Chapter 18 – Eight Text Messages

Although Qi Jing was just an esports player, his strikingly handsome appearance perfectly aligned with entertainment industry beauty standards, attracting a massive following of fans who adored his looks. Some even called him the “Esports Heartthrob”—a killer in every sense of the word. Cheng Yichi had seen him featured in news reports before.

The Qi Jing standing before Cheng Yichi now was nothing like the bold, provocative young man from noon. He kept his head slightly lowered, stealing occasional glances at Cheng Yichi without saying a word, his eyes shimmering with admiration. Fang Yunshi and Tang Yinuo had acted similarly before, but Li Yi knew those two were naturally like that—their affection for Cheng Yichi was more like idol worship. But Qi Jing…

Li Yi recalled the brash kid from earlier and smirked inwardly. Has this kid taken acting classes? Does he really think Teacher Cheng can’t see through him?

The next moment, Cheng Yichi offered to help Qi Jing carry his luggage upstairs and asked the two new guests, “There’s one spot left in the three-person room and the four-person room. Which would you prefer?”

Li Yi: …I spoke too soon. Teacher Cheng is just too kind.

Qi Jing shook his head. “I completed a task at noon—I can switch rooms.” He turned to Li Yi. “Brother Li Yi, the production team said if you bought a bouquet today, I’d complete my mission. Could you swap rooms with me?”

Everyone present paused at his words. Though their expressions remained neutral, they all thought the same thing: Tch, why does that sound so off?

Li Yi lifted his gaze and gave him a cool glance. “Oh, so when you ‘happened’ to pass by the flower shop, it was just for the mission?”

Cheng Yichi chuckled. “No wonder Li Yi came back with a sunflower bouquet. It was lovely.”

Suddenly, all eyes were on Li Yi. Gu Zichen thought, Sunflowers… Well, at least they’re probably just for decoration. Wei Buyan, who knew the flower’s meaning, studied Li Yi before suddenly laughing. “Didn’t expect Little Li to secretly bring a gift for Teacher Cheng.”

Jiang Heng hadn’t anticipated this move either. He glanced between the unfazed Cheng Yichi and the composed Li Yi, momentarily unsure if Li Yi had ulterior motives. But he decided that separating Li Yi and Cheng Yichi was the right call.

After all, the early bird catches the worm. Teacher Cheng clearly takes time to warm up to people. What if late-night chats between them spark something more? Jiang Heng thought. No way—I need to complete a mission too!

Qi Jing feigned surprise. “I only suggested Brother Li Yi buy a gift—I didn’t expect him to give it to Teacher Cheng!” Then, backtracking, he added, “But if Brother Li Yi is this thoughtful, it must mean Teacher Cheng treats him really well. That’s so nice. If it were me, I’d definitely give Teacher Cheng a gift too.”

Everyone: …The tea is strong with this one.

Li Yi suddenly swept his hair back, revealing sharp, indifferent eyes. “But I also completed a mission. At noon, the production team told me to give a gift to any guest—and I did.” He shrugged. “Sorry, Qi Jing. I’m not really in the mood to switch rooms right now.”

Cheng Yichi sipped his hot water quietly, smiling faintly, giving nothing away.

The room assignments were now up in the air.

Gu Zichen frowned—

The new guests had disrupted the previous equilibrium.

Duan Qingsi suddenly said in a deep voice, “If that’s the case, I also completed a task at noon. I wonder if I can exchange rooms?”

Cheng Yichi blinked, unaware of what task Duan Qingsi had completed. Duan Qingsi smiled at him and said, “I wasn’t very keen on doing it at first, but Yichi finished his task too quickly.”

“Related to me?” Cheng Yichi pointed at himself, puzzled.

“Yes, the program’s task was to make any male guest cry.”

It should have been difficult, but Cheng Yichi couldn’t hold back when he saw the movie exhibition and started tearing up, which made Duan Qingsi’s heart ache.

“You cried at noon?” Li Yi looked at Cheng Yichi.

Feeling slightly awkward, Cheng Yichi rubbed the cup he was holding. The rising steam blurred the faces before him. He took a couple of sips to calm himself. “Yeah.”

Duan Qingsi said, “I asked the program team, and this opportunity can be given to someone else.” Then, turning to Cheng Yichi, he asked, “Xiao Chi, can I give this chance to you?”

Cheng Yichi glanced at him and smiled, “Thank you, Qingsi-ge. Can I think about it?”

With that, he pulled Bai Ruyu aside to whisper. The others immediately understood—Cheng Yichi wanted to stay in a single room.

Li Yi’s expression remained unchanged as he closed his eyes, thinking this might be for the best.

Cheng Yichi whispered, “Ruyu, I’m sorry. I really don’t want to take away your chance for a single room, but now…” He gave a bitter smile. “I feel like choosing anyone would be awkward, so could I ask to switch rooms with you?”

Bai Ruyu ruffled the stray hair on his forehead and laughed, “Of course. But besides them, you could also consider someone else.”

Cheng Yichi was startled. “Who else is there?” he asked, pursing his lips.

