Chapter 54

Room 3 was rough—inside matched outside. One heated kang, one Eight Immortals table, two long benches, and that was it. A washbasin, a kettle, the basics. A little stove off to the side.

"Just one bed?" Pei Xu asked.

"Yep. Just one bed," Hu Ying said.

If she had a little soft spot for Yan Zhi, she had nothing of the sort for Pei Xu.

Ever since she'd chased him out for a run and he'd ditched her, whatever goodwill she'd had toward Pei Xu had evaporated.

"I'm gonna go talk to the Production Team, see if we can switch rooms. How are we supposed to sleep in this?" Hu Ying said, picky as ever.

The room reeked of cologne—way too strong. Pei Xu's brow creased, and he walked right back out.

Hu Ying headed out too, off to negotiate with the Production Team.

"Fair and square," Guo Bing said. "You picked it yourself. Suck it up—it's only two days."

"Is that place even livable? It's like negative a million out here."

"Don't worry, it's totally livable. Light the kang and you'll probably be sweating," Guo Bing said.

"But it's one bed," Hu Ying said. "It's a Love Variety Show. We haven't even figured out our relationship yet and we're supposed to share a bed? Is that appropriate?"

"You're all guys, and there are cameras everywhere—what's inappropriate about it? Our Production Team guys sleep in one big bunk room, and we've got guys like that on our team too," Guo Bing said. "But the kang's big enough, two people fit fine. And besides, Pei Xu's a decent guy."

Hu Ying figured if she kept this up it'd sound like she was worried Pei Xu was going to make a move on her, which would be way too full of herself. Guo Bing clearly wasn't budging, so she dropped it and trudged back to the little house. When she got there, Pei Xu was already tidying up.

The room was so bare there wasn't much to do, but Pei Xu wiped down the table and the kang with disposable face towels.

He adapted pretty fast, actually.

"Production Team won't switch. They said make do," Hu Ying said.

Pei Xu hummed. "Someone's gotta live in it."

Pei Xu was a rich second-generation kid, even more precious than her, and he could deal—so Hu Ying couldn't exactly keep being difficult about it.

They gave the room another once-over. Hu Ying thought Pei Xu had changed quite a bit.

Not as cold as before.

Just quietly working.

It was freezing. His hands were red from the cold, knuckles big and defined, long and strong—looked properly masculine.

Honestly, if Pei Xu's personality weren't so off-putting, he'd be pretty great overall.

Tall, gorgeous, ice-cold guys always get under your skin for no good reason.

Hu Ying was a total sucker for details like that. Experience had taught her: guys with big knuckles and big Adam's apples were never simple.

Everyone knew this season's four blue-side guys had their four absolutes.

Pei Xu's Adam's apple. Yan Zhi's hands. Zhai Xingchen's waist. Huo Cheng's chest.

She snuck a peek at Pei Xu's Adam's apple.

Pronounced, sharp. Absolute perfection.

His complexion was great too—looked full of energy. A cold loner like that was definitely storing up a whole lot of pent-up something.

These were exactly her type before.

Hu Ying figured dating was different after all. When you're actually falling for someone, personality matters more.

Zhai Xingchen didn't have any of that stuff, and she liked him just the same.

Had to be true love, right?

No doubt about it—she really did like Zhai Xingchen.

Hu Ying felt even more sure of her own heart.

Facing a top-tier guy like Pei Xu and still being able to resist the pretty—that was Hu Ying's love, baby!

Man, if only she could soak in the bath with Zhai Xingchen.

She thought pairing Yan Zhi with Zhai Xingchen was such a waste.

A waste of Zhai Xingchen, and a waste of that gorgeous Sento Pool.

Yan Zhi probably can't even take his own clothes off, can he?

Giving him Room 1 was a total waste.

The Live Streaming was split into multiple windows again, just like back during Sea Voyage.

Almost everyone had gone to watch Yan Zhi and Zhai Xingchen.

Two groups were watching Pei Xu and Hu Ying: each of their own fans, and a tiny handful of CP fans.

