Chapter 70: Is Leng Xiang Jealous?

Only Jiang Sisi’s earpiece could receive feedback from the production team’s barrage comments. No one else could hear them.

Jiang Sisi turned her head to look at Leng Xiang, but Leng Xiang did not look back at her. Instead, her eyes were fixed on the painting on the wall, as if she could make a flower bloom from it.

Lu Rui enthusiastically suggested, “I’ll take you to see the girls’ rooms.”

The boys’ rooms were on the second floor, while the two girls’ rooms were on the third floor, one on the left and one on the right, facing each other across a hallway.

Lu Rui and Bai Rou had already claimed the room on the left, so the one on the right naturally went to Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang.

Jiang Sisi had brought nothing with her, arriving empty-handed. Qin Yang gentlemanly picked up Leng Xiang’s suitcase and followed them upstairs.

Neither room had a bathroom or toilet inside; they had to share the public bathroom at the end of the hallway outside.

The room was quite spacious, with two beds placed on the left and right sides. It was neatly and cleanly furnished in a black-and-white color scheme, with no unnecessary decorations. There was a huge floor-to-ceiling window leading to a small balcony outside.

Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang entered the room. Qin Yang set down the suitcase and, not wanting to linger in the girls’ room, went back downstairs.

Lu Rui had just come to this variety show straight from the set of the drama series Harem. Her role in the production had been a fortunate opportunity arranged by Jiang Sisi.

Her eyes darted between Leng Xiang and Jiang Sisi. She had originally wanted to chat more with Jiang Sisi, but Jiang Sisi’s gaze never lingered on her. Following Jiang Sisi’s line of sight, Lu Rui’s pupils contracted.

Jiang Sisi’s eyes had never left Leng Xiang.

Even if she desperately wanted to talk to Jiang Sisi, the live-stream camera’s main feed was dutifully filming behind her. In front of tens of millions of netizens, she couldn’t let her persona collapse or act too obviously. Her gaze shifted between Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang, and seeing that neither paid her any attention, she gritted her teeth, said a greeting to them, and left.

Leng Xiang asked, “Which bed do you want?”

Jiang Sisi replied, “Whichever. You pick first.”

Leng Xiang then took the bed on the left by the balcony and began unpacking her things.

Jiang Sisi glanced at the cameraman filming behind them. He got the hint, switched the lens, and cut the live main feed to the camera downstairs.

The vast netizen audience immediately wailed in unison.

“I want to see Sisi and Xiangxiang!! I want to see them sharing a room!!”

“What are those two doing in the room aaaah!! Why did you cut the feed!!”

“It’s only now that I realize this show has more guests besides Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang…”

“Hahahahaha, same here upstairs. I’ve been treating the other five as background extras.”

“The director is probably crying. They went to all that trouble inviting guests for a proper romance show, but you all only want to watch the yuri stuff.”

“Since they cut the feed, I’ll guess the script for this show.”

“Don’t expose it so soon!! Though these kinds of shows do have scripts…”

“I’ll go first. I bet Bai Rou and Yi Jing are a pair. Looks like the classic good girl and playboy spark.”

“Then I bet Yi Jing and Leng Xiang! After Yi Jing finished chatting with Jiang Sisi, he kept staring at Leng Xiang without blinking.”

“I bet Qin Yang and Bai Rou. Wild hunk and good girl would match well too!!”

“emmmm Actually, I think Qin Yang and Yi Jing could pair up… Sorry, my fujoshi eyes are seeing BL, I’ll go stand in the corner!!”

“I can’t even remember who else is there… Isn’t it just five people?”

“Oh, and Lu Rui and Xu Xingche. Almost forgot them.”

“Though I can tell Lu Rui is going for the sweet and cute persona, emmm… she just has no presence. Xu Xingche too, probably the campus heartthrob type?”

“Xu Xingche is gonna cry! We just came from the same drama crew—why doesn’t he get a name?!”

“Take away heartthrob Xingche! No shipping here!”

…

Leng Xiang squatted on the floor and unpacked her luggage first. Jiang Sisi quietly approached her and mysteriously asked, “So, what’s really in the hidden compartment of your suitcase?”

Leng Xiang jumped in fright and quickly covered the suitcase. “Nothing.”

Anyone could tell there was something there, right?

Leng Xiang tried to change the subject, looking around the room. “Didn’t you bring any luggage?”

Jiang Sisi relaxed and lay back on the bed, hands clasped behind her head. “Nope. I probably won’t be staying here full-time.”

Leng Xiang puzzled, “Didn’t they say we’d live together for three months?”

Jiang Sisi said, “Not necessarily. It’s not that strict. During filming periods, we need to be here, but probably just two or three days a week. As long as it doesn’t interfere with shooting, we can go home. The production team shouldn’t force it.”

Leng Xiang asked, “So where do you plan to stay?”

Jiang Sisi pointed out the window. Through the balcony, they could see several villas nearby on the same scale as the Love Cottage.

This was a villa community, and this particular villa was likely just rented by the production team.

Jiang Sisi said, “I’ll go home. My house is nearby, so I can stay there and keep my dad company.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

She should have realized it earlier. Jiang Sisi surely owned more than one property. That apartment in the city center that she’d visited was probably just one of her pit stops.

Damn rich people.

Jiang Sisi hesitated for a moment before saying, “In three days, it’s my birthday. I’ll have a small party at my place.”

