Chapter 18 Gazing at the Ocean’s Starry Sky? His Disappearance

Lin Yu dashed straight down the mountain, his feet pounding the soft sand. With a leap, he plunged into the sea. Then, he solemnly placed the necklace into the surging waves, watching as it was swept away by the tide, vanishing without a trace.

Wang Fei caught up and noticed a glint in the water, curiosity piqued. “For a moment, I thought you were jumping off the mountain to end it all… Just kidding! Turns out you’re here to release a necklace!”

“How much merit do you think this is worth?” Lin Yu ignored him, lost entirely in his own world.

He reached into the water, scooped up a turtle, lifted it in both hands and let out a shout, then returned it to the sea, waving goodbye to its retreating silhouette.

He returned to the beach, and with nothing but his hands, in ten minutes he sculpted a sand mound resembling Ultraman, striking Ultraman’s signature move for the camera that had finally caught up with him.

Wang Fei watched with envy. This carefree life was the freedom one should have at the seaside.

But he had to maintain the lofty image of an entertainer; otherwise, he'd surely be scolded by viewers. Yet, glancing at his phone’s live broadcast, he froze.

Had the audience’s tolerance grown so wide?

The comments were full of joy.

“Oh my, I want to be as happy as him! Tomorrow I’m heading to the beach!”

“Hey above, are you done with work? Finished your reports? Settled your boss’s tasks? When do workers ever have so much free time?”

“Dang, that hurts. No way! Director Lin, make his show experience harder, he’s too much!”

“Folks, can entertainers really be this spontaneous? Ugh, I’m so jealous!”

“Damn, gotta say, he looks slim in clothes but muscular without! Those eight-pack abs, let me touch them!”

“You above, you’re a guy! Let the girls have this fortune, you don’t need to compete.”

“As long as you’re a rich lady, what abs can’t you have? Honestly, workers, keep earning, silly men are available to everyone!”

“I’ve decided, from now on, I’ll only look for boyfriends who meet Lin Yu’s standards—can do chores, good personality, simply the top criteria!”

“Does such a good man really exist? Isn’t it just for show or image packaging?”

“You above, are you jealous he’s better than you? Could you even fake such carefree spirit?”

“I don’t care, anyway, I’m a fan of this man now!”

…

Standing on the sand, Lin Yu gazed at the boundless sea. Suddenly, he noticed a crab scuttling sideways into the waves, disappearing from sight. An idea struck him—what did the world beneath the waves look like?

He darted into the sea, diving in with a splash.

Wang Fei was sprayed with water, wiping his face before realizing Lin Yu, who had just been playing with sand, was gone.

His face twisted into urgency and confusion. “Where did he go?”

He shouted to the cameraman, “What are you doing standing there? Hurry up and save him!”

The cameraman had been busy filming the glimmering water. As a cameraman, he knew exactly what viewers liked to see. Only after being reminded did he snap out of it, scanning the area—he really couldn’t spot Lin Yu.

The comments exploded.

“Wow, those abs—no, that big brother just disappeared?”

“Huh? Huh? Huh? Can the show crew show some concern? Is it really okay to ignore an entertainer’s safety?”

“Oh my god, is another incident about a celebrity dying during a variety show about to repeat?”

“Heavens! This is the seaside! If he drowned, how hopeless would that be?”

“Still filming scenery? Hurry up and save him!”

“No! Not my 10086th husband!!”

…

Before long, news of Lin Yu’s disappearance spread through the entire crew, sending everyone into a panic. Staff rushed to the beach for rescue; Lin Jia glanced at Si Shaozhe, who was still watching TV. She wanted to say something but dared not disturb the top star, so she turned and left.

Once everyone was gone, Si Shaozhe looked up and around.

Huh?

Where is everyone? Why did the cameraman and Director Lin Jia suddenly vanish?

What’s going on? Did someone even more important arrive and steal his spotlight?

Damn…

Meanwhile, Lin Yu was underwater, chasing fish, diving deeper to collect shells, admiring the natural marks left by water on their surfaces.

He didn’t notice a speedboat passing overhead.

Only when his breath was nearly gone did Lin Yu snap out of his reverie, surfacing for a deep gasp of air. Suddenly, he heard excited shouts from the distant shore.

“There he is!!”

Lin Yu turned, bewildered.

What…?

He’d only gone beneath the waves for a while—why had the entire crew appeared on the beach? Some even wore life jackets.

He wasn’t far from shore; the clear view let him see the worried, tense faces lining the sand.

Humans are creatures of endless curiosity. Clueless about the situation, Lin Yu swam ashore, shook his hair, and stepped onto the sand.

“What’s going on? Why is it suddenly so lively?”

Wang Fei looked at his confused expression, momentarily speechless.

He couldn’t exactly say… it was because they thought Lin Yu had drowned, so everyone had been called for rescue.

Lin Jia arrived just then, seeing Lin Yu safe on the shore. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Damn, nearly couldn’t continue the show!

On the way, Lin Jia had even begun to ponder how she could save the program.

Luckily, Lin Yu was unharmed.

The investors behind the show had poured in hundreds of millions. If something happened on the first day of broadcast, and the show halted, she would face disastrous consequences.

Moreover, she had invested so much effort and energy into this program. If it failed to profit or stopped midway, she, already on the verge of being abandoned by capital for various reasons, would have no chance to recover…

“What were you doing just now?” Lin Jia, anxious, rushed over and grabbed Lin Yu’s wrist.

Lin Yu, bewildered and completely out of the loop, squinted and, though unsure what was happening, smiled and replied politely, “Diving.”

Lin Jia: “…”

Everyone present: “…”

You… Couldn’t you just tell us you were diving?

We thought you’d gone to see the stars beneath the sea!

Lin Yu was still confused.

Why are you all… so anxious?

Can’t we talk calmly? It’s as if a murder has occurred.

If someone really died on the first day of the show, that would be terrifying.