Day Eleven: My Brother Loves Me Too Much

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Liang Shanshan was plainly a girl raised in a happy, well-to-do family. Dressed in a distinctive style, she was bright, warm, and exuberant. She plopped herself down beside Jiang Yanbai and immediately asked his name.

When Jiang Yanbai wore an unsmiling expression, he seemed somewhat cold and distant, but never so unapproachable that people felt intimidated. He gave the impression that if you simply stuck close to him long enough, the ice would melt, and he would eventually greet you with a faint smile.

Yun Zhiyi quietly observed what was happening on his side of the room.

All the guests had arrived, and they were getting acquainted and chatting with one another. The room was rather noisy.

Yun Zhiyi could just make out Liang Shanshan asking Jiang Yanbai his name. He answered her in a neither-warm-nor-cold manner.

Yun Zhiyi was a little puzzled. Why did her brother look unhappy?

Although she and Jiang Yanbai had been separated for many years, and during the four years she had studied abroad she had seen him fewer than five times, the two of them had shared a deep bond as children. She could say that she understood many of his emotions extremely well.

For instance, at that moment, Jiang Yanbai’s handsome face was expressionless, and his eyes held a chill. His mood was definitely terrible.

But no one had provoked him.

If that expression were caught on camera, the audience would certainly form a poor impression of him.

The official livestream’s comments were already all over the place.

[Love the style of Female Guest Number Four, Liang Shanshan. She’s so bold and outgoing.]

[What is Jiang Yanbai pretending to be? His attitude toward girls is awful.]

[A new generation of Tough Guys has appeared.]

[Is Jiang Yanbai wrong for keeping his distance from girls he isn’t interested in?]

[I like men who understand boundaries. If Jiang Yanbai were enthusiastic toward Liang Shanshan, you’d all accuse him of treating every woman like an air conditioner and call him a shameless womanizer.]

[The person above is right. I agree!]

[Stop arguing, stop arguing. Does no one care about the new Male Guest Number Four?]

[Male Guest Number Four looks familiar. Isn’t he the esports player who won the world championship last year?]

After entering the Heartthrob House and seeing that all the seats on the sofa were occupied, Male Guest Number Four walked over to the short sofa beside Xu Xinran and sat alone in the corner. He wore a white short-sleeved shirt and jeans. His handsome face was expressionless, his demeanor aloof, and he looked rather cool.

Xu Xinran was the first to greet him.

“Hello, my name is Xu Xinran. What’s yours?”

Male Guest Number Four appeared to be the youngest person in the Heartthrob House. He answered, “Xiao Nanxing.”

Xu Xinran smiled. “You look so young. May I ask how old you are?”

Xiao Nanxing glanced at her. “Twenty-one.”

“That young?” Liang Shanshan turned to look at him. “I thought I was the youngest one here.”

The dating-show guests had all gathered in the Heartthrob House. Each of them had been given a phone by the production team, and when the phones chimed with incoming messages, everyone received the same notification.

Production Team:

[Welcome to the Heartthrob House. During filming, guests may contact one another only through the phones provided by the production team. You may not exchange private contact information or personal social-media accounts.]

[Every evening, all guests must dine together in the living room. Guests who are unable to return for special reasons are exempt from this rule.]

[Each male and female guest may choose a member of the opposite sex as a cooking partner. The rotation schedule may be arranged freely among the guests.]

After reading the messages on their phones, the guests looked up at one another.

To encourage the guests to grow closer, the production team had required them to choose cooking partners. Now it was time to see how they would choose one another.

Comments:

[Wow, they have to choose right from the start!]

[This is all about first impressions. Of course they’ll choose someone they’re attracted to as their partner.]

[I think all the male guests in the Heartthrob House are interested in Xu Xinran. Who will she choose?]

[Female Guest Number Two, Yun Zhiyi, and Female Guest Number Three, Liang Shanshan, will definitely both choose Male Guest Number Two, Jiang Yanbai. One of them is bound to be left out.]

[Who will the aloof beauty, Fan Jing, choose? She looks so quiet and seems uninterested in everyone.]

[Choosing a partner based solely on appearance won’t work. What if the other person can’t cook?]