Ice-cold hottie VS glamorous beauty—this CP had real buzz at the start.

[After watching that Pei Xu and Lin Qingning livestream, I should've learned my lesson and stopped tuning in to grumpy-face guy's stream.]

[All I see is the two of them silently tidying the room. Zero interaction.]

[Hu Ying's such a lively person and she can't even get a rise out of Pei Xu. He's really a lost cause.]

[Can't believe Pei Xu's the first one to drop out. Can we just PASS him?]

[Now I'm thinking that hat thing he did to Zhai Xingchen earlier was just on a whim.]

[Such a shame, really. That face, that body.]

[As one of Pei Xu's fund investors, seeing him like this actually puts my mind at ease.]

[Is Pei Xu's fund actually profitable? Which fund? Anyone got a tip?]

The topic derailed completely into a fund-investor chat. Viewer count kept dropping, little by little.

Even after tidying up, Hu Ying still couldn't stand the sight of the place, so she told Pei Xu, "Let's go check out everyone else's rooms."

They stepped out of Room 3 and ran into Huo Cheng and Wen Nu.

"How's your room?" Huo Cheng asked.

Huo Cheng was starting to find Hu Ying pleasant to look at now.

Misery loves company!

Yan Zhi was their shared rival now!

"Don't even get me started. I've never seen a worse room in my life," Hu Ying said.

Huo Cheng glanced at their Room 3. "Not bad. Pretty similar to the house we used to have."

If he hadn't said it, Hu Ying would've forgotten Huo Cheng came from nothing too.

Now she was finally getting a real sense of how tough Huo Cheng's life had been.

Beyond respect, she found herself liking him a little more.

They hadn't walked a few hundred meters before Room 2 came into view.

Room 2 sat just outside Xiaobeiji, right next to White Jade Lake. Lin Qingning was taking a stroll by the Lake Side.

They went in to check out Room 2. It was clean and cozy. The Snow Mountain and frozen lake were gorgeous too—someone was ice-fishing out on the lake, with a little crowd gathered around watching.

"Where's Duan-ge?" Hu Ying asked.

"He went to the Production Team's place, Ying-Ke-Lai. He's not feeling well—getting an IV."

The Production Team was staying at an inn called Ying-Ke-Lai inside Xiaobeiji, real close to Room 1 where Yan Zhi and Zhai Xingchen were. Duan Yihua was lying in bed with an IV drip, face pale as a sheet.

After leaving the Production Team's place, the group headed straight for the Northernmost Inn.

Zhai Xingchen and Yan Zhi's live stream was blowing up.

Guo Bing and the others were plenty satisfied: "Two of our most popular guests living together—turns out the draw is unreal."

Honestly, Huo Cheng had presence, and Hu Ying and Zhai Xingchen were a good match too, but if you're asking which CP the Production Team was most hyped about, it was still Meteor CP.

The most popular guest in the Red and Blue house paired with the most famous one online—that's a power combo.

They'd just cleaned a room together and the comments were already drowning in pink bubbles.

Zhai Xingchen watched Yan Zhi.

The first thing Yan Zhi did after settling in was clean.

He scrubbed every spot he could reach, even wiped down the bathroom. Zhai Xingchen watched him go at it so seriously, not missing a single corner.

He knew Yan Zhi had serious germaphobia.

He was always easygoing, so he pitched in and helped clean.

Yan Zhi said, "Did I scare you?"

Zhai Xingchen said, "Nah, I know you're a germaphobe."

Yan Zhi said, "Don't feel pressured. Do whatever's comfortable, don't worry about me. My germaphobia is for outsiders, not for you."

[For outsiders, not for you. Tsk tsk.]

[So he's already "inside," huh.]

[Eek, this pair really is the best to ship. What even are Pei Xu and Hu Ying's pairings?!]

Yan Zhi normally didn't let anyone into his bedroom, didn't let anyone clean it either—he handled it himself. He liked the feeling of the whole bedroom belonging only to him, this weird possessiveness—only his traces, only his scent.

Him cleaning so carefully now was because he wanted this room to belong only to him and Zhai Xingchen.

