"Wen Zhiyan"

The walk to the villa was short, and Jiang Lan's legs were truly long.

The staff struggled to keep up with him, their legs moving nonstop just to barely match his pace.

There were still two prepared questions left unasked when Jiang Lan reached the villa's front door.

The director could only wave a hand to signal the end of the question segment.

Jiang Lan took a deep breath and pushed open the villa's front door.

Yet, unexpectedly, he did not see that familiar figure.

At the center of the villa stood a transparent glass coffee table, and behind it was a cloud sofa long enough to seat at least seven or eight people.

At that moment, four people were already sitting on it.

Hearing someone push the door open, they hurriedly stood and looked toward the entrance.

"Teacher Jiang!"

A petite girl with a ponytail, dressed in a Japanese school uniform, waved at Jiang Lan, her delicate, youthful face full of delighted surprise.

Jiang Lan nodded at her and put on a flawless fake smile.

"Xu Can. What a coincidence."

Xu Can was currently one of the most popular girl group members. Though petite, she had excellent proportions and had once played the female lead in one of Jiang Lan's song albums.

Although they had neither worked together nor communicated since, Xu Can often liked Jiang Lan's Moments posts. Jiang Lan rarely browsed Moments, but whenever he happened to see one of her posts, he would politely return the like.

In short, their acquaintance consisted of exchanging likes.

Before Xu Can could continue exchanging pleasantries with Jiang Lan, someone else greeted him.

"Lan-ge, I never expected you to come too."

The speaker was a boy who was not particularly tall, dressed in the simplest oversized white T-shirt and white shorts, slender, pretty, and thoroughly boyish.

He was looking at Jiang Lan, his eyes full of surprise.

With a boy who looked like this, it hardly took a close look to tell that he was definitely an omega, and not a low-ranking one.

But Jiang Lan failed to remember who the boy was at first.

Only when he saw the heart-shaped birthmark at the boy's T-shirt collar did he suddenly remember him.

Lin Ziyou had taken part in an adventure variety show with Jiang Lan the year before last.

But Jiang Lan had only appeared in one episode as a special guest, so Lin Ziyou had not left much of an impression on him.

Plenty of netizens, however, had started shipping the two of them like mad after that episode.

Lin Ziyou had only recently debuted then, and Ji Wanxing could tell almost at a glance that his team was manipulating things behind the scenes to let him ride Jiang Lan's popularity.

Ji Wanxing had originally wanted to issue a statement telling netizens not to ship every pair they saw.

But the company reminded Ji Wanxing that Lin Ziyou had someone backing him, telling her to turn a blind eye and let it slide rather than make trouble for Jiang Lan.

Only then had Ji Wanxing dropped it.

Fortunately, Lin Ziyou's side had not gone too far, and it had not had any substantial impact on Jiang Lan.

Still, being secretly forced into a pairing for publicity had left Jiang Lan somewhat irritated.

Now, watching Lin Ziyou greet him with such familiarity, Jiang Lan felt so awkward his scalp prickled.

He gave a dry laugh. "No need to be so surprised. There are plenty more things you won't see coming."

Lin Ziyou paused at that, then chuckled. "You still love joking around."

Jiang Lan raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

As for the other two, although Jiang Lan did not know them, their faces were familiar.

One was Pei Du, who had won Best Actor the previous year, an alpha around Jiang Lan's age with rugged features. He was not the strikingly handsome type, but he was still very popular with omegas.

The other was Ye Qiunian, a professional composer with astonishing talent, refined good looks, and a naturally clueless air. There were virtually no rumors about him in the industry, and he was a beta.

As a fellow alpha, Pei Du merely gave Jiang Lan a polite nod, which Jiang Lan returned.

Ye Qiunian showed no particular reaction to seeing Jiang Lan, simply standing somewhat awkwardly beside the sofa in silence.

Jiang Lan looked at the sofas the four had just been sitting on.

One three-seater and two two-seaters.

Xu Can and Pei Du currently occupied a two-seater each, while Ye Qiunian and Lin Ziyou had been sitting at opposite ends of the three-seater.

If Jiang Lan went over now, he would either have to sit between Ye Qiunian and Lin Ziyou or choose between sharing a seat with Pei Du and Xu Can.

Meanwhile, beyond the screen, the viewers were making bold guesses about whom Jiang Lan would choose to sit with.

[I think Pei Du. Everyone's only just met, so wouldn't most people choose to sit with someone of the same sex?]

[Jiang Lan probably doesn't fall under "most people." I think he'll do the opposite and sit with Ye Qiunian!]

