The camera flashed back to the past. The audience was eagerly guessing who painted which picture. The guests on set were no exception. Bai Yinyue whispered into Zhong Ruanxing's ear, "The third one must be painted by Xia Xi."
The guitar and piano notes were too obvious. The guests and audience guessed it right away.
The other three paintings were harder to identify. Zhuang Xueyu walked up and said, "As a new addition to the show, may I go first?"
No one had any objections.
Zhuang Xueyu approached the four easels to examine them carefully, discerning in her mind which was most likely painted by Cheng Yaowen. Excluding the third painting, the first and second seemed too childish to match her impression of Cheng Yaowen's temperament.
After deliberating back and forth, she finally chose the fourth painting.
The fourth painting had the best technique, using just a few swift strokes to convey artistic flair. As the heir to a wealthy family, Cheng Yaowen must have been trained to possess such painting skills and artistic sense.
She removed the cloth covering the fourth painting. "I choose this one."
The bullet screen comments echoed her guess:
[I think this one is painted by Young Master Cheng too!]
[Zhuang Xueyu is so direct, I love guests like this who just go for it straight. Very entertaining to watch!]
[I wonder what kind of date Young Master Cheng has prepared. I'm a little curious and excited!]
...
No one noticed the helpless flicker in Yong Yun's eyes after Zhuang Xueyu made her selection. She turned to Bai Yinyue and Zhong Ruanxing and asked, "Which painting do you two want?"
Bai Yinyue winked at her. "Just leave the third one for us."
Yong Yun smiled knowingly and eventually chose the colorful underwater sea creature park in the second painting.
She thought Bai Yinyue wanted her to leave the third painting so she could choose it herself. She didn't expect Bai Yinyue to take the first painting with the matchstick people watching the sunrise, leaving the third painting with the obvious musical elements to Zhong Ruanxing.
Before coming on the show, Yong Yun had learned from Zhong Ruanxing about her history with Cheng Yaowen. After getting over her initial surprise, she quickly understood. Since they still didn't know who was Cheng Yaowen, leaving the most identifiable third painting to Zhong Ruanxing was the safest bet.
She couldn't help feeling a little envious of Bai Yinyue's unconditional support for Zhong Ruanxing.
With the paintings selected, the four women set off to their respective dates.
The male guests had already prepared everything at the chosen date locations, just waiting for the female guests to show up.
Zhong Ruanxing felt a little sorry for Xia Xi. It was so obvious he had painted the music elements to leave a sign for Bai Yinyue, but to avoid Cheng Yaowen, she had no choice but to let him down. Zhong Ruanxing decided to properly apologize to him later.
But the heavens just loved playing jokes on people. When Zhong Ruanxing arrived at the designated meeting spot and saw Cheng Yaowen sitting there, she felt like a huge hammer had smashed her dumbfounded.
The third painting was done by Cheng Yaowen? Piano? Guitar? Musical notes? Was he out of his mind?!
Cheng Yaowen turned his head and saw the stunned Zhong Ruanxing standing there. His face revealed an unsurprised smile.
From that smile, Zhong Ruanxing could see his intentions.
He did it on purpose. Knowing she would avoid him and choose someone else, he deliberately painted the music elements to lead her into picking him.
Cheng Yaowen's scheme had succeeded. He strolled leisurely toward her. "You came?"
Zhong Ruanxing: "Hmph."
Cheng Yaowen didn't mind her attitude. He beckoned with his hand. "Let's go. I'll take you on a date."
Zhong Ruanxing suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. She followed expressionlessly behind him as he led the way forward. Cheng Yaowen had chosen a date location at the highest point of the island. After hiking up a sloping path, an open space near a cliff came into view. A helicopter was parked in the open area.
The audience was thrilled by this scene:
[As expected of a rich second generation! Going straight for the helicopter!]
[Zhuang Xueyu who charged at Young Master Cheng so aggressively picked the wrong painting. What a missed opportunity. I wonder if she'll vomit blood when she sees the helicopter later, hahaha!]
[Zhong Ruanxing's expression seems off. She really doesn't like Young Master Cheng.]
[Waaahhh how could anyone not like a rich and good-looking second generation heir? Zhong Ruanxing, I advise you not to bite the hand that feeds!]
...
Zhong Ruanxing did NOT want to take a helicopter with Cheng Yaowen at ALL!
Just thinking about being trapped with him in an enclosed space made her uncomfortable. But with the cameras on her, she couldn't just flip her lid and ditch out. After walking a few steps, she saw Cheng Yaowen stop and turned to him with an apologetic and innocent look, drawing on her acting skills. "I'm so sorry, but I'm afraid of heights."
Cheng Yaowen raised a brow. "Afraid of heights?"
A person who often performed dangerous wire work stunts was afraid of heights?
Zhong Ruanxing looked genuinely earnest. "That's right, so I can't take the helicopter with you. But you must have put in a lot of effort preparing all this. It'd be a waste not to use it. Why don't I have the director contact Zhuang Xueyu's team? I think she'd be delighted to take the helicopter ride with you."
She spoke with utmost sincerity. Cheng Yaowen ignored her suggestion as if he hadn't heard it at all. The corners of his lips curled up into a faint smile. "It's fine. It didn't take much effort anyway. Since you're afraid of heights, we won't take it." He suddenly pointed at the sea not far below. "That's the cruise I prepared. Let's take the cruise instead."
Zhong Ruanxing: "?"
Bullet screen:
[?]
[He really loves her to death!]
[Both helicopter and cruise, is this how rich people date?]
[You were told to prepare a date, not show off your wealth!]
...
Zhong Ruanxing looked at his falsely congenial smile and wanted to punch him. She took a deep breath and continued smiling apologetically. "I'm so sorry, but I also get seasick easily. I'm afraid I can't take the cruise either."
Bullet screen:
[Zhong Ruanxing, are you Noto Mamiko's ungrateful little sister?]
[Zhuang Xueyu: Why didn't I get such a great opportunity?!]
[Zhong Ruanxing is my role model. She stays virtuous despite wealth and status!]
[It's confirmed. She really doesn't like Young Master Cheng.]
...
Cheng Yaowen gazed at her deeply.
Zhong Ruanxing shot back a faintly provocative smile.
Under such repeated rejections, a normal person would probably have backed down already. But Cheng Yaowen was clearly not normal. He curled his lips and said casually, "No problem. We won't take it then. The scenery here is great. Strolling and chatting is nice too."
With the cameras on, Zhong Ruanxing couldn't make things too difficult. It was just a walk, so whatever.
As a vacation island, Hidden Star Island's scenery was extremely pleasing to the eye. Zhong Ruanxing just treated it as touring her own territory, not caring at all about Cheng Yaowen walking beside her.
Yet Cheng Yaowen insisted on making his presence known, pointing out flowers, trees, and seagulls for her to look at every so often.
In her mind, Zhong Ruanxing cursed him down to the eighteenth generation, but her expression remained tranquil, even with a hint of a smile. She turned to him, "Young Master Cheng, why don't we play a game?"
Cheng Yaowen perked up in interest. "Sure, what do you want to play?"
Zhong Ruanxing: "Let's play the game where the first person to speak is a turtle bastard. One, two, three, start!"
Cheng Yaowen: "..."
