Joining A Dating Show With Five Exes - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Become Your Favorite Shape

Chen Chuxing was like a drowning person seeing a piece of driftwood.

She knew very well that Cheng Shiyuan would rather never see her again for eternity than so easily give her another chance.

Perhaps this was a bigger prank.

For example, wanting to make her feel despair at the moment of her greatest hope.

Or perhaps.

Cheng Shiyuan was no longer in the mood to toy with her. This request was most likely related to her strange behavior at the hospital.

She seized the last opportunity Cheng Shiyuan offered her without hesitation.

Whether she was to be a clown in the other’s script or a tool to be used and discarded…

She even felt a sense of joy, wanting to cry, because of her “usefulness” to Cheng Shiyuan at this moment.

“I do… I do… I’ll do anything…”

Lying to her was okay. Being strung along by the chance of a “fresh start” was fine too—

Chen Chuxing felt like she had been reborn.

Cheng Shiyuan watched her cry when she was sad and cry when she was happy, her delicate eye corners becoming wet again and her skin turning red as if she was having an allergic reaction.

She remembered that Chen Chuxing, like her, had a tight schedule recently. She absolutely did not want to face Manager You’s questioning tomorrow.

The familiar sound of her difficult manager’s accent echoed in her ears:

“Little Sister Cheng, our Xingxing isn’t as young as you. She doesn’t have as much collagen to recover that quickly. You’ve tortured her like this, now her makeup won’t even go on properly…”

So Cheng Shiyuan deliberately put on a cold face and splashed cold water on her: “Sister, don’t get happy too soon.”

“Whether you get a chance to start over depends on your performance.”

“If you’re not a good girl… Will you be a good girl? Will you listen to me?”

Chen Chuxing reflexively nodded, eagerly wanting to say that she would only listen to her.

However, this question, by reflex, overlapped with a memory deep in her past.

The humid drizzle, separated by memory, was still sticky in her lungs.

A young woman looked her over with an indifferent gaze. There was no admiration for her appearance in her eyes, nor disdain for her poverty. She was just sizing her up, measuring if she was worthy enough to be an “asset” worth investing in.

Chen Chuxing could tell at a glance that this person was younger than her, but she felt an inexplicable sense of suffocation and nervousness.

Her mind was filled with the questions the other person might ask.

In just a few seconds, she had already rehearsed countless answers, each one trying to prove her value with all her might.

Until the other person spoke, unhurriedly: “You like money?”

Chen Chuxing was stunned, not expecting such a direct question.

But before she could react, the other person answered for her: “I can guarantee that for every day you’re alive from now on, you won’t have to worry about money.”

“Remember my name, Shen Lingxi—from now on, I am your boss.”

None of her prepared speeches were needed.

She only felt an overwhelming sense of luck, as if a gold ingot had fallen from the sky and hit her.

It wasn’t until many years later that she understood the meaning of Shen Lingxi’s guarantee.

I can guarantee that for every day you’re alive, you won’t have to worry about money. But if you’re not useful, if you’re disobedient, you won’t be alive to see the next day.

This was supposed to be a sweet moment where she could finally embrace her beloved, but this ill-timed memory made Chen Chuxing feel a chill in her very bones.

She parted her lips, and after a long while, heard her own voice:

“I will, Shiyuan.”

“I’ll listen to you no matter what.”

If one day, your instructions and another command overlap, I will choose you without hesitation.

The gold ingot that landed in her arms all those years ago had made Chen Chuxing dizzy. It was only today, many years later, that she soberly realized that the wealth and glory she had fought to survive for would all have to be returned one day.

She would be just as she was back then—with nothing.

No, she would lose even more than she had back then.

But she was already prepared for it.

Acquired Chen Chuxing Affection Value: 4.

She was pouring out her love with her whole heart, but why…

…was Chen Chuxing trembling?

Cheng Shiyuan felt her fear and for a second began to wonder if she had been too harsh tonight, causing Chen Chuxing to become so anxious?

She softened her expression, raised her hand to return the hug, and even kissed her on the cheek, skillfully giving her a treat after showing a cold face:

“Sister, you did so well just now.”

“I’ll reward you by letting you sleep with me tonight, okay?”

Although the place they could sleep together was just the large sofa in the living room.

