Day 12: My Brother Loves Me Too Much

Jiang Yanbai’s gaze fell on Yun Zhiyi’s hand gripping his. Yun Zhiyi followed his look downward and suddenly let go. She couldn’t recall when exactly the distance between them began to grow—not just the emotional and temporal gap, but even physical contact now required constant vigilance to maintain space.

Even though... they had shared a deep bond since childhood.

Jiang Yanbai’s fingers twitched slightly, as if reluctant to let go of that cold touch.

Yun Zhiyi had always been physically fragile since childhood; no matter how many layers she wore, her hands were always somewhat cold. His body, burning with heat, was enough to warm her hands—but she no longer needed that.

As they grew older, their relationship gradually drifted further apart.

Even for siblings as close as “brother and sister,” even without blood ties, he insisted on keeping his distance.

“I’m leaving. It’s cold outside. You should head back to the villa soon.”

With those few words, Jiang Yanbai turned and walked through the garden behind the villa.

Yun Zhiyi watched his tall, slender figure. Compared to their youth, his handsome face had matured, and his casually worn black T-shirt hugged his body, outlining graceful muscles. If she leaned in closer, she could feel the intense heat radiating from him.

It seemed that if she got just a little closer, she could truly feel the warmth he emitted.

Yun Zhiyi sniffed lightly, catching a fresh, woody scent.

Had he put on cologne?

She hadn’t noticed this detail before—Jiang Yanbai must have used some perfume.

Mixed with masculine pheromones, the scent was quite pleasant. Breathing it in too much might spark some strange imaginings.

Yun Zhiyi tapped her cheek, telling herself to stop overthinking.

After standing there briefly, she turned back along the pebble path toward the villa, where she ran into Chu Hongyi and Fan Jing, who had just finished their walk and were heading back together.

Chu Hongyi opened the door and let Fan Jing go in first. He didn’t enter immediately but glanced toward Yun Zhiyi.

Like a timid little animal, she whispered a thank you and quickly slipped inside.

Chu Hongyi gave a faint look at her retreating back before closing the door gently and joining the others in the villa’s living room.

The villa’s dining room adjoined the living room, with an open-plan kitchen spacious enough for five or six people to work in comfortably.

“Dinner’s ready, everyone come eat,” Xu Xinran’s voice called out.

Chi Yu brought the last dish to the table. “I tend to prefer lighter flavors, so I’m not sure if the dishes suit everyone’s taste.”

Five generous main dishes were laid out on the table, along with two vegetable dishes and a cold dish.

Liang Shanshan pulled out a chair and sat down, openly praising, “This looks really good. Thank you for the hard work.”

Chu Hongyi and Fan Jing sat together.

Fan Jing spoke gently, “I also prefer lighter food; these dishes are just right.”

The dining table was long, with four seats on each side. Liang Shanshan sat in the middle on the left side, Fan Jing took the second seat next to her, and Chu Hongyi sat opposite Fan Jing.

Yun Zhiyi hesitated briefly before choosing to sit on the other side of Liang Shanshan.

Just as she sat down, Jiang Yanbai pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down, facing her.

Seating arrangements often had unspoken rules—people instinctively chose to sit closer to those they felt drawn to.

Yun Zhiyi was momentarily stunned, looking up at Jiang Yanbai.

He met her gaze directly, without looking away.

She shifted her eyes to observe the other guests.

---

Seeing the female guests all seated on the left side, Xu Xinran smiled and took the number one seat on that side. Chi Yu naturally chose the first seat on the right, sitting opposite Xu Xinran.

Xiao Nanxing, who had arrived late after playing games, scanned the room and nonchalantly pulled out a chair opposite Liang Shanshan and sat down.

Comments streamed across the screen:

“I guess it’s clear now: Second male lead Jiang Yanbai only has feelings for second female lead Yun Zhiyi.”

“Among the guests, except for third female lead Liang Shanshan and fourth male lead Xiao Nanxing, everyone seems to have settled on who they like.”

“But didn’t second male lead Jiang Yanbai team up with third female lead Liang Shanshan to cook dinner? Hate indecisive men.”

“Didn’t second female lead Yun Zhiyi choose fourth male lead Xiao Nanxing as her partner?”

“There will be a ‘heartfelt message’ segment tonight—then we’ll know who’s truly interested in whom.”

Xu Xinran and Chi Yu’s dishes tasted decent—not as good as a restaurant, but well within the family’s high standard and palatable.

There were drinks on the table: freshly squeezed orange juice and peanut milk.

Everyone poured themselves a glass, and at Xu Xinran’s invitation, they toasted to their first meeting.

After the meal, some dishes remained.

