Following the staff member, they arrived at the “Water” room.
The room was a standard one-bedroom suite. The main color scheme was blue, which indeed made people feel much more relaxed. The room came with its own kitchen, and all the cookware, oil, salt, and other necessities were fully provided. Outside the window was a very large swimming pool, exclusively for their use. It seemed that the “Water” in the room name referred to this pool. The room was very clean and tidy, though the furniture was relatively plain. In China, it would at most be considered the standard of a four-star hotel.
The assistant from the filming group said, “You two should rest early. If you want to eat something, you can call room service. If there are any problems, call me. The cameras and surveillance equipment inside the room are not allowed to be covered. Don’t worry, there are none in the bathroom or shower area. The Wi-Fi password is on the bedside table. If you want to go out and have fun, that’s fine too, but for filming convenience, please notify the filming group in advance.”
“Okay, we understand,” Xu Tang replied.
After the filming staff left, Xu Tang and Zong Xuan walked through every corner of the house.
There were six cameras installed inside, along with several other smaller cameras. It was practically a full-range, no-blind-spot recording setup.
Zong Xuan rubbed Xu Tang’s hair and asked, “Are you tired? Want to sleep for a while first?”
Xu Tang really was tired. He had slept a little on the plane, but it hadn’t helped much.
“Mm. Are you sleeping too?”
“I’m not tired yet. We’ll sleep together tonight.” The workload when he was filming was much heavier, so he was already used to it. This level of exhaustion was nothing to him.
“Then I’ll sleep on the sofa for a while.” As he spoke, Xu Tang took off his shoes and collapsed onto the sofa.
“Go sleep on the bed instead.” The sofa was never as comfortable as a bed.
Xu Tang shook his head, pulled over a cushion, and used it as a pillow.
“The bed is too comfortable. If I sleep there, I won’t be able to get up so quickly.”
Zong Xuan didn’t argue. He adjusted the temperature in the room higher, then found a thin blanket and covered Xu Tang with it.
Before long, Xu Tang fell asleep.
Seeing that he was sleeping peacefully, Zong Xuan felt relieved. Only then did he get up and start unpacking their luggage.
During the time when Xu Tang had injured his hand, Zong Xuan had truly learned quite a few household skills, including how to organize things. He might not be especially good at it, but at least the results were acceptable.
After finishing the luggage, Zong Xuan used the moka pot provided in the room to brew himself a cup of coffee. Just as he was about to call Yue Yan, Yue Yan’s call came through.
Zong Xuan went out to the balcony to answer.
“How’s your place?” Yue Yan asked.
“Not bad. A normal suite, one bedroom and one living room, with a swimming pool. How about you guys?” Zong Xuan asked.
He had never been to this island before, but he had visited plenty of islands with similar climates. He had a rough idea of what kind of accommodations were available.
“Me and He Xin are pretty good. An ocean-view room, floor-to-ceiling windows, a big balcony—the standard vacation setup. I asked about Zhou Xing’s place. They got a special grass hut here. The floor is sand. It’s pretty rare, and Chen Tina really likes it. I didn’t ask about Yu Lun’s place. Zhou Xing said it’s a small attic on top of the hotel. The space is very narrow, kind of like an apartment. Originally it was supposed to be for the staff who guarded the rooftop helipad, but the production team booked it instead.” Yue Yan laughed.
This hotel was huge. These different styles of rooms all belonged to the same hotel. The little rooftop house probably couldn’t see anything from inside, and going outside would leave you exposed to the sun. If a helicopter actually took off or landed, the wind would definitely be blowing hard. Still, it was much better than what everyone had originally imagined—a completely open-air room.
“Alright, I know. Let’s have dinner together tonight. Invite Zhou Xing and the others too. As for Yu Lun, he can come if he wants.” Zong Xuan said.
Even if they might not have much interaction later, since they had all come together, they would inevitably run into each other. Having a meal together was the proper thing to do. And this matter was most suitable for him to organize.
“Okay, I’ll contact them later.”
“Mm.”
After hanging up, Zong Xuan called Xie Shaoqian.
Like the other assistants who came along, Xie Shaoqian was staying in a standard staff room.
Xie Shaoqian shared a room with He Xin’s assistant. Zong Xuan told him not to shortchange himself—eat whatever he wanted and drink whatever he wanted. Anything that couldn’t be charged to the production team should just go through the studio account. He should enjoy the vacation properly.
After he started carefully taking care of Xu Tang, Zong Xuan realized that he seemed to have begun caring about everyone around him more.
Of course, it was a good change.
He just wanted to sigh at the power of love.