The production crew, having learned their lesson from the first night, had installed several more cameras on the living room ceiling to ensure they didn’t miss any more exciting moments in the public area.

This meant that at most, they could only hold hands and cuddle under the blankets.

But Chen Chuxing was still very satisfied.

She wanted to be pressed against her every inch of the way, burying her head in Cheng Shiyuan’s shoulder, wanting every breath she took to carry her scent.

Even when her team called her to work in the morning, she was still unconsciously holding onto Cheng Shiyuan’s wrist, as if she wished she could turn her into a portable charm so they would never have to be apart.

Cheng Shiyuan’s schedule wasn’t as early as hers, but she was already woken up by her. She habitually wanted to find something to eat in the fridge.

The moment she opened the fridge door, she remembered that she had been eating outside recently and that there couldn’t be any food here.

However, what greeted her was a fully stocked fridge with food sealed in plastic wrap, ready to be heated up in the microwave—

Cooked noodles, soup base and noodles separated for preservation. There were several choices of toppings like stir-fried eggs with tomatoes, minced meat sauce, and carrot and lamb. There were even separate containers of shredded cucumber and chopped cherry tomatoes.

Cheng Shiyuan was momentarily lost in a daze, thinking she was back to her student days abroad.

Every time Xie Zhiqing came to visit, she would tirelessly cook for her, worried she would starve. Before returning to China, she would leave as many meals in the fridge as possible.

The freezer had hundreds of dumplings with different fillings, freshly wrapped that day.

The refrigerator’s chilling compartment was filled with convenient dishes like these. She was even worried Cheng Shiyuan wouldn’t cook the noodles properly, so she left behind alkali noodles that could be stirred and dissolved with hot water.

It wasn’t even dawn yet. Only the orange light from the fridge illuminated her.

Cheng Shiyuan stood there for a while before remembering to ask Chen Chuxing’s team if they wanted breakfast.

But she first heard Manager You questioning Chen Chuxing about staying up all night, and she felt a guilty pang, pretending to be busy. By the time she had finished heating up her single serving of breakfast by the microwave, the living room was already empty.

“What are you spacing out for?”

A voice suddenly appeared in front of her, pulling back her attention.

Xia Ziran raised an eyebrow, looking at her freshly heated breakfast. She knew who had prepared it without even guessing. She asked with a sneer:

“Is it nastier than my little wontons? If it is, don’t eat it. I’ll order you something fresh.”

Cheng Shiyuan was still a bit sleepy, her movements slow and lazy. Her answer was to directly pick up a mouthful of noodles with her chopsticks.

Xia Ziran narrowed her eyes, quietly staring at the provocation.

After a moment, she used her less-injured hand to pinch Cheng Shiyuan’s ear: “You’ll be happy the day you finally piss me off to death.”

She glanced at the mess in the living room, her eyes lingering for a long time on the sofa where Cheng Shiyuan had slept. She suddenly placed a medicine bottle in front of her.

“Help me change my dressing.”

Cheng Shiyuan, who had been treating her like air, couldn’t help but fix her gaze on the medicine bottle.

Even without opening the cap, she felt as if she could already smell the strong, emerging scent from inside.

“What is this? Iodine? Alcohol?” she asked calmly.

Xia Ziran didn’t hear her refusal, assuming she was willing to help her change the dressing, and her mood improved significantly.

She casually replied: “It’s a special wound medicine from Hong Kong, a new product from that world’s number one biotechnology company. My family doctor recommended it.”

She then laughed: “But the person who developed it must have lost their mind. They bothered to add a harmless fragrance to it. It smells like perfume.”

Cheng Shiyuan’s throat tightened.

The image of her days back in that old house on Fragrant Hill in Hong Kong appeared.

At first, Shen Lingxi had a misunderstanding of her stamina and tirelessly tormented her. Later, when she realized it was affecting her work, she brought back a new, not-yet-on-the-market medicine one day.

But after she could apply the medicine and recover faster, Cheng Shiyuan was tormented even more.

She was often covered from the inside out with that strong Daphne flower scent.

Her colleagues in the film crew even asked her several times where she got that unique perfume, saying it smelled really nice.

