Chapter 15: Who Was Jealous of Whom

“Is anyone home? We’re back!” Qi Jiajia called out as she changed into slippers and stepped inside.

Chu Yao, Wen Yiming, and Xu Junze followed one after another, each carrying groceries from the supermarket.

Zhang Chen and Li Jiayan hadn’t returned with them.

“Thanks for your hard work,” Lu Zhou stood up to greet the grocery shoppers.

“Hey, Lu Zhou, are you here alone?” Upon seeing Lu Zhou, Qi Jiajia’s tired face brightened with a smile.

“Fangfei’s here too,” Lu Zhou replied, pointing toward the living room.

Ye Fangfei? No one had expected her to be present so early. They all thought she’d show up late, perhaps not even appearing until after dinner, so it was a surprise to see her back this soon.

Qi Jiajia’s face lit up with delight as she waved enthusiastically to Ye Fangfei, who was sitting in the living room. “I thought you wouldn’t be back until later.”

Wen Yiming purposely lifted his veined arms, showing off the heavy shopping bags, and grinned at Ye Fangfei. “Hungry? We’ll start cooking soon.”

Ye Fangfei hadn’t planned to join the bustle, but seeing everyone so warm and welcoming, she dragged her tired body over.

“What delicious things did you buy?” She peeked into their shopping bags.

Chu Yao headed to the kitchen with her groceries, answering as she walked, “We’re having hotpot tonight, if that’s all right with everyone? I’ll make you two amazing soup bases myself.”

“With the chef herself cooking, we’re lucky enough. Anything will be delicious,” Ye Fangfei replied graciously with a smile.

“Hotpot in this heat? We’ll have to turn the air conditioning down,” Lu Zhou said instinctively.

Xu Junze laughed, “Let’s just set it to sixteen degrees and start boiling.”

Lu Zhou replied, “Isn’t that a bit too much?”

Everyone laughed.

They carried all the groceries into the kitchen. Without another word, Chu Yao rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

It had been agreed beforehand that Wen Yiming and Chu Yao would be on kitchen duty tonight, but Wen Yiming had hoped to chat and relax with Ye Fangfei and the others before starting. He hadn’t expected Chu Yao to be so diligent. Since the girls were already busy, he felt awkward just standing around and stayed to help.

“Need any help?” Ye Fangfei asked politely, leaning on the kitchen island.

Wen Yiming grinned, “Can you cook?”

Ye Fangfei replied, “That depends on how you define ‘can’.”

Wen Yiming’s smile bloomed. “So you really can cook? Let’s do it together, then. That way, we’ll eat sooner.”

Everyone in the kitchen heard his words.

Lu Zhou, who had just placed some vegetables in the fridge and was about to leave, stopped in his tracks.

What did he mean by that? Wasn’t there a set division of labor?

Qi Jiajia’s gaze flicked between Wen Yiming, Chu Yao, and Ye Fangfei, her expression darkening despite herself.

What? Cooking together? Couldn’t he tell Ye Fangfei was just being polite?

Qi Jiajia glanced at Ye Fangfei’s elegant, manicured hands and thought to herself: Wen Yiming, do you really think those hands were made for cooking?

Xu Junze, however, was quite happy to help. He stepped up to pick vegetables, saying with a smile, “Just tell us what to do, Chu Yao, Yiming. You two give the orders, we’ll be your assistants.”

Chu Yao looked at Xu Junze, then at the others. “Too many people won’t speed things up; it’ll just get chaotic. You all should wait outside. Yiming and I can handle dinner.”

Hearing this, Wen Yiming realized his previous offer had been a bit out of place and quickly tried to smooth things over with a smile. “Chu Yao’s right. You guys go relax. If you’re hungry, have some fruit first—we bought some.”

“Thanks for your hard work, then,” Ye Fangfei replied with a smile, and without hesitation, left the kitchen.

Wen Yiming was speechless—she practically left with the wind at her heels. So she really was just being polite!

Everyone else soon left the kitchen as well.

Ye Fangfei, feeling exhausted, chose to go back to her room for a nap, asking to be woken for dinner.

Only Lu Zhou, Qi Jiajia, and Xu Junze remained in the living room.

From the kitchen, the two cooks’ voices drifted out from time to time, warm and full of laughter—

“Yiming, maybe I should chop the vegetables.”

