It was the second day since everyone had moved into the military guesthouse. The previous evening, after settling in, all twelve participants had introduced themselves before retiring to their rooms, ready for the day’s activities.
This morning, it was time for the flower exchange. Each male guest held a single red rose, intended for the woman who piqued his interest. The women, in turn, carried a flame-orange kapok flower, to offer to their preferred male guest. Mutual flower exchanges would signify a match—and matched pairs would receive a date pass, allowing them to leave the compound for a private outing.
The men were to present their flowers first.
Wen Shu did not offer his rose to the original owner. Instead, he presented it to Guest No. 4—Xie Shirui.
True to her poetic name, Xie Shirui possessed a soft, elegant appearance and carried herself with the gentle aura of someone who had grown up surrounded by books. She was 26 years old.
As for the original owner, two men offered her roses: Bian Jincheng and Pang Chuan.
Seeing that Wen Shu hadn’t chosen her, she selected the man she found most visually appealing from the two who had. After all, if she wanted to go on a date, she needed a mutual match—and it would be too embarrassing to be left behind on the very first day.
She ultimately chose Bian Jincheng, a handsome, refined-looking man of 28.
As for Pang Chuan… she didn’t even consider him. He was simply too muscular—nearly two meters tall, with a solid, imposing build that exuded an overwhelming presence. That type of man was not her type.
Now, the person chatting with Mu Fu was none other than Bian Jincheng—they had just returned from their first date.
Bian Jincheng was a core tech expert in the army, specializing in software development. For their outing, he took the original heroine to try out a program he’d personally designed, called “Backstab.” The software was used during soldier training to track shooting accuracy, physical performance, and more in real-time.
Once the device was activated, it functioned like a real-life version of a battle royale video game—except everything was happening in real time, with real people.
He let her experience it firsthand.
The two of them entered the training arena, where the goal was simple: either reach the safe zone first or reduce the other person’s life bar to zero. Whoever accomplished that first, won.
Because Bian Jincheng was more experienced, he handicapped himself during the simulation. The only way he could win was by dodging all of her attacks and reaching the finish line. He wasn’t allowed to fire back at her at all.
Even with the odds in her favor, she only managed to win a handful of rounds.
Still, the viewers were loving it. Super intense. And honestly, they were jealous. If they had this kind of software, they could finally settle all the petty arguments in their own live-action shooting games—no more guesswork.
Right now, most ‘battle royale’ fans relied on honesty and peer supervision. The problem? Some players, after getting hit—or even grazed—would pretend nothing happened just to stay in the game. There was zero sportsmanship. Playing with people like that was no fun at all, and yet it was a common issue no one could truly avoid. That’s why the internet lit up with people asking when a version of this software would be made available to the public.
Everything Bian Jincheng had shown the original owner was already declassified and open to the public. It’s just that most civilians weren’t particularly interested in military tech, so they had no idea it existed.
That said, the software was still made specifically for soldiers. Releasing it to the market wouldn’t be appropriate—especially with current restrictions on toy guns. For regular people, an experience like the original owner had today simply wasn’t possible.
After absorbing these memories, Mu Fu realized Bian Jincheng was looking at her with concern. His voice was gentle.
“Are you feeling unwell? You look kind of tired.”
She gave a small, embarrassed nod. “Yeah, a little… I just dozed off for a bit. Sorry—I didn’t really catch what you were saying.”
“It’s fine,” he smiled kindly. “Why don’t you go rest for a bit? I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”
“Okay. Just don’t forget to call me when you’re cooking. I’ll help.”
The two of them were still in the living room. Since today’s date had stayed within the compound, they’d be having dinner on-site. When they returned earlier, they hadn’t seen any of the other guests around the yard.
Bian Jincheng smiled gently. “Alright. Go rest, and I’ll let you know.”
It was only 4:30 PM, still a while until dinner, so Mu Fu had time to rest for about an hour.
But after parting ways with Bian Jincheng, she didn’t go to Room 1—her room.
She went to Room 7—Wen Shu’s room.
Truth was, Mu Fu wasn’t that tired at all. She’d just needed an excuse to leave Bian Jincheng… and see Wen Shu.
In her past life, the date between Wen Shu and Xie Shirui hadn’t gone well. In fact, it had been awkward for both of them. They ended it early and returned to the courtyard. When Mu Fu and Bian Jincheng came back and headed straight to the living room to rest, they hadn’t seen anyone else—meaning Wen Shu and Xie Shirui were likely in their own rooms.
And Mu Fu had guessed correctly. Wen Shu was indeed in his room.
He was staying in Room 7, which happened to be right next to Mu Fu’s Room 1—separated only by a wall.
Before the guests had moved in, the production team had already labeled the rooms in the courtyard. From left to right, the doors bore numbered tags—Rooms 1 through 7 had blue labels, and Rooms 1 through 5 had red ones. The blue rooms were for male guests, while the red ones were for female guests.
The day before, when the guests arrived, the crew asked each of them to pick a number. The room matching their chosen number became theirs.
Gui Xingye, 27, quiet and reserved, chose Room 1, so he ended up in the blue Room 1. Earlier today, he and the fifth male guest, Zhu Hongjun, both gave their roses to female guest number 5, Bai Tingting. However, later on, Bai Tingting decided to give her kapok flower to Zhu Hongjun instead. So, in the end, it was Zhu Hongjun who went on the afternoon date with her.
Male Guest No. 2 was Bian Jincheng. He picked the number two because he considered it his lucky number.
Male Guest No. 3, Fang Yuhang, was 30 and known for being quite clever.
Guest No. 4 was Pang Chuan, 31 years old. He’d also given a rose to the original owner that morning—at the same time as Bian Jincheng. He was built and muscular, with a bit of a hot temper.
