Chapter 266
The normal broadcast time for Love Observation was 8:00 in the morning, and the audience had long been accustomed to this routine.
But today, against all odds, the broadcast started early.
Viewers who were still staying up late clicked in, completely baffled.
[What’s going on, why is it starting so early today?]
[When I saw the start prompt I thought I was hallucinating, but it really did start!]
[It’s only 4:30 a.m., did the staff accidentally open the live rooms?]
[No way all eight rooms would start at the same time by accident, it must be intentional.]
[But all the guests are still asleep.]
At this time, all eight live rooms were pitch black. The lights were off in every bedroom, the guests were fast asleep on their beds, and if one listened closely, they could even hear breathing.
[I get it! Today is a welfare episode—showing off the guests’ sleeping faces!]
[As expected, heaven rewards all night owls.]
[Nonsense, that’s completely upside down logic!]
Although confused, the fact that the show started early left viewers extremely excited.
Soon, more and more people poured in. Even though the guests were still sleeping, the viewers amused themselves by playing “Fight the Landlord” (a card game) in the bullet comments.
[Three of clubs]
[Pass]
[You’re not taking a three? Fine, I’ll bomb!]
[Bro, what??]
[Why do I suddenly feel a sense of peace and quiet? Funny thing is, when this bunch is awake, they’re always so noisy, but when they sleep, they’re quite serene.]
[Do you even hear yourself right now?]
They thought this peaceful vibe would last until 8:00 a.m., but unexpectedly, five minutes later, one of the guests woke up.
The time was now 4:35 a.m.
Qiu Chengye turned on his phone flashlight, tiptoed out of bed, pulled something out from under it, and then quietly crept outside.
[Brother Kitty is up this early?]
[I heard older people often wake up at night, probably going to the bathroom.]
[Since when was Brother Kitty this considerate, tiptoeing to the toilet without turning on the light so he wouldn’t disturb others?]
[Now that you say it, I doubt he’s just going to the toilet.]
While the viewers speculated, Qiu Chengye walked out of the villa and made a puzzling move.
He used a chain to lock the villa’s front door from the outside.
And not just that.
He circled the villa, and none of the first-floor windows escaped his clutches.
One by one, he locked every possible exit before returning to the front door, where he admired his handiwork with a sinister smile.
[Brother Kitty, stop smiling like that, you’re scaring me.]
[Who pushed him this far?]
[Wait… I think I get it! The task shop opens at 5:00 a.m. He’s trying to stop others from grabbing the tasks!]
[Holy crap!! I wouldn’t have realized if you didn’t say that.]
[You’re right—last night everyone in the living room learned that hidden tasks reward skill cards. Of course they all want to fight for them today. Brother Kitty’s scared he won’t win, so he struck first.]
[Since when did he evolve?]
After decoding Qiu Chengye’s strange behavior, the reason for today’s early broadcast also became clear.
And now, the real show began.
First, Xiao Jingxi woke up.
Like Qiu Chengye, he didn’t turn on the light for fear of waking others. Phone in hand, he tiptoed to the front door—only to find it locked.
At the same time, he bumped into Liu Woxing, who was also sneaking down from upstairs.
Xiao Jingxi hunched over, caught mid-sneak, “…”
Liu Woxing, on tiptoe, equally sneaky, “…”
It was like two burglars running into each other in a jewelry store at midnight.
[HAHAHAHAHAHA]
[I’m dying. You can feel the awkwardness through the screen.]
[Feels like I’m watching a silent film.]
After a moment of silence, they both spoke at once.
Xiao Jingxi: “Bathroom.”
Liu Woxing: “Getting water.”
“……”
Another awkward silence.
At this point, there was no need to keep pretending.
Liu Woxing simply laid it out, “It’s 4:40. The shop opens in twenty minutes. If it’s just the two of us here for the tasks, then there’s no point in acting anymore.”
“That may be true.”
Xiao Jingxi stepped aside and showed her the completely immovable front door, “But clearly, someone beat us to it. The door’s locked.”
Liu Woxing froze, then immediately tested it herself. Sure enough, it wouldn’t budge.
The doorknob turned, which meant the lock had been secured with some external force.
Liu Woxing pressed her lips together in thought, then turned to try the windows.
Seeing this, Xiao Jingxi joined in, pushing another one.
After they tried every single window, the truth was obvious—every one of them had been locked.
[Brother Kitty, you sly fox.]
[No hate this time, Brother Kitty’s really making moves.]
[It’s over. Brother Kitty’s about to become the star.]
A few minutes later, Lai Bingxuan, Xu Shuangrong, and Yu Jinzhe also crept into the living room.
Now, with ten eyes meeting in the darkened space, the act was fully dropped.
“What? The door’s locked?!”
Lai Bingxuan tugged at the door with no success, her temper flaring, “It has to be Qiu Chengye! I saw him sneaking things into his room last night—it looked like chains!”
Xiao Jingxi facepalmed, “And why didn’t you say anything last night?”
“I thought he just had some… weird hobby, so I didn’t care… Why do you care whether I said anything or not!”
“So what now?”
Xu Shuangrong frowned, “We’re all locked inside. There’s no way out. Should we just go back to sleep?”
But sleeping was out of the question.
Getting up at 4 a.m. was torture enough. If they went back empty-handed, how could they face their dog-tired selves?
Yu Jinzhe rapped on the door with his knuckles, “Is this door really that sturdy?”
His words lit up Lai Bingxuan, “Right! Let’s just break it down! Then we can rush out and tie up Qiu Chengye—we can’t let him succeed!”
“No.”
Xiao Jingxi refused immediately, “I’m still filming with my group. If I get injured, I won’t be able to explain it.”
“Miss Lai, that idea is far too reckless.”
Xu Shuangrong shook her head, “Jinzhe is still a student—he needs to study. Woxing is a journalist, her hands are important for typing. Neither of them can risk injury. You can’t only think of yourself and ignore others.”
Accused so suddenly, Lai Bingxuan bristled, “It was just a suggestion! If we can’t break it down, then fine, we stop! I never said we had to break it! You’re making it sound like I want everyone to get hurt!”
“Miss Lai, I didn’t mean it that way. I only wanted to point out that your way of thinking is too simplistic—you might accidentally cause harm to those around you. That’s all.”
Xu Shuangrong bit her lip delicately, looking wronged.
Seeing her act like that set Lai Bingxuan off even more. She raised her voice, ready to argue, “You—”
“Miss Lai, calm down.”
Liu Woxing quickly grabbed her arm.
She remembered Teacher Xie once said Miss Lai had a short fuse and often acted rashly when provoked, leading to easy misunderstandings.
“I know you didn’t mean it that way. You just tossed out an idea without much thought.”
Then she turned to Xu Shuangrong.
“Shuangrong, you also shouldn’t overanalyze Miss Lai’s words. Even though you only wanted to remind her, to Miss Lai it came off like criticism. Conflicts usually start like this. Since neither of you meant any harm, let’s drop it here.”
