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Chapter 50 – Hot Springs
The daytime activities on the mountain had drained much of their energy. After returning to the hotel, the production team granted them a half-day break. After dinner, everyone returned to their rooms to change clothes, preparing for the evening’s hot spring shoot.
Having previously bought various necessities, Jiang Liusui had spent most of the time walking alongside He Yujing, and the hot spring clothes were all with He Yujing. The two of them entered the room one after the other. Jiang Liusui found his bathrobe and swim trunks in the shopping bag.
He had intended to change right there in the room, hands already on the hem of his sweatshirt, but suddenly felt it might be inappropriate.
Given their current relationship was no longer purely platonic, undressing in front of He Yujing felt oddly awkward.
After a brief hesitation, Jiang Liusui said to the other person in the room, “I’ll change in the bathroom.”
He Yujing’s gaze lingered on him, and he suddenly smiled. “Sure.”
With that, he walked over and considerately opened the bathroom door for Jiang Liusui. Surprised by such attentiveness, Jiang Liusui wondered if He Yujing was being unusually accommodating today. Carrying his clothes, he stepped inside. A moment later, he couldn’t help but glance back at the person blocking the doorway.
He Yujing leaned lazily against the doorframe, openly staring at him with no intention of leaving.
Jiang Liusui hesitated. “I’m going to change now.”
He Yujing clearly understood but remained motionless. “Go ahead.”
Seeing He Yujing’s amused expression, Jiang Liusui realized he wasn’t going to leave.
The slight embarrassment he felt evaporated under He Yujing’s teasing gaze. Resolutely, Jiang Liusui reached out and pulled off his top, revealing large expanses of pale, smooth skin.
There was nothing underneath. His lean shoulders were just right, his waist taut and supple, every line and curve of his upper body flawless.
Sensing He Yujing’s gaze fixed squarely on him, Jiang Liusui felt no shame—if anything, he lifted his eyes to meet He Yujing’s directly.
His moist eyes naturally carried a magnetic allure—even a casual glance seemed laden with seductive intent.
Jiang Liusui bent forward, preparing to continue undressing without a second thought. He Yujing averted his gaze, his voice muffled. “Come out when you’re done.”
With that, he turned away and closed the door behind him.
Jiang Liusui paused, looking at the firmly shut door, a slight smile tugging at his lips.
Both now changed into swim trunks and bathrobes, they slipped on their sandals and headed toward the hot spring pools at the back of the hotel.
The crescent-shaped hot spring was nestled among surrounding mountains, its surface shrouded in rising steam. As night fell, the lush greenery blurred into shadow, and the strategically placed lighting added a dreamy, almost ethereal glow. In the distance, layered peaks rose in the valley, with a crescent moon casting its glow over silver-white snow-capped mountains beneath an endless starry sky.
The production team had already set up cameras from multiple angles. To ensure the footage had an appealing tone, lighting equipment was arranged at varying heights.
Since this was for filming, the male guests wore bathrobes when entering the water, and the female guests also wore robes over their swimsuits. Xu Miao and Shang Qingzhi gathered on one side, while Mu Zhe and Qin Yi positioned themselves at opposite ends of the pool. Jiang Liusui chose an empty spot to enter the water, and He Yujing naturally followed him in.
The spring was quite hot. At first, Jiang Liusui found it slightly uncomfortable, but soon the warm water enveloped his body, soothing his limbs and making every part of him feel gradually relaxed.
Even after the morning’s rowing session, his arms and legs still felt sore. Soaking in the hot spring made his whole body tingly and relaxed. Jiang Liusui blissfully narrowed his eyes. He heard someone chuckle softly beside him.
He turned his head and saw He Yujing looking at him.
The warm steam softened the man’s features. Although he was clearly teasing, his gaze was exceptionally gentle.
Xu Miao suddenly exclaimed, “Hey! Yu-ge, Suisui! The show’s official Weibo just posted the VLOG we filmed!”
She then patted Shang Qingzhi beside her: “Qingzhi, your group’s VLOG was posted too, go check it out!”
A staff member hurriedly handed over the phones left on the shore. After Jiang Liusui unlocked his, He Yujing leaned in to watch together. As soon as it opened, dense bullet comments completely covered the screen. Jiang Liusui quickly shrank the view to a quarter of the screen and adjusted the comment transparency.
【Hello everyone! Welcome to my CP’s VLOG! Anything overly intimate should be treated as married life—our Suisui and Haojing are sweetly in love!】
【Damn, the romance vibes are too strong. What’s up with these two? Are they filming a European idol drama or what?】
【Support a publicly-funded honeymoon! He Yujing, didn’t you say that once you have someone you like, you’ll write songs for them for life? Don’t lie to mom, mom wants to hear a new little love song!】
【Sisters! Even though I agree this is a romance VLOG, what about Sister Xu? Where does she fit in?】
【No problem, Sister Miao is the matchmaker! She’s one of us!】
Xu Miao let out an earth-shattering laugh: “Huh? I am what??”
