Chapter 27: Stumbling Upon a Secret

The atmosphere in the living room became strangely tense after Lu Zhou’s candid admission about his profession. Zhang Chen’s lips curled into a faint smile, his inner thoughts running: “I’d thought he might barely qualify as a rival, but clearly I was mistaken. There’s no way my woman would ever fancy someone who’s flopped so spectacularly in the entertainment industry…”

Wen Yiming shot Lu Zhou an encouraging glance, inwardly sighing: “It’s rough—apart from telling him to hang in there, I really don’t know what else to say.”

Xu Junze leaned forward, picking up a chopstick of greens for his plate, thinking: “Brother, you’re really not doing well. If it’s impossible for you, sign with our company and I’ll guide you into the influencer circuit.”

Qi Jiajia pressed her lips together, her gaze dropping to the rice in her bowl as she mused: “As expected, you can’t judge a man by his looks… This is a classic case of all style and no substance. I almost let myself get interested!”

Chu Yao smiled outwardly, though inwardly she muttered: “Luckily I never thought he was my type to begin with, or I’d be really disappointed now…”

Li Jiayan kept her eyes on her nose and her nose on her heart, her expression uneasy as she thought: “How is he doing even worse than he was six years ago? Compared to the other male guests, his credentials are really lacking—this is embarrassing for me…”

Ye Fangfei propped her chin in her hand, her gaze sweeping around the others as if watching a play, the corners of her mouth lifting.

“Gold will always shine. Keep going!” Ye Fangfei’s gaze passed over Xu Junze and landed on Lu Zhou, her voice gentle.

Lu Zhou looked up, their eyes met, and a grateful smile appeared on his lips. He replied with confidence, “I believe that too.”

Yet to everyone else, his words seemed blindly optimistic.

Gradually, the lively atmosphere at the table resumed, though something subtle had changed in the guests’ hearts.

When dinner was finished, everyone tidied up the leftovers and assigned the cleaning to tonight’s duty pair: Ye Fangfei and Zhang Chen. The others drifted away.

In the kitchen, only Ye Fangfei and Zhang Chen remained, staring at the pile of pots and dishes in the sink, lost in thought. Both of them were the type whose hands rarely touched anything so mundane as water, let alone kitchen chores; ordinarily, they’d never even come near such work.

Ye Fangfei sighed softly, reached out to turn on the faucet, and prepared to begin.

Zhang Chen stepped in to stop her, saying, “You really shouldn’t wash—save your hands from getting dirty. I can handle it myself, you go sit down.”

Ye Fangfei rolled her eyes at him, “Sit and watch you wash?”

Zhang Chen replied, “I meant you should rest in the living room. Of course, if you want to stay and watch me, I’d be delighted.”

Ye Fangfei found Zhang Chen’s words oddly greasy. She squeezed out some detergent, picked up a plate, and started washing on her own, saying, “Stop dawdling and get to work. This is our shared task—if I leave it all to you, netizens will say I’m spoiled.”

“You were raised spoiled anyway, so why worry about what netizens say? Besides, what’s wrong with being spoiled?” Zhang Chen chuckled.

“You can stop talking now,” Ye Fangfei shot him a look.

Seeing she had no intention of leaving, Zhang Chen relented, and the two stood on opposite sides, beginning their so-called “cooperation” in washing dishes.

But it was only cooperation in name; there was no rhythm or understanding between them, and the process was chaotic.

Splattered with dishwater, Ye Fangfei took a deep breath and said, “Zhang Chen! Be gentler when drying the dishes! You’ve got my clothes all wet.”

Zhang Chen glanced at her soaked shirt, apologetic, “No worries, I’ll buy you a new one later.”

Ye Fangfei almost ground her teeth. Was this how a normal person thought?

She ignored him, focusing on getting through the kitchen ordeal as quickly as possible.

Why on earth had she agreed to appear on this ridiculous show at her parents’ urging? Well, it was just as well—let those two elders see for themselves how utterly mismatched the partner they so desperately want her to marry truly is.

