Chapter 335: The Fourteenth Day in the Entertainment World

Chapter 335: Day Fourteen in the Entertainment Industry World

All four rooms were identical, so there was no point in all that polite back-and-forth.

An Yi picked one, and Cang Xingjin, standing a step behind him, let his eyes land on Miao Bin's hand on An Yi's shoulder, his brow twitching almost imperceptibly.

He'd been checking out the rooms a second ago, but now, almost on a whim, he walked straight to the door across from An Yi's and said flatly, "I'll take this one."

Bo Yangxia glanced at the leftover rooms, then at Miao Bin and Cang Xingjin, who were radiating some serious tension. Smart guy, he rubbed his nose and grinned, "Then I'll take the room across from Miao Bin-ge. Our rooms face each other, so it's easy to hang out at night."

And just like that, the rooms were set: An Yi and Miao Bin next door to each other, Cang Xingjin across from An Yi, and Bo Yangxia across from Miao Bin.

Bullet comments:

"Miao Bin's bold! He's already got his arm around him?"

"They're both singers, so it's normal for them to be close!"

"An Yi's smile looks fake, but honestly? I still love him. How the hell can someone look like that?!"

"...slurp~"

"Something's off. This is giving me competitive dating-show staring-contest energy, but... where are the female guests?"

"They're all just friends! Can you shippers take that nonsense somewhere else?!"

"But... Film King Cang, Miao Bin, and Bo Yangxia's heart rates are all over the place, so how is An Yi's so steady?"

"..."

The female guests got their rooms sorted out quickly too. Ruan Bingxuan picked a room with a window on the third floor, Yu Tongxin and Lin Yan ended up next door to each other, and Hao Yangyang chose a quiet corner room.

After stowing their luggage and tidying up, everyone headed back down to the first-floor living room.

There, they spotted a clear acrylic box sitting on the center table, filled with neat stacks of cash.

"Is this the grocery money the show gave us for the next few days?" Hao Yangyang leaned in curiously.

"Looks like it," Yu Tongxin nodded. "So we're cooking for ourselves from now on."

"Then we need to plan," Cang Xingjin said, naturally taking charge as one of the older, more senior people there. "Let's see how much money we've got, then figure out what to eat for lunch and dinner, and what we need to buy."

They took the cash out of the box. It wasn't a ton of money for eight people's meals today, but with some careful budgeting, it'd be enough.

"Who can cook?" Cang Xingjin asked.

Ruan Bingxuan hesitated, then said quietly, "I can make some home-cooked stuff."

"I know a little too," Yu Tongxin said, raising her hand.

Miao Bin laughed. "I can only make instant noodles and fry eggs, but I'm happy to help out!"

Bo Yangxia scratched his head, looking sheepish. "I... I can learn!"

Lin Yan and Hao Yangyang also offered to wash veggies and do the dishes.

Everyone's eyes instinctively turned to An Yi, who hadn't said a word.

"What about you, An Yi? Can you cook?" Miao Bin naturally sidled up to him again and asked.

An Yi snapped out of it, looked up, and gave a small smile. His tone was gentle: "Haha, not at all."

Actually, he could cook, but he didn't want to: "I can help out though."

"No problem! We'll help out together!" Miao Bin jumped in right away.

Cang Xingjin glanced at An Yi but didn't say anything, just went on, "Since that's settled, let's split up the work. We need to buy ingredients from the shop nearby. Who's going?"

"An Yi and I will go!" Miao Bin volunteered again, casually draping his arm over An Yi's shoulder. "We're both guys, so we can carry more. And since we're both singers, we can talk music on the way!"

Hao Yangyang, who'd been about to volunteer, swallowed her words.

Fine, whatever.

"Miao Bin's got his eye on An Yi! He's dragging him everywhere!"

"Yangyang looked like she wanted to say something too, but was she just too slow?"

"This is wrong—this is a dating show. Since when do two male guests pair up? Shouldn't it be guy-girl pairs? Miao Bin, you've got problems!"

"An Yi's really popular, huh? Feels like he appeals to everyone?"

"It's that face and vibe—absolutely lethal. And he seems super chill. Who wouldn't want to get close to him?"

"Heh, is this nobody trying to hype himself up as some universally loved heartthrob?"

"..."

When Miao Bin offered to go with An Yi, Ruan Bingxuan's lips parted as if to speak, but in the end, she stayed quiet.

She could feel it—An Yi drew people's attention. If she went with him, she might gain more fans. They'd just had that moment with the luggage earlier; shouldn't she strike while the iron was hot?

Too bad.

Miao Bin was a big senior; she'd better not go against him.

Cang Xingjin looked at Miao Bin's hand on An Yi's shoulder, then at An Yi's face—totally unbothered, still wearing that warm smile—and that inexplicable irritation flared up in his chest again.

He said in a low voice, "Then Bo Yangxia, you organize the kitchen and check what tools are missing. Ruan Bingxuan, Yu Tongxin, you two handle the cooking? Lin Yan and Hao Yangyang, help clean up the dining and living areas? Sound good?"

An Yi looked at him, surprised. "What about you?"

Cang Xingjin: "..."

Damn, he forgot about himself.

He paused for a beat. "I'll go with Bo Yangxia."

With his plan laid out, everyone stayed stone-faced but didn't object.

Bullet comments:

"Heh, who put him in charge? Why can't everyone just pick for themselves?"

"This is a dating show. What's with him splitting the guys and girls up? Why should everyone listen to him?"

"That's because our oppa is responsible! He makes the calls so nobody has to stress over it~~ Love him so much."

"Why do only the two girls have to cook? Just because they said they could?"

"They could've just kept their mouths shut. Brother's got everything arranged, and your faves have no complaints, so why are you all getting so worked up here?"

"...Idiot!"

"Wow, so high and mighty, Film King Cang!"

"He just didn't want to work, so he deliberately kept quiet about it, only for Beauty An to call him out!"

"An Yi's the one doing it on purpose! Why did he have to ask? They're from the same company, aren't they? Is our boy always getting bullied at work? Are they harassing him?"

"? Huh? Oh my god, so it's not just humans watching this show, huh?"

"..."

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Yu Ziyun watched on the screen as Miao Bin leaned in close to An Yi, along with the barrage of comments flooding the screen.

His heart clenched again at the sight. Does Miao Bin have zero sense of personal space or what? Why does he have to get so close?!

And those fans in the comments...

What were they even saying?!

----------

After the two girls talked it over, they made a list.

An Yi's mouth twitched. He felt that the male lead didn't quite match the noble, upright image described in the original novel...

He looked at the two girls' weirdly frustrated faces, sighed, and extended an invitation: "Want to come grocery shopping with us?"

He paused for a moment: "Since you're cooking, you'd have a better idea of what ingredients to buy. When we get back, I'll help you clean up."

He didn't want to cook, but he couldn't just sit around while those two bustled about making food for eight people.