Jiang Liusui guessed Xu Miao had seen that comment too. He hadn’t expected everyone to be shipping them—he couldn’t even find comments from regular fans.
Feeling somewhat awkward, Jiang Liusui raised his hand to turn off the comments. He Yujing seemed to understand his intention and said first: “Keep them, it’s lively.”
The screen was filled with colorful “Married!” “Married!” comments—indeed exceptionally lively.
Jiang Liusui hesitated, then, taking He Yujing’s advice, let his hand drop.
The VLOG had been set to He Yujing’s new English single, ⟪Vanilla⟫, straight from his album. In this song, he used the singing style from his debut, with especially clear falsetto—every line of melody carried a fresh youthful vibe. It matched perfectly with the VLOG’s purely romantic visuals.
【LMAO Suisui actually called Boss He a peacock! If it had been anyone else, today would not have ended well—just taking advantage of being spoiled, right!】
【Xiao Jing, you forgot to settle accounts with your wife! Jiang Liusui smiles and just forgets this debt, right?】
【Of course the young couple settles it privately. Remember when they were playing beach games in the second episode? Our Suisui collapsed after just a short while surfing—how could he withstand a long ’settling of accounts,’ hehehehe】
【Suisui’s stamina seems average, right? But Yu-ge has great stamina, so in the future…】
【I get what you mean. Feels like Yu-ge could completely break Suisui.】
【Jiang Liusui’s slender arms and legs look so easy to grab… tying him up wouldn’t be bad either.】
【Ahhhhh what are you all talking about! I instantly understood!】
“……” What kind of nonsense is this?! It’s like reading pornographic literature.
Watching the comments get progressively more risqué—some even dragging out old clips as “evidence”—all focused on him and He Yujing, Jiang Liusui, who had already rolled with the “Married!” flood, suddenly felt his ears burn, hotter than the steaming hot spring.
The most absurd part was, they weren’t entirely wrong.
After the morning boat race, everyone was exhausted, yet He Yujing seemed completely unfazed. And when He Yujing had held him in bed before, he hadn’t been able to break free at all.
Jiang Liusui’s thoughts took a wild turn, spiraling deeper and deeper into speculation. Just then, the person beside him patted his shoulder, and Jiang Liusui couldn’t help but tremble.
“What are you shaking for?” He Yujing asked, amused.
“I…” Jiang Liusui’s thoughts immediately went haywire at the sight of him, and all he could manage was to shoot back, “Why are you patting me?”
“Your ears are so red,” He Yujing asked with feigned concern. “Are you feeling unwell?”
Jiang Liusui could only mumble vaguely, “A little.”
Seeing his awkward reaction, He Yujing realized that Jiang Liusui was embarrassed.
He had seen the comments too and initially dismissed them as mere entertainment. But Jiang Liusui was actually getting flustered over this kind of thing.
He Yujing’s interest piqued. He reached out and circled Jiang Liusui’s wrist underwater.
Meeting Jiang Liusui’s puzzled gaze, He Yujing teased, “Let’s see if it’s really easy to pinch.”
Jiang Liusui instantly realized—He Yujing had seen that suggestive comment too!
He Yujing’s thumb brushed against the inside of his arm. Taking advantage of the fact that they weren’t wearing mics in the hot spring and the camera was far away, he whispered almost inaudibly, “I wonder… what it would be like if I tied you up…”
Jiang Liusui’s mind exploded, the heat from his ears spreading to his face. He suddenly grabbed He Yujing’s wrist in retaliation and squeezed hard, as if venting his frustration.
He hadn’t meant to squeeze that hard, but He Yujing yelped instantly, “Ah! Ouch ouch ouch—”
Everyone turned to look at them. Across the pool, Xu Miao was startled by He Yujing’s exclamation, her gaze inevitably falling on the two of them.
What’s going on? Domestic violence?
Under everyone’s scrutiny, Jiang Liusui instinctively shook off He Yujing’s hand.
He Yujing, utterly shameless, said in a deliberately whiny tone, “Teacher Jiang, you’re so strong—you really hurt me.”
Jiang Liusui shot him an exasperated look, thinking this guy’s face was thicker than a brick wall. Having had his fun, He Yujing chuckled and steered the conversation back: “Still want to watch?”
“Yeah.” Jiang Liusui nodded and dragged the progress bar back to before their playful scuffle.
After this segment came the part He Yujing had filmed.
While operating the camera, he hadn’t spoken at all, simply filming the scenery outside the window on his own. The barrage was filled with lamentations.
【Handsome, say something!】
【Handsome, show your face!】
Suddenly, the camera angle shifted, and Jiang Liusui saw his own profile appear on screen.
In the VLOG, he was gazing out the window, unaware that He Yujing was filming him. The barrage instantly erupted with question marks.
