The Eunuch Is A Heartthrob On A Survival Variety Show [Ancient To Modern] - Chapter 4

Wei Yan: “It’s full.”

“What does it have to do with you?” Niu Xixi asked with a bad tone.

Ever since Wei Yan appeared, everyone kept praising him for looking good, but in his eyes, Wei Yan didn’t look that much better than him. “Hmph, he looks just so-so.”

Niu Xixi prepared to cling to Zhou Youlan again, but Wei Yan stepped forward, directly blocking Zhou Youlan behind him.

Actually, Wei Yan didn’t want to stick his neck out for this. His only job was to protect Zhou Youlan’s personal safety; everything else was none of his business, nor did he want to deal with it.

However, if Niu Xixi were allowed to join, the one likely to be abandoned would be him, rather than Ke Feiyang, who in their eyes possessed the best physical fitness.

Niu Xixi put his hands on his hips, his voice turning sharp: “I was talking to Teacher Zhou. What are you cutting in for? What business is this of yours?”

“Pfft!” Damahou couldn’t help laughing out loud. “Brother, everyone wants to be in a group with you, and this is still a wilderness survival show. What would happen if you went on a dating variety show?”

Zhou Youlan pushed him aside, heat and irritation rising between his brows from sheer disgust.

This was hardly a good thing; it was just annoying.

Seeing them make a chaotic mess over grouping, Zhao Guanjun chimed in: “Young man, if you went on one of those trendy dating variety shows right now, you might actually get really popular. That way, making a name for yourself would probably be a lot faster.”

He looked at Wei Yan and said: “As for coming here, though, it looks like the challenge is going to be huge for you. Do you want me to introduce some resources for those kinds of variety shows? I still have very extensive connections in that area.”

On the surface, Zhao Guanjun acted entirely amicable, putting on airs of being approachable without any status, making it sound at first like a senior kindly trying to pave the way for a junior. But listening closely, he was clearly making passive-aggressive teachings. Anyone a little slow on the uptake wouldn’t even catch it immediately.

Wei Yan remembered that this must be the old senior, Teacher Zhao, that Zhang Tongtong had mentioned.

Some watched the show unfold with amusement, while others cowered, not daring to speak up.

“Alright, alright,” Zhao Guanjun began calling everyone to gather. “It’s just grouping; it doesn’t mean you have to walk separately. Hurry up and finish grouping so we can set off. It’s all the same whoever you team up with, so don’t waste everyone’s time. Starting today, we’re going to be sleeping in the forest.”

“Exactly, exactly. We’re just grouping for better management, not splitting up to walk apart. Hurry up, Teacher Zhao is urging us.” Zhang Tongtong tugged at Wei Yan’s sleeve, blinking his eyes at him.

Niu Xixi could only walk away unwillingly, though he had no intention of giving up.

When Wei Yan turned back, he caught Zhou Youlan’s gaze, but the other man turned his head away with open disdain and walked off.

Wei Yan: “”

The remaining few guests, who knew no one, waited for everyone else to finish picking, planning to fill whatever slots were left in the groups.

Group 1 was led by Zhao Guanjun, with actress Lin Yue, male artist Wang Chunqin, female idol Ruan Mengmeng, and female singer Li Rongsheng. This group consisted entirely of established star artists.

Group 2 was led by Zhao Jie. Since her age was similar to Zhao Guanjun’s, she served as the leader for this group, which included fitness coach Chen Nan, rapper Wang Daoda, retired firefighter Ke Feiyang, and beauty web celebrity Niu Xixi.

Originally, Ke Feiyang was supposed to be in Zhou Youlan’s group, but an outdoor exploration female blogger asked to swap with him, and finding it hard to refuse, he switched.

Group 3 was led by Zhou Youlan, with members Damahou, male idol Zhang Tongtong, civilian guest Wei Yan, and outdoor exploration web celebrity Hu Lu, who had swapped places with Ke Feiyang.

