Against the Light - Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Sudden Downpour
Meanwhile, on Gu Xinran's side.
After grilling the fish, she leaned against a tree trunk to rest and unknowingly fell asleep.
She had that dream again, dreaming of her Yilan committing suicide by slitting her wrists in the home they had built with their own hands, without a trace of reluctance.
She desperately tried to rush in and stop her, but couldn't reach her side. She could only watch helplessly as she cut her wrists, bled out, and lost all signs of life.
Her chest ached with sharp pains. She pounded on the door, crying her heart out. Just as the anguish peaked, she was suddenly shaken awake. Only when she saw Fang Jinghai's face before her did she come back to her senses.
She raised a hand to wipe her face and found it covered in tear tracks.
"Was I… just dreaming?"
"I-I think so?" Fang Jinghai looked bewildered. How would I know?!
"Did I say Yilan's name?"
"Mhm!"
Gu Xinran closed her eyes. Damn it. She had told herself not to cause any more trouble for her, yet she had called out her name on the show. Now, malicious people would surely spin stories about it.
As she was worrying, she suddenly sensed something was wrong. The sound of the wind around them was growing louder, carrying a hint of chill.
"Is it going to rain?" Gu Xinran frowned. The weather in the mountains was always changeable. Before it rained, the mountain wind would carry a bone-chilling cold.
"Looks like it. Should we find a place to take shelter first?"
Gu Xinran pressed a hand to her forehead, clearing her head a little. The other group had also woken up and were making a fuss.
"Why is it raining now? Did the production team prepare any raincoats?"
"Unlikely. This is part of the wilderness survival test, after all. Let's find shelter first. Once it really starts coming down, it'll be too late. Is Xinran awake?" Huo Jie was efficiently packing up her gear.
"I'm awake," Gu Xinran answered. She picked up the map, studied it carefully, got her bearings, and walked over to Huo Jie. "Head west into the dense forest. Here, there's a mark. It's the closest cave to us."
"Alright, let's go there. Good thing the production team has some conscience, marking the cave's location on the map."
"But we don't know the specific conditions of the cave. Let's just take it one step at a time."
Just as the two finished planning, raindrops the size of beans began to fall, pattering against the leaves. In just a few moments, the sound grew into a roar as the downpour intensified.
Everyone cried out in alarm. Even the staff panicked, a group of them scrambling to move the equipment.
"Sister Huo, you're experienced. You lead the way, and I'll bring up the rear. Everyone, follow Sister Huo. Jinghai, contact your director. Everyone stop filming for now; it's not too late to start again once we find the cave."
"Okay, Sister. I have raincoats here. You guys put them on first," Fang Jinghai said.
"Hey, why do they get raincoats?" Zhang Tingting protested upon seeing several staff members take out raincoats to put on.
"They have to carry the equipment. Are you going to carry it?!" Gu Xinran shot her a glare. "If you don't want to get soaked, then hurry up and move. Stop dawdling."
"You!"
"Let's go," Huo Jie said, nodding to Xinran before leading the way into the dense forest.
"Sister, you should take this raincoat. Consider it me paying you back for the grilled fish. Besides, I have a strong constitution, I don't get sick easily. It would be a problem if you fell ill," Fang Jinghai said, looking at her with some concern.
Gu Xinran patted her shoulder. "No one is more precious than anyone else. Let's go."
Those words nearly brought Fang Jinghai to tears. How could such a good person be portrayed so horribly online?!
The group moved quickly, almost at a forced march. Huo Jie took the lead, with Luo Bing and the others close behind her. Shen Can followed them, along with the crew members, while Gu Xinran and Fang Jinghai brought up the rear.
The rain grew heavier, and the large drops pelted their bodies with slapping sounds. The downpour was so intense they couldn't lift their heads. They had to constantly watch their footing on the ground, which had turned muddy from the rain. It was late at night, and even with the lights from the equipment, there were always places left in darkness.
Even the hosts in the live broadcast studio were very worried, constantly asking the director's team for updates on the situation.
【??? Did I hear that right? Was Gu Xinran just calling for Teacher Bai? Pretending to dream and calling for Teacher Bai? What a move!】
【I'm impressed by this stunt. Is she getting ready to stage another deep-love drama to whitewash herself?】
【I won't comment on anything else, but that comeback Gu Xinran gave Zhang Tingting was great! That Zhang Tingting is so annoying! Why doesn't Luo Bing do something about her?】
【What does this have to do with Luo Bing?】
【Not a fan of anyone, but I have to say, I'm really disappointed in Luo Bing's performance. Zhao Jia and Zhang Tingting are clearly acting based on Luo Bing's cues, but Luo Bing hasn't taken any leadership role at all. She can't command the situation. Honestly, she doesn't have as much backbone as Gu Xinran.】
【The Ran-fan upstairs is pretending to be a neutral party to whitewash her again. 'Gu Xinran has backbone' is the funniest thing I've heard all year. Did your master have backbone when she was with Teacher Bai? Did she have backbone when she was caught cheating and divorced Teacher Bai?】
【Gu Xinran is scum. I wouldn't become her fan even if every other celebrity in the entertainment industry dropped dead!】
【Seriously, stop arguing. Look at the situation right now. It's raining so hard, won't the guests get sick?】
【Yeah, the mountain paths are hard to walk on. I hope no one gets hurt.】
【Ahhhh, protect my Luo Luo!! Please don't let her get sick!!】
【Hah, as if your master is the only precious one.】
On the set of Flowers Falling at Grain Rain, Liu Yu scratched her cheek, glancing awkwardly at the exasperated Ming Zhen. She had no idea how the situation had turned out like this…
A moment ago, just as she was about to put her phone away, Director Bai had gestured to her, then took the phone to watch. Now, a group of people from the crew were all gathered behind Director Bai, watching the screen. Initially, when they saw Gu Xinran was a guest, every one of them had been grinding their teeth, wishing they could curse her to the heavens.
