Stingy

It was already six thirty in the evening when they returned to the villa with the groceries. Everyone carried their bags, large and small, inside.

"Have the rooms still not been assigned?" Shi Zhou asked. "I want to change first."

Yu Manman set her bags down in the entryway and let out a breath.

"I drew a room assignment card in the garden today. It lets me choose a roommate first, so Yu Xi and I are sharing."

Same-sex marriage had long been legal in the interstellar era. Yu Manman and Lin Yuxi were both beautiful, and the moment Yu Manman chose Lin Yuxi as her roommate, fan artists had already started drawing them together.

She must have drawn it while Shi Zhou was off filming his interview.

Still, the initial room assignments weren't that important. No one's romantic interests were clear yet, and the arrangements would change with every subsequent episode anyway.

The guests had only just met. Even though the rooms were suites where they wouldn't get in each other's way, Yu Manman couldn't possibly choose a man.

Zheng Yu had drawn the other card. He shot what looked like a challenging glance at Bai Shen's back and declared, "I choose Asta."

Shi Zhou was surprised. He hadn't expected Zheng Yu, who had been actively pursuing Bai Shen since joining the show, to choose someone else. Instinctively, he looked toward Bai Shen, but all he could see was his handsome profile.

Bai Shen's expression didn't change at all. Once they returned, he went back to sitting on the sofa with his Mindnet, replying to someone's messages.

Asta had just come in carrying his liquor and drinks. He asked with a smile, "Choose me for what?"

A member of the production staff said, "To share a room with."

Asta glanced toward Shi Zhou and the others. After a moment, he smiled. "Whatever. I'm fine rooming with anyone, as long as you don't make me share a bed with him."

"Pfft-" Lin Yuxi was drinking water and couldn't hold back her laughter.

Shi Zhou was laughing hard too. He looked at the staff member. "What about the four of us who are left? Can we choose whatever we want?"

He had a feeling the production team had deliberately arranged for Yu Manman to get that card.

Asta raised the armful of things he was holding, apparently unbothered by their weight. "Hey, hey, hey. That's not fair."

Didn't that make someone who hadn't drawn a card but got chosen anyway the unluckiest of all?

The production team laughed.

If a Dating Reality Show were completely fair and none of you made an effort to fight for what you wanted, what would the audience watch?

You little brat.

The staff member said:

"They get first pick of the rooms too. Now there's one left on the third floor and one on the second."

He looked at Shi Zhou, inviting him to choose which one he wanted.

Living closer together made sparks more likely to fly. Shi Zhou had watched plenty of Dating Reality Shows before coming here. Besides, reaching the third floor involved a small spiral staircase or taking the elevator up and down, which was inconvenient either way.

He was only a bystander here for the drama anyway. Staying a little farther away wouldn't matter.

Shi Zhou didn't hesitate much. "Then I'll take the room on the third floor."

The staff member smiled. "Su Yue chose the third floor."

Shi Zhou froze.

The smile on Xie Jiali's face slowly disappeared. After a long moment, he pressed his lips together and said, "So staying behind instead of going to the supermarket gets you first pick too."

Then he asked Bai Shen beside him, "I wonder if you'd be willing to share a room with me, Mr. Bai."

"No need to be so formal. Anything works for me," Bai Shen said.

He put away his Mindnet, gave Xie Jiali a look with the faintest hint of a smile, and got up to sort out his luggage.

The staff member grew a little flustered under Xie Jiali's gaze. "Uh... we're only staying at this location for three days. The rooms will be reassigned afterward."

Shi Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and went upstairs to change first.

Xie Jiali nodded without saying anything. His expression gave nothing away as he carried the groceries into the kitchen.

Asta suddenly broke into a grin and went off humming to fiddle with his liquor.

The live comments were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

-Wow, this romantic battlefield made me forget to chew the food in my mouth. Take a good look at their expressions. This is only the beginning, tsk, tsk, tsk.

-Production team: Calling him Mr. Bai and pretending you aren't close won't help. You're still sharing a room with him!

-Hahahaha, Jiali, you can't have every good thing to yourself, right?

As soon as Shi Zhou entered the room, the system spoke while no one else was around.

[Zhouzhou, you've completed your introductory missions. You can officially begin the main missions now.]

Shi Zhou turned his attention inward and checked the mission list. The first three or four entries had been checked off. The hardest introductory mission had been passing the interview to join the Dating Reality Show, which had earned him two hundred thousand interstellar credits. The other missions combined had only given him sixty thousand.

Shi Zhou wasn't greedy. He looked at the newly appeared progress bars, labeled "Romance points" and bearing the names of the three male leads. Aside from Asta's bar moving a little, Bai Shen's and Su Yue's hadn't budged.

