I Swear I Don’t Want to Be Everyone’s Favorite - Chapter 20

The clues given by the program team were too vague. After nearly twenty minutes of searching, the two of them still had nothing to show for it.

The sky was hazy, as if it was about to rain. Fu Yunqing, who had long lost her initial determination, spoke up: “Maybe, we should head back first?”

This time, it was Jiang Luoyue who became the stubborn one: “Let’s keep looking.”

If they found it, the recording could end directly, saving them from wasting more time later.

But even as raindrops began to drift through the forest, they still hadn’t caught a glimpse of even half a resource pack. Just as the two finally decided to leave, the rain grew heavier. Even though they promptly exchanged points for umbrellas, they still ended up getting somewhat drenched.

“Can’t you give us a bit more of a hint?”

Beside her, Fu Yunqing was angrily confronting the photographer. Jiang Luoyue took a deep breath and instinctively wrapped her clothes tighter around herself, but the fabric was too thin she still felt cold.

It wasn’t until they were on their way back that she managed to organize her words: “If”

“If what?” Fu Yunqing glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, hesitated for a few seconds, then took off her jacket. “If we had left earlier, we wouldn’t have gotten caught in the rain? If we had left earlier, maybe the rain would have started sooner too. It has nothing to do with you.”

Fu Yunqing truly didn’t understand why Jiang Luoyue always took on all the responsibility at the first opportunity, as if it were genuinely her fault.

Before Jiang Luoyue could apologize, the jacket was forcibly draped over her shoulders. She caught a faint whiff of amber perfume.

“I washed it!” Fu Yunqing emphasized, “It’s not dirty.”

Jiang Luoyue lowered her gaze and indeed saw that all the stains had been cleaned off, though faint scorch marks from being dried by fire remained. Thinking of Fu Yunqing busily working to tidy up her appearance, Jiang Luoyue smiled: “I know, thank you, Yunqing.”

“Calling me so intimately.” Fu Yunqing muttered under her breath, “Even my family doesn’t call me that.”

For the rest of the journey, she kept stealing glances at Jiang Luoyue. At first, it was out of worry that Jiang Luoyue might dislike her, but later, she found herself inexplicably observing other aspects of Jiang Luoyue.

For the first time, Fu Yunqing noticed how thin Jiang Luoyue really was. Even wearing two jackets, she didn’t look bulky but rather just right, like a model on a promotional poster.

Except her height didn’t quite match.

Fu Yunqing began comparing their heights visually and felt a bit smug when she realized she was considerably taller than Jiang Luoyue. A few seconds later, however, she grew dissatisfied. How had Jiang Luoyue’s family raised her? When Fu Yunqing was the same age as Jiang Luoyue, she was nowhere near this frail.

While Fu Yunqing’s thoughts drifted, Jiang Luoyue also found herself spacing out. At first, her head ached faintly, then her footsteps grew heavy as if filled with lead. Just before reaching a certain limit, she stopped walking.

“Hmm?” Fu Yunqing glanced at her and saw Jiang Luoyue somewhat dazedly press the back of her hand against her own forehead.

As if confirming something, she said after a few seconds: “I think I have a fever.”

“Did I owe them money in a past life?”

Xiang Fan walked along the road holding an umbrella, her other hand laden with bags and luggage. Although she was extremely dissatisfied with her teammates for running off without her, she had to admit that splitting up had indeed saved a lot of time.

If Jiang Luoyue could be found, the recording could end directly. Trusting the two of them, Xiang Fan, after calming down, began dismantling the tent to reunite with them. However, since it was her first time doing it, her movements were a bit slow. By the time she finally managed to leave, it had started to rain.

This only strengthened Xiang Fan’s resolve to give the two of them a good scolding.

But when she actually found them and saw the situation clearly, she suddenly felt as if something was stuck in her throat.

Jiang Luoyue’s face was flushed, and it seemed her knees were aching. She kept gently rubbing her palms, looking particularly uncomfortable.

Fu Yunqing was squatting beside her, at a loss and almost dazed. Hearing Xiang Fan’s voice, she instinctively turned her face, and Xiang Fan could see that her eyes were also red, as if she were about to cry at any moment.

“What should we do, Xiang Fan?” she said, and Xiang Fan’s already shaky composure shattered completely. “She has a fever.”

Why didn’t Fu Yunqing ask for advice when she was running off with Jiang Luoyue?

Furious, Xiang Fan laughed bitterly, only snapping out of it upon hearing the second half of the sentence. She composed herself and first checked Jiang Luoyue’s forehead temperature sure enough, it was burning hot, just as Fu Yunqing had said.

“Did you get caught in the rain?” Xiang Fan asked softly.

