I Really Have to Thank You All

"Hello, Sister Lan!"

Zhou Yun sat on the sofa and made a hugging gesture toward Jiang Lan, who had just returned.

Jiang Lan returned the gesture and smiled. "Hello, good evening, everyone."

The two women giggled together.

Seeing how familiar Jiang Lan and Zhou Yun were with each other, Tang Zhi Chu guessed that they shared a dorm.

If that was the case, then like Chen Si Yang, he had been assigned a single dorm.

"Have you eaten?" Huang Ze Jun asked Jiang Lan.

Jiang Lan glanced toward the kitchen. Yang Jia Xing and Chen Si Yang were still busy in there.

"I've already eaten, but I brought dessert for you all!" As she spoke, Jiang Lan took a box from her bag. Inside were small cakes.

"Wow! Thank you, Sister Lan!"

"You guys go ahead and have fun. I'm going upstairs to put my bag down."

"Alright, then hurry back down once you're done."

After Jiang Lan went upstairs, Huang Ze Jun glanced toward the kitchen, then got up and went upstairs as well.

Only Tang Zhi Chu and Zhou Yun remained in the living room.

"Want some?" Zhou Yun pointed at the cake in her hand.

Tang Zhi Chu shook his head. "I'm full. You have it."

"Even though I'm full too, I still want a taste." As Zhou Yun spoke, she took out a small cake, glanced at Tang Zhi Chu, then stood up.

She wanted to try it, but she did not want to finish an entire piece by herself, so she ran toward the kitchen.

Tang Zhi Chu stretched lazily, the corner of his eye following Zhou Yun as she headed into the kitchen. He was deep in thought.

He had never been able to see through Zhou Yun. Of course, they had barely interacted.

She was too enthusiastic. She treated everyone like that and could chat with anyone.

Yesterday, she had even gone upstairs specifically to tell him that they had saved him some food.

At first, Tang Zhi Chu thought she was simply kind, or perhaps cultivating a perfect persona.

But now it seemed that was not the case. Earlier, she had deliberately taken the seat Yang Jia Xing had saved for Chen Si Yang. That had made it clear that she was interested in Yang Jia Xing.

Looking at it that way, the text Yang Jia Xing had received must have been from Zhou Yun.

Following that logic, Huang Ze Jun had also received a text, and it must have been from Jiang Lan.

Earlier, Zhou Yun had not only stolen the seat, but had also subtly taken a few digs at Huang Ze Jun.

Her words had been delicate. Not only had they torn apart Huang Ze Jun's defense of Chen Si Yang, but they had also expressed agreement with Tang Zhi Chu, since he had been the first to say the food leaned toward lighter flavors.

In other words, those few remarks had pleased Yang Jia Xing, aligned herself with Tang Zhi Chu, and pushed Huang Ze Jun and Chen Si Yang into the same camp.

If Huang Ze Jun figured it out afterward, he would probably have to thank Zhou Yun in his heart. She had mocked him for defending Chen Si Yang, which would earn him points in Chen Si Yang's eyes and was exactly the outcome Huang Ze Jun wanted.

The key was that Yang Jia Xing had not noticed any of those subtle shifts in emotion.

From the moment Zhou Yun stole his seat, Yang Jia Xing had become the most dazzling person at the dining table. When someone was held too high, they saw less.

That also proved Tang Zhi Chu's initial instinct: this show was not as simple as it looked on the surface.

In the kitchen, Zhou Yun held the cake and said pitifully to Chen Si Yang, "Yang Yang, let's share one. I already ate so, so much of the food you made today. If I eat dessert too, I'll gain so much weight, but I just can't resist!"

Chen Si Yang looked up and said helplessly, "Thirty-seventy. I get thirty, you get seventy."

Zhou Yun looked at the cake in her hand, gritted her teeth, and was about to agree when Yang Jia Xing spoke. "How about splitting it into three?"

Chen Si Yang froze. She did not really want to divide it that way.

