The barrage exploded into screams.
【AAAAAHHHH everyone! I’ve pieced together the fragmented information!】
【So, during high school, Shen Fu had someone she liked, a person the Crown Prince keeps referring to as the unforgettable white moonlight. We don’t know who he is, so let’s call him X for now.】
【But here’s the problem: the Crown Prince doesn’t know that the photo Shen Fu always carries around is a picture of him and her together, not some X. In other words, if there really was an X, why isn’t she carrying a photo of X instead??? How could Shen Fu possibly have another white moonlight?】
【So what you’re saying is… there may have been a huge misunderstanding?】
Running Lighthouse:【D*mn it! This is killing me! The entire world knows Shen Fu loves you! Except you, Jiang Shu, you idiot! The entire world knows Jiang Shu would give his life for you! Except you, Shen Fu, don’t know it!!!】
Amid all the excitement, the viewers were laughing themselves silly.
【Teacher Lighthouse, calm down. Even “I’d give my life for you” literature has come out.】
The group gathered around the bonfire on the beach was still cooperating with the production team for games.
Only now did they realize that both Shen Fu and Jiang Shu were missing.
Shen Fu sleeping early was normal enough.
But where had Jiang Shu gone?
Gu Qingshuang looked around and asked, “Where’s Mr. Jiang?”
Xu Tiaotiao cracked sunflower seeds and said, “He went to get drinks earlier and never came back.”
The male guests didn’t really care where Jiang Shu had gone.
What they cared about was the fact that both Shen Fu and Jiang Shu had disappeared at the same time.
Surely Jiang Shu hadn’t used some green-tea scheming tactics again and snuck into Shen Fu’s room while they weren’t paying attention?
Chu Wei and Xiang Lingyun exchanged looks.
The incident from the photoshoot day was still fresh in their minds.
Gu Zhidao stood up first and smiled. “There are a lot of people on the beach. I’m worried one of them may have gotten surrounded by fans. I’ll go take a look.”
The others: “…”
Nice excuse.
It seemed Male Guest Number Five wasn’t an easy opponent either.
Gu Zhidao headed toward the hotel.
Seeing him go, the others relaxed somewhat.
If two rivals ran into each other, a fight was practically guaranteed.
“No One Ships Better Than Me” became excited again:【I think our Dao-Fu CP can still be saved! Charge, Teacher Gu Zhidao! Stop Jiang Shu!】
Other viewers, frantically switching camera feeds in search of Jiang Shu, happened to see that comment and immediately exploded:【Get lost, heretical ship!】
***
Although his mind was a complete mess, Jiang Shu remembered Shen Fu’s room number perfectly clearly.
“2805! I’m going to Room 2805 right now to steal her away!”
Wang Xuanheng couldn’t stop him.
But after thinking about it carefully, why should he stop him?
If this opportunity somehow got the two of them together, wouldn’t the young master thank him afterward?
So Wang Xuanheng simply let go of Jiang Shu and pulled out his phone to contact the production team.
The most urgent task was shutting off some of the fixed livestream cameras.
Watching him make the call, the viewers collectively wailed:【D*MN IT! President Wang is like a TV show cutting to black right at the climax! If we don’t get to see anything tonight, I’m seriously joining a group assassination mission against him!】
***
Jiang Shu shoved Wang Xuanheng away and marched proudly toward Shen Fu’s room.
His mind was filled with only four words:
Take her by force.
Tonight, he was going to steal that kiss back.
Why was Shen Fu allowed to take his first kiss, but he wasn’t allowed to kiss her?
Hadn’t he at least eaten pork even if he’d never seen a pig run?
Did people really think he’d never read “canary” romance novels?
The hotel corridor was dimly lit.
Yet Jiang Shu somehow managed to charge all the way to Shen Fu’s room without stumbling once.
He clenched his fists and, feeling dizzy and light-headed, looked around.
【What’s the Crown Prince looking for?】
The viewers had barely finished asking when Jiang Shu found the switch for the wall lamp outside Shen Fu’s room.
Click.
He turned off the lamp outside her door.
