Chapter 12: Confident in Her Acting Skills

With the basic tasks assigned, the idle chatter on the sofa finally came to an end.

"I'm starving, what are we eating for lunch?" Qi Jiajia asked, rubbing her rumbling stomach.

"I'll go check what's in the fridge." Chu Yao got up and jogged to the kitchen.

Soon enough, she returned from the kitchen, looking helpless as she spread her arms to the group. "Everyone, our fridge is empty..."

Silence fell.

The production team was truly ruthless.

"So that means we have to go out and buy groceries before we can cook?" Xu Junze picked up the thread.

"Buying groceries and cooking takes forever. I'd suggest you order takeout," Ye Fangfei said, leaning back on the sofa, her gaze passing over them.

"You"—so Ye Fangfei was implying she wouldn't be eating here.

"You're not staying for lunch?" Zhang Chen turned to her, asking.

"No, I don't have enough time," Ye Fangfei shook her head.

Zhang Chen glanced at his watch and said no more.

"But isn't the show supposed to require us to cook our own meals? Wouldn't ordering takeout break the rules?" Li Jiayan suddenly remembered, her face earnest as she voiced her concern.

Ye Fangfei's eyes curved in amusement at the question, and she turned to Li Jiayan, saying, "Yanyan, you're adorable!"

"Yanyan" was the nickname Ye Fangfei had given Li Jiayan herself, a way to distinguish her from Qi Jiajia.

There was no trace of sarcasm in Ye Fangfei's tone; she genuinely found Li Jiayan's reaction endearing.

Lu Zhou recognized the familiar nickname and felt a sense of warmth, glancing at Ye Fangfei.

"Ah? Did I misunderstand the rules?" Li Jiayan asked Ye Fangfei, puzzled.

"Not exactly, just a little partial. Don't worry, ordering takeout isn't against the rules. You can rest now and cook dinner later. Technically, only the evening meal is mandatory for everyone to eat together," Ye Fangfei explained, smiling.

Li Jiayan gave a sudden "oh" of understanding.

This little episode amused everyone, and it was happily decided that lunch would be settled with takeout.

Wen Yiming was the first to open the food delivery app on his phone, inviting everyone to start choosing dishes.

Ye Fangfei did not participate in this segment.

She got up and left the living room, wandering around the villa to familiarize herself with the surroundings.

Soon, the others finished ordering and formed their own group to tour the villa.

"Wow! There's a gym here!"

"And a swimming pool, look!"

"This view of the sea from here is gorgeous..."

"I love this bedroom!"

Exclamations rose one after another...

Lu Zhou, who had already taken in the villa earlier, didn't join the tour; instead, he went upstairs to move his luggage.

Ye Fangfei, having finished her own tour, came downstairs to deal with her suitcase. Perhaps it was too heavy; by the time she reached the stairs, she couldn't move it any further.

Lu Zhou happened to come downstairs at this moment, saw the scene, and without hesitation, quickly strode over and bent to take the suitcase from her hands. "Let me help you," he said.

Ye Fangfei didn't demur, replying with a smile, "Thank you."

It was their first time interacting so closely.

As he approached, Lu Zhou could catch the faint scent of her perfume.

"It's heavy, be careful on the stairs," Ye Fangfei advised as she followed him up.

"It's fine, it's not heavy," Lu Zhou replied as he carried the suitcase easily up the stairs—thanks, of course, to his regular workouts.

They reached the second floor just as Li Jiayan stepped out from one of the bedrooms she had been exploring.

The two exchanged a silent glance.

Li Jiayan looked at Lu Zhou's suitcase, then at Ye Fangfei following behind, feeling an inexplicable pang.

"Oh right, I haven't moved my luggage up yet." Li Jiayan turned away and raised her voice, addressing the others in the bedroom, "Should we decide on rooms first?"

This suggestion brought everyone together.

The second floor had four bedrooms: two spacious sea-view rooms and two slightly smaller rooms without sea views, each furnished with two single beds.

The production team had posted signs: male and female guests' rooms were on opposite sides of the lounge, each with one large sea-view room and one without. The specific roommate arrangements were left for them to discuss.

"Should we play rock-paper-scissors to decide who picks first?" Chu Yao joked to the other three female guests.

"No need," Ye Fangfei said. "I'm fine sleeping anywhere. If anyone has a preference, go ahead and choose, I'll follow your lead."

"I want the room with the big floor-to-ceiling windows and a sea view," Li Jiayan said without hesitation, pointing at one of the rooms. "Who wants to share it with me?"

"I want that one too," Chu Yao quickly spoke up.

Qi Jiajia, seeing this, said nothing further. She had wanted the sea-view room as well, but since she was late, she didn't bother to compete.

"Then I'll share this room with you?" Qi Jiajia turned to Ye Fangfei, gesturing to the other room for her opinion.

Staying with Ye Fangfei seemed pretty exciting—after all, it meant sharing space with a superstar, and maybe they could even become good friends.

And her intuition told her Ye Fangfei was just here for appearances, with the production team eager to capitalize on her fame. She probably wouldn't show up much on the show, meaning Qi Jiajia would essentially have a room to herself.