The final group was led by Wang Ren, with members Ah Hu, Old Ghost, rock climber Kang Xiang, and outdoor sports enthusiast Li Xiaohuan.

Everyone set off following the map route provided by Wei Yan. Wang Ren and his group moved at a fast pace right from the start, and before long, the others were already unable to keep up with them, including their own group members.

Even though they had divided into groups, the camera crews for the four groups had also automatically assigned themselves to follow along, but when everyone got moving, it was glaringly obvious that discipline was lacking.

Wang Ren’s group looked down upon this bunch of slow, picky celebrity and internet influencers who were only putting on a show, and they had long since left them in the dust.

They marched all the way without taking a break. Because they had set out only at noon and winter fell early in this season, they had to hurry and find a place to build a shelter, or else the forest insects and mosquitoes at night would give them plenty to suffer through.

Since they were only allowed to carry two pieces of equipment, the production team didn’t even let them bring water. Of course, they could bring water if they wanted, but that would occupy one of their precious supply slots.

In comparison, everyone figured water could be found in the forest, whereas other supplies would likely be nearly impossible to obtain out here.

Consequently, this led to a water shortage among everyone. After sweating heavily, their bodies would desperately need rehydration, and suffering dehydration under high temperatures could be extremely dangerous.

Damahou plopped down onto the ground: “Let’s take a break. I’m so thirsty.”

Zhang Tongtong licked his dry lips: “Yeah, I can’t walk anymore. I really want to drink some water.”

Zhou Youlan stopped, and Wei Yan also stepped aside to wait.

“Hold on a little longer,” Zhou Youlan wiped the sweat beads from his forehead. “We’ll set up camp and rest once we find a water source.”

Wei Yan pulled over a clump of grass leaves and pinched them. The vegetation here was denser and thicker than where they had just come from; a river should be not far from here.

In two hours, they hadn’t taken fewer than ten breaks. At this pace, they probably wouldn’t even make it into the central zone of this jungle after seven days of walking.

“Everyone, let’s keep moving forward,” Zhao Guanjun said. “Otherwise, if it gets dark later and we can’t find a water source or a campsite, we’ll be in trouble.”

With Zhao Guanjun walking in front, no one dared to fall behind.

Zhou Youlan: “The map.”

He kept his tone deliberately cold, his eyeballs shifting toward Wei Yan before quickly looking away, as if afraid that glancing an extra second would cause Wei Yan to develop other ideas about him.

Wei Yan didn’t mind, pulling the map out from his pack and handing it to him.

While Zhou Youlan was studying the map, Wei Yan noticed his lips were dry and offered a reminder: “Head south; there should be a river over that way.”

Zhou Youlan raised his head in doubt and looked closely at the map again.

Along the way, Wei Yan had been like a mute; when others shouted about being hot and tired, he hadn’t uttered a single complaint, yet now he was suddenly speaking up.

Zhang Tongtong: “How do you know we should go south?”

“Yeah, don’t go blindly directing people,” Damahou said. “The woods are thick and dense with plants. If you veer off slightly, you’ll end up off by a hundred thousand miles. Don’t pretend to know what you don’t.”

Wei Yan looked like someone completely detached from worldly affairs; how could he possibly know anything about wilderness survival?

Zhou Youlan also harbored doubts.

After all, if they headed south, they would deviate from the original route, but if they didn’t go, the geographical conditions nearby weren’t suitable for setting up camp and building a shelter anyway.

“The terrain here is high in the north and low in the south. The vegetation on the southern side is lush, and when flocks of birds are startled into flight, they all fly southward. Rivers are only found in the south.”

Wei Yan’s voice was calm, devoid of the heavy panting of exhaustion that the others showed.

Zhou Youlan observed more closely. Indeed, looking along the north-south axis, the vegetation coverage area on the southern side was much denser than on the northern side.

Zhou Youlan thought that bird flocks generally wouldn’t roost and nest too far from a water source, so the probability of a river being in the south was indeed higher.

Wei Yan glanced past them indifferently: “Judging by the flight speed of birds, the water source won’t be more than three miles from here.”

