The forums had already exploded.
Not the kind of “exploded” commonly used in novel descriptions.
The genuinely excited, running-around-telling-everyone kind of exploded.
“Am I misunderstanding Crown Prince’s accidental confession just now, or did he reveal three major pieces of information?”
“First, he knows where Shen Fu lives.”
“Second, he knows where Shen Fu usually films.”
“Third, wasn’t the unfinished sentence he abruptly stopped at basically: ‘I could come pick you up’?”
“AHHHHHH, the person above understood it exactly the same way I did!”
“If he only started liking Shen Fu after joining the show, then how would he already know so much about her life beforehand?”
“Now the real question is: how long has he liked Shen Fu??”
In the end, thousands of comments boiled down to a single question:
“What exactly happened between this d*mn couple in the past?”
The forum was filled with endless screams of “AHHHHH,” and the Jiang Shu–Shen Fu CP community had completely transformed into a gathering place for screaming fans.
“Everyone’s focusing on what President Jiang said, but has nobody noticed that Shen Fu’s attitude was pretty special and ambiguous too? The Crown Prince suggested going cycling, and she agreed immediately. Does anyone remember Chu Wei getting rejected four times in a row when the show first started? Our girl is pulling her weight too!”
“I’m dying from shipping them. I’m dying. The ultimate CP! The ultimate CP!”
The Jiang Shu–Shen Fu shippers were overjoyed.
The fans of the other male guests, however, felt humiliated.
Several Alphas were competing, and if they lost, didn’t that mean their favorite’s pheromones weren’t strong enough?
When the show began, all the male guests had started from the same starting line.
So when exactly had Jiang Shu gotten a hundred thousand miles ahead of everyone else?
Even if there was some unknown shared history between them, Shen Fu hadn’t seemed particularly attentive toward Jiang Shu when the show first started, had she?
After reading the forum’s excited discussions, the other fandoms became irritated.
Not only irritated, they also couldn’t resist lurking in the Jiang Shu–Shen Fu CP community.
After lurking, they became even more resentful.
Internally they cursed: Laugh all you want now. When they end in tragedy later, you’ll be crying even harder.
Then they went back to the livestream comments to throw shade:
【You’re already calling them a “d*mn couple”? Have some shame. So far it’s only your D doing all the chasing. The girl’s feelings haven’t even been confirmed yet.】
【Exactly. Who doesn’t have some mysterious past?】
Chu Wei’s fans clung tightly to all those “The Truth Is Fake” fan videos on Bilibili. The more they watched, the more convinced they became.
Not only did they secretly cry, they even quietly spawned a new group of CP fans.
【The Final Choice Night hasn’t happened yet. Don’t celebrate too early. We’ll see.】
…
The cameras following the bicycle ride outside had been turned off.
But things inside the villa were far from over.
Nobody here knew that Jiang Shu and Shen Fu had gone out for a nighttime bike ride.
After showering and changing clothes, Gu Zhidao came downstairs and found the living room empty. “Where is everyone?”
The production crew was divided into groups, each responsible for different guests.
Jiang Shu and Shen Fu had left so suddenly that the camera operators responsible for filming them had rushed out after them without explaining anything to the other staff.
As a result, nobody knew where they had gone.
The crew simply shook their heads.
At that moment, Gu Qingshuang and Zuo Mei emerged from a room.
After Zuo Mei headed toward the dining area, Gu Qingshuang walked over to the male guests’ side and patted Gu Zhidao on the back. “Ge, are you okay?”
“What could possibly be wrong?” Gu Zhidao replied casually, both hands in his pockets.
Lowering her voice, Gu Qingshuang said, “If you really want to win her back, then let me give you some advice.”
“You need to seize every second. Before the other male guests start guarding against you.”
Competition in this villa was fierce.
Before Gu Zhidao arrived, she had only watched previous episodes.
But the real battle among love-struck fools was far more intense than what the cameras showed.
As far as Gu Qingshuang knew, something had probably happened the night they shot the photoshoot at the mountain resort. Otherwise, loud banging noises wouldn’t have been coming from Xiang Lingyun’s room all night.
“Guarding against what?”
Chu Wei happened to emerge from his room alongside Gu Zhidao and overheard that last sentence.
“Nothing.”
Gu Qingshuang immediately dragged Gu Zhidao away.
At times like this, brother and sister needed to be united.
He could focus on pursuing Shen Fu.
Meanwhile, she would take the opportunity to pursue Jiang Shu.
At this point, she had become a diehard supporter of the Gu Zhidao–Shen Fu pairing.
Back then, Shen Fu had walked away without taking five million yuan.
Years later, they reunited, full of resentment, and she dumped three buckets of ice water on him.
