Joining A Dating Show With Five Exes - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: I’ll Have To Punish You Then

Cheng Shiyuan hadn’t expected Xie Zhiqing, who had always indulged her and never uttered a word of complaint even when they broke up, to reject her overture for reconciliation.

Sitting in the dressing room at the reality show filming location, she looked at her reflection, but the image that surfaced was of Xie Zhiqing after she had spoken those harsh words yesterday, yet not being as heartless as she sounded.

Not only did Xie Zhiqing let her cling to her all the way to the Xie house, but she even accompanied her to the filming location today.

Thinking of this, she turned her head to look at Xie Zhiqing, who was less than half a meter away. Except for the moment she was tackled on the lawn yesterday when Xie Zhiqing almost lost control, she had been cool and distant, seemingly determined to maintain only the familiarity and closeness of “childhood friends.”

Her presence at the show was only because the teammate who had brazenly overstepped her bounds, signed her up for the dating show as a prank, and then spent half an hour on the phone begging for forgiveness, agreeing to a series of “humiliating” training clauses for Xie Zhiqing.

Afterwards, crying loudly and swearing she would take five part-time jobs this year to cover the penalty for Xie Zhiqing withdrawing from the show—

Xie Zhiqing had slowly relented: “Don’t let it happen again.”

Cheng Shiyuan smiled, listening to her manager emotionally manipulate her teammate, but she knew perfectly well that the call was meant more to remind her that even if she participated in this dating show, it had nothing to do with Cheng Shiyuan.

Tsk. Playing hard to get.

However, looking at the life countdown reflected in the mirror, which was stuck at [20 minutes and 15 seconds], and feeling her healthy physical state, Cheng Shiyuan had no desire to return to her precarious life.

So, she asked her manager with a smile, “How about Xie Zhiqing and I link arms and make our debut together when the show starts?”

The manager had met Xie Zhiqing once and only saw her as a shield Cheng Shiyuan had found. Seeing them stick close, she assumed it was a pre-designed script by her little ancestor.

But she still shook her head: “I just checked. Director Xiao Ke’s format for the guest debut this season is for the guests to appear separately from four different directions, randomly meeting and pairing up two-by-two before making a joint appearance.”

What? Separate?

She absolutely could not be separated from Xie Zhiqing!

Cheng Shiyuan instinctively clenched her jaw, gripping her fingers tightly until her nails dug deep into her palms, leaving crescent marks.

Xie Zhiqing, always sensitive to changes in her presence, looked over with a slight doubt.

Cheng Shiyuan forced herself to relax her brows, giving her the usual smile, and pleaded sweetly: “You run the fastest. You’ll definitely be the first to get to me later, right?”

Xie Zhiqing did not reply.

Her silence made Cheng Shiyuan subtly uneasy.

So, after Xie Zhiqing followed the staff to another room as per the process, Cheng Shiyuan, waiting alone, involuntarily showed her anxiety, even ignoring the manager who had new information.

The moment the production team gave the signal, she rushed towards the door—

And then suddenly stepped into a silent darkness.

The lights in the hallway had been switched off, and she blindly walked into this trap woven by the dark.

Cheng Shiyuan wasn’t normally afraid of the dark, but having been separated from Xie Zhiqing for too long, and watching her life value plummet again, she couldn’t calm her frantic heart; even her breathing became shallow and rapid.

She forced herself to stand still, adjust to the light, and frantically reassured herself that Xie Zhiqing would definitely come.

But in the silent environment, there was only the sound of her own heart and gasp, as if the world had forgotten her.

So when a dark red light source approached, Cheng Shiyuan eagerly reached out with trembling fingers.

“Zhi, Zhizhi?”

She tentatively used the nickname she hadn’t called Xie Zhiqing since junior high for certain reasons.

But the nickname was perfect here. If she had mistaken the person in her haste, the stranger she grabbed would show confusion, and it wouldn’t be too late to let go then.

However, the person she grabbed only paused, then remained still.

Simultaneously, the mechanical voice she heard yesterday finally sounded in her mind: [Detected ‘Life Extension Value Target,’ please proceed to unlock, Host.]

—What does this mean? I was only separated from Xie Zhiqing for this long, and this damn system is turning against me, making me unlock again? Besides, it looks dark here, but the production team definitely set up infrared cameras. Is this a test of my money-power to suppress trending searches?

Cheng Shiyuan swore internally, but her face instantly relaxed into a smile, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on the fabric.

She let her dependence show, as if afraid the person would leave.

Despite the dim environment, she could barely recognize the color of the skirt she held in her palm.

It was a rich red, of excellent quality, like a flowing flame, but cold to the touch.

There was also a dominant, spicy, and rich scent on the air, extremely aggressive.

As the coolness spread from her fingertips, Cheng Shiyuan involuntarily shivered. As if sensitive to the cold, she instinctively leaned towards the only source of warmth nearby.