Xu Xinran and Chi Yu cleared the table while others moved to the sofa to rest. When Xu Xinran and Chi Yu joined them, everyone’s phones buzzed simultaneously.

“Guests may now send their first ‘heartfelt messages.’ The guest who receives the most messages will get first choice of rooms.”

Yun Zhiyi hadn’t yet gone upstairs but knew from the show’s hints that the upstairs rooms varied—some were especially nice, others average, and only the most popular guest could pick the best room first.

This had been the show’s method to spark competition among guests in the previous season as well.

Heartfelt messages.

Everyone sat on the sofa, eyeing one another, their eyes flickering with unspoken currents.

Yun Zhiyi came to this dating show mainly to keep an eye on Jiang Yanbai, so the message phase didn’t matter much to her—she could send hers to anyone.

But...

Since the one who received the most messages could choose the best room first, she definitely wanted to help Jiang Yanbai.

She looked up at him and saw his brows slightly lowered, his long fingers busily composing a message.

Had he already decided whom to send it to?

Xu Xinran? Liang Shanshan?

The show provided guests with phones, but the numbers were unknown to them. The messages were anonymous, so even after receiving a message, no one knew who sent it.

Yun Zhiyi averted her gaze. Just as she was about to send her message, a new one arrived. She was a little surprised and looked around to see who it was from but couldn’t tell.

So she lowered her head and sent a message to Jiang Yanbai.

After sending it, she immediately looked up at him. He received the message, glanced at it, his expression cold and indifferent, as if it meant nothing.

Comments:

“Urgent! Who sent messages to whom?!”

“Really can’t tell who sent the heartfelt messages.”

“Anyway, third male lead Chi Yu will definitely send one to Xu Xinran—they cooked together, and the atmosphere was super flirty with couple vibes.”

“Third female lead Fan Jing will certainly send one to first male lead Chu Hongyi—too obvious.”

“...”

---

After everyone sent their messages, the show began announcing the results.

“Yun Zhiyi received two heartfelt messages; Jiang Yanbai also received two. You both get to choose rooms and roommates first.”

Yun Zhiyi was surprised when she received the messages.

She had expected none but had actually gotten two—what was going on?

In the original storyline, Xu Xinran always wore a halo, being the most popular guest each episode. She came on the dating show to fish for affection from every male guest.

From the start of the show, Xu Xinran dominated the scene, and the male guests were basically drawn to her, enchanted by her glamorous and elegant aura.

Obviously...

Xu Xinran hadn’t expected Yun Zhiyi to receive even more heartfelt messages than herself. Her smile stiffened for a moment, her eyes tinged with confusion and a hint of grievance.

Many of her fans in the audience were anxious.

“Are men really powerless against a delicate little white flower?”

“No, why Yun Zhiyi?”

“Xinran worked so hard all day only to get stabbed in the back. Are these men blind?”

“Sis, don’t be sad—we feel for you. It’s their loss for being blind to the pure and fragile little white flower.”

“Stop the back-and-forth. Sister Bao is pretty and cute, no wonder everyone likes her.”

“Speechless—is it Sister Bao’s fault to be liked?”

“Enough with the fighting (shouting).”

The show revealed the results, and the guests headed upstairs to select rooms.

Since Yun Zhiyi and Jiang Yanbai had the same number of messages, they had to decide who would pick first.

Yun Zhiyi looked at him.

Jiang Yanbai said, “Ladies first.”

Yun Zhiyi smiled at him. “Then I’ll choose first.”

Upstairs, there were four rooms. The largest bedroom had a private bath and a large bay window overlooking the back garden. The atmosphere was especially cozy, with soft, plush bedding that looked inviting.

Yun Zhiyi inspected the other rooms.

Another room had a similar bed and bedding but was smaller. The other two rooms were even smaller, with average lighting and décor, lacking private bathrooms. Guests in those rooms would have to use the communal bathroom.

Yun Zhiyi chose the largest room in the villa. She looked toward the female guests.

She wasn’t close with any of them yet. At first, she favored the calm and gentle Fan Jing and considered sharing a room with her. But since she needed to keep an eye on Xu Xinran and Jiang Yanbai, she finally invited Xu Xinran instead.

Xu Xinran agreed to share the room. She had expected to easily secure the largest room herself, but losing out to Yun Zhiyi left her in a bad mood, forcing herself to suppress it in front of the cameras.

Whether Yun Zhiyi’s invitation was a provocation or had other intentions, she decided to accept it all.

Once the guests finished choosing, they could move in.

Yun Zhiyi was about to head downstairs to get her suitcase when she encountered Jiang Yanbai on the stairs, carrying two suitcases—one of which was hers.