When to do it, how to do it

At that thought, Song Nianxing hurriedly nodded with two murmured assents, then replied very obediently, "I understand. I'll make sure to give those two some space. Thank you for reminding me, Senior Shen."

They kept their voices very low, but the lavalier microphones clipped to their collars still picked them up for the livestream.

[Oh my, why does our Best Actor Shen suddenly seem a little scheming? The moment he saw Ji Yu flirting with Song Nianxing, he hurried to tell Song Nianxing that Ji Yu had something going on with Qi Huan. He's eliminating a potential romantic rival at lightning speed.]

[Hahaha, a real man nips the "third party" in the bud.]

[Tsk, tsk, see? Even the gentlest, most generous man becomes calculating and petty when it comes to love. Honestly, I really want to see what Shen Siyi looks like when he's jealous.]

Seeing that everyone had more or less finished exchanging greetings, the PD spoke again with a smile:

"I believe I just heard Du Yuesi mention that the rewards and punishments won't be disclosed to one another. That's right. This week, each guest can decide for themselves whether to share the information they know with someone else. This will be a game of emotional strategy between you, and right now, there are two things you need to do."

The PD paused briefly as he spoke, and the staff immediately brought over the familiar tablet props.

"First, choose the person you'll share a tent with tonight. Second, choose your partner for tonight's intimacy task."

"The person you choose to share a tent with tonight will also be your partner for the intimacy task. Now, please make your choices. Remember, if you choose a new guest, you'll need to build a new tent with them. Any guest who fails to choose within ten seconds will automatically be assigned a punishment card!"

As soon as the PD finished speaking, the screen that had just gone dark lit up again, and a countdown starting at "10" appeared prominently before everyone's eyes.

Hearing there was a punishment, coupled with the insistent dinging of the countdown, sent who knew how many of them into a panic.

Under those circumstances, almost everyone chose on instinct.

Only after Song Nianxing tapped submit did he realize he had chosen Shen Siyi almost without thinking.

What Yuan Man and Du Yuesi had said not long ago surfaced in his mind again. Thinking of someone instinctively meant... liking them?

The next second, every guest's choice appeared on the screen.

(Shen Siyi and Song Nianxing successfully chose each other)

(Chen Mingyi and Du Yuesi successfully chose each other)

(Yu Xinyan and Yuan Man successfully chose each other)

(Xu Sui's choice of Yuan Man was unsuccessful)

(Si Bonian's choice of Yu Xinyan was unsuccessful)

(Ji Yu's choice of Shen Siyi was unsuccessful)

(Qi Huan ran out of time)

"Oh dear, I really didn't expect someone to pick up a punishment card before we've even started settling the intimacy tasks."

As he spoke, the PD handed a punishment card to Qi Huan, then continued, "Since our four new guests are unpaired, the four of you will have to choose again."

"I choose Ji Yu," Qi Huan blurted out the moment he took the punishment card.

Ji Yu's eyes widened at that, and a burst of anger shot straight to his head. "You got a punishment card and then chose me? You fucking..."

He gave an angry laugh, then nodded too and looked at the PD. "Fine, so that's how we're playing? I choose Qi Huan too."

Yu Xinyan relaxed a little at that, then smiled and patted Si Bonian on the shoulder. "This works out nicely. Now you can be with Senior Xu. Honestly, why did you choose me? You should've chosen Senior Xu. You don't know him well to begin with, so you should take this opportunity to get closer and be all loving with our senior, right?"

As he spoke, he looked at Xu Sui again. "You too, Senior Xu. Why choose Yuan Man? He's so boring. Si Bonian is fun. Play with him-ptui, no, I mean, spend more time with him. You'll definitely like him!"

Heaven knew his heart had skipped a beat when he saw Xu Sui choose Yuan Man.

His head had been full of thoughts like, Could Xu Sui like Yuan Man? Xu Sui's looks really do fit Yuan Man's tastes.

So now that he saw an opportunity to pair Xu Sui with someone else, he naturally had to recommend it enthusiastically.

Better my buddy suffer than my love.

Ptui! There was no love between him and Yuan Man. He was just used to living with Yuan Man. Right! It was only because he was used to it that he worried he wouldn't adjust if Yuan Man lived with someone else. There was no love involved!

"Are you out of your mind?!" Si Bonian finally couldn't hold back from snapping at him. The instant his eyes met Xu Sui's, he hurriedly turned his head and looked away, as though he had lost the ability to speak.

"All right, tonight's tent-sharing arrangements are settled, then. This time, everyone will have the same intimacy task."

The PD's voice rang out again. He even paused for effect, feigning mystery, before showing everyone the task card in his hand.

(Complete your first "kiss" with "him"/"her" on "Starstruck Moments")

"Mwah!"

The PD had only just finished showing the task card when Chen Mingyi planted a quick kiss directly on Du Yuesi's lips.

"I... we've completed it."

She had only been thinking about finishing the task quickly, but after actually kissing Du Yuesi, she began stammering a little despite herself, and her face grew very, very hot.

Du Yuesi simply froze where she stood. Her clever, scholarly air had vanished entirely, replaced by a blank stare.

Song Nianxing, who was closest to them, was even more dumbfounded by the sight. "I... you two... are you afraid of the punishment, or do you want the reward?"

Even the PD was stunned. It took him quite a while to recover before he finally laughed. "A Little Interesting really is formidable, but the other pairs don't need to rush. You can head to your respective tents to decorate them first. We've prepared plenty of decorations for you, and the new guests also need to hurry and build their tents."

The live comments had clearly been stunned by Chen Mingyi's kiss too.

[Holy crap, who was it who said they'd only believe these two weren't sworn enemies if they kissed on camera? Now they've actually kissed!!]

[Aaaaaah, Du Yuesi's first on-screen kiss was with Chen Mingyi! Chen Mingyi, we in the Si Army will be your haters for life!]

[Aaaaaah, as if ours wasn't a first kiss too! It was Chen Mingyi's first kiss too! Du Yuesi, we in the Yi Family will hate you for life!]

[Actually, the two stars are a couple. It's their fans who are sworn enemies.]

After the PD finished speaking, everyone there began moving about on their own.

Song Nianxing and Shen Siyi chose to make a few strings of shell wind chimes to hang up.

Once they entered the tent, it would truly be an enclosed space for just the two of them. At that thought, Song Nianxing couldn't help pausing as he stepped inside.

He finally worked up the courage to go in, but the moment the flap fell shut, the intimacy task flashed through his mind again despite himself.

Only when Shen Siyi shook a finished string of shell wind chimes before him, making it chime, did he slowly come back to his senses.

The instant he lifted his eyes, he saw Shen Siyi smile faintly at him and say, "Nianxing, have you decided how you want to do the intimacy task? When should we do it? Or... do you want the reward or the punishment?"

Looking at his smile, Song Nianxing was lost in a daze for a moment.

How to do it.

When to do it.

The reward or the punishment.

These seemed to be questions about the show, but to Song Nianxing, they sounded as though Shen Siyi was asking for his response.

But even now, he still didn't know.