Chapter 18 This island belongs to Gu Mingyan
When the crew of the program came out of the other end of the underwater tunnel, they still had a look of amazement on their faces.
Being surrounded by azure waters, colorful corals, and exotic fish is indeed a unique and unforgettable experience.
Directly opposite the exit of the island tunnel is that meticulously maintained ecological park.
Meng Xian glanced at the straight road leading to the ecological park, and her heart stirred slightly.
She originally planned to take everyone directly there, but then she thought that Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing were on their way, so why not wait for them to arrive before going in together?
This way, she can show the pass that Ye Jinyan gave her in person.
So she stopped and said softly to everyone, "Why don't we rest in this pavilion for a while and wait for Mingyan and Qingqing to arrive before we go in for a visit?"
No one objected.
The pavilion sits under the shade of trees, facing a lush tropical garden, in a fresh and elegant environment.
While waiting, Meng Xian's gaze swept over the plants in the garden, and she took the opportunity to introduce them to everyone, such as the one with pale yellow flowers and a strong fragrance, which is ylang-ylang, and the tall tree with drooping aerial roots, which is banyan tree, and so on.
Upon hearing this, Ji Sihan exclaimed in surprise, "Meng Xian, you know so much! You actually recognize so many uncommon plants!"
Meng Xian simply smiled subtly, without saying a word.
This knowledge was explained to them by the people who looked after the ecological park when Ye Jinyan brought her to stay on the island last time.
Meng Xian only memorized a few botanical names that impressed her, and now she can use them immediately.
The live chat erupted in praise once again:
Wow, Meng Xian is truly a treasure! She's beautiful, has a great personality, and is so knowledgeable!
[As expected, outstanding people are outstanding in every way; they're a perfect match for Young Master Ye.]
This is what a true socialite is like—well-informed yet humble and unassuming.
Meng Xian glanced at the comments praising her and felt even more eager for Gu Mingyan's arrival.
Before long, two figures appeared at the end of the path.
Gu Mingyan changed into a black dress and walked with a brisk pace in high heels, while Yun Qingqing walked beside her, chatting and laughing with her.
Viewers in the live stream quickly spotted the newcomer, and the chat immediately became lively:
Here it comes! The part I've been waiting for is here!
[Gu Mingyan actually dared to come? Is it because she couldn't sit still after seeing Meng Xian steal the spotlight in the live stream?]
[He made a fool of himself by coming here to witness firsthand the difference between himself and Meng Xian.]
[I feel like the atmosphere is about to get awkward, haha.]
As the two approached, Ding Manni said with a smile, "You've come at the perfect time. Xianxian is introducing us to the ylang-ylang and the giant banyan."
Jiang Mingqian also chimed in with a smile: "Yes, with an encyclopedia like Teacher Meng around, we don't even need to bring a guide when we enter this ecological park."
"Teacher Jiang, you flatter me. I just happen to know a little bit about it; I'm hardly an encyclopedia," Meng Xian said modestly.
Before he could finish speaking, a soft sneer came from the side.
“I can tell you only know a little bit about it,” Gu Mingyan said, arms crossed. “That’s not ylang-ylang at all.”
Ding Manni retorted angrily, "Gu Mingyan, don't deliberately pick a fight. How could Xianxian admit her mistake!"
Meng Xian's expression also stiffened slightly, but she maintained her composure and said softly, "Mingyan, do you have another opinion? I would like to hear it in detail."
Gu Mingyan said calmly, "Ylang-ylang petals are slender and long, drooping in spikes. When ripe, they turn yellowish-green and have a rich, layered fragrance, making them an important ingredient in top-quality perfumes. And this one..."
She casually pointed to a nearby flower with her fingertip. "The petals are wider and shorter, cup-shaped, and bright pale yellow. The fragrance is strong but singular and pungent. This is a frangipani, also called gardenia, a common tropical ornamental flower. It's completely different from ylang-ylang."
