Since the end of the high-altitude rafting marked the start of free time, Yan Feizhuo did not head to the main villa to join the other guests on the main livestream after leaving Sheng Nian's room. Instead, he returned to his own room to deal with work.
[Ah, they say a day apart feels like three years. President Yan's and our precious Sheng Nian's livestreams have been off since they finished high-altitude rafting. It's only been a little while, but I really miss those two.]
[It's free time, after all. President Yan probably went to deal with work.]
[What about our precious Sheng Nian? If you won't let us see President Yan, at least let me see that beautiful baby.]
[Um, I remember the last shot was President Yan touching Sheng Nian's forehead. Is he sick? I'm a little worried!]
[Surely not? He seemed pretty energetic during the rafting.]
[Omegas have very delicate constitutions. Maybe getting soaked made him feel unwell?]
Speculation filled the livestream chat. Viewers were not even in the mood to watch the heartwarming interactions between Jiang Shu and He Gu or Chu Yue and Nie Ge on the main livestream.
He Gu's heart was pounding too, and he was somewhat distracted as he spoke with Jiang Shu.
He had gone back to his room to get something earlier. Passing the second floor, he had noticed an unfamiliar man entering Sheng Nian's room and followed out of curiosity. He had not expected to overhear that Sheng Nian's sensitivity to Pheromones had brought his heat forward.
He clenched his hands. The doctor had said this condition might persist for a long time, requiring medication and pheromone blockers to control it. Otherwise, Sheng Nian's heat could very well erupt. This was a perfect opportunity. He needed to plan carefully how to use it.
"He Gu? He Gu?"
He Gu had been so lost in thought that he had barely heard Jiang Shu. Only after Jiang Shu called twice did he come back to his senses.
"Hm? Sorry, Jiang Shu, what did you just say?"
Jiang Shu frowned and repeated what he had said. "Did you see Sheng Nian when you went back to the villa? Is he still at Evernight Sky?"
He Gu smiled gently. "Sheng Nian's already back. I saw him when I went back to the villa. He might be tired and resting in his room."
Only then did Jiang Shu stop asking about Sheng Nian.
As time passed, the other guests gradually returned.
Soon, it was nearly nine. Seeing that it was almost time, Yan Feizhuo set aside his work and went out.
He went to Sheng Nian's door and knocked, only opening it and entering after hearing Sheng Nian's response.
"How are you feeling? Still uncomfortable?"
Sheng Nian took stock of how he felt and shook his head. "Much better. Is it time? Let's head down."
Yan Feizhuo studied his complexion carefully. He no longer looked as pale as he had that afternoon.
"All right. Get changed. I'll wait outside."
With that, he stepped out like a gentleman.
Sheng Nian quickly changed and came out, and the two headed to the main villa together.
With their arrival, all the guests were present.
The other guests were in the living room of the main villa, sitting in twos and threes and chatting.
Everyone turned to look when they arrived. After all, neither of them had appeared all afternoon, which inevitably made people curious.
Under everyone's gazes, Sheng Nian sat down beside Mo Yuanyuan.
Mo Yuanyuan asked with concern, "Sheng Nian, why didn't you come out all afternoon?"
Sheng Nian whispered in her ear, "I wasn't feeling well, so I didn't come down."
Hearing this, Mo Yuanyuan expressed her concern.
Seeing that everyone was present, Director Ren promptly had the butler serve dinner.
He outlined the upcoming arrangements. "After a full day of filming, you must all be hungry. Eat first, and afterward we'll announce the badge rankings for the first stage."
"Tomorrow, we have individual interviews, the second-stage romantic partner selection, and the draw for the mysterious romance bonuses. There's a lot to do! Eat your fill tonight. The butler specifically asked the kitchen to make soup for everyone."
Sheng Nian did not have much of an appetite that evening. He accepted the soup the butler served and sipped it intermittently.
Jiang Shu watched him with a frown. After that afternoon's incident, Sheng Nian had disappeared for the entire afternoon, and now he had not even glanced at him. Was he still angry?
Sheng Nian felt an intense gaze fixed on him and glanced over out of the corner of his eye. It was Jiang Shu.
He lowered his head, not wanting to look at him lest he receive another OOC warning from the system. He was tired today and did not want to act anymore.
Sheng Nian had a thin blanket Yan Feizhuo had draped over him covering his body. Afraid he would lose control of his expression, he hurriedly issued an order to his useful helper in his mind: [Yan Feizhuo, quick, check whether Jiang Shu's looking at me.]
He ducked out of the camera's view and signaled to Yan Feizhuo with his eyes.
Yan Feizhuo shifted slightly to shield Sheng Nian, raising his head to meet Jiang Shu's gaze with cold eyes.
Seeing Yan Feizhuo's cold look, Jiang Shu frowned. Did he really like Sheng Nian?
He had heard his father talk about Yan Feizhuo. Although he was of their generation in age, his standing was on par with their fathers'. He had influence in both business and politics and was ruthless in his methods. How could someone like that genuinely like Sheng Nian?
He frowned, but ultimately could not withstand Yan Feizhuo's imposing presence and background. He turned away and stopped looking at Sheng Nian.
[Aaaaaah, sparks were flying in that exchange of looks!]
