The evening marked the final dinner arranged by the production team. After tonight, tomorrow would be the day for confessions and departures.
So, this would also be the last letter.
Wan Tong finished writing her letter with ease. Noticing that the others were still struggling, she took her letter and left the room.
After dropping the letter into the box, she heard some noise coming from the activity room, so she walked over to take a look.
Chu Yuanxun was sitting on the carpet with his back to the door, tucking his letter into an envelope. The only sound in the room was the faint rustling of paper.
“Why are you in the activity room?”
“It’s noisy in the dorm,” Chu Yuanxun turned around, leaning against the couch behind him. His fingers casually held an unmarked envelope, his expression relaxed and lazy.
Wan Tong sat down on the couch, curiously eyeing his letter. “You’re done writing?”
“Mm.” Chu Yuanxun braced himself against the coffee table and shifted onto the couch beside her. Then, he shoved the envelope toward her hand. “For you.”
Even sitting down, he was much taller than her. The soft couch tilted slightly toward his side, making her feel like she was sitting closer to him.
“Huh? But isn’t this against the rules…” Wan Tong hesitated, holding the envelope while scooting a little to the side.
“It’s going to end up with you anyway,” Chu Yuanxun didn’t seem to care at all.
Wan Tong: “…” Well, in that case, she’d accept it.
“Are you heading back to B City after this?” she asked, shifting the topic without opening the letter.
The show was filmed in S City. Chu Yuanxun lived in B City, while her family was in G City, though she was often traveling.
Chu Yuanxun nodded. “And you?”
“I’m going home to G City,” Wan Tong replied.
The two cities were over a thousand kilometers apart. Even with today’s convenient transportation, distance still affected many things.
The atmosphere suddenly felt a little heavier.
“How about I make you some double-skin milk pudding?” Wan Tong tilted slightly toward him, her tone rising playfully.
Chu Yuanxun’s eyes lit up a little. He got up and followed her out of the room.
While steaming the double-skin milk pudding, Wan Tong noticed Chu Yuanxun fiddling with the leftover egg yolks, sugar, and milk.
“What are you making?” She leaned in closer. “Are you trying to make flan?”
“Mm.” Chu Yuanxun nodded, his expression unusually focused.
Wan Tong got excited and picked up a mango from the fruit basket. “Then I’ll cut up some mangoes.”
The two worked quietly until Zhong Jiaqi came downstairs in his slippers, shamelessly barging into the kitchen. “What are you guys making now?”
“Flan,” Wan Tong answered simply, contemplating how to cut the large mango in her hand.
Zhong Jiaqi glanced at the ingredients in front of Chu Yuanxun and scoffed, “You think you can make flan with just that? I don’t believe it.”
“And what if I succeed?” Chu Yuanxun looked up at him.
“Then I’ll call you Dad,” Zhong Jiaqi declared confidently.
His little sister used pudding mix to make hers, and Chu Yuanxun didn’t even have that—there was no way this would work, right?
Chu Yuanxun smirked, then placed the knife and mango into Zhong Jiaqi’s hands. “You cut it.”
Zhong Jiaqi froze. “You really know how to order people around.”
Wan Tong stifled a laugh and stayed silent, watching from the side.
When the double-skin pudding milk came out of the steamer, Zhong Jiaqi stared at it, dumbfounded. Then, with a hint of worry, he glanced toward the oven. Crap, was he really about to gain a new Dad?
Chu Yuanxun crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, casting a sidelong glance at him. “Ready to acknowledge your new Dad?”
Hearing his smug tone, Wan Tong couldn’t help but laugh, casting a sympathetic look at Zhong Jiaqi. “Do you need me to step out for the moment?”
“…Can you two tone it down? I can’t handle this level of flirting,” Zhong Jiaqi clutched his chest dramatically and took two exaggerated steps back.
His flattery made Wan Tong both delighted and a little embarrassed.
Chu Yuanxun remained expressionless, but his gaze flicked to the two of them. He placed his water glass down with a soft clink, successfully drawing Wan Tong’s attention back to him.
“Want some water?” he asked.
“Sure.”
Zhong Jiaqi raised his hand. “I want some too!”
Chu Yuanxun ignored him, bringing a glass of water over to Wan Tong, effectively placing himself between her and Zhong Jiaqi.
“Hey… I want one too,” Zhong Jiaqi grumbled, poking Chu Yuanxun’s shoulder.
Chu Yuanxun turned his head, his gaze cold. “Do you not have hands, or do you have an extra one that needs to be cut?”
“…Wow.” Zhong Jiaqi smacked his lips. This guy really wasn’t worried about getting flamed in the final edits of the show?
While waiting for the double-skin milk pudding and flan to cool, Zhong Jiaqi dragged them into a card game of Dou Dizhu. But Chu Yuanxun kept letting Wan Tong win, which frustrated Zhong Jiaqi so much that he threw his cards down and stomped off.
“Stop right there,” Chu Yuanxun called after him.
Zhong Jiaqi turned back sheepishly. “What now, my dear Brother Chu?”
“I’m offering you food. Why are you running?” Chu Yuanxun raised an eyebrow.
“Ahem… I’m just not hungry,” Zhong Jiaqi mumbled. He needed to escape—otherwise, he’d really have to call someone ‘Dad’.
Just as Wan Tong brought out the double-skin milk pudding, Zhong Jiaqi stared at the dessert in her hands and suddenly changed his words, “I need a serving of double-skin pudding to calm my nerves.”
But before he could finish speaking, Chu Yuanxun took the small bowl from Wan Tong’s hands and walked out of the kitchen.
Zhong Jiaqi shouted and followed after him, clearly determined to snatch it back.
