A Love Letter Written to You - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

The next day, they got up early.

Morning dew clung to the flowers and grass by the roadside, round and lovely. After waking early to help the villagers feed chickens and ducks — scoring a free breakfast in the process — Leng Ying and Ji Yu were handed the day’s mission card by the production team.

It instructed them to return to the main courtyard and prepare for filming.

Ji Yu pointed at the camera: “They started livestreaming as soon as we woke up. Do we even need to prepare for filming?”

“Ahahahaha Ji-ge speaking facts again!”

“I’m dying. But today’s the photoshoot, right?”

“Four characters out of six — we voted for them! Let’s hope the food is good too.”

The cameraman didn’t respond, only signaling them to head back.

The two walked toward the courtyard and ran into Ji Youqin and Luo Qing, who were coming from the same direction.

Leng Ying glanced at them.

Ji Youqin reflexively asked, “What are you looking at?”

Leng Ying smiled. “Just noticing you two aren’t fighting today.”

“…We’re tired of it,” Ji Youqin admitted. “We’ve agreed to a temporary truce.”

Luo Qing remained calm and collected, as if Ji Youqin’s truce or lack thereof didn’t affect her in the slightest.

Since they met, they continued walking together. The road was peaceful, no arguments broke out. Leng Ying and Ji Yu whispered to each other now and then.

Director Pan was already waiting for them.

Once all eight guests had arrived, he said, “Today’s task is simple. Since the start of the show, we’ve been letting the audience vote on character profiles. Voting closed at midnight last night. We’ve selected the top eight, and now each of you will draw lots to determine your character. Then, working in your current pairs, you’ll do a photoshoot.”

Leng Ying asked, “Just the photoshoot?”

“That’s right,” Director Pan confirmed. “Once the photos are done, they’ll be posted on the show’s official Weibo for the audience to see.”

Ji Youqin chimed in enthusiastically, “Let’s do it. How do we draw?”

The production team brought out the prepared prop — a box with eight round openings and concealed levers inside.

“Everyone pick one. Each lever has a number attached on a string. That number corresponds to a character.”

Simple and fair — no room for manipulation.

Leng Ying and Ji Yu exchanged a look and picked two adjacent levers. The others followed, drawing one by one and comparing numbers.

Leng Ying drew “2,” and Ji Yu drew “6.” The characters, displayed on a screen, were a spoiled heiress and a demon turned into a puppy due to a sudden incident. The demon still had dog ears and a tail.

The two stood before the wardrobe of costumes the production team had prepared: “…”

Leng Ying picked up a very realistic pair of dog ears, gave them a squeeze, and watched them twitch in her hand, soft and fluffy. “These feel really nice.”

As soon as she said that, Ji Yu’s attention immediately shifted from figuring out how to wear the tail to how soft those ears must be.

She leaned her head over eagerly.

Leng Ying paused, then understood. She gently placed the ears on Ji Yu’s head. A crew member handed Leng Ying the remote control. She pressed it, and the ears twitched.

Ji Yu was delighted: “That’s so cool~~”

Leng Ying chuckled.

The tail was simple to attach, fastened with a special strap around the waist. The costume fit perfectly.

Leng Ying’s outfit, on the other hand, was a luxurious gothic Lolita dress in black and red hues, paired with shiny black boots. Her slender fingers slipped into sleek black gloves with faint silver embroidery — elegant and sharp.

Those fingers landed lightly on Ji Yu’s dog ears and rubbed gently.

Ji Yu instinctively swallowed.

“Perfect!” The assigned photographer was amazed. “Don’t move — just like that. I’m taking a few shots.”

After the shutter clicked a few times, Ji Yu asked, “Isn’t this too casual for a photoshoot?”

The photographer smiled subtly. “Teacher Ji, you may not know this, but young girls online love this candid style. But—”

She added, “The production team has set up some stunning photo locations. Might as well use them.”

Ji Yu nodded in agreement. “Exactly!”

The shoot locations had been built by the crew. Ji Youqin complained it wasn’t as good as doing a shoot in the city, but she didn’t throw a tantrum — she and Luo Qing still cooperated for the photos.

The photoshoot was physically demanding. They spent the entire morning doing makeup and posing. All four pairs shot simultaneously, but it still took three to four hours per group.