Then turned on the lamp outside the room opposite hers.
Creating a dramatic backlight for himself.
Even without sunglasses, viewers felt as though he were somehow still wearing them.
【HAHAHAHAHAHA even drunk, he’ll die before he stops trying to look cool!】
Jiang Shu couldn’t care less about livestreams or anything else.
Looking impossibly cool and domineering, he raised a hand and pounded on the door.
“Shen Fu! Come out here!”
The audience had assumed Jiang Shu would chicken out once he got this far.
Instead, he actually knocked on her door without hesitation.
Everyone became so excited they practically jumped out of their seats.
【GO, CROWN PRINCE! Two hundred thousand viewers are cheering for you online!】
【AAAAAHHH! The Crown Prince has risen! Type “The Crown Prince is capable” in the chat right now!】
【I hereby declare D to be the fiercest man on this dating show!】
Before the viewers could finish celebrating, the door opened.
Shen Fu stepped out with a frown. “I’m not deaf. Why are you knocking so hard?”
Jiang Shu stared at her.
Stared.
And stared.
Several full seconds passed.
Shen Fu became completely bewildered.
Then his eyes slowly reddened.
Filled with resentment.
Filled with helpless fury.
His tall frame seemed to wilt.
He bent forward and rested his head on her shoulder. “Why are you ignoring me?”
The barrage:
【…D*mn.】
【Remove the word ‘fiercest.’】
***
Shen Fu had been inside her room packing the athletic clothes she planned to wear for tomorrow’s rock-climbing trip.
When she heard the knocking, she hadn’t thought much of it and simply opened the door.
Who would have guessed that the moment Jiang Shu saw her, he would look like an abandoned puppy?
He seemed unable to stand steadily.
Not only did he lower his head onto her shoulder, but his tall body leaned heavily against her.
Shen Fu stumbled backward. She quickly grabbed the doorframe to keep both of them from falling to the floor together.
Feeling the person in his arms stumble, Jiang Shu seemed to sober up slightly.
He shifted some of his weight off her.
Supporting his arm, Shen Fu asked, “What happened?”
There was a faint scent of alcohol in the air. Shen Fu wrinkled her nose. Had he been drinking?
***
She was actually asking him what was wrong?!
Jiang Shu straightened up and said coldly, “Every cause has its effect. Your karma is me.”
Shen Fu: “…?”
Jiang Shu stared at her coldly. The tips of his ears grew redder and redder as he tried hard to appear justified and imposing.
“When you forced *** me back then, you never thought this day would come, did you? Today, I repay kindness with kindness and revenge with revenge. I’m going to force *** it back!”
Some words in the middle were censored, apparently triggering a sensitive-word filter.
The barrage was going insane.【AAAAAHHHH WHAT WERE THE CENSORED WORDS?!】
They desperately didn’t want to jump to conclusions.
But the key words had disappeared at exactly the worst possible moment!
How could they not think in that direction?
After hearing him out, Shen Fu froze for a moment.
Holding up his unsteady body with both hands, she said, “Wait a second. You’re drunk.”
To Jiang Shu, those words sounded exactly like rejection. Not only was she rejecting him, she was even using you’re drunk as an excuse to brush him off. How could he possibly be drunk? Wasn’t he standing perfectly fine? He had even recognized her room number. And the Shen Fu standing in front of him was still one Shen Fu, not two.
Jiang Shu let out a cold laugh and grabbed her wrist. “I’m not drunk. Don’t even think about stopping me.”
Tonight. Right now. He was going to force her to fall in love with him.
Before Shen Fu could react, Jiang Shu wore an icy expression. In reality, however, his ears were practically dripping blood. Trying to look cool and ruthless, he pressed Shen Fu against the wall.
The barrage erupted into screams again.
Running Lighthouse:【AAAAAHHH! Grab her waist! You skipped a step! Grab her waist!】
The barrage:【Teacher Lighthouse, hahaha, please calm down!】
Shen Fu’s back hit the cool wall.
Although Jiang Shu’s words were all over the place, she still managed to piece together some of the information.
