Chapter 14: Receiving Two Affection Messages

The man’s singing, accompanied by the distant sound of waves, gently ushered everyone into the cool night.

Dinner ended around eight, and after everyone returned to their rooms to freshen up, it was nearly nine-thirty, time to rest.

According to the game rules, Sun Haotian, who lost the competition, and Fang Zhou, who volunteered to switch with Chu Xinran, had to spend the night in a cave.

They would return to the villa to sleep on subsequent nights.

The show’s crew was considerate; they had found a somewhat spacious cave and cleaned it. The ground wasn’t dirty, and they had laid down cardboard.

Sitting on the cardboard, Sun Haotian sorted through his clothes and smiled wryly at Fang Zhou. “Brother, it’s been a long time since I slept in such a rough place.”

Even when he started from scratch, Sun Haotian had slept under bridges, but at least those could shield him from the wind and rain.

Sleeping in a cave was a novel experience.

He had thought that having the lovely Chu Xinran for company would stave off loneliness, but now it was just him and another guy, leaving no room for romantic thoughts.

Fang Zhou spread out his sleeping bag, arranging it bit by bit, and smiled back at him.

“Who says it isn’t? But it’s pretty interesting. I can see the stars from outside.”

The cave was spacious enough; he and Sun Haotian each took one side, leaving a buffer zone in between.

Sun Haotian, afraid of rats and snakes, didn’t dare sleep outside, so Fang Zhou took that spot.

Fang Zhou wasn’t afraid of those things and didn’t mind sleeping outside.

The live audience laughed at Fang Zhou’s easygoing attitude.

“Can’t deny, these two have real guts. Not afraid to sleep in a cave.”

“Come on, they’re big guys. The whole island is reserved for the show. No surprise visitors.”

“Good thing Fang Zhou switched with Chu Xinran. I can’t imagine a delicate girl like her sleeping in a cave.”

“Fang Zhou’s a real man. I’m rooting for him!”

Fang Zhou took off his jacket, about to crawl into his sleeping bag, when the cave’s camera transmitted the director’s voice.

“Dear guests, tonight you have a task: send an anonymous text message to the guest you like using your phone.”

Fang Zhou didn’t mind. He raised his eyebrow, glanced at his phone—provided by the show, with all the female guests’ contacts preloaded.

He twirled the phone in his hand, thinking, Who should I text? Four out of five are my exes. Sending a message to any of them would be awkward.

He shook his head, about to put the phone away when it buzzed with a message.

“I don’t look at the moon, nor do I say I miss you, so both the moon and you stay unaware.”

The system was set up for one-way anonymity. The sender knew who they were messaging, but the recipient wouldn’t know who sent it, only the show’s backend did.

The show’s plan was to reveal this at the end of the first episode, setting the stage for the next.

Fang Zhou frowned, pondering who sent the message.

Such a subtle, gentle line seemed like something Chu Xinran would write.

Before he could think further, his phone buzzed again with another message.

“In every choice that includes you, I choose you.”

Though also anonymous, Fang Zhou had a strong hunch this one was from Chu Xinran.

People say women’s intuition is sharp, but Fang Zhou felt his own wasn’t bad either.

So, who sent the first one?

Scratching his head, he couldn’t figure it out and decided to sleep.

Today was too full of surprises; he needed rest.

After sending his message, Sun Haotian smacked his head, suddenly aware. “Almost forgot, there’s a camera here!”

He got up, draped his black jacket over the camera, muttering, “Not used to people watching me sleep. Better cover it.”

In the villa not far from the cave, three girls sat in the small living room, each with their phones, waiting for something.

Suddenly, Qiao Sisi’s phone buzzed. She opened it to find a cheesy message.

“Baby, I went for an IV drip today. What did I get? Missing you.”

“Ew~”

Qiao Sisi cringed, rubbing her arm, where goosebumps had formed.

“What’s up, Sisi?”

Qin Yun, sitting next to her, noticed her disgusted look and asked curiously.

“Look.”

Qiao Sisi, unfiltered, showed her the message, puzzled. “Isn’t this too cringe?”

The camera zoomed in, and the live audience saw the message clearly.

“Ahaha, I’m dying. Where did this cheesy line come from?”

“I’m cracking up. Did this guy get his lines from a bad website?”

“Thank goodness Sisi has restraint. I’d have thrown my phone.”

Qin Yun glanced at it and laughed too.

“Pfft.”

Seeing them laughing, Chu Xinran leaned over, joining in their laughter.

“Stop, I’m losing virtue points. Someone hit the digital wooden fish for me. Hahaha.” (tln : The country’s latest viral app is a wooden fish simulator. when i search it on google)

After five minutes, Qiao Sisi received no more messages.

Feeling a bit down, she put her phone away and went to her small room to sleep.

They shared a large room, divided into three small ones.

On the other side, Qin Yun also received a message, but it wasn’t what she was waiting for.

She comforted herself: It’s only the first day. He can’t escape me.

Hiding her disappointment, she went to sleep.

Among the remaining female guests, Chu Xinran and Tang Wan each received a message, but Han Xi did not.

Among the male guests, only Fang Zhou and Liu Hao received messages; the others got none.

The audience buzzed with excitement.

“Wow, no one likes the ice queen CEO?”

“Han Xi’s cold demeanor would scare anyone off.”

“You guys don’t get it. It’s only the first day. Things will change!”

“But Fang Zhou got two messages. Surprising, he’s quite popular.”

Already asleep, Fang Zhou stirred when he needed to pee and saw someone standing silently beside him, staring with dark eyes.

Fang Zhou nearly jumped out of his skin. “Don’t scare me like that!”