Water Float Bed

Director Yang continued announcing the letter results. "Last night, Yu He and An Zhiwan sent their letters to the same guest, but that recipient has already formed a pair, so these two will remain unpaired for now."

Yu He and An Zhiwan looked at each other in shock.

[No wonder they both said they weren't in it. They sent their letters to the same person.]

[Who was it? Who?!]

[Leng Haiyue? A younger puppy-like alpha with an older, steady beta sounds pretty good!]

[Wait, didn't Yu He have his eye on Mu Yunzhi?]

Mu Yunzhi suddenly spoke up. "Who did they send them to?"

Director Yang gestured toward Jiang Yumiao with his chin. "Our very own Teacher Xiao Jiang."

Mu Yunzhi pressed his lips together and nodded.

Jiang Yumiao looked apologetically at Yu He and An Zhiwan. "I didn't expect to receive letters from you two, either. I was really happy when I opened them!"

Yu He smiled at him. "Don't feel pressured. Who knows? Tomorrow I might have my eye on Ning Chunchi instead."

Everyone burst out laughing.

[Hahahahaha!]

[Yu He: player mode activated. Falling for everyone he meets.]

Jiang Yumiao knew Yu He was kindly trying to lighten the mood for him, and he looked at him gratefully.

Director Yang continued, "Qin Yuan sent his letter to Lin Xu. Lin Xu has already formed a pair too, so Qin Yuan will also remain unpaired for now."

Lin Xu was startled. So Qin Yuan had written that string of ellipses last night.

Uh, come to think of it, Qin Yuan really was the only person who would put in that little effort.

Director Yang said, "Now it all comes down to Mu Yunzhi. Mu Yunzhi sent his letter to An Zhiwan. Would you like to pair up with him, Zhiwan?"

An Zhiwan slung an arm around Mu Yunzhi's shoulders. "Of course! He's my bro."

Mu Yunzhi silently glanced at An Zhiwan, his smile strained.

Director Yang said, "OK. If you two are a pair, Yu He and Qin Yuan will automatically be paired together."

Just thinking about going on a date with that iceberg gave Yu He a headache.

Sure, award-winning actor Qin was plenty of people's dream alpha, but in person, you could feel the chill radiating off him from six feet away. Wouldn't going on a date with him freeze you to death?

Next, each pair drew lots to decide which attraction their task would involve.

Jiang Yumiao walked over to Ning Chunchi. "Mr. Ning, do you want to draw, or should I? My... my luck isn't great."

Ning Chunchi said, "It's fine. Go ahead."

Jiang Yumiao drew a balled-up slip of paper from Director Yang.

"Now, everyone, please check your assigned attraction."

Everyone unfolded their slips.

Lin Xu and Leng Haiyue exchanged a look. "We got the Water Kart."

That was a pretty leisurely attraction.

"Holy shit, High-Altitude Rafting!" Yu He exclaimed, holding his slip.

He knew that one. You shot down a glass water slide from high up, much like a roller coaster.

Yu He's face went pale. He was afraid of heights.

An Zhiwan was raring to go. "We got the Jet Ski."

He excelled at thrilling, competitive sports like this.

He nudged Mu Yunzhi with his elbow and winked at him. "Bro, I'll take you for a ride later."

Mu Yunzhi wore a faint, unreadable smile.

Jiang Yumiao read the words on his slip, then silently handed it to the second male lead.

Ning Chunchi took it and understood why he had gone quiet.

They were the only pair who hadn't announced theirs yet. Director Yang looked over. "What about you two?"

Jiang Yumiao cleared his throat and said helplessly, "The Water Float Bed."

[Wow, that's even more laid-back than the Water Kart.]

[Water Float Bed?? Isn't that just sunbathing and sleeping?]

[All I care about is whether they'll be lying on the same bed.]

[Nice. Round it up, and my ship has officially slept together.]

[Wait, you're shipping them already? Weren't you calling that nobody a clingy pest yesterday?!]

Jiang Yumiao had wanted to try some fun, thrilling water attractions, like the Water Skateboard or the Jet Slide.

