Chapter 39
Once their body heat returned and warmed it up, the locator quickly came back to life, and the location marker reappeared in the system.
The manager clutched the tablet. The return of the location marker felt like the long, endless black night finally seeing the sun again. “Hahahahahahaha! There’s a location! There’s a location!”
He looked overjoyed enough to rival Fan Jin after passing the imperial exam.
The person in charge hurried over as soon as he heard, radiating urgency from head to toe. “Where? Where are they?!”
The manager brought the tablet over, and the two of them stared at the location together. The three people were shown to be on the other side of the mountain.
Manager and person in charge: ……
Why were they on the other side of the mountain? How had they gotten that far? The paths over there hadn’t even been developed. How had they made it to the far side?
At a time like this, the extraordinary usefulness of all three of their professions came into play. Ordinary people couldn’t have gotten to the other side of the mountain even if they’d wanted to, yet these three had managed it in a short time without any trouble at all. If you had all that ability, couldn’t you use a bit of it in a proper direction?!
The person in charge nearly smashed his head against the ground. He still could not understand how they had crossed such dangerous terrain.
Who exactly was on the other side of the mountain?!
Smurfs?
What did you run to the other side of the mountain for?!
After taking several deep breaths, the person in charge said, “Quick, quick, send people to support them!”
The manager suddenly shouted, “Wait!”
Wait?
Heh.
The person in charge laughed at himself and once again grabbed the manager as if inviting him onto a???. “Wait for what?! Still waiting?! Waiting for what?!”
What was there still to wait for?!
“Tell me, are you after my position? You want to step on me and take me down, don’t you?!” the person in charge raved.
The manager stubbornly shouted over the storm, “Look, hurry and look! The three of them are heading back toward the resort!”
The person in charge focused his eyes and saw that, sure enough, the three little red dots on the screen were moving in the direction of the resort.
At first they moved bit by bit. Two minutes later, the three dots suddenly shot across the screen at terrifying speed.
The manager was thrilled. “They’re running!”
The person in charge: !
Half an hour later, the sound of people running over the stone ground echoed outside the hot spring resort, incredibly fast, so fast you’d think a hurricane had blown through.
A tourist standing by the entrance admiring the scenery suddenly saw three dark shadows flash past. Before they could even see clearly, they were already gone.
Shi Ye ran at the front carrying the mink coat, Jing Changyu followed close behind holding the mink coat, and behind them came a curly-headed instant-noodle-haired figure running in a state so tattered he hardly looked human.
The moment the person in charge saw them, it was like seeing his own father. The three people missing from the treasure hunt game had come back by themselves. His job was saved. He nearly cried on the spot.
Living fathers.
He opened his arms to greet them, planning a post-disaster hug, wanting to tell them that it wasn’t only they who had been frightened by their disappearance—he, the person in charge of the resort, had been worried sick and scared out of his mind for them too.
Yet all three ran straight past him.
The person in charge: ……
After entering the resort, Shi Ye finally slowed to a stop and walked over to Xia Fengsheng. Apart from being a little tired, he looked exactly the same as when he’d gone out.
Jing Changyu and Curly Noodle Head were uninjured too.
Looking at the three of them returning safe and sound, Xia Fengsheng asked, “How did you guys get lost?”
The three least likely people to get lost had gotten lost.
Still in that post-exertion, blood-pumping state, Shi Ye calmed his breathing and said to Xia Fengsheng, “No idea. We followed the map, and after walking for a while, the road just disappeared.”
That couldn’t be right. Every route on their map that was actually walkable had been clearly marked. How could the road just disappear?
The person in charge grabbed the map, and the moment he saw it, his whole body jolted.
Who was it?! Who handed out the resort’s undeveloped area map?!
No wonder they’d gotten lost. This wasn’t a map of the resort at all—it was basically a guide to luring people deep into the mountains. He’d originally thought the three of them were just incredibly dumb, but who knew this one was entirely the resort’s fault.
The person in charge’s heart pounded wildly. These three at least had real ability and managed to return by themselves. If this had happened to someone else, who knew what kind of disaster it would have caused? He hurriedly led the staff in personally apologizing and said compensation would be provided.
