Ch 66: Exchanging Guardians
Yin Chang had never felt like he wanted to spend time with someone as much as he did now. Even to the point of losing interest in work.
But there was no way around it. Most of the commitments had been scheduled months ago, and Yin Chang had to go out. However, as soon as he had some free time, he would scroll through his phone and search for details he hadn't noticed during the filming of "Super Star Life" in the show's official hashtag. According to netizens and fans, this was called "finding sugar to eat."
For example, the quick GIF of Shao Junling covering him with a blanket, the GIF of Shao Junling holding his hand in the car, the screenshots of Shao Junling's subtle expressions... Yin Chang quietly saved and watched them dozens of times.
Learning that Shao Junling cared about him and relied on him so much gave Yin Chang an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
He remembered the last time he went to Tuyao Village, like everyone else, he'd dreaded going back out to film the show. Before the trek there, he even had to repeat to himself countless times, "It's for work," just to switch into the right mindset. But this time, even though filming was still a ways off, Yin Chang was looking forward to accompanying Shao Junling once again.
But it seemed the others didn't share the same sentiment.
The staff informed them in advance, before the third shoot, that they would be going to a tropical rainforest village in Yunnan. The day before they left, the group chat was filled with complaints, while Yin Chang was at home humming while packing his bags.
After finishing packing, he glanced at Shao Junling, who was engrossed in his phone, playing games whenever he had free time.
"Still playing games?" Yin Chang asked him. "Is your stuff packed?"
It was said that this time they would be filming in the wilderness, so the production team specifically instructed them to bring hiking shoes and some mosquito repellent.
"Haven't yet," Shao Junling's expression was unusually serious. "I'm in battle."
"...What are you playing?" Yin Chang stood up and walked over. "Playing with Xue Ziwen?"
Shao Junling was too focused this time and didn't even respond.
Yin Chang saw the screen on Shao Junling's phone and paused for a moment. "Dota?"
Shao Junling was controlling his hero to engage in combat with another player and mumbled, "No."
Yin Chang was a bit unhappy with his attitude. In a playful mood, he circled behind Shao Junling and hugged him from the back.
Shao Junling trembled all over, and as a result of this momentary distraction, he got killed in the game.
"You..." Shao Junling anxiously said, "I died!"
"Oh, you died," Yin Chang teased him, sounding indifferent. "You still haven't answered my question. What are you playing?"
Shao Junling was infuriated but helpless against Yin Chang's dominance.
While waiting to respawn, he answered, "Honor of Kings. Xue Ziwen asked me to play."
Yin Chang asked, "Is it fun? You seem to be enjoying yourself these past few days."
Shao Junling nodded. "It's fun!"
Yin Chang smiled. He remembered that he had played Dota with Evan for a while. Now that the electronic gaming industry was so developed, he estimated that Shao Junling would also be deeply involved. However, he wouldn't interfere with Shao Junling's gaming, especially since it was vacation time. This was the carefree time that children should have.
As the respawn countdown was nearing its end, Shao Junling squirmed uncomfortably and instructed Yin Chang, "Don't move. I need to focus!"
Yin Chang responded with an "Oh" and found Shao Junling's serious expression particularly amusing.
But after watching Shao Junling play for a while, Yin Chang couldn't help but comment, "Your positioning is off."
Shao Junling: "..."
Yin Chang continued, "You're still going in with so little health? Aren't you asking for death... Oh, you died again."
Shao Junling: "...You!"
Seeing his face turning red with frustration, Yin Chang pinched his ear and laughed, "What about me? I didn't touch you. You died on your own."
The ears seemed to be Shao Junling's Achilles heel. Once Yin Chang grabbed it, he collapsed in defeat, completely powerless.
"Do you know how to play?" Shao Junling asked, lowering his head.
Yin Chang replied, "I don't, but I've played something similar."
Upon hearing this, Shao Junling's eyes brightened, and he couldn't help but ask, "Then... Shall we play together?"
Yin Chang didn't have much time to play games, but since Shao Junling was so excited, he could occasionally accompany him. After all, they would start filming tomorrow, so they still had some time tonight.
"Alright," Yin Chang took out his phone and downloaded the game Shao Junling mentioned.
Shao Junling was somewhat surprised to see Yin Chang willing to play with him. He enthusiastically explained some game rules, heroes, and gameplay that Xue Ziwen had taught him before.
After completing the tutorial, Yin Chang said, "Let's play a couple of casual matches first. I need to get a feel for it."
Shao Junling invited him and Xue Ziwen to form a team and turned on voice chat.
"Who's this?" Xue Ziwen's voice came through the phone.
Shao Junling said, "My brother."
Xue Ziwen was shocked. Yin Chang had a very "majestic" image in his mind, so he respectfully greeted him, "Brother Yin Chang."
Yin Chang replied, "Hmm, let's start."
For Yin Chang, playing games with two elementary school kids was a fresh experience.
They played in the novice bronze league, with Yin Chang being a beginner still adjusting. He thought he was playing just average, but he didn't expect to carry Shao Junling and Xue Ziwen to victory.
The two kids had poor game awareness, with issues in positioning and coordination. Xue Ziwen seemed to have slightly better skills, but it wasn't solely due to superior gameplay.
As for Shao Junling... sigh, Yin Chang couldn't bear to dampen his spirits. He had initially thought that the kid with such high intelligence would be good at games, but it turned out he was still a newbie.
Yin Chang played two matches and then left the team.
Shao Junling thought his brother found it boring and felt somewhat sulky.
Yin Chang tapped on the game interface and immersed himself in studying it. He told Shao Junling, "Give me your phone."
