Liu Qingye had known for a while that the group was going to the supermarket to shop. She watched from the second-floor balcony as they all left.
Only then did she dare go downstairs.
Unexpectedly, she ran into Xu Jinsi, who was sitting on the sofa and sulking.
A glimmer flashed through her eyes. Perhaps this was an opportunity!
Holding a glass as an excuse to get some water, Liu Qingye sauntered over to one side of the sofa, pretending she had only just noticed Xu Jinsi.
“Huh? You didn’t go to the supermarket with them?”
Xu Jinsi glanced up at her and replied coolly, “No.”
“Oh, was there not enough room in the car?” Liu Qingye asked, pretending not to know the answer.
Xu Jinsi couldn’t be bothered to respond.
Liu Qingye didn’t mind at all. Holding her glass, she sat down on the sofa, though she still kept some distance between them.
“Why don’t we talk in the study?” she suggested meaningfully.
Xu Jinsi frowned. “What is there for us to talk about?”
Liu Qingye smiled, her expression sincere. “I noticed that you and Liuyue seem to have some kind of misunderstanding. Since she and I share a room, I could help you two get closer.”
She deliberately softened her tone. Under normal circumstances, most people would have agreed readily.
But Xu Jinsi merely snorted and stubbornly said, “Help us get closer? This is a dating show, and it’s only been a little over a week. No one’s locked anything in yet.”
A flicker of delight passed through Liu Qingye’s heart.
She probed, “That’s right. Nothing’s locked in yet, so everyone still has a chance, right?”
Xu Jinsi was already tired of wasting words with her. He stood up and said, “I still have some work to deal with. I’m leaving.”
But Liu Qingye felt as though she had uncovered a secret. It turned out Xu Jinsi wasn’t as devoted to Ji Liuyue as he seemed. Just one argument had been enough to make him feel that they weren’t locked in.
Didn’t that mean she still had a chance?!
…
Liu Qingye’s smug delight was unknown to Ji Liuyue. She had originally thought that with Xu Jinsi staying behind, this shopping trip would go more smoothly.
Who could have guessed that Ji Xizhou would act as though he had completely lost his mind?
As soon as they arrived at the nearby supermarket, he pushed over a shopping cart and said, “Yueyue, sit inside. I’ll push you.”
“No.” Ji Liuyue immediately refused.
This shopping cart was much larger than an ordinary supermarket cart, more like the oversized carts found in furniture stores. Usually, only small children sat inside them.
If Ji Liuyue climbed in, the viewers would definitely tear her apart once the footage aired.
No sooner had she refused than the staff began telling her through her earpiece to do exactly that.
The production team had originally intended to promote a love triangle, but Liu Qingye had been of no help. The show had lost much of its drama, especially with Liu Qingye either falling ill or hiding upstairs by herself lately.
The atmosphere in Heartbeat House had become far too harmonious, with no exciting developments at all.
They had initially hoped that the new guest, Ji Xizhou, might spark something with Liu Qingye, but that hope had gone nowhere too.
The production team could only pin their hopes on Ji Liuyue, the troublemaking female guest they had arranged from the start, and have her create more screen time for the show.
Ji Xizhou urged her again.
Ji Liuyue finally agreed.
However, before climbing into the cart, she took off her shoes and laid a plastic mat inside so she wouldn’t dirty it.
Even so, she knew she would still be criticized once the episode aired. Ji Liuyue was already prepared for it.
Controversial figures were the ones most likely to become notorious—and famous.
Wang Aitian and the others didn’t think much of it. She merely looked envious and said, “Yueyue, you’re so thin. It feels like you’re only taking up a tiny bit of space in the cart.”
Cen Yu, who was beside her, pushed over another shopping cart and looked at Wang Aitian.
“Tiantian, would you like me to push you?”
Faced with his gesture, Wang Aitian’s cheeks flushed slightly, but she still shook her head.
“Forget it. I’m really heavy, and if I sit inside, I’ll fill the whole cart. There won’t be any room left for food.”
Lu Nanxun silently took several cartons of strawberry milk from the dairy aisle. Ignoring Ji Xizhou, who was pushing the cart, he went straight over and handed them to Ji Liuyue.
“Yueyue, what else would you like to drink? They have other flavors too.”
Ji Liuyue glanced at the strawberry milk and immediately felt a headache coming on. She genuinely didn’t want to be associated with this kind of persona.
She simply said, “Actually, I like plain milk. Any flavor is fine, so get some of the others too.”
“All right.”
Lu Nanxun dutifully went back and picked up melon and cocoa-flavored milk as well.
After all, Ji Xizhou was the one pushing the cart. It already had Ji Liuyue sitting inside it, and no matter how light a girl was, she still weighed over a hundred pounds. On top of that, they were loading it with nothing but drinks.
The honest Lu Nanxun looked at Ji Xizhou and smiled.
“Want to take turns pushing?”
“No, it’s fine. I’m not tired.” Ji Xizhou waved him off.
As if! It wasn’t easy to get a chance to be alone with Yueyue. How could he let Lu Nanxun cut in?
“All right.”
The honest Dr. Lu continued picking up drinks. As he did, he said, “Let’s buy some coconut water for everyone at the house too. Since we’re vacationing on an island, I heard the local coconut water is especially good.”
Wang Aitian and Cen Yu didn’t catch on at all. They nodded enthusiastically.
“Sure, sure!”
And so Lu Nanxun picked up one 1.5-liter bottle of coconut water after another.
Every single one went into Ji Xizhou’s cart.
Ji Liuyue silently watched it all, then couldn’t help looking at Lu Nanxun.
Dr. Lu really wasn’t as harmless as he appeared. He was actually sly in his own quiet way.
Perhaps noticing her gaze, Lu Nanxun met her eyes directly instead of looking away.
He smiled warmly and even asked, “Yueyue, would you like some fruit? How about we get some fresh coconuts, watermelon, and jackfruit?”
All of his choices were fruits that weighed a ton.
If Ji Xizhou still hadn’t caught on, he would have been an idiot. His eyes practically spit fire as he looked at Lu Nanxun.
“Go push another cart yourself.”
But Lu Nanxun shook his head firmly. “No. I’m staying with Yueyue. Why don’t you go push a new one?”
Ji Xizhou was so furious that he laughed.
“Why should I go? I’m not leaving.”
Lu Nanxun replied calmly, “Then I’m not leaving either.”
From a distance, Wang Aitian and Cen Yu spotted the love triangle’s confrontation. They exchanged a glance, then silently pushed their cart in another direction.
Better to avoid the battlefield—and enjoy a private date while they were at it.
Ji Xizhou refused to give in. In the end, his cart was crammed full of all kinds of drinks and fruit, with Ji Liuyue still sitting inside.
When they reached the potato-chip aisle, the honest Lu Nanxun spoke up again.
“Yueyue, would you like me to take a picture for you? Sitting in a shopping cart and holding a bag of chips makes for a great photo.”
Ji Liuyue looked surprised. “How do you know that?”
Ji Xizhou echoed him sarcastically, “How do you know that?”
