—

Huo Cheng saw Pei Xu first, but couldn't tell who it was.

Because Pei Xu was standing at the side of the road, the headlights didn't reach his face.

Zhai Xingchen recognized him first. 'It's Pei Xu.'

The car slowed to a stop in front of Pei Xu. He stepped aside to give them space. Zhai Xingchen rolled down the window. 'What are you doing standing out here?'

Pei Xu said, "Building a Snowman."

Zhai Xingchen spotted the two Snowmen he'd built.

Huo Cheng and Zhai Xingchen both got out. The car had been warm, and the cold hit them the second they stepped outside—shaking all over. Their follow-cam guys got out too, and one of them sneezed the moment he hit the ground.

Zhai Xingchen and Huo Cheng looked at the Snowmen. 'Pretty good likeness. Stick a carrot in and they'd look even better.'

'How long did this take you?' Huo Cheng counted. 'This big, and two of them.'

'Had nothing to do. Just messing around.'

'Why are you out here alone? It's freezing.' Huo Cheng said. 'Let's head inside.'

'Go to Room 1,' Pei Xu said. 'Everyone's waiting for you.'

'The Production Team said the car broke down and made us wait at the bottom of the mountain for over two hours. When we came down it wasn't even dark yet. Then the snow just kept getting heavier. I thought Huo-ge and I were going to have to spend the night outside.'

His voice was bright, full of life—the kind that made anyone hearing it feel a little happier. Pei Xu listened, and something in his chest went warm and aching at the same time.

One listen to Zhai Xingchen's voice and you could tell nothing had progressed between him and Huo Cheng. But Pei Xu didn't really dwell on that. His main worry had been their safety—he just wanted them home safe through the snowstorm.

Now that they were back safe, that was enough.

Weird. They'd only been apart for an afternoon. Maybe it was the waiting, or the strange weather, but seeing Zhai Xingchen again and hearing his voice stirred something in Pei Xu he couldn't name.

Zhai Xingchen's cheeks were redder than usual from the cold. A gust of wind came through, and Pei Xu reached out, brushed the snow off his hair, and pulled his hat down over his head.

It had become automatic. But this time he seemed to have learned—unlike before, when he'd pulled the hat down so far it covered Zhai Xingchen's eyes. This time the fit was just right, the touch gentle.

'How was your day with Lin Qingning? Was Elk Park fun?' Huo Cheng asked, all bright and eager.

He was clearly in a great mood.

'We just fed the elk, rode the elk cart a bit.'

'A cart pulled by elk?' Zhai Xingchen asked.

Pei Xu hummed a yes. 'How about you guys?'

'Really fun,' Huo Cheng said. 'Worth it. We made wishes, hung a Wish Lock.'

'Just the wind was pretty strong,' Zhai Xingchen said, smiling.

Pei Xu didn't feel a shred of jealousy in that moment.

Just pure envy. He'd probably been in the snow too long—cold all the way through. He'd kept his hands in his pockets for a while, and when the feeling came back, his knuckles were aching.

The three of them headed toward Room 1 together.

Hu Ying was in Room 1 chatting with Wen Nu and the others. When she heard Zhai Xingchen and the others talking, she immediately sat up straight.

Then she watched Zhai Xingchen push through the thick curtain and come in.

'You're finally back!' Hu Ying jumped to her feet.

Duan Yihua and Wen Nuo both looked toward the door, watching Huo Cheng and Pei Xu come in trailing snow.

Three tall guys wrapped in cold.

'Has everyone eaten?' Zhai Xingchen asked.

'First thing you do when you walk in is ask if we've eaten,' Hu Ying said.

'I was thinking about it on the way,' Zhai Xingchen said. 'Sorry, the Production Team's car had some issues, held us up. Have you all eaten?'

'We had instant noodles. You?'

'We've eaten,' Zhai Xingchen said.

'What'd you have?'

'A big ol' stew,' Huo Cheng cut in.

Huo Cheng brushed the snow off Pei Xu first, then dusted off his own coat. 'Indoor heat really is something.'

Mid-conversation, they saw Yan Zhi come out of the bedroom.

The Production Team next door was all laughing.

'Too bad they can't see Yan Zhi's reaction!'

'He was sprawled on the bed looking half-dead, the second he heard Zhai Xingchen's voice he sat right up.'

'No worries, the netizens will see it eventually!'

'Yan Zhi really is two-faced. The second he steps out he goes all composed.'

'That's the funny part. When this airs the netizens are gonna die laughing. Is this really the same Yan Zhi who slays gods wherever he goes?'

'You're back,' Yan Zhi greeted Zhai Xingchen.

Zhai Xingchen was pouring hot water. 'We're back.'

They'd only been back a little late, but it felt like everyone cared so much, like they hadn't seen each other in ages.

The moment Zhai Xingchen came back, the quiet little cabin came alive.

'Still gotta count on Zhai Xingchen,' the Production Team said.

'Without him it was dead. Even Hu Ying couldn't get the energy up. He walks in and everyone's alive again.'

Liu Screenwriter, wrapped in a thick blanket, coffee in hand: 'I really love this feeling.'

Guo Bing smiled at her. 'That feeling of a bunch of young people getting along?'

Liu Screenwriter said, 'Sometimes everyone's at each other's throats, treating each other like love rivals, pulling little tricks. They're young, and they have to beat their opponents and win over the person they love in such a short time. Tight schedule, heavy task—sometimes they really can't help getting aggressive, showing their darker side. But when they're in sync, they're really in sync, like friends. The audience might like the drama more, but compared to that, I'm more moved by the later feeling of everyone just being friends.'

