This was a silent declaration of war against a love rival!
It was a display of dominance and a stern warning!
Fang Yanhang’s body stiffened instantly.
He fully understood the meaning behind his actions.
Gu Zhan and Little Yi…
Young Master Fang was suddenly hit by a wild possibility. Little Yi, Little Yi… could that be Shi Yi?
The name of the ex-girlfriend, Shi Xixi, was deeply etched in everyone’s mind, but many had forgotten that “Shi Xixi” was merely a pet name. The ex-girlfriend’s official name seemed to be… Shi Yi?
No way, no way.
Could his instincts really be that spot-on, aiming straight for Gu Zhan’s heart on the very first try?
Fang Yanhang licked his dry lips and offered a forced, stiff laugh. He completely squashed any remaining thoughts of forming a team with her, then gulped down the rest of his drink.
…His throat felt terribly parched.
Gu Zhan retracted his gaze, the corners of his lips curving up slightly, and continued peeling the shrimp.
After a moment of silence, as if drawn by a irresistible force, Fang Yanhang couldn’t help but stealthily turn his head back toward Gu Zhan and Shi Yi.
The tall dishes piled on the round table blocked everyone’s view, and with the distance between them, he couldn’t see clearly whether Gu Zhan was still peeling shrimp or not.
However, he noticed that as the lazy Susan spun, several dishes kept stopping right in front of Shi Yi—dishes that she clearly seemed to enjoy.
When a drop of sauce got on the corner of Shi Yi’s mouth, Gu Zhan would casually drop a napkin in front of himself and then discreetly rotate the table.
“…”
Fang Yanhang began to question his entire life. This is practically glowing in neon lights! How on earth did I not suspect a thing before?
Am I blind?!
When you don’t suspect anything, obvious clues can hit you right in the face and you still won’t notice them. But the second you start doubting, every single detail turns into a dead giveaway.
To Fang Yanhang’s eyes, everything looked suspicious now.
For instance, he had never noticed until now that Gu Zhan didn’t walk alongside the other two male guests; instead, he lingered at the very back of the group—
Extremely close to Shi Yi.
For another example, after filling their bellies with food and drink, the guests strolled leisurely into the Sweet Mall. The shop had everything one could ask for, with rows of neat products displayed on shelves that glowed under the bright lights, instantly igniting everyone’s shopping desires.
The eyes of all three female guests lit up, and they immediately made a beeline for the cosmetics section.
Fang Yanhang cast a sneaky glance at Gu Zhan, only to find that he had somehow walked over to a quiet corner. He was standing in front of the toiletries section, staring intently at the description of a pink electric toothbrush.
A pink one!
There was no way he was buying that for himself, right?!
And he was picking it out so earnestly!
Fang Yanhang: “…”
—
In the cosmetics area not far ahead, Wen Xin rushed over and hugged a lotion set. [The Miss brand lotion and toner set is on sale today! A whole set is only one gold coin! Ah, I have to get one!]
[Sheet masks! I use these sheet masks every day—they’re super hydrating! Little Yi, Qiuqiu, do you guys want to try them?]
Ming Qiuqiu said, [I usually use this serum. It has an amazing whitening effect, and it’s also just one gold coin.]
Shi Yi looked at the sunscreen. [The sun on Love Island is pretty intense. I want to buy a bottle of sunscreen.]
In the blink of an eye, the three female guests were already holding a mountain of skincare products in their arms.
Fang Yanhang pulled himself back to reality, utterly shocked.
Facing his incredulous gaze, Shi Yi remained as cool as a cucumber, Wen Xin showed pure indifference, and although Ming Qiuqiu looked a bit embarrassed, the speed at which she grabbed products didn’t slow down one bit.
Beauty required maintenance, especially for female celebrities whose faces were their ultimate livelihood.
The skin they had spent so much time and money nurturing couldn’t afford to be weathered by the elements. Under the harsh sun of Love Island, skipping lotion and sunscreen for even a single day meant dry skin, and maybe even going a shade darker…
Although Shi Yi wasn’t a female star, she was still a girl, and a spoiled heiress at that.
A little fairy could only accept being gorgeous at all times.
Fang Yanhang’s lips twitched. Unable to comprehend female celebrities, he turned to Xie Yixing. “Little Xie, why don’t the two of us head over to the furniture area first?”
Xie Yixing shyly picked up a box of men’s face masks and stayed put. “…Bro, I’m an idol.”
His face was extremely important too—his manager had insured it for twenty million!
