"I want to be with Qing Tian," Lin Yirou said, looking at Xia Qingtian. "Finding a balance is good enough. If we can't find it, it's fine. I don't mind."
"That works well," Ling Fenghan nodded. He wasn't familiar with Lin Yirou, and being alone together felt awkward. Having the familiar Xia Qingtian in between would be good.
"I have no opinion," Xia Qingtian shrugged and looked at Ji Jun.
Ji Jun's gaze swept over Lin Yirou, then he revealed a gentle smile. "More people makes it livelier. Then the four of us will be one group."
After the four decided to team up, they set off for the newly opened secret room, wanting to check it out first.
Meanwhile, Qiu Xinxue, who remained in place, looked at Tong Nian Zhe and said in a half-coquettish tone, "Young Master Tong, I'm not very good at finding things. Please don't find me a burden~"
"If you're a burden, I'm not allowed to dislike it?" Tong Nian Zhe frowned as if annoyed. "I'll try my best."
"..." Qiu Xinxue's lips twitched slightly upon seeing this. What was going on with this Tong Nian Zhe?
At the same time, in the live stream, Tong Shao's fans cheered.
The king of discerning deceit is back!
It's the same familiar feeling, the same familiar Tong Shao.
Good, good. The normal progression should start now.
Qiu Xinxue's fans, however, were getting upset.
What's going on? Before anything even started, Tong Nian Zhe had this attitude?
And Tong Nian Zhe's fans are too arrogant!
No need to say anything else, let's tear him apart!
But this time, the little snowdrops had hit a snag. Their fighting power was simply not enough for Tong Shao's fervent fans to practice on.
And in the villa's secret room, as soon as Xia Qingtian entered, she found everything covered in white sheets, making it seem as though no one had lived there for a long time.
The wallpaper on the wall was a pale blue, and the grandfather clock standing silently in the corner had its hands stopped at precisely 9 o'clock.
A corner of the white sheet covering a painting on the wall was lifted, as if deliberately guiding people to pull it off.
"Let me," Seeing Xia Qingtian reach out to lift the sheet, Ji Jun stopped her. Then, using his height advantage, he easily removed the entire sheet, revealing a bust portrait of a person.
However, the face in this painting was smeared with white paint in a very arrogant style, making the features indistinguishable.
It was a bit eerie, catching people off guard.
"This painting is also smeared," Ling Fenghan lifted a corner of the sheet covering another portrait.
"Everything here is covered with white sheets, except for this clock," Xia Qingtian said, looking around. "There should be a treasure chest inside the clock case, but I don't know if there's an envelope inside."
Walking forward, Xia Qingtian approached the heavy, old-fashioned grandfather clock and took out her phone, turning on the flashlight mode to illuminate the pendulum behind the glass. "I see it. There's a small box behind the pendulum."
"Let me see," Ling Fenghan walked over upon hearing her. He took a closer look and indeed saw a small, square treasure chest in the corner of the brass pendulum.
"It's locked on the side, no key," Lin Yirou said, looking at the side.
"Hey... doesn't the shape of this keyhole look a bit like the shapes of those keys we looked for in the first week?" Xia Qingtian observed the keyhole.
"I don't remember what they looked like," Ling Fenghan had merely been a participant in the first week and hadn't done much.
"Those keys, except for the one that opened the secret room door, the production team didn't take them back. They're still in my room. I'll go get them and try," Xia Qingtian said, and walked back directly. In a short while, she returned with five keys.
Comparing them one by one, Xia Qingtian actually found a key that could unlock the lock on the side of the grandfather clock.
"This is..." Lin Yirou glanced at the key and saw the trace of her own signature pen mark on the four-leaf clover, looking somewhat surprised.
With a click, the lock opened. Xia Qingtian opened the grandfather clock and took out the small treasure chest from beside the pendulum.
This treasure chest wasn't locked and could be opened directly.
"It's empty," Xia Qingtian said with some regret.
"But that's still 2,000 yuan in date funds," Ling Fenghan comforted her, then asked, "So, how do we count this treasure chest?"
Ji Jun and Lin Yirou exchanged glances and remained silent. They seemed accustomed to deferring to each other and weren't people who cared much about gains or losses.
"Here," Xia Qingtian put the treasure chest into Lin Yirou's hand. "Your key opened the grandfather clock, so it's yours. Take it."
"But you found it," Lin Yirou was slightly stunned, seemingly not expecting Xia Qingtian to do that.
"What does it matter? If we can find the first one, we can find the second. Since we're all together, why distinguish between mine and yours?" Xia Qingtian patted Lin Yirou's hand, finding it smooth and pleasant to touch. She patted it a couple more times, then couldn't help but praise, "Your hands are so tender, really nice."
Lin Yirou's cheeks flushed upon hearing this, and she smiled somewhat shyly.
[Damn! Does this woman have to be so good at flirting!]
[If I had Xia Qingtian's skills, would I still be single?]
[No, is this woman really planning to start a harem on the dating show?]
[With the handsome and gentle Ji Jun next to her, and her idol Ling Fenghan, she's not flirting with them, she's flirting with Lin Yirou??? Is she really straight...]
[I don't understand, but I'm greatly shocked!]
[Male guests: This is so hard, not only do I have to compete with other male guests, but I also have to compete with female guests...]
The live stream became lively again.
"I'll trouble you to take care of my idol more this week," Xia Qingtian started promoting Ling Fenghan again. "My idol sings well and looks good. He's just a bit socially awkward. Once you get to know him, you'll realize he's quite a good guy. Making friends with him would be great!"
"Okay," Lin Yirou nodded, then looked at Ling Fenghan and gave a shy smile.
With Xia Qingtian in the middle, introducing and livening up the atmosphere, Ling Fenghan and Lin Yirou soon became familiar with each other.
Seeing the two of them warm up, Xia Qingtian automatically took a step back and busied herself with continuing to look for boxes.
After all, they were still filming. If Ling Fenghan and Lin Yirou were too awkward, the clips would likely be heavily edited when they were formally broadcast later.
That wouldn't be very good, as everyone came on the show to increase their exposure.
At least there should be some interaction.
During the subsequent meal and the following two days of searching, Ling Fenghan and Lin Yirou talked more, and they discovered that they shared many common interests.
For example, they both enjoyed jogging, both liked Woody Allen's films, both enjoyed reading documentary-style literature, and when they rested, they both liked watching documentaries. They also liked small animals and were concerned about environmental protection.
"Did you watch 'March of the Penguins'?" Ling Fenghan asked.
"I did. I really like penguins," Lin Yirou replied. "'Planet Earth' is also very good."
"Indeed, the poles and equator, the oceans and mountains, the grasslands and forests... every scene is incredibly breathtaking," Ling Fenghan added.
The two chatted happily, as if they had found a friend of many years.
Xia Qingtian vaguely felt the temperature of the surrounding air drop significantly. She turned her head and saw Ji Jun's expression was somewhat grim.
Swallowing hard, Xia Qingtian, in order to ensure her own potential couple wasn't broken up, approached Ji Jun that night. "Look, this way you'll just push Rou Rou further away. She just doesn't like socializing with people, and she's a bit slow on the uptake, but she's not stupid. In fact, you could say her inner self is very delicate."
Ji Jun frowned and said in a low voice, "Come in to talk."