YPHC Chapter 31

Reason told Sheng Yujia that he shouldn’t respond to Jiang Nan’an’s question, but his mouth was faster than his brain, and he blurted out:

 

“Ten years or more, maximum death penalty.”

 

Hearing his answer, Jiang Nan’an nodded, fell silent, then turned to leave.

 

Sheng Yujia immediately asked vigilantly:

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“To shower.”

 

“Not going to kill anyone?”

 

“?” Jiang Nan’an turned back, hesitating to speak as he exchanged glances with Sheng Yujia for a moment, but ultimately sighed and shook his head:

 

“Not worth it.”

 

Yan Jie’s two replies successfully boosted the “Boating at Guazhou” trending topic again. In the hashtag, CP fans were celebrating, toxic solo stans were having meltdowns, and the production team, having tasted success, was working overtime to extract sweet moments from their footage to include in the next official episode. Meanwhile, Qi Hong was screaming at home, unable to comprehend how anyone could be more unhinged than Jiang Nan’an.

 

However, Yan Jie’s stunt wasn’t entirely useless. At the very least, he helped Jiang Nan’an share some of the fire, since before this, the two fandoms were tearing each other apart while viciously attacking the other side. But afterward, fans from both sides unanimously aimed their guns at Yan Jie. His fans and livestream viewers criticized him for eagerly throwing himself at Jiang Nan’an, while toxic solo stans from the other side cursed him for being shameless and riding coattails without even blushing. The “Burning Eternity” production team picked up a wave of trending topics for free, profiting nicely from the buzz, possibly emerging as the biggest winner.

 

Online discussions about the previous livestream clip showing the dispute between Jiang Nan’an and Fire continued, but that evening, Fire posted on Weibo. The photo showed the six members of Team Four having dinner together, looking very harmonious. The small frame captured everyone around the dining table, with a caption that seemed inspired by someone wise-“Happy Family of (6).”

 

This Weibo post undoubtedly proved that online rumors of “team breakdown,” “superficial harmony,” and “captain bullying” were all false, and the criticism from the previous incident finally quieted down for a while.

 

Later, when official episodes three and four finally reached the regular points competition stage, the production team’s editing didn’t favor either side, striving to present the full picture of the events.

 

In the official episodes, viewers saw Jiang Nan’an as captain practicing night after night, as well as Fire’s initial playfulness and laziness followed by his awakening and hard work. Finally, that hard-earned victory in the third round of the points competition, along with the post-match bow and apology, formed a complete growth storyline connected to the previous content. This provided context for the earlier drama and gave everyone a proper explanation.

 

Contemporary netizens’ thought patterns somewhat mysteriously resembled Yan Jie’s, because after episodes three and four aired, “Team Four family of six” and “Jiang Nan’an Spring daddy mommy” actually became popular memes for a time. Perhaps it was because their team had the most complete and relatable storyline in the show, or perhaps because everyone worked hard later on and the team atmosphere was sufficiently harmonious and loving. In any case, even though they lost many games and won few, their team’s attention and support were the highest among the five temporary teams at this stage.

 

The six rounds of points competition were neither long nor short, and as the online debates finally subsided, the first stage of the training camp was also coming to an end.

 

In the twenty-four matches of the regular points competition, Team Four won only five games, undoubtedly becoming the team with the fewest victories and lowest points among the five teams.

 

Jiang Nan’an, Qin Hua, and Monica were still doing okay, as their in-game ratings were relatively high, making their points somewhat safer. But Fire and Fangfang were different-even though they had several standout performances in the later stages of the points competition, after accumulating twenty-four matches, they still remained in the red elimination zone and were about to bid farewell to the competition.

 

After the points competition officially ended, the PD didn’t immediately announce the schedule for the next stage. The contestants in elimination positions hadn’t left yet and continued training with their respective classes as usual.

 

Having completed his mission as captain, Jiang Nan’an felt much more relaxed. He ate and drank as he pleased, could return to reading during extra practice time, and even slept more sweetly.

 

“Knock knock-”

 

On the first Saturday after the points competition stage ended, at three o’clock in the morning, a strange knocking sound suddenly echoed through the dormitory corridor of “Burning Eternity.”

 

“Knock knock knock-”

 

Sheng Yujia was the first to be awakened by the knocking. He struggled to open his eyes, still dazed, staring at the dark room for a while before confirming he wasn’t dreaming.

 

The knocking sounded again. He propped himself up, looked at the motionless Jiang Nan’an in the neighboring bed, then at the door, and finally asked in a hoarse voice:

 

“Who is it?”

 

There was no response from outside, but the knocking continued.

 

Sheng Yujia picked up his phone to check the time: 3 AM.

 

The situation was too strange, so he decided to call his roommate first:

 

“Xiao Shan, Xiao Shan? Jiang Nan’an?”

 

But after calling several times with no response, he sighed and had to throw off his blanket, get out of bed, fumble for his slippers in the dark, and walk to the door to investigate alone.

 

The knocking became increasingly urgent. As Sheng Yujia approached, he even secretly pinched himself. Confirming he wasn’t dreaming from the pain, he hesitantly touched the cold doorknob.

 

“Click-”

 

The door lock opened, and Sheng Yujia nervously stared at the crack in the door…

 

Only to find himself face-to-face with the camera on the photographer’s shoulder.

 

“…”

 

After several seconds of silence, he sighed wearily.

 

“Hello, good morning, Teacher Sheng?”

 

Yan Jie suddenly emerged from the side, greeting Sheng Yujia with great energy:

 

“Teacher, are you dressed? May we come in?”

 

Sheng Yujia looked down at himself-he had pants on but was still bare-chested, though it didn’t matter anymore.

 

He opened the door to let Yan Jie and the staff behind him enter, asking:

 

“What’s going on this time?”