If he hadn’t been worried about causing hardship to this young master of the Zhou family and subsequently having his wages docked by Assistant Zhou, he wouldn’t have bothered talking so much.

If they still didn’t believe him, Wei Yan wasn’t willing to offer any further explanations.

Of course, that assumed Zhou Youlan was somewhat smart.

Looking at Wei Yan’s calm and confident posture, Zhou Youlan was eventually persuaded.

“Let’s go. Let’s find a water source before dark.”

Zhou Youlan took the lead and set off, heading south.

After walking for nearly an hour, they finally found a stream. Several people rushed forward eagerly to cup the water to drink, only to be stopped by Zhou Youlan.

“Moving water in the wild harbors microorganisms. There are animal footprints and feces by the riverbank, which means it’s a regular drinking spot for local animals. The bacteria carried in it are harmful to the human body, so it’s best for everyone to boil it before drinking.”

Since they had already been thirsty for so long, enduring a bit longer wouldn’t hurt.

Ruan Mengmeng sighed tiredly: “But we don’t have fire! If we try making fire by friction, who knows when we’ll actually get a spark.”

Zhou Youlan handed his fire-starting equipment over to them: “The girls go to the back-slope on the southeast side and clear the weeds flat.”

Wei Yan hadn’t expected Zhou Youlan to actually possess some wilderness survival common sense. He had found the best nearby campsite location: the terrain was elevated, there were no beehives in the surrounding trees, and they wouldn’t be subjected to wasp attacks.

“Ah?” Ruan Mengmeng looked at the spot under her feet. “Isn’t this place great? It’s close to the water stream and doesn’t have such deep weeds. Why do we need to go to such a far place? It’ll be inconvenient to fetch water.”

Quite a few others shared this doubt.

“Our current location belongs to the middle-lower reaches of this branch river. Soil too close to the river is damp year-round, and at night the water surface evaporates moisture and damp mist, bringing out lots of mosquitoes and bugs. If the upper reaches experience a heavy rainstorm, camping right here means we might get washed away in our sleep when a flash flood hits.”

Everyone had a sudden realization and nodded repeatedly.

“We’re camping over there tonight,” Zhou Youlan efficiently allocated tasks. “The boys without cutting tools go pick up dry branches to start a fire, and those with cutting tools go chop branches and leaves to build a shelter. Let’s get the fire lit first; otherwise, nobody will be able to handle the night without fire.”

Under Zhou Youlan’s methodical arrangements, everyone moved in an orderly fashion. Damahou claimed he had a tent and originally didn’t want to move a finger, but he was still hauled up by Zhou Youlan.

Zhao Guanjun sat resting on a rock by the river, and no one dared to disturb him.

Zhou Youlan’s gaze dropped to the hands of Wei Yan, who was following close beside him. Those fingers had slender joints and knuckles as white as jade, with clear, delicate veins visible on the back of his hand—hands that didn’t look like they could exert much heavy force.

“You go with them to pick dry branches, and then head back to help the girls start the fire.”

That job was relatively light. Niu Xixi thought picking firewood would scratch his hands and only wanted to step on weeds flat with the girls; figured Wei Yan wouldn’t want to do heavy labor either. Having said that, Zhou Youlan ducked straight into the woods.

Chen Nan raised his tone sarcastically from the side: “Such a hand-scuffing chore, Brother Zhou, aren’t you making things difficult for our Big Star Wei? What if we scratch Wei’s delicate little hands?”

Zhou Youlan didn’t respond and slipped deeper into the forest.

Chen Nan let out a provocative, mocking chuckle.

Wei Yan pulled out the dagger from the side pouch of his thigh straps and followed right behind.

Picking branches and starting a fire was a slightly lighter chore, but since he had a knife and still had stamina, he didn’t need to go back and fight with the others over those other tasks.

Hearing the sound of footsteps treading on leaves behind him, Zhou Youlan turned around. To his surprise, Wei Yan was following behind him once again.