Chu Yueyi still remembered their first meeting, when Shi Guanghua could barely utter a word at the lakeside restaurant. But now he was gradually regaining his ability to communicate, occasionally even throwing out unexpected comments. His words were natural and appropriate, suitable for both friends and potential romantic partners.
He was indeed making rapid progress.
Chu Yueyi listened to the music on the car radio and suddenly felt it was familiar. She asked, "Is this Zou Qian's song?"
Shi Guanghua had just switched to the music station, which randomly played popular domestic music.
Shi Guanghua was slightly surprised: "You've heard it before?"
Chu Yueyi nodded: "Yes, his new releases always flood my social media feed. It's hard not to hear them."
Shi Guanghua: "...Do you like it?"
Chu Yueyi turned to look at Shi Guanghua. He was still focused on driving, his tone casual as if just making small talk, but she noticed him unconsciously pressing his lips together.
"I do like it. The poor sound quality hasn't lowered its standard at all. It still sounds great now..." Chu Yueyi noticed his lips relaxing, and a smile bloomed on her face as she applauded, "After all, it's a song written by an excellent musician."
Shi Guanghua was completely unaware that his subtle expressions had been caught by her. He was momentarily stunned: "You..."
Chu Yueyi laughed: "What? Did you think I didn't know you were the composer?"
Shi Guanghua was silent for a moment. Her good mood was infectious, and he said softly, "It's just that most people don't know about the behind-the-scenes producers, so I was a bit surprised."
Chu Yueyi tilted her head: "I was in Class 2 when I was in school."
Hearing this, Shi Guanghua shook his head, not knowing what to say, but a faint smile appeared in his eyes.
If Chu Yueyi wanted to have a friendly conversation with someone, as long as the other person could respond, there was basically never a dull moment. Her only fumble was when she encountered Shi Guanghua in his mute state; at other times, she could always find topics to keep the conversation going.
Chu Yueyi: "Have you and Zou Qian known each other for a long time?"
Shi Guanghua: "Yes, he used to be a trainee abroad. We were with the same company at the time."
The two chatted casually in the car, gradually shaking off the unfamiliarity from their first recording session and starting to feel more like friends. Chu Yueyi had already thoroughly researched Shi Guanghua's background, and she would never let the conversation atmosphere fall flat. Before they knew it, they had arrived at the scenic area.
After getting out of the car, Chu Yueyi looked at the enormous entrance to the scenic area, feeling quite bewildered. She instinctively searched for the show's follow-up director, wanting to know about the upcoming shooting arrangements.
Seeing her confused expression, Shi Guanghua gestured with his hand: "This way."
Faced with an unfamiliar environment, Chu Yueyi could only obediently walk to his side, asking curiously: "Have you been here before?"
Shi Guanghua: "No, but I looked it up a bit before coming."
Hearing his confident tone, Chu Yueyi no longer felt disoriented. She decided to treat him like her manager Li You and honestly followed him inside. Shi Guanghua led her to the entrance, took out his phone, and scanned the electronic tickets, completing the process smoothly.
The directors hadn't even arrived to handle the procedures for the two of them, but they had already entered the scenic area. The cameramen could only hurry to keep up.
Inside the scenic area, lush greenery and layers of forest were dyed golden-red by the autumn air, looking like a fiery blaze from afar. The view was as brilliant as a painting.
The temperature at the foot of the mountain was slightly lower. Chu Yueyi took a deep breath of fresh air and sighed: "It's been a long time since I've been to a scenic area, though Hengdian doesn't count."
"No time because of acting?"
"No, I don't actually have that many roles to play. I'm just lazy."
"..."
Chu Yueyi was pondering how to proceed with today's 'performance'. She followed behind Shi Guanghua like a little tail, not yet knowing how to push the plot forward. Looking at Shi Guanghua's broad shoulders and long legs in front of her, she occasionally had some wild thoughts, much like an overworked employee driven to mental confusion by work.
