Once inside the villa, Mu Fu and Yu Mo quietly let go of each other’s hands.
Mu Fu nodded. “We went out for a bit this afternoon. Did you have class today? I didn’t see you this morning.”
Feng Ningran groaned. “Yeah, I had class at eight. You have no idea how crazy my morning was—I barely made it!”
Mu Fu walked over and patted her shoulder sympathetically. She totally got how Feng Ningran felt.
“Did you guys already eat?” Feng Ningran asked. “We finished dinner a while ago. We weren’t sure if you’d be back, so we didn’t make anything for you.”
“It’s fine, we already ate,” Mu Fu replied.
Feng Ningran pouted and mumbled, “Ugh, I still think it’s ridiculous that the production team won’t let us exchange contact info. It’s so annoying.”
Mu Fu gave a small, helpless smile. She didn’t really agree with that rule herself.
That rule might work for people who actually follow the rules, but she definitely wasn’t one of them. Back at Yu Mo’s place, they’d already secretly added each other on social media. As long as they didn’t show it off, the production team would never find out.
Still, seeing Feng Ningran so seriously follow the rule made Mu Fu want to laugh a little. She thought to herself: Ah… so young, so innocent. Still living in her own little bubble, not yet aware of how adults really do things.
But it’s kind of cute, in a way.
Meanwhile, Yu Mo had gone to the kitchen and was putting away the fruit they’d bought.
Across the room, Xu Kangning and Wu Qingyi watched the two of them, their expressions hard to read. The obvious closeness between Yu Mo and Mu Fu when they walked in felt like a punch to the gut.
Wu Qingyi only glanced once before quickly looking away. She didn’t dare look too long—afraid she might start crying again. But suddenly, another face popped into her mind: Ding Binbing.
Her feelings were a mess. She still hadn’t completely gotten over Yu Mo, but at the same time, she couldn’t stop thinking about Ding Binbing. Especially after tonight—he had given her a rare gift: a vinyl record she’d mentioned wanting during one of their dates. She’d looked everywhere for that record, and he somehow found it and just gave it to her tonight, out of nowhere.
Now, Wu Qingyi wasn’t sure what it meant. Was it just a coincidence, or did Ding Binbing do it on purpose? Either way, that record stirred something deep inside her, like a ripple across the calm surface of her heart.
And just like that, she no longer had the energy to care about whatever Mu Fu and Yu Mo had been doing together today.
On the other side of the room, Xu Kangning’s brow was slightly furrowed. His eyes darkened as he looked at Yu Mo. What had the two of them been doing out all day? And why had they come back so late?
As Yu Mo walked past Xu Kangning, he noticed how intensely Xu Kangning was looking at him. Yu Mo blinked his dark eyes, and when Xu Kangning looked over, he gave him a faint smile.
Xu Kangning’s eyes immediately went cold. He stared back without blinking, his gaze sharp.
Yu Mo simply looked away and walked over to Mu Fu. His voice softened. “A-Fu, didn’t you say you were tired on the way back? You should go rest.”
Mu Fu said a few words to Feng Ningran, then headed upstairs to her room. Yu Mo also went to his.
Even though Yu Mo had helped her clean up earlier, she’d still worn the same clothes on the way back. Mu Fu, being a bit of a neat freak, couldn’t stand it—she needed another shower and fresh clothes.
That reminded her: she should probably start keeping some clothes at Yu Mo’s place. Even if she didn’t plan on staying over again, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.
After showering, she sent Yu Mo a message on WeChat about buying more clothes.
Yu Mo replied that he’d handle it.
Little Cutie Who Loves Cream Puffs: [I want something cute and stylish, okay?]
Mo-Mo: [Of course. I’ll pick some out, and you can approve them.]
Little Cutie Who Loves Cream Puffs: [kisses emoji]
Mo-Mo: [hugging bunny emoji]
After a little more flirting, Mu Fu headed downstairs. Yu Mo had something to finish and said he’d join them later.
When she came down, the others were gathered around the dining table playing Truth or Dare with that shark toy—the one where you press its teeth, and whoever gets bitten has to answer a question or do a dare.
As soon as Mu Fu appeared, both Feng Ningran and Xu Kangning reached out to pull a chair over, clearly intending to offer her a seat next to them.
Feng Ningran glanced at Xu Kangning, then turned to Mu Fu and smiled, “Come sit by me.”
Mu Fu looked briefly at Xu Kangning, then chose the seat next to Feng Ningran.
Xu Kangning’s eyes darkened, and he turned his head away.
Feng Ningran and Xia Sihan both noticed the change in his expression.
At that moment, Feng Ningran felt something strange—like she was finally catching on to some unspoken tension between Mu Fu and Xu Kangning. Trying to act casual, she said, “Kangning seems to be… paying a lot of attention to you.”
Mu Fu answered with a lazy tone, “Is he? You know me. I only have eyes for Yu Mo. I haven’t really noticed any of the other guys.”
Feng Ningran felt a complicated mix of emotions rise in her chest. And that last line? That made it even harder to swallow.
