I even held you when you were little

[Guess? Guess my ass.]

[Shuangshuang guessed hers and she lost it, so now she's throwing caution to the wind and guessing at random?]

[I bet she doesn't know anything. Otherwise, she'd have guessed ages ago. Why wait until now?]

"Whose task would you like to guess, Ms. Xie?" Xu Shuangrong asked with a smile.

Xie Mi raised an eyebrow. "Yours first."

"Sure."

Xu Shuangrong looked perfectly composed, a faint smile still on her face.

"Your task was to gaze lovingly into a male guest's eyes for thirty seconds."

Xu Shuangrong's smile vanished.

Wait, how did she guess that?

There hadn't been anyone else in the garden when she gazed into Xiao Jingxi's eyes!

"Sowwy, I happened to see it from upstairs." Xie Mi grinned.

The floor-to-ceiling window in the second-floor study offered a prime viewing spot.

"Correct!"

Director Niu struck the gong again. "The rankings have changed! Ms. Xu is now in last place, and Ms. Xie is second to last!"

[Xie Mi is such a bitch!]

[Wait, what's the commenter above getting so worked up about? Didn't Xu Shuangrong guess first? Your fave gets to guess, but nobody else can?]

[Xu Shuangrong probably didn't expect Xie Mi to have this up her sleeve. Talk about digging your own grave.]

Everyone thought that would be the end of it, but...

"Hold on. I've got more guesses."

Clearly, Xie Mi wasn't satisfied with second-to-last place.

She went straight for a clean sweep.

"Qiu Chengye's task was to tie an apron on a female guest in the kitchen."

Qiu Chengye, who had been gleefully enjoying the show, instantly wiped the toothy grin off his face.

"Liu Woxing's task was to wipe a male guest's sweat three times."

Liu Woxing froze for a moment, then nodded helplessly.

"Xiao Jingxi's task was to go on a one-on-one date with a female guest."

Xiao Jingxi's brows knitted tightly, his expression sour.

"Shen Yeqing's task was to say three cheesy pickup lines to a female guest."

Shen Yeqing's thin lips curved into a knowing smile.

After that performance, Director Niu's jaw hung open. "All... all correct."

Xie Mi raised an eyebrow.

Having read the original novel, she naturally knew everyone's tasks.

As for Shen Yeqing, who had joined at the last minute, his cheesy pickup lines to her had simply been so obvious that she had guessed his.

[Xie Mi is kind of god-tier. I'm not joking.]

[Excuse me? I thought you had one trick up your sleeve, but you had a whole bag of them?]

[I get it now. Xie Mi figured out everyone's tasks ages ago. If Xu Shuangrong hadn't guessed hers and put her in last place, she wouldn't have bothered saying anything.]

[Xu Shuangrong, why did you have to mess with her?!]

[Great. Now nobody's happy.]

Xie Mi was the undisputed winner and got first pick of the rooms.

The villa's rooms were arranged as follows.

There were two luxury single rooms on the third floor, two standard single rooms on the second floor, and two standard double rooms on the first floor.

Xie Mi chose a luxury room without hesitation.

The others, however, faced a dilemma.

A luxury single room should have been the best choice, but with Xie Mi living next door, nobody dared pick the other one.

Xie Mi had been a little unhinged lately. Being her neighbor would really test one's nerves...

So Qiu Chengye chose a second-floor single room, Liu Woxing and Xu Shuangrong shared a first-floor double room, and Xiao Jingxi took the other first-floor double room by himself.

[See? Nobody dares be neighbors with that bitch Xie.]

[That tells you everything about her character. LMAO.]

[So what if she gets the best room? She'll be all alone.]

"Hi."

Shen Yeqing held out his hand to Xie Mi, the tail of one brow lifting slightly. "Looking forward to getting along, new neighbor."

[?????]

[Talk about eating your words the second they leave your mouth.]

[Mr. Shen, what are you thinking?!]

Xie Mi, who had been carrying two suitcases as she prepared to head upstairs, stopped at his words.

