Qin Qi herself was baffled—why give it to her? Her interactions with Yan Qing were limited to exchanging greetings.
As the song’s intro began, Yu You, being a seasoned fan, immediately recognized it and called out the title: “Vegetable Rolls?”
“The vegetable rolls you grilled today were delicious.”
After Yan Qing said this, Qin Qi laughed, and the others joined in. Yan Qing started singing, and everyone immersed themselves in the music.
Xia Yu appeared to be listening attentively, but in reality, her mind was preoccupied. Why did she feel like Yan Qing was deliberately keeping her at arm’s length?
Regardless, the dinner atmosphere was excellent. Once everyone had eaten enough, they returned to their rooms, bidding each other goodnight.
Then came the final segment of the day’s recording. The card read: “After spending the day together, everyone has gotten to know each other a bit better. Send an anonymous message to one guest who left a good impression on you!”
Xia Yu sent her message to Cong Hua.
[“Great taste.”]
This referred to his red hair, which was striking—she liked it.
The messages were delivered by writing them on slips of paper, which the production team then printed onto cards and handed to the recipients. This prevented anyone from identifying the sender by handwriting—the show was quite meticulous.
Xia Yu received two cards.
[“You are more beautiful than the sunset clouds.”]
[“Great musical talent.”]
Xia Yu guessed immediately who sent them: Cong Hua and Yan Qing.
Xia Yu placed the cards back into their envelopes and set them on her bedside table, then turned off the light and went to sleep—the first room in the entire villa to go dark.
This made Cong Hua, who was in the garden, twitch his lips. Lying on a lounge chair, he had been staring at the light in Xia Yu’s room, imagining how her heart would flutter upon receiving his message.
He had deliberately mentioned staying up late to stargaze, thinking Xia Yu understood the hint and would come down to find him after receiving his message.
But she went to sleep?
Cong Hua ruffled his hair back and forth. He had joined the show on a whim, betting with his buddies that he could pursue Yu You, but he had found someone more interesting.
Sunset clouds? How did she know he had dyed his hair that color? Did she see the sunset clouds that day and find them beautiful?
Since no one showed up, Cong Hua lost interest in pretending to be poetic. Stargazing? Forget it—he went back to sleep!
Meanwhile, Yu You went to the second floor and knocked on Yan Qing’s door. She came to ask for an autograph, saying she was his fan. She had resisted asking during the day’s recording, thinking she’d secretly ask for one now.
Yu You spoke in a sweet, innocent tone, appearing like a neighbor’s little sister.
Yan Qing recalled the message he had received—[“Your songs are the best!”]
He had thought it was from Xia Yu, but it seemed he was mistaken.
After signing the autograph for Yu You, she skipped away happily. Leaning against the doorframe, Yan Qing wondered: Who had Xia Yu sent her message to? As he looked up, he saw a flash of bright red passing by.
Indeed, it was Cong Hua, who had given up on stargazing and returned.
Seeing Yu You’s retreating figure on the stairs and Yan Qing standing at the door, Cong Hua whistled and said, “Lucky you, brother.”
Although the show was a 24-hour live stream, after the guests sent their messages, their microphones were removed. The live stream continued but without sound.
Moreover, the cameras only showed footage from the guests’ rooms.
So the audience could see Yan Qing standing at the door talking to someone but didn’t know who it was or what was said.
Yan Qing didn’t respond, and Cong Hua hadn’t intended to chat—he was just passing by and teasing. Humming a tune, he returned to his room.
Instinct told Yan Qing that Xia Yu had sent her message to Cong Hua.
Because she sang for Qin Qi? Among the four female guests on the show, Xia Yu had the most contact with Yan Qing. She should have either sung directly or given the song to Xia Yu instead.
Intentionally mentioning Qin Qi was his deliberate test. According to the information, Xia Yu was someone who would stop at nothing to gain advantages.
Yan Qing was well aware that his status and connections in the entertainment industry were highly advantageous to Xia Yu. From the moment they met, he had also displayed his wealth. If he showed interest in someone else, how would Xia Yu “win him back”?
No matter what methods she used, they would likely be underhanded behaviors that Grandfather would disapprove of, naturally creating a poor impression. If he then acted more conflicted with her, proving their incompatibility, Grandfather wouldn’t cling to this so-called arranged childhood betrothal.
But the result was completely different from what Yan Qing had imagined. The moment he showed a little “distraction,” Xia Yu directly abandoned him! She even sent her first-day message to someone else.
Before coming, Yan Qing had done his homework on the show. On the first day of a dating reality show, messages were usually sent to the person you were paired with, a customary gesture of courtesy.
Lying in bed, Yan Qing found it hard to sleep. Xia Yu was very different from the information he had gathered. Or were these also part of her tactics?