Though it might be premature, Bai Ruyu decided to play wingman before it was too late. “Gu Zichen.”

“His feelings for you are different.”

After moving rooms, Cheng Yichi was still dazed while showering. In the first three days, he hadn’t sensed any attraction from the male guests.

But after the new guests arrived on the fourth day, why had things changed?

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he wore only an oversized white shirt that barely covered his thighs. His legs were long and beautiful, perfectly straight with subtle muscle definition on his calves and a slight curve to his thighs—both sensual and powerful, capable of kicking or wrapping around someone’s waist.

His mind was blank; his earlier composure had been entirely feigned. In the end, Duan Qingsi and Li Yi shared a double room, Bai Ruyu took the triple, and Qi Jing stayed in the quadruple.

It was hard to imagine the show turning into such a battlefield. Cheng Yichi sighed deeply, unable to comprehend what about him could attract these elite men. Was it because they liked the characters he played and extended that affection to him? But did they truly know him?

“Knock, knock, knock.”

Cheng Yichi got up to answer the door.

Standing outside the door was Gu Zichen. The moment he saw him, Gu Zichen’s face turned red. He must have just taken a shower, his skin still steaming, and unlike before when he would meticulously button up his shirt, this time he had left the top few undone, revealing fair skin tinged with pink. Cheng Yichi wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but it seemed like Gu Zichen’s skin had grown even redder in the few minutes he had been standing there.

Gu Zichen didn’t look directly at him, instead averting his gaze slightly as he said, “It’s so late, sorry for disturbing you.”

“It’s fine. What’s up?”

Gu Zichen hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Bai Ruyu told me about how he helped me express my feelings for you.”

Cheng Yichi hadn’t expected this to be the topic. His face instantly burned red, and he stammered, “Oh… so that’s what you wanted to talk about.”

He felt embarrassed. “I thought you and Ruyu would…”

Gu Zichen interrupted him. “Actually, it was Ruyu who made me realize. I didn’t plan to confess so soon, but you’re just too outstanding—it’s hard not to like you.”

Cheng Yichi hadn’t expected Gu Zichen to be so smooth with his words. He let out a soft “Mhm,” too flustered to say anything else.

Gu Zichen continued, “I wasn’t planning to come over, actually. I thought it might put pressure on you. But just having Ruyu relay my feelings didn’t feel sincere enough, so I just wanted you to know that I’m serious. Other than that, it’s fine—you don’t have to feel constrained or… obligated to respond.”

Cheng Yichi nodded and exhaled in relief. “It’s just so sudden. It feels like you all suddenly developed feelings for me when there was nothing just a couple of days ago. It’s a bit unreal.”

Gu Zichen smiled. “It wasn’t sudden. I just didn’t dare get close before, but in the end, I couldn’t hold back. Don’t underestimate your charm—it’s not an instant thing, but something that builds up over time.”

Cheng Yichi said, “I’ll take my time getting to know you all properly and figure out my own feelings.”

Gu Zichen had been shielding him from the wind at the doorway. Seeing that the conversation was winding down, he said, “It’s getting cold. You should head back inside—don’t catch a chill.”

Cheng Yichi closed the door, threw himself onto the bed, and suddenly buried his face in his pillow, rolling around in a flustered mess.

What the hell was this?! He was a fraud! How was he supposed to “take his time” and “figure out his feelings” properly?!

But he still had to send his nightly text. Cheng Yichi hugged his phone, not overthinking it too much, and sent one directly to Duan Qingsi. Regardless of Duan Qingsi’s feelings, Cheng Yichi was genuinely grateful for the wonderful date he had given him today—he had really enjoyed it.

But he had to carefully consider the wording of the message:

“Qingsi-ge, thanks for today’s date”? No, no—too vague and generic. “Thank you for making me cry today, Qingsi-ge”? That sounded a bit too ambiguous. Cheng Yichi had a bad habit—whenever he was deep in thought, he would unconsciously bite the knuckle of his right index finger, only stopping when the teeth marks started to hurt.

He couldn’t figure out the right words for tonight’s message, so he kept biting and thinking, until finally, when the indents were deep and his finger was damp, he settled on something polite yet subtle:

“Qingsi-ge, I was really happy to see you today. Next time, dinner’s on me :)”

It hit the right notes! And it was polite! Cheng Yichi couldn’t help but mentally pat himself on the back.

He was probably the last one to send his text, because shortly after he sent it, his phone buzzed with a message from the show’s production team. Cheng Yichi lay on the bed, his phone beside his face. Covering his eyes to block out the light from above, he was drowsily on the verge of falling asleep. Just wait a bit, he thought—he’d check the messages from the production team after they finished sending out the “heartbeat texts.”

But then—buzz, buzz, buzz—the phone kept vibrating incessantly.

Seriously? There were only four people, right? Why was it buzzing so many times? When the phone finally quieted down, Cheng Yichi squinted and picked it up to check the messages from the production team. Instantly, he was stunned—

E… eight messages???

No way! Where did those other four people come from???