Xu Xinran swept her gaze around the room and smiled. “Everyone can cook, right?”

Yun Zhiyi blinked guiltily. While studying abroad, she had relied entirely on her best friend, Xu Wanqing, to feed her. She herself knew only how to make porridge and instant noodles.

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—Coming on a dating show means having your culinary skills tested, too.

Yun Zhiyi glanced at Jiang Yanbai. After moving out of the Jiang family home, he should have learned to cook for himself. But apart from keeping an eye on him and preventing him from spending time with Xu Xinran, Yun Zhiyi had to maintain her distance from him. She couldn’t let the other female guests misunderstand.

Yun Zhiyi felt that the task ahead of her was enormous.

Liang Shanshan said, “Who can’t cook? The problem is that everyone has different tastes. As for whether what I make will be delicious, I can’t guarantee that.”

Xu Xinran’s smile did not change. “Then let’s choose our partners.”

As soon as she said this, no one made the first move.

After all, it was their first meeting, and none of them knew one another well. Suddenly inviting someone only to be rejected would be rather awkward.

Chi Yu, sitting beside Xu Xinran, looked at her. “Would you like to be my partner?”

Among all the female guests, Xu Xinran was the most poised, gentle, and graceful. She was an excellent conversationalist, and both her appearance and personality were outstanding. It was impossible not to like her.

Xu Xinran nodded. “Sure.”

Female Guest Number One, Xu Xinran, and Male Guest Number Three, Chi Yu, became partners. The remaining male guests were the taciturn Male Guest Number One, Chu Hongyi; Male Guest Number Two, Jiang Yanbai; and Male Guest Number Four, Xiao Nanxing. Among the female guests, Yun Zhiyi and Fan Jing had yet to make their choices, while Liang Shanshan had not chosen either.

Liang Shanshan looked at Jiang Yanbai and invited him, “Would you like to partner with me?”

Jiang Yanbai did not answer immediately. Instead, he cast a faint glance at Yun Zhiyi.

Yun Zhiyi was delighted to see Jiang Yanbai choose any female guest other than Xu Xinran. She gave him an encouraging look.

Brother, seize the opportunity and agree quickly.

Then she turned her attention to the other two male guests.

The male lead belonged with the female lead. If she tried to compete with the female lead for him, she might invite retaliation. So Yun Zhiyi extended an invitation to the young man sitting in the farthest corner.

“Um… Xiao Nanxing, my name is Yun Zhiyi. Would you like to be partners?”

Xiao Nanxing did not seem to care one way or the other. He agreed. “Sure.”

Jiang Yanbai had been watching that side of the room the entire time. When he heard that Yun Zhiyi had chosen the younger boy, his eyes darkened.

Liang Shanshan urged him from beside him, “Hey, are you going to agree or not?”

As everyone searched for partners, Chu Hongyi and Fan Jing were the two left without anyone. They ended up choosing each other.

Jiang Yanbai withdrew his gaze, looked at Liang Shanshan in front of him, and nodded.

Comments:

[Expected, yet unexpected.]

[I can’t believe I misread the situation. Wasn’t Yun Zhiyi interested in Jiang Yanbai? Why did she choose Xiao Nanxing?]

[Male Lead Number One, Chu Hongyi, is impossible to figure out. He’s been watching Xu Xinran the whole time, yet he chose Female Guest Number Two, Fan Jing.]

[Did the guests not know that they could receive multiple invitations, and that anyone who received several could choose among them?]

[This is far too peaceful. Give us some romantic carnage!]

[The show has only just begun. Don’t rush. Going by the habits of the first season of Romantic Encounters, there’s bound to be plenty of drama later.]

…

Everyone had chosen a partner.

Xu Xinran said, “Since everyone has chosen a partner, let’s arrange it this way. Chi Yu and I will cook today. Chu Hongyi and Fan Jing will cook tomorrow. Liang Shanshan and Jiang Yanbai will cook on the third day, and Yun Zhiyi and Xiao Nanxing will cook on the fourth.”

“If no one objects, then we’ll settle it this way. How does that sound?”

No one had any objections.

Xu Xinran smiled faintly. “Then Doctor Chi and I will go prepare dinner first.”

