wake him? Shouting through the door would surely wake everyone.

After some hesitation, she decided to seek the help of a male staff member.

The staff entered the men’s tent and soon came back out.

"How is it? Is he awake?" Li Jiayan asked eagerly.

"He woke up for a few seconds but then fell back asleep," the staff replied.

"Did you tell him about me wanting to watch the sunrise?"

"I did, but he said he was too tired and didn’t want to go."

Those words hit Li Jiayan like a cold splash of water, and her expression fell with sadness.

After the staff left, her desire to watch the sunrise dissipated. If Lu Zhou was willing to go with her… it would have been a romantic moment.

But since he couldn’t wake up, everything felt dull and meaningless.

Just then, a figure emerged from the men’s tent. Li Jiayan looked up in surprise, only to see it was Wen Yiming, not Lu Zhou.

Wen Yiming had been awakened by the staff, though not exactly by their call—he hadn’t slept well all night, tormented by the thunderous snores of Zhang Chen and Xu Junze, which nearly drove him mad. When he heard the staff come in to get people up, he simply got out of bed.

Thus, by chance, it was Wen Yiming and Li Jiayan who went to watch the sunrise at Zhali Point.

As they waited for the sunrise, the two unknowingly began talking about the games played the previous night in the men's tent.

Wen Yiming, with some ulterior motive, took the opportunity to reveal that Lu Zhou had lost a game and chosen a dare, hinting that Lu Zhou had selected Ye Fangfei for a hugging challenge, rather than having Wen Yiming set a difficult task for him. Wen Yiming hoped this would sting Li Jiayan and make her give up on Lu Zhou.

Knowing that Lu Zhou had hugged Ye Fangfei last night, Li Jiayan couldn’t suppress the sadness swelling in her heart.

No matter how beautiful the sunrise before her, she had no mood to appreciate it.

Why didn’t he choose her? If he had, he wouldn’t need to go through all that trouble playing the piano. He would just have to say he wanted to hug her, and she would agree. Not just for a minute—he could hold her for as long as he wished.

But why did he pick Ye Fangfei? Why her? Had he fallen for her? Was it true?

She felt so bitter, really so bitter.

Yet Li Jiayan had to admit that Ye Fangfei was exceptional—beautiful, with a stunning figure, talented, and successful in her career. If she was willing to give a chance, how many men in the world could truly say no to such a woman?

Even a wealthy heir like Zhang Chen became her admirer, let alone others.

It was understandable that Lu Zhou might succumb to Ye Fangfei’s charm. Besides, they moved in the same circles. If they got together, it would surely boost his career. That must be part of his consideration.

But were they truly compatible?

Though Li Jiayan had never been involved in the entertainment industry, she was well aware of the rumors about female stars. Talented actresses might date male entertainers, but most eventually married powerful financiers behind the scenes.

Wasn’t Lu Zhou being foolish? Even if he could spark some novelty in her eyes now, did he really think it would end well? He was a rare man capable of genuine devotion—what if she played with his feelings? How deeply would he be hurt? It wasn’t worth the trouble.

Thinking this over, Li Jiayan wondered if Lu Zhou, having struggled for so many years, was now desperate to cling to Ye Fangfei as a lifeline to climb higher.

But she believed that haste made waste. He was talented and had gradually gained attention through the show. If he seized the opportunities coming his way, he could rise on his own, with no need to rely on Ye Fangfei.

As the sun’s golden light poured over the valley, Li Jiayan’s tears suddenly welled up.

She clasped her hands, closed her eyes, and silently made a wish:

“May he only be showing favor toward Ye Fangfei for the sake of his career. May he be momentarily confused, without truly falling in love.”

Wen Yiming stood beside her, bathed in the golden light, making her appear even more captivating—especially with the tear tracing down her cheek, lending her a poignant, fragile allure.

“Silly girl,” he thought to himself. “He’s been apart from you for six or seven years; why do you still care? Isn’t it better to find someone new? Besides, the entertainment industry is a murky place. Those men only pretend to be innocent on the surface—who knows what they’re like behind the scenes? Don’t fall into that trap, you naive girl.”

But he kept these thoughts to himself.

Meanwhile, in the livestream chatroom—

[Hug Jiayan, don’t cry. If love’s lost, just go find a new one.]

[Looks like she’s giving up on Lu Zhou?]

[Wen Yiming’s pretty cunning—seems like he told Jiayan on purpose.]

[He likes Jiayan, right? Playing little tricks for love isn’t shameful.]

…

After watching the sunrise, they returned to the campsite. By then, the other guests had finally gotten up.

Qi Jiajia noticed Wen Yiming and Li Jiayan had gone to see the sunrise together and was immediately curious. What was going on? How did those two end up together? Had she missed some new development last night?

“How was it? Was the sunrise beautiful?” Chu Yao asked the two while munching on her breakfast.

“Absolutely stunning, very different from any sunrise I’ve seen before—the visual impact was breathtaking. You guys should have gone too,” Wen Yiming replied with a smile.

“Really? Then I regret not getting up. I thought a sunrise wouldn’t be that special, so I didn’t set an alarm,” Chu Yao lamented.

“I’ve seen the sunrise at Zhali Point before—it truly is beautiful,” Ye Fangfei chimed in.

Li Jiayan cast Ye Fangfei a silent glance, tinged with jealousy. Just hearing her voice now made her feel intensely uncomfortable.

A woman’s jealousy is a formidable thing.

In a way, Ye Fangfei hadn’t done anything to wrong her, but since learning that Lu Zhou favored her, Li Jiayan simply couldn’t stand her.

She forced herself to suppress any inappropriate expression, trying to appear composed.