Shao Junling curiously handed over his phone to Yin Chang. Yin Chang took it and confirmed his suspicion. This guy only had three heroes and no rune equipment.
Yin Chang asked him, "Do you have any heroes you want to play?"
"Well, Sun Wukong, Sun Ce, and Bai Li Xuan Ce..." Shao Junling listed a series of heroes, mostly ones that Xue Ziwen had told him about. "But those heroes require money, and you can only unlock them after playing for a while."
Yin Chang operated Shao Junling's phone and topped up his account with 3,000 yuan. "Now you can directly buy any heroes you want to play. There are also skins that can enhance the heroes' attributes... As for rune equipment, you can study it yourself. You can use diamonds here to draw rewards and unlock everything on the page. Then equip the heroes based on their attributes, and you'll become stronger."
Shao Junling looked at the string of vouchers appearing in the top right corner and was amazed, his mouth wide open.
As a player who spent money on the game, Yin Chang never felt that it was a matter to be conflicted about. As long as Shao Junling enjoyed playing, it was fine. At least, he couldn't let him appear poor in front of Xue Ziwen.
"Alright, let's stop here for today," Yin Chang stood up and said, "Once you've mastered the heroes, carry me."
Shao Junling exclaimed, "...!!"
The next morning, they took a plane to Yunnan. The other guests were still gathering at the airport, and they would all go together to the shooting location by car.
Yin Chang didn't let Xue Ziwen pull Shao Junling away to sit together. Instead, he had him stay by his side. The journey from the airport to the shooting location would take over three hours. Xue Ziwen, sitting in the front row and bored, crawled up and teased Shao Junling over text, "Hehehe, want to play?"
Shao Junling nodded, but as soon as they started the game, Wang Chen's voice reprimanded Xue Ziwen from the front, "Playing games in the car! Watch out or I'll tell your mom!"
Xue Ziwen whimpered, "Aww..."
Shao Junling sat there nervously, glancing askance at Yin Chang, unsure if he was allowed to play.
Yin Chang whispered, "Go ahead and play, just one game, don't play too much. It's not good for your eyes to play in a moving car."
Shao Junling replied, "...Okay."
Next, Yin Chang leaned closer to him. He watched him play while gently giving him instructions on how to operate better.
Hearing the whispers coming from behind, Xue Ziwen was jealous to the point of tears. Yin Chang was such a great brother. He really wanted to exchange guardians with Shao Junling!
When they arrived at the shooting location, the host, Old Luo, asked them, "Did you all watch the show at home?"
Everyone replied in unison, "Yes!"
"Did you feel that your younger siblings or older siblings became more adorable than usual?" Old Luo said this with a meaningful glance at Yin Chang.
The group was accustomed to deliberately opposing the program team, so they all said "no," except for Yin Chang, who was holding Shao Junling's hand and smiling without saying a word.
Old Luo looked at the guests who said "no" and asked, "So, do you want to exchange your siblings?"
Xue Ziwen subconsciously exclaimed loudly, "Yes—!"
Wang Chen retorted angrily, "I wanted to get rid of you, you idiot!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Old Luo chuckled and said, "Alright, this time let's do something special. Let's exchange our siblings and guardians!"
They thought Old Luo was joking with Wang Chen and the others, so they didn't pay much attention and just laughed along.
But Old Luo immediately announced the rules for this shoot: All families had to reorganize their teams based on a draw. Over the next day and a half, the guests needed to treat the person they drew as their own sibling and live and participate in activities together.
Yin Chang was stunned and asked, "Are we really going to switch?"
Old Luo took the draw box handed to him by a staff member and said, "Of course, it's for real! Let's have representatives from each group, the younger siblings and nephews, come up and draw. Whichever family they draw will be their new team."
Huang Han saw You Luming pouting and about to cry, so he quickly raised his hand and asked, "Is it possible to still draw our original family?"
Old Luo smiled and said, "Yes, but the chances are very small."
The five kids went up to draw, and none of them actually drew their own family.
In the end, the new teams were formed as follows: Yin Chang and Xue Ziwen, Wang Chen and You Luming, Huang Han and Guo Yiheng, Lang Chizhi and Qin Xifeng, Qin Jingshan and Shao Junling.
Xue Ziwen's wish came true. He was so excited that he wanted to laugh up to the sky. The twin brothers found their new teammates intriguing, and Yin Chang felt a bit down. He had wanted to spend more time with Shao Junling, but they were forcibly separated by the program team right from the start.
Yin Chang patted Shao Junling's back with regret and advised him, "Behave well and don't bully Sister Jingshan, okay?"
Shao Junling nodded and walked straight to Qin Jingshan's side.
Qin Jingshan appeared calm on the surface, but internally, she was anxious... Remembering how this kid played a trick on her in the previous episode by giving her a longer route, Qin Jingshan was worried that Shao Junling would deliberately trip her up.
Afterward, Old Luo announced the first activity, the Skybridge Challenge.
The so-called Skybridge was a bridge suspended between two tall trees, ten meters high. The entire bottom of the bridge was made of transparent glass, so walking on it felt like walking on air. It might not sound like much, but once you actually walked on it, the height would make many people experience psychological fear.
All the guests went in pairs, and room selection was based on the time it took to cross the Skybridge. The pair with the shortest time would have the privilege to choose their room first.
Yin Chang topped up three thousand yuan into Shao Junling's game.
Shao Junling: "...Brother, what a waste!"
Yin Chang: "You promised to carry me."
Shao Junling: !!! I'll do my best!