Only their scent. Only their traces.

Even if it was only two short days, he had a little house that belonged to just the two of them.

Zhai Xingchen thought, he knew about the double-standard germaphobia.

All novel male leads were like this.

Except the male lead's double standards were only for his lover, not for some side character like him.

Yan Zhi had a good temper, told him to do whatever was comfortable, but he couldn't actually take it seriously—he had to have some self-awareness.

He looked at Yan Zhi.

Yan Zhi was wearing a white turtleneck sweater, gold-rimmed glasses, fair skin, rosy lips, and hands so gorgeous it was unreal—pale and long, the kind the old poems were talking about.

Felt like those hands holding a rag was a crime against nature.

Such a germaphobe, yet of all things he was the Hibiscus Attacker—and from what he'd heard, the Hibiscus Attacker type was the most hardcore, no holds barred.

Those clean hands might do the dirtiest things. Those pristine lips might kiss—

Ah, stop.

Can't think about this anymore.

Suddenly there was a burst of chatter outside. He heard Hu Ying shout, "Holy shit this house is amazing!!!"

He stood up immediately. "Hu Ying and the others are here."

Yan Zhi said, "Go greet them. Don't let them into the bedroom."

Zhai Xingchen pulled on his Down Jacket. "Okay."

[Don't let them in? Tsk tsk.]

Huo Cheng didn't care about the house.

After going in, he didn't see Zhai Xingchen or Yan Zhi anywhere.

The thought of them possibly being alone in the bedroom right now sent a flare of fire through Huo Cheng's chest.

Fire of jealousy.

If he hadn't stepped into this house, he wouldn't have known jealousy could burn this hot.

"Zhai Xingchen," he called.

Zhai Xingchen came out of the bedroom, still zipping up his Down Jacket.

Pei Xu glanced at Zhai Xingchen.

"What are you guys doing?" Huo Cheng asked.

"Cleaning," Zhai Xingchen said.

"We came to check out your house," Lin Qingning said with a smile.

The group looked around the house.

The inn wasn't big—the northernmost one in the Scenic Area, hence the name Northernmost Inn. Only three rooms total. The Production Team had set them up in the biggest one, with two single beds.

Yan Zhi was mopping the floor, so they just stood at the doorway and peeked in.

Aren't those two beds a little too close together?

Huo Cheng thought.

And Yan Zhi was still mopping—how could they possibly walk in now.

"Xingchen, as his former roommate, let me give you a friendly heads-up—his germaphobia is absolutely unhinged," Huo Cheng said, half-joking, half-serious.

Yan Zhi replied in kind, half-joking, half-serious: "Yep, my germaphobia is legit, so everyone should probably stay out of our room."

[Holy shit! Did you see that shot just now?? Pei Xu!]

[What what what? What about Pei Xu?]

[When Yan Zhi said don't come into our room, Pei Xu made this super disdainful face!]

What do you watch a Love Variety Show for? This kind of subtle shade and micro-expressions!

Everyone got instantly hyped:

[Where where? I already guessed this would be a bloodbath, but my attention's been on Huo Cheng the whole time!]

[Did Pei Xu really make that face? Isn't he always dead-faced?!]

[Everyone was just complaining about Sour-Face Bro, and now look at you all getting excited.]

[It's the tough-love thing—deep down everyone wants to see him get his comeuppance.]

[This type is most satisfying when you absolutely wreck him. Not that we like him or anything, it's just that the face-slap payoff is YYDS!]

[Exactly, he's so cocky—I want to see him get heated, I want to see him so flustered he can't walk straight, I want to see him cry!]

[Holy shit, ya'll are thirsty af.]

Pei Xu wasn't normally as sharp and explosive as Huo Cheng, but maybe the Room Assignment thing had given him a serious sense of crisis. Hearing Yan Zhi's words, he thought coldly:

"Our" room?

Just like me—hasn't even earned the title yet and he's already talking in plurals?

Heh.

He glanced at Huo Cheng and Hu Ying beside him.

Time to teach Yan Zhi a lesson, get his tail back down where it belongs.