At dinner, Xia Weige sat next to Wen Rong. Since it was still the first day, everyone chose to sit next to people they were somewhat familiar with, so naturally no one contested her seat.
As expected, Wen Rong really liked the pineapple shrimp balls she made, and ate quite a bit. However, Xia Weige also realized that Wen Rong’s tastes had indeed changed a lot.
People always change, and people’s preferences always change.
Wen Rong did not deliberately avoid her preferences for Xia Weige’s sake, nor did she force herself to eat things she disliked. The more indifferent Wen Rong acted towards everything Xia Weige did, the more tormented Xia Weige felt inside.
She suddenly felt a little helpless, unsure of how to interact with Wen Rong now, or how to get closer to her.
She was the one who was doted on by Wen Rong in the past; the other person fulfilled her demands with endless tenderness.
In that relationship, she was never the one trying to please.
Now that she wanted to please Wen Rong, she didn’t know how.
Xia Weige was extremely worried.
While washing the dishes after dinner, the running water on Xia Weige’s fingertips made her feel a chill, and she couldn’t help but shiver.
Xiang Meng, who was passing by, noticed her unusual behavior and stopped to ask with concern, “Sister Xia, are you cold? The temperature has dropped these past two days, you should wear more clothes.”
Xiang Meng’s words brought Xia Weige back to her senses. She smiled politely and waved her hand, “I’m fine, the water was a little cold just now and it startled me.”
Seeing her cheerful smile and good complexion, Xiang Meng felt relieved. She pointed towards the living room and said, “Then I’ll go over there now.”
Xia Weige nodded slightly and glanced in the direction she pointed. In the living room, Wen Rong’s long hair draped down, with a few strands falling over her neck to her chest. She was focused, fiddling with the jar of coffee beans they had just bought at the supermarket today.
Xia Weige watched for a while, and suddenly an idea struck her.
She had racked her brains for a reason to approach and talk to Wen Rong—wasn’t this one right in front of her?
Bringing her coffee machine wasn’t a mistake after all.
With a goal in mind, Xia Weige’s previous worries vanished, and her mood brightened again.
She thought about quickly finishing the kitchen cleaning so she could give the coffee machine to Wen Rong.
When she finally returned to her room and found the coffee machine, clutching it tightly to her chest, she couldn’t help but let out a faint smile.
Xia Weige carried the coffee machine to the living room, full of anticipation, but couldn’t spot Wen Rong immediately.
The expectation in her heart slowly diminished a bit.
She searched around and finally saw Wen Rong emerge from her room.
Wen Rong had changed out of her cheongsam into a more comfortable outfit: a long white and blue gradient dress that reached her ankles, covering her straight, long legs but revealing her jade-like ankles.
A loose, bright yellow belt was tied around her waist, and a red string with two small decorative balls hung down from the belt, swaying playfully with Wen Rong’s movements.
Xia Weige quickly walked over, her heart instantly lifting from the earlier disappointment. She stopped in front of Wen Rong, hesitating about how to start the conversation.
Wen Rong had already noticed Xia Weige. She stopped and smiled, gazing at her.
Wen Rong’s expression and gaze were inherently gentle, and wearing this new outfit made her appear even more graceful. Xia Weige felt her heart pound with nervousness, and her words came out a little haltingly.
“Uh, I saw you just now, were you thinking of brewing coffee? I have a coffee machine,” she added at the end, “I was going to have some too. Do you want me to make you a cup?”
Wen Rong sounded a little surprised upon hearing this. She first nodded, then shook her head, “I was indeed thinking of having some, but I have an appointment with someone right now.”
Xia Weige had anticipated that the other person might find an excuse to refuse her, but she hadn’t expected this answer.
She blurted out instantly, “Who?”
Her tone was harsh, almost a question of accusation. She regretted it as soon as she spoke, biting her lower lip in annoyance, not wanting to expose any more emotion.
However, Wen Rong didn’t seem angry. She merely rested her fingers lightly on the handrail beside her, her stream-like eyes lowered, and her tone remained gentle: “It’s Jiang Xing’an.”
“I’m sorry, I have to go now.”
With that, she nodded slightly to Xia Weige and left.
Xia Weige could only force a smile, shaking her head to indicate “it’s fine,” and let Wen Rong go attend to her engagement.
Only after Wen Rong had walked out of her sight did Xia Weige slowly droop her eyelids.
Xia Weige walked to the small coffee table in the living room. She had placed the coffee machine there when she brought it down. Now, she walked back to it, her fingers resting helplessly on the machine.
The cold touch of the outer casing was like the breath she exhaled at the moment, completely chilled.
From thinking about using the coffee machine to strike up a conversation with Wen Rong while doing the dishes, full of anticipation, all the way to now knowing that Wen Rong even specially changed her clothes to go to her appointment.
Xia Weige felt a dull ache in her heart.
She wanted to selfishly stop Wen Rong from seeing someone else, wanted to grab Wen Rong’s hand and petulantly demand that Wen Rong stay with her.
But she was no longer the young girl she once was, and Wen Rong would no longer indulge her every request.
Xia Weige was deflated at the moment, unsure what to do, and just sat on the living room sofa until the production team had Ye Jing cue the next segment of the process.
Guessing each other’s occupation and age is a major feature of dating reality shows. Wanting to know basic information about the other person also means wanting to understand them.
Although their respective ex-partners were all present, the production team was quite open to mixing and matching the three pairs of guests to create buzz.