When the locator turned back on, the three of them had been on the far side of the mountain. Yet only thirty minutes later they were already back. It was unbelievably fast.
Xia Fengsheng asked, “How did you get back so quickly?”
Had they run into a kind driver halfway who gave them a lift?
Shi Ye scratched his face and shifted his gaze. About that…
Originally, after figuring out the direction of the resort, the three of them had planned to slowly walk back. But just as they were making steady progress, the sky suddenly exploded with a sound.
Bang—
A loud crack sounded in the air. The three of them, who had been leisurely walking, all looked toward the source of the noise.
The atmosphere fell silent.
Then someone said, “Was that a gunshot?”
In a deserted mountain area, if it wasn’t a gunshot, what else could it be? A bird exploding mid-flight?
All three of them had pupil-quaking terror, went straight from walking to running, and then directly started sprinting.
Extreme mountain survival speedrun.
After sprinting all the way back, Shi Ye was covered in sweat, the mink coat in his hand. He wore a black quick-dry shirt on top. The journey had been long, and the veins at his neck had climbed all the way to his jawline. The arm carrying the mink coat was taut with definition.
The extreme exercise had filled out his muscles with blood. From behind, his shoulders and back were a shocking display of strength. Ape-back, wasp-waist, solid long arms, wrists hanging past the crotch line.
His hair had been brushed back from his forehead, revealing a full, well-shaped brow line and sharp features. When he wasn’t smiling, his presence turned forceful, and the overly defined brows and eyes gave him almost a mixed-blood look.
When he looked at you, those peach blossom eyes seemed ready to pull you in.
Curly Noodle Head looked at the rise and fall of Shi Ye’s chest muscles.
Curly Noodle Head: O?O
Bro… is this right?
The thoroughly broken person in charge apologized to Shi Ye.
Looking at the man’s shattered low posture, Shi Ye pouted and said, “It’s fine. I just want to go back and shower.”
It wasn’t like anything had happened to him anyway. They just needed to make sure this never happened to another guest.
He lifted an arm and draped it over Xia Fengsheng’s shoulder, saying lazily, “Help me back, will you? My legs hurt like hell.”
He had that superior face, yet used a coquettish tone. His arm was propped across Xia Fengsheng’s shoulders, and before Xia Fengsheng’s eyes appeared a big hand with pronounced joints.
Xia Fengsheng said, “Do you skip leg day when you work out?”
Shi Ye jumped. “Who says I don’t train legs? They just hurt because I ran too long.”
Curly Noodle Head couldn’t even stand anymore and was sprawled there looking half dead, and he was supposed to be the outdoor-adventure type. Compared to that, Shi Ye was doing pretty well. At least he could still walk on his own.
Ever since returning, Jing Changyu hadn’t spoken.
Shi Ye’s stamina was shockingly good to begin with. Seeing that Shi Ye was “so tired he needed help,” Xia Fengsheng turned to Jing Changyu and asked, “Class monitor, do you need me to help you back too?”
Shi Ye whipped his head around at Xia Fengsheng: O.O
Why help Jing Changyu? Was helping him alone not enough?!
Xia Fengsheng, you fickle-hearted ghost! I’m going to kick up a fuss! I really am!!!
Jing Changyu, looking perfectly relaxed, smiled and said, “No need. I can walk back myself.”
His face wasn’t red, and he wasn’t even out of breath.
Shi Ye’s heart gave a heavy thud.
It was over. Jing Changyu had gotten away with showing off.
He himself wasn’t actually too hurt to walk. He’d only wanted to steal a little laziness. He could still walk perfectly fine. He wasn’t worse than Jing Changyu at all.
Shi Ye closed his eyes in regret, like Psyduck clutching his head in pain.
Jing Changyu also planned to go back, rest, and shower, so he entered the elevator with Xia Fengsheng and Shi Ye.
Their rooms weren’t on the same floor. Xia Fengsheng and Shi Ye were on the third; Jing Changyu was on the fourth.
Ding. Third floor.
