Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

The ship was rocking, nudging an uncomfortable feeling into Pei Muchan's heart.

The sunlight was somewhat dazzling, slanting through the porthole at the bow and hitting the floor beside her feet. She wondered why she hadn't felt seasick yesterday, but today it had started.

With a rumble, the ship slowly left the shallows, and the vessel moved with the waves. The view was filled with white crests and the blue sky, while seagulls soared above, their calls piercing.

Xu Qingyan habitually walked ahead, while Lin Wanzhou subconsciously fell a step behind. With her hand behind her back, she stared at his heels, silently counting the steps he took.

Waves clapped against the railings, sending a fine mist of spray that flecked Xu Qingyan's face.

Suddenly remembering that Lin Wanzhou was wearing a skirt, he paused abruptly, intending to remind her to move in to avoid getting wet from the splashing water.
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The pause caught Lin Wanzhou off guard, and she nearly bumped into him.

Fortunately, she stopped just in time, her tiptoes invisible, with her chest just a fist's width from his back. Taking a half step back, the sea breeze blew and her earlobes reddened like pomegranates.

"Move a bit inward," he said, not noticing anything amiss, just feeling a bit awkward with only the two of them there.

"Okay," Lin Wanzhou obediently responded and moved inward.

There wasn't just one boat heading out to sea; since it was a shallow-water dive, the gear crew and professional divers were on another boat, setting off with the team.

The sound of the surging tide filled the air. He sent a message to Zhou Mian, asking for two bags of sour plums. Zhou Mian replied in an instant, telling him to wait by the side of the boat and that he would appear within three minutes.

Xu Qingyan felt somewhat embarrassed, wanting to say there was no rush when suddenly his clothes were tugged from behind.

"Hmm?" He turned around.

Lin Wanzhou blinked her eyes, looking nervously at him as if she wanted to share a secret. She coughed twice, clearing her throat, her voice soft and muffled.

Normally she didn't sound like that when singing, it was quite cold.

"Xu..."

She stammered, unable to pronounce the last two words, and simply gave up.

"Did you... did you look for me afterwards?"

"What?"

"After I transferred schools..." Lin Wanzhou hesitated, her voice growing fainter, "my mom took my phone, and it seems that you stopped using that old number of yours."

"I can't quite remember, probably stopped using it, ran into some issues," Xu Qingyan didn't know why she was suddenly asking this and didn't really want to talk about the past on camera.

He intended to find some topic to brush it off, but seeing her beautiful peach-blossom eyes staring directly at him, he couldn't help but sigh lightly, thinking to let it be.

"I called once, and your mom gave me an earful."

Memories had long become hazy, but he only remembered that it was during the summer rainy season, and he had secretly climbed up to the rooftop with his phone, enduring Guan Jin's severe scolding.

Back then he was quite thin-skinned, and Guan Jin mercilessly exposed his excuse, leaving his face burning hot.

Afterward, he didn't pay much attention to it anymore.

The barrage of comments was dense, exclaiming in surprise at the mysterious conversation between the two, which was somewhat frustrating to follow.

"Damn it, Xu Dog couldn't be childhood sweethearts with Zhouzhou, could he?"

"Don't panic, it's all scripted. A big star as childhood sweethearts, which brain-dead screenwriter came up with that plot."

"Blame the script at first glance, but who has childhood sweethearts that act this unfamiliar? They don't seem to know each other that well, probably just old classmates who can't quite recall the years."

"My friend has just died laughing, thank you, Script Hero."

Hearing him mention his mother, Lin Wanzhou's eyes slightly dropped, her gaze dimming for a moment. Not knowing what to say, she could only hum in acknowledgment and nod, continuing to walk with him.

Xu Qingyan glanced back at her, unsure whether he had said something wrong. But he didn't dwell on it, thinking about getting the sour plums and returning to the cabin as soon as possible

It was still early, and they would have to dive later, so he thought it best to just get through it for now.

Zhou Mian had originally wanted to use a drone to carry the bag of sour plums and fly it over from another ship. He later found that the ship was moving too fast and the sea wind was too strong, making it impossible.

After much hassle, Zhou Mian had no choice but to seek help in a work group chat, and finally, he managed to obtain two small packets of sour plums from the bag of a female coworker on the same ship.

"Sucking on one will make you feel a lot better, do you want me to open it for you?" Xu Qingyan asked.

The sea wind was strong, inflating his dark shirt against the wind. His eyes, devoid of a smile, looked somewhat cold. His tone of voice also seemed flat, betraying no emotional fluctuations.

It was as if the person standing in front of him was neither a pop diva nor an old classmate but just a temporary team member passing by.

"Okay, thank you." Lin Wanzhou nodded, stealing a quick glance at him.

She always felt that he gave off the impression of completing a task, speaking politely but without making her feel distant.

She wanted to find an opportunity to talk to him. She had many questions to ask, many things to say, yet she didn't know how to start.

Lin Wanzhou sucked on a sour plum, her head bowed slightly as she followed behind him back to the ship, her mood not appearing high. The sourness dissolved slowly on the tip of her tongue, spreading to the root.

So sour, she squinted her eyes.

Splash, the white waves slapped against the ship, sending sea spray everywhere.

Xu Qingyan turned back and said, "Move a little to the side."

His sudden turn startled Lin Wanzhou, causing her to flusteredly cover her face with her hands. Through the gaps between her fingers, she was still holding onto the packet of sour plums, looking somewhat comical.

"What are you doing?" he chuckled softly.

"Nothing... nothing." Lin Wanzhou turned away, the sour plum in her mouth tasting even sourer, her tongue beginning to numb, "You don't need to worry about me."

"Oh, alright." Xu Qingyan still seemed concerned as he turned back, advising, "Then keep up, and be careful."

"Okay." Lin Wanzhou turned her face away.

Only when Xu Qingyan continued walking forward did she follow in small steps, pretending as if nothing had happened. Droplets from the white waves splashed onto her flushed cheeks, like water sprinkled on a hot pan.

She may not have been watching with her eyes, but her ears attentively listened to the sound of his footsteps. Thud, thud, thud, she walked forward, matching the rhythm of his step, finding pleasure in it.

She realized the youthful image of him in her memory seemed to blur a little bit, perhaps it was never clear to begin with, anyway, it blurred again after seeing him in person.

Before entering the cabin, she mustered the courage to call out.

"Xu... classmate!"

"Hmm?" Xu Qingyan turned back, his profile neat, a look of confusion on his face, "Did you call me?"

"No, just lyrics from a new song," Lin Wanzhou turned away, quickly walking past him sideways, the image in her heart growing increasingly vague.

Despite spending half a day together, and it seeming as though their relationship remained unchanged, invisible atmospheres in the air, like unseen threads, slowly wove into a net.

Invisible and intangible, silent, yet truly existing, spreading outwards bit by bit.

Back at the cabin, just after Lin Wanzhou sat down, her peripheral vision caught Xu Qingyan approaching Pei Muchan and handing her a packet of something. She could barely see, but it seemed to be sour plums.

In an instant, she felt the sour plum in her mouth lose its sourness.