Thinking this way, it sounded perfect!

While Qi Jiajia was mulling this over, Ye Fangfei nodded cheerfully. "All right, I have no problem with that."

The female guests quickly settled their room arrangements, while the male guests—

"I don't care which room I get, but I have one small request: I hope my roommate doesn't snore," Wen Yiming said, looking at the others playfully. "None of us snore, right?"

Xu Junze replied, "Only if I'm really tired, usually it's not a problem..."

Lu Zhou answered honestly, "I don't know if I snore... I don't think so."

Wen Yiming raised an eyebrow at Lu Zhou's words and teased him, "You could ask your ex-girlfriend for the answer."

Lu Zhou's lips twitched slightly.

Truth be told, even if he asked his ex, he wouldn't know...

Zhang Chen had no intention of participating in the snoring discussion.

"I'll take this room," he said, pointing at the non-sea-view room in a tone that brooked no negotiation.

Wen Yiming found Zhang Chen a bit antisocial and couldn't help but dislike him from the get-go.

"I'd prefer the sea-view room on this side," Wen Yiming said, gesturing to another room.

Lu Zhou, seeing this, looked at Xu Junze. "Since you're sure you don't snore, you and Yiming can share a room. I'll take this one."

Xu Junze was agreeable and nodded.

Thus, the male and female guests' room assignments were settled, and everyone started bringing their luggage up.

"Oh my, it's so heavy! Can someone help me?" Li Jiayan struggled with her suitcase at the bottom of the stairs, barely managing the first step before she started asking for help.

"Leave it there for now. Once I'm done with mine, I'll come back and help," Xu Junze, already at the landing, replied.

"Great! Thanks, Junze," Li Jiayan said with a smile, waiting patiently in place.

Meanwhile, Chu Yao was much more forceful. She grabbed her suitcase with both hands and started climbing the stairs, not asking for help at all. Passing Li Jiayan, she called out, "Excuse me, Jiayan."

Li Jiayan was startled by Chu Yao's display of strength.

"Chu Yao, isn't your suitcase heavy?"

Without turning back, Chu Yao replied, "It is, but I'm strong."

Li Jiayan was impressed.

Xu Junze, hearing the commotion behind him, glanced back, seeing Chu Yao carrying her suitcase briskly up the stairs. He hurried down a couple of steps and offered his hand, "Are you sure you're okay? Let me help."

Chu Yao refused, shaking her head. "No need, I can manage! You take care of yours."

Li Jiayan found herself envying Chu Yao's strength once again.

Just then, Wen Yiming walked by carrying two suitcases in one hand. Seeing Li Jiayan stuck at the stairway, he smiled, "Having trouble? Wait a bit, I'll come help you."

Li Jiayan pressed her lips together and nodded, her eyes widening at the sight of his two suitcases. She couldn't help but marvel, "Yiming, you're so strong!"

Wen Yiming laughed, "All these muscles aren't just for show."

Li Jiayan laughed along.

Qi Jiajia, hands empty, came upstairs and passed by Li Jiayan, saying, "Want me to help you carry it up?"

"Really? But my suitcase is so heavy," Li Jiayan said shyly.

Qi Jiajia came over and helped, and together they lifted the suitcase. As they exerted themselves, Qi Jiajia laughed, "Wow, what did you pack in here? It's so heavy!"

Li Jiayan was amused, "I told you it was heavy, I'm not kidding. When I arrived, the staff helped me bring it to the door—otherwise, I couldn't have managed. Oh, where's your luggage?"

Qi Jiajia lifted her chin, pointing toward Wen Yiming's back. "Yiming carried it for me."

Li Jiayan nodded in understanding, and as they climbed, she reminded, "Jiajia, make sure you watch the stairs."

The two of them carried the suitcase up awkwardly together.

Suddenly, someone came down the stairs.

"Let me take over," a man's voice said.

Li Jiayan looked up and saw Lu Zhou at her side, surprised.

Hmph! She thought he'd forgotten all about her—so eager to help Ye Fangfei earlier, but nowhere to be found when she needed help.

The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she got. In a flash of heat, she replied, "No need, Jiajia and I can manage."

But Qi Jiajia, out of breath, insisted, "No way, let's leave this heavy lifting to the guys. Jiayan, your suitcase is seriously heavy..."

Li Jiayan's face turned red with embarrassment.

Lu Zhou glanced at her, finding her reaction amusing, but managed not to laugh. He quietly bent down and took the suitcase from her hands.

The three of them went up to the second floor together, Lu Zhou helping push the suitcase into Li Jiayan's room, where Chu Yao was already unpacking her things.

"Thank you, Lu Zhou. That was a lot of work," Li Jiayan said.

"No need to be so formal."

Lu Zhou didn't say much more, turning and leaving the room.

Not too close, not too far—he felt this was the right distance between him and Li Jiayan.

Lu Zhou considered himself a decent actor. As far as he could tell, no one had noticed anything unusual between him and Li Jiayan.