Jing Changyu said goodbye to them. “Student Xia, Mr. Shi, get some good rest.”
The two stepped out, and the elevator doors closed.
Ding. Fourth floor.
The elevator doors opened, and Jing Changyu collapsed inside the elevator, cosplaying The Little Mermaid.
Looking at the room only a few steps away from him, Jing Changyu started slapping his own completely unresponsive legs.
Move, damn legs!
Yet his legs were like dead flesh strips, utterly motionless.
Jing Changyu: TOT
Running into an old classmate he hadn’t seen in years, Jing Changyu hadn’t wanted to lose face in front of him. He’d originally thought that even after a trail run, he still had to remain dignified.
Who knew both legs would turn into boneless chicken tenders without a sound.
If I’d known, I’d have let Xia Fengsheng help me.
Jing Changyu: TOT
.
Shi Ye squeezed body wash over himself in the bathroom. Water flowed down over his strong chest and slid across his firm, neatly lined legs.
How was he supposed to let Xia Fengsheng know he really did train legs?
Whether it had been being thrown into military training or just regular fitness, Shi Ye had always paid a lot of attention to leg strength. You needed solid thighs to better drive force from the waist and core.
After showering, he shut off the spray and dried the water from his body.
Why didn’t they have short bathrobes?
He didn’t put on the bathrobe. Instead, he dug out his own casual clothes and pulled them on.
White T-shirt and gray lounge pants. After coming out of the bathroom, he began circling around the suite looking for Xia Fengsheng.
The whole suite had a Japanese-leaning layout. Xia Fengsheng was sitting by a wooden low tea table, looking at his laptop.
Those long narrow eyes were framed by thin, narrow, rimless glasses, a perfect match for his sinister features. His whole person radiated arrogance and disdain.
Talking to him felt like it ought to cost money by the second.
Fresh from the shower, Shi Ye had let his hair down, making him look clean and refreshing.
Looking at the legs wrapped in black trousers beneath Xia Fengsheng, Shi Ye suddenly said, “Do you want to play a game with me?”
Without even lifting his eyes, Xia Fengsheng said, “No.”
Shi Ye: ……
Shi Ye refused to give up. “Come on, just play with me.”
Xia Fengsheng stopped responding.
Shi Ye looked at him silently for two seconds, then leaned in and said in a low voice near his ear, “If you don’t play with me, you won’t make money on the next project.”
Xia Fengsheng immediately clamped a hand over his mouth, smiling so hard the corners of his eyes twitched. “Play.”
Shi Ye’s peach blossom eyes narrowed with laughter.
Hehe. Let me show you how great I am.
He fetched two stools and had them sit facing each other.
Xia Fengsheng folded his arms, his tone arrogant. “What are we playing?”
He was very busy. He still had Spider Solitaire to play.
Shi Ye said, “Leg-wrestling.”
Xia Fengsheng asked, “How do you play?”
Shi Ye explained simply, “Very easy. I clamp your legs with mine, and if your legs can pry mine apart, you win.”
Xia Fengsheng understood. “Fine.”
The match began.
Shi Ye clamped Xia Fengsheng’s legs between his own.
Because of his height, Shi Ye’s legs were very long. Normally, they didn’t look especially thick, but now that they were sitting face-to-face, his legs were clearly much thicker than Xia Fengsheng’s.
When standing, they didn’t look that thick, but now that they were being clamped, Xia Fengsheng could clearly feel the powerful strength in them.
Still, if it was a competition, there was no reason to lose.
Xia Fengsheng acted like he cared about nothing, yet in truth he had an extremely strong competitive streak.
Very soon his thighs began pushing outward, trying to force Shi Ye’s legs apart.
He wasn’t weak. With that sudden force, Shi Ye’s legs showed obvious signs of being spread.
A pleased look surfaced in Xia Fengsheng’s eyes.
But after opening just a little, they stopped moving at all. No matter how much force Xia Fengsheng used, he couldn’t budge them another bit.
Shi Ye looked smug. He’d told him he trained legs.
Xia Fengsheng didn’t say a word. He simply gritted his teeth.