But after seeing her shut down Zhang Tingting and then tell the camerawoman, "No one is more precious than anyone else," their expressions became varied. They all felt that the person on the screen seemed a bit unfamiliar. On top of that, the guests seemed to have run into an unexpected situation, which made everyone curious. And so, they all ended up watching openly.
Ming Zhen had a headache from anger. She had worked so hard to pull Yilan back from that abyss, but the moment something happened with Gu Xinran, she jumped right back in without a second thought. It was infuriating!
Back with Gu Xinran's group, the trek led by Huo Jie had been going relatively smoothly. But not long after entering the dense forest, the compass suddenly stopped working. It spun wildly, perhaps due to the rain or a nearby magnetic field causing interference.
The rain was coming down harder and harder, making it nearly impossible to see the path ahead. Even with a great sense of direction, finding the cave quickly and accurately under these conditions was extremely difficult. Huo Jie glanced back at the people behind her, each one being mercilessly battered by the downpour. The pressure on her instantly mounted.
Just as she was feeling uneasy, she saw a figure pass the others and approach her. Looking closely, she saw it was Gu Xinran. She was holding an emergency rope and having everyone clip their backpack buckles onto it to prevent anyone from falling behind.
Seeing her actions, Huo Jie felt a strange sense of reassurance.
Gu Xinran came to her side, glanced at her, and then looked at the path ahead.
"I know you're under pressure, but you have to believe that besides you, no one else can lead everyone to that cave." While cramming information about the show the day before, she had heard that Huo Jie had an excellent sense of direction. In the current situation, with extremely low visibility and a useless compass, even she couldn't get her bearings. The only thing they could rely on was Huo Jie's innate sense of direction.
"Sister Huo, just go ahead with confidence. We'll follow you wherever you go," Shen Can added, cheering her on.
"Okay." Huo Jie gave everyone a solemn nod. "I will definitely lead you all out of here!"
Twenty minutes later, everyone was exhausted, not to mention the staff who had to carry heavy equipment. It was incredibly grueling for them.
Huo Jie ultimately lived up to everyone's hopes. Relying on her superb sense of direction, she led the group to the cave marked on the map. By this point, they had been walking in the heavy rain for nearly an hour.
"The cave is just ahead! Everyone, push a little harder." Huo Jie glanced back. The group had stretched into a long line, and many had fallen behind. But there was nothing she could do; right now, she could only look after the people nearest to her.
She grabbed the two people beside her and ran quickly toward the cave. After shoving them inside, Huo Jie immediately turned back to help the other staff members.
Before long, everyone had ducked into the cave one by one to escape the rain. Huo Jie looked around and was startled. "Where's Xinran?"
"Sister Ran is still behind. Someone fell just now, and Sister Ran went to help them. She told us to go on ahead."
"Okay, you get inside first." After settling everyone, Huo Jie started groping her way back out. She had only taken a few steps when she saw several figures approaching. It was Gu Xinran and Fang Jinghai, supporting a crew member between them. The staff member seemed to have twisted their ankle and was limping badly.
Huo Jie felt relieved and led them back into the cave. The cave wasn't very large, barely able to accommodate the dozen or so people. A cold wind was still whistling in through the entrance.
Having found a temporary haven, everyone's tense nerves began to relax slightly.
"Oh no, the matches are all wet." Luo Bing took out her matchbox. Not just the matches, her entire backpack was soaked.
"Xinran!" Huo Jie immediately thought of Gu Xinran.
"Mhm, I'll do it." Gu Xinran took a plastic bag out of her backpack. Fortunately, she'd had the foresight to sort the items in her pack into separate plastic bags, saving them from the fate of being soaked by the rain.
She took out a wooden board with a hole in it and some dry grass. Gripping a wooden stick with both hands, she placed it in the hole and rubbed vigorously, but the stick unexpectedly slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground.
Gu Xinran frowned deeply and picked the stick back up with a trembling hand.
Huo Jie crouched beside her, watching. Her hat was completely soaked, and water streamed down from the tips of her hair in an almost continuous line. Her delicate face was slightly pale, her brows tightly knitted, and she seemed to be clenching her jaw with a look of sheer determination.
This time, the stick didn't slip. She successfully produced a spark and quickly added some kindling.
Watching the flames leap to life, the tense expression she had been holding finally softened slightly.
"Sister Ran is amazing!"
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