Against the Light - Chapter 8
Chapter 8: Maxed-Out Survival Skills
The escape began!
The group, each with their own camera operator, trooped into the dense forest. Gu Xinran stood at the entrance, studying the map carefully before finally choosing a path that was a bit of a detour but relatively flat.
Gu Xinran walked at a leisurely pace, taking in the surrounding scenery. Soft light filtered through the gaps in the canopy, casting warm patches on her skin. The long, drawn-out chirping of cicadas echoed in her ears, and an occasional breeze rustled the leaves, creating a pleasant, rustling sound. It was exceptionally serene.
"Um… Sister," Fang Jinghai called out to her.
"Hm?"
"Why did you choose this path? It's the longest detour." She didn't quite understand. Everyone else had chosen the shortest route, yet Gu Xinran had decided to forge her own path.
"That path may be shorter, but it involves crossing mountains and rivers. It wouldn't be easy for you, carrying all that equipment."
"Huh??" It was because of me?
Gu Xinran glanced at her, the smile on her face warm enough to melt one's heart.
"Th-thank you."
The two walked on for a while before Gu Xinran suddenly stopped. "Your name is Fang Jinghai?"
"Ah, yes." Fang Jinghai looked at her, bewildered.
Gu Xinran's face broke into a bright smile. "Then your name is quite expensive. [The pun relies on the homophone 金 (jīn, gold) for 静 (jìng, calm), turning "Calm Sea (静海, jinghai)" into "Sea of Gold," hence "expensive."]"
"…" Fang Jinghai was speechless. Alright, I get it now.
"Sister Ran, why did you decide to join this show? It's such a grueling program."
Gu Xinran chuckled lightly. "Aren't you afraid the director will hear you saying things like that?"
"Nah, they won't broadcast our feed anyway," Fang Jinghai said, speaking the plain truth. The moment the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake. "No, what I mean is…"
"You have a point."
"Huh?"
"Why else would I join this show, if not because I can't get any other work?" Gu Xinran said with a carefree smile.
"…" Fang Jinghai broke out in a cold sweat. For a second, she thought Gu Xinran was going to fly into a rage…
Hearing her say that, she wanted to laugh, but she also felt a pang of sympathy.
In the live broadcast studio, the female host had casually switched to her feed, intending to give her a token bit of screen time, but she hadn't expected to hear such self-deprecating humor. For a moment, she was at a loss for words.
【Hahaha, why is she blurting out the harsh truth?】
【You're in a position to be picky about work? You think you'd dare to go on another show if they offered?】
【Is she starting to go the self-deprecating route now?】
【Fang Jinghai is quite expensive, hahaha.】
【She's actually quite pretty when she's acting normal, and her voice is pleasant to listen to. As long as she doesn't have a meltdown, she's fine.】
【Um… does anyone else think she's kind of sweet? She's even concerned about the camera operator.】
【To the sister above, it's just for the show. You lose if you take it seriously. Just wait and see how she freaks out.】
As the sun climbed high in the sky, approaching noon, Gu Xinran took out the map again to determine the direction of the river.
"Sister, are we lost?" The camera operator zoomed in on the map and took a look herself.
"No."
The further they walked, the denser the vegetation became. Fang Jinghai was completely disoriented, blindly following Gu Xinran, having already entrusted her life to her.
The other two groups wanted to cover more ground before dark. With a large group laughing and chatting, time passed quickly.
When noon arrived, Luo Bing said she was a little tired, so the group stopped and sat down right where they were. Huo Jie advised against eating their emergency rations so soon, but Shen Can couldn't be bothered with that. She took out a compressed biscuit and started eating. Seeing this, the others also ate a little and drank some water before starting to chat.
The live stream showed the five of them chatting, and the hosts and audience watched with great interest.
【Female Host: You see, this is how girls are. Once they start talking about topics like makeup and fashion, they just can't stop. I bet they've already forgotten they're recording a show.】
【Male Host: It's not even been half a day, and they're already eating their emergency rations. Why aren't they using the daylight to find food? What are they going to do at night?】
【Male Host: Let's switch over and see what Gu Xinran is up to.】
The screen cut to Gu Xinran's feed, and everyone was stunned. The camera was tilted sideways as if the machine had been set down, and in the frame, a wisp of cooking smoke was rising into the air!!
Even more unbelievably, Gu Xinran was sitting by a fire, chatting with a girl!
That girl was probably her camera operator, but where did the fire come from? She hadn't chosen a lighter!
Fang Jinghai was staring at the fire, swallowing her saliva, when the director's heart-wrenching roar suddenly erupted in her earpiece.
"Fang Jinghai! Get that camera back on your shoulder, for god's sake!!!"
Fang Jinghai jumped up with a start, immediately running to a tree to hoist the camera onto her shoulder. "Ahem, my apologies, dear viewers. And now, welcome to A Bite of Escape!"
The camera zoomed in quickly. Skewered over the fire were two fish!
Gu Xinran had her pant legs rolled up to her knees and was barefoot, her feet resting on the leaf-strewn ground. With a look of leisurely contentment, she turned the bamboo stick over the fire. With her movements, the two fish rotated rhythmically, ensuring every side was evenly roasted. A closer look revealed that the scales had been scraped clean, a slit was cut into their sides, and the guts had already been removed.
