Chu Yuanxun had just left when Yuan Qingqing came downstairs in a different outfit.
She worked in early childhood English education and had a naturally approachable aura. Now, with her long, curly hair let down instead of tied up, she exuded an intellectual charm. Dressed in a flowing white dress, she appeared even more alluring.
Before Wan Tong arrived, she had always maintained a pure and innocent image. But now, with delicate makeup applied, it was easy to sense the care she had put into her appearance.
It seemed that Jian Wantong’s presence had indeed put some pressure on her.
As for Jian Wantong, given that she had been the most controversial yet most popular female contestant in the previous season, it was only natural that she was exceptionally beautiful. She was a guqin instructor who had won prestigious awards, and rumor had it that she came from a distinguished literary family. Her aura was undeniably refined.
No matter how you looked at it, Jian Wantong’s persona far outshined Yuan Qingqing’s.
“Hey, where’s Yuanxun?” Yuan Qingqing approached the dining table, a faint fragrance accompanying her.
Everyone present understood immediately, she was here to stake her claim.
Just as Wan Tong was about to respond, Ren Jiameng spoke softly, “He went upstairs to change.”
“Just now, Jian gave Yuanxun an invitation card. The three of you are going out together today,” Maddie chimed in, clearly eager to stir the pot.
Yuan Qingqing’s expression changed instantly. “Oh, really…”
She turned to Want Tong with a seemingly apologetic tone. “That doesn’t seem very fair. We already picked the date location, what if you don’t like it?”
With every ‘you’ and ‘we,’ she was drawing a clear boundary.
She was obviously anxious.
“It’s fine. If I don’t like it, I’ll just come back early,” Wan Tong replied casually.
Yuan Qingqing’s smile stiffened slightly, while Zhong Jiaqi’s gaze toward Wan Tong grew more intrigued. He thought Jian Wantong was an interesting girl.
Before long, Chu Yuanxun came downstairs. He was dressed casually in a simple black hoodie without any logos, his short hair slightly styled, with his bangs swept up just enough to reveal his sharp and handsome features, making him even more attractive.
“Let’s go.” He glanced in Wan Tong’s direction, lifted his chin slightly, then turned and walked out.
Yuan Qingqing, who had been standing between them, was completely ignored.
Wan Tong quickly got up to follow, and under the subtle gazes of the others, Yuan Qingqing also trailed behind.
The show’s production team had arranged a car. Yuan Qingqing went straight to the front passenger seat, while Wantong was about to open the back door when Chu Yuanxun beat her to it.
She looked up at him, and he glanced down at her. “Do you drive?”
“I do.”
“Then you drive.”
“…”
Wan Tong watched as he climbed into the car, finding the situation amusing. What a straight-shooter.
Yuan Qingqing, sitting in the front, looked livid. As Wan Tong took the driver’s seat, the atmosphere grew even more awkward.
For most of the ride, Chu Yuanxun leaned his head slightly downward, as if dozing off. Yuan Qingqing, on the other hand, kept turning around to take pictures of him with a Polaroid camera or snapping selfies, playing the role of a girl deeply in love.
Their date location was an old pedestrian street in the city. Yuan Qingqing, being a local, was familiar with the area and stayed close to Chu Yuanxun, enthusiastically introducing the sights.
At a small artisan shop, she spotted a tiny wooden carving of a girl, no bigger than a thumb, and looked at Chu Yuanxun expectantly. “This is so cute.”
He glanced at it, nodded, then turned his gaze elsewhere.
Yuan Qingqing lowered her eyes, smiling shyly. Just as she was about to test his reaction further, she realized he was already gone.
She froze for a moment, then walked forward to look for him. However, the crowd had grown denser, and no matter how much she searched, she couldn’t spot him.
Meanwhile, Wan Tong stood in front of an elderly artist’s stall, watching quietly as he painted on a small table. Beside him, a young girl around ten years old was struggling to grind ink.
Wan Tong’s Grandpa was a renowned traditional painter, and she, too, had spent time helping him grind ink in her childhood.
The elderly artist finished a portrait of a couple, and after receiving payment, the satisfied customers left.
“Do you know how to paint?” A low voice suddenly sounded from above.
Startled, Wan Tong turned around and met Chu Yuanxun’s deep, dark eyes. Instinctively, she already knew what he was going to say next.
Sure enough, as soon as she nodded, he sat down on the small stool in front of the table. “Paint me.”
The elderly artist chuckled, stroking his white beard, and moved aside to let Wan Tong take over.
More and more passersby stopped to watch. Seeing an attractive pair in such a setting sparked curiosity, and when the young woman started painting with such fluid and skillful strokes, it was clear she had impressive artistic training.