[I have to say, President Yan really is a top-tier Alpha. That presence is terrifying. I wouldn't dare meet his eyes even once.]
[I'm getting hooked. The more I watch, the more I like shipping Shengyan.]
[Our precious Sheng Nian's still obediently drinking his soup. He has no idea two Alphas were just shooting sparks over him.]
After Jiang Shu turned away, Yan Feizhuo lowered his head to "report his victory" to Sheng Nian. "All clear."
Sheng Nian lifted his head in relief, and the little figure in the transparent bubble gave Yan Feizhuo a thumbs-up.
After the guests finished dinner, it was time to announce the badge rankings for this stage.
Director Ren first took out his cue cards and gave the sponsors the customary thanks before getting to the point.
"After two days of fierce competition, our 'Heart-fluttering Stage' is about to draw to a close. Let's take a look at each team's badge ranking!"
After all that effort, Sheng Nian did care somewhat about their ranking, so he immediately perked up to listen to the director.
Everyone held their breath, but Director Ren abruptly changed tack. "Why don't we start with last place?"
Everyone: "..."
"Hehe! There may be no punishment for last place, but we can still laugh at him!"
[Oh no! From the posts online, it looks like our Mumu came last!]
[T﹏T He's already single and has no partner. Can't you spare him the mockery?]
[Can't be helped. Mumu's too much of a gentleman. He had several chances to sabotage the pairs' tasks, but gave them all up, saying he'd rather tear down a temple than ruin a marriage.]
[What the hell do you mean, rather tear down a temple than ruin a marriage? I declare Mu Ran the Production Team's real matchmaker!]
As Mu Ran had a sinking feeling, Director Ren mercilessly announced his name. "In last place is Mu Ran!"
"Oh dear, let me see. Only fifteen badges! That's not even half as many as first place."
Hearing his name, Mu Ran actually felt a strange sense of reassurance that it was just as he had expected.
"You'll have to work harder next stage, or I might introduce a punishment for last place to motivate you all."
Mu Ran said, "Have a heart!"
Seeing how even the usually gentle and refined Best Actor Mu had lost his composure under the director's torment, Sheng Nian felt that Director Ren was an absolute little demon.
Director Ren said, "All right, that concludes the humiliation segment."
[So you know it's a humiliation segment!!!]
[Ren Tao, you're only picking on Mu Ran because he's nice. Oh, wait, his fans are nice too. No wonder they say nice people get pushed around.]
[Sorry, Mu Ran. You're a pushover, and so are we...]
[I'm dying. Does this count as fans taking after their idol in a different way?]
"All right, next we'll announce the top three."
Director Ren took out a cue card, smiling inscrutably. "Things are very different from the first day. It seems today's badge-stealing stage really was intense."
"We'll announce third place first. In third place is..."
"Jiang Shu and He Gu's team! Congratulations on coming third. You'll get to draw one mysterious romance bonus!"
[Jiang Shu's team worked that hard? They actually made the top three.]
[Didn't they say they were just friends? Why work so hard?]
[I'm curious. They said earlier that the top three would get mysterious romance bonuses, but what exactly are those?]
[We should find out soon. Maybe little props that help couples grow closer?]
[Hurry up, hurry up! I want to know who came first and second.]
[There's actually already a post compiling the data and spoiling the results, but I'm still so nervous! That sly fox Ren really knows how to build suspense.]
Once third place was announced, everyone was curious about who had come first and second.
"Excellent. Now only first and second place remain."
"The Shengyan Group performed brilliantly today. Their badge count has already put them in the top three, while Tang Jiang also worked very hard to maintain her lead."
"So, which of these two teams will take first place?"
Sheng Nian glanced at Tang Jiang, feeling a little nervous too. He did not know why, but he kept feeling that if Tang Jiang came first, he would suffer for it.
The director raised his voice. "Let's congratulate-Tang Jiang!"
Tang Jiang smiled brightly and boldly. "Oh dear, what can I say? First place is mine, little Sheng Nian."
Hearing her address him, Sheng Nian had an ominous feeling.
Director Ren continued, "Naturally, the Shengyan Group takes second place. The gap between them was very small, though. Tang Jiang has thirty-nine badges, while the Shengyan Group has thirty-eight. Tang Jiang has just one more badge than the Shengyan Group."
"Congratulations to both teams on getting to draw a mysterious romance bonus. Tang Jiang can also exercise the 'single dog privilege' in the next stage's romantic partner selection-choosing her own partner for the next stage, or choosing any two guests to form a couple."
Hearing the director's words, Tang Jiang's smile grew even brighter, and she fixed a burning gaze on Sheng Nian.
Sheng Nian: "???"
[Wait, I have a bad feeling!]
[Me too...]
[We're doomed! President Yan's about to lose his wife!]
[Come at me if you have to, but leave my ship alone!]
[Tang Jiang, please have mercy and spare our President Yan this once!]
Yan Feizhuo naturally also saw the determination to have Sheng Nian in Tang Jiang's eyes, and his expression darkened.
With the rankings concluded, Director Ren announced, "All right, that's it for today's filming. Say goodbye to our livestream viewers. We'll see you tomorrow!"
Before you continue