【Gege, you’re really something, I’m crying.】
【I give up. I thought Yu-ge wasn’t talking to act cool, but he was silently and unexpectedly showing off amid all that scenery.】
【Mm-hmm-hmm, I know Jiang Liusui is yours, no need to show off.】
The VLOG ultimately concluded with Xu Miao’s cheerful closing remarks. Just then, Xu Miao, who was across from them, burst into laughter again after spotting something amusing.
“Your fans are so entertaining,” Xu Miao remarked, having seen a comment saying someone wanted to kowtow to her as a matchmaker. She found it utterly hilarious. Since the cameras were rolling, she couldn’t explicitly mention the CP fans, so she opted for a vague expression.
Compared to the past few days of filming, the VLOG was just the tip of the iceberg. Once this episode aired, those young fans would probably go wild with excitement.
After laughing her fill, Xu Miao noticed Shang Qingzhi glancing repeatedly in Qin Yi’s direction, clearly wanting to strike up a conversation but unsure how to begin. To avoid making it too obvious, Xu Miao also called out to Jiang Liusui: “Qin-ge, Suisui, when does your movie with Qingzhi start filming?”
Shang Qingzhi shot her a grateful look. Xu Miao grinned and linked arms with Shang Qingzhi, pressing further: “Qin-ge, aren’t you and Qingzhi playing a couple in the film?”
“Yeah,” Qin Yi exchanged a glance with Shang Qingzhi, his eyes flickering briefly before he replied calmly, “We start shooting next week.”
“Oh, I see.” He Yujing chimed in at that moment, “The one about the forbidden love triangle, right?”
Qin Yi sighed helplessly, “I’ve told you, it’s not like that.”
Jiang Liusui added, “Don’t mind him. He’s at it again.” Once He Yujing’s playful mood struck, he’d stir up trouble for everyone.
He Yujing suddenly remarked, “Speaking of which, all the main actors are here now.”
He glanced at Shang Qingzhi, then at Jiang Liusui beside him, and said to Qin Yi with impartial fairness, “Your character suits Teacher Shang’s role better. Stop fancying the ’weapon.’”
Shang Qingzhi’s cheeks flushed, and she silently thanked He Yujing in her heart. Xu Miao thought to herself how impressive He Yujing was—somehow managing to hit the mark perfectly by accident.
Qin Yi seemed about to say something but, after another look at Shang Qingzhi, fell silent. He Yujing observed their reactions and found the dynamic between them rather intriguing.
It was then that Mu Zhe spoke up, a note of anticipation in his voice, “Yu-ge, have you written any new songs lately?”
Since abandoning his “fanboy” persona, Mu Zhe had refrained from initiating conversations with He Yujing during recordings. Despite his agent repeatedly urging him to latch onto He Yujing for clout, Mu Zhe let the advice go in one ear and out the other.
After all, he had already apologized to He Yujing and promised Jiang Liusui he wouldn’t repeat such behavior, so he paid no heed to his agent’s demands.
But beyond that, he genuinely liked He Yujing’s songs, and since everyone was talking about work, speaking up wasn’t inappropriate.
Xu Miao laughed, “Your Yu-ge just released a new album. How could there be another one so soon?”
But He Yujing replied, “I’ve written one.”
Xu Miao’s eyes immediately sparkled. “That fast? Then I get to hear a new song again!”
Even Qin Yi leaned in with curiosity. “What kind of song is it?”
Jiang Liusui’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “You actually wrote a song?”
The two of them lived together, and he knew better than anyone how busy He Yujing had been recently. Even with such a packed schedule, he had actually written a song.
“It’s a love song,” He Yujing said.
Jiang Liusui was slightly startled.
A love song…?
Anyone familiar with He Yujing knew he rarely wrote love songs. Everyone present was somewhat surprised. Mu Zhe smiled and said, “Doesn’t really sound like Yu-ge’s style. Quietly writing a love song without telling anyone—impressive.”
“Some things happened recently… that’s why I wrote this one,” He Yujing added, shooting a sidelong glance at Jiang Liusui. Although answering Mu Zhe’s question, his tone sounded as if he were speaking to someone else.
Jiang Liusui didn’t dare respond at all.
He vaguely felt this song might be related to him, but such thoughts felt too presumptuous—He Yujing had never written love songs for anyone before. Moreover, the cameras were still rolling. He couldn’t show too much of a reaction.
Xu Miao said cheerfully: “I love listening to love songs the most! Written in a burst of inspiration? That must be so romantic!”
Shang Qingzhi also expressed anticipation: “How soon can we hear it?”
Jiang Liusui smiled along with everyone else. He Yujing withdrew his gaze and said casually: “Hmm… I’lI sing it for someone specific first.”
Although he wasn’t looking at anyone in particular, Jiang Liusui’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
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Authors Note:
The CP name “Suisui Haojing”[mfn]岁岁好景 (suì suì hǎo jǐng) – reads like a blessing “May every year be filled with beautiful moments” or “May happiness and love last through time”; Suisui come from JLS’s name, while Haojing is a play of HYJ’s name[/mfn] was suggested by a reader in the comments—I think it sounds lovely.
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