Xie Wanxing never imagined that the production team would spring such a big surprise on him with the last guest.

For a moment, he really wanted to grab the director by the collar and demand, “Why him out of all the people in the entertainment industry? Why Fu Wenshan? What shady deal did you have with him behind the scenes, you bastard!”

But with the corner camera rolling, he couldn’t actually do that.

No matter how much he followed his feelings, he couldn’t ignore the bigger picture.

After sorting out his thoughts, he took a deep breath, lifted his gaze, and activated his acting skills to the fullest, smiling politely as he said to Fu Wenshan, “Welcome.”

Even though he was imagining kicking Fu Wenshan out with one swift motion.

Fu Wenshan released the door handle and walked in. He wasn’t someone who exuded warmth and friendliness, nor did he bother with maintaining a friendly persona. After casually greeting those around him, he chose a seat as far away from Xie Wanxing as possible.

Xie Wanxing tried his best not to look at Fu Wenshan and instead focused on the host.

“Alright, now that all of our members are here, I am your lovely host Han Jiujin. I will be spending the next few days with you,” Han Jiujin stood up from his seat and walked to the center of the room, smiling at everyone, “But sorry, the schedule for the next few days will remain a secret for now.”

Xiao Jia chuckled, “So mysterious?”

“It wouldn’t be fun if I told you now. As you all know, our show doesn’t have a script. It’s all about surprises,” Han Jiujin continued to smile brightly, but there was something sinister in his expression, “But I can secretly reveal that this episode is a summer special, and the production team has prepared some heavyweight surprises for you. Wow, the budget for this one has skyrocketed, it’s really expensive.”

Zhou Ying and Wu Ran squeezed onto a sofa, unable to resist whispering to Wu Ran, “Why do I not feel like this is a good thing?”

Wu Ran patted his head, “Congratulations, you guessed right.”

Based on past experiences, this production team had no conscience.

Han Jiujin added, “But I know everyone’s tired today, so there are no planned activities for tonight. I won’t delay your rest time. Let’s allocate the rooms now. As you can see, this villa is where you’ll be staying for the next four days and five nights.”

Others couldn’t help but express surprise.

Although the program “Unexpected encounter” often featured eccentric projects, it never skimped on accommodations, always arranging stays in star-rated hotels.

While this villa wasn’t particularly bad, the facilities inside were quite basic, even bordering on rudimentary.

Xie Wanxing wasn’t surprised.

He had observed the surroundings when he arrived. Their filming location was in a sparsely populated village, where most houses were quite old. This semi-new villa appeared relatively better in comparison.

However, whether it was his imagination or because it was nighttime when they arrived, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of desolation emanating from the village. It was as if it had been abandoned for years, without any visitors.

Lost in his thoughts, he heard Han Jiujin say—

“In this villa, there are only three rooms for the guests, so you’ll need to pair up. The two ladies will obviously share one room, leaving the four of you. Should we randomly pair you up?”

Xie Wanxing instantly became alert. He decisively turned to Zhou Ying beside him, ready to seize the opportunity.

But at that moment, he saw that Zhou Ying had already grabbed Wu Ran’s hand, like a primary school student, and raised it, saying loudly and obediently, “I’ll room with Wu Ran; after all, we’ve shared a dorm before.”

Wu Ran nodded in agreement, indicating he had no objections.

Xie Wanxing’s face contorted in an instant.

His gaze shifted past Zhou Ying and Wu Ran, landing on Fu Wenshan, whose expression mirrored his own.

“Oh, then the remaining room goes to Xie Wanxing and Fu Wenshan,” Han Jiujin cheerfully announced.

Xie Wanxing bit his lip hard, preventing himself from blurting out profanities.

---

Over half an hour later, after listening to other instructions, all the guests were finally allowed to retrieve their luggage and head to their respective rooms.

Since the three rooms differed in size and location, room assignments were decided by a game of rock-paper-scissors for fairness. Xie Wanxing was feeling utterly dejected, excusing himself with a slight dizziness, so Fu Wenshan went up to play instead.

But luck wasn’t on his side. He lost twice in a row, ending up with the smallest and most rundown room—the attic.

Upon entering, Xie Wanxing couldn’t help but furrow his brows. Although the room was somewhat cramped and old, it had all the necessities. Besides the bed, there was also a separate bathroom and a wardrobe desk.

