Huo Sichen gave Zhang Yuwen a brainteaser, but Zhang Yuwen couldn’t solve it. “Oh no, now I have to do two things.”
“You can choose truth too,” Yan Jun reminded him sympathetically.
“I think…I’ll choose dare,” Zhang Yuwen said. “Guys, please give me a quick one.”
Everyone talked it over for a while, and they eventually settled on having Zhang Yuwen do a flip in front of the girls who were coming up the mountain trail behind them. This left Zhang Yuwen speechless, but he never objected when it came to truth or dare. They waited until another pair of hikers came along, then Zhang Yuwen successfully completed his dare, dying of embarrassment all the while.
As he returned to the group, Zhang Yuwen went on a rampage. “Who’s next?!” He turned to Chang Jinxing, the one who’d come up with this whole awful idea. “You!”
True to his expectations, Chang Jinxing didn’t manage to figure out Zhang Yuwen’s riddle. “I choose truth,” he said magnanimously.
“Is there someone you like right now?” Zheng Weize asked.
Chang Jinxing looked at Zheng Weize. “Such an easy question? You sure you don’t wanna choose another one?”
Chen Hong had noticed the fleeting expression on Chang Jinxing’s face. “Nah, this is it,” he said. “Tell him to answer it!”
Chang Jinxing didn’t say a word. Confused at what was happening, Huo Sichen looked to Zhang Yuwen. Zhang Yuwen didn’t offer any explanation, however, so Huo Sichen didn’t probe further.
This turn of events surprised Zhang Yuwen. Maybe something really was going on between those two?
But to Chang Jinxing, this was nothing new. He averted his gaze. “No.”
“He’s lying!” It was clear to everyone that this was a deliberate move meant for them to notice.
Exposed, Chang Jinxing changed his tune. “Oh, well then, yes, I do.”
Zheng Weize’s heart jumped to his throat. “Give us a name,” he said, but Zhang Yuwen flashed him a signal with his eyes: Don’t be foolish! Huo Sichen is here—and are you sure you want to ask a question like that in the middle of a plank road?
Chang Jinxing glanced at Zheng Weize with a smile before looking away. “That’s another question.”
“That’s so cunning of you,” Yan Jun remarked.
“I said no,” Chang Jinxing said, grinning, “but you guys said I was lying.” He put his hand on Zheng Weize’s shoulder and continued walking.
Just give up already, Zheng Weize, Zhang Yuwen thought. You and your star are in completely different leagues.
They left the path and started crossing the huge bridge of Elephant Gorge. It was 2 p.m., and this was where the scenery was the prettiest. Chang Jinxing took a tripod from his backpack and shot a group picture, putting a temporary pause to their game of truth or dare. Zheng Weize stood in the center, with Chang Jinxing and Chen Hong to his left and Yan Jun, Zhang Yuwen, and Huo Sichen to his right.
Zheng Weize continued to pester Chang Jinxing about his “truth” even after they crossed the bridge. Zhang Yuwen thought it over, then led Huo Sichen ahead a little.
“Is there a rule in your dorm that prohibits dating?” Huo Sichen asked. He sounded puzzled.
“Oh, no.” Zhang Yuwen was quick to improvise. “Anyone in a relationship will be fleeced into treating everyone to a feast.”
“Oh.” Huo Sichen got it now. He glanced back at Chang Jinxing; by this point, Zheng Weize was clinging to him. Zhang Yuwen figured that Huo Sichen probably didn’t suspect a thing and merely saw Zheng Weize as an adorable teen.
“If he keeps changing girlfriends,” Zhang Yuwen continued, “he’ll have to keep treating us.”
Huo Sichen turned back and smiled at Zhang Yuwen. “He certainly has the looks for it.”
“Let’s keep playing truth or dare!” Zheng Weize shouted from afar. “You two stop walking so fast!”
Zhang Yuwen wanted to howl in despair. “Let’s not!” Huo Sichen, on the other hand, found it amusing.
Everyone stopped and took out the snacks in their backpacks. “Oh, finally,” Huo Sichen said. “Let me see what goods you’ve got in there.”
