Early the next morning, as soon as Fu Shicang got up, he was summoned by Zhang Mao to the room next door.

“Xiao Fu, I did a quick count of the texts the guests sent last night—guess what I found?”

Fu Shicang’s face was cold, his tone matching it perfectly. “Cut the act. You’re not even professionally trained—your performance is too over the top.”

Director Zhang couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

He was an old hand in the entertainment industry, and one of the first to recognize Fu Shicang’s talent for acting. Over the years, he’d watched Fu’s keen understanding of film and his work ethic with admiration.

Last year, when Fu filmed Qincheng, they’d hit it off so well that Fu had come over for dinner multiple times. Zhang Mao almost treated him like his own nephew, so naturally, he had a soft spot for the boy.

Last night, when the production team saw the heart-throbbing message An Leyan sent to Fu, they were thrilled and forwarded it right away. But Fu sat by the lake until midnight, and when he finally replied this morning, his message read:

“The scenery at Baiyue Forest Beach might be prettier.”

Zhang Mao nearly blew a gasket!

Baiyue Forest Beach was the alternate location for the upcoming weekday shoot. An Leyan said the fountain park was beautiful, and Fu basically replied with “this other place looks better.” That’s as clear a rejection as you could get!

Zhang Mao stared at Fu Shicang in frustration. “Everyone else is sending flirty messages, and you? This isn’t a love note, it’s a cold note!”

But Fu just stood up. “Director, you said to send a message, and I did. The production team didn’t specify what kind. If that’s all, I have work this morning.”

Zhang Mao was so angry he almost spat blood. He grabbed Fu’s arm. “Where do you think you’re going? We waited all night for your reply. We haven’t even forwarded the other guests’ messages to An Leyan yet!”

Fu paused mid-step.

He looked down at Zhang Mao. “Then don’t delay the others on my account. And don’t delay my work either.”

Zhang Mao let go. “Fine. You win.”

Turning to the tech staff, he snapped, “Send them. All four messages we got last night, and add Fu Shicang’s. Send them to An Leyan.”

The staff hesitated. “Director, is this a good idea? Those other texts are heartfelt essays. This one… the contrast is brutal.”

Director Zhang snorted. “Who cares? This is a reality dating show—the more drama, the better! You forget last season’s crying cat meme? Worst case, we give An Leyan a tragic sweetheart edit. His popularity will soar!”

Fu Shicang had already reached the studio door. He didn’t respond, but the words “crying cat meme” echoed in his mind, inexplicably bringing to mind a pair of eyes behind a spray of fireworks.

He frowned and left quickly.

---

Back in the villa, An Leyan was already awake.

He hadn’t slept well. He vaguely remembered Fu Shicang returning in the middle of the night and leaving early in the morning.

He had just finished washing up when his phone buzzed five times in rapid succession.

He looked down in confusion. Was the production phone getting spam?

All five messages came from the same number. He opened one.

“Turns out Leyan is a little money-making genius!”

An Leyan froze—then couldn’t help but laugh.

During dinner last night, Director Zhang had come by to announce the show’s first day of revenue: 2,276 yuan.

“Which means the program will donate 227,600 yuan to Hai City’s special medication research fund—for developing a cure for Wulin disease.”

“Wow!” Nie Changxing had clapped first. “Researching treatment for Wulin disease is top priority right now. My mentor’s lab will benefit from this. I’ll thank you on behalf of my seniors!”

Bai Jingchen had chimed in too. “This is amazing. The Bai family and the Fu family both pour tons of money into Wulin disease research every year. This will really help lighten the load.”

An Leyan had laughed helplessly. “This tiny amount is just a drop in the bucket. You can’t compare it to what the Bai and Fu families contribute. Director…”

He had looked nervously at Zhang Mao. “Is the donation amount going to cause trouble for you?”

“Not at all,” Zhang Mao waved it off. “We settled the accounts in the afternoon and cleared it with the investors. We’ll follow through on all our promises—you don’t need to worry.”

