Chapter 18
Except for Qin Fengyi, who had already finished his coaching task, everyone else set off for Ning Mingyue’s hospital.
“Just thinking about seeing Mingyue, even the pallor on my skin seems to fade.”
Ning Xi spoke while doodling on the car window.
Zooming in, the shot revealed that Ning Xi was drawing a crescent moon.
[Whoa, Ning Xi’s actually doing this]
[I’m honestly a little scared now]
[Yuri-girl’s ultimate happy ending]
Suddenly, Ning Xi took out her phone, muttering, “No, it’s missing something.”
Then her phone started playing a sad background song:
“Cherry blossoms cover the ground
A black-and-white silent film is playing
I finally understand the kind of longing others talk about…”
“That’s it.”
Ning Xi nodded, then started getting emo:
“Now I finally realize-if someone likes you, she’ll care about you, chat with you, share her daily life and moods with you. She won’t always make you be the one to reach out first. If she’s never proactive, it’s because she doesn’t like you enough…”
[As a simp, I know this feeling way too well, sob]
[You in the front… you too, huh]
[Single since birth for twenty years, no idea why I’m getting emo along with Ning Xi (thinking)]
Ning Xi kept getting more emotional:
“My sister got sick, and I was the last to know. Sitting in the car on my way to see her, I feel nothing at all, and I don’t even dare to cry. My whole life is just regrets. Trembling hands, useless tears falling on the cold phone screen. I’m done being a simp. Begging for love isn’t my style-online begging is. Send me 50 RMB via WeChat and listen to my awakening plan.”
[???]
[Didn’t know people could actually laugh when they’re speechless]
Ning Xi calmly went off on the livestream.
After all, her and Shen Yibai being mutually silent wasn’t going anywhere.
She just couldn’t pull off being cold and quiet.
Going wild and breaking everyone’s script was much more her style.
After she was done venting, Ning Xi finally noticed Fu Zhi had @’d her in the group chat a while ago.
She was just about to reply.
But when she saw Fu Zhi’s latest message-“No need to reply, don’t disturb”-she immediately deleted her drafted response.
He asks and then says don’t reply-gold miners could dig their whole lives and never find a vein as pure as Fu Zhi.
Even the cameraman fell silent at that scene.
Following the Director’s instructions, he asked Ning Xi, “Seems like ever since private chats were banned, Fu Zhi’s been talking a lot more in the group, and he always @’s Teacher Ning. Whenever you message, Fu Zhi replies instantly.”
Ning Xi considered it. “Hmm…”
Shen Yibai, who had been quietly sitting in the car, glanced over when he heard the cameraman speak.
“Maybe he just really likes being on his phone.”
Ning Xi stroked her chin, feeling this guess actually made sense.
Cameraman and netizens: …
Shen Yibai’s lips twitched with the faintest smile, but it disappeared right away.
“But he doesn’t seem so active when other people message him. Don’t you think maybe he…” The cameraman kept hinting.
Ning Xi’s eyes widened. “Maybe what?”
[I’m dying here-won’t someone just tell Ning Xi that Fu Zhi might actually like her!!!]
Shen Yibai turned and looked at the cameraman in front, his expression calm as still water.
The cameraman felt the sudden chill in the air and wondered: Why is Shen Yibai looking at me just for mentioning Fu Zhi and Ning Xi?
It made him a little nervous~
Just as the cameraman was about to keep hinting, a “ding” sounded-Ning Xi and Shen Yibai both received a message from the Program Team on their phones.
“The wonderful date day is already halfway through. Come and check out how your friends and the other guests are doing on their dates!”
Ning Xi: ?
Is it really this wicked?
She and Fu Zhi are nothing to each other. If they saw each other’s date photos, they’d probably just mock each other.
But if any group of guests actually had feelings for their opposite-sex friend and saw their friend dating someone else…
Ning Xi felt a wicked, bell-like laugh bubbling in her chest.
Then she opened the photos sent by the Program Team:
In the dim, cramped escape room, Fu Zhi lowered his eyes, as if reaching out to hold Jiang Sheshe’s hand.
Jiang Sheshe was also looking up at him, her face full of expectation.
Ning Xi sensed a sense of mutual rescue between them and felt gratified:
If Fu Zhi could wake up and like Jiang Sheshe, that would actually be great.
We, in the world of simping, have our own simping narratives (just kidding).
On Shen Yibai’s side, he received a photo of Ning Mingyue and Wei Xuan making a cake together:
A stray lock of hair slipped across Ning Mingyue’s forehead, and Wei Xuan looked up and gently tucked it behind her ear.
The two exchanged a smile, the corners of their lips blossoming like crabapple flowers – such a perfect match.
Shen Yibai glanced at it indifferently, then calmly closed his phone and shut his eyes.
As if trying to calm himself down.
[Ohoho, someone’s jealous!]
[No wonder Shen Yibai was in such a hurry to visit Ning Mingyue at the hospital. If Ning Mingyue and Wei Xuan really dated for a whole day, those two might actually get together.]
[Hahaha, the atmosphere between Ning Mingyue and Wei Xuan is genuinely sweet, but Jiang Sheshe and Fu Zhi… Director, do you dare to film one more second?]
Some clueless netizens searched for the replay of Fu Zhi and Jiang Sheshe’s escape room livestream and nearly died laughing.
It turned out that at the time, Jiang Sheshe and Fu Zhi were being chased by a ghost NPC and ran into a room.
Jiang Sheshe accidentally fell and called for Fu Zhi to help her up.
Fu Zhi actually walked straight over and picked up the chair that had fallen on the floor!
Jiang Sheshe was so angry her nose almost went crooked: “I meant help me, not the chair!”
After that, the two looked at each other with mutual annoyance and didn’t say another word.
It really wasn’t easy for the Program Team to find even a single “ambiguous date photo” from these two that could spark anyone’s imagination.
Meanwhile, in the hospital room –
Ning Mingyue and Wei Xuan also received the date photos from the Program Team.
Wei Xuan glanced at them casually, then paused.
Then, as usual, he looked at Ning Mingyue and asked, “Are you feeling any better?”
Ning Mingyue’s lips curved in a faint smile: “Much better already. It’s a shame we couldn’t finish the cake together.”
Wei Xuan’s gentle gaze was like spring water: “We’ll make up for it on our next date. The doctor said you’ve been overworking lately, so you should rest today. After all, nothing is more important than your health.”
[Ahhh! Is Wei Xuan hinting he wants another date with Ning Mingyue?!]
[Wei Xuan’s feelings for Ning Mingyue are so obvious! Now it all depends on what Ning Mingyue thinks – will she stick to her original choice, Shen Yibai, or go with the perfectly matched Wei Xuan?]
[That’s what being a heartthrob looks like!]
Ning Mingyue just smiled and said nothing, making no promises about another date.
Wei Xuan wasn’t disappointed. He asked, “Would you like something to eat? I’ll go get it.”
Ning Mingyue nodded. After Wei Xuan left the room, she opened her phone again to look at the photos of Shen Yibai and Ning Xi’s date sent by the Program Team.
In the photo, Shen Yibai and Ning Xi stood a short distance apart. Shen Yibai’s face was expressionless, his eyes lowered.
Ning Xi seemed to be talking to someone else, with no interaction with Shen Yibai at all.
Ning Mingyue quietly breathed a sigh of relief.