When washing up and going to bed at night, Zhao Zhilan pushed her husband: “Hey, hey, don’t sleep. What do you think we should do with this voucher?”

Bei Licai turned over and said vaguely: “Didn’t Yaoyao say to sell it?”

“Just because she said to sell it means we should sell it? Last time a colleague at the company said her daughter participated in that summer vacation camp and had a really good time. She even took photos when she came back. Our Yaoyao has never asked for anything on her own initiative from childhood to now. I don’t want to sell it.”

“Then don’t sell it.”

Zhao Zhilan’s heart ached—it was over a thousand yuan—but thinking of her beautiful and sensible daughter: “Never mind, this must go to my Yaoyao. Don’t tell her. The day after tomorrow, just have her go directly. Otherwise, she definitely won’t agree.”

Zhao Zhilan covered herself with the blanket and said firmly: “This belongs to my Yaoyao. If I say we’re not selling it, we’re not selling it!”

Bei Licai smiled helplessly.

At the same time, Pei Haobin also got off work and came home.

He pushed open the door and said with a smile: “I’m back…” Then his smile froze on his face.

Cao Li had prepared a glass of cold boiled water. Seeing this, she came forward: “You’ve been tired all day. Come sit quickly.”

Pei Haobin stared blankly at the youth in the living room.

The youth had grown much taller. When he left, he had been the same height as himself, but now he was more than half a head taller.

“Xiao Chuan?”

The youth raised his jet-black eyes and said indifferently: “Dad.”

This child’s appearance was undoubtedly excellent. He combined all the advantages of Pei Haobin and Jiang Wenjuan and had been exceptionally outstanding from birth. When he disappeared, Pei Haobin had searched for him, and even now hadn’t given up looking.

Yet tonight, Pei Chuan had suddenly returned.

“You… where have you been this past year?”

Pei Chuan didn’t answer, only looked at him expressionlessly. In this awkward atmosphere, Bai Yutong spoke up: “Uncle Pei, let’s eat first. I went to buy your favorite alcohol for you today.”

Pei Haobin forced a smile: “Good.”

After finishing dinner, the heavy atmosphere hadn’t eased in the slightest. Bai Yutong was washing dishes in the kitchen, feeling indignant. Everything had been fine before. If she had said she’d run errands in the hot summer to buy alcohol, Pei Haobin would definitely have praised her with a smile for being thoughtful and hardworking, and would have rewarded her with pocket money. But today, with Pei Chuan back, Uncle Pei had forgotten, only smiling absentmindedly.

Now, wherever Pei Chuan was, there wasn’t a sound of joy or laughter.

In the past, the family had been very happy watching TV together in the evenings.

But now, with Pei Chuan sitting there, Pei Haobin remained silent, not knowing what he was thinking. Cao Li had no job and was originally a full-time housewife, so naturally it was even less appropriate for her to speak.

Pei Haobin’s throat felt like it had a fish bone stuck in it. Facing his cold son, he could neither vent his anger at his silent disappearance for a year nor speak any words of concern. Pei Chuan was like a block of ice without temperature.

After a long while, Pei Haobin finally said: “Now that you’re back, stay properly. Don’t leave home without a word again in the future.”

“Stay?” Pei Chuan asked indifferently. “Where?”

At these words, Pei Haobin realized that his son’s room had been occupied by Bai Yutong. Pei Chuan’s calm tone didn’t carry a trace of sarcasm, yet it made his face flush with shame—Pei Chuan had only been gone for a year, and his territory was already gone.

Cao Li said considerately: “Tonight we’ll tidy up and return Tongtong’s room to Pei Chuan.”

Having finished washing dishes, Bai Yutong was extremely nervous, looking at Pei Haobin.

Pei Haobin looked at the nervous and uneasy Bai Yutong, then at Pei Chuan’s resolute profile: “Xiao Chuan, look…”

He had wanted to say that, given his son’s sensible nature of not competing or fighting when he was young, since the family now had a “younger sister” and she had already moved in, it was just a room—letting Bai Yutong live in it wouldn’t be a problem. Moreover, they were going to move soon. This complex would be lived in for at most another year, and then he could arrange a good room for Pei Chuan in the new home.

But Pei Haobin couldn’t bring himself to ask his son to give up the room. After all, he didn’t know how much this physically impaired youth had suffered outside. Back then, he had secretly registered his marriage, afraid of hurting him, which had been wrong to begin with. Feeling guilty, he could only see what Pei Chuan decided.

Bai Yutong’s fingers clenched tightly, also looking toward Pei Chuan.

“Move,” he said.

Bai Yutong suddenly bit her lips tightly.

What followed was a period extremely humiliating for Bai Yutong. That cold youth sat on the living room sofa, watching with cold eyes as the three of them bustled about, struggling until late into the night.

When Bai Yutong finally moved into the bedroom converted from the storage room, she was grinding her teeth to bits.

If she became successful in the future, she shouldn’t be expected to help support such a hard-hearted crippled stepbrother!