Yu He looked at Jiang Yumiao enviously. "I really wish I could swap with you."

Jiang Yumiao looked back with equal envy. "So do I. Director Yang, can we swap?"

Director Yang gave another mysterious smile. "Nope. Don't underestimate any of the attractions. A leisurely attraction doesn't necessarily mean an easy task."

The guests boarded the bus and headed for the Water Kingdom on East Xia Island.

After hearing that today's itinerary involved water, Yu He, An Zhiwan, and Lin Xu had changed into clothes suitable for water activities before setting off.

The other guests hadn't changed, and that went double for Jiang Yumiao. Amelia had put so much care into styling him that he had to keep the outfit on.

Still, everyone had brought a change of clothes for after the task, since whatever they were wearing now was bound to get wet.

East Xia Island's Water Kingdom boasted world-class water attractions. It had even invested a fortune in an "Island Snow Mountain" themed area. The High-Altitude Rafting that Yu He would be trying later involved sliding down that tropical snow mountain.

The bus took them to the main entrance, where everyone got off.

Director Yang said, "Now, split up into your pairs and enjoy today's dates! You'll learn the details of your tasks when you reach your assigned attractions. Remember, you can only try the other attractions after completing your task. Otherwise, you'll have to head straight back."

Everyone reacted differently. Puppy-like An Zhiwan smiled confidently, while Lin Xu and Leng Haiyue looked assured. Yu He cast a miserable glance at the iceberg of an award-winning actor, apparently convinced he had come all this way for nothing.

Holding a map of the Water Kingdom, Jiang Yumiao found the leisure area for the Water Float Bed and pointed it out to Ning Chunchi.

Ning Chunchi nodded in acknowledgment, and the two headed toward their destination.

The second male lead didn't say a word the whole way.

Jiang Yumiao felt uneasy.

Yesterday, Ning Chunchi had at least responded gently. Why was he so cold today?

Had the letter I wrote made him uncomfortable?

But it made sense. Professing your love on the very first night you met someone would seem frivolous to anyone.

Jiang Yumiao sighed. He had no choice. It was all for the sake of completing the task.

It never occurred to him that Ning Chunchi was so quiet because he thought Jiang Yumiao's feelings ran too deep and didn't know how to respond.

There were plenty of visitors along the way, all lightly dressed and excitedly enjoying the various attractions.

Ning Chunchi hated noisy environments like this, but he maintained his refined, handsome composure without revealing the slightest disgust.

Several PDs and camera operators accompanied them. Quite a few people took out their phones to film them after spotting the entourage, and some fans had come to the island specifically to see them.

The advantage of a livestreamed variety show was that it had nothing to fear from fans posting footage. They could film all they liked. The show was already broadcasting in high definition and real time, so no amount of fan footage could match the quality of the actual show. Besides, it helped generate buzz.

As long as it didn't disrupt filming, the Production Team generally wouldn't stop them.

When the two reached the Water Float Bed attraction, they spotted the Love Mailbox logo and the Production Team staff from a distance.

Seeing them approach, a staff member handed them an envelope in the same familiar pink heart shape.

"This is the pose you two need to recreate for the shoot."

Jiang Yumiao took it and opened it. Inside was a chibi drawing.

The omega raised his head and gave the staff member a bleak look. "Just to confirm, we have to pose exactly like the people in this drawing?"

"Yes."

"Does it have to be identical?"

"Yes."

Ning Chunchi studied the drawing. Two chibi figures lay side by side on a floating bed. The smaller one lay on his side with his head resting on the other's arm, as though trying to curl his entire body into the other's embrace. Their heads were very close together, their lips almost touching, hovering between intimacy and distance.

Jiang Yumiao gritted his teeth. So that was what Director Yang had meant. These leisurely attractions made it easier for the Production Team to stir up trouble with the poses.

If Qin Yuan and Yu He had drawn this one, the two of them probably would have turned around and left on the spot.

The staff member pointed to the white floating bed in the middle of the pool. "Please get on."