 

“Sorry, the PD said it’s a mystery team-building activity. I was assigned the villain’s role at the last minute to be a human alarm clock and wake everyone up. Don’t hate me, Teacher Sheng. If you must hate someone, hate the PD. It’s all his fault; I was forced into this.”

 

While chatting casually with Sheng Yujia, Yan Jie turned on the room light and peeked inside:

 

“Where’s my Teacher Xiao Shan?”

 

Sheng Yujia picked up a shirt and put it on, casually running his hands through his hair, hesitating to speak.

 

Following Yan Jie’s gaze, he saw that despite the bright lights and the noisy footsteps and conversations of so many people, Jiang Nan’an was still sleeping peacefully on the bed, seemingly unaffected.

 

The cameraman mischievously took a close-up shot, showing Jiang Nan’an curled up in his blanket, only half his face visible, and even that was mostly hidden by messy hair.

 

“Oh.” Yan Jie smiled as he walked over and crouched beside Jiang Nan’an’s bed, unconsciously softening his voice:

 

“Teacher Jiang Nan’an-Teacher Jiang, time to get up, Teacher Jiang-”

 

Jiang Nan’an didn’t even flutter an eyelash.

 

“He’s a deep sleeper, usually can’t be woken up by calling,” Sheng Yujia explained, standing nearby.

 

“Then how does he wake up every day?” Yan Jie couldn’t help but ask.

 

This was indeed difficult to explain, so Sheng Yujia had to demonstrate.

 

He walked over and, through the blanket, found Jiang Nan’an’s shoulder and shook it vigorously, like a rocking chair:

 

“Wake up, Xiao Shan.”

 

Only then did Jiang Nan’an show a slight response.

 

He frowned slightly and struggled to open his eyes, squinting.

 

When he met Yan Jie’s smiling face, Jiang Nan’an’s mind went blank.

 

Was he dreaming?

 

What a nightmare.

 

So he closed his eyes again and buried his face deeper into the blanket.

 

“Hey, why is he going back to sleep?”

 

Yan Jie found it amusing and, imitating Sheng Yujia, shook Jiang Nan’an’s shoulder:

 

“Wake up, Teacher Jiang, look, the big camera is already recording. Teacher Jiang, once you stand in front of the camera, you’re a soldier! Quick! Get up! Attention!”

 

“…”

 

What is this…

 

Jiang Nan’an’s eyes still wouldn’t open, and he only asked in a tiny voice:

 

“…What time is it?”

 

“Three twelve in the morning,” Yan Jie reported precisely.

 

“Even the chickens in the canyon aren’t awake yet. Do you want me to clean their pits to welcome the monsters to work?”

 

“We’re not going to the canyon. We’re going out to record team building. Get up quickly.” Yan Jie chuckled, not even realizing himself that his tone had somehow acquired a hint of childlike intimacy.

 

“Team building? Getting up at three to catch ghosts? Not playing games anymore but switching to a paranormal show?” Jiang Nan’an complained bitterly:

 

“Working overtime until dawn, just take me away.”

 

Yan Jie was truly at a loss.

 

“Not getting up?”

 

“Mm.”

 

“Sigh.” Yan Jie sighed helplessly and stood up from the bedside.

 

The FPD who came along was stunned-were they giving up? If Teacher Jiang couldn’t get out of bed, what about the upcoming recording?

 

But soon he dismissed these worries because in the next second, he saw Yan Jie stand tall with folded hands, clear his throat, and begin with a loud, passionate, and spirited:

 

“Eyes wide open like brass bells! Shooting out lightning-like intelligence! Ears standing up like antennas…”

 

“…?”

 

“…Hahaha-Hahaha Black Cat Sheriff-Forest citizens salute you! Salute you! Salute! You-”

 

Jiang Nan’an’s fury reached its peak before the last drawn-out high note ended.

 

He had originally planned to force himself to get up after another five minutes, but that was no longer possible.

 

He now wanted to twist Yan Jie’s neck and send him to meet his damn Black Cat Sheriff.

 

He threw back the blanket to get up, and as he moved, Yan Jie instinctively lowered his eyes and caught a glimpse of the white expanse of collarbone and shoulders beneath the blanket.

 

Yan Jie’s body moved faster than his brain, and before his mind could react, he had already quickly grabbed Jiang Nan’an’s blanket, covered him, and pushed him back down.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Jiang Nan’an looked completely bewildered, not knowing what had gotten into this person.

 

Not just him, even Yan Jie himself didn’t know which wire had crossed in his brain, leading to his current awkward predicament.

 

Yes, what was he doing?

 

Mr. Hang was a male celebrity, not a young girl. What was there that couldn’t be shown on camera?

 

…Never mind, it just shouldn’t be seen!

 

Yan Jie looked left and right, and finally spotted Jiang Nan’an’s pajamas at the head of the bed. He immediately grabbed them and stuffed them to him:

 

“The camera is set up here, put on your clothes quickly! What kind of appearance is this with your upper body exposed?! As a man, you must maintain male virtue, Teacher Xiao Shan!”

 

The FPD and cameraman who had pulled a bare-chested Yan Jie out of bed twenty minutes ago: “?”

 

Sheng Yujia who had just been wandering around shirtless in front of the camera five minutes ago: “?”

 

Jiang Nan’an lost all strength and means of resistance. He numbly put on his top and got out of bed.

 

As he passed by, he looked up at Sheng Yujia who was brushing his teeth and coolly asked:

 

“You let him in?”

 

Sheng Yujia nodded.

 

“Bring the hand that opened the door when we go to court.”

 

Forced to wake up at an ungodly hour, the first thing he saw was Yan Jie.

 

What a terrible day.

 

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(advanced chapters available on kofi)