Pei Chuan walked back to his original room. He pulled open the curtains and looked across. At that time, it was already two in the morning, and the light in her room was off.

For the first time in over three hundred nights, he was this close to the little girl.

~

Zhao Zhilan said: “Anyway, there’s no time to sell the ticket now. Yaoyao, pack your things and go!”

When Bei Yao received this news on the third day, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She understood Zhao Zhilan’s thoughts, so she couldn’t insist on refusing. Following a guide she’d searched for online, she packed her luggage.

Change of clothes, pajamas, jacket, pocket money, umbrella, towel, toothbrush, toothpaste…

All sorts of things in one big bag.

Zhao Zhilan rode her electric scooter to take Bei Yao to the assembly point for the bus: “You have to call Mom every day, understand?”

“I understand.”

“Pay attention to safety.”

“I understand.”

“Don’t talk too much with boys!”

Bei Yao smiled: “Okay.”

No matter how reluctant Zhao Zhilan was, after handing her daughter over to the supervising teacher, she had no choice but to go to work.

On an August morning, the supervising teacher looked curiously at the girl who had arrived earliest. Amazed by her delicate and beautiful face that still carried a trace of youthful innocence, the teacher proactively reassured her: “Don’t worry. Although this summer camp is a survival adventure camp, it won’t be very difficult.”

“Survival adventure camp?”

Bei Yao softly repeated it. How did she remember that the ticket said “Youth Summer Camp”—the kind that took everyone to see scenery, eat food, play games, and such? How had it become a survival adventure camp?

Bei Yao had never participated in one before, but the location and time matched perfectly. She couldn’t help but wonder: could it be that summer camps nowadays all taught survival skills?

“Go wait on the bus first. The other students will take a while longer to arrive.”

At nine o’clock, Bei Yao saw two people she had met before.

Zheng Hang and Jin Ziyang came over talking and laughing.

Bei Yao froze.

The two boys got on the bus and immediately saw Bei Yao sitting in the third row of the coach.

Even though it was the second time the two youths had seen her, a trace of amazement still flashed in their eyes. Jin Ziyang said: “Are you that Sixth High school beauty, Bei Yao?”

Bei Yao nodded: “Hello.” She hadn’t expected to encounter them here either.

Seeing her well-behaved and gentle appearance, Jin Ziyang’s face turned red beyond his control: “Hello, I’m Jin Ziyang. We met last time.”

“Mm, I remember you.”

I remember you! Remember you… remember…

Jin Ziyang had never felt his face burn so hot before. The problem was, the girl was polite and shy, clearly someone who rarely went out. He said: “Can I sit…”

After the sun came out, the first slanting ray of sunlight shone into the vehicle. A youth in a black T-shirt walked onto the bus, his steps slow and steady. He sat down beside Bei Yao.

Jin Ziyang: “…”

He dejectedly went to the back row.

“Pei Chuan.” Bei Yao was extremely surprised. She hugged her big bag tighter to make room for him to sit more comfortably. “How are you here?”

Pei Chuan took the bag from her arms: “Jin Ziyang registered for me.”

“Oh, I see.” Bei Yao said, “My bag is very heavy, let me hold it. If you really don’t want to go, I can help you sell the ticket.” That bag was very heavy—she couldn’t lift it with both hands to put it in the luggage storage area on the bus.

“…” Pei Chuan pinched the little panda face that had been transferred along with the schoolbag and was silent for a moment. “No need. Since I’m already here.”

He stood up and placed Bei Yao’s bag up there with one hand. Lowering his eyes, he met a small face smiling with trust in the sunlight.

Pei Chuan’s fingers trembled, yet he still sat down with an unchanged expression.

The summer camp participants gradually all arrived.

But there weren’t many in total—six boys, four girls, ten people.

Originally, the number of summer camp participants couldn’t possibly be this small, but this batch of tickets wasn’t what Bei Yao had imagined at two thousand yuan each. The registration fee was eight thousand.

In the summer of 2007, a summer camp costing eight thousand yuan—those who could afford to participate were either wealthy or privileged.

Wei Wan was the last to board. She had dressed up considerably and applied several layers of sunscreen. She took this summer camp very seriously. After all, with her family’s circumstances, she couldn’t have come—it was Zheng Hang who had paid for her.

As soon as Wei Wan got on the bus, she instinctively looked to see where Pei Chuan was sitting. Her gaze settled on the third row.

It was that very pretty cheerleading girl!

Pei Chuan lowered his eyes, looking at content on his phone. Bei Yao said something, and he gave an indifferent “mm.” He seemed unfamiliar with and uninterested in the young girl beside him.

Wei Wan’s anxious heart relaxed somewhat, secretly regretting that she’d arrived late. But it didn’t matter—seven days and seven nights, she would always have a chance.

The vehicle drove for an entire day, and lunch was eaten on the bus.

Jin Ziyang said: “If it weren’t for the air conditioning, I’d smash this broken bus. Just how far is it?”

