PLT | Chapter 7

The Child and the Giant Baby

Yan Chao reacted as though he had been electrocuted. He instantly closed the gossip forum, then subconsciously turned to look at Zhou Chenyu.

He quickly forced himself to calm down. On second thought, the text on his phone screen had been so small just now that at a glance, Zhou Chenyu probably could not have seen the actual content clearly at all.

What was more, judging from the way Zhou Chenyu looked, he had obviously only just woken up, and his whole person was still in a dazed state.

He definitely had not seen anything. Right.

Yan Chao comforted himself that way in his heart, and sure enough, Zhou Chenyu only froze for a moment, then said nothing at all.

Not until after the plane landed and the whole program team was on the way to the local hotel did Zhou Chenyu bring up any of that.

Only then did Yan Chao dare feel sure that Zhou Chenyu really had not seen anything after all.

The guests for this episode of End of the Earth were all flying to Xinjiang from all over the country, and because their flight times were different, they only arrived at the hotel one after another.

Yan Chao and Zhou Chenyu had only just dragged their suitcases into the hotel lobby when they were startled by a sweet, delicate cry:

“Ge!”

Yan Chao focused his eyes and looked over, and for once, he felt a trace of surprise.

So this mysterious surprise guest, whom the program team had kept completely under wraps, was actually Zhou Shuangshuang?

The treasured pearl in the palm of a quyi family, blessed with beauty and talent alike, yet possessing the dream of becoming an idol. She had gone against her parents’ wishes and joined an idol company as a trainee, and unexpectedly, she had really managed to carve out a name for herself. At only nineteen years old, she was already the visual center of a well-known domestic girl group.

That experience alone was already remarkable enough, but this time there was something even more remarkable layered on top of it.

She was the daughter of Zhou Chenyu’s shifu, Zhou Maoqin. Although she and Zhou Chenyu did not have any blood relation, the two of them had grown up under the same roof. Zhou Chenyu had watched Zhou Shuangshuang grow up, and the two of them had always addressed each other as real brother and sister.

The program team must have thought of this before inviting her. Once this episode aired, no matter how you looked at it, it was going to be a topic more than eye-catching enough.

The moment Zhou Chenyu saw her, the same flash of delighted surprise passed through his eyes. Meanwhile, Zhou Shuangshuang had already flown at him and thrown her gege a huge hug.

As expected of two people who had grown up together since childhood, it was obvious that the siblings were very close.

After Zhou Shuangshuang greeted Yan Chao, Zhou Chenyu asked, “Weren’t you still holding a concert yesterday? How come you’re here today already?”

Zhou Shuangshuang said with a grin, “Because I wanted to record the show with you. The moment the concert ended, I rushed onto a flight overnight.”

Zhou Chenyu smiled too. “It really has been a long time since I last saw you, busy lady.”

Zhou Shuangshuang pouted. “Then why don’t you say you’ll come watch my concert?”

Zhou Chenyu said, “Wasn’t I busy recording shows? Next time if I have the time, I’ll definitely come support you, alright?”

Seeing that Zhou Shuangshuang still had that spoiled, pouty look on her face, Zhou Chenyu said, “It’s already late. Hurry back and sleep. Your Xiao Yan-ge and I are heading upstairs first. We still have to record the show tomorrow.”

As he spoke, he lightly patted her on the head. “Be good.”

This was the first time Yan Chao had ever seen Zhou Chenyu like this. He was amazed that this dumbass actually had such a doting older-brother side to him.

How was it that in front of other people, Zhou Chenyu could be this normal, even a little charming, yet when facing him, all that remained was full-blown lunacy?

Once they got into the elevator, Yan Chao said, “You’re really good to your sister.”

Zhou Chenyu nodded. “I watched her grow up since she was little. I got used to spoiling her.”

Yan Chao asked without thinking, “Then why can’t you treat me a little better too?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Yan Chao regretted them himself.

What he had really meant was only that he hoped Zhou Chenyu could act a bit more normal in front of him and stop having episodes every few seconds. But somehow it had come out sounding like this instead, and even the tone had inexplicably carried a faintly sour edge.

Sure enough, Zhou Chenyu lifted his eyes in slight surprise and stared at him for a long while, staring until Yan Chao started to feel uncomfortable all over.

After a moment, Zhou Chenyu gave him a meaningful smile. “What, are you even jealous of my little sister?”

Yan Chao: “…Jealous, my ass. Your sister.”

Zhou Chenyu could not help laughing. “Next time I’ll have her call you saozi?”

Yan Chao said irritably, “What I meant just now was, can you maybe act at least a little more normal when you’re with me too?”

“No.” Zhou Chenyu shook his head decisively. “If even you won’t let me flirt with you anymore, then sooner or later I’ll die of boredom in this boring variety show of yours.”

Yan Chao let out a long sigh. “So basically, you just like building your own happiness on top of my suffering, huh?”

Zhou Chenyu asked, “Are you suffering? I’m thinking you seem pretty happy.”

Yan Chao: “…Happy my ass.”

Zhou Chenyu glanced at him and suddenly gave him a wicked smile. “Some people may look extremely resistant on the surface, but behind the scenes they’re actually researching things like dagua’er play[1] …”

Yan Chao: “…”

So he really had seen it after all!!!

This episode of End of the Earth had three partner groups in total. The grouping used the model of three resident mc’s each bringing one guest participant.

