Chapter 25: Dating Show Filming 24

Fang You and Cheng Luoli’s date was far from pleasant; Cheng Luoli couldn't even feign a happy expression. Fang You kept trying to strike up conversations, and he had insisted on a theme park despite her refusal, claiming he wanted to help her relive the joys of her childhood. It was practically insane. Consequently, the two returned to the homestay early.

Si Junyan and Yang Yi were paired together, but their date was mediocre at best. Yang Yi was not Si Junyan's type, so he couldn't muster any interest. The entire date was incredibly cold and detached. Eventually, Yang Yi couldn't take it anymore, ended the date early, and returned to the homestay.

The other guests had wonderful dates, which allowed them to get to know one another better. After dinner, they played a game. Today’s challenge was a jigsaw puzzle. Everyone received the same puzzle, and the first five to complete it would get to choose the location for tomorrow’s date.

Meng Yuan finished first, followed by Si Junyan in second, Jiang Han in third, Xu Fei in fourth, Cheng Luoli in fifth, Li Wenya in sixth, Yang Yi in seventh, Nan Chu in eighth, Shen Shangqian in ninth, Nangong Hengmo in tenth, Sha Mengyuan in eleventh, Fang You in twelfth, Wei Ziyi in thirteenth, and Zhuo Han in fourteenth.

Nan Chu had never played a jigsaw puzzle game before; it was her first time, so she was a bit slow and only managed eighth place. Once the rankings were finalized, the guests took turns choosing their date spots. Meng Yuan chose the beach, Si Junyan chose the forest, Jiang Han chose the sunset bookstore, Xu Fei chose the hot air balloon, Cheng Luoli chose the beach, Li Wenya chose the theme park, and Yang Yi chose the sunset bookstore.

When it was Nan Chu’s turn, the production team announced that each location could only accommodate two people, and it had to be one man and one woman. The remaining two locations were the museum and the water park. The remaining male guests would be problematic if paired with Fang You. After some thought, Nan Chu chose the forest. Shen Shangqian chose the hot air balloon, Nangong Hengmo chose the theme park, Sha Mengyuan chose the water park, Fang You chose the museum, Wei Ziyi chose the water park, and Zhuo Han was left with no choice but the museum.

The final pairings were:
1. Meng Yuan and Cheng Luoli: The Beach
2. Si Junyan and Nan Chu: The Forest
3. Jiang Han and Yang Yi: The Sunset Bookstore
4. Xu Fei and Shen Shangqian: The Hot Air Balloon
5. Li Wenya and Nangong Hengmo: The Theme Park
6. Sha Mengyuan and Wei Ziyi: The Water Park
7. Fang You and Zhuo Han: The Museum

Seeing the results announced by the production team, Jiang Han was in a foul mood. Had he known, he would have finished the puzzle slower—finishing early clearly had no benefits. Afterward, the "heartbeat" text voting took place, and the live broadcast ended.

***

"I'm not happy," Jiang Han said, holding Nan Chu’s hand.

"It’s my fault for being slow at the puzzle."

"I like you even when you're slow," Jiang Han replied. "We aren't missing out on just this one date. In the future, we can go on dates every single day."

"Mm," Nan Chu nodded.

They chatted for over half an hour before returning to their respective rooms to rest. In the middle of the night, Nan Chu woke up with a start from a nightmare. She got out of bed and listened to the rain tapping against the window. Unable to fall back asleep, she opened the window and reached out to catch the raindrops.

The nightmare was about when she was thirteen and entered an infinite loop dungeon set in an ancient castle. In that dungeon, she had been captured by an NPC and locked in a dark room. Every day, they used syringes to draw her blood; she truly believed she would die in that dungeon. She was rescued by a girl only three years older than her named Jiang Xing. They became friends and fought side by side in several subsequent dungeons.

But during an Iceland dungeon, they were separated. When she finally found Jiang Xing, the girl’s legs had been bitten off by a monster, and she was on the brink of death. Nan Chu killed the monster and saved her, but Jiang Xing expressed that she no longer wanted to live. Her family had all died in the infinite dungeons six months prior, and her beloved boyfriend had died ten days ago. Jiang Xing begged Nan Chu to kill her. Under her desperate entreaties, Nan Chu did it. Killing her own friend was a painful memory she thought she had buried deep down, but it had surfaced once more.

Nan Chu walked downstairs like a ghost and stood out in the pouring rain. Jiang Han had woken up to use the restroom and, feeling thirsty, went to the living room to get water. He noticed the door was open and, seeing a faint light, spotted someone standing in the rain. It was Nan Chu!

Jiang Han rushed out. "Nan Chu, what are you doing?" Seeing she didn't respond, he picked her up and carried her back to his room. Once inside, he realized she was freezing cold; he didn't know how long she had been standing in the rain. Heart aching, he grabbed a bath towel to dry her off, then wrapped her in another. The rain had soaked her clothes, revealing her soft, undulating curves.

"Nan Chu, what’s wrong?" Jiang Han asked, holding her close, his voice full of worry.

Nan Chu seemed hollow, and Jiang Han felt a sharp pang of pain in his heart watching her. Under his repeated questioning, a glimmer of life finally returned to her eyes.

"It's nothing, I just remembered some things from the past," Nan Chu whispered.

Jiang Han wanted to ask what kind of past could make her torture herself like this. "If it's the past, just forget it," he said tenderly. "Don't torture your own body. It hurts me to see it." He cupped her face, looking at her with absolute sincerity.

Hearing this, tears began to stream down Nan Chu’s face. Panicked, Jiang Han clumsily wiped them away. "Don't cry, did I say something wrong?"

"No," Nan Chu smiled through her tears. "I'm just happy that there is still someone in this world who cares about me."

Jiang Han felt his heart ache even more. "Honey, I will always care about you from now on," he promised.

Nan Chu hugged him, resting her head against his chest and listening to his heartbeat. This warmth belonged to her now, and she felt content. After a while, Jiang Han said, "Go take a hot shower."

"Okay." Nan Chu went upstairs to bathe. Jiang Han waited for her in her room. When she came out, he dried her hair for her. Seeing she had no intention of sleeping, he stayed. "I'll keep you company."

"Okay."

Nan Chu sat on the bed while Jiang Han sat on a chair, the two gazing at each other. After a while, Jiang Han touched her forehead and found it burning. "Wait for me." He retrieved a thermometer from his room, and sure enough, she had a fever. He fetched fever-reducing medicine for her to take and insisted she lie down to rest.

Nan Chu kept one hand tightly gripped around his, as if afraid he would leave. As she drifted off to sleep, she began having nightmares again—dreams of being torn apart by monsters in the infinite world. Seeing her pained expression, Jiang Han knew what was happening. He pulled out his phone to play music, and under the soothing combination of the melody and his voice, Nan Chu finally stopped having nightmares.