Volume One, Chapter Six: What Is It About Divorced Men That Makes Them So Alluring?!
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Wen Zhi took deep breaths of fresh air, calming her wildly pounding heart before realizing something very important.
She hadn’t given anything away just now, had she...?
“Cough! Cough! Cough!”
She had choked on her own breath and hurriedly sat down, coughing so hard tears nearly sprang to her eyes.
“Shengsheng, what’s wrong?” Qin Yi and Wei Yuan came in carrying some things. She looked around, “Where’s Teacher Shen?”
“He... left.”
Qin Yi looked puzzled. “So soon?”
Wen Zhi composed herself and teased, “Well... he said this gift box is for you—from one of his loyal fans.”
“Teacher Shen is really too kind! This box of chocolates...” Qin Yi didn’t pay attention to Wen Zhi’s words. She had Wei Yuan place the box on the coffee table and began opening it, talking to herself, deliberately ignoring Wei Yuan and Wen Zhi.
Wei Yuan stood beside Wen Zhi, thought for a moment, then asked seriously, “Wen Zhi, do you know Teacher Shen?”
Wen Zhi’s heart tightened, palms sweating, but she feigned calmness. “No way... I and him...”
Her voice unintentionally rose, “We’re completely unrelated...”
Wei Yuan’s eyes darkened. “But the way he looked at you was different!”
At his words, Wen Zhi grew even more flustered, her cheeks flushing a deep red as she nervously clenched her hands.
Her gaze flickered evasively. “Actors... look at dogs differently too.”
Wei Yuan: “...”
“Is that so?”
“Yes...” Wen Zhi’s voice trembled slightly.
Seeing her nervous little act, Wei Yuan already had his answer. A faint smile curved on his lips as he corrected himself, “I see, I misunderstood.”
Wen Zhi silently breathed a sigh of relief. “Mm-hmm!!”
Wei Yuan chuckled softly and teased, “Are you nervous?”
“No, not at all!”
Qin Yi opened the box to find it filled with heart-shaped chocolates, and on top was Shen Nianchi’s handwritten note. She joyfully jumped up, “So lucky! This is Teacher Shen’s autograph!”
Her cheerful excitement interrupted the exchange between Wei Yuan and Wen Zhi.
Wen Zhi quickly changed the subject, “We’ve met our idol. Shouldn’t we take a tour to get familiar with the schedule?”
“All right, all right, let’s go!”
Wen Zhi deliberately lagged a step behind, pulling out her phone to send Shen Nianchi a message.
[For the dating show, should we pretend not to know each other?]
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If we acknowledged knowing each other, people would definitely link it to the romance rumors trending online. If we had to explain and the netizens didn’t believe us, we’d be doomed. After all, the internet is a place of endless gossip...
Around eight in the evening.
Wen Zhi sat alone in the corner of the private room, gloomily eating a large plate of fruit. She had sent that message in the morning, but there was still no reply by evening. What was going on?
She held her phone, staring at its dark screen, growing increasingly annoyed.
The music blared loudly; her seat was in a shadowed corner where no one paid her any attention.
She picked up a grape and fed it to her mouth, but vented her frustration on it, biting down hard with a crunch, as if wanting to turn that grape into Shen Nianchi himself.
While she was sulking alone, Wei Yuan came over holding two cups of juice. “Shengsheng, why are you sitting here alone? Come dance with me.”
Wen Zhi put down her phone. “I don’t know how to dance...”
“I’ll teach you.”
He bent down, placing the juices on the table, reaching out. “Come on! It’s easy. Just relax and move with the rhythm.”
Wen Zhi shook her head and didn’t reach out. “I’m really not interested.”
She was in a bad mood and didn’t want to talk, just wanted to be alone.
“All right then!”
Wei Yuan looked a little disappointed, scratching his head. “I’ll go over there first. Call me if you want to dance later.”
Wen Zhi gave a perfunctory smile.
After he left, Wen Zhi picked up her phone again and opened the chat with Shen Nianchi.
Still no reply.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She finally put the phone back in her bag, looked at the juice on the table, but instead picked up a nearby glass of alcohol.
After a few sips, she took up her phone again, unable to resist scrolling through Shen Nianchi’s social media posts.
Having been blocked for four years, his feed still stopped four years ago, with no updates.
Wen Zhi closed her phone and took another few gulps from her drink.
She had never drunk so much alcohol at once before.
After finishing, her head felt buzzing and her cheeks burned hot—she seemed a little tipsy...
Wen Zhi stood up unsteadily and staggered toward the restroom outside the private room.
The neighboring room was brightly lit.
Shen Nianchi leaned against the sofa, swirling a glass of wine. The glass reflected his ethereally handsome face.
“What you meant just now was that she’s your sister?” He Haoran asked in surprise.
Playing cold on the romance rumors, going on a dating show, and in the end, she’s his sister?
What nonsense!
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But wait, in his debut interview, didn’t he say he was an only child?
Shen Nianchi nodded.
“Biological?”
He shook his head. “She’s the daughter of my parents’ friends. She’s lived at my house since she was little.”
“Do you like her?”
“...”
Shen Nianchi’s hand holding the glass stiffened. “Don’t say nonsense.”
“With your looks and status, which girl wouldn’t fall for you?”
“She likes someone else, one of the other three guests on the dating show.”
“Tsk tsk.” He Haoran suddenly tapped his glass. “Speaking of, does this season’s dating show have any ‘intimacy cards’ for forming couples? If you get one, you can choose a partner to date for a whole day. Your half-sister might just find someone before you do!”
Shen Nianchi’s expression darkened, a strange anxiety stirring inside. “Is that true?”
What special charm does a divorced man have?!
He couldn’t understand.
He Haoran looked bewildered. “Are you stupid? Could it be fake? If she gets that card, she’ll definitely pick the one she likes to date all day. Maybe after just one episode airs, your sister will be taken!”
Shen Nianchi’s eyes flickered, a strange tightness in his chest. “Who’s the predetermined one?”
He Haoran nearly dropped his glass in shock. “No way... dude, are you crazy? You’re scripting a dating show... you’re not right in the head!”
“Shut up!” Shen Nianchi glared angrily. “I’ll figure it out myself. You keep drinking; I’m going to the restroom!”
“All right, all right, drink up!”
That guy definitely likes her and doesn’t even realize it!
What half-brother would personally chase after her on a dating show?
Don’t like her?
No one would believe that!
Wen Zhi bumped into several people on her way, drawing a chorus of curses.
Her steps faltered, barely able to keep her balance. When she finally reached the restroom door, before she could enter, someone grabbed her wrist tightly.
“Ah!!”
Pain shot through her wrist. She looked up at the man holding her, her blurry eyes gradually focusing on his face.
“Shen Nianchi?”
“Have you been drinking?”