She clearly remembered Xie Zhiqing’s clothes were not this color before she left, nor did she suit this overbearing perfume. What is the styling team doing?

But Cheng Shiyuan’s voice, though smiling, carried an intimate complaint, unreservedly showing her dependence and softness:

“Zhizhi, why did it take you so long to come out? I thought I was lost and was looking for you for so long.”

Considering that Xie Zhiqing, despite her silence, had come to her immediately, and knowing her outwardly cold but inwardly warm nature, Cheng Shiyuan took advantage of the atmosphere provided by the darkness and reached up to loosely wrap her arms around the other person’s waist:

“The only reason I agreed to come here was because I first heard you might be coming.”

“I’m really serious this time, Zhizhi, won’t you believe me?”

Her whispered words were full of sincere humility, but her lips followed the remembered path, tracing the line of the other person’s ear and cheek, searching for those cool, hard lips.

“Heh.”

An involuntary soft laugh sounded just as she stretched onto her tiptoes to the utmost, about to touch the lips.

The next instant, the person seemed to take pity on her effort, placing a hand on her waist.

But the fingertips deliberately pressed into her sensitive lower back.

As Cheng Shiyuan gave a sudden, slight tremor, a teasing voice came from above:

“Really, no matter how many times I hear it, it sounds like a little mouse calling for friends.”

“Cheng Shiyuan, did I ever tell you that if you want to please me, you should start by changing that awful nickname?”

The cool breath flowed into her ear, seemingly intimate.

However, the hand gripping her waist, sensing her tension and stiffness, not only didn’t release its hold but maliciously increased its pressure.

Cheng Shiyuan was forced to remain on her tiptoes, completely pressed against this person. Having stayed in the dark long enough, she could now clearly see the condescending, mocking, phoenix-shaped eyes looking down at her.

A chill struck her heart.

Good news: it was “zhizhi.”

Bad news: it wasn’t the Zhi (梔) in Xie Zhiqing, but the Zhi (知) in… Xia Ziran.

Cheng Shiyuan couldn’t help but lightly bite her tongue, inwardly blaming herself for her poor memory. How could she forget that it was precisely because this person’s name sounded the same as Xie Zhiqing’s that her occasional “zhizhi” always unintentionally offended both people?

But since things had come to this, she had to consider the possibility of letting the mistake stand—

Did the system prompt just now mean this person could also extend her life?

Xia Ziran narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at this person who had avoided her since junior high graduation, almost never appearing in the same place as her, yet who had just recited a string of sweet nothings without blinking.

Things like looking for her for a long time and only coming to the show because she heard Xia Ziran might be here.

Finding Cheng Shiyuan staring at her lips with a palpable, almost thirsty and greedy look, Xia Ziran strangely felt like the lamp oil that little mice would covet.

The kind that was great for a vitality boost.

The absurd thought made Xia Ziran smile, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she leaned in slightly.

Noticing that the little creature, who should have been uncomfortable and struggling from the pressure on her sensitive spot, neither flinched nor dodged in this environment—which surely had cameras—looking as though she wouldn’t mind a public passionate kiss with her.

Xia Ziran stopped just short of the seemingly sweet trap, using her other hand to pinch Cheng Shiyuan’s chin:

“I said, what kind of trick are you playing now?”

Sensing her wary, cautious, and suspicious gaze, cold as the vertical pupils of a snake examining its prey, lingering on her face.

Cheng Shiyuan couldn’t help but reflect on why she had been so indiscriminate in the past to have dated such a problematic person.

This wasn’t her ex; this was her criminal record.

Realizing Xia Ziran wouldn’t be easily hooked, she immediately turned her head, wanting to pull away from this cold embrace and find her original target, Xie Zhiqing.

But the palm pressed against her lower back tightened, blocking her, and the force pinching her chin deliberately increased.

Xia Ziran was not one of those fawning admirers whom Cheng Shiyuan could summon and dismiss at will.

“You have no patience. Is this how I taught you?” she challenged, raising an eyebrow.

Before Cheng Shiyuan could answer, a steady set of footsteps approached in the dark.

From Xia Ziran’s angle, she was directly facing the newcomer, and the moment she clearly saw the person, her mood instantly turned extremely sour.

—Because she suddenly remembered that the reason she hated the nickname “zhizhi” back then was that when Cheng Shiyuan used the same pronunciation to address her, it lacked the trust and naturalness she displayed in front of the other person, as if Xia Ziran was just a poor substitute.

“Xie Zhiqing,” she silently chewed the newcomer’s name between her teeth.

But she intentionally did not warn Cheng Shiyuan, who was facing away from the newcomer, in her arms.

Xia Ziran lowered her gaze, gave the person in her arms an uncharacteristic, almost gentle smile, and her tone became generous and accommodating:

“I can overlook those few ‘zhizhis’ from a bad student with poor memory.”

“But what should you say when you’re flirting with me? If you’ve forgotten even that, I’ll have to punish you then.”