Chu Xingyu walked over and sat down opposite them.
Tong Sui blushed and glared at him, then buried her head in her meal.
He made up his mind to keep his distance from Chu Xingyu during the upcoming segments; he didn’t want to end up trending on social media due to such incidents.
Chu Xingyu was completely baffled by Tong Sui’s sudden anger. He attempted to strike up a conversation during dinner several times, but she seemed unwilling to engage.
After dinner, the production team informed all the guests, “Today, we need to reassign the rooms. This time, unlike the previous competitions where you had a choice, this will depend entirely on luck.”
They brought out a large opaque box with several red strings hanging down from it.
“Guests who hold both ends of the same string will be automatically assigned to the same room.”
Since the middle part of the strings was hidden in the box, there was no way to tell the difference, so it was purely based on luck.
Everyone gathered around the box, and Tong Sui casually picked a string.
“Everyone has made their choice,” the production team announced as they removed the box. “You can check the results now.”
Although Chu Xingyu really wanted to be in the same room as Tong Sui, he hadn’t held out much hope after all this time.
When the box was taken away, Chu Xingyu tugged at the string, and the small piece of paper tied to it fluttered slightly.
The other end was firmly held by Tong Sui.
In that moment, Chu Xingyu doubted his eyes. He gradually pulled the red string closer, and as he approached Tong Sui, he confirmed he hadn’t made a mistake.
They had indeed been assigned to the same room.
Upon hearing the news, Chu Xingyu felt somewhat incredulous and first sought verification from the production team. “This is valid, right?”
“Yes,” the production team replied. “You two are in the same room. The paper tied to the string has your room number.”
For Chu Xingyu, the room number was insignificant. As long as it was a space where he could be alone with Tong Sui, any room would be wonderful.
Tong Sui unfolded the paper, her expression changing slightly.
“Third floor.”
This was the same room that Chu Xingyu had cleaned earlier—the smallest one among all the rooms.
Sure enough, his hands were still so dirty.
After the room assignment, Tong Sui packed up her few belongings and headed to the third floor.
Chu Xingyu had arrived earlier and was already sitting on the bed waiting for her. When he saw her, he quickly got up, seeming a bit awkward. “It seems a bit small.”
The feeling of living alone versus living with someone else was entirely different; even the clothes in the closet had to be crammed together to fit.
Tong Sui had never thought it would be so coincidental to be assigned with Chu Xingyu, especially since she had been thinking about keeping her distance earlier while eating.
Having worked up a bit of a sweat packing, Tong Sui pulled out her pajamas. “I’ll go take a shower first.”
Chu Xingyu replied with a soft “Mm.”
He inadvertently glanced at the pajamas Tong Sui was holding.
The white striped robe reminded him of the time he had seen her wear it during a live broadcast—he could faintly see her beautiful collarbone.
Having replayed the live stream numerous times, he never imagined he would see Tong Sui wear it in reality.
After closing the bathroom door, the close distance made even the sound of water falling on the floor clear to hear.
Chu Xingyu lowered his head to organize his books.
These were from a reading list given to him by his coach, which he had asked a runner to pick up in the afternoon; he had already written part of it.
At first, he could concentrate on the online class, but soon, he began to zone out, completely unaware of what the private tutor was explaining.
“Chu, are you listening to what I just said?”
The teacher’s voice came through the tablet.
It took several calls before Chu Xingyu responded, and the teacher glanced at the time. “Let’s stop here for today. Please finish the first ten pages of your workbook, and we’ll discuss it tomorrow.”
Once the online class ended, the room fell silent.
Chu Xingyu looked down.
The once blank piece of draft paper was now filled with Tong Sui’s name.
At that moment, he heard the sound of the door opening behind him.
Chu Xingyu hurriedly placed the draft paper underneath everything else and caught a whiff of her shower gel’s fragrance.
The brand of shower gel she used was the one provided by the production team. Chu Xingyu had secretly used it before, but he always felt that it did not smell the same as when he could smell it on Tong Sui.
Her scent always captivated him.
Tong Sui noticed the books on his desk and, out of curiosity, walked over to look. Droplets of water clung to her hair tips, and as she got closer, she smelled warm and pleasant. “These are from middle school, right?”
When did Chu Xingyu start reading books? He used to just play various games.
Feeling a bit embarrassed at Tong Sui’s question, Chu Xingyu cleared his throat and quietly closed his workbook.
“I just browsed through them.”
Tong Sui glanced at the screen of his online class. “But your teacher said to remember to finish tonight’s ten pages of the workbook.”
He had forgotten to turn off the screen.
Chu Xingyu internally cursed himself.
“Did something happen?” Tong Sui asked. “Is someone forcing you to go back to school?”
She subconsciously thought that Chu Xingyu was being forced to study.
After all, the image of a web-addicted youth was deeply ingrained.
“No one is forcing me,” Chu Xingyu said softly, rubbing the edge of the workbook with his hand. “Although my education level is a bit low right now, I will work hard to improve.”
“Then good luck! Maybe we’ll attend the same university later, and you can be my junior.”
Attending the same school.
Junior…
Tong Sui’s words stirred something within Chu Xingyu, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally asked, “Which university are you attending?”
“H University, starting as a freshman this fall.”
After Tong Sui said that, she went to blow dry her hair. Meanwhile, Chu Xingyu silently repeated the name of the university in his mind and quietly pulled out his phone to search for it.
Subscribe
Login
0 Comments