After Gu Mingyan finished explaining, the viewers in the live stream didn't immediately accept it:
Does anyone know if what Gu Mingyan said is true or false? I have a feeling she's just trying to sabotage Meng Xian and is talking nonsense to put her down.
But Gu Mingyan's explanation sounded very reasonable and professional. Could it be that Meng Xian really made a mistake?
The island's flora and fauna advisor, who had been quietly following behind the group, adjusted his glasses and cautiously spoke up: "Um... this is indeed a frangipani, not ylang-ylang. Ylang-ylang is grown deeper within the park."
The expert's definitive statement silenced those who defended Meng Xian in the live chat, leaving them feeling like they'd been slapped in the face.
Yun Qingqing stood beside Gu Mingyan, secretly marveling, "I thought Mingyan was a clueless young lady, but I didn't expect her to know about botany."
The system answered for her: [Host, this is not surprising. Gu Mingyan's mother, Ms. Xu Manhua, is a renowned botanist both domestically and internationally, specializing in tropical plant ecology. This island was originally one of Ms. Xu's bases for ecological research. Gu Mingyan has been exposed to this environment since childhood, so recognizing these plants is basic for her.]
I see!
Yun Qingqing suddenly realized, and her understanding of Gu Mingyan deepened.
In the original book, Gu Mingyan's character always revolves around her love triangle with Ye Jinyan and Meng Xian, and she is portrayed as a love-struck supporting character who only knows how to be jealous and make unreasonable demands.
But if you look beyond this messy love triangle, she is still a well-educated young lady who grew up in a privileged environment and with a wealth of knowledge.
However, her brilliance always seemed to be overshadowed by that unequal relationship.
Meng Xian felt embarrassed in front of everyone, and her cheeks flushed slightly: "It turns out I remembered it wrong. Thank you for correcting me, Mingyan. It seems I still have a lot to learn."
Her sincere and humble tone immediately won her a wave of goodwill.
Meng Xian quickly adjusted her mindset.
What good is it for Gu Mingyan to know more? Whether it's ylang-ylang or frangipani, it's now planted on Ye Jinyan's land.
The person who holds the pass and can freely enter and exit this place is Meng Xian.
Thinking of this, Meng Xian felt relieved again.
"I'm sorry for making you all laugh." She casually brushed aside what had just happened, then elegantly took out a pass from her handbag. "Let's go into the park first. There are more rare plants and animals there, many of which are rarely seen outside."
As Meng Xian spoke, her gaze seemed to sweep over Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan, "Maintaining this ecological park is no easy task. It is said that tens of millions of US dollars are invested every year in order for the plants and animals to grow safely here. Therefore, only VIPs with access cards are qualified to enter."
Yun asked gently at the right moment, "Teacher Meng, are we going to swipe this card in? This card looks so special!"
Meng Xian wanted to hear this question, so she stopped and showed the card to the two of them, face out.
"Yes, this is the highest-level access card in my hand. It allows free entry and exit to all areas of the island."
Ding Manni had always harbored resentment towards Gu Mingyan, believing her to be a third party trying to interfere in Ye Jinyan and Meng Xian's relationship. Seeing the opportune moment, she deliberately cheered loudly:
"Xianxian, you really have an advantage! Thanks to you, everyone is able to visit this eco-park that was built at great expense today."
Gu Mingyan lazily lifted her eyelids: "Whether it can be scanned or not is another matter."
Upon hearing this, Meng Xian scoffed inwardly, thinking that Gu Mingyan was just being sour grapes and was only saying such things because she was too proud to admit it.
She didn't take those words to heart at all; instead, she felt that the more Gu Mingyan acted this way, the more pitiful and pathetic she seemed.
The comments section also shared the same thought as Meng Xian:
[Pfft, is Gu Mingyan just being stubborn? Is it so hard to admit that someone else is loved?]
[Hilarious! They have the highest-level card, how could it not work? Are you kidding me!]
[This is clearly a sarcastic comment. He seems nonchalant, but he's probably seething with jealousy inside.]
