Chapter 147
Xu Shuangrong had never been so utterly miserable in her life.
In the timeline where Xiao Jingxi was eight years old, when the police identified her as a suspect and began pursuing her, she spent the entire night running through the woods. Following the system’s suggestions, she climbed trees, crawled through thickets, jumped into rivers and swam underwater, and traversed mountains. By the end, her hair was disheveled, and one of her shoes had flown off.
When she was cornered and tried to hide by jumping into a well, she suddenly heard the system’s uncontrollable laughter.
She: “?”
[Xu Shuangrong: What are you laughing at?]
[System: I’m not laughing.]
[Xu Shuangrong: Laughing at a time like this?]
[System: I’m not laughing.]
[Xu Shuangrong: I’m at my limit, and you’re completely calm. What are you laughing at?]
[System: I’m not… pft hahahaha.]
[Xu Shuangrong: …]
Case solved. She had been played by the system.
The so-called time-travel cooldown was completely fake. The system could have sent her back anytime, but it insisted on watching her scramble around in utter chaos.
The two of them had a huge argument. Just as the police were about to catch her, the system realized the timing was perfect and finally sent her back.
…
Xu Shuangrong opened her eyes, taking in the familiar scene at night—the mountains, the villa, and the lit floor-to-ceiling windows of the second floor.
She took a deep breath.
[Xu Shuangrong: How dare you mess with me?!]
[System: Slander! That’s slander!]
On the surface: Slander! That’s slander!
Internally: First put on socks, then shoes; first act humble, then act bossy! Little brat, do you think you can always look down on me? The system isn’t so easily bullied!
Unsurprisingly, another argument broke out.
Inside the villa, Xie Mi lay peacefully on the bed with her eyes closed.
By her ears were the nonstop chattering sounds of the system and Xu Shuangrong.
Nope. Not her problem.
It had already been half an hour since she returned from time-travel. These two really knew how to argue—and why did they have to argue right outside her house?
Xie Mi, slightly tired from the time-travel experience and hoping for some rare sleep, suddenly sat up with a “flop,” taking her phone in resignation.
“Fine, let’s log in!”
…
The next morning at eight, the live broadcast started on schedule.
To check whether the four groups of participants were satisfied with their assigned accommodations, the production team launched an “assault”—storming directly into the guests’ resting area with cameras.
The first group, having ranked first, received the luxurious mountain-view villa: the “Xie Yiqing Kill Donkey” team.
Knock knock knock—
Planning to use a key card if the door wasn’t opened within five minutes, the PD knocked on the villa’s door.
Unexpectedly, the door opened almost immediately.
A man stood there in a light gray loungewear set, a black apron tied around his waist, sleeves rolled up to reveal pale, slender wrists. One hand pressed on the door to push it open, while the other held a spatula.
Seeing the camera, a faint curve appeared on his lips.
“So early?”
[Who’s this husband!!]
[Please release last night’s villa footage! Within one minute, I need to know what Xie Yiqing Kill Donkey was doing last night. Why does Old Shen look so husband-like this morning?!]
[Old Shen has always been both salty and sweet… I mean, in front of Old Xie.]
[Beauty attack from the first screen, early morning resentment instantly healed.]
[I want to kiss all of you handsome men!!]
[Judging by this outfit, Old Shen is making breakfast?]
“Good morning, Mr. Shen. The shoot starts today. Can we come in?” the PD greeted with a smile.
Shen Yiqing raised an eyebrow, stepping aside.
“Come in.”
The staff flooded in. Cameramen quickly found their shooting spots and set up smoothly.
“Where’s Teacher Xie?”
“She’s still sleeping.”
Shen Yiqing entered the kitchen, flipping food in a pan with a spatula.
“Mr. Shen is making breakfast? Seems like his culinary skills are…”
The camera zoomed in on the kitchen stove. The PD’s voice abruptly stopped.
Maybe it’s better if we don’t.
[I’ll start: squid ink pan-fried dumplings, squid ink pan-fried eggs, squid ink grilled sausage.]
[High EQ: squid ink. Low EQ: it’s all burnt.]
[Seeing Mr. Shen’s skills are still excellent, I feel reassured. There really is no such thing as a perfectly flawless man.]
Shen Yiqing, tossing the food in the pan, noticed the PD’s hesitant expression and explained with a light smile:
“These are squid ink pan-fried dumplings, squid ink fried eggs, and squid ink grilled sausage.”
PD: “?”
[?]
[No… it really is squid ink!!]
Watching Shen Yiqing’s smooth, flowing movements flipping, tossing, and plating the food…
Oh no, this guy actually practiced.
[There really is a perfectly flawless man in this world!!]
Amid the barrage of live comments—flattery, fan squeals, and screams—the PD didn’t forget the main mission:
Investigate the autumn breeze.
On the surface, it was to check on the guests’ rest in the new dorms. In reality, it was to see if there were sparks between them.
After all, men and women were staying alone in the same environment, and the production team had finished shooting early, giving them complete privacy.
Under such circumstances, what friction might arise between the guests? The audience was very curious.
The PD boldly asked:
“Teachers, are you satisfied with the new accommodations? After the shoot ended last night, what did you two do?”
[Good question! Finally asking!]
[Last night’s livestream ended too early; I’ve been dying to know what Xie Yiqing Kill Donkey was doing.]
[This is their first real cohabitation, just the two of them!]
[Old Xie looked amazing last night, could Old Shen really resist?]
[Ahhh, what did they actually do last night?!]
“Last night? I read a bit with Teacher Xie in the study.”
“The study?!”
The PD caught the detail immediately. “The study is upstairs, right? Teacher Xie is in a wheelchair, so she…”
[Princess carry? Piggyback? Lift? Arm support? Ahhh whichever, I’m so excited!]
[Male and female alone, sparks flying, with physical contact—who can resist this romantic tension?!]
Shen Yiqing suddenly laughed—a laugh that comes when you feel inexplicably amused.
“You want to know how Teacher Xie got upstairs?”
“She climbed up using both hands and feet.”
PD: “?”
[Pause on romance, I’ll go catch a gecko.]
[Climbing stairs hands and feet? Okay, okay, okay!]
[Don’t insult Teacher Xie. She just wanted to cosplay a big gecko for Mr. Shen—what’s wrong with that?]
The PD, unwilling to give up, asked, “How did Teacher Xie come back downstairs?”
Shen Yiqing laughed again.
“She slid down along the railing.”
PD: “6—”