A staff member nearby jumped in: 'But I just looked at the Performance rules and room-swap rules Liu-laoshi set, and I think you're hoping they'll fight.'

Liu Screenwriter laughed. 'The audience definitely prefers the drama.'

Hu Ying immediately showed Zhai Xingchen the video she'd taken at Snow World.

At first she hadn't wanted to show Duan Yihua and the others—she wanted Zhai Xingchen to see it first.

Everyone crowded around to watch and thought it was stunning.

'I think it's really worth going, super pretty. We should all go together when we have time,' Hu Ying said.

Yan Zhi smiled. 'It really is nice.'

'Did you guys wander around all afternoon and only come back when it got dark?' Huo Cheng asked.

Hu Ying said, 'Because we had to wait for the Production Team to shoot the night scenery. Just walking around, an hour or so covers it. After that we just kept waiting for dark. Everything there is great, just freezing. Probably because it's all Ice Sculpting, it feels even colder somehow. You guys climbing the mountain must've been rough too, right?'

'Wind was pretty strong. But the view from the top was really open,' Zhai Xingchen said. 'Let me show you the photos we took.'

Zhai Xingchen showed them the photos he'd taken during the climb.

Hu Ying spotted the Wish Lock right away.

'You made wishes too?'

'There's a Wish Peak over there, they say it's the northernmost one. Huo-ge and I each bought a lock. You know how expensive they are? A hundred bucks a lock!'

'They actually have Wish Locks there,' Hu Ying marveled.

Officially jealous and envious.

Duan Yihua showed them the fishing video from today. That one was even livelier—a bunch of local villagers had shown up.

Zhai Xingchen noticed Lin Qingning wasn't there.

'Where's Lin-ge?'

'He's not feeling well, went to bed early.'

Zhai Xingchen froze for a second, then got a bad feeling.

'It's too cold today. Easy to get sick,' Hu Ying said, covering for Lin Qingning. 'We all gotta tough it out.'

'Once it started snowing today it got even colder. Tomorrow it'll probably be worse,' Huo Cheng said. 'Probably no activities tomorrow, no one needs to go out.'

'Aren't we switching rooms tomorrow?' Hu Ying asked.

Huo Cheng smiled and glanced at Yan Zhi across from him. 'Yeah.'

'I hope I get lucky. I really don't want to stay in Room 3 anymore.'

'No idea how they'll do the swap,' Wen Nuo said.

'It definitely won't be a blind draw,' Hu Ying said. 'The Production Team's definitely gonna stir things up.'

Mid-sentence she looked toward the door and saw Guo Bing coming in with cards.

'Director Guo's here.'

Everyone turned to look at Guo Bing.

Guo Bing beamed. 'Good evening, everyone.'

'See? Told you they were gonna stir things up,' Hu Ying said, grinning.

Guo Bing gestured for everyone to sit. 'Tomorrow there's heavy snow, all outdoor activities have to be canceled. But time's tight, the mission's heavy, we can't waste it, so we've moved the final-day celebration up to tomorrow. Tomorrow, everyone will go to Xiaobeiji Theater together with the theater staff and put on a free Performance for the local folks.'

'Huh?' Hu Ying said. 'So sudden, we have zero prep!'

'We notified everyone before you came, you should've prepared, right?' Guo Bing asked.

'I thought we were supposed to pretend we didn't know,' Hu Ying said.

Everyone burst out laughing.

Zhai Xingchen thought Hu Ying was just the cutest thing.

'But!' Guo Bing grinned wickedly.

'I'm done for. I have a bad feeling,' Huo Cheng said.

'What do you mean, but?' Hu Ying asked.

'I think surprises are what make it good. Take our Zhai Xingchen, he's definitely dancing, right?'

Zhai Xingchen nodded. 'Yeah, I'm planning a folk dance.'

'See, you've already danced a bunch of times. Of course you're good at it. No surprise at all, right?' Guo Bing said.

'Director, what are you planning?' Hu Ying asked.

'I looked at the talents everyone signed up for. Everyone's really talented.' Guo Bing glanced at the board in his hand.

Hu Ying tried to peek. Guo Bing dodged. 'Let me finish first.'

'We're doomed. Doomed. Doomed,' Huo Cheng said.

'We decided to give everyone a surprise. We wrote everyone's signed-up talents on this board.' Guo Bing flipped the board around for everyone to see. 'Dance, song, Piano, Violin, Martial Arts, Magic.'

'Martial Arts??!!' Hu Ying was stunned.

Everyone immediately turned to look at Huo Cheng.

'It's not me!' Huo Cheng said.

'Not you?' Hu Ying pressed.

Just then, Wen Nuo raised his hand, blushing. 'It's me.'

Everyone was shocked.

Guo Bing was very pleased with their reactions.

He felt this Performance would definitely refresh everyone's understanding of each other.

The tension ratchets up again!

These talented guests are about to deliver another spectacular feast for the netizens!

Zhai Xingchen looked at the Director's scheming eyes. He felt the Production Team's surprise for us was...

'Everyone performing what they prepared is too boring. What each of you prepared has zero surprise, pretty low on watchability. So we talked it over and decided you'll... do a Lottery Draw.' Guo Bing said.

Pei Xu was sitting on the high stool behind Zhai Xingchen. He noticed a hair had fallen on Zhai Xingchen's hat, reached out and plucked it off, eyes still on Guo Bing, listening to him explain the rules.