Chu Yueyi thought: Would stepping on his shoe count as physical contact?
Shi Guanghua seemed to sense something. He suddenly stopped walking, almost causing Chu Yueyi to bump into him. Holding his phone, he asked for her opinion: "There's a fork in the road ahead. Where do you want to go?"
Chu Yueyi moved closer to him, lowering her head to look at the map: "What are the options?"
Chu Yueyi hadn't let her long hair down today. Considering the convenience of sightseeing, she had tied it up in a small bun, indirectly increasing her height.
Shi Guanghua was holding up his phone to show her when he felt a soft bun brush past him, followed by a faint fragrance. He suddenly didn't dare to look down at the screen anymore. With her hair tied up, her clean, fair neck was completely visible from his height.
Shi Guanghua immediately raised his head, looking to the side, and said stiffly: "We can go to the viewing platform or the high-altitude skybridge."
Chu Yueyi thought for a moment and decided: "Then let's go to the skybridge."
Chu Yueyi was well aware of Arthur Aron's suspension bridge effect - humans tend to misattribute the increased heart rate caused by dangerous or stimulating situations to romantic attraction. Having traveled so far with Shi Guanghua, what fun would there be in just strolling on a viewing platform? Of course, they had to seize the key scenes.
Chu Yueyi thought: Since we're seeking thrills, let's go all out!
After looking at the map, Chu Yueyi started looking around for directions. Feeling her move away, Shi Guanghua finally unfroze from his wooden state. He let out a small sigh of relief and pointed the way: "This way."
The high-altitude skybridge indeed lived up to its name. A narrow, winding walkway stretched between the mountains, with gaps between the bridge planks. Looking down, one could not see the bottom, as if gazing into a dark and mysterious abyss.
The staff helped them put on safety harnesses and asked caringly: "Have you done this before?"
Chu Yueyi shook her head: "No, I haven't."
Although Chu Yueyi had never walked on a high-altitude skybridge before, to be honest, she had plenty of experience with wire harnesses. The two seemed quite similar, so it wasn't much of a challenge for her.
The staff member reassured them: "Don't worry, don't be nervous. It's very safe."
Shi Guanghua lowered his head to check his safety harness, then glanced at Chu Yueyi's before following her onto the skybridge.
As soon as Chu Yueyi stepped onto the high-altitude skybridge, she felt the bridge surface trembling beneath her feet. Especially after Shi Guanghua followed her up, the swaying amplitude increased.
The distance between them was too close; if one of them moved slightly, it would affect the other, creating a swinging sensation.
Chu Yueyi could actually walk forward as if on flat ground, but they were here to film a dating reality show, not a competitive one. There was no need for her to showcase her superior abilities and completely overshadow Shi Guanghua. That would be putting the cart before the horse.
A strong gust of wind came, making the bridge sway even more violently, startling the tourists ahead into crying out.
Amidst the fierce wind, Chu Yueyi leaned back slightly. She instinctively grabbed the wrist of the person behind her, then steadied herself by holding onto him, hurriedly saying: "Sorry, I'm not quite used to this yet..."
Chu Yueyi thought to herself: Nice! I'm truly an unassuming martial arts prodigy!
Even though Chu Yueyi could move as nimbly as a cat on the skybridge, she decisively seized the opportunity to 'perform'. She carefully gauged the situation, holding onto Shi Guanghua through his sleeve to avoid making him uncomfortable and potentially causing both of them to fall.
Although they weren't even touching skin-to-skin, and couldn't feel each other's body heat through the clothes in the strong wind, Shi Guanghua felt as if his wrist had been scalded. He almost slipped and fell off!
In that instant, he could no longer hear the sound of the wind. Instead, it was replaced by the fierce beating of his heart.
Shi Guanghua had been walking steadily on the bridge, but now he felt as if a drum was pounding violently in his chest, leaving his mind blank. He stared motionlessly at Chu Yueyi, unable to utter a word for a long time, reverting to his mute state from their first meeting.