[Not necessarily? Jiang Lan seems kind of familiar with Xu Can. Wouldn't sitting with someone of the opposite sex be normal in this situation?]

[Why not Lin Ziyou? I think he and Teacher Jiang look great together.]

[Great together, my ass. What league is Lin Ziyou in, and what league is Lan-ge in? Lin Ziyou's side went crazy with the publicity before. He was obviously riding Lan-ge's popularity. How are they a match?]

[Isn't promoting a ship a mutually beneficial collaboration? Ziyou and Lan-ge are a perfect match!]

[It's only mutually beneficial when they're on equal footing. I haven't seen Lin Ziyou bring Jiang Lan any benefits. You crack-ship fans! Drag them out and behead them!]

Comments raced across the screen, and just as everyone was thoroughly engrossed in arguing, Jiang Lan began to move.

Yet he fulfilled no one's wishes.

Under everyone's astonished gazes, he sat squarely on the coffee table, legs spread, as though it were perfectly natural.

Jiang Lan's attention was not on anyone present.

He was waiting.

Waiting for that familiar figure who had kept him from sleeping peacefully, day and night, for seven years.

Soon, three more people arrived at the villa, each of a different sex, and all with considerable accomplishments and popularity in their respective fields.

Unfortunately, the longer Jiang Lan waited, the more fiercely that mixture of nervousness, anticipation, hatred, and countless indescribable emotions surged within him.

The person he wanted to see did not arrive.

Just as he began to wonder whether his eyes had played tricks on him or he had been hallucinating, the living room lights suddenly went out.

The projection wall directly opposite him lit up instead.

At the same time, a staff member's voice came over the speakers.

"Welcome to 520 South Wind Street, Seahorse City, to join a sweet encounter in this magnificent Romance House.

"Before coming here, some of you may have known each other, while others may never have met. But whether you have met before, or whatever stories you may have shared, none of that matters.

"What matters is that here, you may meet someone who will accompany you for part of your journey, or perhaps for a lifetime.

"And this will be your home for the coming month.

"Shortly, this event will officially begin, and rooms will be assigned to you."

By this point, Jiang Lan's heart had all but become a pool of stagnant water.

Eight people were sitting in the living room.

Two male alphas, one female alpha, two male omegas, one female omega, and two betas, one male and one female.

No matter how he looked at it, it was a perfectly balanced, harmonious mix of sexes for a dating show.

Jiang Lan stared at the glaring white screen, his expression solemn and grim, as though he had come not to a dating show but to a regrettable funeral viewing.

Just as he had lost all interest in and anticipation for the show, the voice over the speakers suddenly continued.

"But before that, we have also invited a special guest to break our existing balance of sexes."

The blank white projection screen flickered, and a man's figure appeared.

He sat on a burgundy armchair, his long legs crossed.

His long fingers were interlaced and rested on his legs, his posture looking very casual.

He wore a royal-blue silk shirt, its collar slightly open, making the smooth, full contours of his chest muscles easy to discern.

His neck was long, and his slightly prominent Adam's apple was outrageously sexy.

With the camera merely trained on his body, it was already clear that, whatever his sex, this man was an exceptionally exquisite specimen in terms of physique alone.

Jiang Lan's breathing grew labored once again.

His eyes remained fixed on the projection screen, his heart racing, yet the camera still did not move any higher.

Instead, the staff member's voice came over those annoying speakers again.

"Each person may ask the special guest one question. Whoever guesses his identity will have first choice of bedroom."

Everyone exchanged glances.

They all worked in entertainment, and the figure on the projection screen was unforgettable, both in physique and bearing.

There were plenty of people with good bodies in the industry, but not many whose proportions looked this beautiful on video.

Soon, Pei Du asked the first question.

"Actor or singer?"

The man on the screen spoke from an angle out of everyone's view, his tone playful.

"Neither."

His voice was low, with a distinctive huskiness that made it very recognizable, and just as sexy as the slight movement of his Adam's apple as he spoke.

Lin Ziyou was clever. His instincts told him the man on the screen was not in the industry, but for the production team to arrange this, he had to have an identity and name people would recognize.

He looked at the screen. "Do you make many public appearances?"

The man spoke again. "Not many. Occasionally."

Xu Can blinked. "How old are you this year?"

"Twenty-eight."

Qiao Xin, the only female alpha present, narrowed her eyes and pondered for a moment. She seemed to have thought of something and was just about to speak when Jiang Lan, who had been silent for so long and had finally found his voice, beat her to it.

"Tu Lan's chief jewelry designer, heir to the Wen Group."

"Wen Zhiyan."