"What a coincidence, you're here too!" A cheerful female voice from the doorway broke the slightly ambiguous atmosphere between Shen Jianxi and Shen Xingzhi.
The director, watching the hard-won romantic bubble shatter with his decision, clutched his chest.
"Director, what's wrong!" a staff member next to him rushed to support him as he stumbled.
The director gasped, breathing heavily, and pointed a trembling hand at his bag, "Quick, get me those fast-acting heart pills."
He was going to die of frustration.
While chaos ensued on one side, Shen Jianxi... Shen Jianxi felt like she wanted to escape.
Looking at Zhao Yingxin, who was bombarding her with questions, she felt her head would explode.
Zhao Yingxin clearly wasn't expecting an answer; her questions came one after another, so dense that no one could interject.
Their cameraman's jaw nearly dropped watching this scene.
It wasn't like this between her and Jing Luan. Moments ago, they had been extremely polite, with almost no interaction beyond courtesy.
It was precisely because of this that the director had assigned them to the same team, thinking that with the four of them together, the atmosphere couldn't possibly be cold.
Upon seeing Shen Jianxi, Jing Luan was completely forgotten by Zhao Yingxin.
He walked over to Shen Xingzhi, greeted him, and the two exchanged a helpless glance.
Shen Xingzhi suppressed his dissatisfaction, trying his best to maintain his usual gentle expression.
Who wouldn't be unhappy if their pleasant two-person time was interrupted?
He didn't need to think to know what was going on; Shen Xingzhi silently made a note of the director's actions.
The director, who had just recovered, suddenly felt a chill down his back, a tickle in his nose, and sneezed twice.
He looked at the bright sun outside and muttered to himself.
It seemed his body was a bit weak; he felt cold even on such a day.
...
Just as Shen Jianxi didn't know how to stop Zhao Yingxin, the shop assistant finally returned with the waxed finished products.
Due to the lack of time, neither of them had made anything too complex.
Shen Jianxi had made a ring, and Shen Xingzhi had made a bracelet.
However—
The ring was just a bit too large, and the bracelet was just a bit too small. She couldn't wear the ring, but it fit perfectly if she gave it to him.
The moment Shen Jianxi received the ring, she instinctively wanted to hide it, but she forced herself to resist. Hiding it would only make it look suspicious.
She calmly took the ring and began to play with it, but a man's hand suddenly appeared in her vision.
"Here," Shen Xingzhi glanced at Zhao Yingxin, who was watching them intently, and smiled lightly, "For you."
Shen Jianxi gently rubbed the ring with her fingers, unwilling to lift her hand to accept it.
77: "Random mission issued! Please accept this bracelet, give the ring to Shen Xingzhi, and explicitly state that this ring was made for him."
The words "explicitly state" were emphasized, clearly a precaution due to her previous lack of effort.
Shen Jianxi sighed imperceptibly. She prepared to take the bracelet, noticing the two pairs of eyes fixed on them, but before she could, Shen Xingzhi suddenly spoke.
"Wait a moment." He rolled up Shen Jianxi's sleeve with both hands and, meeting her confused gaze, smiled, "Let me put it on for you."
Shen Jianxi paused for a moment. She couldn't quite see Jing Luan's expression from the corner of her eye, so she refocused and extended her wrist.
"Thank you, Brother Xingzhi."
Shen Xingzhi carefully cupped her hand, feeling the soft warmth of her palm. He suppressed the urge to hold it tighter and slowly slipped the bracelet onto her wrist with his other hand.
His expression was serious and focused, as if he were performing a significant task.
Despite his reluctance, Shen Xingzhi remembered they were filming and quickly released her hand, not lingering.
Unexpectedly, Shen Jianxi suddenly clasped his right hand.
"What's wrong?" Shen Xingzhi asked, confused.
Shen Jianxi looked up and smiled at him, making her voice as formal as possible: "This ring was made especially for Brother Xingzhi, let me put it on for you!"
Hearing this, Jing Luan's brow furrowed involuntarily.
Zhao Yingxin's mood also became wary. She had felt uneasy since Shen Xingzhi's actions earlier, and now that Shen Jianxi was giving him the ring, that feeling of unease intensified.
Shen Jianxi knew this would arouse suspicion, but in this situation, she had to prioritize one side first.
She picked up the ring and placed it on Shen Xingzhi's right index finger.
Shen Jianxi subtly let out a sigh of relief as the ring settled perfectly at the base of his index finger.
Thank goodness she had made it a little larger earlier, or it would have only fit his ring finger, which would have been truly difficult to explain.
77: "Beep! Random mission: Accept this bracelet, give the ring to Shen Xingzhi, and explicitly state that this ring was made for him, completed."
77: "Beep! Favorability -5, current Jing Luan favorability is 32."
77: "Beep! Favorability +8, current Shen Xingzhi favorability is 40."
"Brother Luan," Shen Jianxi suddenly turned to Jing Luan.
The man, lost in thought, looked up at her, "Hm? What is it?"
Shen Jianxi: "...Nothing, I'll send you a message."
With that, she took out her phone and scrolled through the screen.
Jian Is Not Jian:
Jing Luan: ???
After sending an emoji, Shen Jianxi put away her phone, not bothering to explain her actions to Jing Luan. She turned to Shen Xingzhi, "Brother Xingzhi, it's lunchtime. Shall we go eat?"
She then politely asked the other two, "Do you two want to join us?"
Jing Luan was about to refuse when Zhao Yingxin suddenly spoke up, "Yes, yes, where are we eating?"
Shen Jianxi: ...
Jing Luan: ...
Shen Xingzhi: ...
Shen Xingzhi silently took out his phone and canceled his lunch reservation at the pleasant restaurant.
He once again felt she had no social awareness.
But Zhao Yingxin's question wasn't a genuine inquiry.
However, what she had witnessed today required her to be vigilant. She didn't want to compete not only with the female guests but also with the male guests.
If that were the case, she had to insert herself between them and disrupt their date.
Jing Luan and Zhao Yingxin were partners. If she went, Jing Luan would have to go as well.
In the end, their planned two-person outing turned into a four-person one.