36. Fright
In the evening, they lit a bonfire on the Gobi Desert outside the film studio, set up a self-service barbecue grill, and provided unlimited skewers of beef and mutton, incredibly sweet fruits, fresh vegetable salads, and various specialty drinks. The production team even spent a lot of money to hire a chef to serve everyone a whole roasted lamb.
"Wow, Director Jiang is so generous!!!" The "Travel" program crew all gave Director Jiang a thumbs up. Many staff members from the film studio also joined in, singing, dancing, and watching the fireworks display together. They played until the moon was high in the sky before finally returning home satisfied.
Ye Zhenzhen spent the whole night eating and drinking. Not to mention the barbecue and fruit, she also discovered a special drink from northern Xinjiang called kvass. It was clear in color, tasted very fruity, and was refreshing and sweet when chilled.
She drank quite a bit of the juice from the cup, sat and watched others dance with great interest, and her smile never stopped all night.
When she curiously tried the drinks, Gu Tingshen paid special attention to her. He saw her pick up a beer, take a sip, and then put the glass down with a look of disgust, only drinking juice instead. He felt relieved and focused on grilling meat for her.
After everyone had eaten and played to their hearts' content, as it was time to leave, they said their goodbyes. Ye Zhenzhen sat on a small stool and grinned at everyone who came up to her.
"Zhenzhen? Let's go back and rest." Gu Tingshen finished packing the three of them's belongings and turned around to see Ye Zhenzhen slumped in her chair, staring blankly at him.
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhenzhen nodded vigorously, "Okay~! Hehehe..." Her voice was drawn out and soft.
Gu Tingshen sensed something was wrong and saw that she was unsteady when she got up, so he quickly went forward to support her.
"What's wrong with Mom?" Gu Sinan asked worriedly as she came over to help.
"It's okay, Mom's just drunk." Gu Tingshen picked up her glass, smelled it, and noticed a very faint smell of alcohol mixed with the fruity and sweet aroma. She got drunk on such a small amount of alcohol? He'd have to keep an eye on her from now on and make sure she doesn't drink anything alcoholic.
He shook his head helplessly, handed her small backpack to Gu Sinan, picked up the laughing drunkard, and walked towards the hotel.
"Huh? Old Gu, why am I floating?" Ye Zhenzhen wasn't making a fuss when she was drunk. She obediently curled up in his arms, but she was very talkative. With her cheeks flushed, she looked at him with a smile and kept talking.
"My eyelids are so heavy, and my arms are so heavy too." She raised her arm to rub her eyes, then suddenly reached out and touched Gu Tingshen's chin. "Old Gu, you've grown a beard, it's prickly, hahaha, it's so itchy when I rub it..."
Gu Tingshen paused, then continued walking, but at a much faster pace. Gu Sinan beside him had to jog to keep up.
The paparazzi also quietly sped up their pace, rushing to the forefront of the gossip!
Oh my, Zhenzhen is so cute when she's drunk!!!
Ye Zhenzhen's drinking manners were quite good. Gu Tingshen put her on the bed, wiped her face and hands, turned over and fell asleep.
Seeing that she was sleeping peacefully, Gu Tingshen went to settle Gu Sinan down before returning to sleep.
The drunk Ye Zhenzhen was even more clingy than usual; as soon as he lay down, she wrapped her arms and legs around him.
Perhaps because of the alcohol, her body temperature was higher than usual, and she pressed herself against him to cool down.
Gu Tingshen helplessly let her hug him, his heart burning with desire from her body heat, and he secretly resolved never to let her drink alcohol outside again.
When Gu Tingshen woke up in the morning, the room was dark with the curtains drawn. He turned on the bedside lamp, and the moment the light illuminated the room, the program director in the control room, with dark circles under his eyes, glanced at the screen and was instantly terrified!
"Cough, cough...Quick, cough, something's happened! Cough cough, call the director..." He choked on his coffee and coughed incessantly.
The staff who had been startled by him gathered around and gasped in surprise.
The surveillance footage showed Ye Zhenzhen covered in blood around her nose and mouth! The snow-white sheets and pillowcases were also covered in messy bloodstains.
"What happened? What happened?" Jiang Wei, still half asleep, came over and was shocked by the scene that looked like a murder scene. "Holy crap, what happened?!"
Having weathered many storms, she remained relatively calm and stopped her assistant from rushing out to knock on the door. "Wait! Let me check again. Don't be rash. A minute won't make a difference!"
