It was the classic wall-slam pose—the kabedon!
Seeing the picture, Lu Xingliang let out a cold scoff.
He had the biggest status and the strongest clout here, so if he spoke up and said no, nobody would actually dare object. Even so, Lu Xingliang said nothing, merely standing there in silence while radiating cold air.
Since the template image depicted a man and a woman, it was naturally meant to be the man trapping the woman against the wall. However, with both Lu Xingliang and Zhou Chongyu being men, the photographer felt a bit stumped for a moment and tentatively asked Lu Xingliang, “Mr. Lu, which role would you prefer?”
Lu Xingliang’s voice was as cold as his expression: “Whatever.”
In the end, they settled on Lu Xingliang pinning Zhou Chongyu against the wall. After all, based on looks alone, Lu Xingliang suited the dominant position far better, and Zhou Chongyu had no objections to it either.
The two stepped into the spotlight, where the props team had brought out a wall. Zhou Chongyu stood leaning back against it, while Lu Xingliang extended a long arm, planting his hand directly beside the other man’s face.
Both quickly slipped into professional mode for the shoot. Yet as their eyes met, there was not a single trace of romantic ambiguity between them—if anything, it looked more like two bitter enemies crossing paths.
Even from a distance, Qi Xiao could feel the crackling tension between the two. He felt deeply puzzled. Was the relationship between Senior and Zhou Chongyu really that bad? They barely even talked to each other, though.
Lu Xingliang, after all, was born with a face made for the big screen, possessing exceptionally sculpted side profiles. Logically, Zhou Chongyu, as a singer, should have been at a disadvantage—after all, an actor’s visuals usually held a solid advantage over other entertainers. Unexpectedly, under the lens, Zhou Chongyu held his ground without trailing a step behind. Facing off against Lu Xingliang, his presence wasn’t suppressed in the slightest, appearing remarkably calm and collected instead.
Throughout the entire session, Qi Xiao felt like everyone on set was holding their breath. Seeing two top-tier visuals go head-to-head like this was a rare spectacle indeed. Lin Zhiyao wore a face full of drama-enjoyment, even leaning in to whisper something into Liang Yi’s ear that turned the latter’s face bright red.
Once the pair finished shooting, Qi Xiao couldn’t resist running over to Zhou Chongyu’s side, showering him with unreserved praise: “You looked so handsome in that shoot just now!”
Lin Zhiyao chimed in from the side as well: “Right? I honestly thought you were the gentle, introverted type, but who knew.”
Zhou Chongyu pursed his lips slightly. After a moment’s hesitation, he tentatively reached out and patted the top of Qi Xiao’s head: “You shot really well too.”
Accustomed to being patted on the head by older people, Qi Xiao didn’t find anything unusual about it at all. He shook his head, leaning in like a small animal to nuzzle against the palm of the man’s hand: “Not as good as yours! You have no idea, my hands were totally stiff when I was posing earlier!”
“Oh, by the way,” Qi Xiao suddenly remembered something, “what did you mean by what you told me earlier? Have we met before?”
Zhou Chongyu withdrew his hand, glossing over the subject lightly: “We ran into each other at an event once before. You probably forgot.”
“Oh.” Qi Xiao genuinely had no recollection, but he didn’t dwell on it and happily resumed chatting with him.
Not far away, Lu Xingliang stood in silence, his expression even colder than during the photo shoot.
He had long grown accustomed to being the center of everyone’s attention, and this was the very first time someone had managed to draw half of that focus away.
Beside him, his assistant cautiously handed him a bottle of water: “Brother Lu.”
He took a sip of the water just as Jiang Fei walked over toward him.
Noticing that Lu Xingliang didn’t seem to be in the best mood, Jiang Fei assumed he was uncomfortable with shooting intimate photos with another man, so she picked a light topic to ease the mood: “While we were shooting earlier, Xiao-Xiao kept asking me about you the whole time.”
Lu Xingliang’s hand tightened around the water bottle. “What did he ask?” He inquired with casual indifference.
“Just a few things about your college days. He seemed quite curious,” Jiang Fei smiled softly. “Looks like he really is a die-hard fan of yours.”
Lu Xingliang lowered his gaze, handing the water back to his assistant: “Is that so.”
By the time they finished the entire shooting schedule, night had fallen. A staff member came over and handed each of them a gift box.
This was a standard tradition of the show: at the end of the first episode—meaning before tomorrow’s filming concluded—the guests would have to select their current “heartbeat guest” and present them with this gift.
The director emphasized from the side, “Make sure to give it away before tomorrow evening!”
Qi Xiao opened his gift box and took a look inside. It held an adjustable ring with a sleek, minimalist design. The opening was shaped like a stag’s head, with green gemstones embedded for the eyes. Remembering one of the show’s main jewelry sponsors, he understood instantly—it was a gift provided by the sponsors.
Qi Xiao stared at the ring, lost in thought. Who should I give this to?
To be honest, he still didn’t know the other guests very well. Asking him to pick a “heartbeat guest” out of them was something he genuinely couldn’t do. Even if a Liar didn’t need to fall in love for real, he at least needed a target to play the flirt with!
Ah, what a headache.
