Chapter 42 Gu Xubai heard the sound of a heartbeat…
Yun Qingqing's words were undeniably powerful, directly exposing Ye Jinyan's false pretense.
Ye Jinyan's face darkened visibly, clearly indicating that his weak point had been hit.
"Mingyan, you see this? This is your so-called good friend! Sharp-tongued, always trying to sow discord, and utterly ill-mannered!"
The tent flap was suddenly flung open.
Gu Mingyan came out, naturally took Yun Qingqing's hand, and asked slowly, "What? Did she say something wrong?"
Ye Jinyan opened his mouth, but found himself unable to refute it.
Gu Mingyan reminded her distantly, "The live stream cameras are about to start, you'd better leave quickly. I don't want my name to be associated with you anymore, causing misunderstandings."
“You…” A look of embarrassment and anger flashed across Ye Jinyan’s eyes.
He stared intently at Gu Mingyan, and finally, under her unwavering gaze, he hurriedly and sheepishly left.
In the morning, the production team announced today's task: to go hiking and explore Phoenix Mountain opposite the campsite, and take at least three photos of "the beautiful scenery in one's heart" as the result of the task.
With their basic equipment and water, the group set off under the director's guidance.
Ding Manni, with her hair tied in a high ponytail, looked full of energy. As soon as she heard the director's instruction, she quickly walked to the front of the line, showing no intention of waiting for anyone.
Meng Xian watched her retreating figure, feeling a bit breathless.
Since the "fake school beauty" incident was exposed, Ding Manni has never said anything, but there has been a noticeable decrease in the amount of conversation between her and Ding Manni.
"Plastic best friends." Meng Xian sneered inwardly, a surge of resentment at being betrayed welling up inside her.
Since the other party ignored her, Meng Xian was too lazy to keep trying, so she immediately turned to Ye Jinyan beside her and took his arm.
Ye Jinyan seemed unusually gentle and considerate today. As soon as she took his arm, he turned his head and loudly reminded her:
"Xianxian, watch your step, there are loose stones here, don't trip."
As he spoke, he deliberately slowed his pace, half-protecting her as he walked forward.
Meng Xian noticed that Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan were walking not far from them. Although they were busy chatting and laughing, they must have heard Ye Jinyan's considerate words of advice.
This gave her a strange sense of satisfaction.
She replied softly, "Thank you, Jin Yan. I will be careful."
The CP (couple) fans in the live chat became more active because of their interactions:
[Ahhh, who can understand just how sweet Ye Shao's protectiveness towards his wife is? A detail-oriented person is overjoyed!]
[They even have to show off their love while walking; Young Master Ye must be head over heels in love with Xianxian, sob sob.]
[Only real couples are worth shipping! Please keep the Ye Xian CP locked in forever!!!]
The group slowly ascended the mountain path.
Fengqi Mountain is not steep, but the lush forests and babbling mountain springs along the way offer a unique wild charm.
About half an hour later, the team arrived at a relatively flat grassland halfway up the mountain.
The director indicated that everyone could take a short break, replenish their fluids, and look for photo opportunities.
Ji Sihan was walking on the side, unscrewing his water bottle and about to take a sip when he suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes next to him.
He turned his head warily and parted the branches to take a look.
Two snow-white lambs, which looked to be newborns, were snuggling together, making soft bleating sounds.
"Huh? There are two sheep here!" Ji Sihan exclaimed in surprise.
The crowd gathered around upon hearing the noise.
"Oh! It's a lamb!" Meng Xian looked over at the sound and exclaimed in surprise.
She let go of Ye Jinyan's arm, took a few quick steps to Ji Sihan's side, and without thinking, reached out and touched the head of one of the lambs. "So cute! So fluffy!"
"Don't touch!" Jiang Mingqian quickly tried to stop her, but it was too late.
Meng Xian's fingers had already touched the lamb's curly wool, and she even gently rubbed it.
"What's wrong?" Meng Xian withdrew her hand and looked at Jiang Mingqian with some confusion.
Jiang Mingqian looked at the two lambs that were backing away in fright and patiently explained, "Don't touch wild animals, especially the young. We don't know if they carry germs, or if the mother sheep is nearby. Touching them rashly might cause the mother sheep to refuse to nurse them because of the change in scent."
