Chapter 525 - 359: I Want to See the Footage Right Now

Chapter 525: Chapter 359: I Want to See the Footage Right Now

But on second thought, neither of them had ever actually said the word "love" to him. Still, being so upfront about their feelings was perfectly in character for both of them.

Whether in the West or in South Korea, they were surprisingly unified when it came to bold declarations of affection.

Compared to Erica’s extreme forwardness, Jin Meiyan seemed much more Asian in this respect. It was obvious she was holding back, especially yesterday.

A brief exchange later, silence fell around them once more.

Thankfully, the speedboat was right on time, appearing on the horizon at five minutes to seven.

As the speedboat tore through the waves, rapidly approaching them, Jin Meiyan’s expression changed. A strange sense of anxiety washed over her.

’I thought I could face this moment with composure, but now that it’s here, I’m filled with a strange regret.’

Driven by this impulse, she grabbed the hem of Lin Chen’s shirt from behind, her voice trembling slightly.

"Oppa, when I’m gone, will you think of me?"

Lin Chen gazed at the young woman, her face a mixture of apprehension and hope. A smile spread across his face as he gave a firm nod.

"I will, of course I will. Honestly, by the standards of Asian beauty, you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever met."

"I’m not trying to rush you off, either. There’s no need to put so much pressure on yourself. You’re here on vacation, and vacations are supposed to be fun. Go on, smile. You’re gorgeous when you smile."

"Really~?"

A radiant, sweet smile blossomed on Jin Meiyan’s face, hearing him call her beautiful and admit her charm.

She tilted her head slightly to glance at the speedboat on the sea. In the short time it took to exchange a few sentences, it had grown much larger. She estimated it would arrive in two or three minutes.

She pulled her gaze back to Lin Chen’s face. With her hands behind her back, she suddenly took a few small, quick steps and drew close, much to his confusion.

Thinking the girl had some secret to whisper to him, he subconsciously tilted his head and leaned his ear toward her.

SMOOCH~

He felt an incredible softness on his cheek, the lingering warmth slowly fading in the morning breeze.

He clutched his cheek, looking at her in surprise. She was covering her mouth with her fingertips, giggling uncontrollably as a captivating blush crept across her fair cheeks.

Bathed in the rays of the morning sun, she was enveloped in a golden glow. Even the charming dimples at the corners of her mouth seemed to dance.

Seeing his stunned expression, she felt a surge of triumphant satisfaction.

’It wasn’t that she, Jin Meiyan, lacked charm. Rather, she respected the rules of the game and didn’t want to be a homewrecker, which was why she had held back.’

’They were both beautiful, but her Asian features gave her a natural advantage with Lin Chen. She just wasn’t willing to steal him away.’

’Yes, that’s right, that’s exactly it!’

Just as she finished convincing herself, the roar of an engine announced the speedboat’s arrival. It came to a stop in the shallows.

"Let’s go."

She took the lead, walking into the sea with a carefree air.

Lin Chen watched her go for a long moment, then followed without another word.

"How was it, you two? How did survival in the wild feel? Did your relationship get any deeper?"

Captain Hei greeted them with a wide, toothy grin. He kept winking at Lin Chen, an expression on his face that clearly said, *You must have had a great time camping in the wild with such a beauty.*

"Sorry, we’re not in a relationship."

Before he could speak, Jin Meiyan took the lead and explained in fluent English, "We’re both video bloggers. I’m here on vacation and collaborating with him on a video. It’s purely a working relationship."

"Ah? That’s a real shame. Doing what couples do in a deserted forest or out on the open sea is super exciting. I guarantee you’d never forget it if you tried it once~"

Lin Chen rolled his eyes and tapped on the cabin window. "I’ll add fifty bucks for gas. Can I trouble you to shut up?"

The captain’s eyes lit up. He wasn’t annoyed at all. Instead, he quickly gave a cheerful salute.

"Yes sir! More than happy to be of service~"

...

The moment Lin Chen opened the door to his room, a dark figure rushed toward him, slamming heavily into his arms.

Caught off guard, he was knocked back several steps. Fortunately, his reflexes were quick, and a heavy step backward completely absorbed the last of the impact.

Erica’s long, fair legs were locked tightly around his waist. She clung to him like a sloth, greedily inhaling the distinctly masculine scent on him.

She took a deep, greedy breath.

Lin Chen glanced awkwardly at Jin Meiyan, who had dodged to the side. For a moment, he didn’t know where to put his hands.

The girl stared blankly at Erica, who was boldly showing her affection to Lin Chen. A flicker of sadness crossed her eyes as she silently pulled her suitcase and walked into the house.

Watching her lonely departing figure, Lin Chen felt an inexplicable pang of guilt. He gently patted Erica’s back twice.

"Get down, you scared Meiyan. Besides, I haven’t showered in three days, I’m filthy."

