Cave Horror

"Since we're already here, let's go in." Ding Xuefei stiffened her neck and exaggeratedly raised her voice to cover up her uncertainty. She suddenly moved and pulled Yu Songlin so hard that he stumbled.

Ding Xuefei said generously, "Yi Meng, if you're scared, just wait for us outside."

"It's okay, I'll go with you!" Xu Yimeng smiled at Ding Xuefei, not caring at all.

Ding Xuefei just wanted to avoid having to see him embarrass himself by one less person.

But since we'd already come this far, we had no choice but to bite the bullet and head into the cave.

Upon entering the cave, most of the light suddenly disappeared.

A damp, chilly air, carrying the stench of the sea, rushed towards me. Slippery rocks lay beneath my feet, and the soft sounds of wind and water filled my ears. The faint light filtering through the cave entrance barely outlined the jagged rocks; deeper within, a thick, light-swallowing darkness enveloped everything.

Yu Songlin tugged at the rope in his hand and said in a deep voice, "I'll go in first."

Ding Xuefei didn't stand on ceremony with him, nodded and hid behind Yu Songlin, not forgetting to remind Xu Yimeng behind her: "Be careful at the end too."

Xu Yimeng said loudly, "I'm fine, I will protect Brother Xuefei!"

Ding Xuefei gave up pretending to be a gentleman. Was he afraid that things had become so obvious?

"Wow, it's so deep in there! Where could the treasure be hidden?" Xu Yimeng exclaimed, her voice echoing in the cave, sounding completely unafraid.

"Hmm, hmm, it is quite special..." Ding Xuefei tried to keep her voice steady, but it trembled involuntarily.

He stood close to Yu Songlin, clutching the hem of Yu Songlin's clothes with both hands, his body stiff as a board.

Yu Songlin noticed Ding Xuefei's tension. He slightly adjusted the angle of his handcuffed hand and touched Ding Xuefei's hand, trying to comfort her: "Watch your step, the stones are slippery."

"I know! You don't need to tell me!" Ding Xuefei retorted stubbornly, but she didn't shake off Yu Songlin's hand.

He straightened his back, trying to maintain the image of a "cool guy and top," but whenever he missed a step or heard the sound of dripping water from the depths of darkness, his shoulders would involuntarily hunch.

"Ouch!" Xu Yimeng suddenly exclaimed softly, as if she had kicked something, making a dull thud. "What is this thing?"

Ding Xuefei, who was about to let go, pressed his hand tightly onto Yu Songlin's shoulder again. He closed his eyes, not daring to look. Only the warm body in front of him gave him a sense of security, and his breath fell on Yu Songlin's neck.

Yu Songlin stood still, letting Ding Xuefei hug him, and gently patted Ding Xuefei's hand that was clinging to his shoulder.

Xu Yimeng picked up the object from the ground and flipped the switch. The dark hole finally lit up—it turned out to be a flashlight.

She glanced around, but there were only rocks and nothing much to see. Then she looked at her two teammates.

Ding Xuefei used her fingertips to hold onto Yu Songlin's shoulder, almost completely hiding behind him. In a very affectionate posture, she leaned her face against Yu Songlin's back, only revealing a small tuft of hair on the top of her head.

Yu Songlin chuckled and patted Ding Xuefei on the shoulder. Only then did Ding Xuefei slowly peek out, hiding behind Yu Songlin's neck to look at Xu Yimeng.

"Haha, Xuefei, you're so cute!" Xu Yimeng covered her mouth and laughed. "It's okay as long as we have a flashlight, let's keep going!"

"Cough cough, you didn't even give me the props properly, it scared me to death... uh, I mean, the road was a bit slippery, uh." Ding Xuefei tried to explain incoherently, attempting to regain her composure, but the hand still gripping Yu Songlin's clothes betrayed him.

"Yes, it's slippery here. Stay close to me and watch out for the handcuffs." Yu Songlin's hand quietly slid down and quickly found Ding Xuefei's slightly cool and trembling hand. He first covered it with his own, and when she didn't push him away, he grabbed her hand, his fingers sliding between them, their fingers interlocking.

Ding Xuefei stiffened for a moment at the sudden touch, but he had to admit that the warmth from the hand did give him a sense of security. He followed Yu Songlin's footsteps and continued deeper into the cave.

"Alright, alright, what a scare! Let's keep going!" Xu Yimeng took the initiative to lead the way with a flashlight, like a brave little leader.

With the light of the flashlight, cave exploration was no longer so difficult. Ding Xuefei breathed a sigh of relief and stopped clinging to Yu Songlin. She no longer moved around by shuffling, but she obediently kept her hand from letting go of his.

The cave grew increasingly dark and narrow, and the air became more humid. The three of them came to a huge rock, where there was no way forward.

Xu Yimeng said, "It seems to be in this vicinity."

"Then let's hurry up and look." Yu Songlin squeezed Ding Xuefei's hand, and the latter squeezed back, already much more relaxed.

Just then—

"Whoa—!!"

Suddenly, a dark figure jumped out from behind the rocks! The flashlight beam shone on him, and although it was clear that he was a human figure, the mask looked terrifying in the darkness.

"My God!" Xu Yimeng, who was standing closest, screamed in fright and took a step back, leaning against the stone wall. She almost dropped her flashlight.

And Ding Xuefei—

"Aaaaaahh ...

In the instant his soul was about to leave his body, he couldn't care about anything else. Before his brain could react, he had already found a familiar spot according to his memory—he wrapped one arm around Yu Songlin's neck, his legs tightly wrapped around Yu Songlin's waist, and he threw himself into Yu Songlin's arms, hanging on the other's body face to face, burying his face in the side of his neck.