Aside from Yan Chao, the other two resident mc’s were the young idol Gu Xin and the female host Xu Jing.

Gu Xin was Zhou Shuangshuang’s senior from the same company, and since the two of them were already quite close, they were naturally assigned to one group.

The lively and pretty female host Xu Jing, meanwhile, was openly paired up for a one-episode CP with the actor Chen Shuo, who was currently in a promotional period.

Then, with Yan Chao and Zhou Chenyu’s group added in, this episode not only had visuals beyond anything the show had done before, but also had all three of BL, BG, and GL. It was practically taking CP-hyping to the extreme. Before the recording had even started, Yan Chao could already imagine how many pink bubbles the post-production team was going to add to the screen.

Before dawn the next morning, all three groups of guests were already up, with hair and makeup done, and had begun the first segment of the trip, Appointment on the Prairie.

Everyone got onto the bus and watched as the scenery outside gradually transitioned from a city of tall buildings to endless suburban plains.

After who knew how long, they finally entered the scenic area.

The sky was vast, the wilderness boundless. When the wind bent the grass low, cattle and sheep could be seen.

This scenic area had not undergone large-scale deep development. Everything still retained its original, untouched look, real and natural.

Although Yan Chao had grown up in the city, snow mountains and grasslands had always been close to home, and when he was little, he often played around those areas. But ever since he had gone to Beijing, he had not come back often to begin with, and he had almost never gone beyond the city again, so for a moment he felt a little nostalgic.

Autumn in the northwest was growing colder by the day. By September and October, the weather already carried a somewhat biting chill. The moment Zhou Chenyu got off the bus, the cold wind blowing straight at him made him shudder, and he could not help sneezing.

Yan Chao looked at him without thinking. According to the program’s arrangement, every guest pair wore clothes from the same series. Zhou Chenyu was wearing the same blue-and-white color-block hoodie as Yan Chao, but the hoodie was only one thin layer and nowhere near enough to resist this fierce wind.

Yan Chao reached out and touched Zhou Chenyu’s cuff. Sure enough, he could only feel one layer of fabric. He asked, “You only wore this one layer?”

Zhou Chenyu pointed inside. “There’s also a short-sleeved shirt.”

Yan Chao frowned. “Didn’t I tell you the outskirts would be cold and tell you to wear more underneath?”

Zhou Chenyu said righteously, “Didn’t I already put on one more short-sleeved shirt?”

Yan Chao really could not be bothered arguing with this giant baby who could not even take care of himself, but in weather around ten degrees, dressed this thinly and being blown by the wind outside all day, he would be lucky not to catch a cold.

He wanted to find a jacket for Zhou Chenyu, but the program also required that their outfits remain uniform during filming.

Just when Yan Chao had no idea what to do, he suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a few packets of heat patches in his bag. A young female assistant on set had stuffed them into his bag a few days ago during another recording.

He took the heat patches out of his bag and handed them to Zhou Chenyu. Unexpectedly, the other man only gave them a glance and said disdainfully, “I don’t want those. They’re girly.”

Yan Chao’s face went black instantly. “You’re so manly, and yet you can’t even manage to dress yourself properly? What if you catch a cold later and pass it on to me? Believe it or not, I’ll kick you right out?”

All the staff at the scene instantly went silent for three whole seconds.

Good heavens, was this still that calm and steady, refined and scholarly, gentle and elegant… insert a whole pile of adjectives here. In short, the gentlemanly Xiao Yan who had never once even reddened his face at anyone?

Sure enough, all so-called good tempers only existed because the person in question had not yet met the one person truly capable of driving him insane, liao.

Zhou Chenyu also froze for three seconds, then blinked at him pitifully. “You’re yelling at me?”

Yan Chao, realizing that he had been too irritable just now: “…I’m not.”

Only then did Zhou Chenyu take the heat patches from his hand and tell the truth. “I’ve never used these things before.”

The meaning was obvious. He did not know how to stick them on.

Yan Chao: “…”

Yan Chao: “Lift your outer shirt.”

Zhou Chenyu continued acting dramatically to the bitter end. “What are you going to do to me?”

Yan Chao: “Stab you to death, satisfied now?”

Everyone on site: “…”

They simply could not believe that Gentleman Xiao Yan had said something like that. It was too bloody, too violent, re.

Xiao Yan-gege, after meeting Zhou Chenyu, what exactly have you gone through?

You are only a twenty-three-year-old child!

Naturally, Yan Chao could not hear their inner os. He tore open the heat patches and stuck them securely across Zhou Chenyu’s chest and back.

Although Zhou Chenyu looked tall and slim, his frame was actually quite thin. Spending a whole day on the prairie like this, if he did not get sick from the demon wind of the great northwest, that would be the real miracle.

Yan Chao stood up, then, with a helpless look on his face, pointed at the ring of cameras around them and said to the cameramen, “Cut this section later. Don’t air it.”

Otherwise, it would be a complete collapse of his persona.

He was clearly still only a twenty-three-year-old child!

But what else could he do when he had run into a twenty-five-year-old giant baby?

Footnotes:

[1] Dagua’r play : A jokingly eroticized fandom idea based on the traditional long robe associated with xiangsheng performers. Here it is used as a shameless shipping fantasy built around costume appeal rather than any actual stage term.