Seeing his pupils shaking, Chu Yueyi looked back at him innocently, resembling a cute expression pack with the caption "How could a kitty have any bad intentions?"
After a while, Shi Guanghua said hoarsely: "...It's fine."
His voice was barely audible, almost carried away by the wind.
Chu Yueyi had initially planned to just support him briefly, but noticing that he was using his wrist to prop her up, she decided to use him as a railing and continued to walk forward slowly.
She thought Shi Guanghua was quite cooperative, though he seemed uncomfortable with the high-altitude skybridge. His face was tense and his movements stiff, completely unlike his earlier ease.
Chu Yueyi boldly looked down and indeed saw a height that would make one's heart tremble. She suspected he might be nervous at high altitudes. Of course, being considerate, she didn't expose his fear of heights, preserving some face for her male colleague, and quietly walked to the other end of the skybridge.
After completing the one-way trip, neither of them unhooked their safety harnesses. Chu Yueyi, worried about his comfort, gently asked, "Do you want to walk back?"
Shi Guanghua stepped back onto solid ground, looking as if he might collapse. He remained silent for a long time. If he didn't like the high-altitude walkway, they could end this activity and leave.
Shi Guanghua finally recovered and gazed deeply at Chu Yueyi, hesitating before saying, "I remember your scenes in 'Trace of Pearl' were very classic."
Chu Yueyi: "?"
Caught off guard by his sudden mention of her work, Chu Yueyi momentarily lost her train of thought. But in the next second, it dawned on her what he was implying - 'Trace of Pearl' had countless wire-flying scenes!
While others often felt dizzy and nauseous during wire work, she had always been agile and graceful, drawing swords and flourishing sleeves with ease. There was even that famous fight scene high up in the bamboo forest!
Chu Yueyi marveled at how thoroughly he had researched her, while simultaneously feeling frustrated that he had ruined her planned performance. "..." Why did he have to expose the truth about her wire-flying skills?!
She had praised his progress earlier, but it turned out he was still a big dummy.
Now he had essentially revealed to the audience that it was all an act, that she had been deliberately trying to create physical contact!
Chu Yueyi could only hope that the editors wouldn't understand his words and would cut this part from the final edit. She forced a bright smile and casually changed the subject, "Ah, thank you. Shall we head back now?"
Shi Guanghua keenly sensed her change in mood but didn't understand why he had upset her. He could only follow her back to the walkway to complete the remaining half of the journey.
Seeing that his expression had returned to normal, without fear or discomfort, Chu Yueyi stopped fussing over him. Her current mood was complex; she felt as if he had subtly implied that she had ulterior motives towards him.
This was work, after all.
Or perhaps he was very uncomfortable, but she had been careful to control her actions.
Chu Yueyi thought of the male guests in other "couple" variety shows. She certainly didn't want to come across as slick, and she had already been careful to only touch him through his sleeves. Was even that not appropriate?
She suddenly felt a small worry, considering whether she should apologize to Shi Guanghua after work. The boundaries between them were indeed unclear at the moment, and perhaps she had been too forward.
Shi Guanghua noticed Chu Yueyi's pensive expression. He realized she seemed subdued as they returned to the walkway, no longer light-footed as before, and she wasn't trying to hold onto him anymore.
Her steps were steady, one after another, and quite swift, as if she were just completing a task.
After pondering for a few seconds, Shi Guanghua suddenly reached out and supported her arm through her sleeve.
Chu Yueyi felt the touch on her wrist and stopped, turning back to look at him in confusion: "?"
Shi Guanghua: "I'm sorry, I'm still not quite used to this."
Chu Yueyi: "..."
Standing on the calm, windless high-altitude walkway, Chu Yueyi stared at her colleague as he gazed into the distance. Inwardly, she was extremely exasperated.
Chu Yueyi thought: What a fake performance! There's not even any wind now, what are you not used to?!