While Zhang Yiran and Jiang Yuan were cooking, the other guests lounged on the large sofa in the villa’s living room.
During the afternoon challenge, Qi Luozhou and Jin Xiaoyu had won a guitar.
As Shao Yuye and Shen Wanwan returned, they heard the pleasant sound of a guitar long before they reached the villa.
Shen Wanwan didn’t know what piece he was playing. She only heard the gentle, flowing melody, which brought a touch of warmth to the cold winter day.
Just as they stepped into the villa, the setting sun streamed through the windowpanes, bathing Qi Luozhou in its golden light.
Dressed in a snow-white sweater, he sat with the light behind him, his silhouette outlined in gold as his nimble fingers danced effortlessly across the strings.
Standing by the doorway, Shen Wanwan was suddenly reminded of the previous night, when he had stood against the light just like this. Wearing the same faint smile, he’d leaned in to kiss her with an unmistakable hint of abandon.
Jin Xiaoyu had completely transformed into a fangirl. Resting her chin in both hands, she gazed at him admiringly, wishing she could pull out her phone and record the whole performance from the front row.
Seeing Jin Xiaoyu’s lovestruck expression, then noticing that even Shen Wanwan seemed captivated by Qi Luozhou, Shao Yuye folded his arms and clicked his tongue.
“He plays pretty well.
“But compared to me, he’s still a bit lacking.”
[HAHAHAHA! Brother Ye, that’s enough!!]
[Brother Ye: No one is allowed to steal my sister’s attention!]
[It’s just guitar! I’ll show you how it’s really done! God Zhou’s guitar is in danger!]
Sure enough, the viewers had guessed correctly.
The moment Qi Luozhou finished his song, Shao Yuye eagerly stepped forward and took the guitar from him.
“What do you want to hear?”
With a casual sweep of his fingers across the strings, a beautiful melody was already flowing out.
Shen Wanwan smiled.
“Anything is fine.”
“Alright.”
Since he’d just boasted so confidently, Shao Yuye deliberately picked an extremely technical showpiece. His goal wasn’t the song itself. It was to create as sharp a contrast as possible with Qi Luozhou’s earlier performance, so everyone could see just how amateurish that ‘little trick to charm young girls’ had been.
Jin Xiaoyu, who had just been happily admiring her idol’s guitar playing: “…”
—Brother Ye, could you tone it down a little?!
—Whenever you’re around your sister, you’re literally like a peacock showing off!
Of course, she only complained silently.
Because after handing the guitar to Shao Yuye, Qi Luozhou naturally walked over and sat beside Shen Wanwan.
Jin Xiaoyu: “!”
She decided it was time for another strategic bathroom escape.
The viewers immediately caught on.
[Xiaoyu ships them too, doesn’t she?!]
[Hahaha, ‘WanZhou’ is simply the easiest couple to ship!]
[Thank you, Xiaoyu! You get the VIP seat at their wedding!]
While Shao Yuye lowered his head to tune the guitar, Shen Wanwan spoke first as Qi Luozhou settled beside her.
“So you can play the guitar too.”
“Just as a hobby.”
Leaning casually against the armrest, one long leg stretched out lazily, Qi Luozhou looked completely relaxed.
“Any song you’d like to hear?”
On the other side, Shao Yuye had already begun playing.
The difficult piece burst forth with fast, lively notes.
Their conversation blended quietly beneath the music.
The livestream audience was once again dying to know what they were saying. Fortunately, the resident ‘Level 10 lip-reading expert’ came to the rescue.
[Wanwan asked if Zhou God can play guitar too. He said it’s just a hobby, then asked if there’s anything she’d like to hear.]
[The way those two looked at each other just now… Brother Ye, are you sure you still want to compete?]
[Seriously… even if you win this contest, what’s the point? Brother Ye, be rational! Honestly, I think you should be more worried about your rival stealing your sister!]
The truth, however, was that among everyone on the show, Shao Yuye trusted Qi Luozhou the most.
His little sister had literally thrown a ‘Scattering Flowers’ prank card at Qi Luozhou. No matter how hard the CP fans tried to force the pairing, the facts were right there. His sister and he were obviously on the same side!
Qi Luozhou was his rival.
Naturally, his sister disliked his rival too!
So from Shao Yuye’s perspective, their conversation was simply his sister showing off to Qi Luozhou.
—She’s saying, “See? My brother’s amazing at guitar, isn’t he?!”
—Tsk.
—See that amused expression on Qi Luozhou’s face?
—He must’ve been left speechless by my sister’s bragging!
Meanwhile, the livestream continued reconstructing the conversation.
[Wanwan asked God Zhou if he can play absolutely any song.]
[He said yes.]
[Then Wanwan said: “Play <Tan Te1>.”]
[HAHAHAHA?! <Tan Te>?! Wanwan, are you serious?!]
[LMAO! The guitar strings are going to smoke from all that rubbing! God Zhou: I shouldn’t have asked.]
[You people don’t get it. Wanwan’s getting revenge for her Brother! She lives to make her Brother’s rival speechless!]
[Are you serious? You’re not secretly Brother Ye’s alt account, are you? Hahaha!]
The moment Shen Wanwan requested <Tan Te>, Qi Luozhou genuinely looked surprised.
She always had a way of unexpectedly saying something no one saw coming.
He chuckled softly, his voice carrying equal parts helplessness and indulgence.
“You really want to hear it?”
Shen Wanwan had only suggested it on a whim.
But seeing his reaction made her even more interested.
“Mhm.”
“Alright.”
The corners of his lips curved upward.
The chat immediately erupted.
[No way… God Zhou actually agreed?!]
[<Tan Te> isn’t something ordinary people can play on guitar! Zhou God, don’t tell me you can actually do this too!]
