Chapter 40

Under the dual impact of sight and hearing, Song Anan's heart almost jumped to her throat. In the darkness, her whole body was covered in cold sweat, her scalp tingled, and she couldn't see anything around her clearly, as if she was in a huge abyss.

It seemed like she would be completely swallowed up in the next second.

However, just as she was about to be swallowed up, suddenly a hand grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.

The faint warmth slowly lingered around her, and the cold she felt before also gradually dissipated.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here."

It was Pei Kuang's voice.

Song Anan slowly calmed down.

Her forehead rested on Pei Kuang's chest, and her whole body was loosely held in his arms.

She could hear his light breathing beside her ear.

It gave her an inexplicable sense of security.

The sudden change caused chaos in the secret room.

After a few minutes, click, the lights in the room suddenly turned on.

Her vision instantly lit up.

Song Anan reflexively looked up and her eyes met Pei Kuang's directly.

The two of them were really close at this moment, close enough to hear each other's breathing.

At this moment, she felt like something in her chest was suddenly ignited with a 'boom'.

Song Anan instinctively covered her chest, her heart thumping.

Seeing her reaction, Pei Kuang's eyebrows furrowed tightly, his face full of concern, and asked, "What's wrong? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"

Song Anan was also a little confused.

Maybe she was too frightened.

She avoided Pei Kuang's eyes slightly awkwardly and replied, "No...nothing."

She had promised to protect him, but she was the one who got so scared instead.

It was quite embarrassing.

Pei Kuang could see the embarrassment of the little auntie, and didn't expose her. He just laughed and took two steps back, widening the distance between them.

He held out one hand in front of her, "Here you go."

Song Anan looked at the thing in Pei Kuang's hand and was startled for a moment.

The microphone she had clipped to her collar before was now being held in his hand somehow.

Song Anan let out an "oh", and didn't think too much of it. She just assumed it must have been pulled off during the chaos earlier.

After taking the mic from his hand, Song Anan re-clipped it to her collar.

Pei Kuang also took this time to readjust the mic on himself.

Their situation did not attract the attention of the other guests on the scene, after all, everyone was too busy taking care of themselves after the chaos just now.

As for the audience in front of the live studio, other than Pei Kuang's back, everything else was a blind spot.

Plus, the performances of the other guests on the scene were a bit too exciting, and everyone was already dazzled.

For example, Li Yu jumped directly onto Guo Xiu, Shi Qing hugged a pillar directly, and Xie Yin pounced directly onto Ji QiuBai...

But the most noteworthy was Qi MuShi, the kid cried so miserably.

With one hand covering his eyes and the other still clutching the woman in red fiercely.

"Ahhhhhh, hurry, hurry, someone save me. I caught her... Wuuuuuu, you scared me to death, I'm dying, I'm dead..."

His cries filled the whole room, mixed with some hiccups in between.

The scene was somewhat ridiculous for a moment.

【Hahahahaha, forgive me for laughing so loudly, Qi MuShi is just too funny】

【I'm laughing to death, how can this kid be so cowardly yet brave at the same time】

【Let's be fair, Qi MuShi is still awesome. He actually dared to grab this female ghost. If it were me, I would have been scared to death】

But it had to be said, Qi MuShi was just a blind cat running into a dead mouse. The woman in red he grabbed happened to be an important figure they had gotten clues about earlier.

She was also the key to unlocking this secret room.

So, led by Guo Xiu, everyone began to rack their brains and ask the woman in red for more clues.

However, while everyone else was surrounding the woman in red and questioning her in various ways, only Qi MuShi was squatting in a corner, drawing circles on the floor gloomily.

He didn't have the joy of someone who had just accomplished something.

"MuShi, why don't you come over?" Song Anan walked over and asked.

Qi MuShi glanced up at Song Anan, looking completely dejected.

"Auntie, will you look down on me?" he asked in a muffled voice.

Song Anan frowned, "Of course not, why do you ask that?"

Qi MuShi sighed silently.

He had just made a complete fool of himself by screaming so loudly.

What's more, he even cried from fear.

Qi MuShi said, "Auntie, you're a girl yet you're not afraid. I just feel like I'm too much of a coward."