Jiang Luoyue, feverish, looked dazed and unusually docile as she sat there, her reactions noticeably slower. After a while, she nodded, her voice tinged with a nasal tone: “I’ll be fine after resting for a bit. It’s okay.”

But the outdoor temperature was so low that it offered no chance for “rest.” Seeing the team reunited, Fu Yunqing immediately suggested, “Let’s just abandon the mission.”

Abandoning the mission would allow them to leave and let Jiang Luoyue rest properly.

Xiang Fan had no objections. Fu Yunqing nodded and said, “Then I’ll go find the others.”

But just as she was about to leave, Jiang Luoyue stopped her in surprise. “Why?”

She genuinely felt her condition was fine. In her memory, she had fallen ill many times, but the sickness came and went quickly. After all, she never had much time to rest and recover, and over time, both her body and mind seemed to have grown accustomed to intermittent illnesses.

“It’s such a pity to give up now. I’m really okay.”

Fu Yunqing instinctively retorted, “Is winning more important than your health?”

“Stop arguing,” Xiang Fan frowned. “You were reckless and dragged Jiang Luoyue into this, and now you want to pick a fight with her? Can you stop being so willful?”

Fu Yunqing fell silent.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a heavy downpour, and the rain gradually stopped not long after the argument. Xiang Fan took out the tent, tossed it directly to Fu Yunqing, and then exchanged points with the program team for cold medicine.

The boiling water in the kettle had cooled to a drinkable temperature after being jostled along the way. Under the watchful eyes of the two, Jiang Luoyue took the medicine and drank some water. Although her fever hadn’t subsided much, her mind felt clearer. “Let me ”

“Don’t move,” Fu Yunqing said. “Just sit there. It’ll be ready soon.”

Practice makes perfect. This time, Fu Yunqing worked much more efficiently and quickly set up the tent. After forcing Jiang Luoyue inside, she even exchanged points with the program team for two blankets one to lay down and one to cover her. If she’d had enough points, it seemed she would have even gotten a pillow to complete a comfortable rest set for Jiang Luoyue.

Fu Yunqing immediately turned to Xiang Fan. “What about your points? Lend them to me. I’ll pay you back next time.”

Xiang Fan: “…I’d like to lend them to you, but I only have ten points.”

And all ten of those had been used to exchange for fever-reducing medicine.

Ten points earned them ten pills. Fu Yunqing shook the bottle, remained silent for a few seconds, and asked, “To avoid wasting them, let’s just take them all.”

“Who’s taking them, you or me?” Xiang Fan questioned.

“Jiang Luoyue will take them.” As she spoke, Fu Yunqing carefully slipped into the tent, afraid of letting any wind in.

Watching her retreating figure, Xiang Fan took a deep breath and suppressed the urge to beat Fu Yunqing up after holding it in for a long time.

Inside the tent, Fu Yunqing moved quietly.

Jiang Luoyue seemed to have recovered from her fever her face was no longer flushed but had turned somewhat pale, making her look sickly. Her breathing was faint; if Fu Yunqing hadn’t been this close, she might not have been able to hear it.

Staring at that face, Fu Yunqing felt at a loss for the first time. In her life, she rarely failed. Messing things up and dragging others down seemed like something from another world. Yet, in this short period, Jiang Luoyue had been repeatedly implicated because of her, even falling ill because of her.

In Fu Yunqing’s memory, being sick meant being cared for attentively by everyone. Like the year before last, when she got injured in a car race even though the injury wasn’t serious, her family, who were on a business trip abroad, rushed back immediately to take care of her.

Jiang Luoyue was asleep. Fu Yunqing clumsily imitated what she had seen others do, occasionally tucking the blanket around her, then feeling the angle wasn’t quite right and readjusting it repeatedly.

“You’re going to fan a cold into me.” With the blanket being tossed around, Jiang Luoyue couldn’t ignore it any longer. She spoke up helplessly, her voice still a bit hoarse.

Fu Yunqing immediately withdrew her hand and, after a moment, softly apologized.

“This time is a bit better than last time,” Jiang Luoyue said.

Fu Yunqing: “What kind of time is this to be thinking about last time?”

Jiang Luoyue smiled faintly, but Fu Yunqing still wore a heavy expression. To change the subject, Jiang Luoyue said, “I’m a little thirsty.”

Fu Yunqing immediately went to pour water. While Jiang Luoyue drank, Fu Yunqing watched her intently, making Jiang Luoyue puzzled: “Are you thirsty?”

“Not thirsty,” Fu Yunqing replied. “What else needs to be done? I’ll do it.”