“But…” Meng Xian bit her lower lip, her face full of pity, “They look so small, all alone here, could they have been abandoned by their mother goat?”
Jiang Mingqian: "Uh..."
“The lambs have nothing to eat and will freeze or starve to death tonight. Are we just going to pretend we didn’t see them and walk away? That’s too cruel.” Meng Xian sighed.
Jiang Mingqian opened his mouth, wanting to explain that, based on his observation, the two lambs were healthy, and there were signs of adult goats moving around in the nearby grass, so they didn't seem to have been abandoned. It was more likely that the mother goat had temporarily left to forage for food.
But before he could finish speaking, Ye Jinyan stepped forward and stood beside Meng Xian to support her.
“It’s alright,” Ye Jinyan said calmly. “Since we’ve met, it’s fate. I’ll contact someone to come and take these two lambs to a professional farm to be cared for and ensure they are properly settled.”
Jiang Mingqian had no choice but to swallow his words and silently take a half step back.
On the live chat, Xian's fans, who had been suppressing their emotions for a long time, finally found an opportunity to rebound:
My dear Xianxian has such a soft heart! She's so patient and gentle with animals.
[I always knew Xianxian was kind at heart! The photo incident was probably just a momentary lapse in judgment.]
[Yes, to err is human. Luckily, Ye Shao and Xianxian are here, otherwise the two little lambs might really be left unattended.]
[Meng Xian's fans thank Ye Shao for taking care of Xian Xian's feelings~ Kind girls deserve to be treated gently!]
Ye Jinyan gave a brief explanation into his phone, then smiled reassuringly at Meng Xian: "It's all arranged. Someone will come to handle it in a bit."
Meng Xian responded with a grateful and admiring smile: "Thank you, Jin Yan. I can rest assured now."
Meng Xian nestled beside Ye Jinyan, the two whispering softly to the lamb, the scene appearing tender and affectionate.
The unexpected happened at that very moment!
"Meow—!!!"
A rough, high-pitched bleating of a sheep, filled with obvious anger, rang out from behind the dense bushes not far away!
Before anyone could react, a robust, gray-brown figure burst forth like a cannonball.
It was a rather large adult female goat. With its head down and hooves kicking up dust, it charged towards Meng Xian's location with a clear objective!
"Ah!!!" The tenderness on Meng Xian's face was instantly replaced by extreme terror.
Her mind went blank; the instinct for survival overwhelmed everything, and she abruptly dropped the lamb and ran away.
My heart was pounding in my chest, and my eyes darted around frantically.
Meng Xian caught a glimpse of Gu Mingyan at the bend in the mountain road, her back to Meng Xian, focused on taking photos with her camera, completely unaware of the impending danger.
In a flash, Meng Xian's mind went blank, but her body had already made its choice—
She made a sharp turn and suddenly hid behind Gu Mingyan, trying to use that slender figure as her shield!
"Mingyan, watch out!"
"Gu Mingyan! Behind you!!"
"Get out of the way!"
Several screams, so horrified they cracked, rang out simultaneously.
Gu Xubai, who was closest to Gu Mingyan, suddenly narrowed his eyes.
He didn't have time to think; his body reacted faster than his mind, and he shoved Gu Mingyan toward safety!
The push sent Gu Mingyan staggering into the bushes, narrowly avoiding the trajectory of the charging goat.
However, Gu Xubai himself was momentarily stunned by the reaction force, completely exposed to the front of the goat's charge.
The enraged goat was almost upon him; he tensed, ready to take the hit head-on.
However, the expected impact did not occur to him.
A slender figure appeared from his side and behind, blocking the attack for him.
Yun Qingqing felt as if she had been hit head-on by a speeding car. The huge impact lifted her feet off the ground instantly, and her whole body was lifted up by that brute force.
"Gently—!!!" Gu Mingyan's scream changed tone.
Gu Xubai's brain went blank for a moment. The instant Yun Qingqing was thrown into the air, he opened his arms and pounced on her, using his chest and arms as a cushion for her to land.
"Cough!" The two rolled around in a mess.
"Qingqing! Xubai! How are you?!" Gu Mingyan rushed over, her voice trembling.