Meng Xian smiled with a hint of helplessness and tolerance, as if to say, "If you insist on being so stubborn, there's nothing I can do."
Without further hesitation, she placed the access card in her hand close to the sensor area of the entrance gate.
A crisp notification sound rang out, and Meng Xian's lips curled up slightly.
However, instead of the expected green "Verification Successful" message, the gate screen displayed a glaring red warning: "[Permission verification failed, access card invalid.]"
Meng Xian's smile froze instantly, her hand holding the highest pass card hovering in mid-air, looking extremely embarrassed.
"Impossible..." she muttered to herself.
She seemed unable to accept this result, and abruptly pressed the card against the sensor area again, once, twice, three times...
"Beep—Permission verification failed, access card is invalid."
"Beep—Permission verification failed, access card is invalid."
"Beep—Permission verification failed, access card is invalid."
The waiting crowd was initially admiring the surrounding scenery, but the repeated failure notifications made them all turn their attention to Meng Xian, who was standing in front of the turnstile.
Jiang Mingqian stepped forward and asked with concern, "Teacher Meng, what's wrong?"
Holding the suddenly invalidated card, Meng Xian had to force herself to remain calm and explain, "This card seems to have encountered a temporary technical malfunction and can't be swiped."
[Holy crap? Gu Mingyan was right! It really can't be loaded?!]
[Is her mouth blessed? It's like a prophet's mouth!]
[Did Gu Mingyan tamper with the access card? Like, did she break the magnetic sensor or something?]
[Is the person above stupid? Gu Mingyan just arrived on the island, and the card has been in Meng Xian's possession the whole time. How could she tamper with it? Unless Gu Mingyan is the island owner herself, capable of remotely disabling the card's access.]
[It might be a random malfunction, but this coincidence is too dramatic.]
Ding Manni, who was eagerly anticipating visiting the ecological park, immediately became anxious to find the cause upon hearing this: "How could this happen? Did it get bent accidentally in your handbag? Magnetic cards are sometimes very fragile; they can easily be demagnetized and broken."
Meng Xian's eyelids twitched involuntarily. Recalling Gu Mingyan's prophetic words, she felt a vague unease in her heart.
But at this moment, she could only take the way out offered by Ding Manni: "It's possible that it was damaged accidentally."
Gu Mingyan, who had been observing from the sidelines, chuckled: "It's also possible that you don't have permission to enter here at all. It says 'Permission verification failed' on it, not 'Card damaged'."
"Stop gloating," Ding Manni retorted, annoyed. "So what if the access is temporarily suspended? We can just have Young Master Ye contact the island's administrators and reactivate it. It's a piece of cake for Young Master Ye!"
Yun blinked gently and asked innocently, "Huh? But... that 'Young Master Ye' you mentioned isn't the island's owner, so where would he get the authority to make someone reactivate it?"
Ding Manni rolled her eyes in annoyance: "That's hilarious! If he's not the owner of the island, then who is?"
Yun Qingqing said confidently, "The island's owner is my Mingyan!"
Gu Mingyan obediently raised her chin: "Hmm."
The entire production crew: "???"
What's going on?
The barrage was initially silent, then filled with a whole screen of "hahaha," all mocking Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan's delusional dreams.
[Are they crazy?! Are those two putting on a show? How could the island owner be Gu Mingyan?]
I think Gu Gou is just delusional from being a pampered princess for too long; she thinks all the good things in the world belong to her.
I laughed. To outdo Meng Xian, she'd say anything, unafraid of biting off more than she can chew.
Does Gu Mingyan think that "Island Lord" is just a title that anyone can bestow upon themselves?
[Although... what if? What if the island really belongs to Gu Mingyan? Wouldn't Meng Xian and the others be incredibly embarrassed?]
[Pshaw, if you believe their nonsense, you've already lost. If Gu Mingyan were the island lord, I'd do a handstand while washing my hair on live stream.]
Ding Manni also expressed skepticism about this.