The comment section exploded.
【???? This has to be fake, right?】
【?? Where did the fire come from? Where did the fish come from??】
【Holy crap, for real? Goddamn roasted fish!】
【?????】
【Did I miss something? Where did she get fire? Is there a replay? Holy crap, how did she do that?】
【This is so fake. She must have cheated, right?】
The two hosts in the studio were also dumbfounded. They knew, of course, that the production team wouldn't cheat, and even if they did, they wouldn't go out of their way to help Gu Xinran. That made them even more shocked than the audience.
The female host: "How… how did she do that?"
The male host shot her a resentful look. It's because you insisted on watching those women chat instead of cutting away.
While everyone was still bewildered, the scene changed again.
Fang Jinghai panned the camera to the side, focusing on a trash bag near Gu Xinran's feet.
"Look, these are the fish scales and guts that Sister Ran just cleaned out. A moment ago, Sister Ran led me straight to a river, made a fish spear with her own hands—here it is. Then, she unleashed her divine power and caught two fish, which she's now roasting." Fang Jinghai showed the fish spear, which was just a bamboo branch with a sharpened tip, very simple. Then she panned to the small stream in front of them. The water was crystal clear, and if you listened closely, you could hear the gurgling sound of it flowing.
"Oh, right, you must be curious about how this fire was started, aren't you?"
"I'm not kidding, you know how to make fire by drilling wood? This woman can do it." After speaking, Fang Jinghai held her hand up to the camera and gave a thumbs-up.
Gu Xinran watched her with a smile. "I've discovered you have the potential to be a host."
"Hehe~"
Gu Xinran picked up a small knife, and Fang Jinghai immediately zoomed in.
Gu Xinran opened the mysterious seasoning packet, made a few cuts on the fish, and used the tip of the knife to rub some salt into the incisions. Then, she used a leaf to carefully brush oil onto the fish's skin.
Fang Jinghai sniffed the air hard. "I can already smell it!!" She then swallowed audibly, a pathetic gulp.
"Do you want the skin crispier or more tender?"
"Ooh! I can even make requests!? This is pure bliss!! Crispy, crispy is delicious!"
"Do you want cumin and chili?"
"Yes, yes, yes, yes!!" Fang Jinghai was so excited she almost burst into tears. Eating roasted fish in a godforsaken place like this! And with freaking cumin and chili!! This was heaven! Heaven!!
After roasting it for a little longer, Gu Xinran took out the cumin and chili powder from the seasoning packet and sprinkled them over the fish, giving it its soul!
Watching the white smoke rise, the two hosts in the studio couldn't help but swallow.
"Whoa, that smells way too good!"
The female host opened her mouth several times, unsure of what to say, and ultimately closed it obediently.
The comment section was a flood of "Holy crap!"
【Making fire by drilling wood? Didn't she not even know how to light a stove or cook? And now she can make fire with a hand drill??】
【What the hell, 'Do you want cumin and chili?'!】
【Damn, I'm hungry…】
【Mom, I want roasted fish!!!】
【Is this for real? Why don't I believe it? On a previous show, she said she couldn't cook and that Teacher Bai always did the cooking at home. Now she can roast fish? And she can descale and gut them?? Could this be any more fake?】
【And she went into the river to catch fish herself? Are fish that easy to catch? This show is so fake.】
【How can you call a live show fake?】
【Just give Gu Xinran a little more screen time and her act will fall apart.】
【Exactly, I don't believe it either. I'm going to keep watching her and see how she pulls this off!】
【No way, I still want to watch Luo Luo. Can't the production team just do a split-screen broadcast!】
Amid the audience's protests, the production team temporarily changed the broadcast format, splitting the screen in two for a dual broadcast.
Gu Xinran was unaware of the change in format. She still thought she was only getting occasional, brief moments of screen time as she had Fang Jinghai sit down.
"Sister Ran, you seem really experienced with wilderness survival," Fang Jinghai said, her face full of a fan's adoration. That roasted fish alone was enough to earn her worship!!!
"Yeah, I lived alone in the deep mountains for a while."
"Alone? In the deep mountains? How old were you?"
Gu Xinran just smiled without answering. How could she explain this? Theoretically, it would be four years from now?
Looking at her smile, Fang Jinghai sensed a hint of bitterness in it and subconsciously thought she had touched a sore spot. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"Hm? It's fine."
"Sister Ran, I feel like you're not quite like the rumors say."
"How so?"
"You're not fierce at all, and you don't just start yelling at people."
"Is that so." Gu Xinran seriously reflected on herself. Have I changed too quickly? Will people notice?
"Then I'll find a chance to be fierce with you."
"???" Are you serious?
【Here comes the sob story, here it comes. I knew it. She has to put on a show every chance she gets. It's so deliberate.】
【Is this Gu Xinran? Am I blind or has she changed??】
【She's such a good actress. Truly worthy of being an actor.】
【Should we say Gu Xinran's acting has improved?】
【Sorry, just a casual viewer here, but from what I've seen so far, I have a pretty good impression of Gu Xinran. I don't think she's putting on an act at all. She's very considerate of her camera operator and even puts her trash in a bag. If she's acting, like you all say, then I really admire her skills. Her performance is very detailed.】
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