Because of that, dinner had been unusually cheerful. Mu Wei even brought out a bottle of wine. They clinked glasses and somehow turned a bowl of cold noodles into a high-class banquet.

Now, An Leyan smiled as he opened each message one by one—until his fingers paused.

“The scenery at Baiyue Forest Beach might be prettier.”

…What was that supposed to mean?

He tilted his head, opened the message he’d sent last night.

If this exchange had happened between anyone else, it would clearly look like one side flirting and the other flat-out rejecting it.

Could it be… Brother Cang misunderstood?

Did he think I was hitting on him?

An Leyan was stunned.

He had seen Fu Shicang reject someone before.

In a past life, a young man from a partner company—handsome and persistent—had tried to confess to Fu after several business events. Fu had turned him down on the spot, making it clear that if the collaboration was only about personal feelings, there was no need to continue.

No, no, no. That can’t be it. Right?

An Leyan looked at his message again.

There wasn’t anything flirty in it. He clearly just mentioned work.

Unless… it was the line at the end? “Looking forward to working together again”?

Right, Fu Shicang hated service jobs like this. And yesterday, just to get him to help with promo, An Leyan had served him five plates of sandwiches!

Or maybe… it was being recognized by fans at the supermarket?

Ah—he should’ve checked with the crew first before going out. And the groceries they bought hadn’t even been used, plus it put Fu Shicang in an awkward spot.

He really had failed in his duties as an assistant.

Feeling guilty, he drifted out the villa’s back door without thinking.

It had rained lightly the night before. The forest was speckled with bright raindrops, fresh and calming.

He wandered up the stone steps, aimless, and stumbled upon a quaint little pavilion in the backyard.

The pavilion was surrounded by half-height glass panels and shaded by bamboo blinds. Inside, it was surprisingly clean and enclosed.

The floor was covered in soft mats, pillows scattered about. He took off his shoes and stepped in, flopping onto the cushions.

Today’s makeup was even more relaxed. The corners of his eyes had nearly flattened. As he lay there, staring at the ceiling, there was a flicker of confusion and helplessness in his gaze.

“Sigh, feeling heartbroken, huh,” Xiao Li said sympathetically as he watched the surveillance screen. “Getting rejected must feel awful.”

Zhang Mao ground his molars. “This footage should be shown to Fu Shicang! Let’s see if he feels even a shred of guilt!”

“Director Zhang, actually this might be a good thing,” Deputy Director Wang chimed in. “If An Leyan is only focused on Fu Shicang, our dating show will be boring. A little emotional turbulence adds drama and gives the other guests a shot. Otherwise, we won’t even have a love triangle to work with.”

Just then, Xiao Jing suddenly said, “Wait, Fu Shicang hasn’t left? Why is he wandering around the villa?”

On the monitor, Fu Shicang paused after returning to the bedroom.

An Leyan’s usually tidy bed was now messily unmade, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Even after Fu changed his clothes, there was still no sign of him.

As he stepped out of the room, he lingered in the hallway for a few seconds. It was still early, the other rooms were silent—no signs of movement.

Downstairs was equally quiet. He peeked into the gym in the corner, then took a loop through the kitchen.

Time was running short, but he himself didn’t seem to know what exactly he was looking for.

He ended up standing under the back porch for a while. His phone buzzed—his manager’s car had arrived at the villa gate. Only then did he snap out of it, turned, and left in a hurry.

Xiao Jing turned around. “He couldn’t have been looking for An Leyan, right?”

As soon as he said that, he jumped—Zhang Mao was standing right behind him with a murderous expression, which reminded him of the serial killer horror movie he watched last night.

“That’d be best if he was,” Director Zhang squinted his bloodshot eyes from staying up all night. “Deputy Wang is right. Since he’s heartless, don’t blame me for being ruthless. I haven’t even started using my tricks yet!”

After breakfast, the five guests gathered in the living room to hear Zhang Mao explain the dating rules.

“The first date is a test of chemistry, so we’re using a gift-pairing system. First, we’ll determine who’s providing the gifts.”

