Chapter 3: The Co-Sleeping Conundrum

Qin Yu’s movements were incredibly subtle, so much so that even the cameras failed to capture her restless hands fidgeting behind Lin Ziyao’s back. To those facing them, it simply appeared that once they had settled into their seats, Lin Ziyao, seizing an opportune moment when Qin Yu wasn’t paying attention, leaned directly against her.

“No, this is wrong! It’s supposed to be *you* pillowing *my* lap!”

Yet, Lin Ziyao, who was sprawled across Qin Yu’s lap, flailing in protest, hadn’t even managed to sit up. Her wildly waving hands, after a brief moment of motion, stilled entirely.

Her attention had been captured by a new message from the system.

[Task completed]

“The task is already complete?” Lin Ziyao was utterly bewildered by the system’s method of judgment.

“Didn’t it say the guest needed to experience a lap pillow?”

[The host is also a guest]

‘So, it doesn’t necessarily mean someone has to pillow *my* lap? It’s fine if *I* pillow someone else’s?’

“W-what is this?” Feng Qiqi, her hair styled in twin pigtails, stared in utter shock at the sudden turn of events before her. She had never imagined that the ‘little green tea’ who had just approached them would now be directly sprawled across Qin Yu’s lap, who had only just arrived.

The entire scene was startled by Lin Ziyao’s unexpected action. As the director, Director Chen could only marvel inwardly, certain that the first episode’s ratings were now guaranteed.

‘Is Ziyao really this dedicated?’

Yet, no matter how much he was beaming inwardly, Director Chen couldn’t betray his amusement on camera. He cleared his throat twice. “Alright, guests, please stop fooling around. I’ll formally announce the upcoming arrangements.”

Director Chen’s variety show was quite straightforward, a reality TV program featuring relatively young guests. Such shows were simple to film and attracted a considerable audience. This time, he had even brought Lin Ziyao into the fold as a ‘green tea’ catalyst, guaranteeing an abundance of drama for the viewers.

Lin Ziyao, now seated properly, listened to Director Chen’s arrangements while checking the task rewards provided by the system. She planned to discreetly ask Qin Yu about her song preferences after filming concluded.

“Oh, right!” Saying this, Director Chen clapped his hand to his head, feigning a sudden recollection. “Since the resort is currently in its off-season, the surrounding restaurants are closed. Therefore, during this filming period, all guests will need to cook their own meals.”

Upon hearing this, most of the guests immediately pulled long faces. Lin Ziyao subtly scanned the room, noticing that only Qin Yu and an older man sitting further away remained impassive. The older man’s name, if she recalled correctly, was Xu Li.

“Now, the male guests will follow our production team to retrieve this week’s ingredients, while the female guests will go to the accommodations to tidy up,” Director Chen announced, dividing the guests into two groups and assigning cameramen to each.

There was no alternative; participating in a variety show meant following the production team’s arrangements. Yang Tian and the others followed Director Chen’s lead, heading to the resort’s entrance to collect the food.

Once all the male guests had departed, the remaining female guests finally gathered together.

“Does anyone know how to cook?” Qin Yu was the first to speak, looking around at those present as she asked.

Lin Ziyao eagerly volunteered. “I can cook some home-style dishes.”

After Lin Ziyao spoke, Qin Yu also chimed in. “I can cook some dishes too, but mostly vegetarian ones.”

Seeing that some people knew how to cook, Feng Qiqi’s anxious heart finally settled. She looked at the remaining female guest, Dai Wen, seeking her opinion. “How about this: once the boys bring back the food, those two will cook, and we two will do the dishes?”

Given that it was a reality show, all guest activities could potentially be presented to the audience. Naturally, one couldn’t leave an impression of being lazy and gluttonous. Dai Wen merely pretended to ponder for a moment before agreeing.

With the cooking issue resolved, Lin Ziyao and the others set off, following the staff to their accommodation villa. Their luggage had already been placed in the villa’s hall by the staff earlier.

Feng Qiqi collapsed into a soft sofa. “Finally here! I’m exhausted!”

Receiving no agreement, Feng Qiqi turned her head. She saw Qin Yu pulling out a hair tie to re-do her hair, Dai Wen folding her sun-protective jacket, and Lin Ziyao, even more proactively, searching for a broom and a rag.

“Don’t forget what the director said. We need to tidy this place up,” Lin Ziyao reminded them, handing a rag to Feng Qiqi.

The girls busied themselves, roughly tidying the villa. Just as they were about to move their suitcases from the hall to their rooms, they were stopped by the staff.

Director Chen walked in, seeing Feng Qiqi attempting to retrieve her luggage. “It seems we’ve returned at just the right time!”

The male guests following Director Chen were drenched in sweat, indicating that the journey to retrieve ingredients had been anything but easy.

“So, without further ado, I now announce the first segment here!” Director Chen, acting as both host and director, immediately got into character.

“This villa has seven rooms, but only three are provided for guests to sleep in. The room allocation is as follows: one room for male guests, and two rooms for female guests. Therefore, we need to draw lots to decide who will share a room with whom.”

Yang Tian, realizing the problem, raised his hand and asked, “Director Chen, wouldn’t that mean one male guest won’t have a room?”

“I haven’t finished speaking yet,” Director Chen replied, knowing full well there would be an extra male guest. He patted his chest. “The remaining male guest will share a room with me, the director!”

Seeing that no one raised further objections, Director Chen brought out the prepared lots. Starting with the male guests, Yang Tian ultimately became the ‘lucky’ one to share a room with Director Chen.

“Please take good care of me these next few days, Teacher Xu!” Tang Wenjie, who had recently starred in several TV dramas, drew the lot to share a room with Xu Li.

Facing this polite young man, Xu Li was particularly amiable. “No problem at all.”

Yang Tian’s smile, however, seemed a little forced. “Please take good care of me, Director Chen!”

Now it was time for the female guests to draw lots. Feng Qiqi was first; after getting her lot, she quickly tucked it away. Lin Ziyao barely managed to glimpse the room number written on the paper.

When she drew her own lot, she glanced at the room number. It was different from Feng Qiqi’s, meaning her roommate would be either Dai Wen or Qin Yu.

From her perspective, she hoped it would be Dai Wen, as Dai Wen tended to be less observant of her surroundings. Qin Yu, on the other hand, had just pressed her onto her lap, and Lin Ziyao dared not imagine what other tricks Qin Yu might pull if they were to share a room.

But fate, it seemed, had a cruel sense of humor.

“301?” Dai Wen read out her drawn room number, looking to see who her roommate would be.

“Hey? You and I are roommates!” Feng Qiqi pulled out her lot, which also displayed room number 301.

This meant Qin Yu didn’t even need to draw; she automatically became Lin Ziyao’s roommate.

As if adding insult to injury, the system’s task appeared at that very moment.

[Please, Host, share a bed with a guest for one night]

Damn it!