Xiang Meng and Jiang Xing’an went first. Xiang Meng looked like a college student, but the production team probably wouldn’t invite someone who had just turned adult. Even 21 years old was indeed quite young.
Jiang Xing’an was 29, which was a full 8 years older than Xiang Meng. Moreover, when they were dating, Xiang Meng had just turned 20. Everyone’s eyes on him carried a strange look.
“No, no, it’s that I prefer older people. I pursued him, please don’t misunderstand anything,” Xiang Meng quickly explained.
This wasn’t the first time Jiang Xing’an had encountered this situation. He gave an awkward laugh and quickly shifted the topic to Wen Rong.
“The audience watching the live broadcast right now are probably most curious about you,” Jiang Xing’an said, his gaze fixed on Wen Rong.
After all, the information about Xia Weige, Zhuo Jingcheng, and Ye Jing was available online, and even guests who weren’t fans had already looked them up.
Seeing the topic shift to herself, Wen Rong simply leaned back against the sofa backrest and asked with a smile, “Why don’t you all guess?”
“28, 29?” Xiang Meng was the first to venture a guess.
In fact, she even thought she was guessing too high. Wen Rong’s appearance was very delicate, and her skin was smooth and fair. If it weren’t for knowing that Xia Weige was already 27 and seeing that Wen Rong was clearly the more mature one in their interactions, Xiang Meng would have wanted to guess a year or two younger.
Wen Rong smiled and shook her head, refuting Xiang Meng.
Everyone else also thought she shouldn’t be younger than Xia Weige, so they only guessed older.
“32 years old.” Everyone guessed higher in order, until Wen Rong nodded, and they realized she was actually the oldest one there.
Jiang Xing’an lowered his head in thought, but Zhuo Jingcheng suddenly spoke, “So you’re 5 years older than Xia Xia.”
His words were abrupt, and his tone was slightly anxious. No one dared to respond to that, and they all fell silent.
Wen Rong looked up at him, her gentle gaze fixed on him. After a long pause, she slowly spoke with a smile: “Yes, I am 5 years older than her.”
“Then what do you do, Sister?” Zhuo Jingcheng continued to ask, following Wen Rong’s words.
Wen Rong tilted her head, as if sensing his subtle hostility. Her gaze met his, and after a moment, she answered his question softly, “I am a tailor.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Weige’s arms, which were wrapped around a cushion, tensed up. She had asked Wen Rong about her profession before, and the answer had been the same.
However, the word “tailor” is rarely used now. She remembered thinking back then that Wen Rong was one of those small tailors in a street-side shop, hunched over an old-fashioned sewing machine, mending hems and trouser legs for people.
That certainly fit the impression Wen Rong gave at the time, wearing an old-style Qipao she didn’t recognize, with her long hair tied in a knot. Although she was only 26, in the prime of her youth, she seemed like an image left over from an older era.
The 21-year-old Xia Weige was self-conscious and sensitive, living in the mire, and even felt fortunate that Wen Rong was not some high-status person.
It would be best if Wen Rong could live under her protection for the rest of her life, loving only her, looking only at her.
However, after leaving Wen Rong, she looked up information and finally understood what Wen Rong meant by “tailor,” laughing at her own naivety.
Wen Rong did not intend to elaborate on her profession at this moment, simply changing the topic.
“Xiao Zhu, your recent drama was really well-acted. I don’t usually watch dramas, but even I was moved by your ‘Feng Langjun’ (Gentleman Feng),” Wen Rong praised Zhuo Jingcheng with a sincere smile. Zhuo Jingcheng especially liked being praised for his acting, and Wen Rong’s words made him feel embarrassed.
She was someone who could make everyone feel comfortable interacting with her. Her gentle and friendly words wouldn’t make anyone uneasy.
Even towards Zhuo Jingcheng, who secretly held hostility towards her, she treated him with tolerance.
Xia Weige felt a little unhappy again watching this scene. Wen Rong’s tenderness was now given to everyone; she was no longer the exclusive recipient.
In her frustration, she reached for the water glass on the table, but unexpectedly bumped into Wen Rong. Panicking, her hand slipped, spilling half a glass of water onto both her and Wen Rong.
Xia Weige quickly stood up, then quickly bent down to wipe Wen Rong. She was already preoccupied, and now that she had made a mistake, she was extremely flustered.
Wen Rong managed to catch her wrist and stood up too, calmly explaining that she and Xia Weige needed to change clothes.
Hearing Wen Rong’s voice, Xia Weige was startled out of her panic. She stabilized her emotions and offered an apologetic smile to the crowd, “Sorry, we’ll go tidy up first.”
Her wrist was still held in Wen Rong’s fingers. The slightly cool touch seemed to seep through her skin into her blood.
This touch made Xia Weige ecstatic yet uneasy.
She carefully intertwined her fingers with Wen Rong’s, holding tightly, unwilling to let go.
Wen Rong seemed to notice, her surprised gaze sweeping across Xia Weige’s face. Her fingertips moved slightly, but she ultimately did not shake Xia Weige off in front of everyone.
The girls’ rooms were on the second floor, but Wen Rong and Xia Weige were not in the same room. They walked up together hand-in-hand, though they should have gone to their respective rooms.
But Xia Weige was unwilling to let go of Wen Rong, greedy for this moment of closeness, and followed Wen Rong into her room.
The door closed with a “click,” and Xia Weige’s heart also gave a sudden jump.
The room was quiet, and it was just the two of them now.