Shen Ting and Yan Yi enjoyed a lovely lunch, then lay comfortably on the sofa playing games.
The others looked pale to varying degrees, with Meng Yun and Su Yu the palest of all.
One was genuinely sick to his stomach, while the other was inwardly frustrated.
"Good afternoon, everyone! Did you enjoy your lunch?" Xiaoyue looked at the guests with a beaming smile.
"Don't mention lunch. Bring it up again and I'm going to throw up." Meng Yun held his head and curled up.
"Then I'll get straight to the point. It's time for our afternoon activity. This afternoon's theme is a romantic date for two. It's been ages since any of you had a one-on-one date. This cardboard box contains eight picture cards in matching pairs, depicting four different locations. Please come forward and draw a card. Those who draw matching pictures will form a pair." Xiaoyue stepped aside, revealing the enormous cardboard box behind her.
Meng Yun went up and casually drew a card from the box. He opened it to find a coffee logo.
"Congratulations, Meng Yun! Your destination is the café in the mall." Xiaoyue clapped.
Bai Yuanyuan also casually drew a card from the box, and Meng Yun leaned closer, a little curious.
A large rose was drawn on the card.
"Congratulations, Bai Yuanyuan! Your destination is our city's famous Rose Manor." This time, envy showed on Xiaoyue's face. Roses were her favorite flowers.
Shen Ting and Yan Yi also went up and drew a card each.
"Mine is Rose Manor." Shen Ting raised his eyebrows at the large rose on his card.
Su Yu brightened at this. Two people had already been ruled out by elimination, greatly increasing his chances of being paired with Yan Yi.
Looking a little unhappy, Yan Yi opened the card in his hand. A lion was drawn in the center.
"Congratulations, Yan Yi! Your destination is the zoo." Xiaoyue clapped her hands.
The remaining guests looked at the few cards left in the box and each took one at random.
Su Yu patted his forehead with his card. Spirits of heaven and earth, bless me! I want to go to the zoo.
Su Yu opened his eyes, which were now bloodshot, and nervously looked at his card.
Bang! Fireworks exploded!!! Su Yu swore he had never loved lions so much.
Su Yu shot Shen Ting a smug look. Sure enough, the god of luck was still on his side.
Shen Ting looked speechlessly at Su Yu, whose eyes had suddenly turned smoldering. If you're sick, get treatment.
Shen Rui drew an archery range.
Si Chen looked at the bow and arrow on his card, then at Su Yu beside him, and folded the card in his hand with a displeased expression.
Su Weiwang was the last to open his card. Sure enough, it bore the exact same coffee logo as Meng Yun's.
Shen Ting sighed in relief when he saw that his older brother had not been paired with Su Yu. He had already prepared to discuss using that request card with Yan Yi to separate them directly if those two ended up together.
Seeing that everyone had their cards, Xiaoyue nodded in satisfaction. Soon. I'll be off work any minute now.
"Now that everyone has found their date and knows their destination, please get going. A wonderful date awaits you!"
Shen Ting and Bai Yuanyuan arrived at Rose Manor under the guidance of the production staff.
The enormous Rose Manor was filled with vast stretches of roses, predominantly red ones, along with quite a few rare varieties.
Bai Yuanyuan wore a black-and-red dress that day, paired with exquisite makeup, which suited Rose Manor perfectly.
Shen Ting was dressed very simply, in a plain white shirt and black jeans. Combined with the broad smile on his face, his boyish charm was off the charts.
[Holy crap, their looks are killing me, okay? Gorgeous older woman × puppy-like younger guy.]
[And this atmosphere and backdrop are incredible. This is straight out of an idol drama.]
[Shen Ting might be bad at acting, but you really can't fault that face.]
[Exactly! The genes are right there, after all. I still remember how stunning our mom's face was.]
[Who are you talking about, person above? That's my wife.]
Far away at the Shen Family home, Mother Shen sat on the sofa, shaking with laughter as she read the livestream comments.
Beside her, Father Shen was feeding his wife freshly washed cherries one by one. His expression darkened when he saw the comments. What do you mean, yours or mine? My wife is mine alone.
At Rose Manor.
The sunlight was less intense than at noon, and a gentle breeze brushed the ends of their hair.
"Shall we take a walk?" Bai Yuanyuan breathed in the scent of roses in the air with enjoyment.
"Sure." Shen Ting did not refuse. After all, there was nothing else to do besides walk around.
Shen Ting took out his phone to check the time when a delivery notification suddenly popped up.
He instinctively opened the message. It turned out that a magazine he had bought had arrived.
Before Shen Ting could put his phone away, a hand suddenly appeared beside him.
"Oh my god! Is that Ji Yan's magazine?!" Bai Yuanyuan's entire face flushed with excitement, and her voice unconsciously rose.
"Yeah. You know him?" Shen Ting nodded.
"Who doesn't? He's the ultimate hot older man! He's also the younger brother of Best Actress Ji Wan. He rarely shoots magazines anymore. I spent days trying to snag this issue and couldn't get a single copy. You're amazing." Bai Yuanyuan was envious, even a little jealous.
"Keep it low-key, keep it low-key. Mostly, my internet connection came through. I sat on the router to snag it." Shen Ting modestly waved his hand.
[Wait, what did I just hear? Shen Ting snagged Ji Yan's magazine? The one that made me drool myself dry?]
[Judging by our girl Bai's expression, most likely. Heaven is unfair! I camped out all night and still couldn't get a single copy.]
[I don't know whether other products use scarcity marketing, but this magazine definitely does, because it's left me starving.]
[I don't know what the photos inside look like, but that cover alone is enough to drive me crazy for him.]
[Just got my copy. All I can say is that my face is as red as a monkey's butt right now, and I'm not exaggerating.]
[Aaaaah! I hate all of you who snagged one! Gone in one second. So I was just there to make up the numbers for you, huh?]
[Same as the person above. I nearly stomped my router to pieces.]
"His abs are renowned in the industry. Could you lend me your copy for a few days? I promise I absolutely won't touch. I'll only look." Bai Yuanyuan was practically ready to raise her hand and swear an oath.
"No need. Once it arrives, I'll just give it to you." Shen Ting waved generously.
"But you only have this one copy. Don't you want it?" Bai Yuanyuan was touched!
"I don't need it. You need it more than I do." Shen Ting solemnly patted Bai Yuanyuan's shoulder.
"Shen Ting, you're a good person. An incredibly good person. If anything comes up in the future, just tell your big sister. If I can help, I'll absolutely come through." Bai Yuanyuan generously patted her chest, her expression saying she had his back.
Looking into Bai Yuanyuan's sincere eyes, Shen Ting suddenly felt a little guilty. He took a step back and turned his face aside.
"I can't exactly say I've found better abs than his, and I can even touch them in person, so his don't interest me anymore." Shen Ting muttered quietly, but the microphone picked up every word.
[Jealousy has twisted my face beyond recognition! Shen Ting, draw your sword! Today, either you die or I live!]
[They're Yan Yi's, right? They're Yan Yi's, right? They're Yan Yi's, right? Important things must be said three times.]
[Magazine publishers, did you hear that? You've got even better material now, and he's a regular guy, too. Hurry up and get on it! Do I have to chase you with a whip?]
The two found a cool spot and opened the video apps on their phones, watching and comparing notes.
"This one's good."
"Yours is pretty good too."
"Hehe, once you scroll enough, the app naturally gets to know you."
"Same here. We really are kindred spirits."
Before you continue