No matter how you looked at it, it was an incredibly compelling story.
Chu Wei could move aside.
Left standing where he was, Chu Wei scratched his head in confusion.
Come to think of it, he had never asked Gu Zhidao why he’d joined the show. Could he have come here for someone too?
Earlier, it seemed like Gu Zhidao had been looking for someone.
Chu Wei looked around.
Xu Tiaotiao wasn’t here.
Could there be something between those two?
Xu Tiaotiao had attended music festivals before.
Thinking this, Chu Wei decided to play matchmaker.
He walked over to the entranceway and squatted down. Then he carefully placed Xu Tiaotiao’s slippers beside Gu Zhidao’s leather shoes.
That way, when Xu Tiaotiao came back, she’d subconsciously notice Mr. Gu.
The livestream comments sighed:【Brother Chu Wei, sometimes it’s really not Cupid’s fault that you’re single. Seriously.】
After arranging Xu Tiaotiao’s shoes beside Gu Zhidao’s, Chu Wei was about to leave.
Then he suddenly noticed Shen Fu’s and Jiang Shu’s slippers.
Whether by coincidence or accident, the two of them had somehow ended up wearing matching couple-style slippers.
The sight immediately annoyed him.
Without hesitation, he kicked the slippers apart.
One flew east.
The other flew west.
The livestream comments were nearly dying of laughter:【Chu Wei has completely stopped pretending.】
Gu Zhidao checked the hot spring area, the wine cellar, and even the fourth floor.
But he still couldn’t find Shen Fu.
After changing clothes, Wen Zhenghan and Xiang Lingyun came out and saw him coming downstairs, obviously searching for someone.
Both instinctively assumed he was looking for Xu Tiaotiao.
After all, Chu Wei had confidently declared earlier that the newcomer wasn’t interested in Shen Fu.
And after getting drenched by Shen Fu during the air-hammer game, how could he still have feelings for her?
Xiang Lingyun sat down on the sofa to watch a ball game.
The constant movement around him annoyed him.
Frowning, he said: “Stop looking. She went out walking the dog.”
Gu Zhidao glanced at Xiang Lingyun.
He immediately sensed that Xiang Lingyun’s attitude toward him wasn’t very friendly.
Could it be that during the air-hammer game, Xiang Lingyun had noticed there was something between him and Shen Fu?
Before coming here, Gu Zhidao had already confirmed that Jiang Shu was his greatest rival. But these other men were also pursuing Shen Fu.
Among them, compared to Chu Wei, who was already a thing of the past, and the Film Emperor, who had been turned away countless times, Xiang Lingyun was arguably the strongest competitor.
Gu Zhidao couldn’t afford not to be cautious.
He calmly sat down on the sofa and said, “Why did Xiang Ge choose her before?”
What Gu Zhidao was referring to was Xiang Lingyun knocking on Shen Fu’s door before the magazine photoshoot.
If you wanted to pursue Xu Tiaotiao, then go pursue her. Yet he had somehow treated him as a romantic rival?
Though, it made sense. Among the male guests, he had interacted with Xu Tiaotiao the most in the early stages, so it was inevitable that Xiang Lingyun would pay attention to him. But most of the time it had really just been coincidence, for example, that time when they were choosing gifts.
Suppressing his impatience, Xiang Lingyun said, “It was all an accident.”
He had gone straight to knock on her door with such a clear purpose, and that was still an accident?
Gu Zhidao’s gaze toward Xiang Lingyun deepened with meaning.
Was he guarding against him? Or was he simply the type who cared too much about saving face?
“What are you looking at?” Xiang Lingyun’s temper had nearly been worn away by this dating show.
Gu Zhidao tilted his chin toward the production crew and said, “Since I joined last, the program team is letting me choose a gift for one of the female guests. It’s supposed to make up for missing the previous gift-selection event.”
So he was asking him what gift he should give Xu Tiaotiao?
Since the cameras were still rolling, Xiang Lingyun put down the remote control. He glanced at Gu Zhidao and decided to offer some advice anyway. “Give her a placemat. I think she likes collecting colorful placemats.”
He was really being this generous and helping him come up with ideas?
Although Gu Zhidao had no intention of using Xiang Lingyun’s suggestion, he was still somewhat surprised.
Had this guy already given up pursuing Shen Fu?
That was fine too. One less competitor would make things much easier for him.
Gu Zhidao smiled slightly, stood up, and extended his hand for a handshake.
Xiang Lingyun: “…?”
Completely confused, Xiang Lingyun shook his hand. Then he heard Gu Zhidao say: “But I’m planning to give her a sleep mask.”
Xiang Lingyun: “……”
He suddenly had the overwhelming urge to smash the remote control.