Xie Shaoqian agreed and told Zong Xuan that he would keep an eye out and see if he could find out any information beforehand. That way, he could notify Zong Xuan and make this filming experience easier for them.
After that, Zong Xuan sent a message to Wen Hui, asking her to investigate why Yu Lun had joined this season of the show.
He hadn’t said anything along the way, but that didn’t mean he believed Yu Lun was qualified to participate—or that he believed Yu Lun and Ai Ya were a real couple.
Xu Tang woke up sometime after five in the evening.
When the production team learned that Zong Xuan had taken the initiative to invite all the guests to dinner together, they gave up their rest time as well, picked up their cameras, and went over to record.
At exactly six o’clock, everyone gathered at the restaurant.
Only Ai Ya was absent.
Yu Lun said that Ai Ya had gotten seasick and was resting in the room.
No one said anything about it. After ordering their meals, everyone began chatting while eating.
Even though everyone didn’t really think highly of Yu Lun, they still wouldn’t let him be left out in front of the cameras.
Before coming here, Xu Tang had already told Zong Xuan about the possible reason Yu Lun and Ai Ya were able to get onto the show, as well as their fake-couple status.
Zong Xuan felt that his guess had indeed been correct.
Two people who each had their own backers, yet somehow ended up together as a “couple”? That was just ridiculous.
Because of this, he didn’t pay much attention to Yu Lun.
After all, judging by Yu Lun’s current behavior, he didn’t need to do anything. The other man could ruin himself on his own.
The production team had already sent a filming group over to record Ai Ya’s situation. After all, this was a perfect opportunity to gain sympathy points.
However, not long after, the group returned.
Their expressions were not very good, and they even looked slightly awkward.
“What happened?” the director asked.
Even if Ai Ya was feeling unwell and had already fallen asleep, so they couldn’t film anything, they shouldn’t have such expressions.
The assistant from the filming group pulled the director aside and whispered something to him.
The director clearly was someone who had seen plenty of situations before. He didn’t show much reaction and simply told all departments to continue with their work.
Xu Tang and the others noticed the commotion, but no one asked about it.
However, Yu Lun’s expression also seemed somewhat unpleasant.
Xu Tang guessed that he probably didn’t know what had happened either. Otherwise, he definitely would have stopped the filming group from going over to record.
After all, once they came here, he and Ai Ya no longer represented only themselves.
After dinner, everyone dispersed.
They needed to film early the next morning, so everyone went back to rest.
The next morning, Xu Tang and Zong Xuan were woken up by the sound of the doorbell.
Zong Xuan touched Xu Tang’s face and coaxed him softly.
“Keep sleeping. I’ll go take a look.”
“Mm…” Xu Tang responded sleepily, grabbing onto the blanket and continuing to sleep.
Zong Xuan got out of bed, ran a hand through his hair, and went to open the door.
Outside stood the filming crew, who had somehow gotten up early but were already looking completely refreshed, along with the young assistant who had previously followed them home for filming.
“Good morning, Actor Zong.”
“Morning.” Zong Xuan looked at them and asked, “What time is it now?”
“It’s already six in the morning.”
Zong Xuan: “…”
The assistant knew disturbing someone’s sleep so early wasn’t very considerate, but this was the production team’s arrangement, and she could only follow orders.
“You can wash up and change your clothes now. At 6:20, we’ll gather together in the hotel’s backyard,” the assistant said.
Zong Xuan leaned against the doorway and did not immediately let them enter.
“What’s the arrangement?”
The assistant replied, “The production team requested that the male partners and the more dominant partners gather in the backyard. There will be a mission arranged. That’s all I know.”
Zong Xuan looked at her.
Seeing that she didn’t seem like someone who was capable of lying, he nodded.
“Keep your voices down. Tang Tang is still sleeping. Don’t wake him.”
Only then did he allow them inside.
After washing up and changing clothes, Zong Xuan adjusted the temperature in the bedroom again and tucked the blanket around Xu Tang.
Only then did he leave downstairs with the filming crew.
Normally, Xu Tang would have been awake around this time, but because of the time difference, he was sleeping especially deeply.
Shi Duo was already waiting in the backyard.
He was wearing beach shorts and a beach shirt. From a distance, he looked like a giant pineapple—yellow and green all over. Of course, it was also in line with the local clothing style.
Zong Xuan, Yue Yan, Zhou Xing, and Yu Lun arrived one after another.
All four of them looked half-awake.
Unless there was something special happening, they rarely woke up at this hour.
Shi Duo, however, looked energetic and smiled.
“Good morning, everyone!”
“Good morning.”
The four men replied unevenly.
