Jiang Yumiao pulled his sleeves down, left his room, and went downstairs to the dining room to prepare breakfast for everyone.
He was used to living alone and often experimented with different dishes.
With little time to spare, he decided to make sandwiches-quick and easy.
Jiang Yumiao added black pepper and salt to the beaten eggs, then poured them into a heated pan. He laid the sliced toast in the pan so the egg coated it and held it together. Once the egg had set, he folded it over, tucked fried luncheon meat and cheese slices inside, and the sandwiches were done.
Just as Jiang Yumiao finished plating everything, Mu Yunzhi emerged from his room.
The charming, rakish alpha was still one of the most stylish guests on this season's Dating Reality Show. His silver Cartier stud gleamed coldly at his ear, lending him an air of effortless flamboyance.
Seeing Jiang Yumiao standing in the kitchen, Mu Yunzhi paused, then smiled. "Good morning. Did you make breakfast?"
Jiang Yumiao nodded. "I woke up early today. Since no one else was out yet, I went ahead and made it."
Mu Yunzhi walked over. "Thanks for the effort. That outfit really suits you."
A little shy at being complimented by a top designer, Jiang Yumiao handed him a sandwich.
Hearing Mu Yunzhi and Jiang Yumiao talking, An Zhiwan walked out of his room. "That smells amazing!"
The puppy-like young man wore an American retro jacket and casual jeans today, his little curls sticking up, brimming with energy.
"Mr. Jiang made breakfast!" An Zhiwan looked excitedly at the sandwich in Mu Yunzhi's hand, then jogged to the stairs and called up to the second floor, "Come down for breakfast, everyone! Mr. Jiang made us sandwiches!"
After calling out, he turned back toward Jiang Yumiao to get his own portion.
He had only taken two steps when Little An Puppy suddenly froze.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Leng Haiyue, Yu He, and Lin Xu had heard him calling and came downstairs.
Ning Chunchi and Qin Yuan also opened their doors and came out.
At eight thirty in the morning, all eight guests gathered in the dining room again, and a new day of the Love Mailbox livestream officially began.
Seeing Little An Puppy standing dumbstruck in front of the stairs, Yu He patted his broad back. "What are you standing here for?"
He followed An Zhiwan's gaze and froze too.
[!!! Our flop changed his look!]
[Oh my gooooood!]
[Our flop really is a long-haired beauty... That modern Chinese style suits him so well.]
[Still calling him a flop? He'll probably shoot to stardom once this show's over.]
[Should we call him Jiang-Jiang? Yuyu? Three Waters?]
[Call him whatever you want. He's my wife either way!!]
[Yuyu, then. Yuyu sounds so sweet.]
Jiang Yumiao stood tall and graceful, his fitted moon-white Chinese-style shirt outlining his slender waist, as though he exuded a cool fragrance.
Ning Chunchi leaned against the doorframe, quietly watching the omega whose radiance was gradually beginning to show.
He recalled the letter Jiang Yumiao had written him.
Touching the moon...
So that was what he was to Jiang Yumiao.
Having eaten his fill, An Zhiwan said contentedly, "You're such a good cook, Mr. Jiang!"
Lin Xu nodded in agreement.
Jiang Yumiao smiled. "I'm glad you liked it. And please stop calling me Mr. Jiang. I really don't deserve that."
An Zhiwan thought for a moment. "Then how about I call you Brother Jiang? You can just call me Little An."
"Sure, Little An." That was what Jiang Yumiao said aloud, but in his mind, he was thinking of the nickname Little An Puppy.
An Zhiwan really was like a golden retriever, so warm and friendly.
Once everyone was nearly finished eating, Director Yang entered the house with the producers.
Since they were indoors, Director Yang hadn't brought his signature megaphone.
He first looked around, admiring the gathering of attractive guests, then said with satisfaction, "Everyone finished eating? We've got a pretty busy schedule today."
"Today is East Xia Island's island carnival, and all our guests will be heading to the Water Kingdom to join the festivities."
