CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: BEDS, BARBS, AND BOUNDARIES

There was no suspense that Wu Shiyun and Zhao Guangyao chose Room Type C. It was completely against what Wu Shiyun wanted, but she had been taught since young that if you can afford to play, you can afford to lose. No one likes sore losers, after all.

Of course, she could have pushed for a better room, but she had already tried her best in the challenge. She was not the kind of person who threw a fit over the outcome. Accepting what was given was simply part of the game.

She lifted her chin with practiced elegance, as if the room choice were a minor inconvenience rather than a personal insult. "Room Type C will be fine," she said lightly.

Zhao Guangyao let a breath of relief far too loudly.

She shot him a look. He pretended he hadn’t made a sound.

With three rooms taken, only one option remained.

All eyes shifted, some with sympathy and some with barely hidden amusement, toward the last pair standing.

Jiang Shuyue and Shen Xiyu.

Jiang Shuyue’s smile was still present, but it had the brittle shine of porcelain under too much light. "Well," she said gently, "it seems Room Type D is what we will be taking."

Shen Xiyu remained silent. His expression did not crack, but something in his posture tightened, a subtle stiffness that betrayed the truth. For someone raised in luxury, Room Type D might as well have been a psychological experiment.

He knew this dating show was sponsored by Shen Group, but even so, demanding special treatment under the spotlight was impossible. The cameras were already focused on him, and he could almost imagine the headlines if he so much as whispered a complaint.

Spoiled young master refuses basic accommodation

Whatever he had been working toward would be derailed the moment that label stuck. It would not matter how capable he was, how much he had achieved, or how hard he had tried to carve out his own reputation. One careless demand on a variety show, and the public would reduce him to a stereotype.

He knew better than to believe that what he did would remain unnoticed.

Shen Xiyu drew a quiet breath, steady yet threaded with resignation. There was no graceful way around this, no option that would not be recorded, clipped, and replayed online.

"Let’s go," he said finally.

The words were calm, but the slight stiffness in his shoulders gave everything away.

Jiang Shuyue nodded, still smiling, though the edges trembled as if held together by sheer force of will. "We will manage," she said softly.

Whether she was reassuring him, the cameras, or herself was up for debate.

The cast watched them with a mix of sympathy and schadenfreude.

[Pray for them. Room D is a punishment, not accommodation.]

[Xiyu is trying so hard not to crumble... I respect the effort 😭]

[Jiang Shuyue smiling through pain is honestly a talent.]

[Room D is character development in physical form.]

From the side, Sun Qiaolian watched the scene unfold, her expression soft and perfectly composed...but her eyes were quietly alive with calculation.

Jiang Shuyue and Shen Xiyu ending up with Room Type D was more than unfortunate. It was opportunity.

She felt that this wasn’t the way things were supposed to be. The audiences weren’t buying her act. Not to mention, she felt that she shouldn’t be signing just the most basic tier contract with Jiang Shuyue.

She couldn’t explain it, but something felt out of place, as though the momentum of the show was drifting away from her grasp.

So she stepped forward with a gentle sigh, her voice soft enough to sound empathetic, yet loud enough for the cameras to catch every syllable.

"Actually," she said, "An Ning’s room looks quite spacious. Why don’t we let Jiang Shuyue stay with her instead? It would be better for her comfort, and An Ning won’t mind sharing. She’s very kind."

A perfect suggestion: sweet on the surface, pointed underneath.

The cast turned.

The crew stiffened.

And An Ning’s eyebrow rose, slow and elegant.

The comments exploded instantly.

[HELLO??? Did she just volunteer An Ning’s room?? 😭]

[Sun Qiaolian playing 4D chess again omg]

[Girl, you want to be kind with OTHER PEOPLE’S SPACE??]

[An Ning: I was standing here quietly, why am I suddenly involved 😭]

Every head turned toward An Ning.

Even the air seemed to hesitate, waiting to see how she would respond.

An Ning blinked once, slowly, like someone who had just been accused of a crime she didn’t commit.

Her lips curved, not quite a smile and not quite a refusal.

"How thoughtful of you, Qiaolian," she said lightly, her tone smooth as still water. "But Room Type A only has one bed. Plus I am not the best sleeper, I wouldn’t want to injure Jiang Shuyue in my sleep."

A soft inhale rippled through the cast.

For a moment, hope flickered across Jiang Shuyue’s face—quick, fragile, and almost childlike.

Jiang Shuyue froze.

If anyone had been paying attention, they would have caught the quick flicker of disappointment in her eyes, touched with faint dissatisfaction. It disappeared a heartbeat later beneath her practiced smile.

Sun Qiaolian’s smile stiffened for half a heartbeat.

The cameras zoomed in.

The barrage detonated.

Sun Qiaolian’s smile stiffened for half a heartbeat.

The cameras zoomed in.

The barrage detonated.

[NOT THE "I MIGHT INJURE HER" EXCUSE 😭😭😭]

[An Ning deflects politely but with maximum damage]

[That is the nicest "no" I have ever heard]

[Sun Qiaolian tried to donate An Ning’s bed like it was community property 💀]

An Ning tilted her head slightly, as if she had just explained something perfectly reasonable.

"The bed may be spacious, but it is not spacious enough for two strangers. It’s more comfortable for Jiang Shuyue to sleep alone. Besides, I wouldn’t want to disrupt her sleep."

A clean refusal, all wrapped in silk.

An Ning didn’t raise her voice or sharpen her tone. She didn’t need to. Sometimes the gentlest answers drew the clearest boundaries.

Sun Qiaolian recovered with a small, airy laugh. "Oh, I see. I must have remembered the bed wrong. I only wanted to help."

"Of course," An Ning replied, her tone as gentle as water over smooth stones. "Your concern is noted."

Sun Qiaolian’s smile held, but only barely—too polished, too fragile at the edges.

Everyone understood what she really meant:

Don’t offer what isn’t yours.