“To improve the feelings between you couples, the production team hopes that one designated person from each couple can prepare breakfast for their partner. The ingredients have already been placed on the large table behind you. Each person can choose a maximum of ten ingredients and must choose at least five. Seasonings and ingredients like green onions and ginger do not count toward the limit.”
Shi Duo paused before continuing.
“For breakfast, you must prepare at least three dishes, and every ingredient you choose must be used. Don’t try to get away with things like fried eggs. Whether you normally eat that at home or not, today it is not allowed. Do you understand?”
“Understood.”
“The current time is 6:40. At 7:30, we will go to each room to inspect your results and have your partners evaluate your dishes. Please do not disappoint your partners.”
“The person who performs the best will receive a luxurious candlelight dinner at the hotel. Second and third place will receive buffet dinner vouchers. The last place will have to help in the hotel kitchen and will only be allowed to eat staff meals.”
“So everyone, please do your best! Now, ingredient selection begins!”
As Shi Duo finished speaking, the cloth covering the table was removed, revealing all the ingredients.
Vegetables, fruits, seafood, meat—everything was available.
There were also many seasonings brought from China.
The staple foods were semi-prepared and sealed inside containers, including porridge, rice, and bread.
Of course, there were also raw rice, flour, and various types of beans for those who wanted to cook from scratch.
The four men quickly selected the ingredients they wanted and returned to their respective rooms.
During the time Xu Tang had injured his hand, besides learning how to heat up food, Zong Xuan had also gained some experience making breakfast.
It wasn’t necessarily delicious, and it definitely couldn’t compare with Xu Tang’s cooking, but at least it was edible.
Especially simple breakfasts—he could make those.
When Xu Tang woke up, he heard the sound of something being chopped outside.
He vaguely remembered someone knocking on the door earlier, but he had quickly fallen back asleep and had no idea what had happened.
Wearing his slippers, he walked out and saw that Zong Xuan was actually cooking.
There was even a cameraman filming beside him.
When Zong Xuan saw him awake, he immediately put down the knife, walked over, helped straighten his pajamas, and smiled.
“Did I wake you?”
“No.” Xu Tang looked toward the kitchen counter and asked, “The hotel doesn’t provide food?”
“No. The production team arranged this. They wanted me to make a meal for you.”
“Let me help you.”
“No need. Go wash up. I’ll make you some honey water.”
At home, he already didn’t like letting Xu Tang do things.
He certainly wouldn’t let him help while they were outside.
“Oh.”
Xu Tang didn’t argue and went into the bathroom to wash up.
He didn’t know what the production team was planning, but judging from Zong Xuan’s expression, it probably wouldn’t be difficult for him.
After washing up, Xu Tang changed into fresh clothes.
Zong Xuan handed him the honey water and said, “It’ll take a little longer. You can read a book first, or go online for a while.”
“Okay.”
Xu Tang glanced at the dishes on the counter and could roughly guess what Zong Xuan was planning to make. Since he wasn’t too worried, he went into the room to get his phone, then curled up on the sofa and browsed the internet.
He guessed He Xin probably hadn’t woken up yet at this hour, so he didn’t disturb him.
There wasn’t much news recently.
The trailer for the movie Zong Xuan had filmed before was released last night, and it was still receiving a lot of attention.
Watching the trailer, Xu Tang felt that Zong Xuan during filming was truly exceptionally handsome.
No matter what kind of role he played, Xu Tang always found it impossible to look away.
Watching Zong Xuan act was simply an enjoyable experience.
If he had the chance to act in a movie together with Zong Xuan, that would be great.
However, his own acting skills…
They were a little worrying.
About half an hour later, Zong Xuan’s breakfast was ready.
There was vegetable salad, tuna corn bread, and pineapple fried rice.
These dishes looked quite impressive, but the actual preparation was very simple.
The vegetables used for the salad were already prepared. They only needed to be washed and roughly chopped. Two boiled eggs were cut into quarters and added, then topped with salad dressing.
The tuna corn bread was also not difficult.
The bread base was ready-made baguette. It was sliced diagonally into three-centimeter-thick pieces, then toasted in a pan until both sides turned slightly golden. After cooling, a spoonful of tuna and corn salad was added on top.
The pineapple fried rice was relatively more complicated, but Zong Xuan used a simplified version.
He only added shrimp, pineapple, rice, and a little cashew nuts fried with oil.
Although the appearance wasn’t particularly beautiful, the taste was something Xu Tang liked.
“Coffee or milk?” Zong Xuan asked Xu Tang.
This wasn’t counted as part of the breakfast requirement, so he could still ask Xu Tang’s preference.
“Coffee,” Xu Tang replied.
After the two cups of coffee were brewed, Shi Duo arrived right on time.