After a moment of silence, she looked up and asked, “You want to kiss me?”
At last, she understood why Jiang Shu had come.
At the same time that she found it unbelievable, she also found it a little funny.
Drunk Jiang Shu was so talkative.
And unexpectedly cute.
“What?” Jiang Shu sneered with all the cruel dominance of someone attempting a forceful romance plot. He even freed one hand to pinch Shen Fu’s chin, squeezing her lips into a pout. “What are you laughing at? You’re not allowed to laugh.”
Things seemed to have gone in a giant circle.
Shen Fu suddenly remembered the night, years ago, before she left the Jiang family. Back then she had also been dizzy and lightheaded, kneeling on top of him. Her mind had been completely blank. She had looked calm on the surface, but in reality she hadn’t known what she was doing.
That night, she had kissed the corner of his mouth.
And now…
Was Jiang Shu in the same state?
People always said that drunk words revealed sober truths.
Some believed it. Some didn’t.
But Shen Fu did.
Because she herself had once used alcohol as an outlet for all the nervous emotions she had buried over the years.
She slapped Jiang Shu’s hand away.
Jiang Shu: “……”
His domineering attitude instantly deflated.
It turned into visible disappointment.
But in the next second, Shen Fu cupped his face with both hands.
“……” Jiang Shu was completely flattered. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
Looking at him, Shen Fu held his gaze. The light from the wall lamp behind him illuminated his profile, highlighting the bridge of his nose and his devastatingly handsome features.
His reddened eyes still seemed misty with emotion.
Shen Fu asked, “Who exactly do you want to kiss?”
She wanted to know, once and for all, exactly what Jiang Shu was thinking. No ambiguity. No misunderstandings. No room for confusion.
Without hesitation, and with obvious pride, Jiang Shu answered: “My wife.”
Shen Fu asked again, “Who is your wife?”
Jiang Shu looked a little shy. His eyelashes lowered. “Shen Fu.”
Shen Fu couldn’t help laughing.
The moment she laughed, Jiang Shu lowered his head and moved in for a kiss. A forceful kiss. Right now!
Shen Fu pinched his mouth shut.
Jiang Shu: “……”
“I haven’t finished asking questions yet.” She smacked him on the back and continued: “Then tell me, why do you want to kiss Shen Fu when you’re drunk?”
Jiang Shu felt deeply wounded. Why wouldn’t she let him kiss her back?
Both annoyed and completely self-righteous, he answered: “Because I like Shen Fu.”
At last hearing the words she had wanted to hear, Shen Fu’s heart unexpectedly sped up.
Still holding his face, she tried to make him a little more lucid. “You’re drunk. Are you talking nonsense? Do you even know what you’re saying?”
Listen to that. Not only was she refusing to let him kiss her back. Now she was accusing him of talking nonsense.
The alcohol rushed to his head. Looking at Shen Fu, Jiang Shu felt overwhelmingly sad. From the day she left until now, he had been like a constantly suppressed volcano. He had wanted to snatch her back. But somehow he had listened to all sorts of nonsense. What if she really loved someone else? If he broke them apart, she might hate him for the rest of her life.
But why was it always one person after another? Why was it never his turn?!
Was he really that terrible?
Pressing Shen Fu against the wall, Jiang Shu said resentfully, “I like you. I like you so much. I’ve liked you for a very long time already. How can you treat me like this?”
“A very long time?” Shen Fu immediately seized upon the key phrase. Continuing her interrogation, she asked, “How long?”
Hadn’t he only started developing feelings for her after joining the show?
When exactly had he started liking her?
Even Jiang Shu couldn’t tell anymore.
They had spent so much time together when they were young. How could he possibly identify one exact day?
Maybe it had been some afternoon after basketball practice, his body still hot and sweaty, when he suddenly heard someone showering in the bathroom and inexplicably started blushing.
Or maybe it was when he began taking detours past her classroom for no reason, using his height advantage to casually peek inside and see what she was doing.
Or perhaps it was the first time he saw her wearing a pleated skirt and suddenly realized that boys and girls were not the same.
