According to Shen Yiyi, there were a total of six guests participating in the program. Fu Yi took a seat next to Ye Xunshu, waiting with the others for the final person to arrive.
Having just made a fool of herself and being scolded by her brother, Zhou Ying sat alone to the side, sulking.
Yun Manman could chat with anyone. Even as dense as she was, she noticed Zhou Ying was in a bad mood. She tried to go over and comfort her, but Zhou Ying was currently repulsed by her and snapped at her to stay away.
Fortunately, Yun Manman had a good temper. Seeing that Zhou Ying seemed angry with her, she was utterly bewildered and turned to Zhou Zhou for an explanation.
That left Fu Yi and Ye Xunshu by themselves, unable to join the other conversations.
“Sister, do you think the Young Master and Second Miss of the Zhou family came to this program simply because they wanted to be on the show?”
Fu Yi was dazing out and didn’t immediately react when she suddenly heard Ye Xunshu speak.
Ye Xunshu gave her a sidelong glance. Fu Yi turned to look at the other three and then turned back.
“Are you saying,” Fu Yi asked half-doubtingly, “you think they aren’t here just for the program?”
Previously, she had been entirely immersed in the logistics of the show, only focusing on the fact that people had actually signed up and that she hadn’t been met with total rejection. She hadn’t considered this possibility.
But it wasn’t impossible.
Ye Xunshu continued, “Sister knows that the Zhou family has been suppressed by the Fu family for years. When I was at home with my parents, I understood a bit about business matters as well. Yangzhou is large, yet it is also quite small.”
“With so many people in Yangzhou, more than half of the fabric and cloth are provided by the Fu family. In business, one must avoid certain taboos, yet there is one thing you must inevitably engage with: your competitor.”
The meaning was clear, and Fu Yi understood it perfectly.
To avoid conflict, the Fu family had always maintained polite interactions, keeping the relationship between the two houses at an appropriate distance. Now, a romance variety show organized by the Fu family had nothing to do with business dealings.
As Ye Xunshu suggested, since both Zhou children were here, their presence likely wasn’t as simple as participating in a show.
Fu Yi stole a glance at Ye Xunshu.
“Sister, why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s nothing. I just feel that Xunshu has suddenly changed quite a bit,” Fu Yi answered honestly. “You’ve become unlike my little rabbit.”
“Sister is also quite different from the rumors.” At a moment like this, Ye Xunshu remained unhurried. She smiled slightly and replied, “Is she not?”
“!” Fu Yi didn’t want anyone to discover she wasn’t the original owner yet. She quickly ended the topic and gave a dry laugh. “Yes, yes. People always change.”
Ye Xunshu nodded with a smile and said, “Indeed, and human hearts change as well.”
“So no matter how firm a heart is, it will be changed by something eventually, right?”
Fu Yi tilted her head. “?”
What was she talking about?
Fu Yi felt that Ye Xunshu’s words today were loaded with hidden meaning, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. Thinking that the Zhou family likely had ulterior motives, she glanced over at Zhou Zhou again.
Ye Xunshu kept a smile on her face, but her hands inside her sleeves tightened. Her almond eyes fixed on the back of Fu Yi’s head, as if she wanted to cast a shadow there with her gaze that belonged solely to her.
This person’s heart will one day hold only me, Ye Xunshu thought.
Fu Yi’s glance would have been fine if she hadn’t happened to meet Zhou Zhou’s gaze looking back at her. Her back stiffened immediately.
A woman’s sixth sense told her that Zhou Zhou was about to stand up.
Sure enough, a second later, Zhou Zhou ignored Yun Manman, who was still talking beside him, and stood up abruptly to walk toward her.
Fu Yi: “…” If she remembered correctly, the original owner’s involvement with the Zhou family was limited to a murky relationship with Zhou Ying, having had no dealings with Zhou Zhou whatsoever.
Thus, while Zhou Ying might truly be taking this chance to get closer to her, there was a high probability that Zhou Zhou had other intentions.
Seeing him approach, Fu Yi subtly shifted to the side to create distance, but with Ye Xunshu there, she had no room to retreat. Not only that, but her movement of shrinking back looked to outsiders as if she were actively making room for Zhou Zhou to sit down.
Ye Xunshu’s eyes dimmed as she stared at the empty space beside Fu Yi, practically wanting to burn a hole through it.
[Is Fu Yi starting again?] [The Eldest Miss Fu was indeed just faking it at the start, hahaha. It hasn’t been that long, and the show hasn’t even officially begun, yet she’s already impatient to find a new Omega.] [I think Zhou Zhou was moved by Yun Manman’s words and wants to find Ye Xunshu to demand justice for his sister. But since Ye Xunshu is protected by Fu Yi, he decided to start with Fu Yi first.]
Fu Yi watched helplessly as Zhou Zhou sat down in the spot she had “vacated.”
Zhou Zhou gave her a slight smile and said mildly, “Thank you, Miss Fu.”
Fu Yi suppressed the urge to stand up. That would be too rude, and she couldn’t leave a rude impression on the audience.
Utterly unaware that she had long since left a very different, deep impression on the audience, Fu Yi gave a couple of silly laughs. To take the initiative, though she didn’t know what to ask, she played dumb. “Young Master Zhou, do you know who the last guest is?”
Zhou Zhou’s smile vanished, and he answered flatly, “I don’t know.”
Fu Yi was startled by his sudden cold tone. This is so rude!