She unconsciously tightened her grip on her chopsticks, her palm feeling as if it were once again scratching at the thin silk quilt, trapped back in that bed whose end was never dictated by her will.

She even felt her body begin to exhibit that annoying, bloated, and restless feeling that made her unable to sit still.

Xia Ziran asked abruptly: “Do you want to smell it?”

“No!”

Her mouth reacted faster than her brain.

In Xia Ziran’s rare look of surprise, Cheng Shiyuan realized she had overreacted. She casually picked up some more noodles:

“I don’t like the smell of medicine. Who would be interested in this kind of thing?”

Xia Ziran sized up her ear, which had been fine when she pinched it, but was now inexplicably red.

“…Is that so?”

Cheng Shiyuan’s eyebrow twitched. She knew Xia Ziran was about to ask something else.

But Xia Ziran only chuckled lightly, pushing the bottle closer to her, and smiled lazily:

“Then you better be quick later, or won’t you hold your breath until you suffocate yourself?”

Cheng Shiyuan silently exhaled.

She knew this clingy little dog-snake wouldn’t give up until she got what she wanted.

For the sake of her peaceful meal, she quickly grabbed Xia Ziran’s injured hand. Because she was only focused on efficiency, her movements were so rough that she saw the woman’s jaw clench.

But Xia Ziran didn’t say a word, only triggering system prompts:

Acquired Xia Ziran Affection Value: 0.1

Before leaving, she finally spoke, unhurriedly: “The production crew said all guests need to prepare a gift to invite someone on a date for the first group date. What are you going to prepare?”

She was interrupted by Xie Zhiqing’s timed alarm for her workout.

A very noticeable gaze was cast from the hallway.

She seemed to be curious about her answer as well.

Cheng Shiyuan’s thoughts were still caught in the lingering presence of Shen Lingxi. She knew that no matter which ex she spent time with these two days, they would definitely see the clues.

Besides, she still hadn’t figured out a better way to get the most Pure Affection Value at once—

“You want me to leak the answers? I remember a top student who was the best at guessing questions before. Are you admitting defeat in advance now?”

Xia Ziran said with a laugh, her provocation so childish.

Then she met the pair of dark eyes in the hallway and answered Cheng Shiyuan’s question slowly:

“No matter what you prepare, I’ll be able to recognize it.”

Cheng Shiyuan knew, of course, that she would.

Just as these people knew her, she also knew them well enough to guess what kind of date invitation gifts each of them would prepare.

So.

When she finished work and returned to the villa, she happened to draw the lot to be the first to choose a gift.

Cheng Shiyuan looked at the box containing the brand ring that Chen Chuxing had given her to wear when they first met.

And a beautiful anklet, a symbol of Xia Ziran’s possessiveness, as if she wished she could tie up her very soul.

And a limited edition Barbie doll, a model her collection cabinet was missing, which she had casually mentioned to Xie Zhiqing a long time ago was hard to find.

Finally, she stopped in front of a box that was too simple and plain compared to the others.

The gift box was open.

Inside, there was only a packet of sunflower seeds.

Cheng Shiyuan looked at the packet of seeds and suddenly laughed:

“Are you sure there aren’t sunflower seeds inside?”

Wang Shu instinctively wanted to speak, but remembering the show’s rules, she managed to swallow her words.

Only a staff member answered seriously that they weren’t.

Cheng Shiyuan picked up the packet of sunflower seeds: “Then I’ll choose this one. I like things that have a lot of energy and are full of vitality now.”

So, she hoped that certain shady individuals who liked to lurk in the dark and were full of malice would learn how to become bright and sunny.

This was also a good chance for her to compare how much Pure Affection Value the only non-ex among her Life Value Targets could provide.

The youngest and most vibrant person on the show, Wang Shu, silently straightened up.

She was already tall, and now she stood out even more.

Her light, amber eyes immediately brightened, giving the feeling of a bright, high-powered streetlamp on a school playground turning on, a searing sensation that even Xia Ziran, standing next to her, felt.

Before Xia Ziran’s gaze could turn dangerous, Cheng Shiyuan slowly chose the most suitable date location for the “purest and cutest” little person she felt was there:

“Do you want to bake a cake with me tomorrow?”

She firmly believed that the reason the last commercial shoot had developed into such a situation.

