The final groups were as follows:
Sports Group: Wang Aitian, Ji Liuyue, Cen Yu, and Ji Mingtian.
Foodie Group: Liu Qingye, Zhang Weiyi, Lu Nanxun, and Xu Jinsi.
Everyone wore different expressions when they learned the group assignments. The only one who seemed a little pleased was probably Wang Aitian.
She hadn’t expected to end up in the same group as Cen Yu again.
It felt like a good opportunity to get to know him better.
Liu Qingye tried hard to suppress the curl of her lips, but ultimately failed. When she looked at Ji Liuyue, there was an added hint of contempt and superiority in her gaze.
It was as though she were saying: So what if you get along well with them? In the end, you still missed out on the date.
The staff urged them toward the entrance, where two business vans were already waiting.
Xu Jinsi deliberately lagged a few steps behind, following unhurriedly after Ji Liuyue. His voice was subdued.
“What are you guys doing in the Sports Group?”
Ji Liuyue turned to glance at him. “I don’t know either.”
Xu Jinsi pursed his lips and said, though it clearly wasn’t what he meant, “Then have fun.”
Ji Liuyue caught the implication in his words.
She smiled.
“Without me there, make sure you don’t have too much fun.”
The low-pressure gloom surrounding Xu Jinsi instantly lifted at her words, and his eyes brightened considerably.
His mouth, however, remained stubborn.
“Heh. That’s not necessarily true.”
Xu Jinsi was about to say something else when Liu Qingye’s voice came from beside him.
“Jinsi, our car is over here.”
Interrupted, he frowned in annoyance before striding away.
Inside the business van—
Xu Jinsi and Lu Nanxun sat in the back row, while Zhang Weiyi and Liu Qingye occupied the single seats on either side.
Liu Qingye took the initiative to start a conversation.
“Jinsi, what were you talking about with Liuyue just now? You seemed a little unhappy.”
Xu Jinsi had to resist rolling his eyes. His tone was flat. “Was I?”
Liu Qingye smiled lightly. “Mm, perhaps I saw it wrong. You don’t seem to be in a very good state today. Did you not get much rest last night?”
The other two people in the car shot them looks of curiosity and eager interest.
As long as he wasn’t placed in the same group as Ji Liuyue, Lu Nanxun felt no nerves at all around the other two female guests.
He was completely in the mood to enjoy the show.
He wanted to see how Xu Jinsi would answer.
To his surprise, the guy was pretty blunt.
“Maybe I got a heart-flutter text from someone I don’t like, and it’s been bothering me. Do you think it would hurt her pride too much if I just made things clear?”
Liu Qingye had also sent her heart-flutter text to Xu Jinsi.
[There may be a misunderstanding between us. I think that with more time together, perhaps you’ll come to understand me better.]
She wanted to win his heart back, but he had absolutely no interest in her.
The faint smile on Liu Qingye’s lips froze, leaving behind an awkward yet polite expression.
Zhang Weiyi, on the other hand, went straight to the point. “You don’t need to spell it out directly. If a guest you’re not interested in sends you a heart-flutter text, just politely avoid unnecessary contact and conversation.”
Xu Jinsi nodded. “You’re right!”
For the rest of the drive, Xu Jinsi truly did not say a single word to Liu Qingye.
An awkward atmosphere lingered in the car the entire way.
In contrast to the tension in their van, the business van carrying Ji Liuyue and the others was much more relaxed.
They were all familiar with one another.
On top of that, Ji Mingtian was a real comedian. From the moment they got in the car, he had been telling jokes, keeping the atmosphere lively and cheerful the whole way.
Wang Aitian was just as bubbly, chattering away:
“I suddenly feel like we’ve gone back to when we were kids, going on a spring outing together.”
Ji Mingtian corrected her. “Shouldn’t you say it feels like a school spring outing? That’s different from just going out when we were little.”
