[What a direct move! I love it!]
[Is Wen Yin finally responding??]
[My "only crush" is about to get together!!!!]
[Squealing like a prairie dog again!]
[Oh my god, Big Son, you absolutely must seize this chance!!]
Shao Yinan lifted an eyebrow. A mischievous shadow flickered across his clean-cut face, but the look he gave Wen Yin was all plaintive grievance—as if silently accusing her of something.
Wen Yin met his gaze with soft eyes, unblinking.
“No— I was just thinking…” Shao deliberately dragged out the last syllable, savoring the effect, teasing her appetite. “There are always so many people around you, Yin. Do you still even notice me?”
He stepped forward as he spoke, closing the distance between them. His voice, low and slightly husky, sounded unexpectedly intoxicating next to her ear. His obsidian, peach-blossom eyes—dark pools that were easy to drown in—leaned toward her with more than a hint of invitation. The implication hung thick between them; for a moment the air turned charged.
“Yes.” Wen Yin’s answer fell plain and steady.
Shao blinked, stunned for several seconds. He had expected silence, or a coy dodge—anything but a direct reply. Her single word carried more warmth and weight than he’d dared hope. The depths of his dark eyes shifted like a sudden swell, and a private storm seemed to crash behind them.
Wen Yin didn’t flinch from his stare. She answered earnestly, “No matter when—Mr. Shao, you’ll always be the brightest in any crowd.”
Something inside her wanted to finish the sentence—My eyes will always follow you; you will never dim—but she kept it to herself.
Shao’s face softened into a grin so full it erased the last of his awkwardness. A satisfying warmth filled him like sunlight. Before he could say anything, someone shoved past him from behind.
Jiang Shihuai, who'd watched the exchange with none of the mercy of a friend, forced Shao out of the way. His tone was brusque. “Move. You’re blocking the way.”
The intimate bubble between Shao and Wen Yin popped. Wen Yin followed the motion of everyone’s heads and saw what had caused Jiang’s interference: he was lugging a pink suitcase. A familiar pink suitcase.
[Why is it Jiang again?]
[Wasn’t he helping Wen Yin with luggage earlier? Now he’s helping Wen Zhi too—trying to catch everything?]
[I don’t get it, but I’m shook.]
[What a waste—such a nice guy turned into a cad.]
[I knew Wen Yin hanging around Zhi on the same show would cause trouble!]
[She’s doing it on purpose—seducing every male guest near Zhi!]
[Wen Yin really is the most dangerous one!]
[Lol, upstairs Wenzhi’s fans okay? Jiang’s the one with shaky morals, why blame Wen Yin?]
[Wen Yin clearly has zero interest in Jiang.]
[Please, the “only crush” is the sweetest, guys.]
[Stop stirring up girl-versus-girl drama here.]
[Wen Yin: Bad luck!]
Wen Yin recognized the suitcase at a glance—it belonged to Wen Zhi. Her eyes slid down to the garden; sure enough, Wen Zhi had arrived at the “heart house” and was chattering excitedly with Xiao Mo. Wen Zhi’s head tipped up just as Wen Yin’s gaze met hers. The other girl’s expression was provocatively smug as she glanced at Jiang, silently flaunting, Look—my senior helps me, you don’t.
Wen Yin’s smile stayed small and unreadable. She’d known Wen Zhi long enough, through two lives, to read that look. This time, Wen Zhi had miscalculated.
Shao turned to glance at Jiang’s retreating back and said nothing. Wen Yin, however, suddenly pivoted, approaches no one had expected. Her lips curved, and she said in an offhand, almost teasing voice, “Mr. Shao, you were really cute just now.”
Then she went back to her room.
The guests packed up quickly and gathered in the living room, waiting for the producers to announce the first activity. Wen Zhi sat beside Jiang and couldn’t help noticing his distractedness—his attention drifted more than once in Wen Yin’s direction. Each time, Wen Zhi’s expression soured. Out of the camera’s sightline she shot Wen Yin a glare, then batted her lashes and asked in a sing-song, slightly wounded voice, “Senpai, didn’t you rest well last night?”
After the luggage incident, all eyes were on Jiang. For days he’d been aloof toward Wen Yin—now he seemed inexplicably softened. Jiang shook his head like a man trying to rid himself of a dizzying thought. “I’m fine,” he said, but he looked anything but.
Wen Zhi’s mind ticked over the night before. Jiang had called “Wen Wen” outside her building—odd behavior. Why would he call out like that if nothing had happened? The more she thought, the more suspicious she grew.
The director stepped forward to explain the challenge. “This episode is a lovers’ date. The female guests will each choose a male guest for a date.”
“There’s also the right of refusal. If a male guest refuses, the female guest may choose again until someone accepts.”
At the word “female choose,” Jiang’s eyes didn’t flick to Wen Zhi first. They found Wen Yin. Wen Yin—who seemed to be lost in thought, leaning on Li Xiangwei’s shoulder—didn’t seem to notice.
Shao Yinan’s gaze drifted that same way. For a beat his dark eyes lit with something like hope, then he tamped it back down.
Wen Zhi watched Jiang closely. Her heart prickled with a sour heat. Why her? Why Wen Yin? The Wen family’s heiress or not, how could this provincial girl draw so much of his attention? Her jaw tensed. She wasn’t going to sit still.
The director waited for someone to make the first move. Qian Shuzhi was the first to stand.
“Mr. Shao,” she said with a polite lift of her chin, “may I invite you?”