Was all because the sudden attack had stimulated the child’s brain and messed with her emotions.

Learning to bake, in the sweet world of sugar, should be much purer and cuter, right?

How could pure feelings not be pure affection?

Wang Shu heard her Little Aunt’s unreserved laughter beside her. She had won this time.

But looking around, not a single one of her damn “love rivals” showed her any intense jealousy.

As a result, an inexplicable sense of gnashing dissatisfaction was mixed in with Wang Shu’s joy.

—She didn’t want to, didn’t want to be seen as an innocent, naive child anymore.

However, only by being a “child” could she receive Cheng Shiyuan’s affection and special care.

“Okay~”

She heard herself, as always, happily agree:

“As long as I’m with Cheng Cheng, I’ll do anything.”

However, Cheng Shiyuan seemed to have acutely noticed the disappointment she was trying so hard to hide.

The next day, when they met at the bakery and entered the sweet-smelling studio together, Cheng Shiyuan asked with a casual smile:

“Let me guess, did you encounter some difficult homework? Or were you troubled by some petty older person recently?”

“Or are you just unhappy about our date?”

Wang Shu looked up abruptly: “No! I… I was looking forward to this date the most…”

She hadn’t even finished saying the word ‘date.’

She ran right into Cheng Shiyuan’s teasing eyes.

Feeling annoyed, she turned into a giant, clingy teddy bear before the teacher arrived. She rested her chin on Cheng Shiyuan’s head, wanting to completely envelop her in her arms.

In a place where the person in her arms couldn’t see, the darkness in her eyes showed.

“Cheng Cheng always teases me like this. Is it because you dislike my age?”

She had never cared about being born later than others like this before—

If she had been the same age as Cheng Shiyuan, would she have had the chance to chase after her beloved earlier?

Maybe then, it wouldn’t be those old geezers, with their “ex-lover” qualifications, flaunting their superiority to her.

Because even if she was as fierce as she could be, as a child, she had no threatening “medals of honor.”

“How could that be?”

Cheng Shiyuan laughed, tilting her head to look at her in confusion.

The age gap between them wasn’t that big, but to her, who had heard her “death sentence,” the 19-year-old Wang Shu symbolized vibrant, thriving vitality.

“Isn’t being young great? It symbolizes endless possibilities.”

She narrowed her eyes, remembering a conversation she had with a collaborator during a commercial shoot who had casually brought up Wang Shu.

Wang Shu had actually been a top model in the industry for years, with a presence at the Victoria’s Secret show. She was also focused on transitioning into acting and had received a decent script and role. She just needed a chance to become famous.

Exploding into popularity was a matter of extreme effort, and a little bit of fate.

Compared to her, Cheng Shiyuan at 19 had the influence of her family’s industry, plus the resources and introductions from Chen Chuxing’s favoritism…

Although Cheng Shiyuan was confident that she could have reached this point on her own, it would have definitely taken her much longer.

With Wang Shu, she was uncharacteristically relaxed and even able to be a wise older sister figure.

“What are you in such a hurry for?”

“Has no one ever told you? You’re actually doing very well. Hmm, at least you’re doing better than I was at your age.”

Perhaps because she was now relaxed and willing to lean into her embrace, which somewhat satisfied Wang Shu’s slight longing.

So she unconsciously revealed a bit of her true feelings:

“It’s not enough, it’s not enough at all—”

“If I had also become successful, whether I inherited the family business or became a more famous star, would Cheng Cheng care about me more than she does now?”

She didn’t want the kind of tolerance you show a child.

Wang Shu also wanted to become a more influential person in Cheng Shiyuan’s eyes, a powerful person. That’s why she resented the time she couldn’t catch up to.

Cheng Shiyuan thought she was adorable.

Perhaps because of the influence of her family education, Cheng Shiyuan always instinctively appreciated outstanding, superior people in various fields. Her exes were all exceptional for this reason.

She was instinctively drawn to power.

When she was an heir, she would compare herself to Xie Zhiqing.

When she encountered a difficult problem while studying, she was eager to catch up with a genius like Xia Ziran.

Even when she was into a star, she had to like someone with real talent, a senior like Chen Chuxing with solid fundamentals from her child star days. Even while dating, she was tireless in learning more acting knowledge from Chen Chuxing.