Gu Tingshen in the video was clearly startled. He squeezed his eyes shut, reached out to touch the sides of their necks, and then visibly let out a sigh of relief.
Gu Tingshen breathed a sigh of relief, only then realizing that he had subconsciously held his breath. Now that he was at ease, he looked closely and saw a scabbed bloodstain under Ye Zhenzhen's nose; the other bloodstains looked like they had been rubbed on.
He tapped Ye Zhenzhen's pert nose, utterly dumbfounded. Her nose was bleeding like a crime scene, yet she was still sleeping so soundly, not waking up at all.
He shook his head, got up to fetch water, and used a towel to slowly wipe away the dried bloodstains from their faces so as not to frighten the children.
Stimulated by the coolness of the water, Ye Zhenzhen finally woke up. She rubbed her nose and sat up, her voice a little hoarse, "Old Gu, my nose is so dry, and my throat is so dry too."
No sooner had she finished speaking than another stream of blood flowed from her nose, a striking sight against her pale face.
Gu Tingshen quickly reached out and pinched her nose, holding her flailing hands. "Don't move, you're bleeding from your nose again."
Ye Zhenzhen then noticed the faint blood in the basin next to her and said in a muffled voice, "Did you have a nosebleed too?"
"...I didn't bleed, it was all your blood." Gu Tingshen's eyes were full of helplessness.
---
"Did you film everything just now?" Jiang Wei rubbed his eyes and asked the director next to him.
"It's all being recorded!"
"Let's cut this part into the final cut, add some special effects or something," Jiang Wei said, yawning as he walked. "We can't be the only ones who got this fright..."
At breakfast, everyone noticed that Ye Zhenzhen no longer had fruit or milk tea in front of her, but only a large plate of leafy greens. Ye Zhenzhen stared at the plate with a bitter expression, chewing reluctantly while her eyes were fixed on the fruit on everyone else's plates, her gaze filled with longing.
"Oh, what's going on? You're eating vegetarian today?" Zhang Siqing teased first, but Ye Zhenzhen gave her a resentful look, making her laugh even harder.
"Children should all learn from Aunt Zhenzhen, you know? Eating more vegetables will prevent nosebleeds!" Lan Nuo took the opportunity to put some green vegetables on Jingyi's plate.
Gu Tingshen sat beside her, completely ignoring her dissatisfied gaze, and watched her finish all the vegetables before clearing away the plate.
"The fruit is too sweet, eat less of it. You need to drink more water and eat less sweets these days," Gu Tingshen said, handing her a cup of herbal tea infused with unknown herbs.
Ye Zhenzhen reluctantly took it and took a big gulp to vent her frustration.
Um? ! ! !
The next second, the bitterness made his face change drastically, his features scrunched up, and he turned his head as if he wanted to vomit.
Gu Tingshen quickly covered her mouth, saying, "Be good, swallow it."
Are you the devil?!
Ye Zhenzhen stared in shock. The bitterness made her tongue go numb, and she couldn't spit it out, so she could only swallow it down with tears in her eyes.
I never wanted to touch that teacup again.
Her gaze toward Gu Tingshen was also filled with condemnation.
Everyone already knew about the morning's misunderstanding, and now they were just watching the show from the sidelines, showing no sympathy for her plight; instead, they burst into laughter...
After breakfast, they packed their bags and set off for Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province.
"These are cultural and creative souvenirs from Flaming Mountain Film and Television City to all the guests," Jiang Wei said, pointing to the trays held by several staff members next to him. The trays were covered with red cloth, so it was impossible to tell what was inside.
Ye Zhenzhen lifted the red cloth and saw a pile of pearls strung together on a vermilion lacquered wooden tray.
As if sensing something, she lifted it up with both hands, and sure enough, it was a pearl-embroidered shirt, shaped like a vest. It had appeared in the "Heavenly Wedding" episode of Journey to the West, and now it had been made into a cultural and creative product by the film studio and given to them, which was quite ingenious.
This piece, strung together with round, soft white pearls, has a considerable weight to it. Judging by the size, only Gu Sinan could wear it.
Ye Zhenzhen held the pearl in her hand in a daze, the coolness seeping into her heart, a feeling that seemed familiar.
"Mom, is this the pearl-embroidered shirt that Pigsy wore? It's so pretty!" Gu Sinan reached out and touched it, interrupting Ye Zhenzhen's thoughts.