The elderly artist was also amazed. He lightly patted his granddaughter’s shoulder and whispered, “If you practice every day, you’ll be as skilled as this young lady when you grow up.”
“Practicing feels so tedious, but showing off like this looks really cool…” The little girl clasped her hands together in admiration, her earlier frustration forgotten.
As for Wan Tong, she was starting to feel a bit flustered.
Chu Yuanxun sat there lazily, but his gaze remained fixed on her, focused and serious.
She took a steadying breath, forcing herself to stay composed, and quickly finished the portrait.
After exchanging a few words with the elderly artist, who insisted on not taking payment, she had no choice but to respect his wishes. When she turned around, she saw Chu Yuanxun carefully rolling up the portrait and placing it into a tube.
Sensing her gaze, he lazily pointed toward a nearby eatery. “Want to eat something?”
Wan Tong : “…”
“Where’s Yuan Qingqing?” She glanced around, but there was no sign of her, only the filming director remained.
“No idea.” Chu Yuanxun was already scanning the menu on the wall, his focus entirely on food. “What do you want to eat?”
Wan Tong noticed the watch on his wrist and pulled his hand closer to check the time. “It’s only a little past ten… and you’re already hungry?”
Chu Yuanxun’s eyes shifted from the menu to his own arm. Her fair, soft fingers were gently wrapped around his wrist, creating a striking contrast against his tanned skin.
Her touch was light, her skin smooth and cool to the touch, like fine jade.
Chu Yuanxun’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. Suddenly, he had a craving for double-skin milk pudding1.
“Do you want some double-skin milk pudding?” Instead of answering, he asked in a low voice.
“…” Wan Tong paused for a moment before nodding. “Sure.”
The small shop hadn’t opened for the day yet, and the two of them were the first customers. The owner clearly noticed something unusual about them, especially with a camera crew following them, so he was particularly friendly.
After sitting down, Chu Yuanxun downed three glasses of water in quick succession before finally stopping.
The table was small, and they sat facing each other. Chu Yuanxun rested his elbows on the tabletop, his head slightly lowered. Wan Tong felt that if she leaned forward just a little, their heads would touch.
“No Adam’s apple.”
Chu Yuanxun suddenly looked up, catching Wan Tong off guard.
“Huh?”
“The portrait doesn’t have an Adam’s apple,” he repeated.
Wan Tong coughed lightly, took a sip of warm water, and then explained, “There were too many people just now, and I was nervous, so I might have forgotten. Besides, front-facing portraits don’t usually include an Adam’s apple…”
God knows she had barely looked at him while drawing. She had relied entirely on memory. Now, reminded by him, she sneaked a glance at his throat—and felt her fingers go weak around the cup.
So sexy.
Fortunately, Chu Yuanxun didn’t press the matter. Instead, he scooped a spoonful of double-skin milk from the bowl in front of him, his expression calm. Looking at her, he asked, “Do you know how to make double-skin milk?”
Wan Tong hesitated. “…I’ve made it once.”
“Make it for me when we get back.”
“…Okay.”
Her order hadn’t arrived yet, and she eyed the dessert in front of him. Almost unconsciously, she picked up a spoon. “Can I try yours?”
The filming director had always felt that these two got along well, so he was fairly relaxed. But seeing Wan Tong’s action, he immediately gulped.
After all, Chu Yuanxun was never one to share his food. Last time, he had outright embarrassed a female guest because of it.
Just as the director thought the atmosphere was about to be ruined, Chu Yuanxun remained silent, watching Wan Tong’s movements without any sign of rejection or distaste.
His gaze followed as her spoon scooped up the smooth dessert, then to her lips as she took in the soft, milky bite. When her teeth lightly clicked against the spoon, he could even hear the delicate sound…
Lowering his eyes, he took another sip of water.
“It’s pretty good,” Wan Tong commented softly.
“Mm.” Seemingly unfazed, Chu Yuanxun scooped up a large spoonful, including the honeyed red beans on top, and stuffed it into his mouth.
The cool, sweet taste still couldn’t quench the heat in his throat.
The filming director, relieved, was also a little shocked. This episode… had way too many explosive moments.
Chu Yuanxun was really treating Jian Wantong differently.
Yuan Qingqing soon joined them. The three of them went to a restaurant, then spent the afternoon strolling through the streets. By the time they got back to the car, Wan Tong was exhausted.
She was about to get into the driver’s seat when Chu Yuanxun pulled her back and stuffed her into the passenger seat instead.
Yuan Qingqing, already in the back, could only glare at their backs.
As the car started moving, Wan Tong dozed off. Yuan Qingqing tried several times to chat with Chu Yuanxun, attempting to use the last bit of time to build rapport and probe into his relationship with Wan Tong.
But Chu Yuanxun only responded to every third sentence. Finally, he turned and said, “Stop talking, you’ll wake her up.”
