Chapter 58

Gu Si’s shamelessness had reached an extreme level—it was unbearable to watch. Wen Shijin, who had just been calm and composed, slightly narrowed his phoenix eyes and reached out to pull Ning Qingyan away from under Gu Si’s head. His voice was low and steady:

“If you’re tired, go rest in the tent.”

With his head suddenly empty, Gu Si almost lost his balance. He immediately noticed the small white jade rabbit pendant hanging around Ning Qingyan’s neck—the very one he had given her.

His initial irritation, ready to burst into a fight, instantly melted like cotton candy placed over a fire—turning into a puddle of pink sugar water.

His heartbeat quickened, his ears flushed red, and after glancing at Ning Qingyan, he quickly sat up straight. He pursed his lips as if trying to hide his uncontrollable joy, then raised an eyebrow arrogantly:

“What does my business with Xiao Yan have to do with you?”

Huo Qi, who had been watching from the side, was reminded of the time during their morning run when Gu Si had taunted him for no reason. His voice was cold as he responded:

“Are you talking about yourself?”

Gu Si turned his head and frowned, finally recalling the matter at hand. His tone was displeased as he asked,

“Tell me clearly—whose substitute am I supposed to be? Who could possibly be worthy of making me their substitute?”

As soon as he said this, Huo Qi instinctively glanced at Ning Qingyan before quickly shifting his gaze away. His voice remained indifferent:

“Do you really need to ask why you’re being mocked? Do you even understand what ‘mocked’ means?”

Gu Si furrowed his brows, just about to fire back, when Ning Qingyan quickly tugged on his sleeve and said in a clear voice:

“Brother, let’s eat. Don’t talk while eating or sleeping. If there’s something to discuss, do it later in private. You all eat first; I’ll go call the sisters to eat.”

Just as she was about to get up, Huo Qi said calmly:

“I’ll go call them. You keep eating.”

After speaking, he gave Ning Qingyan a glance before turning and heading toward the female guests’ tents.

Ever since their conversation last night, Ning Qingyan had been most worried about Huo Qi. Powerful men all valued their pride—if he had been rejected by her, would he turn around and confess to Qiao Li just to hide his unwillingness to give up? That would mean her undercover mission had failed.

Thinking of this, she immediately stood up and said clearly:

“I’ve finished eating. I’ll go. You sit down and eat—I can do it alone, no need to follow me.”

With that, she quickly strode past Huo Qi and ran toward the female guests’ tents.

Huo Qi stopped in his tracks, watching Ning Qingyan’s figure dash away. His thin lips pressed together slightly before he turned back to continue grilling fish.

Meanwhile, Wen Shijin had only grilled two fish—partly because he was focused on making fish soup, and partly because if the others woke up late, the grilled fish would get cold and wouldn’t taste good reheated.

So if Gu Si and Huo Qi wanted grilled fish, they’d have to make it themselves.

With Ning Qingyan gone, only the three of them remained. And as the saying goes—three men make for a dramatic show.

“The little bunny is just like that—if you give him some good food and drinks, he gets close for a while. If I hadn’t been sulking and ignoring him, or if I hadn’t left the island for four days, would you guys even stand a chance?”

Gu Si grilled his fish while arrogantly claiming his dominance.

His smug expression made him look like he was just asking for a beating. And from the way he kept mentioning “the little bunny,” combined with the faintly visible rabbit pendant Ning Qingyan had worn while rescuing someone in the sea yesterday, the other two immediately understood what he was implying.

Huo Qi gave him a glance, his tone laced with pity:

“The first night, during that thunderstorm, she stayed up waiting for me to arrive, prepared dry towels and hot water. If I weren’t so bad at interacting with people, would you even have a chance?”

Gu Si scoffed and raised an eyebrow in disdain:

“So what? The real skill is in seizing the opportunity and keeping the little bunny by your side in the end.”

Huo Qi’s lips curled slightly. “You’re right. So, have you kept her by your side these past two days?”

At that, Gu Si’s smug expression froze. He thought about how he had barely spoken to or sat next to Ning Qingyan in the past two days.

“So what? If I want to, I can do it anytime, anywhere.”

Huo Qi nodded. “That’s true—after all, you are thick-skinned.”

Gu Si’s eyes narrowed, his expression growing even more roguish as he lazily drawled:

“The bunny loves how thick-skinned I am. What can I do?”

…

The two continued their cryptic back-and-forth, fully understanding each other’s subtext. But Wen Shijin remained silent, calmly grilling his fish with a slight smile, as if completely uninterested in their conversation.

Realizing they might be treated as clowns, both Gu Si and Huo Qi turned their attention to Wen Shijin. If he wasn’t saying anything, that meant he had nothing to boast about, right?

Surely, deep down, he must be insanely jealous!

But under their scrutinizing gazes, Wen Shijin merely sprinkled seasoning onto his grilled fish and said three words in a gentle tone:

“Truth or Dare.”

Just three words—but the impact was immense. It instantly reminded both of them of the time Ning Qingyan had been asked during a game of Truth or Dare:

“Out of all the guests, who do you like the most?”

And she had chosen… Wen Shijin.

Gu Si fell silent. He recalled how, back in the dormitory, Wen Shijin had used the exact same words to counter all of his arguments, nearly driving him insane.

There was no reasoning with Wen Shijin—arguing with him was a guaranteed path to frustration. Gu Si quietly shut his mouth and passed the stage to Huo Qi.

Huo Qi, however, remained composed, his expression calm as he said with a faint smile:

“After all, she sees you as a dear older brother. Of course, she’d like you the most.”

The words “older brother” hit Wen Shijin’s sore spot directly. He remembered how every time Ning Qingyan accepted his kindness, she would say,

“From now on, you’re like my real brother!”

If he hadn’t seriously corrected her last time—“We are not blood-related. I’m not your real brother.”—who knew how many more times she would have said it without a second thought?

Although ripples stirred in his heart, Wen Shijin’s slight daze quickly passed. He returned to grilling fish in silence, his expression as calm as ever.

Gu Si, who had been waiting for Wen Shijin to argue back and frustrate Huo Qi, was stunned.

This… this was still the same Wen Shijin who always countered with “Truth or Dare” and “who do you like the most”?!

And then it hit him.

Huo Qi had just said “like an older brother” and managed to shut Wen Shijin up completely.

Then, recalling what Huo Qi had said earlier about “being one of the older brothers, a substitute”, Gu Si suddenly had an epiphany.

Huo Qi wasn’t just mocking Wen Shijin—he was implying that Wen Shijin was the “older brother,” while Gu Si was the substitute for Wen Shijin!

He had managed to roast both of them at once!

If Huo Qi knew what Gu Si was thinking, he would probably just respond with three question marks.

Meanwhile, in the livestream chat:

“What are they even talking about? I don’t understand a thing!”
“Why do snarky remarks sound so pleasing when spoken by handsome men?”
“Are they discussing a pet rabbit?”
“Gu Si must be talking about a pet rabbit, right? Then who is Huo Qi referring to? A staff member?”
“Stop with the cryptic talk! Just be straightforward already!”

…

Meanwhile, on the other side, Ning Qingyan was being swarmed by the female guests, who fussed over her well-being after her heroic rescue the previous day.

And then—she ran for her life.