Switched Life:I Went Viral on a Family Variety Show-Chapter 456: Don’t Hug Just Anywhere

Sang Ning restrained her expression: "It’s nothing, I didn’t sleep well last night, my red-eye condition flared up."

"Oh, I see." Song Shiye let out a sigh of relief, but then grew worried again, "That’s not good, red-eye needs treatment. Sister Sangsang, how about telling Director Zhou that we shouldn’t film the show today and going to the hospital instead?"

Sang Ning immediately smiled: "I was messing with you. You little kid, why do you believe everything people say?"

Really? Song Shiye felt skeptical inside, but he didn’t say more.

After breaking eye contact with Song Shiye, Sang Ning rubbed her aching head.

At the moment Song Shiye looked down, her brain felt like it was struck by an earthquake. Something seemed to be on the verge of breaking through, and she inexplicably felt a surge of familiarity toward Song Shiye.

That sense of familiarity came from a distant past, like she had known Song Shiye for a long time but had completely forgotten about him, and now was recalling an old acquaintance. Yet, the original Sang Ning had no memories of Song Shiye.

Sometimes, words that you don’t pay much attention to might strike your mind at an unguarded moment in the future.

One such instance hit Sang Ning now. Back when the plane landed on New Island, she was accompanying Song Shiye in the lobby, studying together. What had Song Shiye said?

He said, "Sister Sangsang, I always believed you’d come back, but I never expected it would be in this way."

Moreover, during the time of spatial distortion, she had seen a photo of herself and Song Shiye on the photo wall.

So... the events in the photo really happened. It was highly likely that she had crossed into this world more than once.

Sang Ning felt herself wrapped in a massive mystery. This sense of the unknown made her incredibly uneasy. She now wanted badly to go to Tang Yuanmao’s lab, sit down, and thoroughly study what kind of temporal magnetic field had caused all this.

"Alright, everyone! Once we’re gathered, we can eat breakfast and then head over to the Ice World."

At this moment, the director spoke up to arrange the itinerary. Sang Ning thought it inappropriate to discuss such private matters with Song Shiye in front of everyone, so she decided to let it go for now, planning to find a suitable time to talk alone with him later.

After the guests dragged their feet through breakfast, the sky had only brightened slightly. At this hour, there weren’t many viewers in the livestream, yet the guests had to rush to catch the first boat across the river.

Traveling by boat across Bing River in winter was one of the must-try activities when visiting Bing City.

What made this activity fascinating was that, while almost all rivers large and small in Bing City froze over during winter, Bing River still flowed with vibrancy. The river emitted a steaming mist that contrasted sharply with the thick snow banks piled high on both sides.

Due to the narrow width of Bing River’s surface, crossing it required taking small boats. Each boat, including the boatman, could only carry three people at a time.

When the guests formed groups freely, everyone naturally paired Li Haidong and Wei Lan, the married couple, into one group.

To Sang Ning’s surprise, Lu Yujing actively asked to be in her group.

Among the remaining three, someone had to be left alone. Jiang Xiaoti was scared of being by herself, so Qin Feng showed his gentlemanly side and accompanied her, leaving Song Shiye as the one left on his own.

No one had objections to the grouping arrangements. The boats departed one by one in order: the first carried Li Haidong and Wei Lan, the second carried Jiang Xiaoti and Qin Feng, the third carried Sang Ning and Lu Yujing, and Song Shiye was the last to follow.

Amid the depths of winter, the trees on both sides of Bing River were stripped bare, their branches weighed down heavily by snow, teetering precariously. A thick fog smothered the river’s surface, blending almost seamlessly with the inky blue sky in the distance.

Even someone as bold as Sang Ning felt a chill climb up her back.

To be honest, she found no beauty in it at all; it felt eerie, like she was taking a ferry across Naihe Bridge in the underworld.

The boatman rowed leisurely, and Sang Ning’s body swayed slightly along with the boat’s movements. A gust of cold wind blew off her hooded down jacket from her head. Sang Ning pulled it back over her head, tightened the buttons, fastening the hood securely, and couldn’t help but gripe: "Unbelievable. What was the production team thinking? Couldn’t they have waited until human-world hours to bring us for this experience?"

The boatman overheard her comment and couldn’t help but respond: "Little girl, don’t worry. Once you’ve crossed the underworld, you’ll be in the human world."

"..."

Sang Ning’s eyelids twitched slightly: "Sir, your joke is way too cold—I can’t laugh at it."

The boatman laughed heartily in response, unfazed by the awkwardness.

Sang Ning pulled her hood tighter, covering herself snugly again.

Just then, Lu Yujing, seated beside her, suddenly lunged forward without warning, tightly hugging Sang Ning and burying her head into Sang Ning’s arm: "Sang Ning, what do I do? I think I saw a ghost—I’m so scared!"

Lu Yujing said this while burying her head even deeper, nearly pressing herself into Sang Ning’s chest. Her voice trembled, and her tone was soft and weak.

"You really think you’re in the underworld, huh?" Sang Ning raised her hand, ready to mercilessly push Lu Yujing’s head away.

But Lu Yujing went all in, clinging tightly to Sang Ning’s waist like a wounded kitten, rubbing her head incessantly against her, desperately seeking reassurance.

Sang Ning’s raised hand froze midair, and her lips drooped into a frown. She could only coldly let Lu Yujing hold onto her.

Sang Ning had strong boundaries and couldn’t tolerate overly intimate physical interactions. She silently tallied this grievance against Li Juezhou in her heart.

Was Lu Yujing showing vulnerability to the wrong person? If she wanted to reconcile with Li Juezhou, shouldn’t she feign fragility in front of him instead?

Lu Yujing clung to Sang Ning without letting go and even trembled slightly in her fear. Yet, she received no comfort from Sang Ning.

Sang Ning could feel Lu Yujing trembling but found it awkward. Was she really that scared? Just not pushing Lu Yujing away had already been her greatest act of kindness.

Sang Ning alternated between gazing at the sky, eyeing the barren trees on the riverbanks, and taking in the river merging into the horizon, deliberately avoiding touching Lu Yujing or offering any comforting gestures.

Lu Yujing’s arms were beginning to ache from holding onto Sang Ning for so long, yet Sang Ning hadn’t spoken or acted in any soothing manner. Lu Yujing silently questioned the System: "System, didn’t you say that whatever I do, others will believe? Here I am, terrified—but why hasn’t Sang Ning comforted me? If this keeps up, when will I be able to ’fix’ my relationship with her?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The System paused for a moment before replying: "Maybe Sang Ning is inherently cold-hearted and keeps her comfort hidden inside."

It couldn’t understand Lu Yujing’s thought process. Why would someone want to kill Sang Ning and yet still aim to repair their relationship with her? Wouldn’t wiping her out just settle everything?

Unfortunately, as a System, it couldn’t act directly and could only rely on Lu Yujing to accomplish the task.

What Lu Yujing didn’t realize was that not being pushed away had already been the greatest comfort Sang Ning could muster.

As the boat neared the shore, Sang Ning finally acted, pushing Lu Yujing away with an annoyed tone: "I suggest you bring a stuffed animal with you when you go out. If you get scared, hug the toy instead of clinging randomly to people next to you. It tends to bother others."