If you weren’t going to take his advice at all, then why the h*ll had you asked?!
The livestream comments exploded: [? Were they even on the same wavelength just now?]
Gu Zhidao walked over to the dining table and began wrapping the dark-blue box he had brought using the gift paper provided by the program team. Afterward, he placed it into the gift bag supplied by the show.
He had deliberately chosen to do all of this out in the open.
It was a declaration of ownership.
However, Wen Zhenghan, Xiang Lingyun, and Chu Wei showed little interest in what he was doing. They glanced over once and then looked away.
Carrying a cup of coffee, Chu Wei happened to pass by. He even stopped to help. “If you thread it through here, you can tie a knot and hang it on her doorknob. Then she’ll see it the moment she comes back.”
“Thank you,” Gu Zhidao replied politely with a smile.
Taking a sip of coffee, Chu Wei said, “No need to thank me, Ge.”
The moment he finished speaking, Gu Zhidao stood up and headed toward the female guests’ rooms.
“He’s pretty proactive, huh? Toward Xu…”
Before Xiang Lingyun could finish his sentence, They saw Gu Zhidao stop in front of Shen Fu’s room.
“……”
And following the method Chu Wei had taught him, he hung the gift bag on Shen Fu’s doorknob.
Xiang Lingyun: “……”
Chu Wei: “……”
In the distance, Wen Zhenghan, who was making tea: “……”
The livestream comments nearly died laughing:
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WHAT THE H*LL!]
Seeing the shattered expression on Chu Wei’s face, his fans were furious: [Surname Gu, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?!]
Meanwhile…
In the bushes, the cameraman hurriedly handed his camera to a staff member behind him and ran over to help Jiang Shu up but Jiang Shu had already climbed to his feet by himself.
Patting the grass off his knees, his pale neck was still flushed red all the way down to his collarbone.
He felt as though he had completely lost face in front of Shen Fu.
D*mn it.
A man’s dignity.
Fortunately, it was dark, so it wasn’t too obvious.
“What’s so strange about me knowing that?” Jiang Shu said confidently as he plucked a blade of grass from his hair and tossed it onto the ground.
“I know it, okay? So what?”
Shen Fu eyed him suspiciously.
Something felt off.
But then again, he had even managed to investigate the fact that she’d dated four boyfriends in three years. Finding out her home address was probably just another small detail he’d picked up along the way.
“Forget it. Let’s go back,” Shen Fu said. “You silly dog.”
After saying that, she turned her bicycle around.
Jiang Shu could hardly believe his ears. It was one thing that she wasn’t concerned about whether he had hurt himself when he fell. But she had actually insulted him too?
Pushing his bicycle, he strode after her. “Why are you suddenly calling me names? I really didn’t just fall on flat ground. There was a brick stuck there.”
One walked ahead, the other behind.
The shadow cast by his tall figure completely swallowed up hers on the ground.
Shen Fu replied perfunctorily: “Fine. If you insist on explaining it that way, I can’t stop you.”
Jiang Shu: “……”
The group of cameramen following behind them weren’t livestreaming, but they secretly recorded the two of them anyway.
As they followed along, the burly cameramen grinned foolishly.
Keep scolding him. Keep scolding him a little longer.
You ridiculous lovebirds.
When they got back, Jiang Shu started searching everywhere in the entryway for his slippers.
After a long search, he finally found them wedged in a gap beside the shoe cabinet.
By the time he changed into them and walked inside, his handsome face had turned completely dark. Before leaving, he distinctly remembered that his slippers had been placed right next to Shen Fu’s.
Some idiot must have deliberately kicked them apart.
Because of this slipper incident, the two of them didn’t enter the house together.
As a result, the other guests had no idea they had gone out together.
“You’re back?”
For some reason, Gu Qingshuang had become much friendlier toward Shen Fu. Holding a cold drink, she walked over.
“Sister-in-la…”
Meeting Jiang Shu’s icy stare, she swallowed the last word.
Then she asked Shen Fu instead: “Did you just take the dog for a walk?”
Xiang Lingyun had told her that Shen Fu had gone to walk the dog.
Shen Fu looked at her in confusion. “No?”
Gu Qingshuang was utterly baffled.
Meanwhile, Shen Fu had already walked into the living room.
The moment she returned to the villa, she noticed that the atmosphere in the living room seemed a little strange again.
The atmosphere between the others and Gu Zhidao had still been relatively harmonious that afternoon, but now things had become completely tense.
In the hallway by the rooms, a standoff was underway.
With a fake smile that didn’t reach his eyes, Chu Wei said to the production team, “I suddenly feel like sharing a room is a little cramped, haha. How about letting Male Guest Number Five stay upstairs after all?”