He pulled out a bouquet of flowers from behind his back like a magician. “Here, pick one each according to your liking.”

The bouquet was colorful but a chaotic mix of various flowers.

The guests hesitated.

The flower colors clashed and none were repeated; it had no aesthetic sense at all. Yin Xin looked away uncomfortably.

Nie Changxing rolled his eyes. This bouquet must’ve been hand-picked by Director Zhang one stem at a time, forcing the florist to bundle it together. Any half-decent florist would never recommend a bouquet like this—unless they were quitting.

Normally, An Leyan would have waited until everyone else picked and taken the last flower. But today he seemed distracted and went straight over to pick a small gardenia tucked at the edge of the bouquet.

The gardenia was small and delicate, giving off a sweet fragrance. The other guests exchanged glances and nodded.

In their eyes, An Leyan was just like that pure white gardenia—clean, innocent, always trying to radiate happiness and warmth.

With An Leyan taking the first step, the rest stopped hesitating—some even rushed to pick.

Mu Wei took a blue iris. Nie Changxing got a purple orchid. Bai Jingchen picked an orange cosmos, while Yin Xin got a red geranium.

The final flower, a pink rose, was left for Fu Shicang, who wasn’t present.

“Are we matching by flower language?” Nie Changxing looked at everyone’s flowers. “Because these don’t really match up!”

Zhang Mao was pleased seeing the handsome men holding flowers and clarified, “No need to overthink it. Just look at the stem lengths—short-stem folks give gifts, long-stem folks pick blind and plan the date.”

The guests: …

Something a few sticks could solve, and he had to go with this flashy flower gimmick. Is this what it means to be a romance show director?

After a brief silence, the guests reached out.

The gift-givers turned out to be An Leyan, Mu Wei, and Nie Changxing.

Seeing the result, Mu Wei let out a sigh, then smiled. “Can I re-pick? I’m broke lately and can’t afford a gift—just let me mooch this once.”

Mu Wei pretending to be poor was probably the biggest joke in the world. Obviously, it was because the person he wanted to date was also a gift-giver.

Zhang Mao laughed and scolded him, “Have you no shame? Careful I kick you off the show and ban all your date opportunities!”

Mu Wei quickly waved his hands and winked at him. “Then… this leftover flower… Fu-ge won’t mind, right?”

“Why do you care about him? None of you are easy to deal with.” Zhang Mao got irritated at the mention of Fu Shicang. “I know some of you still have work to finish, so hurry and wrap it up today. Gift-givers, drop your gifts off next door tonight, and we’ll take care of the packaging.”

“Also, don’t forget there’s a shoot tonight—be back for dinner.”

An Leyan had a promo event for a game to attend, which had been agreed upon before joining the show. The original host had even set two alarms to remind himself—it seemed quite important.

In his past life, he’d worked a few years as a professional cosplayer, so he was very familiar with the scene. Over the past few days, he’d studied the official character info several times and already memorized the role’s traits.

He quickly got dressed and ready to head out.

“Leyan, I’ll drive you!” Mu Wei came down quickly from upstairs.

Mu Wei was driving an off-road jeep already fitted with a selfie cam.

An Leyan naturally took the passenger seat and buckled in, sitting quietly the whole way.

While waiting at a red light, Mu Wei suddenly leaned over, took out a small jewelry box from the glove compartment, and handed it to An Leyan.

“I don’t know what to gift. Since we’re in the same group, help me decide,” he snuck a glance at the boy’s fair profile. “Think this works as a present?”

An Leyan opened the box to find a pair of finely designed diamond cufflinks.

The sunlight streamed through the car window, hitting the cufflinks and making them sparkle.

An Leyan looked at Mu Wei. “These… aren’t real diamonds, right?”

“Nope!” Mu Wei denied quickly. “They’re custom-made by a friend’s studio. What do you think?”

“They look nice,” An Leyan nodded, about to return the box to the glove compartment.

“Keep it,” Mu Wei said, eyes on the blinking countdown timer ahead, but his heart was racing twice as fast. “They’re not worth much. Just take it as today’s consultation fee.”