For the first time, Yan Qing began to doubt the accuracy of the information he had investigated. People make mistakes, and horses stumble—could the investigation have been inaccurate?
In fact, from the first moment he saw Xia Yu, Yan Qing felt she was very different from what the information had suggested. He wanted to pick up his phone and ask someone else to investigate further, but after fumbling around his pillow for a while, he realized he couldn’t find it. It took him a moment to remember that his phone had been handed over.
Forget it, a few more days wouldn’t make much difference. He’d continue to observe and see.
Actually, Yan Qing was overthinking it. The so-called customary rule was just his own assumption—it wasn’t necessary to send a message to the person you had lunch with.
For example, An Ran didn’t send a message to Cong Hua but instead sent one to Shen You’an—”Your memory is amazing!”
Qin Qi sent a message to Lin Li—”Today was very pleasant.”
Lin Li also sent a message to Qin Qi—”A very happy day.”
When Shen You’an received An Ran’s message, he thought it was from Yu You. Naturally, he sent his message to Yu You—”May your smile always remain.”
The first day passed peacefully.
As a variety show, it couldn’t afford to lack highlights. Gimmicks were important. The production team wouldn’t deliberately create conflicts, but they wouldn’t let things remain too peaceful either.
As preparations for the second day of recording began, the first thing the production team did was disrupt the male-to-female ratio to create imbalance, fostering a sense of competition. What they wanted in the early stages was drama and intensity!
Yes, a new female guest had arrived at the villa.
“Hello everyone, my name is Xu Sisi! I’m Brother Yan’s junior from the same company.”
When the girl introduced herself, she slightly raised her chin, looking quite proud. Her voice was sweet and crisp, clearly the demeanor of someone who had been pampered since childhood.
Everyone looked at Yan Qing, who said, “I terminated my contract with the company just before she joined. We’re not from the same company, and I don’t know her.”
No face was given—absolutely none. Yan Qing’s words made Xu Sisi pout, but she didn’t seem embarrassed at all. Instead, she cooed, “Oh, I wanted to get closer to Brother Yan, but I failed.”
This Xu Sisi was truly adaptable. Xia Yu glanced at Yan Qing and noticed he was staring blankly at the oranges on the table, lost in thought.
After introducing the newcomers, the show began announcing today’s task. Each day, the production team would assign a task for the guests to complete on their own, such as preparing ingredients yesterday.
Today’s task was even simpler—cultivating a vegetable patch.
The guests were to each select a one-square-meter area within the villa to plant vegetables.
The production team distributed tools and seeds to each guest. Qin Qi dashed out of the villa first, claiming he wanted to claim a fertile plot. Lin Li followed closely behind, and the others slowly made their way out as well.
Xu Sisi deliberately lagged half a step behind, walking side by side with Xia Yu. She greeted, “Hey, we meet again.”
“Hmm.”
Xia Yu nodded coldly.
Xu Sisi was someone the Original Host had a grudge with. The two had once competed for the same role, which the Original Host won. Later, they competed for the same award, and again, the Original Host won.
The role they fought over was the mute girl that launched the Original Host’s career, and the award was also won for that role. Xu Sisi felt she had missed out on a fortune and believed Xia Yu had gotten the role through connections. Whenever they met, Xu Sisi would be passive-aggressive.
Although the Original Host was timid with her family, she had a temper when dealing with outsiders. Her back-and-forth with Xu Sisi was so well-known that even netizens were aware of their feud.
Now that they were together on the same show, netizens were eager to see how these two would interact. Their clashes had only been revealed through private insiders’ leaks, later confirmed by certain paparazzi during live streams, leading netizens to accept them as true.
How they interacted in real life had never been publicly witnessed.
“Xia Yu, do you think I’ll succeed in pairing up? Any chance or not?”
At the end of the dating reality show, couples pairing up naturally meant success in pairing.
Xu Sisi asked this question with the intention of picking apart Xia Yu’s response, no matter how she answered, and then twisting the meaning online to post a smear piece.
Xia Yu stopped, looked Xu Sisi up and down, and said smugly, “There’s a chance—a circus chance for you.”
With that, Xia Yu picked up her small shovel and bucket and walked away.
The comments section erupted in laughter.
【I bet Xu Sisi didn’t understand that expression.】
【Hahaha, I’m starting to find Xia Yu more and more amusing.】
【Raise your hand! I… I didn’t get it either…】
【Clown! Xia Yu was calling Xu Sisi a clown, a clown in the circus hahaha】
【Looks like the leaks weren’t accurate! Didn’t they say Xia Yu couldn’t out-talk Xu Sisi? This seems like Xu got instantly owned…】
Unaware of the joyous uproar her sarcasm had caused in the comments, Xia Yu was busy fighting for territory.
If it weren’t for the cameras, she would have cursed out loud.
—Yan Qing, are you a dog?! You’re not doing anything decent!