The kitchen was the place where a Dating Show was most likely to produce pink bubbles, so Chen Si Yang had clear boundaries. She felt that a sweet romance idol drama could not have a Male Lead 2.

The first thing she had done while cleaning up was put on an apron, afraid that Yang Jia Xing would offer to help her with it.

So when she saw Zhou Yun enter the kitchen, she had actually been happy deep down.

Just as Chen Si Yang was mentally convincing herself that three people sharing was fine too, Zhou Yun directly refused. "No. If you want some, you need to eat a whole one. Yang Yang and I are doing thirty-seventy."

Chen Si Yang glanced at Zhou Yun and silently called her a good sister.

Actually, when Zhou Yun stole the seat during dinner earlier, Chen Si Yang had already called her a good sister in her heart.

Zhou Yun first divided one cake thirty-seventy with Chen Si Yang, giving each of them a piece.

After narrowing her eyes and sighing over how delicious it was, she took out another piece and held it directly out to Yang Jia Xing.

As it happened, Yang Jia Xing's hands were occupied with washing dishes.

At that moment, Yang Jia Xing was still in high spirits. From the moment he had returned to the villa and seen Chen Si Yang organize the kitchen so neatly, he had been especially pleased.

It proved that his taste was impeccable. Chen Si Yang was not only beautiful and a public figure with her own halo, but she could cook too. Absolutely perfect, okay?

On top of that, another beautiful and outstanding female guest had openly declared her interest in him during dinner, while he had watched a rival falter and lose face. For Yang Jia Xing, today could not have been any better.

So Yang Jia Xing was feeling rather buoyant.

When he saw Zhou Yun holding out cake to him, he glanced at Chen Si Yang from the corner of his eye.

Yang Jia Xing even felt that he could give Chen Si Yang a little warning.

See? You didn't text me. Tang Zhi Chu is clueless and has no ability, Huang Ze Jun has ability but puts on airs and is a little stupid, while I'm the only one who's completely sincere toward you. Yet your attitude is distant, cold, and vague. I'll show you your brother's charm!

After thinking it over, Yang Jia Xing and Zhou Yun inexplicably met each other's eyes.

Zhou Yun was even bolder than Yang Jia Xing had imagined. She brought the cake straight to his mouth.

"Mm, delicious!" Yang Jia Xing was fed.

Zhou Yun chuckled. "Right? Sister Lan brought it!"

Chen Si Yang's back tightened, and she nearly got goosebumps. I really have to thank you all!

It was still early, so everyone gathered around in the living room.

Huang Ze Jun brought down his guitar, and everyone began talking about music and the artists they liked.

The Chinese Music Scene in this world was similar to the one Tang Zhi Chu had come from. Rock music had swept across the country in the early years, then folk music rose to prominence, before pop music took over.

In every era and under every backdrop, there had been a group of musicians who had achieved greatness alongside the industry.

What were today's top singers like?

Tang Zhi Chu felt they were much the same as in his previous life. The internet had developed too quickly, and almost no one made albums anymore. Even top singers who released one or two singles a year were considered prolific.

Why?

Because one or two singles were enough to make a living, and no one pushed them to do more.

Tang Zhi Chu felt that this logic never changed. When the top people in an industry could not produce anything, it was either because they were too well-fed or because they had become their own bosses.

His thoughts had drifted far away, mainly because he had not spoken much with the others.

Huang Ze Jun and Yang Jia Xing sat on either side of Chen Si Yang. Zhou Yun leaned against Jiang Lan, seemingly still watching the people beside her with interest.

"Roselyn is pretty good too," Huang Ze Jun said. "Especially that song, BLUE. I had it on repeat for a while."

Yang Jia Xing had been the first to bring up foreign singers. He had even glanced at Tang Zhi Chu several times, intentionally or not. Sure enough, Tang Zhi Chu could not join the conversation.

More than half of the people present had studied abroad.

Yang Jia Xing nodded. "I've heard her. She has a good friend named Sandy. I like his music—it leans toward blues. I went to one of his live shows before. The atmosphere was incredible."