At this time, the guests hadn’t yet realized that Gu Zhan’s question was specifically asked for Shi Yi; they merely thought he was using a singer as an example.
Fang Yanhang drew inferences from this. “Then if I sweep the floor but it isn’t clean, does that mean I won’t get paid?”
Director: “That’s right.”
“The staff will evaluate everyone very seriously.”
Farmer Xie Yixing asked in a tiny voice, “What is a farmer supposed to do?”
The several guests looked at each other in dismay.
Wen Xin: “…I have a feeling I’m just going there to suffer.”
—
Fans: [Hahahaha the production team sure knows how to play, has Young Master Fang ever swept a floor in his life from childhood till now?]
[This is a magical dating variety show]
[Ahhhhhh the production team has really whet my appetite, I wanna kang1]
[Me too! I want to kang Wen Xin chop wood! I want to see Young Master Fang sweep the floor! I want to kang Xingxing farm, and I also want to kang Gu Zhan write poems!!]
[Does Gu Zhan know how to write poems?] [Ha, just think about your Gu’s love poem. Not only does he know how to write them, he even knows how to write acrostic ones.]
[Brothers, let me tell you a ghost story: look at the progress bar.]
[Damn damn damn, how is it already 28 minutes? Impossible, we haven’t even seen anything yet!]
[No way!!!]
It was useless. When the live broadcast room’s timer hit thirty minutes, the screen went black right on time.
Fans: Wu wu wu wu wu.
At 7:30 AM on a Saturday, a time when most working people were still sealed by their beds, the fans were exceptionally active. Love Island quickly climbed the trending searches.
#PoetGuZhan#
#GuZhanLoveIsland#
#FangFangCleaner#
#WenXinChoppingWood#
#GuZhanNobodyWants#
#MingQiuqiu Model#
Shi Yi didn’t get a hashtag.
The people guarding the live broadcast room since 6 AM were mostly the guests’ true love fans. These people paid very little attention to Shi Yi. Only a few face-cons were captivated by Shi Yi’s beauty, eagerly wanting to add a new minor crush to their stan list.
To be honest, this little miss is seriously pretty!! The extraordinarily, extraordinarily pretty kind.
Compared to Wen Xin and Ming Qiuqiu, she doesn’t pale in comparison at all!
…But they didn’t know her Weibo, and thinking back, they didn’t even know her full name!
Huh huh huh??? So who exactly is Little Yi?
—
After the cruise ship sailed for half an hour, they arrived at Love Island.
The director prompted, “Next is our destination. Could the guests please put down your suitcases and disembark the cruise ship in an orderly manner.”
Suitcases couldn’t be brought at all. Young Master Fang asked, “Then we can bring our phones at least, right?”
The director answered that they were allowed. As for whether there would be a signal, he wasn’t going to say.
Staff members came up and took away the guests’ suitcases one by one. How much luggage the guests brought became clear at a glance.
When it was Shi Yi’s turn, Wen Xin was in disbelief. “You only brought one suitcase?” It was for a month! Just clothes alone would fill four suitcases and still not be enough.
What could she possibly fit in one suitcase??
Wen Xin slapped a “not squeamish at all” label onto Shi Yi.
Shi Yi: She had previously thought she was going on a three-day tour at most.
Shi Yi glanced over at the suitcases. Hers compared to the others was indeed a world of difference… except for Gu Zhan. He seemed to have only brought one too.
Heh, he just knew what was going on in advance.
Feilou Entertainment had indeed invested heavily in Love Island. Shi Yi felt it the moment she got off the cruise ship.
Love Island was a standard heart shape, and the cruise ship docked at the tip of the heart. Upon getting off the cruise ship, there was a giant marble stone with the three words “Love Island” written on it.
Shifting her gaze away, what entered her eyes was a romantic and beautiful ten-mile peach blossom road. This straight main road divided the entire island into two equal halves. Both sides of the road were planted full of pink peach blossoms, which were unexpectedly blooming vibrantly in this season. When the wind blew, petals scattered all over the ground, paving the cypress-green road in pink.
Under the peach blossom trees, at intervals, hung two-person swings that gently swayed with the wind.