Jiang Luoyue tested the waters: “Hmm? I’m a little hungry…”

Fu Yunqing rushed out again but unfortunately, the compressed biscuits were finished. To conserve energy, Xiang Fan hadn’t brought much, and they currently had no food left.

Without overthinking it, Fu Yunqing began arguing fiercely with the production crew. At first, she felt a bit embarrassed, but after remembering Jiang Luoyue’s words, “If something happens to a guest, the production team can’t afford the consequences,” she suddenly gained confidence.

The production team had no choice but to part with one portion of self-heating rice.

Xiang Fan watched the entire scene unfold, pressed her fingers to her temples, and after Fu Yunqing left, stretched out her hand: “Give me two more.”

“These need to be exchanged with points,” the cameraman weakly reminded.

Xiang Fan said, “I think I have a fever too.”

Seeing that she seemed about to launch into an impromptu performance, the production team hurriedly handed over two more portions and fled quickly, afraid of being accosted by the “robber” again.

Xiang Fan casually opened the packaging and was about to add water when a cool female voice spoke: “Where’s Jiang Luoyue?”

She looked up to see Ning Fuguang standing in front of her, her gaze directed toward the tent.

Yu Jingtang was a few steps behind, seemingly wanting to ask the same question but having been beaten to it, could only glare coldly at Xiang Fan.

The moment the three of them appeared on screen together, the live chat exploded.

“Three days! Do you know how I’ve survived these three days?”

“A summary of the Square Team’s three-day journey: Look for Jiang Luoyue Can’t find Jiang Luoyue, take a short break Look for Jiang Luoyue.”

【Hooray! The “I Hate Me” permanent five-member team is finally assembled! Hate Squad, assemble let’s storm this program’s production team!】

“Jiang Luoyue? Why are you all talking about Jiang Luoyue nonstop?” Xiang Fan said, only to realize she had unconsciously uttered that name herself. She paused briefly, then retorted bluntly, “She’s my teammate. Where she is has nothing to do with you.”

“Just asking. You don’t have to answer.” Ning Fuguang replied calmly, but her gaze fell on the self-heating rice in Xiang Fan’s hands. “Two portions? Where’s hers?”

“Are you isolating her?”

Seeing both of them jumping to the worst conclusions, Xiang Fan laughed in exasperation. “She has a fever and is resting.”

At the same time, Fu Yunqing emerged from the tent, also holding self-heating rice.

“She’s asleep,” she explained casually upon noticing Xiang Fan, then finally registered the two unexpected visitors. “Why are you here?”

Yu Jingtang scanned the surroundings only tents, no protective campfire in sight. Clearly, this was a temporary setup. Combined with the earlier phone call, the pieces of the truth fell into place.

Jiang Luoyue had fallen ill because she went looking for Fu Yunqing.

Yu Jingtang spoke slowly, weighing each word carefully, but with every sentence, Fu Yunqing’s expression grew increasingly grim. Even so, Fu Yunqing didn’t refute a thing.

A few seconds later, Ning Fuguang said, “I told you before teaming up with her was a mistake.”

With that, she stepped into the tent, abruptly cutting off Yu Jingtang, who was still formulating a sharp retort. “You ”

The next moment, Yu Jingtang followed her inside.

Fu Yunqing stood frozen in place for several seconds before finally lowering her head and kicking a stone, looking utterly dejected.

Xiang Fan thought she was crushed and, with some reluctance, was about to offer a few words of comfort when she heard Fu Yunqing mutter indignantly, “If anyone should scold me, it should be Jiang Luoyue. What right do they have?”

Xiang Fan: “…” Eager to be criticized? Was this really the Fu Yunqing she knew?

Jiang Luoyue wasn’t sleeping deeply.

Even if she hadn’t heard the conversation outside the tent, when the tent flap opened and a gaze settled on her face, she struggled to open her eyes.

Assuming it was Fu Yunqing again, she mumbled the name drowsily and explained, “What’s wrong? I’m not hungry ”

But the response came in a slightly unfamiliar voice.

“Fu Yunqing isn’t here.”

Jiang Luoyue was momentarily confused. As her vision focused, she finally saw the person clearly.

Ning Fuguang looked at her, expression calm, tone tinged with mockery. “Thought I was Fu Yunqing?”

Silence stretched for several seconds, time seeming to freeze in that moment.

Jiang Luoyue immediately shut her eyes. Ning Fuguang said coldly, “Pretending to sleep won’t help.”

A few seconds later, Jiang Luoyue reopened her eyes, feigning surprise. “Director Ning? What are you doing here?”

“I must’ve dozed off just now. I didn’t catch what you said.”

Ning Fuguang: “…”

Ning Fuguang let out a cold, exasperated laugh.