Chapter Nine: Filming the Romance Reality Show, Part 8

After Fang You finished his fifty reps, he turned to Si Junyan, who chose a dare.

Fang You: "Please randomly choose a woman, carry her bridal-style, spin her around three times, and say, 'I like you.'"

Si Junyan said, "I choose my cooking partner for today, Nan Chu."

He turned to Nan Chu, "Beautiful lady, would you mind cooperating with me?"

Nan Chu replied expressionlessly, "I'm quite heavy; you should choose someone else."

She was afraid that being held might trigger a stress response, and she didn't want to accidentally end up flipping Si Junyan over in self-defense.

"It's fine, I work out. I can definitely lift you without dropping you."

After a minute of silence, Nan Chu nodded. "Alright."

Nan Chu stood up and walked to an open area. She held her body rigid, controlling herself to avoid any overreaction.

Seeing her posture, Si Junyan whispered, "Relax, put your arms around my neck."

Nan Chu loosened her frame slightly, but her heart remained tense. Si Junyan scooped her up, spun her around three times, and leaned in slightly, "I like you."

[Ah, so sweet!]

[I've noticed Nan Chu has great chemistry with everyone. She's a natural at building connections.]

[Nan Chu seems really stiff.]

[I don't think she likes him, which is why I'm not feeling any romantic sparks.]

Once everyone had taken their turn, the game concluded. Following the game, it was time for the daily "heartbeat" text messages.

Nan Chu to Si Junyan: Your cooking is good.
Li Wenya to Nangong Hengmo: Idol, I hope you are happy every day.
Xu Fei to Nangong Hengmo: Looking forward to a date with you.
Zhuo Han to Nangong Hengmo: I hope we can go on a date together.
Sha Mengyuan to Meng Yuan: You look very handsome when you work.
Fang You to Zhuo Han: Had a great time chatting today.
Jiang Han to Nan Chu: I'm unhappy that I didn't get to go on a date with you.
Meng Yuan to Li Wenya: Your smile is lovely.
Nangong Hengmo to Nan Chu: Today's date was very pleasant.
Si Junyan to Nan Chu: Good cooperation, my cooking partner.

With the voting over, the livestream ended for the day. Nan Chu returned to her room, where Zhuang Wenqi sent her a message. Thanks to the truth-or-dare game, she had cleared her name and gained quite a few fans.

After replying, Nan Chu checked online to see if any other girls had come forward to expose Fang You, but she found nothing.

She had messaged those five girls two days ago; logically, they should have responded by now. Nan Chu logged into her secondary account to message them again, only to find she had been blocked. She realized the girls didn't believe her.

This was tricky. It seemed she would have to deal with Fang You directly. Should she cast a spell on him to force him to confess? But would that hurt the five girls? Nan Chu felt conflicted.

After a moment of thought, she posted on Weibo from her secondary account: "Found a guy who is two-timing five women. I messaged the women to warn them, but they don't believe me. What should I do?"

After posting, she turned to her books. Two hours later, she prepared to sleep. Just as she was about to doze off, there was a knock at the door.

Nan Chu opened it to find Li Wenya clutching a pillow, looking embarrassed. "Nan Chu, can I sleep with you? It's thundering outside and I'm a bit scared."

[This thunder is truly terrifying. I hope Nan Chu doesn't refuse me, otherwise I won't be able to sleep all night.]

Hearing Li Wenya's inner thoughts, Nan Chu sighed—the thunder was loud, but they were safe inside. Seeing Li Wenya on the verge of tears, Nan Chu conceded helplessly, "Come in."

"Thank you, Nan Chu," Li Wenya said, entering happily.

Nan Chu had never slept with anyone before and felt a bit uncomfortable, but Li Wenya drifted off quickly. Because someone was beside her, Nan Chu remained in a light sleep all night.

At 5:05 AM, Nan Chu quietly got up. It was still raining heavily, and the forecast predicted rain for the next three days. She wondered what the production team had in store.

After freshening up, she tiptoed downstairs and sat by the glass window, watching the rain. The sound made her drowsy. Jiang Han, who had come downstairs for a drink of water, saw her asleep by the window. The scene looked like a painting, etching itself into his heart.

He went to a room, found a thin blanket, and walked over to drape it over her. The sleeping Nan Chu was startled, opening her eyes with a look of intense vigilance.

It was the first time Jiang Han had seen this side of her, and he frowned slightly. Why did she have such an expression? "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said in a low, magnetic voice. "I just didn't want you to catch a cold. If you're tired, you can sleep a bit more."

It was barely past six; he wondered why she was up so early. The groggy Nan Chu looked into his eyes and, sensing no danger, closed her eyes and fell back asleep.

Jiang Han sat beside her, gently lifting her head from her arms and placing it on his shoulder. Nan Chu startled like a small rabbit, but Jiang Han patted her soothingly. "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." His voice was incredibly comforting, and Nan Chu drifted off again under his gentle touch.

Ten minutes later, Nan Chu was resting her head on Jiang Han’s lap, her hand clutching his tightly. Jiang Han looked at her hand, remembering how they had held hands during the game last night. Her skin was so fair and smooth. Her eyelashes were long, her nose was straight, and her lips were a soft pink.

For the first time, Jiang Han understood the phrase "a feast for the eyes." However, his heart was full of questions: what had happened to make Nan Chu feel so insecure while sleeping? What was in her past? He was desperate to know.

By seven o'clock, the crew was arriving, so Jiang Han woke her up. Nan Chu realized she was lying on his lap, holding his hand, and felt stunned. She had fallen asleep beside someone! Where was her vigilance? This Jiang Han was dangerous—he had somehow managed to lower her guard.

"Still tired?" Jiang Han asked.

"I'm awake." Nan Chu didn't dare look him in the eye and quickly sat up. "Thank you, I'm going back to my room." She practically fled upstairs.

Jiang Han chuckled; she was truly adorable.

Back in her room, Nan Chu couldn't believe she had fallen asleep near a stranger. She had warned herself to stay away from dangerous people—how had it come to this? She reflected on her behavior in deep thought.

When Li Wenya woke up, she saw Nan Chu reading. "Nan Chu, when did you get up? So early."

"A little while ago."

"Thanks for letting me stay last night. I'm going back to my room to tidy up." Li Wenya left.

Nan Chu went back downstairs after eight. Everyone was awake.

"The production team has prepared breakfast. Please take your seats. Male guests on the left, female guests on the right."

When Jiang Han saw Nan Chu sit down, he chose the seat directly opposite her.

After breakfast, the director announced, "Please flip your plates. Guests with the same color are partners for the day."

Nan Chu flipped hers—it was red.