Watching the two of them, Wan Tong couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Staying in this house was actually quite fun.
The double-skin milk pudding and flan hadn’t even been eaten yet when Maddie suddenly came downstairs in a panic. “Does anyone have medicine for stomach pain? Qingqing’s having an episode.”
Wantong shook her head. “Is it serious? Should we take her to the hospital?”
“There doesn’t seem to be a medicine box in the house. I can go out and buy some now. If it’s really bad, we should take her straight to the hospital,” Zhong Jiaqi offered enthusiastically.
“She looks pretty bad. Her face is completely pale,” Maddie said.
The three of them followed her back to the girls’ room.
Yuan Qingqing was lying in bed, her face pale, forehead covered in cold sweat. She was curled up under the blanket, looking truly unwell.
“We should take her to the hospital,” Wantong said softly.
“It’s an old issue. I just need to lie down for a bit. You don’t have to worry about me,” Yuan Qingqing murmured, her voice barely audible. Her half-closed eyes were red, making her look incredibly fragile.
“We should still get some medicine first,” Chen Ruohan and Zhou Ke appeared at some point, making the room feel packed.
Wantong noticed that Chu Yuanxun wasn’t there, which she found a bit odd. Just as she was about to go look for him, he walked in from the doorway, carrying a small medical kit. Without a word, he handed it to Maddie.
Madi was stunned for a moment before hearing him say, “There should be something in there that will help her.”
“Where did this come from? Did you bring it?” Ren Jiameng asked curiously.
“A friend stuffed it into my luggage,” Chu Yuanxun replied simply, as an explanation.
“Will this work?” Maddie picked up a bottle of medicine and showed it to Yuan Qingqing.
Yuan Qingqing weakly nodded, her gaze fixed intently on Chu Yuanxun, but she said nothing.
“We’ll head out. You girls take care of her. Let us know if anything happens,” Chen Ruohan said quietly.
“Alright, you guys should go rest,” they responded.
Just as Wantong was about to sit down, Chu Yuanxun reached out and gently tugged at a strand of her hair. When she turned to look at him, he lowered his voice and said, “Come outside.”
Seeing the serious look on his face, Wantong could only follow him out.
Out in the hallway, she finally asked, “What is it?”
After about two seconds, Chu Yuanxun replied in a calm voice, “We haven’t eaten yet.”
Wan Tong: “…”
Of all times, he was still thinking about the untouched double-skin milk pudding and flan?
When they returned to the kitchen, Zhong Jiaqi was just leaving the counter, wiping his mouth. The moment he saw them, he didn’t even greet them, he just made a quick getaway.
Wan Tong had a bad feeling. Sure enough, when she looked over, both bowls were completely empty. Her mouth twitched, and she glanced sideways at Chu Yuanxun.
He, too, was staring at the empty bowls, the corners of his mouth pulled downward. His mood was clearly not great.
“How do you feel?” Wan Tong asked.
Chu Yuanxun replied, enunciating each word carefully, “A bolt from the blue.”
The words successfully amused Wantong, making her laugh so hard she had to cover her mouth.
It took her a while to stop laughing before she said softly, “A’Xun, I’ll make it just for you next time.”
Chu Yuanxun’s throat felt a little dry. He gave a quiet “mm.”
His name had never sounded so nice before.
When Wan Tong returned to the room, Yuan Qingqing was already feeling much better and had even sat up.
“Jian, it’s so strange, there’s no letter from Xiao Chu today,” Maddie leaned over.
Hearing that, Yuan Qingqing’s expression shifted slightly as she looked at them.
Could it be that Chu Yuanxun’s feelings for Jian Wantong had changed?
But the next moment, Wan Tong silently pulled a letter from her pocket.
As everyone stared in surprise, she explained, “He just handed it to me earlier.”
“Xiao Chu is still Xiao Chu, he never disappoints,” Ren Jiameng said with a smile.
Meanwhile, Yuan Qingqing’s face turned from pale to dark.
If they weren’t filming a show right now, she would have lost her temper on the spot.
She had gone through so much trouble to make herself look pitiful, yet Chu Yuanxun hadn’t even glanced at her. She originally wanted to use the medicine as an excuse to get closer to him again, but now, no matter what she did, it would just seem too contrived.
She forced herself to stay calm and leaned back against the bed.
Chu Yuanxun’s letter for today read: “The cotton candy is very sweet.”
Wan Tong placed his letters side by side, unable to hide the smile on her lips.
So, he really was a foodie.
Before the sky even brightened, Wan Tong was woken up by the noise in the room.
Three women were busy dressing up while she remained wrapped in her blanket, watching them for a while before struggling to get up.
Today, the production team would send them to four different locations and let the male guests decide whether or not to confess.
When Wan Tong went downstairs for a drink of water, she was caught by Zheng Tianqiong, who pulled her aside for a private conversation.
“Tongtong, wait for me at the same spot after filming. I’ll pick you up for dinner.”
“But, Uncle, can you get away?”
“I’ll only be gone for half a day. What, is the production team going to turn the world upside down without me?”
“…Alright then.” She had been hoping she could secretly meet up with the boss instead.
“I can tell that Zhong Jiaqi and Chu Yuanxun both have their eyes on you. Tongtong, remember what I said, never trust a man’s sweet words, they’re all lies.”
Zheng Tianqiong warned her seriously.
“Got it, Uncle. I understand, Uncle.” Wan Tong earnestly listened. Only after a long moment did he finally let her go.
But as soon as she stepped into the hall, she ran into Chu Yuanxun coming downstairs.
With a patter of little steps, she dashed straight toward him.
Watching her cheerful figure disappear, Zheng Tianqiong felt a chill in his heart. His little cabbage hadn’t taken his words to heart at all.