Lin Xu's and An Zhiwan's eyes lit up. They had already heard there was a big event on the island today and had been wondering whether they could find time to check it out.
Director Yang's lips curved. "This counts as the first date of the season's Dating Reality Show!"
Everyone immediately perked up.
"You'll be taking part in the Water Kingdom's attractions in pairs. Each pair must take a check-in photo at a designated spot on each specified attraction. The poses are specified too."
Leng Haiyue asked, "How are we pairing up?"
Director Yang smiled at him, then raised the left hand he had been hiding behind his back. Once again, he was holding a sheet of paper.
"These are the results of last night's letters. They'll determine today's pairings."
Since Love Mailbox was a livestreamed variety show, the traditional Dating Reality Show format of keeping the letter results secret from the guests was already outdated.
With the letters being written live, there was no way to keep the results from the guests. They might as well announce them publicly the very next day, giving everyone a clearer picture of the situation so they could adjust their strategies sooner.
[The first letter results!! The part I've been looking forward to most is here!!]
[The first reveal of every season is always pretty intense.]
[I heard that among the guests who write to each other in the first round of every season, at least one pair usually ends up together.]
Director Yang said, "Guests who wrote to each other last night will automatically form a pair. For those who didn't choose each other, the recipient can decide whether to pair up with the person who wrote to them."
Director Yang glanced at the results on the paper and said in an exaggerated tone, "Why don't you guess who wrote to each other last night?"
Yu He pursed his lips. "Not me, anyway."
An Zhiwan chimed in, "Not me either."
Jiang Yumiao gave a sheepish smile.
[Hahahahahahaha!]
[Did Yu He and An Zhiwan not get any letters? They sound so sure.]
[I'm so curious who they sent theirs to.]
[I originally guessed An Zhiwan and Mu Yunzhi wrote to each other. So they didn't? I was kind of hoping to ship an alpha-alpha couple...]
[Childhood friends really are so shippable!]
Mu Yunzhi glanced at An Zhiwan, his expression unreadable.
Pressed for time, Director Yang stopped drawing out the suspense and said directly, "We had two mutual matches last night."
"The first pair is beta-omega, and the second is alpha-omega." Director Yang smiled at Leng Haiyue and Lin Xu. "Congratulations. You two are automatically paired up."
Lin Xu turned toward Leng Haiyue with a brilliant smile.
His reasoning was simple. Leng Haiyue had chosen him during yesterday's game, but he hadn't chosen Leng Haiyue. Feeling a little guilty, he had written to Director Leng.
Sitting in the corner, Qin Yuan swept a cold glance over them before lowering his head again.
"As for the second pair-you probably all have a pretty good idea."
Everyone looked toward Jiang Yumiao and Ning Chunchi.
Director Yang winked at them. "This makes it the second time you two have chosen each other."
Jiang Yumiao's eyes sparkled like stars, and his lips curved into a smile.
Although the second male lead was terribly unpredictable, he was still Jiang Yumiao's dream man from the novel. Who wouldn't be happy to be paired with their dream man?
And they were going to the Water Kingdom. He already couldn't wait to go have fun.
Ning Chunchi sat on the sofa. Today, he wore a black shirt and yet another watch, looking impossibly expensive.
Watching the smiling omega, he unconsciously tightened his fingers.
Was he really that happy to be paired with him?
He had originally assumed Jiang Yumiao was only approaching him to curry favor, and he hadn't minded playing along.
But he hadn't expected Jiang Yumiao's feelings for him to run so deep.
Ning Chunchi knew he was no kindhearted man. He had always been decisive and efficient, rejecting others without mercy.
He didn't believe in something as illusory as love, and he had never imagined spending the rest of his life hand in hand with anyone.
So when he received the letter and understood Jiang Yumiao's feelings, he first felt an inexplicable pleasure, followed by resistance.
Yet when he thought of eventually having to reject Jiang Yumiao's confession, he found that he had no idea how he would get the words out.
Before you continue