She seemed a bit nervous as she looked at Leng Xiang. “Will you come?”

Leng Xiang then noticed that the cameraman had quietly left.

Jiang Sisi clearly didn’t want the wider audience to know about this.

Leng Xiang nodded. “Sure.”

Jiang Sisi looked relieved and sat up from the bed.

She said, “My next movie won’t start shooting so soon. The script hasn’t even begun writing yet. I want to rest properly for a while.”

“Qin Yang has a striking appearance—very standout and eye-catching. The script might need a role like that, but it’s just a possibility.”

Leng Xiang was initially confused about why Jiang Sisi was telling her this. It took her a while to realize that Jiang Sisi was explaining herself.

A strange atmosphere bubbled up in the room.

It was a bit ambiguous, yet deliberately distant, like two currents of air drawing close to each other, probing tentatively.

Leng Xiang couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from curving upward.

Suddenly, her throat felt itchy. She wanted to say something but didn’t know what. She coughed, finished packing her suitcase, and set it aside.

Someone knocked on their door and called from outside, “Teacher Jiang, time to set up the next task.”

Oh, right—she was still the host.

Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang went downstairs. The other five were still sitting on the sofa. On the first day of filming, aside from the outgoing Yi Jing, everyone was a bit reserved with each other.

Yi Jing saw them finally come down and waved at them. “What little secrets did you two share up there?”

Jiang Sisi held a stack of task cards and lightly knocked Yi Jing on the head with it.

Lu Rui looked up at Yi Jing, then at Jiang Sisi, her mind racing.

It seemed Yi Jing and Jiang Sisi had a very good relationship. If Jiang Sisi was a dead end, she could try approaching through Yi Jing.

The barrage exploded.

“I suddenly feel the calm before a storm…”

“Actually, Jiang Sisi and Yi Jing are kinda… emmm… Sorry, I betrayed the group!!”

“With these four women and three men, so many lines could connect. I feel like we’ll see tons of love triangle drama…”

“Can’t wait for the love triangles!!”

Jiang Sisi drew a card from the stack. “Let’s see the third task of the day.”

“‘Guests, prepare a sumptuous lunch for yourselves.'”

Jiang Sisi: “Cooking, huh? Simple enough. Who here knows how to cook?”

Yi Jing asked her, “Do you?”

Jiang Sisi admitted forthrightly, “I don’t.”

Yi Jing: “…”

The barrage erupted again.

“Hahahahaha!!”

“Jiang Sisi, do you have to say it so confidently!!”

“Jiang Sisi: Cooking is simple, but I can’t do it. Got a problem?”

“No problem… Wouldn’t dare have one…”

Qin Yang raised his hand first. “I can.”

Everyone’s gazes turned to the two-meter-tall buzz-cut guy.

Who would’ve thought?

Yi Jing: “…Edible?”

Qin Yang: “Before becoming an actor, I was a chef for three years. Shouldn’t poison anyone.”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Leng Xiang remembered that the script had her paired with Qin Yang to make lunch, so she raised her hand too.

All eyes turned to her.

Leng Xiang said, “I know some home cooking too. One person can’t handle it alone—I’ll assist you.”

Qin Yang nodded and smiled. “Thanks for the help, then.”

They got right to cooking.

Qin Yang asked the others what they wanted to eat and headed to the kitchen.

The kitchen had a massive double-door fridge stocked with all sorts of ingredients.

Qin Yang moved like a pro, quickly grabbing eggs, tomatoes, beef, broccoli, and other common items. He started with tomato-egg stir-fry and pulled out sweet bean sauce, cooking wine, soy sauce, and other seasonings.

Qin Yang asked, “Can you make braised beef?”

Leng Xiang nodded. “A bit.”

Qin Yang said, “Then the beef’s yours.”

Watching his quick hands, Leng Xiang asked, “You really were a chef?”

Qin Yang flashed a mouthful of white teeth. “Really. But they said I was too tall, ate too much, and kicked me out.”

Leng Xiang burst out laughing. “For real?”

Qin Yang: “Nah. While flipping pans in the back kitchen, my arms were too long—I flipped one right out of the pot. A scout spotted me, and I fired the boss.”

Leng Xiang laughed again.

The barrage went wild.

“Hahahahaha, he’s so funny!!!”

“I believe he’s the type who flips pans out because his arms are long—same as me…”

“I only care about Jiang Sisi’s expression right now.”

“Teacher Jiang! Boss Jiang! Director Jiang!! Leng Xiang-jie is getting swept away!! Keep an eye on her!!”

“What to do? I think Qin Yang and Leng Xiang kinda match now—mature woman x hunk type?”

“Fork that traitor upstairs out!”

“Fork ’em out!”

“To be fair, this is supposed to be a BG romance show. Can you CP fans tone it down? I’ve been sick of it for a while.”

“It’s fine to sell some fanservice, but taking it too seriously is over the line. Not allowed to let people date now?”

The production team dutifully relayed the barrage feedback to Jiang Sisi’s earpiece in real time.

Leng Xiang was still cooking with Qin Yang, chatting occasionally.

At 1.7 meters tall, Leng Xiang actually looked a bit petite and cute next to him. The kitchen was open-style, and after watching for a bit from the living room, Jiang Sisi smiled and beckoned to Leng Xiang. “Xiangxiang, come here for a sec.”