"I like the Qian Zi Mo type."
At the Qian family residence, Qian Zi Mo was preoccupied with the matter of Di Shi Shi. Suddenly, a voice came from a tablet that had been left on, streaming a live broadcast.
It took Qian Zi Mo a few seconds to react before he looked at the tablet. "Holy hell, Qin He, you're setting me up!"
Qin He, in high spirits, returned to the beach with her small bucket. She felt she had gotten a small revenge and was immensely pleased.
If Qian Zi Mo set her up, she would set him up in return.
At Qingcheng, Shen Yi Lin's eyes widened. "Sister likes Qian Zi Mo?"
In the Qingyan Mansion elders' group chat.
Jue Qing Liu Mang: [Mo, you scumbag! Don't poop where you eat! You actually seduced Qing Xie!]
Jue Qing Liu Mang: [@Di Shi @Qing Xie]
In Haicheng, Mrs. Ming spoke sternly with Ming Yu Zhu on the phone. "Yu Zhu, find me the information on that child from the Qian family! I heard he has a weak constitution, we need to vet him for Xiao He!"
Only Ming Yu Zhu in Qingcheng remained unfazed. "Don't worry, Mom. I know my own daughter. If she likes someone, she won't say it so straightforwardly!"
Qin He was oblivious to the huge impact her one sentence had caused.
She handed over all the shells to the exchange counter. Collecting shells didn't yield much; Qin He worked hard for a day and only exchanged them for a hundred gold coins.
In the evening, she bought some ingredients and returned to the villa, standing in the dining room to cook.
Nowadays, people were too embarrassed to eat for free all the time. Every afternoon, many would go out to complete tasks, so meals were not a problem.
Qin He finished cooking and just as she was bringing the dishes to the table, she saw Zhang Cai Yu and Fang Ruo Nan entering from outside, with Li Ai following behind them.
"Li Ai, have you had dinner?" Qin He called out.
Li Ai's steps faltered, and she stood there somewhat at a loss.
Fang Ruo Nan snorted and went upstairs.
It was then that Qin He noticed the tense atmosphere among the three. She called out to Li Ai.
"Come here, Li Ai."
Qin He served two portions of rice and asked Li Ai to sit at the table.
"Why did you come in with Zhang Cai Yu and Fang Ruo Nan just now? Did they bully you?"
Li Ai had a temper as pliable as dough, and Qin He worried that Fang Ruo Nan might take it out on her if Li Ai got too close to Qin He.
Li Ai quickly shook her head. "No, Qin Xiao— Qin He."
"That's good. Hurry and eat then."
Qin He watched Li Ai eat, feeling puzzled. Li Ai also did tasks every day, but Qin He had never seen her buy anything to eat. She would occasionally bring back a few packets of instant noodles and eat them in the living room.
Where were her gold coins?
As they were eating, Qin He's phone on the counter rang.
She got up and went to look. It was a WeChat message from Gu Qi Chen.
Since the banquet the day before yesterday, Qin He hadn't replied to Gu Qi Chen's few messages.
Gu Qi Chen: [Li Ai is Zhang Cai Yu's cousin. Be careful.]
Qin He was slightly taken aback by the message and turned to look at Li Ai, who was sitting at the table.
Li Ai was eating slowly, and if one looked closely, her eyes were a little red.
She suddenly understood where Li Ai's gold coins had gone. Given Zhang Cai Yu's hypocritical nature, it was no wonder she had never seen her go out to complete tasks, yet never seemed to be short of food.
After a few seconds of thought, Qin He replied: [Thank you.]
Putting down her phone, Qin He returned to the table and continued eating with Li Ai.
After dinner, Li Ai washed the dishes while Qin He wiped down the counter.
Suddenly, the mechanical female voice echoed through the villa.
"All contestants, please pay attention."
After repeating a few times, the voice continued, "Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, all contestants are to gather in front of the villa's main entrance at the same location as the preliminary round. We will announce the topic for the second round of the competition."
Everyone who had been enjoying a relaxed three days in the villa became tense.
They had all been in Jiangcheng for five days, and the competition was only scheduled for half a month.
In the villa, two women were chatting as they came downstairs.
"The second round is finally about to begin. I'm a bit nervous."
"The top twenty. As long as we get in, we can basically choose any company we want. We have to keep going."
The two women encouraged each other and walked past Qin He.
Qin He's brow furrowed. She had originally planned to withdraw from the competition if Qian Zi Mo hadn't contacted her by tomorrow.
Now, the second round of the competition was starting—
After tidying up her things, Qin He returned to her bedroom and hesitated, holding her phone.
Since the last banquet, Gu Qi Chen had announced that she would be the director of the perfume brand for the story's investment. From then until now, there had been a lot of questioning voices online.
Many people believed that she, as the brand director, lacked the capability and might stop at the top fifty.
Another group of people speculated that Qin He might not be able to handle the pressure and would withdraw from the competition to save face.
Qin He didn't particularly care what others thought of her, but if she truly withdrew at this time, Gu Qi Chen would be the one most embarrassed.
And it would have a significant impact on the brand.
But Di Shi Shi was like family to her.
Qin He: [Gu Qi Chen, are you resting yet?]
Three seconds later.
Gu Qi Chen: [No.]
Qin He: [There's something I'd like to discuss with you. Can we meet?]
She had previously agreed to participate in this competition with Gu Qi Chen, and now she was considering withdrawing…
It was wrong of her to have let him lose face. Qin He wanted to apologize to Gu Qi Chen solemnly in person.
Gu Qi Chen: [I'll come to you.]
Qin He quickly sent a voice message: "No need. There are cameras everywhere in the villa. If you come over, it will be hard to explain. Let's meet at Pink Beach, at the villa where the banquet was held last time."
Qin He chose a location far from the program team and all the other members.
The time was set for 8:30 PM.
Under the cover of night, Qin He quietly left the villa and walked north.
Ten minutes later, Qin He arrived at the white villa where the program team had held the banquet. A figure was already standing by the gate.
In the moonlight, Gu Qi Chen turned to look at her. His eyes seemed to hold an unresolvable, deep ink, filled with tenderness and expectation.
Qin He's heart skipped a beat, fearing that Gu Qi Chen might misunderstand her reason for asking him to meet.
"I asked you here today to discuss some important matters."
"It's cold tonight. Let's talk inside," Gu Qi Chen said softly.
He turned and walked to the villa's door, entered the password, and the door lock clicked open.
Qin He looked at him with surprise. "This villa is yours?"
"Yes, I purchased it earlier. I occasionally stay here when I come to Jiangcheng."
They entered the villa. The living room was no longer decorated as it had been for the banquet.
It was a simple style with not much decoration, fitting Gu Qi Chen's taste.
A soft, white sofa was placed in the center.
"Wait for me here for a moment," Gu Qi Chen said.
He walked to the side and turned on the air conditioning. Qin He, having walked in the night wind for so long, felt her body relax as the warm air blew.