Ye Zhenzhen bent down and draped it over Gu Sinan's shoulders.
The child touched it curiously and then spun around.
“But I am Sun Wukong, this should be worn by Zhu Bajie.” He looked at his father, who no longer had a pig nose, and then at the small pearl-embroidered shirt, and shook his head regretfully, “They made it too small, Dad can’t wear it at all.”
Ye Zhenzhen's complicated thoughts were interrupted, and the slight sorrow between her brows dissipated somewhat.
The other creative gifts for the other groups were also revealed one after another. Lanno's group received a jade-white medicine-pounding set, specially made for the Jade Rabbit; Wang Liqing's group received a golden cudgel; and Zhang Siqing's family received two banana leaf fans, which were carried on the shoulders of the twins.
The children changed into costumes prepared by the production team and prepared to take a set of adorable promotional photos for the Flaming Mountain Scenic Area.
Once the styling was complete, the surrounding photographers and onlookers gasped.
"Wow, so cute!"
"Wow, they all have handy weapons now, so cute!!"
"Hahaha, Brother Nannan has turned into Pigsy!" Zhou Jingyi laughed so hard her eyes disappeared, sporting two rabbit ears.
Several children were gathered together by the adults, and many funny and cute photos were taken.
"Nannan, why don't you take your rake and compare it with Xuxu's golden cudgel!"
"Xu Xu, you take Nan Nan and fight those two Red Boys! Yes, pretend you're fighting!"
"Nannan, chase after Jingyi for a couple of steps."
These are the adults watching the spectacle from the sidelines, offering random suggestions along the way.
Laughter soon filled the film studio, and Ye Zhenzhen watched with a smile on her lips, though the smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Are you tired?" Gu Tingshen stared at her for a few seconds, then stepped forward and put his arm around her waist.
"Yes, a little." Ye Zhenzhen lowered her eyes, making it impossible to see her expression, but she made him feel that she was somewhat vulnerable.
"Shall we go back and rest first?"
"It's okay, it'll be fine in a bit." Ye Zhenzhen shook her head, looking at Gu Sinan who was joking and playing with Yan Xu, feeling somewhat dazed, as if she were seeing herself when she was a child.
She was just thinking about some things, and it made her a little sad.
Gu Tingshen pulled her to sit on a stone bench next to him, letting her lean against him, and silently kept her company.
The paparazzi instinctively tried to follow, but were stopped by the man's gaze.
"I also have a pearl-embroidered shirt." After a long silence, a muffled voice suddenly came from inside her arms. "When I was about Nan Nan's age, after watching this episode of Journey to the West, I insisted on having a pearl-embroidered shirt. My mother couldn't persuade me otherwise, so she made one for me, and I wore it and admired myself for a long time..."
Ye's mother found a craftsman to learn the technique, and then spent a month making her a cloud-shaped shoulder piece out of pearls.
The original owner was ecstatic after wearing it, and even slept with it at night, saying it was cool and comfortable.
Ye's mother smiled gently and kissed her forehead, patted her back lightly, and hummed an unknown tune to lull her to sleep.
Her loving mother's voice and appearance are still vivid in her mind, but in the blink of an eye, Ye's mother has been gone for four years.
In her previous life, she died young from cancer, leaving her parents to bury their child; in this life, when she transmigrated, her mother had already passed away.
Could it be that she was destined to have few family ties, and that she could not enjoy the company of her parents in both her past lives?
She misses her mother so much...
Gu Tingshen felt a warm sensation in his chest.
Ye Zhenzhen, nestled in his arms, had red eyes, and large tears rolled down her closed eyes.
"Mom's death anniversary is coming soon. After we finish recording the show, I'll go back with you to visit her." Gu Tingshen carefully wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with his sleeve, a pang of sorrow in his heart.
He offered no further words of comfort; they seemed too pale. The wounds of losing a loved one run deep, taking a lifetime to heal; the slightest touch would cause them to bleed and ache unbearably.
Ye Zhenzhen nodded haphazardly, then looked down to rub her eyes, but the man stopped her. She simply tilted her head back and said, "Wipe them for me, so Nannan won't notice."
Gu Tingshen gently wiped her red eyes and tear-stained eyelashes.
Those glistening teardrops seemed to fall on his heart, burning hot, causing a subtle, persistent pain in his chest.
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