Chapter 28: The Choice for the First Date

Wen Yiming read out the content on the show card loudly, leaving everyone astonished.

“A court?! Did I hear that right?” Li Jiayan asked in disbelief.

Wen Yiming glanced again at the words on the card, confirmed he hadn’t read it wrong, and said, “There really is a court written here.”

He flipped the card around to show everyone.

“How romantic, a date at the courthouse,” Lu Zhou joked.

The comment sent everyone into laughter again.

Who would choose a court? How does one even have a date there? Could it be that mortal enemies ended up together?

What a bizarre place for a date...

“Alright, ladies, it’s your turn to choose! Who we get to date is all up to you now,” Wen Yiming said, shaking the card before handing it to the women.

The male contestants watched with anticipation as the female contestants began selecting their date locations.

“Who gets to pick first?” Li Jiayan asked.

Going first had its advantages—after all, no one really wanted to go on a date at the court, right?

“You can play rock-paper-scissors to decide the order,” Lu Zhou suggested.

The proposal was unanimously accepted. The four women began their rock-paper-scissors rounds.

In the first round, Ye Fangfei was eliminated.

In the second round, Qi Jiajia left the game.

In the third round, Chu Yao emerged victorious.

The four men watched nervously from the sidelines.

“Well, I won’t be shy, I’ll choose first!” Chu Yao said, smiling with sparkling eyes, her gaze settling on the four date locations listed on the card as she pondered.

Her glance passed over “court,” and she pressed her lips together before moving on.

Yes, the court was indeed a memorable place she had once spent with her ex. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a date, but rather the place where their feelings were confirmed.

That day was the trial for her lawsuit against an online user who had maliciously slandered her.

Originally, she intended to swallow her anger and avoid trouble, since she had just started to gain recognition and didn’t want complications.

But her ex had encouraged her to stand up for herself, enthusiastically helping her collect evidence, and on the day of the trial, accompanied her to the courthouse.

In the end, they won the case, which allowed her to resolve her inner conflict and move forward with greater courage.

It was also that day she realized her feelings for that man.

But today...

Chu Yao didn’t want to return to that place, nor did she want to have another date with that person.

Her gaze moved to the other three locations. After weighing her options, she still found it difficult to guess which location corresponded with which male contestant, so she decided to go for it.

“I’ll pick the mountaintop restaurant,” she declared.

As soon as Chu Yao finished speaking, Zhang Chen’s brows furrowed imperceptibly.

Qi Jiajia looked disappointed, pouting, “That’s the one I wanted to choose...”

Chu Yao smiled at her. “I snatched it first.”

Qi Jiajia shrugged. “Well, nothing I can do—I lost at rock-paper-scissors.”

Next, it was Li Jiayan’s turn to select a date location.

She held the card, feeling conflicted. In fact, both the haunted house and the seaside music festival were places she’d previously visited with Lu Zhou.

She honestly didn’t know which one represented Lu Zhou.

With the mountaintop restaurant already chosen by Chu Yao, and unwilling to pick the court, she was left with the haunted house and the seaside music festival.

Struggling to decide, Li Jiayan resorted to a counting rhyme, which finally landed on the haunted house.

“I’ll choose the haunted house!” she announced.

Wen Yiming raised his eyebrows, pressing his fist to his lips to hide a smile.

Now only the court and the seaside music festival remained.

Qi Jiajia, the third to choose, looked at the two leftover options, and decided without hesitation: “I’ll definitely pick the seaside music festival. A date at court is just too strange.”

Lu Zhou, standing nearby, remained expressionless.

So tomorrow, he would be going on a date with Qi Jiajia.

Truth be told, he didn’t really care whom he went out with.

After all, he wasn’t here to find a partner for real—it was just part of the process.

Ye Fangfei, last to choose, had no choice left. The “court” was her designated date location for tomorrow.

“I’m actually curious how a date there works. Are we supposed to sit in on a trial tomorrow night?” she laughed.

Everyone joined in the laughter.