The guests present were all captivated. Even Shi Yi couldn’t help but relax amidst such beautiful scenery.
The director gave them plenty of time; Love Island definitely wouldn’t disappoint them.
The guests looked around for a while before noticing that the peach blossom road divided Love Island in half, and beneath their feet were two cobblestone paths leading to the left and right sides of the island, respectively.
The guests walked a bit to the left, and the scene previously hidden by the peach blossom trees was completely revealed.
The left half of the island was actually a boundless sea of lavender flowers. Clusters and clumps of purple flowers filled the area. A winding cobblestone path extended into the flower sea, going all the way to where it met the coastline, and at the very end, a house could be vaguely seen.
“My God.” Wen Xin touched her heart. “I want to fall in love.” This romantic and dreamy atmosphere too easily spurred a person’s desire to fall in love.
Shi Yi looked at the scene before her, a bit entranced. Behind her, the man smiled soundlessly.
She was looking at the scenery; he was looking at her.
“The left side is so pretty, what’s on the right half?” Wen Xin’s question woke Shi Yi from her trance. Shi Yi glanced at the person behind her and moved three steps away.
The right half of the island had a different style from the left.
The right half of the island had many buildings. At a glance, the most striking was a giant Ferris wheel. Below the Ferris wheel was a plaza, with buildings lined up along the coastline and the plaza. It was impossible to tell exactly what they were, but every single building was romantic and exquisite.
“The shopping mall, exchange market, and restaurants are all on the right half of the island. Guests can buy any items they need there.”
The director gave a brief introduction and asked the several guests whether they wanted to stroll around first or go to their living quarters to rest up.
The guests unanimously answered to go to the living quarters.
“Alright.”
The director stated that because it was their first time on the island, the production team would provide transportation and take the guests to their residence for free. The implication was that using transportation later on would cost money.
The transportation was a cable car. One cabin could just perfectly seat eight people, with four sitting in one row. Director Lu sat on the very edge. Teacher Chen Hongmei sat down and pulled Shi Yi to sit next to her, making it three people sitting in this row. Ming Qiuqiu and Wen Xin were together. Seeing that there was only one seat left, they didn’t think much of it and sat opposite them.
The remaining three male guests entered from the doors on both sides. Gu Zhan took a seat beside Shi Yi.
The cable car doors closed, turning the cabin into a sealed space.
Why did he sit here…
Actually, the cable car cabin was very large, and four people sitting side by side wasn’t crowded. If it had been anyone else, Shi Yi wouldn’t have thought anything of it.
But it was Gu Zhan.
Gu Zhan’s strong presence enveloped this small corner. The skin that accidentally brushed against hers transmitted a scorching temperature, making Shi Yi’s scalp tingle in waves. She felt like she could hear the breathing of the person next to her.
Acting as if nothing was wrong, Shi Yi scooted a bit toward Teacher Chen.
Gu Zhan’s lowered eyelashes blocked the smile in his eyes. He deliberately shifted, his elbow brushing past Shi Yi’s arm. He heard Shi Yi’s breathing noticeably pause.
The smile in Gu Zhan’s eyes grew deeper.
“…”
As soon as the cable car stopped, Shi Yi walked off. Gu Zhan, unhurried, followed closely behind.
Ming Qiuqiu glanced at Shi Yi, a gleam flashing in her eyes.
Did Gu Zhan choose the empty seat next to Shi Yi because it was close, or because of Shi Yi herself?
One seat didn’t mean anything. Hopefully, she was just being too sensitive.
—
The director led the guests off the cable car and handed them four small booklets.
“This is the Love Island Guide. There are introductions for the buildings on Love Island inside.”
He then pointed to the houses not far away, saying, “That is where you will be living for the next month.”
“The production team will no longer appear in the upcoming schedule. If the guests have any questions, you can ask them now.”
??
Unexpected.
However, it didn’t seem like there was anything to ask. They all had their phones; if there were any problems, they could just contact the production team anytime.
Seeing through the guests’ thoughts, the director had a moment of conscience and hinted, “Alright then, if there are any problems later, you can use the phone in the living room to contact the staff.”