Song Anan pursed her lips and said, "I'm scared too."

Qi MuShi was startled. "You're scared too?"

Song Anan nodded heavily.

If it hadn't been for Pei Kuang just now, she probably would have cried from fear too.

She might have even cried louder than Qi MuShi.

Qi MuShi obviously didn't believe it. "Auntie, I know you're not afraid. You don't have to comfort me."

After all, he didn't hear her scream during such a terrifying scene.

How could she possibly be afraid?

Song Anan shook her head and said, "I really am afraid, not comforting you."

She took a deep breath and explained seriously, "Actually, I'm not very brave and I'm also very afraid of ghosts. Earlier when you misunderstood that I'm not afraid of ghosts, I didn't explain because I felt it was a bit embarrassing."

"Sorry for letting you misunderstand."

Qi MuShi let out an "ah", and repeatedly waved his hands.

But as if thinking of something, he suddenly said, "No, didn't you say before that you like watching horror movies?"

Song Anan paused for a moment, "Well, no one has made a rule that if you're afraid of ghosts, you can't like watching horror movies."

Qi MuShi scratched his head. Indeed, no one had made such a rule.

But still, it felt a little strange somehow.

Song Anan thought for a moment, then gave another example, "Just like you, you're clearly very cowardly, but you were still able to grab that 'woman in red'. There's no conflict."

Qi MuShi: "..."

There really was no need to use this example in particular.

【Oh my god! What kind of logic genius is this auntie, what do you mean no one made a rule? This is obviously someone who sucks at something but loves doing it】

【Hahahaha, Qi MuShi's expression is just too funny, it vividly demonstrates what it means to be utterly defeated in an instant】

【Qi MuShi: Actually, if there are no examples, we don't have to give any】

【Speaking of which, is the auntie really afraid or pretending to be afraid? Could she just be comforting Qi MuShi? I didn't notice anything earlier at all】

【I think she explained it very seriously, so she should really be afraid】

【Indeed, this auntie Song Anan is clearly not the type to tell lies, everything shows on her face】

【I'm speechless, this warm-hearted auntie, love her love her】

Although the process was a bit convoluted, the result was still good. Qi MuShi was indeed comforted.

In his mind, even such an amazing auntie was afraid, so he didn't seem to have lost too much face either.

While they were making smooth progress here, the group of people interrogating the 'woman in red' over there had also obtained important clues.

This secret room was the final level after all. Next, following the clue prompts, everyone finally solved the final mystery. It turned out that there was a secret passage in the mansion that led directly to the seaside. This was their only way out of the mansion.

The passage was very dark and narrow, only allowing one person through at a time. So everyone lined up and walked forward one by one.

Such an enclosed space was quite scary. Song Anan followed right behind Pei Kuang the whole time, not even daring to breathe loudly.

After walking for about ten minutes or so, everyone made it out of the mansion through the passage, achieving the final victory.

After coming out, Song Anan sat right down on a rock.

The others weren't much better off either. That last stretch had really been nerve-wracking.

They were afraid the program team would suddenly make some scary NPC pop out without warning. In such a narrow passage, there would be nowhere to hide.

Fortunately they managed to get through without incident in the end.

Pei Kuang got a bottle of water from the director and after twisting open the cap, he walked over and handed it to Song Anan, "You okay?"

Song Anan shook her head. After saying thanks and taking a big gulp of water, she suddenly looked up at Pei Kuang.

It was only now, later than she should have, that she finally reacted to something.

Pei Kuang wasn't timid at all. He hadn't been afraid at all just now.

Also, earlier when he said he was afraid, it seemed that apart from saying it, there were no substantive actions.

For example, when facing the 'woman in red', Qi MuShi would scream in fear, but Pei Kuang didn't have any reaction at all. He even covered her eyes first, protecting her.

There was only one explanation. He knew about her fear of ghosts but didn't want to admit it.

So he pretended to be afraid of ghosts himself, and let her protect him, when he was actually protecting her in a roundabout way.

Just like Song Linchuan had done before.

Song Anan glanced at Pei Kuang.

She went silent.

Without even thinking about it, she knew this embarrassing thing must have been told to him by Song Linchuan.

After all, no one else knew about it.

Sigh!