She looked at his outstretched hand, thought for a moment, then rested her foot on it.

"My hands are full. Make do."

Shen Yeqing didn't seem remotely put off. "No problem."

[You two...]

[Mr. Shen likes Xie Mi. I saw right through him.]

[I hereby declare the Xie-Shen Donkey Slayers ship officially launched!!]

[Shippers, fool other people if you want, but don't fool yourselves too. Mr. Shen just wants a big room.]

Everyone was busy unpacking, and nobody noticed Xiao Jingxi's rather ugly expression.

He watched Xie Mi and Shen Yeqing head upstairs together, his thoughts unreadable.

A few seconds later, he gave a knowing smile.

That night, Xie Mi received a text from an unknown number.

[Unknown number]: So this is what you're plotting.

[Xie Mi]: ? Who are you?

[Unknown number]: Every time you interact with Shen Yeqing, you do it somewhere I can see. Trying to make me jealous?

[Unknown number]: Your tricks are as childish as ever.

[Xie Mi]: Kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss kiss.

[Unknown number]: ?

[Unknown number]: What do you mean? [! You have been blocked by this user.]

[Unknown number]: ???? [! You have been blocked by this user.]

The next morning, Xiao Jingxi sat on the sofa with dark circles under both eyes and a very sour expression.

[Did Best Actor Xiao not sleep well last night?]

[I saw an old interview where Best Actor Xiao said his packed schedule leaves him very little time to sleep, so he's really good at falling asleep quickly and getting quality sleep. Since he actually slept badly this time, I bet he was nervous about being on the same floor as Shuangshuang!]

[Holy crap, you managed to dig up even that tiny crumb of sweetness. I'm dying over this ship!]

Xu Shuangrong took the initiative to ask after the poorly rested Xiao Jingxi. Touched, he couldn't help lowering his head with a smile, and their little exchange gave the shippers plenty more sweet moments.

The live comments went wild over the ship.

[New material for the supertopic!]

On the very first day the show aired, Weibo supertopics had already been set up for all the ships.

The Xiao Rong CP ranked first in popularity by an overwhelming margin.

Next came Qiu Chengye and Liu Woxing's Star Cheng CP.

Below them were all sorts of bizarre ships with scattered followings. Even combined, their popularity didn't amount to a fraction of the Xiao Rong CP's.

"Look who's here."

As Director Niu spoke, a special guest arrived at the villa.

It was a veteran of the industry, the actor Ruan Feng.

[Wow, even a veteran actor is here. I used to see him on TV all the time as a kid.]

[Ruan Feng must be almost fifty, right? He's still so handsome.]

Ruan Feng had debuted twenty-two years ago without a single scandal and had always enjoyed a good reputation in the industry, so the live comments welcomed him warmly.

"Mr. Ruan! It's been ages!" Xu Shuangrong immediately stepped forward to greet him, afraid of neglecting him.

"It has been ages, Shuangshuang."

Ruan Feng chuckled. "I remember the last time we met was three years ago, wasn't it? You still remember me after all this time. How thoughtful."

"Unlike some people."

His tone shifted. He was still smiling, but his words carried a pointed meaning. "They see me and don't even say hello. As arrogant as ever."

Everyone knew Xie Mi and Ruan Feng had worked together on a drama.

So everyone could guess who Ruan Feng meant.

[Is he talking about Xie Mi?]

[I told you Xie Mi had a rotten character. Even a humble veteran like Ruan Feng can't help calling her out in public.]

[Weren't there rumors about her acting like a diva on set when she worked with Ruan Feng? With him saying this today, that's confirmation.]

[One more scandal for Xie Mi.]

"She's probably forgotten all about me," Ruan Feng said, still chuckling.

What a knife hidden behind a smile.

Ever-polite Xie Mi couldn't stand being wrongfully accused like that. She immediately stood up to set the record straight:

"I haven't forgotten. Not at all."

"I even held you when you were little."