Caught off guard, Yu Songlin was knocked back half a step by the impact, letting out a muffled groan. His arms immediately and reflexively caught the person on top of him, holding them firmly in his arms.

Hearing the disordered breathing beside him, Yu Songlin's heart was also in turmoil. He didn't even bother to pay attention to the staff member. He subconsciously rubbed his cheek against Ding Xuefei's head and gently patted Ding Xuefei's back with his handcuffed hand. His movements were careful, and his unease was evident in his awkwardness.

Yu Songlin's voice was gentle: "It's alright, Xuefei, she's just a staff member. Don't be afraid, I'm here."

The staff member dressed as a ghost probably didn't expect the guest to react so strongly, and was a little stunned, standing there for a moment and forgetting to continue the performance.

Xu Yimeng patted her chest, still shaken. After taking a closer look at her two teammates, her eyes widened even more than before.

"Wow! I'm so tired from all this bumping and banging..."

Bullet comments:

"Whose screaming chicken just now?"

"This isn't scary at all! I bet DXF is even more timid than Mei Bao."

"What are those two handcuffed people in the corner doing? Can you send me a high-definition infrared photo?"

"Xiaomeng, what did you ship? I want to ship it too!"

Amidst Yu Songlin's soothing words and Xu Yimeng's restrained yet barely concealed excitement, Ding Xuefei's wildly beating heart finally began to slowly calm down. He glanced over there, and the staff member dressed as a ghost bowed to him before quickly running away.

Ding Xuefei's mind finally returned to the real world, and he leaned on Yu Songlin's shoulder and let out a long sigh of relief.

Wait a minute?

Ding Xuefei suddenly lifted her head from Yu Songlin's neck, revealing a pair of wet, puppy-like eyes.

Their eyes met, and Yu Songlin's eyes held no mockery, only deep concern and sincerity, as if they could encompass all of his disheveled state.

Just like five years ago.

Ding Xuefei's cheeks instantly felt like they were burning.

He must be crazy to jump on Yu Songlin, but Yu Songlin, who kept coaxing him gently, was also pretty silly.

"Put me down!" Ding Xuefei was filled with shame and indignation. She struggled to get down, but was restrained by the arms around her waist and hips.

Yu Songlin readily agreed and put him down, but his handcuffed hand still tightly gripped Ding Xuefei's hand. He held that hand behind his back to prevent the camera from capturing it.

While searching for treasure, Xu Yimeng joked, "Haha, Xuefei, you looked like a koala just now!"

Ding Xuefei: ...Please stop talking.

As they were talking, Xu Yimeng made a discovery. Pointing to the rock that the staff member had just jumped out from, she shouted excitedly, "Ah! We found it! The treasure is there!"

Hidden in a crevice at the bottom of the reef, a waterproof treasure chest bearing the program's huge logo lay quietly.

Xu Yimeng ran over happily, took out the treasure chest, and concluded, "I didn't expect to find it so easily! Although the process was... a bit tortuous, we succeeded! Today was a very fruitful day!"

Yu Songlin gently squeezed Ding Xuefei's hand, then turned and walked out: "Yes, let's hurry back. I think we should be the fastest."

Ding Xuefei quietly let go of Yu Songlin's hand only after they had walked almost to the cave entrance and saw the cameraman waiting at the door.

The return trip was quick. Whether it was because they had gotten used to it or because their mindset had changed, Ding Xuefei and Yu Songlin's level of understanding was noticeably improved this time.

The trio was indeed faster than the other two groups. The production team bought them coconut water and snacks, and the three of them sat comfortably under the parasol to rest.

Xu Yimeng was still running around like a little elf. After sitting for a while, she ran off to collect seashells, as if she had inexhaustible energy.

Ding Xuefei and Yu Songlin were still handcuffed and unable to separate. Yu Songlin asked Ding Xuefei if she wanted to go for a walk again, but Ding Xuefei refused.

Ding Xuefei didn't want to go out and embarrass herself before the handcuffs were removed.

But sitting here alone with Yu Songlin is also very torturous.

There are no cameras filming them nearby, and their microphones are off, so the awkwardness isn't because they can't get any footage, but simply because they're alone together.

Previously, Ding Xuefei could comfortably avoid communicating with Yu Songlin, but today, he felt he had received some help from Yu Songlin, and this guy wasn't as completely bad as he had imagined...

He glanced at the guy next to him. Yu Songlin was sitting lazily with his eyes half-closed. The sea breeze was blowing his hair. He was humming an unknown tune and seemed quite relaxed.

Ding Xuefei suddenly realized that she had been nervous for nothing and decided not to bother him. This was fine as it was.

He hadn't noticed when he got the drink that he heard Yu Songlin let out a short "Hey," and realized that he had pulled the rope again, which made Yu Songlin look over.

"Ah, I'm sorry." Ding Xuefei apologized subconsciously. Before turning his gaze away, he noticed a smile spreading across Yu Songlin's lips.

Seriously, what's so funny!

“It’s alright.” Yu Songlin’s eyes were smiling. He shook the handcuffs, making a crisp sound, to answer the question in Ding Xuefei’s eyes. “I just think it’s quite interesting to be handcuffed together like this.”

Ding Xuefei, emboldened by having her microphone off, retorted without restraint: "Are you crazy?"

Yu Songlin shrugged, his expression one of unrepentant ease, since it wasn't the first time he'd been scolded by Ding Xuefei.

He's in a good mood today, so he's happy even though he was scolded.

Ding Xuefei envied him, and wanted to scold him even more.

"Hey, Yu Songlin." Ding Xuefei tugged at her wrist. "How's Nico?"