Although Xiang Lingyun and Wen Zhenghan were also dissatisfied with Gu Zhidao and felt that he had deliberately fooled them earlier, it wasn’t convenient for them to openly vote against him right now.
Otherwise, the audience would accuse them of bullying.
Only Jiang Shu feared nothing.
As he passed through the hallway, he put on a pair of sunglasses. Through the lenses, his beautiful eyes shot Gu Zhidao a cold glance.
Then he dropped a sinister comment: “I agree.”
There was an eighty percent chance that Gu Zhidao was the little b*stard who had kicked his slippers away.
The livestream comments burst out laughing:
[HAHAHAHAHA Has the Crown Prince mistaken the wrong person for his enemy?]
Shen Fu: “……”
Pretending not to see the gift bag hanging from her doorknob, Shen Fu quickly opened her door and went inside.
Standing in the hallway, Gu Zhidao fought off the others while taking advantage of the instant she entered to shove the gift bag into her arms.
“The production team said this is a supplementary gift for the gift-selection segment. Female guests aren’t allowed to refuse.”
Shen Fu: “……”
Jiang Shu: “……”
His fists clenched.
Right in front of him?
Did they think he was dead?
Once the bedroom door closed, whatever happened outside no longer concerned Shen Fu.
Holding the gift bag that had been forcibly stuffed into her arms, she felt awkward. Throwing it back out now would be even more awkward. So she casually set it aside, took out her phone, and called Liang Xiaochun.
The most urgent matter was finding out about tomorrow’s family-meeting event.
After the call connected, Shen Fu asked, “Who did you report to the production team as the person coming tomorrow?”
She had assumed Liang Xiaochun herself would be coming.
But recently there had been many advertising endorsements and business negotiations related to her, so Liang Xiaochun might not be able to get away.
In that case, it would probably be some senior executive from the company.
On the other end of the line, Liang Xiaochun glanced at the suited man beside her and asked, “If it were me or a company executive coming, would you be disappointed?”
That feeling of being the only child whose parents didn’t come to pick them up from kindergarten while everyone else’s did…
Of course she would.
Shen Fu said, “No. Don’t worry. I’ll follow whatever arrangements Sister Liang makes.”
“Alright,” Liang Xiaochun said. “Get some rest. See you tomorrow.”
After hanging up, Liang Xiaochun turned to the person in the office and said, “Okay. I’ll report the name your family elder uses to the production team.”
“However, before all the elders officially meet tomorrow, the program has a small introductory segment. They need to add all the parents and relatives to a WeChat group… Can we add your family elder? Would that be inconvenient?”
Even though Liang Xiaochun had spent years in the entertainment industry, she still spoke extremely carefully to the person across from her, afraid of saying something wrong. “That’s fine.”
The other party replied after ending the call. “Tell them to add this WeChat account to the group.”
Liang Xiaochun lowered her head to look and nearly blacked out.
The profile picture was a behind-the-scenes still of Shen Fu acting cute in one of her previous historical idol dramas.
The WeChat name was: Old Chi.
Who the h*ll would believe this was that famous person if she told them?
Old Chi was added to the WeChat group.
Several people were already inside, all relatives of guests who would be attending tomorrow’s meeting.
Among them were Gu Zhidao’s mother, Chu Wei’s older brother, and Zuo Mei’s aunt.
Before Old Chi joined, the group had maintained a cool and distant silence.
The moment he entered, however, a subtle change swept through the chat.
Chu Wei’s older brother had been following the livestreams closely and knew about Chu Wei’s feelings for Shen Fu.
Before participating in this segment, Chu Wei had even told him to help create opportunities if possible. So when he saw an old man with Shen Fu’s profile picture enter the group, and the staff introduced him as Shen Fu’s grandfather, he naturally seized the opportunity.
Chu Yi: Hello, @Old Chi
Old Chi: Hello.
Thinking about discrediting Jiang Shu in front of his future in-laws first, Chu Yi sent: “Why hasn’t the fourth male guest Jiang Shu’s family member joined yet…? By the way, Grandpa Shen, have you watched the livestream? Tomorrow you should definitely stay away from that male guest. His temper is genuinely bad. He may not even know how to respect the elderly or care for the young.”
The old man using Shen Fu’s profile picture fell silent.
Well, elderly people typed slowly. Maybe he was recording a voice message. Chu Yi didn’t mind and patiently waited.
After a while, everyone saw Old Chi send a meme.
Oh? He knows how to send memes? Looks like he’s quite a trendy old man.
Chu Yi clicked it open.
The meme read: “I’ll whack you with my cane.jpg”
“…?”