Xie Wanxing had stayed in less favorable accommodations during filming, so he didn’t see this as a problem.

The real problem was—the room only had one bed.

Sitting on the room’s only chair, Xie Wanxing and Fu Wenshan avoided unpacking, exchanging unfriendly glances.

The production team had the foresight not to install cameras in the room, so both men dropped their façades from earlier. Xie Wanxing wore a poker face, practically engraving “get out of my sight” on his face.

The air was thick with awkward silence for quite some time until Fu Wenshan finally spoke up.

“I had no idea you would come to this show. It was arranged by my agent without my knowledge. If you don’t want to see me, I can request to withdraw from the show right now,” Fu Wenshan explained to Xie Wanxing, “I will communicate with the production team and sort it out, it won’t affect you.”

He never wanted to appear on variety shows in the first place. It was Jiang Han’s crying and pleading that forced him to come, as if he would jump off a building if he refused.

For the sake of peace and quiet, he reluctantly dragged his suitcase out of the house.

But who could have thought, with so many people in the entertainment industry, this show only invited six guests, and coincidentally, there was Xie Wanxing.

Fu Wenshan thought coldly, among all the rumors surrounding him in the industry, the production team managed to grab the only one who had actually slept with him, Xie Wanxing.

This production team indeed had extraordinary talent.

Xie Wanxing scoffed lightly.

He was well aware that the penalty fee for breach of contract by this production team was high, but it wouldn’t be a big deal for either him or Fu Wenshan.

After that awkward parting, he secretly investigated Fu Wenshan. He came from a well-known family background, where anyone could make waves outside. Fu Wenshan was the third child of the family, and as they say, the youngest is always the favorite. True to that, he stubbornly entered the entertainment circle, and surprisingly, no one stopped him.

Xie Wanxing raised his eyebrows slightly. He casually said, “If you just leave like that, who will the production team find to replace you now? So many people are already working on this. Are they supposed to clean up the mess just for you?”

Fu Wenshan also understood in his heart that what Xie Wanxing said was right.

Although he had a bad temper, he didn’t want to cause trouble for anyone.

He asked back, “Then what do you plan to do?”

Xie Wanxing hugged his arms, hesitating for a moment.

If he really acted on his impulse, he would have thrown Fu Wenshan into the river to feed the fish.

Just because of that one night with Fu Wenshan last month, he suffered for two whole days afterward. He even had to lie down to watch TV. In his heart, he cursed Fu Wenshan with every word in the book and secretly contacted a private doctor for a check-up.

But he also understood that the inexplicable encounter, in the end, couldn’t be blamed on anyone.

If you had to say, it was just his bad luck. Being so picky, finding fault with everyone, and not having a single relationship until now, he ended up sleeping with someone like Fu Wenshan because of a drunken mistake.

It was truly unjust, but there was nowhere to voice his grievances.

Seeing him silent, Fu Wenshan asked again, “If you don’t want to delay the progress of the show, I can also go and switch rooms with Zhou Ying. But don’t worry, no matter which room I sleep in, I won’t do anything to you.”

Fu Wenshan shouldn’t have said that. Once he did, Xie Wanxing’s temper was immediately provoked.

He mentally translated what Fu Wenshan said, feeling that Fu Wenshan was indirectly saying he had no charm and wasn’t worth paying attention to.

Once again, he remembered Fu Wenshan’s comment from last time —

“With your experience, why are you still as passive as a dead fish in bed?”

This jerk.

Xie Wanxing’s face turned green.

He sneered, “Do you really think I care about that petty thing from before? I’ve said it before, you’re just one of the many I’ve slept with. If I had to avoid all my ex-lovers, I wouldn’t be able to survive in this circle. It’s no big deal to share a bed with you for three or four days. Once we’re out of the production team’s hands, don’t bother me about taking responsibility for anything.”

Fu Wenshan frowned, “You’re overthinking it.”

With that said, neither of them showed any intention of leaving the room.

The two of them glared at each other without backing down for a while. Fu Wenshan stood up, opened his suitcase from the corner, and took out his toiletries. Xie Wanxing, on the other hand, lazily walked to the bedside, opened a bottle of mineral water, and took a sip.

The two of them reluctantly reached a tacit understanding. Regardless of their thoughts, they would finish this show first.