Fine. Unable to fight the overwhelming tide alone, Fang Yanhang could only stand there and wait.
About two minutes later, Gu Zhan returned to where they were. Fang Yanhang stole a glance at the pink toothbrush inside Gu Zhan’s shopping basket and swiftly averted his eyes, unable to bear the sight.
Gu Zhan, on the other hand, remained calm and unhurried. He glanced at him and said in a quiet, nonchalant tone that carried a faint trace of helplessness, “She’s a bit lazy. She has to use an electric toothbrush.”
Fang Yanhang: “…Ah, I see.”
He felt deeply conflicted inside, screaming internally: You don’t need to tell me! I don’t wanna know!
I’ve really turned over a new leaf!
I don’t want to team up with Shi Yi anymore!
He let out a cough and urged, “Are you guys done yet? Why are you taking so long?”
Xie Yixing replied, “Coming, coming! Sorry, Brother Fang, kept you waiting.”
Wen Xin looked at the time. “It’s only been two minutes?”
Nobody asked him to wait—couldn’t he just wander around on his own?
“It’s been two minutes already! Can’t you just grab a set of toner and lotion and call it a day?”
“What do you know? Toner is toner, serum is serum, primer is primer, and sunscreen is sunscreen! They all have different functions! Besides, we don’t have enough gold coins, so we have to discuss and pool our money together!”
“Fine, fine, fine, hurry up then!” Fang Yanhang desperately wanted to escape this awkwardness.
Wen Xin exclaimed, “Oh no, we haven’t bought any toiletries yet!”
Toothbrushes, toothpaste, facial cleanser, not to mention pajamas and—most importantly—undergarments.
Shi Yi froze.
Wen Xin and Ming Qiuqiu were willing to invest heavily in their faces, while Shi Yi had never understood the concept of financial restraint in her life. By the time they stepped out of the skincare section, not a single penny was left on any of the three female guests’ bank cards.
Fang Yanhang: …Why are there so many complications?!
—
They had already anticipated that their funds wouldn’t be enough to furnish the wooden cabin, but they hadn’t expected the shortfall to be this huge.
In the spacious, bright hall, wooden wall panels were lined up against the walls. There were basic wall panels, as well as panels with built-in window frames, each measuring 1.5 meters by 4 meters.
The overall dimensions of the cabin were 9 × 6 × 4 meters. Covering the entire structure with wall panels would take 20 panels in total.
The price of each wall panel was one gold coin, while windows and doors were pricier, costing three and five gold coins respectively, depending on the type.
Shi Yi did a quick calculation: two side walls, one French window, and one side with a basic door and a small window would require 1 × 4 × 2 (the two side walls) + 5 × 6 (the French window) + 1 × 4 + 3 + 3 (the door, window, and four wall panels), making a total of 48 gold coins.
…An absolute fortune.
How long would it take to earn that much?
Thoroughly crushed by the numbers, everyone slunk over to check out the beds.
The beds were even more expensive. A basic single wooden bed cost three gold coins, while a double wooden bed cost five gold coins—and the quality wasn’t even that great.
Wen Xin: “…How about we just sleep on the floor?”
Ming Qiuqiu: “I apply to sleep on the living room sofa.”
Shi Yi: Maybe she could use a rug?
A plush, fluffy rug sounded like it would be pretty comfortable to sleep on.
“…”
After voicing their thoughts, the group burst into laughter.
Had they really fallen to such dire poverty? It sounded so tragic—a group of glamorous celebrities who couldn’t even afford a bed.
Wen Xin wanted to curse out the director again. “By my math, only Teacher Gu can afford a bed; he’s the rich mogul among us. Even after buying a single bed, he’ll still have enough left for a few wall panels.”
Ming Qiuqiu raised an objection. “I just asked the staff member. She said the wooden beds don’t come with bedding. After Senior Gu buys the bed, he’ll need to buy pillows and a duvet first.”
“A single bedding set—including a duvet, blanket, pillow, duvet cover, and bedsheet—costs five gold coins.”
Fang Yanhang ran a quick mental calculation and thought to himself: You guys are wrong this time. Gu Zhan can’t afford it either.
As for why—
Fang Yanhang turned his head. He had noticed long ago that Gu Zhan wasn’t paying any attention to single beds at all. He was looking exclusively at double beds!
A double bed costs five gold coins, and a double bedding set costs nine gold coins!
If it were in the past, Fang Yanhang definitely wouldn’t have thought twice about it. But now…
Heh.
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