After breakfast, everyone dispersed.
The male guests returned to their rooms to search for keys, while Lin Yirou planned to wander around the villa. Qiu Xinxue wanted to ask Xia Qingtian what she was doing, but only saw Ji Meina linking arms with Xia Qingtian. The two walked away, whispering secrets to each other.
Seeing this, Qiu Xinxue clenched her fists by her side, her eyes full of displeasure.
Recalling the presence of cameras, Qiu Xinxue suppressed her unhappiness and caught up with Lin Yirou, intending to explore together.
She figured the more she chased after Xia Qingtian, the less Xia Qingtian might care about her. It would be better to slow down.
This plan wouldn't happen overnight, and fishing couldn't be rushed.
"Qingtian, what should I do? What if Tong Nian Zhe really comes to steal my key?" Ji Meina asked Xia Qingtian nervously, her arm linked with hers.
She had no hope for the keys outside, but she couldn't even get the key to her own room.
That would be too embarrassing!
"It's okay, I'll help you look," Xia Qingtian said, patting Ji Meina's hand. "Young Master Tong was just teasing you before. Don't take it to heart, he won't."
"He will! He really will!" Ji Meina nodded vigorously, then began to recount all the bad deeds Tong Nian Zhe had committed over the years.
These included, but were not limited to:
Scoffing at her height, openly and secretly;
Disdaining her taste;
Stealing her snacks like puddings, cakes, and ice cream;
Sticking notes behind her back, causing her to be ridiculed;
Showing no respect to her, an elder who was three years older and entered the industry earlier;
Kicking her remote-controlled car away and calling her a brat.
...
The list was endless!
Listening to it, Xia Qingtian felt that Tong Nian Zhe marrying Ji Meina in their past lives must have been due to a stroke of immense luck from his ancestors.
It was hard for anyone to salvage such an 18k pure straight man!
Xia Qingtian could only laugh along and pacify Ji Meina.
When the two entered Ji Meina's room, Xia Qingtian couldn't help but feel envious.
This was what a girl's room should look like. What kind of hellish room was she sleeping in?
"Only the tops of these shelves haven't been searched," Ji Meina said, pointing to the high shelves that clearly hindered her efforts. "I can't reach them."
"Let me try," Xia Qingtian said, reaching out to feel the top of one of the shelves and rummaging through some doll ornaments.
Seeing Xia Qingtian helping her, Ji Meina felt a bit embarrassed. She brought over a round sofa stool, stepped on it, and continued searching for the key on tiptoe.
Xia Qingtian glanced at where Ji Meina was looking and nodded inwardly, realizing it was around that area.
"I think I felt something!" Ji Meina's eyes lit up. She reached into the innermost part of the shelf, but her footing gave way, and she tumbled backward.
"Meina!" Xia Qingtian was startled.
At that moment, a figure rushed into the room and caught Ji Meina from behind.
"Tong, Tong Nian Zhe..." Ji Meina's heart raced after the scare as she saw who it was.
"Not tall, but not light either." Tong Nian Zhe's eyes seemed flustered. After steadying Ji Meina, he turned his head and said irritably, "So clumsy."
Ji Meina's face instantly turned red at his words.
Xia Qingtian could hardly believe her ears. This Tong Nian Zhe definitely had some serious issues!
Then, Tong Nian Zhe reached into a compartment on the top shelf and pulled out a key. "Isn't this the key!"
"I, I saw it first! Give it back to me!" Ji Meina said, her face red, her lips pressed together.
"I got it first," Tong Nian Zhe said, raising his hand with the key. "Want it? Come get it yourself."
"You!" Ji Meina stomped her feet in anger. How could Tong Nian Zhe be so annoying!
At this moment, Xia Qingtian quietly walked behind Tong Nian Zhe and punched him in the waist.
"Ouch!" Tong Nian Zhe yelped in pain and instinctively hunched over, lowering his hand. Xia Qingtian immediately snatched the key from him.
After returning the key to Ji Meina, Xia Qingtian glared at Tong Nian Zhe: You! Really! Have! Some! Serious! Issues!
Tong Nian Zhe finally fell silent and turned his head away.
"Qingtian, thank you!" Ji Meina, having retrieved the key, immediately threw herself into Xia Qingtian's arms.
Regardless of whether the key was real or fake, having a key meant she wouldn't be embarrassed.
"Good girl," Xia Qingtian said, ruffling Ji Meina's hair. She then glanced at Tong Nian Zhe, who stood nearby looking envious, and couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Who could blame anyone for this!
That day, all the guests managed to get a key. However, finding other keys in the villa was not going to be easy.
Firstly, the villa was large with many rooms, as well as various complex entertainment facilities and decorative items.
Searching aimlessly like headless flies wouldn't be effective. Fortunately, the director's team understood this was a dating show and didn't intend to torture the guests to death. The food was excellent, and the WiFi was fast.
If one didn't want to participate in the activities, resting and vacationing here, and slowly cultivating relationships with other guests seemed like a good option.
In the following days, the participating guests clearly divided into two factions.
One was the laid-back, "Buddha-like" slackers, led by Ji Meina and Xia Qingtian. This group also included Ji Jun and Ling Fenghan, who had no interest in the gold bars and treated the dating show as a vacation.
Ji Meina's only goal was to not be embarrassed, and once she had a key, she could relax. Xia Qingtian knew the exact location of the real keys and felt it would be unfair to others if she actively searched for them, so she joined the "slacker" group.
The other faction was the active "treasure hunters," led by Lin Yirou and Qiu Xinxue. This group also included Tong Nian Zhe and Lu Songtao.
Lin Yirou was someone who was indifferent in her daily life but took tasks assigned to her very seriously, so she had been searching for keys for the past few days.
Qiu Xinxue had proactively approached Lin Yirou from the start. Seeing Lin Yirou's persistence, she felt embarrassed to give up halfway. Lu Songtao, being a partner from the same company as Qiu Xinxue, naturally followed her.
As for Tong Nian Zhe, he wasn't particularly eager to find the keys and win the gold bars. He simply knew he was bad with words and perhaps maintaining some distance from Ji Meina would help preserve his poor impression points.
Of course, the viewers in the live stream also had their complaints about the polarization of the guests.
【What's going on? Are they here just to make easy money? They only know how to play every day and don't even search for keys. Can they be more serious?】
【I can understand Ji Jun and Ling Fenghan. They are both well-off and ethereal beings. What about Xia Qingtian and Ji Meina?】
【Hands off our Meina. Meina's personality isn't competitive. She also has a height disadvantage and can't reach anything high. It's normal for her to give up.】
【That Xia Qingtian is really disgusting. Does she really think she's a rich young lady on vacation? Can she have some professional ethics?】
【Exactly, always slacking off. I find her annoying! Ji Jun, Ling Fenghan, and Ji Meina don't care about being competitive; they have the means. What makes her think she can? She's a newcomer and doesn't perform well, just lazy! A lazy woman! She wouldn't even get married in our village!】
【It's really something. Look at Qiu Xinxue. She's also a newcomer, but she's been searching diligently. I really don't understand how that resource-hog Xia Qingtian is ahead of Qiu Xinxue!】