Shi Ye crossed his arms and lowered his head, concentrating fully on the contest between them.
Those legs in black trousers were trying with all their might to force outward. Xia Fengsheng said nothing, only kept exerting strength.
Five full minutes passed, and the one-sidedly suppressed situation still didn’t change.
Who was winning and who was losing was obvious at a glance.
Shi Ye said proudly, “See? I told you I train—”
But when he caught sight of Xia Fengsheng’s face at that moment, his pupils suddenly shrank.
Xia Fengsheng had strained himself until his whole face was bright red. His whole body trembled from exertion. The rimless glasses sat crooked on his nose. His hairstyle remained the usual mature sweep back, but veins had risen at his temples and a light sweat had formed.
Inside those narrow eyes was stubbornness on the verge of breaking free.
He refused to accept it.
Completely, absolutely, utterly refused.
This kind of look had been common on Xia Fengsheng when he was young. Back in his teens, Xia Fengsheng had been like a wolf cub. Whoever provoked him, he wouldn’t submit—he’d beat them until they did. Saying it aloud wasn’t enough. You had to completely show fear toward him and start avoiding him on sight before he’d be satisfied.
And if there was something he wanted to do but couldn’t yet accomplish, he’d still find a thousand ways to make it happen. He would stop at nothing for what he wanted.
Now Xia Fengsheng was seven years older. His looks had changed, his temperament had changed, but the ruthlessness in his bones hadn’t changed at all.
Under that mature, elegant exterior, there was still a crafty and fiercely competitive heart.
The sight of him like that sent a numb thrill through Shi Ye. For some reason, the more Xia Fengsheng looked at him that way, the more Shi Ye wanted to teach him a lesson.
Back in high school, he couldn’t bear to.
But this wasn’t high school anymore.
Ever since seeing Jing Changyu, dissatisfaction had already been building in his heart.
A dating partner of more than two years, almost three, forgotten completely—yet the class monitor who played basketball at the court was remembered perfectly clearly.
Shi Ye ground his canine tooth.
Why remember Jing Changyu but not remember him?
Just as Xia Fengsheng gritted his teeth and pushed outward against Shi Ye’s legs, Shi Ye suddenly used force in his thighs and slammed Xia Fengsheng’s spread legs back together.
Xia Fengsheng’s eyes widened slightly, and he instantly looked up at Shi Ye.
Shi Ye’s face had gone sullen. “What? If your strength’s too weak, who can you blame?”
Xia Fengsheng shot him a glare.
His whole face and neck were flushed red. His pallid skin rarely ever reddened like this.
Shi Ye noticed that the hands Xia Fengsheng had been keeping at his sides were now gripping the edges of the chair, those pale, slender fingers clamped tightly underneath it.
He was very good at hiding his weaknesses.
Because the overexertion was making his brain oxygen-deprived, his vision had started to blur, and under normal circumstances he would have been breathing hard by reflex too.
But Xia Fengsheng didn’t show the discomfort. Instead, he minimized the movement of his breath, because breathing hard would only encourage his opponent, so he used gripping the chair to divert the pain.
Silently, he drew in one huge breath for himself, then used all the strength in his body to force outward, trying to pry Shi Ye’s legs apart.
This time it was very obvious. His whole body was shaking violently on the chair. He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes. His face, which usually carried an expression of disdain, was now red like an apple. His brows were tightly knit, his expression slightly twisted, and even the hair on top of his head was trembling.
Just as he felt all his strength drain away, the restraint on his legs vanished all at once.
Without any warning, Shi Ye stood up and walked into the other room, tossing behind him, “Boring. I’m not playing anymore.”
A strand of hair fell over Xia Fengsheng’s forehead. He was in a complete mess, yet still gritted out, “I won.”
Shi Ye ignored him and went into the other room.
Inside his heart Xia Fengsheng cursed him furiously several times, then stood up intending to go back to playing his Spider Solitaire.
Thump.
The moment he got up from the chair, he lost his balance and fell straight onto the tatami beside it.
Xia Fengsheng lay fallen there, his legs trembling uncontrollably as though they no longer obeyed him.