Wang Aitian said, “Oh, it’s basically the same. Even though I didn’t get assigned to the food group, I still think it’s great to come out and have fun with all of you.”
Cen Yu smiled from the back seat.
“Speaking of which, it really was unexpected. One of us is a chef and the other is a pastry chef, yet neither of us got assigned to the food group. Instead, we ended up in the sports group.”
Ji Liuyue had seen straight through Wang Aitian’s little scheme. She went along with it and said, “Exactly. That just proves the two of you were meant to meet!”
Wang Aitian shyly glanced back at Cen Yu, then quickly turned around again.
Ji Mingtian, as thick-skinned as ever, still hadn’t noticed anything unusual between them. He said loudly:
“Cen Yu and Tiantian were meant to meet, but what about us?”
He was still hung up on not being grouped with Liu Qingye.
With a smile, Ji Liuyue said, “Aren’t we even more destined to meet? We both have the surname Ji. That means we must have been family in a past life.”
“True.” Ji Mingtian scratched his head. “Other people come on a dating show to meet female guests they’re interested in. I came on the show to find my long-lost little sister.”
At that, everyone else burst out laughing.
Ji Mingtian said somewhat bitterly, “I wonder what delicious food the food group is making.”
“Maybe a dish? Or a dessert. They might even be making a cake or some cookies…” As Wang Aitian spoke, her gaze drifted toward Cen Yu.
She still remembered how Cen Yu and Zhang Weiyi had gone on a date to make DIY cookies. They had even brought a box back to the house for everyone to try.
Cen Yu was particularly relaxed today. He smiled and said:
“Then I’m afraid they’re doomed this time.”
“How so?” Ji Mingtian asked curiously, edging closer to him.
Cen Yu continued, “You remember how Weiyi and I went to make cookies on our last date? She almost blew up the other person’s oven. The entire batch that came out was black charcoal.”
Ji Liuyue was startled.
“That bad? But the cookies you brought back to the house looked perfectly normal.”
Cen Yu gave an exasperated smile. “Right. Those were the batch I made. You could say I performed exceptionally well that time. That’s why I’m telling you, Weiyi really is a kitchen killer. I have no idea what kind of food they’re making in their group this time.
“Either way, they’d better be careful.”
Hearing the familiarity and teasing in the way he spoke about Zhang Weiyi, the light in Wang Aitian’s eyes dimmed slightly.
Yet she kept smiling as she said, “If you keep talking about Yiyi like that, I’m going to tell on you!”
Cen Yu laughed. “Go ahead. Weiyi probably won’t get mad. She said herself last time that after that baking experience, she was giving up on the kitchen for good.”
Ji Mingtian still hadn’t noticed the hidden tension in the conversation. Grinning, he bumped Cen Yu’s arm again.
“It doesn’t matter if Weiyi can’t cook. She can just find herself a boyfriend who knows how to cook.
“If he happens to be a chef, wouldn’t that be even better?”
The smile at the corners of Wang Aitian’s lips faded a little more.
Ji Liuyue cut in:
“You make it sound as though Yiyi’s only requirement for a future boyfriend is that he knows how to cook. She’s an academically minded career woman—maybe she wants to find someone who shares her interests.”
Cen Yu had actually felt a little awkward just then.
Although he and Zhang Weiyi had gone on a date once, after spending time together, he still felt they were better suited to being ordinary friends.
Being teased by Ji Mingtian in front of everyone, while the two female guests beside him were one he had gone on a first date with and the other someone he was somewhat interested in but had never had the chance to get close to—
He was still at a loss for how to respond.
So he went along with it and said, “Weiyi herself said we’re like brothers. Don’t even think about breaking up our revolutionary friendship.”
Only then did Ji Mingtian realize that Cen Yu and Zhang Weiyi simply weren’t interested in each other.
He pursed his lips,
and shut his little mouth.
Even though he couldn’t find love in this group, he couldn’t let that keep his buddy from finding it either.