Qi Xiao put the ring away, thinking he would figure it out tomorrow instead.
Because of the appearance of this gift, several guests were a bit distracted during dinner. Everyone was subtly probing each other’s feelings during their conversations, terrified of losing the opening round of the game.
At the dinner table, Shen Ye showered Song Mei with attention, only to receive a lukewarm response in return. Lin Zhiyao was uncharacteristically quiet, seemingly lost in thought, while Liang Yi quietly observed the others, apparently forming her own calculations as well.
In comparison, the remaining four were much calmer—though Qi Xiao was merely feigning composure.
Halfway through the meal, he couldn’t help whispering to Zhou Chongyu: “Have you decided who you’re going to give the ring to?”
Zhou Chongyu shook his head, turning the question back to Qi Xiao: “What about you?”
“I haven’t decided either,” Qi Xiao replied.
Zhou Chongyu smiled gently: “No rush then. You can take your time to think about it.”
After dinner wrapped up, the production staff delivered an envelope.
As was customary, this was the moment to reveal the theme for the current season. Everyone felt a surge of anticipation. Being the closest, Shen Ye took the envelope, opened it, and cleared his throat: “Alright, I’m reading it now!”
“The theme for this season is—The Weekend Classroom.”
“What does that mean?” Liang Yi asked.
“Are we supposed to go to a school and attend classes?” Lin Zhiyao couldn’t help complaining. “Isn’t this a dating show? Why do we still have to take classes!”
Shen Ye coughed twice: “Let me finish reading first!”
“Starting from the next episode, each guest will take turns acting as a teacher to conduct a weekend class. Teachers are free to choose their own lesson topics, while the remaining guests will act as students. Before each class begins, only the teacher’s name will be announced—not the course name. Students will choose their classes independently. After class, the teacher must select the student who performed best, and the two will win an exclusive one-on-one date.”
Upon hearing the rules, everyone had their own thoughts about the setup.
It was actually a very fair design—it allowed guests to choose their preferred partner while also giving them a chance to receive feedback in return. However, because students choosing a teacher was a many-to-one choice, competition was bound to arise later on.
Selecting the course topic was also a challenge. The production team likely designed this to give the guests an opportunity to showcase their talents and charm. If a topic was chosen well, it could prove to be a massive bonus point.
Qi Xiao rested his chin on his hands, pondering over it. Being a student was something he had plenty of experience with, but being a teacher was a first for him. What could I even teach?
Next was drawing lots to decide who would teach the upcoming episode.
A staff member drew a slip of paper from a prepared box, unfolded it, and read out: “The teacher for the next episode is—Shen Ye.”
Hearing his name, Shen Ye couldn’t help chuckling: “What kind of luck is this?”
Lin Zhiyao teased him from the side: “Don’t tell me you’re going to teach us how to play video games next week?”
Shen Ye put on a mysterious expression: “Secret for now.”
With that, today’s filming drew to a close. The production crew arranged cars to take all the guests back to the hotel.
Back at the hotel, after tidying up his things a bit, Qi Xiao asked Lu Xingliang, who was sitting nearby, “Senior, do you want to shower first?”
“You go ahead.”
When Qi Xiao stepped out after his shower, he saw Lu Xingliang sitting by the bed reading a book.
He couldn’t help but marvel inwardly: As expected of Senior! Even while out filming a show, he never forgets to study!
Lu Xingliang raised his head, only to be met with the sight of Qi Xiao wearing cat-patterned pajamas.
He lowered his gaze, thinking to himself: Childish.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Sitting closer to the door, Lu Xingliang got up to answer it.
It was Shen Ye, holding two greasy fast-food boxes in his hands. He offered enthusiastically, “I ordered late-night snacks! You guys want some?”
Before Lu Xingliang could even answer, Qi Xiao, sitting at the head of the bed, was already nodding furiously: “I do, I do!”
“You can still eat?” Lu Xingliang threw cold water on his enthusiasm from the side.
As an actor, he doesn’t have a single shred of self-awareness regarding maintaining his figure.
Qi Xiao replied, “Of course I can eat! I even won first place in my school’s dumpling-eating contest once.”
Lu Xingliang: “??”
Qi Xiao walked over to the door, took the fast-food boxes, and showered Shen Ye with a round of sincere praise before closing the door.
Setting the takeout boxes on the table, Qi Xiao couldn’t help letting out a gasp of delight the moment he opened them—it was skewers! So many skewers!
“Senior, do you want some?” Although he desperately wanted to devour it all himself, considering the man’s status, Qi Xiao still held back his drool and asked politely.
“No.”
“Alright then, don’t mind if I do!” Qi Xiao’s tone was cheerful, not feeling the slightest bit of regret over the man’s refusal.
Lu Xingliang couldn’t resist turning his head to glance over. Qi Xiao was holding a skewer of grilled squid in his hand, narrowing his eyes in pure bliss after taking a single bite, looking as though he had just tasted the most divine delicacy on earth.
For some reason, the high-calorie food that normally held zero attraction for him suddenly smelled irresistibly fragrant at this moment.
After a moment of silence, Lu Xingliang spoke up: “Give me a skewer.”