Pairing up for random dates

The rich aroma of food immediately wafted toward them.

And when Jiang Lan set the three dishes Wen Zhiyan had cooked on the table, everyone fell completely silent.

The innocent omegas and betas glanced at Qiao Xin's and Pei Du's sour expressions, then huddled over on Jiang Lan's side like quails.

Wen Zhiyan washed his hands and came out of the kitchen carrying several plates.

He said nothing, merely raising a hand to pat Qiao Xin's shoulder as he passed behind her.

Then he handed out the plates and said mildly:

"Let's eat."

But once the plates had been distributed, aside from Qiao Xin and Pei Du, Lin Ziyou was also missing one.

Wen Zhiyan had already sat down by then. He looked at Lin Ziyou and apologized sincerely:

"I must have counted wrong. I'll go get another."

As he spoke, he made a show of getting up.

Lin Ziyou stood before Wen Zhiyan could, smiling without a trace of resentment:

"No need, President Wen. Thanks for all your hard work. I'll get it myself."

Jiang Lan was the first to pick up his chopsticks, taking a piece of spare rib and popping it into his mouth.

He studied Wen Zhiyan's profile beside him, then thoughtfully nudged Wen Zhiyan's calf beneath the table.

Wen Zhiyan turned to look at Jiang Lan. "Is it good?"

Jiang Lan thought of the past again.

He had been poorly off during his school days, and Wen Zhiyan's relationship with the Wen family had been very strained back then. Never mind a young master's life of luxury-even his most basic living expenses for food and drink had been hard to secure.

To take Wen Zhiyan out for a better meal once a week, Jiang Lan had worked quite a few part-time jobs outside of class.

Back then, every time he took Wen Zhiyan to a new restaurant, he would ask with the same eager look Wen Zhiyan wore now:

"Is it good?"

Jiang Lan turned away to look at the food on the table, nodding as he chewed heartily and mumbling:

"Obviously. It's the second-best thing I've eaten in my entire life."

Wen Zhiyan looked at his bulging cheeks.

"What was the best?"

Jiang Lan shook his head. "Nothing."

Seeing that Jiang Lan did not want to say, Wen Zhiyan could only set the matter aside for now, despite his burning curiosity. This was not the right occasion.

He would catch an opportunity another day and make Jiang Lan explain.

At that moment, the long dining table had been divided by the Chu River and Han Boundary.

On one side, seven people crowded together in a lively bustle around three modestly portioned dishes, happily wolfing down the food.

On the other sat Pei Du and Qiao Xin, one clutching a plate and the other a basin, their resentment sky-high and their expressions ferocious.

But only half the viewers in the live chat were paying attention to the food on the table.

The other half had their attention on Jiang Lan and Wen Zhiyan.

[Holy shit!!!!! What an absolute catch President Wen is!!! His cooking looks, smells, and tastes amazing. I'm actually getting hungry watching this!]

[LMAO, are Pei and Qiao Xin here for comic relief or to make President Wen look good? They got utterly crushed this round. A total demolition, you could say.]

[Sure enough, you can't expect too much from these alphas. Apart from President Wen, the other three are all pretty hard to describe.]

[Thank goodness none of them had marketed themselves as the perfect domestic alpha before this, or that image would've shattered so badly even their own mothers wouldn't recognize them.]

[I think there's a story between Lan-ge and President Wen. The atmosphere between them suddenly got so comfortable in the kitchen earlier, and what they said clearly showed they're old acquaintances.]

[Any Sherlocks here able to dig something up?]

[We were already digging all night yesterday, but there's not much information. They went to the same university and had the same major. Lan-ge was a year ahead of President Wen.]

[Huge reveal! University alumni? Doesn't that mean they've known each other for ten years?!]

[But we never heard anything before. Tu Lan has never collaborated with Lan-ge either. It seems like Lan-ge hasn't had much contact with President Wen since his debut.]

[Maybe they're just old acquaintances who weren't that close?]

[I don't think so. There's definitely more to this. I've already imagined a whole melodrama about brothers turning into enemies.]

[They must have been campus celebrities. There might even have been some incredible omega involved. God, the more I think about it, the more excited I get. Who was this lucky O?]

[No way, right? Hasn't Lan-ge always been single? There's never been any news about an ex. Where would this lucky O come from?]

[Sherlocks! Step it up! Keep digging!]

They called it breakfast, but by the time everyone had eaten their fill and finished cleaning up, it was nearly noon.

The production team announced a new task just then.

Pairing up for random dates.

The one person left over could either get another pair's consent to tag along as a third wheel or accept their lot and enjoy some free time at the villa.

"Is the production team out of its mind? This is ridiculous. What if I draw Pei Du? Wouldn't that be rotten luck?"

Qiao Xin found this arrangement extremely unfair.

Fortunately, however, the production team was not actually out of its mind. They gave the omegas and betas the right to draw.

There were only five small envelopes on the little rack the robot wheeled over.

Four of them contained the names of the four alphas present.

The remaining one was blank.

In other words, all four alphas were guaranteed to be chosen for that afternoon's activities, while the person potentially left alone at the villa could only be an omega or a beta.

For fairness, the rules would change next time.

Jiang Lan could not help frowning as he listened to the rules.

Because this meant that, shortly, one lucky little cutie would get to spend an entire pleasant afternoon alone with Wen Zhiyan.

He glanced at Wen Zhiyan, only to find that Wen Zhiyan was not looking at him.

That annoyed Jiang Lan a little. He clicked his tongue and turned away too, fixing his gaze outside the window.

With last night's room draw behind them, those who received envelopes today were already familiar with the procedure.

Tan Duoduo was the first to open her envelope. She held it up and looked at Pei Du.

"Teacher Pei, I look forward to spending time with you."

Pei Du instinctively glanced at Ye Qiunian first, then looked back and said to Tan Duoduo, "You're too kind. Of course."

Seeing this, Ye Qiunian pressed his lips together, became the second to open his envelope, and looked at Jiang Lan.

"This might not be what you wanted, but there's nothing we can do. You'll have to make do."

Jiang Lan had nothing against Ye Qiunian.

On the contrary, he liked dealing with straightforward people like him, who said what they meant. It was neither tiring nor cause to worry about giving offense.

Compared with being drawn by anyone else, being picked by Ye Qiunian was actually the best option for Jiang Lan.

He grinned at Ye Qiunian.

"How could it not be? It's exactly what I wanted."

Yet the moment those words left his mouth, Wen Zhiyan's gaze immediately landed on Jiang Lan's face from the other side.