“How could I let a lady handle knives? Too dangerous! Leave this rough work to me.”

“But… I can hardly stand to watch you chop anymore…”

“Haha! So the master chef can’t bear my skills?”

“Yao Yao, let me tie an apron for you. Wouldn’t want to spoil such a beautiful dress.”

…

Meanwhile, the trio in the living room looked cheerful enough, but each harbored their own thoughts.

“By the way, where did Jiayan and Zhang Chen go? Did they head out together?” Qi Jiajia asked Lu Zhou, curled up on the sofa with a pillow.

“They said they were going to the supermarket to find you guys. Didn’t you see them?” Lu Zhou replied.

“We didn’t run into them—must have missed each other,” Xu Junze answered.

“Maybe they couldn’t find us and decided to go on a date instead,” Qi Jiajia joked.

Lu Zhou’s lips curled slightly. “It’s not impossible.”

Their conversation drifted, but Qi Jiajia’s expression was slightly strained, and Xu Junze seemed distracted.

A subtle tension hung in the air.

So, who’s the ex? And who’s jealous of whom?

Lu Zhou felt like a detective again, trying to uncover the truth. The thing was, with this group, it felt like any pairing was possible.

Was Qi Jiajia upset because Li Jiayan and Zhang Chen went out together?

Was Xu Junze conflicted over Ye Fangfei, who had barely spoken to him?

Or were the real exes in the kitchen, cooking together with suspicious harmony?

Lu Zhou rubbed his chin, musing. Was this really a dating show, or a mystery drama?

Thinking this, he reflected on his own feelings.

What about himself? Did he feel jealous about Li Jiayan and Zhang Chen’s little outing?

Earlier, when he noticed the stark difference between how Li Jiayan treated him versus Zhang Chen, he’d felt a pang of discomfort. But now, knowing they’d probably gone off together, he felt strangely calm, almost indifferent.

Looking back, it seemed he truly had no desire to rekindle things with Li Jiayan.

But as for the others, who knew what was on their minds?

“Want to play Jenga?” Lu Zhou suggested, fiddling with the tabletop game.

Qi Jiajia laughed—clearly, the three of them were bored.

They gathered around the blocks and started playing to pass the time.

About ten minutes later, Zhang Chen and Li Jiayan returned.

“Hey!” Li Jiayan greeted them, seeing the group playing in the living room. She said to Qi Jiajia and Xu Junze, “Zhang Chen and I went to the supermarket to find you, but we couldn’t spot you anywhere.”

“We came back earlier, must have just missed you,” Xu Junze replied.

“We thought you two went on a date,” Qi Jiajia teased.

“Couldn’t find you, so we took a walk by the beach,” Zhang Chen explained truthfully.

“That counts as a date! You two don’t waste any time,” Qi Jiajia bantered.

Zhang Chen frowned slightly but said nothing more.

Li Jiayan glanced at Qi Jiajia, wondering: Could Zhang Chen be Qi Jiajia’s ex? Did she just hit a sore spot?

After the greetings, Zhang Chen and Li Jiayan didn’t join Lu Zhou’s game. Instead, they each sat off to the side, absorbed in their phones.

Li Jiayan was actually replying to a friend’s message. She glanced at the cameras around the room, making sure her phone screen wouldn’t be caught on film, then typed:

Friend: [How’s it going over there? Friendly reminder: Don’t get so wrapped up in romance that you forget your mission on the show!]

Li Jiayan: [Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten.]

Li Jiayan: [We’ve only just met, who am I supposed to fall for?]

Friend: [Who knows, maybe you’ll meet a super handsome guy and fall head over heels!]

Li Jiayan: [I do like a good-looking face, but I’m not that naive nineteen-year-old girl anymore, all right?]

Friend: [Your love life is your business—as long as you remember why you’re there.]

Friend: [Do you have a piano?]

Li Jiayan: [There’s one in the living room, just like I requested. The show kept their promise.]

Friend: [Then grab every opportunity to show off your talent! Go for it!]

Li Jiayan: [……]

After replying, Li Jiayan put her phone away and glanced around the living room. At some point, Zhang Chen had joined the others in their Jenga game.

In the kitchen, Wen Yiming and Chu Yao were focused on preparing dinner.

Now seemed like the perfect moment.

Li Jiayan puffed out her cheeks, hesitated for a while, but finally mustered the courage to approach the piano in the corner.