“Wow, this looks pretty good,” Shi Duo said with a smile.
“Want some?” Xu Tang asked with a smile.
Shi Duo quickly waved his hands.
“This is your couple’s breakfast. How could I eat it?”
After saying that, he leaned closer to Xu Tang and whispered:
“If there’s any leftover, pack some for me and have your assistant bring it to my room, okay?”
Although he spoke quietly, the microphone attached to him still recorded everything.
Xu Tang laughed and nodded.
“Sure. Zong Xuan did make extra. He just didn’t put it all on the table because he wanted the presentation to look better. There’s still some in the kitchen.”
Shi Duo straightened his body and said seriously:
“I originally thought Actor Zong would be the kind of person who sat on the sofa, stretched out a hand, and had everything—red wine, meals, everything—placed in front of him.”
“I didn’t expect that he could actually cook. The reason I chose you two first was because I wanted to see a joke.”
Xu Tang didn’t hesitate to expose Zong Xuan.
“He is.”
Shi Duo raised an eyebrow and pointed at the breakfast on the table.
“Who are you trying to fool?”
“I’m not lying. Didn’t I injure my hand some time ago? He only learned during that period.”
Xu Tang smiled.
“Can someone really improve this much in just one or two months?”
Shi Duo was very surprised.
He had heard from Zong Huang that Zong Xuan couldn’t cook at all before. He rarely even entered the kitchen.
Originally, Shi Duo had been worried.
He had thought that if Zong Xuan really couldn’t make anything, he would find a way to smooth things over and prevent Zong Xuan from losing face.
Zong Xuan himself had no intention of making himself appear perfect.
His fans actually preferred seeing this more realistic side of him.
So even though Xu Tang exposed him, Zong Xuan didn’t mind at all.
“Actually, I still don’t know how to make many things. Luckily, it’s only breakfast. If it were dinner, I’d probably embarrass myself.”
“I see. Then please enjoy your meal,” Shi Duo said with a smile.
The two of them sat down and began eating breakfast.
Zong Xuan’s breakfast really was quite good.
The two ate while chatting, completely ignoring everything else as they casually discussed going to the beach later.
“I forgot to take photos of you just now,” Xu Tang suddenly remembered.
Recently, the two of them would often take pictures of each other.
Of course, they never posted them online. They simply kept them for themselves.
“There are too many people here today. Even if we take pictures, it won’t just be me in them. We’ll take some together next time when we’re alone.”
Zong Xuan smiled and picked up a piece of boiled egg from the salad and placed it into Xu Tang’s bowl.
“How’s the fried rice? Is it too bland?”
“It’s good. Next time, add more cashews and it’ll be even better.”
“Got it.”
The atmosphere between the two was very pleasant.
Shi Duo and the others had almost finished filming as well.
At that moment, a notification came through his earpiece saying that Yue Yan’s side had also finished preparing.
So Shi Duo took the accompanying camera crew and left.
Only the filming group assigned to Xu Tang and Zong Xuan remained.
After finishing breakfast, the two prepared to go for a walk on the beach.
The hotel had arranged a special entrance and exit route for them, which happened to pass by the place where Zhou Xing and the others were staying.
The door to Zhou Xing’s room was open.
Through the doorway, they could see that the two people were eating.
Shi Duo had probably already finished interviewing them, and only the assigned camera crew remained filming.
The two didn’t intend to steal the spotlight, so they continued walking outside.
However, they hadn’t gone far when they suddenly heard a scream followed by a burst of chaotic noises.
They turned around and saw several plates and some food scattered on the ground.
Some of the plates had even shattered.
The assistant following Zhou Xing’s group looked frightened, patting her chest while staring upward toward the hotel building.
The cameraman from their group and Zhou Xing’s group also came out after hearing the noise.
When they saw the mess on the ground, they were equally confused.
“What happened? Are you okay?” Zhou Xing asked the young assistant.
“I’m fine. I don’t know what happened either. These things were thrown down from above. Luckily, I was standing a little to the side, so they didn’t hit me.”
The assistant still looked shaken.
The cameraman photographed the things on the ground, then looked up toward the floors above.
He didn’t find anything unusual.
However, these plates were provided by the production team, and they even had the sponsor’s name printed on them.
Zong Xuan nodded slightly at Zhou Xing.
He didn’t say anything and simply pulled Xu Tang away.
Zhou Xing was also smart.
Calmly, he said:
“Let the hotel cleaners come and clean this up later. It’s good that no one was hurt.”
After saying that, he wrapped an arm around Chen Tina and went back inside.
The cameraman and assistant also said nothing and followed them into the room.