Male Guest No. 5 was Zhu Hongjun, 26, and had never been in a relationship. A true ‘born single.’ Perhaps that inexperience was the reason his date with Bai Tingting went… less than smoothly.
He had taken her to a movie theater downtown. But when it came to choosing the film, he didn’t ask her opinion at all—he just made the call himself, in a very domineering way. They bought two drinks and a bucket of popcorn, but during the movie, he only asked once if she wanted any. When she politely declined, he took her words at face value—and didn’t offer again.
So, the entire bucket ended up in Zhu Hongjun’s stomach.
Safe to say… Bai Tingting was not impressed.
On the way back from their date, Bai Tingting wore a distant smile as she chatted with Zhu Hongjun. Whatever romantic spark they’d had at the beginning of the afternoon had completely faded.
It was clear that Bai Tingting had mentally blacklisted Zhu Hongjun—but he remained blissfully unaware.
Male Guest No. 6 was Ma Xiayang, 28 years old.
Now, as for the female guests—
The original host had arrived first and picked Room 1.
Female Guest No. 2 was Fan Xinjie, 27, strikingly beautiful with bold features. She and Fang Yuhang had exchanged flowers today, so the two of them went on a date. They’d headed to a concert in the city and still hadn’t returned.
Guest No. 3 was Wei Qiqiao, 25. She was quiet and had more ordinary looks, so during the flower-giving segment earlier, none of the first five male guests chose her. Wen Shu, the seventh male guest, also didn’t seem the type to give his flower to her. In the end, it was Ma Xiayang who offered her his rose—not out of affection, but out of courtesy, so she wouldn’t feel too embarrassed.
Left with no other choice, Wei Qiqiao gave her kapok flower back to Ma Xiayang.
Their pairing had felt awkward from the beginning, and that same discomfort lingered through their entire date. They’d chosen to go to an amusement park—lively, bustling, full of joy—but even that environment couldn’t melt the ice between them. The two remained distant, with no effort to grow closer.
Wei Qiqiao had been struggling all day, still affected by the morning’s rejection. Among all seven female guests, she was the only one who hadn’t been picked. The one who did choose her only did it out of pity.
And Ma Xiayang, though polite, wasn’t interested in her either. He maintained a gentlemanly demeanor, but didn’t go out of his way to care for her during the date.
Female Guest No. 4 was Xie Shirui—the one who had gone out with Wen Shu earlier.
Female Guest No. 5 was Bai Tingting, 24, with long, silky black hair and a gentle, sweet appearance to match her soft-spoken personality.
During the flower-giving earlier, only Mu Fu and Bai Tingting had received two roses each, making it clear they were the most popular among the men.
Mu Fu knocked a few times on Wen Shu’s door. From inside came a pleasant voice:
“Who is it? Just a sec.”
There was the sound of movement behind the door—rustling, soft steps. Then, after a moment, the door opened.
The man standing before her was well over six feet tall—at least a full head taller than Mu Fu, who had to tilt her head to meet his gaze.
Years in the military had left their mark on all seven male officers on the show. Their complexions were tanned, some darker than others. Wen Shu, at least, had a warm, sun-kissed tone that made him look healthy rather than sunburned. His buzz cut suited his sharply defined features and penetrating gaze, giving off a clean, crisp aura. Even without his uniform, that unmistakable military air clung to him—stoic, composed, and cool under pressure. He might not be conventionally handsome, but there was a rugged charm to him—something striking and undeniably masculine.
Mu Fu had always liked men with that kind of presence. A man’s temperament said so much—about his sense of responsibility, his ability to protect, and the security he could offer. And Wen Shu ticked all the boxes.
When he opened the door and saw it was Mu Fu—the same girl he had turned away the night before—he asked flatly, “What is it?”
She smiled, soft and relaxed. “Am I only allowed to come find you when I have a reason? Not going to invite me in?”
Normally, Wen Shu would’ve declined. He wasn’t the type to let a woman into his room casually. But remembering the cameras rolling, and the fact that Mu Fu was the regimental commander’s niece, he nodded politely. “Sure. It’s a little messy in here though—hope you don’t mind.”
He opened the door wide and stepped aside to let her in.
His room looked more or less like hers—about 22 square meters, with a small sofa, a coffee table, and a flat-screen TV at the front. Beyond that was a queen-sized bed, the white comforter still a little rumpled, showing someone had just lain there. The bathroom and sink area were tucked in the back. The space had the typical layout of a business hotel, though the show’s production team had spruced it up with a minimalist, modern touch.
They sat on opposite ends of the couch, with about a meter of space between them.
Mu Fu glanced at the distance between them, her brow lifting slightly. Leaning forward a bit, she asked curiously, “You came back early too? Didn’t go outside to look around?”
By ‘outside,’ she meant beyond the military compound—the cast members had started calling anything outside the gates simply “the outside.”
Wen Shu replied with a nod. “Yeah. Didn’t go out. You two neither?”
He remembered she’d been paired up with Bian Jincheng today. He didn’t know the guy well—just someone he’d seen around. They worked in different departments and rarely crossed paths.
Mu Fu’s tone was playful and sweet. “Nope, we just wandered around inside. Too bad we didn’t run into you.”
Wen Shu understood the implication behind her words but said nothing in response. He knew Mu Fu—the gentle, elegant girl sitting before him—was his commander’s niece. He also knew she liked him. But deep down, he didn’t think he deserved someone like her.
Mu Fu looked down slightly, her lashes casting shadows on her cheeks. Yep. Wen Shu was going to be a tough nut to crack. She’d just tried to test the waters a little, and he was already pulling away.
Axolotl Translations 
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