She scoffed, "Gu Mingyan is the island lord? Yun Qingqing, even if you want to fawn over her, there should be a limit, right? How can you utter such a ridiculous lie?"
Meng Xian also frowned. Although she was flustered because the pass had expired, she felt that Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing were just being unreasonable.
Watching Gu Mingyan fiddling with a device on the door, she couldn't help but remind her, "Mingyan, be careful. This access control system is quite expensive. Don't break their things, or you'll have trouble explaining it later."
His words clearly showed that he did not believe Gu Mingyan was the owner of the island.
Gu Mingyan didn't even bother to lift her eyelids, completely ignoring Meng Xian's well-intentioned reminder. She leaned down slightly and focused her eyes on the recognition window.
The next second, a clear and pleasant system notification sounded:
[Iris recognition successful. Welcome home, island owner.]
With a soft click, the airtight gate that Meng Xian had been unable to open before opened.
The scene fell into a deathly silence.
All the guests stared in disbelief at the scene, and Ding Manni's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Meng Xian stared in astonishment at the slowly opening door, her composure completely vanishing.
The barrage of comments erupted almost explosively:
[I was completely dumbfounded! Gu Mingyan is really the island owner?! The slap in the face came so fast, like a tornado!]
[Hahaha, where's that guy who said he was going to wash his hair upside down? Send me the livestream link, I want to watch.]
So... Meng Xian was showing off to Gu Mingyan on Gu Mingyan's island? Just thinking about it makes me embarrassed for Meng Xian.
[Gu Mingyan: I'm just quietly watching you show off.]
[To be honest, I had a feeling when Gu Mingyan corrected her on the wrong plant, and sure enough...]
This is truly a stunning plot twist; I never imagined a script would be written like this.
Gu Mingyan turned around leisurely, looked at Meng Xian, whose face was pale, and Ding Manni, who looked incredulous, and said jokingly, "Well? Do you need me to take out the permanent ownership certificate and transfer contract of this island again so that you can take a closer look?"
Meng Xian felt a burning sensation on her face, as if she had been slapped several times in public.
She clutched the pass tightly, the intense humiliation rendering her speechless. All her previous boasting and hints now seemed like a cruel irony.
Ding Manni still couldn't accept this fact and stammered, "No, impossible! If Young Master Ye isn't the island lord, how could he possibly have a card with the highest access privileges? This doesn't make sense!"
"I mean, is it possible..." Yun tilted her head and said, "that the card in his hand was also given to him by Mingyan?"
"this……"
Gu Mingyan had long lost patience with arguing with them. With her palm facing up, she said to Meng Xian, "Now, can you return my card to its rightful owner?"
Looking at her outstretched hand, Meng Xian felt an unprecedented sense of embarrassment and humiliation.
Although Meng Xian really loved this luxurious island, she couldn't keep using the pass under everyone's watchful eyes.
Meng Xian could only suppress her humiliation and put the pass back into Gu Mingyan's outstretched palm.
[Putting myself in Meng Xian's shoes, I just want to disappear on the spot; Taishe is dead.]
Who knew that this island, of all things, would end up belong to Gu Mingyan?
[It's also Meng Xian's own fault; the more ostentatiously she boasted before, the more awkward it becomes now.]
[Actually, I'm more curious about why Ye Jinyan has a pass to Gu Mingyan's private property; the relationship seems a bit complicated.]
Gu Mingyan casually put the card away, then said to the guests, "Since you're here, welcome everyone to come in and visit. However, there's something I need to mention in advance: it's leatherback turtle egg-laying season now, so please try not to go to the beach on the east side in order not to disturb them."
Ji Sihan was the first among everyone to recover from this awkward conflict.
He was easygoing; although he felt quite embarrassed for Meng Xian after what had just happened, his attention immediately shifted when he heard that they could go inside for a visit.
"Don't worry, don't worry, we will definitely follow the rules and will absolutely not disturb the sea turtle mother giving birth!" Ji Sihan happily pulled Nan Xu along and followed.