"No!"

Erica pouted. "I missed you to death these three days you were gone. What about you? Did you miss me?"

The corner of Lin Chen’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. He immediately nodded. "I did. Of course I did."

"Then prove it to me!"

As she spoke, Erica closed her eyes and wrapped her hands tightly around the back of his neck, looking like she wouldn’t get down until she got what she wanted.

If it were the old him, he would have had the confidence to refuse such a bold request. But now, he felt a little guilty. Glancing at Jin Meiyan’s tightly closed door, he quickly leaned in and gave her a light peck.

"Alright, stop messing around. Let me take a shower first. By the way, have preparations for the workers’ lunch today started? Is there enough left? What was their feedback?"

’Although she didn’t get the passionate kiss she was hoping for, getting him to kiss her on his own was still a huge step forward.’

Erica reluctantly climbed off him and pulled him into the house.

"Not yet. Look at the time. It only takes half an hour to cook the dumplings. Factoring in prep time and the trip over, starting an hour beforehand is plenty. And what do you think the feedback was? Even a foreigner like me thinks they’re delicious, so of course all you Da Xia People gave them a thumbs-up."

"The fridge at home is empty. The rest of the dumplings are at the market. There’s more space there, so I’ve been cooking them there for the past two days."

He nodded, gave her a thumbs-up and a few words of praise, then grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom to shower.

His room was the master bedroom on the first floor and had its own private bathroom. The guest bathroom was in the living room hallway, right across from his door.

Her room was on the second floor. It was also a master bedroom with a private bathroom and even had a small projecting balcony for sunbathing.

CLICK

Jin Meiyan’s door opened. Cradling a change of clothes, she walked out and went straight into the bathroom across the hall, locking the door.

Sitting alone on the sofa, hugging a throw pillow, Erica’s gaze drifted involuntarily toward Lin Chen’s door. Her eyes were filled with curiosity; she wished she could rush into his room right now, plug the memory cards into a computer one by one, and watch everything.

’Lin Chen was an Asian. And although Jin Meiyan was an American, she was of Asian descent and grew up in Asia. Her cultural views and aesthetic sensibilities were much closer to Lin Chen’s tastes than her own. On top of that, she was one of the Koreans, who are known for excelling at fashion and makeup, with a stunning figure and face. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t worried about them surviving alone in the wild for three days.’

’But the problem was, she and Lin Chen had no official relationship. And even if they did, she couldn’t just barge into his room and look at his private things without his permission.’

After showering and drying his hair, Lin Chen came out and saw Erica sitting cross-legged on the sofa, hugging a throw pillow and biting her nails, a conflicted look on her face. He grabbed a cold Coke from the fridge, opened it, and sat down beside her, asking quizzically.

"What are you thinking about? You look so troubled."

"Lin," she said, looking up with a sincere gaze, "I want to see the footage from the last three days."

Lin Chen froze for a moment but quickly recovered. He nodded. "I was just about to bring that up. I’m busy cooking for the workers every day, and I also have to find time to help out the neighbors at the market. It’s been pretty hectic, so I’ll need your help with the editing."

"Wait here, I’ll go get them for you now."

’He had already thought it through last night. There was no way to hide the contents of the footage. And to be honest, there wasn’t really anything inappropriate in it.’

’Compared to his time with Erica, nothing that crossed the line had happened between him and Jin Meiyan. As long as you looked at it with a normal perspective, the content was all very standard.’

’The only exceptions were the late-night heart-to-heart and this morning’s little scene, neither of which were filmed. As long as he kept his mouth shut, no one would ever know.’

Seeing him toss the memory card case to her so readily, Erica felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

’That’s right. This is a guy who won’t even eat the meat served right to him. How could he possibly have sparks with a girl he’s only known for a week?’

’He was there to work, not to pick up girls.’

’Yes, that’s right! This is the Lin I know!’

Erica eagerly opened her laptop, plugged in the memory card, and started playing the footage out loud in the living room, setting the playback speed to 2x.

Having edited quite a few videos, she had mastered the trick. For long-form wilderness survival videos like this, most of the footage was useless. The valuable information was at the beginning, the end, and the segments showing shelter construction, tool making, fire starting, hunting, and foraging.

If she didn’t use fast-forward, three days of footage meant she would have to watch for three whole days, which would be absolute torture.

Even 2x speed was a little slow. Normally, she’d use 3x speed to quickly skim through the uneventful parts in the middle.

Lin Chen leaned back on the sofa, taking sporadic sips from the cold Coke can in his hand, his eyes glued to the computer screen.

Even though these were scenes he had personally experienced, the camera often captured many details he hadn’t noticed at the time.

He was also afraid that some easily misunderstood clips might pop up. To say he wasn’t worried would be a lie, but he could only bite the bullet and pretend to be calm.