Zhang Yuwen laughed. “You’ve been eyeing them for a while, huh?” He found it interesting that Huo Sichen had been thinking about his snacks all this time. It kind of made him seem like a child.
Chang Jinxing called on Chen Hong for the riddle, but it didn’t take Chen Hong long to figure it out. For the first time since the start of the game, someone had cracked one of the nonsensical brainteasers, and thus Chen Hong’s bizarre brain won the day.
“Yan Jun.” Chen Hong pointed, his target clear.
“I can’t guess anything,” Yan Jun said. “Don’t bother with the riddle. I choose dare. Just tell me what you want me to do.”
“Ah!” Zheng Weize exclaimed. “Monkey!” A monkey was looking at them quizzically from the branch of a tree, interrupting their game. “Can we feed it?”
“Better not,” Zhang Yuwen warned him. The last time he was here, he saw monkeys attacking the visitors. No words could ever describe that sight.
The color drained from Chen Hong’s face. “Pack up and leave now! Quick! Don’t provoke them! If you get scratched, you’ll need to get rabies shots!”
The monkey ran off not long thereafter. There wasn’t much for the monkeys to eat in the wild come winter, and there were few visitors to feed them, so they scavenged. Everyone thought they were out of the proverbial woods when the first monkey left, but before long, it returned with reinforcements.
Zhang Yuwen exclaimed in surprise. Tensing up, everyone packed their stuff and prepared to run.
“Drop the snacks! Let the monkeys have them!” Chen Hong yelled.
Chang Jinxing, whose camera was expensive, was the most anxious of the group. The monkeys jumped onto the guys, and utter mayhem broke out. No one wanted to be the first to run, because that would mean abandoning their friends to save their own skin. Even Zheng Weize only ran a few steps before he felt compelled to turn back and save the others.
“Watch out for the big one!” Huo Sichen warned him, but a small monkey jumped onto his belt bag. Zhang Yuwen hurried over to give him a hand, and even more monkeys swarmed the pair of them. Then a loud crack rang out: Yan Jun was whipping his jacket around like a weapon, scaring two monkeys away.
Huo Sichen shielded Zhang Yuwen, swinging his belt bag to drive the beasts away. Chen Hong, for his part, was nearly knocked over by monkeys. Meanwhile, Chang Jinxing covered Zheng Weize as they fled—but he hadn’t gotten more than thirty feet away when his occupational disease acted up, and he went into overdrive clicking away on his camera.
“Why are you still taking photos?! Go already!” Zhang Yuwen took off his jacket and threw it to Chang Jinxing, who used it to protect his camera. The group finally managed to beat a hasty retreat.
Everyone was panting hard by the time they neared the mountaintop and took a break at the last rest stop to regroup.
“Did anyone get scratched?” asked Huo Sichen, still worried. “Zhang Yuwen, come here and let me have a look.”
Zhang Yuwen didn’t know if he’d been scratched by the monkeys or if he’d scraped himself against the wooden railing while he ran away. The side of his rib cage burned painfully.
“You’ll need to get a shot if you were scratched,” said Chen Hong.
Zhang Yuwen lifted his T-shirt, revealing the fair skin and muscles of his abdomen. The side of his waist had been chafed red.
“Looks like you scraped against the railings.” Yan Jun brought the medicated oil over. “I didn’t see any monkeys going after you.”
“Yeah,” Zhang Yuwen agreed. “Don’t worry. The skin isn’t broken; it won’t get infected.”
Yan Jun poured some of the medicated oil onto his palm. He seemed intent on applying it for Zhang Yuwen, so Zhang Yuwen took his T-shirt off altogether, baring his upper body. His figure was fair and sexy; his skin’s flawless complexion had pale, cool undertones.
The atmosphere abruptly turned weird, and Yan Jun felt too awkward to apply the medicated oil himself, so he handed it to Zhang Yuwen. As Zhang Yuwen’s shirt came off, Huo Sichen’s Adam’s apple bobbed ever so slightly.