I was criticized on a dating reality show, but I retaliated and became an internet sensation.

At the entire dining table, only Gu Yan and Shen Yihuai knew the inside story of Shu Zi and Han Jingxue. The two remained calm and did not say much, simply eating in silence.

Although Su Yanhuan and Jiang Yunyou were curious, they realized that this topic was not convenient to discuss further, so they wisely refrained from pressing the issue and naturally changed the subject.

Fang Yutong remained silent throughout the meal, but when Han Jingxue coughed and interrupted Shu Zi, a strange look of doubt flashed in her eyes.

On the first day of recording the show, she had been secretly watching Shu Zi and clearly heard Shu Zi say "long time no see" to Han Jingxue.

She originally thought that the two of them had only met once at an event and were just casual acquaintances.

But now it seems that they are not only old acquaintances, but also senior and junior sisters with a very close relationship, and their friendship seems to be very deep, so deep that Han Jingxue, with her aloof personality, can actually tolerate Shu Zi taking her arm.

But she had never heard of Han Jingxue having any teacher or mentor before.

They were even more unaware that such a person existed in the industry. Someone whom Han Jingxue and Shu Zi both called "Master" could not possibly be an unknown figure.

Before participating in the show, she did her homework and investigated the backgrounds of all the guests.

Aside from not expecting that the final mystery guest would be Gu Yan, she had all the information about the other guests in advance.

In her investigation, apart from Shen Yihuai of the Shen Group, who came from a prominent family, the rest of the people were ordinary artists with no real background.

But now it seems that things are far from what she thought.

She must have missed some crucial information...

Fang Yutong quickly concealed the calculation and doubt in her eyes, lowered her head, and pretended to continue eating as if nothing had happened, but her fingertips secretly tightened their grip on the chopsticks.

After a simple but satisfying lunch, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.

Shu Zi returned to her room and collapsed onto the bed, rubbing her full stomach and letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Ah—I'm alive again."

Han Jingxue passed by the door and glanced at her: "Can't you have some self-respect?"

"What image do I need to maintain in front of you?" Shu Zi rolled over, buried her face in the pillow, and said in a muffled voice, "I'm not embarrassing myself in public."

Han Jingxue shook her head, said nothing more, and left.

An hour and a half later, everyone changed into simple and convenient outdoor clothing and gathered at the villa entrance.

The afternoon sun was a bit dazzling. Shu Zi put on a baseball cap and pulled her ponytail out from the opening at the back of the cap, making her look refreshing and neat.

A member of the production crew walked over with the group assignment list and cleared his throat:

"We will be heading to our task location this afternoon—the outdoor adventure training base!"

"Now, we will announce the final group assignments for this afternoon's tasks. The group assignments are based on the 'heart-fluttering partner' cards that everyone filled out while staying at the villa."

Shu Zi was stunned for a moment, her face full of confusion:

"Cards? What kind of 'heart-fluttering partner' cards? Did you guys secretly arrange these when we went out for our punishment mission this morning?"

Jiang Yunyou nodded in agreement, looking aggrieved.

"I filled it out, but the staff didn't say at all that it was for grouping!"

He inwardly groaned, sensing that he was about to be criticized by Director Liu again.

"So, how should we split up?"

Shu Zi raised her hand and asked, pointing to herself and Gu Yan, "We weren't here this morning."

The staff patiently explained:

"Teachers Shu Zi and Gu Yan went out to complete punishment tasks this morning and did not participate in filling out the cards. They were directly randomly assigned to various groups by the system."

"The remaining guests will be automatically matched with three other pairs based on the messages they left behind about their ideal partners while staying at the villa."

Shu Zi was confused again, and repeated, "System allocation?"

The staff member nodded.

[System allocation? I bet five cents the production team rigged it.]

[Production Team: Don't worry, I'll make sure your "random" moments are really entertaining.]

Upon hearing that afternoon partners were assigned based on comments from fans, Fang Yutong's hands, hanging by her sides, tightened slightly.

Just as she had guessed.

The production team asked them to fill out cards so they could be grouped into teams, and she was secretly hoping for the matching results.

The staff member said no more and simply read out the group assignments:

"Group 1: Gu Yan, Fang Yutong;"

Group 2: Shu Zi, Yu Shize;

Group 3: Su Yanhuan, Jiang Yunyou;

Group 4: Han Jingxue and Shen Yihuai.

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the people present subtly changed.

[My god, this grouping is amazing, a battleground is inevitable.]

[This tonic is breaking up my couple!!!!]

[Family members, I feel like this grouping is a bit intentional. Shu Zi and Yu Shize, Fang Yutong and Gu Yan, um... you know what I mean.]

Shu Zi was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Gu Yan before quickly looking away, calmly accepting the arrangement: "Oh, okay."

It's all the same whether you're in a group or not, it's just recording a show and doing tasks.

Gu Yan's expression remained unchanged; he simply gave a faint "hmm."

Upon hearing the result, a fleeting hint of undisguised joy flashed across Fang Yutong's eyes, which she quickly suppressed, maintaining a gentle and polite smile on her face, pretending to be completely unconcerned.

Yu Shize was taken aback for a moment, then turned to look at Shu Zi. Seeing that she reacted calmly and showed no resistance, he didn't say anything more and silently accepted the group assignment.

Actually, Yu Shize is a pretty good person and respects Zizi a lot.

[Is this how they start whitewashing?]

Han Jingxue glanced at Shen Yihuai expressionlessly.

Shen Yihuai tilted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow at her.

Han Jingxue withdrew her gaze, her expression aloof, and said nothing.

[Han Jingxue and Shen Yihuai have such great chemistry, the cool and aloof couple is just perfect! I love it!]

Jiang Yunyou, oblivious to everything, blurted out, "I remember writing about Yan Shen this morning, how come I wasn't in the same group as him...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Su Yanhuan swiftly covered his mouth with her hand, afraid that he would say something that would cause trouble.

At this point, a staff member added with a smile:

"That's why Director Liu didn't show up today. He said he needed to take a break and didn't want to see certain people."

Jiang Yunyou chuckled awkwardly, scratched the back of his head, and looked embarrassed.

[Director Liu: Don't you even know why I didn't show up?!]

[Director Liu: &*#**×& I get annoyed just looking at you!!!]

[Hahahaha, Director Liu said out of sight, out of mind!]

Director Liu was so angry with Jiang Yunyou that he hid away, unable to live with a laugh.

[Su Yanhuan saved the day just in time, that quick-witted little goofball]

Shu Zi, watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh. She nudged Gu Yan with her elbow and said, "Did you hear that? Jiang Yunyou wrote your name on it."

Gu Yan replied expressionlessly, "Mm."

"Don't you have anything to say?"

"no."

"They see you as their crush."

That's his business.

Shu Zi couldn't help but laugh: "You're really boring."

Fang Yutong stood a few steps away, watching the natural interaction between Shu Zi and Gu Yan.

It's not an intimacy that's deliberately created, but a familiarity that's as natural as breathing.

Her fingertips tightened slightly.

But she quickly relaxed.

It's okay.

The afternoon's group assignment was between her and Gu Yan.

This was the opportunity she wanted.