Ever since getting to the villa, Feng Ningran had been totally focused on Xu Kangning, not giving up even when Xia Sihan showed up as competition. But now, she had to admit all her effort was for nothing. Someone else had easily won over the guy she’d worked so hard to get close to. How could she possibly accept that?
When Mu Fu noticed Feng Ningran getting a little colder towards her, she didn’t show it. She’d expected this to happen ever since realizing Ningran liked Xu Kangning.
As more people joined the game, the shark toy just wasn’t practical anymore—there weren’t enough teeth for everyone. So, they changed the rules: one person would ask another a question, and whoever answered would then choose the next person to question, and so on.
Mu Fu hadn’t planned on playing, but she got pulled in anyway.
Rong Yongxin was the first to ask a question. He turned to Xia Sihan with a teasing smile. “Sihan, besides your ex, is there anyone else here at the villa you’re interested in?” It was a tough question. If she still cared about her ex, answering would be tricky.
“Of course! All the guys in the villa are amazing—how could I not be tempted?” Xia Sihan’s eyes playfully swept across the three male contestants, though they stayed a bit longer on Xu Kangning.
“Haha, Sihan, can I just assume that ‘guy’ might be me?” Rong Yongxin laughed, his eyes shining with quiet confidence. He truly believed she meant him, and was just being careful because of her past with her ex.
This wasn’t totally out of the blue. Xia Sihan had dropped plenty of hints to him in private. She’d even told him how much her ex loved her and wanted to get back together, but that she came on this show specifically to help him move on and find someone new. She claimed her ex’s overwhelming affection made her hesitant to get too close to any other guys on camera. Even the flirty texts she sent were always to him, afraid of hurting his feelings. It was only on the rare occasions that Rong Yongxin talked her into it that she’d send them to anyone else. She’d confessed that he just intrigued her too much, that she couldn’t help but be drawn to him—and wanted to get closer. Of course, all of that had been said when the cameras weren’t rolling.
Because of this, Rong Yongxin was convinced Xia Sihan liked him. That’s why he hadn’t panicked when he didn’t get a “crush text” from Feng Ningran. It stung, sure, but he preferred Xia Sihan anyway. He was already getting tired of Feng Ningran. Xia Sihan, on the other hand, still felt new, fresh, exciting.
Xia Sihan smiled slightly at his question. She neither confirmed nor denied it. Then she turned to Xu Kangning. “Kangning, can I ask how many relationships you’ve had?”
“Three,” Xu Kangning replied softly. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced toward Mu Fu, hoping to catch some kind of reaction—but she wasn’t even looking at him. That, more than anything, left him feeling empty.
When she heard the answer, Xia Sihan didn’t show any reaction. Xu Kangning was already 26, so it wasn’t a big deal for him to have had three relationships. She herself had dated more than that.
Then it was Xu Kangning’s turn to ask a question. He looked at Mu Fu and asked in a quiet voice, “Mu Fu, how do you feel about your ex right now? Do you still have any thoughts about getting back together?”
Mu Fu answered calmly, “He’s a good person. But as of now, I don’t really have any feelings for him.”
Xu Kangning’s expression darkened.
Mu Fu didn’t have anything she wanted to ask. “Ningran, why don’t you ask something for me?” she said.
Feng Ningran turned to her in surprise. “Me? You’re not asking?”
Mu Fu gave her a gentle smile. “The person I want to ask isn’t here.”
Among everyone present, only Rong Yongxin and Ding Binbing chuckled lightly, taking her words at face value. The others—well, only they knew how complicated their feelings had just become.
Feng Ningran glanced at Xu Kangning, then asked a little hesitantly, “Kangning, would you get back together with your ex if you had the chance?”
Xu Kangning met her eyes with an apologetic expression. He knew she liked him. And if it hadn’t been for Mu Fu, he probably would have liked someone like Feng Ningran. But he had already fallen for Mu Fu.
He gave a slight nod. “Yes.”
Feng Ningran’s eyes instantly turned red with unshed tears. “I see,” she choked out.
Mu Fu reached over and hugged her gently, stroking her hair to comfort her.
Feng Ningran was devastated. She now realized she had no chance at all. How could she compete for someone whose heart already belonged to another? She couldn’t.
Xia Sihan sat quietly on the other side, watching everything unfold. She had long suspected that Xu Kangning either still loved his ex or had fallen for someone else in the villa, especially after all her efforts had been met with a cold shoulder. Now that the truth was out, she still wasn’t ready to give up. Among the four men here, Xu Kangning was the only one who truly matched her. She wasn’t about to surrender just yet. She believed that, with enough effort and charm, she could turn things in her favor.
As for Xu Kangning, he looked completely defeated—emotionally drained. He didn’t even want to ask the next question and passed the turn.
Ding Binbing took over. His gaze dropped to his hands—hands that had been invincible on the operating table—before shifting inward, remembering all the emotional losses he’d endured. Trying to sound casual, he looked at Xia Sihan and asked, “Sihan, if you had the chance… would you get back with your ex?” He didn’t dare glance at Wu Qingyi.
Xia Sihan answered without hesitation. “Yes.”
Axolotl Translations 
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