It seemed even more embarrassing now.

The live studio audience also finally caught on at this point.

【Wait a minute! I think we overlooked something. It's confirmed that the auntie is timid, but what about Pei Kuang?】

【Oh my god, you're right. Pei Kuang seemed to show no reaction at all the entire time, didn't seem afraid at all】

【Yes yes, I wanted to say this earlier too. Pei Kuang faced the NPC directly several times, he clearly didn't even blink!】

【I remember earlier Pei Kuang's fans also said they didn't know anything about him being timid at all. So this...】

【Hmm... Auntie was afraid of losing face so she pretended not to be scared, while Pei Kuang clearly wasn't scared but still pretended to be, and then asked Auntie to protect him. I think I'm starting to understand a little】

【Oh my god, Pei Kuang is so affectionate with Auntie!】

【Ahhhhhhhh, Pei Kuang is so smooth, I'm obsessed again!】

【Wahhhh, for the first time I'm looking forward to Auntie growing up quickly, I really want to ship this couple!】

【Okay, I'm a good girl, I won't ship them now, but I'm reserving my spot at the bottom of this pit】

【What spot are you reserving, be careful or Song Linchuan will be waiting at the bottom of that pit with his 80 meter long giant ax!】

...

After returning from the secret room on the island, everyone was exhausted, though not because the activities were tiring, just emotionally drained.

So everyone went back to their rooms early.

Although the room cameras were still on, it felt like everyone's souls had left their bodies, and they just sprawled limply without doing anything.

In contrast to the lifelessness of the livestream, the internet was bustling.

The "Dearest Family" program team seemed to have rented out all the hot search topics tonight, with multiple hashtags occupying the top spots.

Especially Xie Yin, she was absolutely the top trending topic queen today. First she was too intimate with Jiang Kai in the secret room, sparking heated discussion amongst netizens.

Then after switching tasks with Song Anan and being rejected by Pei Kuang, her past rumors with Pei Kuang were brought up again, angering his fans.

Finally, after physical contact with the newly popular actor Ji QiuBai, she was suspected of starting new affair rumors, and ended up tearing up the hot searches of Ji QiuBai's fans.

At 9pm, the livestream ended on time.

Xie Yin sat on the bed browsing through her phone, and was very satisfied seeing the hot search terms related to her. After all, this kind of popularity didn't come often.

In fact, she and her team had orchestrated some of the waves behind the scenes.

Just as Xie Yin was gloating, there was a sudden knock at her door.

"YinYin, are you sleeping?" It was Jiang Kai's voice.

"Not yet," Xie Yin got up and opened the door, "It's so late, is something the matter?"

Jiang Kai stood at the door, "I have something I want to discuss with you, can you come out with me for a bit?"

Xie Yin was taken aback for a moment, "Now?"

Jiang Kai nodded, "Yes, just in the yard of the villa, not far."

Xie Yin felt confused inside.

What was so important that couldn't be said indoors, why did they have to go out? The livestream wasn't on now anyway.

But she didn't show it on her face, and readily agreed.

The two went downstairs directly and walked to the yard behind the villa, finally stopping in an inconspicuous corner.

"Jiang Kai, what did you want to tell me?" Xie Yin asked, puzzled.

Jiang Kai produced a bouquet of flowers from somewhere and held it out to Xie Yin.

Xie Yin wasn't dumb, she immediately realized what was happening. "Jiang Kai, you..."

Jiang Kai directly stopped her words, "YinYin, please listen to me first, okay?"

Xie Yin thought for a moment, and didn't reject him anymore.

Jiang Kai said earnestly: "YinYin, do you know, I want to take care of you. You are the woman who captivated me at first sight. After meeting you, no other woman can catch my eye."

"In my heart, you will forever be the most elegant, special, and attractive woman. After meeting you, I realized what I needed most is you, I need you."

As he spoke, Jiang Kai knelt down on one knee, holding the fresh flowers out to Xie Yin.

"YinYin, I love you, let's date, I want to be your boyfriend!"

Xie Yin looked at Jiang Kai silently, not speaking.

In fact, all along she had guessed at his feelings for her.

Those ambiguous late night texts, the occasional small gifts sent in the name of friendship, and now personally giving her such a good variety show opportunity.