After a while of silent dishwashing, Zhang Chen suddenly spoke:

“Fangfei, about that recording of your ex last night—honestly, the way you recorded it really hurt me. If something like this happens again, could you at least give me some face and say a bit more?”

Ye Fangfei frowned slightly, “I was speaking honestly. That could hurt your feelings? Then I’d say you’re just too sensitive.”

“It’s not about being sensitive. I know you were honest, but when you like someone, you hope for more attention. I just want to matter more to you.”

Zhang Chen switched on his romantic mode.

Ye Fangfei shivered in discomfort, turning to ask, “Zhang Chen, are you playing a scripted role, or is this sincere?”

“Sincere, of course!” Zhang Chen met her gaze earnestly, “Fangfei, I came here to get back together with you.”

Ye Fangfei: No way!

Just then, Lu Zhou walked in with a small basket of fruit, intending to prepare a fruit platter.

He found himself in an awkwardly charged room.

Zhang Chen’s look of longing at Ye Fangfei hadn’t quite faded, while Ye Fangfei’s expression was tinged with incredulity.

Lu Zhou paused, immediately sensing something was off. He quickly turned to leave, scratching his head and muttering, “Ah, I forgot what I came for…”

But at that moment, Ye Fangfei called out to him.

“Lu Zhou, are you here to wash the fruit?”

A wave of embarrassment rose in Lu Zhou’s chest.

He held the fruit basket and smiled sheepishly, gesturing toward the living room. “Everyone wanted some fruit—I thought I’d make a platter… so everyone could share.”

Ye Fangfei replied, “Then come and cut it here—there’s plenty of space.”

Since she’d said so, leaving would seem even ruder. Lu Zhou had no choice but to tough it out, selected a sharp fruit knife, and silently began slicing fruit beside Zhang Chen and Ye Fangfei.

Zhang Chen ran his tongue over his teeth, cursing inwardly: Third wheel!

The kitchen fell into a deep silence.

Lu Zhou thought: Why aren’t you two talking? Come on, talk!

The awkwardness was so intense that Lu Zhou felt his toes could dig out a palace.

“What’s everyone doing in the living room?” Ye Fangfei suddenly asked, directing the question not to Zhang Chen, but to Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou replied, “They’re playing cards.”

“What kind of cards?” Ye Fangfei asked.

“Just… poker,” answered Lu Zhou.

“Oh, I want to play too,” Ye Fangfei said.

Zhang Chen commented, “I thought you weren’t into those kinds of activities.”

Ye Fangfei responded, “Not at all, I enjoy them.”

Lu Zhou blinked in surprise—was he catching a glimpse of a secret in their relationship? One wants to rekindle the past; the other wants to sever ties!

A rich young master versus a spoiled princess of the entertainment world—one chases, the other flees, and escape is impossible! The plot was deliciously dramatic in his mind.

Lu Zhou sliced fruit while mentally scripting a grand scene. But whatever interest he had, he knew his presence was unwelcome; he finished three plates of fruit at record speed and made a swift exit.

Soon after, Ye Fangfei and Zhang Chen finished cleaning and joined the card game in the living room.

At half past eight, the doorbell rang.

Chu Yao got up, saying, “I’ll go check!”

After a while, she returned with an envelope in hand.

“There’s a new task!” she announced.

“What task?” Wen Yiming asked curiously, craning his neck.

“I don’t know, I haven’t opened it yet!”

Chu Yao sat down and handed the envelope to him.

Everyone’s attention shifted to Wen Yiming, waiting for the new task to be revealed.

Wen Yiming deftly opened the envelope and shook it, causing a card to slide out.

The card read:

[Tomorrow night, you will face your first date!
Here are four venues, each one a place where one of our four male guests once had an unforgettable date with a former partner.
Ladies, please select your preferred venue, and at seven o’clock tomorrow evening, arrive at your chosen location to meet the gentleman you’ve selected for your first date.
① Seaside music festival;
② Mountain-top scenic restaurant;
③ Haunted house;
④ Courthouse.]