It was just a gentle reminder, and he probably didn’t mean anything by it, but Yuan Qingqing’s face still darkened.
In the monitoring room, Zheng Tianqiong took a drag of his cigarette and walked out with his phone.
Without the director’s intimidating presence, hushed whispers broke out.
“I feel like Chu Yuanxun is in trouble. The director looked really pissed.”
“He’s really fallen for Jian Wantong…”
“My XunYuan CP just got locked in and now it’s getting torn apart. Qingqing is really pitiful today…”
“Yeah, what he said was kinda harsh. Qingqing’s eyes were red; she didn’t say a word after that…”
Back at the villa, Wan Tong woke up. The others hadn’t returned yet, so she went to the girls’ room to rest.
Dinner was prepared by Yuan Qingqing and Maddie. Maybe it was because he’d eaten too much earlier, but Chu Yuanxun didn’t eat much.
During the letter-writing segment, Yuan Qingqing approached Wan Tong’s bed and cautiously asked, “Jian, have you finished your letter?”
Wan Tong covered the paper and shook her head. “Not yet.”
Yuan Qingqing nodded, her eyes slightly red, and walked out of the room.
It looked like Wan Tong had bullied her or something.
Maddie and Ren Jiameng exchanged glances but said nothing.
Wan Tong didn’t even need to think to know that Yuan Qingqing was probably putting on a tragic act outside. After all, to others, Wan Tong was the one who had swooped in and broken up a CP, what a shameless move, right?
Around midnight, Maddie came in with four letters, handing two to Wan Tong, one to Yuan Qingqing, and one to Ren Jiameng.
She hadn’t received a letter tonight, but her mood didn’t seem affected. She excitedly leaned over to Wan Tong and asked, “Who’s it from? Can I see?”
Wan Tong hesitated but, under Maddie’s enthusiasm, nodded.
One letter was from Chu Yuanxun : [When are you making double-skin milk?]
“Tsk, such a straight guy.” Maddie sighed.
The other letter was from Zhong Jiaqi : [Your handwriting is beautiful. I hope to get to know you better if I have the chance.]
Simple, yet sincere words.
Just as Yuan Qingqing was about to lean over, Wan Tong had already folded the envelope and walked out.
Her letter to Chu Yuanxun was equally concise, just asking him to meet her on the rooftop after reading it.
She still had the privilege of choosing a male guest for a date, so she had to invite him in person.
But considering his hidden foodie nature, perhaps she should pick a different location.
When Wan Tong arrived at the rooftop, a cool breeze was blowing. There was no filming director who was following, but cameras were present. Chu Yuanxun had been waiting for an unknown amount of time, currently lying on the round table, two strands of stray hair swaying in the wind. Half of his face was illuminated by the soft glow, giving his fair skin an elegant, cool tone. His already exquisite features appeared even more striking.
Wan Tong stepped lightly toward him. Just as she was about to call his name, he reached out and grasped her wrist. His eyelashes trembled slightly before he slowly opened his eyes.
Following his gentle pull, Wan Tong sat beside him on the long bench, her shoulder nearly brushing his arm.
“Why did you fall asleep here? Have you been waiting long?” she asked.
Chu Yuanxun propped himself up on the table, slowly straightening his posture. After letting go of her wrist, he instinctively reached for his water cup.
Only after realizing he was on the rooftop did he rub his eyes and murmur in a slightly hoarse voice, “What time is it?”
“Twelve ten in the morning,” Wan Tong answered, glancing at his watch. A faint smile tugged at her lips, and her shoulder-length black hair swayed lightly in the breeze. The tips occasionally brushed against the corners of her lips, partially obscuring her quiet and enigmatic gaze.
Chu Yuanxun’s dark eyes locked onto her. The howling wind in his ears suddenly felt much gentler. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly before he parted his thin lips and uttered, “I’m hungry.”
Wan Tong: “……”
What a perfect moment for flirting, yet he completely ruined it.
But looking at him like this, it was impossible to be annoyed.
“Shall we go find something to eat?” Wan Tong suggested.
Before her voice had even faded, Chu Yuanxun was already on his feet. “Let’s go.”
Wan Tong hurried to keep up.
With his height and long legs, she had to jog a little just to match his pace.
Somehow, the filming director was already waiting in the restaurant, probably expecting something kind of exciting drama to unfold.
- 双皮奶 (shuāngpínǎi, lit. meaning “double skin milk”) is a popular Chinese dessert. It’s made by heating milk until it forms a skin, then adding more milk along with white eggs and white sugar, and heating it again until the milk forms another skin, hence the name “double skin” milk. It looks like this :
The topping is red bean, but it seems that it doesn’t always have red bean toppings. ↩︎