Shi Zhou asked curiously, "Aren't there any for the other characters in the book?"

The other guests were outstanding too, and knowing what they thought would help him carry out his missions.

[It's not that the others aren't outstanding. They just aren't the protagonists of this book. We only focus on the endings of its three protagonists.]

Shi Zhou nodded to show he understood.

[Don't rush. Take your time. Every time a progress bar reaches a milestone, you'll receive a corresponding reward, and it's guaranteed to be what you need most at that moment.]

There were so many things Shi Zhou wanted. He immediately grew excited.

Now he couldn't just sit back and watch the drama!

With the missions officially underway, he couldn't slack off anymore. He had to work hard.

He grabbed a short-sleeved shirt, changed, and hurried downstairs. With him and the production team working toward the same goal of finding CPs, plus the system's help, how could he lose?

He would definitely find each male lead a CP who loved him and whom he loved in return.

Shi Zhou put his motivation into action and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner for everyone.

In a Dating Reality Show, dinner was a very important part. It revealed all sorts of information, and everyday moments like these were also great for bringing people closer.

When he entered, Xie Jiali was washing fruit. Seeing him, he said, "Have some fruit first. You must be hungry by now."

Shi Zhou picked up a cherry. Its flesh was sweet and tart, bursting with juice.

He was a little thirsty too, and soon found himself eating several in a row, unable to stop. Cherry juice stained his pale pink lips. As his soft, reddened lips parted, the tip of his tongue seemed to flicker into view between his teeth. "Delicious."

Shi Zhou narrowed his eyes and smiled in satisfaction. Noticing Xie Jiali staring intently at him, he thought for a moment, then dutifully added, "It's all thanks to you picking such good ones, Brother Xie."

Little flatterer.

Xie Jiali smiled. "My hands aren't clean. Get me one."

Still eating, Shi Zhou held a cherry by the stem and offered it to Xie Jiali. Xie Jiali ate slowly and carefully, every inch the refined young gentleman. Only after savoring it for a long while did he say:

"It really is delicious."

Just then, Asta came in from outside with several more bottles of liquor he had found somewhere and started looking for a bottle opener. Shi Zhou was peeling shrimp nearby and setting the marinated ribs aside.

He glanced over and asked in puzzlement, "I don't think I saw those bottles in the shopping cart earlier."

Asta said, "I had to buy some base spirits we were missing. There's some red wine in the winery too. It tastes pretty good."

So this Manor even had a winery. Shi Zhou marveled at it. Even when his family had been at its wealthiest, they hadn't lived in such extravagant luxury.

Noticing him glancing over from time to time as he peeled the shrimp, Asta asked, "Want a drink later?"

Shi Zhou was tempted. He was in a good mood, and he asked hesitantly, "Do you have anything with a lower alcohol content? I could have a little."

He had never tasted alcohol before. He had originally planned to try it after starting university.

Asta tossed the bottle opener into the air and caught it again.

So Shi Zhou had never had a drink before?

Everyone in their circle had tried it ages ago. Asta's own family had simply been stricter; plenty of the others had even had children before reaching adulthood.

Unlike him, who had only finally been allowed to date after coming of age.

Shi Zhou really was so different from them.

So well-behaved.

Asta smiled, his voice a little lower than usual. His skin was fair, and the way he opened the bottle was effortlessly stylish.

"No problem. I can mix you something with fruit juice. Give it a try. It's really good."

Dressed in a pale yellow apron, Shi Zhou nodded happily, smiling until his eyes narrowed. See? Good wine was worth the wait.

The sight softened Asta's heart again, but there was something else he couldn't quite describe, something almost uncomfortable-

He suddenly wanted to go out racing or throw some punches, but he couldn't. All he could do was tighten his fingers around the bottle.

It would be even better if he could squeeze Zhouzhou's cheek. He'd be gentle, though.

Xie Jiali helped put things away, then picked up a bottle and looked at it. "This is good liquor, but you should still go easy. The alcohol content is pretty high."

Asta glanced at him, something unreadable lurking in his tawny eyes, along with what seemed like a hint of challenge.

"True-"

He drew out the word, then said unhurriedly, "I remember you bought quite a lot of fruit, Jiali. Some cherries would be perfect."

The box of freshly washed cherries sat right on the kitchen counter, tempting beads of water still clinging to their dark red skins.

But Xie Jiali pointed him toward the largest fruit basket instead, his tone calm.

"There are some in here."

He glanced around, then said regretfully:

"Zhouzhou's cooking, so there isn't enough room in the kitchen for you to mix drinks. If you take it outside, you can share some fruit with everyone too."

His voice was gentle and soft. After speaking, he tore off a paper towel and leisurely wiped each of his long fingers dry.

Asta raised an eyebrow, then tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Stingy.