[Seriously, is there anything you can’t do?]
Once Shao Yuye finished his dazzling performance, he looked thoroughly pleased with himself. He raised his chin provocatively at Qi Luozhou.
“Well?”
Qi Luozhou answered casually,
“It was very good.”
Shao Yuye froze.
If anyone else had said those words, he would’ve thought nothing of it.
But they had come from Qi Luozhou…
—What the hell? Did the sun rise in the west today?
His lifelong rival had actually complimented him!
For a moment, Shao Yuye wondered if he was hallucinating.
Just then, Zhang Yiran and Jiang Yuan carried the dishes out from the kitchen.
“Dinner’s ready!”
Jin Xiaoyu flung the bathroom door open and sprinted straight for the dining table.
“Wowww! Dinner smells amazing!”
Shao Yuye: “…”
Was Qi Luozhou some kind of beast?
Look how hungry he’d left his partner…
[Hahaha! Xiaoyu: I’ve sacrificed way too much for ‘WanZhou’!]
Just then, Bai Ling and Zhang Song returned as well.
Compared to how carefree she’d been before, Bai Ling now looked noticeably more worn out.
It was the first time she’d ever met someone whose way of speaking was so uncannily similar to her own.
To her, today had been nothing short of torture.
Whenever she started feeling tired, she’d habitually ask, “Xiao Song, are you tired? Should we take a break?”
Who would’ve thought Zhang Song was the type who never played by the usual rules?
“I’m not tired,” he replied. “It’s okay, Sister Bai Ling. If you’re tired, then we can take a break.”
Bai Ling was just about to go along with it and say, “Then let’s rest for a bit…”
…when Zhang Song cast a restrained yet yearning glance toward the next level ahead and let out a melancholy sigh.
“*Sigh*… I wonder if we’ll be able to get that PSP today…”
Bai Ling: “…”
After repeated guidance from her management team, she’d worked hard to cultivate the image of someone considerate and easygoing, not the least bit delicate.
Now that Zhang Song had put it that way…
No matter how unwilling she was, she had no choice but to keep going with him!
This day had completely exhausted her.
And even at the dinner table, Zhang Song continued trying his hardest to curry favor with Shen Wanwan.
Bai Ling felt mentally and physically drained.
The meal was utterly tasteless to her.
That night, Shao Yuye once again spread his bedding on the floor of Shen Wanwan’s room.
Her room had a fireplace, making it pleasantly warm.
One sibling lay on the bed while the other lay on the floor, chatting lazily about this and that.
Then Shen Wanwan’s phone chimed.
She turned her head and saw it was a message from Qi Luozhou.
The corners of her lips lifted instinctively, causing her to completely miss her Brother’s casual remark.
“I wonder if we’ll find a second clue packet tomorrow…”
She opened the message.
It was a rather long audio clip.
The guitar melody is so romantic that it makes her unable to stop her lips from curling into a smile.
She texted back: [What’s this?]
Qi Luozhou replied: [<Tan Te (Ballad Version)>.]
“Pfft.”
Shen Wanwan couldn’t hold it in and burst into laughter.
In the years to come, she would probably remember this day forever.
A man who would indulge her ridiculous antics… and still manage to make her laugh.
There probably wouldn’t be a second one like him.
Her fingers danced across the screen as she typed her reply, completely unaware that, beside her, her Brother had quietly poked his head up after hearing her laugh.
Shao Yuye watched as she smiled brightly at her phone.
He had no idea what she’d seen that made her smile so sweetly.
He’d only heard a short piece of music.
As someone who was at least half a musician himself, he recognized the tune immediately.
It was <Love You2>.
Meanwhile, Shen Wanwan’s fingers continued flying across the screen, clearly sending messages.
Shao Yuye’s heart suddenly sank.
He quickly ducked his head back down and began frantically messaging his trusted adviser, Yu Cheng.
Yu Cheng : [?]
Yu Cheng : [I was in the middle of a game, and your message notifications kept vibrating my phone. You made me mess up my controls.]
Yu Cheng : [Alright, what’s so urgent that you had to come running to your dad?]
At this point, Shao Yuye couldn’t even be bothered arguing over the teasing form of address.
His heart pounded wildly.
For some reason, he felt like a thief caught red-handed.
He quietly glanced at Shen Wanwan. Seeing that her attention was entirely on her phone, he cautiously typed:
Shao Yuye : [Hey, let me ask you something. My sister’s been staring at her phone with this goofy smile for two days now. What’s going on?]
He didn’t want to be an overbearing older brother.
Everyone had secrets on their phones.
But he was also an older brother with a healthy dose of curiosity!
Whatever was making her laugh so much, she wasn’t sharing it with him. She was just secretly enjoying it all by herself.
Yu Cheng’s reply came almost immediately.
[Congratulations. Your sister’s got something going on.]
Shao Yuye froze.
[Something going on? What do you mean?]
Yu Cheng : [In short… she’s fallen in love.]
Shao Yuye read those words on the screen over and over again in his head.
—Fallen in love?!
—You’ve got to be kidding me, right?!
- “忐忑” (tǎn tè, meaning “uneasy” or “mentally disturbed”) by Gong Linna, is an unconventional Chinese song with no traditional lyrics, but features a series of vocalizations—hums, sighs, and interjections—that borrow phonetically from Beijing Opera. The music itself blends traditional Chinese musical elements (such as the sheng, bamboo flute, and yangqin) with high-speed, operatic vocal techniques that mimic the timbres of different character archetypes in Peking Opera. The song is as much a visual performance as an auditory one, as it was performed with exaggerated facial expressions and highly theatrical singing. ↩︎
- 爱你 (ài nǐ) by Cyndi Wang. ↩︎