Chi Yu and Xu Xinran went to the kitchen together.

Yun Zhiyi glanced at Chu Hongyi. He was the male lead of the original novel, the man who would ultimately end up with Xu Xinran. Yet now, seeing Xu Xinran cooking with Chi Yu, he did not appear jealous at all.

The production team had not yet arranged the guests’ rooms, so everyone else remained in the living room.

Xiao Nanxing had already taken out his phone and begun playing a game. Chu Hongyi and Fan Jing left the living room together and went out into the courtyard. Liang Shanshan invited Jiang Yanbai.

“Would you like to take a look around the villa with me?”

Jiang Yanbai’s expression was languid and indifferent. “Not interested.”

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Liang Shanshan pursed her lips. She was beginning to regret choosing Jiang Yanbai. Never mind. The production team had not said that partners had to remain fixed. She could simply switch partners next week.

Comments:

[Liang Shanshan is genuinely enthusiastic toward Jiang Yanbai. Isn’t he being far too cold?]

[I feel like Jiang Yanbai is interested in Yun Zhiyi, but after Yun Zhiyi chose the young heartthrob Xiao Nanxing, he just chose someone at random as his partner.]

[I like Yun Zhiyi too. She’s like a soft little kitten.]

…

Yun Zhiyi looked around the villa. The guests were all doing their own thing, and she sat on the sofa, feeling somewhat at a loss.

A gaze fell upon her.

Yun Zhiyi looked over and found Jiang Yanbai staring straight at her.

She was like a rabbit waiting unknowingly beneath a tree, while a gray wolf watched her from the shadows, waiting to sink its teeth into her neck and drag her back to its den to devour her.

Yun Zhiyi quickly lowered her lashes, hiding the slight tremble in her eyes.

Brother’s gaze is frightening.

She had thought Jiang Yanbai wouldn’t be angry. Clearly, he was angry after all.

She had indeed secretly concealed her participation in the dating show from him, but she had only done so to keep him from taking unnecessary detours. The second male lead was destined never to obtain the female lead, and she was trying to save him.

After thinking it over, Yun Zhiyi glanced back at him, rose, and walked outside.

The grounds outside the villa were spacious. The front and back yards were connected by a small cobblestone path. Yun Zhiyi circled around to the side of the villa, where there was a blind spot beyond the reach of the cameras.

She stood on the path with her head lowered, idly kicking at the little stones.

Not long afterward, a tall figure appeared.

Under the dim yellow light, Jiang Yanbai’s broad frame cast a shadow over her. His handsome features were slightly stern as he looked down at her.

“Why did you secretly come on a dating show?”

Yun Zhiyi looked up at him, her eyes darting guiltily away. “I…” She hastily came up with an excuse. “I wanted to give it a try.”

Try what? Dating?

Jiang Yanbai watched her intently with his deep-set eyes. His thin lips pressed together.

“…You’re still too young.”

Yun Zhiyi muttered, “I’m not young anymore, Brother. I’m already an adult.”

Jiang’s father had once warned her that she was not allowed to date until she turned twenty. Now she was twenty-one. She was perfectly old enough to fall in love.

“…”

A heavy silence spread between them.

Jiang Yanbai had never imagined that, upon returning from abroad, Yun Zhiyi would eagerly rush onto a dating show to look for a partner.

When Yun Zhiyi saw that he remained silent for a long time, she reached out and tugged at the corner of his clothes.

“Brother, don’t expose me, all right?”

It was the same gesture she had used as a child.

A silent plea for mercy.

No matter how angry he was or how fiercely his temper burned, whenever he faced her, a gentle spring rain seemed to extinguish it.

Jiang Yanbai’s hardened heart felt as though it were being brushed again and again by a feather. Helpless, he gave a faint nod.

Yun Zhiyi smiled. “Thank you, Brother.”

In the soft light, a hazy glow touched the girl’s delicate, fair face, making her appear even more graceful and captivating.

Jiang Yanbai struggled to look away. His voice was slightly hoarse.

“Let’s go back.”

He was about to leave when Yun Zhiyi hurriedly caught his hand.

“Go from this side. Don’t let anyone see you.”

Jiang Yanbai’s gaze dropped to the hand wrapped around his.