At breakfast, Li Jiayan sat diagonally across from Lu Zhou. She smiled at him and said, “You should have gotten up to watch the sunrise. It’s really beautiful—you missed a great scene.”

Lu Zhou smiled faintly, lips pressed together. “Maybe next time. I stayed up too late yesterday and just couldn’t get up.”

Qi Jiajia looked curious. “What were you doing so late last night?”

“You should ask Zhang Chen and Xu Junze what they did during the day to be so tired they snored like thunder,” Lu Zhou joked, glancing at them.

Xu Junze looked embarrassed. “Did I really snore last night?”

Zhang Chen adamantly denied it. “No way! I never snore!”

Lu Zhou was speechless.

Wen Yiming added, “I nearly lost sleep all night because of you two. And you still say you don’t snore?”

Zhang Chen was left speechless.

The female guests burst into laughter.

After breakfast, the production team took everyone back to their hotel in Beilai City.

Before setting off on today’s journey, the show arranged a new activity: telling some heartfelt truths.

Everyone gathered in the hotel lounge, each given a personal headset to wear. At one end stood a phone booth. The eight guests would take turns stepping into the booth to speak their heartfelt thoughts to someone of their choice—male or female—by selecting that person’s channel on the phone. The chosen individual could listen in real-time.

“If someone chooses your channel to confess their feelings, you’ll hear it live. If no one chooses your channel, you won’t hear anything.”

“You can decide the order of who goes to the phone booth.”

The staff’s voice explained.

This sudden segment caught everyone off guard but also excited them immensely.

It was essentially a one-way opportunity to confess honestly—not face-to-face, which helped avoid awkwardness or hesitation in delivering what they truly wanted to say.

After giving the guests some time to consider, the activity began.

At first, everyone sat quietly, exchanging glances but no one dared to step forward—they were all waiting.

Eventually, urged again by the staff, Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei simultaneously stood.

They exchanged a smile; Lu Zhou gestured politely, “Ladies first.”

Then he sat back down.

Ye Fangfei walked to the phone booth and found a paper listing each guest’s channel number beside it. She pressed Lu Zhou’s channel without hesitation.

Meanwhile, the others wore their headsets, curious about whom Ye Fangfei had chosen and what she was saying.

Lu Zhou stared at Ye Fangfei in the phone booth. Soon, her distinct voice came through his headset.

“Lu Zhou, is your hairstyle today for real? The curly ‘bubble’ hair doesn’t suit you at all. When I saw it this morning, I almost called you Uncle Lu. I suggest you go back to your usual look…”

Lu Zhou nearly burst out laughing but held it back, maintaining a calm exterior.

Li Jiayan kept stealing glances at Lu Zhou, wondering if Ye Fangfei had chosen him. But his expression showed no reaction, so perhaps not.

Looking at Zhang Chen, he was restless, fidgeting and occasionally glancing at Ye Fangfei. Li Jiayan guessed Ye Fangfei might have chosen Zhang Chen, but whatever she said made him uneasy—probably not pleasant words.

Indeed, what good could she say to Zhang Chen? Everyone knew she didn’t want to reconcile with him, so Li Jiayan wasn’t too curious about their conversation—likely a rejection.

In fact, the reason Zhang Chen was restless was because he hadn’t heard any voice through his headset yet—meaning Ye Fangfei had chosen someone else’s channel. He guessed who, and it had to be Lu Zhou.

His emotions were complicated.

Ye Fangfei didn’t stay in the phone booth long and returned quickly, looking relaxed. She leaned back in her chair, putting on her headset, indifferent to the curious stares.

At this moment, Lu Zhou stood, adjusted his unique bubble hairstyle, and walked to the phone booth.

Li Jiayan straightened slightly, nervous. Would he choose her channel? What would he say if he did? And if not...

Biting her lip, she grew tense.

Lu Zhou reached the booth and picked up the receiver.

Li Jiayan held her breath, hoping to hear something through her headset, yet worried he might say something she didn’t want to hear.

Her feelings were conflicted.

But when Lu Zhou began to speak, there was no sound in her headset.

Frowning, she glanced covertly at Ye Fangfei.

Ye Fangfei relaxed in her chair, listening to her headset where Lu Zhou’s voice came through:

“If you want to call me Uncle Lu, go ahead. Today I’m going for the ‘uncle’ look. Aren’t young girls into that style lately? If you don’t see the charm, it just means your taste is a bit niche.”

Then came Lu Zhou’s low chuckle, followed by clearing his throat.

“Alright... no more jokes. Actually, my hair was a mess this morning—beyond saving without washing—so I just went with the bubble curls. It does make me look older, but it’s fine. After all, the eyes aren’t mine, so I don’t mind.”

Hearing this, Ye Fangfei’s lips curled into a faint smile before it vanished.

Li Jiayan caught the moment and bit her lip silently. What had Lu Zhou said to her that made him laugh so happily?

Meanwhile, Zhang Chen tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling, still hearing no voice in his headset, his thoughts in turmoil.

None of the other guests heard anything either, all wondering whose channel Lu Zhou had chosen.

In the livestream chat—

[Help! They chose each other again!]

[They said it was for heartfelt confessions, but here they are talking about daily life. Who can handle this level of sweetness?]

[Li Jiayan’s face is black as coal.]

[So intense, a secret battlefield unfolding.]

…

Lu Zhou finished his turn and returned to his seat, acting as if nothing had happened.

“Next person, please,” he said.

Li Jiayan glanced at him, gripping her skirt tightly. She didn’t stand but silently prepared what she wanted to say later in her mind.

For a while, no one else moved. Perhaps they hadn’t decided who to speak to or preferred to watch and wait.

Having done his part, Lu Zhou no longer bothered.

After another prompt from the staff, Qi Jiajia courageously stood up.

“I’ll go!”

(End of chapter)