“So, whose idea was it to pick the court?” Zhang Chen asked, glancing at the other male contestants, his face almost demanding someone to step forward.

Lu Zhou touched his nose, thinking that this guy seemed eager to broadcast to the world—through every cell in his body—that Ye Fangfei was his ex.

No one answered Zhang Chen.

The show’s rules specified that before tomorrow’s date, male contestants could not disclose any information about the date locations to the women.

Buddy, did you forget the rules?

Ye Fangfei ignored Zhang Chen’s puzzling behavior and got up to head upstairs and rest.

At that moment, everyone’s phones vibrated almost simultaneously, with a new message—

[Tonight is your second night in the Pink Cottage. Please choose a member of the opposite sex and send them your bedtime message!]

“Time to send messages again,” Li Jiayan remarked after reading the notification.

Everyone settled into the sofas, quietly watching each other's expressions—some hesitated over whom to send their message to, while others confidently typed and sent theirs.

Tonight’s bedtime message rule was slightly different from yesterday’s; the show had made a small adjustment.

After all the contestants sent their messages, the recipients would no longer have to wait ages to see the content, like the previous night. Instead, tonight, their phones would show the response within a few minutes.

Qi Jiajia was the first to receive a notification. Nervously, she picked up her phone to check.

[See you tomorrow]

[Your ex did not choose you]

She quietly breathed a sigh of relief, secretly delighted—she finally got a message from a male contestant!

See you tomorrow... Who sent it?

The content was obviously from her date for tomorrow, but she couldn’t be sure who it would be.

Would it be the one she hoped for?

She wished for it!

Qi Jiajia’s lips curled in a small, uncontrollable smile as she glanced at the other female contestants.

Soon after, Ye Fangfei’s phone chimed.

She picked it up, expressionless, and saw an anonymous message relayed by the show:

[Got one step closer to you today, I’m very happy]

[Your ex chose you]

Ye Fangfei read the message and sighed silently.

Qi Jiajia happened to catch her expression and noticed she didn’t seem happy about receiving the message, making her curious about its content.

Next, Li Jiayan’s phone vibrated twice.

Her heart nearly leaped into her throat as she discreetly pushed her hair back over her shoulder, elegantly pulling out her phone to check.

[Looking forward to tomorrow’s date]

[Your ex did not choose you]

Li Jiayan raised her eyebrows, pretending nothing had happened as she slipped her phone back into her pocket.

Clearly, the message was from her date for tomorrow, but the content made her uneasy. She suspected that the location she picked tonight might not have matched up with the person she wanted.

Not long after, Chu Yao, sitting next to Li Jiayan, also received a message from the show.

[I hope we can have a private conversation sometime]

[Your ex chose you]

She finished reading, her face briefly clouded with discomfort before quickly returning to normal.

Everyone was chatting casually on the sofa, and Chu Yao soon smoothed her mood and joined the conversation, laughing and smiling as if she hadn’t received any message at all.

Xu Junze watched her quietly, feeling a dull ache in his chest.

Tonight, every female contestant received a message—pretty evenly distributed.

But among the men, things were oddly quiet.

Until suddenly, Zhang Chen’s phone chimed five times in a row, startling everyone.

Zhang Chen hadn’t expected such a rush of messages tonight. He smiled smugly at the group as he pulled out his phone to check.

[Be careful not to get your hand wound wet]

[As a gamer, meeting someone who makes games—isn’t that a new kind of fate?]

[Look at other beauties, don’t just stare at me]

[Wonder if the person showing up for tomorrow’s date will be you]

[Your ex chose you]

Lu Zhou, Wen Yiming, and Xu Junze exchanged silent glances, knowing they probably wouldn’t receive any bedtime messages tonight.

Who would have thought Zhang Chen was so popular?

The men were surprised, and so were the women.

After reading his messages, Zhang Chen couldn’t help but glance at Ye Fangfei.

As expected, the woman he liked was truly extraordinary.

No matter—Zhang Chen liked a challenge!