From the thighs all the way down to the roots of his legs, they were shaking badly.
He’d used too much force just now. Now they were completely spent.
Xia Fengsheng pressed his lips tightly together, and that refined, elegant face became so angry that even his eyes reddened.
At last, unable to hold it in anymore, he spat out a curse.
He used to curse often, especially in high school.
When you dealt with enough rotten fish and stinking shrimp every day, your mouth had to teach them a lesson on a schedule.
Of course, cursing wasn’t without its benefits.
If you were good at forming kind connections, maliciousness could be refreshingly satisfying.
Sometimes it was good for your mental and physical health.
After college, though, he’d started learning how to deal with people and carry himself properly in order to establish a place in society, so he hardly cursed anymore.
To break that old bad habit of lacking class, every time he cursed once, he’d slap his own mouth once.
Each time his lips would swell up.
He’d hit himself until he was too scared to say it again.
.
Shi Ye didn’t come out of the room again until dinner.
The hot spring resort had quite a few specialty meals, and the two of them ordered room service.
Sukiyaki was one of the resort’s signature dishes. The meat was fresh, tender, and smooth on the tongue, and both of them ate to their complete satisfaction.
After dinner, Xia Fengsheng opened Spider Solitaire again.
Round two!
Shi Ye, meanwhile, lay on his side beside him playing with his phone.
His eyes were on the phone, but his heart wasn’t in the phone at all.
Today Xia Fengsheng had said he remembered Jing Changyu a little. Was his memory slowly coming back?
Otherwise why would he remember Jing Changyu?
He searched online: Why would an amnesiac remember former classmates?
Baidu answered: Amnesiacs often remember the people who mattered most to them in the past. Classmates are the most important people.
Shi Ye: ……
Was that the answer I wanted? Why did you even come out?
What do you know, Baidu?
Baidu couldn’t be trusted. Didn’t tons of people search symptoms on Baidu and misdiagnose themselves with terminal illness?
Water at one hundred degrees boils. A person at one hundred Baidus dies.
Shi Ye felt the answer online had no reference value at all. He decisively deleted the search history. Instead of churning himself up internally over and over, he might as well just ask directly.
A straightforward life was the easiest. Shi Ye had always been that kind of person.
Lying behind Xia Fengsheng, he asked, “Weren’t you supposed to have amnesia? Why do you remember Jing Changyu?”
Xia Fengsheng’s hand on the mouse paused for a moment. Saying he recognized Jing Changyu today had come dangerously close to exposing that he wasn’t actually amnesiac. “I don’t know. When I saw him, I just felt like I knew him.”
Shi Ye’s mouth pouted a little.
Why remember Jing Changyu and not remember him?!
Could it be that Jing Changyu had left a stronger impression than he had?
Shi Ye asked, “Besides feeling like you knew him, did you remember anything else connected to him?”
Xia Fengsheng said, “No.”
Back in high school, he hadn’t actually interacted with Jing Changyu much. It was only that, compared to everyone else, there had been a little more.
Shi Ye pressed on, “You don’t even remember going to watch him play basketball?”
Xia Fengsheng: ?
When had he ever gone to watch Jing Changyu play basketball?
Xia Fengsheng said, “I’ve never watched him play basketball.”
Shi Ye suddenly looked like Noble Consort Qi had possessed him and sat up from the tatami. “Lies.”
Back then he’d skipped eating lunch with him just to go watch Jing Changyu play basketball.
Xia Fengsheng turned his head and glanced at him. “You care that much?”
In an instant Shi Ye changed his face. “No.”
A sudden surge of self-respect made him stop asking.
It was all so long ago anyway. He didn’t even like Xia Fengsheng now.
Xia Fengsheng thought it over. His memories of high school had faded badly. He truly couldn’t recall any memory of himself going to watch Jing Changyu play basketball.
Had he?
Xia Fengsheng said, “I don’t remember ever watching him play.”
Shi Ye moved right in close to his face. “May 13th, 2018. 12:10 p.m. School basketball court. You sat under the shade at seat four in the third row on the north side of the stands.”