The teacher knew this group of wealthy people had bad tempers and had dealt with them in previous years. Smiling, she reassured them: “We’re almost there. After all, it’s a location for survival adventure—you can’t do it in the city. Xiao Chen has gone to buy ice water for everyone, and there will be a rich dinner soon.”

The complaints finally died down.

She had fallen asleep.

Pei Chuan turned his head.

Completely unguarded, with a vehicle full of people chattering noisily and the bus swaying back and forth, Bei Yao leaned against the window, her long lashes quietly lowered, like an innocent angel girl.

She didn’t make noise or complain about this inexplicable itinerary arrangement.

He put away his phone, one hand propped against his forehead, the other braced on the seat in front. His jet-black eyes watched her.

From the back row, he also looked like he was extremely tired and dozing off.

Wei Wan, sitting in the back near Jin Ziyang and the others, felt relieved and even somewhat smug. So what if she was pretty? Wasn’t Pei Chuan still cold and indifferent? Now he was simply bored to the point of sleeping.

Could that Bei Yao have deliberately spent eight thousand yuan to climb the social ladder?

~

In the evening, the vehicle stopped at a winery.

Inside the winery was actually a buffet dinner. The young men and women were delighted. After shaking around in the vehicle all the way, they could finally let loose and have fun. Everyone ate very happily.

The supervising teacher took the microphone: “Students, tomorrow the seven-day, six-night summer camp activity officially begins. You all know clearly what type of summer camp you chose, so for everyone’s safety and the interest of the activity, please listen carefully to what the teacher says next.”

Ten young men and women looked over.

“First, there are no accommodation rooms prepared for everyone tonight.”

“Damn! You’re kidding, right?”

“Please be quiet. We will distribute tents to everyone shortly. Not far away, there’s a soft field where you can set up your tents yourselves. Because for the next seven days, you will be living in the jungle. Tents have been placed at various resource points in the jungle. As long as you find them, you can rest well for the night.”

“What if we don’t find them? Feed the mosquitoes?”

Some people laughed mockingly.

“That won’t happen. The number of tents far exceeds the number of people.” The teacher said seriously. “Second, food supplies will be obtained in the same way—find them yourselves. Third, each person will wear a GPS tracking bracelet. The teachers will monitor the team members’ whereabouts at all times. On the bracelet, there is a very prominent button. Please look at the small English word ‘help’ below it.”

“This single red button is called the help button. Press and hold it, and the teacher will immediately find you and bring you out safely. Students who can’t hold on must not force themselves—press it in time. Of course, please also be careful not to press it by mistake. Once pressed incorrectly, you cannot return to the jungle to continue survival. Not pressing it is considered continuing the competition. Students who meet by chance can form teams, but team size is at most two people.”

“Fourth, the jungle has been cleared. There are no large wild beasts, and insecticide has been sprayed, so there won’t be any deadly poisonous creatures. But there will be other small animals that aren’t very harmful. Students can explore on their own. Supply drops will be made each night.”

“Finally, each student has a map. Although maps aren’t very useful in the jungle, following it you can find treasure. Wishing all students a pleasant ‘Survival Adventure Summer Camp’!”

Zheng Hang said with a laugh: “This is so awesome. The money was well spent—exciting.”

Jin Ziyang: “I think so too. This is so interesting! Just hearing about it sounds great. But I’m saying,” he turned his head to look at Ji Wei, who was still reading a book, immersed in his own world, “Brother Wei, if you can’t do it, come out early!”

Ji Wei was bewildered: “…” Wasn’t this a learning exchange camp? Come out early for what?

“Hahahaha! Oh my god, Brother Wei still thinks he came to exchange experiences with top students! Someone come quick, there’s someone super easy to trick here—trick him!”

Bei Yao felt somewhat uneasy. She hadn’t expected it to be this kind of summer camp either, but she had a good mentality and didn’t think about finding any great treasure. When the time came, she could just press the red button.

Before long, tents were distributed to everyone’s hands.

All of them were black—ugly, but of very good quality, and waterproof too.

Everyone looked at each other, bewildered, thinking: How do you set this thing up? Someone went to consult the teacher, but the teacher would only explain the method, not help.

Pei Chuan took his tent and was the first to find an open flat area with a good view and began setting it up.

The youth’s fingers were slender and nimble. Without a word, the summer dusk’s heat hadn’t yet dissipated. Everyone was secretly observing him.

Bei Yao held her own heavy tent, learning by following along beside him.

Pei Chuan occasionally looked up. She was learning very seriously, but because she didn’t have enough strength, she was still stuck at step three.

In the summer field, free and open, the wind blew the young girl’s bangs. She was trying so hard, her small hands tapping and hammering, working hard to prop up her own frame.

He lowered his eyes and quickly finished setting up his tent.

The tent was sturdy and nice-looking.

Then he used one hand to support Bei Yao’s half-finished product. She looked up at him in confusion. The youth was a head taller than her. He lowered his eyes, avoiding her gaze, and began silently setting up hers.