Meng Xian trailed behind heavily, head bowed, her expression dejected.
Seeing this, Ding Manni comforted her in a voice loud enough for everyone around to hear: "Xianxian, although this island doesn't belong to Young Master Ye, his feelings for you are absolutely genuine and without any falsehood! Didn't he even specially airlift fireworks over for you?"
She deliberately raised her voice, wanting to remind Gu Mingyan, who was walking ahead—so what if the island is yours? Is Ye Jinyan willing to put so much effort into preparing romance for you, Gu Mingyan?
Sure enough, Gu Mingyan, who was walking at the front, stopped and turned around with a frown: "Fireworks? What fireworks?"
Seeing that she had successfully attracted her attention, Ding Manni raised her chin and said in a boastful tone, "Of course, it's the fireworks that Young Master Ye specially airlifted over the sea to make our Xianxian happy."
Gu Mingyan's face instantly darkened: "Are you all idiots?!"
Ding Manni was stunned by the insult, clearly not expecting Gu Mingyan to use such direct profanity.
Meng Xian immediately spoke up to defend her best friend: "Mingyan, if you have any complaints, you can take them out on me. Why resort to hurtful words?"
"Gu Mingyan, who are you cursing?!" Ding Manni finally realized what was happening and angrily retorted in a shrill voice, "Are you so jealous because Young Master Ye prepared such a grand romantic event for Xianxian that you've lost your temper and are acting crazy here? The fireworks are being set off at sea, not on your island, so what's it to you?"
Yun shook her head gently, looking at the two of them with an expression as if they were idiots: "Was she wrong? You two are just really stupid!"
"Who has time to care about your petty love affairs? Although the fireworks weren't set off on the island, they were still very close. The sound and bright light from the fireworks explosions would severely frighten the wild animals living nearby, potentially causing them to die from stress. Moreover, the residue left after the fireworks, those metal particles and chemicals, would pollute the seawater and beaches, and are also toxic to coral reefs and marine life."
"This is not just a moral issue, but it may also violate relevant wildlife protection regulations and international conventions!"
Yun explained things clearly and logically, and everyone immediately realized the seriousness of the problem.
Behind the romantic fireworks lies enormous damage to the fragile ecosystem.
Previously, everyone had learned from Meng Xian that there would be a fireworks show, and they thought that Ye Jinyan was willing to spend a fortune to win a smile from his beloved, regardless of the losses.
But now the situation is quite different. This is not Ye Jinyan's island. Meng Xian and Ye Jinyan are wantonly destroying someone else's carefully protected ecological home for their own romance. What kind of behavior is that?
"I...I didn't know it would turn out like this." Meng Xian's face instantly drained of all color. She immediately pulled out her phone. "I'll contact Jin Yan right away and have him stop the fireworks show!"
She was eager to salvage her image and prove that she was not an ignorant person who disregarded her surroundings.
However, before she could send her message—
"Whoosh—Boom!" A bright light ripped through the darkening sky, exploding into a magnificent, enormous firework in the heavens.
Immediately afterwards, a second, a third... countless fireworks rose into the sky one after another, reflecting a colorful glow on the sea, with explosions echoing one after another.
The once tranquil ecological park was suddenly filled with the frantic flapping of wings and cries of birds flying in all directions.
The fireworks were beautiful and dazzling, but Meng Xian had lost her previous smugness.
This is really going to be interesting. Let's see how Meng Xian handles this. Gu Mingyan, the island owner, could definitely be held responsible, right?
[Actually, Nan Xu had mentioned the issue of ecological damage before, but Meng Xian brushed it off with a casual remark, "Jin Yan doesn't care about this little bit of damage."]
[Can I say that I also asked a similar question in the live chat this afternoon, and I was attacked with over a dozen comments by Meng Xian's fans and CP fans, who called me a troll and jealous of their sister's romance!]
This is both immoral and legally ignorant; it's utterly unromantic.
[I used to think Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing were being aggressive by calling them idiots, but now that I think about it, I can only say they were right!!]
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