A small flame of anger rose in Fu Yi’s heart, but then she suddenly heard Ye Xunshu’s laughter.
“Sister, have you gone silly? The guest list for this program is kept secret from the public. Aside from those of us with close relationships like you, me, and the Zhou siblings, who else would know who it is?” Ye Xunshu tugged on Fu Yi’s sleeve.
Fu Yi: “?”
Ye Xunshu blinked, her eyelashes trembling slightly. What followed was her soft, gentle voice, carrying a hint of earnestness and grievance. “Sister, you should let Young Master Zhou speak.”
She suddenly pulled Fu Yi toward her and leaned in, whispering into her ear with a thin, light voice: “If an Alpha is too proactive, an Omega will be scared away.”
Fu Yi’s ear was warmed by the breath for a moment, light and soft, carrying a vague, sweet scent. She froze for a second before immediately understanding Ye Xunshu’s meaning. She looked at Ye Xunshu and then at Zhou Zhou in shock.
This Zhou Zhou was an Omega, but he was…
Fu Yi scrutinized the occasional hint of pink appearing throughout his attire.
Could this be understood as what the upper world calls a ‘closet show-off’?
In any case, he was absolutely not her type!
Fu Yi understood this kind of situation all too well. She finally realized why Ye Xunshu’s words had been so loaded with hidden meaning today.
The little rabbit was jealous again!
Fu Yi carefully reflected on her actions today and didn’t feel she had done anything inappropriate. Is the little rabbit just too sensitive? Fu Yi felt that the road to changing her image in Ye Xunshu’s heart was still very long.
She was just about to say a few nice things to comfort her when the door to the guest room was pushed open once more.
A woman wearing a pale white silk dress walked in. Among the group, only Ye Xunshu was also dressed in white.
In the upper world, white symbolized purity, much like a little rabbit. In the lower world, however, white more often referred to the color of mourning halls after people passed away. Therefore, when white fabric was made into clothing, it was inevitable that a few flowers or other patterns would be embroidered onto it.
The woman wore flame-colored rouge on her lips, looking very bold and ostentatious.
Out of etiquette, everyone in the room stood up, except for Ye Xunshu, who remained seated due to her leg injury. Xu Lanxi’s gaze landed on her, carrying a silent and sharp condemnation.
Fu Yi subtly shifted her body to the side, perfectly blocking Ye Xunshu’s view of Xu Lanxi. “Xunshu injured her leg today and has difficulty moving, so I ask for Sister’s understanding.”
Although her tone was very kind, Fu Yi had already judged her as someone who would not be easy to deal with. She had to be especially careful of anyone who showed hostility toward Ye Xunshu.
Xu Lanxi suddenly curled her lips. Her originally indifferent face tilted up slightly as she revealed a smile. “Sister Fu Yi, what kind of talk is that? Everyone in this room has met and knows each other. There is no need to act so sincere with that ‘Sister’ of yours.”
Fu Yi twitched the corner of her mouth.
This “cool girl.”
Why did her tone of voice sound a bit… bratty? Did the original owner have a grudge against her or something?
Fu Yi scanned the people in the room and discovered that except for Yun Manman, who truly wanted to participate in a romance show, everyone else seemed to have their own hidden agendas.
What was a “crematory field” or “battle royale”? The program hadn’t even officially started filming, and she already felt surrounded by enemies on all sides.
Once all the guests had arrived, Director Shen Yiyi entered from outside to introduce the program to everyone.
“Alright, I believe that after a short time together, you have already become familiar with each other. Next, we will begin the filming of the first episode of The Myriad Gravities of Infatuation. You will live together and interact in this small house for the next five days.”
“The theme for this episode is Friends at First Sight.”
Fu Yi listened intently. She had actually only told Shen Yiyi about the general processes and activity segments a romance variety show should have; she had only helped with the program’s name. This specific episode theme, Friends at First Sight, sounded like a legitimate concept.
Shen Yiyi cleared her throat.
“There is always a certain someone in the vast sea of people whom we can recognize at a single glance. An old friend remains the same; to see them is to feel comforted.”
“They say the Old Man under the Moon has red strings that connect destined people at both ends. Therefore, our activity for the first day is for the Omegas and Betas to stand behind a screen, holding a red string. The Alphas on the other side of the screen are required to choose a red string. By observing the silhouettes projected onto the screen, you must select the figure that feels like an ‘old friend’ in your heart.”
“You will be paired in groups of two for an outing together tomorrow.”
As soon as Shen Yiyi finished speaking, Xu Lanxi was the first to let out a cold snort. “Shen Yiyi, I…”
“You must call me Director Shen,” Shen Yiyi said, tapping the palm of her hand with her script a few times.
Xu Lanxi was forced to change her form of address. “Director… Shen, what if I don’t take a liking to any of the Omegas or Betas here?”
Fu Yi hadn’t expected such a request. Was Xu Lanxi a bit too much of a “spoiled young lady”? Did she actually not understand what a romance show was for at all, and only came because “Fu Yi” was participating?
Shen Yiyi was speechless, choked for a long while before opening her mouth to reply.
Unexpectedly, Ye Xunshu’s laughter suddenly rang out from behind Fu Yi.
“Sister Lanxi doesn’t want to be in a group with an Omega or a Beta. In that case, Director Shen, why not?” Ye Xunshu looked up at Fu Yi and said softly, “Let Sister Lanxi be in a group with Sister Fu Yi?”