Even when she was discouraged and tired, she would choose the highest branch to perch on.

Cheng Shiyuan had almost never stopped to look down.

It was only after a lifetime of busyness, when she was forced to be like a newborn baby with only one need—to “survive”—by a serious illness, that she began to suddenly reflect on what she truly wanted.

If her life could continue after these 25 days.

She just wanted to slow down and savor the scenery of every day she was alive.

She raised her hand to pat the child who had never called her “older sister,” as if doing so would erase the passage of time between them. Cheng Shiyuan said with a smile:

“Success and a long life—you’ll get all of that if you live long enough.”

“As for being an heir, what’s so good about it?”

She had seen too many people whose emotions had been warped beyond recognition by that position.

That position could transform a lively, sensitive person into a rational and steady machine.

It was also like a huge rock that suddenly landed in an artist’s life, making it so she could never hold a paintbrush again, and could only carry the heavy responsibility of that mountain, with no place to put the lingering frustration of her shattered dreams.

Ah.

There was one, though, who started with nothing, a little monster who relied on ruthless competition and thunderous methods.

That person was particularly suited for that position.

But why compare a good person to a monster?

So Cheng Shiyuan gently patted her cheek again, sincerely laughing and coaxing:

“Be a good girl. Let your Little Aunt take on the hardship of being an heir.”

“We’ll have a happy, carefree, wealthy life, okay?”

Wang Shu nodded involuntarily.

She knew that Cheng Shiyuan was using these soft whispers to fill her with the notion that “it’s great to be a child.”

But she was, frustratingly, overjoyed by the word “we,” unilaterally interpreting it as Cheng Shiyuan wanting to live her life with her the most.

If… if… Cheng Cheng really liked someone young, then she wouldn’t mind being a cute child for the rest of her life.

It was also at this moment.

Cheng Shiyuan suddenly remembered the date invitation gift she had chosen yesterday. She finally couldn’t resist asking the question that had lingered since last night:

“Why did you think to give me sunflower seeds?”

“Because I’m very greedy. I want to grow a sun that belongs only to me.”

Wang Shu thought, looking down into her eyes, which were alluring no matter what and made people want to drown in them.

“Because a seed will grow into a different plant depending on the environment—the light, soil, humidity, and temperature.”

“When I was a child, I was like this seed, always moving between different families and staying in many different countries. I had to constantly adapt to these places.”

“I know there’s a saying, ‘love your partner like you nurture a flower’—”

“I want you to know that there is a seed here that has not been planted yet. It can completely follow your wishes. You can water it, fertilize it, and make it blossom whenever you want.”

Wang Shu had never been in a relationship. Her first crush in a foreign country had been etched into her memory for many years.

Ever since she became close with Cheng Shiyuan in that Hollywood film crew, she had been diligently collecting information about her for many years after Cheng Shiyuan returned to China. She wanted to know what she liked, what she didn’t like, and what her daily habits were.

She had treasured the everyday items Cheng Shiyuan had left behind, treating them as her scent, even though Cheng Shiyuan had only used them on a whim and didn’t even remember the brand.

Wang Shu had even done things like adjusting her sleep schedule to be the same as Cheng Shiyuan’s across time zones, as if they could share the same dream that way.

She had also listened to some of Cheng Shiyuan’s interviews, even though there were bound to be gaps from different countries’ websites.

But she remembered the dishes Cheng Shiyuan had occasionally tasted and the places she had visited. Then, during her holidays, she would eagerly go to those places that her beloved had been to.

She felt the air was sweet and fragrant just by doing so.

They were illuminated by the same sun and bathed in the same moon.

Wang Shu had tried her very best to mold herself into a shape that Cheng Shiyuan would like at first glance.

She knew that the people standing beside Cheng Shiyuan were each like a thick book. With just a flip of the page, they had a deeper history than she did.

But she still gathered her courage and wanted to hand over her blank book—

“Cheng Cheng, do you want to give it a try?”

“Make the flower that grows from this seed become your favorite shape.”

It could be trimmed into any shape, and she was willing to accept it no matter what it became, because the person doing it would be Cheng Shiyuan.

And Wang Shu would be filled with anticipation for every single second that was to come.

So, would her Cheng Cheng be willing to plant her seed?