Xie Yin had to admit, although she didn't like Jiang Kai, she enjoyed being pursued by him and the benefits she could get from him.

Therefore, after thinking it over, she decided not to reject him outright.

"Jiang Kai, I'm sorry, my career is still the priority for me now, I don't want to and can't date."

Jiang Kai was fully prepared for Xie Yin's rejection.

He still put on a lovelorn appearance, "YinYin, you never need to apologize to me. I understand your difficulties. Can we still be friends?"

Xie Yin said moved: "Jiang Kai, no matter what happens, we will always be friends!"

The two harbored ulterior motives as they acted out this scene, but neither noticed that in the corner, a newly installed camera was broadcasting everything live.

【Wait what's going on, I thought they were going to livestream the night view of the sea?】

【I know right, I came to see the night island but ended up watching this whole confession scene】

【To be fair, Jiang Kai's confession has got to be one of the most awkward ones I've ever seen】

【Too true, what's with the whole "let's date, I want to be your boyfriend", awkward and a little funny】

【Hahahaha I feel like Jiang Kai's confession lines are going to go viral, damn, they're just too funny】

【I'm curious how Xie Yin managed to keep listening with a straight face, she even looked moved??】

【Um...is it just me or did it sound like Xie Yin rejected him, but still gave him some hope? So what exactly does she mean?】

【What else could she mean, just stringing him along, don't you know how mermaids operate】

【Weren't they supposed to be siblings? Is it really okay for them to confess like this?】

【It's probably fine, they aren't real siblings】

This video of the two was quickly spread online. Although Jiang Kai and Xie Yin weren't hugely popular celebrities, they did have some topicality recently due to the show's popularity.

Plus the content of the video was quite explosive, so it wasn't long before the video started spreading amongst netizens.

Netizens even started parodying Jiang Kai's confession lines. - You're the woman who captivated me at first sight, I want to take care of you.

- After meeting you, I realized what I needed most is you, I need you.

- Let's date, I want to be your boyfriend!

...

Xie Yin was woken by a phone call from her agent early next morning.

"What's going on, can't a person even sleep in the morning?" Xie Yin had always been bad-tempered, especially when woken up.

The agent anxiously said: "How can you still sleep, go check the hot searches!"

Xie Yin was startled and quickly took out her phone, opening Weibo.

#JiangKai confesses to XieYin#

Seeing this hashtag, Xie Yin was first stunned.

"Didn't I tell you before to keep some distance from Jiang Kai, why didn't you listen at all." The agent said resentfully.

Xie Yin casually replied: "It's not a big deal, I didn't agree to him anyway, how can you call this a relationship."

The agent was too lazy to argue with her, and directly told her about Jiang Kai's backer.

He had just found out about this.

Hearing this, Xie Yin shook with anger.

Jiang Kai had a backer and still confessed to her.

He was treating her as a backup!

The agent couldn't help but roll his eyes: "You should worry that his backer won't make trouble for you!"

Rather than imagined grievances over being a "backup"!

Xie Yin finally realized the gravity of the situation. She directly went to find Jiang Kai, wanting to ask what was going on.

But when she got to the living room she realized Jiang Kai's door was wide open with no one inside, even his luggage was gone.

Upon hearing this, the agent immediately told her to ask the director what was happening.

But the director said that Jiang Kai had been taken away early in the morning by his own staff.

And they had received notice from Jiang Kai that he was leaving the show.

Jiang Kai was gone, taken away by who knows.

Xie Yin couldn't contact him, and had no way to film the show alone.

She was eventually dejectedly picked up by her agent.

After sending off Xie Yin and her agent, the director prepared to go out for a smoke break.

Having taken so many calls from the station this morning, he really was worn out.

He had just stepped out when he happened to run into Pei Kuang, who was coming out of the villa next door.

"Director Li, good morning." Pei Kuang smiled in greeting.

The director looked at Pei Kuang, deep in thought.

Yesterday morning, Pei Kuang had suddenly come to him, saying he had a suggestion for the show. He wanted to install a camera facing the sea behind the villa, and proposed leaving the livestream on at night, saying the viewers could also enjoy the night view of the island.