"I... cough cough, I'm fine..." Yun gently reminded them through the pain, "The sheep are still here."
Having succeeded in its attack, the goat's anger did not subside. It pawed at the ground, seemingly searching for its next target.
Gu Mingyan's face turned pale. She bit her tongue hard to calm herself down quickly.
She carefully and very slowly squatted down, took out the banana she had originally used to replenish her energy from the side pocket of her backpack, gently peeled a piece, and then slowly placed it on the ground, rolling the banana in a direction away from Gu Xubai and Yun Qingqing, and also away from the little lamb.
The sweet aroma of fruit wafted faintly in the air.
The goat twitched its nose, its red eyes glanced at the banana rolling on the ground, then looked back at its seemingly unharmed cub, and finally hesitated for a moment in its ferocious charge.
"Don't move! Don't run! And don't shout or provoke it!" Jiang Mingqian urged urgently in a low voice.
Nan Xu understood immediately and spread his arms, signaling the others to slowly back away.
The two men, one on the left and one on the right, formed a slow, non-confrontational blocking posture, attempting to separate the goat from the fallen man.
The goat watched the group warily, slowly backed away a few steps, then suddenly turned around and let out a few urgent bleats at the lamb.
Upon hearing the sound, the two lambs immediately stumbled and ran towards their mother.
The ewe nudged her lamb with her head, then brandished her hooves defiantly toward the crowd again. She didn't touch the banana, but instead led her lamb away behind the bushes.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the ewe left.
Gu Mingyan hastily wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and, together with Gu Xubai, gently helped Yun up.
Seeing that Yun Qingqing had abrasions on her wrists and ankles, an uncontrollable anger surged up into Gu Mingyan's head.
"Miss Meng, you're quite capable," she said coldly. "Your first reaction to danger is to find someone else to shield you?"
Meng Xian's lips trembled, and tears welled up instantly: "I...I was so scared at the time, my mind went blank, I didn't mean to..."
These words sounded flippant and insincere, and the viewers in the live stream didn't buy it at all.
My heart was pounding the whole time! Is Meng Xian even human?! That was clearly a deliberate act of using Gu Mingyan as a human shield.
This is attempted murder, isn't it?! So vicious!
[She was the one who insisted on touching the lamb despite warnings, and now she's the one causing trouble and hurting people! Meng Xian, what are you pretending to be, playing the saint?]
[Ye Jinyan is hilarious. He's the best at showing off, but when things actually go wrong, he's utterly useless.]
Gu Xubai ignored the argument over there; his attention was entirely on Yun Qingqing.
He gently steadied Yun and stepped back half a step, but his gaze scrutinized her from head to toe several times, his brow furrowed: "Besides the place where you were hit, does anything else hurt? Can you move your arms or legs?"
Yun gently tried to move her hands and feet. Apart from some pain in her left shoulder and the area where she landed, she seemed fine.
"There shouldn't be any bone damage, just some abrasions."
After confirming that she was able to move freely, Gu Xubai raised his eyes and asked the question that had been lingering in his mind since earlier: "It was so dangerous just now, why did you rush over without thinking?"
The force of that goat's charge was enough to make even an adult male struggle, yet she stood in front of him without hesitation.
Yun blurted out softly, "I can't let anything happen to you."
—As long as Gu Xubai doesn't go crazy and ruin the Gu family, he's the destined tool that allows Gu Mingyan to steadily receive a generous share of the profits every year, and the best weapon to suppress the male lead, Ye Jinyan. Of course, she can't let anything happen to him.
Of course, the most important point is that Yun Qingqing did not expect that being nudged by the sheep would hurt quite a bit.
"I should have just let Gu Xubai take the brunt of it. He's definitely more resilient than me," Yun said to the system, her voice trembling with tears.
system:"……"
Poor Gu Xubai was unaware that he was being manipulated. His usually calm and unwavering eyes now clearly reflected Yun Qingqing's figure.
He stared at her for quite a while, so long that Yun Qingqing began to feel a little uncomfortable.
She raised her hand and touched her cheek: "What's wrong? Is there something dirty on my face?"
Gu Xubai seemed to suddenly come to his senses, and abruptly turned his head:
"……No."
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