After saying this, without giving the guests time to react, the director and a group of staff members bowed to them together. “Then I announce, Love Island officially begins!”
“Love Island, the place where love sets sail. I hope that in the coming month, the guests can thoroughly enjoy the beauty of romance.”
“Blessings to you all, finger hearts.”
Wen Xin: “…”
Shi Yi: “…”
The several guests: “…”
Teacher Chen Hongmei weighed her words for a moment. “Little Lu acting like this is a bit greasy.”
Director Lu had a face full of a big beard.
The several guests nodded repeatedly.
Ming Qiuqiu turned her head and naturally leaned close to Gu Zhan. “Teacher Gu, what is written in the booklet?”
Gu Zhan gave Ming Qiuqiu a copy of the booklet. “There are pictures of the houses inside, want to take a look?” He was saying this to Shi Yi.
“Where where where?” Wen Xin came over and took a booklet.
“Page 23.”
The guide was written very specifically, with pictures and introductions. The exchange market, the Ferris wheel, and the various restaurants were all in there.
Page 23 had pictures of the houses.
Shi Yi took a booklet, retreated to Teacher Chen Hongmei’s side, and looked at it with her.
From the pictures, the Sweet Cabin had a total of eleven rooms. Opening the main gate, there was a row of four on the left, a row of four on the right, and three directly opposite. Similar to the following:
口口口
口………..口
口………..口
口………..口
口………..口
The eight rooms in the left and right rows were all made of wood, all the same size, featuring a bedroom plus a living room.
The three rooms directly opposite, however, had a configuration of one large and two small.
The middle room was very spacious. From the pictures, it seemed to have front-to-back ventilation, similar to a pavilion, and one could go directly out to the flower sea from the courtyard. In the middle were sofas and recliners. Hanging from the eaves facing the flower sea was a swing; it was likely the place for their group meals and activities.
Of the other two small rooms, one was a modern kitchen, and the other had a giant screen with the words “Task Hall” written on it.
“Wow, not bad.” The several guests were all very satisfied.
Wen Xin waved her hand. “Hurry hurry hurry, let’s go pick our rooms!” Ming Qiuqiu’s eyes also lit up.
The two female guests walked fast and let out a scream of shock.
…It didn’t sound like a pleasant surprise.
What was wrong? Shi Yi walked a bit closer and understood what was going on. The blurry wooden cabins became clear… the houses seemed different from the pictures.
Through the low fence, one could see that the one large and two small rooms were no different. The sofas and decorations inside were just like in the pictures, warm and romantic.
What was different were the small wooden cabins.
—The small wooden cabins the guests were supposed to live in, every single one of them only had a roof.
That’s right, only a roof! Four pillars stood at the four corners, holding up the roof.
The rest of it—the walls, windows, and doors—had all vanished into thin air.
Shi Yi fell into silence for a moment. The three male guests who arrived after her also fell into silence.
Shi Yi: “We don’t have to spend money to buy them, do we?”
Ming Qiuqiu’s distant gasp confirmed Shi Yi’s guess. “There’s a note here! It says: ‘Quickly decorate your loving little nest together, the items in the Sweet Mall can satisfy all your expectations!’”
Fang Yanhang suddenly gave a laughing curse, “Really…” He didn’t finish his sentence, so Shi Yi mentally filled it in for him: Unbelievable.
From now on, whether they wore fine silks and satins or coarse linen clothes, whether they lived with the wind blowing through all four sides or upgraded their wooden cabins, it all depended on whether they had money. Plus, they might have to go out on dates, buy gifts for their female companions…
And how did one earn money? Either show off public displays of affection, or take on tasks.
The moment Fang Yanhang thought about how he had to endlessly sweep floors to earn gold coins, his bones started aching all over. He let out a sigh, “Brother Gu, I don’t want to fall in love anymore either.”
Just supporting himself was going to be strenuous enough.
Gu Zhan: ????
The man cast him a condescending sideways glance. Are you kidding me, who’s in the same boat as you?
Translator’s note
- Cute typo for “see ↩︎
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