At the time, although he felt it a bit odd, it didn't seem like a big deal, he could do Pei Kuang a favor.

After all, when they had invited Pei Kuang on the show, he had really given them face by agreeing to a friendship price.

But he never imagined that very night the business with Jiang Kai and Xie Yin would happen.

Pei Kuang allowed the inspection, completely at ease.

"You've heard about Jiang Kai's matter?" the director asked.

Pei Kuang nodded slightly. "Mm, I just saw the hot searches."

The director didn't beat around the bush either. "That was you?"

"Director Li, you're joking. I don't have that kind of power." Pei Kuang smiled and said, "It's just a coincidence."

As he finished speaking, he nodded slightly to the director, "Sorry, in any case I still gave you extra trouble this time. Please let me know if you need anything in the future."

Watching Pei Kuang's departing figure, the director silently lit a cigarette.

There were no such things as so many coincidences in this world.

But in the end, Jiang Kai wasn't someone their production team had wanted anyway.

So whether it was a coincidence or not, he didn't care at all.

On the contrary, he couldn't help showing some admiration in his gaze towards Pei Kuang.

Smart but not arrogantly so, cunning yet not treating others like they were stupid. He was interesting.

*

Song Anan only found out about Jiang Kai and Xie Yin's departure at breakfast.

Her first reaction was bewilderment.

Xie Yin left?

But she hadn't sparked anything with Ji QiuBai yet, so...

Oh well, this lousy storyline would probably lead to them encountering each other again in some other setting.

Song Anan wasn't interested in any of it anyway, it had nothing to do with her.

She only glanced at Pei Kuang, who was drinking congee.

Well, at least with them gone, it'd be out of sight, out of mind.

*

Jiang Kai and Xie Yin's departure barely made any waves.

Whether it was the guests on site or the audience in the live room, it seemed that no one was affected at all.

The leisurely life on the island made everyone reluctant to leave.

Soon, the third season of "My Dearest Family" was about to end, and the guests were about to welcome their "relatives and friends groups".

Since Pei Kuang's uncle and nephew group's relatives and friends had already come last time, they didn't need to invite anyone this time.

The remaining three groups will have people coming, which means there will be three flight guests coming this time.

Early in the morning, all the guests were taken to the seaside to pick up people.

In order to show sincerity, the program team even laid out a simple red carpet on the seaside.

Before long, a boat drove over from not far away and finally stopped at the shore.

Then three people walked down from the boat, who were the three flight guest relatives and friends of the three groups this time.

For the mother and son group Shi Qing and Qi MuShi, the person who came was Shi Qing's husband Qi Dao.

For the Li Yu and Guo Xiu couple group, they invited their niece who was in high school.

For the Ji QiuBai and Ji An brothers group, they invited Ji An's bandmate.

After everyone greeted each other, they chatted for a while, and then it was time to get down to business and go eat.

After all, everyone got up early and hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

The program team announced last night that today they would go to the only five-star hotel on the island for a breakfast buffet.

Just as everyone was about to leave, the staff stopped them, "Wait, we still have a relative and friend guest who hasn't arrived yet."

Everyone was stunned, there was still someone?

They subconsciously looked at Pei Kuang and Song Anan, after all, the people from the other three groups had already arrived.

The two of them were also confused. The program team didn't ask them to invite anyone either.

Who could it be?

Just as everyone was puzzled, another person suddenly came down from the boat that was supposed to leave. What's more, this person was helped down.

It turned out to be Song Linchuan!

He was seen leaning on a crutch, standing there with indomitable spirit, waving at the guests.

It was somewhat triumphant.

【I'll go! It really is Song Linchuan. I would never have imagined he could come back】

【Wuwuwuwu, my brother actually came back, so good, this can be regarded as a satisfactory ending】

【Hahaha, Song Linchuan was afraid of losing his position as the number one nephew in Auntie's heart, so he came back with a crutch!】

【That's right, these days Pei Kuang has been more and more respectable as the eldest nephew, who wouldn't be anxious】

【Hahahaha, suddenly looking forward to the head-on confrontation between Pei Kuang and Song Linchuan】

【Song Linchuan: I'm back, this time, I'm going to take back everything that belongs to me!】