Then came selecting the final photos.

They took dozens, but only nine could be posted on the official Weibo. Leng Ying asked the team for the rest of the negatives.

Ji Yu was about to speak, but held back. “Yingying, we really do think alike~”

Leng Ying smiled, knowing Ji Yu wanted the photos too. But—“What I take, you take. We live together, after all.”

Ji Yu nodded: “Exactly.”

To keep things mysterious, the photoshoot wasn’t livestreamed. The stream only resumed after the shoot ended, the final photos were picked, and the cast had changed out of costume.

“Finally, the stream’s back!”

“Pan Director, how dare you go dark for so long? You owe me a snack!”

“LOL — Director Pan says it was for a surprise.”

“Let’s see what kind of surprise this is…”

“…Just dinner again?!”

Director Pan pinned the Weibo preview announcement to the top of the stream and ignored the chat. He let the guests eat peacefully — after all, they’d barely eaten during the busy day. Dinner was served early, around 4 p.m.

Once dinner was over, he announced the next plan. The first half of filming only had one night and a day left — not much time.

He projected a map showing a route to a scenic camping site nearby. Although the mountain roads were rough, the site was popular online, especially among influencers.

Director Pan beamed, “This will be the final shoot. Tonight, we’ll head to the campsite, spend the night there. You’ll see the sunset and sunrise — then tomorrow, we’ll return to pack, and this phase of the show will wrap up.”

Camping!

Leng Ying felt Ji Yu perk up with excitement — clearly, she loved the idea. Leng Ying agreed it sounded great.

To catch the sunset, the crew had arranged a shuttle bus to drive them there. Though the roads were winding, the bus helped them skip the roughest part. However, they’d have to pitch their own tents.

The crew wasn’t going to help with that — it made for better footage if the cast did it themselves.

Since it was a closed shoot, the entire campsite was booked out. Aside from the crew and eight guests, no one else was present.

Of course, the livestream continued as usual.

Ji Yu didn’t care about the stream. She grabbed her tent and immediately began setting it up. Leng Ying came over to help, but Ji Yu waved her off: “I’ve got this.”

But Leng Ying didn’t leave.

Ji Yu relented: “…Fine, then hand me the parts.”

She worked quickly. Qiu Daoyu admired her: “Teacher Ji, you seem like a pro?”

Ji Youqin didn’t say anything, but also peeked over curiously.

Leng Ying handed Ji Yu a tissue to wipe her sweat and said with a smile, “She used to go camping a lot with her cousin abroad.”

Ji Yu: “…”

She frowned and whispered, “Not that often.”

But Leng Ying just smiled at her, and Ji Yu gave in under that gaze: “Okay… maybe once we lost signal and I missed your message. But that was the only time.”

Bo Xin said, “Losing contact while camping would make anyone worried.”

“Exactly,” Ji Yu agreed. “That one time was a fluke. After that, I upgraded everything to satellite-supported devices.”

She glanced at the other tents.

“Need help?”

Qiu Daoyu instantly raised her hand, struggling with a part. “Teacher Ji! Teach me!”

Ji Youqin hesitated, but Luo Qing had already walked over, ready to learn. Bo Xin and Ren Meng’s tent was more or less done, though a bit crooked. They didn’t start over — just waited for Ji Yu to check it over.

Ji Yu was happy to help. She began explaining the setup to Qiu Daoyu and her group. With her guidance, the unruly pieces all started to behave. Qiu Daoyu was amazed: “Teacher Ji, you’re such a great instructor!”

Ji Yu: “…”

Leng Ying chuckled. “She teaches people at work too, right, Teacher Ji?”

“You’re absolutely right, Teacher Ying,” Ji Yu replied, just about to continue her tutorial — when her gaze stopped behind Qiu Daoyu, and her voice trailed off.

Qiu Daoyu: “?”

She turned to look behind her.

Everyone had stopped what they were doing.

“Yingying,” Ji Yu called softly, “Yingying, look.”

Leng Ying stood right beside her and looked up too.

“Mm, I’m here,” she replied. “I see it.”

When they’d arrived, the sky had been a bright blue, with fluffy white clouds drifting lazily. But as time slipped by during tent setup, the clouds transformed into a stunning canvas of pink, violet, and golden hues.

It was sunset.