Chapter 13: Room Assignments

Jiang Mi entered Room C, only to be tackled into a bear hug by an overexcited Lu Yu.

“Mimi! It’s really you—you scared me to death!”

Jiang Mi chuckled, “From the way you’re talking, are you happy it’s me or not?”

Lu Yu grinned brightly. “Of course I’m happy! Gorgeous ladies need to stick together.”

Jiang Mi raised an eyebrow playfully. “I thought you’d be upset I didn’t assign you to a room with a male guest.”

Lu Yu waved her hands frantically, horrified. “No, no, no! We just met—total strangers. I’d be so anxious I wouldn’t sleep a wink if I had to share a room with one of them!”

“So, once you’re familiar, it’s okay?” Jiang Mi teased. “Who caught your eye, Cheng Lin or Fu Li?”

Lu Yu’s pale cheeks instantly flushed bright red. “Mimi, you’re terrible!”

Jiang Mi laughed, “If you think this is bad, wait until you see what else I’ve got up my sleeve.”

[Comment Section]

• “Jiang Mi, stop spreading your charm everywhere!”
• “Why not use those lines on Gu Chuan instead of teasing our sweet Little Taro?”
• “Just came from the other livestream—wow, the contrast is wild!”
• “Poor CEO Cheng must be thinking, ‘I paid to join this show, so why am I suffering like this?'”

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Meanwhile, in another room, the atmosphere was markedly different.

Gu Chuan entered with a slight nod and offered a polite greeting.

Fu Li adjusted his glasses and nodded back in return.

Cheng Lin, however, abandoned any pretense of aloofness and started chatting enthusiastically. “So, looks like it’s just us three guys bunking together tonight. Gu Chuan, your martial arts earlier were incredible! Have you been practicing since you were a kid?”

Gu Chuan replied curtly, “No.”

Cheng Lin gave a sheepish laugh and quickly shifted his attention to Fu Li. “So, Dr. Fu, what made you decide to perform an impromptu dissection today?”

Fu Li’s response was just as brief. “A sudden whim.”

“Oh, I see! Hahaha, I guess I have those too sometimes, hahaha…”

[Comment Section]

• “I feel secondhand embarrassment for my husband Cheng Lin right now.”
• “What’s scarier is that Gu Chuan and Fu Li seem completely unfazed by the awkwardness.”
• “These two are so reserved—how are they supposed to charm the female guests?”
• “With their looks and aura, they’re clearly waiting for the women to make the first move.”
• “Judging by Cheng Lin’s expression, he’s this close to throwing money at them just to get them to talk more.”
• “I’m dying! Cheng Lin is probably realizing for the first time that money can’t solve everything.”

Cheng Lin suddenly remembered something and brightened. “Oh right, my whim wasn’t random—it was inspired by your and Jiang Mi’s quirky introductions earlier!”

Gu Chuan immediately looked up.

Fu Li adjusted his glasses again and smirked. “What a coincidence. Same here.”

Cheng Lin laughed. “Exactly! Mimi’s dog-taming performance left me speechless—so fierce and beautiful.”

Fu Li nodded. “She’s nothing like the rumors.”

“Totally different! I mean, I saw her at a gala last year. Back then, she was so dark and plain-looking. How could she have transformed so much in just one year? Did she get plastic surgery?” Cheng Lin blurted out thoughtlessly.

The lively atmosphere instantly froze, plunging into dead silence.

[Comment Section]

• “Oh no, Cheng Lin really put his foot in it this time.”
• “That escalated quickly. This is going to be messy.”
• “Plastic surgery rumors? Brace for impact.”

Realizing his mistake, Cheng Lin panicked. He hadn’t meant to insult Jiang Mi—he was simply amazed by her transformation. But how could he explain himself now?

“She didn’t have plastic surgery.”

Gu Chuan’s low, magnetic voice cut through the tension like a stabilizing anchor, silencing all malicious speculation.

Cheng Lin lit up as if he’d just spotted his savior. He quickly chimed in, “I knew her when we were kids—she looked like a little porcelain doll back then, just as pretty as she is now.”

Fu Li raised an eyebrow curiously. “You’ve known each other since childhood?”

Gu Chuan’s gaze landed on Cheng Lin, making him slightly nervous.

Cheng Lin chuckled and waved dismissively. “We went to the same kindergarten, but we didn’t attend the same primary school. I moved abroad during middle school, so we lost touch.”

Fu Li adjusted his glasses, his eyes flickering between the two before teasing, “So, you’re childhood sweethearts?”

Cheng Lin, ever candid, confessed, “You know, I kind of regret not thinking about getting a wife back then. Little Mimi was adorable. Wait, let me call my mom and see if we have any kindergarten graduation photos!”

He grabbed his phone, ready to dial, but Gu Chuan suddenly spoke. “She’s afraid of pain. She cries.”

Cheng Lin froze mid-dial. “What?”

Gu Chuan, uncharacteristically patient, elaborated, “She’s very pain-sensitive. Even a needle prick would make her cry. There’s no way she’d get plastic surgery—she wouldn’t dare let anyone cut her face.”

Cheng Lin finally understood. “Oh, got it.”

[Comment Section]

• “Hahaha, the plastic surgery topic was dead and buried, but Gu Chuan just had to dig it up again. King of jealousy strikes again!”
• “Thirty whole words! Who said Gu Chuan doesn’t talk much? Line up and apologize!”
• “This smug little show-off energy is killing me.”

Suddenly, a knock at the door interrupted their banter. The subject of their conversation, Jiang Mi, peeked her exquisitely beautiful face in. “Hey, guys, it’s dinnertime!”

Cheng Lin immediately responded, “Mimi, I’m coming!”

Jiang Mi gave him a polite smile.

Before Cheng Lin could leave, Gu Chuan spoke up again, his deep, magnetic voice carrying a casual invitation. “Would you like to take a look around?”

The room layouts provided by the show were nearly identical, so there was no real reason to “take a look around.”

But an invitation was an invitation, and Jiang Mi obliged, stepping inside. As she moved in, Cheng Lin was left standing awkwardly outside.

Cheng Lin: “…Is this because I didn’t throw enough money around?”

Jiang Mi glanced around the room, noting the arrangements—a large bed and a single bed side by side. Curious, she asked, “How are you three planning to sleep tonight?”

Fu Li adjusted his glasses, his lips curling into a faint smile. “I thought you’d already considered that when assigning rooms.”

Jiang Mi blinked innocently. “To be honest, I only thought about myself and Little Taro.”

Out of nowhere, a low, magnetic voice interjected, “What about her?”

Jiang Mi froze briefly. “Who are you talking about?”

Gu Chuan’s thin lips parted slightly as he clearly enunciated two words: “Lu Yu.”

For a moment, Jiang Mi didn’t know how to feel. Was this the same cold and indifferent villain, Gu Chuan? He’d actually gone out of his way to ask about another girl?