From his teenage years until now, his thoughts had been full of her. But during all that time… Had her thoughts been occupied by someone else?
Just imagining it made his chest tighten painfully, filled with indescribable bitterness.
“I don’t know,” Jiang Shu muttered. “Since the time you only gave me one hundred yuan a week.”
He still remembered that.
Shen Fu felt a little embarrassed. Back then, wasn’t it also because she found him a bit unpleasant to look at? Since they were sworn rivals, was she supposed to give him a million?
But at the same time, her heart felt much more complete.
Sure enough, she had known it, the system had definitely malfunctioned.
Jiang Shu complained again: “But how could you treat me like that?”
Looking at his handsome yet aggrieved face, Shen Fu couldn’t help asking: “How did I treat you?”
Holding Shen Fu by the shoulders, Jiang Shu angrily accused: “You were flirting with other men!”
Shen Fu absolutely refused to take the blame for that. Since joining the show, she hadn’t even looked at anyone else twice.
She said, “…When did I flirt with anyone?”
“From the moment the show started until now!” The more Jiang Shu spoke, the angrier he became. “You even said that Shorty was your first love!”
Shen Fu paused for a moment before realizing who he meant by “Shorty.”
Although Chu Wei was only 178 cm tall, he wasn’t actually short. In fact, that was considered an ideal height for an idol.
Seeing Jiang Shu gritting his teeth in resentment, she almost laughed, but held it back.
She said: “My first love was you.”
The air in the hallway froze for a brief moment.
Everything became very quiet.
Jiang Shu was stunned.
Wh-what did she mean?
Not only was Jiang Shu stunned, the livestream comments were too.
【AHHHH! This completely confirms that she had feelings for the Crown Prince back when they were young too! Tell us more, tell us more! We’re not outsiders!】
What exactly was that “force, ” (censored) thing the Crown Prince kept talking about? What else was there that they didn’t know?!
The comments were screaming in excitement when Shen Fu glanced toward a distant camera and suddenly paused.
She abruptly realized there was probably a live broadcast in the hallway too.
“…”
But it seemed realizing that now was already too late.
Didn’t he want to kiss her?
Then come inside and kiss her.
Thinking this, Shen Fu grabbed Jiang Shu by the collar, took two steps backward, and pulled him into the room.
Jiang Shu’s mind was completely foggy and muddled, but he still remembered to shut the door behind them.
Just then, the phone call Wang Xuanheng had made finally took effect, and the production team hurriedly cut off the livestream feed on this side.
The screen instantly went black.
Not even a sound remained.
The comments exploded:【AHHHHHHH! Right at the climax and you cut it off?! President Wang, do you know you’re going to get hunted down for this?!】
Meanwhile, Wang Xuanheng was guarding the stairwell entrance. Seeing the elevator doors open and Gu Zhidao step out, he immediately rushed over and shoved him right back into the elevator.
But the audience, whose screens were filled with screaming comments, no longer cared whether Gu’s surname was Dao or Zhi.
…
The system hurried over and appeared in Shen Fu’s mind. “Shen Fu! I haven’t graduated yet, so I didn’t know! It turns out that when the affection index exceeds 100, the machine can’t even detect it, it just starts smoking and breaks down!”
Before it could finish shouting, it saw Shen Fu pressed against the door by Jiang Shu, the two sharing a long-overdue kiss.
Jiang Shu’s tall frame completely concealed Shen Fu. Only a few loose strands of hair draped over his shoulder could be seen.
The room was dimly lit. The atmosphere was intimate and romantic.
Shen Fu wrapped both arms around Jiang Shu’s neck.
For the first time, Jiang Shu held someone this closely in his arms. Dazed and dizzy, he felt as though he were dreaming. The tips of his ears had already turned bright red.
Sh-she had actually kissed him first?
Whatever.
He had better take advantage of the dream before waking up and kiss her as much as possible to make up for all his losses.
The system: “…”
…They kissed?
Oh.
Then everything was fine.
The underage system quickly covered its eyes and fled.
